Morning Session
The participants started with a prayer prepared by the moderator of the day, Vicente Felipe. Afterwards, they met in conference groups to work on the proposals of the Congress.
After the morning break, Luis Cabrera and Joe Rozansky welcomed José Rodríguez Carballo, the General Minister, and Ignacio Muro, a General Definitor. They then gave a brief review of how the Congress had developed mentioning the participants, the objectives, the methodology, the environment, the activities, etc.
Afterwards the General Minister gave a talk titled “Embracing the Excluded of Our Time” in which he emphasized that the experience of God found in the midst of the lepers had its foundation in the Francis’s encounter with the Word. He told them to have as a reference point the prophecy of the Reign of God. Later he gave a description of the very real faces of the excluded of today, which are not only found outside outselves.
He also emphasized the commitments and work that we have as minor brothers: to overcome internal and external difficulties which seperate us from the excluded; to build bridges between us and them; to go to the meeting in order to share our life; to form inter-provincial and international fraternities in the midst of the excluded. He finished by detailing the lines of actions to have an evangelical encounter with the excluded and invited the participants to remain open to the Spirit.
After the presentation of the the General Minister, there was a time for the participants to present their reactions, questions and comments. The sesssion ended at 12:20 for lunch.
Afternoon Session
The afternoon session started with the presentations by the various groups depicting their experiences during the weekend. The participants shared in a vivid way the different experiences they had in the encounter with the people in the encampments of those without land. It was clear that it had been one of the stronger experiences of the Congress.
Afterwards, Cesare Azimonti presented the draft of the final document of the Congress, which will be the work of the Congress tomorrow. The participants received a copy in one of the three official languages of the Order in order to discuss it later in their groups.
After the coffee break, the participantes, guided by Miguel Álvarez, studied the different proposals that had emerged from the Congress and which are directed at the General Government of the Order, to the Provinces and to the Secretariat of Formation and Studies. The participants then met in conference groups to prioritize the proposals. The afternoon session ended with prayer and dinner.
In the evening, the participants had a dialog with the head of the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil, Luis Dulci.
