The purpose of this "grate of reflection" is to help the lay people, in their various realities, who make reference either to the SCJ Congregation or to single SCJ religious to define their position in sight of a possible affiliation to the Dehoniana Family.
´By ‘Dehonian Family’ we mean the unity of the different components (SCJs, consecrated, laity) that recognize in the person of Fr. Dehon the "father" of their own spiritual life and recognize each other as brothers and sisters in as much as they participate in the same spirituality and mission.ª
(cf. The Plan, "We, the Congregation in service of the Mission 1997-2003", n. 25).
The variety of the groups that we know is a great wealth, but it is also a source of some confusion. To the questions that follow, we don't want to suggest solutions, but we intend to underline some problems and themes that require your answers and your solutions.
ABBREVIATIONS:
AD Auxiliary Dehonians
DF Dehoniana Family
AR Argentina
HI Spain
AU Argentina-Uruguay
IM Southern Italy;
BH: British-Irish JDL Young Dehonians of Lisbon
BM Southern Brazil
JDM:: Young Dehonians of Madeira
BS Northern Brazil
LD Lay Dehonians
CM CAMEROON
PO Poland
CoM Mixed Commission/IS
UR Uruguay
E_SUD The Provincial Superiors of Southern Europe in their meeting of 22-24 March 1999 in Lisbon.
US United States of America (2)
I. PROFILE OF A LAY DEHONIAN
1. Why do we call ourselves LAY?
(+) As LAY people, we are men and women, baptized (UR), that live in a context of family (CM), of work, in the professional circle (CM), of relationships, in a territory, with a proper mission, (belonging to the human condition), in the secularity (AD, AR, BS, CoM, UR).
We have the responsibility to build the temporal-lay dimension of the Kingdom, we are salt of the earth and light of the world (BM, CM, UR), we are agents of the history (BS), through our availability, we fulfill various community assignments (BS), we are inserted in the Christian communities (CM, JDM::,).
We belong to the Church (JDL, IM)
We are described in the LG n.31 (Cf. Medellin Part II, X) (AR).
(-) Because we don't practice any ministry of the ordained (BM, CM); - we are neither priests, nor consecrated (To, BS, CM PO).
2. What Characterizes a LAY CHRISTIAN?
A LAY CHRISTIAN, by faith (JDL,JDM::), and by baptism (baptismal consecration) (CoM,AD,CM,BM,JDL,UR), belongs to Christ, and is a Church member (BM,IM,AR,UR,JDL), S/he is the Church (IM,UR).
Animated by the Spirit s/he is called to be aware. S/he belongs to the ecclesial community (JDL), in tuning and in communion with the whole Church (IM).
S/he participates in the priesthood, in the prophecy, in the royalty of Christ (CoM,BM,AR,UR), with the People of God (BM,IM) with a proper " tonality " (CoM).
S/he tries to be witness wherever s/he is (BM,UR);
S/he lives the familiarity and fraternity (BM,AD) with the other Christians (CoM);
S/he tries to combine faith and daily life, life in the Spirit and concrete life (CoM,UR), committing himself/herself with creativeness (JDL);
S/he announces and builds the Kingdom (BM,UR), s/he expresses his/her spirituality and mission in the places of life (CoM,AR,UR);
S/he welcomes a journey of humanization, harmonization and reconciliation for him/herself and with the others. (CoM,UR); s/he is salt of the earth and light of the world (BM,JDL,AU);
The realization of the "lay" vocation (cf. Christifideles Laici, 15) (PO) is the mediation between the Christian values and today's cultures - the enculturation (UR);
(-) It doesn't require a gratification and a motive for feeling (JDL).
Others aspects:
The Eucharist (as center of the life) (BS);
Apostolic options as prayer life, missionary, social and cultural commitment (BS);
Commitment in the sequence to Christ &emdash; living the Gospel in the theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity (BS);
Being responsible, united, feverous, participative, supportive, humble, in the continuity of the denunciation, in the report and in the testimony begun by Christ... (BS);
Service that is expressed through the pastoral services, the movements... (BS); knowledge and interest of the matters of the Christian Social Doctrine (BS).
3. To qualify as LAY DEHONIANS:
a) Is it enough to belong or to stick to a certain group that makes a constant reference to a Dehonian reality?
No! It is not enough to belong or to stick to a certain group that makes a constant reference to a Dehonian reality (AD, AR, BM, BS, CM, IM, PO, UR).
It is necessary:
To have some formation (AD,JDL), to discover the Dehonian spirituality and to accept and to live the charism and the spirituality of the founder, Father Dehon (AR,BM,CM,CoM,JDL,PO,UR);
To discover in the Dehonian spirituality that proper human and Christian identity (CoM);
To stick to the charism of Father Dehon in a stable manner (CoM,CM);
To live and to share (BH:) Father Dehon’s passion for the Sacred Heart of Jesus (BM, BH:);
To welcome the style of presence, of announcement and of testimony that derives from this charism (CoM);
To internalize and to nurture a spiritual physiognomy that finds its source in the Heart of Christ (CoM), to share it and to communicate it mutually (JDL), Eucharistic adoration, linked to a Eucharistic life (BM);
Besides that we have to profoundly live the spirituality, attentive to all places and to all people, assuming responsibility before God and the society, becoming source of life for those marginalized (BS);
To live that solidarity in all of our pastoral action (BM), especially in the social sector (PO);
To be missionaries in all places and environments (BM).
b) Is it necessary to belong to any group?
Yes, because Jesus said: "Where two or three..." (BH:,BM,BS), because that baptismal vocation is lived (CM);
It is good to participate to a group (BM) and to keep contact with the SCJs (BH:); In that way we are confined to a certain structure and therefore receive more strength to live the ideal (BM), since, through it, we will be able to go along and to learn with the others to live communally and to continually deepen our faith, spirituality and formation. (BS,PO);
Yes!, in order to live the Dehonian charism fully (AD), it is necessary to belong to a group because it is the essence of being " LD " and it would loose efficacy and meaning if it was separately done (UR) and it is to answer to a call, to a vocation that requires a "style of life" (AR).
From his experience and belonging to a group of LDs, the lay person can define the type of pastoral commitment in which s/he desires to participate, inserting himself/herself even in social movements, in labor unions, political parties, associations... (BS).
No! (IM). It is not obligatory (JDL,AR). It is not necessary (at times this can be difficult e.g. because of an illness), more important is to live the Dehonian spirituality (PO).
c) Is it necessary to have a temporary-episodic choice or to have a stable choice?
It is necessary to have a stable choice (AR,BM,CM,IM,JDL,PO,UR), with a well defined journey of growth (JDL,PO).
The ideal would be a definitive option (BM), to guarantee a spiritual stability (CM,UR) and not to lose mystical community, sharing both the Dehoniana spirituality as well as the mission (UR).
A stable choice of life supported by a continuous formation is important (AD).
The LDs of the North East of Brazil are of the opinion that this question doesn't have a lot of meaning (BS).
d) Is it enough to work with the Dehonians? - to have known the Dehonians? Or to have studied with the Dehonians?
It matters to have the Dehonian spirit (BM,CM);
It is not enough to work with them etc. (BM,AD,IM,AR);
I help in the journey and in the way of being Dehonians (BM).
It is the only way of knowledge (IM).
e) Is it enough to share the Dehonian mission and not the spirituality?
No! (AD,BM,BS,CM,IM,JDL).
It is important to know Father Dehon as the father of our spiritual life and to spread it respecting the mission of everyone of us (CM).
It is necessary to live spirituality in the integration of Faith and Life, to assume the Dehonian mission, since without this participation we would grow week (BS).
f) Is it enough to share the spirituality and not the mission?
No!(BM,AD,IM), Since we cannot separate works and testimony from spirituality (BM), it is necessary to share all two both the spirituality and the mission (AD,IM,CM,AR), because they are two fundamental points of the charism of Father Dehon(CM).
To share and to live the mission goes together for the " LD ". The mission is the place where the spirituality is lived (AU), it is necessary to participate in both, otherwise we would be taking a risk of separating faith and mission. Spirituality without mission would make too much comfort (BS), or to live as a " ghetto " (JDL).
No, since it is necessary to have the vocation and live the mission of the " LD ". Nevertheless, it is essential that there is that contact, since it constitutes the principal point of reference to know the charism (BS).
4. What is required that a group qualifies as a Dehonian group?
That the group takes seriously the characteristics of Father Dehon (CoM);
To live the baptismal vocation (CM) and to make a formative journey (CM);
To have the Eucharist as the center of life (AR) to be prophet in the pastoral action, love and fidelity to the Church, humility, love of the Sacred Heart, solidarity, eucharistic adoration, retreats, a live and actual testimony of the faith in Christ (CoM);
To live the charism daily (CoM);
To recognize Father Dehon as our spiritual father and to recognize each other in the group as brothers and sisters, in as much as we participate in the same spirituality and mission (CoM,CM);
Being " LD " is a life option to live the reparation and oblation at the service of the Kingdom of God, to the benefit of the society, through a personnal choice that identifies itself with the project of Father Dehon. To love with the Heart of Christ and being instruments of unity (BM).
A real belonging is recognized in the laity. They are respected in their maturity and in their specific lay vocation. They avoid any form of clericalism or paternalism (IM).
The mutual relationships between religious and lay people are lived on the complementary theological and pastoral basis; and on joint bases with regards to the planning and the apostolic action (IM).
To live fully the baptismal consecration according to the Dehonian charism, in the spirit of the beatitudes (To).
Historical knowledge of the example of life of Father Dehon, conviction of the mysticism of the Heart of Jesus, responsibility, commitment, insertion in the ecclesial pastoral and in the social one; to participate in the meetings and the assemblies that are offered and so to live the Dehonian spirituality (BS,CM).
To live the mission (CM).
a) What are its typical interests?
They choose Father Dehon as witness and teacher of life (IM).
" Dehonian " is the group in which people participate and help each other to live the characteristic aspects of a lay Dehonian (CoM) in a suitable way and therefore must be accompanied by a competent authority of the Church (CM). They choose the spirituality of Father Dehon as a way of living their faith, in a recognized historical mediation express in the Rule of Life of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (IM).
Devotion (love) to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Eucharist (AU) Reconciliation (to live the mercy) (BM).
To live profoundly the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus, spreading it through the testimony at the advent of the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart "in the souls and in the society" (BM,PO), continuing the dream of Father Dehon which is also ours, but always as lay people (BS,PO).
Living Jesus' example according to the Dehonian optic: to follow Father Dehon driven by the Holy Spirit that cultivates an intense love toward the Heart of Jesus, in order to realize with Him the project of life, i.e. "to become the hand of the Father". In the pierced side and the open Heart of Jesus we can concretize the maximum expression of the love of God the Father toward other people. In three key words we live:
The availability (the oblation),
A total self-giving with the purpose of a rediscovered generous love.
The reparation making the mission of renewal and transformation of the reality according to the evangelical values.
Three things that manifest the Pedagogy of Faith, (to see, to judge, to act) (UR).
They choose the existential commitment in the mission that Father Dehon has received in the Church and eventually in the apostolic project of the institute and in the realization of his program (IM);
The mission of the " LD " is to bring the Church in the heart of the world and the world in the heart of the Church (BM).
Oblation (AU) and reparation (BM).
To plan our life on the Dehonian charism, uniting it to the Project of Jesus, attentive to what has to be mended and it calls for our solidarity in today's days (BS).
Solidarity with the poor and the needy (BM),
Communion with all (BM);
Total donation; (BM);
Deepening the knowledge of the Social Doctrine of the Church (BM).
To raise social conscience in other Christians (BS).
b) What are its contents and its formative course?
BM: To live and to feed from the spirituality and from the charism of Father Dehon; - Love the Sacred Heart; - Availability; - Humility and mercy; - Mission, apostolate, oblation and the offering daily life given for love; - Knowledge of the Word of God, of the Church Magisterium (AU,); - Attention to the signs of the times.
BS: Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God (Bible...), the Life of the Church (Documents, Social Doctrine, History...). Father Dehon (life, mission and spirituality), the Vocation and the Mission of the Laity, the local Reality of Latin America and of the World (through magazines, texts, social events, political, economic, religious...), Life in the ecclesial community and human Relationships.
CM: The groups have to take some courses of Christian life and Dehonian spirituality, in individual or collective way.
CoM: Formation base itself on the Bible and in the reading that Father Dehon has done of it. Interests, contents and activities take form around these three central nucleuses:
- attention to the territory, to the people, to the situations, to the poverties, to the families, to the ecclesial community... in a journy of participation &emdash; common love - reparation - promotion;
- God's reception revealing itself in Christ as Love, Gratuity, Mercy, with passion for people.
- Self-offering, offering of the reality, with an open and universal look.
HI: That there be a formative itinerary.
- It could consist of:
Those who begin the journy
Those who are already in the journy
Those who are at the end of the journey: rite of adhesion, official commitment.
- Rite of entry in an official structure, with proper rite.
- That the lay person be involved in an NGO, prayer groups, ex pupils, etc.
- The sense of belonging has to have a great dose of liberty, with a great variety to be " Dehonian ", with a minimam and to establish a method of accompaniment and coordination.
IM: To grow in the understanding of the Dehonian spirit, the lay people follow an individual formative itinerary and of a group, guided by a Dehonian priest: In this way they deepen their knowledge of Father Dehon, true prophet of our time, his charism and his spirituality. Their daily mediation expressed in the Rule of Life of the Dehonian religious and the mission of the institute.
PO A formative programs with the fundamental Dehonian values, conforming to the Ratio formationis generalis as also the knowledge of the person of Father Dehon.
c) Which are its preferential activities?
It is important to give privilege to formation and the spirituality that attracts other people who would like to participate in our life and the apostolate, so that they can unite themselves to the Dehonian Family (CM)
Option for the poor.
Eucharist (AR), adoration, the act of oblation (AR);
Participation in the commemorative celebrations of the Congregation and the founder;
Study of the profile of the " LDs " and the levels of relationship among the different components of the Dehoniana family.
Love of the Heart of Christ, fed by the Eucharist, the source of Christian life;
Love and fidelity to the Church;
The vocational prayer (AR);
In every field and in every environment to try to bring the testimony of love that is proper to the lay Christian in the particular coloration that draws from Father Dehon (AD):
From the attitude and from the vocation of everyone we can suggest, accompany, support formation in the following sectors:
- In the pastoral of the sacraments: catechism, mission, liturgy,...
- In the social pastoral: Children, Youth, Teenagers, University, Countryside.
- Popular Organizations, unions, popular and student movements, tenants' associations, women, black, sectarian, Indios, formation, means of social communication... (BS).
Solicited by love, they try to contribute to the elimination of injustices of the world (war, underdevelopment, discriminations of every kind, old and new poverty...), to recognize and to promote the seeds of goodwill which are born in the hearts of people, also effecting brave initiatives for the justice and of the liberty, always in coherence with own faith and in communion with the Pope, with the bishops and with all those called by God in the local community. "Charity must be an active hope for what others can become with the help of our fraternal support" (cf Rule of Life, n. 64) (IM).
Actions that respond to the concrete needs of the place and time in which a group lives (PO).
5. In the group:
a) What reference is made concerning the " spirituality " and the mission of Fr. Dehon in the Church and in the world?
- Spirituality:
The Eucharist as a center, together with the other sacraments; - Charism has to strengthen our action as lay people in the world and in our community relationships (BM);
Dehonian Spirituality: Father Dehon’s disciples draw a particular imprint of spirituality from the contemplation of Christ and from the "pierced side"
The love that is given (oblation),
Without reserve (immolation),
To cooperate with Christ in the redemption of the world (reparation) (AD).
Fraternity: only in the measure that I will have effected it first with Christ, I will effect it with others too (AD).
- Mission:
The Pierced side of the Savior manifests to us the dimension and the price of the love of God that asks for a response from us:
Self-giving in union with the Heart of Jesus,
To live and to work in our family environment, of job, in the meetings with the people, in the social and professional commitments, etc. UR,BH:)
With an option for the poor (social dimension);
Vocation and mission in the Church and in the society, for the cause of the Sacred Heart; - Father Dehon was a missionary of the Social Doctrine of the Church (BM);
Spirit of the Beatitudes (AD), to be witnesses of the Kingdom of God individually inserting ourselves in the parishes... accepting the cheerful and sad moments with the oblation of love to God with all affection (UR).
Understanding, announcement and renewal within the context where we live. To be able to realize what is intended by "faith and social commitment" or "a person that wants to change the society cannot have timid ideas" (BS).
To live the social dimension of faith according to the Dehonian spirit, participating in as much as we can in the realization of the mission of the Church in the world (UR).
(+) Continuous reference in formation and in the choice of activities (IM).
b) Which are the Dehonian values that can characterize the style of life of a lay person?
- Love (AR,BH:);
-Eucharistic Adoration (AR,BM,BS);
- Devotion to the Sacred Heart: frequent Eucharist as center of life (BM,BS);
- Contemplation (BS);
- Oblation (AR,BS);
- Compassion (HI);
- Reparation (AR,BM,BS);
- Reconciliation (BM);
- Mercy (AR,BM);
- Humility, joy, affection, understanding, obedience to the will of the Father, to know how to respect differences (BS);
- Availability (AR,BM),
- Readiness to commit ourselves for the poor and with the poor and the outcasts of our society (AR,BS), offering every day our life for a better world, loving all through the pierced Heart of Jesus (AR);
- Commitment in social matters (BM,HI);
- Being prophets in the pastoral action; - Prophets of love and ministers servants of reconciliation (BM).
CM:
- To live the Dehonian charism within the ecclesial and social context;
- Becoming the prophets of the love in the world;
- Becoming the servants of the reconciliation.
IM:
- To consider own work as a gift, is a concrete way to participate in the creation and the construction of a more just and loving community,
- To mirror, in the interpersonal relationships, the feelings of the heart of Christ: welcoming, love and pardon, understanding and mercy, dialogue, gratefulness, sharing and solidarity;
- Being optimists, to think and to act positively. To announce by word and deed the Christian hope. To be convinced that God loves his people and doesn't want the death of a wicked person, but that s/he converts and live.
PO: Dehonian values according to Ratio formationis generalis of the SCJs.
c) What does a lay Dehonian has to give and to say to the Church and to today’s world?
Union with the Heart of Christ in his oblation to the Father for humanity (BM); True and full devotion to the Sacred Heart, centered in the Eucharist (BM);
God is Love for every person (CoM), and he who believes in Him, abandons to his Providence (IM);
Sensibility and realization of the missionary commitment, living in continuous spirit of love and pardon (BM,IM);
The " LD " is recognized as a socio-pastoral protagonist in the vision of reparatory love (AR);
S/he can enrich the Church and the world with the SCJ charism, lived in harmony with his vocation as a lay person (PO);
S/he can testify that everything can be redeemed (hope/reparation) (CoM).
S/he can show that our God, who allowed himself to be nailed on the cross, and there pierced through by the lance, opened the heart, to testify his love and his offering to his Father, in reparation for the people. This merciful love welcomes us as we are. It is not him who needs us, but we need to be with him, he asks us to offer ourselves to him. He gives himself to us every day in order to free and renew us. His Heart is the focus and the school where we learn the vital lesson of love (BM,IM);
S/he can affirm that every person can be valorized (CoM) and that every person is a resource for the other and for the Kingdom of God (CoM).
A new style of relationships ("prophet of the love and servant of the reconciliation") (CoM);
A " video " on the history of lay people in the Dehoniana family (BM);
We are called to live a life where material possession is of little importance, above all a life that has to rise above the clamor of the world of business and the world of consumerism (CM).
d) How does your group fits itself in the local Church?
The one who participates in the journey of the group actively fits himself/herself in the local Church at a personal level (BM,PO);
S/he spreads the Dehonian charism through a pastoral commitment, inserted in the Church and in the society (BS,CM);
Collaborating with the SCJs, we live the Dehonian spirituality and charism for the good of all in the parish in which we live, however it is difficult when we live in parishes where there are no SCJs, also because there are other spiritualities Marian, Ignatian, Franciscan (BH:).
We can participate in the mission of the SCJs that they have a community worldwide (BH:).
There are no specific activities yet (IM).
6. In your group:
a) How is the process of affiliation?
AR:
- Every person transmits the values of the spirituality in his/her own place. From there s/he tries to invite the others to know and to live the Dehonian spirituality. S/he then looks for an opportunity to know the life and the profile of Father Dehon, always as laymen, with his function and importance.
- Invitation to participate in the annual assembly, to the retreats, to receive formation material, the life project and the " rulebook", to participate in the adoration every Friday.
BM:
- Commitment in the living of the mysticism of the founder;
- Being Christians, to live a lay person’s vocation inspired in the mysticism of Father Dehon in his passion for the more poor.
- For now, not being a well-structured group yet, to cultivate a live desire to belong. However, more than a desire, we need a true journey of formation.
- The invitation that is received and, at the same time, to send to the responsible ones, a written application to participate in the group;
- First of all, the love of the Sacred Heart;
- Good will.
CM:
- We are still at the beginning, therefore we still have to organize ourselves well.
CoM:
- The existing groups for some already have their method of admitting new members and forming them. Generally they have a statute.
- Other lay realities are met around the Dehonian charism drawing from the formative proposals, which the Mixed Commission has been offering for some years, or from the formative itineraries lived with the Dehonian communities.
IM:
- It is diversified according to the groups. Cf. IN THE SIGN OF THE HEART.
b) What is the function of the group in the admission of a member in the Dehonian Family?
AD:
- Making of a Dehonian project, preparing the courses, monthly meetings, retreat days.
BM:
- To welcome, to animate and to form the newly arrived, in the certainty of the love of God for us;
- Transmission of the spirituality of Father Dehon;
- Invitation to participate in the Eucharistic adoration (first Fridays of the month);
- To buy the book Dehonianos em oração (Dehonians in prayer &emdash; available only in Portuguese and Italian), in order to pray.
- Generally the group observes the lived and identifies a lay charism inside the Church and it acknowledges the compatibility with the Dehonian Family.
HI
Mode of belonging:
- It is necessary to keep a list of people that are near, like those who have had a certain relationship with us for many years, above all in our seminars (parents and pupils).
- Make an informative bulletin that has some statutes, demands and profile of a " LD " and a registration card.
- That a " LD " identifies himself with that profile.
IM:
- Work of a propadeutic movement; admission is after a precise personal application.
c) Do you have a rule or a statute?
AD: - No!, we do not have it.
AR:
- No! There is only a "Plan of life for a LD" and a "Rule book for an Argentinian LD."
BM:
- We have a "Plan of life", approved provisionally in the meeting of the LDs of the BM, in September 1999. It will be revised according to the conclusions taken in the II International Meeting of the Dehonian Family in Rome (October 2000);
- The group was already planning to write a list of " Dehonian Attitudes."
- There are groups that study some plans at a local level.
BS:
- (Answered contained in the answer to the preceding question.)
IM:
- Yes!
PO:
- A Lay Dehonian Family in Poland has its Statute.
- A layperson that is interested in Dehonian spirituality normally has a contact with an already existing group in the parish to which s/he belongs or with the nearest center of the Lay Dehonian Family.
- Besides, s/he has a continuous contact with the person responsible for that group, with a religious SCJ (often also with the SCJ community) e.g. on the occasion of the spiritual exercises.
- They also have a bulletin of the Lay Dehonian Family, a personal contacts and some correspondence.
UR:
- Our communion with God becomes a motive for our communion with others (cf. 1 Gvs 4,21).
- Helped by the Holy Spirit, we live the presence of God which is love of neighbor, especially the more needy: acts of charity, attitudes of merciful love, etc.
- We look for unity with:
a dynamic and active participation in our Christian community;
to be in communion with all the other groups of the " LDs " and to participate in the activities for the promotion of the Dehonian Family;
to maintain moments of community life, forming a little prayer group or communities of reflection and of life.
- For this we need animators that in turn form a team of animators; and a Coordinator who, through a Secretariat, manages the whole activity, also economic needs.
7. What generational exchange is there in the group?
AD:
- It depends on the new friends who unite themselves in an official way to our group.
AR:
- There is, but not enough because the greater part of the " LDs " are adults. In some zones the young people are incorporated.
BM:
- At a provincial level there are clear diverse experiences:
For now we do not occupy ourselves with that, but it is one of our objectives. At the moment we feel the need to guarantee the qualitative level of the group.
Yes. A layperson has to be faithful to the Congregation; otherwise s/he will be invited to resign. New members can join the group if they give testimony and want to commit themselves for the civilization of love.
- Yes, when a member resigns, another enters.
BS:
- There are new members who adhere to the " LDs ".
- On the other hand there are also those that leave the group for varied motives.
CoM:
- The existing groups for some time now have stable presence.
- There are young-adults and families who, after a formative journey with a Dehonian reality, could "renew" the Dehonian laity.
IM:
Yes, at the beginning, but also keep that in mind.
UR:
- We all feel the duty to promote the Dehonian charism among the lay people of our Christian communities with the various possibilities that are there;
- The team of the coordinators has the responsibility to admit new members who want to commit themselves as " LDs ", according to the following criteria:
Maturity and personal integration resulting from a true Christian orientation and an active participation in his/her own Christian community (it is also necessary to ask for the opinion of the parish priest);
As the " LDs " have to know and value the Dehonian spirituality and accept it as the specific character of their Christian physiognomy (it is necessary to ask for the opinion of the assistant);
- A (formal) commitment is acquired with a " sign " in a suitable celebration with the following formula:
"In union with the Heart of Jesus, I… (N.N.) promise to God the Father to consecrate my life to the service of his Kingdom of love and of Peace according to the life commitment of Uruguayan LD."
- This appointment is renewed every year in order to maintaining the enthusiasm and the self-giving.
8. Lay Dehonians and the SCJs.
a) What kind of accompaniment do you ask from the SCJs?
AD:
- A monthly accompaniment; retreats, especially on special times like Advent and Lent; some letters that help us reflect and with annual meetings in every Epiphany.
AR:
SCJs as spiritual assistants for the " LDs ".
BH:
- As Father Dehon is the founder of the Congregation, the SCJs can help us to live the Dehonian spirituality.
- Their presence is necessary but it is not essential for the " LDs ", because the lay Dehonians have to be more active. The collaboration has to have as bases, the gifts and the talents.
- In order to start a Dehonian movement and to maintain it, we need financial assistance, logistics, organizational and [motivated] individuals.
BM:
- Besides the celebrations, relationships and exchange are very little;
- Respect, friendship and collaboration;
- We pray for one another;
- Pastoral collaboration;
- There are groups in which the relationship is very positive and active.
BS:
- At a local level:
Respect and accept the existence of the organization of " LDs ".
Help and support to the " LDs " in the events of popularization of the Dehoniana spirituality.
Unite in the difficulties proper to the lay organization.
Technical assistance in the studies (methodologies); to invest in their formation and, recognizing the job that they contribute in the parishes to spur on them on the journey.
- AT provincial level:
A supportive complement, to accompany and to promote at times the sharing and presence in the events of the SCJ Congregation, between " LD " and Religious SCJs...
HI:
- Accompaniment:
It has to be a responsible person (a religious, at the beginning) that follows them, and as time goes on they can have their proper responsible person.
Encourage their autonomy and organization.
Initiated by charismtic and motivated religious, supported by their communities. With caution.
The same community has to be a companion: spiritual direction, etc.
Every group has to have its own style as well as each one in the group.
Informative bulletin to transmit our charism and which will serve as means of communication between members.
b) How is the relationship between your group and the SCJs like?
AR:
- Good, comprehensive and communal.
BS:
- (?) Friendly, open, however what lacks is a more continuous form of being together as Dehonians, since this approximation is limited to the assistants and could be extended to more of us by the religious who up until now don't know us very well and therefore do not come closer to us.
CM:
Not only a spiritual accompaniment, but we need the help to prepare ourselves for the active life in the social field, cultural and ecclesial. Up until now we started with a very good co-operation with the SCJs, and we hope that they will continue with that direction.
CoM:
- Normally a spiritual accompaniment and support is found during formation.
- The climate of the relationships between lay Dehonians and SCJ at an interpersonal level is positive.
- Some lay realities wish for greater reciprocity, which is not only limited to the formative accompaniment, but becomes sharing and life experience, of Dehonian style and of service to the charism.
IM:
- It is a principle whereby every religious community has to be conscious to live and to collaborate with the laity. The groups ask from the religious more openness and availability in relationships and in activities.
"It is the local communities that guarantee the future of religious life and the promotion of the Dehonian Family:
a) With a credible apostolic plan, fulfilled communally and open to lay collaboration;
Proposing himself/herself as point of reference and center of animation on this field;
Promoting the dimension of the common Church."
- A coherent way of living a vocation and a Dehonian mission in any environment.
"For a Dehonian religious it is a matter of coherence with his own lived identity:
To transmit in every possible way and means the Dehonian spirituality to the people and in the environment in which he finds himself and in which he lives (groups, parishes,…);
b) To promote experiences of living together and spirituality at special times and anniversaries."
- The commitment of animation and delegation in every community and religious person.
"Both at provincial as well as local community, the commitment of animation and of delegation is entrusted to a particular religious. It is above all the responsibility of the provincial Superior and his council to verify and to put together the various experiences, confirming them and directing them."
- A coexistence and ecclesial collaboration regulated and mutually respected.
"The co-operation between religious and lay people is, for the Gospel, an aspect of the Dehonian Family and it is a result of a Church in communion. The participation in the Dehonian Family always has to respect the distinctions, the clarity of co-operation, the juridical organization and, even in the experiences of community life, the distinction of places, not to create uneasiness to anybody. Clarity always favors the experience and the meeting."
- The groups ask for more openness from the religious as well as availability in relationships and in activities.
PO:
- Spiritual help in the deepening of Christian life in harmony with the Dehonian spirituality;
- Introduction to life in the Dehonian charism (spiritual exercises, retreats, different publications, formation);
-Continuous reference to the Dehonian spirituality (Dehonian priests) among the daily problems.
UR:
- All of us, SCJ and " LDs ", inspired by the same spirituality of Father Dehon, we expressly stick together with the study, co-operation and growing together.
- That the SCJ who assists " LDs " participates in the meeting of the coordinating team and at other moments of the life of the groups.
- The climate of relationship between SCJs and " LDs " is good.
9. Who is, therefore, a Lay Dehonian? Give us the identity in synthesis.
AD:
- A Christian (man, woman, married and unmarried) who has responded to the " call " to value and to live in fullness the baptismal consecration, according to the nature proper to the "the lay person's vocation."
- Dehonian, because s/he is devoted to the "Dehonian plan" of spirituality (spirit of the beatitudes) and mission (testimony of love), according to each one’s condition.
AR:
- A " LD " is the one who knows the spirituality of Father Dehon and recognizes him as the promoter of Reparatory love that tries to unite the mysticism and the action: the spiritual and the social.
BM:
- Those people that live the charism of Father Dehon, in their environment, with the apostolate, in the professional or normal job.
- S/He who it has an option of life: to live the reparation and the service and the oblation to the service of the Kingdom of God, to the benefit of the society.
- The one who seeks the Kingdom of God in all.
- A Christian that tries to live his faith according to baptismal promises, despite his/her limits: in family, in the apostolate, in the manifold relationships of life.
- The charism and the teaching of Father Dehon enriches our commitment and gives it the some characteristics in life.
BS:
- In conformity to the identity card (foundation n°6) it is required of him/her "To unite faith in Christ with our social commitment in the struggle for the transformation of the society; to carry out the apostolic mission of Father Dehon in his concern for the social matters; to live Father Dehon pact with the Heart of Jesus that nourished his commitment for the construction of the Kingdom of God."
- Together with other Dehonians (religious and consecrated souls), live the spirituality of Father Dehon.
CM:
- The " LD " is a Christian that lives his/her baptismal vocation in the sphere of a family, professional and ecclesial, where his/her charism is characterized by the Dehonian spiritual values and knows Father Dehon as his spiritual father.
CoM:
- In synthesis... a " LD ":
Is a Christian who is aware of his baptismal consecration.
S/he who contemplates God's love revealed to us in the Heart of Christ.
S/he who is loved and gives thanks
Is a lover of life and people.
Is prophet of love, reconciliation, peace and hope.
Lives a Eucharistic lifestyle.
E_SUD:
Note. - Methodologically it is a formulation that comes from above, that is from the provincial and religious superior responsible for the " LDs " and not from the laypersons, both as individuals and as group.
1. Baptismal vocation
The " LDs " are Christians that live their baptismal vocation in the family environment, scholarly/professionally and ecclesial in which they are inserted and hear a call to live according to a specific charism: the Dehonian charism.
2. Charismtic communion
The members of the DF live in general an experience of communion with the Church and particularly with the members of the DF, always safeguarding the organizational autonomy of every person and group.
3. Dehonian Spirituality
The " LDs " are qualified by the values of the Dehonian spirituality, become in the world prophets of love and servants of reconciliation, assuming the consequent attitudes of oblation, availability, cordiality and Eucharistic life.
4. Mission
They commit themselves to serve the people of today's world and to collaborate in the mission of the Dehonian charism, always with a greater sense of welcoming and solidarity.
5. Formative journey
They follow a journey of formation that deepens their Christian life and the Dehoniana spirituality. Along with this formative itinerary, they are accompanied individually and as a group. It is necessary to always pay attention in the journey and to the needs of every person and of the group.
HI:
- The " LDs " are Christians that live their personal baptismal vocation in the family environment, school, professional and ecclesial, in which they feel called to live according to a particular charism, a Dehonian charism.
A " LD " is the one who lives the Gospel from the view of the Dehonian spirituality and mission, in the lay state, as a baptismal and a personal vocation. It is the one who participates in the charism lived by Father Dehon and today updated by the SCJs, however, lived as a layperson in the world, wherever s/he is: in the family, in the commitments or profession and in Church.
IM:
- The " LDs " are Christian that live the Gospel according to the charism of Father Dehon.
- He has left the Spirituality as an inheritance to the Church, particularly to the Dehonian religious and in as much as they share that spirituality; which is more precious of all treasures: the pierced Heart of Jesus. In Christ people can meet God heart to heart.
PO:
- A " LD " is a baptized Catholic, whose lives his baptismal vocation and also the SCJ charism in the professional, ecclesiastical environment in which he lives.
- It is the one who lives the values of the Dehonian charism in his social and ecclesiastical context.
- In his formation process s/he is personally helped by the animator and by the group.
- S/He also has to make an official application to be admitted in the Dehonian Family.
UR:
- A " LD " lives the baptismal commitment in the spiritual anxiety and in the apostolic will of Father Leo John Dehon.
- Like Father Dehon, s/he cultivates the intense love of the Heart of Christ in order to realize with him the plan of life as "the hand of God the Father". In the pierced side and in the open Heart of the Savior we concretely see the maximum expression of the love of God the Father toward us.
- For that reason we want to make an expression of love manifested in three dispositions of availability with our life (oblation), of communion and of reparation. With the "commitment" to live the charism of Father Dehon we belong to the Dehonian Family and we publicly witness that charism that we share among ourselves in our Christian communities.
II. RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE LAITY
and with other components of the
DEHONIAN FAMILY
1. What type of knowledge and relationships are there among the varied groups of the lay Dehonians:
- In your country/nation?………….. a) What is there already active?
- In your continent? ……………….. b) What could there be?
AD: Superficial relationships.
AU:
- In the country: there is support and constant exchange.
- In the continent: exchange of experiences and information.
BM:
- The different groups live different situations:
There are those that don't have any relationship with other Dhonian components.
Some speak of little relationships.
Others instead speak of good relationships: meetings, exchanges, correspondences, provincial letters, retreats, celebrations, friendship, there was also a bulletin in the BM province.
- What could there be?
More knowledge of other groups, exchange of experiences.
Better organization, relationships and communication at a Brazilian level.
An integrated calendar of different groups.
Deepen the friendship and the exchange of activities.
A Bulletin at a provincial level in which the different groups can share news and information on the " LDs " and on the whole Dehoniana Family.
BS:
- In the North East Brazil: Bulletins of information, correspondence, communications, state and regional meetings, assemblies, stable correspondence, moments of being together, but all that is not enough profound mutual knowledge.
- At a national level: There is still very little integration, due to the fact that we don't have continuous contacts with the groups in the other regions. The best contact we have is with the group of Maranhão (Brazil).
- At a continental level: There are meetings held at a Latin-American level. There is also a plan of common formation designed for the " LDs " of Latin-America.
-We would need financial means for major articulation and for mutual visits among the provinces.
- Practically there is no contact with all the laypeople. We only have frequent contact with Argentina.
- It would be necessary to intensify the exchange by means of correspondence among the groups of the different countries, since it is not possible to organize more Latin- American meetings with the world.
CM:
- In Cameroon we are planning to erect different groups.
- Then… we would like to start some contact with the neighbouring countries.
- There is a small Dehonian family with six members.
- There are allegedly some small groups in the Province of Cameroon, where the SCJs are trying to help the members to meet one or twice a year to share common ideas common means.
CoM:
- Some of us meet with other lay people of different zones during the times of permanent formation (3 times a year) at the level of IS Province.
- There is:
A Mixed Commission.
" Dehonian News " a communication pamphlet taken care of by the Mixed Commission. There are around 300 copies sent to lay Dehonians in Italy and in numerous foreign countries.
Individual relationships among the laity.
Annual Assemblies.
Two or three meetings of permanent formation a year,
Festive weeks.
- We would need:
More frequent mutual and stable relationships.
Sharing of lived experiences of various groups and some meaningful moments of the life of the groups,
Opening of the already existing groups to new realities and availability to sharing their lived wealth.
A great circulation of experiences,
A need to meet with the LDs of the Center South of Italy.
IM:
- At the national level there are timid indications.
- At a Continental level nothing has been done!
- There is only some information.
- We would need homogeneous groups for identity in order to allow some information and some common initiatives.
UR:
- In our country we meet monthly in a climate of great fraternity.
- In our continent we participate in the very important international events.
2. What kind of concrete initiatives of co-operation do you already have or do you desire to have?
BM:
- More exchange of concrete experiences.
- A coordination that promotes the sharing and the exchange.
- We would like to have a Dehoniano that accompanies us.
- That the priests help us in the studies with their reflections.
- One group said that they are well assisted by a religious and that for their retreats they are helped by the religious of Taubaté.
BS:
- We already have meetings with religious. They are always with us, helping us with study and preparation for the journey.
CM:
- Concretely our small group has a good collaboration with the SCJs on the spiritual, social and cultural level.
CoM:
These initiatives are already in action:
- Prayer, ongoing formation, the work of the Mixed Commission to coordinate various events and to propose certain themes of formation.
- In some of our studies we would need to study how to bring faith and life together.
- Someone also proposed that we elaborate more on some of the common responses between " LD " of the same territory.
IM:
- There is no co-operation whatsoever, but we are open.
UR:
- We think that it is convenient that there be good relationships. We don't want an international superstructure or organizational type of interventions different from those that every country predisposes.
3. What type of autonomy and coordination is there among you concerning:
- Lay management? - Organization?
- Logistics? - Economy?
AR:
- In the country: every two years there is a renewal of coordination.
- Economic autonomy by the contribution of the members.
- In the continent (Latin America): every two years the coordinating team is renewed.
- There is a Latin-American bulletin.
BM:
- Lay management (here condition has been understood instead of management):
- Voluntary Pastoral ministries.
- Pastoral and social services in the Church.
- There is some who would need everything;
- We have total autonomy: coordination and annual planning.
- Logistics: We are about to organize an Integrated Diary as soon as the small groups will have had theirs ready.
- Organization: Every local group has a coordinator. Every sector of the BM has an Sector Animator who is part of the "Provincial Coordination." One of them becomes elected in the Assembly as a Provincial Coordinator of the LDs of the BM province. At the BM provincial level we also have a priest who helps us.
- Some of the local groups also have priests who help them.
- Economy: There are groups with monthly contribution. In the last assembly a monthly contribution of R$15,00 (about $7 US Dollars) was decided upon for each group for the general needs of the " LDs ".
- One of the groups has coffee/tea sales in at the parish.
BS:
- In conformity to the Identity Document numbers 20 - 29:
In local groups, with a personal journey and a personal coordination.
State Coordination: composed by the local coordinators.
Regional coordination: constituted by one state coordinator. Councillorship by a religious SCJs and also by laity; State and interstate meetings, meetings of the young" LDs ", Dehonian course and annual meetings for planning, evaluation and formation.
We are in 5 states: Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco and Alagoas. Every state has its coordination.
CoM:
- The single groups in the zones try to live an organizational and economic autonomy.
- From the Dehonians they ask above all, support for the formation and generally, also for a place to meet.
- They feel the necessity of cooperation with other lay people but the distances create difficulties.
- The Mixed Commission works in favor of cooperation and communion.
- Some see the need to have some lay people well formed in order to accompany the laity much better, which well also favors a lay translation of the charism.
IM:
- The Dehonian Union has more organizations; the religious actually almost exclusively support other groups.
- We rely on the local Dehonian communities.
- According to relative statute.
- We manage ourselves.
UR:
- The lay management: still has to grow. We still depend a lot on the animation of the assistant;
- Logistics: in the Christian communities and in our houses we find the proper spaces to meet.
- The organization: the groups and their activities are well organized.
- The economy: we have a good organization and are financially self-sufficient.
4. How can those people that live Dehonian spirituality, without belonging to any group become part of the Dehonian Family?
BM:
- By inviting them to participate when possible and offering them support.
- How to do it, if the very members of the group still do not feel like members of the Dehonian Family?
- They often think of participating in some group in order to belong to the Dehonian Family.
- Invite them to participate at the Dehonian Eucharistic adoration.
- The ideal would be a definitive commitment.
BS:
- By welcoming them and conducting awareness sessions for them in order to participate in a group and acquainting themselves with the reflections and common activities of the group.
- It could be a good idea to stimulate these people with courses conducted by the assistants and by the Province.
CM:
- They can become part of the Dehoniana family and observe its charism, participate in some meetings, share the spirituality and have suitable formation.
CoM:
- Invite them to participate in the group in order to familiarize themselves with it. Invite them to annual assemblies, formation sessions, celebrations and to talk to them personally.
- The question is: How can we be part of the Dehonian family if the three components (religious, consecrated laity and laity) do not acknowledge each other in the same charism.
- From the responses it seems that the group is used for personal maturity (the group is for an individual).
- We have a desire of being a Dehoniana Family. The process of arriving at that direction is not quite clear.
IM:
- By communication with the provincial community through one of our magazines besides the correspondence we have.
PO:
- The Lay Dehonian Family statutes speak of such a possibility. It focuses the attention, above all, on the people that for different reasons of (age or illness) are not able to participate in the meetings of the groups. They can become part of the Dehoniana Family through prayer, oblation, correspondence, (bulletin of the LDF) as well as by participating at the meetings and spiritual exercises (whenever possible).
UR:
- We don't consider this formality opportune.
5. With other components of the Dehonian Family:
a) What relationships are there from the organizational point of view?
- What is there?
- What is desirable?
b) In what fields or sectors:
- Is there some co-operation among the various components?
- What would you like to propose?
BM:
(a)
- There are no such relationships in our group, but we would like to know what it already exists;
- We would like to see a true family relationship, deeper prayer at the shrine... we have too little for now.
- We have absolutely nothing. We would like to have an exchange of correspondence, spreading of the existing activities and Dehonian material, contacts via the Internet, telephone, meetings, retreats, moments of adoration, trips...
- We need more formation, an itinerary with the various stages of formation.
- Our relationships are limited only to the Dehonian religious.
(b)
-There is very little co-operation and communication;
The co-operation is precarious, since many already some definite tasks and pastoral activities. In actual fact it is there that we need to strengthen our presence.
- There is a very good co-operation in the vocational sector.
(c)
- That there be more exchange of information among the diverse groups.
- We have not directives that define the profile of the " LD " in order to know whom to invite. Therefore, we need the help of the Congregation;
- We need a certain kind of "family advice" inside the Dehoniana Family.
- Spiritual director, animation, action, more explanations, enthronement of the image of the Sacred Heart;
- More participation and a true sense of family;
- The Young Dehonian Missionaries and the Lay Dehonians should work in harmony.
CoM:
- The three components (SC religious, the consecrated and the laity) occasionally have some time together in the form of meetings, formation, feasts, and spiritual friendship...
- It seems that it is the SCJs and Laity (groups and individuals) that form the DF. Missing is the Missionary Company component.
- We desired to grow in the reciprocity and in sharing. We also need to nurture a common project in which the various components can express their own specificity and competence.
- We desire more open and stable co-operation.
IM:
- Special initiatives like: ping pong (meetings), Dehonian family vacation, retreats, pilgrimages to Loreto …
- To intensify, widen and consolidate the existing groups and then to open them to some other possibilities.
- Nobody.
- Not daydreams but something tangible.
6. With the SCJ Dehonians:
a) What are your expectations from the SCJ Congregation?
- At a local level?
- Provincial level? And
- At a general?
b) What role should the SCJs play in the Dehonian Family?
AD
- A guiding role because the Dehonians are the first depositaries of the Dehonian plan. Respecting mutual autonomies, a more open way of communicating could be developed by pooling some experiences in order to enrich each other in living out the same charism.
BM: (a)
- At a local level:
More organization, knowledge and recognition, attention and realization, union and common action. To know better what the other " LD " groups do at this level.
More proximity and publication of the Dehonian charism.
Mpre co-operation with the priests.
- At a provincial level:
- More exchange of information and material because of distances.
- That we stimulate religious and the Dehonian laity to spread the Dehonian charism.
- In most cases the relationships are good and we wish that they continue like that. However, there is more room for improvement.
- To activate more contact with other groups of the Province.
- At an International level:
- We would like to have some common statutes for all the " LDs " (if it already exists, that it be distributed to all).
- Same prayers and pursuance of the information that could be intensified with letters and messages to all the levels.
(b)
- Spiritual orientations and participation in "LD" activities.
- That they offer us formation. That they respect us more so that we can all behave in coherence with the founder.
- More support, incentive, friendship, participation in our formation.
- That they be leaders, animators, coordinators etc...
BS:
-At a local level:
Encourage more exchange among the members of the community and of all the parishes that thy commit themselves more.
Create strategies of action to keep and to divulge the Dehonian Charism.
More support and great stimulus from the local priests.
- At a provincial level:
Technical support to concretize the Plan of Father Dehon.
That the Province contributes in giving support and stimus.
Major investment in courses and fundamental benefits.
- At an international level:
More exchange.
A greater number of participants in the meetings of this level.
That the participation of the laity is valued more.
A stronger support in order to be able to define together what the Congregation means for us.
CM: From the SCJs we expect:
- At a local level:
Support and guide for the different local groups.
- At a provincial level:
To solicit the continuous sending of information and the news of the province in every place, to organize an annual or biennial reunion of the members or representatives of different groups. The annual or biennial organization of meetings of the different members of the groups or their representatives.
- At a general level:
A permanent sending of information and of news that come from different groups of Lay Dehonians of other countries.
- That the SCJs assume a guiding role in the Lay Dehonian groups following the progress and the necessities of every person and every group.
CoM:
- The expectations can be summarized as follows:
- To be welcomed and recognized as the laity that shares the same charism.
- At a local level:
- Reading the reality together and planning together in the territory;
- At a provincial level:
- Annual events during which we can know each other better and share various initiatives growing as a DF.
- At a general level:
- To know the various experiences lived by the DF in different countries.
- Formation of " lay companions ".
- From the SCJs in the DF we ask:
- To base the spirituality and the Dehonian charism on Scripture.
- To accompany and to promote the journey of formation.
- To confirm in the charism.
IM:
- In all levels: interest, spur, guide, and practical initiatives.
UR:
- At a local level: Generally everything goes well.
- At a provincial level: Everything is good;
- At a general level: All is well.
- Respecting our organizational autonomy, we ask them to take care of and to guarantee by their assistance the authenticity of the Dehonian charism that we share.
7. What concrete proposals do you have for the building up of the communion among the various realities of the Dehonian Family?
AR:
- Recognition and acceptance of the wealth and variety of the different functions while maintaining autonomy.
- Communion among the different members of the DF.
- Equality between the different charisms inside the DF.
- To be in agreement and to share the common events.
- To reduce the distances through common work.
- To celebrate the Dehonian Day, feast of the Sacred Heart and the Dehonian Family Day together.
- Vigils of prayer, spiritual exercises and common meetings.
BM:
- Meetings for a great popularization (knowledge) of the founder and retreats.
- A group says that in their parish they are unknown and ignored by the religious and that they survive only by the strength of the Spirit and by the passion for the ideals of Father Dehon;
- Celebration together in friendship all the important events as well as Days of Father Dehon and feasts of the Sacred Heart.
- Together to use the same prayer book: Dehonianos em oração.
- Elaboration of the spirituality benefits and the life of the Congregation.
- Use of the " Dehonian cross ."
BS:
- Study, retreats, meetings, congresses; more communication, days of recreation, days of fraternity and occasions to be together.
CM: That we organize:
- Vocation pastoral.
- Dehon Day on March 14 and the feast of the consecration of the Sacred Heart as a particular day for prayer, reconciliation to the Sacred Heart. It becomes help for the whole Christian community.
- Popularization of the books of prayer to help the Christians and non-Christians to pray as individuals or in family.
CoM:
- Sharing of moments of prayer, community and commemorations.
- Other proposals are that, besides that, there is a necessity to seek together a translation of the charism as livable today.
- Others ask for planning together.
IM:
- Dehon Day, feast of the Sacred Heart, various benefits, prayer book, common initiatives, proposal of the preaching and missions to the people.
UR:
- We prefer to follow the already existing initiatives in order not to overload ourselves.
8. Is there a "mixed commission" in your zone?
- What means of communication do you have?
- And what formation assistance do you have?
AD: - Yes, there is a mixed commission.
AR: - Yes there is, but it does not meet anymore.
- There are two means of passing information " Meeting" (by the religious" and "Time and life" (by the laity).
- There are publications of the commission of spirituality of AU.
BM:
- No. There is only the laity.
- There were, but not anymore.
- Some groups maintain local information.
BS:
- Yes. The general coordination of the " LDs " is formed by the laity (5) and 4 religious SCJs that are at the same time our assistants.
- Yes, a bulletin exists: "Quebrando Distância" (QD) meaning "Braking the Distance", an important tool for communication. It is published every three months.
- For formation we use: the Bible, Church Documents (Christifideles Laici, Documents of the CNBB [National Conference of the Bishops of Brazil]" talks " (- conferences) with religious and lay people, the magazine "Dehoniana", books of Father Dehon ("For a Civilization of the love" by Fr. Primo Corbelli) and a biography of Father Dehon, by Fr. Zezinho), then documentaries and videocassette, brochures and comments.
CM:
- It doesn't exist. We need to erect different groups where the SCJs are present.
- Existing means of communications and information: post, the telephone is still not reliable.
- We don't receive any benefit.
CoM:
- There is a Mixed Commission which is working on the itinerary of common formation.
- As mean of communication we have a bulletin " Dehonian News " that is published at least four times a year and is edited by the Mixed Commission. The most recent numbers are also found in the Internet http://freeweb.dnet.it/notizies - taken care of by a layperson.
- Formative benefits are: a prayer book of the DF; a brochure: the "Proposed life of the "LDs"; some brochures on theme of the Dehonian spirituality related to the meetings of ongoing formation.
IM:
- Before yes, now no!
- A pamphlet "Unione Dehoniani"…A magazine "Presenza Christiana."
- They are published from time to time.
PO:
=A Mixed Commission was created, and it is called "Consiglio Programmatico" Programmatic Council" of the LDF.
UR:
- We have the bulletin "A Corazõn Abierto" (An Open Heart", " Meetings ".
- We have as aids for formation: Páginas Dehonianas (Dehonian Pages), Umbrales…
US:
- There is coordination for the various groups with the name "Dehonian Affiliates Committee" (SCJ Family Associates, Dehonian Lay Missioners and then The Provinces Mission Education Collaborators).
9. What are your expectations of the 2000 International meeting?
AD: - That relationships between the " LDs " and the various communities be encouraged.
- That our presence in the Dehonian Family be welcomed at the significant occasions of the different communities in the Province.
AR: - To have the spirit of unity without uniformity.
- To respect the particular journey of every country, however, with a coordination that unites all of us with the charism and the principles of spirituality and evangelization.
- A Provincial assistant of the " LDs ", putting a common criterion for the formation;
- That everybody gets to know the plan of the Dehonian Family.
- To reorganize the laity, to give clarity to our journey and our way of seeing and feeling the laity in the spirituality.
- To communicate with all the components of the Dehonian Family.
BM: Clear definition of:
- What does it mean to be " LD "? A profile of the " LD ";
- Statutes of the " LDs ", conditions of affiliation, public commitment in front of the community where he/she lives.
- What did Father Dehon want from the laypeople?
- We want to be present and active in a Dehonian Family that has spiritual directors.
- We have to cultivate and deepen our relationships in the whole Dehonian Family, in the spirit of Father Dehon, for the glory of the Heart of Christ;
- There are some who have no expectations.
BS: - That it be beneficial in as much as we will be discovering more and more the Plan of Jesus Christ.
- That we be more committed to the Dehonian Spirituality.
- That it brings something new for the groups. That it becomes a strong Dehonian reflection time; a time that that will clarify for us a Lay Dehonian profile for the Congregation of Father Dehon.
- That the lay people from the Third World can effectively participate at the construction of this event.
- That it be recorded on the video.
- That it be broadcasted by means of social communication.
CM: - We expect that a layout of a program of formation will be formulated for the different groups and that there will be some topics on the morality of Christian families.
- It is impossible for us to assist the meeting financially.
CoM: - A great ability from all the components to be prophets of love and servants of reconciliation and peace in our daily life, with an awareness of the concrete problems of the world like (justice, peace and integrity of nature, immigration...).
- A reflection by the three components of the DF on the sense of family, of belonging and of reciprocity.
- To clarity the common basis of the whole reality of the DF.
- To deepen and to underline: mutual support and active participation in the building of a true family among us, underlining all possible ways of growing towards that direction, so that it be legible and a visible sign of the Church.
- That we do not focus on interpersonal relationships only, but also pay attention to the whole economic reality that surrounds us, culture, mentality, style of life, topics on family, a study of new civil and ecclesial forms…
- A coordination between local, provincial and international realities through the " service " of the Curia Generale.
IM: - A clear and essential general organization.
- A real arrangement that will encourage the religious to constitute and to guide the Dehonian groups wherever they are.
PO: - Presentation of the common and clear principles of the fundamental and essential elements, which will allow to define the identity of a "Lay Dehonian" and his participation in the Dehonian Family.
- To clarify the relationships between: " LDs " AND SCJs.
- In which way does the Congregation feel responsible for this Movement of the laity, for example Fr. General.
UR: - That it be a moment of communion and mutual knowledge and the opportunity of animation from the source…
US: - Going to Rome is far, it is not possible for the laity to go, however, there is hope they will know more.