22nd October 2007

The FMM charism today

and the animation of the Province

Sr. Anne de la Bouillerie, fmm

*

FOREWORD

-Before entering into the heart of the subject, I would like to resituate quickly our fmm Charism in the more global reality of our Identity and our Spirituality; that will help us to specify the meaning in which we will use these three terms, and the relationship which links them among themselves in the global reality of our life.

-[See Schema Identity-Spirituality-Charism.]

-It is as members of the Church of today and for her that we are called to live our fmm religious charism. The ‘today’ of the Church is part of our identity, as it was part of that of the fmm at the time of Mary of the Passion. Firstly, to begin with, we will recall rapidly this ‘today’, particularly in what concerns the “charism” of the religious life.

I – TODAY

I.1 – Today, the Church

a)The today of God

Every today, with the people of God as a whole, we live the experience that the “restructuration” - or “revitalisation”? - launched in the Church by Vatican Council II is far from being finished; and that the situation resulting from it is not always comfortable… Like every human situation it has its shadows and its lights.

In the caravan moving onward, some – the wise – advance with a tranquil step; others – those who are in a hurry – run and want to go even faster; others on the contrary – those in anguish – slow down and want to turn back; the undecided find themselves “sitting between two chairs”, and do not know very well whether it is better to advance or to go back, they oscillate. – In each one of those composing the caravan (laity, clerics, men and women religious), we can find all these attitudes. And with us?…

In spite of all, the Holy Spirit watches invisibly so that the caravan, without breaking up in pieces, slowly but surely, progresses as the people of the Exodus did formerly…

This ‘today’ is the “kairos”, the favourable moment the Lord gives us to try to deepen a little our vocation in the midst of and at the service of this people, a vocation summed up in our charism, which is a reality “going forward”.

b). A look at the road travelled recently

It could be enlightening to seek to understand a little, even if it is too rapidly or schematically, what led the caravan-Church to the present stage, a little more than 40 years after the Council. Vatican II was not the result of a spontaneous generation. In a certain manner it was the continuation, or the taking up again, of Vatican I whose works had been interrupted by the war of 1870 (the time of Mary of the Passion).

One of the principal difficulties met with during the course of this Council was undoubtedly that, in order to struggle against the growing influence of Protestantism, the implementation of the previous Council, that of Trent (1545-1563), had in some way stiffened the structures of the Catholic Church and made the progress of her thought more difficult. Then, while the secular world advanced in all kinds of knowledge, the Catholic Church remained almost static, including in the field of biblical studies. From this situation there had to come, among other things, the growing tensions with the hierarchy.

-Vatican I (1870) applied itself to affirming authority in the Church, and to defining the infallibility of the Pope; But the interruption caused by the war did not permit her to go forward. And her global representation of the Church as institution would remain that of Trent with, as a consequence, a growing divergence between the official Church and the modern world. Hence the difficulty for the faithful to live the double belonging: to the Church, and to the world where they had to be witnesses. And when Vatican Council II opened, it was a common thing to state that the Church had become like a pyramid, very firm on its foundations, but very static.

We can try to represent for ourselves this structural form of the Church before Vatican II by a design (inevitably a bit caricatured…).[cf. Design 1]. – to say it too rapidly: the Holy Spirit spoke at the summit, which echoed from level to level of the hierarchy and of the clergy down to the base; these had only the right / duty to obey… As regards the men and women religious, their situation was the same, but separated from the world.

Happily, the Holy Spirit who never lets Himself be imprisoned, has freely produced fruits of holiness in the faithful of all conditions; from the end of the 19th Century, He has even prepared, little by little, future structural transformations, in particular through the birth and development of Catholic Action.

-Vatican II, not without difficulty and reticence, worked to put back into an honourable place the evangelical notion rooted in the Bible, of the Church People-of-God where all, in their diversity and the variety of their groups of life and their commitments, are on the same level. Together, guided by the Spirit, following Christ whose witnesses they are, they are en route towards the Father’s House. The structural and institutional aspect now only comes second; it is at the service of this evangelical reality.[1]

We can compare the first design with a second [cf. Design 2], recalling what the Church of Vatican II aspired to become:

Universal Church = communion of the local Churches,

in communion among themselves and in communion with the successor of Peter,

and in relation with the other sister Christian Churches – with which they hope to establish little by little full communion.

It is recognised that the Holy Spirit is free to inspire whom He wishes in the Church, and also outside it. – That presupposes that we discern what truly comes from Him.

Each local Church is united around the bishop, member of the episcopal college and heart of the community. He is the centre of unity of diverse components of the people confided to him. All are responsible for the “common house” in the complementarity of gifts and mutual collaboration, with the help of three principal “specialised services”: clerics, committed laity and consecrated men and women.

The comparison between the two designs enables us to guess a little the immense effort at “reconversion” or “restructuration” that the change represents and to understand – in spite of our impatience – that this takes time… Without counting that the years continue to advance and that the transformations bring other questionings…

-…even to sometimes wishing for a Vatican III…. In fact, if the bishops and the laity in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, and the latter in the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium etSpes, have had the best part, the remainder for the clergy and for the “consecrated men and women” was the smallest portion.

In Lumen Gentium, out of the twelve paragraphs of chapter 3 (consecrated to the hierarchical structures of the Church), 10 treat of bishops and their collegiality, only one speaks of priests and one of deacons.

On the contrary, the 9 paragraphs of chapter 4 develop in a new way and give value to the identity, importance and role of the laity in the Church and the world. and the whole of Gaudium et Spes will be devoted again to specifying the importance of the testimony given by the laity in the midst of the world.

As regards men and women religious, they had their chapter in Lumen Gentium, but not very developed (5 paragraphs) and not very deep. A Decree on the Religious Life: Perfectae Caritatis, juridical in its nature, prescribing an updating of the Constitutions for each Congregation, has nevertheless enabled a notable advance at a more basic level. It provoked a movement of research, thanks to: different documents of the Magisterium, a Synod of Bishops on the Consecrated Life, and inter-congregational meetings at all levels…

Finally, there is lacking in the texts of Vatican II a real reflection on the harmonisation and complementarity of the specific commitments of the three realities: laity, clerics and consecrated.

-The period after Vatican II saw, little by little, the starting of numerous conciliar directives concerning the new participative structures in the Church: synods at all levels, various councils etc. We saw the spectacular rise of the laity in varied responsibilities, and the rebirth to life of the diaconate. But the decrease in sacerdotal and religious vocations led, on the one hand, to a restructuring of parishes in many places, and a new and deeper research into the identities and the roles.

A 3rd plan [cf. Design 3], tries to suggest graphically one of the problems of the Church today, that of the parishes.

Parishes which, because of a lack of priests, regroup around the same pastor a growing number of localities, exist and are multiplying on all the continents. Not only is the parish priest unable to serve them all, he cannot even ensure one Sunday Mass in each church.

He must therefore collaborate much more than formerly, with the laity, men and women religious and various groups of the faithful and entrust to them acts which formerly were accomplished only by the priests, including the animation of Eucharistic celebrations with bread and wine consecrated beforehand during the periodic visits of the priest there. In this way ecclesial groups are born with varied responsibilities: parish council, financial administration, pastoral animation, spiritual accompaniment, that of the sick, the celebration of funerals, etc. All states of life thus find themselves collaborating in the same parish responsibilities.

We could multiply the examples at different levels of the Church. Such situations, among others, doubtlessly contribute to blurring a little the respective identities of the different forms of commitment in the baptismal covenant, and further on we will see other equally possible causes. But this could also well be a favourable occasion for the Holy Spirit to awaken both sides to a deeper research into the meaning of their respective commitments. Now we will focus on what concerns the religious life in this situation of crisis.

1.2 – Religious Life in the Church today

Starting from the seven recent documents for men and women religious superiors concerning the situation and the challenges of the consecrated life today, I have tried to pick out rapidly certain observations and orientations that emerge. They are the following documents:

In the context of the 1st world congress of the Consecrated Life (November 2004), the aim of which was to listen to “What the Spirit is saying to the consecrated life today.”[2]:

- (1) The conclusions of the Congress.

In the context of the Plenary Assembly of UISG (May 2007), whose theme was “Called to weave a new spirituality from which flow hope and life for humanity”[3]

-(2) The opening words of Sr. Therezinha Joana Rasera sds, president of UISG.

-(3) The conference of Fr. Thomas Hughes svd, on the themes of the Assembly.

-(4) The conference of Sr. Katrina Brill rsj, on “The thread of the laity” (to ‘weave’).

-(5) The final declaration.

-In the context of the 45th General Chapter of the Passionists[4]

-(6)The conference of Fr. Felicisimo Martinez op, on “A spirituality for revitalisation”.

-In the context of the Extraordinary General Chapter 2006 of the Friars Minor, in preparation for the 8th centenary of the Franciscan Movement (2009)[5]

-(7) The conference of Fr. Jose Rodriguez Carballo ofm, min. gen. On “Widen the space of your tent”.

b) Under one form or another, the principal emphases are the same (See some texts in the Annexe, p. 10 ff):

b1) The first observation is that of a problem of meaning: It is important to find again and deepen the meaning of the charism and of the Consecrated Life, gift of the Spirit for the Church and for the world. – What is its nature, and what is its role with regard to other commitments in the Church? Among other problems, the frontiers are blurred and the meaning is becoming obscured: between the priesthood and consecrated celibacy for the Kingdom, for the men; between socio-charitable service and witness proper to the religious life, for the women.

b2) Another problem closely linked to the preceding one: a weakening of faith, too often disconnected from a personal and community meeting with God in his living Word. – One of the remedies is found in an adequate programme of ongoing formation, which leads sometimes to a re-formation, but also to a rediscovery of the religious charism and of the charism of each congregation.

b3) One of the causes of this weakening of faith is found in an activist concept of mission, which no longer leaves time for prayer or for the deepening and sharing of the Word. – It is important to free some time in order to balance life and to find again the spirituality, the charismatic and prophetic meaning of religious commitment for today.

b4) Another cause of the weakening of faith and of the loss of meaning: immersion in the consumerist, individualist and hedonistic mentality of the present society. – The rediscovery of the mission of Christ, the first of all the prophets, and the prophetic commitment in following Him in this world which He loves and which He came to save, should pass through a renewed concept of the religious commitments, meaningful for today in poverty, chastity, obedience and fraternal life.

b5) One of the novelties of the Spirit, promising for the future, and which is a chance that should not be missed for the Church and mission, is the sharing of the charism of the congregations in partnership with the lay people. – The regroupings of different states of life in “spiritual families” around the same congregational charism could confer on it a greater power of witnessing.

b6) Nevertheless, it is also a challenge and a task to accomplish: this sharing should be well managed. The respective identities and commitments, and the form of mutual relations in all areas should be clear. For the congregations who engage in it, it is a real mission which requires time, prayer, reflection and dialogue.

b7) finally, a conviction: the form which the state of religious life will take for the future will doubtlessly change again to adapt its prophetic witness to the time in which it is living; it will be necessary to expect this and prepare for it. But the charism of the consecrated life will remain, because it is one of the constitutive parts of the Church.

-In a conference given by Sandra M. Schneiders ihm, at the 1st World Congress of the Consecrated Life, November 2004: “Religious Life in the Future”, she says:

“[What future for the religious life?] The hypothesis I will offer rests on two assumptions. On the one hand, Religious Life is profoundly Christian, i.e., Religious share in the identity and mission of all the baptized with whom they relate as equals. On the other hand, Religious Life is a distinctive life form in the Church, i.e., a state of life that can be recognized and identified by its specific contribution to the life and mission of the Church. […] I will suggest that Religious Life is an alternate life form in the Church. Religious […] create an alternate “world” in the midst of this world […]. Religious do not simply attempt to live differently in the world, which all Christians must do, but to create a different world which will offer a prophetic witness in, to, and sometimes against the world”.

b8) To conclude, we can retain the broad lines of action proposed to the consecrated life today by Felicísimo Martínez:

“Changes in religious life should direct us or point us toward three objectives or main challenges:

- recover our charismatic identity;

- recover our prophetic mission

- at the institutional level, create conditions so that this be realisable.”

c) ‘Charism’ and ‘prophecy’ : of what are we speaking?

‘Charismatic identity’ and ‘prophetic Mission’

When we are asked to “recuperate (as religious men or women) our charismatic identity and our prophetic mission”, we are speaking of the same thing, but considered from two different angles. In fact, very generally, the texts – official or not – present the religious life as a “prophetic” vocation; the consecrated life for the Kingdom may be defined as a prophetic charism by its nature. It is the very commitment of consecrated men and women which is a prophetic witness.

‘Charism of the Consecrated Life’ and ‘Charism of the Congregation’

- We are not in the habit of envisaging the religious life under the aspect of a charism; it is however, a real gift of the Spirit to the Church to contribute to the building of the one Body of Christ, as St. Paul teaches.

- On the contrary, we speak, in common usage, of ‘our charism’ or of the ‘charism of the Institute’. And moreover, we know that every congregational charism can also be lived by the laity (some also by the priests). The Church even encourages this today, so that the spiritual message of this charism , lived in other forms, may bear more fruit for the Kingdom -–this was also the perspective of Mary of the Passion.[6]

Thus are formed “spiritual families” made up of groups of varied vocations; they are gathered around the same charism, which was inspired in its origin by the Holy Spirit and a founder/foundress and relayed by a religious institute. It is therefore important to know well and ceaselessly deepen the congregational charism, the central element and the evangelical message common to the “spiritual family” concerned.

- But at the same time, as Fr. Thomas Hughes says, “it is more necessary than ever to clarify the identity and the meaning of the religious life”[7] in which to insert this charism in the first place. And he adds: “It could well happen that we discover that a good number of the elements of the new spirituality are perhaps not so new, but rather extremely old, and neglected or even abandoned during the course of the centuries.”

1.3 – The charism of the Consecrated Life: identity and meaning Attempt at clarification

Let us specify that:

- We will not enter into the details of the religious commitment in the Orders and Congregations as it is defined today canonically.