Letter
from Aparecida
Aparecida, November 14,
2008
Dear confreres, brothers in the Lord:
·
Warm greetings from Aparecida. The General Secretariat
for Brothers met at “Santo Afonso” Seminary
in Aparecida, São Paulo, Brazil,
from November 12 to 15, 2008. We felt that we
were at the feet of the Virgin Mother of Aparecida
in this Shrine, which is under the pastoral
care of the Redemptorists. This was the final
meeting of the sexennium. We had the opportunity
to celebrate, with other Redemptorist from Brazil, the 276th anniversary of the
Congregation and the closing of the “year dedicated
to an intense reflection on the apostolic life
of the Redemptorists”. It was a wonderful experience
of brotherhood, sharing and renewal of our religious
commitment.
·
On the morning of November 12, the members of the Secretariat
met fraternally with the Brazilian Brothers.
This meeting was held in the town of Potim,
near Aparecida, at “São Geraldo” Seminary for
the formation of Brothers in the province of São Paulo.
It was an enriching moment of sharing personal
experiences, pastoral ministry, spiritual aspirations
and motivations. We saw the enthusiasm of our
Brazilian Brothers, the dedication and the strong
sense of communion among the confreres of the
different Units of this “land of the Holy Cross”.
We are very happy with the wide apostolic visibility
of so many Brothers who contribute in an extraordinary
way to the mission of the Congregation in Brazil. Many of
the concerns and challenges that the Brazilian
Brothers have to face are also shared by the
General Secretariat and other Brothers in the
world.
·
On November 13, also at “São Geraldo” Seminary, we had
the great joy of meeting the 13 Brother candidates.
We celebrated the Eucharist and enjoyed a moment
of fraternal socializing with them. We were
very impressed by the enthusiasm, spontaneity,
creativity and the dreams of these young students
who are preparing themselves to become Redemptorist
Brothers. There are a good number of Brother
candidates. This is a sign of great vitality
of the Province and it filled us with a sense
of hope. We felt spiritually renewed by this
experience.
·
During the meeting of the Secretariat we celebrated these
signs of hope, analyzed the Regional reports,
discussed our report to the next General Chapter,
and shared the positive experiences, the achievements,
the difficulties and challenges that we encountered
during the sexennium. We also offered suggestions
for the work of the Secretariat in the next
sexennium. Now we wish to share with you some
of those experiences and ideas.
Signs of hope
·
Our experience as members of the Secretariat was very positive,
but it was not easy. We were greatly impressed
by the religious commitment, the fidelity and
love for the Congregation shown by so many Brothers
whom we had the opportunity to meet during this
sexennium. The enthusiasm and the spiritual
disposition of these Brothers are a great source
of inspiration for all of us.
·
We want to say to the members of the next General Chapter
that, even though we are experiencing a drop
in the number of Brothers, we do see a new spirit
both among the Brothers and the Congregation
as a whole. There is a renewed vision, a new
recognition and appreciation for the life, the
spirit of sacrifice, the dedication, the fraternal
humility, the faithful perseverance of the elderly
Brothers, as well as the missionary enthusiasm
of the younger Brothers. In the last few years,
and as a result of the work done in previous
years, we have seen an increase in the appreciation
of the value of the vocation of the Redemptorist
Brother.
·
The celebration of the “year of Saint Gerard” (October
2004-2005) and the “year of the apostolic life
of the Redemptorists” (November 2007-2008) provided
a great opportunity for reflection and appreciation
of the Brother’s vocation. There were many Brothers
gatherings, meetings and opportunities to share
personal experiences. There were many Retreats
and Congresses in the (Vice-)Provinces and Regions.
The figure of Saint Gerard and the other Redemptorist
Brothers were specially highlighted. There was
an opportunity for a better knowledge of the
life and works of the early Redemptorist Brothers.
With all this, there was a renewal of the understanding
of the vocational identity and the mission of
the Brothers in the Congregation and the Church.
·
The meetings between Brothers and students facilitated
and favored dialogue and sharing of personal
and pastoral experiences. We are absolutely
convinced that the Brothers must meet frequently
for this kind of sharing.
·
There was very good integration among the members of the
General Secretariat for Brothers and those of
the Regional Secretariats.
·
We thank the General Government for the constant support.
They welcomed all our suggestions and proposals.
We also thank the very positive collaboration
and contribution of the Redemptorist Spirituality
Center
and the other General Secretariats.
·
The dissemination of the life experiences of many Brothers,
as examples of dedication and service to the
Congregation, helped promote a better understanding
of the Brothers’ vocation and their contribution
to the mission of the Congregation.
Challenges and Difficulties
·
The work of motivating and encouraging the Brothers during
the sexennium was not easy. There was good animation
through the work of the regional Secretariats,
but the fact is that none of the Brothers was
left free for this task. Within that context,
we did what we could and we believe that we
are on right track.
·
Vocational promotion for Brothers has become better, but
it continues to be a great challenge. We are
not receiving as many Brother candidates as
we hoped. We encourage everyone to commit themselves
more to the work of vocation promotion.
·
We must also say that the programs of formation for Brothers
are now much better. However, we found that
there is still the need to intensify and clarify
the programs of formation, especially for the
Brothers in temporary vows. We favor that, as
much as possible, the Units in the Congregation
prepare a special formation program for Brothers.
We suggest that the Units with few Brothers
collaborate with each other and start a formation
program together, or at least send their candidates
to those Units who already have a special formation
program for Brothers. We also consider extremely
important that the Brothers in final vows have
the opportunity of specialized studies in different
areas. Thus, they will be able to contribute
even more to the mission of the Congregation.
·
The Regional Secretariats for Southern Europe and Africa, each for many diverse reasons, had many difficulties
in organizing Brothers gatherings at the Regional
level. We must also say that there were some
financial difficulties for the organization
of Brothers gatherings in certain Regions.
·
We continue to hear complaints and comments regarding prejudices
against Brothers, that we consider part of the
past. In some Units Brothers do not feel supported
by their confreres and/or their superiors. Some,
perhaps because they are elderly or infirm,
feel disheartened and discouraged. We are quite
concerned with the fact that some confreres
openly affirm that the vocation of the Redemptorist
Brother is in a process of extinction and have
lost hope. We note that some clerical attitudes
still persist among several confreres, who do
not seem to understand the meaning of our religious
and missionary life.
·
The greatest challenge we face is the progressive decline
in the number of Brothers. There are many Brothers
who are advanced in age. We are also concerned
about the lack of perseverance of a good number
of young Brothers and by the fact that so few
candidates are entering the Congregation to
become Brothers. We recommend that the next
General Secretariat study this situation with
great care, offer some recommendations and propose
possible lines of action to respond to this
situation.
·
We are concerned that the process of restructuring in the
Congregation, with all its consequences, is
not being assimilated and taken seriously by
many confreres in the local communities. At
times one has the impression that restructuring
affects only a few and does not really touch
all the confreres in the Congregation. We heartily
recommend a new reading of Communicanda #1 of this sexennium.
Towards the future
·
We believe that it is necessary to establish a Permanent
Secretary in Rome
in order to accompany the Brothers more closely
and work together with the General Secretariat
and the Regional Secretariats for Brothers.
This would also allow constant dialogue between
the Brothers and the General Government.
·
It would be very good if, as much as possible, at least
one Brother participates as a member in other
General Secretariats.
·
We recommend at least one annual meeting of Brothers in
all Units of the Congregation and that, every
two or three years, there be a meeting at the
Regional level. We also suggest that Brothers
who belong to Units with few Brothers should
be allowed to participate in meetings organized
by other Units.
Conclusion
·
We thank all the members of the General Secretariat and
the members of the Regional Secretariats for
their work in accompanying the Brothers. We
thank the support of the General Government.
We thank all the Brothers who participated with
interest and enthusiasm in so many meetings
and contributed with their presence and reflection
to the renewal of the vocational identity of
the Redemptorist Brother.
·
We remind everyone that in 2009 the Congregation is celebrating
100 years of the canonization of Saint Clement
Hofbauer, great missionary and the “apostle
of Vienna”, as well as 200 years of the birth
of Blessed Peter Donders, a missionary to the
most abandoned lepers in Surinam. May the missionary
spirit of these confreres be a source of inspiration
to all of us.
·
Finally, in the spirit of Saint Alphonsus, Saint Gerard
and the other Redemptorist saints, we encourage
all the confreres to live with great fidelity
the joy of our religious and missionary vocation
in the Church and the world. We encourage everyone
to seriously “give their lives for plentiful
redemption” and to enter the process of restructuring
which requires personal conversion and a new
mentality. May Mary the Virgin Mother of Aparecida
bless and protect us with her intercession.
Your brothers in the Most Holy Redeemer,
Bro. Jeffrey Rolle, C.Ss.R. (President of the Secretariat)
Bro. Michael Duxbury, C.Ss.R.
Bro. João Batista de Viveiros, C.Ss.R.
Bro. Joel de Guzman, C.Ss.R.
Bro. Benjamin Posvo, C.Ss.R.
Rev. Samuel Torres, C.Ss.R.
Rev. Enrique López, C.Ss.R. (General Consultor)
