Simple, with Humour and Direct Style. On the First morning of the Chapter, the Cardinal Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life João Braz de Aviz was the Guest.
He shared Convictions and then Intervened with the Capitulants by Answering Questions.
“The Major Path of the Synodality is rooted in the Word of God. We learn a lot with this Path, with an Inner Silence. Let us return to Our Deepest Being where Christ is. This will give us greater confidence in Our Decisions and especially Listening. This goes to the Theme of your Chapter: “Servants of Hope”.
The Holy Spirit changes Our Lifestyle. The Church of the future will not be a Church of Structures but Concrete Testimonies. God continues to work hard in Our Midst. We must Walk Together.”
What is my Relationship to the Lord?
In response to questions about the value of Religious Life he stressed how important it is to arrive at a General Mentality that highlights the Vocation of the Brother.
“God is Merciful. He looks at the Heart that opens to Him.
We have very simple Signs. We have to walk in Brotherhood. It’s not easy, you often have to ask for Forgiveness. He who cannot forgive must be entrusted to the Lord. Let’s develop a Spirituality Together, not Individually.”
The Word of God must come before the Founders
Concerning the Rule of Life he assures: “Let us pay attention to the Consistency of the Documents with the Word of God. The Word of God must come before the Founders. They are great when they are men and women of the Word of God. Let us also pay attention to the Signs of the times for Today.
The Challenge is not to repeat what was done at the time of the Founders, but to build other Paths. Let us also look beyond the Congregation to Our Links with the Local Church”.