I.
SEE
But when he comes, the Spirit
of truth, he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own, but he will
speak what he hears, and will declare
to you the things that are coming.
(Jn. 16,13)
5. What might the Holy Spirit teach us about
our particular way of discipleship, the
vita apostolica, a life that is
“at one and the same time specially dedicated
to God and a life of missionary work”
(Con. 1)? What could the Spirit be saying
to Redemptorists today? How do we listen
to the Spirit of truth, who declares to
us the things that are coming (Jn. 16,13)?
6. Where can we begin? Redemptorist
apostolic life is, first and foremost,
life. So, a useful point of departure
for looking at our way of discipleship
is to search for signs of vitality among
Redemptorist missionaries today. This
search is particularly critical for Redemptorists
since, from the very beginning, our Congregation
has had a particular insight into the
abundance of life that is found with Jesus
Christ; hence, our motto Copiosa apud
Eum Redemptio. The search for vitality
in our apostolic life cannot be an exercise
in fantasy or wishful thinking. Although
we do not yet see clearly what the Spirit
is bringing to birth in the world, the
Church and therefore, our Congregation,
we still can identify signs of new vitality.
The
fascination exerted over Redemptorists
today
by the person of Jesus
7. I am convinced that most Redemptorists love
Jesus Christ and express that love through
generosity, self-sacrifice and perseverance.
When Redemptorists preach, they speak
about Jesus as a person whom we know intimately,
a person who displays the fullness of
the beauty and love of God from the cross [1]
, and in whose Gospel we discover
the way to true liberation and solidarity.
8. In the visitations of the Units of the Congregation,
the members of the General Council have
a privileged opportunity to see the sort
of power that Redemptorists discover in
the Redeemer. These visits demonstrate
that the profile of Redemptorists contained
in Constitution 20 is not an idyllic fantasy.
The general consultors and I have witnessed
firsthand the sort of heroism that characterizes
the Congregation: confreres who “denying
themselves, are always ready to undertake
what is demanding”, whether the task at
hand is a particularly difficult mission
or simply persevering in their vocation
when, like Abraham, they must “hope against
hope” (Rom. 4,18).
9. The source of this audacious
love is the Redeemer, whom Redemptorists
continue to “follow with hearts full of
joy” (Con. 20). The first and most important
sign of vitality in our apostolic life
is the constant rediscovery and recommitment
of Redemptorists to Jesus Christ, who
is the way, the truth and the life (Jn.
14,6).
The
desire to be born anew
10. Far from being some sort of unchanging bastion
that pretends to exist outside of history,
the Congregation struggles to continue
its pilgrimage with creative fidelity
to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The
Second Vatican Council challenged religious
to begin a process of renewal guided by
essential criteria: a return to the Word
of God, especially the Gospels, a return
to the spirit of the founder and the fundamental
values of the origins, and the need to
give a concrete response to the signs
of the times. [2] The principles of the decree
Perfectae Caritatis and the doctrine
of the magisterium in the wake of the
Council were embraced with enthusiasm
by the Congregation and, to date, the
renewal has produced concrete results.
11. Our Constitutions and Statutes offer
norms that are clearly rooted in the spiritual
insight of Alphonsus yet flexible enough
to permit the necessary inculturation
of our apostolic life in the vast panoply
of cultures in which the Congregation
carries out its mission. Some confreres
have dedicated decades of their lives
to the painstaking research of our history
and spiritual patrimony and have produced
a wealth of new resources for understanding
our apostolic life. In the last forty
years, we have deepened our appreciation
for the life and original inspiration
of Saint Alphonsus as well as his missionary
methods and spirituality. We know much
more about the lives of our other saints
and beati as well as the adventure
of grace that has been the history of
the Congregation over the last two hundred
and seventy-six years.
12. The fruit of such research
does not gather dust in community libraries.
Many confreres participate in courses
on our spirituality and history in Roma
as well as at the provincial and regional
levels. Regular meetings of major superiors
work hard to evaluate the strengths and
weaknesses of the efforts of their Units
and a number of provincial superiors are
willing to take initiatives to respond
to new pastoral urgencies. And I thank
God for a commendable degree of dissatisfaction
within the Congregation! We tell each
other that we can be better than the status
quo and refuse to be seduced by mediocrity.
Many of us hope to be more coherent in
our decisions and more prophetic in our
lifestyle. Far from useless carping, such
discontent can be a sign of vitality and
indicate openness to conversion.
The
fundamental importance of mission
13. The renewed Constitutions insist that apostolic
charity, “through which the members share
in the mission of Christ the Redeemer”
(Con. 52), gives unity to Redemptorist
life, a life which finds its full expression
in the vita apostolica. Successive
General Chapters reminded the Congregation
that not every pastoral activity or lifestyle
can be justified as a coherent expression
of our charism. In 1985, the XX General
Chapter challenged the Congregation to
an explicit, prophetic and liberating
proclamation of the Gospel to the poor
while, at the same time, allowing ourselves
also to be evangelized by them [3]
. The XXI General Chapter reminded
us that our community life constitutes
the first sign of our being preachers
of the Gospel; moreover, our community
is an effective presence of the Reign
of God in the midst of men and women. [4]
14. On the one hand, the reflection of the last
years has led many Redemptorists to glimpse
a mission that excites our imagination
and invites us to undertake bold and prophetic
initiatives, going beyond traditional
frontiers to proclaim Jesus Christ through
inculturation, ecumenical and inter-religious
dialogue as well as new forms of communications
media, while maintaining a preference
for the poor and excluded ones in society.
While parish missions and other forms
of itinerant preaching still enjoy pride
of place among us, we have discovered
new possibilities through ministry in
shrines, parishes, retreat centers, mission
stations, media, spiritual direction and
catechesis.
15. On the other hand, the debate
on the essential features of our mission
– an argument that has grown sharper because
of the process of restructuring – reminds
us that we are not exempt from making
choices and must struggle to anchor our
decisions in criteria that are proposed
by the Gospel and our understanding of
the Redemptorist charism. Like Alphonsus,
Clement and all of our fathers in faith,
we must decide to whom we are called,
how we are to live and what pastoral methods
are appropriate in carrying out the mission
we have been given. A new appreciation
for the fundamental importance of mission
naturally challenges any tendency towards
passivity or a tendency to “settle down
in surroundings and structures in which
[our] work would no longer be missionary”
(Con. 15). At the same time, by underscoring
the importance of community life and spirituality,
the reflection of the last General Chapters
has cautioned Redemptorists against simply
reducing mission to pastoral work.
Faithfulness
to the abandoned poor
16. The General Council has
seen many examples of the fundamental
faithfulness of Redemptorists to the abandoned
poor. Some of these choices put at risk
the very lives of confreres. I am thinking
of the Redemptorists who have stayed close
to the suffering people of Iraq or the
confreres in Côte d’Ivoire, who remained
in a region torn by civil war and deserted
by most of the clergy, including the diocesan
bishop. There are Redemptorists who proclaim
the Gospel in a foreign land where the
apparent results of their labor are much
more modest than could be expected in
their Province of origin, like the Brazilian
confreres in Surinam or Polish missionaries
in Siberia. Some Provinces have opened
communities in new cultural situations,
like ministry among Afro-Colombians in
Buenaventura (Colombia) or the first efforts
to establish a missionary presence in
Laos. Such commitments demonstrate the
special attention the Congregation continues
to show for the poor, the deprived and
the oppressed (Con. 4), reminding us that
it is more important to be where there
is pastoral neglect than to remain in
well established Churches with an impressive
number of participants.
The
search for communion
17. From its very beginning, the Congregation has
been very close to the people it serves
and has tried in different ways to involve
lay people in its missionary efforts.
This tradition received fresh impetus
in recent decades, beginning with the
XXI General Chapter, which recognized
a need for openness to cooperation with
the laity and expressed support for fresh
initiatives, including the establishment
of a new figure in the Congregation, the
“Lay Missionary of the Most Holy Redeemer”. [5]
18. Although there is still
much to be done towards an effective integration
of laity in our mission, there appears
to be a growing consensus in the Congregation
regarding the value of shared initiatives
involving Redemptorists and lay people.
It is also clear that both lay people
and Redemptorists need theological, pastoral
and spiritual formation to ensure that
this association gives testimony to our
essential equality before the Lord, while
respecting the particular vocation of
everyone. The Congregation will not retreat
from the search for the communion that
makes possible a shared mission in service
of the Church and humanity.
The
need for a renewed spirituality
19. Finally, Redemptorists are striving to apply
the spiritual patrimony of the Congregation
to the new circumstances in which we live
and minister today. There is a sense among
us that the spiritual journey of confreres
who have gone before us, beginning with
Alphonsus but not restricted to him, gives
us precious insights into our way of following
Christ today. In this search, we need
to have clear and trustworthy points of
reference that define the orientation
of our missionary spirituality. Our vision
must be rooted in the Gospels, in the
spirit of Alphonsus and in the actual
experience of Redemptorists across the
centuries. Of course, this spiritual search
cannot be mired in the past or, what would
be more harmful, seek to transport uncritically
the past into the present.
[6]
20. The General Council is encouraged to see the
revival of common retreats in many Provinces
as well as the interest in publications,
workshops and courses on the essential
elements of Redemptorist spirituality.
A good number of (Vice-)Provinces programmed
special events during the year of reflection
on Redemptorist apostolic life. Often
the attraction of lay people to our spiritual
patrimony has goaded Redemptorists to
greater study and appreciation for our
heritage.
21. While I see many examples
of vitality in our apostolic life today
our Congregation, like the Church, passes
through different stages in the long pilgrimage
of history. We are not extraterrestrials
who are exempt from the same forces that
are profoundly changing individual societies
and their institutions as well as the
world as a whole. Some of these forces
may serve to obscure signs of vitality
in our apostolic life or even lead us
to wrench the mission of the Congregation
from its divine origin and reduce it simply
to statistics, demographics and cultural
trends. Let me try to introduce some of
the more worrisome features of this problem.
The
consequences of a precipitous fall in
numbers in the West
22. There is ample evidence to test the optimism
of Redemptorists today. Over the last
five decades, like most major Orders and
Congregations of male religious, our Congregation
has suffered a drastic decline in numbers,
especially in Western Europe, North America
and Oceania. The reasons behind this phenomenon
are many and complex. For the purposes
of this reflection, I propose to highlight
some of the results of this decline, rather
than explore its possible causes.
23. The Units most affected by this decline have
played a long and remarkably fruitful
role in the mission of the Congregation.
They not only exercised great influence
in the history of the local Church of
their particular region, but also implanted
the Congregation throughout the southern
hemisphere. A small number of these Provinces
continue to bear the lion’s share of financing
common projects of the Congregation, such
as the Solidarity Fund, the Alphonsian
Academy and the General Government, while
discreetly providing direct support to
needy units throughout the world. The
decreased number of confreres and their
elevated age cannot help but reduce the
scope of possibilities of these Units
and the rising cost of medical care for
the elderly has shrunk the amount of financial
support these Units can offer to the Congregation.
What is more, these Units have gained
valuable insights regarding the complicated
relationship among faith, religion and
a secularized society. The decline of
the Congregation in these regions impoverishes
the life of the Church.
24. Beyond such immediate consequences, however,
the apparent unattractiveness of our way
of life among young people in the West
has produced serious doubts among some
bishops, laity and even Redemptorists
regarding the future of both the Congregation
and consecrated life itself. In their
day-to-day governance as well as planning
for the future, many Units feel obliged
to favor maintenance over mission and
a vocabulary of retrenchment and diminishment
has replaced a language of abundance that
traditionally was associated with the
consecrated life [7]
.
25. Coming to terms with a much
narrower horizon of possibilities, confreres
often express a wistful resignation, even
sadness, as they recall the “golden age”
of their Unit. It is not an exaggeration
to observe that the Congregation in the
West may be a victim of our past success,
as confreres recall a historical period
when an unusually high number of candidates
presented themselves, thereby unleashing
the energy that made possible a dramatic
expansion of ministry.
Passage
from legalism to ???
26. The Congregation is still living the consequences
of the passage from the Rule to the revised
Constitutions and Statutes. From the beginning,
Redemptorists have codified certain norms
aimed at safeguarding the most cherished
values of our way of following Christ.
These norms served to guide the Congregation
in its most important decisions, while
transmitting to successive generations
the spiritual experience of the apostolic
life. For the major part of our history,
the goal of Redemptorists was to live
the prescriptions of the Rule as a way
to holiness and so carry out the work
of the Congregation. Observance was the
key value. The Rule governed our ministry
and community life to such a degree that
it is said that one could go to any house
we had throughout the world and find great
similarities in the style of life, down
to the furnishing of each confrere's room.
27. In the light of the renewal begun by the decree
Perfectae Caritatis, observance
of the prescriptions of the Rule was seen
as an exaggerated emphasis on law and
timeworn ascetical practices, even a preference for the letter of the law over its spirit.
28. In contrast, the revised Constitutions and
Statutes offer rich theological content
as well as a real flexibility that permits
their “adjustment to the different character
of each particular mission, always, of
course, in fidelity to the charism of
the Congregation” (Con. 96). If one examines
the Constitutions and Statutes in the
light of the criteria mandated by n. 2
of the decree Perfectae Caritatis,
there is little doubt that they “connect
us with the original spirit of the Institute”
and provide for “the adaptation of that
spirit to the changed conditions of our
time”. However, it must be asked whether
in reality the Constitutions are proving
capable of passing on Redemptorist life?
I refer, of course, to the apparently
minor role the Constitutions play in the
reflection, decisions and daily life of
many Units of the Congregation.
29. Over the last decades, as traditions and norms
have lost their significance, a critical
value has been assigned to personal experience
and the capacity of each individual to
encounter God. When filtered by subjective
criteria, older practices and formulas
no longer mediate a personally valid experience
of God. [8]
This may help to explain the
struggle local communities have in establishing
a regular life of common prayer. Eighteen
years ago the XXI General Chapter noted
a challenge that continues even today:
“when we left behind the practices considered
unauthentic or unsuited to the present
day, there did not arise new ones capable
of filling the vacuum produced”. [9]
30. The unfamiliarity of the Constitutions and
their apparently inconsequential role
in much of the life of the Congregation
deprives Redemptorists of a common language
as well as principles with which we can
measure our lives and base our decisions.
31. When a Province has to make
choices regarding pastoral methods, develop
expectations for community life or consider
establishing or abandoning foundations,
the debate is governed by beliefs, attitudes
or opinions that may or may not have much
of a connection with the values expressed
in the Constitutions. Unhelpful dichotomies
continue to appear, albeit in new forms.
One hears less about “Carthusians at home
and apostles abroad” and more about “being”
versus “doing”, “activism” versus “contemplation”,
“missions” versus “parishes”. It seems
to me that these and similar examples
of juxtaposition reflect a fundamental
disconnection with the spirituality of
the Constitutions and Statutes.
Clericalism
32. We should ask ourselves whether or not there
is a rise in the Congregation of a type
of clericalism that distances us from
the truth of Constitution 54, which reminds
us that religious profession (and not
ordination) is the definitive act of the
whole missionary life of Redemptorists.
Clericalism is rooted in the idea that
in whatever pertains to religion, it is
the right and the responsibility of clerics
to make the decisions and give the orders,
and the job of lay people to carry them
out. This sort of clericalism is not growing
in the Congregation. However, there may
be a subtle but real increase of a clericalist
culture, that is, an environment in which
the Redemptorist vocation is reduced to
the ordained priesthood and our mission
is thought of in terms of cultic ministries
that are reserved to priests. Two phenomena
point to this deeper possibility.
33. First, the number of Redemptorist Brothers
continues to diminish in practically every
Unit of the Congregation. There are many
reasons behind this fact, but what concerns
me are the Units that no longer promote
the vocation of Brothers. This is particularly
worrisome in Provinces or Vice-Provinces
that have a healthy number of clerical
students, but argue that cultural reasons
account for the absence of Brothers. It
is said that people consider a Brother
to be “less” than a priest – a sort of
incomplete cleric! If people really believe
this, then the Congregation has an opportunity
to challenge such a serious misconception
with an example of brotherhood in which
all are missionaries by virtue of their
profession (Con. 55) and all the members
are equal, each in his own way playing
his part in living the life and carrying
out the mission to which they have dedicated
themselves (Con. 35).
34. Another worrisome sign is the apparent ease
with which ordained members abandon the
Congregation to be incardinated in a diocese.
This passage often occurs early in the
life of a Redemptorist priest, who sees
incardination as an attractive solution
to a personal crisis. Sadly, there are
bishops who seem eager to welcome a religious
priest, especially if the cleric is young
or has specialized formation. The diocesan
priesthood is a worthy vocation but one
that is fundamentally distinct from our
way of discipleship. When a confrere is
incardinated into a diocese, I have often
heard it said “At least his priesthood
is saved!” What is meant by prizing priesthood
and making less important the life in
which it is exercised, that is, the Congregation
or a diocese?
35. Beyond clericalism, there
may be other castes that divide the Congregation.
An exaggerated value of “professionalism,”
with an accompanying dress code and manner
of speaking, or a partition along ideological
lines that features a confrontation between
opposing opinions on a theological or
political question, weaken the corporate
witness of a Province. Ethnic, national
or regional differences create troublesome
barriers among confreres. Like clericalism,
these sources of fragmentation suggest
that for a number of confreres, there
are more powerful points of identification
than our common profession as Redemptorists.
The
question of the prophectic dimension
36. Today many confreres speak about the diminished
testimony of our way of life – that the
prophetic dimension of our vocation is
weak, even absent. This concern emerged
strongly this year in several regional
meetings, especially in Latin America.
Although confreres in other regions may
not express the concern as emphatically,
I wonder if there is not a widespread
unease among Redemptorists, an anxious
feeling that we have allowed the radical
nature of our vocation to be compromised
by a more bourgeois lifestyle in which
corporate witness is neutered by personal
preference. We sense that Redemptorist
life was never meant to be a well-balanced
career with regular hours, clear job descriptions
and all sorts of guarantees. Yet, often
we are uncertain what sort of witness
to offer: what do we proclaim…what do
we denounce?
37. In the first section of this letter, I invited
you to think about what the Holy Spirit
might be saying to us about our particular
way of discipleship, the vita apostolica.
By examining some features of the Congregation
today, I tried to indicate both signs
of vitality as well as reasons for us
to be concerned for our way of discipleship.
From your own experience, you have probably
thought of other examples of vigor and
decline. I would like to illuminate the
reality of Congregation by turning to
what I consider to be the vow that can
make a crucial contribution to the apostolic
life of Redemptorists today: the vow of
obedience. Before anyone gets too nervous
and begins to see specters of authoritarianism
and centralization, let me try to explain.
II.
JUDGE
Have this mind among yourselves,
which was in Christ Jesus… (Phil. 2,5)
The
vows today
38. Religious profession is the definitive act
of the missionary life of a Redemptorist
(Con. 54). The force of this profession
is not simply a pledge to live the consequences
of the three vows, together with the vow
and oath of perseverance. More than the
assumption of obligations, religious profession
represents a movement of the Holy Spirit,
which leads Redemptorists to spare no
effort to arrive at the total gift
of themselves as a response to the Lord
who first loved them (Con. 56). The vows
are certainly of great consequence in
the life-long process of self-giving,
but so is a commitment to a “life of brotherly
love” and “apostolic charity”, as our
formula for profession makes clear.
39. For Redemptorists, the vows are to be lived
in the light of the mission received by
the Congregation and have as much to do
with the community as the individual members.
Individually, the vows might be seen as
determining how Redemptorists deal with
the social order, sexuality and property.
Together they represent a freely assumed
and public commitment to a life of self-giving
that is modeled after the pattern of Christ's
love for His Church. Like His, our gift
is total and irreversible. [10]
40. Can it be helpful, then, to single out one
vow as having a unique value for the vita
apostolica in the first decade of
the twenty-first century? If so, which
one? When one considers the evangelical
testimony of the vows against the background
of current events, one could make a case
that religious chastity offers a unique
witness in the face of the public scandals
caused by the sexual misconduct of clerics
and religious as well as the reduction
of sexual expression to a necessary biological
urge. On the other hand, given our preference
for the abandoned and among them, the
poor, we certainly want to understand
better and live more coherently the evangelical
counsel of poverty. However, I will argue
that obedience plays a particularly decisive
role in the apostolic life today.
41. It is practically a cliché to say that we live
in midst of a rapidly changing world,
Church and Congregation. Our age is called
a transition time that is marked by “great
advances in science and technology as
well as powerful means of communication
that sometimes colonize the spirit”. [11]
There is the ambiguous experience
of globalization that makes us interdependent
at the same time as it undermines particular
cultural identities. But our day also
presents “kairos moments in which
we are surprised and realize that the
God who speaks is the Lord of history”.
We experience a “thirst for and crisis
of meaning that holds out to us a thousand
proposals and promises”. [12]
42. Even in the “in-between time” of the present
moment, the Congregation must make choices.
It is not free to be capricious nor can
it determine the criteria for its options
by its own lights alone. Amid a cacophony
of voices that seek to “colonize” its
spirit, the Congregation needs to distinguish
the voice of Him who has called us to
be His “helpers, companions and ministers
in the great work of Redemption by preaching
the Word of salvation to the poor” (Con.
2). Because Redemptorists are called to
respond to situations of real pastoral
urgency (Con. 5), our choices should be
evaluated regularly, lest we allow ourselves
to “to settle down in surroundings and
structures in which [our] work would no
longer be missionary” (Con. 15).
43. The tumultuous experience of change in our
Institute over the last five decades as
well as the flux of the world today demand
that Redemptorists have listening and
discerning hearts that are free to follow
the promptings of the Holy Spirit. So,
I propose we give particular attention
to the vow of obedience as a commitment
to a co-responsible search for the will
of God according to the charism of the
Congregation.
44. While a complete consideration
of the vow must include the role of authority
in the apostolic life as well as the obligation
of the members to obey the legitimate
demands of their superiors, in this reflection
I would like to think about our vow in
the radical context described by Paul
VI: “Even more than a purely formal and
legalistic obeisance to Church law or
submission to ecclesiastical authority,
[obedience] is a penetration and acceptance
of the mystery of Christ, who, through
obedience, saved us. It is a continuation
of His fundamental gesture: saying Yes
to the will of the Father.” [13]
Obedience in this fundamental
sense is consonant with the Word of God
and the rich spiritual patrimony of the
Congregation and will help us distinguish
the voice of our Master and recognize
the kairos within the chaos of
our times.
A
question and a response
45. The Gospels present a number of “vocation stories,”
accounts that relate Jesus extending a
call that is accepted or rejected by the
His listeners. My favorite “story” is
the entire Gospel of John, which begins
with a question and concludes with an
invitation. The first words of Jesus are
“What are you looking for?” (Jn 1,38);
the Gospel closes with his words to Peter
“You follow me” (Jn 21,22). Unlike the
call of the apostles in the Synoptics,
the first words of Jesus to Andrew and
the other disciple is an appeal to their
desire, their dreams, and their ideals:
“What are you looking for?” The Gospel
is the story of the astounding encounter
between the God, who “so loved the world,”
and the deepest hungers of the human heart.
The call to follow comes after the revelation
of the paschal mystery in which the saving
plan of the Father is fully disclosed.
46. The search for God has always been the quest
of every being thirsting for the Absolute
and the Eternal. [14]
The great religious traditions
mirror this search, as do secularized
societies, where men and women seek some
kind of meaning in life, death, love and
suffering without reference to a revealed
faith. Like Paul in the Areopagus, if
we are attentive to the “shrines” that
these societies construct, we can discern
many altars to the Agnostos Theos
(cf. Acts 17,23).
47. For Redemptorists, the quest for ultimate meaning
finds the definitive answer in Jesus Christ.
Together with our brothers and sisters
in faith, we confess “Master, to whom
shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life. We have come to believe and are
convinced that you are the Holy One of
God” (Jn. 6,68-69). Yet, even when we
come to the joyful recognition that we
have found what we were looking for (cf.
Jn. 1,41), the search continues.
48. Our profession is the “definitive
act of our missionary life” (Con. 54),
yet it is also the continuation of the
quest. I think of the image of Jesus in
the chapel of General Curia, which presents
him in three-quarters profile. There remains
always the hidden side of the Master,
so our prayer continues to be “Your face,
o Lord, I seek” (Ps. 27,8).
Obedience
is owed to God alone
49. The necessary point of departure for considering
obedience is faith, our response to the
most fundamental vocation that we received
at baptism. In its theological sense,
obedience is owed to God alone. Any other
manifestation of religious obedience is
a mediation, a means to an end, directed
towards the only genuinely important and
decisive will in the life of a Christian
and, therefore, a Redemptorist. [15]
50. Obedience acknowledges the
primacy of God over everything and everyone. [16]
Thus, in their most fundamental
identities, the Congregation and the Church
are not structured into two classes, those
who command and those who obey. To all
His disciples, Jesus says “You have but
one teacher, and you are all brothers”
(Mt. 23,8). Everyone in the Church must
search for the will of God and all are
called to be obedient, since he who does
the will of the Father is “brother, sister
and mother” to Jesus Christ (Mt. 12,50).
Christ
is the model of obedience
51. The Constitutions recognize that Redemptorists
have been given a visible model of how
we should seek and live out the will of
God in history. The first constitution
on the vow of obedience begins “Following
the example of Christ, who came to do
the will of his Father, and give his life
as redemption for many… ” (Con. 71). Obedience
to the will of God was not something added
to Christ’s personality but rather its
full expression: “My food is to do the
will of Him who sent me” (Jn. 4,34). [17]
As His “helpers, companions
and ministers in the great work of Redemption”,
we too are called to an obedience that
continues the mission given to Christ
by the Father.
52. Thus, when Redemptorists
speak about the “mission” of the Congregation,
we are talking about obedience, not tired
slogans or prefabricated answers. By this
vow, we are “seeking the Kingdom of God
and sharing intimately in the paschal
mystery of Christ, which is the mystery
of obedience” (Con. 71).
53. The point of reference is
Christ and the mystery of His kenosis.
The concrete expression of the mission
in history is not always self-evident;
hence we search for God’s will in a spirit
of faith and love. Saint Alphonsus urges
us to continue this quest, teaching that
our true realization comes from loving
God, who is so deserving of our love,
but the perfection of the love of God
consists in uniting our will with His. [18]
What
is this «Will of God»?
54. What is this “will” of the Father that we must
seek and – like Christ – strive to carry
out within the framework of the time and
the circumstances in which the Congregation
finds itself? The answer can be found
in the first words of the prayer Jesus
gave us: to act in such a way that the
Father is recognized as the only Holy
One, that His historical and eschatological
Kingdom come and that His will be done
on earth as it is in heaven (cf. Mt. 6,9-10) [19]
. The Divine Will begins to
be done when we believe in the Son sent
by the Father out of love for the world
(Jn. 3,16ff) so that no one will perish
(cf. Jn. 6,40). The invisible point of
reference for the will of God is the Father’s
extravagant love (Mt. 5,42-48); its point
of visible reference is Christ’s behavior
towards those He loved (cf. Jn. 15,9-17). [20]
55. St. Paul lists apparently exemplary actions
that finally are worthless, if they are
done without love (1Cor. 13,1-3). Likewise,
Saint Alphonsus teaches that it is not
enough to do praiseworthy things, if the
behavior is not done in conformity to
will of God. [21]
So, too, not every pastoral
option assumed by a confrere, a local
community or a Province can be judged
as consonant with the charism of the Congregation,
if the choice is not made in harmony with
God’s will. Saint Augustine succinctly
observed Martyres non facit poena sed
causa – it is not pain that makes
martyrs but rather their cause. [22]
56. Yet the authentic experience of God always
remains the experience of otherness [23]
As Pope Benedict XVI reminds
us in his second encyclical, “However
great the similarity that may be established
between Creator and creature, the dissimilarity
between them is always greater.” [24]
The prophet invites us to
“seek the Lord while he may be found,
call on him while he is near” (Is. 55,6)
and immediately warns against any false
intimacy or facile familiarity: “For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are
your ways my ways, says the Lord. As high
as the heavens are above the earth, so
high are my ways above your ways and my
thoughts above your thoughts” (Is. 55,8-9).
57. The sublime “otherness” of God means that we
must seek His will through paths which
are consonant with His revelation. First
and foremost, the real obedience of any
disciple is “adhering to the Word with
which God reveals and communicates himself”. [25]
The following of Christ as
presented in the Gospel is the fundamental
norm of religious life and must be considered
as the supreme rule in the Congregation. [26]
58. Another mediation of God’s will is the teaching
office of the Church, which has the task
of giving an authentic interpretation
of the Word of God, teaching authoritatively
in the name of Jesus Christ. However,
this Magisterium is not superior to the
Word of God, but is its servant [27]
. It may teach only what has
been handed on to it. At the divine command
and with the help of the Holy Spirit,
it listens to this devotedly, guards the
deposit of faith with dedication and expounds
it faithfully. [28]
59. There are other mediations of God’s will that
are specific to one’s vocation in life.
Religious men and women are called to
follow the obedient Christ within an “evangelical
project or a charismatic one, inspired
by the Spirit and authenticated by the
Church.” [29] In his
apostolic exhortation, Vita Consecrata,
Pope John Paul II indicated a pressing
need today for every Institute to return
to the Rule, "since the Rule
and Constitutions provide a map for the
whole journey of discipleship, in accordance
with a specific charism confirmed by the
Church." [30]
60. The force of the our proper norms is clearly
stated in Constitution 74: “Superiors
and members then, united in community
by the Holy Spirit, must observe Constitutions,
statutes and decrees legitimately promulgated,
looking on them as the authentic means
whereby individual confreres and communities
show their constant fidelity to God's
will. In this way they carry out the mission
of Christ who said of Himself: ‘I have
come down from heaven not to do my own
will, but the will of Him who sent me’
(Jn. 6,38).” Ignorance of the Constitutions
and Statutes or their relegation to the
periphery of the life of a province or
of the entire Congregation clearly jeopardizes
the fidelity of its members.
61. Finally, a specific mediation of the will of
God for the Congregation is the voice
of the abandoned poor. We think of the
decisive encounter of Alphonsus with the
shepherds and goat herders in the heights
above Scala. What he “heard” there led
him to understand and accept the will
of God: that he leave behind the poor
of the back alleys of Naples and spend
the rest of his life among the abandoned
people of the countryside.
62. We remember that whenever Alphonsus intended
to describe his Institute to ecclesiastical
or civil authorities, he emphasized as
an essential characteristic the fact that
his communities would be located in the
midst of the abandoned poor of the countryside.
This feature distinguished the Redemptorists
from the Pii Operai and other missionary
groups that continued to live in the cities
while making an occasional foray into
the world of the abandoned.
63. In my opinion, Alphonsus insisted on this feature
not simply for pastoral reasons, that
is, to give the abandoned greater access
to our houses and afford the missionaries
an easier entry to different dioceses.
Knowing the decisive role that the voice
of the abandoned poor played in his own
discernment, I believe that Alphonsus
wanted his companions always close to
the type of people for whom Jesus himself
showed a clear preference. Thus, their
voice would continue to reveal for Redemptorists
the originality of their vocation. As
he wrote to the communities in Scifelli
and Frosinone in 1778:
“Assist
souls, but specially the poor, the peasants
and the most abandoned. Remember that
God evangelizare pauperibus misit nos
in these our days. Engrave this firmly
on your hearts and look only for God among
the abandoned poor if you wish to please
Jesus Christ.” [31]
64. Our Constitutions invite us to discover the
Lord in the people who have a special
claim on us: the “abandoned” (Con. 3),
with special attention for “the poor,
the deprived and the oppressed” (Con.
4) and a preference for “situations of
pastoral need” (Con. 5). We look for God
in the concrete circumstances of life,
striving to “encounter the Lord where
He is already present and at work in his
own mysterious way” (Con. 7) and letting
the specific circumstances of a pastoral
situation teach us what sort of response
we should make (Con. 8). The gift of the
Holy Spirit allows us to perceive God
at work in the ordinary circumstances
of life (Con. 24) but especially in the
“anxious questionings” of the men and
women of our day (Con. 19).
65. In summary, obedience is a fundamental attitude
of every believer, not the exclusive prerogative
of a small group of people who profess
it as an evangelical counsel. Redemptorists,
like everyone else in the Church are called
to obey, following the example of Jesus,
who came not to do His own will but the
will of the Father (Jn. 6,38). The difference
is that each of us within the Church lives
out this obedience to God according to
his charism and vocation. The will of
God does not exist prior to the vocation;
it is through the specific vocation that
God makes known His will for the individual. [32]
So, by our vow we have committed
ourselves to obey in a Redemptorist
style: searching for the will of God
that is mediated by His Word, the norms
of our charismatic project and the voice
of the abandoned poor.
III.
ACT
See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive
it? (Is.
43,19)
66. I repeat the assertion made earlier in this
letter: that obedience is the axial vow
for Redemptorists in an age of change.
In the past, this vow was seen principally
in personal and legalistic terms. While
our Constitutions still understand the
vow as obliging the members to obey the
legitimate commands of superiors (Con.
71), there is an urgent need to see the
vow as a call to create “obedient communities”
at every level of the Congregation. The
vows are always of individuals and of
the community. It would be a serious mistake
to separate these two dimensions and reduce
them simply to individual obligations.
67. Without a community that is committed to searching
obediently for the will of God, it is
difficult, if not impossible for individuals
to remain obedient. It is clear that none
of us can live fully and joyfully the
freedom of the vow of obedience without
the force of an obedient community, since
the obedience of each individual to the
Father takes place within the framework
of the ecclesial community. It is not
just the fundamental and personal relationship
between one’s conscience and God that
is significant; the relationship with
our brothers is equally important. In
fact, the vitality of a community is closely
linked with the quality of its obedience
as a community. [33]
68. How can we assure that our
communities, whether local, provincial
or the Congregation itself, [34]
remain obedient? I believe
we need to distinguish among the many
voices that seek to colonize our spirit
by intensifying our attention to the Word
of God, the charismatic project of the
Congregation and the voice of the abandoned
poor.
A
lamp for our feet… a light for our path
69. The Word of God is the source of our vocation,
our daily sustenance and the content of
our missionary work. We need to proclaim,
meditate on, share, and pray in obedience
to the Word and strive to make the Word
our “first book of spirituality” [35]
. Because of the absolutely
vital role the Word plays for disciples,
the Congregation must give greater value
to listening, which is not, first and
foremost, a technique of group dynamics
but rather a continual quest for what
the Father wants.
70. As a pious Jew, Jesus would have begun his
daily prayer by repeating the words of
Deuteronomy: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord
is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore,
you shall love the Lord, your God, with
all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your strength” (Dt. 6,4-5).
He tells His disciples, “Whoever is of
God listens to the words of God” (Jn.
8,47). How can our communities demonstrate
this daily attentiveness to the Word of
God?
71. The rhythm of community life should help the
members to listen attentively to the Word.
Daily reading of Scripture and periods
of common meditation will help us hear
the Word as a community and ask the light
of the Holy Spirit in order to understand
it. Many local communities have a weekly
time of sharing in preparation for Sunday
preaching or other moments of extraordinary
proclamation. We should encourage each
other to let the Word change our hearts
and give greater value to the reception
of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and
spiritual direction.
72. If we agree with Saint Jerome
that “ignorance of Scripture is ignorance
of Christ,” [36]
then the difficulty in discovering
the prophetic dimension of our vocation
might be rooted in unfamiliarity with
God’s Word. After all, Jesus commissions
His apostles by saying “you shall be my
witnesses” (Acts 1,8); it is to Him and
His Kingdom that we give testimony. Saint
John Chrysostom observed that the apostles
came down from the mount in Galilee, where
they had met the risen Lord, without any
written stone tablets as Moses had: their
lives would become the living gospel,
from that moment on. [37]
At
the heart of the community… is the Redeemer
himself
and his spirit of love
73. It seems to me that we need to agree that whether
we follow Christ in one way or another
is not arbitrary. In the matter of vocation
there is nothing arbitrary. Each Christian
must seek out his vocation, that is, God’s
will in his individual case and, once
he has found it, like the merchant in
the parable of Jesus, “rejoice and sell
all he has” to live in fidelity with the
call of the Lord (Mt. 13,44). For my Mom
and Dad, their vocation as spouses and
parents is superior to all others because
it is their vocation, that is,
the one to which they were called. For
me, to be a Redemptorist is the best possible
way of life because it is the one to which
God has invited me.
74. By our profession, we have responded to the
Lord with the total gift of ourselves
and have committed ourselves to seeking
the will of God within a concrete ecclesial
community, the Congregation. Our obedience
to God, something invisible, takes place
within the framework of our visible community.
75. Just as we cannot affirm that we love the God
we cannot see, if we despise the brother
we do see (cf. 1Jn. 4,20-21), Redemptorists
cannot state that they are seeking the
will of God unless this search takes place
within the visible community of the Congregation.
So, the norms to guide discernment and
decision-making are of crucial importance
to avoid the danger of reducing the mission
of the Congregation to a job or a career
that is done principally for one’s own
self-aggrandizement and thus to be managed
more or less by each individual. [38]
Our Constitutions propose
that the search for God’s will is a task
for which every member of the Congregation
is co-responsible.
76. No Redemptorist can disqualify himself from
helping to create an obedient community,
since to each one is given the manifestation
of the Spirit for the sake of the common
good (Con. 92; cf. 1Cor. 12,7; Con. 72).
Thus, a crucial service for those in authority
is to encourage the community in its effort
to listen to, discern and carry out the
will of God, “leading the members in such
a way that they will co-operate with an
active and responsible obedience in applying
themselves to their duties and to the
activities they undertake” (Con. 72).
77. An important instrument in the exercise of
co-responsible obedience is dialogue,
termed by Paul VI as a new name for charity [39]
and for which the consecrated
life has to offer a privileged experience. [40]
While community discernment
is not a substitute for the service of
authority in the community, those in authority
must always keep in mind that the community
is the best place in which to recognize
and accept the will of God. [41]
78. Our Constitutions and Statutes, as well as
the decrees of recent General Chapters,
propose a number of ways in which the
community seeks the will of God. Provincial
assemblies and chapters are privileged
moments for listening, discerning the
will of God and making an effective response.
All the members of a (Vice-)Province should
have an opportunity to contribute generously
to the reflection of the chapter, either
through participation in a well-conceived
process of preparation or as elected members.
To this end, the members of a Unit should
be well informed regarding the questions
that will be examined by a chapter and
have the opportunity to express their
opinion.
79. The principle of co-responsibility does not
mean that everyone has to be physically
present at a chapter. In fact, the General
Council has serious questions about the
effectiveness of massive chapters, especially
as an ordinary expression of government
in larger Units. Among the many problems
of this form of government, we have seen
that such bodies produce determinations
that are often so vague and expressed
in language so general that a provincial
government receives little effective guidance
for the exercise of its mandate. The lack
of a clear direction for a Province is
an invitation to the sort of exaggerated
individualism that hampers a number of
Units today. Lacking an obedient and collegial
discernment of its priorities, the members
of a Unit are encouraged to “find something
to do”, thereby accelerating the fragmentation
of the community.
80. In our Congregation, elections are not simply
a matter of casting ballots and counting
them; much less a search for someone who
would leave the members undisturbed in
the pursuit of their individual projects.
Rather, elections should be an important
exercise of the vow of obedience by the
provincial community that is characterized
by a humble and co-responsible search
for the will of God. Since the electoral
process should be conducted in a prayerful
atmosphere and hopefully lead to a convergence
of insight, the Congregation should examine
with a critical eye some roughly democratic
yet privatized processes, such as balloting
by mail. It is hard to see how such a
system favors dialogue and discernment
by the members of the Unit. The apostolic
purpose of the Congregation should penetrate
and inspire the discernment and selection
of leaders.
81. The XXII General Chapter (1997) recommended
to the Congregation the use of the plan
of community life. Some Provinces make
regular use of this instrument and have
found in it a powerful means for the search
for God’s will in the concrete situation
of the local community. The preparation
of the plan provokes a fruitful dialogue
aimed at inserting the personal gifts
of each member into a common project.
A regular evaluation of the plan can provide
for a profitable review of life by the
members and open the door to ongoing conversion.
82. Finally, given the particular
role of the local superior in the discernment
of the community (cf. for example Cons.
72, 136; Gen. Stat. 037), an important
structure to promote co-responsibility
are regular meetings of superiors, aimed
at their continuing formation in what
is expected of them according to the charismatic
project of the Congregation.
The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
he has anointed me…
83. Together with obedience to the Word of God
and adherence to the Constitutions and
Statutes, our obedient attention to the
voice of the abandoned poor helps to ensure
our fidelity to the will of God. Over
the years I have meditated often on the
encounter of the deacon Philip with the
court official of Candace, queen of Ethiopia,
mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles
(Acts 8,27ss). As he traveled from Jerusalem,
the eunuch was making a well intentioned
reading of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah
but, try as he might, he simply could
not understand the text. When Philip climbed
into his carriage and explained the Word,
the official not only understood but was
converted to the Lord. His life took a
new direction and he asked to be baptized.
84. Is there a lesson for us in that passage from
Acts? Redemptorists have a “page” before
our eyes, be it the very Word of God or
the present moment of history, and, despite
our efforts, we cannot “read” it – its
meaning escapes us. Just as the Spirit
led Philip to help the eunuch understand what he was reading, so the Spirit has given the abandoned
poor to the Congregation as our tutors.
If we do not listen to their voice, the
written page of Scripture, the Constitutions
and Statutes and the world around us will
remain largely indecipherable to us.
85. We listen to the abandoned poor, first and
foremost, because of Jesus Christ, who
began his public ministry with a proclamation
of hope for the poor, the deprived and
the oppressed of the earth: “The spirit
of the Lord is upon me, for he anointed
me to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to
captives and recovery of sight to the
blind, to let the oppressed go free and
to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord”
(Lk. 4,18-19). Alphonsus linked the mission
of the Congregation with the mission of
Jesus Christ and used that passage from
Luke to help us understand why we exist
in the Church.
86. We are not introducing people to a distant
and diffident God but rather helping people
see that God has taken the first step
and is already among them. We listen to
the abandoned poor in order to discover
the Lord
“where he is already present and
working in his own mysterious way” (Con.
7) especially among those marginalized
by Church or society. God has entrusted
us with the mission of witnessing to His
own kenosis that takes Him to the depths
of our world and back to heaven, of telling
that story to others who otherwise will
have little chance of hearing it and offering
to them full participation in divine life.
87. Listening to the voice of the abandoned poor
not only convinces us of their claim upon
us, we also realize that they offer their
own gifts to the Congregation. Through
them, we experience the mystery of God’s
power that is made manifest in weakness
(2Cor. 4,7-9), not only among the people
we serve but also in the fragility of
our own resources. The poor teach us that
strength is found in community and relationships,
and so encourage us to search for new
structures of cooperation that will bolster
our missionary work. Finally, the abandoned
poor invite us to a mission that is always
a gratuitous response to the abundant
love of God: “Without cost you have received;
without cost you are to give” (Mt. 10,8).
It is our own experience of the gracious
compassion of God that compels us to make
the total gift of ourselves.
88. The poor do not need us. If we choose not to
go to them, God will find someone else,
since God hears the cry of the poor. My
brothers, the point is that we need the
poor, if we are to be true to the mission
that has been given to us. Obedience to
their voice is not simply “doing things”
for them but rather to enter a process
of conversion that leads us to empty ourselves
and offer our lives as a gift. To do this,
we must recognize that abandoned poor
really exist; they are not simply theories
or statistics but have names and faces.
We go where the Church cannot or will
not go and listen to the people we find
there. If we listen to their voice, together
with the Word of God and our Constitutions
and Statutes, we will learn what we should
do.
CONCLUSION
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be, since I have no
relations with a man?"… Mary said,
"Behold, I am the handmaid of the
LORD. May it be done to me according to
your word." (Lk. 1,34.38)
89. The International Congress on the Consecrated
Life, an unprecedented gathering in 2004
of over 800 participants – mostly Superiors
General of Congregations of men and women,
together with presidents of practically
all the national conferences of religious
and a number of theologians – produced
a Final Document with a number of audacious
pronouncements. Among the most intriguing
is the following:
“For some time now something new has been coming into being
among us beyond other realities of death
(obsolete traditions and styles, dying
institutions). The agony of what is dying
and trust in what is being born affects
us. Although we do not yet see clearly
what the Spirit is bringing to birth in
consecrated life, still we identify… sprouts
of newness…” [42]
90. After eighteen years of listening to Redemptorists
and the brothers and sisters who accompany
us as well as members of other institutes
of the consecrated life, I am more convinced
than ever that something new is being
born in our Congregation. Our exercise
of the vow of obedience will help us to
glimpse what the Spirit is bringing to
birth and give us hearts that are free
enough to do our part in the great work
of Redemption.
91. We must be like Mary at the annunciation: she
questions (Lk. 1,34), she reflects, she
meditates. She trusts and abandons herself
to God. Her obedience is “believing but
questioning;” [43]
at the same time, “quick to
obey”. [44]
She “treasured all these things
and pondered them in her heart” (Lk 2,19),
thereby “finding the profound knot that
unites apparently distinct events, acts
and things in the great divine plan.” [45]
We recognize in her our Mother,
ready at every moment to help us, but
also our model in the ways of faith. [46]
May she help us to listen
to the Lord and recognize the grandeur
of our vocation. May she lead us always
to a more profound love for her Son, the
Redeemer of the world.
Fraternally in Christ the Redeemer,
Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.
Superior General
