ENCOUNTER OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT
WITH THE MAJOR SUPERIORS
VIC 20 - 30 January, 2014
INITIAL REFLECTION
Dear Brothers
I bid you all welcome to this Encounter and I appreciate the effort you have made to be here on time
to participate in this important congregational meeting. I know you have no shortage of work back
in the Provinces and Delegations. The responsibility of nurturing the missionary life of the
communities is a task that requires a generous amount of dedication. Service in the Government is
an expression of brotherly love that seeks to create community cohesion and to support the
missionary commitment of each of its members. Your presence in the communities and their
activities, your readiness for dialogue with your brothers, your attention to the many issues posed
by being at the front of a Major Organism, will all fill your diaries and make great demands on your
personal lives. This makes your presence here even more valuable.
We will all try to make these days an enriching experience for each of us at this Assembly and for
the whole Congregation. I hope these coming days, in a place such as Vic which is so meaningful
for all of us, will be an important milestone in the life of the Congregation and, more specifically, in
the process of preparing the next General Chapter. Vic invites us to reconnect with our roots and to
drink at the fountain where the water of the Claretian charism first sprung, and which today irrigates
the land in different parts of our world. Vic helps us to rediscover Claret’s dream and renew our
enthusiasm for the "great work" that was born in the tiny confines of a cell in the Diocesan
Seminary of this city. It is good that we acknowledge our origins. We were born poor, and we were
welcomed by the generous hospitality of the Bishop of the Diocese of Vic. We were born guided by
the Word that illuminated the spiritual journey of the retreat of the Foundation. We were born with
a very strong sense of a thirst for God that existed in the heart of the people, and with the conviction
that their cups had to be filled with the proclamation of the Word, the only instrument able to help
people rediscover their Christian identity and the true way during a period of cultural and social
crisis. We were born under the loving gaze of the Mother who presided over that gathering of the
first Claretian community. We were born as a community, "community for mission" as we would
say years later, discovering the urgency to be signs of the good news that we had to proclaim. We
were born with great faith and great hope, not devoid of realism as demonstrated by the concern
expressed in the words of one of the early members of the community: what can we do, being so
few and so young! We were born under the action of the Spirit of the Lord who, through Anthony
M. Claret, raised a new missionary community in his Church. We were born with a vocation of
universality which we see embodied in those who form today the Congregation and are represented
here by members of the General Government and by the Major Superiors from such diverse
cultures. These days we have time to reflect on all this next to the chapel where the remains of our
Founder, some Co-Founders and some Claretian Martyrs are at rest, and to reaffirm before them our
desire to follow Jesus. It will be an excellent occasion to thank the Lord for having called us to be
sons of the Heart of Mary, Missionaries of the Kingdom within the Claretian Family. I'm sure we
will all feel called to continue the work that the Spirit initiated through the first Claretian
community and to continue bringing hope to our world.
1
The Constitutions ask the Superior General "through suitable structures of communication and
participation, to foster in Major Superiors a sense of responsibility for the mission of their
Provinces and the whole of the Congregation" (CC 138.6). This Encounter will follow that
instruction. Within a year and a half we will hold the General Chapter. The Government General
considered that, as was done in the previous sexennium, it would be very helpful to hold a dialogue
with all the Major Superiors of the Congregation in order to identify fundamental issues which
should provide focus for the next Chapter and look for the most appropriate methodology for
promoting the active participation of all our brothers in the procedures of the Chapter. It is the same
motion that was presented to the meeting of the General Government with all the Major Superiors
in Colmenar Viejo 2010. It is also, therefore, the aim of this meeting. We are not going to pre-empt
the Chapter in the discussion of those issues that are specific to the General Chapter. This we will
do, God willing, at the appropriate time and only when we can consider the contributions that will
come from our brothers. Now we want to focus carefully on the topic of this Chapter and find a
methodology that helps us to live the process leading up to the Chapter, so that it becomes a
significant period of missionary renewal and discernment of what the Lord is asking us at this
historic moment.
Therefore, I find it appropriate first and foremost to briefly comment on some aspects that will help
us place ourselves in the right perspective before the next General Chapter.
1. What do the Constitutions tell us about the General Chapter
The Constitutions give us precise information on the nature and objectives of the Chapter (cf. CC
153-155). This information should be our main point of reference.
They tell us, first, that the Chapter is in the service of the charism. I think it's an obvious
observation, but of utmost importance. It is a statement that puts us in a perspective of faith,
because it invites us to enter into an attentive dialogue with the Lord who called us and who keeps
on calling us through many mediations. The reference to the Word of God which calls us together,
our recalling the Founder who was the instrument of Providence to give substance to this charism
with which God wanted to bless his Church, the direction that the Congregation took to reinterpret
it throughout its history, are key aspects to consider. Keeping the charism alive, ensuring that it
remains a source of life for those who have received it, seeing how it can continue fertilizing the life
of the Church and providing an important service to mankind, these are the tasks of the Chapter.
Our raison d’être in the Church and in the world lies precisely in this charism. The General Chapter,
therefore, must be at its service.
The Constitutions define the Chapter as "the greatest symbol of the whole Congregation’s
communion of life and mission” (CC 153). Our Congregation was born as a missionary community.
Our Congregation will only be true to the original inspiration so long as it continues as a
"missionary community". The Chapter must find a way of expressing and promoting this
communion that makes us all brothers and, at the same time, consolidates its missionary character.
We will have to learn to listen to each other. We must allow ourselves to study the concerns and
proposals that will emerge from the various Claretian communities in the light of their shared life
with the people. We must help each other to read these situations with a missionary perspective and
to seek answers to them so that, respecting their differences, we can be faithful to the Claretian
2
charism. Our community has been enriched by the presence of brothers from very different cultural
backgrounds in recent times. Building communion is an exciting task, but it demands a degree of
asceticism from everyone. The big challenge now before us, these days, is to find a route to help us
consolidate communion and better define the keys that can ensure the fidelity of our pastoral
projects and the activities through which they take shape to the Claretian charism.
The Constitutions also tell us that the Chapter is a very important moment in the assessment of life
in the Congregation (cf. CC 155.1). It's all about evaluating how we are really adopting the project
of missionary life proposed to us by the Constitutions, and how we are expressing it in our
spirituality, in our community relations, in our programmes of formation, in pastoral initiatives, in
governance structures and in the functioning of our economy. We also need to go back to the
decisions made six years ago about our life and mission and see how we were able to activate the
priorities that we noted. We detailed it in the document "Men on Fire with love" that has guided our
programmes over the years. We cannot forget these two fundamental references if we want to keep
growing charismatically.
It also reminds us that the Chapter “applies the Church’s teaching on religious life and apostolate
to the Congregation” (CC 155.2). In communion with the Church, we live our charism and, through
it, we want to enrich its spiritual heritage and boost its missionary outreach. Awareness of ecclesial
communion should never desert us during these days of reflection. We'll have to listen to the voice
of the universal Church and of the particular Churches, and be very mindful of the new horizons we
are shown. Cordial adherence to the Church was one of the features demonstrated by our Founder.
We know that the consecrated life is a prophetic mission in the Church and being faithful to it is a
requirement of the calling we have received. We also know that ecclesial communion is built with
the efforts and contribution of everyone and that it is a sign of God's presence that accompanies the
journey of humanity.
The Chapter, as pointed out by the Constitutions, "exercises a teaching function as regards the
spiritual heritage of the Congregation" (CC 155.3). It reconsiders our charism in the new historical
and cultural contexts, and "it issues those decrees and guidelines" (CC 155.5) it believes necessary
to maintain the vigour of missionary life. Only from a deep understanding of our own tradition will
we be able to give new voice to our charismatic heritage, so that our presence and pastoral work are
truly relevant to the Church and the world today. The celebration of the General Chapter is to help
all of us to strengthen our sense of belonging to the congregational community and take on a
renewed awareness of its history and of the effort it makes to be faithful to the charism received at
different times and places. As we approach the Chapter, it is our duty to find out how to give
expression to a charism today which, in order to maintain its vitality, must be absolutely faithful to
its source and must interface with the concrete situations of humanity in each historical period.
Finally, the Chapter elects the “Superior General and his Consulters” (CC 155.6) in order to
confirm their brothers in their vocation and to encourage the Congregation to journey along the
designated route.
It will be important to consider these guidelines when we step into the dialogue that will lead us to
identify the issues that we want to address in the next General Chapter, and designate the
methodology which we should follow to promote the active participation of all our brothers in the
Chapter process.
3
2. The context of the Chapter
A second point I want to emphasize is the importance of context in which a General Chapter takes
place. It takes place at a particular historical moment and that it is not insignificant. The situation of
our world, the ecclesial period we are living in, the features that characterize our Congregation
today, they all make demands of us and require of us some serious reflection. Only in the light of
this will it be possible to place our lives and mission in the history of salvation. The Constitutions,
which define our mission in the Church, remind us of the words of Gaudium et Spes and tell us the
following: "sharing the hopes and joys, the sorrows and trials of the people, especially those of the
poor, we readily offer to join efforts with all who are striving to transform the world according to
God’s plan"( CC 46 ). This insertion into history is part of our mission and is what makes it truly
relevant. We are, therefore, required to pay great attention to the historical moment in which we
live. In any case, this is an observation that goes beyond the assertion of facts or a mere social
study. In the religious or the community that finds itself at the front of a particular human situation,
there is a kind of "pathos" which leads him or them to fix their attention on the person suffering
within that reality and to be deeply question by that reality. In the documents from our General
Chapters we have insisted on the need to look at reality "with the compassionate heart of Jesus" and
with "the eyes and heart of a missionary" and to "let us be touched by the poor". The questions that
arise from this reality viewed in this way should disturb us to the extent that we couldn’t do
anything other than take action, to seek an answer to the clamour that is forced from our hearts. The
prophetic ministry always comes from a deep communion with God and with the situation of the
people.
I going to allude only to some aspects that should not be missing from our range of vision in
relation to the three reference points that define our reality.
a. The situation of our world
We contemplate the reality of our world with the awareness that it is the "world so loved by God
that He sent His own Son, not to condemn but to save the world"(cf. Jn 3,16). I think this is a very
important starting point. God, when He contemplates the world, what He feels is love and
compassion, and it couldn’t happen any differently with us. This friendly view of reality is very
important because, in addition to helping us discover the signs of the presence of God's Spirit in it,
allows us to identify those features that show a response to the love that God has bestowed upon it,
and those that express rejection of that love and become therefore a source of suffering and death.
We observe reality from a perspective of faith, which does not mean, in any way, that we want to
distort what we see or we don’t bear in mind what we are told by the myriad scientific analyses
which exist.
Precisely because we see reality from the perspective of faith, everything that threatens the lives and
dignity of individuals and peoples has a huge impact on us and causes us deep soul searching. These
are the people loved by God, called to live in brotherhood and to care for the precious gift of
creation that God himself has placed in their hands.
We are delighted to see that in our world there are many people and groups living with a deep
awareness of the dignity of all human beings and they do not back down in their efforts to ensure
4
respect for each person, and peace amongst nations. We find in them the Spirit of God who guides
history and we feel called to unite ourselves with them in the service of God's plan for their
children. This call to the "shared mission" beyond the Church today is a very important element in
our missionary vocation. God speaks to us and calls us through them.
We also see that there are many elements and situations in our world that break the harmony that
God put into creation, and we feel called to restore that harmony as a requirement of the faith we
profess.
The places where there is violence, poverty and oppression that we know about, either personally or
through social media, move us deeply. Very often it concerns places very close to us, people with
familiar faces whose names are engraved on our hearts. Their sufferings and struggles are present in
our prayer and become disturbing questions that challenge our lives, our communities and our
apostolic projects. Are our lives truly parables of God's mercy and love for those who are
marginalized? Do their screams reach us with enough force to cause in us a strong and generous
response that goes beyond mere pronouncements? Do we feel the pain of this "disharmony" that is
opposed to God's plan?
There are other features of the world’s circumstances that profoundly affect our lives and the
missionary outreach of the Congregation. Just to name a few: globalization, the new awareness
concerning cultural and religious pluralism, the increasing process of secularization, the
development of communication systems, the pivotal role that the economy plays in most areas of
private and public life, the diversity of family models, the increasing influence of emerging groups
in a wide variety of tendencies, and so on and so forth. All these traits display positive aspects, and
others we perceive as a threat to the integrity of life and dignity of individuals. We are part of this
world and its reality raises new questions and takes us to new cultural landscapes in which we have
some difficulty in defining our own niche. All of this must be echoed in the Chapter itinerary which
aims to discern God’s calling to us today and how we respond to it in our missionary charism.
All this occurs in a context marked by a certain “light culture” that seems little concerned with the
fundamental principles that give meaning to life and govern coexistence among peoples, but that is
overly concerned with a sense of wellbeing which, because it confines itself to the present or the
immediate future, is not able to be truly concerned by the situation of others. In this cultural context,
how can we sow the seed of the experience of faith that touches people in the deepest part of their
being and speaks to their hearts?
If the Chapter is to define how to express our charism today, the first step is to become aware of this
"today". I have read the contributions that you have made in the process of preparing for this
Encounter. There is no doubt they will be of help to us in this exercise. Our world needs hope and
we are called especially to be bearers of this hope.
b. The ecclesial moment
The Church, following the conclusion of the Synod on the New Evangelization, led by Pope
Francis, is looking for new directions. We all feel a sense of hope while listening to and watching
Pope Francis. We endorse his repeated calls for simplicity, honesty and commitment to the mission.
It is painful to discover resistance within the Church but, at the same time, we also realize that our
5
own attachments and interests often extinguish the enthusiasm aroused by the words and example of
the Pope. We realize that we are always lured by the temptation of what the Pope denounces with
the word "worldliness", which has penetrated too deeply into the Church and into consecrated life.
He has repeatedly invited us into "new areopagi" to give witness to the Gospel there as well. The
post-conciliar era has been a time of great creativity and pastoral missionary generosity, but
unfortunately, it also shows a certain level of weariness in some areas. Creativity involves close
attention to the signs of the times, to the action of the Spirit in history; it requires a deep spirituality
and a generous sense of availability to take on new challenges and seek answers that are truly
relevant. Sometimes it is our own lack of spiritual consistency or our fear of rejection that hinders a
bolder and more generous missionary response. We opt for our own personal, corporate or social
securities.
We participate in the journey of our continental churches which are seeking to play a prominent role
in the lives of their people. Tuning into the needs of our churches we will help to better define the
charismatic contribution we must bring to their missionary project. It brings to mind what in the
Circular "Missionaries" I said to you.
The Latin American Church has been a pioneer and the guidelines issued by its General Conference
in Medellín (1968 ), Puebla (1979 ), Santo Domingo ( 1992) and Aparecida (2007 ), have marked
the lives of all the churches of that continent and stimulated missionary commitment in others. The
preferential option for the poor, the commitment to justice, the recovery of the Word of God in the
Christian community and many other aspects have led to new forms of ecclesial presence among
the people, and to pastoral initiatives that have been developing a new way of being the Church.
The Church in Asia has emphasized dialogue as a proper environment for evangelization: dialogue
with local cultures, with religious traditions and with the poor. Through this dialogue the joyful
message of the Gospel is communicated and the experience of God is enriched, coming across as
more a Father/Mother figure to all. Through dialogue we can all turn more towards God and his
Kingdom. It is in dialogue that the message of Jesus Christ will find a place.
The Church in Europe has been confronted with issues that arise from a cultural situation marked by
a very strong process of secularization, which has meant many Catholics leaving the Church and
has produced a level of religious indifference in most of the citizens of that continent. There have
been countless new pastoral initiatives and we are still looking for new opportunities for dialogue
with the culture. The Church in Europe has also made significant contributions to the new directions
that the political powers of the continent have been taking.
The Church of North America has come to realize the urgency of keeping track of the
circumstances of other peoples when thinking about its own welfare and safety, and has been able
to raise important issues that have had an impact on the conscience of citizens and rulers of those
nations. Their close and supportive presence with immigrants has been a clear witness to Gospel
values.
The Church in Africa has tried to be an instrument of communion and reconciliation in many
situations of conflict that the continent has endured. On the other hand, it has managed to joyfully
welcome a growing number of people asking to be part of the Christian community and
6
accompanying them in their journey of faith. In the midst of difficulties, but always with a great
sense of hope, it has been designing the features that should characterize this "Church, Family of
God" that can be inclusive of everyone with all the riches of their own cultural traditions.
The experiences of the various continental churches is of immense wealth, and can and should
encourage us to continue searching for the most meaningful evangelizing projects for people of
today.
It is equally true that in our Church there are signs of negative reaction and that some, who have a
misunderstanding of the mission, seem more concerned about maintaining status and power than
putting themselves freely at the service of preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. Nor is it less
certain that, all too often, there is a tendency to stifle the charism of consecrated life or of the
various Institutes, for the sake of a church discipline that definitely does not promote the
harmonious growth of the ecclesial community or the dynamic development of its mission.
Moreover, we cannot close our eyes to the scandals caused by the improper conduct of those who
are called to serve the Christian community. I refer not only to misconduct in sexual matters, so
extensively exposed by the mass media, but also to all those examples of behaviour that are inspired
by criteria far removed from the Gospel, and demonstrate interests that have nothing to do with the
mission that the Lord entrusted to the Church. Unfortunately we cannot rid ourselves of these
responsibilities either.
All this is true and, therefore, a critical examination of the ecclesial situation, though one based on
love and respect, is vital. We deeply love our Church and want to be, just like our Fr. Founder,
instruments of renewal and missionary dynamism.
c. Our Congregation today
The Congregation is the subject of the mission entrusted to us, in which each of us participates
according to the gifts we have received. We are all jointly responsible for the congregational
mission. It is therefore important to be aware of the health of the Congregation and its situation in
the various parts of the world.
A first observation, one that has been repeated for some years, is the profound change in the human
geography of our Institute. It is all good news, as it is an enrichment of the cultural and spiritual
heritage of the Congregation with new cultural and ecclesial traditions and sensitivities. But, at the
same time, it presents a great challenge because it requires effort to maintain clarity and fidelity to
the charism amongst the multiplicity of expressions that it can have. This is critical because the
charism is our reason for our existence within the Church. Let me share some concerns that we must
bear in mind in our preparations for the Chapter journey.
I note in many Claretians in new areas of congregational presence, but not only in those areas, a
disturbing lack of interest and commitment to get to know the heritage and history of the
Congregation. Great efforts are being made to prepare formators in those areas more properly
regarding the spirituality and the missionary charism of Fr. Founder and the history of the
Congregation, but I don’t see a corresponding effort on initiatives which, in this regard, should be
taken in each of the Provinces and Delegations of the Congregation. The here-and-now is of
7
concern and that is normal, but this should not be an obstacle to engage in a deeper understanding
of the charism of our Fr. Founder and how it has been expressed throughout the history of the
Congregation. I'm sure it would be a great source of missionary creativity and community cohesion,
elements of which we have special need this moment of time in our history. Through extensive
work of translation, access to the charismatic sources in the main languages of the Congregation
have been provided, but I have been unable to detect the interest that should be expected for getting
to know this rich heritage of our own family. Even Claretians with significant congregational
responsibilities suffer from this lack of knowledge that could be used to better serve their brothers.
The same can be said about interest in knowing the guidelines offered, both through the circular
letters of the Superior General and other congregational documents, to consolidate the missionary
life of each of the Claretians, the communities and their apostolic activities. These are indicators
that alert us to the need for more incisive action by the Major Superiors in their respective
Provinces and Delegations.
Another important aspect, closely related to the previous point, is the concern about a sense of
belonging to the Congregation. It is true that we can speak of a sense of emotional belonging to the
Institute, but we haven’t managed to detect that cordial adhesion to the Congregation for which our
brother martyrs bore witness, as well as many other missionaries, which I consider essential for
maintaining the vitality of the communion of the congregational mission in the world today. We
have to keep all this in mind during the discernment process of the Chapter. The Council called for
a return to the charismatic sources of each Institute and the Church asks of us today "creative
fidelity". We should ponder deeply the meaning of these expressions.
All this is linked to concern about identity which was the focal point of our reflection in the
previous General Chapter, and appeared in open discussion in the encounter that the General
Government had in Brazil, in January 2008, with all the Major Superiors of the Congregation, in
order to identify the Chapter theme. At the centre of the document "Men on Fire with Love", which
incorporates the discussions that the Congregation had five years ago at the XXIV General Chapter,
is the "definition of a missionary". We are "missionaries". Number 26 in the Directory provides a
good summary of this identity: "The word "missionary", understood in the light of the spiritual
experience of St Anthony Mary Claret, defines our charismatic identity. The title of the “Apostolic
Missionary” which he received synthesises his ideal of life according to the style of the apostles.
This way of life implies being disciples and to follow the Master, to live the evangelical counsels in
a community of life with Jesus and the group of those who are called, to be sent and to proclaim the
Good News of the Kingdom to the whole world. The anointing of the Spirit to announce the Good
News and the communion with Christ, the prophet par excellence, render us sharers of his
prophetic function”.
The issue of identity, in terms of the call to live our missionary vocation, is still of great relevance
today in the Congregation. We cannot leave it out of our analysis. The effort put into the project
"The Forge in our daily life” has precisely this goal.
Alongside this, we discovered the need to enhance the experience of fraternal life in the community.
On many occasions the community has come to occupy a marginal place in the scale of values of
some Claretians. Commitment to the project of community life is weakening and so it is easy to
give up something that no longer feels like an important part of life or to put it in second place
amongst the many obligations in our lives. It is, however, in the community where we learn what it
8
means to be part of the group of Jesus’ disciples and where we discern the choices and activities
through which we express our missionary charism. The community humanizes us and prepares us to
keep close to the people, especially those who need to feel the warmth of a presence to help them
live with hope. In the community we are called to live the mystery of love which is the heart of the
Christian message. Our fraternal life, just as we have said repeatedly, is our first missionary word.
All too often this community aspect stays in the background when appointments are decided in the
Organisms. In addition, excessive fragmentation of communities is not helping us to keep alive the
link of charismatic union that unites us all.
I don’t want you to interpret these observations as if I were looking to create a disposition towards
self-accounting. It’s not about that at all, but rather the opposite. Without a strong sense of identity,
we will not be able to offer the Church and the world that service for which the Lord has called our
Institute into being. “Mission” has been, is and will always remain the key consideration for
arousing these other concerns because we don’t want it to loose strength or our commitment to
become less consistent.
We are carrying out a process of clarification about the style of our contribution to the mission of
the Church. I think the process which has been promoted for this purpose by the General Prefecture
of Apostolate is helping us. I myself wanted to emphasize this aspect through the circular letter
"Missionaries" which I sent out a little over a year ago. I became aware of an excessive
fragmentation of our ministries which have progressively emerged, all too often, without careful,
thoughtful consideration. Sometimes we have been simply increasing our presence because a bishop
has requested it, especially in the case of parishes, or because it has not been possible to establish
serious processes of reflection on the missionary outreach of a particular Organism. Moreover, we
should consider here the issue of missionary availability, which is essential when trying to decide
on the options and the apostolic activities of the Congregation and each Organism. Keeping the
Congregation available for the universal mission of the Church is an obligation that falls on all of
us. The guidelines contained in the Directory for new foundations and the suppression of presences
has this objective in mind and, therefore, it is essential to adhere to it.
I have also observed a certain fragility in most of our formative processes. It’s a struggle to
highlight the importance of the personal accompaniment required to support our formandi, this
being the most important aspect of the formation process. They go through the stages of formation
with the academic programme as a point of reference. In some places, in practice, more importance
is bestowed on discipline, which is always important of course, than to the personalization of the
formation content. Good formation requires the close presence of formators, which is very difficult
to maintain when the number of formandi is excessive or when the formator has to cover multiple
responsibilities. Along with this, one must consider the fundamental importance of what we might
call the "provincial culture", in other words a lifestyle that helps people to breath in, within the
Province or Delegation and in each of their communities, the values which, during the period of
formation, have been presented as essential for living in consistence with the vocational response.
This provincial "climate" or "culture" is also central to the vocations’ ministry. Is our life appealing
to those seeking a more radical adherence to Jesus and a fraternity experience truly inspired by the
Gospel? What resonance do our missionary commitments have in the hearts of young people?
During past few years we have tried to head up the processes of congregational reorganization, as
ordered by the previous General Chapter. It will be one of the aspects of the life of the
9
Congregation which we will have to evaluate during the Chapter. We are still working on the
definition of the congregational reorganization in Europe since, both because of cultural differences
as well as the advanced age of most of the Claretians residing in the continent, it presents us with
special difficulties. Anyway, we know that we must move forward if we want to maintain the
missionary vitality of the Congregation in Europe.
These are all urgent issues in our congregational life. I will not elaborate on this more nor am I
going to present to you any congregational statistics. The Secretary General will do that all in good
time. However, I do want to emphasize one last point that I consider essential. It is a perception that
I have, and one I have repeatedly shared both within the General Government and with other
General Superiors, of a certain lack of depth in the lives of many of us. Perhaps it has something to
do with that feature of current culture that we define with the word "light". I truly believe that we
often suffer from a lack of depth. It is something that extends to our relationship with God, to our
relationships with each other and to our apostolic undertaking. I think it is worth reflecting on this
and see how to include it in our itinerary leading up to the Chapter. Without depth, we can’t be
missionaries today.
3. The dynamics of this Encounter
Finally let me share with you some details about the dynamics of this Encounter. We have planned
three stages:
A period of listening. You will be asked to present to us, in about five or ten minutes, your answer
to the four questions that we sent a few months ago. We will listen carefully. We will all have
copies of the texts of your answers and we can jot down our observations. Also the General
Government will present concerns and projects which we have gathered together through the course
of our service to the Congregation.
A second period will be devoted to dialogue and discernment, in groups and at the plenary
gathering. It will seek to identify those points to give focus to the work of the Chapter, in its
preparation phase, in the communities and during the proceedings of the General Chapter itself.
A third period will try to define the methodology which we think most appropriate for promoting the
participation of our brothers in the Chapter’s itinerary. It will be the time for thinking about how to
integrate the laity, with whom we share our mission, as we approach the Chapter.
Finally, we must address some more specific issues which need to be defined with some urgency,
because they affect the life of the congregation and require an immediate response.
I want you to feel free to express your opinions, concerns and suggestions provided, of course, it is
within the framework of this meeting. We don’t have to prepare any document. This will be an
obligation of the Chapter. The General Government will gather up the fruit of the work of this
Encounter and, during the intensive Councils of March, we will compile our thinking to put before
the next General Chapter the most appropriate plan of discussion.
10
Conclusion
A few months ago we joyously celebrated the beatification of 23 of our brothers who testified their
adherence to Christ with the gift of their lives and who, therefore, continue being clear signs of the
absolute primacy of God and their commitment to the Kingdom. Their example encourages us to
put everything we have and everything we are towards serving the mission we have received.
We know that the Chapter is an important moment in the life of the Congregation. As managers of
our congregational life, we are responsible for guiding the journey of discernment that begins next
July, so that it leads us towards discovering and accepting, with generosity and courage, the will of
God for our Institute at this historic moment of time. This must be the agenda for the Chapter and
there shouldn’t be any other. May the Lord give us wisdom during these days of work.
The example of Mary will be a great inspiration as we make this journey. She knew how to listen to
God and respond to his call. Illuminated by the presence of the Spirit, she knew how to look at the
world and discover its tremendous contradictions, but she was also able to proclaim her faith that
God's presence would open new horizons of hope for all. She tells us, as she did in the wedding at
Cana, "do whatever he tells you". May the fire that was burning in her heart be the one that burns
away all our fears and misgivings.
The beginnings of the Congregation were very humble. The "great work", as our Father Founder
called it, was in the hands of six young priests with very limited experience, but with hearts that
were truly on fire with the love of God and neighbour. It is only from this perspective that we can
understand the mission story which they began to write. As we contemplate his example, we feel
called to continue writing, in truly missionary language, the story they began.
We have this Encounter in Vic, the cradle of our Congregation. The cell of the foundation of our
Institute is a beautiful parable of the action of God working wonders through those who are able to
open their lives to the promptings of the Spirit. During this period we will celebrate the Eucharist
repeatedly at the tomb where lie the remains of our Founder. May he help us be more faithful to the
plan that God has for us.
I thank the Province of Catalonia for their readiness to host this Encounter and the generosity of
spirit they have brought to its preparation.
I put this meeting on the hands and in the Heart of our Mother, venerated especially here in the
invocation of Montserrat, so deeply felt by our Father Founder. During the period of Advent and
Christmas, we have been meditating on how she was able to welcome the Word of God into her
heart, and live her vocation and mission with such intensity. May she inspire and bless our journey
during this period.
Vic, January 20th, 2008
Josep M. Abella, cmf
Superior General
11