Dates: 21st – 29th January, 2024.

Arrival 20th – lunch 21st January, departure after lunch 29th January.

Planning Committee arrival 20^th January.

General Assembly theme:

One in heart in caring for our common home

 General Assembly scripture: The Good Samaritan. Luke 10:25-37

Synopsis of General Assembly theme

This General Assembly, scheduled for January 2024 will occur in the midst of troubled times. These times will be viewed through the lens of Spirituality of the Heart as the remedy for the ills of our time.

The shared experiences of 2024 may well include:

• the consequences of a global pandemic that may or may not yet be controlled;
• an urgent imperative to find ways to live sustainably on the earth and justly for the earth’s peoples;
• a loss of hope in the face of inequality, injustice, violence, over-consumption and greed.
• and more …

The reality of the pain and suffering of the world at that time and the possibility of hope and healing  that can come through Spirituality of the Heart will be woven into the Assembly program.  Our hope is that participants go home  more deeply formed in Spirituality of the Heart and better able to be the Heart of Christ in their  own communities as a result of the Assembly.

The phrases that make up our Assembly theme are drawn from  Pope Francis' encyclicals ‘Laudato Si’ and ‘Fratelli Tutti’,  which together offer a road-map for humanity to face the challenges of these times. The Assembly content will draw upon these two important documents. One in Heart reminds us that we are one in the Heart of Christ. This oneness does not happen automatically, it must be worked towards. The content of the General Assembly must allow for the diversity of experiences of life and of church and a variety of understandings and expressions of Spirituality of the Heart.  We begin as separate hearts and leave ‘Heart-Bonded’ as One Heart to carry out our mission to care for our common home.

Heart, in Spirituality of the Heart,  draws us to our belief in Jesus’ compassionate Heart that reveals God’s unconditional love for every human being and all of creation. Belief in, or an experience of God’s unconditional love is what transforms our own hearts and is the remedy for the ills of society.  Our prayer is that God’s loving presence will draw each person deeper into their own hearts, in an encounter with our God of love that offers renewal and transformation.

The mission of the  laity is to live our lives undertaking our obligations, while at the same time, looking for every opportunity to go beyond those commitments to be a source of kindness, understanding, compassion,  mutual forgiveness, gentleness, humility and simplicity to those we encounter.  In other words, the mark of our lives is to try to live our whole life in a spirit of family, and thus, to be a source of hope and healing to the world. This is our shared mission and what we hope to go home with hearts burning to offer.

Dom Bosco Retreat House, Cebu

Debbie Mellijor – Chair, Philippines Organising Committee