“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is, when brothers live in unity!” (Ps 133:1)
What more can you ask for when Franciscan friars from all over Asia come together and the conversations and care flow so naturally between them? That is what happened when the participants of the Asian Franciscan Formators’ Training (AFFT) gathered in Manila for the two-week Opening Residency Programme held from 16 to 29 June.
As programme coordinator, I watched this beautiful reality unfold with gratefulness and amazement. These eight friars from Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam had interacted for three months in Zoom tutorials and online forum discussions, but this was the first time the entire group had met in person. Two of the participants are from our very own Custody of St Anthony – Friar Aiden Peter and Friar Cosmas Francis.
The in-person gathering was planned as a time of fraternal bonding and mutual sharing because formation does not touch only the intellect. The formation of formators must touch the heart, where love abides. The raw material of our spiritual life is our personal experience of God, of love from our family and loved ones, and our experiences of joy, sadness, fear and anxiety. These emotions, whether positive or negative, must be embraced to properly discern our vocation as Franciscan consecrated persons.
The trainers for the two in-person modules – Group Facilitation and Empathic Listening – ensured that the participants had plenty of experiential learning. The friar participants took to these interactive activities easily and had much fun while doing so!
In the feedback session, the participants expressed gratitude for the time together and shared that they had found the fraternal connection very life-giving. They said that they felt more empowered to become better formators and were grateful to the benefactors and friends of the friars for their continued support and prayers.
On the Custody front, all our friars gathered at the beginning of July for a five-day retreat in Cameron Highlands with Friar Paul Rout OFM, an Australian Franciscan Philosopher teaching in the United Kingdom. The Custody friars have a retreat together every three years to connect deeply with God, and to talk about our spiritual lives and what connects us as Franciscans. This is imperative as our intimacy with God impacts our relationships with our fellow friars and the people we minister to.
In July, our two postulants, Jonathan Ng (Singapore) and Maximillian Alexson (Sarawak), had a unique opportunity during their seminary break for a pastoral exposure in another entity. They spent some time in the Cebu Province serving alongside the friars there in their various ministry outreaches to the poor and marginalised, and in inter-religious dialogue. Jonathan also spent some time in June with the Myanmarese refugees in Kuala Lumpur, and he shares his reflection on this experience in this issue of St Anthony’s Bread.
All in all, we are grateful to God for the many varied experiences and ministries we friars have. And we are always grateful to you, our benefactors and friends, for your continued trust in us to serve and encounter those whom God sends our way. Please continue to pray for us as we pray for you and your loved ones.
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