“Stand if You’re Called”
Yesterday, the deliberations for the top 3 positions in the org was butt exhausting (yep, literally) cause we had to sit from 1:00 in the afternoon to 11:00 in the evening.
Tough luck for me. Seems like the cross is slowly revealing itself to me. To quote the president during the little talks we had with him prior to the delibs, the cross becomes “real” when you no longer enjoy the burden of carrying it. For now, I am still awed by the events that led me to become a part of the organization, moreover, the council. First of all, there’s my classmate who had convinced me to join the org. I had to thank him for the change in my perspective it brought me. Inspirational people, I shall call those whom I was with during the Saturdays afternoons that we had Formation Sessions at the chapel in San Jose. Thanks peeps.
Technical stuff. How did the “election” go for the org’s president, executive secretary and centennial officer? Led by the outgoing president inside the Arrupe chapel, we prayed. “Kung sino man ang nakakaramdam ng tawag mula Diyos upang punan ang posisyong ito ay maaaring tumayo.” Whoever felt the calling to handle the position stood. I don’t think the motivation to stand up comes purely from “the calling”. Aside from that, people have already considered those whom they expect to “stand up”. The decision was a mix of inspiration and pressure, IMO. And so somebody stood up.
For the deliberation, the council discussed the positive and negative characteristics of the “candidate”. Everybody gave a 2-minute talk (which was reduced to 30 sec the least during the succeeding delibs). Most of the times I said “uh… i don’t know much about this person, so… i think… she’s blah nice…“, which I found embarrassing since it only indicated how much I failed to “socialize” or interact with the other members. Then we prayed again, to weigh whether the person is capable of the position. In case more than one stood up, separate delibs shall be held for each person. After the discussion, we voted either the name/s or abstain. If 2/3 of the council votes on a particular decision (a person), there is a quorum and the election is successful. If no decision is formed, the process shall be repeated from the start. This is where we encountered difficulties during the later part of the delibs.
In the end, we’re only able to vote for the top two positions. The special position shall be decided upon next meeting - my first meeting. Honestly, I enjoyed that meeting. Proof? I haven’t slept while the chapel was a perfect place for that.