LIVE
JESUS!
GENERAL’S
NEWS XXIII
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER,
2004
The meeting of major
superior in July was the last such meeting before the 18th General
Chapter in 2006. (The Preparatory Commission
for the General Chapter will meet in July 2005.) This was, therefore, the last opportunity for the members of this
important body to discuss, as a group, areas that are likely to be the focus
for proposals to that General Chapter.
These areas include restructuring, the Oblate missions in the 21st
century, the Chablais Spirit, and the Chablais Mission Fund. Understandably, these areas received
considerable attention during the course of this meeting. Before we look at some of these areas in more
detail below, I would like to say something about the Philippines.
In my opening remarks
to the major superiors I announced my decision to ask the members of the
General Council to approve the beginning of an Oblate foundation in the Philippines
in January 2005. During the meeting of
the General Council later in the week, the members of the General Council did
in fact give their unanimous consent to this foundation.
Since this foundation
is a major moment in the life of the Congregation, I would like to repeat here
my remarks to the major superiors on this matter.
“During these opening remarks, I want to
share with you a decision that I have taken regarding the Philippines and to
give you my reasons for this decision.
As you know, for a number of years now we have been contemplating a
possible new foundation in the Philippines.
The initial expectations of the General Council regarding the foundation
in the Philippines were two: (1) the foundation would be made by the members of
the Asian Mission as an expression of their missionary outreach; (2) the
foundation would not entail any additional funding by the Congregation. Last July the General Council met in Germany
at Haus Overbach. We were told at that
meeting that the Indian confrères had decided to complete the foundation in
India over the course of the next several years. They would, therefore, not be prepared at this time to play any
substantive role in an Oblate foundation in the Philippines.
“It seemed that our discernment on the
Philippines had reached an end. But
several factors kept it alive. During
this past year, for example, I have remained in frequent contact with the
General Mission Coordinator on this issue. In May we had the opportunity to
speak in person on this and other matters.
The members of the General Council discussed the issue at considerable
length at their January meeting in the United States. Throughout the year, I have received a number of letters in
support of this project from Father Anthony Ceresko. As most of you know, Father Ceresko is an American Oblate who has
been teaching Scripture in the Philippines for a number of years now. As a result of these and other exchanges, as
well as much prayerful discernment, I have decided to make a formal proposal to
the members of the General Council during the course of this week. I will propose to them that Father Josef
Költringer be sent to the Philippines in January 2005 to undertake an Oblate
foundation there. I have satisfied
myself that his departure from India next January will not impact negatively
upon our important work there. As I mentioned earlier, as part of the
completion of our foundation there, they are already in the process of
establishing indigenous Oblates in positions of formation and leadership. My hope and expectation remains that our
Indian confrères will aid in the Philippine foundation as soon as they are
prepared to exercise their missionary outreach outside of India.
“As to financing the Philippine foundation, I
have asked assistance from the Netherlands Province and have obtained from them
a generous promise that they will fund this foundation, at least until the
General Chapter of 2006. At the 2006
General Chapter a detailed report will be given to the assembly on the progress
of this foundation to date. In that
way, the next General Administration will have the benefit of a year and a half
of actual Oblate presence and experience in the Philippines to determine how to
continue with this foundation in the future.
“During the course of these years of
discernment, a number of Oblates have expressed an interest in helping out in
the Philippines either in terms of financial support or in terms of
personnel. At this time I say to those
Oblates: Now, in months ahead, is the time to come forward.
“I believe that I have taken the steps one
ought to take in a discernment process of this magnitude. Time and again, even when I thought the
project was all but dead, it showed new and persistent signs of vigor and
life. I have become convinced that we
owe it to our future as a Congregation to at least give this foundation a
fighting chance of success.
“I wish to thank Father Josef Költringer for
his willingness to undertake this effort on behalf of the Congregation, and I wish
to thank Father Kees Jongeneelen and all the confrères of the Netherlands
Province for their generous financial backing.
It is a gesture that is very much in keeping with their strong and
sustained missionary spirit as a Province.
I now ask all the members of the Congregation for their prayerful
support. Along with all of you, I look
forward with hopeful expectation to the report that will be made to the General
Chapter of 2006 on the progress of this foundation.
“In the past I have spoken and written much
about Oblate leadership. In making this
proposal to the members of the General Council I believe that I am exercising
such leadership in this matter. I pray
to God for its success if success is according to the divine will.”
For a full day and a
half Father Séamus Finn, OMI, led us in a workshop on the topic of
restructuring. In full sessions as well
as in language groups the many aspects of this topic were explored, from the
theoretical to the very practicable. In
an initial power point presentation entitled, “Responding to the Present while
Preparing for the Future,” Father Finn explored with us the following topics:
(1) restructuring in the life of the Church; (2) restructuring in religious
congregations, institutes and societies, and the principal reasons for
restructuring; (3) major themes, issues and challenges associated with
restructuring; (4) a history of restructuring within our own Congregation from
1995 to 2003; (5) a history of the
deliberations by the General Council on restructuring up to the present;
(7) responses to my February 2, 2004
letter on restructuring entitled, “Restructuring: Present Thinking and
Discernment;” (8) further steps leading up to the 18th General
Chapter in 2006.
The ultimate goal of
restructuring is one of vision, that is, how can we best structure the various
components and units of the Congregation to maximize its mission: the practice
and dissemination of the Salesian charism under present circumstances and
“signs of the times?” We are still searching for the best way to express that
vision, one that will capture the imagination and engage the energies of the
vast majority of the confrères. We are
convinced that at every level transparency and communication must guide any
restructuring efforts.
The document,
“Restructuring: Present Thinking and Discernment,” lists five areas or topics
for likely proposals for consideration by the 2006 General Chapter. These five areas, if acted upon, will
promote structures that will lead to closer fraternal cooperation and more
effective collaboration throughout the Congregation. During the discussion of these five areas, many helpful insights
were offered. These five areas are: (1)
A common period of formation and seminars on Oblate Leadership; (2) steps in
the internationalization of the promotion of the charism; (3) steps in the
internationalization of Oblate ministries; (4) proposals to transform the
present ad hoc committee on Oblate Missions in the 21st Century and
the Chablais Mission Fund Committee into standing committees; (5) a proposal
regarding specific steps to be taken when the viability of any province or
region becomes problematic. Some of
these five areas met with greater enthusiasm than others. Individual Oblates and groups within the
Congregation are encouraged to present additional proposals regarding
restructuring –or any other topic--to the Preparatory Commission of the General
Chapter.
This workshop on
restructuring was an important step, but it is only the latest step on the road
that is already almost a decade long.
Decisions taken by the members of the forthcoming General Chapter will
amount to a major fork in this road. At
this point, only God knows where the road will ultimately lead the
Congregation. Meanwhile, in good
Salesian fashion, we continue to trust firmly in the guidance of Providence
while determined to respond as generously as possible to each step along the
way as God makes that step clear to us.
As brothers, we make the journey down this road together, hand in
hand.
During the course of the meeting, there were
reports from the major superiors, as well as from the standing and ad hoc
committees, the General Treasurer, Procurator General, General Mission
Coordinator, Archivist, Secretary of the Preparatory Commission, and the pastor
of St. Charles Parish in Monaco. Those reports often generated questions,
observations and a free exchange of ideas.
In the interest of space, I will speak only briefly on some of these
reports here.
MISSION
COMMITTEES: The chairpersons and other members of the two
mission committees, the Committee on Oblate Missions in the 21st
Century and the Chablais Mission Fund Committee, gave reports on the activities
of their committees during the past year and responded to questions. They also discussed the progress of
proposals that each committee will submit to the Preparatory Commission for
consideration and action by the General Chapter. These proposals, the result of
much hard work over several years, will merit serious consideration by the
Chapter delegates.
The executive secretary
for the Chablais Mission Fund Committee reported on his activities during the
course of the year and the present status of the Chablais Mission Fund. In the course of the meeting of the General
Council later that week, the name of the Fund was officially changed from
“Chablais Mission Endowment Fund” to “Chablais Mission Fund” to reflect its
dual purpose: (1) to raise an endowment to meet the long-term needs of Oblate
Missions; (2) and to distribute funds annually to the missions for specific
needs based on established and agreed-upon principles and priorities. The second goal was added because donors are
often more ready to contribute to very specific and immediate needs in the
missions than to a fund that is designed only to meet future needs.
The principal focus of
the work of the Committee on Oblate Missions in the 21st Century has
been the development of a comprehensive plan for Oblate missions that deals
with several areas: (1) a protocol for funding existing congregational,
provincial or regional sponsored mission sites; (2) a protocol for the
establishment of new congregational, provincial or regional foundations; (3)
helping to provide elements in formation programs that address and carry out
the Chablais Spirit and that (4) include a period of immersion in pastoral
experience (not study) in another culture. The members of this committee will
develop these four areas into concrete proposals for action by the 2006 General
Chapter.
THE
GENERAL TREASURER: According to the
prescriptions of Constitution 288 and General Statutes 20-27, the new General
Treasurer gave a detailed report on the current financial state of the
Congregation as well as a brief history of its assets. The Congregation has
been blessed over the years with gifted and competent confrères who have
exercised wise and prudent stewardship over its material goods both on the
local level and the Congregation-level.
Our resources, though limited, have been well managed with care and
skill.
THE
PROCURATOR GENERAL reported on the
implementation of the Charter and Essential Norms, especially as they apply to
religious men. He noted that a number
of conferences of bishops have asked the Holy See to extend the Charter and its
Essential Norms to other parts of the world.
He discussed the many subtle changes that are taking place in the several
tiers of Roman bureaucracy at the end of a pontificate and the need to adjust
strategies accordingly. Finally, he
addressed questions, a number of which pertained to the canonical status of
recent liturgical norms.
THE ARCHIVIST: The brief written report from the Archivist dealt with his many
efforts this year to have the Causa of the Good Mother reactivated. To achieve that goal, a document must be
produced that deals with the reasons given for the 1921 suspension of the
Causa. A necessary first step to
producing that document was to gain access to the Chappuis files in the Vatican
Archives. Father Balducelli was able to
do that and is now working on a scholarly paper, based on a critical edition of
the works of the Good Mother, that will chronicle the circumstances and events
leading up to the suspension of the Causa.
With the hopeful completion of this document within several few months,
it will be presented to the Promoter of the Faith. If favorably acted upon, the Causa will then be reactivated. This important work is close to the heart
of every Oblate. I ask you, therefore,
to pray for its success.
THE GENERAL MISSION COORDINATOR reported on his
visits to the missions this year and on the current situation of the young Haitian
men who have expressed an interest in the Congregation. During a meeting with the members of the
General Council, Father Koeltringer was officially appointed to the Philippines
beginning in January 2005. He was asked
to continue in his position as General Mission Coordinator through the 18th
General Chapter. During the course of
the meeting of major superiors, the Regional Superiors of Keimoes-Upington and
Keetmanshoop asked him to modify his theme for their joint September retreat so
as to begin a serious and prayerful reflection with the confrères of both
regions on restructuring. I too will be
present for that retreat. Together with
our confrères, we will discern God’s will regarding restructuring and “the next
steps” to be taken.
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON SALESIAN
STUDIES: Father Herbert Winklehner’s presentation included a brief
presentation of the grant proposals for the year 2004-05 as well as a complete
listing of the projected articles for inclusion in a book of essays entitled, “Human
Encounter in the Salesian Tradition.” This book of essays will commemorate the
4th Centenary of the providential encounter between St. Francis de
Sales and St. Jane de Chantal. That
encounter led to one of the most celebrated spiritual friendships in the annals
of the Church and produced a spirituality that continues to enrich countless
people from every walk of life in the Church today. By this time I am sure that all of you have enjoyed the latest
issue of the ICSS Newsletter (July 2004).
Be sure to visit the very helpful website as well (www.franz-von-sales.de/). The fine work of the ICSS continues to be
an increasingly effective means for the promotion and dissemination of the
Congregation’s special charism.
PREPARATORY COMMISSION: Soon all members of the Congregation will
receive information regarding the submission of proposals to the 18th
General Chapter. Father Sebastian
Leitner will chair the meeting of the Preparatory Commission from July 31, 2005
(arrival) to August 5, 2005 (departure) that will “draw up an agenda of
concrete proposals” (General Statute # 9) for consideration by the General
Chapter of 2006 and will deal with all other matters pertaining to the Chapter
such as time, place and format.
WORLD YOUTH DAY 2005: World Youth Day will take place in Cologne,
Germany, August 16-21, 2005. Cologne is
not far from the Haus Overbach Oblate Community. Prior to World Youth Day Oblates from the German and the
Austria-South German Provinces will host an international meeting of young
Oblates at Haus Overbach (from August 11-15, 2005) for a “celebration of
encounter, faith and joy.” Beginning on August 16th they will join
other youth from around the world for the various activities of World Youth Day
in Cologne.
I encourage as many Oblates as possible,
especially formators and those in formation, to participate in this special
gathering. It is always a good thing
for brothers to come together for prayer and fellowship. In an age when the world is shrinking, it is
very good for Oblates to get to know their confrères from other parts of the
world so as to deepen our fraternal union as members of an international
Congregation. Information and application
forms are available via the internet at:
(www.osfs.at/wjt2005)
NEW MOTHER GENERAL: During the meeting of major superiors we
prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide our Oblate Sisters in their election of
a new Mother General and General Councilors.
We congratulate Mother Françoise-Bernadette Beuzenil, O.S.F.S. and the
members of her council upon their election and wish them every success in the
months and years ahead. We promise them
our friendship and prayerful support.
It is our prayer that our two Congregations, sharing a common Founder,
will have between us only one heart and one spirit. Hand in hand may we “work for the happiness of others” by sharing
with our world the joyful optimism of St. Francis de Sales!
CHANGES IN THE STATISTICS OF THE CONGREGATION: At every meeting of major superiors we
review the statistical changes in the Congregation. It is encouraging that at
the time of our meeting there were 57 scholastics and 23 novices throughout the
Congregation. Between October 1, 2003 and July 15, 2004, there were 14 first
professions, 5 perpetual professions, 6 priestly ordinations and 5 deaths. Although the total number of Oblates has
decreased annually from 1998 to 2003, that number has increased by 10 members
during the last 6 months. My hope,
yours as well I am sure, is to see our numbers begin to increase as we move
forward over the years ahead. Next to
God’s grace, that growth will depend on prayer, fidelity to our Oblate
vocation, and hard work in vocational recruitment and formation. The Congregation needs to grow because,
increasingly, our world today hungers for the joyful optimism and good balance
of Salesian spirituality!
Since I began this
Newsletter on the August 18th feast of St. Jane de Chantal I would
like to speak about a spiritual teaching, common to her and St. Francis de
Sales, that is central to Salesian spirituality, “Ask for nothing, refuse
nothing.” [St. Jane’s feast day is celebrated on August 18th only in
the Western hemisphere. Elsewhere in
the Church it is celebrated on December 12th.]
Right from the start I
want to emphasize that the principle involved in this teaching, even though it
is negatively expressed, is a very positive, pro-active spiritual sentiment and
disposition. It is rooted in the deeply
held conviction that God is both good and provident. He loves and cares for us, each of us, even by name. Like a
loving parent or spouse, he wants only what is best for us. We believe that
truth and trust ourselves to it in all things.
Therefore, whatever God wants or desires for us, no matter how large or
small, no matter how pleasant or challenging, that is what we want for
ourselves, in each succeeding present moment of life. Ours is a union of hearts, wills and life with God. Those of us in the Salesian tradition
believe that is how Jesus lived his life and so we choose to imitate Jesus in
that same way in our own lives.
Having lived her entire
life, every moment of it, trusting totally in divine providence, it was only
natural that St. Jane would tell the priest who was ministering to her as she
lay dying that "God had given her a feeling of repose, of simplicity and
confidence in his mercy so that she willed nothing but his good pleasure. She
asked for nothing and refused nothing...."[1]
“She
asked for nothing and refused nothing.”
This was the spiritual disposition of St. Jane de
Chantal. Her attitude throughout life
was always that of Mary’s “Fiat!” and of Jesus’ “Not my will, but yours be
done!” A core teaching of Francis to
the first Sisters of the Visitation, it was also a major spiritual principle of
his Treatise on the Love and God.
It has become their joint spiritual legacy to the Order of the Visitation
of Holy Mary and to all who embrace Salesian spirituality.[2]
Over time this
disposition began to characterize the prayer of St. Jane as well. Indeed, she
acknowledged "...that the almost universal attraction of the daughters of
the Visitation is to a very simple practice of the presence of God effected by
a total abandonment of themselves to Holy Providence...and it seems as though
God avails Himself of this one means to cause us to achieve our end, and the
perfect union of our soul with Him."[3] This prayer of simple remise en Dieu
or "simple waiting before God"[4]
renders one totally receptive to “Holy Providence” and is the prayerful
equivalent of the maxim, "ask for nothing, refuse nothing."
What does it mean to
"ask for nothing, desire nothing" but a disposition that
allows ourselves to be shaped and molded according to the designs of
Providence. Like Mary in her fiat,
we are content to be there before God, always at hand, ready to embrace
whatever the Beloved will ask of us or allow to befall us, wholly indifferent,
at least at the high point of our spirit, to everything else so long as his
will is accomplished in and through us.
REFUSE NOTHING
"Ask for
nothing" can be said to be the summary of Books 6 and 7 of the Treatise
on the Love of God where we are taught that our affective union of hearts
with God in prayer leads to a pure capacity for the accomplishment of his will
in our lives. "Refuse nothing"
is the resulting openness to whatever the Beloved asks of us through both his
signified will (Book 8 of the Treatise) and the will of his good
pleasure (Book 9 of the Treatise).
God’s signified will is manifested through commandments, counsels and
inspirations, while the will of the divine good pleasure is disclosed through the
unfolding events, often painful, which befall us throughout life and which
reach their zenith for us at the moment of death.
A brief summary of this
core teaching of the Treatise on the Love of God is provided by St. Jane
when she speaks of prayer in this manner: "Go to prayer by faith, remain
there in hope and go out only by charity which requires simply that one act and
suffer."[5]
We are
to leave prayer only by charity. Charity is certainly the chief
characteristic of the Salesian spirit.
Love is both the desired end, union with God, as well as its privileged
means, loving service of the neighbor.
“THAT ONE ACT”
"That one act"
speaks to a readiness to leave prayer, the experience of loving union with God,
in order to respond to the demands of charity.
For Francis and Jane, this is simply a willingness to leave one form of
loving union with God for another, a willingness to go from affective love in
order to carry out some form of effective love. Effective love is manifested in one of two ways, either by doing
what God asks of us or by accepting what he permits to befall us in “life and
operation." [6] In effective
love, we set aside our own agenda and interests in order to address the needs
of our neighbor in a concrete, foot-washing love. We leave an experience of the
love’s First Commandment in order to carry out the exigencies of the
Second. In either instance, we are
prompted solely by the divine will for us as it is made known through the
circumstances of the moment at hand.
“THAT ONE SUFFER”
"That one
suffer": only someone totally unfamiliar with the great sufferings of
this remarkable woman would be surprised to find such a poignant expression
associated with her teaching on prayer.
In prayer she found meaning, often only in the high point of her spirit,
for her great sufferings, those tragedies, losses, spiritual trials, and dark
nights that formed so large and long a part of her eventful life. She taught from what she herself
experienced: love splits no hairs and has but one desire, to be one with God,
wholly indifferent to what he wills, even when what he wills or permits are the
spiritual, relational, physical and psychological challenges of life. Heroic love confides with serene confidence
in the provident goodness of God.
As the earlier
quotation suggests, St. Jane de Chantal died as she had lived, in a posture of
"simple waiting before God."
It does not surprise us, then, that when the chaplain told her that
Jesus was near and asked whether she wanted to go out to meet him who was
coming for her, her response was simply, "Yes, Father, I'm going. Jesus,
Jesus, Jesus!"[7] Her life had always been a pure capacity for the divine will, asking
for nothing, refusing nothing; she had always remained in prayerful union with
her Beloved, leaving that presence only when he called her to act on behalf of
the neighbor or to suffer what befell her, being indifferent to all else. When, at last, he called her one final time,
she ran to him who had eternally said of her and she of Him: tenui nec
dimittam, "I have laid hold of the one whom I love and I will never
let go!" (Song of Songs, 3:4)
It is an encouragement
to us to see such heroic generosity of spirit rewarded as described in a vision
that St. Vincent de Paul experienced at the death of his special spiritual
friend, St. Jane de Chantal:
"There appeared to
him a small globe of fire which rose from the earth to the upper regions of the
air to be united with another globe which was larger and more luminous, then
these two became one, mounting even higher, entering and being incorporated
into yet another globe which was infinitely greater and more resplendent than
the others..."[8]
In death, Jane’s spirit
rises up to meet that of her special friend, Francis. United now in death as they once were in life, they rise up
together to meet their Beloved and, with him, to live happily forever!
From September 10 – 22, I will be in Namibia
for the canonical visitation of that Region.
I will also participate in the joint retreat of the two southern African
regions that will be conducted by the General Mission Coordination, Father
Josef Koeltringer. From January 8-15,
2005, I will be in Rome with the General Treasurer. From January 15-26, 2005, the General Council will meet in
India. From February 28 - March 14,
2005, accompanied by Father Mealey, I will conduct the canonical visitation of
the Austria-South German Province. The
meeting of the Preparatory Commission will take place from July 31, 2005
(arrival) to August 5, 2005 at a location still to be decided. In early September 2005, the canonical
visitation of the Italian province will take place, probably within the context
of their chapter of elections.
Please join me in praying for the success of
these upcoming visits and events!
Yours very fraternally in our saintly Patron
and holy Founders,
Lewis S. Fiorelli, O.S.F.S.
Superior General
[1] André Ravier, S.J. Saint Jeanne de Chantal: Noble Lady, Holy Woman
(trans. by Mary Emily Hamilton) (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1989), p. 210.
[2] Spiritual Conference XXI, "On the Subject of Asking for Nothing
and Refusing Nothing," pp. 399-406, of the Gasquet and Mackey edition
(Westminster, MD: The Newman Press, 1962); for a recent translation of this
same conference, see Volume II of the Spiritual Conferences of St. Francis de
Sales (Newly translated by Fr. Ivo Carneiro, MSFS (Bangalore: SFS Publications,
1998), “The Last Conference,” pp. 161-177.