Sunday, December 23, 2012

Ignatian Family Confluence -Frs Anthony Pitchai and Richard Lopes




Ignatian Family Confluence

The Province Commission for Ignatian Spirituality under the co-ordination of Fr Shekhar Manickam organized the Ignatian Family confluence on 4 March at Jeevan Darshan, Vadodara. Fifteen Jesuits including Fr Jose Changa, the Provincial, along with 18 representatives including the Major Superiors of various Sisters’ congregations inspired by Ignatian charism and spirituality (working in Gujarat thus belonging to the Ignatian family) participated in this “unique and path breaking gathering, the first of its kind.” The objective was: Being together, sharing what is common to us both at the personal level and at the level of our apostolate, learning from each other certain Ignatian insights for mutual enrichment and charting a future Common Action Plan.

In his orientation address, Fr Changa warmly welcomed all the participants and stressed the need unitedly to discover, acknowledge and celebrate our common Ignatian roots, to listen to one another’s God-experiences, to speak about our ‘consolations’ and ‘desolations’ and to engage in ‘spiritual conversation.’

The eight Ignatian Family congregations present shared “The Meaning and Role of Ignatian Spirituality in their Congregation”. Their presentations highlighted the importance of Ignatian spirituality in their congregations and how it is lived out in their apostolates.

It was a positive family experience and much appreciated by all the participants. All those present felt that the Ignatian family meetings should be held on a regular basis in the future for creative collaboration. Our spiritual conversations, we hope, would help us to celebrate our common roots and thus become a vibrant Ignatian Family in Gujarat. (Anthony Pitchai / Richard Lopes).

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