THE CHAPTER COMES TO AN END

When the Chapter began on the 30th day of April, the last day seemed “very far off”.  Now more than a month has passed, lived intensely by all who have taken part in this experience in the “Casa Generalizia”.

Brother Alvaro will give the closing address of the 44th General Chapter.  It will be followed by a Mass of Thanksgiving and the closing supper.  The day after will be one of airports and returns to the Brothers’ respective countries of origin.  And so begins the period of seven intercapitular years.  God be blessed.  Once more His presence has been felt among us.

THE FINAL STAGE OF THE CHAPTER

With the same upbeat spirit of the first day of the Chapter and the satisfaction of a job well done, the Capitulants have begun the last stage of their work.  They are today meeting as Regions with Brother Superior and his Council.  That follows a timetable of the day for PARC, RELAF, RELAL, RELEM and the USA/TORONTO, in that order.  It provides the opportunity to share, separately, their respective strengths, needs and concerns.

“Being Brothers Today: Challenges and Horizons” will be the general title that will introduce the entire work of the Chapter.  Two messages were approved in the Chapter Hall, one the, “Message for the Brothers all over the World” and the other the “Message to the Lasallian Family”.  They are two solid texts, communicating the sentiments of the Capitulants as they come to the end of the Chapter.

CHANGES IN THE RULE

At one time an Ad Hoc Commission was formed for the study of possible changes for the Rule of the Brothers.  Their advice was not to simply make small adjustments.  For a broader study more time would be necessary.  The decision of this Chapter has been to commend the work to Brother Superior General and his Council so that the revision would be discussed and approved in an extraordinary Chapter that would be convoked for that purpose within some years, or dedicating a special session of the 45th Ordinary Chapter of 2014 for the same.

THE FINAL DOCUMENTS ARE APPROVED

The Thematic Groups have been gathering up the suggestions and corrections offered by the Capitulants. They were contrasted with the first drafts of the pertinent texts and the results have been a marked improvement. The discussions and debates have been very good. At the end the Institute will have a series of Documents that will provide inspiration for the next seven years. The Documents so far approved are:

The results, projected electronically on to the big screen, largely reflected consensus as shown by the majority of “affirmative” votes. In the case of “Service of the Poor” there was unanimity of “yes” votes”. Now the Committee of Listening and Writing as well as a few linguistic experts will be redacting all the documents for uniformity of style and with the occasional corrections of spelling and grammar. The documents will finally be published and sent throughout the Institute in official form by Brother Superior General and his Council.

56 HOURS OF FILMING FOR A VIDEO OF 5 MINUTES

A huge poster with the well-known image of de La Salle face has been very visible in the Sanctuary of the Generalate.  It has often appeared on the large screen of the Chapter Hall.  What is fascinating about it is that it is composed of a mosaic of photos.  It is the image that we will carry as a memory of this Chapter.

The Capitulants have heard the beautiful story of this composition.  They have seen the video of just five minutes that required a full 56 hours of filming.  The Brothers of the San Francisco District contracted a filmmaker, Scott Gibbs, to make a film that would bring out the meaning of the Lasallian charism.  For three months, he and his photographer traveled over 80,000 Kms. visiting seven countries where the Brothers of the district either have personnel or have financed Institute programs.

On completing the work, Mr. Gibbs and his photographer wished to speak at a district gathering to tell all that they had found the same Lasallian spirit throughout all those lands.  “The same blood runs through your veins”.  Of the thousands of photographs taken, a large selection was made to compose the mosaic of the Founder.

Three weeks ago with the Chapter already in full activity, word was received that Scott Gibbs has died in California of leukemia.  We remain with his last work of art.

BOOK OF BROTHER ALVARO’S WRITINGS, GIFT OF ARLEP

The President of ARLEP, Brother Ismel Beltrán, addressed the Assembly in order to offer Brother Alvaro and all the Capitulants a copy of “A Passion for Hope: Charism and Profecy in the Consecrated Life”,  which is a collection of the Superior General’s recent writings. 

With this gift, ARLEP wishes to give tribute, thanks and recognition for the work which he has done over the past seven years.  Brother Alvaro addressed the Assembly expressing both his surprise and gratitude.  He commented, “This is my first book”…  Given the fact that he has seven more years of service as Superior, General, perhaps in 2014, we will see a second book.

WORK IN PROGRESS FOR THE CHAPTER

The conclusion of the Chapter is imminent, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be finished.  In the Chapter sessions, documents are being presented and enriched through discussion.  The Assembly moderators continue to direct voting procedures to assist the teams and Groups in the writing of their final texts.  Among the themes being discussed are:

• Approval of Chapter Documents
  
  
• Document on the Accompaniment of young Brothers
  
  
• Changes to the Rule
  
  
• Approval of 1st AIMEL proposal
  
  
• Final message to the Brothers
  
  
• Final message to the Lasallian Family
  
  
• Approval of final text  style
  
  
• Approval of Thematic Group texts
  
  

BROTHER DAVID HAWKE GIVEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE

By right of Office, Brother Alvaro extended an invitation to two Regional Superiors (REL & PARC) to attend the Chapter (who were not elected), but without the the right to vote.  Upon being elected as General Councilor for the PARC Region, Brother David Hawke (New Zealand) has been granted voting privileges.  The total of voting

Capitulants has now increased from 101 Capitulants to 102. 

PASSING OF CAPITULANT’S FATHER

For the second time, a Capitulant has had to leave Rome due to the death of a loved one.  In the opening days of the Chapter, Brother Antonio Botana (Spain) lost his mother.  Today, we were informed of the passing of Brother Hilaire Raharilalao’s (Madagascar) father.  The Capitulants are united in prayer with Brother Hilaire amd his family 

MEETINGS OF THE NEW GENERAL COUNCIL

Since the election of Brother Thomas Johnson as Vicar General, Brother Alvaro has maintained close contact with him.  The new General Council has already had its first meeting. 

During the next few days, the Superior General, Vicar General and the three Councilors who will reside in Rome, will be meeting with each of the Regions.   The Regional Councilor for each respective region will also be present at these meetings.

The Capitulants from PARC, RELAF, RELAL, RELEM and the USA-TORONTO Regions will have the opportunity to share, in their respective groups, their needs and concerns with the new General Council.