OUR FOUNDING VISION TODAY: BECOME WHAT WE HEAR

We have spent a long time reflecting on what our Rule of Life teaches us about the centrality of the Word of God for us. To sum it up, I read it as an invitation to become the Word that we listen to and proclaim. It is an invitation to incarnate the Word. I conclude this series of reflections on Constitution 7 by presenting the whole text, and inviting you to reflect on it slowly.

As priests and Brothers, we have complementary responsibilities in evangelizing.
We will spare no effort to awaken or to reawaken the faith in the people to whom we are sent, and we will help them to discover “who Christ is”.
Our mission puts us on constant call to respond to the most urgent needs of the Church through various forms of witness and ministry, but especially through proclaiming the Word of God which finds its fulfilment in the celebration of the sacraments and in service to others.
We have as our goal to establish Christian communities and Churches deeply rooted in the local culture and fully responsible for their own development and growth.

CC&RR, Constitution 7

FOUNDING VISION

“Christians have forgotten that the ministry of listening has been committed to them by Him who is Himself the great listener and whose work they should share. We should listen with the ears of God that we may speak the Word of God.”   Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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2 Responses to OUR FOUNDING VISION TODAY: BECOME WHAT WE HEAR

  1. Eleanor Rabnett says:

    I write this morning from Galilee Centre up in the Ottawa Valley where I am taking part in a 2-day silent retreat of and Exercise in Discernment. It has been a time of listening for me – with the word spoken to me on Friday night was; ‘Listen, speak Lord, your servant is listening.’ In a little more than an hour we begin our final day. In some of the free time allowed us I have been reading about the life of Fr. Lacombe and for some reason I find myself likening him to St. Eugene, his saying yes to God and then living it out.

    “We have as our goal to establish Christian communities and Churches deeply rooted in the local culture and fully responsible for their own development and growth.” This speaks quite clearly to me this morning – it is echoed in what I have been learning about Fr. Lacombe. It also seems to be somehow echoed in how I am trying to live within the sphere of my own communities (not separate but somehow a part of each other with more than just myself as a connecting point). My communities comprise both Christian and non-Christian but still it seems to work. Christ our saviour is so much bigger than our small boundaries and not so inclined as some of us to measure and erect walls.

    This morning I continue to listen to where I am led, even in the sound of the rain which falls. I read again Franks opening: “Become what we hear.” Scary, exciting, inviting all in one – a voice I am quite unable to ignore. Speak Lord, your servant is listening.

  2. Jack Lau, OMI says:

    Thanks Frank, what jumped our was the last line, communities rooted in their own culture and also responsible for their own growth. At times we expect others to tell us who we are rather than going to the heart and allowing our gifts and passions to unfold. To me that is a demention of the incarnation.

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