On Saturday, 27 April, the international Redemptorist community of Saint Alphonsus in Rome participated in a training meeting led by Father Gerardo Hernandez, CSsR, executive director of the General Secretariat for Formation. The meeting was organized as part of the series of initiatives of the year dedicated to Redemptorist Formation.
In the first part of the meeting, Fr. Gerardo presented a proposal focused on two aspects that are significant for our growth as confreres: the Redemptorist charism and ongoing formation. He described the specific character of our charism and explained how it manifests itself both in the life of Saint Alphonsus, the Redemptorist Saints and blessed and in our life.
Then, Fr. Gerardo spoke about the Redemptorist style in ongoing formation. He recalled the guidelines and criteria taken from our documents: Constitutions and Statutes of the Redemptorist Congregation and the Ratio Formationis Generalis. He stated that ongoing learning is necessary to develop and grow in life in a way that touches the core of the person. Fr. Gerardo underlined that the person is the agent of his own formation by going through the different phases of his life. In this process of maturing as a human and consecrated person, the Redemptorist community plays an important role as it is a place and subject of formation.
In the end, Fr. Gerardo invited those present to divide into small groups and share their personal experience: Why am I a Redemptorist? Why do I continue to be a Redemptorist today? As emerged from subsequent conversations, the confreres greatly appreciated this form of dialogue and mutual sharing with each other the testimony of living the Redemptorist vocation and charism.
The meeting ended with the celebration of the Eucharist in the chapel of the house, presided over by Fr. Gerardo, who also gave the homily.
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