Fr. Ziad Haddad CM
National Director of the JMV (VMY) in Lebanon
A wedding celebration!
Life was difficult but the hosts felt that they should invite many guests to the wedding, thinking that shared joy would lead to shared happiness. The celebration should be for everybody! "Why prevent our joy from being contagious? There are already so few "good epidemics" among human beings!" The hosts therefore asked everyone to bring a bottle of wine. At the entrance there was a large barrel into which each guest would empty his bottle, and so everyone would drink from the gift of the others and would thus find joy.
One of the guests said to himself: times are difficult, and I don't fancy buying a bottle of wine to share with others. Yet I don't want to miss the opportunity to enjoy myself. I am going to fill my bottle with water. Nobody will notice it when I empty it into the barrel filled with wine, and I shall be able to drink the wine the others have brought.
When the day came for the feast, the servants went to stand beside the large barrel and drew out of it with their pitchers. What was their amazement when they noticed that it was water! They were very sad to discover that each person had thought, "The one bottle of water that I pour into the barrel will not be noticed; no one will taste the difference". Now, everyone knew that each person had thought, "Let me take advantage of what the others have brought." It turned out to be a very sad gathering, and not only because there was only water to drink … and the feast didn't ever begin.
This little story invites us to ask ourselves: "Is the feast beginning in our ASSOCIATION? What is the quality of sharing that we experience in the JMV (VMY)? Does each one of us accept his or her responsibility while trusting in that of the others?
Our aim today is to concentrate on answering the question: "What does a Vincentian priest (a Missioner) bring to the accomplishment of the mission of the JMV?" But, first of all, what is the mission of the JMV?
Marian Vincentian Youth is an ecclesial "space" where youth, individually and collectively, through journeying together, is integrated into the Body of Christ, so that each person may find his or her place and vocation through the example and accompaniment of those who preceded us in the Faith. Its mission is to:
1. create an atmosphere favourable for young people to live their faith with joy and courage, through the life of the group
2. form young people in the spiritual, doctrinal and apostolic plane
3. help young people to discover their gifts and their vocation in life
4. help young people to take Mary as a model to follow so that their lives may become a total gift to Christ, Evangeliser of those who are poor
5. initiate and encourage young people in mission and in the evangelisation of the poorest people, according to the example of Saint Vincent de Paul
6. learn how to pray personally and in community
7. encourage the young to be inserted in the local Church.
What does a Missioner bring to the accomplishment of this mission of the JMV?
Before questioning ourselves on what a Missioner can give to the JMV, let's consider two important points:
1. In view of the limited number of Priests of the Mission in different countries, we run the risk of opting for many other missionary priorities or of accompanying the JMV as a secondary duty to be accomplished. More than ever we are called to live out this accompaniment as a Vincentian missionary priority. We have been assigned, sent to this mission by the Church, by our Congregation. Statute 7 of the Congregation says: "Lay associations founded by St. Vincent and those which are inspired by his spirit should be of special concern to our members, since they have the right to our presence and to our support. Although all members should be willing to undertake this work, it is necessary for some to be more skilled in it. It is important that this animation have a spiritual, ecclesial, social, and civic dimension."
The measure in which we live our belonging to the Vincentian mission and to the JMV will be the measure in which we can pass on our spirituality to young people and reinforce in them the spirit of belonging to the Church and to the Association, because we often recognise that it is the young who bring us along with them and amaze us by their enthusiasm and their love for the Association.
2. Once the Missioner has assumed his mission in the Association, which is part of the people of God where we are all equal, even when we have different positions and different functions, we Missioners, in serving our brothers and sisters, cannot treat lay people as objects of our zeal, our direction or our authority. As agents of their own life and their response to God, which they are – like us, lay people should bring their personal contribution and charism, their experience, their talents, their ideas, their capacity for love and service in a responsible, adult way. We are in harmony with Saint Vincent's idea that the poor evangelise us, they are our masters, we should go to their school (and 'sign up for their classes'!) With lay people, we cannot spend our time teaching, but we need to be formed in the process of transforming society and the world. In fact, if we are not sufficiently convinced of the enrichment that comes from working with lay people and especially young people, we will be tempted to fall into a form of clericalism that will isolate us and make us feel a certain superiority that can be venomous (poisoning) in our team-work and in the active participation of all in the life of the Association.
Yves Congar tells us that, officially and genuinely, lay people are leaders. Therefore they have their own responsibility, a certain autonomy and even a certain authority. They are leaders in an organisation whose role is not directorial or managerial, but is one of action in the Church.
Our document "Role and tasks of Advisers in the JMV" indicates the five basic missions of the adviser, namely, animation, accompaniment, education, promotion of unity, but only when it speaks of direction does it mention National Advisers or National Directors. The National Director collaborates in the direction with the President and the National Adviser. Indeed, the National Directors of the JMV cannot abandon the function of direction, which neither changes nor contradicts the lay aspect of the Association, but on the contrary endeavours to foster it. This function completes and balances the pedagogical choice for "youth activity". This "shared" direction signifies that they are represented to the ecclesiastical hierarchy, encourages in them the spirit of the Church, and promotes a sense of belonging to the Vincentian Family.
How does our document "Role and tasks of Advisers in the JMV" define the role of adviser? The adviser is "a companion, a friend who "sits down beside" the young people to help them discern the will of God in the light of the particular charism of the Association. He or she learns from them and with them, offers them tools and experiences that will enable them to be agents of their own history as responsible adult Christians".
To accomplish this mission in the Association, the Vincentian Missioner draws strength at the source of his vocation, that is primarily Christ and his Gospel and the Vincentian charism. Proposing faith in Jesus amounts to meeting the human person at the core of his or her humanity and in the most essential matters and questions that concern human beings. What does this mean for us Missioners? We have to offer Life, not take it to others. We have to act in such a way as to help others to stand on their feet. This implies a whole pedagogy of Evangelisation. To involve young people fully is to enable them to discover the fullness of love which is the person of Jesus. It is not just catechesis or Sunday Mass that forms the young person, but a change of life in order to remain close to the Gospel, and this change is a work of education. It involves transforming one's whole person.
The Missioner, an educator after the example of Christ
· First of all, he gave the example, incarnating in himself what he taught to others. In observing him (Christ), the Vincentian Missioner can deduce that the first way of educating does not consist in wishing to instruct or correct, but in living in a radical way one's own life consistently with what he asks of others
· in the wonderful parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus shows us the attitude that God has towards those who distance themselves from Him. He welcomes them and celebrates with them. On the other hand, repeated and constant reminders of a negative past cannot be fruitful.
· Jesus does not hesitate to correct forcefully and firmly when necessary. To Peter, who wanted to dissuade him from facing his Passion, He says: "Get behind me, Satan! … you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (Mt 16, 23) For Jesus, correction can be necessary at times, and is even an integral part of education. Thus, a warning that is spoken calmly increases the sense of responsibility in young people, who will often recall it.
· Another aspect of Christ's methods when he is teaching the crowds is that he is not afraid to express the truth, as, for example, when he announced the Beatitudes. What did he do? He put forward a difficult path to follow, and did not hide the fact that it was a way that went against the current of what we often hear. Yet, we should not think that if we 'water down' the proposals we make they will be better received. We are well aware of this and young people demand it. This is why they can often judge, sometimes pitilessly, when adults hide the truth from them.
The Missioner, animator after the example of Christ
· We should note that Jesus expresses himself in a way that is new, even though he refers to the usage of his time: he uses living language, sprinkled with images, concrete and practical, brief and precise. He avoids verbosity, and often condenses into one sentence all that he has to say on a subject. He does not give long sermons. Besides, long speeches have never been acceptable to young people. A few well-chosen words are sufficient.
· Another characteristic of Christ is giving encouragement, reaching out to help people, trusting in the person whom he has to instruct, as we can deduce from his words to the woman caught in adultery: "Go, and do not sin any more." (Jn 8, 11) He believes it is possible for this woman to begin a new life that is morally good. Thus the words of the Missioner, too, should always be encouraging, full of hope and positive. They should manifest his conviction that the young person facing him can always change and develop positively.
The Missioner, who animates after the example of Christ
· Christ leaves each person his or her freedom and the responsibility for her decisions, as he did when he met the rich young man who asked him what good he should do to obtain eternal life. Jesus replied that he should observe the commandments (you shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal etc). The young man says that he has observed all these. Then Jesus invites him to go further, saying: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor …then come, follow me." (Mt 19, 21) On hearing this, the young man went away sad because he had great riches. Jesus does not run after him, he does not impose his ideas.
· Christ also used dialogue, alternating questions and answers; he used maxims and discussed them with the scribes and Pharisees. In dialoguing regularly with young people, we need to show that we have a capacity for discernment, knowing how to recognise their deepest aspirations expressed sometimes through their very demands.
· To conclude this part, I would put the emphasis on the fact that Jesus chooses the exclusive in the sense of the unique relationship that makes the human person the protagonist in his or her life. We have an example of this is the cure of the disabled man at the pool of Bethesda. (Jn 5, 1-18) Jesus takes the initiative in the meeting; the man is so weak and feeble that he certainly does not have the strength to ask for help. He is passive, doesn't even try to make a sign or to say a word, and this is often what happens when things are going badly for us. The man has given up. Jesus goes over to speak to him as if they were alone and as if he was unique to God, and he appeals to what is deepest within him, his freedom. "Do you wish to recover your health?" The sick man could not possibly give a negative reply; this is a way of restoring his freedom. It awakens in him his deepest desire. Yet the disabled man replies to the question 'side-ways on' as it were. He does not say, "Yes", as if that answer would be too strong, but he tries to communicate and will not be disappointed. Jesus says to him, "Get up, take your bed and walk." The order of new life is given. Jesus does not help the man to stand up, does not even raise him a little; he leaves him to get up on his own. He does not say "believe in me", he says to him "walk, go forward carrying what you are, what is characteristic of you, your pallet bed". Jesus' only desire is that the other should live, and live to the full, with all that he is, all that constitutes him (even something that is part of his suffering, his stretcher). The man's freedom has been restored. From being a passive being he has become active. He can carry and he can walk. He is no longer lying down; he is now standing upright.
In stopping to consider this mission of educator, of accompanying companion, and of animator, we cannot do other than refer to Saint Vincent de Paul from whom the Missioner takes example. Saint Vincent de Paul, our Founder, defined clearly the role of a good adviser: he is the founder and originator, but never the president. Saint Vincent influences, evaluates, awakens, restrains and accelerates, while remaining close, sharing his faith and his attention to the poor, through his moral authority. Being the animator that he was, in presenting to the members an authentic evangelical project, he organised, recommended, assisted and helped without hampering the creativity of these same members. Not only did he teach them and accompany them personally, but he learned from them and let himself be evangelised by them.
All this priestly work finds its soul in formation which takes place in the personal accompaniment of the young. This accompaniment should not be limited to one single dimension of the person but should take into account the human, spiritual, intellectual and relational aspect of each person. In this way, the work of education, accompaniment and animation does not fall along the path, nor on stony ground, nor among thorns, but on the good soil of the human heart which is so complex and so rich.
There can be no spiritual maturation without human maturation and, vice-versa, no human maturation can be complete without an authentic relationship with God. This relationship with God is formed only through the Word, since God became the Word of Life, and so the experience of God comes through knowledge of God and of his actions; this is the intellectual dimension of formation. In the same way, the sign of all human and spiritual maturation consists in social commitment where the human person learns to put his or her life at the service of others. Formation, therefore, should be global, holistic, intended for every person and the whole person.
This work of formation and personal accompaniment is like a fish that needs water to live, and this water is found in the ecclesial life in which we contemplate together the face of God which appears in his Word. We live together our experience of faith which will culminate in an experience of service and that will crown the whole journey we have travelled together. And now we conclude as we began, with the wedding, and the lesson is that: Christian life grows only in an ecclesial community, and the community cannot be built except through the shared contributions of each person.
By way of conclusion, having touched briefly, in the course of this talk, on certain expectations and hopes regarding the participation of the Missioners in the life of the JMV, we have to bear in mind that the Missioner is not a 'superman'; he has good qualities and faults that he needs to recognise. We know, of course, that he counts on the grace of The One who has sent him to evangelise those who are poor and on a limitless goodwill to collaborate with this grace. Finally, he is always asked to be a SERVANT. This is the message addressed to each one of us, all of us who are Advisers, in the Gospel of Saint Mark (Mk 9, 33-37) which is addressed to those who hold authority in the Church, as Father Maloney said at the JMV Assembly in the year 2000: Jesus asked his disciples: "What were you discussing on the way?" But they kept silent because they had been disputing about which of them was the greatest. Jesus sat down and called the twelve, and he said to them: "Whoever wishes to be the first, must be the last of all and the servant of all".
Group work
Using the two questions below, work out two lines of action regarding sharing together for Mission.
1. We are all responsible for the unique Mission of the Church and the specific mission of the JMV. Participation and co-responsibility are only possible if we have formation.
How can we be formed together, all of us, lay members, Sisters and priests, for a better accomplishment of the mission of the JMV?
2. What can we do to improve the participation of the Vincentian Missioners, and especially of the National Director, in the common mission of the JMV (with regard to Sisters on the one hand, and lay people on the other hand)?
Paris, 10 August 2005