Call to prayer: Come,
let us worship Christ, who shows his love for the Church.
Psalm
119: 33-40 (Today’s English Version /ABS)
(A
Prayer for Understanding)
Teach
me, Lord, the meaning of your laws, and I will obey them at all times.
Explain
you law to me, and I will obey it. I
will keep it with all my heart.
Keep me
obedient to your commandments, because in them I find happiness.
Give me
the desire to obey your laws rather than get rich.
Keeping
me from paying attention to what is worthless; be good to me, as you promised.
Keep
your promise to me your servant – the promise you make to those who obey you.
Save me
from the insults I fear; how wonderful are your judgments!
I want
to obey your commands; give me new life, for you are righteous.
Scripture: Matthew 18:14
“…it is
not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”
Or John 10: 14 – 16
“I am
the good shepherd, who is willing to die for the sheep. When the hired man, who is not a shepherd and
does not own the sheep, sees a wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and runs away;
so the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. The hired man runs away because he is only a
hired man and does not care about the sheep.
I am the good shepherd. As the
Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they
know me. And I am willing to die for
them. There are other sheep which belong
to me that are not in this sheep pen. I
must bring them, too; they will listen to my voice, and they will become one
flock with one shepherd.”
Reflection: “Sentire cum Ecclesia”
Fr. Lemoncelli*
asks (…) Religious of the U.S. :
Is Sentire cum Ecclesia a strong
feature of our institute? He also asks,
do we seek the goals of the Church biblically, liturgically, dogmatically, and pastorally
in missionary and social fields? In our Rule of Life no.17 we read: “Our
reading should include Missionary Cenacle writings and, in keeping with our
maxim, sentire cum ecclesia, we are
to reflect prayerfully on the documents of the Church.” Are we personally faithful to this?
In the
1928 Constitution of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, Fr.
Judge stressed fidelity to the principle “Sentire cum Ecclesia”. Since the Holy Spirit guides and inspires the
Church, every Missionary Servant must be open to the workings of the Spirit.
In a
letter to Mother Boniface, Fr. Judge explained that Cenacle missionaries must
always be true to the Gospel and the teachings of the Church. No sacrifice should be too great to defend
the Gospel and Church teachings. (Dennis
Berry, S.T., God’s Valiant Warrior, 270-271)
As
stated in Ecclesial People, (Joseph
Miriam Blackwell, M.S.B.T (1974), l5. ) “Sentire cum Ecclesia” means to experience, endure, suffer, undergo and be
affected by the needs, teachings and efforts of the Church, the Spouse of
Christ, the People of God. It is more
than an intellectual concept. “…the Church seeks but a solitary goal: to carry
forward the work of Christ Himself under the lead of the befriending
Spirit.” Documents of Vatican II,
Guadium et Spes, no.3. We carry this out by imitating the obedience
of Jesus, acting in love, faith, generosity and forgetfulness of self. Rule of Life, no. 31.
The
Church understands herself as the sign of Christ and instrument for achieving
union with God and unity of all humankind.
Today there is a sense of urgency to bring this awareness to everyone. Documents of Vatican
II, Lumen Gentium, no. 1. Since 1892, the Church has been raising our
consciousness by issuing documents on social issues that affect people over the
world and calls for our response. In
order to respond to these documents, we strive to be versed in them, converse
together about them and plan how we can respond as Missionary Cenacle Family.
Another
aspect of “sentire cum ecclesia” is discussed in Vita Consecrata, where we hear that “A great task also belongs to
the consecrated life in the light of the teaching about the Church as
communion…. Consecrated persons are asked to be true experts of communion and…
(be) witnesses and architects of the plan for unity which is the crowning point
of human history in God’s design.” This
leads to mission. Being in communion
includes allegiance of mind and heart with the teachings of the Church and
cooperating with the Bishops, VC, no. 46.
We have always been true to this.
We are
reminded that “today’s world is expecting to see in consecrated men and women
the concrete reflection of Jesus’ way of acting, of his love for every person
without distinction or qualification. ” Origins, Starting
Afresh From Christ: A Renewed Commitment to Consecrated Life in the Third Millennium (July 4,
2002), vol. 32: NO 8, 131. The emphasis
in the article is for people to be touched by the grace that comes from
consecrated men and women living like Christ.
Pope
Francis offers the same challenge and adds to it with missionary enthusiasm and
joy. He calls all in the church to have a missionary spirituality, have
personal contact with the people, see Jesus in each person and tolerate the
nuisances of life with fraternal love. (The Joy of the Gospel (2013) 40-47)
Perhaps
we can take our temperature to see how true we live out Jesus’ basic message
among those we encounter in the providence of our daily life. If God’s unconditional love is deeply rooted
in our hearts, how do we communicate Christ’s message of love and salvation to each
person? We are meant to impact society
by our attitudes, actions and words.
“The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had:… he gave
up all he had and took on the nature of a servant… he was humble and walked the
path of obedience…” (6) Good News Bible, Philippians 2: 5-8 Can others see us as the sacrament of Christ?
Today
we are more aware of needs. As
Missionary Servants, we seek ways to best respond, both communally and
personally, to the needs of the church today.
The Church wants us to welcome everyone and manifest God’s desire for
all to experience God’s love, life, compassion and forgiveness. In a world of violence there is an urgency to
show respect, openness and understanding to those of other faiths and cultures. We are
called to work for justice and peace and defend the value of life and dignity
of others. Then as church, we can respond as signs of hope to those enslaved,
violated, persecuted, denied or oppressed.
How are
we, as church, affected by the needs, desires and teachings of the Church? Those of us in Ministry of Prayer can touch
the spiritual lives and social world through those who minister, serve or visit
us and with whom we have any contact and interact, and in our daily prayer
Those
in the “field or vineyard” take the needs of God’s people to prayer and
liturgy, but also have the opportunity to minister to them by letting them know
what is important to God’s Church and how to understand the Church today,
especially in their culture. There are
great many challenges in pastoral ministry today in remaining true to the
Church while truly being church to others, especially those who feel on the
fringes (for whatever reason) and for those who have never known a reason for
hope. We can only do this with the
wisdom and fortitude of the Holy Spirit.
Do you
feel like Fr. Judge who “wished to be enveloped in the life of the church, to
feel it, to have a love for it, to suffer with it, to have no life apart from
it”? (Blackwell, 15)
*Fr. Hank Lemoncelli is an
undersecretary from the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and
Societies of Apostolic Life.