Benlutu – Soe – Indonesia. Responding to the call of the XXVI General Chapter to be rooted in Christ and be audacious in mission, the Claretian Missionaries of the Independent Delegation of Indonesia-Timor Leste have begun their annual retreat and assembly facilitated by Frs. Valens Agino and Eugenio Paul Madoni, cmff. Both participated in the XXVI General Chapter from August 15 to September 11 in Nemi.
Due to the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the vast archipelagic reality of the delegation, this annual retreat and assembly is divided into six groups and five different locations: West Timor and Flores 1, West Timor and Flores 2, Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi and Timor Leste. The first group began their inner journey reflecting and discerning this profound call at the Claret Retreat House in Benlutu from October 11-16, 2021, while the rest of the group will follow the schedule programmed by the facilitators. The last group will be our missionaries in Timor Leste from December 15-21, 2021.
Fr. Valens, in his opening remarks, said,
“this retreat and assembly is a good time to listen and discern as a delegation the fruit of the conversations we have had from the first conversation in our own local community until we return to our local community to carry this fruit and the deep call to be rooted in Christ and bold in mission.”
This retreat and assembly are not only to familiarize ourselves as well as to deepen step by step in this new chapter document, but as a delegation it is a moment to discern together the path and commitment we have to take according to this deep call. Following the method of sharing stories and narratives, as in the General Chapter, the two facilitators guided the participants to discover, dream and design and finally make a missionary commitment to make those dreams come true in the context of Indonesia-Timor Leste.
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