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“Visitations” are the special times for Capuchins and for all religious. They are the times when each individual re-assesses himself or herself in terms of everything from spiritual and physical health to ministry, effectiveness to dreams for the future. Our Capuchin Constitutions require the major superior to do formal “visitations” regularly. Formal visitations are more than just a casual conversation about “how things are going.” They are times of examination, both individually as well as communally. Each community will also have a “House Chapter” during its time of visitation. It will be a time of serious discussion about community life as well as the direction of the province. It will be a time of affirmations and a time of challenges.
We the friars at St. Anne’s Friary are being “Visited” by our Provincial Minister Br Dolphy Pais. The visitation began on the morning of 2, January 2017. Brother provincial addressed all the friars at 9 am in the Assisi house chapel and inspired the brothers to continue having a greater Vision and Dream for the Capuchin Order. Not with the pessimism of the world that we should live our life rather with the spirit of optimism. There are times and days where we are so much occupied in establishing ourselves in the personal level and fail to see the goodness and growth of province and order. It is the time for us to reform ourselves, perform diligently the task and responsibility assigned to us and transform the society we live in. He also mentioned and stressed the importance of the ‘DOCAT’ in our religious settings. He further mentioned and explained the 4 important principles cited in DOCAT namely,
- Principle of Dignity of the Person
- Principle of the Common Good
- Principle of the Subsidiarity
- Principle of Solidarity
Brother Provincial appreciated the brothers for their work in the diocese and in the province. He then expressed his eagerness to listen to the brothers individually.
This Provincial Visitation will take place till the 7th of January 2017.
(DoCat (du:kæt) is a popular adaptation of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, a summary of the Social Teachings of the Church: “DO” comes from the verb to do whereas “CAT” stands or Catechism. Apart from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, insights from the two social encyclicals of Benedict XVI (Deus Caritas Est and Caritas in Veritate) and the encyclical of Pope Francis (Laudato Si’) have been incorporated in this Youth-friendly Catechism. The DOCAT has been published by the Austrian Bishops’ Conference and approved by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation.)
