Fr. Pedro Arteaga, MSpS and Fr. Alexandro Rubio, MSpS had the blessing to participate in the CMSM (Conference of Major Superiors of Men) Winter Gathering in Houston, TX from January 23-25 at the Holy Name Passionist Retreat Center. This annual gathering is geared toward creating a space for reflection and the interchange of knowledge and wisdom among the major superiors. The central topics of this gathering were: pastoral planning for an aging institute, vocations, and excessive workload. Despite the seriousness of the topics and the difficult realities that the leaderships teams face, there was a beautiful and inspiring sense of hope and joy in the sharing. There is a beautiful fraternity among the members of the conference; and these gatherings give us an opportunity to support each others both spiritually and in very practical ways. In the daily celebration of the Eucharist and prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, we were able to contextualize our work and reflection under the loving embrace of the Our Lord, the one who has called us.
The content of the gathering is structured around a case study for each of the topics, presented by one of the conference attendees. For this year’s gathering, Fr. Pedro was invited to give the spiritual reflections that follow each of the case study presentations and discussions. Fr. Pedro’s reflections were very well received and appreciated by the participants.
Although it is always a bit of a sacrifice to make these trips and participate in these events, it was a blessing to be there, both for what we received and what we were able to share with our brother major superiors.