9th day of the Apostolic Congress Roncalli Salatiga , Indonesia 22-01-2018

Today,  Monday the 18th of January,  marks the beginning of the second week of the Apostolic Congress in Roncalli Retreat House.  Participants were refreshed after the outing of the previous day and were ready to proceed with the congress.

Some of us are still guests in the very pleasant and enjoyable accommodation and surroundings of Roncalli Retreat House in Salatiga. It is a generally warm environment here but the  immediate environment  provides a cool atmosphere with very serene surroundings.

This morning we did not have our usual morning prayers in the Chapel. Instead, Brother Daru led the group in what he termed "eco-prayer"  at the Marian Groto in the compound at 07.00 am. It was a special prayer during which each delegation was invited to express their devotion to Mary the patroness of our Congregation, by lighting  candle and putting it in front of the statue of Mary. Each group also sang a Marian song in our various local languages in honour of Mary.

The first two sessions of the day were spent on discussing four questions that were posed from the previous deliberations to help the congress arrive at some most important points that will help us achieve good fruits. The questions are closely related to both school and non-school FIC apostolate in our various provinces. This was done in three groups.

At 14:00h we reconvened to share the results of the group discussions.  All groups were in the same line of thinking  because they presented similar answers. It was a wonderful discussion as we could sense our spirit  of internationality reigning among us.  We were indeed expressing the same or similar ideas from different countries, language and culture but from one F.I.C. brotherhood. We are one in Christ and that is a true blessing.

The day's journey came to an end with the celebration of the  Eucharist in thanksgiving to God for the unity of purpose.

By bro. Wim Luiten, The Netherlands