|
In the lives of
the Brothers and their communities:
23. The standard of living
in communities: locations, housing, facilities, service, management, and
budgets.
A community's home plays
an important role because that is where we live together as a family and look
after our basic human needs: psychological ones and those of intimacy, and
spiritual ones proper to the consecrated life. Equality carried to the extreme
is usually at odds with charity and fraternity. Maybe all points of view and
sensitivities can't be accommodated, but it doesn't make sense to make
decisions without thinking things through or simply to avoid offending certain
Brothers.
Sometimes it can be
difficult for a community to reach agreement on the meaning of "detachment,"
particularly in what affects the community as a whole, and I'm not just
referring to Marist communities. Nevertheless, people assume that we in the
religious life ought to be experts on that subject! Our Constitutions define
the minimum commitment that the vow of poverty requires of us: "We
renounce the right to use or dispose of money or any material goods of whatever
value, without authorization." (Article 29) They also point out the high
ideals essential for anyone who dares to follow the Lord, "who became poor
- emptied himself - for our sake." (Cf. Philippians, 2) They show us what
those ideals mean in our own lives, other people's lives, and the life of the
entire Church. What signs reveal these ideals of ours to those with whom we
live and work?
I'm under the impression
that in general, throughout the world, religious communities are enjoying a
standard of living equivalent to the upper middle class of the country in which
they are located. It seems to me that many people see us in this light. I share
their view, although I have not found any studies on which to base this
personal feeling. Maybe I am mistaken or indulging in sweeping generalities.
How would you assess what is taking place in your own Province? I think that we
should have the courage to undertake a serious study of our financial health,
sincerely recognize what it reveals to us, and take the necessary measures that,
because of their clarity and above-board nature, will give us credibility with
the people of God.
24. I am not saying that
every community in the Institute should have the same standard of living. We
can't lose sight of the fact that circumstances and social contexts vary from
place to place. The financial situation in each Province notwithstanding, as
Brothers we are to make certain that we live in dignified and acceptable
conditions. We realize that we cannot disassociate ourselves from relationships
that we have with the people where we live. In a poor country, we should not
live like rich people, and in the so-called industrialized countries, we ought
to live lives marked by simplicity and moderation. And - God willing - may many
communities dare to practice asceticism in order to share of their substance
with those in dire need, to be "Prophecy in Action" and "The
Good News of Jesus Christ" where they live and work. Wouldn't those
situations of extreme poverty be precisely the ones in which we are called to
be countercultural prophets?
Once, when I was visiting
a Province, I noticed that the Brothers drank nothing but water at their meals.
On the day of the Assembly, they brought out beer. I wondered about this, but I
couldn't have been more joyful when I listened to the Provincial's response.
"A beer costs about as much as food for the whole day here," he said.
"If we didn't keep costs down in this way, we wouldn't be able to work
among the poor." This brought to mind the experience of our first Brothers
at the Hermitage, who lived temperate lives so as not to raise the cost of
tuition in their schools.
Over the last few years,
communities have sprung up among people in simple surroundings, and away from
mainline schools. Doubtless they have reported back about various blessings and
benefits. But we haven't always seized the moment to reclaim a new way of
living in community in these new places - not just with regard to housing and
leading a simple and temperate lifestyle, but to the way we relate to people,
the way we communicate and share with them. When I have visited some of these
communities in their new surroundings, I have come away with the feeling that
I've been in a community that was a carbon copy of those in the rest of the
Province. They even had more workers taking care of them in their residence.
What criteria does your
community use with regard to the quality, number and use of its cars, the
number of service personnel it employs, and the standard of living to which you
all aspire?
It is a healthy sign when
individuals and communities feel that we're living too comfortably, and that,
as a consequence, we decide to get rid of burdensome baggage and start to
develop a greater awareness and sensitivity to the needs of the people around us.
Good things happen when we open our windows and see what's going on in our
neighborhood, or maybe even next door. A community should know the needs of its
local area and experience a sense of solidarity, just as it does when
catastrophes occur in distant countries and when it supports projects run by
humanitarian and charitable organizations in its own country.
25. Some suggestions. There are resources that may be
appropriate for use in our educational ministries but which don't fit in with
community life. I would like to take the liberty to offer you a few suggestions
to help you concretize this point and follow up on it. I have no doubt that if
you think about this in community, you will come up with many other great
ideas.
·
It
would be interesting for communities to be among the last families on their
block to purchase some new item that at first glance seems to be useful for the
house. And of course, it shouldn't put money into anything that two-thirds of
its members wouldn't use.
·
There
are certain things that the community (and Provincial) should refuse to accept,
even though they are offered to us as gifts or on sale at bargain prices,
because they raise our standard of living.
·
Would
it be possible and realistic for us to adjust our standard of living to the
level experienced by families who rank in the bottom half of the economic scale
in our country? At the very least, communities situated in poorer areas should
fit in with their surroundings, being careful not to offend the poor with a
more comfortable and easy-going way of life than necessary. (Cf. Constitutions,
Article 34)
·
We
also need to give thought in our communities to the number of people that we
hire to work for us. Little by little, we can fall into the habit of being
"waited on." And sometimes we are quite demanding and a bit lazy and
inept at taking care of things that we ourselves could do around the house.
Perhaps manual work is taking on other forms in many countries today, including
services that affect our community living. One Brother living in a working
class neighborhood commented to me that his community, wanting to be
considerate and help someone waiting to reach retirement age, had retained the
services of a woman to do the cooking. However, for the people living nearby,
having a cook was a sign that the Brothers were able to afford something that
wasn't within the reach of the rest of the neighborhood.
·
I
think it would be very enriching for communities to forget their fears and do
something concrete. I know several families who invite a very needy person to
dine with them on Christmas, Easter, or some other important occasion during
the year - an elderly man or woman living alone, an orphan boy or girl, someone
just released from prison with no place to call home, etc. Sometimes they
choose whatever man, woman or child that God sends into their lives. Brothers,
wouldn't your community be able to do something along these lines?
·
Community
budgets - are they just a cold-blooded collection of numbers, or do they
present us with a genuine opportunity to reflect on the impact of our
economizing to help the poor, on our need to rectify financial mismanagement
and demonstrate with deeds our desire to follow Jesus in his neediness?
Wouldn't this be a good time for communal discernment about this subject?
|