Communicanda
1
Rome, August 1, 1992
0000 0230/92
Vitality
and Essential Growth
in Our "Apostolic Life"
Dear confreres,
During the past few months, the members of the General Council
have spent time together reflecting on certain
subjects proposed in the Final Document of
the General Chapter. As we send you the fruit
of these reflections we take the opportunity
of sending you also our good wishes, and expressing
the hope that the Final Document and our Communicanda
may provide subjects for reflection in your
communities.
0. Introduction
Every General Chapter is concerned about the growth of our
apostolic life, the strengthening of the links
which bind us together, and our adaptation
to the life of the Church and the world of
today (C. I07). The Exist General Chapter of 1991, held at Itaici, in
Brazil, has sent us a clear message in this
sense for the coming six years. This message
is rooted in:
0.1. the actual world
in which Redemptorists live. We cannot escape
the fact that we are affected by the problems
of the world: the tension between nations
and even within the same countries, the lack
of true democracy, the ever growing gap between
rich and poor, famines, forced migration,
social injustice, the status of women, health
problems, the specter of AIDS, xenophobia
and the destruction of the environment. But
we also share the hopes of the world when
human rights are more respected, and when
the weaker members, children, the aged, and
the unemployed find their place in society.
When liberty and democracy flourish, "when
love and fidelity meet, justice and peace
will embrace" (Ps. 85/11).
0.2. the life of the
Church to which we belong. The Church is indeed
the universal sacrament of Redemption, on
its pilgrim way to the Kingdom of God. While
we participate in its mission at universal
and local level, we also share, on the one
hand, in its prophetic and inspiring witness,
and on the other hand, in its weaknesses,
and uncertainties. We are constantly challenged
to find concrete forms which will contribute,
in a specific way, to the life of the Church
in difficult times, and in particular situations.
However, we shall only enrich the life of
the Church in so far as we remain faithful
to the charism of Saint Alphonsus, and to
the heritage of the whole Congregation. This
will provide us with sources of creativity.
0.3. life in the Congregation,
in our communities, in our vice-provinces
and provinces. Our lives are made up of light
and shade. We go forward sometimes; we also
fall back. Weariness and discouragement, as
well as new ventures in hope, form part of
our existence, as they do of the lives of
men and women we know. We breathe the same
air as our contemporaries. We are also affected
by the general atmosphere which marks the
end of this 20th. century. We are as well,
in a sense, prisoners of our past, heirs to
a tradition with all its richness and also
its burdens. We have also the joy of sharing
the challenges and hopes of this great missionary
family of 6000 confreres, representing nearly
60 nations, and present in 68 countries of
the world.
0.4. In this context
the General Council would like to offer some
reflections to each confrere, to each community,
and to each province. It takes as its starting
point what seems to be the core of the Final
Document of the General Chapter. It is only
meant to be a cursory glance and not an analysis
of all the points of the Document. First of
all we want to stress again the theme chosen
for this sexennium (1). Then we would like
to clarify the desire and need we have of
a greater interior spirit and unity in our
"life like that of the apostles"
(2). We want to show as well how our mission
to the abandoned, especially the poor, gives
this sense of unity to our life, incarnates
it in concrete forms and enables us to live
the reality of inculturation (3)
1. The
theme of the sexennium
(consistency in the themes of the last three Chapters)
1.1. This Exist. General
Chapter is not in any way a halt on our forward
march together. Indeed it particularly stressed
the idea of continuity – "we have sensed
the unifying spirit and apostolic direction
that the last sexennium has given to the Congregation"
(F.D., No.6).
It has helped us to be more faithful to our
vocation, and to make progress together. The
evaluation which was carried out in our (v)provinces,
and in our regions, enabled the Capitulars
to discern how positive was our choice of
pastoral priorities. The poor are the privileged
ones to hear the Good News from us, and they
also participate in our own conversion. The
Chapter, however, also recognized that all
was not well in our manner of living. The
Final Document in No 8 calls attention to
this quite clearly. We are therefore strongly
exhorted to continue reflecting together,
and to be faithful to the undertakings in
which we have become involved during the last
sexennium. More discernment and thinking in
depth, will enable us to take another step
forward in order to face the challenges of
today.
1.2. It seems to us
important to indicate clearly what is the
central point of the Final Document, the beacon,
as it were, which lights up the whole text.
It was the wish of the Capitulars to stress
particularly what is stated in Nos. 11 and
12. "We want to put the emphasis on the
explicit, prophetic and liberating proclamation
of the Gospel to the poor, allowing ourselves
to be called by the poor (evangelizare
pauperibus et a pauperibus evangelizari)."
In order that this theme may become incarnate
in our personal life, and in our community
life, we call for a continual effort to "deepen"
our understanding of it. We wish also to stress
the consistency, the real bond and close link
between the task of evangelization, community
life, and the spirituality proper to the Congregation.
This desire to give unity to our whole Redemptorist
life must find expression in concrete forms
which clearly show the option of the Congregation
for the most abandoned and especially the
poor.
1.3. In this way the
Chapter wished to make clear once again our
place in the mission of the Church. This is
our charism as it is succinctly defined in
Constitution No. 5: "Preference for situations
where there is pastoral need, that is, for
evangelization in the strict sense, together
with the choice in favor of the poor, is the
very reason why the Congregation exists in
the Church, and is the badge of its fidelity
to the vocation it has received. Indeed the
Congregation's mandate to evangelize the poor
is directed to the liberation and salvation
of the whole human person. The members have
the duty of preaching the Gospel explicitly,
and of showing solidarity with the poor by
promoting their fundamental rights to justice
and freedom. It is along these lines that
the Chapter requests us to go forward. When
we are asked by someone, a young person perhaps,
"Who are you Redemptorists?", we
must be in a credible position to present
this text as our identity card, and it must
make us easily recognized. This is indeed
our raison d'etre, the badge which identifies us. It is this which specially proclaims
the message of Copiosa Redemptio, abundance of redemption....
1.4. As Redemptorists
and missionaries of the Gospel to the abandoned,
especially the poor, the theme so often taken
up by Pope John Paul II, in his discourses
in all the continents, calls for our attention.
It is this "new evangelization".
He continually stresses the need for a new
type of evangelization which will meet the
profound changes taking place in the world
in which we live. Even St. Clement in his
day, already spoke of "proclaiming the
Gospel in a new way". Our mission, today
as yesterday, is therefore to respond to the
needs of mankind. "In a spirit of brotherly
concern they should try to understand people's
anxious questionings and try to discover in
these how God is truly revealing himself and
making his plan known" (Const. 19). Where do we find these "anxious questionings"
today? Is it not often among the young, in
the poor populations of great secularized
cities, as well as among those living in rural
areas? They are coming from all those who
are abandoned, and have need to hear this
proclamation of the Gospel which leads them
to the living Jesus. "And how can they
believe if they have not heard the
message? And how can they hear if the message
is not proclaimed?" (Rom. 10.14). Let us then proclaim the Good News and give our contemporaries
a real thirst for God.
1.5. We live in an
age of communication. Our world tends to become
a global village where news instantly becomes
known. At the same time, however, we are aware
of the great gap between rich and poor. We
rub shoulders with those who are lonely, and
with those who try to forget their despair
in a sort of artificial paradise. Our mission,
therefore, is all the more urgent to be the
apostles of the Good News, that which Jesus
brought to all mankind, so that their desire
of total fulfillment might be realized. Let
us proclaim once again that the God of the
Christians is a God who is close to his people.
He has come among us and for our sake. He
is a God of love who first loved us – "this
is what love is: it is not that we have loved
God, but that he loved us and sent his Son
to be the means by which our sins are forgiven"
(1 Jn. 4.10). In season and out of season, let us proclaim again
and again that the God of Jesus is a good
and merciful God: "the merciful Father,
the God from whom all help comes" (2.Cor. 1.3). He is a God who challenges each one of us to act responsibly
in our allotted task: "Our love should
not be just words and talk: it must be true
love, which shows itself in action" (1
Jn. 3.18). The God of Jesus
is the God of communication: Father, Son and
Spirit. Each one can contact him in prayer,
and in solidarity with others: "Let us
love one another, because love comes from
God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows
God. Whoever does not love does not know God,
for God is love" (1
Jn. 4 7-8).
1.6. This proclamation
of the Good News to the poor is our following
of Christ, which is shown by a life lived
close to, and in solidarity with, the poor.
It is a love shared with them, giving them
a new found dignity which liberates them.
We wish to be part of this life of the Church
for "the Church all over the world wishes
to be the Church of the poor... She wishes
to draw out all the truth contained in the
Beatitudes of Christ... The young Churches,
which for the most part are to be found among
peoples suffering from widespread poverty,
often give voice to this concern as an integral
part of their mission" (R.M., No. 60).
The Redemptorists, especially those who live in the Third World,
are there to remind us unceasingly of this
urgency, of the need for this fundamental
consistency in our lives. They provide a stimulus
for us, as do the words of Pope John Paul
II in Redemptoris Missio: "In fidelity to the spirit of the Beatitudes, the Church
is called to be on the side of those who are
poor and oppressed in any way. I therefore
exhort the disciples of Christ and all Christian
communities – from families to dioceses, from
parishes to religious institutes – to carry
out a sincere review of their lives regarding
their solidarity with the poor" (R.M., No. 60).
1.7. Our solidarity
with the most abandoned, especially the poor,
brings us close to the Jesus of the Beatitudes.
It is then that we understand that the poor
are not merely people to whom we announce
the Gospel. They are the living sign of Christ
Himself today. In Jesus, God appeared in the
likeness of a poor man. He is, from the moment
of his birth, among outcasts, among those
who have no place in society. "Jesus,
who rich as he was, made himself poor for
your sake, in order to make you rich by means
of his poverty" (2
Cor. 8.9.). (Read the commentary
of St. Alphonsus, in his Christmas Novena,
Discourse VIII) The poor are those who are
not loved, but whom we must love and evangelize.
This call to evangelize must not be regarded
as a glorification of misery, which we must
always fight against. Neither is the poor
man called to become rich, but he is called
to become "other", to be converted.
The Gospel as such does not envisage a society
of contentment, people who take complacency
in their own self sufficiency. It does wish
us to look forward in joyful hope and to be
free to attain what is essential.
1.8. Let us recall
especially those three capital encounters
in the life of St. Alphonsus, which completely
changed him, and set him on the road to becoming
an apostle. The first was at the age of 19
in the Hospital of the Incurables, then at
32 it was with the lazzaroni of the
"evening chapels", and finally at
the age of 35 he came in contact with the
shepherds of Scala.
Following in the steps of St. Alphonsus, our option for the
poor, for those who are neglected and abandoned
by the Church also implies encounters. It
means being available, calling into question
many of our too fixed ideas. It denotes solidarity,
conversion, an exodus, a going forth on mission.
1.9. We know of course
that the poor are not perfect, especially
if we are in close touch with them. Nevertheless
we are often surprised to discover what Gospel
values they have. We note their generosity,
their readiness to share the little they possess,
how joyful they can be in spite of the hard
conditions of their life, how tenaciously
they cling to hope when others would have
long abandoned it, and how they can radiate
confidence... We are evangelized by those
values in their life, and in this way the
poor invite us to change our attitude. This
privileged link with them is thus capable
of changing our viewpoint, our heart, our
manner of speaking and living. For example,
their life will force us to reflect on our
over anxious search for security, our too
close adherence to structures, and our fear
of any risk... "Evangelizare pauperibus
et a pauperibus evangelizari."
The poor bring us face to face with Christ
in our own lives (Mat. 25.31).
This is true not only on the personal level, but on the level
of community as well. "The community
cannot be evangelizing if at the same time
it does not allow itself to be evangelized
– from outside itself: that is by those to
whom we are sent, especially the poor"
(F.D.,
No.24). With them we read the Word of God and together
we are impelled to go forward in the footsteps
of Jesus.
2. Our "Apostolic Life": unity and coherence
2.1. Our Congregation
"follows the example of Christ in the apostolic life, which comprises at one
and the same time a life
specially dedicated to God and a life of missionary
work" (C. 1). In this way "all Redemptorists urged on by the apostolic spirit, and imbued with the
zeal of their founder, continue the
tradition developed
by their confreres in the past, and are ever
attentive to the signs of the times. Sent as helpers, companions
and ministers of
Jesus Christ, in the great work of redemption
to preach
the word of salvation to the poor, they build
up an apostolic
community, specially dedicated to the Lord"
(C. 2).
These two Constitutions at the very beginning of our Rule support
and enrich our theme for the sexennium. Their
aim is to make us concentrate our efforts
on developing a greater Interior spirit and
unity in our apostolic life. The second part
of No. 11 in the Final Document expresses
this clearly: "We ask the Congregation
to continue this theme by deepening our apostolic
community life as a prophetic force for new
ways of incarnated mission; to achieve this
we see the need to emphasize the coherence
between our inculturated evangelization, our
community life and our spirituality".
2.2. Today much more
than in the past we are conscious of the necessity
of consistency between what we are and what
we do between our life "dedicated to
God" and our "missionary work",
between our own personal spiritual experience
and the need to share it with others. In order
that it may not appear as a fantasy of our
imagination, it must become concrete by sharing
it with the rest of the apostolic community.
Even here it may be said that "no man
is an island". In fact the call to evangelize
which each one of us has heard is first experienced
and shared with companions in a community,
with brothers whom we have not chosen, but
who like ourselves have been chosen by God.
And this life lived together, like that of
the Apostles, is a force, Indeed a prophetic
force, which is greater than the sum of the
individuals concerned. It gives dynamism to
a love which makes it reach out beyond the
community in which one lives.
This living together enables us to live this experience of
God (F.D., No. 13) not as a theoretical
desire, but as a concrete reality of our daily
life. Each member of the community is called
to be evangelized by his own companions, and
to be himself a stimulating influence. "The
confreres are «evangelizers» of one another
and are evangelized by one another" (F.D.,
No. 24).
2.3. Let us never forget
that this community life is centered on Christ,
the Redeemer (F.D., No.8). In this way it will become an efficacious presence
of the Reign of God in the midst of our contemporaries
(F.D.,
No. 23). Our creative spirit will enable us to seek and
find "suitable forms and structures for
sharing our faith, our joys and our concerns
in the activity of preaching the Gospel"
(F.D., No. 24). In imitation of the Apostles and as disciples of
St. Alphonsus, the apostle of prayer, we will
pay greater attention to the urgent appeal
of the Constitutions Nos. 26 to 33 on the
community of prayer in order to combat this
"vacuum" referred to in No.33 of
the Final Document. In order to follow Christ,
the Redeemer, and to pursue his liberating
action, we are to meditate especially on the
mysteries of his Incarnation, Passion and
Resurrection which we celebrate in the Eucharist
(F.D., No.36). In this way "by being men of prayer, and also
sharing our prayer with the Christian people
by means of well directed popular piety"
(F.D., No. 41a) we will go
forward together on our pilgrim way of faith.
2.4. This mutual conversion
in the community, carried out in a thoughtful
spirit of fraternal charity, is already, in
itself, a form of preaching. It is a concrete
expression of witness, and is evidence of
a genuine consistency between what we really
are at heart, and what we say, and how we
treat others, especially the poor. The Final
Document in No. 23 puts it this way. Community
life should constitute "the first sign
of us as preachers of the Gospel". It
is "the efficacious presence of the Reign
of God in the midst of men and women, our
brothers and sisters, who in their own way
reveal for us the face of God". This
community life for the sake of the Gospel
makes us sense "in our daily lives that
it is God who calls us together and it is
the Spirit of Christ who unites us and leads
us to an ever deeper communion" (F.D., No. 26). In its closeness to people each Redemptorist community
desires to be a powerful "witness as
a sign of the presence of the Kingdom"
(F.D., No. 29)
2.5. We are, of course,
aware of the difficulties faced by certain
countries in recent years. For example the
local Church has not always invited our cooperation
in setting up a proper mission community.
This has led to the break up of some of our
communities. Individuals have sometimes gone
their own way to work in a diocese. Others
have devoted themselves to projects for the
poor, but without the support and collaboration
of the local community. Others have adopted
the values of the society in which they live,
seeking personal fulfillment, and their apostolate
is exercised according to this criterion,
forgetting the "essential law of life"
of which Const. 21 speaks. In other countries
where there was no religious liberty, confreres,
often at great personal risk, have ministered
to people at the request of a bishop, who
lacked sufficient personnel. Then finally,
by degrees, one naturally develops another
way of life, not necessarily closely linked
to the local community. And as the years pass
the idea of a shared common life begins to
fade. Our special charism as Redemptorists,
our spirit of prayer, of fraternal charity,
our apostolic work, and the sharing of material
resources have less meaning. In the end what
remains are memories of past links with the
community, which are not nourished by present
contacts. In saying all this we are not passing
judgment. We are simply stating a fact of
life in the Congregation today. For this reason
it would be a good thing for each province
and vice-province to remind itself that "the
Redemptorist community should constitute the
first sign of us as preachers of the Gospel"
(F.D., No
23).
2.6. However in the
past few years a great effort has been made
nearly everywhere in the Congregation to appreciate
the unity that must mark our life. Today as
in the time of our founder, St. Alphonsus,
we need to fight against the danger of dualism
(cf. S. Alfonso, Avisi sulla vocazione religiosa, Consid. XIII). "There is a consistency to our lives
to the extent that the apostolate grows out
of our personal and communal living of our religious profession, on the other hand, the
manner of living the evangelical counsels
is realized in the very task of evangelization"
(F.D., 35). Community
life helps us, in a very real way, to avoid
this dualism between the apostolate and spirituality.
2.7. Everywhere, we
have to constantly re-examine our priorities,
by analyzing the pastoral urgencies of the
country or region in which we live. In order
to do this we must choose the places best
suited to our charism. We are invited especially
to be creative in seeking "new models
of community" (F.D.,
No 28). And it is our community life itself which will
enable us through reflection and prayer to
discern the places and the particular groups
of people to whom we should direct our ministry.
However, there are two signposts to help us
in this discernment – closeness to people,
– and the power of the community witness itself
(F.D., No. 29).
2.8. This research
together is always made with a view to "the
liberating and prophetic proclamation of the
Good News", A missionary Institute within
the local Church should always give impetus
to a missionary dynamism; it should be something
of a vanguard. Thus our joyful proclamation,
truly incarnate and prayerful, will be a sign
of hope for the young who long for a life
of communion, and who search for another alternative
to the philosophy of "having" and
of "power" (F.D., No. 31).
3. This unified apostolic life must be inculturated
3.1. Redemptorists
bear the stamp of the various cultures from
which they come. But it is where they labor
that they must live and announce the Good
News of Christ. For this reason the General
Chapter gives us this pressing and insistent
exhortation that "in order to make our
mission present (incarnate) in history we
need to submit it continually to a process
of inculturation, one of the components of
the great mystery of the incarnation"
(F.D., No. 13.).
3.2.
Inculturation is indeed rooted in the
Incarnation of the Word of God. "Because
it has been complete and real in flesh and
blood the Incarnation of the Son of God has
been a cultural incarnation" (John Paul
II in 1982). We note that the first Gospel
preaching was adapted to the cultures of the
time. The evangelists are men clearly marked
by the style of life of their respective communities.
Even in the infant Church this problem cropped
up... Every people, every language of the
world, is called to confess and express in
its own idiom (Acts 2.8) the Gospel of salvation. "As she carries out missionary
activity among the nations, the Church encounters
different cultures and becomes involved in
the process of inculturation. The need for
such involvement has marked the Church's pilgrimage
throughout her history, but today it is particularly
urgent" (M.R., 52).
3.3. This inculturation
is a movement in depth which requires time
and is not simple adaptation. It seems important
to make a clear distinction between two complimentary
realities, which may be expressed in two different
terms – "Acculturation" and "Inculturation".
"Acculturation" may be explained
as the acquisition of languages, knowledge
of customs and adaptation to the way of life
of a people. This is often very difficult
for the missionary who has to go to another
country and live in a milieu very different
from his own. However, acculturation is indispensable
in our time, with ever increasing contacts
between different continents, and diverse
cultures. Inculturation, however, is completely
different.
3.4. Inculturation
is the incarnation of the Christian life and
message in a concrete culture. While expressing
itself by means of the elements of a culture,
the Gospel transforms it and recreates it.
This term includes the idea of mutual growth
and enrichment of persons and groups, through
the encounter of the Gospel with another social
milieu. This inculturation, as we understand
it, does not regard the culture of the past
as something sacred. Rather it is a search
for the seeds of the Word, germination, and
the fertilization, in the present, of a people
in all its dimensions, including political
and social, with all its tensions, conflicts
and confrontations. In other words the culture
of a people is something living. Therefore
our evangelization wishes to engage in this
living process, which enables a people to
recognize its past in a more open and dynamic
modern form. Gospel and culture meet, confront
each other, and test each other like gold
and fire in the crucible of the furnace. Inculturation
introduces Christ into the very heart of the
life of a culture, and raises this life up
to Christ. In this way from individual cultural
traditions will spring forth new expressions
of life, of celebration and of Christian thought.
As a result the Church will emerge transformed
and enriched.
3.5. This encounter
of the Gospel with a culture enriches the
universal Church, for the Christian message
finds another expression in new forms. And
the central role in this process of inculturation
does not devolve simply on the missionary,
but engages the entire local Church. It is
a question of the inculturation of the Church,
and so the efforts of the entire community
are necessary. This integration of the local
Church with the culture of its people is a
force which inspires and renews this culture,
while enriching the universal Church at the
same time. The biblical image underlying this
process is not that of the graft, but that
of the seed. The Christian message grows from
the heart of a culture, signifying at the
same time its death and resurrection. This
process of inculturation is just as vital
for older Churches, confronted in a special
way with the modern world and secularization,
as it is for younger Churches living in more
"religious" surroundings.
3.6. As Redemptorists,
spread throughout the world, we live in cultures
that have been influenced by religious traditions
other than Christian, for example Islam, Buddhism,
and Hinduism... We must be tuned in, as it
were, to those communities of believers in
order to recognize "whatever is true
and holy in the religious traditions of Buddhism,
Hinduism, and Islam as a reflection of that
truth which enlightens all men" (M.R.,
55). Christians living in countries, where
these religions flourish, have to breathe
an atmosphere very different and far removed
from Christianity. We think it important to
enter into dialogue with those of other faiths,
especially about the meaning of life.
We can ourselves be enriched by this dialogue, purified by
it, and indeed it can call us to an interior
conversion. It is in this sense that No. 41e
of the Final Document invites us "to
open ourselves to what is valid in non-Christian
spiritual traditions". This dialogue
can help us to overcome real difficulties,
misunderstandings and sometimes persecutions.
All over the Congregation there is need for
a great effort in this direction, because
apart from some exceptions, little has been
done in this field. A great task awaits us
in Asia, in Africa and in other continents,
because today there is such mobility of peoples
and races.
3.7. We must therefore
search together, and with others, to find
ways and means of bringing this inculturation
concretely into our work of evangelizing,
into our community life and into our spirituality,
while expressing the option of the Congregation
for the most abandoned, especially the poor.
Our experience of sharing in small groups,
and in basic popular communities, will certainly
help us (M.R., No. 51). Our search at the level of the local Church should
include lay people, priests and religious,
for "we are even more aware of the demands
for a new evangelization, which is a challenge
for the whole Church" (F.D., No. 79).
To achieve this inculturation in our evangelizing
work, many interesting research projects exist
in our respective Churches. We are earnestly
invited to get to know them, to participate
in them, and to join in this research according
to our charism.
3.8. As regards our
community life the Chapter tells us that "it
is necessary to continue to seek... structural
models which are suited to an apostolic life
in community" (F.D., No.30)
in order "to find new forms... giving
a religious community expression to our apostolic
life" (F.D., No 34).
Wherever we live, let us participate in this
search with other missionary Institutes who
are close to us. The Chapter gives us certain
guide-lines when it makes clear that "the
choice in favor of the abandoned, especially
the poor, demands of us an incarnation or
inculturation into geographical regions, social
circumstances, cultural realms and church
situations which are consistent with the special
thrust of our call" (F.D., No. 27). It is an appeal to Provincial Chapters to establish
choices and priorities while taking into account
our particular charism.
3.9. On the other hand
religious apostolic life, in general, bears
the clear mark of its origins, often European.
This is true in our case. So if we wish to
live our apostolic life together in a way
which corresponds to different world cultures,
it seems to us necessary to reflect deeply
on the manner in which we are to live this
consecrated life. Can we not, with other religious
of our own country or continent, do some research
together so as to find out the best way of
expressing in our culture, the vows of chastity,
obedience and poverty? Here again we are invited
to be creative, to draw deeply from the "old
and the new", from the realities of the
present, as well as from the living traditions
of our people, and from the Gospel which is
always a source of life.
4. Conclusion
4.1. This diversity
in the Congregation between continents, which
is even expressed by different rites, is good
and even necessary. It is a sign that we are
in communion with the peoples to whom we belong.
It reflects the Catholicism of the Church
present in diverse cultures. It is an appeal
to each one to be open in heart and soul to
the Spirit who is present in all the continents.
The Good News is welcomed on all the different pathways of
the world: in Africa, in Asia, in Oceania,
in the Americas, and in Europe. Sometimes
on the same continent, in the same country,
or even within the same province, there may
be different approaches to it expressed. But
what unites us is this Gospel of the Lord
Jesus. It questions and purifies our different
cultures. It invites us continually to brotherhood,
to be open to those who differ from us, and
to a dialogue which purifies, and is ever
a source of enrichment.
4.2. The broad outlines
of the message of the XXIst General Chapter
are an appeal for a more profound conversion
on our part. We are invited to take another
step forward during the coming six years,
to be more "authentic" and more
"daring" apostles. "We want
to encourage the growth of these seeds of
hope" which we find in all the continents.
We are more and more convinced that our Alphonsian
charism is a gift for the people of God (F.D.,
No. 6). We desire to share it in the Church. May we all
together be filled with zeal for the spread
of the Gospel, and following in the footsteps
of Saint Alphonsus, may we proclaim this Good
News to the most abandoned, especially the
poor: "God loves you!"
As we end this reflection we pray also that Mary, the first
disciple of the Redeemer, may lead you on
the way, which identifies you with Christ,
the Redeemer. She is "the most perfect
icon of freedom and liberation" which
we are called to bring to the world with abundant
Redemption.
With fraternal greetings
in the name of the General Council.
Juan M. Lasso de la Vega, C.Ss.R.
Superior
General
Translated from the original
French.
