She shares thoughts about witnessing as Christ among the poor. Given her call, she reflects and ponders about vocation. She continue to challenge herself on what a calling in religious life is.
What can you share about witnessing as religious and as church?
We heard the message from our Catholic Social Teachings. The church needs to continue the legacy of Dorothy Day. We have a calling to be with the poor as Pope Leo said. Simon Pedro whom we had him as speaker a few chapters back challenged us that we cannot go to the poor and live to be the middle class. Anthony Gittin offered a concrete example and encouraged religous to work with the marginalized and encounter them and those in the fringes of life.
God is calling into the Mystical Deep. Simon Pedro highlights the crisis in religious life. We need to start with how we live. What is the lived reality of our lives? How are we showing the sign of the Eucharistic washing of the feet?
What did you learn from various theologians of our time about washing of one's feet?
The Three Essentials of Our Religious Life (Community Life) as recalled by Sr Francine with the help of her well-kept notes from Simon Pedro's talk in chapter prior years ago:
1. Contemplation Prayer. This is truly living Gods presence. Our mystical life flows from our prayer. We need to live this in community.
2. Community is a laboratory for the Reign of God. Fr. Falco talked about Intergenerational Community. How can we make this happen? We need to take it seriously.
3. Ministry/Service. We have institutional ministries and we are only sponsoring them. Just as Ted Dunn says, we are luring for the love of God because we are yearning to be whole again. We discover the mystery in life, death and resurrection. We must surrender to the ultimate test of faith. We must learn to let go of what is no longer life giving. We will not have life unless we are willing to do the hardwork.
Our life needs to be in this order which we can witness for the world. Option for the poor is essential and fundamental which is to live with them. We need them in fulfilling our vows. Living our charism is a mystical experience. We need to be countercultural. We have a relationship with Jesus Christ in living in all of these as these are the signs of God.
Fr. Falco highlighted about vocations that we are to let go and be free. He compares this act of letting go like Nicodemus when he had to seek Jesus Christ. Later, he had to go to the burial site and seek Jesus Christ in the darkness. He was reborn again.
What are your thoughts on being born again?
Being reborn is to let go of ministries we used to preside and we are still presiding. We have to take the risks of letting go. Our constitution and directory require us to evaluate our lives. We can work on this evaluation during Assembly.
Where is God calling us?
Are we living a fancy life in community or as an individual? We need to break down the behavior that clericalism has. The power individual in community needs to be dismantled. The real power in community living is the life of the vows. Our life is meant to be countercultural. What is the process of the person and not the demands of the Congregation? How are we listening to God's call?
Celibacy is about maturity, and the Reign of God is in the relationship. Jesus Christ did not marry because it is a power system (e.g. man is served and has the power and woman is set aside, or opinions are not valued). On the other hand, celibacy is new relationship between men and women.
Counter-cultural is the ideal way of way of witnessing. Small is good because we depend more on God. If we depend on God, He will open doors. We are the voice. We need to walk the simple lifestyle. Poverty is about simplication of life. Kindness is everything.
Community is where the vows are lived. Fr. Falco also highlights that community is not two but three like the Holy Trinity where there is a flow of love in relationship and not a bestfriend-kind of relationship. Community brings maturity.
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