CHRONICLE NUMBER 1
 The chapter brothers are now gathered in Avila since Wednesday, 21 August. The afternoon was ending on a very warm day, a strange thing in Avila. The time for greetings was also a time of surprieses. Some os us met once again after twenty years of absence, and with 20 kilos of extra weight. With more years and less hair. It was a moment thus, of surprises and of fraternity. 35 friars of the Province of the Rosary working in the Far East, in Italy, in Spain and in Venezuela arrived.
The provincial who is ending his term, Fr. Javier Gonzà lez, underscored the importance of these data: five Asian and three Venezuelan friars are attending the Chapter. Everything is symbolic of what is and what shall be the multiculturalityof the Province of the Rosary. For the first time, we needed the services of an official translator, Fr. Mario Jabares. The dean (or the eldest) of the friars is 82 years old, Fr. Agripino Franco, and the youngest is an Asian student brother who is not yet ordained.
In this first day of the meeting we dedicate it to reflection and prayer. The Vicar of Spain, Fr. Pedro Juan fixed our attention in the situation of the (Convent of) San Pedro Mártir, in Alcobendas (Madrid): The foundations of the principal building slowly giving way, to repair it would be a very costly task. He invited to revise the spiritual “foundations†of the Province and of the friars who form it. The foundation is Jesus Christ and His gospel. In his biblical dissertation he even led us to the well of Sicar, he made us feel the thirst and the weariness which in other times Jesus and the Samaritan woman experienced. The central theme is this: only the Gospel of Jesus can restore, consolidate and regenerate.
The second meditation was directed by Fr . Agripino Franco. His word was well grounded: if one does not care for personal prayer, it weakens community prayer. Both nurture each other. One should not suppose faith, it should be cultivated. Otherwise we lose everything. Pastoral work of a Dominic is centered in Jesús Christ and in his Gospel.
The reflection and conference in the afternoon made by Fr. FelicÃsimo MartÃnez. He situated us before two more frequent questions of religious life today. One, the future of religious life. Today no one dares to make a prophesy the future. The cultural changes of the last fifty years had been so profound and at the same time confusing. No one can imagine the extent of secularization. No one can imagine that the seminaries and religious houses would be left empty in so short a time.
The second question is more compromising: the identity or essential elements of Religious Life. Fr. FelicÃsimo made a magisterial synthesis on the contents of this question. I do not wish to frivolize his deep reflection and I remit to the text that shall be published in full. The day ended in Church: The chapter brothers concelebrated the Eucharist together with the friars of the community of the Royal Monastery. The Prior, Fr. (Rafael) Laya, invited us to trust in the protection of the Virgin Mary, the Queen and Lady of the Church.
Fr. BenjamÃn GarcÃa Fernández (chronicler, and nothing more than this)
 CHRONICLE NUMBER 2
We remember the thought of Ortega y Gasset: “I am and my circumstanceâ€. The context in which we initiate the Provincial Chapter is conflictive: the massacres in Egypt and Syria, nostalgic skirmishes in Gibraltar, some holdups in Spain. These factors did not have any repercussion whatsoever in the dynamics of our Chapter for one simple reason: The contexts of the Far East and Venezuela are different. Meanwhile to speak about the social security, the shortages, the ethnic inequalities, yes they are topics of our context.
WE began the chapter activity on 23 August with a Eucharist that is quite hybrid. We are gathered to the Holy Spirit with Saint Rose of Lima. To the Spirit we asked for light and courage for the task that awaits us. To Saint Rose, to whom we simply watched lovingly: a woman, young, contemplative, continues to be the mirror of all Dominican apostle.
Fr. César Valero in the “Sermo ad Fratres†transported us in almost 18 minutes to the core of the preacher. He reminded us of the four words with with a medieval Cardinal used to convince the Pope so that he would approve the Order founded by Saint Dominic: He said “they are studious brothers of Christâ€. It is a proper definition of a Dominican. Theology, sensibility in the face of the absurd in present day Europe and the poetic wings to raise the spirits of the thirty-five chapter brothers gathered in Avila. Thus it was the Sermo ad Fratres.
To a Dominican, it is expected of him to be clairvoyant for himself and for the task of preaching: we cannot fill life with substitutes of God and of the Gospel of Jesus. Having beside the brethren with such a reflexive capacity and spiritual honorability, the Provincial Chapter is saved.
In the hours of the morning, the superior end his term (of office).. Fr. Javier González, reported on the state of the Province. Something similar done by presidents of countries, yet with a small difference. They either dissimulate or lie. Fr. Javier intensified the rosy color when speaking of Hong Kong and Macao, of China and Corea, of Singapore and Myanmar, of Timor (Leste) and Venezuela. The Province of the Rosary is in the peripheries. Vocations to the religious life emerge in countries that do not have Christian traditions. Europe is a desert..
For the Spaniards, it is easy for us to calculate distances within the national territory; for the Venezuelans, they make it easier by calculating the hours on the road that separates Caracas from Táchira or from Maracaibo. But we are lost when we situate ourselves in the Far East. This geographical absence of mind is similar to cultural and idiomatic. Some countries do not receive foreigners. The relation Church-State in China are thorny. The Province has 267 friars, 10 convents and 26 houses. There are 84 young (brothers) in the period of priestly formation. All of them are Asians. There is an abundance of aspirants but professors and formators are lacking.
Fray Javier exhorted (us) to open the heart and mind to the future in what can se seen in the East. To live in unity, though there might be diverse opinions. To maintain ourselves at the service of the Church. To collaborate with rest of the Province. To maintain a fidelity to the proper vocation. Fr. Javier thanked the friars for the help he had received in these four years of service as provincial. He also asked for apology and forgiveness for the failures he have had. The session ended with a grand applause.
Fr. BenjamÃn GarcÃa Fernández (chronicler and nothing more than that)
(English translation by JS)