At the end of August, Thursday, August 31, 2022, at 18.00, the young Priests who are members of the BATUTA (Priest Under Seven Years Old Ordination) group enthusiastically participated in the webinar. This is a meeting that was held as a spiritual preparation for young Montfortian Pastors in Indonesia for the first time. Indeed, this meeting has long been the dream and hope of the Congregational leadership so that the young Montfortian Priest has a burning spirit like Saint Montfort. There were about 5 people who participated in this activity: Fr. Roin SMM, Fr. Niko SMM, Fr. Arif, SMM, Fr. Hedi, SMM, and Fr. Martin, SMM. Because there were no continuous meetings for a long time, some Priest could not attend because of their parish services.
The priest who was invited as a speaker was Pastor Wim Peeters, SMM. The sharing theme that was presented was a strategic experience that was suitable as Pastor Partner and Pastor of Mission House. Pastor Wim begins with his story of being a deacon and young pastor abroad, Portugal, Netherlands, and Germany. He is that as a Pastor, there are two things that people really want, namely, a person who listens and is present in a warm visit. People really want them to be heard and appreciated. They also want the Pastor to truly unite with his people.
As a fellow Priest at Bika Nazareth and a friend to Fr. Hub Reijners, SMM, Pastor Wim found the presence of a good father. Fr. Hub is a friendly person, even though he is the same age as Father Wim's father. Pastor Hub and Wim worked together in this parish to visit people living in villages. Because of the road, the journey can only be reached by rivers. But it is precisely there, that close relations with the People and even with the Melayu tribe can be established.
Moving to Putussibau Parish, Fr. Wim became Partner of Parish Priest with various services: providing sacramental services, teaching, being a confessor, spiritual director, giving recollection-retreats, and so on. But this busyness does not prevent him from living in prayer and togetherness. The key: maintaining a prayer life, having a spiritual guide, and being responsible for ministry assignments.
When a local resident named Djamal wanted to apply to become Montfortian, Fr. Wim voluntarily had to prepare everything. Spiritual books in Dutch were immediately translated into Indonesian. Efforts to provide housing for novices must also be implemented quickly. Effective mentoring needs to be done so that the candidates can cultivate their spiritual life well. This was the mission that Fr. Wim carried out as the Young Montfortian at that time.
During the question and answer session, some of the webinar participants asked questions. In it, Fr. Wim emphasized his hopes and dreams for young Montfortian to remain faithful in nurturing prayer, loving duty and service, and having a spiritual guide. In this way, life as a young Montfortian full of service, both as a Priest in the Parish and in the Mission House can be realized. These are just a few of the young Montfortian encounters with Fr. Wim Peeters.
Fr. Albertus Arif, SMM
