PERFECTAE CARITATIS: No.20-25 Novice Jobin Joseph thayyil

The 21^st number says  that if some communities and monasteries which the holy see after consulting the interesting local ordinaries will judge not to posses reasonable hope for further development they have to combine with other more flourishing communities and monasteries whose scope and spirit are similar.

No. 22 .says about the independent institutes and monasteries. They should form federation if they can be considered as belonging to the same religious family.   Others when they have too few members should unite with others. But they should have identical constitutions and rules under common spirit.

No. 23. It explains the necessity of the council of major superiors. The synod also favored conference or councils of major superiors established by the Holy See. This can be contribute very much to achieve the purposes of each institutes to encourage more effective cooperation for the welfare of the church, to ensure a more just distribution of ministries of the Gospel in a given area, and finally to conduct affairs of interest to all religious.. Similar conferences should also be established for secular institutes.

No.24 says about the duty of priest and Christian educators that is to foster vocations. The candidate should be suitably and carefully chosen. In ordinary preaching the life of evangelical councils those are chastity, poverty and obedience should be explained well. Parents also should prepare their children to accept vocations by installing Christian virtues in their hearts. Religious communities have the right to make themselves known in order to foster vocations. In doing this they should observe the norms lay down by Holy See and the local ordinary. There life is a better example for foster vocation.

No.25says that religious institutes should respond generously to the specific vocation God gave them as well as their work in the church today. The Sacred synod highly esteems their way of life in chastity, poverty and obedience and Christ himself is their example. That all the religious therefore rooted in faith and filled with love for God and their neighbor, love of the cross and the hope of future glory, spread the Good News of Christ throughout the whole world. Through this our Father in heaven will be glorified. Let them also beseech Mary the Mother of God, who is a mode for all that their number maybe increase daily and their works become more effective.

REFLECTION ON PERFECT CHARITY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI 1-5 NOVICE LOUIE

The pacing of changes of the world today is very quick. Sometimes it is unnoticeable. And Because of this, it brings annoyance to us sometimes especially to some who are not open to changes. But world continues to grow and to modernize. It will always continue to change. Moreover, this change is not only applicable to a certain things of this world but it applies to all of us here either living or non-living things. We all undergo changes.

But for me a change is not fearsome. It only brings enhancement in order to cope up with the demands of time. And it will never diminish our very own origin. Let us take this as our example. Supposed, you are in the other country. And so you will not insist your own country laws but follow the existing law of the country you are in.  But it does not mean that you are one of them and you will forget your own origin. You just only apply it to yourself what is accepted in that place. This makes you more effective and accepted in that country.

This is the idea of perfect charity proclaimed by His Holiness Pope Paul VI. It intends to treat life and discipline of those institutes who make a profession of the evangelical counsel, in order to be more effective in current time. It does not have a purpose of threatening the existing institutes before the Vatican II or to extinguish their origin and special characteristics.

In fact the church as it was stated in this document, Perfect Charity, is very glad to welcome those religious families that existed long time ago and have set about following Christ with greater freedom. Because of these variety of religious communities which has made it easier for the Church to be equipped for every good work and ready for the work of the ministry-build up of the Body of Christ.

The church saw that some of the old discipline of following Christ does not anymore applicable to the present time. As the Scripture says, “the new wine cannot be poured into old wine skin. And an old wine cannot be contained to new wine skin.”

Sticking to an old way of life and discipline on following Christ does not guarantee more effective for the new members to be more united with God. Perfect Charity aims to help the members become more united and more effective in following Christ the Lord. And of course, with regards to ministry it should also be update to keep a pace with present time.

Thus, perfect charity aims only of updating the different existing institutes in order to be more effective in their ministry and of following Christ. It does not have any threat of diminishing their characteristics and its origin but only enhancing their way of life and discipline.

PERFECTAE CARITATIS: No.11-15 Novice Nidhin

       No. 11 of the decree speaks about the secular institutes. According to the council their profession of the evangelical counsels are recognized by the church. Their chief aim should be charity and they should preserve their secular character.

       No. 12, 13, 14 speaks about the three evangelical counsels. First the council speaks about the Chastity. It is an outstanding gift of grace. Council gives a definition for chastity; “it is the dedication to the service of god with an undivided heart”. The religious must have a heart inflamed with love for God and for all men. In order to observe the chastity the religious must practice mortification and custody of senses. According to the council chastity is guarded more securely when true brotherly love flourishes in the common life of the community. Through this decree the council strictly prohibits the admittance of a candidate to the vow of chastity unless he has shown to possess the required psychological and emotional maturity. They must learn that celibacy binds them to God.

       Voluntary Povertyaccording to the council is an expression of the following of Christ because Christ himself became poor for our sake. Poverty doesn’t mean starving. It means “trust ourselves to the providential care of our Father in Heaven”. Council exhortsthe religious communities to witness the poverty and gladly use their own goods for supporting poor. Though the religious by professing the vow of poverty trust fully in the providence of God, the church permits the religious communities to possess whatever is required for their temporary life and work, but they should avoid every appearance of luxury, excessive wealth and the accumulation of goods 

       Obedience according to the council means “full surrender of our own will as a sacrifice of ourselves to God”, and thus the religious are united permanently and securely to God’s Salvific Will. Council teaches that the superiors hold the place of God and the members must subject themselves to the superiors. They should humbly obey them. Under their guidance the members are led to the service of their brothers in Christ. Council also explains about the duty of the superiors. They should fulfill their office in a way responsive to God’s Will. They should exercise their authority out of a spirit of service to the brethren. They should be careful to respect the liberty of their subjects in matters of sacramental confession.

       No.15 explains meaning of the Common Life.  According to the teaching of the council it is a model of Early Churchwhich was the body of the believers united in heart and soul. It was love that bound them together in perfect unity. 

Perfectae Caritatis Nos. 6 – 10 Novice Carlos PezañaAvenido

Based from the Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life, PerfectaeCaritatisProclaimed by His Holiness Pope Paul VI on October 28, 1965

       After the declaration of the new Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church in the contemporary period, Pope Paul VI wasted no time for building a new era of the Church guiding all religious institutions and lay people to a sublime and sequential participation in the Church.

       The calling of all religious institutions to the pursuit of perfect charity had certainly emphasized in the document (PerfectaeCaritatis), “... intends to treat of the life and disciple of those institutes whose members make profession of chastity, poverty, and obedience and to provide for their needs in our time”. Thus, many had witnessed the development of the individual institution which vary and grounded on this calling.

       The call for those who make profession of the evangelical counsel “to strive to foster in all circumstances a life hidden with Christ in God” is the key to focus a more vivid symbol of Christianity which is to cultivate both the spirit and practice of prayer.Community which are entirely dedicated to contemplation should “be revised according to the principles and criteria of adaptation and renewal mentioned in the preceded numbers”. In addition, both clerical and lay institutions which devote themselves to various apostolic tasks should “be inspired by an apostolic spirit and all their apostolic activity formed by the spirit of religion”.

       The monastic life should “be preserved with care and its authentic spirit permitted to shine forth ever more splendidly”. Moreover, they should “revived their ancient traditions of service and so adapt them to the needs of today that monasteries will become institutions dedicated to the edification of the Christian people”.Lastly, religious life undertaken by lay people are called and urged “to the pastoral mission of the church in educating youth, caring for the sick and carrying out its other ministries”.

       All in all, these tasks that were defined for all religious institutions are concrete and perennial that will not be erased even though the secular world is constantly changing. Pope Paul VI had very good vision for the Catholic Church, nevertheless the problem that I have seen in the first place is the actuality of all the tasks that were mentioned. There are many institutions in the Church nowadays who are facing a lot of issues especially in terms of sexual abuse and flaws of the administration of the Church in Vatican.

       The message of this document is very clear, however, a lot of intellectuals interpret this message base on their fields and expertise. For instance, one religious institution might decipher this document base on the nature or charism of their institution. That is why we must find the very reason of all these, and for me, the very reason is clear, the document says that “all institutions should seek and love above all else God who has first loved us and let them strive to foster in all circumstances a life hidden with Christ in God... this love of God both excites and energizes that love of one’s neighbor which contributes to salvation of the world and the building up of the Church”. Hence, if the charisms of all religious institutions grounded on the love of God, the unity between these institutions may be achieved, and the gratification of the goals of the Catholic Church will be surely fulfilled.

Perfectae Caritatis, 16-20 Novice Fab

No. 16, it indicated Papal cloister which nuns engaged exclusively in contemplative life. They must be adjusted to condition of time and place and obsolete practices suppressed. If others nuns applies by rule of apostolic work outside the convent should exempted from cloister in orders. The importance is according to the prescriptions of their constitutions. 

No.17, the religious habit an outward mark of consecration to God, it should be simple and modest poor and at the same becoming. And the requirements of health, addition of time. It should involve in their ministry and both of religious which is avoids confronting to these the norms must be charged.

No.18, in order that the adaptation of religious life to the need of our time, in the tasks religious must be given suitable instruction, depending on their intellectual and personal talent. And religious lives strive during whole course of their live to perfect the culture they have received in matters spiritual and in arts and sciences.

No.19, it indicated those new community of religious life have established by form of religious life should be promoted and develop which take into account the genius and way of life’s the inhabitants and the customs and condition of the regions.

No,20, Religious communities should continue to maintain and fulfill the ministers proper to them. In condition the needs of the universal Church and individual dioceses, they should adapt them to the requirements of time and place. In this number that related our congregation especially in Compendium Rude “the apostolic Missionaries for service of bishops. (#1)

ST GASPER: A HUMBLE SOUL - NOVICE NIDHIN

“Before the Lord raises a soul to a higher plane he humbles it more, for god is no less a wise architect than most common laborers who know that a foundation must be dug more deeply the higher the building will rise.” St. Gasper Bertoni St Gasper was ahumble soul who practiced what he preached and preached what he experienced. He was humble enough to abandon all his life and his will to God and allow him to work in his life. From his childhood onwards he was a humble servant to God. He accepted all the sufferings and trials from God’s hand with more humility and total submission to God’s will. The bitter experiences he had in his life made him great in his future as we see in his words; “God humbles a soul to rise to higher plane”. He had the experience of loneliness at the age of nine when he lost his little sweet baby sister Mettilda. But this experience have had a great impact on his life, perhaps this was one of the reasons he later became an apostle of the youth reaching out to fill their empty lives with God’s love. The virtue of patients and abandonment are the fruits of humility. All these virtues we find in St Gasper. He had abandoned whole of his life to God and his role models for the abandonment were Holy Spouses Mary and Joseph. When we go through his life history we meet with two incidents where his perfect abandonment to God’s will and his humble acceptance of God’s plane are clearly present. First of all it is seen in his choosing of his vocation. Though he had many visible signs for the vocation to the priesthood he waited for 30 days to perceive the secret voice of God, because as he used to say to the seminarians; “Even though the signs of the divine election are quite clear, the humility and low estimation one has of himself makes it happen that the young man almost might not believe in that which he sees and against all that he feel regarding himself, and so has a great need of some kind of conformation.” Another great incident which proves his great humility and perfect holy abandonment is the foundation of the Stigmatine Congregation. He had received the inspiration to begin the religious congregation on Sep.1808, but out of his humility and patients he did not react to this inspiration quickly. He waited for eight years to know the will of god clearly. He kept it in the depth of his heart for four years without even discussing it with his friends. See how humble soul St Gasper was, out of his great humility he even refused to be known as the founder of the congregation. His life example as atrue disciple of Christ with real humility and perfect abandonment is an inspiration for all his followers. This is what St Gasper is in my heart, a true Christian apostle with great humility and perfect abandonment. When we discuss about humility we must keep in mind that this is the virtue of all the virtues and it is the most difficult virtue to follow or to be practiced. The postmodern world is,of competitions and victories. There is no sense of humility found among the present generation. Through the Medias especially through internet and Facebook what the young generation is spreading all over the world is the story of their victories. They never like to be put in to low levels. They want to be first always. In such a situation we must understand that as a religious we are called to be the least. Remember what Jesus exhorts to his disciples when they were quarrelling among themselves to find who is the best, He said, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” (Mk. 10:35). To be heroes in front of god we must be zeros in front of the people. St Gasper is a best model for such humility. We see how courageous and humble enough he was, even to refuse to be called as founder of the congregation in such a situation that his congregation was honored and praised by all the people and clergy. Let us try our best to imitate this humble servant of god our father Gasper Bertoni.

ST GASPER AS A MODEL HUMILITY - Jobin Joseph Thayyil

“Humility is that virtue which is found between its two opposite vices: pride and disordered subserviceness. Thanks to true knowledge of oneself, it moderate man’s mind to avoid raising itself above it true worth whereby it would fall into pride rather it tends to dispose it to lower itself but always in the contest of right reason in order not fall into the opposite extreme that of objection “ (Spiritual Writings of St. Gaspar, pg. 252) St. Gaspar is known as a man of humility. He gave an important place for humility his life. According to him Christ has given a good example of humility by obeying His Father even unto death. So, we Christians who are following Christ should not be pride.(ibid., 252). This was a sermon preached by St. Gaspar when he was a deacon. Humility was second nature to him. It was before all a humility of intellect because he held himself to be a great sinner and ignorant. Therefore he used to say that he was not the type to found religious institute. If someone consults him he asked them why do you come to me? He gave credit only to others. Because of this he was ever prompt to thank his confreres for any and all services. He was not ready to give blessing to other priest except those who are in the community. It was his usual habit to keep the background after taking part in various undertaking and in the establishment of institute both for men and women. He gave credit to others. “Whoever wishes to find God and live in union with Him must empty himself and deepen the knowledge of his own nothingness. This is what Gaspar practiced. Even amid the very special graces he received from God he humbled himself profoundly. “ (Stigmatine Spirituality and Prayer) So, St. Gaspar is a model for me as a humble man. He says that without deep humility we cannot arrive at perfection and union with God. Those who acquire deep humility will acquire a high state of perfection. I am here to union with God. Without humility I cannot do that. Without humility I cannot attain perfection. According to a clergy if I want to be someone I will first become nobody from the very moment I agree to be nobody in the sight of God I became capable of everything. St. Gaspar also says that do not desire for human praises or do no desire for human credit or do not do anything for pleasing human or people. But do everything humbly and submit yourself fully to the will of God.