I.-
Chronicle
( by
Claudio Truzzi, ocd,
Milan )
“The missionary fervour of the Order is the
measure of its interior fervour (…) The
spirit of our Holy Mother, Teresa, does not
allow us to withdraw into ourselves and be
isolated. For this reason I think that in
formation, that is to say in the
communication of our vocation, the
missionary spirit should be more fervent and
occupy a more central position”.
Fr. General, Luis Arostegui, “Address” to
the
Extraordinary Definitory, Chile, September
2005
General theme:
“The Carmelite Mission in an era of
evangelization and globalization”.
Most of the missionary animators (or
missionary zelators) from the European
Provinces, and the Middle East, as well as
Arizona-California (USA) were present for
the opening of the meeting (Monday evening,
February 26). The Provincial of the Navare
Province welcomed everyone. As it was
impossibile for Fr. Anthony M. Zachary,
Definitor General, to preside, Fr. General,
Luis Arostegui, presided. The Provincial of
Navare, Fr. Jesus Murillo, remained for the
entire conference.
Besides Fr. Damaso Zuazua, general secretary
of the Missions and organizer of the
Meeting, those participating were: 1) David
Willems (Belgium), 2) Joseph Ortega
(Andalusia), 3) Vincent Polo
(Aragon-Valencia), 4) John Joseph Herrero
(Burgos), 5) Luis Hernández (Castile), 6)
Felix Escota (Navare), 7) Armand Levillain
(Avignon-Aquitaine, 8) Milos Mato (Croatia),
9) Anastasio Roggero (Genova), 10) Claudio
Truzzi (Lombardy), 11) Carmelo Maglione
(Naples), 12) Savador Usai (Tuscany), 13)
Alexander Bezzi (Venice), 14) Elie Barmo
(Lebanon), 15) Pawel Denisiewicz (Hungary),
16) Robert M. Pirastu (Austria), 17) Jerzy
Nawojowski (Poland-Cracow), 18) Kasimierz
Morawski (Poland – Warsaw), 19) Colm Stone
(USA, Arizona-California), 20) Renato Rosso
(Holy Land-Egypt). All were pleased with the
magnificent gift from “La Obra Máxima” which
each participant received consisting of a
kind of woolen bag, with the title of the
conference written on it, and some printed
material inside.
Those who did not come were the delegates
from Ireland-England, The Netherlands,
Sicily, Rome, Malta, Germany, Catalonia and
the Balearic Islands, and Washington. The
delegates from Portugal and Paris were
prevented from coming at the last moment.
Instead the director of “Il Carmelo e le sue
Missioni” (Morena) participated.
After the introductory talk by Fr. Damaso
Zuazua, Fr. General addressed us on
missionary vocation, beginning with Saint
Teresa. The theme of his talk was
“Missionaries of St. Teresa today:
actuality, meaning, means”. As the prototype
of this teresian-missionary assimilation of
the Order he presented the example of the
extraordinary missionary, Fr. John Vincenz
of Jesus and Mary (1862-1943), founder of
the Missionary centre, “La Obra Máxima” (San
Sebastián). His talk was followed by those
of Fr. Domingo Angel Fdz. de Mendiola on
“The Carmelite Mission in the past: History,
shortcomings, horizons”; then, Fr. Joseph
Manuel Madruga, director of the review
“Misiones Extranjeras” (Madrid), on “The
search for a theology of Mission”; and then,
Fr. Zacharie Igirukwayo’s talk, “Theology of
human development on the missions” was read
in his absence. Two laypeople, the director
and secretary of the World Rural Forum
(Vitoria), spoke to us of “Mission in an era
of globalizzation” (Joseph Mary Ceberio) and
“Mission and the NGO’s” (Joseph Anthony
Osaba).
A lot of time was given to dialogue and to
sharing experiences among the many
missionary animators from the Provinces, and
in order to hear the initiatives they would
adopt in the provinces, the expectations,
the challenges and strategies, as well as
proposals for a more missionary animation in
the provinces, possibile common initiatives,
... so that Carmel remains and becomes even
more missionary. All the participants were
encouraged and left with a deeper conviction
and a renewed energy in the task and
responsibility for missionary animation.
Regarding Europe the idea came out for a
Meeting for those responsible for our
missions in western Europe, for their
particular evangelization.
Our service to the Gospel is exercised
fundamentally within these two areas: the
new evangelization and globalization. The
two realities have not come about
spontaneously. For this reason, the
encounter was organized to search for
clarification on our missionary roots, roots
which are sunk deep in the charism which we
have promised to live in the Church. At the
same time we needed to clarify the new
socio-religious connotations in which
missionary activity is developing today. In
the same way a general overview of the
present state of the Missions was offered,
with the modern characteristic stresses, in
theology and pastoral activity.
What was the reason for this meeting? The
proposed objective was to reactivate the
missionary awareness of the Order. This has
already been accepted in many cases as a
component part of our carmelite image; there
, however, it often remains on the level of
theory, nothing in practise. And so, in many
casese, the missionary awareness of Carmel
seems to be asleep. In some cases, we say
also in many occasions and in many contexts,
it is languid. Moreover there reigns a
sleepy reaction to what should be one of the
most stimulating features of our lives as
carmelites. In many cases all seems to be
reduced to a certain sympathy, to an
approval, but without any personal
commitment. Is Mission (the carmelite
missionary awarenss and our common
missionary task) a factor that communicates
dynamism to our vocation and to our pastoral
activity?
Describing the characteristics of the
teresian carmel, our Constitutions rightly
observe that with the growth of her
ecclesial experience, Teresa of Jesus was
concerned for the people who had not yet
been evangelized and for the immense field
of the missions. Here, her apostolic spirit,
is clearly evident. The evangelization of
people has always been the favoured
apostolate of the Order. It was our Holy
Mother in person who communcated to her
religious family her missionary fervour and
who wanted her sons and daughters, each one
according to their own vocation, to commit
themselves to missionary activity.
Missionary Animation
It is not easy to define it, as it includes
a multiplicity of ideas, feelings,
principles and convictions. The field of
missionary animation embraces all that faith
embraces. It is like the soul to the body,
the first movement of pastoral activity
which encourages and sustains development.
Animation is another word for communion,
life and…spirit. Missionary animation,
therefore, is a pastoral activity to create
a missionary awarenes in people, in
institutions and in our communities. The
Council reminds us that christian vitality
and maturity are shown in the spirit and the
universal missionary responsibility of every
church which presents “its contribution to
the benefit of the entire Church”.
Missionary animation is an ecclesial
ministry, and so we read in the decree “Ad
gentes”: “So that every one of the Christian
faithful might be well acquainted with the
present state of the church in the world and
might hear the voice of the multitudes cry
‘help us’, information regarding the
missions should be published so as to make
them have a part to play in missionary
activity, and make them open their hearts to
the immense and deep needs of men and women,
and come to their assistance”.
Missionary animation is an opportune and
necessary ministry. The community must be
woken up; it must be motivated by a lot of
information, with renewed stimulation, and,
when possible, with creativity and
originality. Already “Evangelii nuntiandi”
recalls the two aspects, though in no way
exclusive, of the first proclamation to the
“crowds of people” who are unevangelized in
our days, to non believers and to the non
practising. Years later John Paul II
expressed himself in these terms: “We cannot
draw boundaries between the pastoral care of
the faithful , the new evangelization and
specific missionary activity, and we should
not think of constructing barricades…We
should note a real and growing
interdependence in the Church’s different
works of salvation: where one influences the
other, and where one stimulates and helps”.
The same John Paul II recalled that
missionary animation “must be included as a
principle element of parish pastoral
activity, including associations and groups,
especially of young people,…because the
missionary theme can be a great help, making
clear the main contents of missionary
animation”. We must confess that we still
have work to do to make people aware of this
principle, and for it to be accepted and put
into practise as the fruit of our apostolic
convinction and in our pastoral activity.
In the same encyclical the Pope states the
two principal objectives of animation:
- “to inform and form the People of God for
the universal mission of the Church,
- To create vocations “ad gentes” and
cooperate in evangelization, and avoid
presenting a narrow image of missionary
activity.
The missionary animator
He is not an alms-giver or simply a
collector of funds. He acts, reacts,
according to theological, ecclesial,
missionary and Carmelite criteria. The
missionary animator promotes, stimulates,
supports, encourages and facilitates
missionary conversion, helping communities
to consider the Mission “ad gentes” as a
constant and privileged horizon. He awakens
commitment. Among the concrete goals for
missionary animation I would like to
highlight:
- To infuse, promote, create and encourage a
missionary way of thinking with information,
and renewed motivation.
- To encourage spiritual and material
cooperation,
- To promote and stimulate missionary
vocations, not neglecting lay people, for
the Missions.
- To coordinate and facilitate the links
between our environement and the Missions.
Paul VI, addressing our missionary Zealators,
states: “Our language should adapt to the
times, so that the people understand what we
are saying”. The same Pope continues, we
need to adapt our culture, our awareness,
our vocabulary. We must respond to a new
kind of terminology that is being used
today, new theological concepts, the new
formulation of language, the direct or
indirect components of Mission, such as
enculturation, inter-religious dialogue and
the phenomenon of globalization.
As animators, it is our duty to be well
informed and educated in these areas, with a
new language, enriched by new concepts, with
new techniques and terminology so that we
comunicate using present day terminology and
is in keeping with today’s religious
culture.
For this reason John Paul II suggested,
using an apt phrase, that we be “guardians
of the future”. We should be aware that we
need to renew our understanding so that our
missionary animation may be ever more
efficient.
II.- Texts
For the full text of the conferences:
http://www.ocd.pcn.net/mission/index.htm#Larrea
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