• To proclaim the Gospel and making disciples of all people

• To shepherd the local Churches that are already established

• To be a witness of Christ’s presence in the World

Our seminarians should know that the IMC is faithful to the Mission of the Church and it is for this reason that the IMC members dedicate their lives for the Mission Ad Gentes. A Consolata Missionary carries his mission through the proclamation of the Gospel and human promotion. Faithful to the charismatic foundation, the IMC should give priority to the proclamation of the Gospel first to the non Christians without forgetting the urban poverties and ethnic minorities. Fr. Odhiambo continued to add that wherever the Consolata Missionaries work within the local Church they should strive to give a qualified service through involvement in services such as: interreligious dialogue, work for peace and justice and integrity of the creation etc. All the missionaries in formation cannot leave behind the challenges of our present time in the areas of social communication, the situation of the youth and human migrations and participation in the life of the civil society. Fr. Odhiambo concluded noting that our mission is ad gentes, ad extram, ad vitam and ad pauperes in the presence and inspiration of our Blessed founder.

After group discussion and sharing, Fr. John Mugambi, shared with the assembly on the presence of our founder in our houses of formation. Fr. Mugambi reminded the assembly that the founder should be present in our houses of formation through striving to realize the primary purpose of our Congregation which is the sanctification of her members and of all the peoples. Our houses of formation must be particularly attentive to all the elements that nurture the missionary spirit in their celebration and living the Eucharist, devotion to our Lady, the way we work and study. All these activities should be permeated by the family spirit in order to enhance that which will characterize our being together for life.

In the morning of the seventh day, Fr. Symphorien Fumwasendji helped us reflect on the theme of discernment in our own lives as formators and in our work in the formation houses. He started by defining what discernment means by saying that it is a process of deciphering what is significant and necessary from the many options that we have in life. He went on to say that discernment is a good judgement or a way of seeing things the way they are with authenticity and objectivity. He precised however that we as Christians should see and decide according to the will of God. We should be attentive in our daily lives to what God is telling us either through different circumstances or people. We are called upon to make choices and take action according to the will of God.

After explaining what discernment means, Fr. Symphorien went ahead to talk about the importance of discernment. He underlined the following points:

• It helps us to discover with clarity and conviction the will of God

• It helps us to know the direction we are to follow and the means to reach the intended goal

• It helps us to know the origin of our motivations i.e. whether they are from God or from flesh

• It helps us to discover the true call from God and the other impulses contrary to the Spirit of God

• It helps us to know whether our actions or decisions direct us to the goal regarding the will of God and our state of life

• It helps us to know whether we are fulfilling our mission

In order to help us reflect on the importance of discernment, Fr. Symphorien referred us to the following texts from Scripture: 1Jn 4:1; 1Thes 5:19-22; Gn 2:7; Gn 12: 7; Dt. 28:1. He also quoted Ratio Formationis number 29 that speaks of discernment referring to Eph 3:16-19. In all these references he noted that in the Church, we are all subject to discernment. It should be a constant and continuous process. Our candidates in formation should be trained on how to do it in their day to day lives. The result of a good discernment leads to the certainty of what God wants. We as missionaries are called to live in a continual discernment.

Fr. Symphorien also gave some means that can help us make a good discernment. They are:

• Prayer: It is indispensable for doing a good Christian discernment (cf Is 55:8)

• Scripture: From it we see everything and everybody from God’s perspective. A Lectio Divina well done can help us do a very good discernment

• The Magisterium of the Church: It helps us to live and do our discernment in communion with the entire Church and not just as personal and private affair

Note: A good discernment will help us bring up the good fruits of the Spirit. It will also give us strength in our weaknesses and sufferings for in them and through them we shall learn and know that God is with us at all times.

In conclusion of his sharing, Fr. Symphorien gave the following general criteria for discernment:

• Fidelity to the Church and to the State of life to which we are called

• Obedience to the legitimate authority

• Humility, joy, peace and love. A humble person recognizes and accepts God’s action and presence in his life and also opens up to give room to the other

• Openness to receive from the others or readiness to be helped by other

• Self denial

• Finding time for silence, reflection and rest in order to make a significant experience of God in our lives.

All these elements require discipline, constancy and good attitude for listening.

In the afternoon of the Seventh day, the formators shared their experiences on the importance of paying visits to the families of our seminarians. It was noted that the visit should not be done from the investigative point of view but as a way of sharing and participating in the life of our seminarians right from their background.

On the 8^th day of our meeting Fr. Piero Trabucco shared with us on the aspect of poverty as conceived and lived in our IMC family. Fr. Trabucco noted that poverty and its meaning to us as religious is more important now than ever because we live in a globalized society that seeks and encourages dehumanizing consumerism. Fr. Trabucco went ahead to note that the recent Chapters indicate that we have also fallen victims of consumerism in our individualism and pursuit of unnecessary goods. Quoting from the founder himself, Fr. Trabucco continued to note that, “A religious institute will prosper or it will die in so far as it lives religious poverty”.

Fr. Trabucco reminded the assembly on the key principles that cannot be sacrificed if one is to live faithfully the depth of poverty. They are:

The primacy of the Kingdom of God: Jesus commands his disciples to seek first the kingdom of God and his justice with the assurance that the rest will be given to them. For Jesus, the Kingdom of God must come first and then the rest. Searching first the kingdom of God is an invitation to put God at the centre, the fact that leads the person to the detachment from the self as well as from the material things.

Poverty of the disciple: The more the person becomes centred on the Kingdom of God the more he becomes poor in the things of this World. It is from this that one can understand the depth of the Beatitude: “blessed are the poor …” The detachment from the things of this World renders the disciple free to serve God and as a consequence, the others.

Paying attention to the calls of the poor: The option for the poor is inherent in the very structure of love lived in Christ. All of Christ’s disciples are held to this option; but those who wish to follow the Lord more closely, imitating his attitudes, cannot but feel involved in a very special way in the plight of the poor. The sincerity of their response to Christ’s love will lead them to live a life of poverty and to embrace the cause of the poor (cf VS 82 and also RM 60).

From me to us: “Fraternal life in community” describes well the journey that each individual must do when he joins a religious family. The religious community is the place where the daily and patient passage from “me” to “us” takes place, from my commitment to the commitment entrusted to the community, from seeking “my things” to seeking “the things of Christ”.

The courage of Conversion: From the Vatican II on, the Church has always encouraged Religious Orders and Congregations to live a more austere way of life and a better adherence to the evangelical value of poverty. Our Constitutions and many other documents of our institute during these past years have kept on calling us to live a different style of life that will help us put into practice a more efficient kind of evangelization.

After presenting to us the ideal on how to live the poverty, Fr. Trabucco, also talked about the reality of our day to day life in living our religious life that calls us to have confidence in the Divine Providence. He pointed out the following aspects:

The Benefactors: We should always be grateful to God for our benefactors for they are the concrete expression of Divine Providence. We should pray for them and also keep contact with them though writing.

Work: Because of his profession of poverty, “In accordance with a traditional praxis in our Institute, and following the teaching of the Founder, missionaries must appreciate and love work (Constitution 16), manual work included. It must be accompanied by the Missionary’s Spirit of initiative and laboriousness: this way, the missionary will always express his nearness to the World of the poor to which poverty connects us so deeply. It is very important that our younger members be formed to , and become imbued of, this spirit of the love for work. Let them be introduced to meaningful work experiences that will be an economic help to their community.

Pocket Money: This name is applied to the amount of money that each missionary received from his own community for his ordinary expenses. Such amount of money is not to be given to the missionaries on established periodical dates, but it is renewed upon presentation of the account of the expenses made previously. It is good that in our seminaries, professed students be educated to the correct use of the “pocket money,” and avoid even the appearance that it be considered as a sort of “monthly salary” that each one may use according to his wishes.

Communion at the local level: It is fundamental that our seminarians should be helped to understand the principle of the common fund in the community. They should also be helped to know how to use it properly and how to contribute towards it.

Austerity in Everyday life: The Society we live, influenced as it is by an unrestrained sense of consumerism, challenges our style of life, a style that must find and use certain concrete and visible ways of living poverty in every day life so as not to fall victims of market and all that it presents to us.