My very dear Team members,
Sharing with the brothers in the Movement is always an enriching experience, no matter where, because, although it is true that we are united by the same spirituality, mystique, and pedagogy, nevertheless, the particularities of each culture, country or region, generate immense wealth that adds up to a common focus shared by all Team members.
The ERI was lucky enough to experience this collegiality and fraternity at their most recent meeting in April in the Lebanon. On top of it being an ordinary working meeting, we were able to meet local couples and other couples from the sectors in the Middle East (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Emirates).
Their warm hospitality, concern for every detail, their welcome and human warmth, overflowed and filled us. The spiritual wealth of believers who have suffered and continue to suffer because of human ambition is transformed into a continuous incentive not to forego the efforts undertaken to journey towards holiness. Knowing what has been endured and what is being experienced in these regions generates commitments that become greater every day.
Thinking about the absurd human behaviour of the few, but that affect so many, is an internal engine for the constant and profound revision of one’s own behaviour. Noting the ravages of war, violence and injustice, the forced displacements and the greed to seize places and things, enables us to examine our own lives and ask ourselves about what is truly essential and fundamental. How many times do our concerns emanate from excessively earthly issues and interests!
The observation of the history of faith, beliefs, cults and rituals, of the commitment to Jesus’ project, of the sufferings and pains of so many brothers, could be transformed into an effective stimulus to give meaning to what we experience and live. Approaching the reality of the human soul with its shadows and mistakes can lead us to search for the clarity of the project that God wants to accomplish in us.
In expressing my sincere gratitude to those who offered their affection, homes, warm hospitality, their history and the significant gifts with great generosity, I would like to invite all Team members to never lose sight of those in the world who suffer and they suffer end endure because of the overflow of negative human passions that make us forget that we are brothers, that we live in the common home and that in the end, we will take nothing with us. Blessings to you all,
Ricardo Londoño Domínguez,
Spiritual Counsellor
→ Read ERI’s Letter
