The 26 capitulars, gathered in the Desert of Candelaria, begin a new page in the history of their province. At the opening Eucharist, the Prior General invited them to listen to the Holy Spirit, care for their brothers, and prepare the future of new vocations.
The Prior General presided over the opening Eucharist of the 82nd Provincial Chapter of the Province of Our Lady of Candelaria this October 12. The celebration began at 6:00 PM Colombian time in the Desert of Candelaria, where the 26 capitulars who will participate in the discernment regarding the future of the province are gathered.
At the Mass of the Holy Spirit, the Prior General placed prayer at the center of the capitular proceedings:
“Before speaking, we invoke. Before voting, we pray. Before discussing what we are going to do, we ask the Holy Spirit to remind us who we are.”
The invocation of the Spirit, he explained, expresses the need to receive from God the life that sustains the community. For this reason, he recalled that “a Province is not saved by organizational charts, and life is not manufactured in a chapter hall: it is received.”
Listening to the Spirit and preparing the future of vocations
Drawing from the assembly of Jerusalem narrated in the Acts of the Apostles, the Prior General invited the capitulars to ask themselves what they wish to offer to those who join religious life. He recognized the presence of young people and vocations in the province as a blessing and posed a question about the responsibility of accompanying them: “What yoke are we going to place upon them? One that helps them to be happy in this life, or one that we ourselves have not been able to bear?”
His reflection linked the future of these vocations with the ability to distinguish the indispensable and to review the burdens borne by the brothers. “Let us ask the Spirit for the grace of Jerusalem: to know what is indispensable, and let us not be afraid of discussion; let us be afraid of a lack of discernment,” he exhorted.
To do this, he called for a listening that allows for the recognition of both difficulties and God’s action in the province. The capitular assembly, he noted, needs to face conflicts head-on without losing sight of the signs of life that already exist: “I ask this of you for these days: silence to listen to each other, and eyes to see God also working in our fragility.”
The Prior General also emphasized the personal responsibility of those participating in decisions. “The Spirit does not replace our responsibility; it illuminates it. And we do not replace the Spirit; we give it body.”
From this perspective, he encouraged them to prepare community life for the young people knocking at their doors: “But the land that the Spirit repopulates must be prepared, just as a house is prepared for those who are coming: with space, with light, and with joy. That is also the work of this Chapter.”
Caring for the brothers and returning to the essential
Fraternity occupied another central place in the homily. Commenting on the Gospel of the disciples gathered behind closed doors, the Prior General warned that sharing the same roof does not guarantee communion: “Fear has that capacity: it gathers us, but it does not unite us. It protects us, but it does not make us live.”
In the face of fears that can condition decisions, he recalled Saint Augustine’s desire to form communities with God at the center. This orientation is also concretized in the care of older, sick, tired, or wounded brothers.
Contemplating the wounds of the risen Christ, he made a direct call to place people at the center of provincial life:
“A wounded brother cannot be a number to complete a community; he is Christ who reveals himself to us and asks to be cared for.”
The chapter, he added, offers an opportunity to heal the wounds of coexistence and renew fraternal bonds. “A Chapter is also a time of mercy. A Province cannot be restructured without reconciling the brothers.”
In the final part of his homily, the Prior General turned his gaze to Our Lady of Candelaria and to the origins of the province in the desert of Ráquira. Evoking Simeon and Anna, he highlighted the mission of the elders to “recognize what God is bringing forth and allow it to grow.”
The place hosting the 26 capitulars thus became an invitation to recover the roots of their vocation:
“This Province was not born in a great work, but in a place of silence, poverty, and prayer.” And he added: “Sometimes we must return to the desert for the water to spring forth again.”
With this call to prayer, discernment, and mutual care, a new page begins in the history of the Province of Our Lady of Candelaria. The Prior General concluded by entrusting this path to Mary and Saint Augustine:
“May Our Lady of Candelaria, who carried the Light in her arms, teach us to carry it in fragile hands. May our Father Saint Augustine restore to us the joy of living together.”
