SPIRITUALITY
Our most important challenge

COMMUNICANDA 1
Nr. Prot. 0000 0028/98
Rome, 25 February 1998

Dear Confreres,

1. "We always thank God for you all, and always mention you in our prayers. For we remember before our God and Father how you put your faith into practice, how your love made you work so hard and how your hope in Our Lord Jesus Christ is firm" (1 Thess. 1, 2-3). Five months after the close of the XXII General Chapter and on this day, the anniversary of the Approbation of our Constitutions, we send you this document as a follow up to the Chapter, indicating as well some possible ways by which we hope to be of service to the Congregation.

2. The General Chapter entrusted to the General Government the composition of a Communicanda in order to introduce a more thorough study of the Message and the Orientations already sent to the whole Congregation (Postulata of the XXII General Chapter, 1.1.4.). You are already aware that these Chapter documents are centred on spirituality, the theme chosen for the present sexennium, in the light of which the Congregation wishes to understand and live every element of its life. The desire to treat this subject was, however, already expressed in some of the pre-chapter Regional Meetings, confirming that this need is felt throughout a significant part of our missionary Family.

3. We consider, moreover, that the choice of spirituality is in keeping with the direction taken in recent years by General Chapters. This is clear from the respective Final Documents and in particular from the commitment "to put the emphasis on the explicit, prophetic and liberating proclamation of the Gospel to the poor, allowing ourselves to be evangelised by the poor" (XXI General Chapter, Final Document, No. 11). In this context, the option for spirituality can be seen in all its depth and urgency.

4. This Communicanda does not intend to approach the subject of spirituality in an exhaustive or scholastic manner. Rather, we wish to launch a reflection on this subject chosen by the General Chapter and offer our confrères some help to be authentically Redemptorist today. Spirituality is essentially a personal and communitarian experience of God in Christ, the Redeemer, by the work of the Holy Spirit. But we know too that this personal experience is lived out differently according to culture and Region. So, we hope that this document will be taken up by each Unit and studied by all the members.

5. We wish to call your attention to a certain risk of which the Chapter itself was aware. The subject of spirituality could divert us from our everyday work and from the pressing and difficult problems of the mission. Let us say at once that spirituality does not mean a turning in on oneself. Neither is it an escape from personal responsibility nor from an essential involvement in the events of our daily life. We have no desire to theorise on spirituality, but to remain keenly aware of our customary duties as well as the urgent needs which call for our effective response. In addition to our own efforts, we also depend on the collaboration of the laity, who have become closely involved in the ministry of different Units. If, on the one hand, they can assimilate our spirituality by living and working with us, they likewise can help us to remain closely connected with reality and life's daily problems.

6. We do not want to give the impression that we are discussing this subject of spirituality simply because it is fashionable today. We are aware of the present popularity of spirituality and even its commercial success. There exists a veritable supermarket of spirituality, ranging from "New Age" to assorted esoteric sects, which seduce many of our contemporaries. This phenomenon has little in common with the demands of a revealed faith, which begins by an obedient listening to the Word and aims at a responsible encounter with a person, Jesus Christ.

7. Spirituality is something which should unite the entire Congregation. Nonetheless, we must not forget the great diversity of its situations and expectations. This is true both of Regions and cultures as well as of individuals. There are some confrères who are fortunate to possess a stable and solid spirituality, while others are confused and yet others who see themselves still searching for something which seems to elude them. These interior states, in which the grace of God mingles mysteriously with the events of one's life, are not limited to any particular age group. Each Unit should be aware of these different situations and adapt these reflections appropriately.

The reasons for this choice

8. We must ask ourselves first of all: why did the Chapter choose the subject of spirituality as the most important challenge for the whole Congregation in this sexennium? A response to this question will enable us to make our first entry into the urgency of the theme. We are convinced that the following reasons provide some answers to this question. However, we expect that our thinking will be examined in each community.

9. The Congregation has evidently identified an excessive activism in our life or, at the very least, an insufficient measure of reflection in the face of the abundant activity we undertake. We need to rediscover the deepest reasons for what we do. For Redemptorists, these reasons should bring us back essentially to a person, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer: "the one thing necessary" (Luke 10, 42). The Chapter itself clearly recognised this need when it said that our "principal concern ought to be the place which God occupies in our existence"(Final Message, n. 3). This is a reality we dare not ignore. We will find human fulfilment and realise ourselves as Redemptorists according to the measure in which we do indeed make God the centre of our life.

10. A further reason for this choice by the Chapter is clearly linked to the present moment of Redemptorist history. Many of us remember our formation -- we refer to the years preceding the Second Vatican Council -- which was greatly inspired by the norms and values of observance. In the wake of the Council, another understanding became popular and emphasised the fulfilment of the person and his freedom. The events of recent years suggest that these models are not mutually exclusive. If in the judgement of some, the first model had at times favoured "an observance without heart", in the opinion of others, the second model at times created "a freedom without direction". As a frequent result, dialogue within the community has just been marking time, apostolic projects proved to be of short duration and there came about a crisis of identity. We believe that the General Chapter saw in spirituality an element capable of making sense of the concept of freedom in community by outlining a possible and more credible way forward for the immediate future.

11. The urgent choice of spirituality may have yet another explanation. We live in an era of constant change and of ever increasing technological progress, even though not on at an equal rate in all the Regions. It requires an effort to keep in step with the times in which we live. Not only technological and scientific changes but, in a more profound way, the cultural changes that surround us severely test the standards by which we live. If in the past our Rule, our traditions, heroic confrères or the Saints on our altars have all constituted certain credible points of reference for us, today we find ourselves unsure as we face a new world in which the relevance of these models is not easily recognised.

To be able to speak convincingly of "following Christ" in a world which apparently has no one to follow, we ourselves need a steady anchor which prevents us from drifting with the tide and living in a purely superficial manner. We recognise the need for something which would help us achieve a synthesis within ourselves in order to arrive at an inner cohesion, independent of external factors that are forever changing. This "something" the Chapter has glimpsed in spirituality.

12. Our difficulty in achieving this inner cohesion has roots, too, in some developments in theological thinking. Consider how much more broadly the notion of Redemption has been conceived in recent times. Those of us who have been formed with a certain emphasis on the salvation of the soul, have gradually seen this concept extended to include the salvation of the whole human person (Const. 5) and we now understand that "Copiosa Redemptio" places us in a new relationship with other cultures and religions. We cannot exclude from its scope such issues as ecology, the defence of human rights, etc. On the purely theoretical level it is not difficult to understand this relationship, but in practice how many of us have experienced a decrease of missionary zeal, precisely because we are faced with a new purpose which often seems to be beyond our own personal resources?

13. We have had many opportunities for study and ongoing formation, whether on extraordinary occasions, such as the centenaries of our saints, beatifications, etc, or in the normal programme of the various Units. We have to admit, however, that a profound renewal of our life is not always commensurate with the considerable effort made in organising these initiatives. We must surely admit that we feel in the deepest part of ourselves that rupture between faith and life which continues to be one of the disconcerting signs of our time. Precisely because we have so many possibilities to increase our knowledge and be renewed, we are all the more distressed by the difficulty we experience in incarnating in our ordinary life all that we are learning.

14. Our way of praying reflects clearly this dichotomy between faith and life. Already the Chapter of 1991 recalled that "we abandoned 'spiritual practices' considered inauthentic or unsuited to the present day without substituting others capable of filling the vacuum produced" (Final Document, n. 33). This has resulted in the recurrent lack of a programme of common prayer and, in general, in a certain spiritual void in which many confrères have difficulty in finding their way. Given the spiritually listless atmosphere of some communities, we might well ask ourselves whether it is legitimate to speak of these as a religious community at all? We have to ask if it is right, in the light of our consecration, to be passively resigned to such a secularised ambience. We must ask ourselves if this manner of presenting our community life -- or rather not presenting it -- can have even a minimal attraction for the younger generation? Each confrere must search for his own personal responsibility in this area.

15. This spiritual void has often been the reason for confrères searching elsewhere for other forms of spirituality or ecclesial movements: seeking outside what they could not find within the community. No one, of course, can be denied the right to his own personal spiritual development. But where this phenomenon continues to exist, certain questions should be asked. Is the community capable of creating a suitable environment for the fulfilment of the confrères? Does it offer that human space necessary for the expression of our deepest desires? Does it seek to respond to these desires in the context of "a well ordered community" (Const. 44-45; Stat. 041) and in an satisfactory programme of prayer?

16. We cannot remain indifferent either to the number of confrères who leave the Congregation after a few years of profession or ministry. The very fact that some of them are still unhappy after leaving makes it imperative to ask if we have helped them to fulfil themselves humanly and spiritually. Even though similar phenomena have appeared in periods before ours and are perceived in other religious families as well, we cannot exempt ourselves from posing certain questions. What did these confrères seek and not find in a Redemptorist community? Do we consider ourselves fraternally responsible for each other's vocation? These questions naturally ought to make us think not only of the confrères who leave, but also of those who, while remaining in the Congregation, have nonetheless adopted, in an imperceptible way, an aimless style of life which calls in question the very basic reasons for our living together.

17. In a more general sense, we must admit that in our daily life, in our interpersonal relations and in our pastoral work, we do not always succeed in communicating the real reasons for our consecration and our ministry, answering "anyone who asks us to explain the hope we have in us" (1 Pet. 3,15). Have we learned to share our religious experiences among ourselves? What would the world lack today if suddenly it were deprived of the Redemptorist charism? What have the insights of Alphonsus to say to our culture? Are we succeeding in showing how our Redemptorist spirituality is contemporary and apt for today and are we offering it to the laity that they may share it? Are we proposing it to young people as a way of life ? In what way do we understand ourselves to be "a school of true evangelical spirituality"(Vita Consecrata, 93)?

18. These questions not only call for serious consideration, but also for an effort to recover our particular identity and to restore our authentic family milieu. Perhaps a good way of gauging where we stand spiritually is the measure to which, as individuals and as members of a community, we are content and at peace. We all ought to recover a sense of belonging and a healthy pride in being a Redemptorist. Perhaps this is the fundamental reason which led the General Chapter to opt for spirituality.

Elements of redemptorist spirituality

19. Those who took part in the XXII General Chapter, followed it via the Internet or have read the Final Message, the Orientations and the Postulata, are aware of what the Chapter wanted to say to the Congregation. They have probably noticed that the Chapter spoke more frequently of spirituality rather than Redemptorist spirituality. We do not suggest that there exists a dichotomy between these values. Basic spirituality lived out according to our proper vocation becomes Redemptorist spirituality. Here we wish merely to draw attention to the language of the Chapter. Its insistence on the use of the simple word "spirituality" implies at least three consequences.

20. The first is that we are becoming aware of the need to return to the fundamentals of our spiritual life. Much more than any specific knowledge of our charism, we need to rediscover the true structure of a life of faith and the basic meaning of our consecration. If knowledge of our specifically Redemptorist charism becomes an end in itself, it runs the risk of becoming simply an academic exercise.

21. The second consequence is that we must not err by being short sighted, that is, by focussing our attention simply on what is specific to us and forgetting the wider horizon of spirituality in which the Redemptorist charism is to be found. "In the vast holy Church, the Congregation is not a side chapel. Its mission places it right in the choir of the Church, where the altar is and where is celebrated the Passover of Christ for the salvation of the world. It is called to perform that which is essential, to prolong Christ and the process of salvation which is in Christ. What then is its specific mission within the whole Church? Its specific mission is to carry out the essential mission of the Church, fully and intensively" (F. X. Durrwell, C.Ss.R). We cannot claim that our spirituality has exclusive elements, marking us out as distinctive in the Church. Many of the factors traditionally considered as Redemptorist -- preaching to the poor, parish missions and the Devout Life -- can be found in other forms of spirituality and in other religious Families. It is rather the manner in which these elements are bound together which, in a certain sense, characterises us. This manner in its turn includes many other factors: personal life-style, how we relate to others, how we speak to them and a specially friendly community atmosphere. All these elements make those who approach us and know us well say instinctively "he is a Redemptorist".

22. A third consequence, and surely the most important, is that the choice of spirituality, even before that of "Redemptorist spirituality" obliges each one of us to focus our attention on our personal relation with Christ, to see if this is "the primary motivating force of our way of life" (Final Message, n. 1). "Whatever the context, we believe that all Redemptorists are being called at this time to focus on a central aspect of our spirituality, i.e., on how we nourish and express our relationship in faith with Jesus (Final Message, n. 3). It is the Holy Spirit who ceaselessly draws us to this relationship and energises it. It is He who awakens the desire to respond fully, making each one of us configured to Christ (Vita Consecrata, 19). It is He who convinces our intellect, making it accept in joy and love what in the eyes of the world may appear as foolishness.

23. Turning more directly to our Redemptorist spirituality, we will find in our Constitutions ample material to define it. By praying them and studying them, we can understand the meaning of our vocation and the essential traits which characterise it. These pages provide us with the means to understand the various aspects of our Redemptorist identity, which substantially consists in "the following of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, by preaching the word of God to the poor" (Const.1). A growing familiarity with our "Rule of Life" will enable us to discover a cohesive vision of our spirituality which will otherwise remain rather vague and intangible.

24. In the light of this basic choice and of our tradition which has developed from it, we can single out some constituent elements among which we must always distinguish what is essential from that which is peripheral. We draw these to your attention without claiming to have the final word or to follow a strict methodology: