Communion and cooperation in TIFPEC
THE NEW DEVELOPMENT IN MISSIONARY CONSECRATED LIFE
Communion and cooperation with the laity
In recent years, one of the fruits of the teaching on the Church as communion has been the growing awareness that her members can and must unite their efforts, with a view to cooperation and exchange of gifts, in order to participate more effectively in the Church's mission. This helps to give a clearer and more complete picture of the Church herself, while rendering more effective the response to the great challenges of our time, thanks to be combined contributions of the various gifts.
Contacts with the laity, in the case of monastic or contemplative Institutes, take the form of a relationship that is primarily spiritual, while for Institutes involved in works of the apostolate these contacts also translate into form of pastoral cooperation. Member of Secular Institutes, lay or clerical, relate to other members of the faithful at the level of every life. Today, often as a result of new situations, many Institutes have come to the conclusion that their charism can be shared with the laity.
For a renewed spiritual and apostolic dynamism
These new experiences of communion and cooperation should be encouraged for various reasons. They can in fact give rise to the spread of a fruitful spirituality beyond the confines of the Institute, which will then be in a position to ensure the continuity in the Church of the services typical of the Institute. Another positive consequence will be to facilitate more intense cooperation between consecrated persons and the laity in view of the Institute's mission. Moved by the examples of holiness of the consecrated members, lay men and women will experience at first hand the spirit of the evangelical counsels, and will thus be encouraged to live and bear witness to the spirit of the Beatitudes, in order to transform the world according to God's design.
The participation of the laity often brings unexpected and rich insights into certain aspects of the charism, leading to a more spiritual interpretation of it and helping to draw from its directions for new activities in the apostolate. In whatever activity or ministry that are involved, consecrated persons should remember that before all else they must be expert guides in the spiritual life, and in this perspective they should cultivate the most precious gift : the spirit. For their part, the laity should offer Religious families the invaluable contribution of their being in the world and their specific service.
