Results of the Online Survey: Religious Life, Spirituality, and Charism

Transcription

1 Results of the Online Survey: Religious Life, Spirituality, and Charism General Chapter July July 2016 Chapitre general juillet juillet 2016 Congregation of Holy Cross Congrégation de Sainte-Croix Rome

2 title of Brother The title of Brother should be reserved to members of the Society of Brothers only. It should not be used by members of the Society of Priests who are in formation. IT is disrespectful to the vocation of Brother. Name: Anonymous

3 spiritual life/common prayer We have lost our spiritual bearings. WE emphasize the apostolate and neglect any pretense of common prayer and common life. It is totally optional, whatever we teach iln formation.then we congratulate ourselves at jubilees. We must offer meaningful ministry and healthy community life in order to survive as a community. My province has no institutional identity, nothing to point to and say that is ours, that is what we do. / / Name: no one pays attention

4 Spiritual Direction A renewed strong recommendation for regular and continuing spiritual direction after initial formation. Name: Anonymous

5 Charism A strong mention of "men with hope to bring" (Constitution 118) as the underlying basis of our stated charism of "educators in the faith" would be a helpful reminder for us all. HOPE is the contemporary way of describing Fr. Moreau's basic trust in Divine Providence, and therefore his primary drive for living out his vision of "the work of God l'oeuvre de Dieu" which is the Congregation of Holy Cross. Let's translate who we are into contemporary language. Hope is what people see our confreres providing in each locus of our ministry. Name: Anonymous

6 résidence hors maison CSC Je crois que le temps est venu d'examiner de plus près la question des résidences dans des foyers publics pour retraités. Nous avons déjà un grand nombre de religieux qui vivent en dehors des résidence religieuses telles que prévues dans le Code. Name: Daniel

7 Saints of Holy Cross Building up a true spirituality based on Saint Brother André, the first and only Saint in Holy Cross. Name: Anonymous

8 International Retreat House In order to foster the Praying and Healing Ministry, I suggest that we open one house in any part of the world which would serve exclusively for the purpose of prayer, renewal and retreat. This house should be staffed by members of the Congregation and for a period of ten years to be financed by the Congregation and closely monitored by the Superior General., Name: Theophilus Sohtun theocsc@rediffmail.com

9 Development of Communication Skills starting at the local level. For the most part it seems to me we really work at respecting one another and communicating in effective ways. But it is also obvious that just like married people we need to continue to hone our communication skills. It is all to easy to slump into aggressive and passive aggressive ways rather than assertive and respectful ways of dealing with hurts and angers. How much overeating, drinking, overworking, over reacting and isolating are due to the fact that we would rather comfort ourselves with the aforementioned rather than deal creatively with the challenges of healthy relationships. John A. Larsen, Ph. D. offer 20 ground rules for good communication. If the committee would like me to send them a copy with a view of encouraging local communities to practice them, I will be happy to do so. Name: Bill Faiella bfaiella@aol.com

10 Adoration perpétuelle Étant donné le monde global dans lequel nous sommes, nous pourrions reprendre l'initiative de notre Bienhreux fondateur Basile MOREAU de vivre l'adoration perpétuelle dans nos différentes maisons. Avec le décalage horaire et une bonne organisation, en intégrant nos collaborateurs laïcs, nous pourrions ainsi proposer une ou plusieurs heures d'adoration devant le Saint Sacrement, chaque semaine, pour intercéder pour notre Congregation, implorer pour les vocations et demander à Dieu la justice et la paix pour tous les peuples. Nous pourrions ainsi proposer un thème chaque mois pour orienter notre prière commune. Cela s'inscrirait vraiment dans notre tradition CSC et répondrait aussi aux demandes du Pape. Name: Romuald FRESNAIS

11 Promoting a better balance among the essential elements of our life as religious. The essential elements of our life as religious are mission; prayer; brotherhood; consecration and commitment; formation and transformation; authority and responsibility; the Cross. We should look at how each of these is being lived out in Holy Cross. Our dedication to mission and ministry is strong, as it should be for an apostolic and missionary institute. Are we promoting prayer, brotherhood consecration, transformation, responsibility, and fidelity to the Cross as our only hope as effectively as we are our efforts in the mission? Are there concrete steps the General Chapter can take to help us all live a better balance among the dimensions of our religious life? Name: Patrick Sopher nosopher@aol.com

12 Organizing 200th Anniversary Celebration of Brothers of St. Joseph in 2020 Name: Anonymous

13 Dismissals One of the ways in North America, they handle "difficult" personalities is by giving him a transfer. If he refuses, begin procedure to dismiss him. That's how they deal with other nations and other economies. It takes so much trouble to recruit, train and make someone a committed religious. Many a time it's a temperament or personality issue of the superior, a process is initiated against a religious. What about mercy? Counselling, other assistance? Place him in a place he can bloom and minister to some people. Why are we so focussed to dismiss him? Name: Anonymous

14 charism of Holy Cross Would like to see a standing committee made up of members from both societies to articulate the (theological? historical?) importance of the bi societal nature of Holy Cross, and come up with an action plan to help vocations to both societies. This way, the diminishment of one society is the concern of ALL of us in the congregation. Name: Mark Knightly, CSC henlopen@earthlink.net

15 Jubilee observances Within the context of our Holy Cross religious life all religious (lay and ordained) should mark as jubilee milestones their anniversary of religious profession. For those religious in Holy Orders, milestones of ordination could be kept in the context of their ministry to the Universal Church (parish, mission, school). Name: Ed Kaminski, CSC

16 Moreau Shrine in Le Mans I would like to see a greater investment in Fr. Moreau's Shrine. It seems that we have begun this work, but not invested in it wholeheartedly. We have many resources in our community people, capital, connections, etc and yet I seriously question how much of this is going towards saving our communal patrimony in Le Mans. We have a history of neglecting our Founder, and the current Superior General already let a golden opportunity slip by when he passed on the chance to purchase the old school and its land for a pittance. Now, thanks to a developer, our Mother Church shares walls and a courtyard with an apartment complex. We can only make so many mistakes like this before the damage to our globally shared patrimony is irreparable. I do not want our successors to shake their heads in our memory, dismayed by our shortsightedness in this regard. Name: Anonymous

17 Un encuentro de anual para los nuevos profesos Para conocer mas a cerca de la vida e espiritualidad de nuestro fundador e se posible una visita a nuestra fuente, Francia, para un contacto directo con las fuentes fundantes. Name: Antonio Wanderley Oliveira dos Santos antoniocsc1982@gmail.com

18 Opening doors I would like to see the three Provinces in the United States produce a single Directory listing the photos and basic information about each member so that we can become familiar with each other. Connecting a name and a face is helpful. / / I would like to see a convocation of the the members of the three Provinces so that we get to know each other. This Convocation would NOT be an attempt to combine Provinces but merely a means of introducing members of the three Provinces to each other. Name: Brother Larry Backus brolarryb@hotmail.com

19 Ethique/Déonthologie Je voudrais juste inviter les confrères capitulants à réfléchir sur ce qui constitue le fondement de notre vie consacrée comme religieux de Sainte Croix, sur le témoignage moral et éthique que nous avons à incarner dans la société d'aujourd'hui. Name: Rosemond

20 SENSE OF BELONGING AND AUTHENTIC LIFE WHICH IS IN DECLINE I WISH TO SEE THE FAMILY OF HOLY CROSS DEVELOPS HUMAN RESOURCES AND TRANSPARENT LIFE THAN STATIC AND AUTHORITY ORIENTED. THE SPIRIT IS VERY MUCH DECLINED DUE TO POLITICS AND AFFULENCE. Name: Anonymous

21 Get rooted to the spirit of Jesus and our founder Name: Anonymous

22 la vie communauté Name: Anonymous

23 perpetual adoration within the congregation this practice was dropped many years ago. it brings nothing but blessings to all. Name: Anonymous