From Sunday, 16 July to Saturday, 22 July, the student friars of the Southern Cone met in the city of Buenos Aires to share, pray and reflect together. The gathering consisted of students from the Province of Bartolomé de las Casas of Brazil, the Vicariate of Antón Montesino of the Province of Hispania in Asunción and Montevideo, two deacon brothers from the Vice-Province of Santa Catalina of Ecuador, and of course the brothers of the Province of St. Augustine of Argentina and Chile who were the hosts.
The aim of the meeting was to get to know each other, to build fraternity, and to deepen our understanding of the Ratio Formationis Generalis (RFG). We also discussed our experience of study as a part of Dominican spirituality and the challenges it presents to us. Br Pablo Sicouly, OP, Vicar of the Master and Socius for the Intellectual Life of the Order, and Br Juan Manuel Hernández, OP, Socius for Fraternal Life and Formation joined us for the event.
During the meeting we had the opportunity to deepen our understanding of the most essential elements of the RFG, recalling the importance of personal responsibility in formation, the work of the formation community and the centrality of the Word of God as the focal point of Dominican life and, therefore, of initial and ongoing formation. We also reflected on the challenges of study and its importance today in the mission of the Order. It was especially significant to examine more closely the elements that make up the intellectual tradition of the Order, the Salamanca Process and to understand study as “misericordia veritatis.“
We are especially grateful to the brothers in Buenos Aires for their preparations and hospitality. For all of us it has been a time of renewal in our vocation as well as an experience of the communion that preaching and St. Dominic continue to offer us through the richness of each brother and our community. Thank you very much!
Fr Ignacio Castro, OP
