3. Other paths that we can travel together

            Up to now we have been referring to paths that we are already travelling together, and which truly give cause to hope for the Church and for the world. I believe that an authentic journey of hope is the Synod process for the Church, an organic communion. We hope that soon courses in ecclesiology offered in seminaries and universities will have integrated the Synods teachings about the various forms of life. We should not only ask that the studies include ministry and the consecrated life, but the vocation and mission of the laity as well. The correlation between the various forms of life orients and prepares for a Church life that is more participative and more dynamic in the mission of evangelisation.

Within this “synod” process, this “journeying together” in organic communion, there are paths that have already been travelled: dialogue, participation and shared responsibility in pastoral planning. To the degree that they are used, they arouse hope within the Church and stimulate the world of society. Sometimes, however, we must admit that there are many particular Churches that have not set out on this path of planning and articulaing the charisms and ministries for the growth of the Church and her mission of evangelisation.

A path that is still open for us to travel together is the spirituality of communion, to which we could add the apostolate of spirituality. The journey of the spirituality of communion will be, without a doubt, the one that contributes the most to the growth of hope within the Church and and which will make any service to evangelisation most effective. Its progress will make more fluid dialogue, not only within the Church, but for ecumenism as well, and will lend spontaneity to the dialogue of life, to our works, and to the religious experience⁹⁶.

The Bishops and consecrated persons are called to assume their own responsibility to offer witness to a life of hope and prophetic boldness in the service of the Gospel of hope. From this perspective I believe we can point out some other paths that we must travel so that hope may grow. Where are the neediest areas and what are the most pressing needs; where might our charismatic and prophetic contribution  be most needed?

VC speaks to us of the Areopagus of mission for the religious⁹⁷. The IL lists a whole series of areas in which there is obviously a lack of hope; it mentions the causes and the persons who are threatened with losing hope⁹⁸. Concerning the commitment that each Institute can assume, each according to their own charism and always realised within a particular Church, I would like to point out – at least to begin the dialogue – some of the paths on which Bishops, consecrated persons and laity could set out together.

1. The paths of the “contemplative gaze” and searching. The Bishop, like the Good Shepherd (Mt 9, 36), must be attentive to who is following him. If he wants to make the hopes and concerns of people his own, he must know them. And if he wants to find the lost sheep, he has to search for it (Mt 18, 12-14; Lc 15, 3-7). His role of watching, guarding, studying the signs of the times and places, places him at the crossroads, and that itself is a journey of hope, because that supposes that he is waiting for the Lord. Going out to meet the one that is lost, reuniting those who have been dispersed, setting out anew, setting sail for the other shore, seeking those who are lost: …these are all the attitudes of Jesus who opened up new paths for the mission entrusted to him by the Father. This mission has been passed on to the Bishop is a shared mission, and in it consecrated persons must continue making their contribution that comes from the inherent freedom of their consecration, from their vocation of universality, from their missionary bravery. The “missio ad gentes” can proceed only by means of a living hope, which certainly implies planning and coordination.

2. The path of compassion and solidarity. Compassion is the other facet of hope. The Bishop should be expected to have a heart filled with compassion. Consecrated persons can be expected to be a transprent image of the mercy of God, of his tenderness and goodness for people and for the world. This is their “servitium caritatis.” Compassion⁹⁹ means reaching out beyond one’s self, from one’s own plans, and setting out on the other person’s path, sharing in his real situation of need, like the Good Samaritan (Lk 10, 31-37). Since compassion comes from charity, it generates hope in those who are seeking God, in the poor, the marginalised, the sick, in sinners, in abandoned children, in disillusioned young people, in the jobless, and in all those who experience any of the many forms of an absence of love, which is also an absence of God.

We have to do everything possible so that the hope of the poor and the wretched is not disappointed (cf. Ps 9:18). There is no true hope without solidarity. Jesus, the man for others, opened up this path for us. Today it is especially necessary to exercise the prophecy of solidarity because the post-modern age has magnified individualism and egocentricity and has fostered the profit of the few, forcing into levels of desparate poverty a multitude of men and women, of children, adults, elderly people, who are suffering under the intolerable weight of misery¹⁰⁰. The path of solidarity travels through a more itnense experience of fraternity in the mission as a sign and a foretaste of the new humanity and of the new Church¹⁰¹. It is necessary to enter into the dynamic of sharing and tireless striving for justice and the transformation of the world, which means far more than offering aid “for pity’s sake” or almsgiving. And, from this perspective, special care is demanded today because of migration, with all the problems it brings out: cultural, religious and political pluralism, the breakdown of the family, economic and educational needs.

Anyone who feels that he or she has been blessed from on high cannot stand evil and will rebel in hope. The world and the Church are waiting for and hoping for their prophets of peace and justice and the Bishop is the pastor of all of them¹⁰². It is absolutely necessary to work together, not only to join in diocesan justice and peace commissions, but to orient the life of the Christian community and help it become involved in the commitment to human rights and dignity. The religious Institutes have a great potential for establishing networks of solidarity, but we cannot say that we have already established any.

            3. The path of the culture of hope. The forms of humanism that are closed to the transcendent, cut short because of selfish interest, are creating a world that is unintelligible and uninhabitable. Weak and fragmented thinking is spreading a mediocre life-style. We can see evidence of the disasters of pollution, violence, wars, drugs, prostitution, consumerism and escapism. These are all expressions of a lack of “ultimate meaning.” The signs of a new humanism are instructive. However, the fact that this path is less travelled – because it requires study, investigation, teaching – is cause for concern. The temptation of immediate gratification or the inability to say no to the requests for help in filling slots means that there are less and less consecrated persons dedicated to making the journey of the culture of hope, that of thought and education at all levels. What is needed is a greater effort to create a vision of the world, the individual, the family, of the social and economic order, of research and science, art: - all of them open to the plan of salvation.

            In this perspective we see that initial and continuing formation is a journey of hope; the Bishop, the priests, consecrated person and laity can participate together. One example is to think together about how to realise some joint projects.

            4. The path of sharing the mission with the laity. I now return to the point that I mentioned indirectly several times. Are we not trying to speak about relations between Bishops and consecrated persons without adding or treating the topic of the priests and the laity? We know that one of the signs of hope for the Church and the world is the spirituality and mission shared with the laity. The new ecclesial movements and the broad and complex network of volunteers are an expression of the power of the Spirit in our age. Sharing our mission and spirituality helps us to overcome a desire for the limelight and competition and leads us to live together as disciples and witness of Jesus, true hope for the world.