Day 25 September
ASSEMBLIES OF LAY ASSOCIATES AND PRIESTS ASSOCIATES
Martillac 25-28 September 2012.
Today saw the beginning of two assemblies which continued and deepened the experience of the second phase of the Congress.
The aim of these assemblies was:
- To share the experience and the fruits of the second phase of the Congress
- To look for ways of moving forward so as to give impetus to our Holy Family gift as Lay Associates and Priest Associates
- To dialogue, reflect and work together, looking for more efficacious ways of living and working as Holy Family Lay Associates or Priest Associates
OPENING PRAYER
After the experience of our unity as a Family, we came together, aware of the richness of our diversity as two vocations within the Holy Family.
“Awaken us to your presence, O Breath of God, O God of Life”
“From the very beginning the Spirit hovered over chaos…the Energy within the gift of creation”
All things remain when we base our lives on God because “in God we live, move and exist” (Acts 17, 28)
The Spirit is always “here” and “among” all things.
The participants presented different symbols – a flowering plant, water, fire, oil, the globe, the Word of God…all expressions of the Spirit.
OPENING OF THE ASSEMBLY (Margaret)
Here we give some extracts from Margaret’s opening address:
“…. The Congress Assembly was a good experience of journeying together as one Family, experiencing ONENESS in our diversity. Now living out of that awareness of the Whole, you will be reflecting more directly on your particular vocation as a priest or lay associate always remembering that you are part of a bigger whole and that what you do here has an impact not only on your specific vocation but on the Family, the Church, society and the whole of life…
In the light of what we have lived during these days it may be good to recall that in the time of our Founder all were associates; se we had lay, priests, apostolic, secular, contemplative associates – today we might say members, and that the Association, as it was called then, was, in the mind of our Founder, ONE before it was DIVERSE.
In order to live effectively our mission as Family, each part, each vocation, must become more active, responsible and vibrant while always remaining interconnected involved and committed to mission as one Family.”
Margaret continued by reminding us that we are celebrating 50 years of Vatican II and she quoted some passages from the document “Lumen Gentium” (39-42) which affirm us in the calls received.
She finished her opening address by saying the following:
“We can say that holiness is that deep attachment to Christ through the Spirit which enables God’s love, gentleness and compassion to be visible in the world. It is that desire to seek always God’s will in all things. We, Holy Family, speak of this as “loving, seeking, desiring God in everything”. All the different vocations in life are a means to holiness and one is not higher than the other.
In today’s Gospel Jesus enlarges and widens the concept of Family well beyond that of family of origin, our own relatives…when he says:”My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it” (Luke 8,21). Let us enter into this experience with open ears and hearts to “hear the word of God and do it”.
There followed a time of personal reflection on these opening words.
The Eucharist was then celebrated in thanksgiving for this meeting of two vocations of the Family.
During the entry procession four candles were carried; these represented the four continents where we are present as Family.
The evening was dedicated to sharing the experience and the fruits of the Congress.
There was a time of sharing in language groups and later sharing in the bigger group.
Then four members who had participated in the Congress assembly shared the main ideas explored around the new story of the Universe and the three fundamental principles – diversity, subjectivity and communion.
After a brief moment of silence so as to internalise what had been shared the following questions were posed:
What calls do we hear after having listened to the sharing? How can we be gift for the world?
After some spontaneous sharing on these questions, the participants received the document outlining the calls heard in the Congress assembly and they were asked to note similarities between the calls that came up for them and the calls heard in the Congress assembly.
The day ended with a short time of silence and spontaneous prayers of thanksgiving.