1 “T O BRING FULLER LIFE TO OTHERS ” G ENERAL A SSEMBLY OF THE S ISTERS OF THE S ORROWFUL M OTHER TH O CTOBER 2012 15 The task that has been given to me is to help you reflect on the theme of this Assembly: “to bring fuller life to others”. As you all know, the theme is taken from Article 51 of your Constitutions : “ The apostolic and spiritual heritage which we have received from St Francis and Mother Frances, challenges us to give ourselves completely to Christ as instruments to bring fuller life to others ”. 1 The reflection will have three separate moments: • This presentation • The presentation of some reflection questions • The rest of the day in which you will use the presentation and the questions as a basis for personal reflection. The substance of my contribution will consist of a kind of lectio of the text of this Article, paying attention to some of the echoes found there that can lead you more deeply into an encounter with what lies at the heart of the life of this Congregation, every religious institute, and of every gathering of Christians, no matter how small or large, namely the person of the Living God, Father, Son, and Spirit. There are four steps in this lectio based on the contents of the text: ° “the apostolic and spiritual heritage which we have received ...” ° “to give ourselves completely to Christ...” ° “as instruments...” ° “to bring fuller life to others”. a. “the apostolic and spiritual heritage which we have received ...” In August, the Franciscan family concluded its celebration of the eighth centenary of the conversion/profession of St Clare. One notable feature of her long life as a religious seeking to follow in the footsteps of Francis was an awareness of her own vocation as a gift from God, a gift for which she was always profoundly thankful. This is clear from the opening lines of the Testament she left for her sisters: “ Among the other gifts we have received and do daily receive from our benefactor, the Father of Mercies, and for which we must express the deepest thanks to the glorious Father of Christ. There is our vocation, for which, all the more by way of its being more perfect and greater, do we owe the greatest thanks to Him. Therefore the Apostle writes: “Know your vocation”. The Son of God has been made for us the Way which our blessed father Francis, His true lover and imitator, has shown and taught us by word and example ” 2 . Clare was convinced that the Lord had called her to live according to the holy Gospel after the example of Francis. For over forty years after she made her profession to Francis in the presence of the early brothers in the Porziuncola, Clare struggled to elaborate and have recognised the precise form of life to which she believed she had been called. It was not always easy. There were many others who sought to construct a way of life for her, but she 1 Our Way of Life: Constitutions of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother (henceforth OWL ). 2 St Clare of Assisi, Testament , 1 – 2. General Assembly, Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, Rome 2012
2 continued to insist and eventually, a few days before she died on 11 th August 1253, the Pope approved the text of the Form of Life 3 that she had written in which she incorporated the elements she believed were essential to a faithful response to the call she had received. Thankfully, the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother in the year 2012 do not have to endure the same struggle of St Clare. The fundamental form of life of the Congregation is contained in the Constitutions, the text of which was approved by the Holy See in 1992, a text that has been updated and clarified several times in the course of the Congregation’s history. In the years since Vatican II the Congregation, like so many others, responded to the challenge of renewal by means of a constant return to the sources of all Christian life and to the original spirit of the institute 4 . Although much of the content of the Constitutions may be prescribed by the universal law of the Church, the writing of the text for the past five decades has been left to the members of the Congregation. That text, the fruit of many years of wisdom and experience of those who have gone before, helps to express your heritage as a Congregation. This heritage that you have received is an integral part of what the Code of Canon Law describes as the patrimony of a religious institute. 5 The Constitutions of any religious institute have a fundamental role to play in preserving and transmitting that patrimony. 6 Yet that heritage cannot remain locked within the covers of a book – it must be known, and it must be lived. In his Apostolic Exhortation after the 1994 Synod of Bishops dedicated to the consecrated life, Blessed John Paul II wrote: “... there is a pressing need today for every Institute to return to the Rule, since the Rule and Constitutions provide a map for the whole journey of discipleship, in accordance with a specific charism confirmed by the Church. A greater regard for the Rule will not fail to offer consecrated persons a reliable criterion in their search for the appropriate forms of a witness which is capable of responding to the needs of the times without departing from an Institute's initial inspiration ” 7 . 3 The text of the Form of Life is contained within a papal document that begins with the greeting: “ Innocent, Bishop, Servant of the servants of God, to his beloved daughters in Christ, Clare, Abbess, and the other sisters of the monastery of San Damiano in Assisi, health and Apostolic blessing. The Apostolic See is accustomed to accede to the pious requests and to be favourably disposed to grant the praiseworthy desires of the petitioners. Thus, we have before Us your humble request that We confirm by our Apostolic Authority the form of life that Blessed Francis gave you and which you have freely accepted. According to this form of life you should live together in unity of mind and heart and in the profession of the highest poverty ”. The document concludes with the ending and date: “ Therefore, no one is permitted to destroy this document of our confirmation or to oppose it recklessly. If anyone should presume to attempt this, let him know he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and His holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Given at Assisi, the ninth day of August , in the eleventh year of our Pontificate ” . 4 Perfectae Caritatis n. 2. 5 “ The whole patrimony of an institute must be faithfully preserved by all. This patrimony is comprised of the intentions of the founders, of all that the competent ecclesiastical authority has approved concerning the nature, purpose, spirit and character of the institute, and of its sound traditions ” (Canon 578). 6 “ To protect more faithfully the vocation and identity of each institute, the fundamental code or constitutions of the institute are to contain, in addition to those elements which are to be preserved in accordance with can. 578, basic norms about the governance of the institute, the discipline of the members, the admission and formation of members, and the proper object of their sacred bonds ” (Canon 587 §1). 7 Pope John Paul II, Vita Consecrata n. 37. General Assembly, Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, Rome 2012
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