UISG Bulletin 180/2023

WALKING TOGETHER

TOWARDS A REGENERATED HUMANITY

Number 180 - 2023

PRESENTATION

With the reflections found in this number of the Bulletin, we have tried to seek  a new and shared way  towards a restored humanism. Walking on this path, the consecrated life can make a prophetic and relevant contribution.

The consecrated life is, in fact,  a call to bring into the world the mission of the Spirit which is constructing unity by reconciling diversity  through the patient search  for harmony which embraces all the dimensions of human life.

Being a mission on this earth inhabited by our brothers and sisters,  and regenerating humanism means cultivating a sense of belonging to the human family, growing in solidarity and in ethical responsibility,  and awakening the consciousness of belonging to a world  that is protected and safeguarded.

If the conviction that all human beings are brothers and sisters is not to remain an abstract idea but to find concrete embodiment, then numerous related issues emerge, forcing us to see things in a new light and to develop new responses. (Fratelli

tutti, 4,128)

… It is Your Face, O Lord, that I seek!

Remembering Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

Sr. Nadia Coppa, ASC

As consecrated women, we loved and supported the humble labourer in the Lord’s vineyard, welcoming his magisterium’s prophetic intuitions and allowing his teachings to challenge us. We will remember him for the humility and wisdom with which he accompanied the Church and those in religious life.

For a Grammar of the Human Dimension in Consecrated Life

Fr. Carlos del Valle, SVD

God incarnate, God humanized. Our God is Jesus, a poor, weak man, who knows fear, temptation, pain, rejection, joy, friendship. It is difficult to recognize the Son of God in a poor human being. If we say that God became human, we are saying that we find God in humanity. Faith is not possible if it does not produce humanity. Our life would not make sense in any other way. Being consumers of spirituality, spectators of life, leads us to live a vacuum-packed story, apart from the story of other people. Conversely, being aware of everything that happens connects us with the depth of everyday life. We ask for great signs from an illusory God, and we do not see the poor signs offered to us by the real God, who is always the leaven of humanization.

Walking together towards a regenerated humanity

Where do we place ourselves? Religious on the peripheries – physical, spiritual, and existential

Sr. Juliet Mousseau, RSCJ

Beyond those marginalized by physical need, anyone who is seen as less than human because they are “other” needs the light of Christ. To create a “culture of encounter” means widening our circles to include those who think and worship differently, those who disagree with us, and even those who seem unlikeable. A culture of encounter is not a place of proselytizing, but rather one of seeking out greater understanding and recognizing the humanity in the other person who seems so different.

Deep Incarnation as a Radical Call: Ecology, Consecrated Life and Love

Sr. Ann-Maree O’Beirne, RSM

If we, as women religious, aspire to be in communion with God, can we accept and promote communion with the whole of creation? Francis recognises that when our embrace is that broad and deep, we begin to feel the pain and suffering of all creation—the entire Earth community— within our very beings. The call is to expand our understanding of communion with God, the Incarnation of Christ, and our relationships as vowed women, to embrace this comprehensive communion and allow ourselves to feel compassionately the pain and suffering of Earth and Earth’s poor and seek appropriate and effective responses. Contemplating a theology of deep incarnation can assist our reflection as women religious and the radical call it invites us to engage.

The sense of being. Cultivating Hope to Regenerate Humanity

Marcella Serafini

Human nature was conceived, in God’s eternal mind, as the noblest to realize the supreme purpose of creation. The Son of God assumed it in its entirety, without any modification or improvement; in so doing, God showed that He fully loved and approved of it. Since it was assumed by the Son of God, human nature will be glorified in every individual.

Women’s ministry of the Word and Synodality in Luke’s writings

María Concepción Tzintzún Cruz, FMVD

The prophetic word of Jesus constantly interprets the events of history, even the cruellest sufferings of men and women that parallel his own passion, recognizing them as being assumed in the Father’s plans that prevail beyond the vicissitudes of history. The characteristically female capacity for the gestation and nurturing of children finds an exalted recognition as the necessary path for the disciples of Jesus, whose whole being is involved in listening to and keeping the Word of God, the same Word that they proclaim to the ends of the earth.

Sisters for the Environment: integrating Voices from the Margins Statement

The publication of this statement aims to create a platform to outline principles and orientations fora more sustainable future, based on the learnings that Catholic Sisters have acquired through their exceptional engagement with grassroots communities. As a pillar of UISG’s environmental advocacy, this statement will stimulate action that is decentralized and diversified through the involvement of religious and non-religious groups, men and women, younger and older people, governmental agencies and intergovernmental bodies, international organizations and private companies.

We call on the global development community to engage with Catholic Sisters in promoting and realizing integral environmental solutions, to ensure a safe and thriving future for all people and our planet.

… IT IS YOUR FACE, O LORD, THAT I SEEK! REMEMBERING POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT XVI

Sr. Nadia Coppa is the Superior General of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ since 2017.

She graduated in Psychopedagogy from the Faculty of Education at the University of Florence, earned two master’s degrees: in psychomotricity and pathological addictions, as well as an additional degree in Religious Sciences. She has worked as an educator in the field of rehabilitation for drug and alcohol addicts in Pisa, as a psychopedagogist and helping abused women, in Livorno. She has also been a human and spiritual trainer for lay people and she has practised counselling for women in need. She was elected President of the UISG on 10 May 2022.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s paschal passing has affected us profoundly. It constitutes an important moment in the life of the Church: one that has left us feeling sincerely moved and deeply grateful. We have honoured our Pope Emeritus and marvelled at both his moral stature and the gratitude that has spontaneously arisen in those who found spiritual nourishment in his words. A choral ‘Thank you’ has burst forth from the heart of the Church.

In various circumstances, the Holy Father stated that life is not something that comes full circle but is, rather, a journey that leads to an encounter, a fullness of being. We thank the Lord for the clarity of his faith, for the gift of his thinking and for the simplicity in which he always lived and with which he communicated the depths of God’s mystery.

As consecrated women, we loved and supported the humble labourer in the Lord’s vineyard, welcoming his magisterium’s prophetic intuitions and allowing his teachings to challenge us. We will remember him for the humility and wisdom with which he accompanied the Church and those in religious life.

Retracing the years of his pontificate, it is clear that Pope Benedict sought to bring consecrated life back to its original core: the form of life that Christ chose. “Belonging to the Lord,” he said to the Superiors General gathered together at the audience held on 22 May 2006, “means to be on fire with his incandescent love, to be transformed by the

Sr. Nadia Coppa, ASC, UISG President

splendour of his beauty:  our littleness is offered to him as a sacrifice of sweet fragrance so that it becomes a witness of the greatness of his presence for our epoch, which has great need to be inebriated by the richness of his grace”.

His magisterium was not lacking in clear, incisive words about the consecrated life as a “powerful” testimony to and expression of the reciprocal seeking of God and man, attracted to each other in Love. “The very fact of being consecrated,” Benedict XVI states, “makes the consecrated person, as it were, a ‘bridge’ to God for all who encounter him or her, a reminder, a reference point. And this is all by virtue of the mediation of Jesus Christ, the Consecrated One of the Father. He is the foundation! He who shared our weaknesses so that we might participate in his divine nature” (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, 2 February 2010). Powerful words, these! Ones that we have taken to heart, recognizing that building one’s house on rock, on Christ and with Christ, means building on a foundation called crucified Love.

We remember him for his steadfast, vigorous request to put the Word of God at the centre of our spiritual lives in order to rediscover the gift of light that Sacred Scripture (especially the Gospels) offers to our lives, our hearts and the renewal of consecrated life. “The Word of God is Christ Himself, Who is and must be at the heart/centre* of the Church and its religious life.” Particularly striking is his Christocentric testimony which found expression in his simple, direct proclamation and his clear, consistent way of working. For Benedict XVI, discipleship is to respond in love to Jesus Christ by living a personal friendship with Him and inwardly renewing one’s decision to turn to Him by constantly immersing one’s heart in Easter, through which life acquires its fullness.

Listening to Benedict XVI, one naturally rediscovers a passion for listening prayerfully to the Word, who speaks to us in our present situation and shapes our hearts, making our daily lives a sacred space in which the Mystery becomes incarnate. Only an unconditional welcoming of the Word can generate novelty and bring about transformations. The path outlined by Benedict XVI consists in listening assiduously to the Word - because every kind

of wisdom is born of the Word of the Lord - and being able to scrutinize it with sapiential love. This fruitful dynamism of the Spirit then leads us to an authentic encounter with humankind because “seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave” (Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 18).

Consecrated life is a plant with many branches: one that is rooted in a daily experience of the Gospel as the element that provides beauty and presents every person to the world as a reliable alternative. This is what today’s society needs. This is what the Church expects: to be a living Gospel.

Benedict’s spiritual legacy is his call to belong to Christ and to keep the flame of love always burning in one’s heart, continually fed by the richness of faith, not only when this brings with it interior joy but also when it is joined to difficulty, aridity and suffering.

As a theologian and truth-lover, Benedict opened a most profound reflection on two very important themes: truth and love. These are not terms that contradict one another. Rather, they demand and fuel each other, since “without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way” (Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate).

Aware that Church doctrine only reaches the heart of every person if it leads to love, he conceived of and lived his pontificate as a service of love or a ‘presidency of love’. This humble, simple model of governance has encouraged us, too, to conceive of authority as a generative form of service by seeking to “let unifying love be [our] measure; abiding love [our] challenge; self-giving love [our] mission!” (c.f. Vigil with the Young People, Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI, 19 July 2008).

We are aware of the appreciation that Benedict XVI showed for consecrated men and women and his encouragement “to be witnesses of the transfiguring presence of God in a

“The women had had an experience of a special bond with the Lord, which was fundamental for the practical life of the Christian community, and this is always the case in every epoch and not only when the Church was taking her first steps”

world that is evermore disoriented and confused” still reaches us today as a prophetic call. He has invited us “to look at our time with the gaze of faith so as to be able to look at men and women, the world and history in the light of the Crucified and Risen Christ, the only One able to direct men and women […]” (Address to Superiors General of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, 22 May 2006).

Again, he states,“[…] the consecrated life is important precisely because it is a sign of unbounded generosity and love, and this all the more so in a world that risks being suffocated in the vortex of the ephemeral and the useful (cf. Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata, n. 105). Instead, the consecrated life witnesses to the superabundance of love that is an incentive to “lose” one’s life in response to the superabundance of the love of the Lord who first “lost” his life for us.”

Caring and attentive, he had words of hope and profound respect for consecrated people, particularly those who were living in situations of greater fragility, reminding them that “[Not one] is useless, for the Lord associates [each one] with his “throne of grace”. On the contrary, they are a precious gift for the Church and the world that is thirsting for God and for his word” (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, 2 February 2010).

With great clarity, he has challenged us to fight against the secularized culture that has penetrated the mind and heart of not a few consecrated persons, inviting us to overcome the relativism that impoverishes faith and the quest for God by pushing us to live lives of mediocrity.

“The Lord wants men and women who are free, not bound, able to give up everything to follow him and to find in him alone their very all. Courageous choices must be made, both at the personal and communal levels, which give a new discipline to the life of consecrated persons and bring them to rediscover the all-encompassing dimension of the sequela Christi.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Address, 22 May 2006).

He has encouraged us to be credible and luminous signs in the world: to be the fire of the Gospel and its paradoxes, without conforming to the mentality of this world but, rather, continually transforming and renewing our commitment, so as to be able to discern God’s will, what is good, acceptable and perfect to him (c.f. Rm 12: 2).

Pope Benedict XVI always recognized the special role of women in the life of the Church and gave them a crucial part to play: “[…] given the distinctive influence of women in society, they must be encouraged to embrace the opportunity to uphold the dignity of life through their involvement in education and their participation in political and civic life. […] The genius of women to mobilize and organize endows them with the skills and motivation to develop ever-expanding networks for sharing experiences and generating new ideas.” (Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI to Participants in the International Conference on the theme: “Life, Family and Development: The Role of Women in the Promotion of Human Rights”, 20 March 2009)

“[…] the women had had an experience of a special bond with the Lord, which was fundamental for the practical life of the Christian community, and this is always the case in every epoch and not only when the Church was taking her first steps” (Pope Benedict XVI, Regina Coeli, 9 April 2012).

Benedict XVI had a truly heartfelt need to cultivate the Church’s dialogue with art, insofar as art is a world of beauty. Above all, he spared no effort to bring the beauty of the faith itself to light so as to ensure that the faith was not simply talked about but actually celebrated. He devoted himself to seeing that the liturgy was harmonious, since it is the celebration of the presence and work of the living God and because it is intended to lead us to and into the divine mystery.

Full of profound reflections that constitute a vast legacy of wisdom and faith, Benedict XVI’s journey will remain in the heart and history of the Church. His thinking will continue to illumine the path of all those who found in him a light that brightens the world’s darkness. His magisterium will, of course, remain: his three encyclicals (Deus Caritas Est, Spe Salvi and Caritas in veritate), the beauty and depth of his reflections and his catechesis during the general audiences. He leaves us a marvellous spiritual and ecclesial fatherhood, a heritage that marked the twentieth century and the first steps taken in the new Millennium.

The Holy Father leaves in our hearts a deep desire for prayer as the soul’s breath and nourishment and an oasis of peace from which we can draw the water that sustains the spiritual life and transforms existence. He triggers nostalgia for God in us, the longing to seek Him and meet Him as He communicates Himself, makes Himself known and inflames us with His Spirit, making us jump for joy.

His witness as a man in love with God who sought his Lord is an invitation to cultivate the desire to constantly seek a Face: “Faciem tuam, Domine, requiram” (Ps. 27: 8). And to direct one’s own journeying – both in the small, everyday steps as well as in the more important decisions – towards completing this pilgrimage of the heart.

Dear Pope Emeritus, to you we express our profound and eternal gratitude.

Sr. Nadia Coppa, ASC

FOR A GRAMMAR OF THE HUMAN DIMENSION IN CONSECRATED LIFE

1. Learning to Live

Over the years, wine has turned sour. Sour wine produces sour faces, intolerant attitudes, teachers more than disciples, lords more than shepherds, princes more than servants, judges more than fascinated people, a more hierarchical structure than people of God. That is why the banquet hall has been emptied of table fellows, who only wish to live happily and enjoy the life that God gives them.

There are too many judges and a lack of friends of the soul. There are too many teachers and not enough disciples. Religious who have ideas, institutions, fears, not people in their hearts. Focused on the role, not on the mission, they turn the task into an office, becoming sacral functionaries, and even pragmatic functionaries, placed in life according to the sun that warms the most. People sitting in the chair of Moses, rusted by the system that no longer responds to humanizing requests for change. There are communities where consecration is lived as a status, as a separation from life in general, from the laity and the poor in particular. Religious Life is perceived as tired, unconcerned about being life, no matter how religious it may appear. Out of focus in the face of the profound transformations of history. Touched by the leprosy of dehumanization, it needs to feel the hand of the Healer of tenderness.

There is no shadow without light, and no light that does not cast a shadow. The testimony of many is lost because of the incoherence of some. Today, there is no time for what is unnecessary. “This is no time to deal with God about matters of little importance,” says Teresa of Avila. The relationship between the Church and the Gospel is fundamental.

Father Carlos del Valle is a Missionary of the Divine Word. He is Doctor in Moral Theology. Since 1983, he worked in Chili and was Editor of “Testimonio” magazine. In June 2013, he was appointed Rector of Saint Peter College in Rome.

Fr. Carlos del Valle, SVD

The Gospel is not theory, doctrine, religion; it is a way of life. It is the raison d’être of consecration, of men and women of faith, oriented towards the Mystery, called to transform life according to the heart of God, being wholeheartedly in each thing.

In youth, we learn, and in old age we understand. Growing old is like climbing a mountain: as you climb, your strength diminishes, but your vision is broader and more serene. People are interested in learning to live. Consecrated people are too. We do not focus on deepening what Consecrated Life is all about. We are interested in learning how to be a consecrated person here and now. Our life is declining not in the great principles, but in their incarnation. We are interested in knowing not only the ideals that inspire, but the level of incarnation of those ideals in our life.

In order to know a flower, a wound, a poor person, God… on our knees, by looking closely. What is useful for living is small: evangelical wisdom. It is not easy to understand life, people, power, aspirations, pain, and values. We do not need more ideas, theories, novelties. If the reader finds something new in these pages, I hope it is only energy in words, along with the vitality and stamp of life today. Words that help to guide our lives through human experiences and faith in Jesus Christ, as people with a well-defined identity and a well-nourished motivation. We need teachers of human life, with simple language that makes everything transparent. What is simple penetrates more deeply than what is complicated. In the reflection on Consecrated Life, we lack words that can unite the authenticity of those who pronounce them with the deep needs of those who receive them. Fruitful words, springing from the heart, which become energy which opens hearts and directs them towards wider horizons. Words that open pores of the skin, the windows of the soul. The best way to change minds is to touch hearts.

In Consecrated Life, there are good people who do good. Simple lives that mold other hearts for the human dimension. Being with them makes you feel that your life can be better. In these people, we see how Jesus appears in other words that reflect his, in other lives that touch ours, in other embraces that lift us up. Experience with the Word incarnate that always humanizes. These people, with their lifestyle, situate us in what Consecrated Life is. Where there is life lived as a gift, the incarnation of the Word appears. Weakness is not scary; mediocrity is. The light spirituality that fosters a faith of well-being and comfort. A corrosive conformism that obscures the gaze and desensitizes the heart in the face of human reality. Superficiality is the great sickness of the religious. Those who lack solid values end up in hedonism. In Consecrated Life, the objective is not to do something good, but to reach the best. We are threatened by the tragedy of not wanting to find the best way to overcome crises. Certainly, the best are still in the breach. No good doctor, no good teacher, no good bricklayer is in crisis in his sector. Pope Francis urges us to give form and visibility to an outgoing Consecrated Life, to a spirituality of encounter, to a diakonia of mercy and tenderness. It is a call to find, in religious, an organic response, not only emotional, transient, and sterile sentiments. We might take the Pope’s words as pious exhortations, not as a leaven that brings about change in life and mission.

2. Dedicated to Selling Superficialities?

A wounded bird cannot fly, nor can a bird clinging to a tree branch. The branches we cling to are our superficialities, which fill us with occupations and keep us from worrying about what is truly important. So, the risk is that the meaning of life will be sacrificed in alms that appease consciences. Even among consecrated people, many practices of prayer

Life that have become a space for what is useful, not simply a place for friendship. Prayers lived with the impatience of deserving God, not with the patience of welcoming Him. The branches do not direct their attention to the fruits, but to the union with the vine. It is not they who produce fruit, but the vine through them. A vital sense oriented more to the union with the vine than to ripening fruits. It is the vine that makes the fruits ripen. The branches are the vehicle that allows the vine’s strength to flow.

Every day we choose between living or surviving, autonomy or dependence, fulfillment or mediocrity. Holiness is a passion. It is something that gives us strength at the beginning of the day and motivation when the road goes uphill. Passion is the fuel that sets our potential into motion; it is a fire lit inside us. It will be a project, a name in the heart, a wound of others that we make our own, desires for the future, work lived as a vocation, a dignified life for the poor.

There are religious who leave a space in their lives for God; and the bigger, the better. It involves efforts to take time and space away from social life, from human relationships, from concern for alleviating needs, in order to dedicate it to the God, in the seclusion of the sacred space. Prayer time is sought to encounter God, instead of seeking time for prayer in order to savor and celebrate the encounter with God in the humanitarian mission. As if God did not get along well with humans. A lifestyle far removed from the incarnation, from the God who makes humanity his own. God lives where we let Him in. We are called to experience God, who passes through our daily agenda. We reach God through what is human. We interact with Him when we meet people and their problems: “What you did to one of the least of these my brethren, you did to me.” Holiness is not the sublime, but profoundly human. If God becomes human to save this world, is there any other way for us? Prayer does not come first, but life: joy, the feast of friendship, pain, hunger for bread and meaning. This is where supplication, admiration and praise are born.

The destiny of the lilies of the field is to transform the earth into beauty. The destiny of a human being is to become more human, to grow in sensitivity and tenderness. That awakens the best of the human being. We become more human by nourishing what is divine in us. There, we find the most authentic affirmation of ourselves. We cannot separate ourselves from love, nor from God. Loving and receiving love humanizes life. We are human when we feel that our hearts are torn with tenderness. Being human means accepting and celebrating the humanity of others.

Consecrated, seeker of God. By what paths? Destined to reproduce the image of his Son (Rom. 8:29). We become more divine by becoming more human. Some people are profoundly religious and profoundly inhuman. The important thing is not to be a good religious, but a good person. A good person, not because everything in his life goes well, but because he can face everything well. It is easier to be a hero than a good person. You are a hero once, in an extraordinary circumstance; a good person, always, in ordinary life. We live surrounded by what is ordinary, normal, not heroic. A consecrated person does ordinary things in an extraordinary way. This is the difference between great people and mediocre people. Let us return to daily life by taking refuge in the normality of our modest individual experiences.

You are worth your knowledge, skill, experience, your way of being. The difference between great and mediocre is in the way of being. We like people for how they are; someone kind, humble, sensitive, who cares about me, is interested in me, welcomes me,

helps me… is a good person. I love a good person. I admire someone who knows a lot or has a lot of experience. When we get discouraged, we lose the best thing we have: our way of being, our spirit. We go from being brilliant to mediocre. When we lose heart, we put less affection into what we live, less enthusiasm, less interest, less desire. We become mediocre. We lose the life of God, the presence of the Spirit in us. Life is a state of mind. It is our task to help others not to lose heart. Let us take responsibility for our state of mind. The difference between a positive person and a negative person is their state of mind. Think about every day, whether you can wake up with goals and go to bed with hope.

Pope Francis challenges us by putting the center of religion in what is human, not sacred because humanity is the incarnation of the sacred. The center is goodness, the suffering of the weak. The Pope follows Jesus, who lives another religion, another type of coexistence, the Kingdom of God. Jesus puts the center of religion in life, human

relationships, goodness, mercy (Beatitudes). To do this, he needs a profound experience of God in the power of prayer.

Speaking of the Kingdom means speaking of a humanized society. Where there is full humanity (goodness) there is beauty, joy, happiness. Perhaps when we speak of the Kingdom, we think of a good project of pastoral activity, without worrying about humanizing people, structures, institutions. Jesus liked to get up early and be alone with the Father; he preferred eating together with others; his heart went out to the lost; he was impatient with the Pharisees and their rigidities; he cared about people (D. Aleixandre). He is the image of the human being dreamed of by the heart of God.

To be credible, the word of God needs bodies, witnesses, martyrs, a place of incarnation. It needs our communities to breathe the Gospel, lived in prayer and fraternal encounter. Prayer is an encounter with God, with oneself, with life. From prayer, we draw the

prophetic spirit, the soul of the mission. We cannot live on action and results alone. We would become possessive and less capable of welcoming and sharing. We would be like firefighters who rush to put out a fire and, when they get there, discover that their tanks are empty.

To harmonize what we think, feel, and do, we need reflective prayer. A way of being present, attentive, and concentrated, here and now. Time of prayer is concentrated time, to be lived intensely, with all one’s heart. Without concentrated, our life is meaningless. We can discover the meaning of what we do when it is lived in depth. Awareness of each moment connects us with reality and makes us present in living the present. Entering into one’s inner self implies growing in humanity, in sensitivity towards deep values. Prayer is a steppingstone to what is profoundly human. In order to avoid falling into superficialities, we are not satisfied with just opening doors and going outside; we also open windows and let God’s air enter from outside.

We fall into superficialities when our prayer life is reduced to vocal prayers, and thus turns us into men/women of prayers, rather than of prayer. Fostering practices of piety is like watering plastic flowers in the garden of one’s own existence. We must not confuse faith with piety, religious sentiment, moral perfection. The aim is not to become more pious, more fervent, more perfect, but stronger believers. It means finding in faith the source of meaning, the foundation of our life and mission. Being a man or woman of God, not only because one prays, but because one thinks, speaks, and acts from the heart of God.

If the practices of piety do not come from a deep personal prayer, they can remain a body without a soul. Hence, an affective void that must be filled with other loves, for people or things. This is an affective void that leads us to need others to recognize us, to approve of what we do, to listen to our complaints, to remind us of how much we are worth, and

The authentically religious gestures are not those of worship, but those of care. This is shown by the consecrated life inserted in human spaces: hospitals, schools, orphanages, places of hospitality, insertion among the poor.

Life how great we are. In prayerful reflection, Jesus trains our desires, feelings, and affections, until we come to feel and desire in accord with the desires of his heart. “Have the same sentiments as Jesus” (Phil 2:5), his sensitivity and desire to be in tune with the Father. The more our attunement with God grows, the more our heart expands to embrace all that is human.

Praying does not consist in seeking a state of mind; it is an act of faith. We pray not only to think about God, or to feel God (emotions), but to love God, the human God shown by Jesus. We need vitamins to nourish our spirit, not just condiments that satisfy our palate. Prayer is life’s Tabor, the mount of our transfiguration. Living implies changing. Holiness is the result of many transformations. Contemplating the Word transforms thoughts, attitudes, motivations, emotions, into the sentiments of Jesus, the desires of God. Prayer changes the heart. The habit of praying leads us to live not from and for ourselves, but from God and our brothers and sisters, with them, and for them. It puts us in tune with God’s gaze: “And God saw that everything was good.” Looking at others and seeing them as good means being pure of heart.

When Teresa of Calcutta saw a poor person, she felt an impulse of goodness that pushed her to help him. This leads to a habit that becomes a way of life. Motivated by prayer, which brings us to see Jesus in the poor. If we do not live with the poor, it is difficult to change. Mother Teresa had to leave behind the security of the convent. We are women or men of God not only because we pray, but because we think, speak, act from the humanity of God. We will be in tune with the Kingdom. In the Gospel, we see that wherever Jesus arrived, the Kingdom arrived. This is our task: multiplying human experiences that incarnate the arrival of the Kingdom in our arrival.

3. God’s Heartbeat in the Heart of the World

Finding the treasure is not yet owning it. If we have discovered it, let us not fall into the naivety of believing that we possess it. Our treasure is to be in tune with the heart of God by discovering it in the heart of the world. Treasures worth having are often hidden in the hearts of others. Let us go through the world with open eyes. We can discover the seeds of humanized life in every human being or event and repeat with Jacob: “The Lord was there, and I did not know it” (Gen 28:16). One does not live by big ideas, but by concrete experiences.

It is not that the world shows us God; it is the sensitivity of our faith that discovers God in the world. Looking at life, events, people with believing eyes leads us to unearth the hidden Gospel. Let us not worry so much about evangelizing, but about grasping what is human, what is evangelical, and unveiling it. Even the poorest – especially the poor – have their hidden treasure. Our mission is to fill society with the Gospel, unveiling it where it is hidden. The parables of the Gospel not only communicate mysterious things in simple language; they also lead us to recognize in simple things the mystery, the depth that is revealed. The parables are attentive to everyday life; they underline the normality of the Father’s presence. If we paid attention to everyday things, we would be touched by God’s daily presence.

Feeling one’s own fragility is a sure path to sanctification and human growth. An oyster without wounds does not produce pearls. Pain connects us with life; it can also make us the center of our little world. Illness is a school of humanization. We learn to be more tolerant, more understanding, more compassionate. When we stop to look at a suffering

person, we feel awe; our sensitivity is awakened; our passion for life is kindled. That passion awakens our capacity to love… The gaze, awe, sensitivity, passion for life, capacity to love. God does not bring us truths, but passion for the human being. If I spend an hour in front of someone else’s wound, I can know God’s heart of better than by reading books and discovering the meaning of words. With the experience that living means giving life.

Reality, first, is not to be transformed but recognized, enjoyed, gratefully received. I now live with 180 young priests, in an atmosphere of study. For me, this house is not only a place of work and formation, but also of sensitivity, emotion, and desires, of experiences of joy, affection, and faith. A look of faith leads to encounters with people, facts, routines… a life full of charm. We are invited to discover and savor charm in the minute details of daily life. All that is human carries within it the yeast of humanity that leavens all that exists.

Those who, like Joseph, know how to dream, listen, protect, and care, fertilize the world. Those who can look at the past only to forgive or give thanks, at the present, with joy and enthusiasm, and at the future, with hope and optimism. People who have chosen to live according to the essentials: faith that trusts, love that welcomes, hope that builds. Human beings who carry others’ lives, the pain, and the wounds, who love without counting their fatigue and fears. With details of living, with one’s heart on earth and dreams in heaven. Our life is more or less valuable depending on the extent to which we give to others what they do not have. We are human when we care for lives. If we do not see people, their needs and tears, it is because we have sclerocardia, a hardened heart – which is, for Jesus, the worst disease. It produces functionaries, rule bureaucrats, illiterates of the heart.

Caring is active concern, the practical mode of Christian love. A mother becomes the Kingdom of God when she cares for herself, for others, for the world. The authentically religious gestures are not those of worship, but those of care. This is shown by the consecrated life inserted in human spaces: hospitals, schools, orphanages, places of hospitality, insertion among the poor. In the parable of the Samaritan, love as care is related to sending in mission: “Go and do likewise.” This parable invites us to relate in other keys; recognizing care as a seed in the heart, inclusiveness, and the gratuity of the love that cares.

Jesus shows the most human way of living. In him, God indicates how to be a being human. For Jesus, the poor are happy not the rich, the giver not the hoarder, the persecuted not the persecutor, the peaceful not the strongest. He invites us to discover in a little bread and wine, blessed and shared, the sign of what your life should be: the Gospel, which is contagious through dedication and service. Religion focuses on reaching the other life; the Gospel, on humanizing this life. I have come that they may have life. Jesus has three concerns: health, shared food, and human relationships that make us good.

God incarnate, God humanized. Our God is Jesus, a poor, weak man, who knows fear, temptation, pain, rejection, joy, friendship. It is difficult to recognize the Son of God in a poor human being. If we say that God became human, we are saying that we find God in humanity. Faith is not possible if it does not produce humanity. Our life would not make sense in any other way. Being consumers of spirituality, spectators of life, leads us to live a vacuum-packed story, apart from the story of other people. Conversely, being aware of everything that happens connects us with the depth of everyday life. We ask for great signs from an illusory God, and we do not see the poor signs offered to us by the real God, who is always the leaven of humanization.

4. The Simple Spread Humanity

The experience of encounter is humanizing. It is a lamp that always shines when everything else goes out. We are the image of the God of encounters. At meals, Jesus denounces the classism that always separates and marginalizes, without allowing the encounter. The Gospel reminds us that Jesus placed himself “in their midst.” Not on high, as superior. Not on the sideline, as if judging them. In the midst, on the same level, in fraternity, in parity of relationship. Believing to be close to God while looking down on others means denying that Christ became incarnate. Christ is not what I

say about him, but what I live of

him.

“The Word became flesh” … proof that detects traces of spiritualism that we carry in our blood. In life, there are three cursed verbs: ascend, own, command. Jesus opposes three blessed ones: descend, give, serve. He links service and power. There is a contrast between Almighty God and Jesus at the feet of the disciples. The Master eliminates the contrast:

Power is exercised in love that serves. Inclined, with towel, he says: “Do ye likewise.” Are we Jesus’ followers, or does it seem that we are?

Today, Jesus continues seducing because he rejects the logic of power. Hierarchies, easily infected with the worldly spirit, pass from brother serving brother to dominion of one over the other. Concern for prestige replaces service. Clothed with a divine halo, they avoid having their power questioned and can continue to enjoy the scent of privilege. This is typical of clericalism, with a worldly spirit. The Gospel reminds us: “Be in the world without being of the world.” This means passing from an authority that reinforces itself by using people, to an authority at the service of people. It implies the passage from having power to empowering, without covering defects with the language of the virtues. A messenger has authority when he identifies himself with the message. It is not necessary to be a clergyman to be clerical, with attitudes of segregation, above

others. Clericalism lives in this aristocracy. It leads to an aristocratic way of life: to being beyond the people of God. The people place us in our true identity as human beings and Christians. For, the core of our identity is in what brings us closer to others, in what is human, Christian, not in what differentiates us from them. The people of God place us in the Church. The clerical religious is not inserted. Jesus emptied himself, lowered himself, to insert himself into the people. Clericalism endorses an elite that does not recognize itself in the people. This is the reason for the perverse management of power.

For Jesus, serving is the only way to relate to one another in equality and respect. “And you are all brothers” (Mt 23:8). This implies coming down from the pedestal to become a people. Following Jesus means replacing the pyramid with a circle. Being consecrated, experts in communion. We come together to build fraternity; we are not a pious group or a group for apostolic action. Our life makes sense to the extent in which we are beings of

communion, encounter, with hands joined and shared projects. Being a brother comes first. We share this gift in the community and give in the mission. The incarnation gives meaning to everything in our life; the outgoing mission for fraternity. Fraternity in service to the poor. There is more human dignity in love and service than in power and distance. If this is difficult to live, it is because the heart is not yet evangelized.

The scene of the anointing in Bethany (Lk 7:36-50): The center should be Simon, the pious host, with power. Yet, the woman occupies it. Jesus makes the least into the protagonists (Jesus had no enemies among the women). Simon believes he is a creditor before God, not a debtor. He does not show gratitude. The woman needs to be welcomed by this man of God. Joy makes her show tenderness. Simon’s error in his judging glance. In one sentence (v. 39) he voices two judgments: Jesus is a false prophet; the woman, who is repudiated, designated by her sin. The Pharisee looks at sin, with a violent glance of

The experience of encounter is humanizing. It is a lamp that always shines when everything else goes out. We are the image of the God of encounters.

Life rejection. Jesus looks, with a welcoming and loving look, at weakness, suffering, needs. For Simon, looking and judging are the same thing. For Jesus, looking and loving are the same thing. He is on the side of the woman who loves much. Love humanizes a person.

Jesus is on the side of the least out of love for life. For God, what is authentic counts, putting your heart into what you do, like the widow who gives what she has in order to live. An act done with all one’s heart brings one closer to God. It is not money that decides the value of things, but the humanity put into them. Money, like drugs, does not bring happiness, but creates addiction. The Gospel does not only lead me to ask: what do I do with my money; more fundamentally, what does my money do with me, does it make me more human?

The poor are faceless protagonists of tragedies that are almost always avoidable. And those of us who are consecrated tend to be spectators rather than actors. If the rich seek more wealth, the poor prefer a little love, a house, company, a detail of closeness. Approaching poor people allows us to discover God’s humanity. They are his image. Before solving problems, we can enjoy the humanized God who walks with them. For Jesus, to reveal is to unveil daily life. Accustomed to seeing God in the generosity of those who give, it is difficult to reveal him in the dignity of those who ask. Among the weak, with the desire to learn from them, we discover treasures, hidden wonders of humanity.

There are those who do not do good out of love for the good, but because they are slaves to their image and need to feel superior to others. The criticisms we make of others also mask an eagerness to present ourselves as superior to them. We cannot feel more like saviors than servants. Let us move from a Consecrated Life clothed in power and puffed up by vanity to another one that is servant and filled with love for the victims of history. I can say that I went to Latin America as a teacher and returned as a student, with the experience of sitting at the feet of the “master” who are the simple ones. Without simplicity and minority, we lose the desire to go to the poor. We seek accommodation. If some of the desire to go to them remains – out of remorse for the incoherence of life – it will be “from above,” like those who give alms, not from the solidarity of those who share life and allow themselves to be converted by them. They will not recognize us as heralds of the Kingdom.

Life is worthwhile when it is given. Ours is to give our life in service. The emptier we are of ourselves, the more the life of others will fit in us. With and on behalf of the simple, we become more human. Giving bread by becoming bread for others. Religious, serve and care for people. Care is a pearl that expresses the quality of incarnated love. The Lord arrives and finds the servants awake, and Jesus says: “Truly I tell you; he will put on his apron and make them sit down at table and serve them” (Lk 12:37). It is hard to see Jesus in a towel, can we imagine him in an apron? Availability and service cordially embraced. Consecrated, people with apron, who do not demand, but support; who do not pretend, but take care; who do not ask for rights but respond to needs. We can say something when we live serving because only love has something to say. The Pharisees put sin at the center of the relationship with God. Jesus’ first glance is directed not to sin, but to the suffering and needs of the person. In the Gospel, “poor, sick” appears more than “sinner.” We are prisoners of limits rather than guilty. God’s archives are filled with tears, not sins. Forgiven sin ceases to exist. And before God there is forgiveness, not conditional absolution.

To Conclude

God wants his children to live with joy. Living comfortably where we are, present in the here and now, fills us with joy. Joy is the great task of Christians. The strength of a vocation is translated into joy. Living a vocation with joy is the strength of religious (Pope Francis). Joy leads to a greater pleasure in life. It generates positive attitudes towards oneself and others. It helps us to go out of ourselves; it opens us for encounter. It motivates us to put our energies and abilities at the service of our own project. It does not allow us to fall into pessimism when we fail or into narcissism when we succeed. Those who live in contentment are good to those around them. If we are happy, the God we transmit will be kind.

We assume the mission of infecting humanity in people, groups, institutions, by humanizing ourselves. Jesus teaches that God is in what is human: eating together, living as brothers and sisters, service in relationships, companionship, and encouragement in difficulty, mercy, and forgiveness. Growing in humanity, before worrying about our weaknesses, we focus on spreading joy. The best way out of our sins is to experience the joy of encounter. We can live on the basis of a positive attitude or a negative one. The parable of the weeds offers two perspectives: that of the servants who see the weeds; that of the owner who notices the good grain. Amoris Laetitia challenges us by changing the principle of the “lesser evil” into the “possible good.” The latter has the effect of being magnetized by the good that attracts, not fearful of the evil that paralyzes.

Blessing, speaking well, recognizing the good in others, and what is fragile, without turning it into an insult. A person who knows how to bless looks with sympathy, and someone who looks with sympathy lives with joy. Without remembering the favor one does and without forgetting the favor one receives.

Life

Centered on strong ideals, rather than on defects, cultivating forces of kindness, care, welcome, justice, peace… the ecology of the heart. Ecology means protecting and having a clean environment, enjoyment of peace. Peace has to do with the stripping away what is unnecessary. If we are rich in any area, we have no peace of heart. There is peace when we do not depend on anything or anyone, but on God alone. This is not the peace comes after the storm; in the storm, God is peace, he calms the storm. The beatitudes are the way to peace. The joy of peace brings energies of beatitude like seeds to make them blossom.

The Risen One sends us to make disciples by living as disciples. Discipleship in fraternity builds up the Church. Sometimes we strive to build the Church in order to make disciples. Followers of the Master who seek to become human in the image of God’s humanity, lived and narrated in Jesus. “You are the salt, the light.” Salt and light that lose themselves by giving value to what they find. Movement of incarnation: By giving yourself, you improve things with taste, enlightenment.

Your consecrated life… a bud that opens, a seed that breaks, a cloud that pours out its contents. Without forgetting that clouds and birds never speak of themselves, but of what they have seen where they come from. Clouds do not know how to draw it without transfiguring themselves, and birds do not know how to say it without singing. Your life does not sell bread; it is yeast, salt that dissolves and gives flavor. It will be grace for others, Gospel, Good News. Our life is very often the only Gospel that the people around us actually read.

Life is never lost when you love. Love is the most powerful energy. The face of someone who loves transmits joy, the joy of love, like that of a mother looking at her newborn child. With the energy of love, we focus our asceticism on molding in ourselves the sentiments of Jesus, his sensitivity, his heart. Sensitivity implies energy, impulse, sympathy, harmony, liking. It expresses attention, attraction, affection. Without passionate sensitivity, there is no holiness. Holiness does not mean extinguished passion (eunuchs); it means converted passion. Mission is passion for Jesus and his people. There is no future for Consecrated Life without passionate love for Jesus and the Kingdom. Mission means to go out of oneself, with passion for Jesus, with a burning heart.

WHERE DO WE PLACE OURSELVES?

RELIGIOUS ON THE PERIPHERIES –PHYSICAL, SPIRITUAL, AND EXISTENTIAL

Sr. Juliet Mousseau, RSCJ, completed her doctorate in historical theology at Saint Louis University in 2006. After teaching at Saint Louis University and the University of Dallas School of Ministry, she entered the Society of the Sacred Heart in 2009. She served as a professor of church history at the Aquinas Institute of Theology from 2012 to 2021.

The text was presented at the first Symposium of Women Religious Theologians, organised in Rome by the UISG, from 12 to 19 June 2022.

Since before his pontificate, Pope Francis has called the Church to minister on the peripheries, to move out of our churches and find those who are removed from society. Jesus is the model for this ministry: he found those who were most in need of his healing touch. Those he healed or fed were often brought back into a society or neighborhood that had pushed them out of the center. Being healed or forgiven removed their exile, and for many it gave them a new normal life with human connections and normalcy they had not lived before. The healing was beyond personal: it restored the community as a whole by bringing the ones on the edge back to center.

Pope Francis also speaks of those in consecrated life as having a special call to live as prophets in the world today (Francis 21 Nov 2014). To be a prophetic witness means to follow God’s call in the world that does not know God, to offer a different way of living that will bring joy and fulfillment in a way that the secular world does not understand. The call to the peripheries is a call to be prophetic witnesses to the world God wants us to have, a world in which those who are excluded are included, in which the peripheries become the center. As women and men religious, we are called to go out to the people and places that are on the edges of society and lift them up, with the goal of bringing them into the center once again. God’s reign will be complete when everyone has the fullness of human dignity, when no one is exiled or excluded. That is the prophetic commitment of our consecration: to go out to those on the peripheries again and again, drawing them to

Sr. Juliet Mousseau, RSCJ

the center by upholding their human dignity, and then returning to the peripheries to do it all over again. We live in constant tension, drawing exiles to the center only to return to the peripheries. The constant work of human dignity is a prophetic witness to the hope for God’s reign which we know will come and bring joy to the whole world.

This essay first explores the concept of the peripheries through the words of Pope Francis. He also articulates the areas where peripheries are most in need today. Then, using examples from the history of religious life, the movement from peripheries to center and back out again will be examined. Finally, we will explore the characteristics of religious life that place consecrated religious in a posture of readiness to challenge today’s society and existential peripheries. We know from salvation history that we are not saved alone, but rather as a people: How will the inclusion of every person transform the world?

The word “peripheries,” and especially the phrase “existential peripheries,” draws out questions and confusion. Peripheries are the edges, the places (physical or metaphorical) that are furthest from the center. Other words that have a similar connotation include “boundaries,” “margins,” and “frontiers.” “Borders,” or lines of demarcation between one thing and another, might also be considered peripheries. The life of Jesus is an illustration of peripheries. Born far from the center (physically and socio-economically) of the Roman Empire, yet bound to its government, Jesus entered the world in poverty, literally born where animals, not people, lived. Societally, his human family represented an oppressed minority class. His poverty and lack of resources point to an existential periphery. This reality – that God chose incarnation in these circumstances – illustrates the belovedness of all humanity, the sanctification of even the least among the human race.

In his address preceding the conclave in which he was elected pope, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio urged the Church to reach out to peripheries, identifying them as “not only geographic, but also the existential peripheries: the mystery of sin, of pain, of injustice, of ignorance, and indifference to religion, of intellectual currents, and of all misery” (Henderson 2018). The peripheries, then, are anywhere people are suffering in any way. All who follow Christ are called to reach across boundaries in favor of inclusion. Francis said to the new cardinals in 2015, “I urge you to serve Jesus crucified in every person who is emarginated, for whatever reason, to see the Lord in every excluded person who is hungry, thirsty, naked; to see the Lord present even in those who have lost their faith, or turned away from the practice of their faith, or say that they are atheists; to see the Lord who is imprisoned, sick, unemployed, persecuted; to see the Lord in the leper—whether in body or soul—who encounters discrimination! We will not find the Lord unless we truly accept the marginalized!” (Francis 15 February 2015). The call of Christ is radical inclusion, inclusion which incorporates everyone no matter what.

Going to the peripheries is an act of service in imitation of Jesus, and it must also include an openness to being transformed by what is found there. Inclusion of the people who are excluded requires conversion of heart: what of my actions, our actions, led to this separation between us? Christians preach that each person is saved, but salvation is not a solitary experience. Salvation comes to the community as a whole, to the “we” not just the “I.” Everyone is called to conversion and transformation together to bring the one Body of Christ, the People of God, to our fullest reality. In the words of Pope Francis: “Salvation history thus has a ‘we’ in its beginning and a ‘we’ at its end, and at its centre the mystery of Christ, who died and rose so ‘that they may all be one’ (Jn 17:21).

Sr.

The present time, however, shows that this ‘we’ willed by God is broken and fragmented, wounded and disfigured. This becomes all the more evident in moments of great crisis, as is the case with the current pandemic. Our ‘we,’ both in the wider world and within the Church, is crumbling and cracking…. And the highest price is being paid by those who most easily become viewed as others: foreigners, migrants, the marginalized, those living on the existential peripheries” (Francis 26 Sept 2021).

From all the above statements about what are the peripheries, we can see the specific needs of our world today. Above all else, Francis asserts the needs of migrants as a periphery in demand of our attention. His first excursion as pope was to the island Lampedusa, Italy, where many migrants arrive in Europe and hundreds had recently been lost at sea. There he expressed grief and the responsibility of all of us to show brotherly love for those migrants seeking out life in another land. Francis has continued to appeal to the needs of migrants and those on the move around the world. Migrants and refugees are but one group of human beings who live on the margins without their physical needs met and without power to change their situation. Thus, the peripheries include all those in poverty, illness, and oppression who lack the necessary elements of human dignity. “A development that excludes makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. A real development, on the other hand, seeks to include all the world’s men and women, to promote their integral growth, and to show concern for coming generations.” We all suffer when anyone among us suffers, and so we are called to go out to anyone and everyone who is “rejected by todays globalized society” (Francis 29 Sept 2019).

Beyond those marginalized by physical need, anyone who is seen as less than human because they are “other” needs the light of Christ. To create a “culture of encounter” means widening our circles to include those who think and worship differently, those who disagree with us, and even those who seem unlikeable. A culture of encounter is not a place of proselytizing, but rather one of seeking out greater understanding and recognizing the humanity in the other person who seems so different.

It must also be remembered that peripheries exist within our Church. Many people remain only nominally Catholic or completely leave the church due to marginalization for many different reasons. Cardinal Tobin speaks to the need of the Church to listen to those marginalized due to the sex abuse crisis. The Body of Christ includes individuals exiled for all reasons: divorce, abuse, homosexuality and gender identity, abortion or birth control, exclusion from ministry, even personal doubts. Human dignity is the right of all. Jesus did not come to save the sinless or those who have no doubts. We, too, must recognize the dignity of every human person.

From the beginning of religious life, men and women sought to follow Jesus. The earliest religious congregations (most notably, the Benedictines) were founded as men and women came together in communities for a life of prayer and dedication to God. Other congregations were founded with a particular apostolate in mind, which invariably brought them to what today we would call the “peripheries.” Women’s orders such as the Ursulines began schools for girls, who would often not receive any education. Men’s orders, such the Dominicans and Jesuits, brought the Gospel to Christians who had separated from the Church and to non-Christians alike. Many orders sought to meet the physical needs of the people, including food and shelter, protection from harm, medical attention, and care for the dying. Whether orders sought to meet the spiritual, intellectual, or physical

needs of the people, they were embracing service in imitation to Jesus, in a way that took them to the margins of society with the purpose of bringing human dignity. This attention to the dignity of each and every person intended to restore them to society in one way or another, just as Jesus did during his life on earth.

Yet, throughout history, orders that sought out the margins gained wealth and power. The Benedictines are a primary example, since they have existed for 1500 years. Throughout the centuries, their presence and ministry in the world brought them generous followers and eventually extraordinary wealth and power. The monasteries, though founded far from city centers, drew people to them and became centers of social and economic activity. As the monasteries gained wealth, the role of abbot more powerful, high-status community members sought to place their sons in those roles and the system became corrupt in some places. Yet, Jesus continued to call Christians and consecrated persons

to the peripheries. The Benedictines experienced multiple efforts to reform and return to their original purpose, peeling off the layers of wealth and power as they did so. The major reform movements within the Benedictine communities happened around 800 with the work of Benedict of Aniane in Charlemagne’s court; in the 11th century through the creation of the Cistercians under Bernard of Clairvaux and the Carthusian reform. With each reform movement, the community was reminded and returned to a closer following of Jesus. They moved from the center of power and privilege to lives of poverty and imitation of Jesus.

None of this is to indicate that the Benedictines or any other order ceased to follow Jesus, only to say that good work naturally brings the edges to the center. Women and men religious, then, must recognize when their ministries and apostolates need to reconsider Jesus’ call and return to the peripheries. Today’s religious face major changes.

Sr. Juliet Mousseau, RSCJ

In my context of the United States especially, the early-to-mid-20th century was a time of large numbers of religious and investment in large institutions. These institutions were fundamental to the growth of the country, for they met the educational, health care, and societal needs of the burgeoning immigrant communities without discrimination. Today, the large population of religious who started those institutions is dwindling, and those institutions are largely successful. As religious step away from their large corporate ministries, we have an opportunity to examine our commitment to those on the margins, to return again to the peripheries.

This moment of demographic change among religious in the northern hemisphere is one of the primary characteristics that allows women religious to recommit to ministry on the peripheries. In addition to this moment of change, the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience place women religious in a position poised for ministry at the margins,

drawing all God’s creation back toward the center, toward human dignity and inclusion in society. We will examine each vow as it relates to the movement to the peripheries as a conclusion to this paper.

While religious take a vow of poverty, the poverty they live is not akin to the material poverty to which many people in the world are subject. In fact, material poverty is an evil, not something to be desired, because it denies a human being what he or she needs in order to live fully. When religious men and women make a vow of poverty, then, they are committing themselves to live simply as Jesus lived simply, and to separate their being from their monetary worth. Simple living under a vow of poverty assists consecrated religious to work on the margins because by it they see the profound value of human life regardless of circumstances.

Sr. Juliet Mousseau, RSCJ

Going to the peripheries is an act of service in imitation of Jesus, and it must also include an openness to being transformed by what is found there. Inclusion of the people who are excluded requires conversion of heart: what of my actions, our actions, led to this separation between us?

The right of each human being to have dignity is without question. Thus, living simply places consecrated religious outside the dominant materialistic path that society seems to uphold. It places religious on the margins where they can be in relationship and community with others who are marginalized by economic conditions. Simplicity helps others approach religious as equals and allows deep relationships to grow. The vow of poverty also acknowledges that all we receive is gift of God, and so we should walk gently on the earth, using only the resources we need without accumulation. Simple living and sharing what we have with one another and others makes more resources available to other people, including future generations. It means that what we do acquire can be freely given to those who have need for it. Thus, religious men and women, consecrated to poverty, are poised to minister on the peripheries.

The vow of chastity, also called “celibacy,” frees the consecrated religious from the commitments of family life in order to have the liberty of time and space for other relationships. This freedom is both internal and external: internally, to not be bound by love of one person in a way that prevents one from loving others; externally, to be free from the constraints of the needs of family, which naturally must take primary place in the life of a mother or father. The love one would ordinarily give to spouse and children is more widely directed to the world at large—to love everyone as God loves everyone (Radcliffe 2014, 9). Like Jesus, consecrated religious seek out those who most need the healing power of his love. The freedom one has in religious life additionally provides the support of a religious community in discernment and commitment to a particular ministry. Whether or not other members of the congregation are part of a ministry, they participate and encourage the individual in his or her efforts. The apostolate might also continue when others step up to take the place of one who retires or moves on. Finally, the vow of chastity allows religious who are called to missionary regions to leave their homes behind and reach out to the physical geographical peripheries that still exist in our world.

The vow of obedience is one of discernment, listening closely to the call of God, both as God calls the congregation and as God calls the individual with his or her gifts and talents.

Consecrated religious must listen to the call of the Holy Spirit in the congregational superior, in the community as a whole, and in the world around them. When the needs we see match our communal or individual gifts, we have found the call of God. The vow of obedience lends trust that we hear with greater clarity through the shared discernment of one another, and trust that God is leading us faithfully in our apostolate.

Pope Francis calls all Christians to the peripheries, and consecrated religious above all have the capacity and responsibility to follow that call. Within the context of the vowed life, the practice of poverty, chastity, and obedience prepare us and provide the support we need to draw those who are exiled back into human society, to help restore human dignity where it has been denied. As Pope Francis cries out to us: “Faith, hope and love necessarily push us towards this preference for those most in need, which goes beyond necessary assistance. Indeed it implies walking together, letting ourselves be evangelised by them, who know the suffering Christ well, letting ourselves be “infected” by their experience of salvation, by their wisdom and by their creativity. Sharing with the poor means mutual enrichment.

Sr. Juliet Mousseau, RSCJ

And, if there are unhealthy social structures that prevent them from dreaming of the future, we must work together to heal them, to change them. And we are led to this by the love of Christ, Who loved us to the extreme, and reaches the boundaries, the margins, the existential frontiers. Bringing the peripheries to the centre means focusing our life on Christ, Who ‘made Himself poor’ for us, to enrich us ‘by His poverty’ (2 Cor 8:9), as we have heard” (Francis 19 Aug 2020).

Bibliography

Francis. “Apostolic Letter to All Consecrated People on the Occasion of the Year of Consecrated Life.” 21 November 2014. https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa- francesco_letteraap_20141121_lettera-consacrati.html

Francis. General Audience. 19 August 2020. Accessed May 7, 2021. http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/ audiences/2020/documents/papa- francesco_20200819_udienza-generale.html

Francis. Homily with the New Cardinals. 15 February 2015. Accessed May 7, 2021. http://www.vatican.va/content/ francesco/en/homilies/2015/documents/papa- francesco_20150215_omelia-nuovi-cardinali.html

Francis. Message for the 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2019. 29 September 2019.

Accessed May 7, 2021. http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/migration/documents/papafrancesco_20190527_world-migrants-day-2019.html

Francis. Towards an Ever Wider “We”: Message for the 107th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2021. 26 September 2021. Accessed May 7, 2021. http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/migration/ documents/papa- francesco_20210503_world-migrants-day-2021.html

Henderson, Silas. “What the Early Church Teaches Us about Pope Francis’ ‘Peripheries’.” Aleteia. 5 May 2018. Accessed May 7, 2021. https://aleteia.org/2018/05/05/what-the- early-church-teaches-us-about-pope-francisperipheries/

Radcliffe, Timothy. “Same God, Different Ways to Love.” Horizon 39, no. 4 (Fall 2014): 9–13.

Tobin, Joseph W. “The Power of Listening to the Peripheries: A Traumatized Church Can Truly Embrace the Pope Francis Vision and Offer a Witness that Is More Accountable to the Gospel.” Archdiocese of Newark (February 20, 2019). Accessed May 7, 2021. https://www.rcan.org/power-listening-peripheries-traumatized-church-can-trulyembrace- pope-francis-vision-and-offer

DEEP INCARNATION AS A RADICAL CALL: ECOLOGY, CONSECRATED LIFE AND LOVE

Sr. Ann-Maree O’Beirne is a Sister of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea. She completed a Masters of Divinity and Graduate Diploma of Spiritual Direction. She has been involved in presenting Retreats and Seminars as well as providing Spiritual Direction. The text was presented at the first Symposium of Women Religious Theologians, organised in Rome by the UISG, from 12 to 19 June 2022.

Introduction

Considering two current global crises—climate change and COVID-19, the cries of Earth and Earth’s poor have never been more urgent. In Australia, the wildfires of 2019/2020 spring and summer, preceded by a prolonged drought, followed by flooding and the worldwide pandemic, further widespread flooding, more fires and a now a mouse plague, have given us a visceral experience of the suffering of Earth and Earth’s people. As women religious, in these times, just action, tender loving, and humble walking with the suffering Earth community could be considered an authentic expression of the evangelical counsels and a response to God’s gift of life and love.

Assisted by a theology of deep incarnation and a keen awareness of our immersion in the community of creation’s ecological relationships, this paper explores the invitation to new ways of living, loving, and responding to graced encounters with suffering Earth and her people. This radical call compels us to expand the horizon of our relationships, embrace the human and other than human life as gift, and respond generously and courageously to the challenges before us.

Australian Context

For the most part, Australia is a hot and dry country. However, vast areas are lush, prolifically inhabited by a variety of exotic wildlife and magnificent plants and trees. In normal circumstances, these areas are beautiful and able to support human and other than human life very well. This setting is a stunning context to live as a Sister of Mercy

Sr. Ann-Maree O’Beirne, RSM

as a Radical Call in the twenty-first century. Unfortunately, sometimes this experience of beauty and productive life is impacted by fire and flood, which is a part of the natural sequence of regeneration and a fact that Australians expect. However, the recent experience of Australia’s extreme wildfires, named “The Black Summer”, has been unimagined because of the expanse of area burnt, the intensity of the fires and the eight-month length of the fire season.

Andrew Sullivan wrote, “To be caught in a bushfire is to witness a true hell on earth — conditions hot enough to melt metal, heat fluxes that literally vaporise vegetation, and smoke plumes so dense they turn day into night” (Sullivan 2015). “By March 2020, the Black Summer fires burnt almost 19 million hectares, destroyed over 3,000 houses, and killed 33 people” (Filkov et al. 2020, 44). In Queensland, on a typically tropical coastline, rainforests—usually too wet to burn—were ravaged by wildfires. Metropolitan areas not affected by fire were blanketed with smoke-filled air for months. The long-term effects of these harmful air pollution levels, not only on the human species, are only beginning to be understood. The Australian Royal Commission on the black summer fires reports that a further 445 people died because of smoke from the Black Summer Fires; it affected eighty per cent of the population. (Hitch 2020).

What caused the fires? Australia experienced the driest and hottest years before the event, leading to the highest evaporation levels on record, creating a prolonged widespread drought. Water security was a reality in areas where it had not been an issue in the past, with many communities importing drinking water. Scientists speak of “fire weather”, which has significant parameters that differ from normal weather. Australia experienced an unprecedented increase in fire weather conditions that scientists attribute to climate change. (CSIRO 2020). The human loss of life and livelihood, community infrastructure and sense of belonging continue to be felt by those affected.

We can all identify with human loss and suffering, but what of the other than human creatures, flora and fauna, ecosystems, and the environment? A conservative estimate of over one billion animals died in the black summer fires. (Dickman and Tein 2020), and the increased risk of extinction for hundreds of species is real. (Filkov et al. 2020). In addition, entire habitats have been destroyed because of the fires’ intensity, with minimal regeneration up to eight months after the event where the heat generated was beyond extreme. Images of human compassion for these poor creatures in our news and media were heart-wrenching. Firefighters speak of the animal screams they heard while fighting the fires that haunt them still. Rehabilitation of injured animals continues eighteen months later.

Overlapping the Black Summer fire season’s end was the emerging comprehension of the current worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and the scramble to understand its origin, nature, and effects. In relative terms, Australia’s experience pales compared to other countries. Further to the suffering of loss of life and long-term effects of Covid-19, the economic downturn and loss of livelihoods touch many more people because of lockdowns and restrictions—an economic downturn in many Australian communities already impacted by the black summer fires and other ecologically devastating events.

Celia Deane-Drummond explains the underlying cause of the climate crisis, COVID-19, and similar diseases that have crossed over from animal species, is human exploitation of our natural resources and other creatures for the fulfilment of human desires—desires that are ecologically unsustainable for the whole community of creation. (Deane-Drummond 2020). They create an imbalance in the delicate ecosystems we live in, impacting the necessary biodiversity for healthy air, soils, plants, animals, and people. Thus, how we choose to live as humans has an enormous impact on the whole of creation’s ability to exist.

Theological Reflection

Helping us to reflect on these matters, Pope Francis states in Laudato Si’ (hereafter LS) that:

As part of the universe, […] all of us are linked by unseen bonds and together form a kind of universal family, a sublime communion which fills us with a sacred, affectionate and humble respect… “God has joined us so closely to the world around us that we can feel the desertification of the soil almost as a physical ailment, and the extinction of a species as a painful disfigurement (LS 89).

Because of a “sublime communion”—generated in the trinitarian relationship of love shared with all creatures, elements of life and ecosystems in the universe—Pope Francis sees that we “are all linked by unseen bonds” of love. Later in LS, he explains that this connection is the result of the Incarnation: “One Person of the Trinity entered into the created cosmos, throwing in his lot with it, even to the cross” (LS 99). For Francis, the Incarnation of Christ establishes relational connectedness with all creation that is so intimate that it places God relationally within that which God created. Within the universe’s micro-cellular material, God’s deep incarnation unites all of creation to God in sublime communion.

If we, as women religious, aspire to be in communion with God, can we accept and promote communion with the whole of creation? Francis recognises that when our embrace is that broad and deep, we begin to feel the pain and suffering of all creation—the entire Earth community— within our very beings. The call is to expand our understanding of communion with God, the Incarnation of Christ, and our relationships as vowed women, to embrace this comprehensive communion and allow ourselves to feel compassionately the pain and suffering of Earth and Earth’s poor and seek appropriate and effective responses. Contemplating a theology of deep incarnation can assist our reflection as women religious and the radical call it invites us to engage.

Deep Incarnation

The concept of “deep Incarnation” is a term first conceived by Niels Gregersen, who reflects on pain and suffering in human and creaturely life in this world and the meaning that the cross of Christ brings to the costs of evolution. (Gregersen 2001). Ecotheologians have since explored this concept. Denis Edwards states: “In a thoroughly incarnational theology, God is understood as becoming forever a God of matter and flesh... The Word is made flesh, and matter and flesh are irrevocably taken to God and embedded forever in the life of the divine Trinity.” (Edwards 2018, 68). A theology of deep incarnation is not just about the birth event of Jesus into this world and his salvation of humanity. It takes in the whole Paschal Mystery—the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension— of the Word, Logos—God becoming flesh through the action of the Spirit, and God’s experience of life as a human member of the community of creation. Elizabeth Johnson states, “The flesh that the Word of God became as a human being is part of the vast body of the cosmos.” (Johnson 2014, 196). For Johnson and others, deep incarnation extends the well-understood church teaching about the Incarnation to incorporate all flesh. She states: “The flesh assumed in Jesus Christ connects with all humanity and all biological life, all soil, the whole matrix of the material universe down to its very roots.” (Johnson 2014, 196).

Emphasising the intrinsic value of all elements of creation, Francis sees the whole universe, including human beings, on a journey toward God, and yet it already experiences the fullness of God because of the risen Christ, who “embraces and illumines all things” (LS 83). He states that “The ultimate purpose of other creatures is not to be found in us” (LS

83). They have their specific value and purpose in Christ. Edwards summarises this view of intrinsic value in LS, stating, “God holds each creature in love; God is present interiorly to each of them; and each of them is to participate with human beings in God’s final transformation of all things. (Edwards 2019, 128)

In his final book, Edwards reflects on several theologians’ work, whose focus is on the theological response to the ecological crisis. A particular quote resonates with the suffering I have outlined in the Australian context; referencing Christopher Southgate (Southgate 2014), Edwards says: “Not only is the creature not alone in moments of suffering, but also the creature, ‘in whatever sense, knows this, and that this awareness makes a difference.’” (Edwards 2019, 15). Johnson echoes this confidence saying that the certainty of God’s companioning the suffering creature “is one of the most significant things theology can say. Seemingly absent, the Giver of life is silently present with all creatures in their pain and dying. They remain connected to the living God despite what is happening; in fact, in the depths of what is happening.” (Johnson 2014, 206).

Johnson proposes that a theology of deep incarnation encompasses a theology of “deep resurrection” because God’s promise does not end with the cross. (Johnson 2014, 207). For those of us in Australia who have endured the prolonged drought, black summer of fires, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, awareness of God’s accompaniment of those suffering and God’s promise of resurrection makes a difference.

A Radical Call to Women Religious through the Vows

I propose that deep incarnation, understood in these ways, provides an invitation to women religious to expand our capacity for love to mirror that of God’s—a love that embraces the whole Earth community. The context of this invitation is, I believe, contained within the evangelical counsels, the vows we make.

Lumen Gentium (Vatican Council II, 1964) (hereafter LG) names the evangelical counsels as “chastity dedicated to God, poverty and obedience… The counsels are a divine gift, which

the Church received from [Jesus Christ] and which it always safeguards with the help of [God’s] grace.” (LG 43) The evangelical counsels are seen as vows interpreted with the Holy Spirit’s guidance (LG 43-44). Since Vatican II, religious have continued to interpret these three vows considering their context.

The turn of the new millennium saw Sandra Schneiders, IHM, and Barbara Fiand SNDdeN, publish their reflections on religious life. Fiand challenges all that we understood about what it meant to be “vowed” when she presents a new paradigm that lets go of the dualistic thinking that holds us to the limits of what we should and should not do. She says that this new paradigm “invites us to probe into who we are and how we are as vowed. It asks what it means to be vowed, to be consecrated. It stresses vowed life as a way of being—a disposition—leaving the dimension of prescription or prohibition on a secondary plain” (Fiand 2001, 55). These questions are relevant twenty years later by extending their context to include the whole of creation. So how does this new context shift our understanding of the three evangelical counsels?

Schneiders’ exploration of the vow of chastity proposes the phrase “consecrated celibacy” as a better term for many reasons. She says, “A vow of universal and/ or inclusive love, or a vow for relationship would seem to be more inspiring.” (Schneiders 2001, 119). She makes the case that consecrated celibacy is the definitive vow, one that defines the life choice and commitment for relationship with God that “is a charism not given to all” (Schneiders 2001, 126). And she explains that “the constitutive feature of Religious Life, not as Christians but as Religious, is the commitment of Religious to Jesus Christ in lifelong consecrated celibacy.” (Schneiders 2000, 125). A focus on the relationship of love with Christ is about what the vow is “for” rather than what the vow renounces. She states, “Consecrated celibacy… is about… who and how one chooses to love.” (Schneiders 2001, 127). Considering a theology of deep incarnation, living this vow expands our horizon of love for Jesus Christ, in God, to encompass the whole Earth community and challenges every aspect of the way we choose to live and love.

The Incarnation of Christ establishes relational connectedness with all creation that is so intimate that it places God relationally within that which God created. Within the universe’s micro-cellular material, God’s deep incarnation unites all of creation to God in sublime communion.

In the context of the vow of poverty, Schneiders sees being homeless for God and Church in this life (LG 44) poses some difficulty in ecological terms. She says, “People who think they are just ‘passing through’ a locale do not feel responsible for it, may even disdain it or at least treat it as a mere commodity” (Schneiders 2001, 266). Whilst she sees that religious have sometimes travelled this road, the “Rules for Religious orders have always encouraged frugality and respect in the use of material goods, careful stewardship of resources, community sharing, and reverence for creation as manifestation and gift of God” (Schneiders 2001, 267). She states that women religious have lived an ecological consciousness, leading the Church in ecological sensibilities. This leadership is still the case today. Shifting the focus from an anthropocentric perspective on living poverty takes in the intrinsic value of other than human creatures, ecosystems, and habitats. Extending our reach of the purpose of our poverty to the whole Earth community, in light of the theology of deep incarnation, is a slight but powerful shift.

“Creative Fidelity” is the heading Fiand gives to her chapter on the vow of obedience (Fiand 2001). She highlights Schneiders’ understanding that religious obedience is about “commitment to seeking the will of God… and to fulfilling it with wholehearted dedication… in order to extend the reign of God in this world” (Schneiders 1986, 140). Creative fidelity is about listening to the Spirit, both individually and communally, about the concerns and issues God wants to reveal. In terms of the call of deep incarnation, this is about listening to Earth’s suffering poor and responding in obedience to the call of Christ. Living a theology of deep incarnation calls us to live the evangelical counsels through just action, tender loving, and humble living (Micah 6:8) that reflect our awareness of the interconnectedness and interdependence of all life and the ecological crisis, and the hope that being resurrection people can bring.

Just action speaks of the openness to hear Earth’s cries and, in a spirit of obedience, make an appropriate response. Experiencing God in all things involves a “felt experience” for Earth’s suffering, which is central to “loving tenderly” or “loving mercy”. Loving tenderly is a way of expressing the vow of chastity or consecrated celibacy. These experiences remind us of our humble existence and call us to assess our everyday lives and ways of living in a spirit of poverty.

In her explanation about the process of deep incarnation, Johnson states that the “tremendous swoop from divine form to crucified human form traces an arc of divine humility… the ability to be self-emptying, self-limiting, self-offering, vulnerable, self-giving, in a word, creative Love in action. (Johnson 2014, 202). Thus, humble living, in an age of ecological consciousness, involves us as women religious in following the example of Jesus as understood in the theology of deep incarnation, to be self-emptying, self-limiting, self-offering, vulnerable and self-giving in terms of the whole community of creation, not merely in terms of our human existence.

I ponder what response the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, Catherine McAuley, might be in these troubling times as we explore our mercy charism for today. Her example of tender love for the poor of Dublin expressed true poverty of spirit, humility, and obedience to God through practical action. Does the way we choose to live our ordinary lives give witness to just, loving, humble living? In accepting, in true humility, the love that God gives, we can embrace all that we can do to live a spirit of deep incarnation in every aspect of our lives as women religious. This biblical call from the prophet Micah is most fitting for an expanded embrace of Earth’s suffering poor, incorporating all creation as an expression of the perpetual vows we have made.

Practical Implications

This call to live our lives in the spirit of deep incarnation is radical because it affects the essential understanding of the Incarnation and culminates in comprehensive

as a Radical Call transformation and action within our daily lives. It calls for a total re-think about how we understand humanity, integrally connected to all of creation and make changes accordingly. This radical journey is something that women religious have been making for some years, and in many respects, leading the way in calling for justice for Indigenous peoples, the marginalised and the millions affected by the ecological crises. Expanding our outreach to include the other than human species—animals, plants, ecosystems, and Earth’s life-support systems—is but one more step. A theology of deep incarnation invites us to feel the suffering of suffering Earth at a gut level and find ways to respond. This kind of tender loving involves consciously accompanying the suffering in prayer and solidarity through this felt experience as one response. Once felt, we may be drawn to find ways of living more humbly—more lightly—on Earth so that all flourishes.

As a religious woman in a “first world” western country, my life is very comfortable. Like many others in Australia, our congregation makes choices about investing our resources, choosing sustainable investments and fossil fuel divestment. Where possible, we are installing solar systems on rooftops, installing tanks for water collection, and changing light fittings to more sustainable options. Where cars are needed, options for hybrid engines or more sustainable models are purchased. Sisters choose to live more simply, recycle, compost, make conscious efforts to use energy wisely, and buy ethically at personal levels. Politically, many are actively involved in agitating for action against climate change, coal, and coal seam gas mining, and actively promoting renewable energies in their local areas. For many years we have had sisters engaged in eco-theology, eco-justice, and ecospirituality.

We are also reflecting with Sisters of Mercy internationally in the process of Mercy Global Presence, which pays attention to the cries of Earth’s poor, incorporates the implications of the theology of deep incarnation, and seeks to address the human and other than human suffering of Earth. As Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea, we are attempting to integrate our ecological consciousness into every aspect of our personal and corporate lives, ministries and spiritual practices in ways that focus on regeneration, not just sustainability, promoting the flourishing of all life on this planet. This action is a new initiative and will be ongoing. Central to its success will be our understanding of who we are as consecrated women, living in an age of ecological consciousness and crisis. Deep incarnation is one of the gifts of theology that can help us live humbly, love mercy and do justice.

Conclusion

Considering global climate change, ecological degradation, and the COVID-19 pandemic, never has there been a more urgent time to stop, reflect on our relationships across the whole Earth community and make appropriate changes. As women religious, this is an opportunity to renew our consecration to Christ, considering God’s deep incarnation that unites all of creation to God in sublime communion. This radical call compels us to expand the horizon of our relationships, embrace the human and other than human life as gift, and respond generously and courageously to the challenges before us.

1 Earth as a proper noun is an intentional ecological countering of the objectifying and mistreatment by humanity.

Bibliography

CSIRO. 2020. “The 2019-20 Bushfires: A CSIRO Explainer.” Accessed 6 January 2021. https://www.csiro.au/ en/Research/Environment/Extreme-Events/Bushfire/preparing-for-climate-change/2019-20-bushfiresexplainer.

Deane-Drummond, Celia. 2020. “Engaging with the COVID Crisis: Four Lessons from Laudato Si’.” Laudato Si’ Research Institute (blog), LSRI/Campion Hall. 19 May. https://lsri.campion.ox.ac.uk/projects/four-lessonslaudato-si.

Dickman, Chris, and McDonald Tein. 2020. Some Personal Reflections on the Present and Future of Australia’s Fauna in an Increasingly FireProne Continent. Ecological Management & Restoration 21 (2). Accessed 6 January 2021. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/emr.12403.

Edwards, Denis. 2014. “ASK THE BEASTS: DARWIN AND THE GOD OF LOVE.” Australasian Catholic Record 91 (3): 376-377. http://ezproxy.acu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h &AN=99401549&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

---. 2018. “Key Issues in Ecological Theology: Incarnation, Evolution, Communion.” In Theology and Ecology Across the Disciplines: On Care for our Common Home, edited by Celia Deane-Drummond and Rebecca ArtinianKaiser, 65-76. London: T&T Clark.

---. 2019. Deep Incarnation: God’s Redemptive Suffering with Creatures. ORBIS BOOKS. Fiand, Barbara. 2001. Refocusing the Vision: Religious Life into the Future. New York: Crossroad Pub. Co. Filkov, Alexander I., Tuan Ngo, Stuart Matthews, Simeon Telfer, and Trent D. Penman. 2020. Impact of Australia’s Catastrophic 2019/20 Bushfire Season on Communities and Environment. Retrospective Analysis and Current Trends. Journal of Safety Science and Resilience 1 (1): 44-56. Accessed 5 January 2021.

Gregersen, Niels Henrik. 2001. “The Cross of Christ in an Evolutionary World.” Dialog: A Journal of Theology 40 (3): 192-207. http://ezproxy.acu.edu.au.ezproxy2.acu.edu.au/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.asp x?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=5628408&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Hitch, Georgia. 26 May 2020. Bushfire Royal Commission Hears that Black Summer smoke Killed Nearly 450 people. Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC Online). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-26/ bushfire-royal-commission-hearings-smoke-killed-445-people/12286094#smoke.

Johnson, Elizabeth A. 2014. Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love. London: Bloomsbury.

Schneiders, Sandra Marie. 1986. New Wineskins Re-Imagining Religious Life Today. New York: Paulist Press.

Schneiders, Sandra Marie. 2000. Finding the Treasure: Locating Catholic Religious Life In a New Ecclesial and Cultural Context. Vol. 1 Religious Life in a New Millennium. New York: Paulist Press.

---. 2001. Selling All: Commitment, Consecrated Celibacy, and Community in Catholic Religious Life. Vol. 2 Religious Life in a New Millennium. New York: Paulist Press.

Southgate, Christopher. 2014. “Does God’s Care Make Any Difference? Theological Reflection on the Suffering of God’s Creatures.” In Christian Faith and the Earth: Current Paths and Emerging Horizons In Ecotheology, edited by E. M. Conradie, S. Bergmann, C. Deane-Drummond and D. Edwards, vi, 261 pages. New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark.

Sullivan, Andrew L. 2015. Bushfire in Australia: Understanding ‘Hell on Earth’. ECOS 2015 (214). Vatican II Council. “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium.”

Solemnly promulgated by His Holiness Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964. Accessed January 20, 2001. https:// www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_ en.html

THE SENSE OF BEING. CULTIVATING HOPE TO REGENERATE HUMANITY

Marcella Serafini holds a PhD in Philosophy of Religion from the University of Perugia; in 2017 she received a second Doctorate in Philosophy from the Pontifical Lateran University. Her dissertation, entitled“TheRelationshipbetweenIntellectandWillinDunsScotus’ Philosophy of Freedom,” won the 2018 Henri de Lubac Prize. She teaches Philosophy at the Liceo “A. Pieralli” in Perugia and gives in-depth lectures as an Instructor in Charge at the Theological Institute of Assisi (and other Universities).

On Nov. 8, the Church celebrates the liturgical memory of Blessed John Duns Scotus (1265/66-1308), Franciscan theologian and philosopher. The short but intense itinerary of his life—dedicated to study and teaching in the leading universities of the time—is summarized by the epitaph on the tombstone at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Cologne—“Scotia me genuit, Anglia me suscepit, Gallia me docuit, Colonia me tenet.”

Chanter of Christ’s Primacy, defender of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, witness of fidelity and obedience to the Supreme Pontiff: these are the cornerstones of his theology, sustained by a solid philosophical foundation, confident in reason, but aware of its limits and the need to open itself to supernatural fulfillment.

We want to retrace some of the insights of this Franciscan Blessed, in order to draw from him solicitations and momentum that open the mind to a horizon of hope. Today more than ever, we are called to reflect on hope, in order to nourish it: “hoping” means believing that there is meaning in life and history—even if we do not perceive it concretely—to wait for a future of good, to assume our responsibilities, and to strive so that life may win.

Living in a period of great cultural turmoil—the spread of Aristotelianism, an alternative worldview, in some respects antithetical to the Christian worldview—, John Duns Scotus was able to face this cultural crisis with courage and determination, bringing even the novelties back into the horizon of his own Christian identity. He thus elaborates an original synthesis of philosophy, theology, and spirituality; he does not intend to separate reason and faith but distinguishes the two perspectives in order to integrate them: the intellect—open to the totality of reality but historically limited—receives fulfillment and perfection only when enlightened by faith.

Marcella Serafini

Theology broadens the horizons of metaphysics, allowing access to the depths of reality and penetrating its meaning in the terms of freedom, relationship, and love. The universe exists because God wills (volitum) it: consequently, we are called to value the good that is in the other, before any individual claim.

This is the view expressed by Francis of Assisi in the Canticle of the Creatures, which Duns Scotus admirably summarizes in De primo Principio: “You are good without limit, and communicate with extreme liberality the rays of your goodness; to You, supremely lovable, the individual entities, in the manner proper to each, return as to their ultimate end” (Ch. IV, conclusion 10).

Duns Scotus embodies in an exemplary way the fundamental insight of the Franciscan charism, the fulcrum of the Gospel message: at the root of being is God’s gratuitous love, the source of benevolence, and the wellspring of mystery. The universe is an “epiphany of creative love”: everything is a gift and expresses relationship because it is rooted in an original relationship. The human person is unrepeatable uniqueness (ultima solitudo) and relationship: existence is a call, a vocation, a gift.

This ontology, which is essentially relational, can offer solid foundations for a human, universal, and cosmic fraternity, as Pope Francis expressed it in the encyclicals Laudato Si’ and Fratelli tutti. From the ontology of relationship is derived an ethics of sharing marked by the logic of gift; Duns Scotus expresses this approach in the terms of “condelectatio” and “redamatio:” man’s vocation is to enjoy God’s love together with others (condelectatio), in reciprocity, returning to God the love received (redamatio).

This is a perspective that values the unique and unrepeatable individual against all forms of totalitarianism and single-thought dictatorship, by calling to responsibility and care for creation, social solidarity, and fraternal sharing, while nurturing trust in man and his potential for good. For, within the human will, there is not only the aptitude to pursue one’s own benefit and personal advantage (affectio commodi) but the capacity for gratuitous love and self-giving (affectio iustitiae) is equally constitutive (not altered by original sin).

The foundation and root of such “anthropological optimism” is the Incarnation of the Word, the humanity of Christ, which Scotus contemplates in prayer with devotion and affection and meditates on in study (according to the principle “ora et cogita, cogita et ora”). The centrality of Christ offers the key to insight into the meaning of life and history: “In praising Christ, I prefer to exceed rather than fall short, in the praise due to him, should I fall into either excess” (Ordinatio III, d. 13, q. 4, no. 53).

In the Commentary to the third book of the Sententiae, introducing the section devoted to Christology, the Franciscan Master reverses the usual direction of research: he does not meditate on the Infinite by starting from the finite, but takes the reverse path, persuaded that the meaning of the finite can only be grasped by beginning with the Infinite; it is where creatures originate that the key to their being is kept.

That is why he meditates on the Incarnation not from the perspective of sin, as if the “Masterpiece” of God (Summum Opus Dei) were subordinate to man’s guilt, but, on the contrary, in light of Christ’s “primacy:” God has always willed the Incarnation of the Word, and, in Him, man and the world. Since God is “essentially love,” everything is an expression and reflection of His Love and in love finds justification: the first reason for the Incarnation is God’s desire to share His “glory,” infinite love, and joy with a creature. Christ is the One who eminently receives and returns the Father’s Love; he is the perfect worshiper, prodigiously harmonizing the finite and the infinite. The world, created in view of Him, takes on an intrinsic sacredness and glorifies God: “The ultimate reason, that is, the first in the order of motives, is therefore love; God creates because (...) He wants to have other co-lovers (condiligentes), which means that He wants others to have His love in themselves; this means predestining them” (Ordinatio III, d. 32, no. 6).

Human nature was conceived, in God’s eternal mind, as the noblest to realize the supreme purpose of creation. The Son of God assumed it in its entirety, without any modification or improvement; in so doing, God showed that He fully loved and approved of it. Since it was assumed by the Son of God, human nature will be glorified in every individual.

In the light of such a luminous design, even darkness is kindled with hope, as Benedict XVI pointed out in Spe Salvi: “Man is worth so much to God that he himself became man in order to suffer with man in an utterly real waysa—in flesh and blood—as is revealed to us in the account of Jesus’s Passion. Hence, in all human suffering we are joined by one who experiences and carries that suffering with us; hence con-solatio is present in all suffering, the consolation of God’s compassionate love—and so the star of hope rises” (no. 39).

The “radical” hope that comes from Christ’s Resurrection illuminates and nourishes daily life and hopes: only God’s benevolent gaze can heal the wounded heart and the mistyeyed gaze on the world and history; since this benevolent Gaze does not abandon the creatures, life will delight in Easter’s triumph.

WOMEN’S MINISTRY OF THE WORD AND SYNODALITY IN LUKE’S WRITINGS

María Concepción Tzintzún Cruz, FMVD

María Concepción Tzintzún Cruz, is a Mexican sister belonging to the Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity. She has served as a missionary in Mexico, Brazil, Italy, and Spain. She obtained a Licentiate in Biblical Theology and a Ph.D. in Biblical Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

The content of this article is drawn from the conclusions of the book: Women in Luke’s Gospel: Witnesses and Ministers of the Word, soon to be published by the author.

The witness of life and ministry of the Word, exercised by both men and women, is a reality evident in Luke’s writings, and this reality sheds light on how we live out our faith in Jesus Christ in the present day.

I personally experienced the richness of the ministry of the Word, practiced by women and men, very powerfully about twenty-nine years ago, when I met the missionaries of the Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity. They invited me to spiritual exercises in silence, preached by a missionary priest and two consecrated women missionaries, where I was introduced to a profound experience of encounter with God through meditating on his Word. In this loving dialogue with his Word, God called me to live the same ministry that I was witnessing in those who preached to me: to dedicate my life to proclaiming the Word of God with all its richness, so that many others could live the fullness of joy born of a living dialogue with Him through the Holy Scriptures. Since that time, how much preaching have I heard! How many more times have I myself preached the Word to others!1 I began an adventure that has brought me into contact with people of many languages, races, and nations who have experienced the power of the Word of God radically transforming their lives and drawing them into the joy of the Gospel. In the measure that I was introduced more and more into the ecclesial context of evangelization, I experienced a growing desire to delve into the biblical foundations of the ministry of the Word, especially women’s ministry of the Word, which has received less attention in the academic world.

Luke’s writings provide evidence of both men and women participating in a synodal manner in the ministry of the Word and giving testimony of their faith, with equal dignity.2 How then, is this shared ministry, that we can glimpse in the first Christian Communities, being lived today?

Little by little, the Church is identifying the seriousness of omitting women from so many areas that need their presence and action.3 At the same time many women, who have experienced the saving action of the Word of God in their lives and who have had the possibility to develop their intellectual, spiritual and organizational capacities, are living lives of serving the Word of God by announcing, teaching, forming agents of pastoral, catechizing, organizing evangelizing communities, etc. In this way the ministry of the Word practiced in the Church is enriched in innumerable ways with their feminine perspective. The Church recognizes that women make an indispensable contribution to society, by virtue of their sensitivity, intuition and other abilities that are more often found in women than in men. For example, the capacity of women to be attentive to others, which is often expressed in maternity, although also finds many other expressions. I am delighted to see many women sharing pastoral responsibilities together with priests, contributing to the accompaniment of individuals, families, or groups, and also offering new contributions to theological reflection. But there is still a great need to increase the scope of a more incisive feminine presence in the Church. Because “the feminine genius is necessary in all expressions of social life; for this reason, the presence of women must also be guaranteed in the workplace” and in the various places where important decisions are made, both in the Church and in social structures.4

Contemporary exegesis carried out by a community of biblical scholars in which more and more women are actively involved, highlights the role of femininity to be found in the Canonical Scriptures and therefore as part of Revelation. This feminine dimension sadly has been ignored for centuries which has had a dramatic knock-on effect in the theoretical and practical interpretation of Sacred Scripture, harming not only the women members of the Church, who have not been permitted to develop all their capacities in the mature living out of their faith, but also depriving the universal ecclesial community of all that women could have contributed. The evidence demonstrated by Luke’s writings, which present women as witnesses and ministers of the Word, reveals fundamental aspects that must be taken into account more wholeheartedly for the faithful fulfilment of the mission of the Church in today’s world.

1. Women witnesses and ministers of the Word in the Gospel according to Luke

We can recognize that women in the Gospel according to Luke are presented as witnesses and ministers of the Word, which in turn lays foundations for various aspects of the proclamation of the Word made by the community of the Way (hodós) shown in the Acts of the Apostles, who are entrusted with the mission of proclaiming the Word to the ends of the earth.

All the women mentioned in the Gospel according to Luke are witnesses of the Salvation that Jesus is bringing about: they listen to his Word, they put it into practice and they keep it, they see him, they speak to him, they touch him, they experience his healing, they receive his forgiveness, they love him and they serve him, they feel his liberation, he recognises their dignity, they follow him, they perceive his miracles, the greatest of which is his resurrection. Some of them eventually become ministers of the Word walking with the itinerant Jesus during his ministry in Galilee and Jerusalem and they are present at his passion, death, burial and resurrection.5 This reality transforms them into faithful and constant heralds who transmit the proclamation of the resurrection that will be spread to the ends of the earth, as Luke shows in the Acts of the Apostles.6

Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the faithful witness to the sequence of events that occurred in the life of Jesus from the moment she accepts the rhêma, the ‘Word-event’ of God, for whom nothing is impossible. Mary puts her whole life in function of the Word, as a servant of the Lord. She lives as a minister of the Word: conceiving (Lk 1:26-38) and giving birth to Jesus (Lk 2:1-7), observing and symbolizing all the events of her son’s life (Lk 2:8-21; 41-52), listening to his Word, putting it into practice (Lk 8:19-21) and keeping the Word (Lk 11 :27-28). She recognizes the continuity of the promises made from ancient times to the People of Israel (Lk 1:46-55), which are verified in the life of Jesus, the Son of God descendant of David, and prolonged in the first Christian community in which she is participates (Acts 1:12-14) as a witness, mother, and minister of the ‘Word-event’ of God that she continues to listen to in prayer and put into practice.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, and both Elizabeth and Anna, are all witnesses of the fulfilment of God’s promises in Jesus. They are shown by Luke as the ones who announce the hope of the redemption that they discover in the child born of Mary’s womb. Elizabeth is described with characteristics typical of the Old Testament prophets (Lk 1:39-45) and Ana is actually called a “prophetess” (Lk 1:36-38), both women therefore are an expression of the ministry of prophecy at the beginning of Luke’s writings. Along with Zacharias and Simeon they make up the community of prophets presented by Luke in the infancy accounts as a bridge between the prophecy of the Old Testament and the New Testament. As such they are showing the beginning of the fulfilment of Joel’s prophecy about the sons and daughters of God who will prophesy, which will be proclaimed by Peter in Acts 2:16-21 on the day of Pentecost and, probably, was already a historical reality in the community of Luke (Acts 21:9).

Several women are mentioned by Luke as witnesses of Jesus’ Salvific action in their lives during his ministry in Galilee: Simon’s mother-in-law cured by him of a fever (Lk 4:38-39), the widow of Nain who recovers her son returned to life by Jesus (Lk 7:11-17), the sinful woman who receives forgiveness from Jesus (Lk 7:36-50), the woman with a haemorrhage who is healed and Jairus’ daughter who is raised by Jesus (Lk 8:40-56).

Mary Magdalene, Joanna wife of Chuza, Susanna and many others are witnesses and ministers of the Word of Jesus the preacher, who proclaims the Kingdom of God in his Galilee ministry. They also place all their material wealth at the service of this Kingdom (Lk 8:1-3). They form the female component of the itinerant community of Jesus in which they are included along with the Twelve. Luke highlights them in an open official list that includes their three proper names, placed in a summary within the account of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, as the very beginning of the narrative block that ends with the summit of Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem within the narration of the event of the resurrection. Here he writes another similar list, but with differences that denote specific meanings (Lk 24:110). Starting from the synoptic tradition of the Passion narratives which testify to similar lists explaining how the women have followed Jesus from Galilee and also placing them as the subject of the verb diakonéō (Mk 15:40-47; Mt 27:55-61), Luke composes his own story that draws out the presence of these women, by mentioning them already in the account of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee.

Martha and her sister Mary are witnesses who have known Jesus (Lk 10:38-42) and represent those brothers and sisters who listen to the Word of God and put it into practice (Acts 16:11-15). Luke shows, in a scene of brother/sisterhood,7 diakonia or ministry, as a prolexis, transmitting the fundamental meaning of the ministerial dimension. This ministerial dimension is expressed as the identity belonging to the disciples of the Lord Jesus of which he is the main model (Lk 22:24-27).8 This diakonia is further developed in the second part of Luke’s work, where it is referred to it eight more times (Acts 1:17-25; 6:1-4; 11:29; 12:25; 20:24; 21:19). Luke’s presentation of the sisters Martha and Mary, is a kind of ‘showing’, of both the attitudes for living ministry and how the Lord is pointing

to ministry as the radical essence of Christian identity. The family bonds of parent-child and brother/sisterhood are the propitious environment to live this approach to ministry. The importance of listening to the Word, can be seen in both Lk 10:38-42 and Acts 6:1-6 which are parallel passages, placed in both the first and second part of the work. While there are many needs that must be attended to for the Kingdom of God to be revealed, listening to the Word is the only true necessity that cannot be abandoned.

The “Daughter of Abraham” is another witness of the liberation fulfilled by the Word. Jesus’ action recreates her dignity, leading her to praise God joining the multitude who choose to recognize and rejoice in the action of God (Lk 13:10-17). In the healing event of the crippled woman, that takes place in a synagogue on the Sabbath, Luke manifests Jesus’ Word of Salvation that also teaches how to discern responsibly the interpretation of God’s will concerning what can be done on the Sabbath. The Sabbath is shown to be the opportune day to free each member of God’s people from the bondage of Satan and to recreate their dignity. Jesus continues his ministry preaching the Good News of

the Kingdom of God, fighting against everything that prevents the establishment of the Kingdom and giving a place to the daughters and sons of Abraham who had previously been excluded (Lk 19:1-10). The Word and the action of Jesus channel for this woman the fullness of the creative action of God that is revealed in the Sabbath rest of the seventh day and the freeing of Israel from slavery through the Exodus.

The poor widow is highlighted by Jesus as a role model for his disciples, a witness of superlative donation. Such radical and total giving is a consequence of absolute trust in Yahveh in the style of the Anawim of the Old Testament (Lk 21:1-4). In this passage, Luke shows the significance that the poor have in his writings: they are the ones who give everything they possess and share it for the common good. This passage presents Jesus the prophet’s perspective on poverty, since it is he who describes the widow as “the poor one”, pointing her out as the prototype of the blessed to whom the Kingdom of God belongs (Lk 6: 21), the Kingdom where he is the humble king. Luke 21:3 is the last time that the term ptōchós is used in Luke’s work and it is the only time that the author writes it

in feminine and preceded by the article: hē ptōché. So after having presented throughout the Gospel the meaning of being poor to his disciples, he concludes by highlighting “the poor one”(in the feminine form). In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke shows the experience of poverty in the first Christian community, which is made up of ‘poor’ disciples who put everything they possess in common so that no one is in need (Acts 2:42-48; 4:32-37). The Christian community lives this ideal of poverty by faith and in a communion of heart and soul, which is visibly expressed in a communion of material goods, and so living out the recommendation of Dt 15:4: “Certainly there should not be any poor person next to you, for Yahveh will grant you his blessing in the land that Yahveh your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess.”

The “Daughters of Jerusalem”, Jerusalem’s women inhabitants personified as a mother, during his walk towards Calvary become witnesses of the Covenant, the Covenant that Jesus is renewing by the shedding his blood, (Lk 23:26-32), and that will be consummated in the Kingdom of God (Lk 22:14-18). They listen to the Words that he speaks to them,

as he interprets prophetically the events that the Father assumes within his project of Salvation and exhorts them to cry for the right reason: not for him who is the “green tree” that will rise again after death, but for them and their descendants who still have many trials to face. By alluding to the images of gestation and the raising children in this passage, typical expressions of female fertility, along with similar images throughout the Gospel (Lk 11:27-28; 21: 23; 23:29), Luke is expressing Jesus’ invitation to those who follow him, to welcome and keep the Word with all their being, just as he is doing at that moment. As he completely gives his life, Jesus proclaims that the blessing of the womb that gives birth and of the breasts that suckle is surpassed by the blessing of hearing the Word of God and keeping it (Lk 11:27-28), and that it is this blessedness that prevails for him during his passion and similarly for his disciples when they are persecuted (Lk 13:31-35; 19:41-44; 21:5-36; Acts 4:23-31; 8:1-13; 11 :19-26; 13:44-52; 16:19-40; 17:10-15; 21:1-28,31).

The power of the Word of God to create and to liberate is demonstrated by the words and deeds of Jesus, who throughout his ministry wholistically renews the marginalised poor, both men and women who have been unjustly deprived of their original dignity.

Mary Magdalene and Joanna are insistently presented as witnesses and ministers of the Word, appearing in an official list, for the second time. The second list contains their names along with that of Mary Mother of James and is at the same time open to others who are also witnesses and ministers of the Word. This shared ministry stems from having listened to Jesus when he preached to them in Galilee (Lk 24:6), from having followed him from there (Lk 23:55), from having seen him die in Jerusalem (Lk 23 :49) and participated in his burial (Lk 23:55-56), from having received and transmitted the message of the resurrection, announcing it constantly (Lk 24:1-12). Luke shows them taking the initiative9 in sharing their faith in the resurrection at the beginnings of the Christian community (Lk 24:1-53), proclaiming the resurrection to the Eleven and to the rest of the members of the community. They are the ones that mark the passage that Luke’s community lives from faith in the empty tomb to faith in the resurrection. The message of the resurrection transforms them into ministers of the Word, constantly announcing what they have witnessed.

2. A new model of ecclesial ministry

In the first part of this article, we have established that Luke’s writings contain abundant textual evidence of the diverse participation of women in significant roles in the first Christian community. Similarly, we have seen the influence of their womanhood in the understanding of how God continues to intervene in the history of Salvation. From this we can deduce important foundations of the Theology of Proclamation present in the Gospel.

The way the Gospel shows how the Word became flesh highlights the female capacity to conceive and give birth as a model of the dynamism that the disciples need to imitate: listening to the Word and putting it into practice, and so becoming fertile ground for the propagation of the Word that gives abundant fruit.

The Infancy accounts also underline the prophetic character of the People of God showing clearly the prophetic action of men and women that give continuity to the prophets and prophetesses who have gone before them. The ministerial dimension, a key characteristic of the community of the Way, is exercised, like Jesus, through words and deeds.10 Martha and Mary express an ongoing process of learning to integrate the ministry of the Word and the ministry of the tables. Whilst both these aspects are important in Christian ministry, prayer and the ministry of the Word are seen as priority, a priority that is guaranteed by the Twelve Apostles.

The power of the Word of God to create and to liberate is demonstrated by the words and deeds of Jesus, who throughout his ministry wholistically renews the marginalised poor, both men and women who have been unjustly deprived of their original dignity.

The prophetic word of Jesus constantly interprets the events of history, even the cruellest sufferings of men and women that parallel his own passion, recognizing them as being assumed in the Father’s plans that prevail beyond the vicissitudes of history. The characteristically female capacity for the gestation and nurturing of children finds an exalted recognition as the necessary path for the disciples of Jesus, whose whole being is involved in listening to and keeping the Word of God, the same Word that they proclaim to the ends of the earth.

The saving power of the Word preached by Jesus touches both men and women equally, restoring their human dignity and making them his witnesses. Many of them, both men and women are transformed into ministers who announce this same Word.

It can be seen then that the first Christian community counted on the participation of men and women in the ministry of the Word. How is the living out of this reality, as shown

in the Gospel, encouraged today? The society of recent times is gradually recognizing the importance of the participation of both men and women in all areas of human development.

Observing society in general, especially in the sixties, women were becoming more and more aware of the importance of respecting their dignity. They were growing in the awareness that social subordination was not inevitable, rather, that it was a product of social processes that not only could be examined and understood, but could even be opposed and changed.11

Decades later, during which time many projects have been undertaken to promote the active participation of women in society, some results are being seen: there are more women involved in significant public roles, in current scientific research, women journalists, directors of hospitals, business executives in regional, national, and international companies, governors of regions and presidents of entire nations, etc. Also, the Church, although with marked delay, is currently looking more seriously to continue the path started by Jesus of Nazareth, who passed through this world doing good, with words and deeds, to men and women equally. There are now large numbers of women engaged in many forms of ministry: prophetic ministries, theologians and professors of Theology, presidents of International Ecclesial Families,12 consultants to Congregations,13 Dicasteries and Pontifical Councils, secretaries and members of Pontifical Commissions, secretaries of Dicasteries14 and Councils,15 members of the Dicastery for Bishops,16 etc.

It is understandable that after twenty centuries of Christianity, during which almost all societies around the world have settled into a way of functioning that omits the feminine contribution, that we are only just beginning to see the results in recent decades of an awakening awareness of the importance of the full development of women and how essential their collaboration is.

Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, in the introduction to the book on feminist exegesis in the 20th century, published in 2014, presents the situation as a paradigm shift and a renovating transformation.17 We believe that it is indeed a question of projecting and carrying out a new model based on the principles of communion and co-responsibility, characteristic of the Gospel, which equally include women and men. Exegesis, due to its influence on the configuration of the Church and culture, clearly has an important role in this renewal.

The figure of Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus, has very frequently been presented as the prototype of a believing, helpful and silent woman, and whilst it is true that these virtues do characterize her, Luke’s Gospel also recognizes other virtues. Prophecy is an example. Mary, together with Elizabeth, is shown prophesying, actively involved in the transformation of the society of their time and taking initiatives that in their time would have been revolutionary, proclaiming, with their life and with their words, the transformation of the established social order through the power of God’s mercy made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth.

If Mary, Jesus’ mother can be presented in the Marian devotions of popular piety and in preaching about her, more and more in the pro-active roles that can be seen in the Gospel, this must surely bring about in the faithful a praxis of faith that is more incisive in society and unleash capacities more effective for the transformation of social structures. Most Christians do not have a familiar experience of living out the prophetic nature of Christ as members of the people of God. Although this dimension is described in various documents of the Second Vatican Council, in practice it is unfamiliar to many people and due to this lack of awareness the presence of Christians in important spheres of society often has little impact.

Due to this lack of living out their prophetic nature, their participation in evangelizing the structures of society is minimal or limited to living out their faith only in religious contexts. Luke’s writings show openly the participation of women and men in the ministry of prophecy and this needs to give light to Christian praxis in the contemporary context of our society.

The influence of the gospel could bring so much creativity to contemporary educational programmes. In the same way the gospel vision of the human person integrating the spiritual and transcendent dimensions as well as the physical, could significantly enrich many political projects. The economy, similarly, needs the orientation of the gospel proclaimed by the disciples of the Lord Jesus, with intelligent proposals that reflect the principles of solidarity and the search for the common good of all. In all these areas, each disciple recognising their prophetic mission would have many repercussions and a huge impact in making our contemporary world more human.

Another issue significant for women is how they are portrayed in the religious imaginary. Often when they are mentioned in preaching or written material, greater emphasis is made on what they lack rather than on their potential. For example: Anna is described as an elderly widow rather than a prophetess, Elizabeth as an barren older woman rather than the mother of Christ’s forerunner, what is underlined about Mary Magdalene is that she was possessed by seven demons (or even it is claimed she was a prostitute!) rather than as a woman fully saved by Jesus , when the daughter of Abraham is mentioned, her being bent over is stressed rather than her being a woman freed by Jesus on the Sabbath, the poverty of the widow of the temple is emphasised more than her generosity and model trust in God, the daughters of Jerusalem might be implied to be over emotional, rather than as witnesses of the New Covenant of God with his people, the women witnesses of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, can be presented as stupid more than as ministers of the Word, and so on. All these instances reflect the projection of negative prejudices around women’s capacities that have existed in the society and the Church

María

for so many centuries, that surface even in the language used in public faith sharing and transmission. My hope is, that little by little, there will be an evolution in the way we use language and interpret Scripture.

A parallel area is the way that the verb diakonéō is translated. Every time this verb is used referring to women in the Gospel, it is more likely to translated in ways that relate to domestic service. For many women of good will desiring to consecrate their lives to the service of the Lord this has generated a submissive mentality and the suggestion that domestic roles are the only route of sanctity open to them.

The emphasis in translations of Luke 8:1-3 are a further example of this. In most of the translations it is assumed that the recipients of the service performed by women are Jesus and the Twelve, thus justifying the institutional assignment of subordinate roles for women at the service of men. However, analysing this passage more carefully, we recognize that women’s ministry is in function of Jesus, he is the recipient of their service.

They minister to Jesus who is preaching, announcing the Kingdom of God and this service is lived out together with the Twelve, being members of the same itinerant group, following Jesus in equal dignity, as men and women, all ministers of the Word.

We are talking about an equality of dignity as ministers of the Word, for men and women, and what is really surprising, is that this equality is precisely what we find reflected in the original community that Luke shows us in the Gospel. The Gospel expresses a parity of dignity for the disciples of Jesus, both men and women, and there is no room for revindications of either sex. The passage of Luke 24: 1-12 has often been seen as unfavourable to women because it has been interpreted as if the Eleven considered the words of the women announcing the resurrection to be foolish. However, when we examine this passage more deeply, we can see that it is placed as the first part of a triptych, presented in chapter 24 of the Gospel, which shows the dynamism of the community of Jesus’ disciples who progressively assimilate the reality of the Resurrection.

The saving power of the Word preached by Jesus touches both men and women equally, restoring their human dignity and making them his witnesses. Many of them, both men and women are transformed into ministers who announce this same Word.

The women are the first to believe and announce the Resurrection, transmitting the message to the men who needed to gradually understand it until they recognize, all together, the Risen Jesus in the midst of the entire community, in which both men and women participate and come to believe in Him. It is not a question either of male chauvinism or exaggerated feminism, but a Christian community in which we are all one in Christ spreading the Word of God to the ends of the earth, exercising a diversity of ministries, assuming different roles without the criteria of these distinctions being forcedly roles belonging to either the male or female sex. It is, in short, a synodal ministry.

I believe that we have a fruitful opportunity to continue advancing in theological developments that are more faithful to the Gospel, that demonstrate more clearly the participation of women and men in the evolution of the Christian community.

The participation of women in the ministry of the Word, as reflected in the Gospel according to Luke, shines a light on where our current praxis as a Church can move forward. In reality, there are already a large number of women who are living the ministry of the Word and collaborating in the emerging pastoral needs that have arisen over time. It would hugely benefit both the Church and today’s society, if women, with the appropriate preparation, were to be allowed greater participation in the ministry of the Word, in the public official levels of the Church. If this were the case, these public spaces with the greatest impact in the Church, that tend to give expression exclusively to a male perspective would be greatly enriched by women’s way of seeing reality and of interpreting the Word of God.

1 Translators note: The author is using the word predicación, ‘preaching’, to refer to a range of ways of sharing the Word; retreat giving, prayer motivations, catechesis, etc. as well as in liturgical settings.

2 “Within the broader charismatic tradition of the New Testament, then, we can see that certain baptized persons exercised the ministry of transmitting in a more organic and stable form related to different situations in life the teaching of the apostles and evangelists (cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation  Dei Verbum, 8). The Church wished to acknowledge this service as a concrete expression of a personal charism that contributed greatly to the exercise of her mission of evangelization. This glance at the life of the first Christian communities engaged in the spread of the Gospel also encourages the Church in our day to appreciate possible new ways for her to remain faithful to the word of the Lord so that his Gospel can be preached to every creature.” Apostolic Letter issued «Motu Proprio» Antiquum Ministerium, instituting the ministry of Catechist, Vatican City 2021, 2.

3 Cf. Apostolic Letter issued «Motu Proprio» Spiritus Domini. Concerning the modification of canon 230 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law referring to the access of women to the ministries of Lector and Acolyte, Vatican City 2021.

4 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, to the Bishops, Clergy, Consecrated Persons and the lay Faithful on the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World, Vatican City 2013, no.103.

5 S. Pellegrini (“Donne senza nome nei Vangeli Canonici” in M. Navarro Puerto – M. PerroNi, ed., I Vangeli. Narrazioni e storia, Trapani 2012, 414. 424) analyses unnamed women in the Canonical Gospels and highlights their positive character with regards to Jesus as a common denominator in their narrative function. Drawing on my studies of the women in Luke’s Gospel, we can recognise that this can be seen as a common denominator of the women whether named or anonymous.

6 We are using the term ‘Ministers’, with the biblical meaning as it is used in the Luke’s writings, which refers to someone as an intermediary, who responds to a commission, who is sent in the name of another to carry out a mission, to serve. We are not using this term with the technical connotation that has developed in Church Tradition posterior to the New Testament texts.

7 TN: the author uses the spanish word hermandad, which includes both brothers hermanos and sisters hermanas.

8 “From the beginning, the Christian community was characterized by many different forms of ministry carried out by men and women who, obedient to the working of the Holy Spirit, devoted their lives to the building up of the Church. At times, the charisms that the Spirit constantly pours out on the baptized took on a visible and tangible form of immediate service to the Christian community, one recognized as an indispensable diakonia for the community.” Apostolic Letter issued «Motu Proprio» Antiquum Ministerium, instituting the ministry of Catechist, Vatican City 2021, 2.

9 TN: The author uses the phrase ‘primereando’, a neologism invented by Pope Francis to express the Christian mission; taking the initiative as God constantly takes initiatives, in Evangelii Gaudium 24.

10 M. Grilli, Una sfida per la Chiesa, Milano 2022, 62. In this book the author affirms that Luke’s writings underline that the way of Jesus is the only reference point for the way of the Church (synod) .

11 J. Plaskow, «Movement and Emerging Scholarship: Feminist Bibilical Scholarship in the 1970s in the United States», in e schüssler FioreNza, ed., Feminist Biblical Studies in the Twentieth Century. Scholarship and Movement, Atlanta 2014, 31.

12 The Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity, which received pontifical approval on the 15th April 2000, alternates the presidential role between a member of the male branch and a member of the female branch every six years. The first woman president was Isabel María Fornari Carbonell (2000-2006) and the second Lucía Aurora Herrerías Guerra (2012-2018).

13 Nuria Calduch-Benages, was named as a Consultant for the Doctrine of the Faith, on the 29th of October and had previously been appointed as secretary to the Pontifical Biblical Commision on the 9th March 2021.

14 On the 23rd April 2022, Alessandra Smerilli was appointed acting Secretary to the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development.

15 Charlotte Kreuter-Kirchhof second in command of the Vatican Council for the Economy, was named on the 6th August 2020.

16 Raffaella Petrini, F.S.E., Secretary General of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, Yvonne Reungoat, F.M.A., former Superior General Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and Maria Lia Zervino, President of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations; were named members of the Dicastery of Bishops on the 13th July 2022.

17 e schüssler FioreNza, ed., Feminist Biblical Studies in the Twentieth Century. Scholarship and Movement, Atlanta 2014.

SISTERS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: INTEGRATING VOICES FROM THE MARGINS

Sisters for the Environment: integrating Voices from the Margins is a statement of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG).

UISG is a membership organization for the leaders of Catholic women’s congregations, representing over 600,000 Catholic Sisters worldwide. Numbering over 1.900 Superiors General (or congregational leaders), with Generalates (or headquarters) in 97 countries, the UISG network is estimated to be one of the largest providers of direct community support in areas including health, hunger relief, and care for children. Alongside its core mission of training, supporting and connecting members, UISG acts as an umbrella organization tor Sisters engaged in tackling some of the world’s most pressing development challenges.

As Sisters, we are convinced of the need for an integral, integrative and inclusive approach to realizing the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the Laudato Si’ Goals.

Integral: we are holistic in tackling social and environmental issues, advocating from a vision that is both human and spiritual as we seek sustainable solutions.

Integrative: we build bridges to bring people together, focusing on our shared humanity as we journey towards a safe, just and peaceful future tor all.

Inclusive: we leave no one behind, knowing that the world’s most marginalized communities can teach us all the resilience required to confront the challenges of our time.

As our leaders increasingly acknowledge the need for global development solutions rooted in justice, and not just charity, we believe it is vital to recognize that millions of people still face significant obstacles in affirming their right to participation. As Sisters, we build our mission on evidence from our work on the ground, inspired by our reflection on the Gospel message, the Church’s social teaching, and the leadership of Pope Francis.

Catholic Sisters and their allies are at the forefront of a movement to shape global conversations around the needs of our most vulnerable communities. In this spirit, UISG issues the following statement.

Sr. Patricia Murray, Executive Secretary, UISG

Sisters for the Environment: lntegrating Voices from the Margins is a statement of the lnternational Union of Superiors General (UISG) intended to reflect and clarify the response of Catholic Sisters to the environmental challenges of our time.

On one hand, this statement addresses the urgency of the current moment, identifying COP27 on climate change and COP15 on biodiversity as crucial opportunities to turn the tide of destruction that is ravaging our Earth. On the other hand, it expresses a deeprooted, faith-driven vision for ecological conversion that has inspired the mission of Sisters for many decades and continues to do so every day, all around the world.

The publication of this statement aims to create a platform to outline principles and orientations fora more sustainable future, based on the learnings that Catholic Sisters have acquired through their exceptional engagement with grassroots communities. As a pillar of UISG’s environmental advocacy, this statement will stimulate action that is decentralized and diversified through the involvement of religious and non-religious groups, men and women, younger and older people, governmental agencies and intergovernmental bodies, international organizations and private companies.

We call on the global development community to engage with Catholic Sisters in promoting and realizing integral environmental solutions, to ensure a safe and thriving future for all people and our planet.

I. Integrate responses to climate change and biodiversity loss

Integrate responses to climate change and biodiversity loss, recognizing the interconnected nature of ecological challenges, and in particular the cascading impact of adaptations to climate change on biodiversity and the exploitation of natural resources.

In practice, this means:

1. While embracing the Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for monitoring and evaluation, acknowledging that environmental action cannot be siloed, and that a nuanced, interdisciplinary approach is vital to safeguard the future of our planet.

2. Addressing climate change and loss of biodiversity with an integrated vision to protect environments and ecosystems, ensuring that climate adaptations do not depend on polluting or harmful mining practices, for example, or on land development that destroys the habitat of endangered species.

3. Acting immediately to halt biodiversity collapse - ensuring that at least half the Earth and its oceans become protected areas by 2030 - as well as restore ravaged ecosystems and reduce global dependence on fossil fuels.

4. Achieving global consensus on a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty and concluding a new agreement on a United Nations Global Biodiversity Framework.

II. Integrate care for people and our planet

Integrate care for people and our planet, rejecting the anthropocentric vision that underpins habits of destructive consumption, and recognizing the inextricable link between our environment and ourselves.

In practice, this means:

1. When taking action for the Earth, ensuring that the dignity and rights of communities affected by climate change and biodiversity collapse are prioritized over national or private considerations of profit and economic expansion.

2. Urgently redressing global inequality through an integrated loss and damage framework which explicitly ties climate adaptation to social justice, recognizing the ecological debt owed by the Global North to countries bearing the brunt of an environmental breakdown that they haven’t caused.

3. Promoting equitable access to resources for ecological adaptations to increase agricultural resilience and sustain food security, protect access to clean water, and respond to predicted sea-level rise and coastal erosion in human-settled areas.

4. Ensuring secure livelihoods and just compensation tor workers in fossil fuel industries, and other unsustainable sectors of the global economy, impacted by the transition to ecological alternatives.

III. Integrate vulnerability from the margins

Integrate vulnerability from the margins in leadership and decision-making, ensuring the voices of those most affected by environmental breakdown are at the center of global conversations on resilience and recovery.

In practice, this means:

1. Acknowledging that vulnerability can be a strength, and that embedding the willingness to be vulnerable as a core value of responsible leadership can help us to find collaborative solutions for the shared future of humankind.

2. Hearing and heeding the voices of those affected by environmental breakdown, both in recognition of their human dignity and as a pragmatic approach to learning from their resilience.

3. Furthermore, integrating the vulnerable as key players within our institutional frameworks, ensuring that voices from the margins are featured centrally in the global dialogue for change, and not confined to advocating from the outside.

4. Therefore, focusing environmental solutions on the needs of marginalized groups including women and girls, displaced and homeless people, children and the elderly, indigenous communities and other ethnic minorities.

5. In particular, incorporating suggestions from indigenous communities to halt or modify projects on or near indigenous land, and ensuring their expertise is included in efforts to mitigate climate change and biodiversity collapse.

6. Recognizing that women religious are uniquely placed to advocate for and with the communities they serve, and have a role to play both in bringing local voices into global conversations and in ensuring that global commitments are implemented locally. See

From the Desk of the Executive Secretary

The months seem to pass quickly and the various meetings, programmes and activities at UISG increase and multiply now that the worst of Covid has passed. A series of important meetings have been held at UISG and elsewhere sponsored by the Dicastery for Institute of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Conferences of Religious from certain parts of the world have gathered in language groups to reflect on how best to accompany congregations coming to completion. These various meetings have led to a wider discussion on the challenges faced by religious leaders in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Hungary. Those who attended expressed great appreciation of the opportunity to share across countries and continents. Each group met for about a day and half with members of the Dicastery. They presented reports and on the third day of each gathering, a meeting was held at the Dicastery where the dialogue continued. A two day meeting will take place at the end of March 2023, here in Rome, with representatives of all the previous meetings. It is hoped that this meeting will be able to gather the practical suggestions and best practices that have already been shared.

The Care and Safeguarding Commission of the UISG/USG has been particularly active offering workshops on a number of topics. Previous webinars have been published in book form – Promoting a Culture of Care and Protection – New Challenges in Consecrated Life – in Italian, English and Spanish. Members of UISG can request copies of these texts in the various languages by writing to the following address safeguarding@uisg. org . The articles cover a wide range of topics and are essential reading for Superiors General and leadership teams. We continue to ask Superiors General to nominate a sister as the congregational delegate for safeguarding. The role of the delegate is to participate in UISG-USG webinars and to keep up to date generally with canonical, theological and spiritual aspects of care and safeguarding. The delegate’s role is to keep Superiors General and Council informed about developments in the field and to ensure that policies, procedures and guidelines are regularly updated and are truly operational within the congregation. Being part of an inter-congregational network, a delegate can learn through hearing about actual cases and by the sharing of best practice. If your congregation has not yet appoint a delegate please consider doing so and send her name to UISG using the email above. This area of Care and Safeguarding is continually evolving as studies and research emerge from different parts of the world. UISG has appointed Ms. Tina Campbell as safeguarding consultant to UISG. She will undertake in-depth work

with four or five congregations. Materials produced will then be shared with all member congregations.

Formation opportunities continue to be offered at UISG. The programme for Formators began at the end of January with 46 participants. The organizing team has expanded as Sr. Cynthia Reyes SRA (Coordinator) and Sr. Toni Longo ASC have been joined by Sr. Shalini Muchtal PBVM. Sr. Shalini come from India and was a professor of Systematic Theology at Vidyajyoti College of Theology, Delhi. She also served as a visiting professor to a number of other Seminaries and Theological Institutes in India and has been VicePresident of the Indian Theological Association. We are delighted to welcome Sr. Shalini to UISG.

The online courses continue and attract a large number of participants. Recently UISG worked with the Discerning Leadership Programme run by the Jesuits to offer an online modular programme to Generalate Teams in Asia and Africa. This experience was greatly appreciated and translation was offered in Korean and Japanese. There were about 124 participants in all. Another very successful 6-day programme focusing on interculturality had over 220 participants. Great appreciation has been expressed for the formation that has been offered on various topics including Self Care and Vulnerability. Sowing Hope for the Planet, Personality and Interculturality, Leadership and Vulnerability, Synodality, Understanding Governance, Catholic Care for Children training, JPIC formation workshop, etc.

Several important events were held on-site and on-line events at the end of 2022 and early 2023. The Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, in partnership with the Salesian and Comboni Sisters and Sisters of Our Lady of the Mission together with Vises International and Misean Cara undertook an important research project during Covid. How Are the Girls, was a research project which studied how the rights of girls were affected during the Covid-19 pandemic. They research 3,443 adolescents and young women between the ages of 10-20 in 6 countries and in 30 locations, both rural/remote and urban. Their findings are very helpful for future planning. The following statistics point to a pattern that probably occurred elsewhere:

- 2 out of 4 girls have difficulty studying,

- 13% dropped out of school as large numbers of institutions and information educational centers closed.

- 1 in 5 girls did not use the internet during lockdown.

- In addition 1 in 6 had difficulty accessing food during lockdown

- 6 out of 10 girls reported on increased responsibility in relation to care and domestic work during the period.

- 91% hoped to continue their studies

This shows the urgent need to help get the girls who have dropped out back to school and to offer interventions to help them to catch up with the lack of opportunities during the two year period.

Sisters for the Environment: Integrating Voices from the Margins is a report published by UISG which was a collaboration between the Sowing Hope for the Planet initiative of the JPIC Office of UISG-USG and Sisters Advocating Globally a project funded by the Global Solidarity Fund. Other important partners were UNANIMA International and CAFOD. It

was launched at an event held at UISG on November 3, 2022 with a panel presentation. Sr. Sheila Kinsey Coordinator of Sowing Hope for the Planet and other speakers spoke on key topics which were reflected in the report.

- Integrate responses to climate change and biodiversity loss

- Integrate care for people and our planet

- Integrate vulnerability from the margins

The report shares practical strategies for action and advocacy on each of these areas. If you would like to receive a copy of the report please contact the Coordinator Giulia Cirillo at the following email: advocacy.comms.coordinator@uisg.org

Finally The UISG collaborated with the Dominican Sisters Federation, UNANIMA, JCOR and others in October and November 2022, to highlight the presence and voice of sisters at Cop 27. Through webinars before and during COP 27 and through the sharing of resources sisters worldwide were invited to participate. The opening webinar, Shoeless on Sinai, invited participants to undertake a digital pilgrimage during the COP. This was followed by a number of other important moments of solidarity including the launch of Sisters for the Environment, a virtual gathering for the Global Prayer for Earth, an Informal Interfaith Gathering and finally a daily prayer sequence. Special thanks are due to Teresa Blumenstein – the Global Coordinator of JCOR which is a coalition of 21 congregations, federations or not-for-profit organizations established by religious and to Sr. Durstyne Farnan OP from the Dominican Leadership Conference who helped to coordinate this collaboration. Perhaps we can continue to pray the Pilgrimage Prayer which was developed for that meeting.

Shoeless on Sinai

Earth, our common home, is crying out to us through famines, floods, and fires, “Remove your shoes of ignorance. You stand on holy ground.”

Earth, our community, is being forced to move away from the spaces that have nurtured our families for centuries.

“Remove your shoes of apathy. You stand on holy ground.”

Earth, our common home, is calling us to recognize the true wealth we are squandering in the pursuit of human- made currency.

“Remove your shoes of greed. You stand on holy ground.

Earth, our community, is being crushed in every society and ecosystem by excess or deprivation. “Remove your shoes of individualism. You stand on holy ground.”

Earth, our common home, cannot wait any longer for us to “Remove our shoes and recognize that we live on holy ground.

(If it serves you, spend another minute repeating the mantra “Remove our shoes. We stand on holy ground.”)

To listen to the webinars’ recordings: www.uisg.org/en/playlist

To learn more on the UISG Projects: www.uisg.org/en/projects

All news: www.uisg.org/en/news

Sr. Patricia Murray appointed as a consultant to the Dicastery for Culture and Education

On Saturday, February 18th, Pope Francis announced the nominations of the members and consultants to the Dicastery for Culture and Education. Among the appointed consultants is sr. Patricia Murray, ibvm, the Executive Secretary of the UISG.

Sr. Patricia says: “It is truly an honor to be nominated as a consultant to the new Dicastery for Culture and Education. Schools, universities and other educational settings are privileged places at the cutting edge of the dialogue between faith and culture.”

Read more: http://bit.ly/428G6aq

Go out and walk towards freedom: Interview with Sr. Gabriella Bottani, a Comboni Missionary.

From 2015 to 2022 she was the International Coordinator of Talitha Kum. Today the role is held by Sr Abby Avelino, mm.

“I always felt strongly about this dimension of sisterhood, which is born and built from spiritual life. Today is the festival of light. I believe that it is really this light of hope that even in the darkest darkness, in moments of crisis…”

Read more: http://bit.ly/3Lo1Uce

Communicating Religious Life: First International Meeting for Communication in Religious Life.

The Meeting will take place uniquely online from November 27th to November 30th, 2023. The title we chose for the program is “Communicating Religious Life”, whereas our slogan will be “At Your Word we will cast the nets. We will tell the whole world about You.”

Read more: http://bit.ly/3YLywzB

New Co-Executive Secretary of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Commission

After more than seven years on the position of the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation

Co-Executive Secretary, sr. Sheila Kinsey, fcjm is concluding her mandate which is now being assumed by sr. Maamalifar M. Poreku.

Read more: http://bit.ly/40aJCPT

Our Common Home: A guide to caring for our living planet

On 14 February, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, presented “Our Common Home: A guide to caring for our living planet”, an illustrated booklet that connects climate change, biodiversity and sustainable resource use with the messages of Pope Francis’s 2015 Encyclical on the care for our Common Home, Laudato si’.

Read more: http://bit.ly/3mT0uw8

Social Media Evangelization Online course

Learn how to become a DIGITAL MISSIONARY in the world of social networks!

Read more: http://bit.ly/3YLEroc

UISG EXECUTIVE BOARD (2022 - 2025)

PRESIDENT

VICE-PRESIDENT

Sr. Nadia Coppa, ASC (Italy)

Adorers of the Blood of Christ

Sr. Mary Teresa Barron, OLA (Ireland)

Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles

Sr. Roxanne Schares, SSND (United States)

School Sisters of Notre Dame

Sr. Theodosia Baki, TSSF (Cameroun)

Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis

Sr. Graciela Francovig, FI (Argentina)

Hijas de Jesus

Sr. Theresa Purayidathil, EF (India)

Daughters of the Church

Sr. M. Jose Gay Miguel, CMT (Spain)

Teresian Missionary Carmelites

Sr. Miriam Altenhofen, SSpS (Germany)

Missionary Servants of the Holy Spirit

Sr. María Rita Calvo Sang, ODN (Spain)

Order of the Company of Mary Our Lady

Sr. Antonietta Papa, FMM (Italy)

Missionaries Daughters of Mary

ALTERNATES

Sr. Dolores Lahr, CSJ (United States)

Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambéry

Sr. Patricia del Carmen Villaroel Garay, SSCC (Chile)

Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Sr. Anna Josephina D’Souza, SAC (India)

Missionary Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottines)

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Sr. Patricia Murray, IBVM (Ireland)

Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loreto Sisters)

SECRETARIAT

Sr. Patricia Murray, ibvm Executive Secretary segretaria.esecutiva@uisg.org - 0668.400.236

Sr. Mary John Kudiyiruppil, SSpS Associate Executive Secretary vice.segretaria@uisg.org

Rosalia Armillotta Assistant to the Executive Secretary ufficio.segreteria@uisg.org - 0668.400.238

FINANCES

Aileen Montojo Financial Administrator economato@uisg.org - 0668.400.212

Sr. Sunitha Luscious,  zsc Assistant Financial Administrator assistente.economato@uisg.org- 0668.400.249

Miriam Coco Financial Office Assistant amministrazione@uisg.org

Patrizia Balzerani Membership Secretary contributi@uisg.org - 0668.400.248

COMMUNICATION

Patrizia Morgante Communication Officer comunicazione@uisg.org - 0668.400.234

Sr.  Thérèse Raad, sdc Communication Office Assistant assistente.comunicazione@uisg.org - 0668.400.233

Miriam Di Bartolo Communication Office Assistant assistente.comunicazione@uisg.org

Antonietta Rauti Coordinator UISG Bulletin bollettino@uisg.org - 0668.400.230

Sr. Abby Avelino, mm Coordinator Talitha Kum coordinator@talithakum.info - 0668.400.235

Sr. Mayra Cuellar, mb Talitha Kum International Coordination Team info@talithakum.info

Marion Lugagne Delpon Talitha Kum secretariat@talithakum.info

Sr. Mary Niluka Perera, rgs Catholic Care for Children International ccc@uisg.org - 0668.400.225

Sr.  M.  Cynthia Reyes, sra UISG Formators Programme formators.programme@uisg.org - 0668.400.227

Sr. Paula Jordão, fmvd Formation Coordinator formation@uisg.org - 0668.400.245

Sr. Carmen Elisa Bandeo, SSpS International Migrants and Refugees Network rete.migranti@uisg.org

Giulia Cirillo Sisters Advocating advocacy.comms.coordinator@uisg.org

Canon Law Council canoniste@uisg.org - 0668.400.223

Sr. Florence de la Villeon, rscj Technical Coordinator sicily@uisg.org -  0668.400.231

Svetlana Antonova Technical Assistant General Services assis.tec@uisg.org - 0668.400.250

STAFF

Riccardo Desai Technical Assistant for computers and online technology tecnico@uisg.org - 0668.400.213

EXTERNAL CONSULTANT

Nawojka Mocek-Gallina Communication Office Assistant assistente.comunicazione@uisg.org