COMMUNICANDA 2
Prot.
N° 0000 0200/98
Rome, January 14, 1999
Feast of Blessed Peter Donders
My dear Confreres,
1. It gives me great pleasure
to greet you in the name of all the members
of General Council. This second Communicanda
of the present sexennium is published on the
feast of Blessed Peter Donders, Redemptorist
missionary to Surinam, whose life was not
distinguished by extraordinary talents but
by limitless generosity. It is very appropriate
to offer you this reflection, which concerns
the nature of a missionary spirituality, on
the day when we celebrate the life of a confrere
who found holiness in a life dedicated to
preaching the Gospel among the most abandoned
poor.
2. The preparation of this
communicanda has involved Redemptorists beyond
the members of the General Council. During
the first week of May 1998, letters were sent
to thirty-two confreres across the world.
Each recipient was asked to give his own understanding
of a portion of the last General Chapter's
Final Message: "Spirituality is at once the
source and fruit of Mission. Mission that
is not undertaken as an expression of a deep
commitment to Jesus is doomed to failure…"
(n. 6).
3. Nearly three-quarters
of those invited had answered by September.
The depth of their reflection, as well as
their evident love of the Congregation, have
greatly encouraged the Council. If the content
of this Communicanda is useful to the Congregation,
then credit must be given to the wisdom of
my brothers on the General Council and to
the insight of these confreres who contributed
their experience, strength and hope from distant
lands.
4. On the other hand, I accept
responsibility for the shortcomings of this
letter, in which I wish to offer a few simple
observations about "missionary spirituality".
My own limitations and the culture that has
formed me leave a certain imprint on these
words. Nevertheless, my hope is that they
will contribute to a dialogue through which
we will arrive at some common vision that
will enable us to inspire each other, and
give us the courage necessary to embrace our
particular vocation in the Church and world
of the twenty-first century.
Three preliminary observations
5. There are three observations
that I would make at the beginning of this
letter. First, it is evident to the General
Council that the theme proposed by the last
Chapter has struck a chord in the experience
of most confreres. The visitations we have
made, our participation in provincial assemblies
and the correspondence we have received from
the different units convince us that there
is a lively interest in spirituality in most
parts of the Congregation. Why is this so?
6. I will not attempt to
repeat or amplify the arguments we proposed
in the first communicanda, except to say that
the appeal of spirituality may reflect our
need to go beyond a paradigm of the consecrated
life that is proposed only in theological,
pastoral, moral or liturgical language, valid
as these models may be. We also seek an ideal
that is rooted in authentic and lived experience,
both personal and communal.
7. Secondly, while taking
note of the generally positive response to
the proposals of the General Chapter, the
members of the Council are also aware of the
difficulties connected with a deeper reflection
on spirituality. It is a constant challenge
to discover some degree of precision in the
language we use when we want to speak about
the subject. For example, it seems helpful
to distinguish between spirituality and ascetical
practices. Of course, the two are not unrelated;
the spirituality of an individual or a group
seems to require some concrete expression,
if it is not to remain simply a collection
of ideas.
8. Thirdly, beyond a technique
for prayer or a cherished devotion, spirituality
is connected with basic and often unsettling
questions: Who are we? Why are we? How are
we to live? These are spiritual questions
and, as such, touch upon the realities that
define human existence. Humility and a listening
heart are indispensable prerequisites for
this reflection. When we attempt to define
spirituality, we discover not its limitations,
but our own.
Towards a Missionary spirituality
9. It is not advantageous,
in my judgement, to speak about spirituality
and Mission. The use of the conjunction is
infelicitous, for it can suggest that there
could be Mission without spirituality or that
spirituality, at least as we understand it,
could exist in some way divorced from Mission.
In their responses, several confreres observed
that spirituality touches on our self-understanding
as Redemptorists: what Alphonsus sometimes
calls the "spirit of our Institute". Considered
in this way, the spirituality of our Congregation
ought to address fundamental questions, such
as those suggested in the previous paragraph.
More that a set of doctrinal principles or
ascetical practices, our spirituality should
serve as a sort of vital connective tissue
that harmoniously joins all aspects of our
life.
10. I find a very succinct
statement of our Missionary spirituality in
the cry of Paul in his first letter to the
Corinthians: I am ruined if I do not preach
the Gospel! (1 Cor 9, 16). "Preach the Gospel"
means more than giving a mission sermon, a
retreat conference or a Sunday homily, more
than denouncing injustice or teaching people
to pray. In fact, the reality goes beyond
any single form of pastoral activity. What
does it mean and why is its meaning so fundamental
to us that, if I am right, we are "ruined"
if we do not "preach the Gospel"?
11. Do you recall which was the only one of
our constitutions that found its way into
the Final Message of the last General Chapter?
The capitulars took pains to insert a goodly
portion of Constitution 5 into their communication
to the Congregation (cf. Final Message, n.
8). This constitution uses unequivocal language
to demonstrate how important it is for Redemptorists
to "preach the Gospel": Preference for situations
where there is pastoral need, that is, for
evangelization in the strict sense together
with the choice in favor of the poor is the
very reason why the Congregation exists in
the Church and is the badge of its fidelity
to the vocation it has received.
12. I will argue that two
clear and connected criteria in fact respond
to the spiritual questions: Who are we? Why
are we? How are we to live? These criteria
are preference for evangelization in the strict
sense together with the choice in favor of
the poor. Here evangelization is understood
to include not only the explicit proclamation
of the Word, but also the witness of life
by individual Redemptorists and communities.
To the extent that we do not accept evangelization
and the choice for the poor as elements constitutive
of our identity and act in consonance with
them, we become unfaithful or, at least, we
become something other than that which we
are called to be. Paraphrasing the words of
St. Paul, we are "ruined" as Redemptorists
13. We must always keep in
mind that our spirituality is intimately related
to Mission, but not in the sense that the
demands of spirituality prod us towards pastoral
work or that we "become spiritual" because
of our service to the People of God. The genius
of Alphonsus, an intuition that has been recovered
in our renewed Constitutions, is his belief
that Mission gives unity to our whole life
as Redemptorists. This unifying force is called
the "vita apostolica": our way of understanding
what it means to be a Redemptorist, comprising
"at one and the same time a life specially
dedicated to God and a life of missionary
work" (Constitution 1). Spirituality is vitally
connected to our "preference for situations
of pastoral need, that is, for evangelization
in the strict sense, together with our choice
for the poor". Therefore, strictly speaking,
the origin and source of our spirituality
is found precisely in our Mission, defining
it consequently as truly Missionary spirituality
(cf. Ad Gentes, 23-27).
14. The principal aim of
this letter is thus to consider with you what
might be some attributes of our "Missionary
spirituality". My sincere hope is that what
follows does not sound like simple moralizing.
It is rather an effort to explore with you
what I believe to be some important dimensions
of the vita apostolica.
Mission as vocation
15. Our Mission is not solely
a personal or communal option but, first and
foremost, a vocation to which we have been
called. The General Chapter underlined the
hope our particular vocation should afford
us: "Our confidence in the future is rooted
in our vocation to continue the mystery of
Christ. We believe that there is no limit
to His abundant redemption and hence we are
impelled to share our faith and hope with
everyone" (Final Message, 12). This affirmation
of the Chapter suggests that our vocation
derives not only from the Lord's mandate to
preach, teach and baptize, but also from the
profound demands of God's life within us (cf.
Redemptoris Missio, 11). That is, to the degree
that we open ourselves to the abundant redemption
given in Christ Jesus, to that extent are
we compelled to "share our faith and hope
with everyone". Hence, we might ask ourselves:
how is Mission an issue of faith, an accurate
indicator of our belief that Jesus Christ
has called us to be sent as His "helpers,
companions and ministers in the great work
of Redemption…[to preach] the Word of God
to the poor" (Constitution 2)?
16. Evangelization will never
be possible without the action of the Holy
Spirit (Ad Gentes, 24; Evangelii Nuntiandi,
75). The same Spirit which descends upon Jesus
at the moment of his baptism, rests upon Him,
anoints Him and sends Him forth to "proclaim
glad tidings to the poor" (Lk 4, 18). We Redemptorists
are accustomed to repeating this text from
the Gospel of Luke. We are well aware that
Alphonsus makes frequent reference to this
same passage, declaring that the Mission of
Christ is also the Mission of the Congregation.
Do we accept, however, the first consequence
of our self-identification with the Mission
of Christ: that we welcome a life of complete
docility to the Spirit, which "conforms us
to Christ, so that we learn to view all things
as Christ does" (Constitution 25)? This docility
makes it possible for us to receive the gifts
of fortitude and discernment, which are "essential
elements of missionary spirituality" (cf.
Redemptoris Missio, 87).
The person of Christ at the center of our
Missionary life
17. Constitution 23 notes
a condition for realizing our particular vocation
in the Church: "Since the members are called
to continue the presence of Christ and his
mission of redemption in the world, they choose
the person of Christ as the center of their
life, and strive day by day to enter ever
more intimately into personal union with him".
The Chapter echoed this requirement, giving
it universal significance as well as a certain
urgency: "Whatever the context, we believe
that all Redemptorists are being called at
this time to focus on a central aspect of
our spirituality, i.e., on how we nourish
and express our relationship in faith with
Jesus" (Final Message, 3). There can be no
doubt that for Redemptorists, an essential
characteristic of our Missionary spirituality
is an intimate communion with Christ, the
first Missionary.
18. My brothers, let us allow
ourselves to be infected with the great passion
of Alphonsus, for whom salvation was more
than a theory or dogma but rather a Name,
a Face. Our type of evangelization depends
on how God's People come to recognize Jesus
in a way that they can respond to Him. Alphonsus
employed all of his formidable gifts in the
effort to help the poor come to know Jesus.
We recall how he carried his portrait of the
Crucified to the places where he would preach,
how his music helped his people experience
Christ's saving love, how his words, written
and spoken, pointed to the abundant redemption
to be found in Christ. With Alphonsus, we
must "emphasize in all our pastoral action
the centrality of Christ as the mystery of
the Father's mercy" (John Paul II, Apostolic
Letter for the Tercentenary of the Birth of
Saint Alphonsus, 4).
19. Is it possible to make
Christ the center of our pastoral activity,
if He is not at the "center of our lives"
and "at the heart of our community"? How can
we judge whether in fact we make these choices?
The same Constitution 23 gives us one criterion
by which the question may be determined: "the
closer their union with Christ, the stronger
will become their union with each other".
20. I would offer another
standard that seems to be consonant with our
practical experience. The more we choose Christ
as the center of our lives and strive to enter
more intimately into personal communion with
him, the less absorbed we are with our own
doubt, insecurity and self-obsession. We become
more willing to empty ourselves, pick up our
cross and follow the Redeemer. Our greatest
concern becomes that Jesus is not loved as
He should be.
Missionary Conversion
We believe that the Congregation is being
offered a great grace of conversion to the
Redeemer (Final Message, 5)
21. Recent papal doctrine
on missiology and our own Constitutions concur
in that the proclamation of the Word of God
has conversion as its end (compare Redemptoris
Missio, 46 and Constitutions 11-12). The same
sources agree that we cannot preach conversion
unless we ourselves are converted every day
(Redemptoris Missio, 47; Constitutions 40-42).
We do not have to think too hard to discover
why conversion is an essential element in
a missionary spirituality. It springs from
the very offer to enter into relationship
with the Divine. Such an invitation first
tells me: "There is a God and he is not you".
The Kingdom too is something other than me,
something that must be discovered - sometimes
at great sacrifice (Mt 13, 44-46); that there
are choices to be made (Jn 6, 67); that one
can always "turn away sad" (Mt 20, 16-22).
22. Proclamation of the Word
of God has conversion as its end: the preaching
of Jesus, that of His Church and, in a vivid
way, the content and methods of evangelization
peculiar to our Congregation, all attest to
this truth. However, it is a distressing fact
that more than one confrere and more than
one community live in a way that proclaims
"Conversion is meant for somebody else, perhaps
everyone else. Don't disturb me/us!" Could
the General Chapter have been mistaken in
its belief that "the Congregation is being
offered a great grace of conversion to the
Redeemer" (Final Message, 5)?
23. Many of the confreres
who helped us prepare this Communicanda spoke
of their ongoing transformation. Allow me
to highlight three such responses. One confrere
writes, "Redemptorist spirituality is by no
means a 'God-and-me' business but rather a
'Spirit-leading-me-to-the-poor' enterprise".
Another, speaking of his intense experience
of conversion, remarks "From that time on,
I no longer speak simply because the Scriptures
say so or theological or pastoral principles
are in agreement; I also speak from the perspective
of my own experience and thus proclaim before
the people: 'Jesus loved me and gave himself
up for my sake'". How important is conversion
for our apostolic life? We will profit by
considering this assertion by a confrere:
"In its most basic sense, spirituality is
a way of relating to God which transforms
at the same time both the existence of missionaries
and that of those to whom they are sent. It
is the capacity of welcoming and then transmitting
an experience of God (Jn 15, 4-5)".
24. How can we deepen a spirit
of conversion in each of us? What value does
the Sacrament of Penance and spiritual direction
now hold in our lives? Are we willing and
able to give conversion some sort of expression
in our communities?
The first means of evangelization is witness
Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses
than to teachers, and if he does listen to
teachers, it is because they are witnesses
(Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41)
25. Over the last years and
in many parts of the Congregation there has
been a growing awareness that even before
activity, Mission means witness and a way
of life that shines out to others. The members
of the 1991 General Chapter captured this
conviction very well: "The Redemptorist community
must constitute the first sign of our being
preachers of the Gospel. It is not only the
place from which we are sent but it is also,
and above all, an effective presence of the
Reign of God in the midst of men and women,
our brothers and sisters…" (Final Document,
5.2). The Redemptorist community is a statement
of faith: "we stay together in community not
because we have chosen one another, but because
we have been chosen by the Lord" (Congregavit
nos in unum Christi amor, 41).
26. Do you believe that our
missionary spirituality calls for a particular
type of witness? One confrere observes that
prayer and poverty are the two outstanding
features of radical spirituality in world
religions. The testimony of our life of prayer
should give to our proclamation the same force
as the opening verse of the First Letter of
John: "This is what we proclaim to you: what
was from the beginning, what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes, what we have
looked upon and our hands have touched-we
speak of the word of life".
27. Witness of a poor or,
at the very least, a simple lifestyle is never
an easy question for us to face. But the point
is that people notice the way we live. This
is the one area where we cannot help but give
some kind of witness. I suspect that as we
allow our "needs" to multiply, we become less
mobile, more reluctant to take risks and finally,
more distant from the abandoned poor. Is it
too pious too observe that, if our hands are
busy grasping or already full, they can never
be filled by God nor reach out towards others
in disinterested love?
"Carthusians at home and Apostles abroad"?
28. I confess to having had
problems with the traditional formula that
calls for us to be "Carthusians at home and
apostles abroad". I would say that we should
be Redemptorists in both places and in between,
as well. There is no doubt that our communities
should be places where we can pray, together
as well as individually, where we are able
to study and reflect. But those aspects of
our life are part of the vita apostolica that
should be characteristic of our Congregation.
Our home is not simply a place to "charge
our batteries" in order to discharge them
in pastoral activity, much less a place to
hide from others or from our responsibilities.
Our community life itself is Mission and witness.
It should also be the place where we encourage
each other as brothers called to continue
the presence and Mission of Christ in the
world. Our vita apostolica, lived both in
the community and in our pastoral activity,
is where we are missionaries and where we
will become saints.
29. While we know that evangelization
demands that we are skilled in both sacred
and profane sciences, we must also admit that
academic and pastoral renewal is not enough.
"A missionary is really such only if he commits
himself to the way of holiness" (Redemptoris
Missio, 90). But we do not become holy and
then become missionaries. Nor does our weakness
disqualify us. Most of us, I suspect, have
echoed the desperate words of Peter, "Leave
me, Lord! I am a sinful man". Let us also
hear the invitation to Mission: "Do not be
afraid. From now on you will be catching men".
(Luke 5, 8-10). What we should claim is progress
in the Missionary life, not perfection. Commenting
on the dramatic meeting between Jesus and
Peter along the shores of the Sea of Tiberias
(Jn 21, 15-17), Alphonsus allies himself with
the exegesis of John Chrysostom, calling attention
to the fact that Jesus does not ask penance
or prayers of the repentant apostle but rather
pastoral service: "Feed my lambs".
Missionary Courage
We asked ourselves in what practical ways
our commitment to the poor is an expression
of our spirituality, and in what ways it helps
us to develop a more authentic spirituality
(Final Message, 8).
30. When I think of how essential
is our choice for the poor in order to develop
a more authentic spirituality, the great formula
proposed by the General Chapter of 1985 comes
to mind: Evangelizare pauperibus et a pauperibus
evangelizari. I recall that while the theme
was not easily understood in all Regions of
the Congregation, it was certainly discussed!
Some confreres found particular difficulty
in comprehending the second half of the formula:
a pauperibus evangelizari. Missionaries were
traditionally those who conferred spiritual
goods. The process of evangelization was a
one-way street. What could we expect to receive,
especially if these gifts were to come from
the poor? Any Redemptorist missionary who
has proclaimed the Good News to the poor should
be able to make an ample reply to the question.
31. The theme of the 1985
General Chapter did have some practical consequences.
More than one province re-examined its apostolic
priorities in the light of the theme and then
made some painful decisions. In some instances,
provinces turned over to the care of the local
Church their most attractive parishes in order
to accept new commitments among the abandoned
poor. Other provinces accepted new missions
ad gentes, even though this decision exacted
a heavy cost. These examples should encourage
the whole Congregation, since they demonstrate
that it is possible for provinces to change
direction, when the change means greater fidelity
to "the very reason why the Congregation exists
in the Church" (Constitution 5).
32. From the first encounters
of Redemptorists with the poor of the Kingdom
of Naples, the history of our Congregation
has been marked by the valor of so many of
its members. My hope is that the example of
our commitment to the poor in the past and
in the present will give the Congregation
courage to face the future. Will the Congregation
have the courage to expand its proclamation
of the Gospel among the abandoned poor in
the teeming slums of the mega-cities of the
South, places like Mexico City, Bogotá, Lagos,
São Paulo, Manila, Johannesburg, Calcutta,
Lima, etc.? Can Redemptorists be more present
among the new poor of Europe: the migrants,
refugees and asylum seekers? What sort of
witness does the Congregation offer in the
rapidly changing landscape of Eastern Europe?
What does it mean to proclaim the Gospel in
the affluent West, where spirituality increasingly
is judged to be incompatible with religion
and where the poor find themselves ever more
on the margin of society and Church? Can Redemptorists
continue to be ambassadors for Christ and
proclaim a credible message of reconciliation
in regions of Africa that are torn by civil
conflict? What is the future for our evangelization
in Asia, where the Christian message confronts
the other great world religions? What does
the Congregation have to say in the face of
a global culture that pays less and less attention
to the saving love of God and, consequently,
is less interested in solidarity among God's
daughters and sons?
33. The common denominator
among these situations is that they all demand
of Redemptorists a courageous faith. Often,
this courageous faith is the willingness to
leave what is known: my culture, my language,
and my accustomed lifestyle in order to meet
situations of real pastoral urgency. At times
the Spirit may be calling a province to hand
over to others its most successful and attractive
pastoral commitments in order to go where
the Church cannot go. My point is that this
courage is not only the source for future
missionary initiatives, it is also the fruit
offered to us by the "cloud of witnesses"
that surrounds the Congregation: all the Redemptorists
of the past and present who have "emptied
themselves", as well as those provinces who
have made heroic sacrifices for the sake of
the Person and Mission of Christ.
Missionary Contemplation
34. A source for and fruit
of our evangelizing activity is the spirit
of contemplation. "Unless the missionary is
a contemplative, he cannot proclaim Christ
in a credible way" (Redemptoris Missio, 91).
How do we Redemptorists understand the spirit
of contemplation? It is a spiritual disposition
that makes it possible for us to love as Jesus
does "so as to share truly in the love of
the Son for his Father and for all people"
(Constitution 24).
35. Trying to evangelize
without a contemplative spirit is like trying
to read this letter with the paper pressed
against the end of your nose. It may be that
your eyesight requires you to hold the paper
close but, for most people, such exaggerated
proximity blurs the words and makes it difficult,
even painful to read the message. It is necessary
to put some distance between the paper and
us in order to read it. In contemplation we
step back from the immediacy of our world,
our life and our activity. We look for God
in the people and in the events of everyday
life. We try to "see God's plan of salvation
in its true light and be able to distinguish
between what is real and what is illusory".
These words of Constitution 24 could provide
substance for yet another Communicanda! But,
can you see how a spirit of contemplation
is more necessary today than ever, especially
when we recognize such phenomena as the rapidity
of social change, the daily and deep incursions
of a global culture and the ephemeral nature
of many popular movements?
36. There is another reason
for us to cultivate a spirit of contemplation.
It has to do with a particular claim of Christianity,
first pronounced by the Second Vatican Council
and echoed in our Constitutions: that in the
encounter with Christ, human beings discover
the meaning of the mystery of their own life
(Gaudium et Spes, 22; Constitution 19). The
assertion was reiterated most recently in
the papal bull that announced the Great Jubilee
of the year 2000: "…God's friendship and grace,
the supernatural life which alone can bring
fulfillment to the deepest aspirations of
the human heart" (Incarnationis Mysterium,
2). A counterclaim is made by the global phenomenon
of consumerism, namely, that what we have
or consume will make us happy and fulfilled.
This declaration is radically opposed to the
claims of the Gospel, yet the message is very
successful. There is a temptation to denounce
the different "ism's" of our day - secularism,
materialism, individualism, consumerism, etc.
- without understanding the reasons for their
popularity. Contemplation should cultivate
in us a "spirit of brotherly concern" that
would have us listen to men and women as we
attempt to "understand people's anxious questionings
and try to discover in these how God is truly
revealing himself and making his plan known"
(Constitution 19).
Missionary Patience
37. At the same time as
the final preparation of this Communicanda,
I was also a member of the Special Assembly
of the Synod of Bishops for Oceania. One of
the more memorable interventions during those
three weeks of meetings was made by a bishop
from Mauritius, a special delegate to the
Synod. He referred to the scene in the Gospel
when the disciples were admiring the grandeur
of the Temple and its precious ornaments (Lk
21, 5ss). You remember that Jesus prophesized
how quickly and completely the great building
would be destroyed. The bishop asked the Synod
to think of problems faced by the Church in
many regions of the world; we might think
of our Congregation. He observed if things
come tumbling down around me, maybe the Temple
was not as strongly built as it looked. Perhaps
we should examine our conscience about the
way we build community (cf. 1 Cor 3, 10-15).
38. While building a structure
is one biblical image for the work of evangelization,
perhaps a more eloquent one for our times
is that of the sower and the seed. The seed
sown is the Word of God. It is prior to doctrine,
moral teaching, law and discipline. It is
prior because the "Word of God is so great
that it remains the support and the energy
of the Church" (Dei Verbum, 21).
The image of the sower and the seed seems
to be particularly compelling in an age that
values instant success. The Word which we
carry counsels us to be patient, even if we
do not see immediate results (Jam 5:7). It
is God who gives the growth (1 Cor 3, 6; Ad
Gentes, 24-25).
Missionary optimism: the promotion of vocations.
39. Yet another way in which
our spirituality is transformed by Mission
is the desire to invite others to share completely
our way of life. Can we all agree with the
assertion of Constitution 79, that "the vitality
with which the Congregation pursues its apostolic
mission depends on the number and quality
of the candidates who seek admission to the
Redemptorist community"? If we agree, then
we should also accept that each of us bears
a responsibility in promoting vocations, especially
through our own apostolic zeal, the example
of our life and constant prayer (Constitution
80).
40. I maintain that whether
or not we promote vocations is a spiritual
question, for it touches on the depth of our
belief in God's purpose for the Congregation
and its place in the Church. There are confreres
of good will who have concluded that the consecrated
life, including the Congregation, is rapidly
becoming extinct. An analysis of why the Congregation
fails to attract candidates in some parts
of the world is complex and is certainly beyond
the scope of this letter. What is more, the
Congregation will not retreat from our growing
collaboration with the laity. However, since
the Chapter was so insistent on our focusing
on a "central aspect of our spirituality,
i.e., on how we nourish and express our relationship
in faith with Jesus" (Final Message, n. 3),
there may be benefit in meditating on how
the apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata
presents the challenge of vocation promotion:
"Following the example of founders and foundresses,
this [vocation promotion] aims at presenting
the attraction of the person of the Lord Jesus
and the beauty of the total gift of self for
the sake of the Gospel" (n. 64).
All are Missionaries
41. The Congregation is facing
a reality heretofore unknown in its history.
I refer to the great number of senior confreres
of the so-called "third age". Any reflection
on our Missionary spirituality must include
this group. While it is my intention to dedicate
a future letter solely to the question of
the spiritual demands particular to the "third
age", we can begin now by recalling the teaching
of Constitution 55: that by our profession
we all are missionaries. This character, which
is based on our share in the Mission of Christ,
continues throughout our life, whether we
are able to participate in pastoral activity
or not. And, as that particular Constitution
reminds us, we do not reach the fullness of
our Missionary identity until that time when
we "are suffering and dying for the salvation
of the world".
Question of restructuring
42. An understanding and
acceptance of "the very reason why the Congregation
exists in the Church" will provoke other questions.
Some of these will touch on our decisions
to remain in a place or move on. When do Redemptorists
say, "there are other towns and villages"
(Mk 1, 38)? At what point do we "shake the
dust from our feet" (Lk 9, 5)? When does "new
wine" demand "new wineskins" (Lk 5, 38)? The
last question touches not only our missionary
methods but also the way we structure ourselves.
We must continue to ensure that our structures
of government and administration are always
at the service of the Mission. Where this
is no longer the case, the structure must
change in order that the Mission continue.
A "barren bush"… a "noisy gong"
Mission that is not undertaken as an expression
of a deep commitment to Jesus is doomed to
failure (Final Message, 7)
43. A Redemptorist for whom
the Mission is not undertaken as an expression
of a deep commitment to Jesus - what would
he look like? What would he sound like? He
might resemble a "barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season, but stands
in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth" (Jer
17, 5-6). As one confrere writes to us: "burnout
is not due to overwork alone, but more to
an emptiness or a lack of conviction in one's
life, a lack of the spiritual". Could "burn-out"
be essentially a spiritual problem? Might
not its painful symptoms mask a thirst for
"living waters" (Jn 7, 37-38)?
44. If we dare to speak about
Him whom we do not know, we will eventually
sound vacant and superficial: a "noisy gong
or a clanging cymbal" (1 Cor 13, 1). Being
"missionary" does not simply mean being close
to the people or opting for the poor; we ought
to have an experience to share with them:
"What we have heard, what we have seen with
our eyes, what we have looked upon and our
hands have touched-we speak of the word of
life" (1 Jn 1, 1).
Questions with no answer or "hearts that
burn"?
45. Disconnected from the
Lord, we face many questions with little hope
of an answer. "How could we ever get enough
bread in this deserted place to satisfy such
a crowd?" (Mt 15, 33). "Here we have put aside
everything to follow you: what can we expect
from it?" (Mt 19, 27). "Truth! What does that
mean?" (Jn 18, 38).
46. It should be obvious
that our choice of the person of Christ as
the center of our lives and at the heart of
communities does not insulate us from doubt
or anxiety. But, after we pour out our hearts
to each other and to Him, we listen. Then
our hearts may begin to burn and we have to
carry the message to others: how He met us
along the road and how we recognized Him.
Conclusion
47. Let me try to summarize
the essential points of this letter. Spirituality
is directed towards basic and often troubling
questions about our identity and purpose in
life. For Redemptorists, spirituality must
be intimately connected with Mission: the
"very reason why the Congregation exists in
the Church". This intimate connection means
that we choose Christ as the center of everything,
that witnessing is critical and contemplation
is a sine qua non for the missionary life.
It means that we strive to be courageous,
patient and hopeful to the point of inviting
others to share fully in our life. In the
final analysis, our spirituality cannot remain
a theory: we must live it. It must have some
practical consequences in our life.
The Congregation and the Great Jubilee
48. It is practically a cliché
to say that we are standing on the threshold
of a new millennium. As tiresome as this countdown
to the new century may be, I do not believe
we should dismiss the extraordinary "sign
of the times" that is the Great Jubilee. Have
you noticed the different themes proposed
by the Holy Father for this celebration? They
have a familiar ring: conversion, transformation,
penance, reconciliation, redemption, the paschal
mystery. These same themes are at the very
heart of our Mission.
49. Is it reasonable to expect
that all the provinces and vice-provinces
undertake a special missionary project as
part of the celebration of the Great Jubilee?
I am aware that some projects have already
been planned, like urban missions or special
pilgrimages. It is also true that the members
of some units - especially those in leadership
- are tired, discouraged and doubtful of the
cooperation of their confreres. But I would
ask each unit to inaugurate the third Christian
millennium with a special project that is
consonant with "the very reason why the Congregation
exists in the Church, and the badge of its
fidelity to the vocation it has received"
(Constitution 5).
50. May the Immaculate Virgin
Mary who, after Jesus Christ, is the principle
protector of our holy Institute because, in
a special way, it was born under her patronage,
help us to love her Son and make Him to be
loved.
On behalf of the General Council,
Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.
Superior General
(The original text is English.)
