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MESSAGE OF THE XXI GENERAL CHAPTER

(ROME: MAY 12 - JUNE 139 2003)

TO THE WHOLE CONGREGATION

1.  Gathered in the first General Chapter of the twenty-first century, we have sought to define for ourselves more clearly our practical insertion in the life of the Church and in the world as Dehonians. We understand our identity as anchored in our initiation in Christ and in our creative commitment to follow the faith experience of the love of God in the pierced side of Christ by Leo John Dehon. Our identity is apostolic; with God's Spirit we seek to reconfigure ourselves as agents of love and reconciliation in this century.

2.  The challenges of this century have manifested themselves already.

In the voices of the powerless and marginalized, we hear the plea for another world:

a world of inter-religious dialogue,

a world without war, terrorism and empire,

a world without genocide, tribalism, and religious fanaticism,

a world not ravaged by AIDS and plagues,

a global world without the exploitation by the rich and powerful,

a cosmos-friendly world without the destruction of the environment,

a world of equality between women and men,

a world which enjoys the endless play of diversity and singularity,

a world in which the individual is not isolated,

a world open to God in the eyes and face of the other.

a world in which everyone can know the face of God in Christ.

3.  In face of a world in constant crisis and of a church that must ever be reformed, we must from time to time re-examine the configuration of our vocation in the Church and our response to the needy other. We must creatively reshape or refound ourselves.

With whom must we be one today in our Sint Unum? To whose call must we respond today in our Ecce Venio? What fulfillment do we long for today as we sing our Ecce Ancilla? What reign of God do we pray for in our Adveniat Regnum Tuum? How are we to be "prophets of love and servants of reconciliation?" (Const. 7) As a Congregation, we are small in number and we can do only so much, keeping in mind the word of Jesus, "When you have done all you have been commanded to do, say, 'We are useless servants. We have done no more than our duty"' (Luke 17. 1 0).

4. The Chapter proposes that the time for refoundation has come. With refoundation we understand the following: Fully aware of the situations and cultures in which we find

ourselves, we re-read with all the resources available our insertion in Christ by the Spirit and in creative fidelity to Leo Dehon's original vision arrive at new initiatives of living our vocation.

5.  Urged on by the Spirit we recognize our refoundation to be a process of practical commitment to our apostolic identity. We identify this apostolic identity in our spirituality, communion, and solidarity. We are apostolic in our spirituality as men of God: as beloved lovers; we live this apostolic life as an ecclesial community in openness to one another; we witness to it through our mission and solidarity with the poor and the little ones. The participation in this refoundation will vary according to the situation in our areas. Several original provinces who have few or no vocations will be able to accompany these initiatives only with prayer and financial means. In their witness to the love of God in old age and in their dying we recognize the call to be signs of the death and resurrection of the Lord.

Our apostolic spirituality

6.  We know ourselves loved first with a love inexhaustible. We commit ourselves to this gospel of generous love by dwelling in this love, particularly in the breaking of the bread (Luke 24), and as disciples of the one who heard the pleas of the world and said, "Here am 1; I come to do your will." (Heb 5.7) We commit ourselves in our old age as well as in our youth as missionaries of God's love, as a word of God's pardon and reconciliation. The opened side of Christ remains for us the promise of the Spirit of love, working in us and through us.

7.  We treasure our apostolic spirituality as a gift to the world. We recognize the hunger for spirituality in our time. With our study, meditation and encounters ever deepening our understanding, we search out and respond to this hunger, driven by the Spirit: being more than ever men of God and witnesses of the infinite: men enriched by the experience of love. In the gestures of love and care for the other we make active even now the power of the reign of God.

8.  Hence we support all initiatives that help us to revitalize our spiritual tradition. We give renewed support to the study of Dehonian sources, to the establishment of study centers for spirituality, and of a theological and biblical committee, to the writing of a critical biography of Leo Dehon, and making formation in spirituality contextual at the different levels. We will ensure that we spread this spirituality in our works and to our Dehonian Family.

Apostolic communion

9.  We reaffirm that our community life is our first apostolic work. In our mode of living "We the Congregation" we are a symbol of the Spirit's gathering of God's people and of our singular insertion into the reign of God. It is a response to the prayer of Jesus that his disciples be one. The common life at its various levels - local, provincial (regional, district), general - is a sign of the new community drawn from all the nations: a community not derived from the flesh but from the Spirit. In this manner, community life is our mission (Gen. Conf. of Neustadt).

10. In the global experience of the migration of peoples and the incredible pressure of the homogenization of cultures and religions, we seek to be respectful and the neigbbour of the other in accordance with the word of Jesus. In our communities at their various levels and different ages we honour our common life, the sharing of goods, our service to one another and the community project. We commit ourselves to participate with our gifts in the gatherings and activities of the communities for the good of the local communities and of the whole Congregation.

11. In all our apostolic choices we shall give priority to the apostolic mission of a real community of confreres. We reconfirm the unique authority of leadership and service of the General Administration in a true spirit of subsidiarity and co-responsibility. As "We the Congregation" in the world we recommit ourselves to a world without boundaries by the learning of other languages and cultures, by the sharing of resources and the talents of the members. We encourage international communities with the exchange of members for purposes of study, formation and the apostolate. We will strengthen our collaboration and exchange at the geo-cultural levels.

Apostolic solidarity

12. As "We the Congregation" in the world we pray ardently with Jesus, "Your kingdom come!" He showed us the way in his proclamation of this kingdom of God, in his solidarity with the sick and with those who were made powerless through evil. Leo Dehon urged us to be aware of the failures in society and the Church and to counteract these failures through the development of a social teaching. He wanted us to go to the people, to change mentalities and structures. He founded the Congregation to establish through his spirituality and community a civilization of love.

13. In his footsteps we see a world different from that of Leo Dehon. But like him we approach it as mystics and politicians, with contemplation and action. Like him we want to understand this world with compassion, faith and hope, but also with intelligence and an ongoing study of its ideologies. With the new technological means, we seek to communicate this vision. Like him we love this world and are pained by the breakdown of justice and peace. We take up the challenge of being "Prophets of love and servants of reconciliation " in taking up in our works the cause of the little one and the poor. And wherever we can, we will do it with like-minded followers of Dehon.

14. With the social orientation of the General Conference at Recife in mind, we shall create a three-year apostolic and economic plan. The Chapter desired that our solidarity with the world will be shown preferentially in

1. our work in vocations and formation

2. our work in the area of culture, social justice and communication

3. our work as missionaries (missio ad gentes both ad intra and ad extra)

It wanted this mission to be done as a community and with professional competence.

For that reason, we encourage all to undertake a complementary or higher study and to develop their talents to the highest level.

Conclusion

We present this message of our common mission to all the members of our Congregation to allow all to enter with joy into the invitation of Pope John Paul R during the Chapter to revisit in creative fidelity the foundations of our charism (see L'Osservatore Romano 11/06/03). With this in mind we approach the celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart in this the 125th year since our foundation. May what we have experienced here as a grace from the side of Christ become a stream of living water nurturing our refoundation.

The members

of the XXI General Chapter

June 12, 2003

         
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