Missionaries of Charity Junior Sisters - Ongoing formation seminar at Incheon, South Korea

January 7th to 16th 2017 Missionaries of Charity Junior Sisters' had an ongoing formation seminar at Incheon, South Korea. This MC Region has communities in four countries: Korea, Japan, Mongolia and in an Island of Russia close to the Korean border - Sakhalinsk. These sisters are originally from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Philippines, Poland and Vietnam, a well mixture of internationalisation.

These ten days of seminar began with looking at social, cultural and ideological issues that affect the religious life in today's context. It was crystal clear that from the moment the notion of 'family' has been disintegrating at every level, this dysfunction of the family have affected every fibre of the community and society including the life of the priest and the religious life in the Catholic Church. In several ways this sociological, cultural and ideological dysfunction lead to the psychological disorder in a person, even to the priest and religious too.

Through the analysis of Erick Erickson's "Eight Stages of Life" the psychological crisis of priests' and religious' was explained in the following sessions. Further it was explained the source of personal crises' even affecting the 'collaborative leadership' of the priests' and religious' in the communities. Three dimensions or levels of crises in the vocation to the priesthood and religious life have given a challenging and inspiring insights to the participants. During this seminar through the inventories on the Vocation, Motivational Factors, Leadership Styles, Temperaments, Learning Styles, Personality Theories and the Communication Styles each participant of the seminar could see her 'roadmap' of life in the religious life.

This seminar also made clear to the participants that the social and psychological analysis could explain the sources of crises in a human person but the appropriate answers to the crises are very much attached with the adequate spiritual life of each person as the Pope Francis mentioned several times already: "if the faith, prayer and spirituality is not helping a person to change one's attitude, behaviour, character, communication and relationship according to the age, experiences and learnings; something is wrong somewhere." The participants of the seminar could agree with that very much.

After the Seminar from 18th to 26th the same participants of the seminar did a retreat too. During the retreat the reflections on 'Surrender', the Temptation of Jesus', the Journey of disciples to Emmaus, Peter's attempt of walking on the water, the sinful woman, the Vine and its branches and John the Baptist's preaching on Repentance have given an ample of opportunities to look at each one's life in the light of the seminar. The day of fasting and the reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation made the retreat more meaningful in its fervour. The 'Inner Healing Prayer' has given an opportunity of healing to almost all the participants of the retreat.

All the participants have very much appreciated Fr. Shanthi Chacko Puthussery PIME for his presentations of the ten days of seminar and the eight days of retreat. He met the participants individually at least three times. During his holidays he was very happy to take up this tiring task spending almost a month in Korea for us the Missionaries of Charity Sisters. It was terribly cold for him at this time in Korea but he did his job perfectly well without any trouble. We wish him a fruitful ministry in PIME USA Region after his seventeen years of enthusiastic missionary activities in Papua New Guinea. Let good Lord bless him abundantly.