Parable and Conscience Meditation September 7

Obedience  September 7

The following are the precepts we order you living in the monastery to observe (Rule of St. Augustine, 2).

Jesus had his way of living before his Father and among his brothers and sisters in the world.  That was his personal spirituality.   From the time of his childhood, he affirmed, even in a dramatic way, the priority of his life.  In the Temple, responding to his desperate parents in the search for him in Jerusalem, he simply said, “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Lk 2:49).  Later, the Father himself recognized Jesus’ attachment to him when he declared over the waters of the Jordan, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17).   Often Jesus made himself clear: “My food is to do the will of the One who sent me and to accomplish God’s work” (Jn 4:34).   And finally, he declared while sweating blood, “Not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22:42).  He came with this mission, he behaved accordingly always, he died in fidelity to it.  In effect, the salvation of the world was founded on the obedience of Christ and the Kingdom will be realized by reason of the obedience of his disciples.  The will of God is the preoccupation of religious.  Everything in religious life is structured to hear God—prayer, fraternal life, involvement with the world.  To obey is the spirituality of Christ.  To obey is to live like Christ.

The destination of the picked banana depends on the picker.  (Mongo)

Parable and Conscience Meditation September 6

Obedience  September 6

Our first task as members of a chapter is that of keeping ourselves open to hearing the voice of the Lord in the words of our brothers (Const. 9.1).

A mature and effective obedience demands the ability to listen and learn.  Look how the three arrived because they listened and learned all along the way.  Despite their reputation for being already wise, they were ready to humble themselves before the demands of the call they heard.  To listen and to learn, these characterized their exercise of obedience.  They devoted time to do then because finding the newborn king had become the crowning effort of their careers as seekers.  They searched with confident determination.  Their eyes conscientiously scanned the heavens, always convinced that signs would never be lacking.  They consulted, exploited their own knowledge, asked questions without shame of other concerned persons, of the reigning monarch, of secular and religious teachings.  They paid attention also to dreams, leaving every channel open.  With formidable patience, they followed the star together.  They did not let their routines from the past block them, nor their current limited horizons, nor the obscurity of the future.  In listening and learning, the three Magi made good their obedience.  They modeled obedient openness.

The river wanted to direct itself and it got lost.  (Bahaya)

Parable and Conscience Meditation September 5

Obedience  September 5

 (The Crosier) commits himself sincerely, with happiness and joy and in a spontaneous and self-forgetful way to the decisions of these Chapters (Profile of the Congolese Crosier).

Everyone has a place in the circle of dialogue.  The members of the community, along with the superior, arrive at decisions that serve the realization of the Kingdom of God in this or that situation.  It is understood that everyone is prepared for the sharing, having studied the matter to be discussed.  It is also understood that everyone speaks from the heart and that everyone is listening to the others.  The fraternal discussion moves toward the discovery of the will of God.  Even if the understanding of that is provisional, it represents the most mature judgment of the group at the moment, which is confirmed by the superior.  What follows is the execution of the decision under his direction and the conscientious attention to its evolution.  It is the joy of Crosier life that the confreres gather to determine, under the inspiration of the Spirit, the course of their community life, prayer and apostolate.  Being a participant in the making the decision is a strong incentive to sincere, joyful and generous obedience.  It is that clear without such obedience, the matter in question will not progress much.  Even if the decision does not meet all the expectations of all the members of the community, it certainly represents the fruit of sensitive sharing, with a conclusion that everyone can accept as an effort at fidelity.  Discussion finishes with action.

The foot walks where the mouth has already been.  (Shi).

Parable and Conscience Meditation September 4

Obedience  September 4

The vow of obedience engages us in listening to the Lord in the Word, in spiritual reading and in the circumstances of life (Congolese Regional Statutes, Int. 1.26).

Obedience as the Christian response to the demands of the Kingdom of God is preceded by two other activities, those of contemplation and dialogue.  These activities are really two expressions of listening to God, the one direct, the other indirect.  Contemplation is nothing more than the sustained regard in prayer of God and the mysteries of God’s presence in the world.  Contemplation consists of an attitude of receptivity toward God.  The contemplative look at God permits the revelation of God to the contemplator.  By contemplation, a person develops a familiarity with God that facilitates the ability to interpret God’s will.  One is more certain about what to obey.  On the other hand, a person discovers God and the divine plan for the world through dialogue with the neighbor.  God is present in each human being and by engaging another in sincere conversation one encounters God.  Dialogue is a transparent exchange of the reality of the participants.  Listening and speaking, one sees how God animates the life of the other and uncovers God’s new appeals.  Dialogue helps in discerning the will of God for those dialoguing.   In effect, contemplation and dialogue clarify the whole business of obedience.

The woman who stays a long time at the fire will have the best sauce.  (Baoule)

Parable and Conscience Meditation September 3

Obedience  September 3

If they are to achieve their intended purpose, our community deliberations must take place in a spirit of candor and mutual trust, rooted in authentic faith (Const. 9.1).

What is the authentic faith that is the basis of religious life?  It is faith in Jesus Risen.  In his resurrection, all truth is revealed, that of God as well as of humanity.  In Christ Risen we see the Plan and the God-Planner.  God created humanity and leads it to its destiny to live in the new creation.  Coming together as confreres has as its objective to discern and participate in the Plan of the Planner.  Or is there some other fundamental reason for our being together?  We are completely identified with God in the movement of Christ Risen for the transformation of human history.  Each religious has taken a vow of obedience to realize this plan, which has the priority in Christian life.  Each confrere, baptized and professed, is equipped by the Spirit with eyes and ears that sensitize him to eschatological renewal.  That is why he must listen.  That is why he must speak.  The Planner reveals his plan in the gathering of the confreres.  Because it is God, in effect, that religious are preoccupied with in their sharing together, there must be between them a mutual confidence and openness that allows God to be revealed.

Intelligence is a fruit that one gathers in the garden of his neighbor.  (Batabwa)

Parable and Conscience Meditation September 2

Obedience September 2

The master general bears the primary responsibility of keeping alive the Order's unity and its own charismatic gifts, as well as promoting a fruitful religious life in its members. . . . His governmental and administrative powers and functions include his obligation to see that the decisions of the general chapter are implemented (Const. 36.1).

Founder Theodore, you continue to live through the ministry of the Master General in every epoch of the history of your Order. The grace of the charism you received from the Spirit has been cultivated by fifty-seven Generals who have succeeded you since the foundation of the Brothers of the Holy Cross 800 years ago. Saints and sinners, they have all been called to care for the integrity of the life of the Crosiers, to assure a good understanding and stewardship of the patrimony which you left. Except for the three most recent Generals, they accepted election for life, sometimes heroically in very challenging times. Theodore, even from the sixteenth century the “Lord” Generals who bore pontifical insignia (the purple cape, the miter, the ring, the pectoral cross) felt the call to serve their confreres humbly according to the example of the Crucified. Be with your successor in our own times so that, through his inspiration, we might remain faithful to yours.

The sorcerer dies, but his medicines keep their force. (Bayaka)

Parable and Conscience Meditation September 1

Obedience  September 1

We recognize the authority of the Church and our obligation to observe pertinent ecclesiastical regulations, and so explicit references to Church laws have been omitted as a matter of principle (Const. 0.5).

From the moment Saul fell from his horse, it was impossible for him to deny that Christ cannot be separated from his Christians.  “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”  (Ac 9:4).  Jesus had already alluded to this reality in his prayer:  “that they may be one as we are one, I in them and you in me” (Jn 17:22-23).  The community has become the spouse of Christ.  “Come, I will show you the spouse, the bride of the Lamb” (Rv 21:9).  To be a Christian, then, means to be in communion with the Church.  Obedience to Christ implies obedience to the Church because there is only one plan of salvation and one Spirit that guides it.  The discipline of the Church, codified in Canon Law, organizes her life in light of her mission as the sacrament of salvation.  As parts of the Church and participants in its mission, religious communities submit to the law of the Church.  Their proper Constitutions are in accord with ecclesiastical law as a sign of this communion.  Even if religious life finds it necessary to be prophetic to the Church, it is always out of love for her and never despite her.  The prophet gives radical obedience to the demands of the Kingdom and calls the Church to imitate this profound fidelity.

The teeth surround the tongue.  (Duala)