On November 19th to 24th, the Asian OMI Brothers gather for the first time. There are 22 Brothers from total 31 Oblate Brothers gathering together at Oblate Missionary Centre (OMC), Quezon City, Philippines (71% presence). They come from various contries, such as: Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Srilanka, Japan, and China.
In this historical event, we can note 7 participants from the Philipiness (Bros. Gorgonio BONGAO, Joe ADUANA, Emilio UNGSOD, Mauricio ZUYCO, Rodrigo BUENSALIDA, Noel GARCIA, Russel RICABAR), 6 from Indonesia (Bros. Michael ANDHY KUSMAJAYA, Yohanes Baptista ADHI SAMUDRO, Edtwin SULISPRIYANTO, Yakobus JUANG, Julianus RIZKI WIDITOMO, Pinansius SAKAI), 3 from Colombo-Srilanka (Bros. Anton FERNANDO PULLE, Don FELICIAN FRANCIS, Felix KAMAL MENDIS), 2 from Jaffna-Srilanka (Bros. Sebastian AMIR DABARERA, Jenistan THERISPUSPAM), 2 from Vietnam (Bros. Tang KIM LONG, Nguyen VAN HOAN), 1 from Japan (Bro. Nobuhiko YAGI), and 1 from China (Simon CHU KIN YIP). Among the brothers, there is one priest namely Fr. Antonius WIDIATMOKO, OMI as the representative of Asia Oceania Formator’s Conference (AOFC) to underline the significant and important role of Oblate formation for the Brothers.
First Day (November 19th, 2019)
The meeting is opened by the eucharist celebration, presided by Fr. Charlie INZON - the Provincial of the OMI Province of the Philippines, and Fr. Antonius WIDIATMOKO OMI as concelebrant. After the eucharist, we introduce ourselves one by one to all participants (name, origin, the reason/motive to be an Oblate Brother, present assignment and ministry, etc.). The dominant atmosphere of the meeting is fraternity, joy, and enthusiasm.
Second Day (November 20th, 2019)
All activities of the day begin with morning prayer, then continued by eucharistic celebration presided by Fr. Wax, OMI. There are two session in this day. The first one is given by Fr. Wax. He give us material on ‘Oblate Life’ especially on how the Brothers do the prophetic role to maintain and foster a good quality of religious life among the priests. The brothers are not second class in the Missionary Congregation of Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The second session is given by Bro. Noel Garcia, OMI who present the ecclesial document on the brothers in the Church (identity, mission, ministry). Most of the participants give appreciation to the materials given, and then share in groups of seven their personal life to live out the identity and missions in the Church. These all experiences become a communal thanksgiving to God while oraison-silence evening prayer.
(written by: Bro. Michael Andhy Kusmajaya, OMI)
