FIC LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP AND CON-CON REPORT OF DAY 4.

Saturday 05 October 2019.

The activities of the day began with a prayer service in the Chapel. It was led by the Province of Malawi under the theme “A Good Example”, one of the ten virtues commended by Brother Bernardus.

After breakfast, participants of the workshop gathered in the conference hall to begin the day's reflection on the document “The Service of Authority and Obedience”. Brother Raphael Besigrinee began with a PowerPoint presentation on Part Two of the instruction entitled "Authority and Obedience in Community Life". He summarized the document beginning with the theme of Love of God and love of neighbour which he said is a summary of the 10 commandments and provides the basis of our faith, therefore it forms the framework for the building of a fraternal community which is “one of the fundamental tasks of consecrated life.” He continued with themes like Brotherly Love, The Role and Tasks of Authority, Trinitarian Community, Fraternal Obedience and Community as Mission.

He concluded his presentation with the words of Pope Francis on the exercise of authority: "A gaze on the regimes in the last century, are a powerful reminder that, authority in any field, when it is exercised without reference to the transcendent, if it ignores the supreme authority of God, inevitably turns against man. Therefore it is important to recognize that human authority is never an end, but a means to an end which is the human person". After over an hour presentation, he gave out some reflective questions to the provincial groups for discussion. The fruits of this discussion will be share in plenary on Monday.

The afternoon of this day was spend outside the conference centre to enable participants interact with our elderly brothers at De Beyart. This took place at De Schark where Brothers sometimes go for recreation. Today our brothers from abroad had the opportunity to meet the Dutch brothers. Here, we enjoyed a barbecue together. Members of the General Council secretariat were also invited to join this family gathering: Willy Bastiaens and his wife, Leny Ubachs and her husband and Eugienie and her husband.

Bro. Lo Koeleman organized a very nice barbacue that delighted all the participants. It was a great opportunity to meet brothers and share life in a brotherly and friendly way.

This informal gathering lasted about two and a half hours. At 6.30 p.m., we moved back to the conference centre and residence "Onder de Bogen", with grateful hearts for this unique and joyful experience among our ageing brothers.

Bro. Diego Izquierdo Gallego (Chile province)