{"id":1752,"date":"2015-06-01T14:45:34","date_gmt":"2015-06-01T18:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/?p=1752"},"modified":"2015-06-01T14:47:44","modified_gmt":"2015-06-01T18:47:44","slug":"midway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/midway\/","title":{"rendered":"Midway"},"content":{"rendered":"

A brief pause in this Year of Consecrated Life<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My dear Religious,<\/p>\n

We are en route.\u00a0 We are making our way through this Year of Consecrated Life.\u00a0 We are now midway.\u00a0 Let us pause for a moment of fraternal rest and dialogue.\u00a0 I invite you to pause and dialogue within your community.\u00a0 For my part, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you two thoughts that the journey travelled thus far, has left in my mind and in my heart.\u00a0 The first concerns the precious gift that is the \u201ccharism\u201d; the other, that of \u201ctaking care of vocations\u201d.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The \u201cCharism\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Here in Canada, circumstances of themselves led to highlighting the Year of Consecrated Life.\u00a0 This is because on April 26 the entire Church in Canada found itself spiritually, in Rimouski, for the celebration of the Beatification of Mother \u00c9lisabeth Turgeon, foundress of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.\u00a0 It was an opportunity to meet together and to reflect upon the \u2018charism of the founder\u2019 defined by the Church as \u201can experience of the Spirit, transmitted to the disciples, in order to be lived by them faithfully, constantly developed in harmony with the Body of Christ in perpetual growth\u201d (Mutuae Relationes, 11).<\/p>\n

    For Mother \u00c9lisabeth Turgeon, the \u201cexperience of the Spirit\u201d which she wished to transmit was that of witnessing to the \u201ctender love and solicitude of Jesus and of Mary\u201d by dedicating herself particularly to the education and Christian formation of the young.\u00a0 Throughout her life, Mother \u00c9lisabeth knew how to pass this on \u201cto her own proper disciples\u201d thereby giving birth to her religious family. \u00a0By her words for sure, but mostly, by the witness of her life, she succeeded in drawing thousands into this same experience.\u00a0 And we, today, in our religious communities:\u00a0 do we succeed in transmitting the charism that we have received?<\/p>\n

    In the definition of the \u201ccharism of the founder\u201d that I have just recalled, the word \u201ctransmit\u201d is accompanied and followed by \u201cliving\u201d, \u201cto preserve\u201d, \u201cto deepen\u201d and \u201cto develop\u201d the charism, precisely because the charism is a living and dynamic reality, as is the Spirit who gives it to the Church.\u00a0 How do we live, preserve, deepen and develop the charisms which each of our religious families have received?<\/p>\n

    I like, in this regard, to share the vigorous appeal the Pope addresses to us:\u00a0 \u201cFirst, it is necessary to preserve the freshness of your charism, never lose that freshness, the freshness of your charism, always renewing the \u201cfirst love\u201d (cf. Rev. 2:4).\u00a0 As time goes by, there is a great temptation to become comfortable, to become hardened in set ways of doing things, which, while reassuring, are nonetheless sterile.\u00a0 There is the temptation to cage in the Holy Spirit:\u00a0 this is a great temptation! … The newness of your experiences does not consist in methods or forms, or the newness itself, all of which are important, but rather in your willingness to respond with renewed enthusiasm to the Lord\u2019s call\u2026We need always to return to the sources of our charism, and thus to rediscover the driving force needed to respond to challenges\u2026always on the way, always in movement, always open to God\u2019s surprises which are in harmony with the first call\u2026\u201d\u00a0 (cf. Address of Pope Francis to participants in the Third World Congress of Ecclesial Movements and New communities, November 22, 2014).<\/p>\n

    I would like to entrust this call of the Holy Father in a particular way to the various religious congregations that will celebrate their General Chapter this coming June and July.\u00a0 And I would convey this also to all the religious families as a stimulus and encouragement that the Lord offers us in order to continue and to draw out the riches of the Year of Consecrated Life.\u00a0 We are called again and again to preserve and enrich the \u2018charism\u2019 received by going back to the origins, that is to say, to the \u2018generative\u2019 inspiration that God gave to each founder and foundress.\u00a0 This demands a constant and diligent \u2018evangelical vigilance\u2019 and an attentive \u2018communitarian discernment.\u2019<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Taking care of vocations<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u201cAs he was going along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net into the sea\u2026\u00a0 And he said to them \u201cCome follow me\u2026\u201d (cf. Mk 1:16-17).\u00a0 It is Jesus who calls.\u00a0 The Lord is the author of a vocation.\u00a0 Wherever he is present, there is a call.\u00a0 Consequently, if no one comes one must spontaneously ask oneself:\u00a0 \u201cBut he, is he there?\u201d\u00a0 In other words, we must ask whether he is present within us and within our communities because we know that wherever the Lord is present, he acts, he calls.\u00a0 Certainly there are a number of problems; it may be that we are passing a time of ordeal\u2026but if no one comes, then perhaps we need to re-focus, because wherever Jesus is, there is movement.<\/p>\n

      Jesus calls us to be fishermen, not of fish, but of persons:\u00a0 \u201cI will make you fishers of men\u201d (cf. Mk 1:17).\u00a0 Fishing is associated with a net, the necessary instrument to be able to fish.\u00a0 We know that for special and delicate fish, one requires particular nets.\u00a0 Only when the nets are in order, well patched and with small mesh, can one retain the \u201cdelicate fish of a vocation\u201d.\u00a0 We are those nets, when, united by fraternal love, we ensure that Jesus lives within us and among us.\u00a0 Jesus within and among us is the only true net for vocations.\u00a0 \u201cVocation grows only there where there is unity and reciprocal love.\u00a0 Often what is lacking is the net of love, of communication, of real sharing that enables the person to be able to find the Lord in the center and his own place close to the Lord.\u00a0 There, where the net is lose and torn, those who could be caught, pass through.\u00a0 We need the tight net of those who believe in the calling of God so that the call may be received and answered\u201d (cf. Klaus Hemmerle, Scelto per gli uomini, 51).<\/p>\n

      That is why the Church asks each of you, consecrated men and women, to be \u201ctrue experts of communion\u201d (cf. Vita Consecrata, 46).\u00a0\u00a0 Yours therefore, is the task \u201cto foster the spirituality of communion\u201d, first of all within your communities, then among the different religious families, and also, toward the entire ecclesial fraternity, and all of humanity (cf. Vita Consecrata, 51ff).\u00a0 So that this communion does not become \u201cheadless\u201d (acephalous), it is necessary to be in full communion with the Pope, Successor of Peter, and with the Bishops, Successors of the Apostles, guarantors of the unity of the Church.<\/p>\n

      Dear religious men and women, in the measure you remain faithful to the specific \u201ccharisms of the founders\u201d you will be models and masters of living the new commandment of Jesus (cf. John 13: 34-35).\u00a0 And your communion, kept alive by the dynamism generated by your fraternal charity, will make your communities \u2018supernatural powerhouses\u2019 capable of producing that \u2018spiritual current\u2019 which, plunged into the nets of your pastoral initiatives, will allow you to ignite in many hearts the light of the faith, feeding the fervor of charity and supporting the strength of hope.\u00a0 With your unanimous charity, you will unite your voices to the concordant and confident invocation of the Church which implores:\u00a0 \u201cMarana-tha, Come Lord Jesus (cf. Rev. 22:20).\u00a0 You will attract new vocations and like the disciples at the lake, you will count them \u201cone hundred and fifty- three large fish\u201d (cf. John 22:11).<\/p>\n

      Animated by this confidence, each day, in the chapel of the Nunciature, after Holy Communion and before the end of Holy Mass we unite in this prayer for vocations that I would like to share with you:<\/p>\n

      Jesus, Supreme Shepherd of our souls,<\/p>\n

      deign to look with your eyes of mercy<\/p>\n

      upon your beloved Church in Canada.<\/p>\n

      Lord, grant us vocations;<\/p>\n

      send workers into your vineyard,<\/p>\n

      give us holy priests,<\/p>\n

      holy religious,<\/p>\n

      and holy families,<\/p>\n

      in order to proclaim the Gospel<\/p>\n

      and for the building up of your Kingdom<\/p>\n

      on this earth.<\/p>\n

      We ask this through the intercession<\/p>\n

      of the Immaculate Virgin Mary<\/p>\n

      your Mother and our Mother.<\/p>\n

      Lord, give us priests and religious<\/p>\n

      according to your Heart.<\/p>\n

      Amen.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Enjoy the rest of the journey in this year of Consecrated Life! My prayer and my friendship accompany you. And do not forget to pray for me!<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Ottawa, May 31, 2015<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      + Luigi Bonazzi<\/p>\n

      Apostolic Nuncio<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      A brief pause in this Year of Consecrated Life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[39,22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1752"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1755,"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752\/revisions\/1755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nuntiatura.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}