“The desert is now blooming, rejoicing and laughing”  

 Dear Sister and Brothers,

The four weeks of the OASIS Encounter, which started on November 20^th , is coming to its end today. I do hope that the weariness of your body, soul, heart and mind, which you might have brought from your home province to this OASIS in Wahlwiller, now starts blooming, rejoicing and laughing as described in the song of “The desert shall bloom then” by Huub Oosterhuis. Unknowingly we realize that time has flown very fast. With a deep feeling of joy and gratitude we want to conclude this congregational happening of spiritual exercise. There is a season for everything, reads the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 3. There is a time to come and there is a time to go. There is a time to start and there is a time to finish.

In my opening address I said that the OASIS Encounter, which we conclude today, is part of the continuing formation as stipulated in our Constitutions, which reads that “throughout our lives we should be open to development, formation, and deepening the meaning of our lives” (Const. art. 115). In these times, the ongoing formation of consecrated persons has become more and more urgent, since the challenges of consecrated life are getting more and more complex. The tensions between secularism and an authentic life of faith, between the fragility of humanity and the power of grace are among the challenges of our lives. However, we believe that in these challenges lies hidden an authentic call of the Holy Spirit to rediscover the wealth and potentials of consecrated life.

As religious we believe that consecrated life is in itself a spiritual journey. Only those nurturing spiritual life are able to enjoy it and to be happy with it. During this four weeks’ encounter we have had enough time to nurture our spiritual hunger by reflecting on our lives and journeying into our inner-selves. With the help of facilitators and fellow participants we have discovered or rediscovered a lot of precious treasures in our lives. At the same time we might also have seen things in our lives which need to be improved or be carried out in different ways for the sake of our ideals. OASIS gives us the opportunity to see our lives more clearly and passionately. I hope we are able to take maximum benefit of this exercise for our own growth, so that we will be growing to the fullest as a human person and as a religious.

In this four weeks’ spiritual exercise we also have been helped to be intimate with one self, with God, with our Founders, our Congregation, and with fellow people. We also have reflected on the important dimensions of our life as religious, like our apostolic mission, our community life, our spiritual life. Next to this, we were also made aware of our humanity as a sexual and spiritual being, which in fact is a tremendous source of energy if we are able to integrate them properly. All these reflections must have been enriching us and offering us so many choices to be taken into account for the development and actualization of our lives. Now the important part is how to put it into practice so that they become means and ways for us to live a happy and healthy religious life.

We are aware that our journey as religious is a life long one. It demands commitment, discipline and perseverance to go through it. For sure along the way there will be a moment when we feel hungry, thirsty, and tired, and even we might have the temptation to stop and to discontinue our journey. The experience of this OASIS teaches us how to refresh ourselves and regain energy whenever required. By making some stops whenever we feel bored and tired, we will get new energy. Therefore I encourage all participants to see the benefit of this OASIS, by having the courage to now and then create an OASIS in your life. As individuals and community we need again and again an OASIS, to refresh ourselves and regain energy to continue our journey.

Throughout this encounter we are made aware that everybody wants to be happy and fully alive. To make our lives be fully alive we are expected to balance our lives in such a way that all aspects of our lives are attended to sufficiently. In this regard our Constitutions clearly tell us how to organize our live in the best way: “We are not expected to fill our lives with hard and efficient work alone. Our apostolic commitment will be richer and more deeply rooted, if there is also enough room for reflection and prayer, for truly human contacts, for participation in community life, and for rest and recreation” (Const. art. 29).

Dear sister and brothers, I think you are in agreement with me that the time of OASIS has been a moment of grace for everybody involved. This is also a time of renewal. We are all so grateful for the opportunity to participate in this congregational event. We are also aware that this OASIS encounter is made possible because of the contributions of so many people. I will take this opportunity to express gratitude to the following persons:

1. A very big thanks goes to the organizing committee, spearheaded by Bro. Guido, sr. Claudia Theinert, Bro. Johan Muijtjens,  Theo Suwaryanto for having  worked hard, already long before the event, by preparing and organizing everything necessary for the meeting, and further for their being faithful companions to the participants throughout the OASIS.

2. Thanks to all facilitators, resource persons, and support staff: Bros. Frans Wils who is always very creative, inspirative and cooperative to make the encounter more colorful and alive;  Raphael Besigrinee with his input and accompaniment, and Lo Koeleman for doing a lot of things in the background to help  the participants in different ways to achieve the maximum benefit of the encounter and to enjoy every minute of it.
3. Thanks to Nico Coolen and Fr. Koos Janssen (the SMA Priest) for the service rendered and the spiritual nourishment we enjoyed through the Eucharistic celebrations.

4. Thanks to the interpreters Sr. Ancilla Loe  and Bro. Valent Daru Setiaji for helping us, especially the Indonesian participants, so that they were able to make the maximum benefit of this encounter through the translation services you have rendered.

5. Thanks to the community of the Arnold Janssen Cloister, Sisters SSPS Wahl-willer, for pampering the participants with loving care and hospitality. I am sure all participants feel very satisfied with the services they received.

6. Finally thanks to all participants of the OASIS Encounter for the active and faithful participation, and for creating a supportive atmosphere during the encounter, which made the meeting alive and bear abundant fruit for all the persons involved.

Dear sister and brothers, I do not need to prolong my speech, since you have got sufficient material to be digested further while continuing your journey. In the first week of the encounter you have expressed your expectations and your desires which you would like to achieve in the course of this encounter. I hope all of you have now found the treasures of your life which are to be developed further to be a better person. We do this in a limited and impaired way, but also in the strength of God’s grace, which raises us above ourselves. I assure you that God and the Congregation have the same dream for you, that you are happy as a religious, by being and doing good.

After the OASIS I hope you will make time to now and then revisit the whole experience of this encounter and to put the goals you have set into practice.

Dear brothers and sister, when the time is coming for you to leave the country, I wish you all a pleasant and save journey back to your province of origin, to spread out the good news you get from this meeting to your fellow brothers back home and to the people entrusted to your care.

Finally with a deep feeling of gratitude to God and to our Immaculate Mother Mary, and a big thanks to all people involved in this program, hereby I declare the OASIS encounter 2014 concluded.

Wahlwiller, December 18^th, 2014

Bro. Martinus Handoko

General Superior FIC