From Vic to different corners of the world to give formation in interculturality

Spain. Everything comes to an end; today, Monday November 10, is the last day of our Workshop: “The challenges of the intercultural formative communities.” In the morning we have worked on the final Document. We thanked the Editing Commission for its effort to finalize the message that we want to transmit to the whole Congregation, which we unanimously approved. We agreed that it is a good report of what we have lived these days, and a good starting point to continue the reflection on this so important theme for the present hour of our life and mission.

We have evaluated the Workshop and have coincided that it has not been just one more course or one more gathering, but an experience in which we have run a road of inter-cultural encounter. Fr. Paul Smyth, cmf, has been a good facilitator and has helped us to become aware of all the riches of our intercultural experience in these years, to dialogue about culture with sincerity and in depth, to overcome prejudices and stereotypes and to look for better ways to offer a Claretian intercultural quality formation.

At noon we celebrated the Eucharist in the Crypt of the Sepulchre of our Father Founder. Throughout this whole week his close presence has been for us an inspiration; we have felt his living word telling us in our inner ear: “my spirit is for the whole world.” These words have challenged us to make our charism continue being incarnate in all cultures so that our communities may live in a fraternal and missionary interculturality. The Eucharist was a true thanksgiving to the Lord for all our life. We have also thanked the Congregation for this opportunity; our brothers for taking over our tasks at home so that we could come; to the organizers of the Workshop: Fr. Mathew Vattamattam, Fr. Jesús Palacios and Fr. Paul Smyth; to the Sisters of the Claretian Institute and to all the helpers who have admirably attended to us in the Spirituality House of Vic. We ended with a fraternal meal in which there was much to thank for and to celebrate.

Anyway, one week ago 15 Claretians coming from different parts of the world arrived here in Vic; we have formed an authentic intercultural community and now we must part from the House where it all began to the different corners where our Congregation has expanded. We go with happy hearts and with a rich experience, to improve our service in the formative intercultural communities in which we serve the future Claretians of the world.