Cuernavaca, Mexico. Augustinian Recollect religious from Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, Costa Rica, and the United States are participating in a significant ongoing formation encounter aimed at the 40 to 55 year old stage, which is taking place at the Casa de la Recolección, in the city of Cuernavaca, state of Morelos.
The formative process, framed within the Order’s itinerary, has as its inspiring motto the Augustinian expression “Make me remember you” (De Trinitate 15,51), an invitation to delve deeper into the memory of God as the unifying axis of personal, community, and ministerial life.
Human development and vocational maturity
The first week of the meeting, from Monday, January 12 to Friday, January 16, was dedicated to human development. The sessions were accompanied by Fr. José Víctor Orón, a Piarist religious, who offered reflections and tools regarding the person, the norm, the rule, disaffection, and other key elements to understand the processes of growth and maturity in consecrated life.
This space allowed participants to review their own life journey, confront experiences, and open paths of integration between vocation, affectivity, and mission.
Historical memory and fraternal life
On Saturday the 17th, under the guidance of Fr. Gabriel García, OAR, the religious made a visit to nearby municipalities where old monasteries are preserved that, in their time, belonged to the Order of Saint Augustine. This experience favored contact with the historical memory and the spiritual legacy that continues to enrich the life of the Augustinian family.
Throughout the days, the spaces of fraternal coexistence fostered dialogue about cultural and geographical differences, but also about the shared experiences that unite the religious as Catholic Church and as Augustinian Recollects.
On Sunday the 18th, after the celebration of Holy Mass in the religious house of the Augustinian Recollects, the participants took a tour of the historic center of Cuernavaca, thus integrating faith, culture, and fraternity.
Serving from one’s own gift and leading from trust
Between Monday the 19th and Thursday the 22nd, accompanied the meeting Fr. Héctor Manuel Calderón Muñoz, OAR , master of novices in the convent Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria (Ráquira, Boyacá, Colombia). His formative proposal, entitled “Serving from one’s own gift”, combined systematic expositions with playful dynamics, helping the religious to recognize and put the personal gifts received at the service of the community.
On Friday the 23rd, through the Zoom platform, Mr. Juan Goñi , from Spain, offered the presentation “Leading from trust”, underlining the importance of an evangelical leadership based on credibility, closeness, and co-responsibility.
Encounter with the faith and culture of Mexico
On Saturday the 24th a recreational outing was made to the archaeological complex of Teotihuacan, in the State of Mexico. The day concluded with a meal in a nearby place, where the participants were able to enjoy the typical gastronomy and expressions of Mexican folklore, strengthening the fraternal ties in a relaxed atmosphere.
One of the most significant moments took place on Sunday the 25th, with the concelebration of the Holy Mass in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, presided over by Mons. Javier Acero, OAR , auxiliary bishop of Mexico City, and concelebrated by Mons. Héctor Mario Pérez Villarreal , also auxiliary bishop, together with the rector of the sanctuary and numerous religious priests. The celebration, lived before thousands of faithful, was a profound experience of ecclesial communion.
Later, the participants shared lunch in the religious house next to the Parish of Our Lady of Czestochowa, in Tecamachalco, and prayed Vespers in the monastery of the Augustinian Recollects, before returning to Cuernavaca.
Charism, interiority, and spiritual renewal
From Monday the 26th to Thursday the 29th, Fr. Francisco Javier Monroy, OAR , developed the theme “Charismatic experience and personal growth”, integrating group dynamics and elements of the Order’s Formation School “In imum cordis”, aimed at deepening interiority and the experience of the Augustinian Recollect charism.
The process culminated on Friday the 30th with a spiritual retreat centered on the theme “Born again”, guided by Fr. Miguel Miró Miró, OAR , lived in a climate of silence, prayer, and recollection.
A formative areopagus at the service of the mission
The participants express their gratitude to the Order of Augustinian Recollects for this experience of ongoing formation, lived as an authentic formative areopagus, which strengthens vocational fidelity, renews missionary commitment, and consolidates fraternal communion at the service of the Church.
