PRD is a four-month residential program, set in the rich tradition of cross-cultural Asian experience at EAPI, that offers on-going formation and renewal designed to inspire pastoral leaders and missionaries with a deeper understanding and appreciation of what discipleship of Jesus means today and to equip them for the mission of the Church.
Through various program modules, activities, and structures, participants re-encounter their Master, within the wealth of the Vatican II tradition and of their own pastoral experience, and re-learn encountering him today in the Church, in the world, in other religions and cultures, and especially among the poor and those who suffer most.
One who understands that Jesus Christ, truly human and divine, reveals God fully and draws all into becoming his disciples (thus revealing who we are), by encountering him through Scripture, tradition, and human experience. One, then, who makes known Jesus Christ, his identity and his message, through words (preaching and teaching), actions (of justice and mercy), and celebration (liturgy), using Scripture and tradition applied to the context at hand.
One who understands that Jesus and his core teachings emerged out of the apostles’ experience and historically develops through tradition in its doctrines, laws, liturgies, devotions, and spiritual movements. One, then, who promotes a personal encounter with Jesus that both reflects the freshness of the apostles’ experience and also creatively adapts to the current context and integrates contemporary insights.
One who understands that we are created for, and called to life-giving relationship with God, self, others, and creation, through dialogue amidst diverse and complex interactions of genders, cultures, religions, ideologies, socio-political and economic realities. One, then, who promotes transformative encounters between people that include identifying and minimizing prejudices, facing and transcending the tensions of dialogue, and promoting understanding and harmony.
One who understands that God as justice and mercy grounds and prioritizes the mission to care for the suffering, the oppressed, the marginalized, and the environment. One, then, who gives voice to the voiceless, that is, listens to and works with the poor and vulnerable, as a privileged expression of fidelity to God’s mission.
