VIATOR WEB n. 66 March, 2015

During the month of November, 2013, at his meeting with the superiors general, Pope Francis announcedthat 2014-2015 would be a year dedicated to the consecrated life. And here we are! May this year be a timefor listening attentively to the Holy Spirit, who is calling us to understand our world in order to better serveit. Thus consecrated life, under the powerful impulse of the word of God, will be able to embrace theprophetic dimension that the Church attributes to it and expects of it.

The Viatorian Community will highlight this year of consecrated life in two ways:

The first issues of Viator Web in 2015 will be dedicated to that theme. A Congress on the Consecrated Life, especially as lived and desired by our young religious, will be

held in Haiti during this year. The fiftieth anniversary of the Foundation of Haiti will offer an opportunityto celebrate this important step in the lives of our Haitian confreres by combining these two importantChurch events. Further details about this Congress will be forthcoming in the near future.

THREE WORDS, THREE CALLS

I would like to suggest to you three words: frontier, surprise, and presence. From those three words comeforth three missions: to be smugglers, lookouts, and inhabitants. This reflection, in general, is basedupon a conference given by Mrs. Elena Lasida, an economist, at the General Assembly of the ReligiousConference of France. 1

In his letter addressed to all religious, Pope Francis presents us with a strong challenge: I expect of youwhat I ask of all the members of the Church: that you extend yourselves out into the existential peripheries.

1 EN SON NOM Magazine, Septembrer - October 2014, Canada

One of the first borders of existence is that of language. In EvangeliiGaudium, the Pope focuses on that evangelization requirement: wesee very well that the evangelization commitment is situated withinthe limits of language and of circumstances. It always strives to bettercommunicate the truth of the Gospel in a determined context, withoutrenouncing the truth (No. 45). It is therefore good to permit oneselfto be seized by different nay, surprising language that calls usforth to the same boldness in the name of the values that we profess.

FrontierFrontierFrontierFrontierFrontierWe must, without any hesitation, use the plural form of that word. Those frontiers are verymuch present in our world and, without any doubt, they create, in addition to divisions,even exclusions: genders, ages, ethnic backgrounds, sexual differences, the sacred andthe profane, various religions, educational levels, social and economic situations, and soforth. Globalization has created a global village that seems to erase frontiers; in fact,globalization has brought forth exclusions.

Frontiers are not to be eliminated, but to be gone beyond!The consecrated life calls us to the mission of being smugglers.

We must create passages that can restore communications among people.

SurpriseSurpriseSurpriseSurpriseSurpriseThe ability to be surprised seems to be lacking in our world. We are obsessed with security;having absolute security means choosing death! Taking zero risks leads us away fromGod the creator, from the action of the Holy Spirit, from the novelty of a God who is attentiveto his people and who is always active among them. To deny Gods promise to be with usuntil the end of time means that we believe only in repeating that which is already known.

We need to rediscover the ability to let ourselves be surprised.In order to do so, we must agree to accept the unknown

and to leave space for the unexpected.The consecrated life appears through experiences associated with the unexpected.

From early dawn and into the future, we must benot only smugglers, but also lookouts.

PresencePresencePresencePresencePresenceReligious must, first of all, be characterized as persons of faith who love life, the goal ofwhich is to be artisans of relationships. Restoring confidence to others means giving themlife. It is not the doing that gives life, but rather the being. Over and above technicalprogress and rapid communication, the isolation of certain people from others is greaterthan ever.

We need a presence that does not produce something quantifiable,but rather a presence that offers places inhabited by human beings.

Religious are inhabitants of the collective space,persons who offer a home that unites people.

Thank you to our six collaborators, who will speak to us about the objectives of this Year of ConsecratedLife as defined by Pope Francis.

Alain Ambeault, C.S.V.Superior General

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Two Aspects that make me look to our past withTwo Aspects that make me look to our past withTwo Aspects that make me look to our past withTwo Aspects that make me look to our past withTwo Aspects that make me look to our past withthanksgiving and hopefulness: the Poor and the Associatesthanksgiving and hopefulness: the Poor and the Associatesthanksgiving and hopefulness: the Poor and the Associatesthanksgiving and hopefulness: the Poor and the Associatesthanksgiving and hopefulness: the Poor and the Associates.....

I first met the Clerics of Saint Viator in 1945 at Saint Joseph School, which the Basconia Corporation hadcreated in Basauri for the children of its workers. While the school was poor, it was filled with congeniality,enthusiasm, and joy. The religious teaching there were also poor, living out the Gospel in a simple way,staying close to the people, loving them, with a total dedication to their work and, in spite of their poverty,always showing that they were happy. It is possible that, within themselves, being human, they had theirproblems, but, in my case, the happiness and joy that they demonstrated is what led me to try to be areligious like them. Speaking of this, Pope Francis says: Faced with the contagious witness of joy, serenity,fruitfulness, given the witness of tenderness and love, of humble charity, without predominance, manypeople experience a desire to come and see.

In order to know who those religious were, we must go back to their founder, Father Querbes. He is the onewho received the grace to translate the following of Jesus into the concrete Viatorian style of life. He wasa priest of the Diocese of Lyons. In 1822, he was appointed pastor of Vourles, a little village on the outskirts.

Jos Antonio Lezama, SpainJos Antonio Lezama, SpainJos Antonio Lezama, SpainJos Antonio Lezama, SpainJos Antonio Lezama, Spain

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Arriving in that village, he noted the spiritual and intellectual povertyin which people were living after the ravages of the French Revolution.Like Jesus of Nazareth, he also was moved by those human needs andtried to remedy them. He had to catechize and teach the young. Giventhe impossibility of obtaining Christian teachers prepared to do thatwork, he decided to personally undertake the training of those teachers,who would be, first of all, catechists and who would work in ruralparishes that were just as poor as his in order to form, from an earlyage, religiously and intellectually, humble-class young people (Decreeof Approbation, September 27, 1838). In the Statutes of the Society,

Father Querbes writes: (The catechist) will not lose any occasion to preach Jesus Christ, especially amongthe poor (art. 4). From the study of the documents, it can be clearly deduced that the privileged audienceof the sons of Father Querbes are especially all young people of the poor class (Apostolic Letters, DQ694A). In the little villages that received Clerics of Saint Viator, the people were poor and lived austerely.The religious assigned to those villages, according to what they recounted in their letters, lived poorly, justlike the local people. The entire Society of Father Querbes was poor.

Vatican II, in asking us to update our Constitution, reminded us of this important aspect of our charismaticinheritance. Our Constitution, edited in 1985, says to us when speaking of those to whom we are sent:

... No... No... No... No... Nor should we forgetr should we forgetr should we forgetr should we forgetr should we forgetthat a charism is so-that a charism is so-that a charism is so-that a charism is so-that a charism is so-mething that is alivemething that is alivemething that is alivemething that is alivemething that is aliveand that, consequently,and that, consequently,and that, consequently,and that, consequently,and that, consequently,is always evolving... weis always evolving... weis always evolving... weis always evolving... weis always evolving... wemust imagine and domust imagine and domust imagine and domust imagine and domust imagine and dowhat our Founder wouldwhat our Founder wouldwhat our Founder wouldwhat our Founder wouldwhat our Founder woulddo today...do today...do today...do today...do today...

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Additionally, through the constant calls of the Church and of the world, Christ urges us to be present amongthe abandoned members of our society (Const., 9). Later on, it adds: In order to live out the demands of theGospel, we must, in our administration and use of temporal goods, bear witness to our detachment fromthe goods of this world and contribute generously, with our resources, to meeting the needs of the Churchand of the poor. In that way, we will do our part to promote justice and will, personally and collectively, givetestimony to poverty and to charity (Const., 39).

Another aspect of hope and of thankfulness to the Lord is the fact that we have associated lay persons withus religious to participate in our mission, our spiritual life, and our community life. Father Querbes tried todo that, but in his day and age such was not possible. Today this possibility of integrating lay persons intoour ranks, as our Founder would have loved to do, has become a reality and is one of the greatest richesthat the Lord has given to us in these recent years. Our Constitution tells us: in accord with an idea thatwas cherished by our Founder, the Congregation agrees to welcome other persons who wish to participatein our mission, our spiritual life, and our community life (Const., 5).

Nor should we forget that a charism is something that is alive and that, consequently, is always evolving.Our faithfulness to our Founder will not consist in remaining stationary and meticulously copying what hedid in his day; rather, by attentively examining before the Lord the current signs of the times, we mustimagine and do what our Founder would do today. We cannot deny that the two points noted are verycurrent needs for the Church today. I believe that, in our history, we Viatorians have always been faithful tothose two essential elements of our identity: the poor, from the very beginning, and lay persons, from thetime of our aggiornamento, as requested by Vatican II. And here are several details that confirm that fact:Many of our schools are located in poor neighborhoods; one can also see a great spirit of generosity amongretired Clerics of Saint Viator, who freely dedicate themselves to working with organizations that havebeen specifically set up to help the abandoned members of society. Additionally, to the invitation of FatherLonard Audet, the Superior General, To Open New Viatorian Foundations, there was a very generousresponse on the part of the provinces, with all of those new foundations being established in poor countries.Several provinces were even able to use extraordinary means to assure the success of their new foundations.All of that provides a good reason to have hope and to be thankful to the Lord.

Besides, while the number of religious is diminishing, the number of lay Viatorians is growing. Those laypersons are co-heirs of, and co-responsible for, our common charism. The Viatorian charism remains aliveand wishes to continue living. Therein we find another reason to hope and to give thanks to the Lord. Thecharism that Father Querbes bequeathed to us is a gift granted by the Lord to the entire Church, with all ofus Viatorian religious and lay persons having the responsibility to see to it that that charism continuesto be alive and vibrant. We are opening doors and windows wide in order to make room for that burst offresh air that comes with having lay persons within our ranks. Let us welcome that burst of fresh air withthe gratefulness and the joy of someone who receives a beautiful gift from God.

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Mathieu Bard, Burkina FasoMathieu Bard, Burkina FasoMathieu Bard, Burkina FasoMathieu Bard, Burkina FasoMathieu Bard, Burkina Faso

Our Viatorian PastOur Viatorian PastOur Viatorian PastOur Viatorian PastOur Viatorian PastGives Us Many Reasons To Thank the LordGives Us Many Reasons To Thank the LordGives Us Many Reasons To Thank the LordGives Us Many Reasons To Thank the LordGives Us Many Reasons To Thank the Lord!!!!!

A quick glance at our Viatorian history from 1831 to 2015 leads me to discover many excellent reasonsfor giving thanks to the Lord insofar as our past is concerned.

It was first of all he, the Lord, who gave us our Founder, Father Louis Querbes. And for all of us, as well asfor the Church, that gift represents a powerful grace that made possible the emergence of a new charism,fruit of the Holy Spirit, in the midst of the People of God. Father Querbes certainly was not able to carry outhis initial intuition in his time. As was pointed out by his latest biographer, Brother Robert Bonnafous, hewas constrained in many ways in his original proposal. But, going against the winds and the waves, he hadfaith and confidence that his ecclesiastical superiors would be able to adapt his proposal to the prevailingviewpoints. And then Vatican II came along to make it possible that the missing wing that he held close tohis heart the group of lay catechists would come to birth with the welcoming of Viatorian Associatesaccording to Article 5 of our Constitution. Thank you, Lord, for having given us such a Founder, wellanchored in his day and age, but equally the bearer of an avant-garde inspiration that would beofficially recognized by the Church one hundred and twenty-five years later!

It does not appear to me to be appropriate to look at our past history with a nostalgia that prevents us fromaccurately appreciating the richness of what we have lived out over the course of these last decades.Nostalgia most often turns out to be sterile, but not humble pride. In this perspective, we must recognize,as highlighted by Pope Francis, that our past includes a number of extraordinary, even glorious,accomplishments that are the result of ongoing efforts carried out by ordinary people who did not hesitateto profoundly live out the Viatorian mission in their apostolic commitments, their community life, and theirspiritual life. For that also, Lord, we give you thanks! Rather than enumerating those wonderfulaccomplishments, let us re-read our historical publications and let us be edified by the biographies of ourdeceased confreres.

Are we saying that our past itinerary scarcely experienced any trials? We have only to think about thematerial setbacks experienced at the time of Father Querbes by our newly-born congregation, as for examplethe 1903 French Laws (Combes) that abolished religious institutes and nationalized their goods. We canthink of the 1904 financial disaster for our Canadian religious province; we can think of the dispersion ofthe religious of the Chicago Province at the time of the economic crisis of the 1930s and of the loss of ourprestigious college in Bourbonnais. All of those were major crises! And yet, out of those heavy trials cameforth new advances and new apostolic works: Our Province of Spain is a good example of coming to birthand then giving birth to apostolic works in the Province of Chile and the Foundation of Bolivia. The Clerics

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of Saint Viator, when faced with those serious difficulties, were able to demonstrate a great capacity forresistance in their entire body, a spiritual firmness that came forth from the religious faith in the futureand from their determination to convert the negative into the positive. Thank you, Lord, for the courageand the bravery of those who have gone before us!

Strictly speaking, our congregation was not founded to win, for Christ and for his Gospel, non-Christians inmission lands, with the exception of Father Querbes unfulfilled dream to go to preach Jesus Christ inAlgeria. During the lifetime of our Father Founder, there was also an (aborted) attempt to go to India. Andyet, more than seventy years after the death of Father Querbes, the Clerics of Saint Viator agreed torespond to Pope Pius XIs appeal in favor of the Orient (China first, then Japan and Taiwan later on).Afterwards, positive responses were given to Pope Pius XIIs requests in favor of Africa and Latin America:Ivory Coast, Peru, and Colombia. When Pope Paul VI approached us in the mid-1960s in favor of Haiti, theProvince of Montreal agreed to accept the challenge of replacing, on short notice, the Jesuits, who hadbeen expelled from the country. In more recent times, the 1994 General Chapter asked the Viatorian provincesto think about opening one or more new foundations. Central America and Africa welcomed three newViatorian foundations (Honduras, Belize, and Burkina Faso) thanks to the involvement of our Provinces ofSpain, the United States, and Canada. For these last cases, just as for all the others since the 1930s, if ourdifferent religious provinces had had eyes only for their own internal needs, none of those foundationswould have been able to be imagined. For this ability of our superiors to let themselves be challenged oftentimes in unsettling ways and for the availability of the many religious who, for their part,were called upon by their superiors with a view to these different implantations in foreign lands,thank you, Lord, very much!

Recent years have led us to return to our Viatorian essentials. We are certainly in a period of decreasingnumbers. But we are also in a period of returning to our vital beginnings, of purifying our apostolicmotivations, of strengthening our spiritual life, and of working toward greater openness in our communitylife. I sincerely believe that we must have sufficient faith to also give thanks to the Lord for everythingthat remains perfectly compatible with the Joy of the Gospel preached with the new language ofPope Francis. From that viewpoint, with the past providing a guarantee albeit it a different guarantee of the future, our Viatorian past deserves to be regarded as a whole with a sentiment of great and sincererecognition towards the One who has filled us with so many graces.

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Pierre Demierre, FrancePierre Demierre, FrancePierre Demierre, FrancePierre Demierre, FrancePierre Demierre, France

Living the Present with PassionLiving the Present with PassionLiving the Present with PassionLiving the Present with PassionLiving the Present with Passion

Having been sent to the Bassin-Vallon Apostolic Sector (near Decazeville, France) a year and a half ago, Ihad to leave a well-organized parish for a rural, working-class sector encompassing three parishes. OurDiocese, which is changing rapidly, could not do otherwise than to call upon the Viatorians; and we, as acommunity, responded and were sent there. Working with two diocesan priests, we undertook our projectwith a confrere from the Aveyron Department, with a confrere from the Ivory Coast, with myself, and withfive associates attached to this local community.

In this milieu, we are called upon to be in covenant with the Lord and to live out his Gospel. We rub elbowswith other religions. Our neighbor, wearing his typical dress, prays in his mosque every day. As for ourselves,we wear ordinary clothing, knowing full well that the sacred is not necessarily found in visible signs Roman collar, cassock, or other insignia but in the way that we put the Gospel into action.

What makes me joyful is that I belong to a family: the Catholic Church. I note, especially nowadays, that theCatholic Church, in France as well as elsewhere in Europe, no longer has a monopoly on religion. OurCatholic religion is totally different, since it refers us to a God of incarnated Trinitarian love who strives tolive with us a mysterious covenant, which is simply the outpouring of Gods tireless generosity. To him whocan strengthen you, according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelationof the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, accordingto the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, to theonly wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever (Romans 16:25-27).

It is by accepting to live out the Lords generosity for us, for this part of the People of God, that, personallyand in community, I have accepted to give witness to a God who is present in people who are suffering. Ourparishes are characterized by precariousness, decreasing populations, unemployment, and immigration.Rural departments are those that have the greatest working-class tradition.

I strive to live in Gods here and now by carefully developing my relationship with the Lord; by being amessenger of the joy of the Spirit; and, as Pope Francis loves to say, by embracing the future with hope.People here say that the formation of religious and their way of interacting are different from those ofdiocesan priests, which leads me to think that our personal and community response to the call of Christ isprofoundly a joy for others.

Gods generosity is made manifest in every person of good will, and especially in those to whom we aresent. Christ awaits us in the hearts of others. As religious of apostolic life, we become, in those placeswhere we live and work, witnesses of the goodness of a Father God.

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We have not come here to be administrators of the Sacred (Masses, sacraments, devotions, and so forth),but rather to deeply involve ourselves with a poor, servant Church. I must tell you that it is not easy to havesuch an attitude. We are in a Church in which numbers of parishioners and collection amounts are stillwhat count.

Our bishop, Father Franois Fonlupt, invited us to a re-reading of our history that helps us to grasp how wehave arrived in another world. It is no longer a rural society with its Christian traditions, its luster ofyesteryear, that characterizes our diocese today, but rather the re-establishment of grass-roots communitiesthat pray and act.

I am happy to be living out this change, as well as that of our Viatorian Community. When I entered theCongregation forty-three years ago, the Viatorians were a known entity. We were visible through ourprincipals, our teachers, our students, our schools, and our academy. We did not go unnoticed in largegatherings. I lived through all of that transformation. Today, generally speaking, we are all retired. We arewhat we are, guardians of a treasure, the treasure that Father Querbes bequeathed to us; we move forwardslowly, without any great weight.

Our non-material poverty permits us to live as middle-class Frenchmen. Fortunately, in the history of ourCommunity as well as of the Diocese, we have walked side by side with lay men and women who, today,are on the same footing as ourselves. As our people like to say, because of our baptism, we are co-heirswith equal rights. I live in coherence with every other person, even if, at times, a false step impedes ourprogress, but I know that being men who are following the Risen One is the correct path that leads toeternity.

Living the present with passion means knowing that Hope comes to birth out of poverty; it means advancingtoward others with confidence; it means living with a wisdom and a serenity that come from elsewhere andthat we all have to share.

We must ask ourselves, every day, who is our strength, our rod, and our rock.

My religious life is more than a life based on possessions, power, and knowledge. That is why I take greatjoy in being able to be involved in a parish community and in close contact with those with whom I sharehumanity. The role of lay people in parish tasks encourages us to share our responsibilities and it is togetherthat we become servants. Priests, the Lords servants, are not men set apart with their own particularlifestyles and residences. While certain people wish to restore that concept, such is not my case. I want toalways live and act in genuine fraternity with those whom the Lord has placed in my path.

I implore you, friends, be as I am.(Galatians 4:12)

In concluding, I would like to once again say that living with passion can be accomplished only in a spirit ofgreat reciprocity and fraternal sharing. Fraternity is an essential action. What counts is not the beauty ofthe stones used in the temple, but that of the persons.

I know that the aging process at work in our different situations runs the risk of blindingus. We must not be closed in upon ourselves: my parish, my diocese, my province ormy delegation, my Congregation. Rather, we must expand our horizons and verify thequality of our relationships amongst ourselves. Perhaps the breath of fresh air mustcome from elsewhere! Yes, living the present is my passion!

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Corey Brost, ChicagoCorey Brost, ChicagoCorey Brost, ChicagoCorey Brost, ChicagoCorey Brost, Chicago

How could I not be passionate about our Community?How could I not be passionate about our Community?How could I not be passionate about our Community?How could I not be passionate about our Community?How could I not be passionate about our Community?

A conversation on a plane last summer reminded me why Im passionate about our Community.

Jason, 17, was next to me. He and six other teens had just joined me and Associate Cathy Abrahamian asthe St. Viator High School delegation at the Fifth Annual Viatorian Youth Congress, the U.S. Provincesannual youth leadership conference. The conference annually brings together more than 15 Viatorians andabout 60 high school and college leaders from Viatorian schools and parishes for four days of formation inthe Viatorian charisms of prayer, liturgy, and justice. Jason was returning from his second Congress.

During the conversation, Jason told me how important it will be for him to stay connected to the ViatorianCommunity and its values during his college years and beyond. He talked about how our charism helpeddirect his life and give it meaning. Indeed, his exposure to our charism, he said, helped him find his trueself. It was our charism that has helped him believe in himself and find his true gifts as he has takenleadership in ministry to immigrants, retreats, and interfaith dialogue.

All I could think was that Fr. Querbes would be proud. His mission lives on. More than 180 years after hefounded us, Viatorians are still changing the lives of young people, pointing them toward Christ and walkingwith them into the world where, together, we change lives especially the lives of those accounted of noimportance.

How could I not be passionate about our Community? Each day Im reminded of the transformative powerof our charism as I walk the halls of St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights. I see young people healingthe broken and announcing the Good News through retreat leadership, worship, and service as they tacklea rigorous academic curriculum that will land them in great colleges. I see my brother and sister Viatoriansdoing the work of Jesus as they form boys and girls into young men and women of faith by the way theymentor, teach, support, and challenge them. I see the faces of the kids who can attend our school onlybecause our Community provides generous scholarships so that the Viatorian Charism is open to people atall income levels.

How could I not be passionate about our Community? On a regular basis, I meet college students andprofessionals doing Christs work in the world only because they have been formed in our schools and

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How could I not beHow could I not beHow could I not beHow could I not beHow could I not bepassionate about ourpassionate about ourpassionate about ourpassionate about ourpassionate about ourCommunity?...Community?...Community?...Community?...Community?...

parishes. I can tell you about the successful attorney who graduated from St. Viator High School whosepriority is to defend accused criminals because he learned from Viatorians that we must defend the humanrights of ALL men and women. I can also tell you about the St. Viator graduate who made it a priority to joina Catholic mens group as a college freshman because he learned from Viatorians the importance ofCatholic Community and spiritual growth. And what about the young woman who discovered her calling asa youth minister at St. Viator Church in Chicago or the young men who tell me they are considering life asa religious because they too are passionate about our Community?

How could I not be passionate about our Community? The Viatorians in the U.S. are struggling in thetrenches for the basic rights of immigrants, people so forgotten and abused in our country. I can proudlysay that my Community has embraced the struggle for their rights by doing everything from shelteringthem when they are homeless to teaching young people and adults aboutthe Catholic responsibility to speak out for them. Meanwhile, we havemarched for them in the streets and advocated for them in meetingswith politicians considering laws that affect their future.

How could I not be passionate about our Community? The Viatorians have helped me hear the call of Christand experience his healing powers. The Community accepted an eager but spiritually immature young mannamed Corey Brost in 1987, showed him immense patience as he matured, offered him incredible ministerialand educational opportunities, embraced him in loving relationships, and has trusted him to represent acharism so special and sacred.

Indeed, I am passionate about our Community. Somehow Ive been blessed enough to live more than half ofmy life with holy men and women who are clearly and concretely building the kingdom of God.

Thank you, dear Fr. Querbes. I am so grateful.

Adored and Loved Be Jesus!

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Elkin Abey Mendoza Mendoza, ColombiaElkin Abey Mendoza Mendoza, ColombiaElkin Abey Mendoza Mendoza, ColombiaElkin Abey Mendoza Mendoza, ColombiaElkin Abey Mendoza Mendoza, Colombia

We live in the present looking to the future.We live in the present looking to the future.We live in the present looking to the future.We live in the present looking to the future.We live in the present looking to the future.

I would like to share with you that my hope is placed in a person, in the person of Jesus Christ. Since this,I believe, is something that all of us are clear about, I would like to express several other reasons that leadme to embrace the future with hope.

I begin by recalling some words of a religious sister: may your life be word; may your life be prophetic. Thatmakes me think about wherein lies our life witness as Christians, about how we are conformed to orconfigured with Christ. And that is where I find the first reason: it is always possible, with Gods help, tobear witness to being a good Christian.

It is that condition of possibility that strengthens me and that I intendto live out from a faith perspective, since it is not only a question ofknowing that something is possible, but also of believing that such isthe truth, with Gods grace.

While the possibility of being is already a gain, nevertheless, in thefinal analysis, it is believing that moves us to take the first step so

that what is possible will become reality. Believing (Faith) keeps alive my hope; I strive to live out that Faithwhile being aware of the reality in which I find myself immersed, since we develop as human beings in adetermined context, in which we find ourselves desiring to face various realities of our world.

It is in these realities of our world that we try to respond to the wherefore of our life. Therefore, throughoutlife, we make decisions that lead us to act, decisions through which I hope to respond to what I want in mydiscernment and understanding of the will of God based upon the ordinary things of life.

This desire for what I want and hope for myself, with Gods help and grace, is an important part of whatimpels me to live the future with hope, since it is with time and development that things become increasinglypossible, that my motivations continue acquiring meaning, and that my hope must grow stronger and keepitself alive.

... however, I believe that... however, I believe that... however, I believe that... however, I believe that... however, I believe that

we can personally trans-we can personally trans-we can personally trans-we can personally trans-we can personally trans-

form the life of one person,form the life of one person,form the life of one person,form the life of one person,form the life of one person,

or of many persons, withor of many persons, withor of many persons, withor of many persons, withor of many persons, with

our witness...our witness...our witness...our witness...our witness...

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So, while I have explained a personal reason, there is also a collective reason: all of us share responsibilityfor, and must commit ourselves to, our history, knowing that, as Pope Francis would say, we have a historyto build.

By that, I wish to say that I am responsible for, and that I must commit myself to, building a better society,knowing for certain that transforming or making history is not dependent upon a person, but rather upon acommunity, and that we can personally transform the life of one person, or of many persons, with ourwitness.

Finally, I wish to conclude this reflection with the following sentence: The family nucleus occupies the firstplace in the living out of fraternal life; but, in religious life, we live the joy and the challenge of making itpractical. Thus, my last reason consists in the joy that we can experience when we share our lives in anattitude of transparency and faith, which makes possible the discernment not only of a person, but also ofa community.

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Toms Ignacio Villalobos Herrera, ChileToms Ignacio Villalobos Herrera, ChileToms Ignacio Villalobos Herrera, ChileToms Ignacio Villalobos Herrera, ChileToms Ignacio Villalobos Herrera, Chile

How to embrace the future with hope?How to embrace the future with hope?How to embrace the future with hope?How to embrace the future with hope?How to embrace the future with hope?

In order to embrace the future with hope, I have thought of three foundations that can serve not only forthose of us who are beginning the road of the Consecrated Life, but also for those brothers who havealready spent a good deal of time in that journey. I will present them here with great humility, knowing that,in the year 2015, I will have completed only one year in temporary vows. For that reason, what I willattempt to contribute here, more than past experiences, are my present expectations and dreams. I hope tobe able to enrich the community reflection based upon my recent experiences as a young religious in theProvince of Chile.

The first foundation that encourages me to embrace the future with hope comes from contemplating thehistory of the Congregation and of the Church from the viewpoint of faith. The times of greatest fragilityand difficulties were precisely those times in which God also manifested his presence more strongly, insuch a way that men and women might recognize that, before success, the Lord expects faithfulness of us.

Today, given the shortage Today, given the shortage Today, given the shortage Today, given the shortage Today, given the shortageof vocations (and, for thatof vocations (and, for thatof vocations (and, for thatof vocations (and, for thatof vocations (and, for thatreason, fewer religious),reason, fewer religious),reason, fewer religious),reason, fewer religious),reason, fewer religious),should we lose heart and sitshould we lose heart and sitshould we lose heart and sitshould we lose heart and sitshould we lose heart and sitdown to lament ourdown to lament ourdown to lament ourdown to lament ourdown to lament oursituation? No! We should dosituation? No! We should dosituation? No! We should dosituation? No! We should dosituation? No! We should dojust the opposite! just the opposite! just the opposite! just the opposite! just the opposite!

I think of Father Louis Querbes and the economic crisis that befellthe Congregation at than ever.

And here appears the second point: in order to embrace the futurewith hope, it seems to me that it is absolutely necessary torecognize that every one of us bears a personal responsibility andthat, among ourselves, we share a community responsibility withrespect to our mid-term and long-term futures. If we are confidentthat Father Louis Querbes project remains alive and genuinelyvalid, then we must all work so that his project will continue being

fruitful in the world; and when I say all, I am not only referring to the religious, but saying according toour Founders example that it is absolutely necessary that we work in union with all of those lay men andwomen who, in the Viatorian Community, are united in the mission to raise up communities where faith islived, deepened, and celebrated. Responsibility and co-responsibility are the work of one and all.

The third reflection is the fruit of the two preceding ideas. If there is a history from which we can learn anda mission for which we must make ourselves responsible, it is thanks to God, who has confided in us andleft in our hands the gift of life in this world. For that reason, in order to embrace the future with hope, we

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must first of all welcome it as a beautiful gift from God, who believes that we, his sons and daughters, lovelife and the world past, present, and future in the same way that God has loved us (cf. John 4:19). Thekey to hope is not that our projects will attain the success that we desire, but rather that Gods lovingproject, as expressed in Jesus Christ, will have the last word in everything. If God has confided in us andaccompanies us with the grace of the Holy Spirit, how can we not embrace the future with hope?