The 8th Edition of the English Forge, held from September 22 to December 10, 2024, brought together 11 members from six major organisms for an intensive 80-day program. Designed for missionary identity and spiritual renewal, it featured community life, prayer, conferences, group work, integration activities, and a pilgrimage to Claretian heritage sites. The program concluded with a Sending Forth Eucharist presided over by Fr. Anthony Igbowkwe, CMF. Participants returned to their communities enriched and reenergized, ready to advance the congregation’s mission with renewed commitment. This transformative experience continues to strengthen the congregation’s missionary spirit. Here’s in the letter from the participants:
Greetings Brothers,
This letter is being written from Madrid (Los Negrales), Spain to explain briefly about our “Forge” experience, to the Congregation. (An impossible task!) We represent five countries, Congo (Alexandre François), India (Anil Minj, Arul Jesu Robin Muthiah, Dunston Maria John, Matthew Thomas, Rony Sebastian, and Siluvai Muthu), Indonesia (Damasus Sumardi), Nigeria (Gerry Ezekwere) and USA-Canada (Art Gramaje and Darrin Merlino), and we minister in eight countries (Congo, India, Indonesia, Mozambique, England, USA/Canada, and Zimbabwe). Paulson Vellianoor and Antony Bhyju animated this edition of Forge 08/24.
We all have various reasons as to why we were invited to have the Forge experience. But one thing we all agree on, that every Claretian must experience the Forge! Some of you already had this experience. It’s impossible for anyone to explain a profound and deep religious experience. Nevertheless, we strongly encourage you, our fellow Missionaries, to have this amazing Claretian encounter of a lifetime.
To start off, our daily conferences were very enlightening and life-changing. This alone was worth experiencing the Forge in itself. We learned countless, invaluable skills and self-improvement tips that are life altering, for the good of living our Claretian commitment.
One of our added blessings was a spirit filled nine-day silent Ignatian style retreat at “Buenafuente,” an over 775-year-old Cistercian monastery. The hills and liturgies were beautiful. The silent milieux made contemplation very fruitful. Also, the “Good Fountain”, which is in the middle of the monastery grounds, is famous because it’s similar to the drinking fountains one sees in the streets of Rome. The water, constantly flowing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, was very hypnotic in its sound. Similar to God’s grace always flowing, and always present. The spring has never dried up. And, the water was delicious too!
The second blessed experience was a transformative pilgrimage. We were extremely blessed to see some of the major/minor sites that our Father Founder and the Martyrs had been: La Granja, Segovia, Barbastro, Barcelona, Fontfroide Monastery, Girona, Sallent, Vic, and Zaragoza. Seeing the significant places of our Founder, visiting the birth place of our beloved Congregation, and seeing the end of our Martyrs in Barbastro was very moving and extremely edifying to say the least!
We are now “graduates” of the Forge. We see the wisdom as to why the Congregation wants all to experience this. We have been transformed! We’re more in love with Jesus, the Eucharist, Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Anthony Claret, the Martyrs and the Congregation. If the mission was to inspire Claretians to have a greater and deeper appreciation of the above mentioned, then MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
“Until Heaven, Long live Christ the King!”
Darrin Merlino, CMF and Forge Alumni
English Forge #8, 2024
