A Pilgrimage of Hope

Brotherhood, gift of communion in love

Circular of the Superior GeneralBro. José Ignacio Carmona

INTRODUCTION

“To have the love of God is to possess all the virtues: faith, hope…It is to see our neighbour as the image of God, a part of Jesus Christ,

and with that the whole of the law is fulfilled.”(Father André Coindre)

“Fraternal charity must be the soul of our Congregation.”(Venerable Brother Polycarp)

One of the most pleasant activities of my life has been teaching. A good teacher usually begins a new term by reminding his students of the material that was covered in the previous term and then proceeds to establish a link with the next topic. This is what I hope to do by means of this introduction: that is, to give a brief review of the path already covered in our pilgrimage of hope, to take stock, and then to trace our road-map for the next part of our journey.

It has already been two years since our general chapter. We Brothers and our partners in mission, conscious of the love of the Father and aided by the gift of the Spirit, are striving to respond to the challenges of the Resurrected Lord who invites us day after day to progress on our “pilgrimage of hope along the path of communion.”

I have previously underscored that this path has three dimensions: communion with God, communion with our brothers and communion in the charism (spirituality, brotherhood, mission) among all the members of our extended family (cf. A Pilgrimage of Hope, p. 20). I am giving the broadest scope possible to the word “family” to include brothers, our partners in mission, and those to whom our mission and ministry are most directly intended.

My two previous circulars which were sent to all our local communities dealt with the theme of communion with God. Now I take up the challenge of writing on fraternal communion, which will be the theme of both this third circular and the one following.

I am conscious that the topic is a vast one, and I know that I cannot exhaust the topic by any means. I therefore pray the Holy Spirit to come to help me with his gifts so that, notwithstanding the successes and the failings with which our fraternal life is woven, I will be able to discern those things that must be said. The pedagogue knows that he cannot teach everything; his hope is that his students learn at least what is fundamental. Shall I succeed in saying what is essential? Whether the answer is affirmative or negative, I rely on your generosity and your understanding.

I am equally convinced of the relevance and magnitude of this topic. The Chapter of 2006 reflected at length on the meaning that we ought to give today to the expression “launch out into the deep.” In the booklet on the acts of the chapter we read that this expression meant that we want “to live the present moment of our religious life as brothers with renewed hope… and affirm the essentials of our religious life” (A Pilgrimage of Hope, p. 4). Does not community life play an integral and therefore essential role in our life as consecrated men, especially since we define ourselves as “religious brothers” (cf. R 17)?

Please God that this circular and the one to follow will contribute to the revitalization of inter-personal relationships in each of our communities as requested by our general chapter (cf. A pilgrimage of Hope, p. 17). In this way our communities will be schools of good relationships and signs of God’s love for our partners in mission, for those among whom we principally minister, and for the broader Christian community.

CHAPTER I

New communities for a new world

I shall begin my reflection by explaining why I have chosen the theme of fraternal communion for this circular.

In recent years the world has experienced overwhelming cultural changes in terms of both theory and practice. There has been a significant shift in thinking and a transformation of both institutions and values. This evolution has in turn fostered significant changes in society, in the world and in religious life, and even the fraternal life of our local communities has not been exempt from its influence.

Some of these cultural changes are positive. This is most certainly the case in regard to developments in science and technology, advancements in the rights and freedom of the individual, the tendency toward more democratic systems of government, the growing importance afforded to emotions and to art, etc. Other changes, however, have been negative, like metaphysical relativism – there is no such thing as absolute truth – and ethics – there is no distinguishing between good and evil – the hic and nunc, individualism, superficiality, the lack of meaning in life, etc.

Among other significant changes in society we note the growing influence of the media and other means of communication, the rise in individual initiatives and the increasing influence of civil society, the struggle for human rights, the evolution of the concept of authority, women’s rights, the growing fragility of the family unit, hedonism, materialism, the reality of a world becoming more and secular – all of which leave little room for transcendent values.

With regard to the sphere of economics, there is on the one hand the notion of neo-liberalism, globalization, astounding economic development, and on the other a growing gap separating rich countries from poor countries. In this regard it is said that the proportion of per capita of rich countries relative to poor countries is today 100 to 1, whereas it was 6 to 1 in 1900. The number of individuals deprived of things considered indispensable for a life of minimum dignity continues to increase. The world has lost its way and is being bled by interminable wars which are born of an insatiable thirst for power and a taste for wealth, all to the detriment of justice and equality.

In her wisdom always ancient and always new, the Church of our era has recognized in many of the changes the seeds sown by the Word Incarnate and has denounced those that go counter to both the divine plan and the dignity of the individual and of all people. The Church desires to be an expert in humanity, open to dialogue with the world, more independent than the temporal powers with which she seeks to interact, committed to improving the conditions of life for all, especially the poorest, striving for justice, desiring to be seen as a house of and school for communion, willing to be a link between nations and a herald of Jesus Christ, Word of the Father, the only one able to save mankind (cf. Ac 4:12; Gaudium et Spes, § 10.2).

The numerous changes mentioned above impacted our local communities and entailed a variety of consequences that I now wish to recall.

The decrease in vocations in the northern hemisphere is part of this fallout. Fifty years ago most of our local communities had many members; most of our apostolic works were staffed almost exclusively by brothers, with lay staff limited to the barest minimum. In 1968 when I began to exercise my educational ministry in Vittoria, Spain, there were thirty brothers on the faculty, and most of these were relatively young. Today the number of brothers in the local communities is much reduced and oftentimes with a relatively high average age.

In other parts of the world, economic development has meant that the state takes charge of most of the educational and health services which had formerly been entrusted to men and women’s religious communities. Many brothers are no longer in works that in the past they had administered. They have become “civil servants.” All of this has entailed a good deal of questioning on the meaning of the religious vocation as much on the individual level as on the community level.

In those areas where we still have our own educational works, we have to compete with state and other private institutions that offer the same services. This requires that we commit enormous effort, at the risk of falling prey to activism and neglecting essential aspects of our religious, communal and apostolic life.

On the other hand, in their desire to build the Kingdom of God here and now, our communities are more open to the world. In the past they closely followed a monastic life-style, so much so that everything was done to the rhythm of a community life underpinned by the observance of a rule whose prescriptions on all aspects of life were clearly defined. But with today’s openness much of the treasure of community life has been lost.

There are other factors which have influenced our religious life to the extent that in some places, our apostolic tasks have become more individualistic, and community life has often suffered the repercussions. In other places many brothers are old or retired, and adapting to community life becomes problematic for younger brothers.

Another factor is that today our communities are reduced in size. This reality brings both positive and negative consequences. Paradoxically, even though possibilities for electronic communication are ever on the increase, interpersonal communication has become increasingly difficult, and our frenetic life-style leaves us little time either for ourselves or for others.

Finally, our own new governmental structures have greatly affected our community life emphasizing as they do dialogue, co-responsibility and subsidiarity.

The changes that have so impacted our religious life in recent years challenge us to seek a new and more authentic way of living fraternal communion. It is within this context that the chapter of 2006 with its re-reading of the signs of the times earnestly invited us to live hope and to be signs and builders of that hope in today’s world. To attain this objective, the chapter invited us to undertake a pilgrimage along the road of communion, one of whose fundamental dimensions is fraternal communion.

CHAPTER II

Vocation to Communion

Men and women are social beingsOver the course of recent centuries there has been a resurgence of interest in the life of prehistoric man. Numerous archaeological digs have unearthed a range of human remains that confirm that humans have always lived in groups.

If an intelligent being from another part of the cosmos were to land on our planet, he would be truly astonished. Among the living beings encountered, he would quickly distinguish a species that walks upright, lives within a family unit, among neighbours or friends, in towns and villages. He would conclude that these earthlings communicate with their fellow beings, celebrate together and work with them to make tools and machines that allow them to travel on land, on sea and in the air; to cultivate the land for their livelihood; to extract raw materials from the earth’s crust and from its bowels, transforming them into useful products.

No one has been able to theorize with any degree of certainty the existence of humans who were born into this world and lived utterly alone. In fact, living among other humans, confiding in others and sharing with others is essential to humans. To contend that a human can live utterly alone is as absurd as theorizing that a circle can be simultaneously round and square. Humans are undeniably social beings, and the human person is always a person-with-others.

Either we exist with others or we do not exist at all. The lone human is a negation of what a human is. If it were possible for a human to live alone, and even if all of his fellow beings were at his service (cf. Gn 2:20), he would never manage to realize his human aspirations; he would never be truly fulfilled; he would always have the feeling that life is futile and has no real meaning.

It is said that the social condition of humans is manifested in his openness to his fellow beings. Such openness is essentially possible thanks to the human’s capacity for communication. Human beings are essentially rational; they are capable of speaking and listening, of seeing and being seen, of giving (offering) and of receiving, of loving and of being loved.

The human person becomes progressively more sociable, that is to say, that he or she takes on a culture as a result of ongoing relationships with others in the community (family, school, work place, etc.) This cultural appropriation consists in acquiring both theoretical and practical knowledge (understanding), in exchanging ideas and in sharing values (vision), and in becoming identified with various social groups by observing the laws and norms of life in common (behavior).

In the image of the God who is communionThe conviction that humans are by nature social beings finds substance and authority in God’s revelation in Scripture. Moreover, this same revelation provides us with the profound reason for the social condition of all human beings.

In fact, the revealed Word and theology present God to us as a unique being in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father has a perfect image of himself, and since it is perfect, this image exists as a real and distinct person whom we call the Word, the Son of the Father. The Father loves his Son with a tremendous love and the Son also loves the Father with infinite love. This exchange of love is perfect and exists as a distinct person, which Scripture calls the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the Comforter. The Spirit is therefore love in person, that is to say, the relationship of reciprocal love between the Father and the Son.

God is not, therefore, an old bachelor who out of boredom created the world. God is family: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is communion of persons, simultaneously distinct and perfectly united in love. In God is found the most perfect unity in the most profound diversity.

The Trinitarian God created humans in his image and likeness (cf. Gn 1:26-27) for communion. Every human being comes into this world endowed with this vocation to communion. He is in the midst of creation the germ of and the desire for communion. Humans are open to communication, to dialogue, to relationships with the world; and they are called by God to enter into an intimate relationship with Him and to live interpersonal communion with their fellow men and women, forming a universal family (cf. Fraternal life in Community, § 9).

The rupture of God’s plan and its restorationMen and women were created for communion; but under the influence of the spirit of evil, they thought that in rejecting God, they would become like Him (cf. Gn 3:5). Yielding to this temptation to power and domination, they chose to separate themselves from God.

We know the consequences of the fall of our “first parents.” On the one hand the rejection of God – the Other, with a capital letter – brought with it the rejection of mankind – the other, with a small letter: a brother commits the ignominious crime of killing his own brother (cf. Gn 4:8), the first of a long line of disagreements among men and women and of so many fratricidal wars that have stained the history of mankind with blood and continues to do so today. On the other hand, the fracture of the harmony between man and God brought with it natural imbalances which find their echo in the deluge (cf. Gn 6:5ff). Later, human kind, driven by the lust for power and grandeur, with a desire to surpass even God, decided to build a tower as high as the heavens (cf. Gn 11:1-9). We know the ending of the story: the ambition to build a world without God becomes the root of the deep division among human kind.

Despite human ingratitude, God does not admit defeat. God who created men and women in his own image and likeness decides to sow the ultimate seed of goodness and love in the depths of the human person. To this end, in the fullness of time, he sends his Son upon earth so that in taking on the fullness of the human condition he might be brother to all men and women (cf. Fraternal Life in Community, § 9; cf. R 22).

Jesus, the Word Incarnate, shares his life fully with us. From then onward, we who had been far from God were enabled to be brothers of Jesus by the grace of the

Spirit and thus regain our condition of sons of the Father. Thanks to the life and resurrection of the Lord, the re-uniting of the scattered children of God becomes possible (cf. Jn 11:52), and we are able to realize anew our common vocation of sons of God, Father of us all, and thus become brothers to one another. This is what Jesus requests in his prayer: “I pray not only for these but also for those who through their teaching will come to believe in me. May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that it was you who sent me” (Jn 17:20-21; cf. R 22).

Love of God and love of neighbourOne day a young man was reflecting on what was said above. “Who am I,” he mused, “that God should have created the world and all its marvels for me, that he should have given me life, that he should have sent his Son to share his life with me? What have I done to deserve all of this? Why has God given me so much? I am but a poor creature,” he said to himself, “and I have never done anything to deserve so much wealth. God in his great love and mercy has deigned to look upon my lowliness and has desired to shower me with his gifts.”

The pure, noble and generous heart of the young man was overflowing with feelings of deep gratitude. Love had just come to birth in his heart and he asked himself, “How can I possibly respond to this immeasurable love of God for me? What can I do?”

The young man had learned from his teachers that God is infinitely wise, powerful and happy. While this realization filled him with joy, he nevertheless experienced a deep sense of sadness because he would say to himself, “If this is the case, then I can do nothing for Him. There is nothing I can teach him, because he knows all things; I can be of no help to Him because He has need of nothing; I can in no way make him happier because his happiness is perfect.”

One day as he was reading the Gospel, he read the words of the king to those who had shown compassion to their fellows: “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome, naked…, sick…, in prison…. In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me“ (Mt 25:34-40).

These words were a revelation to the young man. Their message was clear: If you wish to do something for God, help others. Your love for others is a proof of your love for God. Prove to God that you love Him by loving your brothers. Reading other pages of Scripture convinced the young man that love of God and love of neighbour were absolutely inseparable; with a greater knowledge of the Gospel, he realized that Jesus had spent his life doing good; that is to say, he was at the service of others. So he chose to make of his own life a continual offering, loving God by placing himself at the service of his brothers and sisters.

Brothers, the story I have narrated shows that we cannot separate love of God from love of neighbour. In the words of St. John, “My dear friends, if God loved us so much, we too should love one another. … Anyone who says ‘I love God’ and hates his brother, is a liar, since whoever does not love the brother whom he can see

cannot love God whom he has not seen…. Indeed, this is the commandment we have received from him, that whoever loves God, must also love his brother” (1 Jn 4:11.20-21).

Vatican Council II, inspired by the teachings of St. Augustine, declares that the Church is necessary for salvation but warns those who think that they are already saved by the mere fact of being members of the Church. The Council fathers teach that “he is not saved, however, who, though part of the body of the Church, does not persevere in charity” (Lumen gentium, § 14).

There have been people in the past who, under the influence of an individualistic spirituality and from a purely vertical perspective, prayed a great deal, participated in the Eucharistic liturgy and received the sacraments, had a range of pious practices, and performed much penance.

But at the same time such people could make life intolerable for others, because charity and love of neighbour were not factors high on their list of concerns. Of this sort of person, some would say, “These persons believe in loving God intensely because they’re incapable of loving anyone else.” Others saw them as “saintly” people, while those who had to live along side them were real martyrs.

You will easily understand that the caricature that I have just presented is totally contrary to the Gospel message. Following Jesus requires today, as it always has, that we be intimately united with the Father and deeply united with others. The Christian is not a solitary being but rather one who lives in solidarity with all people. This is what we read in a hymn of the Divine Office:

“Where there is a Christianthere isn’t solitude but only love;for the Christian bears the Churchin the depths of his heart.And he always means ‘us’even when he says ‘I’.”

What is love?Fraternal life consists in living together united by bonds of love. But, what is love, really?

If that question were put to people, we would get varying answers: a passion that drives us to seek intimacy with another person; to make love; a feeling of compassion towards another; solidarity; or an availability to serve others, etc.

Given such diverse answers, we must come to some consensus on the meaning of the word “love.” Having reflected on this topic for some time, I put to you my interpretation. I am referring to love in the most general sense of the word, without any religious connotation. Love is a disposition and a praxis of service which have at their source an acknowledgment of the worth of the other as person, and consequently, a concern for his or her wellbeing.

Knowledge of the other leads to a full acceptance of the other, and from the latter love is born. Let us call to mind the old Latin dictum, “nihil volitum qui non præcognitum”. No one can love what he or she does not know. Love is born of a deep awareness of the worth of the other, not only for what the person does, but especially for what that other person is and what he or she is called to be, for his or her intrinsic value, for the inherent dignity of the person.

Naturally the person who loves also needs to acknowledge his or her own worth, for anyone who is not conscious of that worth and has no love of self cannot love others.

Along with this attitude or disposition, there must be a certain availability; that is to say, of being habitually available for service and for support. It is not a matter of something fleeting.

It was by design that I used the word “praxis” above, because I wanted to underscore the fact that love does not consist only of good intentions but especially of accomplishing good deeds.

I have defined love as a disposition and a praxis of service towards the other person, which are born of a recognition of the worth of the other person and of the good that is wished for him or her. It follows, therefore, that it is possible to love without any physical manifestations. It is clear that such manifestations are good and desired by God in a loving and committed couple. They are signs of love and they help to unify the two by bringing to their relationship the well-being of physical intimacy and pleasure. This is the physical dimension of the couple’s love; but it must be complemented by affection, tenderness, dialogue, understanding, mutual help, support, service, etc.

We must not confuse love with mere feelings or empathy. Love is not merely the pleasure of encounter, affection for a dear one, or passion for a person towards whom one is drawn. If such were the case, we could only and would be obliged to love only those persons to whom we are naturally attracted. But the Gospel tells us that we must love even our enemies, those whose faces we don’t even remember, those for whom we experience antipathy, and those who seek and even succeed in doing us harm (cf. Mt 5:43-47).

A growing loveThroughout the life of a human person, he or she develops the capacity for loving. Initially, it is a love of self-interest, the fruit of natural attraction, a sort of love that might be summarized as a tendency to seek out the other for personal pleasure. This is equally the case in the selfish love of the child who receives everything and gives nothing in return. This possessive love is called eros.

Gradually, the person who develops normally passes from a self-interested childish love to an adult love, an increasingly gratuitous love. This is the passage from selfish love to unconditional love by the person who gives a great deal more than he receives and even by the person who increasingly draws closer to the goal of a total gift of self without expecting anything in return. This love, this total gift of self is unique and is called agape.

Over the course of one’s life a person never attains perfectly the objective of this agape love, because agape love always keeps some element of self-interest or eros. Eros is called to perfect itself, to draw closer and closer to agape.

Loving with the Heart of God

“It is only in God and for God that we can truly love ourselves with a righteous love.”

(Father André Coindre)

“The measure of the love that we ought to have for our brothersis to love them as Jesus Christ has loved us.”

(Venerable Brother Polycarp)

In the true sense of the word, there is no other agape love than the love of God. This love is revealed ever more clearly in the Word of God throughout the history of salvation which culminates in Jesus. Every Christian is invited to tend more and more towards agape love, that is, to love Jesus with a heart totally free and generous.

Our Rule of Life alludes to this passage from eros love to agape love when it speaks of “the transfiguration of our love” (R 74). As Christians we are called to love every person and every thing with an unconditional love which is nothing but the pure gift of self, a love which only seeks the good of others: my brothers in community, my students, my partners in mission, parents, etc. Yes, we are called to love with God’s own love, which is perfect love.

But just how can a human heart come to love with God’s love? Is it even possible? Would our tragic destiny be to be able never to slake our deep thirst for loving?

The following little story is an attempt to answer these questions. A little girl and her father were walking in a park. The child wanted to pick a flower that was beyond her reach. So her daddy put her on his shoulders and she was able to pick the flower. Now she was able to admire its beauty, experience its freshness, breathe in its perfume, and realize her dream of saying to her father, “Daddy, I love you and this flower is for you.”

The little girl had found a way to show her father that she loved him because he was willing to lift her onto his shoulders so that she might pick the flower. Likewise we are able to love God and our neighbour with a love that grows increasingly more like agape love because God has gifted us with his own heart to love through us. In other words, God offers us the Heart of his Son so that we in turn can say to him in all truth, “Father, I love you and I also love all your children, my brothers and sisters.”

The Spirit places the Heart of Christ into our hearts so that through him we love the Father and all our brothers and sisters. The life of communion in the Christian perspective is therefore a spiritual reality, a gift of the Spirit and not exclusively the fruit of simple human love. Taking up once more the words of St. Paul when he speaks of the natural man and the spiritual man (cf. 1 Co 2:14-15), we can equally

speak of a natural love and of a spiritual love that may be translated respectively by eros and agape. Isn’t this precisely what the Apostle suggests when he writes, “Though I should give away to the poor all that I possess and even give up my body to be burned, if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever” (1Co 13:3)? Natural love is love of self; spiritual love is love in the name of the love of Christ, and the basic hallmark of that love is gratuitous service.

Natural love can lead a person to accept great sacrifices for the sake of the beloved: to give away all his or her goods, to sacrifice health, and even to surrender one’s life. But this love is born of the affinity that we have for the other, the sympathy or empathy that one experiences for the other, family ties, the natural tendency to rejoice with those who rejoice and to be compassionate towards those who are suffering, the desire to be supported by the other in our own adversity like the person who says, “Today is your day, tomorrow will be mine.” Basically, it is love for the other, but in terms of the other being the reflection, the mirror of one’s self. And that is still a selfish love.

If our love is not the fruit of the Spirit but simply something in the natural or human order, we remain throughout our lives mere beggars for affection, always seeking first and foremost to be loved by others. The Christian, however, does not render service in order to be loved but rather because he loves others so deeply, and he is energized by his love for Christ. He loves his neighbor with a gratuitous love, eschewing reciprocity. He is inhabited by God; he gives of himself to others who see in his solicitude the love of the Father.

The educator or the formator who is lacking in maturity usually accompanies children, young people, and even the not-so-young searching for affection. His goal is in no way gratuitous service but self-interest: he is seeking his own enhancement and the esteem of others. He demands that those whom he accompanies manifest their love for him and trust him. He imposes himself on them and does not allow them to be themselves. On the other hand, the person who loves with a spiritual love is sufficiently detached from himself to allow others to be themselves and to respond freely to the Word of God and the grace of Christ.

Spiritual love is the love of a human heart which is inhabited and energized by the Heart of Christ. Clearly we are speaking of the love of a flesh and blood person. Therefore, spiritual love is not synonymous with ethereal invisible love, deprived of all external signs. Quite to the contrary, this love shows itself by an array of exterior signs and gestures: a long, caring look; listening to the other; a warm greeting; a message sent; a word of encouragement or congratulation; an invitation to have a drink; a phone call when circumstances warrant, etc.

CHAPTER III

Living is…

“Many opportunities for knowing, accepting, and loving each otherarise from our sharing of the same ideal of life and apostolate.”

(R 26)

“Humility must hide us on earth, but love, charity must lose us in God.”(Father André Coindre)

The Brother of the Sacred Heart believes in the love of God, lives it and spreads it (cf. R 13) according to the charism of the institute. But to live the love of God requires that we be true brothers, that we love one another.

I said earlier that there are several ways of understanding love. I also noted that true Christian love comes from God, for love is a gift of the Spirit. St. Paul speaks to us of love in his hymn to charity (cf. 1 Co 13:1-13). Without presuming to exhaust the topic, I will present below a few concrete ways of living love on a daily basis.

Loving is knowingI have already emphasized that love is impossible without knowledge. It is in interpersonal communication that one comes to this knowledge.

… maintaining harmonious and meaningful relationships“Brother, do you love me enough to share deeply with your brothers your wounds,

your deep desires, your hopes and your encounters with me?”(A Pilgrimage of Hope, p. 16)

Maintaining harmonious and meaningful relationships requires that we draw nearer to one another, that we become interested in one another, that we truly share life. A religious community is not merely a group of individuals who reside under the same roof in anonymity and isolation.

During my fraternal visits throughout the institute I come across some model local communities, communities who are aglow with fraternal spirit. In those communities the brothers are eager to share with me the good relations that exist among them. They tell me that they dialogue, they listen to one another, and this always allows them to find within community someone with whom to share their life’s story, either personal or family; they can share their joys and sadness, their wounds, their successes and their difficulties, their relationships with others, their deepest longings, their hopes, and their faith journeys. This sharing helps them to discern the paths of the Lord throughout their lives; it is for them a great support to their perseverance in fidelity to their vocation.

But here and there, I also meet brothers who also share a life with their confreres, but with heavy hearts confide in me that they feel isolated and alone. There are unfortunately local communities where men live in the same house, but where each one is steward of his own livestock and lands, as it were. Everyone is busy with his

own affairs, his own work or his own concerns. Add to all of this an abuse of the internet, cell phones, television or “outside” relationships, habitual and unexplained absences from the local community, whether by day or by night, and the result is situations in which there is no time for brothers to develop friendly relationships which could foster knowledge, support, mutual esteem and sincere and authentic affection for one another.

… affirming each person (cf. R 25)To really know another person is to discover gradually his or her physical and intellectual qualities, ideals, and deep wealth of spirituality. This knowledge leads to admiration and appreciation of that person’s true identity. As we progressively come to know what is within the other, we discover that the person’s limitations and failings do not constitute his or her deepest identity which is, in fact, built upon the individual’s natural goodness.

… being with our brothers In writing what follows I risk being labelled as reactionary. There are those who might criticize me, thinking that I am suggesting a model of religious life based exclusively on a community life lived out under the same roof and with an excessive amount of rules and regulations. Such a vision of community life is simplistic and not at all the hallmark of a community life characterized by friendly relations, dialogue and communications, by the fact of knowing, helping, and accepting one another, by the sharing of our relations with God, and by fraternal life and mission. In other words, a community of life where true love finds its dwelling place.

In reality, I simply want to call to mind what our Rule of Life affirms regarding the charismatic and social aspects of fraternal life lived in common. This latter aspect should not restrict the freedom of the Spirit but rather allow for the expression of the “the demands of charity” (R 31).

It is clear that in order to be signs of the Kingdom our communities must be open (cf. A Pilgrimage of Hope, p. 16). But this openness must not be understood as a dispersion of the brothers to the point that they only gather together for community prayer and meals…if even that! Fortunately, it seems that this happens in few cases.

A few years ago, an elderly brother used to tell me, “Keep to your cell and your cell will keep you.” Obviously we cannot return to that era in which our life was more or less modelled on a monastic life-style. We are religious of the active life. But it must be said, and this especially to the young, that the brother who lives a life of nonconformity, who goes out and returns at unseemly hours of the night, and never informs his brothers of his whereabouts, is placing his vocation at serious risk. My dictum is, “He who always says where he’s going never goes where he shouldn’t go.” Through a sense of family spirit, whenever we are to be absent from the community, we ought to let someone know where we’re going, with whom, why, approximately when we expect to return, etc. Isn’t this what happens in all good families?

For professional or social reasons, parents too have more and more difficulty in being with their families. As educators we are aware that there are children who spend much time alone or in the care of a third party. This can have negative repercussions on their education. There are parents who assert, “It’s true that we spend little time

with our children, but the time we do have with them is quality time.” The response is obvious: there has to be at least minimum time to be able to speak of ‘quality time.’

The members of any family need to find time to be together. It’s good to be able to share as brothers not only moments of prayer and of work, but equally other times such as community outings, sports, a game of cards, going to a film or watching a TV program which we talk about together afterwards, etc. Times like these are never wasted, for the community is always the winner when brotherhood is celebrated.

Loving is acceptingMutual trust is born of the conviction that each person is a being loved by God and by others for who he or she is.

… accepting others Acceptance of self is easier when we feel that others accept us. How good it is to live in a local community where brothers accept one another and where there is mutual love! “How good, how delightful it is to live together as brothers! It is like fine oil on the head, running down the beard, running down Aaron’s beard, onto the collar of his robes” (Ps 133:1-2).

Loving is accepting the other in his difference. It would be utopian to believe that there can be total uniformity in community. The strength of a local community may be measured by its acceptance of the differences among its members.

Love “is always ready to make allowances…” (cf. 1 Co 13:7). The person who loves looks more at the positive qualities of the other than at the faults. In reality, positive qualities tend to be more in keeping with what a person is and what a person is called to be, rather than faults which correspond neither to who that person is nor to what he or she may become.

The person who loves always speaks well of others. People tend to have more good qualities than faults. That is why it ought to be so much easier to speak of a person’s strengths than of his weaknesses. However, the sad reality is that more often than not we rub shoulders with brothers who have become ‘specialists’ in criticism of others. This divides the community and poisons fraternal life. These brothers ought to be encouraged to speak more charitably with their brothers than to talk about them.

In the letter of St. James we read, “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless” (Jm 1: 26). A little further he emphasizes, “Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who slanders a brother or condemns one is speaking against the Law and condemning the Law. But if you condemn the Law, you have ceased to be subject to it and become a judge over it. There is only one lawgiver and he is the only judge and has the power to save or to destroy. Who are you to give a verdict on your neighbour?” (Jm 4: 11-12).

A few years ago, I read that a wise desert monk, well advanced in years, was asked to leave his monastery and act as judge over a confrere in another monastery. The old monk found a knapsack, filled it with sand, and made a small hole in the bottom of the sack. Then he slung it over his shoulder and set off for the other monastery.

The monks saw him coming from a long way off and ran to meet him. When they saw that he was carrying a knapsack over his shoulder and that there was a thin stream of sand flowing from it, they thought his behaviour a bit odd; and so one of the monks asked him, “Father, why are you travelling in such a manner?” He replied, “My whole life long I’ve left behind me a trail of sins, and now I am being called to pass judgment on my brother.”

This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t talk about behaviours and attitudes that leave something to be desired. But we should do so in front of the person or persons concerned, in an appropriate time, place, and manner so that we never offend the dignity of the individual.

… a caring gazeIn our relations with others, we can daily observe the transforming effect of a caring gaze from a person who clearly desires the wellbeing of the other person.

As religious educators we have all encountered children and young people in difficulty, children who have had to live through difficult family situations or problems with their peers. We know from experience that an all-embracing and caring glance, or giving our full attention while wanting only the best for the other, and letting the young person know that we have confidence in him or her can produce extraordinarily positive changes. This is the case of the child who at age nine had not yet learned to read until he met a good and understanding teacher. It’s also the case of the youngster who could not fit in at any school until he met teachers who believed in him. It is the case of yet another youngster who was doing everything he could to be disruptive at school in hopes that his parents would send him back to his former school where he felt he had been appreciated by his teachers.

The better we know others the more we appreciate them for their positive qualities and despite their faults. Moreover, we know very well that it is never easy to make headway. But doesn’t the Imitation of Christ affirm that “if we manage to correct one fault a year, we would soon be perfect”?

… forgivingGenerally speaking people have a tendency to love those who love them and dislike those who hurt them. After the example of God the Father, loving towards even the most ungrateful and immoral of his sons and daughters, the Christian is recognized by his love for his enemies (Lk 6: 27ff). We become men and women of forgiveness in the measure in which we accept that God is always ready to forgive us and that He sent his Son to heal us and to teach us how to love. We come to this realization especially in the sacrament of Reconciliation. Frequent recourse to this sacrament motivates us to forgive our brother and with renewed hope to restore our fraternal relationship with him.

The one who truly loves knows how to forgive and continue to love the offender, desiring to see him continue his journey on the way to greater perfection.

Forgiveness is the sign of spiritual health; it promotes both physical and mental well-being. The person who bears a grudge allows thoughts of antipathy, vengeance and revulsion to fester within him, and this climate can hardly foster peace of soul; in the

end, it can even affect physical health. “Mens sana in corpore sano,” goes the Latin dictum. On the other hand, the one who forgives tastes the peace and joy of those who desire the good of others and are ready to serve them.

Forgiveness is one of the most difficult gestures or attitudes for any person. We all have a natural tendency to bear resentment towards anyone who has hurt us. This antipathy manifests itself in various behaviours: we may refuse to speak to the “guilty party”; we take every opportunity to criticize or to say unpleasant things about him; we are antagonistic even towards that person’s friends; we are against him in every possible circumstance; we are on the lookout for any false move on his part so as to be able to fault him; and possibly we even refuse to lend him a hand when he needs our help. You may tell me, “Any similarity with our lived experience is mere coincidence. Such things never happen in my local community!” Come on, be honest; this happens often enough, at least with others.

Forgiving is much more difficult for people who have been deeply wounded in their childhood. We have such persons in our local communities, especially in recent years with the increase in family breakdowns. Sometimes professional or spiritual counselling can help in moving beyond such problems. But fairly often, despite all external assistance, the wounds remain open. And so there are brothers who are condemned to live their entire lies with blockages, forced to learn to live with their difficulties. Our understanding can help them to survive.

Lack of forgiveness is one of the principal causes of friction in local communities. The brother who causes discord does great damage to his local community, because he is an impediment to the presence of Christ. Didn’t Jesus say, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am in the midst of them” (Mt 18: 20)? I point out that the text says “gathered together” (united), and I presume that to be “gathered together” does not mean simply to be living side by side, but rather to be living in unity. In fact, unity in the local community is both a manifestation of the presence of Jesus in its midst and a prerequisite for his enduring presence. The person who promotes unity helps to create the conditions for the continued presence of Jesus in the community. Likewise the one who creates discord deprives the community of the inestimable gift of the presence of Christ in its midst.

Loving is servingAfter telling the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus asks the doctor of the Law, “Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the bandits’ hands?” He replied, “The one who showed pity towards him.” Jesus said to him, “Go, and do the same yourself” (Lk 10: 36-37).

The priest who served in the Temple was in principle very close to God. The Levite was well acquainted with the Law and what was to be done or avoided in every aspect of life. But the only one who showed real love was the Samaritan. He was the only one to place himself entirely at the service of the unfortunate man who had suffered the grievous assault. He washed the man’s wounds, cared for him, took him to an inn, and paid for his lodging.

The person who has experienced the mercy of God feels disposed to serve others. And serving means helping, supporting, as counsels the Apostle, “Carry each other’s

burdens; that is how to keep the law of Christ. Someone who thinks himself important, when he is not, only deceives himself” (Ga 6:2-3). Paul considered that being disposed to service is the hallmark of the humble. He invites us to humility when he says, “Never pride yourself on being better than you really are, but think of yourself dispassionately, recognizing that God has given to each one his measure of faith” (Rm 12:3). There are other important services that we can offer to our neighbour: listening to him, encouraging him, especially in times of difficulty, helping him to discern, offering him good advice, sharing the Word of God with him, encouraging him to follow Christ, etc.

The greatest in the Kingdom of Christ is the one who considers himself the least. Jesus taught his disciples this when he told them, “You know that among the gentiles those they call their rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. Among you this is not to happen. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:42-45).

We cannot speak of service without mentioning the Virgin Mary, Jesus’ mother and the mother of us all. She is the servant of the Lord (cf. Lk 1:38) and of all God’s children. She is the servant who accompanied Jesus during his life, even to the foot of the cross. She was always attentive to the needs of others, as at the marriage feast of Cana (cf. Jn 2:1-11). By her presence characterized by exemplary solicitude, discretion, and prayer, she placed herself at the service of the unity of the early Church (cf. Ac 1:14); she continues her loving service as she intercedes with the Blessed Trinity for unity among her beloved children, pilgrims on paths the world over.

… concern for the smallest details Community is built one day at a time. And daily life is made up of a host of little things: preparing meals, doing the dishes, looking after the garden, leading community prayer, decorating the dining room for celebrations, taking part in community meetings, visiting a brother who is ill and seeing to his needs, writing to brothers far away, congratulating a brother for a job well done or for achieving a given objective, sending birthday or Christmas cards, etc. Let’s do all of those in a spirit of love and affection.

….accepting to be servedServing others requires sacrifices and effort, but it brings with it the satisfaction of feeling useful and receiving thanks. We like to feel useful; we appreciate a word of affirmation from our brothers for the good we accomplish. As Scripture says, and it is true, “There is more joy in giving than in receiving” (Ac 20:35). Sören A. Kierkegaard expressed the same sentiment when he said, “The door to happiness opens from within. We must back up a bit before opening it. If we push the door, we close it still more.”

Especially during our years of formation there was always an emphasis on service and on availability to render service. Doubtless we live to love, but let’s not forget that we also need to be loved.

When we were young we harboured many ideals and exerted a great deal of energy; we felt happy and the world belonged to us. But in middle age our experience allowed us to place more importance in the execution of our work. But time goes by and one year follows another; our health declines and our level of energy diminishes. Then comes the time for slowing down our pace of life. In more serious cases, illness obliges us to give up acts of material service. We who had been servants now become dependant on others.

An elderly brother who was physically limited told me once, “In my current situation, I am a burden on the institute. All I do is give work to the other brothers and work up expenses.” But I told him, “During your whole active life, you gave unconditional service to your brothers and to the mission of the institute. You lived love as you went about helping people. Now it is time for you to let yourself be loved and to accept the help you need. Besides, despite your handicap, you can offer your brothers and many others the inestimable service of your prayers, your hope, your serenity, your patience, your wisdom, your kindness, your mercy, and your interior peace. You are a treasure for the community; you are the wise man who by the way you live your life teach us much more than we could learn in books.”

… making others happyLoving means doing everything we can to make life pleasant for others; it is making them feel at ease so that they can experience the happiness of always feeling affirmed and supported, and so that they can sustain that “joie de vivre.” We are in community not only to be happy but especially to make others happy.

… fraternal correction In the letter to the Colossians we read, “As the chosen of God, then, the holy people whom he loves, you are to be clothed in heartfelt compassion, in generosity and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other if one of you has a complaint against another. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, put on love, the perfect bond. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together in one body. Always be thankful. Let the Word of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other and advise each other in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God; and whatever you say or do, let it be in the name of the Lord Jesus, in thanksgiving to God the Father through him” (Col 3: 12-17).

I cited this marvelous text of St. Paul because it summarizes so beautifully the love that we ought to have for our neighbour. We note that at the end of the text, the Apostle exhorts us to fraternal correction, one of the greatest expressions of fraternal love.

We are very familiar with Matthew’s text on this theme: ‘If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: whatever the misdemeanour, the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain the charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a gentile or a tax collector” (Mt 18: 15-17).

Note the first words of the exhortation, “if your brother.” This is Jesus’ way of saying that the person who takes on the responsibility of correction must do so in a fraternal spirit, out of love for his brother, motivated by affection and concern for him. Only love for the other person can produce a truly positive change in him. The person who corrects through coercion and with an attitude of contempt or resentment can only increase further the climate of discord that exists.

It is also necessary to emphasize the importance of the way to practice fraternal correction: first, the one-to-one meeting with the brother; if he does not mend his ways, two or three others must be present during the next encounter; finally, if the individual still refuses to change, the rest of the community must be informed. All these stages in the process of correction require respect, discretion, and charity; and they make clear the desire to do everything possible to help the brother.

Nowadays it seems that we rarely practice fraternal correction. Is this perhaps due to individualism, to respect for the liberty of each brother, to a lack of love of God or of neighbour? Or do we believe that it is up to the superiors only to fulfill this duty? It can happen that superiors entrust this task to other members of the local community who in turn leave it to the superiors, and in the end, nothing gets done!

Our Rule of Life invites us to “forge true friendships which go as far as fraternal correction” (R 25). Each one of us ought to be disposed to welcome those who endeavour to correct us and show our gratefulness to them. It might be a good initiative to choose someone in the local community who can help us become aware of our faults and accompany us on our journey of human and religious growth. One additional observation: the community evaluation of our PAC is a form of communal fraternal correction.

CHAPTER IV

Ecclesial Community, Religious Community

The Church, Sacrament of Communion

The Christian vocation to communion is realized in the Church. Among the documents of Vatican Council II, the Church is presented as a communion of the faithful. In fact, don’t most of the Council documents refer to this fundamental identity? That is why we say that the Council presented an ecclesiology of communion.

In the pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes we read, “Just as God did not create men to live as individuals but to come together in the formation of social unity, so he willed to make men holy and save them, not as individuals without any bond or link between them, but rather to make them into a people who might acknowledge Him and serve Him in holiness. At the outset of salvation history He chose certain men as members of a given community, not as individuals” (Gaudium et Spes, § 32.1).

The Church, the Body of Christ, is an assembly, a community, a family, “a people brought into unity from the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Lumen Gentium, § 4). The Church “is in the nature of sacrament, a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all men…” (Lumen Gentium, § 1).

In the Acts of the Apostles we can read with wonderment how the Church increased through the action of the Spirit. These pages reveal to us a youthful Church, full of vitality, emboldened by growth through the fresh air of brotherhood. It gathered together around the breaking of the bread and under the constant protection of Mary, that mother full of solicitude. We remember that well known phrase which described that first Christian community: “The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, as everything they owned was held in common” (Ac 4:32). Christians have maintained this image in spirit as the prototype of what the Church ought to be since it summarizes the ideal of every Christian Community over the centuries.

Religious community, expression of communionThe unity of the Church, well-beloved spouse of Christ, is the fruit of the action of the Holy Spirit (cf. Fraternal Life in Community, § 9). Likewise, religious community is also a gift, a fruit of the love of God poured out by the Holy Spirit who unites all its members “like a true family in the name of the Lord” (Perfectæ Caritatis, § 15). Over the course of centuries, the Spirit has given rise to numerous religious families, which, under diverse forms, live communion as an essential part of their life style.

Vatican Council II underscored the vital importance of fraternal religious life at the heart of the Church and the world by affirming that this style of life is an unquestionably integral part of the life and holiness of the Church (cf. Lumen Gentium, § 44).

Fraternal religious life witnesses to the unity of the Trinity. In his apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata, Pope John Paul II affirmed that, “The fraternal life seeks to reflect the depth and richness of this mystery, taking shape as a human community in which the Trinity dwells, in order to extend in history the gifts of communion proper to the three divine Persons” (Vita Consecrata, § 41). Earlier the Holy Father had explained how fraternal life reveals each of the three persons of the Trinity: “It proclaims the Father, who desires to make all of humanity one family. It proclaims the Incarnate Son, who gathers the redeemed into unity, pointing the way by his example, his prayer, his words and above all his death, which is the source of reconciliation for a divided and scattered humanity. It proclaims the Holy Spirit as the principle of unity in the Church, who ceaselessly raises up spiritual families and fraternal communities” (Vita Consecrata, § 21).

The Church is the Sacrament of the plan of God that involves men and women living as children of the Father and as brothers and sisters, sharing the graces of God and the goods of this world. And consecrated life is a charism of service for this divine plan. “All the members of the Church should unflaggingly fulfill the duties of their Christian calling. The profession of the evangelical counsels shines before them as a sign which can and should effectively inspire them to do so” (Lumen Gentium, § 44). In all of this the duty of brotherhood is the most important for it is the hallmark of authentic disciples of Jesus (cf. Jn 13: 34-35).

We Christians, and especially we religious, are in this world of pilgrims in search of unity, the reflection of Trinitarian communion. The Spirit helps communities to be that expression of communion. Jean Vanier writes, “The unity of the Father and the Son is total, substantial. Every community must tend towards this unity, but it can only be realized in the mystical order by and in the Holy Spirit. Here below, the only thing we can do is to walk humbly toward that unity.” 1

Consequently religious communities are signs and expressions of ecclesial communion: “Experts in communion, religious are therefore called to be an ecclesial community in the church and in the world, witnesses and architects of the plan for unity which is the crowning point of human history in God’s design. (Fraternal Life in Community, §10). They accomplish this mission especially by means of the evangelical counsels, signs of their intimate union with God and of fraternal life understood as communion in life, in prayer and in apostolate (cf. Fraternal Life in Community, § 10). In this way religious life proposes models of holiness to the Church and to the world.

Fraternal life, the risk

“We are all men, and, full of faults and imperfections as we are,we all provide our neighbour with sufficient cause for patience.

But on the other hand, we are also very weak and vulnerable,and so we need his help and support.”

(Venerable Brother Polycarp)

1 Translated from VANIER, Jean. La communauté lieu du pardon et de la fête. Montréal, Éditions Fleurus/Bellarmin, 1979, pp. 35-36.

Community is always a reality in progress. The “ideal community” is a fiction. But one of the motives for many of us to enter religious life was seeing happy brothers generously engaged in a common project, united through fraternal love, and helping one another. Gradually, with the passage of time, we realized that community is not that perfect milieu that we had imagined it to be. But neither is it so bad as to give Voltaire reason to maintain that persons entered religious life without knowing one another, lived it without loving one another and died there without being mourned.

Religious life is simultaneously beautiful and difficult. It’s easy to love the street kids of Calcutta, but it’s difficult to love those who share our roof. It’s difficult to go from selfishness to love, from the “me” to the “us,” from the community for my own interests to my interest for the community. This passage is a long one and lasts a life time. Religious life is also arduous because it requires a great deal of purification, a dying to many things before arriving at that “interior freedom, freedom to love and to be loved.” 2

The difficulties inherent in community life have a range of causes. I will limit myself in the following paragraphs to highlighting a few of them.

The basic problem arises from the imperfection of the people that we have around us in community. It is, of course, impossible to create a perfect mosaic with imperfect pieces. It is axiomatic that humans are not perfect, but they are at least perfectible, that is to say capable of always striving for perfection.

St. Paul presents us with a human being who is a paradox: “The good thing I want to do, I never do; the evil thing which I do not want, that is what I do” (Rm 7:15). On the one hand a person tends towards good, thanks to the God of light. On the other, under the influence of the powers of darkness, that same person tends toward evil, making power, domination, and prestige his or her goal in life, rejecting love-service. A person aspiring to possess material wealth risks setting aside God, who is supreme wealth, and ignoring the neighbour. Seeking after selfish pleasure renders impossible a relationship of self-giving love. The person who seeks after prestige in life cannot be seeking either God or neighbour. Does activism respond to the spirit of the Gospel, a spirit of generous and humble service, or does it rather reveal an inclination to seek success in order to secure power and domination?

Sometimes our imperfection may take on the guise of immaturity. Many conflicts in community life flare up as a result of our having ceased to grow as persons. Immaturity manifests itself at times in selfishness, which prevents us from experiencing unconditional love. Lack of self-esteem is another symptom of immaturity. Lacking in self-assurance, we become envious of what others have; we become spiteful, full of aggression and quarrelsome, projecting upon others our complexes and our wounds.

We’re all more or less immature. Immaturity is partly the result of a personal history marked by past negative experiences such as a lack of affection, family disagreements or violence, poverty. These experiences often cause wounds that show themselves through insatiable desires, fears, frustrations, complexes, a lack of self-esteem, jealousy, scornfulness, destructive or self-destructive feelings.

2 Translated from VANIER, Jean, op. cit., p. 4.

Undesirable qualities often result from suffering and from a lack of understanding. Those who have suffered in the past are perhaps still marked by the pain and continue to suffer and to cause others to suffer. Mutual support and a healthy spirituality can help one to surpass these difficulties or, at least, to live with them. However, there are cases when these persons are not suited to enter religious life.

Individualism and the desire for independence can equally be factors which make life in community difficult. As we have seen above, though his vocation is to love, man always retains some remnants of selfishness. To this individualism is added the desire for a freedom understood as an absolute independence. And so there are persons who want to live a life of solitude. They come to community prayer and to some meals, but then they disappear to occupy the rest of their time in strictly personal endeavours. These persons are independent, but basically they are not free because freedom always tends towards doing good for and being concerned about others.

Community life is no less easy for people who are different, because of nationality, age, culture, formation, education, aptitude, temperament or character. To these differences must be added the fact that we do not choose our confreres, but at a certain point in our lives, we were called to live together in order to form community.

It can happen that living with people different from ourselves, we begin to wonder whether our way of being is the right one. If we lack self-confidence, this question can begin to disturb us and create within us a certain sense of insecurity, and insecurity can give rise to prejudices against others.

Such prejudices frequently exist among persons of differing cultures or nationalities. We may have been brought up believing that our culture and history are the best, to the detriment of others. Isn’t it true that facts of history are the same for everyone? However, people are prone to recount history from their own point of view and usually to their advantage. And what is true of history is equally true of cultures. I often say that coming from a particular place does not make us superior or inferior to anyone else; we’re just a bit different. It’s worth adding that what we hold in common goes beyond our differences; what unites us is stronger than what separates us. It’s good to value what is specifically ours while simultaneously appreciating the richness in others.

Historical and cultural biases frequently poison the life of local communities where brothers from different backgrounds live side by side. We’ve heard, for example, of conflicts between missionary brothers and indigenous brothers, once these latter have increased in number, age, wisdom and grace. Such conflicts are probably due to a lack of mutual appreciation and trust, to a desire to lord it over others, to pride, and to a lack of charity.

To overcome these conflicts there is a need for a good deal of common sense, both human and divine help, personal communication, sincere and constructive community dialogue, a deep relationship with God, discernment, a good supply of kindness and humility, and a great amount of brotherly love.

We brothers who come from various countries and who are living a community project in the same province or in the same local community give witness of a fraternal life which is a reflection of the God-Love and of His desire to create a world of brotherhood. Surely this is the greatest witness that we can offer, and it is the cornerstone of all other forms of witness. Without the evidence of love, everything else risks losing its value!

Caricatures of community 3

Last September when I began writing this circular, someone gave me a book from which I’ve selected some ideas to offer you a few caricatures of local communities.

Clearly a caricature is not a photograph. The artist always exaggerates some particular physical trait of his subject. Could one or another of the local communities that I present in any way resemble one of ours? We might do well, brothers, to reflect on these sketches both personally and in community and try to identify the caricature which best reflects our community life, and hopefully glean some notions as to how to build, day by day, a fraternal life which is ever more evangelical. Perhaps you may even come up with other types of caricatures.

Let us begin with common life in community. It is characterized by regularity, but there is hardly any communication among its members. Its principle traits are regulations and uniformity: everyone does the same thing in the same way at the same time. The community horarium is generally adhered to, and the work load is intense. The brothers gather together daily in the chapel, in the dining room, and for some in the T.V. room. Relations among them are cordial but superficial; the brothers really do not know one another. The local superior is generally authoritarian.

I call the second model the community of managers of apostolic works. In this community the one really important thing is the ministry, in which most of the brothers hold positions of responsibility. Prayer life, if it exists at all, is restricted to the bare minimum. What counts above all is efficiency, prestige and professional competence. Life is limited almost entirely to work. The members are valued for their professional effectiveness. The brother is first and foremost an excellent professional and the superior, a good manager.

The third model resembles a community of social welfare. It is organized around helping the poor, social services, or work on behalf of justice, but all to the detriment of the other dimensions of religious life, such as spirituality, fraternal life, and the forming of a Christian community for the proclamation of the Word, for liturgy, and for the sacraments. Some members end up by becoming political militants. This model of community and of the preceding one is generally notable for the activism of its members. In both cases, religious life and ongoing formation take a back seat.

Living in community, being good professionals, working at the service of the most deprived are all very good things. The problem arises when one or another of these aspects is exaggerated to the detriment of the objective of religious life, which is the « following of the Christ of faith, a particular following which encompasses the essential elements of a deep experience of God, a community life which expresses the

3 From a text by PALMÉS, Carlos, S.J. Ser o no ser: la vida religiosa del siglo XXI. Bogotá: Coedición Paulinas y CLAR, 2008, pp. 79 to 91.

Christian ideal of genuine mutual love, and a Gospel-inspired mission which goes so far as to give up ones life for the sake of others by placing oneself at their service for the sake of the Kingdom. And it is to all of that that we religious commit ourselves by the vows, which are an expression of an interior attitude of total and selfless love.” 4

Fraternal community, a possible utopiaThe expression “possible utopia” may appear paradoxical, given that generally speaking “utopia” is synonymous with an ‘impossible dream,’ a mirage, an illusion. But this is not the meaning intended here. Rather it refers to a dream that we realize little by little but which we will never fully achieve. Utopia is possible because we can daily draw closer to it by remaining always on the path that leads to it. The quest for agape love, the perfect community, the beatitudes—all are utopian.

Every Christian community is “modeled on the community of the Twelve, gathered around the Lord” (R 23). It was the model of the first Christian communities where “the whole group of believers was united, heart and soul” (Ac 4:32).

We Brothers of the Sacred Heart are gathered together into local communities in order to share a common ideal: to believe in the love of God, to live it and to spread it (cf. R 13) in conformity with our own distinct charism. Every community finds its unity in a common project, a goal, certain objectives. The fulfilment of this common purpose and, as a consequence, the building of community is the work of a lifetime.

After Vatican Council II religious institutes of consecrated life underwent many changes; but perhaps there is something fundamental lacking in many religious communities: a life in community built on genuine communication and personal relationships of true friendship. It is not merely a matter of saying that we are brothers, but especially of actually being brother-friends, after the example of Christ who said to his disciples, “I shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know the master’s business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father” (Jn 15:15).

Developing fraternal friendships in our communities should not lead us to turn our backs on the world. No, the religious community is not an end in itself. Quite the opposite, for it is called to be open, so as to form a wider community and thus be a sign of the community of the Kingdom.

I consider that the future of religious life depends in large measure on its openness. It is not only a matter of praying well in community, of truly living as brothers should, of giving of oneself with joy and generosity so as to contribute to the building up of the Kingdom, of dedicating ourselves to the task of evangelization, especially through the education of children and young people. It is also very much a matter of opening our local communities to young people, to our partners in mission, to the people around us so as to share with them the joys of living for God, united together in service for an extraordinary mission, that of caring for God’s little ones. It is evident that not every community is able to have the same openness. It’s easier in some. But in each province there ought to be at least one or more local communities that try more and more to live this openness.Utopia is possible. Love can happen because the Spirit helps us to bring to fulfillment the utopia of the Kingdom of the Father which is realized and finds its symbol in 4 Translated from PALMÉS, Carlos, op. cit., p. 92.

Christ-centered communities. It is possible today to have communities of brothers who are united around a common purpose of incarnating our charism in today’s world.

It is possible with the grace of God and our collaboration with this grace to form communities built upon a privileged relationship with God (spirituality) which gives form to our fraternal relations and to our commitment to our mission of building up the community of the Kingdom; truly fraternal communities based on dialogue and communication, with deep relationships that are authentic and life-giving; communities where the sharing of the brothers’ faith, life and mission constitutes their way of being and becoming community in a process of ongoing renewal.

In the next circular, I plan to develop what I have just said in the preceding paragraph. The title might be, “To be brothers, a common project. Building community.” If all goes to plan, you should receive it in June, 2009.

CONCLUSION

Beginning to write a circular is like setting out on an adventure: you know your starting point, but you never know exactly where you will end. You know the day you start out, but there is no way you can know when it will end. At the beginning you have some ideas, but you’re not sure how you will develop them nor in what order you will present them, or what ideas as yet unknown will come to mind.

Writing a circular or a book is like life. We manage the present moment, but the future escapes us. But isn’t the present that very reality that projects us towards the future? Writing, like living, means taking risks, trusting, loving.

Fraternal life too is an adventure, a life-long pilgrimage on the road of communion that Jesus, our brother, journeys with us day after day. It’s that adventure of communion with the Father through the gift of the Spirit, of communion among us as brothers and friends, of communion for service for the sake of the Kingdom.

Again, we emphasize that our vocation is communion. That’s why fraternal life is an essential dimension of our lives. With that dimension religious life is a light that warms and shines. Without it all is cold and darkness.

Brothers, let’s live as brothers at the heart of the People of God by opening the doors of our local communities so that they may be signs of the Kingdom of the Father. Our communities are expressions of communion at the heart of the Church, the sacrament of communion, called to create other communities upon which to build, day after day, the dream of universal brotherhood and a society of love.

In this circular I have shared with you some of my convictions: the love of God is inseparable from fraternal love; fraternal life, however difficult, is possible because the Spirit has imprinted upon our heart the Heart of Christ so that we may, with him, love the Father and all our brothers with an agape love.

As we hear at the beginning of each Eucharist, “May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you,” so that we may, as our Rule of Life says, “live Christian brotherhood in a radical way as a sign of the unity which Christ urges us to achieve” (R 22). May Mary, the Mother of unity, intercede with the Blessed Trinity to make it so!

QUESTIONS

(For personal or community reflection; feel free to add to the list below)

1. To know, to accept, to pardon, to serve, to correct fraternally: are there any other important verbs to define fraternal love?

2. What are some positive and negative aspects of fraternal life in your local community?

3. What are some positive and negative aspects of fraternal life in your province or delegation?

4. What do you bring to community? What does community bring you?

5. What can be done to help deepen communication among the brothers?

6. What would be the keys to creating a fraternal life that is more intense and which offers a greater witness?

7. Etc.