Change and Discernment

Here is a recent letter from our Father General who says,"We cannot discern well without genuine inward change." (Via Communicationes)

The first and basic preparation...is that our minds be opened to the spirit of wisdom and “revelation” and be renewed in the knowledge of God, recalling the hope to which our vocation calls us and depending, not on our own resources, but on the power of grace. I ask you not to consider these words as harmless pious sentiment, to be read and promptly forgotten. In fact, this is “the one thing necessary”, on which everything else should depend....

The prescriptions of our Constitutions in relation to General Chapters being the supreme authority of the Order (C 67), are to be applied to Provincial Chapters as well in the sphere of their respective circumscriptions. The exercise of this authority has one sole objective: to seek God’s plan for us, wherein he manifests the truth about what we are at the moment (the terminus of past and recent history) and what we are called to be in the future. We can speculate on so many things about our situation, but until we place ourselves in the light of God’s plans we run the risk of underestimating or exaggerating ourselves. Genuine spirituality includes a healthy realism, as we see in the example of our Saints and particularly in what St. Teresa has taught us. I hope that the personal and shared reading of her writings, as outlined in the General Chapter in Fatima, may serve as guidelines and support, helping you to fulfil the responsibilities you have in your various circumscriptions.- “to animate, propose and recall the raison d’ệtre of consecrated life, to help others respond with renewed fidelity to the prompting of the Spirit”.1