Home

CMSWR 2007 Presidential Address

by Mother Mary Quentin Sheridan, RSM

            First, congratulations on this fifteenth anniversary of the CMSWR, and abundant thanks to the Board of Directors, and to you, Father Lemoncelli, for your generous gift of friendship and fidelity to the Church and example to all of us.  We appreciate it all.

 We always begin the planning for an Assembly wondering how many will come, but, in actuality, our deeper, more abiding wonder is how many will participate.  The desire for participation enlivens the heart of every major superior who truly loves her Community and longs for a continuity that is vital and life-giving.  We know intuitively that “participation” is not the same as being organized or efficient or strategic in planning, although the lived reality would bear fruit in all these ways.  As we have heard so many times in these days, “participation” is always characterized by self-giving and generosity in pursuit of a truth that enriches and enlarges the lives of each personally and awakens, in the very soul, love in response.  The whole is greater than the parts not by diminishment but because each person is generating the whole and each person is being realized in the process.

             During the graced period of the Second Vatican Council, the Church, reflecting upon herself, brought forward a term used to refer to the early Christian community:  “koinonia” in the Greek; “communio” in the Latin.  “Communio” does not mean “community.”  It means the fellowship flowing from participation that literally generates community. 

Cardinal Kasper tells us that the true theological meaning of “koinonia” or “communio” is found in the epistles of Saint Paul and of Saint John.  There is, first, koinonia with Jesus Christ (see 1 Cor 12:19), koinonia with the Gospel (see Phil 1:5), in the Holy Spirit (see 2 Cor 13:13), koinonia in faith (see Philemon 1:6); a koinonia of suffering and comfort (see 2 Cor 1:5-7; Phil 3:10), of the glory to come (see 1 Pt 5:1), of the very divine nature (see 2 Pt 1:4) with the Father and the Son and, consequently, among us (see 1 Jn 1:3).

             The Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 948) suggests that “communio” refers not to just any communion, but to the communion of the Holy Spirit:  “The faithful are fed by Christ’s holy body and blood to grow in communion with the Holy Spirit and [from that communion, we are obliged] to communicate that communion to the world.”  We are not a communio by acting together, but by being joined to, and made one in, the Spirit into one Spirit, in the Holy Spirit, and acting as one.

 Pope Benedict XVI, in his book Some Aspects of the Church Understood as Communion (§3) reflects that this idea of the Church as communion, and he expresses the double dimension of communion with God (as the vertical component) and, flowing from that vertical communio, horizontally among men.  “The new relationship between man and God, that has been established in Christ and is communicated through the sacraments, also extends to a new relationship among human beings.”

 We speak of the model of participation that authenticates the unique personal value and gift of each who participates, while releasing an ever more intense knowing and loving from the Holy Trinity.

 Participation in the Holy Trinity, we have heard repeatedly, is the foundation of communio and the spirituality of communion.  God is Himself communio.  He is not a community, not just a threeness of Persons.  He is an active participation in common within Himself.  There is communio between the Father and the Son, as the Father begets the Son, the expression of the inner word, or image, of the Father.  There is communio of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit, as the Holy Spirit is the love or affection between the Father and the Son.  There is a communio of the three Persons with all three Persons being of one will and acting together in the Trinity and outside the Trinity.  The act of God-communio is self-communication, self-giving. 

The Eastern Fathers often spoke of this inner self-communication which only exists in God, but when this is given out in self-giving to man, it is a participation in what is called “theandric energy.”  We read of it in the writings of Saint John Damascene, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, and others.  A theandric energy is moving, is an impulse, a divine impulse, which, when given, continues to breathe forth this affection through a new knowledge.

 This communio in God is a model, but it is an invitation.  God became man so that we could become gods.  Christ prayed that the Church might be one as He and the Father are one (see John 17:21).  The Trinitarian unity of Self-communication of Father and Son in the Spirit is shared in that one great event of the God-man, Christ; and we are given that participation. 

Participation, however, is a choice, a true exercise of freedom, a mystery at the heart of man’s freedom, our freedom, which we can choose to act or decline in favor of our own way.  The Tower of Babel stands witness to man’s desire to think for himself, to act for himself; and what a mess it was!

 In our post-modern world, globalization increases the possibility of horizontal communication on a world scale.  Globalization has made peoples on the various continents more aware of one another, but not de facto neighbors.  Globalization, while heightening our awareness, increases a generalized dis-ease and a disquiet, and, frequently, is a source of contentiousness and competition, but seldom participation.  The evidence of global disquiet is about us everywhere.  This leads to a kind of self-isolation and self-satisfaction.    As Pope Benedict XVI reminds us, “vertical communio,” that is, communio with the Triune God, precedes horizontal communio, and that is participation.

             From the dawn of creation, man has desired to celebrate his own greatness, both individually and collectively, and to set goals for himself that can never be achieved by man alone, unassisted by grace, that is, participation with his Divine Maker in existence and in becoming one’s self, one needs that divine design to complete a personal design.

 In faith, we realize when we are created, we participate existence: “I am who am.”  When we are baptized, we participate God’s active living:  “I do what I am.”  Through grace, we are justified, sanctified, and made God-like, but even in our acts.  In the second letter of Saint Peter, referred to earlier [he states]:

 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature.  (2 Pt 1:3-4)

 Grace is not a passive element.  As the life of the Triune God, who is always in act and whose act is always love, grace is meant to be an active love.  We must do for others what God, by dwelling in us since our Baptism, is doing in us. 

The “source and summit” of all communio in the world is the Eucharist.  While prayer and dialogue are essential elements in the spirituality of communion, the Eucharist is the sacrament of unity, the source of charity.  “Our longing for the goal of unity prompts us to turn to the Eucharist, which is the supreme sacrament of the unity of the People of God, in as much as it is the apt expression and the unsurpassable source of that unity.” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, no.43)  “It is around the Eucharist, celebrated or adored, ‘source and summit’ of all activity of the Church, that the communion of souls is built up, which is the starting point of all growth in fraternity” (Fraternal Life in Community, no.14).  Cardinal Walter Kasper, in his text Theology & Church (p.155), states, “As eucharistic communion, the church is not merely the reflection of the Trinitarian communion; it also makes that communion present.”  Communio is the purpose and the fulfillment of the eucharistic celebration (p.188).  Central to the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, and to its future, is this Eucharistic unity among us.

In the book The Church, a collection of audience addresses (p.154) by Pope John Paul II, earlier discussed, explains that the Eucharist is the “source” of Christian life because it gives the motivation and strength to live as a true Christian.  “Christ’s sacrifice on the cross imparts to the believer the dynamism of his generous love.” Pope John Paul II further reflects, “Man’s resemblance to God finds its basis, as it were, in the mystery of the most holy Trinity.  Man resembles God not only because of the spiritual nature of his immortal soul but also by reason of his social nature, if by this we understand the fact that he ‘cannot fully realize himself except in an act of pure self-giving’.”

 Regarding the active participation of the faithful in the liturgy, Sacramentum Caritatis (§55) tells us that the personal conditions required for fruitful participation on the part of individuals are:

1)      the spirit of constant conversion, which must mark the lives of all the faithful.

“Conversion” is a turning toward a greater unity.  “Aversion” is turning away from unity.  Conversion is number one; and

2)       an accompanying effort to participate actively in the life of the Church as a whole, including a missionary commitment to bring Christ's love into the life of society, is essential.

Trinitarian dynamism is a force, as reflected earlier from the Eastern Fathers, in the sense of a theandric energy or impulse.  Once that habitual uncreated grace of the divine indwelling is in us, not only is the Trinity acting in us, among us themselves, but that theandric energy is pressing, forcing itself into the very self of our selves, because of the divine goodness, which is diffused therein, and this for a greater communion.

 
One of the conditions for fruitful, active participation in the Eucharist is participation in the life of the Church as a whole.  Receiving the sacramental life of the Church and, in a special way, the Eucharist, brings with it responsibility, as was reflected earlier today, to be active on behalf of the unity of the whole Church. 

The great gift of such God-communication/participation in His nature is personal and common.  Each Major Superior has personally received and must personally share that gift which has been given her within her own Institute.  This communio is Trinitarian in nature.  Each institute represents a body in communio within its own members and communio in the Church.

 We earlier heard reflected the concept “common,” often used to reflect “being there,” “showing up,” being on time, or just doing the same things; but that is not “common.”  Even the concept “common table” has to be changed to be understood that “common” is very hard work.  Reflect on how awkward we become socially when sitting at a table with persons we know rarely or little; and yet the obligation is ours, even from our own institute, to share.

 The Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (“CMSWR”), as a recognized ecclesial body—and we surely are—gathers as a communio of Major Superiors freely participating in common for greater participation in the life of the Church as well as the life of each member institute and each individual member thereof.  Reflect on what has happened this short time together with members who have never been here before, and what energy it has become.

 Each Major Superior is called upon to participate in this active self-giving.  The fundamental theological premise that ecclesial communio is Trinitarian in nature encourages self-giving and self-communicating among the Council.

             The fundamental acts of a person, as person, are to know and be known, and to love and be loved.  One cannot love what one does not know.  As knowledge leads to love, so does love lead to increased knowledge.

 The act of love, or self-giving, requires self-communication, deep self-communication, or allowing ourselves to be loved and known as much as we know and love others, and sometimes, that is very difficult.  If there is mutual love or the desire for it, then there is self-communication on both sides, or dialogue.

 The first step for dialogue is prayer and grace.  The perfection of dialogue is to have all one’s conversation in God.  Perfect dialogue is not about a closed circle; it will always be ecclesial.  Perfect dialogue is not mere chatting, and it is not esoteric.  It is inspired by the Holy Spirit.  It is practical, and it faces the world of today.

 To promote such dialogue, religious must live on earth with a heavenly language.  We often quote Religious and Human Promotion, paragraph 24, and we quoted it this last couple of days.  “Experts in communion” [it says], but sometimes we forget the last part of the sentence:  “Experts in communion, religious are, therefore, called to be an ecclesial community in the Church and in the world, witnesses and architects of the plan for unity which is the crowning point of human history in God's design [not ours]” (Religious and Human Promotion §24). An architect must have perfection of the design, and so, dialogue must be perfected among us.

 Dialogue is born of a desire to share the good gifts that we have received.  We strive for such self-donation to Him, prompted by His total gift through the sacramental life, especially the Eucharist.  In the same spirit, we too work through the steps of dialogue as we gather together in Council.

 Let us consider the dynamism of mutual sharing from each member of the CMSWR.  In faith, we believe that our minds are enlightened by God’s truth and His Word, and that our hearts are inflamed by His Love.  I beg an indulgence, but it is one of my favorite quotes: 

The soul is made like to God by grace.  Hence, for a divine person to be sent to anyone by grace, there needs be a likening of the soul to the divine person who is sent, by some gift of grace.  Because the Holy Spirit is Love, the soul is assimilated to the Holy Spirit by the gift of charity: hence, the mission of the Holy Spirit is according to the mode of charity.  Whereas the Son is the Word, not any sort of word, but one who breathes forth Love.  Hence, Augustine says, “The Word we speak of is knowledge with love.”  The Son is sent not in accordance with every and any kind of intellectual perfection, but according to the intellectual illumination which breaks forth into the affection of love.

 This special illumination is a very strange thing that happens in the dynamism.  By the way, that [quote] was [from] Saint Thomas, The Summa, First Part, Question 43, Article 5.  It is only a reply to an objection [r2]. 

The dynamism is not just according to grace.  Although all simultaneous, grace is first, with the Holy Spirit prompting justification, sanctification; and then the powers of intellect and will, perfected by faith, hope, and charity.  Then, with the light, this special illumination, this unique illumination of the Word for special times, is this unusual intellectual illumination.  The Carmelites would recognize this as Saint John of the Cross’ “invasion of the intellect”; this light that comes for an act to be done, an act of love, special and unique; and this love is what precedes the gift of wisdom. 

This is the perfection of dialogue.  The illumination of our minds by the overpowering Word of God has as its purpose to bring about a communio for the Church.  Many minds illuminated through this special grace flames forth into a “sweet knowledge” called “wisdom.”  We share in that sweet wisdom, in charity.  When we have reached that great gift among ourselves, this great gift of the divine goodness, we need to spread that dialogue to the Church, to the world—to the hierarchy, episcopal conferences, pastors, married couples, and young people.  The dialogue in the Church, as a “sweet wisdom flaming forth in love,” should be a model for other Christian communities, including the family, to see publicly witnessed in us, for we are a public institution, and they have a right to us. 

Vita Consecrata (§74) reminds us:

 …effective communion among those graced with different charisms will ensure both mutual enrichment and more fruitful results in the mission at hand.  The experience of recent years widely confirms that ‘dialogue is the new name of charity,’ especially charity within the Church….The consecrated life, by the very fact that it promotes the value of fraternal life, provides a privileged experience of dialogue. 

To repeat, the perfection of dialogue is the Self-communication in the Trinity.  In a special way, we participate that dialogue.

 Because of the importance of communio in religious life, and its centrality in the life and holiness of the Church, it must be extended.  Not all in the Church are called to live this kind of communio.  “The capacity to live community life with its joys and restraints is a quality which distinguishes a religious vocation to a given institute and it is a key criterion of suitability in a candidate” (Essential Elements §19). 

We must be certain, as major superiors, that we are capable of forming new entrants in this kind of unity in community, so that this kind of communio, so desirable and necessary to the Church, will be advanced. It will demand that our formators have a keen sense of ecclesial responsibility.  Our new Sisters need vision and direction, as well as formation; and this formation in communio is of the essence.

 We have responsibilities, much to take care of—the busyness that was brought to our attention today.  We might feel the need to protect our charism, our Sisters, our survival.  It appears that we have no time for anything else.

 With greater authority in the Church comes greater responsibility for the life of the Church.  The CMSWR offers a chance for the member institutes to extend their apostolate, to serve the Church on a greater scale through the combined efforts of the member institutes.  By utilizing the gifts of members of different institutes, we can do such things as offer to the Church writings about religious life which will be of service not only to our Sisters but to the Church as a whole.

 In 1994, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life, in its document Fraternal Life in Community, spoke of the importance of this communion:  “…the current renewal in the Church and in religious life is characterized by a search for communion and community.”  (no.71)  “The Church entrusts to communities of consecrated life the particular task of spreading the spirituality of communion, first of all in their internal life and then in the ecclesial community, and even beyond its boundaries...” (Vita Consecrata §51) 

We, the CMSWR, need to do our part. We must fill the role of the Church to be sign and instrument of the unity.  Our mission, like the Church’s, includes not only what we do but also being a communio among ourselves, as a body.  The Church’s communion begets communion, because the Church has a mission on behalf of communion (see Christifideles Laici §32).  The Church’s mission has the purpose of making everyone know and live the ‘new’ communion that the Son of God made man introduced into the history of the world.”  Pope John Paul II reflected: 

Consecrated persons, who become ‘of one heart and soul’ (Acts 4:32) through the love poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 5:5), experience an interior call to share everything in common: material goods and spiritual experiences, talents and inspirations, apostolic ideals and charitable service…   (Vita Consecrata §42)