The APIA conference 2002, Fiji.

With thanks to Dominic Gleeson for sending these reports and photos.

The APIA conference began this evening. Rey Tibon, msc, the secretary is the photographer and he is going to put the photographs on his Facebook page.

he 2022 APIA conference began this evening with the joy filled celebration of the Eucharist presided over by  Humberto Enriques, msc  and Andre Claessons, msc - members of the Generalate leadership team.  The MSC students led the jubilant singing in harmonies and there was the traditional ‘Bula’ welcome.  Tamati Sefo, msc Provincial, welcomed MSC representatives from Korea, Indonesia, Australia, Pacific Island Nations, India, Philippines, Japan, Vietnam to APIA 2022.   Participants were then honoured by a traditional Fijian feast as well as the Kava ceremony with the official welcome given by elders of the Fijian community, paying their respects and honouring MSC visitors from foreign lands.  Celebrations went long into the night with an array of traditional dancing and singing to bring a spiritual harmony to the days ahead”.

Day 1.

Today’s reflection/sharing by Umberto Henriques msc, centred on the MSC Congregation’s mission and the MSC Congregation’s hope for the future.  APIA members involved in initial formation ministry have been asked to contribute to the conversation first mentioned at the Korean MSC General Conference of 2019.    The purpose being to begin to attempt to listen more deeply to a) each other, b) to the whole congregation.  What best describes what God and the MSC want to be for each other? 

We continued looking at identifying some of the best opportunities/ possibilities for the MSC congregation going to the future. We looked at some of the realities calling us forward. Humberto led the conference members on a journey to help enter into a new paradigm to listen together. And we then continued to pray in the style of communal discernment as we began to open up where the Spirit was leading us in the present and towards an evolving future - in God. 

The conference then looked at the question, what does it mean to be a formator?   and, what is your experience of formator – what is your understanding of being a formator?  We spent the afternoon reflecting and pondering on those questions and we went into group – a group process, and throughout the afternoon we spent sharing together our communal wisdom.

Col had a fall, consequence, black eye,  Sympathy

Day 2.

We began our time together with a time of extended prayer - communal wisdom. 

We then continued with reflecting on and trying  to answer questions about our lived experience.  How can my experience of life, of living the vows - be of service for the whole congregation? After some time deliberating and discerning this we met in groups to discuss, to reflect on and then to share. 

We then studied “Theory U” as explained to us by Humberto.   This modelling helped us to focus on our MSC future and gave some strategies to be engaged in to breathe life into what the future might hold for us as a worldwide congregation of Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.  We then encapsulated this within the context of our own charism - our Spirituality of the Heart of Jesus - with a specific focus on initial formation and in the context of the four places of the heart of Jesus; encounter, intimacy, conversion and mission. 

As for MSC formators - who is God calling us to be and what outcomes are needed to make for a fruitful process to live in the Charism for the entire MSC world?  We then spent most of the time in the afternoon into the evening with the Instrumentum Laboris on initial formation. 

We then brought our day to the celebration of the Eucharist.