Update on FIC Formator's meeting, day 8 

Thursday 13 July 2023.

We started the day’s activities with the usual morning prayer together in the prayer room. We had a bright morning that gave us an enthusiastic feeling for the day ahead of us. We indeed thank God for the beautiful morning.

The first two sessions were allotted to the finalization of the Profile of Formators. Bro. Valentinus Daru gave us a recap of what we did on the first day when he presented the first part of the Profile of Formators. After the presentation of the two working groups, we discussed the results in order to arrive at a applicable document for the revised core curriculum. Some questions that arose during the discussion gave us a deeper understanding of the ideas or opinions of others and also the courage to continue to reflect on this matter. The qualities of good formators are, for example, a good listener, a good communicator, living an exemplary life, a mediator, teamworker, being empathetic, a man of prayer,  having a sense of humour, cultural sensitivity, etc. We could not finalize the formators' profiles, and the General Council can compose a proposal in connection with the core curriculum of Initial Formation.

We concluded our Formator's Meeting with the written evaluation and/or oral evaluation; in general, we are satisfied with the process, and the result of the meeting, and some expressed that they were enriched by the inputs, discussions, and also by the interactions we had during the meeting.   After the evaluation, we listened to the closing address of our General Superior. In his closing speech, he gave a meaningful message to us, and I quote: “As leaders and formators let us believe that no space and nobody is free of God. We can find the mystery of God creatively present in everything; everywhere, and in everybody.  Our duty is to help (like midwives) bring God to birth who is already and always present in the life of every person. The world is new to us every morning. We are reborn every day. Having been part of this meeting it is my hope and prayer that each one of us is renewed and full of enthusiasm to continue the journey first as being truly happy Brothers and secondly be committed to our special responsibility as Leaders and formators”.

He invited us to be pilgrims of the original foundation: the history, vision, mission, and charism of our congregation.  Let us constantly read, reflect, meditate, and teach others the intent of God, the history, and the spirit and leadership of our founders. None of us is called to reinvent the “wheel” of this congregation. However, we are encouraged to build on its “foundation creatively.” An act of this sort will please God, will honor our founders; will lead many to conversion and surely captivate many young people to join us. We are encouraged to daily rediscover the Word of God and the evangelical values of the vows in contemporary reality. As an international family, we need to discover and maintain a common ground that is truly spiritual and that is a true brotherhood for all.

During presentation of gifts, Bro. Frans Dwiyatno gave a T-Shirt to each participant of the meeting, and then we came together for group pictures wearing that T-Shirt. All participants were happy. After lunch, we had free time and concluded the meeting with the closing eucharistic celebration at 17.00, followed by dinner together.

One special thing that we really appreciate very much was the presence of Bro. Johan Muitjens. He gave us lots and deep contributions during the meeting. We are grateful to God for his blessing and guidance during the meeting, thus everything went well. All participants were happy with the atmosphere, process, and the result of the meeting was satisfactory. 

As reported by Bro. Theo Riyanto