All for Mission
A new day begins in Nairobi; it is a lovely sunny day. The brothers of ACLA animate the adoration and the Eucharist. With St. John Chrysostom, we rejoice on the anniversary of the perpetual profession of our brother Henry Omonisaye. In the homily, we are reminded that we are one body with multiple and diverse parts, but a body that must be alive, must have a “soul,” in order to be able to carry out the mission entrusted to us.
The work sessions are illuminated from the words of Matthew 11, 25:30 – the good news revealed to the simple and our congregational dream collected in QC 43.
Pedro Belderrain presented the work process for the day: the whole morning, we will work in groups reacting to the presentations of the first transformation process, “a congregation going forth” with the same questionnaire as in the previous processes. The whole afternoon is left to share in plenary the conversations of the various groups.
At the beginning of the afternoon session, we were informed of the death of Fr. Jose Nieto (Antillas). The provincial of Antillas, Fausto Cruz, made a brief reference to the life of our confrere and his great missionary zeal.
All the presentations were positively evaluated. Through the responses of the various General Prefects in charge of animating this first process of transformation, we discover the themes that focused the dialogue of the various groups.
The sharing began with the dialogue on the Prefecture of the Bible and Communication, and Henry Omonisaye’s response.
The Prefecture of Bible and Communication has undoubtedly set high goals, and the complex structure being born is mission-oriented; this is a fundamental principle. Bible and Communication are not two distinct realities but two sides of the same coin, inseparable, in a dynamic, intimate and feedback relationship that respects and embraces the rich congregational plurality and the diversity of missionary challenges we face.
There was a sudden failure of the translation systems, leading us to joke about a cyber-attack on the meeting; it was some interference that prevented us from hearing each other correctly… As real as life!
The presentation ended with a call for intelligent use – common sense – in the use of social media, affirming our commitment to digital publishing, calling for “creativity with criteria”, and stating the wealth of existing materials being collected and catalogued for future use.
