Reflections on the Assembly of Laity
Monday February 5, 2024
On the occasion of the celebration of the end of the Year of Chevalier
Alison McKenzie – General Secretary
After nearly 5 years of collaborative planning between the laity of the Philippines and the International Council of Laity we were finally able to see the fruits of our prayer and our labours come to fruition. The Assembly occurred between 21st – 29th January, 2024 with a theme of ‘One in Heart in Caring for our Common Home.’ The program was developed to support the two elements of the theme: One in Heart and caring for our Common Home.
Heartbonded is the word we used during the preparations to express our hopes for transformed hearts and it would seem, by the Spirit that emerged as we travelled the journey of the Assembly together, and in what is emerging since in so many countries, that we were actually heartbonded. The prayer and the hope of the outgoing and incoming Council is that we all understand more fully that a key aspect of our lay charism is to care for creation in the places from which we have come. That also seems to have come to fruition.
We had four aims that guided our Assembly work:
1. Deciding/discerning together our mission as laity
2. Enhancing global solidarity
3. Formation in Spirituality of the Heart
4. Organisational matters.
As we interpret the formal evaluations and respond to the communications since the Assembly, I think we can be very confident that each of those aims have been achieved during the Assembly itself and in the weeks that have followed in developments that are happening in individual countries.
You may be interested in the Assembly papers that can be found here: Assembly papers
The daily updates can be found here: The daily updates
What follows are short testimonials from some of the incoming Council members and there will be many more reflections and reactions to the Assembly over the next few months.
For me, it is the culmination of my life commitment to the vision of Jules Chevalier to be able to offer myself in service for the next 6 years.
Patricia Antonieta Rivas Molina – (Guatemala)
Since it was made official, there was news that the IV LAY ASSEMBLY OF THE CHEVALIER FAMILY would be in the Philippines, but the pandemic came and the Assembly was delayed. COVID-19 has hurt us with so many deaths that made me think, I Didn’t KNOW IF I WOULD STILL BE BREATHING IN 15 Minutes; and I didn’t dare make plans. In October 2022, the 2nd National Council (of my country Guatemala) was elected and I was elected as “coordinator” for our Council. I paid attention to the previous information from the IV Assembly, and among others, it was indicated that there would be proposals to modify the Guiding Principles and Organisational Directions document, and therefore the course the election of the next International Council. In Guatemala, we needed to send more copies to be printed, so it would be convenient for them to already include the modifications that were approved in the IV Assembly, as well as to listen to post-pandemic experiences of lay people in other countries.
Having organized the trip, but not without overcoming some obstacles, I arrived in the Philippines. My objectives were achieved, but The Sacred Heart of Jesus had its own plan for me, the unimaginable, to be considered to be part of the International Council. The responsibility for this opportunity and challenge is very great. I pray to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for your help to be attentive to his guidance and for Our Lady of the Sacred Heart for her protection, both for me and for all the members of the International Council, for the work to be done.
I wish to express my gratitude, first to God, for everything it has meant to participate in this IV Assembly, to all the participants for their sharing and a special thanks to the Chevalier Family of the Philippines, for their overflowing and loving welcome.
The Assembly was a great opportunity to see the extent to which the Chevalier Family really is an international family. I enjoyed meeting people from all around the world and celebrating our diversity. The Assembly gave us a lot to think about, and called us as a Council, and as individuals, to make concrete commitments to act both for the environment and to build our Chevalier Family. The sense of international connectedness is something I knew of, but had never really experienced it quite like this. Having the Trigeneralate members present was also a highlight. Hearing their insights and seeing the authentic support that they give to the lay movement was empowering.
Sr Merle Salazar, fdnsc
It is now more than a month since the Lay International Assembly in Cebu. I attended as a spiritual companion with the role of facilitating the Assembly. As I look back, I am more and more convinced that the Assembly was the work of the Spirit. From the time of preparation (which was a long time indeed) to the actual days of the Assembly, I felt the Spirit leading and animating us. I guess the coming days, months and years will confirm this. As we say, “by the fruits, we will know!” May the Assembly bear concrete fruits in our unity and in our caring for the earth and the poor!
What is it that the Spirit was doing? To me, one very clear thing is the empowerment of the Laity. That Assembly was organized, managed and led by our lay leaders and members. It was truly amazing to see! How fortunate the Chevalier Family is to have such good lay members! We religious were a small minority in that meeting and we were happy to participate. In that Assembly, we religious and lay, were companions to each other, “heartbonded”!
What a blessing and what a challenge it is to bring the experience of the Assembly to the ground!
Petrus Maringka (Indonesia)
This was my first time participating in the International Assembly of the Laity of the Chevalier Family and it was an amazing experience to meet many people coming from different countries who share the same mission from Father Jules Chevalier “To be on earth the heart of God”. I could feel the Holy Spirit work within this Assembly and make all of the participants connected although we had language and cultural barriers. But that does not stop us from getting to know each other, rejoicing, and praying together. We could feel the same atmosphere and understanding when we heard the presentation and discussed the topics presented by different keynote speakers. There were times when the language barrier did not matter as the Holy Spirit worked among us and we started to understand what the presenter wanted to convey to us. For me, I became clear about our movement as the Laity in the Chevalier Family and how they operate differently in some countries knowing that different region has different approaches. For example, the Laity family from Korea consists of many devoted people and they need a few years to go through many steps before becoming an official member of the Laity of The Chevalier Family. However, in another country, the process of becoming a member of the Laity family is extremely simple.
Although the movement itself and its mission and vision had been cleared for me, there was still one thing that was bothering me regarding the activities and tasks of the International Council members. So, when Alison (Elected Secretary General for 2024-2030) chose me to be one of the International Council members, I accepted as I thought this was God’s plan to make me understand more about all activities and duties of the International Council. I sincerely hope by being a member of the International Council, I can contribute to the growth of The Laity family in every country member. Thank you and blessings to all.
