Would you like to take a trip in a dory
A trip that turns one’s way of thinking, seeing and acting upside-down ; culminating in a journey of hope that “opens new horizons, making us capable of dreaming what is not even imaginable”. (Pope Francis) Such was the journey that I was privileged to experience during the NAVFD (National Association of Vocation and Formation Directors) Conference held on April 26-28, 2021.
It was, of course, virtual, which left many of us disappointed. If it had been in person, we would have been able to experience, face-to-face, the incredible hospitality of our Newfoundland/Labrador sisters and brothers. Even in the midst of COVID, however, they provided us with true east coast entertainment by inviting us to a “kitchen party” every morning and evening.
The very positive outcome of having gathered online was that participants were able to join from Australia, Beni, Canada, the Dominion Republic of Congo, Haiti, Ireland, Ivory Coast and the United States. Usually, the conference participants are represented only by Canada and the U.S. The diversity of cultures, experiences, languages, formation processes, sense of mission, the youthfulness, made the conference so rich.
Now, back to the dory. Why was this symbol so significant ? In a dory, one rows toward the future by looking at the shore one has left behind. Often today, at least in the western hemisphere, we tend to look only at the shore we left behind as we entertain talk of diminishment, of aging, et cetera, et cetera. (“religious life as it used to be”), ignoring the second half of the journey- to look to the other shore, the future, to dream, to be open to the power of the Spirit who makes us capable of dreaming a new future. This reference to the “pollinization of the Spirit” touched deep into my heart when Dr. David Deane invited us into the life of Mary, Paul, the early Christian community and the 14th century mystic, Hildegard of Bingen. His use of the phrase, “The Holy Spirit, she herself, is the content of the gift”, is transformative of one’s understanding of the Holy Spirit. May she breathe where she will !
Fr. Daniel Horan, OFM, invited us to look “Discernment, Vocation and Formation” through the heart of Pope Francis, as evidenced in “Evangelii Gaudium”, “Christus Vivit”, “Fratelli Tutti” and in his messages to consecrated women and men as, each year, we celebrate The World Day of Consecrated Life.
He reminded us : “Do not despair. Our charisms offer an intuitive path.” We are to take up the dreams of our elders so we can prophesy. Again and again, Pope Francis says, “Avoid the temptation of survival, of being reactionary, hiding out in our homes.” Each of us is called to embrace a radical relationality in our communion with one another. We are missionary disciples, sent to the periphery, proclaiming that “We have found the Messiah”. Being missionary disciples must be cultivated in our initial formation processes.
Rowing in a dory, to arrive at the other shore, takes time, patience, skill, courage, the strength of the Spirit. Perhaps, this is one of the gifts of the pandemic : to learn to slow down, to take the time to discern, to persevere, to keep advancing even when overcome by fatigue and listlessness. Let us learn from our younger members whose “language and culture are different from ours” ; they are not “museum pieces to be secured and protected. No ! Together, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to create spaces where the Gospel can thrive. Pope Francis reminds us again and again, “God wants us to see, to call out the injustices in our world ; to denounce and to set free. Our dream is to be formed for mission, to be sent out in mission, to live our mission."
In my life I have been laughed at for being a dreamer, and I have felt threatened by that experience. Now that I am older, and hopefully wiser, I realize that God is the infinite dreamer who invites each one of us us to support our sisters and brothers that each one’s dream may come to fruition.
My dream is of a renewed and rejuvenated consecrated life. In the core of my being, I believe that God desires that the mystery of the Incarnation to be planted in more and more hearts and that we, as Ursulines of Jesus, are invited today by God, in the “here and now”, to keep rowing toward the future. As Sr. Margo Ritchie, CSJ in Canada, another one of our keynote speakers, reminded us, “A dream is the bearer of a new possibility, the enlarged horizon, the great hope”. (H. Thurman) This begs the questions : Do I carry within me a dream for the future of Religious Life ? If so, can I articulate that dream ? Will I dare to share that dream in my community ? Am I ready to reach out to the younger generation and to ask them to articulate their dream(s) ? The Spirit might surprise us by showing us that they too dream of living the mystery of the Incarnation “in the church and the world today”.