A Pilgrimage, a Whiteboard and a Provincial – We Had It All!
-
January 26, 2024A blessed 2024 from the North American Redemptorist Theologate to all near and far! To kick off the Spring semester, our community embarked on a six-day pilgrimage. As pilgrims, we hoped to explore new scenery, meet various people, and ultimately discover what God has in store for each one of us.
Fifteen of us Redemptorists left San Antonio on a sunny Friday afternoon for an overnight visit with confreres from the Extra-Patriam Vice Province in Houston. Fr. Dominic Nguyen and the entire community there welcomed us with warmth and kindness. As usual, upon seeing each other, fraternal hugs and laughter were flying everywhere. What a trademark Redemptorist scene! Just awesome!
The next morning we participated in the Mass of Diaconate Ordination for Br. Hai Truong, followed with a bounteous lunch of Vietnamese cuisine. Afterwards we continued our pilgrimage onto Le-Thi-Thanh Retreat Center to begin a four-day retreat.
We began our retreat with an evening prayer, following with an informal yet intimate “check-in.” Here, each person shared how we spent Christmas time and what we discovered from interacting with family, among friends, in ministry, etc. This group exercise not only allowed all of us to re-bond as a community, but also quieted our inner selves in preparation for the next phase of our journey.
On Sunday morning, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Fr. Kevin Zubel led us into the heart of our pilgrimage. He guided us to reflect on the XXVI General Chapter’s Final Document, with its five interconnected themes – Redemptorist Identity, Redemptorist Mission, Redemptorist Consecrated Life, Formation for Mission, and Redemptorist Leadership. He recounted how the Capitulars, from five different continents, collaborated with each other. At times they even had to wrestle through certain concepts for the document (i.e., liminality, closeness), depending on each one’s cultural background and socio-pastoral reality.
Throughout the four-day retreat, Fr. Kevin skillfully brought those themes down to earth, so much so that this document became alive for all of us. It was as if we were witnessing the General Chapter unfolding in real time. With deep faith, engaging humor, and insightful observations, he presented each theme with clarity.
He weaved through each presentation with relevant insights from the Sacred Scripture and our C & S, with concrete stories of our Saints and various confreres through the years. Following each presentation, he engaged us in a personal reflection on the theme, and afterwards debriefed with us in an afternoon group sharing. His aim was to empower us to turn this Final Document into positive living as vowed missionaries – nowadays, in our current context!
Below is a snapshot of what we gleaned from the Final Document. First, on “Redemptorist Identity,” who are we? In a nutshell, Redemptorists are fragile yet hope-bearing vowed missionaries (i.e., stewards of Christ’s Paschal Mystery in earthen vessels). As stewards of hope, Redemptorists are invited to accompany people, young and old, from whatever walks of life, on their faith journey. We Redemptorists are to encounter (i.e. be close to) people and their families in their daily living (i.e., kitchen table). We are to learn from and dialogue with them on issues relevant to their joys as well as their struggles.
Understanding that is who we are, what then would be Redemptorist Mission? Perhaps another way to ask is, What is Christ’s Mission, entrusted to us Redemptorists? And how are we to live and fulfill it? With whom are we to do so? On those questions and more, Fr. Kevin helped us digest and integrate them, both from the deep well of Redemptorist traditions as well as from lived experiences.
It is Christ who has chosen us and sent us to this digital-age, era-changing (i.e., liminal) moment of our wounded world. We are thus called to make ourselves available to proclaim Christ’s gift of not only “redemptio” but its “copiosa.” Being aware of the complex reality of our time – “harvest is plentiful,” as “lambs amidst wolves” – we thus carry out Christ’s “gospel of ‘ever-defiant’ hope” with humility, with a spirit of “distacco” and “kenosis,” aligning ourselves with the heart and mind of the Good Shepherd.
How to do so? Together, as a community of brothers, with one another! We serve the world, starting from and in our daily community living as consecrated religious! No one, certainly no Redemptorist, is an island. We thus need each other’s support. And we are to be accountable to one another.
Community living, in itself, can indeed be a pathway or “laboratory” to live Christ’s Redemptive Mission. At the same time, community life is also enriched from our missionary services in and to the world. Believe it or not, people do look at how we live as a religious community to inspire them and help them live their faith in everyday life. The reverse is also true: We Redemptorists have much to learn from how people live their faith as missionary disciples in their particular settings.
There is still so much more to say about this rich Final Document. Due to limited space, it suffices to testify that our community pilgrimage was truly blessed with Fr. Kevin as a God-sent guide! He aptly stretched our imaginations on how to live the sexennium themes of the General Chapter, as vowed missionaries at the North American Theologate in San Antonio, today and for years to come!
And for all that, we thank God for him. And we thank you, Fr. Kevin!
