July 24. Our Shared Mission and Charism with Lay People

We began the day with a time of prayer on the Call to Discipleship with the text from Is 49. The recognition of the marvel of the call runs into a sense of disappointment (v. 4), tiredness, but in spite of it, the Lord renews the call and reminds us of His faithfulness (v.7) and offers us new hope.

During the sessions today, the lay people presented their experience of collaboration with us and how the Claretian charism -including the heritage of Maria Antonia Paris and St. Anthony Mary Claret- has influenced their lives and work. The first group to present was Gadys and Mirtha who spoke about our Schools in the Latin American Province. 

Then Carlos talked about schools in the European Province. Jose Manuel of the General Council of Economy, shared about his work with the congregation, and to close Ricardo, from the Lay Claretian Family in Santiago de Cuba presented how it was born and how it operates, most importantly, how it has helped them grow as persons and Christians. Amparo presented on the work and operation of Korima, the Claretian ONG.

Sister Ascencion shared the feedback received about the questionnaire on whether we should structure some type of association for lay people, In small groups we discussed the different options and proposed ideas on the topic.