« JOURNEYING TOGETHER »
Consecrated life is at the very heart of the Church» (Vita consecrata, n. 3). These are the words of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on Consecrated Life which, taking up the rich wealth of the conciliar heritage, has marked, as a sure compass, the path of all consecrated persons in the last twenty-five years. As a precious and necessary gift for all Christians, consecrated life unfolds its being in life, holiness and ecclesial mission.
Following in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis called on the entire People of God to place themselves in «synodal mode» by convening a Synod under the title «For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission», which will culminate in October 2023. The focus is on «heading not occasionally, but structurally towards a synodal Church». The reason had already been explained by the Pope a few years ago: «The path of synodality is the path that God expects of the Church of the third millennium». And the Church «is nothing other than the ‘walking together’ of the flock of God on the paths of history that goes out to meet Christ the Lord».
In a broad sense and in a more generic way, synodality would come to designate: «The peculiar style that qualifies the life and mission of the Church expressing its nature as walking together and meeting in the assembly of the People of God summoned by the Lord Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel. It must be expressed in the ordinary way of living and working of the Church. This modus vivendi et operandi is realized through community listening to the Word and the celebration of the Eucharist, the fraternity of communion and the co-responsibility and participation of the whole People of God, at their different levels and in the distinction of the various ministries and roles, in their life and in their mission».
consecrated persons are «passionate seekers and witnesses of God» on the path of history and in the heart of humanity. Walking together is an exercise in necessity and an experience of beauty. The need arises from the Church’s need to strengthen synergies in all areas of mission. Beauty springs from contemplating the witness of those who are called by the same vocation to live in fraternity and to give their lives for the kingdom at the service of their brothers and sisters.
Thus, taking up the invitation of Pope Francis, the XXVI Day of Consecrated Life has as its motto «Consecrated life, walking together». In evoking the category of the way, we can only turn our gaze to the same Jesus who proclaimed Himself «the Way, the Truth and the Life» (Jn 14:6), walked the path up to Jerusalem to the Cross to establish a new covenant between God and men (Lk 9:51) and, once resurrected, «began to walk with them» (Lk 24, 15) to discover in the disciples the truth of the Word, the power of the sacrament and the dynamism of the mission. Reflecting the experience of the Lord, the faith of the first Christians was identified as «the way» and in the first steps of the apostolic community we already have a fundamental reference in the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), where the categories of the way, discernment and Church found their meeting point and thus came to take shape in the doctrine of the Fathers: «Synod is the name of the Church».
For consecrated life, the invitation to walk together means doing so in each of the fundamental dimensions of consecration, listening, communion and mission.
To walk together in consecration means to be aware of the call received, the shared vocation and the life given. Ultimately, it supposed to mean that God is to be found walking. Only when we search (Your face I will seek, O Lord) and allow ourselves to be found by him, does the miraculous encounter between the divine call by pure grace and the total, absolute and unconditional human response occur. Sharing the journey as pilgrims of eternity reminds every one of the power of the prophetic dimension of consecrated life, which finds its source in the sequela Christi and in the power of fidelity to know by whom they have been called and to whom they have trusted (cf. 2 Tim 2:12). When people called to a special consecration are able to display this full trust in God, then it is possible for them to be a voice and an interpellation «to awaken the world.» The conviction that this synodal time is a time of grace and a time of the Spirit encourages all consecrated persons to strengthen consecration by living this moment as an opportunity for encounter and closeness with God and their brothers and sisters.
Walking together listening to the Word of God. This common path to finding God can only be done from listening, which is one of the fundamental keys to synodality: «A synodal Church is a Church of listening, with the awareness that ‘listening is more than hearing”. Sharpening the ear to listen to the Spirit, to the brothers and sisters with whom life is shared and to humanity wounded with their joys and sorrows is the best guarantee to walk together along the paths of fidelity to one’s vocation. Consecrated life, which is born of listening to the Word and accepting the Gospel as the norm of life, can be considered «as an ‘incarnation’ of the very Word of God – heard, meditated upon and internalized».
It is time to intensify prayer, which is, for every Christian life, like the air our lungs need. True listening requires three conditions: reciprocity, respect and compassion. It is always necessary to communicate sincerely, show empathy towards the other and open-heartedness to receive the truth that can communicate to us. Only in this way can consecrated persons find the paths of genuine growth and become an interpelling witness in the midst of society, which sometimes closes its ears to the voice of God and to the cry of the weakest.
Walking together in communion. Consecrated persons are called to be in the Church and in the world «experts in communion», witnesses and architects of that ‘project of communion’ which constitutes the summit of man’s history according to God». This communion is to be manifested, in the first place, with God, loved above all things; in addition, with all those with whom in daily experience share life, prayer and mission, thus forming a signum fraternitatis; finally, communion extends to all humanity in need of healing wounds and curing bruises. Ecclesial communion, which does not imply uniformity, is the seal of discernment and verification of the synodal journey. For this reason, walking together in unity and harmony invites consecrated persons to strengthen communion within the same charismatic families; with other institutes favoring the inter-congregationality; and, above all, in the local Church, intensifying involvement and participation in the diocesan life.
Walking together in the mission means to discover «the sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing» (EN, n. 80) and to experience simultaneously the joy of believing and the joy of communicating the Gospel. We know that a synodal Church is an outgoing Church and that synodality is ordered to animate the life and evangelizing mission of the Church. The mission in a synodal key involves dialogue, listening, discernment and collaboration of all the actors of missionary action.
For consecrated life, walking together in mission means strengthening the co-responsibility and commitment to the mission of the local Church by contributing her charismatic gifts without ever losing sight of the availability to the universal Church. This mission that must be carried out in a missionary community translates into multiple forms, whether from the prayer of the cloister, the liturgy of the parish, the hospital room, the school class or in the meeting at street level.
Consecrated persons, each with his gifts and charisms, contribute to enriching the mission of the Church and even to making it possible for the seed of the Gospel to extensively reach much deeper areas.
As we move forward on the synodal journey, we thank God for the gift of consecrated life that enriches the Church with her virtues and charisms and shows the world the joyful witness of a radical surrender to the Lord. While they continue making the memory of Jesus and the eschatological sign, consecrated persons build up the Body of Christ and are witnesses of the kingdom in the midst of the world. In this way, we dream together, pray together and participate together and decisively contribute so that the synodal Church will not be a mirage, but a real dream that can be made into a reality.
EPISCOPAL COMMISSION FOR CONSECRATED LIFE (WRITTEN BY: IGLESIAACTUALIDAD)