Curso de Preparación 2024 in Colombia

Three simple professed friars of the Province of St. Ezekiel Moreno are currently in Bogota, Colombia to attend this year’s 5-week Curso de Preparación Para Inmediatamente Profesión Solemne 2024 (The Course of Preparation for Immediate Solemn Profession) from July 21 to August 25, 2024. They are Fray McAirel S. Capinpin, OAR from Brooke’s Point, Palawan, Fray Judd C. Galinato, OAR from Guindulman, Bohol, and Fray Joseph Neil E. Baygan, OAR from Jagna, Bohol.

This is an annual program started in 2018 which gathers simply professed friars from all Provinces of the Order, who have finished their year of Community Exposure or Insertion and are awaiting their Solemn Profession of Vows. After a two-year interruption in 2020 and 2021, the Curso de Preparación resumed in 2022. Up until 2023, it was held in Spain. However, for this 5th batch, the Curso is being held for the first time in Bogota, Colombia in the Province of Candelaria, known as the cradle of Augustinian Recollection in the Americas.

When asked about their reflection on the Curso so far, they said the following:

Fray Airel Capinpin, OAR: “We were reminded of the vows in the Augustinian Recollect tradition. In simple terms, chastity means giving oneself completely to God without personal attachments. Poverty means letting go of material possessions to focus on spiritual wealth. Obedience means aligning one’s will with God’s will. For years, I. have sought to live a life of chastity, poverty and obedience but I was always trying to define these vows according to my preferences or choices. This Curso de Preparación reminded me once again that these vows are not about my standards, but about following Christ’s example. It is not about how I live my life poor, chaste and obedient, but rather about how Christ did. Hence, not in my complacency, and no excuses,” reflected Fray McAirel, OAR.

Fray Joseph Neil Baygan, OAR: “As one of the participants of this Curso de Preparación, I really find this program formative and an eye-opener. Formative because the courses are intensive and remind us of who and what an Augustinian Recollect religious is. This is especially so in relation to the evangelical counsels and the very charism of the Order: Interioridad, Communidad and Eclesialidad (Interiority, Community and Ecclesiality). The Curso is also an eye-opener because it helps us know more about the realities of our Order beyond what we experience in the Philippines. It broadens our horizon as we get to live with our brothers from other countries and to mingle with them as we share our unique culture, life context and practices. All these contribute to our growth as a religious of the Order. For this, I am also very grateful that at this early stage of our religious vocation, we are already being given this one-of-a-kind opportunity to experience the life of our brothers outside the Philippines.”

Fray Judd Galinato, OAR: “There are similarities and dissimilarites between Filipinos and Colombianos (or Latinos). For example, we share values of kindness, hospitality, friendliness, respectfulness and religiosity. But our liturgical practices and cuisines differ.”