MADRID, 23-27 SEPTEMBER 2013

PRESENT:   Marcelo Marcial,  Jimena Garcia, Francisco (Paco) Rentero, Claude Grenache
Not able to attend:  Marie-Claire Rouquet, Silvan

OVERVIEW OF THE ALLIANCE IN THE CONGREGATION

Clearly the Province of Africa outnumbers all the others with over 300 Lay Assumptionists.  All the groups are accompanied by a Religious.  There is a great deal of diversity in these groups.  In accordance with the General Chapter #72, they have petitioned to be recognized officially as a Society of lay people and presented us with a seven page document containing a proposal for the Statutes of the Association. Unfortunately, Silvan received his Visa too late and was unable to attend the meeting.

The Province of France continues to be very successful with a few added recently to the number of “professed” members.  Here again, the absence of Marie-Claire who could not leave her ailing mother, did not allow us to receive more information.

Jimena assured us that the Alliance in the Province of Chile-Argentina is flourishing with several groups most of them attached either to our Parishes or Schools.  There are groups in Columbia and Ecuador as well.  The Religious are very much involved in these groups and serve as spiritual guides especially for formation.

I gave a detailed description of the Alliance in our Province starting with Quebec and moving south.

I’ve left Spain for last because I want to give a more detailed description of what I saw and heard.   The Assumpotionists staff three parishes in Madrid.  The Alliance is active in all three as well as in one other that is staffed by diocesan priests.  On Wednesday we were invited to dinner in the home of one of the families and on Friday evening about 30 came to the Assumptionist house in Leganes where we were staying, for their regular monthly meeting.   This was clearly a very lively, joyful and committed group.  Fr. Marcelo used this occasion to make a passionate appeal for a solid formation program rooted in the Assumptionist charism and spirituality.  He invited the lay Assumptionists to pursue their present goals and always remain aware of the needs of justice and peace.  It was a real pleasure to witness the commitment of these Lay Assumptionists.

I must mot neglect to mention the group in Almeria, the southernmost part of the Iberian Peninsula, where the Assumptionists worked for several years and established a well prepared Alliance before they needed to leave.  The group continues to flourish and has a ministry to prisoners and the “Ladies of the Night”.  Paco and his wife, Maria-Luisa, have done a marvelous job keeping this  group together.

FORMATION

There are a number of documents available for the formation of the Lay Assumptionists.   However, we do not yet have a formal formation program for the members of the Alliance.  Such a program would need to respect the great diversity of the Alliance groups in the Congregation and be available in the various languages.

This will be the next project for the international commission.  Our “homework” until the next time is to gather whatever material we have in the various languages.  We will also try to describe the various programs that the groups have used or are using for their formation.  Hopefully, we will be able to produce a practical protocol for formation that will be helpful for all the groups.

COMMUNJCATION

We were all painfully aware of our failures in communicating amongst ourselves and with Marcelo. The Province of Chile-Argentina probably does the best job of it thanks to Jimena who sends reports and photos generously.

We thought that the Tandems at the various levels should take this to heart and communicate freely within the Provinces and with other Provinces.  To this effect, we will gather the email addresses of the Tandems and invite them to communicate with one another freely and often.

This does not mean that we should abandon the idea of having an internet site on which to post news and offer material for the entire congregation.

THE MISSION OF THE ALLIANCE

Without prejudice to any of the various ministries and apostolates to which most members of the Alliance dedicate time and talents, we considered how the Lay Assumptionists could become more involved with Justice and Peace initiatives in their Parishes, schools or Dioceses.  Many Provinces have a Peace and Justice Commission in which the lay Assumptionists should participate.

Other areas are also appropriate for the Lay Assumptiontsts such as volunteer efforts for the poor and the homeless, practical ecumenical initiatives, etc.

THE WAY OF LIFE….EL CAMINO DE VIDA….LE CHENMIN DE VIE

Finally we came to the specific charge we had received from the Superior General:  the formulation of a “Way of Life” for the members of the Alliance.

Marcelo presented the second version of the “Way” with the changes suggested by a group of Assumptionists and lay people contacted after the last meeting of the commission.  This version also included suggestions made by members of the Alliance.  We made a number of editorial changes but left the text almost entirely as it was presented.  Our goal was to have a succinct, readable, motivating text that would reflect the Assumptionist charism and spirituality.  It needed to be respectful of the special vocation and mission of lay people and not impose a rigid conformity to the Assumptionist Rule of Life. We purposely avoided any legalistic or organizational topics leaving that for a future document. For now we wanted to stress the spirituality that can inspire and guide a lay person anywhere.

The result is an 8 page document in five brief chapters;
Disciples of Christ:  our Christocentric spirituality
Agents of communion and fraternity:  our commitment to community life
Apostles for the coming of the Kingdom:  our motto and mission
Witnesses of the life of the Spirit:  our presence in the world
Men and women of prayer:  our spiritual moorings

Quotations from the Assumptionist Rule of Life abound as well as a few well-knownd’Alzonian expressions.  We opted against using quotation marks or references so as not to break the flow of the text.

The final draft will be presented to the General Council in December for approval and will then be distributed to all the Provinces.

SOME R & R:

Of course, we could not be in Spain and not visit some of the high places of Church and world history.   On Wednesday we visited the Royal Place and the cathedral of Madrid before heading off to Toledo where we saw the famous El Greco masterpiece:   The Entombment of the Count of Orgaz“.  Then on Saturday we went to Avila and Segovia.  They were well worth the trip for the beauty of their Churches, the art and history they offer.  One cannot but admire these brothers and sisters of times past who built these monuments to their faith…our Faith…decorated them with infinite patience and dedication even to the minutest detail.  This is Faith in stone and paint, Faith sculptured in marble and wood and gold, Faith shining through stained glass and reflected off mosaics.

OUR BROTHERS:

I need to conclude with a heartfelt expression of gratitude to our Assumptionist Brothers who received us with exquisite hospitality in the simplicity of our brotherhood and went out of their way to make us feel right at home.  For me, it was a great pleasure to see  classmates from my Theology days in France some 50 years ago.

CONCLUSION:

We fully expect that the text of the “Way” will be approved by the General Council in December and that it will become the Rule of Life for our Lay Assumptionists everywhere in the world.  Our fervent hope is that it will inspire them to live their baptismal commitment with enthusiasm, joy and a deep sense of mission.

Claude Grenache, A.A.
Provincial Coordinator