There was a great multitude...

from every nation, from all tribes

and peoples and races and languages...

the Lamb will lead them to springs of life-giving water:

(Rev. 7:9.17)

The Congress on Consecrated Life, celebrated in Rome from the 23rd to the 27th of November, 2004 -the last week of the liturgical year -and organized by the two Unions of Superiors General of women and men, was an unprecedented event. Participants included 847 religious from all parts of the world:

• 95 from Africa;

• 250 from America;

• 92 from Asia;

• 16 from Oceania;

• and 394 from Europe.

The majority were Superiors General but also represented were presidents of most of the national conferences of religious from every part of the world, theologians, directors of reviews and publications on Religious Life and young religious. Bishops and several members of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life and of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples also participated.

"Passion for Christ, Passion for Humanity" was the theme of the Congress, born of contemplation of two icons: that of the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well at Shechem, and that of the Samaritan man - the Good Samaritan - on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. With this final synthesis, we offer consecrated life the essence of the reflection and discernment that has absorbed us during these days. The perspective we have chosen for this final declaration is to do "what the Spirit inspires us to do today in consecrated life." We have been moved to do this by the Word of God, proclaimed and celebrated during these days: the Book of Revelation and the eschatological discourse of Jesus has placed us face to face with the gravity of the present moment and the dawning of a passionate hope for the future.

The Congress gave priority to the experiential aspect of consecrated life in its diverse socio-cultural and ecclesial contexts. It used a pro- cess that involved everyone in discernment. A preparatory paper distributed in advance set forth observations concerning trends in consecrated life worldwide. This generated a fruitful sharing and dialogue.

During the Congress points made in the paper served to stimulate reactions and discussion in groups whose conclusions were shared in plenary sessions. This sharing made apparent what the Spirit is bringing into being in consecrated life in the pluralistic world in which we live. The challenges of the signs of our times and places became tangible as we interacted. The need to insert ourselves into the reality of our time, into the life and mission of the people of God, with "a new II creativity" in charity" (Novo Millennio lneunte, 50) became evident to us.

I. THIRST AND WATER, WOUNDS AND HEALING: OUR CONTEXT

I know where you are living…

I know your affliction and your poverty. (Rv 2:13.9)

1. In the Light of the Two Icons

The two icons, of the Good Samaritan and the Samaritan woman, are like a mirror in which we see reflected our situation of woundedness and thirst, our situation of need for healing and for living water.

a) In Humanity

We are part of humanity in our:

• thirst for wellbeing in a world of consumption of goods and of poverty; for love in the midst of chaos and disordered loves; for transcendence in the midst of political and existential discord.

• need for great wells at which to quench our thirst (like the Samaritan woman) and to build new wells (like Jacob).

• desire to know and to develop knowledge and technology.

• establishment of institutions (the Temple, the Inn) to fulfill our transcendental needs, and generating of prejudices about race, religion, and gender .

• experience of ourselves as wounded, in the midst of death, excluded and impoverished, homeless, in the midst of violence and insecurity, sick and hungry (like the man left dying by the roadside), all as a result of violence, wars and terrorism; of the concentration of power and arbitrary injustice; of perverse economic systems and uncontrolled egoism.

In the mirror of the two icons we see our own face:

• Of ecclesiastical institutions (the priest, the levite, the Temple) far from the poor and from the sorrows of humanity;

• Of a spouse prostituted by alliances of convenience (our idolatries).

We are in a transition time, marked by

• Great advances in science and technology, still incapable of resolving the great problems of humanity;

• Powerful means of communication that sometimes "colonize the spirit";

• Globalization that makes us interdependent at the same time as it undermines particular identities;

• Kairos moments in which we are surprised and realize that the God who speaks is the Lord of history;

• A thirst for and crisis of meaning that holds out to us a thousand proposals and promises

We examine and understand this time with the Gospel criterion these two icons offer, challenging us to interpret through:

• The thirst for meaning;

• The sorrow of humanity;

• Passion for Jesus Christ, mediator of our Covenant with God; .Compassion called forth by the sorrows and needs of humanity.

This Gospel criterion leads us to discover the ambiguities, the limitations, the fragility, and the influences of evil in our world and in ourselves. At the same time, the Gospel criterion helps us see that passion and compassion are movements of the Spirit that give meaning to our mission, that animate our spirituality, and that impart quality to our community life.

b) In the Church

We seek our place in the Church, the People of God, home and school of communion (cf. NMI,43).

• It is not easy to re-situate ourselves within the Church as men and women, as brothers, sisters, and ordained.

• We thirst for a new level of "mutual relations," with our pastors, with other groups and movements in the Church, animated by equality , sisterhood and brotherhood, and a greater mutual trust and openness to one another .

We affirm that we are a gift for the whole Church (Vita Consecrata,1):

• We give thanks to God for this, and we desire to move forward in a spirit of renewal and generosity;

• We recognize that our different charisms and ecclesial ministries are a great gift for us;

• We see that in the mutual sharing of gifts the Body of Christ will recover its vigour (cf. 1 Cor 12:12-31).

We understand that "consecrated life" must reach out beyond the boundaries of our institutes, of our Catholic faith, of our Christian faith. For this reason, we:

• Support ecumenism and dialogue between consecrated life and other religions;

• Support solidarity with other groups who struggle for human dignity , peace, justice, and ecology;

• Join with those lay sisters and brothers who share our charisms, in such away that we identify ourselves not as an Order or Congregation, but as Family, sharing life and mission.

2. "To Be Born Anew"

For some time now something new has been coming into being among us beyond other realities of death (obsolete traditions and styles, dying institutions). The agony of what is dying and trust in what is being born affects us. 

Although we do not yet see clearly what the Spirit is bringing to birth in consecrated life, still we identify as sprouts of newness:

• The desire to be born anew - fulfilling the implications of the Incarnation (cf. NMI, 52) and entreating the Spirit for the grace of re-founding;

• The fascination exerted over consecrated life today by the per- son of Jesus who showed forth the fullness of the beauty and love of God from the cross (cf. VC, 24), and by his Gospel;

• The centrality of lectio divina in which we proclaim, meditate on, share, and pray in obedience to the Word of God;

• The fundamental importance of our mission realized in accord with our particular and shared charisms, a mission that excites our imagination and impels us to undertake bold and prophetic new initiatives; to go beyond our frontiers to proclaim Jesus Christ through inculturation, inter-religious and inter-confessional dialogue; to express our option for the lowly and excluded ones in society; to explore new means of communication: a mission and an option for the poor (poverty).

• The search for communion and community , based on deep and inclusive relationships; the progressive extension of community living to the parish, diocese, and city, to society and to humanity (celibacy and communion);

• The need for a new spirituality that integrates the spiritual and the corporal, the feminine and the masculine, the personal and the communal, the natural and the cultural, the temporal and the eschatological, and is with us in all our living and doing;

• The transition from a consecrated life that separates us from the world to a consecrated life that is incarnate and a witness to transcendence.

II. IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE SAMARITAN WOMAN AND THE GOOD SAMARITAN: FOLLOWING AND LEARNING

If you knew the gift of God (Jn. 4:10).

I am standing at the door knocking (Rev. 3: 20).

The desire to respond to the signs of the times and places where we serve led us to describe consecrated life as a "passion" - for Christ and for humanity .This spiritual state is more a point of departure than a mere passing sentiment. It is, above all, a pathway to growing passion.

Jesus tells us "I am the Way" (Jn. 14:6):

• He loved us and gave himself for us. His passion precedes our passion. His passionate love for his Abba translated into passion for humanity;

• Moved by divine compassion, he took on our thirst, our wounds; he loved us without distinction, even to being our Good Samaritan and our Spouse who holds out to us the cup of the new Covenant: his blood poured forth, his body immolated;

• From the Cross, Jesus "draws all people to himself" (Jn. 12:32) and we have experienced this attraction;

• Along this way of following the Master; .We are always drawn more strongly;

• We are formed more and more in Jesus' image and likeness;

• We are introduced little by little, like the Samaritan woman, to the mystery of Jesus' mission;

• We learn, like the Good Samaritan, to transform our passion into deeds of compassion;

• Our ambiguities and infidelities with respect to power, possession, and sexuality are redeemed;

• The Spirit counsels us interiorly and strengthens us for the struggle (Rev. 2:3).

In the school of following,

• The Samaritan woman and the good Samaritan become for us a mystagogy of contemplation and of commitment to contemplative mercy;

• In the two, we harmonize contemplation and action: the Samaritan woman encounters Jesus and goes to proclaim him; the Good Samaritan discovers the face of God in that of his neighbour who suffers and reaches out to help him.

III. "DO LIKEWISE AND YOU SHALL LIVE: " TOWARD A NEW PRAXIS

1. Seven Contemporary Virtues

The following of Jesus, which we intend to realize through consecrated life in our time, calls forth in us certain attitudes to which we have given the symbolic title of "seven contemporary virtues." We have drawn them from the rich group reports, conscious that we may have omitted some. They enable us -as the Pope has suggested - to quench thirst, to heal wounds, to be the healing balm on open wounds, to respond to the longings of our brothers and sisters for joy, for love, for liberty , and for peace (cf.  John Paul II, Message to the Congress, n. 3). With these, we assume the new face of consecrated life as the "sacrament and parable of the Reign of God."

• Depth: Gospel discernment and authenticity;

• Hospitality and gratitude;

• Non-violence and meekness;

• Liberty of spirit;

• Boldness and creativity;

• Tolerance and dialogue;

• Simplicity: valuing the resources of the poor and despised.

2. Convictions: For Deciding to Go Forward

The themes of the study groups dealt with 15 areas which might be considered a "monitoring system" of the signs of vitality and obstacles that consecrated life experiences today. From the syntheses presented to the Assembly and given to the participants emerge convictions and lines of action. Let us begin with the convictions:

1. A structural transformation of our life and our works is needed. There is a need for simpler structures and more open and accepting communities in order to globalize a" compassionate" solidarity and a network of justice at the service of a culture of peace, so that the poor may be listened to.  

2. Dialogue with cultures is an important part of the mission of consecrated life. There are many signs of vitality of consecrated life in the world, through which it continues to have meaning: the growth of multicultural, international congregations; during initial formation the accent is put on the culture of origin; the Congress itself is a sign of openness and sharing. Obstacles to inculturation exist, among which are the difficulty of expressing the affective element in the worship and in the various expressions of faith.

3. The poor, cultures and religions are the object of a triple dialogue that consecrated life has to conduct. In many contexts Christianity is perceived as extraneous, as an imported religion. The very fragility of our faith, our wounds, the spirit of domination are obstacles to the dialogue; as also is the fundamentalism diffused in so many cultural and religious areas. Dialogue has to become a choice, a lifestyle. Our communities have to be places of reconciliation and pardon.

4. Art and beauty are icons for all cultures; artists help the communities of consecrated life fight against a consumerist mentality, create beautiful spaces for prayer, find new symbols to tell new stories to the hearts of the men and the women who listen. This communication of beauty will give birth to joy and life in the midst of violence and death.

5. We need to change our mentality towards communication and to know how to take a risk, both within the Church, where we are often divided or criticized or too clerical, and outside the Church, in our relations with the world and the media. We have to prepare men and women religious experts in this field, to encourage those who work in it to collaborate with each other to provide resources and to work in close contact with competent lay persons. It is necessary to interact with the mass media in a creative way, ready to respond and not to run away from it. We have to have the courage to show ourselves as we really are, with our values and our weaknesses, and to speak a language that people of today can understand.

6. We must dare to launch some projects in our lives to give primacy to the Word of God; to review, from the viewpoint of the poor, our lifestyle and our works, and to learn how to live provisionally; to promote the presence of the consecrated life in world forums and in the decision-making organizations such as the United Nations, where the future of humanity is decided; to be present where life is most threatened.

7. Consecrated celibacy brings one into a deeper relationship with Christ and helps to share the love of others. Celibacy for us is a free choice, it is our call, it is for us a healthy and balanced way of living our sexuality .Today we feel more at home with our bodies, with our feelings, and with our emotions. We believe, as the old Nicodemus did, that we were born again. The choice of our chastity is mostly resplendent when we make visible that ours is a journey towards the Reign of God.

8. We have to make the Bible our life's companion and to embody it in our ministry. To reach authentic community discernment it is necessary to base our journey in the Word, giving it more space in our daily life; lectio divina has to become the element of transformation of our style of life.

9. Speaking about the thirst for God we noticed that we touched a fascinating topic. Our experience of God is that of an incarnate God. To make this experience dynamic it is necessary to modify our interior structures and begin again from an intimate and radical love for Christ. It is necessary to have a human, personalized formation, a critical style of thought, a formation for dialogue, all of which leads to a personal change in looking at the world and life in a spirit of faith. We need as well to learn how to share the experience of faith.

10. Ongoing formation means above all an active and intelligent disposition of a spiritual person to learn from life throughout all of life. Ongoing formation involves different levels: the individual, the institution, etc., ordinary and extraordinary experiences. Ongoing formation must be organized around a model of integration, and have as its point of reference the paschal experience of the Easter Triduum - life, death, resurrection. Formation directors and communities are needed that are able to accompany persons in moments of crisis.

11. We are witnesses of increasing pluralism, which is an irreversible process. It is necessary that our structures be built on solid values which prepare us to live the mission. Updating and adaptation of structures must be seen as a continuous process of change. We have to promote a spirituality of communion to intensify the efforts of inter-congregational collaboration. We need to ask for changes in Canon Law, in order to arrive at real equality in Institutes with clerical and non-clerical members.

12. Young people, in particular, thirst for community life as an expression of mission and as a place for sharing faith and relationships. Some religious today live in community as if they were in a hotel. Our present structures of government reflect times when there were many more members living in community. They are not suitable for today's situation. Every institute has to keep developing means of ongoing formation so that community life is more human and meaningful. The community has to be open and hospitable.

13. Laypersons help us discover that our charisms are gifts for all Christians, for the Church and for the world. In spite of our difficulties and the aging of our members, the Spirit makes us productive. It is necessary to develop the ecclesiology of communion and the theological foundation of relationships between religious and laypersons in order to intensify common formation, religious and lay; to favour a shared mission and bond with the local church; and to have flexible structures to share experiences among congregations.

14. The unity of our congregations comes without doubt from a common vision, but it is sustained by a network of relationships that create unity and break down barriers. There is still a great deal of road to travel so that women may really assume their role in society and in the Church. To lead a group to a shared decision is a difficult art: superiors need to be witnesses to enthusiasm if they want to sustain the passion of the members. If love and creativity cooperate, our journey will be stimulating.

15. Consecrated life gives catholicity and openness to universality to the local church; we contribute to opening the horizons of the Church. Twenty-five years after the proclamation of Mutuae relationes, we must continue the dialogue at all levels in the Church; work harder to harmonize the activities and plans of the Congregation and those of the Diocese; it is important to be trained for dialogue with laypersons, men and women religious, and diocesan clergy; consecrated life has to be an experience of communion. This implies a strong call to community life.

3. Lines of Action

During the Congress we reflected at length on the situation of consecrated life in different parts of the world. The working groups identified action steps to confront contemporary challenges. We refer you to the reports which were presented. The richness and detail of the various proposals may be found in these reports.

This gathering of men and women religious from all parts of the world, from different cultures with different languages, to dialogue, debate and plan together concerning the present and future of our life and mission, is an unprecedented event. For this reason, the perspectives offered here and actions proposed have an extraordinary value.

We hope that this Congress, not only its discernment but also its methodology, may give us a fresh point of common departure in the beautiful adventure of following Jesus in our times.

IV. WHERE THE SPIRIT LEADS

Let everyone who is thirsty come.

Let anyone who wishes take the gift of life-giving water: (Rev. 22: 17)

At the conclusion of the Congress we can proclaim that the Spirit has comforted us and opened up new horizons to us. Though the Spirit is as invisible as the wind and we know not where the wind comes from or where it goes (cf. Jn 3:8), we have listened to the murmur of the Spirit's voice in the signs of our times and places and have sought to discern its meaning with a shared and prayerful faith.

Like Mary and Joseph, her spouse, we have understood that to follow Jesus we must live open to God and near to the needs of our neighbour, always ready to respond to the God of surprises whose ways and thoughts are not ours (cf. Is 55:8-9).

The celebration of the Congress has ended but its implications and demands continue. They begin now. The responsibility is ours - UISG, USG, national conferences of religious, communities and consecrated persons - to translate the Congress implications into attitudes, initiatives, decisions and projects. The way of understanding and living Religious Life that bore fruit so abundantly in the past is yielding to another way more in accord with what the Spirit asks of us. "We have a glorious history to remember and to recount, but also a great history still to be accomplished! Let us look to the future, where the Spirit is sending us in order to do even greater things!” (VC, 110).

Perhaps more than ever before in history we are experiencing our poverty and limitations. In the midst of these the voice of the Lord resounds: fear not, I am with you! This certitude renews our hope and trust in the goodness and fidelity of the I/God of hope who fills us with all joy and peace in believing, so that we may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom 15:13). God is our hope, and I/hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5).