General Chapter of Diffinitors
8th day
Tultenango, July 23, 2022
Saturday, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, began with the recitation of lauds and the celebration of the Eucharist, presided over by Friar Emiliano Vanoli, OP, of the Province of St. Augustine, Argentina; the homily was given by Friar Oscar Guayán, OP, of the Province of St. Luis Bertrán, Colombia. Oscar commented on the phrase of the Gospel: “Let them grow together, the wheat and the weeds, until the harvest”. He also emphasized prudence in the face of evil, which implies acting in the right way and at the right time, trusting that God is compassionate and gives us the necessary time.
Oscar pointed out: “Many times one wonders: why must we insist so many times on the same things? It is then that we must remember that patience and time allow us to achieve greater success than force or passion; that insistence is also a form of action and that each step is support and impulse for the next one”. He then invited us to pray “to the patient and merciful God so that hope may solidly strengthen our faith, and thus hope, as preachers who make God’s desire their own: that all men and women may be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth (1 Tim 2:4)”.
The commissions of Studies, Formation and Constitutions (LCO) presented their reports, previously translated into the three languages (Spanish, English and French), so that the president and secretary of each commission could present them to the plenary. In general, the commissions received several suggestions so that they could effectively conclude their work. This dynamic allows them to sound out the opinion of the Chapter and to have an indicative and non-binding vote. On Monday, the presentation of reports will continue in the plenary.
After the day’s work, during dinner, a mariachi group, that is, a typical Mexican music ensemble, entertained with some songs representative of the host country of the General Chapter, among them “Cielito lindo”. After that, the friars of the Province of Santiago of Mexico performed for the capitulars: “The Shout of Independence of Mexico” that the Mexicans commemorate on September 15 to celebrate the beginning of the war of independence that began in the early morning of September 16, 1810.
This celebration consists of a shout, where the person who emits it pronounces praises to the heroes who gave homeland to the Mexicans, among them, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest who in the early morning of the mentioned date, ringing the bell of his church, in the town of Dolores, Gto., Mexico, summoned the inhabitants to take up arms against the Spaniards who at that time governed the New Spain, later known as Mexico.
Since it was a celebration for the Capitulars, in keeping with current sensibilities that seek to overcome the differences between the victors and the vanquished, the Mexican friars commissioned a Spanish friar, Juan Luis Mediavilla, OP, to pronounce the cry of independence. With this simple and significant gesture, in addition to highlighting that there is no enmity between Mexicans and Spaniards, the Mexican friars expressed their gratitude and affection to the current Province of Hispania, whose friars, in the 1960s, restored the Province of Mexico, henceforth called the Province of Santiago de Mexico.
As if that were not enough, the Mexican friars added another cry to the celebration, entrusted to Friar Gerard Fco. Timoner III, OP, Master of the Order, who praised Saint Dominic of Caleruega, our father, together with some saints of our beloved Order of Preachers. After that, the celebration continued with some songs by the aforementioned mariachi, who encouraged the friars to sing and dance some Mexican songs. The joy of this tricolor culture was present in the various faces of the capitular friars who allowed themselves to be infected by the folklore of the Mexicans.
To conclude the day, we entrusted ourselves to the prayers of the whole Order and of the Dominican family, in order to continue the work of this Chapter.
