TITUTE OF THE DAUGHTERS OF MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS
founded by St. John Bosco
Circular #793
Dearest Sisters,
I resume my open dialogue with you three months after the last circular. However, my silence, has been merely a written one.
We have, in fact, lived the l25th anniversary of the birth of our religious family in joyful communion. At Mornese on August 5th, I thanked the Father of Life for the new journey of sanctity begun in the Church by Mary Domenica Mazzarello with the first Sisters, and brought forward "from generation to generation" up to today. You were all present -some personally, others in the web, by fax, or by satellite -and surely by way of the heart. Now I come to you with my warmest thanks for the experience of the unity of our Institute, to which all the provinces contributed. This is an aspect of the prophecy of togetherness which permits us to look at the future with trust.
"Let's become saints; we must become great saints" These are Maria Dominica's words after the first religious profession. Many of you must have re-read the pages in the Cronistoria which tell of the events of August 4-5, 1872.
I invite those of you who were not able to do so, to re-discover in those pages the characteristic notes of our beginnings; a profound ecclesial rooting of the charism, joyful awareness of being Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, simplicity of rapport lived in that family spirit, which was exemplified by the Founder and was reflected in all the members of the new born religious community, already established as an educating community.
Other motives of union in the Institute during the past months were the presentation and the study of the Acts of General Chapter XX (by this time each sister must have it in her own language) and the extensive circular with the Six Year Program for 1997-2002. This latter, as you already know, is the result of along journey of discernment by the General Council Members, who are the first to enjoy its fruits.
The outpouring of responses to the Six Year Program confirms that the double objective "to guarantee its unified coordination" (p. 5) and to "favor a circular process of relationship between the provinces and the Center in order to continue a productive dialogue and to allow for the weaving of webs of communion" (p. 4), was received and accepted with responsibility.
The first step, in line with this dialogue, was the proposal made to the Provincials and their Councils to begin discussion on the "Ratio Institutionis. "This interaction will continue. By October 24th, we will receive the results of the Provincial Councils' reflection on #68 of "Vita Consecrata. II
The expectations and the suggestions of the Provinces in regard to the formative program which will guide the future of our Institute will constitute the point of departure for the reflection of the General Council during the plenum of December and January. We will work together, taking into account the advice of sisters, members of the Salesian Family, lay persons from different parts of the world, always in interaction with the Provinces.
The circular process directed in this way will constitute for the entire Institute an occasion of on-going formation and of growth in vocational unity.
A further step which commits us to express in a concrete way an aspect of the prophecy of togetherness is the Report on the Community Evaluation. This requires the responsible involvement of each sister and of each member of the Educating Community .A copy of this outline is attached to this circular.
Following the indications given by the Chapter, the General Council last July took into consideration the Annual Report (Relazione Annuale) written by the superior, and reprocessed it as the Annual Community Evaluation.
The spirit and the purpose which guided the General Council to offer such a plan to the communities is explained in the introduction. Together with the Sisters of the Council, I think it is opportune to present it to you now, for a means of gradual assimilation of some fundamental elements of the post-chapter journey.
The references to the Acts of GCXX and to the Six Year Program favor community sharing, and shed light on the content marked out as aspects of the verifica.
The mutual help which we will offer each order in order to assimilate and translate into our own contexts the directions of GCX:X are indicated in the Acts and further specified in the objectives of the Six Year Program and in the proposals for the Community Evaluation. These constitute an occasion for ongoing formation enabling the communities to live in a state of discernment, while involving the other members of the Educating Community.
The research done together, in the light of the Word of God, and in an attitude of valuing one another reciprocally, unites hearts and opens them up to the newness of the Spirit. In a trusting dialogue, interpersonal relationships are strengthened and deepened -the richness of differences is discovered, and these are harnonized as resources at the service of the mission.
October invites us to live our relationship with Jesus, letting ourselves be guided by His Mother, who introduces us to the contemplation of the mystery of salvation through the Rosary .At the school of Mary Help of Christians, we, too, will feel as the sisters at Mornese did, strongly involved in the mission of the Church: proclaiming Jesus to all our brothers and sisters who still do not know Him as the only Savior.
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The proclamation of Theresa of Lisieux as Doctor of the Church on the next World Mission Day fills us with joy, and it asks us to reaffirn the priority of love which makes our mission evangelically fruitful.
The appeal: I entrust them to you which resounded strongly in the Chapter, is being accepted with responsibility by the entire Institute. Let's help one another to cultivate in the daily life of our communities the conditions which render effective the response that the Chapter gave for each one of us to live radically our relationship with Christ, which...renders us capable of expressing I! the prophecy of togetherness. 11 (AGCXX 91 )
In the year dedicated to Jesus, Mary introduces us to a more personal and profound understanding of her Son, in the mystery of His prayer, to teach us how to be authentic missionaries in everyday life.
JESUS' PRAYER
In the preceding circulars we tried to penetrate the secret of Jesus, obedient, chaste and poor. The simple journey of research made together helped us discover some hidden traits of the face of the Lord. But, to understand the deep secret of a person and grasp what he really is, we must enter into the intimacy of his prayer. Jesus' prayer is truly a mystery of interior silence and of a profound union with the Father.
The Gospels indicate to us the place and the time in which the Master prayed. At times the Gospels also tell us of the gestures which accompanied His invocations. Rarely do they tell us the words which He used.
The complete picture which comes forth is not that of a revolutionary Messiah, but of someone who respected the traditions of the prayer of His people. Like every boy in Israel, he was educated to a strong desire to go to the Temple. During His public life, we see Him often go up towards Jerusalem to take part in the great religious feasts. In the Gospel, it is often said that Jesus went to the synagogue on the Sabbath frequently.
However, for the non-official prayer, when the Son wants to speak freely and intimately with the Father, He chooses complete solitude. He goes into the desert, climbs the mountain, begins a new tradition, avoid, instead, the public places where the Pharisees showed themselves in order to be seen by the others.
Jesus shows us the way of interiority the new adoration must be practiced "in Spirit and in truth." (In. 4,23). The new Temple is Christ, Himself- a dwelling Temple of the Father and of the Spirit.
The places where Jesus prays are filled with symbolism: the mountain becomes an image of the ascent of God: the desert is the house of the basic essentials: the tree of the cross is raised towards the Mystery to attract everyone to itself.
"Christ, where do you dwell?" is the great question of the disciples and of the young of the year 2000 reunited at Paris for the XII World Youth Day. William of Saint Thierry would respond today as he did many centuries ago: "The true home, the real dwelling place of Jesus is His union with the Father."
TIME FOR GOD
For what regards the times and the rhythm of the Master's prayer, the synoptic -in particular Luke -point out the same close relationship between His prayer and His messianic mission.
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Jesus did not simply take up a religious tradition. He did not limit Himself to celebrate the established feasts. He put into practice his teaching "we need to pray always, without ever tiring" (Lk 18, I)
Jesus withdraws to pray after the great miracles. In His apostolic journeys, the brief prayers are frequent and ardent. He addresses these prayers to the Father in such a way as to be in continual contact with Him.
When the disciples return from their first missionary journey filled with joy, Jesus bursts forth in a cry of jubilation to the Father, for having revealed His secrets to the little ones. (Lk. 10,21 .)
But above all, it is in the decisive stages of His messianic mission that Jesus prepares Himself in the silence of prayer, often for a number of hours. The manifestation of the Father and of the Spirit happens while He is praying.
It happens at the moment of His Baptism and at the start of His public ministry .At Cesarea Philippi, the messianic confession of Peter is preceded by the prayer of Jesus with his disciples.
The long testament at the Last Supper is an uninterrupted invocation to the Father. Many other important circumstances are marked and sealed with prayer: the resurrection of Lazarus, the call of the Apostles, the Transfiguration, the night of Gethsemane up to the cry on the cross.
Reading the Gospels attentively, we realize that in Jesus there is no separation between life and prayer. Union with the Father is His very breath.
The secret of His prayer is precisely this: He turns to God as to one of us; in His requests there is so much humanness and concreteness. At the same time, His voice resounds as if from another world, because He comes from the Father. This reality, however, rather than being disheartening, becomes a precious sign. The example that He gives with his filial prayer is an invitation for us to pray as He did.
Even our Rule of life reminds us that 'because of the grace of our adoption as children, the Holy Spirit prays in us, intercedes with insistence for us, and invites us to give Him space so that He may, through our voice, praise the Father and invoke Him for the salvation of the world" (C. 37).
THE UNFULFILLED DESIRE
There are two prayers of Jesus of which the Gospel speaks extensively, citing even His words. The first is that of the "Our Father" by which the Master teaches us to turn to God with our needs and with profound abandonment. The revolutionary novelty of this prayer lies in the term "Father" referring to God. The Hebrews did not even dare pronounce His name. It is precisely from here that the exchange of relationships among us is derived. We are all children of one Father and therefore brothers and sisters, capable of forgiveness and of reconciliation.
At the moment when the disciples ask Him to be the Teacher of prayer, Jesus composes, with the simplest words in the
world, the new anthropology revealing to us the new face of God.
The "Our Father" is already the beginning, the synthesis of the Testament which Jesus will leave to His most intimate friends at the Last Supper.
The two prayers are filled with one sole desire: Unity. First of all, communion "within the ferial community" with those we live with every day and who, at times, disturb us with their nearness. ".. That they may be one, Father, with us": this is the way the Son prays to the Father for us.
The comparison is exalting and all encompassing. There are no loopholes for our "its" and "buts". Jesus' desire is precise. He expresses it at the threshold of His death -the hour of truth for every person. He desires that we might become as He is, sons of the Father. The anagraphic document necessary is reciprocal love, welcoming hospitality.
Our Rule of life clearly states these conditions saying: "Our prayer is expressed in a sole movement of charity towards God and towards our neighbor". (C. 38)
We all feel moved when we remember the last words of our dear ones. Often these words become a guiding light for our life. What have we done with Jesus' Last Testament?
In the recent 2nd Ecumenical Assembly in Europe-Graz (June, 1997) a TV commentator observed: " one desire of Jesus has not yet been fulfilled by the Father: that of the unity of all Christians. Maybe it's because we are dealing with a desire that cannot be realized solely by the Divine Will, but it commits all believers, both on a personal and communal level.
The Testament of Jesus challenges us. How do we make Him real in our communities? To which means of daily reconciliation does the prayer of the Master stimulate us, so that we may attain ecumenical union?
The pontificate of John Paul ll began with -the famous plea: "Let yourselves be reconciled." He said it vibrantly at the dawn of his pontificate, and he continues to repeat it with the strength of his weakness before the masses. At Paris, the last prayer of Jesus was repeated in a thousand ways: the symbol of the rainbow, the union in diversity, the ecumenical catechesis, the solidarity with the poor.