Mes de Preparación 2021: The Culmination

Quezon City—The Province of St. Ezekiel Moreno witnessed the culmination of the month-long Course of Preparation, also known as Mes de Preparación, of the Province’s three friar-candidates for Solemn Profession.

This year’s three Course participants—Fray Julius James T. Tinapao, OAR, Fray Ricky John A. Austria, OAR, and Fray James Erold P. Gatinao, OAR— underwent a series of conferences beginning July 1, 2021. The talks were geared at intensifying their knowledge, understanding, and love of the Augustinian Recollect Charism and the Evangelical Counsels which they are about to embrace for life through the Rite of Solemn Profession. It commenced at the community of Saint Ezekiel Moreno Novitiate-Recoletos, which served as their official residence and the venue for the majority of their sessions, when Fray Ian Anthony Espartero, OAR, the Vicar of the Province and President of the Secretariat of Spirituality and Formation, formally declared its opening during the six o’clock Eucharistic Celebration at the community chapel.

On July 1, within thirty-one days of fruitful, renewing, and life-edifying talks, Fray Selma’s greetings, “I would like to congratulate you for being patient in continuously following this [way of] life until the end,” commenced their dialogue at the Provincial Curia at past ten o’clock in the morning. The other matters discussed during the dialogue were topics and concerns pertaining to the state of the Province, the privileges of the solemnly professed members of the Order, and other helpful fraternal insights which the Father Provincial shared with the candidates. The latter in turn presented to him some queries.

At the end of the dialogue, at exactly twelve noon, Fray Selma led the candidates in praying the Angelus, after which, they exchanged pleasantries, officially marking the conclusion of the Mes de Preparación 2021.