THE TEMPORARY PROFESSED BROTHERS’ WEEKEND, GHANA PROVINCE

28^TH – 29^TH OCTOBER, 2016

ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY, WA

 The Temporary Professed Brothers (TPBs) of the Ghana Province had their weekend encounter from 28^th – 29^th May, 2016 at St. Louis Community of the Brothers FIC,  Wa. The following  Brothers attended the week end encounter: John Bosco Miilu, Francis Sarfo, Aaron Nee-eru, Joseph Kyoore, Nimorius Ganee, Alexander Kumson, and Irenius Nimbare.

Execused: Br. Linus Delle (studying in school in Sunyani)

The encounter was officially opened at 9:00am with an inspiring prayer service organized and led by the Coordinator of the TPBs Br. Felicio Gyeyir. It was under the theme “Lord We have Left everything and Followed You, What about Us?” This took place in the St. Louis community Chapel. He prayed that the TPBs may recall their initial motivation for joining religious life, joys and their challenges which helped them to anchor their faith in the living God.

The encounter was officially opened at 9:30am with an opening address from the Provincial Superior, Br. Seregeous Dery FIC. The PS was pleased to have the opportunity to meet with the TPBs. He warmly welcomed them to St. Louis community and urged them to be happy, count themselves privileged to have this time to meet, share common concerns and encourage one another in their life journey towards fulfillment.

The PS drew the attention of the TPBs to the following areas:

• TPBs to consciously take responsibility of their lives, avoid wearing masks as temporary professed.
• Each one to maximize the use of the resources that the PC commits to their education and to make themselves (TPBs) as useful as possible by continuously developing themselves spiritually, academically, emotionally, physically, mentally, morally etc.
• TPBs should ponder over the question: “why is it difficult for people to avail themselves for leadership responsibilities at all levels in our province?”
• TPBs to make their communities livable places and intensify vocations’ promotion at their respective places.

Sharing of Practical Experiences on the Theme

The TPBs shared practical life experiences on the theme. Each one recounted the sacrifices he made to follow Jesus, the challenges pertaining to following Jesus, his limitations in keeping the his commitments to God and serving humanity. The hope for eternal life is their ultimate goal through this way of life. It was very inspiring and very encouraging.

The group had a lunch break and resumed at 3:00pm for the second session. The coordinator introduced Rev. Sr. Leticia Dongbesegtaa as the speaker for theme.

The speaker said the theme for reflection can be understood by asking the following questions; what is the meaning of life? What is the reward after giving up everything to follow Jesus? She affirmed that one cannot satisfactorily answer these questions. However, one can find meaning in life when one encounters the Lord regularly at prayer both personally and communally where the Lord nourishes the individual and the community. At prayer, the Lord nourishes the individual to make sacrifices to live with others happily, to learn to respect others and authority.

To find meaning in life the TPBs would need to hold onto the values that are cherished in community living. Such as, respect for senior members, patience, humility, dedicated service, responsible use of money, power, drink and careful choice of companionship. She admonished the participants to be open to share their concerns with trust persons when things are not well with them.

The speaker reiterated that vows are vows whether final or temporary; the commitments should be the same. The vows are interwoven and one can find fulfillment in living the vows well in God.

The facilitator indicated that one can find meaning in life when the one learns to handle his emotions well. This is because emotions are assets to personal efficiency. They shape life and make it enjoyable. One is considered matured when one learns to express the right emotion at the appropriate time. She emphasized that each one should have a mental waste basket, try to let things go; do not be weighed down by worries, find time to rest and satisfy the body’s anxiety for normal functioning.

She ended by warning the participants against jealousy in communities which usually result in the fear that others will overcome us and the craving for material things and lust for the opposite sex. It is in walking gently with the Lord, handling others justly and being humble that we can find happiness in the Lord and obtain his reward for eternal life. The weekend was closed with a rosary devotional prayer to our lady at 6:00pm

The encounter was very successful as expressed in the evaluation of the TPBs. They were grateful to God for the fruitful time shared together, to the PC for the resources spent, to the coordinator and the facilitator for the quality time used to prepare for the weekend and to one another for making time to be part of this wonderful experience. May God richly bless us all.

Compiled by Br. Irenius Nimbare FIC.