INTRODUCTION

1^st Text THE DEHONIAN FAMILY

2^nd Text DEHONIAN LAITY

MEMORANDUM

AS WE AWAIT THE GATHERING
 

To all participants in the Gathering of the Dehonian Family Rome, 8-14 October2000

Enclosed you will find the two texts prepared by the preparatory Committee as working papers for the international meeting of all the components of the Dehonian family.

The first text is concerned with the "Dehonian family". Its aim is to describe the nature, characteristics, significance and criteria for membership. What are its various components, the relationship among these components, and the role of the SCJ in the Dehonian family. our common spiritual patrimony.

It is already defined as a "Family", formed around the charism of Fr. Dehon, and therefore in the essential communion among its various components. The hypothesis of creating a "second" and "third order" has already been excluded.

The second text is an approach to the "Dehonian laity", as was requested by the SCJ’s 20th General Chapter. The topic under discussion is well-defined and narrow.

In fact, we are not speaking of "lay Christians" who work with the SCJ in their various pastoral activities. Neither are we speaking about "lay Christians" who live the spirituality of the Sacred Heart of Jesus according to St. Margaret Mary or Jesuit spirituality. What is under discussion is the "Dehonian laity", that is those Christians who live their baptismal commitment, inspired by the spirituality of the pierced Heart of Jesus, as it was understood and lived by Fr. Dehon.

This is why the two texts give due emphasis to Fr. Dehon, highlighting his spirituality that is centered on the Heart of Christ, in the elements that are common to the whole Dehonian family (1st text) and in some specific values for the life of the laity. (2nd text).

In preparing for October’s meeting, in which the two texts will be discussed, evaluated, and reworked, you are invited to begin to respond to the basic question: "Do you personally identify (as an SCJ, or a Dehonian consecrated person or a member of the Dechonian laity) with the basic ideas of these two texts?"

We wish you a good preparation, and conclude with the Italian greeting "arrivederci a Roma" [See you in Rome].

Rome, 2 April 2000

 I. The Dehonian family: charism, spirituality, mission

(The purpose of this first part is to define and clarify general terminology, so that we are all using the same language with the same meaning.)
 

1. Called to make the Dehonian charism bear fruit, according to the needs of the Church in the world, we, as SCJ, consecrated persons, and laity, live Fr. Dehon’s heritage today.
 

2. The "charism" of Fr. Dehon, as the father of the Dehonian family, consists in that Gospel inspiration in his original interpretation of the mystery of Christ, an inspiration that guided his spiritual life and determined his response to the pastoral needs of the Church and the challenges of his day.

Since it is a gift of the Spirit to the Church, the charism of a founder is to be accepted by his disciples according to their own state of life: priest, religious, laity. As a "patrimonial inheritance", it is to be preserved and interpreted with a dynamic fidelity.

Indeed, it is the charism of Fr. Dehon that characterizes all of us, individually and jointly, as "Dehonians in the Church and the world". Sharing in this charism, in the Church we become the children of Fr. Dehon, and thus brothers and sisters of one another.
 

3. Fr. Dehon’s experience of faith and that of his first disciples – religious and laity – the spiritual experience of the "Oblates" of the Heart of Jesus, such as the "Servantes du Coeur de Jésus" of M. Marie-Rosalie-Oliva Uhlrich and the "Religieuses du Coeur de Jésus" di M. Marie-Véronique, are at the origins of the Dehonian "spirituality" which all of us are called to live as our own path to holiness.

Because every Christian spirituality is contextualized in a given historical period and is conditioned by the influences of culture, we are invited to live it in conformity to our own day, in the light of theological progress and in harmony with today’s spiritual sensitivities.

For those who are called to share in the Dehonian spirituality, it is a demand of the universal call to holiness, and is to be lived according to one’s own state of life. This involves a response to an authentic personal "call", which requires discernment, spiritual direction and a process of formation.

What has identified the "Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus" from the beginning and still distinguishes them from other institutes in the Church today is their spirituality. The same holds true for the spirituality that identifies and distinguishes the individual members and various components (consecrated persons and laity) of the Dehonian family from other groups in the Church.

4. Since it is a gift of the Spirit to the Church, the charism of a founder also involves "a service to be offered to the Church"; namely, the "mission" to which a founder is called and sent.

The mission of the Dehonian family, in the diversity of the tasks of its various components must continue to be a concrete expression of the charism of Fr. Dehon today; it is a part of the heritage we have received.

We are all "called" and "sent" for the mission, by virtue of our baptism; we are furthermore "consecrated" for the mission, by virtue of the specific consecration of our state of life.

The Dehonian mission is not identified by a single, concrete, apostolic activity; however, it does ask us to "install the Kingdom of the Heart of Jesus in souls and in society", inspired and stimulated by our characteristic spirituality.

Collaboration in the installation of this Kingdom comes about through prayer and concrete engagement. However, in order to be called a "Dehonian", one must, besides collaborating in the pastoral activities of the SCJ, share Fr. Dehon’s spirituality.
 

5. Every type of spirituality finds concrete expression in a personal style of life; it gives direction to the mission in the Church, with special emphasis on Gospel proclamation and witness; it has recourse to visible signs, by means of which one’s own identity is manifest.

6. Membership in the Dehonian family requires the fulfilment of some verifiable conditions:

a. Recognising Fr. Dehon as the "spiritual father" of one’s own life in the Church.

b. Participating in his charism, sharing his spirituality and serving the mission, according to one’s own state of life: laity, priest or religious. Only in this manner of participation can Fr. Dehon’s charism be spread qualitatively in the Church.

c. Recognising the SCJ religious, and being recognised by them in turn, as "brothers and sisters", members of the same Family.

II. The components of the Dehonian family

(In this second section we will discuss some of the possible components of the Dehonian family, their special characteristics and their organisational autonomy).

7. The components of the Dehonian family are the "Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus" (SCJ), several Institutes of consecrated persons who choose to belong to it, and the Dehonian Laity, all of whom recognise Fr. Dehon as the "father" of our own spiritual life and acknowledge one another as brothers and sisters because we share the same charism, spirituality and mission.

7.1 As Priests of the Sacred Heart, we are religious consecrated by vows in an apostolic religious Institute, explicitly joining our religious and apostolic life to Christ’s sacrifice of reparation to the Father for humanity.

7.2 As consecrated persons, we know that those who began our Institutes passed on to us the charism of Fr. Dehon. We live this charism in obedience, chastity and poverty according to the consecration that is typical of our particular Institute.

7.3 As Dehonian laity with individual or even joint engagement, we live the lay dimension of the charism and spirituality of Fr. Dehon, spreading the Kingdom of the Heart of Christ in the area that is ours, the secular world.

The "Dehonian laity" is identified more explicitly in the "Document" accompanying this "Constitutional Charter".

8. The communion of diverse vocations in the one charism requires respect for the specific nature and diversity of each, with complete organisational autonomy.

Thus we are formed into a "Dehonian family", not through dependence and subordination among the various components, nor even less so by virtue of a power of the SCJ Superiors over the other components in the various countries, but through the vital communion in the same charism, although it is lived in diverse forms and manners, and through the necessary recognition by the competent authorities of the SCJ.

In order to guarantee and foster this life-giving communion, the SCJ are asked to take on the task of the spiritual guidance of the other components, especially during the formation period. For this reason it is advantageous to have recourse to a religious community and the SCJ Major Superiors of the country.

III. The common heritage of the Dehonian family

(In the third section we see the contents of the spirituality and mission that are inherent in the charism of Fr. Dehon, and that constitute the heritage that is common to the whole Dehonian family)

9. A shared charism. As disciples of Fr. Dehon, we draw near to the mystery of Christ through his wounded Heart, under the guidance of the Spirit.

For Fr. Dehon the open side and the pierced Heart of the Savior are the most evocative expression of a gratuitous love whose active presence he experienced in his own life.

10. A shared spirituality. Father Dehon was very sensitive to the sin that weakens the Church, especially the sin of consecrated persons.

He recognised the evils of society, and attentively studied their causes on the human, personal and social levels. However, he saw that the deepest cause of this human suffering is the rejection of the love of Christ.

Taken up with this idea of misunderstood love, he wanted to offer a response of reparation through intimate union to the Heart of Christ, and by establishing the Kingdom in individuals and in society.

11. Thus committed with Christ, in order to make reparation for sin and a lack of love in the Church and the world, we shall offer to him, with our whole life, our prayers, work, suffering and joy the worship of love and reparation that his Heart desires (cf NQ XXV, 5).

12. We understand reparation as an acceptance of the Spirit (cf. 1Thess 4: 8), as a response to Christ’s love for us, a communion with his love for the Father and co-operation in his work of the redemption of the world from within.

13. The life of oblation, stirred up in our hearts by the Lord’s gratuitous love, conforms us to the oblation of him who out of love give himself totally to the Father and to mankind.

14. The life of reparation will at times be lived in the offering of suffering borne with patience and abandonment, and in obscurity and solitude, as an eminent and mysterious communion with the suffering and death of Christ for the redemption of the world.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the Church (Col 1:24).

15. These values that are typical of Dehonian spirituality are concretely expressed in a way of life marked by abandonment to and trust in God, by cordiality and mercy for individuals, by communion and openness towards others.

We gladly make use of those visible signs that express our spirituality, such as: Holy Hours of Reparation, First Fridays, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, photographs of Fr. Dehon.

16. Serving the mission. Like every charism in the Church, our prophetic charism places us at the service of the saving mission of the People of God in today’s world (cf. Lumen Gentium 12).

For Father Dehon, in a spirit of oblation and love, part of this mission is Eucharistic adoration, an authentic service to the Church (cf. NQ, 1.3.1893), and ministry to the lowly and the humble, to workers and the poor (cf. Souvenirs, XV), in order to proclaim to them the unfathomable riches of Christ (cf. Eph 3:8).

17. Christ prayed for the coming of the Kingdom, which is already at work in our midst.

Following our Founder, according to the signs of the times and in communion with the life of the Church, we want to contribute to the establishment of the kingdom of justice and Christian charity in the world (cf. Souvenirs, XI).

18. Attentive to the challenges of the world, we follow Fr. Dehon, who was always concerned to be present to the people of his day, especially the poor: those without resources, reasons for living, hope.

Therefore his apostolate was characterised by a particular attention to people, especially to the lowliest, working so that the human community, sanctified in the Holy Spirit, would become an offering pleasing to God (cf. Rom 15:16).

19. Participating in the construction of the earthly city and the building up of the Body of Christ in our way of being and acting, we must bear witness to and work for reconciliation, solidarity among peoples, inter-religious dialogue and Christian unity.

20. In pastoral activity we give pride of place to proclaiming God’s love and tenderness, revealing the face of a God who is love; the face of God, which is that of the compassionate Christ.

Indeed, Father Dehon expects all his sons and daughters to be prophets of love and servants of the reconciliation of individuals and of the world in Christ.

21. Eucharist. In the Eucharist Fr. Dehon found the privileged moment for belonging more fully to Christ; an adherence that comes from the depth of the heart and that must be expressed in the whole of one’s life, especially in the apostolate; an adherence that is expressed and concentrated in the Eucharistic sacrifice in such a way that one’s whole life becomes a continuous Mass (Cf Couronnes d’amour, III, p. 199).

In fact, "our whole Christian and religious life finds its source and summit in the Eucharist (Cf. Lumen Gentium 11)".

22. Called to participate in this sacrifice of the new Covenant, we unite ourselves to the perfect oblation that Christ offers to the Father, in order to communicate with him through the spiritual sacrifice of our life.

23. Closely linked to our celebration of the Eucharist, in adoration we meditate on the riches of this mystery of faith so that the flesh and blood of Christ, food of eternal life, may more profoundly transform our life.

In this manner we respond to the demand of our vocation of reparation. In Eucharistic adoration we seek to deepen our union with the sacrifice of Christ for the reconciliation of men and women with God.

24. With the Virgin Mary. As the Mother of Jesus, Mary is intimately associated to the life and redemptive work of her Son. As Mother of the Church, we live in union with the mysteries of the life of Mary in order to be ever more intimately associated with her Son.

With the Virgin of the Annunciation we pronounce our "Ecce ancilla" and with the Virgin of the Incarnation we are associated to the "Ecce venio" of the Word. With the Virgin Mother of Bethlehem we bear witness to God’s coming in the midst of mankind, the presence of a God who became poor. With Mary of Nazareth we are invited to live in humility and in conformity to the will of God, sharing gifts in order to grow as a Dehonian family in the "Sint unum". With Mary the pilgrim, following Christ the apostle and prophet, we become brothers and sisters by our acceptance of the Word and not by blood ties. With Mary mourning at the foot of the cross, we are invited to contemplate the open side in order to enter into the unfathomable mystery of the Heart of Christ.

25. United with Christ. Called by our vocation to share in the charism of Fr. Dehon, Dehonian spirituality becomes the personal path to holiness for us, and constitutes the way of fully living the Gospel beatitudes according to each one’s state of life.

The richness of the Dehonian spirituality and the consequent variety of attitudes and actions are united in our union with Christ. United to Christ in his love and his oblation to the Father, we are invited to discover more and more the Person of Christ and the mystery of his Heart.

As disciples of Father Dehon, we want to make union with Christ in his love for the Father and for others the principle and center of our life.

Our experience of faith has its origins in the faith experience of Fr. Dehon, which is what St. Paul expressed: "I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me" (Gal 2:20).

I. The identity of the Dehonian layman or laywoman.

1. The Dehonian layman or laywoman is a person who, called by the Spirit, lives his or her membership in the Church according to the faith experience – the charism – of Fr.Dehon.

2. His or her lay witness in the Church and in society is expressed individually or collectively with the values of Dehonian spirituality; therefore a Dehonian layman or laywoman is committed to knowing and delving deeper into this charism.

3. In order to live the Dehonian spirituality and mission with attention to the "signs of the times" and one’s gaze fixed on the pierced Heart of the Savior and to express it concretely in his or her daily life in the territory where he or she lives and works, the Dehonian layman or laywoman will be careful to study and delve deeper into a lay interpretation of the charism of Fr. Dehon.

4. Thus responding to the call to holiness that is proper to every baptized person, he or she will pay particular attention to the human situations of suffering and distress, becoming an instrument of reconciliation and solidarity.

II. The lay dimension of the Dehonian charism: spirituality and mission.

5. With Fr. Dehon, guided by the Spirit, we contemplate the Heart of Christ, "the door" by which we know and love the Father and our brothers and sisters.

6. Of the spiritual experience of Fr. Dehon, we will highlight LOVE:

• For the Lord:

centered in the Eucharist, a life of union, trinitarian dimension, oblation and abandonment, reparation, …
• For every person

kindness, acceptance, attention, openness, a spirit of peace, hope, optimism, …
• For the Church:

"a sense of Church", sharing her passion for the Gospel (mission…, Sint Unum,….etc.).
• For the people:

go and share life with the people: being committed to the proclamation, the promotion of justice, reconciliation, mercy and discerning how to act in a given situation according to the "Spirit of the incarnation" (inculturation, local needs, …)

• personal,
• group,
• of the Dehonian family,
• of the Church.

III. Formation: a formative process and a celebrative process.
 

8. After all that has been said about the profile of the Dehonian layman or laywoman, about the charism that he or she is called to accept and translate into a mission-spirituality for the world of today and its culture/cultures, it is obvious that there is a demand for a serious, progressive and constant formation, both initial and ongoing.

9. Formation always tends to promote the harmonious growth of the person and the contemplative and active dimension of the Christian life and of the Dehonian spirituality, in the wake of the universal call to holiness.

10. This formation must take into account:

• the identity of the group to which one belongs,
• the age, character and educational background of the participants.

• basic Christian formation understood as a knowledge and experience of a life of faith and grace,
• an understanding of the Church as communion and participation in its mission,
• a knowledge of the Church’s social teaching and a socio-political presence,
• formation in the values of the spirituality of Fr. Dehon (a knowledge of it, an "appropriation" of it, and a translation of it into lay spirituality)
• an openness to the "We – the Dehonian Family" in sharing the spirituality and mission.

• a moment/period of welcome (necessity of having/offering a place and activities for a first approach and an initial suggestion);
• period of delving deeper;
• period/time of commitment (assuming a responsibility – committing one’s self to a life style that is consistent with the Dehonian charism and can be expressed and explicitly recognised in the social and ecclesial context).

This will allow the person making the transition to do so more consciously, to offer a witness and to encourage others (both those who have not yet made this step and those who have already done so, so they can renew and fulfil it); this also promotes growth as a group in the family…

Means of formation.

• The means of formation  – prayer, personal reflection, classes, days of recollection, joint initiatives, regular meetings of the group, celebrations (Eucharist – Adoration), newsletters, magazines, etc. -  will differ depending on the type of group and their process.
• It is important to have a special place and guarantee them a personal spiritual direction, that will help each one in discerning his or her place and vocation, to bring to maturity their gifts and talents and to verify the consistency of their life.

15. For the laity to be autonomous, they must have the necessary space, time, and initiatives that promote acquaintance and co-ordination at the local, national and international level.

16. Relations among the various components are lived in a spirit of communion, always respecting and accepting the gift of diversity.

17. In order to promote the Dehonian spirituality among the laity and help them gain the desired organisational autonomy, it is opportune to think of some "structures" (Commissions, …) and "points of reference" that, at least at the national level, (and if possible also in the geographical regions) can be put into effect, with the task of networking the various lay groups.

18. The individual commissions could foster the formation of the leaders, spiritual assistants, and the preparation of various aids.

Concluding this Instrumentum Laboris, let us turn to the following texts for enlightenment:

All the members of the People of God -clergy, men and women religious, the lay faithful-are labourers in the vineyard. At one and the same time they all are the goal and subjects of Church communion as well as of participation in the mission of salvation. Every one of us possessing charisms and ministries, diverse yet complementary, works in the one and the same vineyard of the Lord. Simply in being Christians, even before actually doing the works of a Christian, all are branches of the one fruitful vine which is Christ. All are living members of the one Body of the Lord built up through the power of the Spirit In Church Communion the states of life by being ordered one to the other are thus bound together among themselves. They all share in a deeply basic meaning: that of being the manner of living out the commonly shared Christian dignity and the universal call to holiness in the perfection of love. They are different yet complementary, in the sense that each of them has a basic and unmistakable character which sets each apart, while at the same time each of them is seen in relation to the other and placed at each other's service. (Christifideles Laici. no.55)

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Costs
"Among the goals of this Jubilee Year there is the request made by the Supreme Pontiff and by public opinion – ecclesial and lay – to the governments and international organisations (the IMF, World Bank) for the reduction, if not the total cancellation, of the public debt of the countries of the Third World. This aspect is also included within the topics to be discussed during our coming SCJ General Conference in May at Recife, on ‘Economics and the Kingdom of God’.

As our concrete participation in the Jubilee, in order to be in harmony with the challenges presented to the SCJ religious, the Dehonian family is also called to give a concrete sign of solidarity towards the laity of the ‘Third World’ who will participate in the International Gathering.

Therefore, we are taking the liberty of asking the laity and their religious Assistants from the First World (Europe and North America) to take on the costs for lodging for the laity of the Third World for the days from 8-14 October, in addition, of course, to their own expenses for traveling and lodging.

The laity from the Third World will pay their own round-trip fare to Rome (which is much more expensive than the Europeans have to pay) and their personal expenses (travel, taxi, telephone, bar, sight-seeing) during their stay in Rome.

The religious Assistants from the Third World will pay their own travel, the reduced rate for lodging and their other personal expenses.

The contribution offered by the laity and religious Assistants from the First World on behalf of the laity from the Third World is a response to one of the objectives that characterizes the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000; it is a concrete gesture of solidarity by which we want to express the reality that we are one Dehonian family.

We would like to remind you that it is possible to arrive at "Villa Aurelia" on the 7^th of October and to remain as long as the morning of October 16^th to celebrate the Jubilee. Anyone wishing to do so must make their own reservations directly with the staff of ‘Villa Aurelia’ (Telephone +39/06/660.17.458; FAX +39/06/660.49.467) before the end of April. Anyone staying these extra days (including the laity from the Third World) will be charged the regular rate for room and board.

Please note that except for these dates both the Villa Aurelia and the Generalate are filled and we cannot guarantee any accommodations". (From the Letter to the participants in the Gathering of the Dehonian Family, 1 January 2000).
 

Rates

1. Non-refundable rate for the days of the congress (from the afternoon of 8 October until the morning of 14 October 2000)
For religious and laity from the First World (500,000 Lire)

For religious from the Third World (275,000 Lire)

2. Full meal service, [personal expenses, e.g. telephone, bar, taxi, sight-seeing not included) 110,000 lire per person per day.

This is the rate that will be charged to congress participants for any prolonged stay and any non-participants who are accompanying them.

3. All payment is to be made in Italian lire or the equivalent in US dollars at the exchange rate in effect at the time of the congress.

1. The lay delegates should prepare a brief presentation (of five minutes) on the present situation of the groups in their country; this will be presented at the beginning of the Assembly.

2. Those who have not yet done so are asked to send to Fr. Wardjito in Rome, as soon as possible, the "informational chart" of each individual group:

• name of the group, with the address, telephone, e-mail address, etc. of their headquarters
• person in charge of the group (Full name, address, telephone no….)
• origin of the group (when, with whom, how, why…)
• make-up of the group (characteristics)
• number of members; where they are found (geographic area)
• organization of the group
• activities performed by the group

God, merciful and good Father, we – the various components of the Dehonian family – adore you and give you thanks because you gave us Jesus, your Son and the Son of Mary. He became our brother. He calls us by name and invites us to follow him in the diversity of vocations and gifts.

In the sign of his wounded Heart, he reveals your fatherly love and shows us our path in the Church and in the world. Obedient to your will, O Father, we offer you all the actions of each day and our whole life, which we want to live in union with the sentiments of his Heart, a Heart that is an offering pleasing to you.

Through the Spirit who gives life to everything, bless us, O Father, our being and action. Transform us so that we may be like Father Leone Dehon, open to your call for the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, your Son, in souls and in society. Keep our family in communion. Give us a meek and humble heart, a heart that is strong and generous, to serve your kingdom of love wherever we may be.

Through your intercession, O Venerable Father Dehon, help us to be like you, interpreters of the divine love and servants of reconciliation in the Church and for all humanity.

• Our Father …
• Hail Mary…
• Glory be…