On the morning of this Thursday, January 29, the Holy Father received in audience the participants – consecrated women and lay consecrated men – in the General Assemblies of the Societies of Apostolic Life of Regnum Christi. To them, the Pontiff reminded them that, “the Lord continues to surprise us and continues to allow himself to be found in ways that are not ours (cf. Is 55:8), and that is why his fidelity continues to surprise us.”
Renato Martinez – Vatican City
“Charisma, government and communion” were the three themes at the center of Pope Leo Kingdom of Christwhom he received in audience on the morning of this Thursday, January 29, in the Vatican Consistory Room.
The Pope at the beginning of the audience (@Vatican Media)
Charisma, a gift of the Paraclete
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After expressing his joy at this meeting, the Holy Father began his reflection on the “charisma”, pointing out that the Magisterium teaches us that “the Church is rejuvenated by the power of the Gospel and the Spirit continually renews it “with various hierarchical and charismatic gifts.” In these days – the Pope stated – they have had the opportunity to reflect and discuss the definition of the charism of the respective Societies of Apostolic Life, recognizing in it a gift from the Paraclete, offered to the Church so that it may revive its life in it and energize its mission, both within itself and in society.
“This gift, while it generates life and vitality in the Institute, also gives it a specific identity, which qualifies and makes your presence recognizable in the Church and in the world. Today more than ever it is necessary to know who we are, if we want to dialogue authentically with society without being absorbed or uniformed. To evangelize the contexts in which you live – a specific goal of your vocation – it is therefore essential that you define your identity with greater and greater clarity.”
In this sense, the Pontiff specified that whoever “receives the charisma is called to keep it alive in himself, so that it does not become something static, but rather becomes a vital force, which flows creatively and freely.”
“The Institute, the Society, are a living body where charismatic energy passes through each cell and each member, of which they in turn are carriers and transmitters. And this energy must animate the mission they carry out and illuminate the path to follow, to later bequeath it as a living inheritance to future generations, also called to fall in love with it and turn it into a source of their service.”
Vatican Consistory Room (@VATICAN MEDIA)
The government, an authentic ecclesial ministry
Reflecting on the second point, the government, Pope Leo XIV said that, in order to begin mature decision-making processes in a climate of authentic discernment, communion is needed. In this regard, the Pope recalled the documents of the Church, where it is said that “consecrated people are called to follow Christ obediently within an “evangelical” or charismatic project, raised by the Spirit and authenticated by the Church,” and that “on this path, authority has the pastoral obligation to guide and decide.”
“Government is a necessary service in Societies of apostolic life; an authentic ecclesial ministry, which accompanies sisters and brothers towards a conscious, free and responsible fidelity in the following of Christ. Every Institute and every Society, moreover, are called to recognize in it its own style, in harmony with its specific charisma and its spirituality.”
On the other hand, the Holy Father pointed out that an authentically evangelical government is always oriented to service: it supports, accompanies and helps each member to become more configured every day with the person of the Savior. In this sense, the Pope said that community discernment is the privileged place in which shared decisions can mature, capable of generating communion and co-responsibility.
“Do not be afraid to experiment with new forms of government, in fact, it is advisable that you always keep in mind that the joint search for a personal style in the exercise of authority opens paths that not only enrich the Societies and their individual members, but also reinforce the sense of belonging and participation in the common mission.”
Pope’s blessing at the end of the audience (@Vatican Media)
Communion, sharing spirituality and apostolate
Then, the Pontiff focused on the third point of his reflection: communion within the Family of the Kingdom of Christ. Your particular path, inserted in the great history of an apostolic body, indicated the Pope, bears the traces of the silent and powerful action of the Holy Spirit, who continually renews the Church and makes it young in hope.
“In this context, they are called to promote an ever deeper communion throughout the Family, sharing spirituality and apostolate, fully living the specific vocation to which God has called them as members of the Society to which they belong, committed to bearing witness, with their own lives, to fidelity to the charism received.”
And remembering the Apostolic Exhortation A consecrated lifethe Pontiff said that, “all the faithful, by virtue of their regeneration in Christ, participate in a common dignity; all are called to holiness; “Everyone cooperates in the building up of the one Body of Christ, each one according to his or her own vocation and the gift received from the Holy Spirit.”
“Unity in baptismal dignity and diversity of vocations are not opposed, but rather illuminate each other. Organic communion in diversity is the work of the Holy Spirit, who transforms each vocation into service for others, so that the Body of Christ grows in history and fulfills its mission in the world.”
Conclusive photo from the audience (@VATICAN MEDIA)
We are all lives on the way
Before concluding his speech, Pope Leo
“The Lord does not make noise, but his Kingdom sprouts and grows in every corner of the world. And in this sense, many cities and many communities need to be told: ‘In truth you are not the least’ (cf. Mt 2:6).”
