General Chapter Biên Hoà 2019 – 09 July

At 7:00am, the Mass of the Holy Spirit was presided over by Brother Bruno Cadoré, Master of the Order, and concelebrated by the Capitulars. In his homily, he expressed the importance of opening hearts to the Holy Spirit for guidance and inspiration in Chapter meetings, discussions and decisions. “This act of faith is perhaps the first ‘Act’ of a chapter,” said he. In doing so, we can let the Holy Spirit put Christ’s mind into our humanity. As such, we can embody “mutual consolation, encouragement in love, tenderness and mercy, the joy of unity, the peace of humility, the determination to always say to the other: after you!” This is our identity – “the image and likeness of God.”

At 9:00am, the first session commenced with the Report (Relatio) of the Master of the Order about the reality in the Order after his nine years of mandate. He suggested themes to study, which included the restructuring of the Order in response to the signs of the time, the synergy of life and mission for a common apostolic responsibility, the pertinence of our specific charism for the Church, the collaboration in formation and studies for better evangelization, and the priority of formation, especially the formation of the formators.

In the second session, the capitulars were divided into linguistic groups (57 English speakers, 30 Spanish speakers, 30 French speakers) to analyze the Relatio and identify themes for further elaboration.

At 3:30pm, the capitulars gathered again in the third session to listen to the report of the Syndic of the Order, Brother Juan Luis Mediavilla. By comparing accounting reports, all Brothers could share worries and concerns of the Order. At 5:00pm, the fourth session began with the plenary reactions to the five themes discussed in each linguistic group. Capitulars shared their concerns and experience of what has worked and has not worked. The session ended with urgent call for listening and understanding the needs to the contemporary generations.