The ongoing formation that is rediscovering God with and in fraternity

Ongoing formation and courses for formators are important tools with which the General Minister and his Council, together with the General Secretariat of Formation, seek to prepare the brothers to update and prepare themselves to respond to the invitations of God today. If we want to be witnesses like St. Francis, St. Clare, and Pope Francis, we must form and update ourselves each day. We must begin with an awareness of our roots and of our spiritual traditions, while keeping ourselves abreast of theological perspectives in harmony with the teaching of the Church and biblical studies.

Courses of ongoing formation have been held this year in the Holy Land: in Italian (May 12-18), Spanish (June 5 – July 1), and most recently in English for friars from Ireland, England, the Philippines, and the United States (18 September – 14 October).

Coming to Holy Land is a moment for renewal and experiencing God’s presence personally in Jesus. Being here, one always has the experience of ‘home coming’ to the central place of our faith and rediscovering our roots.

Brothers are given the possibility of visiting the biblical sites for three weeks mostly in the morning with an expert accompanying them. In the evening there are biblical insights, Christological reflections, time for inner journey and personal integration using spiritual-therapeutic methods.  They also spend quality time in sharing their life stories and particularly that of their Capuchin vocation.

One of our objectives is to help our brothers know the history of Christianity, along with the traditions passed on to us for many centuries. The archeological and biblical reflection along with the theology helps one to set aside the exaggeration and go closer to the historical person of Jesus and try God experience. A friar who visits these holy places could be satisfied with the popular interpretations and devotions alone. But, for true ongoing formation one needs to go deeper than that so that we have something to contribute to the modern society, which tends to throw away everything as not relevant. It could be a good opportunity to try new answers for oneself and to share the personal findings with the searching world.

During the discussion, burning life issues were touched upon and discussed. With the first two weeks centering on visiting and visually experiencing the holy land; the third and fourth weeks are moments of deeper personal reflection along with the inputs and healing sessions for personal growth. Brothers are also inspired to enjoy silent meditation in Jesus’ presence and in silent contemplation find new meaning to the fresh challenges of life.

Reconciliation Week at San Giovanni Rotondo (September 12-15)

The Fourth International week of Reconciliation and Mercy was celebrated at San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy from September 12-15, 2016. All the animators reminded the participants that it was a time for prayer, renewal, reconciliation, and new insight to understand the gratuitous gift of God’s mercy in our modern world. Along with the traditional way of celebrating this week, the General Formation Secretariat also brought in a new breeze of socio-psycho and theological updating through the deep insights of the resource persons from diverse backgrounds. In the modern context in which the ministry of the confessional is in decline, we need new ideas and methods to help people experience the compassionate love of God and the richness of his mercy towards us.

We invite you to visit the blog of the Formation Secretariat for more information on this topic.

Our heritage: a course in Assisi, the city of peace (October 9-28)

Twenty-seven English-speaking friars from eight countries took part. By means of this initiative our intention was that of helping our brothers in their formation for spiritual growth in the Franciscan lifestyle, learning to be truly human and in continuing the daily discipline of reviewing devotional practices that are sometimes at risk of being done superficially.

The Capuchin way of life attracts!

It’s a great opportunity for friars who belong to different circumscriptions and conferences to come together for an experience of Capuchin fraternity. To visit the historical places of Francis in a reflective way brings the spirit of our brother Francis and our sister Clare to life. The friars were struck by the simplicity and wisdom of our founder. Assisi in itself is a strong message, in addition to the reflections and storytelling of the speakers which brought to life the story of our origins. Visits were made in Assisi, as well as to other places such as Le Celle di Cortona, Monte Casale, La Verna, Camerino, Loreto, San Giovanni Rotondo, and Rome.

We are all in need of renewal and time for silence! Assisi looks forward to seeing you!