One of the Extraordinary Visitations of the General Government and the Assembly took place from 12 to 16 February in the “historic” house of Scifelli in Italy. Many of the confreres from the Roman Province and of the Neapolitan Province participated in the meeting. There were also members of the Generalate in Rome, including students of the ‘Collegio Maggiore’ and an Irish Redemptorist the Assembly. This made the meeting richer and more stimulating.
During the Assembly, there was a peaceful atmosphere of listening, reflection and active participation. Prayer in common was well taken care of, so that they may help the sharing and other activities of the day. When the animators of the Assembly presented various topics they did it with passion which eventually led to healthy discussions and constructive debate, both in the working groups and in the plenary assemblies. All the confreres showed interest in the future of the Congregation, bringing out practical problems, developing concrete proposals suggesting criteria and modalities for the implementation of important decisions taken in the XXV general chapter. Despite the cold of these days, the living room was comfortable. Food that was well prepared during these days made our stay more pleasant. Confreres found time during the breaks to deepen friendship and fraternal love. At the end, the Assembly turned out to be a fruitful “workshop” to which everyone contributed. Realistic evaluation and prospects for the future were made with careful consideration of different aspects of our life.
We have endeavoured to look at everything from the point of view of hope and to the revitalization of our mission. These meetings are good for us. They strengthen our identity as Redemptorists: they remind us of the greatness of our vocation and help us to breathe the universality of our Congregation. We thank the Visitors for encouraging us and helping us to enter more consciously from the perspective of change, attentive to the signs of the times, in response to the “wounded” world.
Vincenzo La Mendola CSsR
