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| Religious Life |
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| Marist Apostolic Spirituality |
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Acts of the XIX General
Chapter
Rome, October 1993 |
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| Introduction |
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1. The focus of this document is ourselves
and our contemporary search for a spirituality that is life-giving
and more adequate for our vocation as active lay religious.
2. In 1976, the XVII General Chapter proposed further research
into Marist Apostolic Spirituality. In 1985, the XVIII General
Chapter approved the Constitutions which describe our spirituality
as apostolic and Marial (C 7).
3. The Report to this Chapter, presented by Rev. Bro. Charles
Howard and his Council at the end of their term of office,
indicates the difficulties which we continue to have in
regard to our lived spirituality.
4. The XIX Chapter chose Marist Apostolic Spirituality as
a theme for study. It is seen as one of the four priorities
which will guide the Government and the life of the Brothers
over the next eight years. We interpret this choice as a
response to the Spirit continuously guiding and renewing
us.
The reflections that we have made as a
Chapter emphasize the apostolic aspect of our spirituality.
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| I. Realities which affect us |
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In contemplating the reality of the world
and of the Church, we take note of some phenomena which
we believe are influencing the contemporary understanding
of spirituality.
The world
5. Our world continues to be dominated
by materialism, divisions, inequalities and injustices.
We recognize in it, however, the strong calls of God to
collaborate in his plan of salvation, committing ourselves
to the building of a more just, fraternal, and meaningful
society.
6. In spite of the impact of materialism, secularism, and
atheism, there exists a thirst for the transcendent and
a search for the spiritual, especially among young people.
The Church
7. The Church is being continually renewed.
A better self- understanding flows from its communion with
humanity and its incarnation in the world. It attempts to
be the servant of all.
8. Apostolic Religious life, in the spirit of the Beatitudes,
is not to be understood from the point of view of a flight
into the desert. Instead, it should help to proclaim and
strengthen the Kingdom of God among the peoples of the world.
9. We notice a re-awakening in the Church’s awareness
of Lay people. Their identity, vocation and mission has
become clearer.
Our way of living
10. As regards the spiritual reality of our communities
and provinces, from the viewpoint of apostolic vigor and
its impact on spirituality, we note the following positive
aspects :
— the example of many Brothers who manage to integrate
in their lives;
— the love of God and generous service to children
and young people ;
— the experience of Brothers who are very sensitive
to the world of the poor in whom they recognize and serve
the living God ;
— the refocussing of our institutions towards Gospel
values and through curriculum development, with more sensitivity
to young people with difficulties;
— the strong call to share our Spirituality and
Charism with lay people, something that may lead to our
enrichment as well;
— a concern that we find ways for our older Brothers
to exercise the apostolic dimension of their lives and
to share their spirituality with others;
— a greater appreciation of Champagnat as a model
of our consecrated life.
11. We also find important aspects which could be improved
:
— reaching a greater integration of life ;
— developing the practice of community and personal
discernment ;
— encouraging the practice of spiritual direction
;
— adopting a more simple, Gospel-oriented, and welcoming
style of life ;
— having more open communities which are attuned
to the needs around us and which allow us to be challenged
by those needs ;
— listening to the calls of the poor and being in
greater solidarity with them ;
— being men of deep prayer with Christ at our Center
; sharing the Word of God in community and making our
community celebrations and prayer more suited to our life
and mission;
— making our witness as a praying and apostolic
community more evident ;
— being more aware that Mary is the one who inspires
our life and action so that she may truly be our model
and companion on our journey.
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| III. Our convictions |
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God present in the world
12. We discover and experience God in the
down to earth realities of our ministry, and so we see the
world as a place where we listen to, serve, and love God.
13. The Father loved the world so much
that he gave us his Son. In His infinite love, God continues
to be totally involved with all men and women and today’s
world, with its disappointments and hopes. It is God who
arouses in us our responsibility for them, our interest
in them, our sensitivity to their problems, and our acceptance
of their challenges. Through obedience to our mission we
respond to the needs that we meet.
14. From this perspective the world ceases
to be considered as an obstacle, and becomes instead a place
for encountering God, a place of mission and sanctification.
It is here that we practice the presence of God so loved
by our Founder and by so many Brothers.
Brothers filled with enthusiasm
for the Gospel.
15. We are fired with enthusiasm for Jesus
and his Gospel. He gives meaning to all that we do. We maintain
a vital and deep personal relationship with him in the sacraments,
in personal and community prayer and in apostolic action.
His Spirit sends us out into the world as at Pentecost,
with enthusiasm and generosity born of our mission to continue
His work of salvation through evangelization (cf C 79,80).
16. In prayer and apostolic work we come
to realise the price Christ paid and continues to pay to
save the world. This experience urges us to move ahead,
with courage and apostolic zeal to difficult missions, to
marginalized areas, and unexplored surroundings, where the
seed of the kingdom has not yet taken root (cf C 83).
Mary, associated with the mission of her
son, is our model and companion. (cf C 4 and 87)
Spirituality is developed by giving oneself
to others :
18. In our insertion in the world we follow
the example of Jesus, who made himself like us (cf C 78).
Faithful to the will of the Father he gave unconditional
service to humanity.
19. We live and develop our spirituality
through service to others (cf C 78). The poor person, the
child, the young person and the Brother in community become
for us the living sacraments of God and the daily calls
of the Spirit (cf C 83). In the service of those around
us, we integrate, like Jesus, love of God and neighbor,
contemplation and apostolate.
20. Our presence among young people, so
recommended by the Founder, is a place where we encounter
God (cf C 81). Understood in this way, apostolic action,
far from hindering union with God, fosters it and expresses
it (cf C 7).
21. Mary serves as an example to us. Attentive
to the needs of her cousin in an attitude of service, Mary
lives a profound spiritual experience and, through her,
the Spirit is communicated to Elizabeth. Her Magnificat
is a marvelous expression of interior integration : Mary
experiences God in the depths of her heart and in her commitment
to the liberation of her people.
To live and to share the spirituality
of Champagnat :
22. By his life, Champagnat encourages
us to enter into the adventure of loving God in His creation,
and loving God’s creatures for His sake.
23. Moved by the Spirit in his encounter
with the dying young man, Montagne, Champagnat experienced
the unconditional love of Jesus and Mary for humanity. Full
of compassion he felt compelled to found a community of
Brothers who dedicate their lives to the service of young
people, especially the most neglected (cf C 2, 81).
24. This openness to the love of Jesus
and Mary and to the events and needs of his time permitted
him to integrate his life and to be in communion with God
in the streets of Paris as he was at the Hermitage.(cf C
2). His soul was so apostolically alive that he could not
see a young person without feeling the need to catechize
him and tell him how much Jesus Christ loves him (cf C 2).
25. Reliving this spiritual experience
and sharing it with lay people, is a tangible way of continuing
throughout time the gift which Marcellin is for the Church.
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| IV- Calls that we hear |
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26. To adopt a renewed form of prayer,
open to the reality of creation and of history, echoing
a life in solidarity with our brothers and sisters, above
all with the poor, and with those who suffer. An apostolic
prayer which takes into account the pains and joys, anguish
and hopes of people that God puts in our way (C 66, 71).
27. To be united in love through encountering
God in daily life, through seeking His will in our dealings
with others, in the midst of daily activity and community
living, and through the humble fidelity of every day. (C
44)
28. To be faithful to personal and community
listening and meditating on the Word of God as it relates
to our particular context. This prepares us to interpret
the signs of the times and to discover the will of God in
whichever way it is manifested.
29. To develop the personal and community
exercise of discernment which helps us to understand the
sacramental meaning of events, people, and things which
are for us a meeting place with God.
30. To see the face of God in community,
a family united in the name of the Lord, a place where we
experience God personally and share this with others.
31. To develop a personal and community
plan with a view to fostering our relationship with God
: sustained rhythms of personal prayer.
32. To recognize the presence of God in
the cultures of the people whom we evangelize. We grow in
our experience of God by contemplating the cultural values
of each people. When these values are cherished and appreciated,
we discover the seeds of the Kingdom already in them, and
these in turn enrich us.
33. To enrich the spiritual heritage left to us by Marcellin,
by sharing it with the laity. We ourselves stand to gain
much by sharing with them the different forms of the presence
of the Lord, the abundance of grace in each person, and
the numerous ways of growing in faith.
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| V - Lines of action that we are
proposing |
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34. The development of an apostolic spirituality
whereby we Brothers encounter God, not only in prayer, but
also, in apostolic action, is a process that requires time
and appropriate formation.
Concretely, we propose the following :
35. At the level of the Institute
The Brother Superior General and his Council
have a responsibility for promoting processes of formation
in Marist Apostolic Spirituality.
This involves :
— Encouraging a deeper study of Marist
Apostolic Spirituality (characteristics, pedagogy, etc.)
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— organizing courses for preparing animators of this
spirituality ;
— supervising provincial formation plans and the centers
of on-going formation to ensure the spiritual growth of
the Brothers in apostolic spirituality.
36. At the Provincial level :
— Each province follows a discernment process to develop
its Pastoral or Apostolic Plan. Through this process, the
Brothers work together in search of their particular way
of integrating the different aspects of their life : prayer,
community, apostolate.
— The Provincial Council promotes prayer workshops
leading to an improvement of personal and community prayer
in tune with an apostolic spirituality.
— Bro. Provincial encourages spiritual direction with
a view to helping each Brother integrate his life with his
apostolic work.
— Bro. Provincial sees that the Brothers have appropriate
accompaniment so that their solidarity experience, their
collaboration with the laity, and the openness of their
community will enable them to develop a greater apostolic
sensitivity and better integration of life.
37. At the Community level :
— Each community is encouraged to
grow in sharing its life, feelings, mission and faith.
— Each community, in developing its community plan,
determines ways of renewing personal as well as community
prayer, in such a way that it becomes an apostolic prayer,
open to reality, attentive to listening to God’s Word,
and in solidarity with the world.
— Each community, through the structures it puts into
place, helps a Brother’s faith development within
the demands of his apostolic work (timetable, prayer, meetings...)
— Each community prays and shares the Gospel, the
events of each day, the Constitutions and the Chapter documents. |
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