2. Criteria for reshaping our works.

At a time of reshaping the works and presence, we may rightly ask what are the criteria which must be applied in such an operation.

2.1 Charismatic originality.

Even though it be taken for granted, we cannot omit a reference in the first place to charismatic originality.

Charisms are unique. Their originality touches all aspects of our presence and work: community life, the service of charity, preference for particular settings, spirituality and mediations. To move out into forms which came into existence later and seem to respond better to specific sensitivities or be more successful, can be a temptation. What is needed is to rediscover the nucleus of the evangelical inspiration of one’s own particular charism, understand it afresh in the light of today’s challenges and possibilities, and set free its potentiality.

Similarly a reshaping movement cannot be generic, a kind of "reductio ad unum" of different expressions of consecrated life as regards communal forms, characteristics of the mission or of the "sequela Christi". Creative fidelity to "one’s own particular gift" is what can really enrich the Church at the present day.

But I want to emphasize two characteristics of this re-reading of the evangelical inspiration of the charism.

It must be shared at community level. The interpretation of the evangelical originality and its tradition usually give rise nowadays to heated arguments and polarizations. For some persons the present poor visibility of religious life is to be attributed to the abandoning of those forms which others consider obsolete or a useless burden.

For reshaping the works a shared vision of the charism must have reached the community through a series of times of dialogue and the maturing of mentality and decision. In the practical realization one may profit by the innovative ability of the pioneers and begin some avant-garde examples of new works. It is not necessary that everyone be directly involved in them, but it is necessary that they have roused the interest in the first place of all those who consider themselves bearers of the charism.

The second characteristic is continuity: attention to the originality of the venture in order to relaunch it is not a matter of the extraordinary effort of one moment; it has to be continually taken up again with new lines of approach and in the light of new incentives or ideas which emerge from the community.

2.2 The effectiveness.

This is the ability to get the meaning across, to provoke, to raise questions, to face and consider radical alternatives, to be a sign and "voice", but without any theatrical overtones or desire for protagonism.

The criterion of significance or effectiveness brings together many typical traits of consecrated life and recommendations much emphasized in recent times: the prophetic character, the capacity for witness, the clarity of the message, its radical nature, its setting with regard to evangelization and charity. Recall those words of Paul VI about religious: "Their apostolate is often marked by an originality, by a genius that demands admiration… They are found at the outposts of the mission and they take the greatest of risks for their health and their very lives".

At the root of the criterion of effectiveness there are other assumptions. The Kingdom is proclaimed and extended by "signs", i.e. they are actions which produce limited immediate effects, but are capable of opening up those who receive these effects to new perspectives of existence, to the triggering of a change of mentality and attitudes. This is the main result.

This was Jesus’ manner of acting. The "signs" served to give a new vision of life, new to those who came from a distance. The proclamation of the Gospel does not reach every person directly, nor does it cover materially every space and activity that make up man’s life. It settles in them like leaven, like a ray of light, a city placed on a mountain top. Today more than ever pastoral work must be based on "signs". The very Church thinks of herself as a "sign" of the Kingdom, of the message of the Gospel, of the Resurrection of Jesus.

This criterion has a very practical consequence: the urgent need to make options consistent with the efficacy of the sign. Every work and presence corresponding to a charism is useful and perhaps also lawful. But because of their setting and manner of intervention not all of them speak with the same intensity and with the same clarity.

Going further into the application of the criterion of effectiveness, we become aware that it presupposes the giving of prior attention to certain factors which become key elements in the redesigning of our presence, and consequently also in the corresponding restructuring operations.

The first of these factors is the person of one who is consecrated. The kind of initial and ongoing formation of life and work must foster the growth in vocation which is linked with a serene identity which is open to comparison, and able to dialogue constantly with the Gospel and with the culture of the time.

The potentiality of consecration and spiritual preparation should be exploited to the maximum, rather than burden the individual with organizational and administrative functions caused, perhaps, by the diminution of personnel and increasing commitments.

The quality of life of each individual needs time and attention. Premature tiredness and lack of energy must be forestalled by assigning commitments tailored to the person, in which it is possible to work at depth without a forced limitation to a superficial evangelization or a work of charity addressing only the immediate future.

A second factor for effectiveness is the community: the unity that results from the acceptance of persons, the fraternity which is lived and spread, communication and shared responsibility in activity: daily life in which emerges the welcoming reception of any member needing help and support, and the radical option for Christ is evident.

An element of effectiveness, in what concerns the community, is its setting in a specific context and its insertion in it; it is the intention and ability to enrol other forces, which enable it to become a centre of communion and participation. This is significant when one who wishes to become involved finds in our community an invitation, support and welcome. Some communities have become points of reference for initiatives in the social, cultural and religious fields. People know that they can be approached and relied on for a clarifying discussion, or a common initiative to bring about the maturing of a mentality and the moderation of trends, or to spread messages around the environment.

I add, as a significant point for discernment, the elements which characterize the mission: those to whom the work is directed, the service, and the mentality with which it is offered.

2.3 Dialogue with reality.

I sum up in this criterion a series of terms among which I find it difficult to make a choice: attention to the signs, perception of needs, insertion, inculturation, ecclesial harmony, and others of a similar kind.

There are large-scale tendencies in culture, with new subjects emerging and questions previously unasked. Signs are found in the Church: the new expressions of communion, the growth of the laity, the tendency towards a new evangelization, ecumenical dialogue with other religions, dialogue with the secular culture, commitment for justice.

And they are found also in the world. Some of them are to be taken up to bring their value to their source and foundation: the dignity of the person, solidarity, civil rights, freedom in its various expressions. Others are the subject of prophetic contestation: ruthless competition, financial predominance, ethical subjectivism. Of others, neither good nor evil, use must be made: social communication, virtual spaces, the possibility of broader synergies.

Overall, the complexity needs to be kept in mind: i.e. the many simultaneous possibilities offered to a work, the many relationships in which it can become involved, the multiple messages it can spread abroad, and the many sensitivities it can cultivate.