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3. Third section - Our Organization Print E-mail
Written by Consolata.org   
Tuesday, 07 February 2006
CHAPTER 7 – HOW THE INSTITUTE IS ORGANIZED

44. Our missionary family, as a whole, forms a unique entity, which is governed in the ordinary way by the Superior General and his Council. This “unity in our organization corresponds with the wishes of our Founder” (Const 102). The missionaries and their activities constitute distinct territorial entities, termed Regions or Delegations, with a Superior and Council of their own, or groups directly dependent on the General Government.

44.1 “Communion, unity of mind and heart, and mutual cooperation between the General Government and the provinces foster and make possible that unity in understanding and in action which is necessary to achieve the goals of our Congregation, and the proper development of the provinces themselves” (Const 106)

44.2 The service of authority is exercised according to the principle of cooperation and co-responsibility, with respect and consideration for individuals (cf. Const 108).

44.3 The Institute “acknowledges as its own the following regulations: its Constitutions and General Directory, and the decisions of the General Chapters” (Const 109)


The local communities

45. The missionaries live in communities “in the same house, in communion of faith, prayer and work” (Const 146), animated and guided by a local Superior who is appointed by the Regional Government. (cf. Const 147).

45.1 Each community should be formed with at least three missionaries (cf. XGC 39).

45.2 Each community should organize its own life and missionary work according to the Plan of Communal Living (PCL).

The Regions

46. The Regions are governed by a Superior with his Council.

The Superior:

46.1 governs and animates the region so that it authentically lives its missionary and religious vocation, and achieves its own aims (cf. Const 134);

46.2 is the official representative of the Institute both for the Church and the civil community;

46.3 pays particular attention to the insertion of new confreres, and assures them of a proper accompaniment, the required preparation and the initiation to their missionary work:

46.4 organizes and directs the Regional Conference to be held about one year after the end of the Chapter (cf. XGC 81). Its purpose is to examine the situation of the Region, and to determine a program of life and work in agreement with its objectives, the directives of the Chapter and of the General Government (cf. Const 142), and establish those offices deemed necessary (cf.Const 141).

The General Government

47. It is the task of the General Government to provide a service of animation and leadership to the Congregation so that it may be lived in fidelity to its vocation, according to the charism of the Founder, and accomplish its mission. “It is the principal community in our Congregation, and it must excel in witness of life, unity and commitment. It should be a sign and a bond of unity among all the missionaries, and the various provinces” (Const 116).

The canonical visitation

48 Done by the Superior or the Vice Superior, the canonical visitation affords a suitable time for meetings, for reviewing and studying problems, for reflection and renewal. It ends with concrete directives which are binding for the region or delegation that has been visited (cf. XGC 87).

48.1 The canonical visitations follow the following pattern: previous preparation by the local communities, regional offices and Regional Council; individual dialogue with all the missionaries, and time for communal discernment; regional assembly at the end of the visitation.

Continentality

49. Following the reflections of the previous Chapter, the present Chapter has paid significant attention to the continental dimension, in order to project a unified journey within the same continent.

49.1 The General Government should carefully follow the development of the directives given by the General Chapter and their unfolding, and should inform the next Chapter about them.

The continental councillors

50. They have the task to “ promote and organize continental or inter-regional initiatives in the various sectors of the missionary life and activities” (XGC 89), in order to strengthen communication and collaboration within the continent and with the Institute. The areas of their concerns are primarily evangelization, JPIC, ongoing formation, AMV and pastoral activities.

The general secretariat for mission

51. Under the direction of the General Government and in close collaboration with the Continental Councillor, the GSM “will study, promote and support the initiatives of formation and updating in all the sectors of the Institute: permanent formation, missionary and vocational promotion, pastoral activities, justice and peace and lay missionaries” (XGC 90).


CONCLUSION

52. The words of the Founder summarize our missionary style, which moulds the various aspects of our life.

This style begins with the word holiness, which is able to provide depth, unity and effectiveness to our work. The work of mission demands an extraordinary holiness: “Being missionaries, then, you have to be not only saints, but saints in the highest degree” (SL 84).

The privileged place for the formation of the missionary to holiness is the daily life of our mission, made up of joys and hopes, of limits and frailties, in its various forms and manifestations. We have only to live it following the example of Christ who “has done all things well” (Mc 7, 37), and with the conviction that “It’s not enough to do good....We have to do it well” (SL 99)

The efficacy of mission does not depend on extraordinary things or on the magnitude of our actions, but on the intensity of love, the unity of intent, and the apostolic zeal with which we promote Christ’s kingdom in the world.

In this style of life, community acquires a prominent role. Together we will be able to plan and accomplish many activities, in a professional way, and evaluate them afterwards for an even greater performance in the future.

With joy and sacrifice the missionary will be able to say truthfully: “I do all that I do for the sake of the Gospel! Everything, everything! I will spend and sacrifice my entire self” (SL 383).

The invitation of Paul to offer ourselves “as a living sacrifice, dedicated and acceptable to God” (Rm 12, 1), together with the certainty that each of us “is given grace to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the gentiles, dedicated to offer them the gospel of God, so that gentiles might become an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Rm 15, 16), are the solid principles of our missionary spirituality.

Those principles manifest the true meaning of the Founder’s exhortation to “be Eucharistic missionaries” ( Const 12, cf. SL 563): i.e., to make of the Eucharist the fountain and apex of evangelizion and of our life. And thus mission becomes a living liturgy (cf. Const 12).