Spirituality of Systemic Change .ppt

7/27/2019 Spirituality of Systemic Change .ppt

1/22

Spirituality of Systemic Change?

Guillermo Campuzano, CM

DePaul University


2/22

The journey continues in thefootsteps of our founders

LET US GO TO THE POORB. Frederic Ozanam

Continuitysame spirit

RuptureCharismatic

Hermeneutics


3/22

From our Founding Spiritual Experience

To a Spiritual Vincentian Movement

To a School of Spirituality

Spirituality of Systemic ChangeTo Drink from our own Wells St. Bernard of Clairvaux

A New Spir i tuali ty to Face the Challenges of the XXI Century


4/22

A member of the familyAn

outsider speaking

VINCENTIAN InstitutionalCrisis in the USA

- When does suffer ing lead to life?Our When

- Where is li fe call ing us to go? Our

Where

- Are we sti l l wil l ing to go (do we have

the energy) where li fe is call ing us

with urgency? Our How


5/22

Where, When, How of the

Vincentian Family Today?

VincentianFamily

SystemicChange

Charism

Spirituality


6/22

An Experience

of the Spirit (MR 11)


7/22

The beginning of the spirituality of

systemic change can be in ACTIONbut it always implies a deep

conversion! Mark1:15

Spirituality is our door to

enter into the heart of

reality


8/22

Spir i t / Spir i tual i ty soul (anima) of the identity

essence of our being

energy of the mission

starting point and source of life

Charism

Possesses the necessary elementsfor us to become whole/holy


9/22

Implications of Having a

Shared Charism

Spiritual affinity

Need for collaboration (VC 54)

Relationship and Service (CfL 55)

Common conscience anddetermination

Communal sense of belonging

Common Faith Experience


10/22

Vincentian School of Spir i tuali ty (SC)

1. A common experience of the Spirit.

2. A methodology: a proper way to read andinterpret realitykey to our VincentianSpirituality

3. Elements of diverse/common identity

4. A doctrine5. A L ife Style

6. A specif ic way to develop our mission: using all

our economic, structural and human resources

to GO to the POOR of today.

This is my faith this is my exper ience(SVDPLetter to Fr. Codoing in Rome - I I , 282).


11/22

A school of spirituality

presupposes a particular

emphasis on the mystery

i t is a reordering of the great axesof Chr istianity in order for us to

understand and act accordingly in

the present time

(G. Gutierrez)

What is this particular emphasis of the Christian

Mystery in our Spirituality of Systemic Change?
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bridgebuilding.com/images/mi392x.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bridgebuilding.com/narr/mi392.html&h=348&w=275&sz=34&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=7rxG37zDET4EnM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=95&prev=/images?q=Elizabeth+Seton&gbv=2&um=1&hl=en&sa=G


12/22

In search of an ETHOSglobal home-

where the POOR has also a space

In Greek ethosmeans existential humandwelling

a place that is our habitat where we feel at

home!

Our own humanness (culture) is our ETHOS

Our worldis our ETHOS too

our common dwelling. To understand this froma systemic perspective in clue for our

discussion


13/22

Systemic Change is a specific way in whichwe -VF- want to transform our humanETHOS our world so that ALL can feel

at home in this human dwelling with aminimum of peace and justice! We believethat through SC we can contribute (locallyand globally)to articulate a minimum

consensus to save and regenerate ourcommon home, today crucified due toecological devastation, international

systemic injustice, violence we are calledtoday to ensure a future for thisinextricably linked binomial:

Earth-Humanity


14/22

REGENERATE

Earth - Humanity1. The cultural-social fabric

-pluralism-

2. The religious fabric

interreligious dialogue and collaboration in apost religious world

3. The Ecological Fabric

theological and anthropological ecology andecological theology and anthropology


15/22

Spirituality of SC More than something that is

already happening is a possibility to update our

identityto overcome our crisis before it is too

late

1. We need to overcome our doubts andfears towards this concept: it is impossible

to build a spirituality of SC if we do notassume its meaning and challenges

2. If we want the poor to embrace this

spirituality toowe need to be attentivethat SC is not, in any way, an oppressive orcolonialist practice


16/22

3. We need to overcome a romanticunderstanding of SC to avoid calling

everything we do SC -with a simple makeup of our old works and ways- I honestlydont think that breaking the cycle ofpoverty is that simple, and we need tounderstand the negative implications forthe one who tries to break these cycles.

We can lose friends and reputation!

4. To assume prophetic courage to act,think, pray, and live together in a newway always connecting VF and SC


17/22

Closing points toenlarge the

context to avoidthe (personal and

institutional) pre-textJohn 5: 1-14


18/22

1. Spirituality and Faith

Faith:primal urge to give our hearts away, totrust, to invest, to embrace, to love (William

Lynch,Images of Faith)Opposite: fury, fear, suicide/death

(H. Richard Niebuhr,Radical Monotheism and Western Culture)

Adult faith is not stable, but in permanentrevolution.Keeps involving heartbreak, andthus the movement towards other/Other in aself/giving way


19/22

2. Metanoia

Without METANOIA the only thing we

will do is a simplistic make-up of ourmission to perpetuate our oldpractices and our oppressive ways

If we do not see with new lenses we

wont be able to understand where weare called to go


20/22

3. Prophecy God talking to

the Heart

1. Connection between the primal force(spirituality) of the prophet and his-her

imagination2. Imaginationconstructing images of what

the world should be like, creative, moving,shapes experience,

3. Chief characteristic: can penetratereality The IRONY -the world willdisappoint us, but it is worth investing

in-


21/22

4. I stand with Francis From Francis of Assisi to Francis of

Rome Recovering the Utopia of the Poor

The meaning of this papacy for ourCharism his own challenges to our lifestyle in the USA and Canada

The Spirit of Vatican II: from 33 yearsof Hermeneutics of Retrenchment to6 months of the Hermeneutics ofMission/Reign of God- to retake thevoice of the Spirit for all of ustheChurch of today-

The option of JUSTICE: The PoorYoung People


22/22

1. Identify concrete seeds of hope in your

life, community, congregation inrelation to this binomial: VincentianFamily and Systemic Change

2. How can the Vincentian Familyeffectively contribute to save andregenerate our - existential dwelling -ETHOS: humanity/earth

3. Discuss some of the essential elementsof the Vincentian School of Spiritualityfrom a Systemic Change perspective

Documents

Spirituality of Systemic Change .ppt