Consecrated life & vocations

This time of Lent has brought with it unexpected renunciations due to the coronavirus public health measures. Social distancing, cancelled events and voluntary confinement are an opportunity to rebuild solidarity in our neighborhoods. We can also experiment new ways of praying, of fostering our relationship with God and of living communion in our Church. The second issue of the ad vitam webzine is quite timely. The members of the Theological Commission of the CRC offer theological, biblical and pastoral reflections on the theme of communion and mission.

In the wake of the recent Synod of Bishops on Young People, the short story of Acts 20:6-12 offers us a challenge. In it, Luke recounts that after a week-long visit of Saint Paul to Troas, the disciples gathered together on the day before his departure to hear him one last time and to celebrate the Eucharist with him.

When we agreed on the theme of dialogue and communion for this issue, it occurred to me that the process of theological reflection and some of the models of theological reflection I have experienced provide a structure and a space for developing skills for dialogue and for engaging at a level that brings about communion. This article gives a brief description of theological reflection, and highlights its potential for growth in dialogue and communion, in religious congregations or the broader church community.

In his letter to young people, Christus vivit (CV) no.35, Pope Francis invites the Church to be open to renewal. And this ecclesial renovation is not without affecting the renewal of the institutes of consecrated life. Among the possible considerations on this subject, one question arises for many of us. In these times of transition through which our communities must live, what space do we give to the word and action of younger people in the challenges to be met to enter into a “new” youthfulness?

Human beings are innately dialogical, they instinctively wait to be addressed by the other. Herein lies their freedom to question and respond. Ultimately their questioning and searching leads them to find God, source of their freedom, who has first chosen to enter into dialogue with them.

The Trinity is amongst the most mysterious of the articles of our faith to which we bear witness each Sunday in our recitation of the Creed. Indeed, for many of us, the Trinity is so much in the realm of mystery that we consider it to be beyond our understanding and thus we miss out on the gift of God that is revealed to us as we ponder something of the depths of our God.

In recent decades, ecclesial documents have given significant space to the reality of communion. […] In the deployment of this ecclesiology of communion, particular mention is made of a “missionary communion” or even of an “evangelizing communion,” thus highlighting the intimate bond that exists between communion and mission.

In his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christus vivit, Pope Francis begins by collecting “some of the richness of the sacred scriptures, since they often speak of young people and of how the Lord draws near to encounter them (CV 5). After speaking about Joseph and Gideon, Francis writes: “Samuel was still a young boy, yet the Lord spoke to him. Thanks to the advice of an adult, he opened his heart to hear God’s call… As a result, he became a great prophet who intervened at critical moments in the history of his country (CV 8). A re-reading of the story of Samuel’s vocation might offer us some paths for dialogue between the generations.