Signs of vitality

The Holy Spirit invites us today to have courage and confidence in this new age of the Church and of society. Many christian people, who often belong to small faith sharing groups, find the spiritual life they are thirsting for in the charisms of religious congregations. They want to journey with us, and to express their baptismal vocation through the gospel insights of religious founders. As well as sharing in our works, they want to deepen the quality of their christian and social commitment through a deeper engagement with our spiritualities.

They show us that our charisms are a gift for all christians, for the Church and for the world. So we are called by them to live this mystery, this gift of the church as communion. This mutuality can give us new life and vitality despite our human frailty and limitations. We are invited to work together to create the reign of God.

Blocks

There are many obstacles to this adventure. We can behave as if we were the owners of our charisms. We find it hard to share our spirituality, our faith, our life with other christians. The clerical mentality can ignore the special character of the lay vocation in the church and in society. We often confuse ‘working for’ and ‘working with’. We are sometimes afraid that lay people might begin to take their real place in the heart of the church. We are afraid of being shaken up and challenged. We have a hard time living with the demands of an ecclesiology of communion.

We are invited to a process of transformation:

To make our communities more open and welcoming
To change a mentality of working for the laity, to working with them, and to keep clearly in mind what Christ calls us all to, which is deeper than our works and institutions.
To include an ecclesiology of communion in our formation programs
To include the laity in our planning and reflection, and to respect their rightful autonomy and initiative.

Biblical references:

Widen the space in your tents Is 52
The Samaritan woman and the good Samaritan man
The body and its parts, the variety of gifts : 2 Cor 12
Emmaus: Luke 24 13-35
Pentecost : Acts 2
“Others are prophesying and they are not from our group... Who is not against us is for us”
“Who is my mother, my brother, my sisters? They who do the will of my father..”
The specific biblical texts on which our congregations are founded.

Convictions

Relationships between religious and laity must be based on theological and ecclesiological principles.
Passion for Christ has the primacy. Christ is our central focus, not any institute, charism or founder.
These new relationships of mutuality between laity and religious envigorate us to live the richness of our baptism, the universal call to holiness.
Together, in mutuality, we want to announce the Good News, to build the reign of God in each culture and society. We want to build Church together, respecting all vocations and charisms.
We are open to the possibility of a variety of different expressions of the evangelical insights of our founders and foundresses.

Actions

We can strengthen common formation programs for laity and religious which focus on a stronger ecclesiology of communion and a clearer identity of each vocation.
We can promote shared mission in cooperation with the local church
We can promote flexible membership structures which allow genuine lay autonomy.
We can share our experiences and learnings among our congregations.



	GROUP 13 33 Participants: 19 nationalities, 32 congregations PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LAITY Signs of vitality The Holy Spirit invites us today to have courage and confidence in this new age of the Church and of society. Many christian people, who often belong to small faith sharing groups, find the spiritual life they are thirsting for in the charisms of religious congregations. They want to journey with us, and to express their baptismal vocation through the gospel insights of religious founders. As well as sharing in our works, they want to deepen the quality of their christian and social commitment through a deeper engagement with our spiritualities. They show us that our charisms are a gift for all christians, for the Church and for the world. So we are called by them to live this mystery, this gift of the church as communion. This mutuality can give us new life and vitality despite our human frailty and limitations. We are invited to work together to create the reign of God. Blocks There are many obstacles to this adventure. We can behave as if we were the owners of our charisms. We find it hard to share our spirituality, our faith, our life with other christians. The clerical mentality can ignore the special character of the lay vocation in the church and in society. We often confuse ‘working for’ and ‘working with’. We are sometimes afraid that lay people might begin to take their real place in the heart of the church. We are afraid of being shaken up and challenged. We have a hard time living with the demands of an ecclesiology of communion. We are invited to a process of transformation: To make our communities more open and welcoming To change a mentality of working for the laity, to working with them, and to keep clearly in mind what Christ calls us all to, which is deeper than our works and institutions. To include an ecclesiology of communion in our formation programs To include the laity in our planning and reflection, and to respect their rightful autonomy and initiative. Biblical references: Widen the space in your tents Is 52 The Samaritan woman and the good Samaritan man The body and its parts, the variety of gifts : 2 Cor 12 Emmaus: Luke 24 13-35 Pentecost : Acts 2 “Others are prophesying and they are not from our group... Who is not against us is for us” “Who is my mother, my brother, my sisters? They who do the will of my father..” The specific biblical texts on which our congregations are founded. Convictions Relationships between religious and laity must be based on theological and ecclesiological principles. Passion for Christ has the primacy. Christ is our central focus, not any institute, charism or founder. These new relationships of mutuality between laity and religious envigorate us to live the richness of our baptism, the universal call to holiness. Together, in mutuality, we want to announce the Good News, to build the reign of God in each culture and society. We want to build Church together, respecting all vocations and charisms. We are open to the possibility of a variety of different expressions of the evangelical insights of our founders and foundresses. Actions We can strengthen common formation programs for laity and religious which focus on a stronger ecclesiology of communion and a clearer identity of each vocation. We can promote shared mission in cooperation with the local church We can promote flexible membership structures which allow genuine lay autonomy. We can share our experiences and learnings among our congregations.