By Zr. Jacqueline van Breemen
Reflection Afternoon Elan January 22 2015
The joy of my / our life
As a variant for The joy of the Gospel
All this radiates gladness. That sounds well – God wants us to be fine –
that we live to the full. Is that ideal? Has this been phrased too beautifully?
Sometimes I think ‘yes it has and then I think again : ‘yes it is ideal and
beautiful.’
Personally I am glad that, thanks to Pope Franciscus, we have the year
during which we pay attention, extra attention, to the life that is consecrated
to God. Religious life, that is life consecrated to God.
When I look back at the time that I was still young and that I made
known to my confession father that I wanted to enter the convent, my answer to
his question ‘why do you want to enter?’ I said : ‘For God’s sake.’
That is still the case. Although in the run of times my image of God has
changed. People are absolutely connected with God. After all people are God’s
image and likeness. Although I am not consistently aware of that fact. Yet … If
there had not been any people God would not have been there either.Why am I glad with this year of God consecrated life? It gives me and I hope many with me the opportunity to reflect once more what for and why we lead this life.
This year Pope Franciscus calls the attention for three important issues which he indicates as targets for this year:
To remember the past in gratitude.
To live the present with passion.
To embrace the future with hope.
It was very special that Ruud Werrie, the managing director, also mentioned these points in his New Year’s speech.
When I think of: ‘To remember the past in gratitude,’ then I think of the beginning of my religious life. I have been able to meet so many sisters and others who have shown me and made me experience how good God is. There are so many who have gone before me.
Every one of us can surely respond to this in her own way.
When I think of the past then I think too of the many changes which have
come about. Would I be happy to go back to the time before Vatican II? My
answer is clearly NO.
Perhaps you may want to add some notes to this.The second point the Pope makes: ‘To live the present with passion.’
Am I still able to do so, now that I am old and grey headed? It is up to me to give an answer to this.
In the magazine ‘De Roerom’ of November 2013 I read what the Pope had said among other things about the religious.
Task of the religious.
‘In the church religious are particularly called to be prophets, who
bear witness to how Jesus lived on earth and by doing this, announce the
Kingdom of God as it will be in its fullness. Being a prophet may mean to cause
disturbance at times … or , how shall I say prophecy makes dust to be blown up,
makes noise; somebody could even say: ‘he causes trouble.’ But the charism of
the prophet is exactly ‘yeast in the dough’; prophecy gives expression to the
spirit of the Gospel.’
The theologian Erik Borgman proposes in his New Year’s speech which he
held for the KNR (the association for
religious) the following question: “Shouldn’t we accept without reservation the
assignment of Pope Franciscus to be prophets? Further on he states: “It is not
that we are prophetic, but the life
that we try, seek to lead is prophetic.”
When we really live it to the full and realise it, then it points to
something. As a prophet does in his life.
As third point Pope Franciscus mentions: ‘To embrace the future with
hope.’
At times I feel uneasy about this. How will the future be of God consecrated
life here in The Netherlands? I believe that God is still calling. How is He
listened to? Can it be heard? And yet…There are people who search and ask
questions. They pose questions after a meaningful life.
I agree with Erik Borgman when he says in his earlier mentioned speech:
“Our life is a picture styling, a composition of the insight that life
without God is not complete. Our life is a composition of the desire to God
which is inherent to this and this life
is a significant life indeed.In all this I find my joy and we may possibly be able to reflect together on this and also pray for this.
read in Dutch language
