Live Jesus !
Samarpanaram, October 10th,2005

Dear confrere!

As the General Meeting 2005 approaches I would like to request you to prepare yourself for the upcoming meeting.

I add to this letter three proposals and four areas of discussion that come from the advisory board for your kind information and preparation. In addition to that I add the agenda for the General Meeting so that you have an idea about the process.

We will start the General Meeting 2005 with a Holy Eucharist on October 29 at 8.30 AM. I expect all to be present for that mass. Thereafter I will give a report about the region and how I see it at present. We will then continue with reports of each perpetually professed member. In these reports (max. 8 minutes) we would like each perpetually professed member to review in brief his personal situation as a DeSales Oblate. Everyone in one way or the other should answer following questions:

1. My ministry, my responsibilities
2. How was my last year as DeSales Oblate?
3. What was good?
4. What could have been better?
5. What is my vision as an Oblate-priest?
6. What kind of support do I expect?
7. How do I experience being away from the community?
8. What helped me to grow as an Oblate?

This is mainly a time where we will listen to each other, where everyone has the opportunity to speak, to share and to give some feedback as to where he is personally as DeSales Oblate.

After this I will present to the General Meeting the decisions the advisory board has taken in the last two years. Then we will break up in groups and will ask for a critical evaluation of the decisions taken by the advisory board. Each group will have some time to collect it in the group and every group will then report its result to the General Assembly. This all should help us to grow as community.

After the group reports we will take some time to discuss following matters:

1. Proposal 1 – Retreat and General Meeting in May
2. Proposal 2 – The Philippines
3. Proposal 3 – BA, Novitiate, Philosophy
4. Area of Discussion - Financial Situation of the Region
5. Area of Discussion - School
6. Area of Discussion – Novitiate
7. Area of Discussion – Theologate (Br. John George – Experience in Jeppu/Mangalore)
8. General Chapter 2006
9. Any other matters

 

At last we will proceed to the election of three advisory board members for the next two years as well as of one delegate of India to the General Chapter 2006 and his alternate.

In the evening the scholastics of Samarpanaram are preparing a Community evening that I am sure we will all enjoy.

On Sunday morning, at 8.30 AM the Region will celebrate Founders’ day with the Sunday Mass community at Samarpanaram with the first mass in Samarpanaram of Fr. Bruzily. After Mass we will have coffee and cake with all people present. Our meeting will then resume and last no longer than 5 PM. This will give everyone plenty of time to return to his respective place of ministry.

Once more I kindly request you to prepare yourself spiritually for our meeting. It is us who are shaping the future of the region; it is us who can work for the betterment of it. I am really looking forward to see you soon. Please remember the meeting in your prayers.

Finally let me say a few words to our upcoming Founders’ Day. I would like to wish and remember all of you in a special way on that day.

1. We give thanks for every Oblate who gave his life for the Congregation. This includes our founders in Troyes, but it also includes many confreres who have contributed to the foundation of the Oblates all around the world and in India. And it includes you and me.
2. We give thanks for what has been entrusted to us: our Constitutions, Saint Francis de Sales’ writings, the Bible, but also the people in our care, our parishioners, our candidates, our communities, the people we minister to, our friends and relatives.
3. We give thanks to God for calling us, for giving us ears to hear his call, and for giving us creativity to answer his call.

Saint Francis de Sales once said to the Sisters of the Visitation: “We cannot continually have the presence of God; that belongs to angels. It is sufficient if we keep ourselves therein as much as possible and often lift up our minds to God. When we do something for God, that is living in his presence.” On this Founders’ Day let us lift up our mind to him. Whatever we do on that day, let us do it for God. Happy Founders’ Day!

 

Fr. Sebastian Leitner

AGENDA FOR THE GENERAL MEETING 2005

1. Report of Fr. Sebastian about the Region
2. Report of every perpetually professed member
3. Presentation of the decisions taken by the advisory board
4. Group work – Critical Evaluation
5. Presentation of results of group work
6. Proposal 1 – Retreat and General Meeting in May
7. Proposal 2 – The Philippines
8. Proposal 3 – BA, Novitiate, Philosophy
9. Area of discussion - Financial Situation of the Region
10. Area of discussion - School
11. Area of discussion – Novitiate
12. Area of Discussion – Theologate
13. General Chapter 2006
14. Any other matters
15. Election of three members to the advisory board for the next two years
16. Election of one delegate to the General Chapter 2006 and one alternate

 

Tentative Timetable

Saturday, October 29, 2005
8.30 AM              Holy Eucharist
9.45 AM              First Session
11.00 AM            Break - Coffee
11.15 AM            Second Session
12.15 PM             Visit
12.30 PM             Lunch
2.00 PM                               Third Session
3.45 PM                               Tea
4.15 PM                               Fourth Session
7.00 PM                               Evening Prayer
7.30 PM                               Supper
8.30 PM                               Community Program

Sunday, October 30, 2005
7.00 AM              Morning Prayer
7.15 AM              Breakfast
8.30 AM              Founders’ Day, First Mass in Samarpanaram Fr. Bruzily
10.00 AM            Fifth Session
12.15 PM             Visit
12.30 PM             Lunch
2.00 PM                               Sixth Session
5.00 PM                               Tea and End of General Meeting

PROPOSALS

Proposal 1

That the time for the General Meeting be shifted from the last weekend of October to the second week of May. It should start with a retreat for the Fathers and finally professed members and be followed by the General Meeting. The Delegate Superior should look into organizing the venue and the retreat preacher who should preferably be from a Salesian - Oblate background.

Rationale
It is good for the region to come together for prayer and retreat. The date in October seems not be fit to provide everyone with enough time for the General Meeting as well as for the retreat. Every Oblate Priest would be expected to participate in this retreat cum General Meeting.

Submitted by: Advisory Board of Oblate Asia

Proposal 2

That the Indian confreres commit themselves to contribute one Indian Father to support the Philippine project and to ensure its continuity. For the time the Indian confrere is in the Philippines he would fall under the authority of the local superior in the Philippines.

Rationale
As contribution from our side to the endeavors of the Congregation, in gratitude for the confreres who have been in India for a similar reason, in making more concrete our decision of October 2003 regarding an outreach of the Indian community to the Philippines
“At present the Indian community does not see itself able to answer this call appropriately. However, even now the Indian community would be supportive to any initiative of the Generalate to continue in the Philippines by providing personnel because it understands the urgent need for the Congregation to expand its ministry there. The Indian community would also consider the Philippines as its primary place for those confreres who are sent for higher studies/courses in order to get first hand experiences with its culture, language … and to nourish the interest about the Philippines within the Indian community.”

Submitted by: Advisory Board of Oblate Asia

Proposal 3

That the formation program be changed as follows for all candidates
After having completed their +2 studies or their year of orientation in Salespuram, every candidate will first be asked to study for his BA in a regular College (at present SFS College Hebbagodi) according to the needs of the Congregation and the talents of the individual. He will live in Samarpanaram. After these 3 years of attending a regular College, he will then join the novitiate. Finally he would attend the two years program of Philosophy at Suvidya as professed religious.

Rationale
The last General Meeting of Final Professed Members of OSFS Asia encouraged its regional leadership to send young OSFS to be trained in psychology, (Eastern) spirituality or any other secular studies (beyond our traditional field of education), in order to be better able to meet the challenging and changing needs in different parts of India, to ensure financial income and financial independence, and to get easier in touch with church - distant people.

The only way to do this practically is to separate Philosophy and BA studies. Since the separation has to take place anyway, it comes down to the question what to do first. It has been our common experience over the last few years, that an older age for novitiate would be recommendable. Our young confreres would so be able to make an even better life decision for the religious life. Some recent departures from the Congregation would also indicate this.

Submitted by: Advisory Board of Oblate Asia

Areas of discussion

1. Financial Situation of the Region
2. School
3. Novitiate
4. Theologate

 

SHORT Minutes of our last advisory board meeting on October 8th 2005

• The minutes of the last meeting were approved.
• Br. John George’s was admitted into candidacy for deaconate and priesthood.
• Bala Dande, Chandra Shekar; short discussion
• Bruzily assigned as assistant parish priest to Mudhur until January 20th 2006.
• Fr. Mathew Mukkath confirmed as Vocation Promotor, Fr. Xavier Manchu being appointed Assistant Vocation Promotor.
• Fr. Sebastian was appointed archivist of the region.
• The school team’s report was read and discussed. Thanks to the work of the team. Fr. Mathew will give a report to the General Meeting about the present thinking of the Advisory Board regarding school.
• Discussion of representation of Oblate Asia to the General Chapter.
• Clarification concerning studies after 10th.  Decision was published in July Newsletter.
• Discussion on BA, Philosophy, Novitiate. Result of discussion is proposal 3.
• Purchase of the 20 cents of land, opposite our main gate, next to our neighbors on the right side in Salespuram; decided two year earlier.
• The discussion on the Philippines and India ended in the formulation of Proposal 2.
• Discussion of assignments for 2006-2007
• The conversion of the land for the hostel in Samarpanaram was discussed.
•  Proposal 1 for the General Meeting was discussed.
• The General Meeting was discussed and prepared.

 

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