Passionist Companions
ANOTHER FORM OF PASSIONIST ASSOCIATION

REFLECTIONS TO THE PROVINCIAL IN COUNCIL
FROM THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE SECOND WEEK
OF THE PASSIONIST INSTITUTE 2001


1. We wish to thank the Provincial Council for the opportunities afforded by the Passionist Institute 2001. We strongly consider the Passionist Institute to be a valuable resource and experience, and wish it to be shared by others and be ongoing. We have encouraged each other to write a personal reflection on the experience of the Institute to you.

2. We want you and your Council to know that we have reached the stage where we deeply aspire to commit ourselves and all Passionist Communities and Ministries to a deeper appreciation of the ongoing ever-living charisms of St. Paul of the Cross. This charism touches the lives of us all.

3. Like St. Paul of the Cross - the layman - in vowing before the icon of Mary at Mary Major in 1721, we wish to commit ourselves to keep alive the memory of the Passion of Jesus and to continue to gather companions to do likewise. We recommend that 26th September each year be an appropriate day for all of us to renew our Passionist commitment.

4. As the Passionist General Chapter, October 2000, describes - "The Passionist Charism like life itself, it a gift for which we are eternally grateful; and one that we may not dispose of as though it were our own personal property. Those who wish to stand with us at the foot of the cross, to contemplate the love of God, and then proclaim its saving power, can rightly be called Passionist, whether they be men, women or children."

5. We seek validation from you and your Council of the experience of the Passionist Institute. We ask of you support, blessing and commitment.

6. By support we mean the development of regional programs and initiatives, practical formation and in-servicing, with financial support where appropriate, and other resources, e.g. audio visual aids and resource kits.

7. By blessing we ask that you keep us in prayer as you encourage us to continue what the Spirit has started. We suggest that this needs to be a two-way ongoing dialogue between the people who have attended the Institute and the Provincial Council.

8. By commitment we request that the Province of the Holy Spirit actively promotes the collaboration of the Professed men and women and the Companions.

9. We ask you to promote acceptance of this movement of the Spirit in your Council, in the Formation Commission, and in the meetings of Community Leaders and Passionist Parish Priests, and in the leadership of the Passionist Family Group Movement and in the Communities of the Professed men and women. We also ask you to let the wider Church know, especially those parishes in which the Passionist Family Group Movement exists, that this partnership of Professed Passionists and Companions is a growing part of the life of our Province and a gift to the local Church. This will, at the same time, raise awareness of the whole range of Passionist Ministries in the Province.

10. We recognise the need for help in translating the Charism of St. Paul of the Cross in language, culture and in reading the signs of the times. For this reason some of the development needs to be at a regional level and not centralised. We ask at least in the long term that you delegate specific responsibility for this movement of the Spirit to one of your Consultors and/or to one of the members of the Formation Commission and/or to a full time Passionist (not necessarily professed) who may need to be salaried. We encourage you and your Council to find a person in the PASPAC region who is specially trained in Passionist Spirituality for the ongoing formation of the Professed and Companions.

11. Some actions that are considered necessary to promote the Passionist Charism are

  • fostering a simple spirit of remembering the Passion
  • emphasising Paul's vision of prayer, penance, poverty and solitude
  • living the spirit of the Passion (action, prayer, justice and love)
  • conveying the relevance of the Passion in everyday lives
  • connecting life's ordinary everyday sorrows to the Passion of Jesus
  • developing a program of Passion Prayer based on life's experiences
  • promoting the experience of silence and solitude
  • supporting one another and developing one another's gifts of promoting prayer and speaking boldly
  • developing a formation program on Passionist Spirituality and history, which includes appropriate rituals of belonging
  • fostering an awareness of the "prayer of the presence of God"
  • including the dimensions of justice, reconciliation and the integrity of creation
  • assisting formation of people initially by celebration of the feasts of - the Solemn Commemoration of the Passion, Holy Cross, St. Paul of the Cross taking his First Vow, St. Paul of the Cross' feast day (October 19); and Mother of Sorrows (September 15)
  • recognising and raising awareness of the opportunities for special remembrance of the Passion in the Church's celebration of Holy Week and Pentecost
  • encouraging the use of Passionist symbols in our Parish Churches
  • fostering the use of the Personal Life Covenant by both Professed and Companions
12. We consider the Companions need to have regular contact with those Professed who are attuned to this growth of the Spirit. Likewise, we encourage the Professed to see, as a mirror image, the Passionist Charism in the lives of the Companions

13. We recognise the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of some of our men, no longer in vows, who nonetheless are still committed to the Charism of St. Paul of the Cross, and who wish to share Passionist Ministry.

14. We ask that the Provincial establish a formal process or forum in which both Professed and Companions have an equal opportunity to create the agenda through dialogue, about the ongoing development and direction of this movement of the Spirit.

15. We agree to supply you with regular feed back from each region, which will assist you, at Provincial Visitation, in evaluating and assessing the progress of this development of the Spirit. We request that the Provincial includes, as part of the visitation process, those Companions who are living and working without a Passionist Community nearby.

16. We ask that this movement of the Spirit be evaluated at the Provincial Chapter in 2003
 

Holy Cross, Templestowe, 4th October 2001