Bogotá (Colombia), August 2018, Sr. Luz Karime Mancipe.- "The forming community as an ecosystem of formation", it was the theme proposed for the course of Dominican Formators, organized by CODALC (Confederation of Dominican Sisters of Latin America and the Caribbean) and CIDALC (Interprovincial Conference of Dominicans of Latin America and the Caribbean), which was developed from 16 to 26 in August, at the "Casa de Encuentros Santa Luisa" of the Vincentian Sisters, in Bogotá, Colombia.
The Course had as hosts all the formators and trainers in their different stages and also the superiors, prioresses and priors of the communities where there are houses or convents of formation. In charge of Fr. Rafael Colomé and Sr. Viviana Sisack, in collaboration with other friars and sisters of the Order. The methodology used in the morning, was a group work between friars and sisters, and individual work in the afternoon. In this way, in the morning more doctrinal subjects were treated and, in the afternoon, a space was allowed to talk about own things of each group. We presented a memory of the path traveled in the courses from 2005 to the present and the justification of the subject of this course within the Integrative Theological Model of Christological Theology.
Sister Ana Francisca Vergara, Dominican Sister of the Presentation, presented "Elements for a preaching in an ecological key" from Gn 1 and 2. Leaving hermeneutical challenging keys. In addition, the integration of "interculturality", "intergenerational", "interprovincial" and international." "The new generations asked for the word!" the Sr. Juliana Triana Palomino, Dominican Sister of the Presentation. She made an exegesis of Jn 6,1-15 "Bread and fish in abundance" for an exodus towards to a human and Christian liberating formation.
The work was complemented by "The structures of government in a training community: to form for dialogue and dominican democracy. Community meetings, chapters, house council, local council and provincial formation” Speaker Fr. Vivian Boland spoke about the four aspects that exist in an ecosystem. He presented some numbers of the Ratio Formationis Generalis (RFG) that talk about the formation in dialogue and participation in our self-government form. For some dominicans the structures of self-government are essential if we want to grow according to our nature. We cannot be happy if we are not involved in the government of our lives and the life of the ecosystem.
Our brother Rafael Colomé Angelats shared the theme of the Dominican Community, an ecosystem for the integral growth of the friar and sister preacher. forming for integral maturity. He recalled that in the founding charism, Santo Domingo wanted community life as an evangelical project of life. We are called to live in community for living this evangelical project, we are together to live more than human projects. Thus, for dominicans, the community life is an essential part of our way of life.
“Affective consistency and feelings of belonging to the community”. The affective world of the formers, richness and challenges "The role of spirituality in the formation of a disciple of Jesus" the formation as a process of human-spiritual and charismatic (Dominican) growth. Consistencies and inconsistencies vocationals. Forming for the acquisition of the study as habitus ("Vital attitude") of the dominican and his/her service to the cause of Jesus “The diversity of bonds as a wealth of a training community". Speaker: Fray Adhemar Ventura..
It ended with "Dominican contemplation." Its relationship with ecology, the poors, the reality, the study, the fraternal life, the common prayer, etc. Speaker: Sr. Marcela Soto. "Dominican communities are like ecological systems, conceived to maintain unusual forms of life. Dominican life also requires its own ecosystem, if we want to live in fullness and preach the word of life. But it is not enough to talk about it; we have to plan and build diligently these dominican ecosystems. This concerns first of all, each community. Brothers and sisters who live together have to create communities which we can not only survive, but growing".
More than 15 Dominican communities, including ours, participated in the course. Five sisters attended the Presentation: María Eugenia Ordoñez Maldonado, Anayibe Flórez and Luz Karime Mancipe (Province of Bucaramanga), Maribel Burgos (Province of Los Andes) and Doris Gilma Sorro (Province of Guadalupe).
Click on the arrows to move