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Shaping the Future (Future shaping us) – A Montfortian Synthesis

(MONTFORTIAN TERCENTENARY: Honouring the Past, Treasuring the Present, Shaping the Future)

Introduction:

My concern in this paper is to speak about Montfortians shaping the future

and not so much to speak about the shape of the future; while thinking about

shaping the future, we cannot neglect to talk about the shape of the future as the

future is shaping us already. What is the type of future Montfortians will have? Do

they have future at all? I am not a futurist or a soothsayer or neither an astrologer.

But during this time of tercentenary we are asked to look at how others are shaping

their future and learn from them. If not at least we can read the past history and see

what lessons history is teaching us. We can even go a step further and see how the

future is shaping us and draw lessons from them.

The 18th c French situation configured the DW, SMM and FSG. And it was the needs

and longings of that time (option) that configured the life of our three congregations.

All the three of them were born at the threshold of some type of inhumanity in France

of that time. Therefore, our Montfortian origins and priorities were not with those

who excluded others, but with the excluded. It can be said that the history of this

option merges well with the history of the consecrated life.

For many people nowadays, consecrated life is a museum piece. Some who like us,

look upon us with compassion and perhaps with a bit of admiration (in some cases)

when they see us happy. Many good Christians think that we have no future. The

challenge for some religious is to survive, for others it is to live happily with what

this life offers and for the rest it matters no thing.

My focus here is not to identify what is common between (us) and propose ways to

work on them. This can happen at another level. But we can ask during this

Tercentenary moment this question: Can we say that these are the core belief and

fundamental value system or apostolic goals of our Montfortian family? We need to

see if the members of these three congregations are at odds regarding their most

fundamental beliefs. But one thing is clear: the three will agree that the current

scenario of Consecrated life is in transition and a vibrant future is uncertain and

shaping it is the responsibility of only those in Leadership!

A student about to conduct a science experiment once asked his professor, “What’s

supposed to happen in this experiment?” expecting, as students do, a predetermined

answer. The wise professor replied, “What’s supposed to happen is what happens.”

My presentation will sound something like this and it is like a good account of the

future to me. This paper will have three parts: Part one will identify some criteria to

formulate the nature of the future; part two will enumerate a few challenges of the

future and the future of these challenges; and part three will try to move beyond the

challenges to help us focus our energies for ‘shaping the future’.

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Part-I. SOME CRITERIA TO FORMULATE THE NATURE OF THE FUTURE

In this part I shall identify the criteria to formulate to speak about shaping

the future. In other words, we shall try to situate the context in which we are

thinking of shaping our future or future shaping us.

1. The Efforts and Struggles:

In the last few decades, congregations have reflected on various proposals and

themes: consecrated life and renewal of life, the Emmaus journey, the preferential

option for the poor, the horizon and the process of arriving at a mystical and

prophetic life, economy at the service of the mission, new foundations in the

periphery, processes of revitalization and reinvigorating the charismatic identity, the

commitment for a just and fraternal society, passion for God and for Humanity,

greater sensibility in regard to fraternity in life and in the apostolic activity, prayerful

reading of the Word, the lay collaboration, restructuring and refoundation, nearness

to the young…. We have the impression of having wanted to change everything, and

notwithstanding, we changed very little.

All over the world the Consecrated life, particularly in the Western nations is going

through a difficult moment of transition: present structures no longer provide the

answers like the past; and new structures must be born and emerge from a new

spirit. So they need a new mould. But where to find this mould is the question. The

responses to today’s needs are weak and fragile. The Conference of Religious of Brazil

says, “Consecrated life today is suffering from an undeniable ‘evangelical anemia’

both personal and institutional…”1 I would like to pose another question here in this

context. Have we suffered from a feeling of invincibility? José M. Arnaiz in his well-

researched article says, “we are not as needed as we have believed ourselves to be,

and maybe as we still believe. Neither our founders nor our spiritualities and

missions have thought of us and projected us as unavoidable or essential, and

yet, some of us tend to think in these terms. This explains the reason for a certain

arrogance, corrupt use of power, contempt for or marginalization of the laity, the

convenience of returning to the past, and even the repentance and displeasure

for having changed so many things and renounced others during the turbulent years

from 1960 to 1980”2. The famous Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar says: “This world

possesses the greatness that one who yesterday was is not today”3. I do not deny the

fact that our birth and presence in this world has importance but what is necessary

is to be more useful than important.4 The efforts and struggles of the past prove the

energy of CL in the world.

2.The Radically Changing Context of today:

1 Carlos Palacio, SJ in Magazine of the Conference of Religious of Brazil, in Convergencia, September 2011. 2 José M. Arnaiz, The Great Challenges of Consecrated Life Today in Capitalo generale FSP, 15 Sep, 2013, p.3 3 Thirukkural. No.336

4 Churchill’s wise irony is: The problem of our times is that men do not want to be useful, but important.

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Do we recognize that the consecrated life in its present form—structures,

organization, work methods, lifestyle—does not respond adequately to the needs and

challenges of a society that is changed and is changing radically? This society that

is changed and is changing is: pluralistic, multicultural, post-modern, post-

Christian, globalized, shaped by modern information and communication

technologies, producer of new forms of poverty and exclusion and add many other

you want… In other words, the change of an era is taking place, and it presumes a

change in our understanding of many things (the human person, the relation to the

world, to God; the family, community, privacy, etc.); and it is a change leading us to

a new pattern5. The evangelical counsels in the present historical, cultural and social

context is not much understood.

Undoubtedly, these contexts influence consecrated life and provoke a critical

situation that manifest itself through various symptoms6. For some, the actual form

of consecrated life in the world is touching bottom. For others, it is suffering from

evangelical “anemia” translated as diminished passion and weak conviction leading

to frustration and disenchantment.7 Many questions are raised such as: Do we

honestly re-look at the criteria on which we base and organize our activities? Is our

preoccupation merely with making our system efficient and productive? Have we

become too accustomed to privileges, considering our call an ‘office’ or worse a

‘dignity’? These are the reflections shared in various international meetings (USG,

Assemblies of Institutes, CRI bodies etc) of Religious Institutes. They always conclude

that in the bottom line, the challenges are very similar all over the world and the

differences are not substantial ones.

3.Decline and Destabilization:

In the business world, organizational cycles are well documented. The final stage of

an organizational life cycle is Decline and Destabilization. Some have applied this life

cycle to Consecrated life too.

The original vision loses its luster and participants lose their zeal. Inspiration and innovation are in short

supply as what is predictable, controllable and manageable takes precedence over what is not. Those

who offer a new way of thinking and the possibility for growth are judged and labeled disobedient,

disloyal or crazy. The tried and true takes precedence over trial and error and the organization stops

learning, adapting and growing. The system is struggling to survive. It seeks reassurance by writing well-

polished mission statements, carving statues and naming awards to honor its past champions. While it

takes pride in past achievements and reminisces over the glory days, it is all the while calcifying and

decaying. Having lost its root energy and divorced itself from contemporary relevance, new members

are no longer attracted. New blood trickles to a halt cutting off a healthy supply of new energy, ideas

and people. Ironically a system begins to die by its own narrow focus on survival and its efforts to

forestall the inevitable. It has come to value and has been designed to maintain what it has already

accomplished. It places controls over innovation and experimentation so that adaptation to a changing

5 José M. Arnaiz, p.3 6 The symptoms are such as: decrease of those who join, increase in departures, aging of the members, weighty institutions, excessive and stressful activism of those in charge of the works, the weakening of communitarian life, fraternity and the spiritual life, frequent financial scandals/problems, cultural frictions, power fights/struggles, together with the preoccupation over an uncertain future. 7 José M., p.4

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world is prevented. Those who built and believe in the system are promoted and elected in order to keep

it going. They serve and protect the system they believe in and unwittingly collude in its demise by

preventing radical change.8

The authors say that many big congregations are in the last stage now. The Jesuits,

Franciscans Benedictines and Ursulines are few examples that successfully

refounded centuries ago when death seemed imminent for them. It is said that ‘if

your congregation is in the last stage, it is important to appreciate it as you are part

of a larger movement and in good company’. Your current situation is neither unique

to you, nor is the result of some kind of systemic flaw or improper planning. In the

view of Ted Dunn no modern day congregation can claim public victory in their

refoundation efforts.

4. Stories of Inventing the future as we speak:

Those of us here today (the present Generation) are in a time/world of increasing

disruptive changes. Computers and the Internet are the ways these tools enable

people to do things together in entirely new ways. We are in a VUCA world—one

characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity- and traditional

skills will not be enough to manage. Some Examples:

4.1. The Computers and Internet create a Digital future: A leading futurist offers

an inspiring portrayal of how new technologies are giving individuals so much power

to connect and share resources that we are entering a new era in which networks of

individuals, not big organizations, will solve a host of problems by reinventing

business, education, medicine, banking, government, and scientific research. Marina

calls it "socialstructing". The Internet is lowering transaction costs—costs of

connection, coordination, and trade—and pointing to a future that increasingly

favors distributed sources and social solutions to some of our most immediate needs

and our most intractable problems. As Silicon Valley thought-leader Marina Gorbis,

head of the Institute for the Future, portrays, a thriving new relationship-driven or

socialstructed economy emerging in which individuals are harnessing the powers of

new technologies to join together and provide an array of products and services.9

Marina shares many interesting thoughts about how social groups, corporations,

governments etc., are being reorganized by the internet and how that may change

the future.

4.2. The Art of Living: Another Futurist Johansen talks about how skillful are we at

dilemma flipping? It means turning problems that can’t be solved, into opportunities. It is

possible soon it seems. Can you develop bio-empathy—the ability to learn from and apply

the principles of nature in your behavior and leadership? Are you able to practice immersive

learning—dive into very different-from-you physical and online worlds and learn from

them? He also deals with two new forces that are shaping the future. The first is the “digital

8 Ted Dunn, “Refounding Religious Life: A Choice for Transformational Change”, in Human development, Vol.30, No.3, Fall 2009, p.2 9 Marina Gorbis, a futurist and consultant, describes a new era she calls “socialstructing,” in which individuals use technology and the collective intelligence of a large group of people, their social network, to take on jobs

previously done by big businesses and organizations.

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natives”—people fifteen years and younger who have grown up in a digital world. The

second is cloud-based supercomputing, which will enable extraordinarily rich new forms

of connection, collaboration, and commerce. “Men free as the clouds that sail high above

the earth without hindrance…” (PM) Montfort already spoke about cloud computing and I-

cloud people?’). According to Google Public Data, a child born in the US in 2008 can expect

to live over 78 years. But some futurists believe that a child born today (Aug 2016), might

actually live forever. This necessarily takes us to the futuristic medical devices and

technologies.

4.3. Future Medical Technology Breakthroughs: I would like to briefly sum up

here some of the breakthroughs and attempts at medical field to drive home the point

that our attempts to shape the Montfortian future is very demanding; we need many

more ardent prayers from our Founder! Future medical technology breakthroughs

will build from the incredible progress made in nanotechnology, biotechnology,

computers, the information learned from deciphering the human genome and other

scientific and technical areas. Here are some of the futuristic medical devices and

technologies that exist, are in development or are predicted10.

Brain-computer interface, Care giving robots, Computer aided diagnosis, Drug

delivery devices, Regenerative medicine, Emotional/physical control devices, Slowing

or stopping aging, Gene therapy/manipulation, Home/self-monitoring & diagnosis,

Minimally invasive procedures, Molecular and genetic diagnostics, Neural

Stimulation, Organ replacement/growing organs, Personalized drugs, Robotic

surgery, Bioengineered devices, Virtual medicine, Extended/eternal life, Synthetic

life, Repairing/manipulating DNA, Designer babies/designer bodies, Biostasis -

Cryogenic sleep, Human cloning, Virtual/robot medicine, Instant pain relief,

Biosensors - implanted or in clothing, Bionic implants to allow for extreme

strength, Morphing of the human body, Age reversal, Creation of organisms,

Synthetic organs, Enhanced senses, alteration of our bodies in superhuman ways,

Bionic limbs, Using genes of other animals to implant in us, Artificial immune system

and possibility of a capsule that can be swallowed which will cure all diseases.

Nanomedicine is promising great things, including great advancements in the

treatment of cancer11 Soon we will have Nanospirituality too12. They also speak of

future phones that will be more than just phones; they will be all of your mobile

devices combined into one: may be transparent, flexible, self-cleaning, and shape-

shifting and what not! It is true that we enter an era of unprecedented understanding,

10 Taken from www.futureforall.org. future of medicine 11 Nanotechnology is a broad term that covers many areas of science, research and technology. In its most basic

form, it can be described as working with things that are small. Things so tiny that they can't be seen with

standard microscopes. The same stuff that has always been there, but we just couldn't see it. Nano-technology

involves understanding matter at the "nano" scale.

12 Nanospirituality: This can refer to a spirituality as working with very small things of our life, most fundamental aspects of one’s life, things that go unnoticed and unimportant in our life forming an essential aspect of our spirituality. It could also mean a ‘pocket size spirituality’.

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development and innovation; it is important that society takes a proactive role in the

responsible development of these innovations.

4.4. The unnerving scenarios in the Universe:

When astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered nearly 100 years ago that the universe

was uniformly expanding in all directions, the finding was a big surprise. Then, in

the mid-1990s, astronomers found that the expansion rate was accelerating perhaps

due to a repulsive property called "dark energy." Now, the latest measurements of

our universe suggest that it is expanding faster than astronomers thought. The

consequences could be very significant for our understanding of the shadowy

contents of our unruly universe. It may mean that dark energy is shoving galaxies

away from each other with even greater strength.

These are based on the research of a team led by Nobel Laureate Adam Riess, who

began a quest in 2005 to measure the universe's expansion rate to unprecedented

accuracy with new, innovative observing techniques. The new measurement reduces

the rate of expansion to an uncertainty of only 2.4 percent. Astronomers are

conducting extensive observations to estimate how many planets in our Milky Way

galaxy might be potential abodes for life. These are collectively called "Earth-like" —

in other words, Earth-sized.

Until we ever find such evidence, (extraterrestrial intelligent life in the universe) earth

is the only known abode of life in the universe. But the universe is not only vastly

big, it has a vast future. There is so much leftover gas from galaxy evolution available

that the universe will keep cooking up stars and planets for a very long time to come.

In fact, most of the potentially habitable Earth-like planets have yet to be born.

"There is enough remaining material [after the big bang] to produce even more

planets in the future, in the Milky Way and beyond; the last star isn't expected to

burn out until 100 trillion years from now. That's plenty of time for literally anything

to happen on the planet landscape.13

Part - II. THE CHALLENGES OF THE FUTURE AND THE FUTURE OF THESE

CHALLENGES

1.A TIME FOR HARD CHOICES: “Some communities are in denial, some are in crisis and some are mired in chronic

pain. In the midst of aging and diminishment, some are biting the bullet and making

the hard choices. There are many ‘R’ options. Some communities are reconfiguring,

joining with other communities with a common charism. Some are restructuring

their governance as well as reorganizing, downsizing and simplifying their efforts.

Some are redoubling their efforts to recruit new vocations. Some are regressing and

13 News Release Number: STScI-2015-35 by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the prolific planet-hunting

Kepler space observatory.

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returning to ways of the past in the hopes of solidifying their identity and attracting

new members. Some are retiring and planning their legacy. And some are choosing

refounding believing that only this, the most radical of all options, can transform

their lives anew.”14 Montfortians need to do some soul-searching in this line. This is

the first challenge. Some say that “Montfort dreamt of a ‘small company of men’ from

very early on his life”! (PM).

2.Is it an Exciting time or a time of Gloom? I am of the opinion that religious life is in a great amount of change right now and that's a good thing. It can be scary but it's a good thing. It is not by just looking at the externals. The declining numbers, the shifting ministries, many religious unemployed, some over-worked, power struggles, much money, extravagance, extravagant celebration of jubilees, ordinations, birth days, school events etc.—those are simply externals. The studies done on the history of religious life show that in

every epoch it goes up, has this moment of stabilization, and then goes down. The key element is, as you're about to hit bottom, you have to look for the new life. It consistently and sometimes prophetically emerges. We all know the history of Religious life. Now what is that key? There was a time when we desperately needed schools and

hospitals in India\Asia. Religious communities provided that, and they also helped

parishes grow. Now we're in a different moment\period. I think one of the challenges

in religious life today in India\Asia is to give enough space to that kind of pondering.

That requires a contemplative attitude, a way of looking at the world that says yes,

we once had that and now we don’t have or we are just this for the past 30 or 40

years etc., but that’s not the problem. The question is, how are we called today? I

wish to ask: Do we actually find this moment an exciting time because we can't say,

"Just go on, keep going, our future is bright?” It is important for us to ask, "To what is

the Spirit inviting us and how do we, together and personally, listen and respond?".

3.Unpredictable nature of the FUTURE SOCIETY:

Society may be in for a shock. Future technologies15 will challenge long-standing

beliefs and practices. According to many futurists, a child born today might likely

see all of those things and more. That's if, of course, they survive the transition from

who we are, to who we need to be.

In her study of the social roots of school shootings, Rampage (2005), Katherine

Newman warns that “When we are at a loss to explain something, we look for the

most proximate or immediate cause” rather than seek to understand the more

complex web of causal factors involved. However, chaos theory makes clear that

complex system behavior cannot be understood by looking only at the proximate

causes of the behavior; one must understand the system. We need to apply this chaos

theory to religious life as well.

14 Ted Dunn, “Refounding Religious Life: A Choice for Transformational Change”, in Human development, Vol.30, No.3, Fall 2009, p.4 15 The technologies like invisible cameras, pervasive computers, transhumanism, the longevity drugs and companion for cash, (rentafriend.com) etc.

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4.Challenging the real challenges according to some:

Many religious have been expressing the current challenges they face. We don’t quite know what their statements mean, but they express the desire for significant change. It is the new face of consecrated life that they wish to see ; i t implies the replacement of lapsed structures, overcoming disenchantment, recognizing new meanings, returning to the Word of God and the foundational charism, responding to the signs of the times, the ability to dialogue, and the value of encounter especially with the poor and with the laity. For some, all this leads to a stronger alternative, one that goes beyond renewal, re-founding and restructuring. For others, the religious life must be reinvented, and a new model is to be found. Yet some others have other ideas16.

Part - III. MOVING BEYOND CHALLENGES AND THE DIRECTION OF ENERGIES

FOR ‘SHAPING THE FUTURE’

1.Communities at the Cross roads stand a better chance

In 1979, Lawrence Cada said this period (transition) would last 40 years in total and

David Nygren and Miriam Ukeritis said in 1992 that a ten-year window remained.

By either account, the window has closed. More hope is offered, however, by O’Murchu

who, in 1998, suggested that the period of transition for communities choosing

refounding is still another 70 years down the road.

Whose prognostications are correct remains to be seen. The changes in the vast

universe is being assessed more accurately than changing speed of the present

society. Regardless of the odds, communities at cross- roads will stand a better

chance if their choices are proactive. The road ahead is challenging and the statistics

are daunting. If history repeats itself, only 25% of all communities survive this period

to see a new cycle. Ted Dunn says that each community must decide if it will be

among the 75% that become extinct or will be among the most courageous and

innovative communities risking it all to claim a future full of hope17. The USG says,

“the end of an Institute can also be regarded as a prophetic witness, like for example

Pope Benedict XVI stepping down from the pontificate”18.

2.What we're called to, as men and women religious, is also what the world is

called to

In my view I think what we're called to, as Montfortians, is also what the world is called to. Our vows are asking us to be ever more communal, to be in solidarity and to give space and time for relationships and to engage. We need to see what the world around us is longing for and what our Montfortian community’s spirit is asking for.

16 The main opportunities which today’s world can offer to the religious life are: the inter-congregational

collaboration, the increasing involvement of lay people who are trained and properly motivated; Mission based on the new forms of poverty; Recapture the charismatic dimension of the Religious life and thus of the Church too; the increasingly multicultural aspects within certain religious Institutions etc. 17 ThirukKural 347: Sorrows will never let go their hold of those who give not up their hold of desire.

18 The Union of Superiors General in its recent General Assembly had discussed this matter, May 2016.

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Some religious say that “we believe what is happening in a society does influence

greatly the decisions people make. We can’t see religious life going backwards to a

restoration time, as some would believe and hope. The values and charisms will live

on, but in ways relevant to the new world order,” they say. We often observe that in

some countries (India?) entering religious life involves becoming richer than one’s

family of origin. Added to that, then we have rich and poor Provinces/regions/sectors

within the same congregation. There are different ways of living poverty depending

on the cultural contexts. The important issue for us Montfortians is to be cautious

in the future about: the temptation of power, which is regarded as a consequence of

the non-transparent and free use of money.

3.Where do we go beyond the “future” of religious life?

In 2004, I had conducted a study on the concerns of Religious Life in South India. A

large number of the religious interviewed were of the view that religious life will

survive into the future as people continue to search for ways to seek God and help

their neighbour. However, what it will look like is uncertain, said many of them. I

believe that there is a future for religious life,” said one. What it will look like I am

not at all sure. Religious life has had many phases and re-births over the centuries,”

said the other.

A Religious who works with young people, said they often find the teachings of the

Church unintelligible and that to many, “religious life has lost its cultural logic. It

doesn’t fit, it doesn’t make sense as part of the tapestry of their life”. He also said,

“but I believe it’s not over, because there will always be this desire of some young

people to give themselves to this call to radical commitment with Jesus”.

4. Charismatic Families as the expression of revival of Consecrated life

The real encounter with the laity in the life and mission, in action and

spirituality, will be transformed into a journey and a process of rejuvenation for

the consecrated life and for the Church. The missionary and charismatic

integration of laity with religious is a gift of the Spirit for the whole Church. Montfort

requests God to muster the chosen men/women from every corner of the earth

(PM.no.26). Montfort envisages people of all races, languages, castes, colour and

nationalities from everywhere to come together. Certainly this challenge requires

different steps: collaboration, participation and belonging— steps that clarify the

degree of sharing. All are possible. Of course, what we share is a charism in its

twofold dimension: mission and life/spirituality. According to me, on this

integration depend the genuine renewal and revitalization of the laity and of the

Montfortian consecrated life itself.

5. Prophecy of Fraternity:

The recently held USG Assembly has strongly spoken about this aspect. The

prophecy of consecrated life must be manifested in community life. We have to shift

from an individual to a community prophecy. Communion in the community renders

the prophecy of fraternity visible; the group more than the individual is prophetic in

religious life. The prophecy of fraternity must be more visible in the Montfortian

family which is living in an intercultural experience. The time is coming when the

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communities in Montfortian family has to open its doors to the lay people, families,

young people, and other religions… The USG is cautioning us, that, the concern with

the number and size of our works, the display of strength, power and efficiency and

becoming pathologically attached to spaces, institutions, formal lifestyles are all

counter-witnesses and they thwart prophecy.19 It says that Consecrated life must

strengthen community life, to which new generations are very sensitive. It must

accommodate the cultural and spiritual diversity of its members, knowing that living

community is already mission20. The nature of the community of the future is

that it must transmit to others the appeal of living together, united in diversity,

creating heartfelt and humanizing spaces that are open and joyful for each person

and for others. To reach this, it must move: from a life in common to a community

of life rich in personal relationships, welcome, dialogue, discernment, responsible

freedom, concern for the other and for what is diverse. A truly fraternal community

is one of the most eagerly awaited signs from our Asian/Indian culture. How can we

form young religious to the community life, without taking on the style of diocesan

presbyters? We need to challenge the individualism of Montfortians in other parts of

the world.

6. “Courageous Followers”: Leaders and Members as Partners in A Shared

Vision

This is another significant area the ‘future shaping’ has to take in to account. It is

believed that if a new vision for a congregation is going to be prophetic, it will require

the full efforts of both leaders and members as partners. Ira Chaleff, in his book

“Courageous Followers”21 offers a helpful, reframed image of leaders and members

as partners orbiting around a shared vision. In other words, instead of thinking of

leaders as creating a vision and then leading the way while members follow along,

think of leaders and members as partners in the enterprise of visioning. In this way

they both orbit around the vision, enabling, facilitating and empowering each other

on behalf of the vision. To the degree you strengthen the partnership between leaders

and members, you will strengthen whatever prophetic vision you claim during your

refounding efforts.

According to Chaleff, many blunders could have been prevented or mitigated if those

lower in the hierarchy were successful at communicating to leaders the risks they

saw in the system. Ira Chaleff’s Courageous Follower model has facilitated healthy

upward information flow in organizations. One chapter on, “The Courage to Speak to

the Hierarchy” is very interesting. Everyone is a follower at least some of the time.

Chaleff strips away the passive connotations of that role and provides tools to help

followers effectively partner with leaders. He provides rich guidance to leaders and

boards on fostering a climate that encourages courageous followership. ‘Religious life

19 USG, Group discussions on Prophecy of the Consecrated Life, May 2016, Rome 20 A study of the NRVC survey report, US is helpful. See NRVC, Feb 2013. Religious institutes are more likely to

attract newer members if they have a strong Catholic identity, if they are hopeful about their future, if their members live together in community, and if they have a structured prayer life. (70%). 21 Ira Chaleff, The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and For Our Leaders – 3rd ed. Berrett-Koehler, 2009. He also has authored a book titled “The Art of Followership”.

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was once identified with prophecy; today it must be attained through witness’.

Montfort presumed that some souls dear to God are bestowed with a vision of the

future renewal (PM.5). We have to see who are those ‘souls dear’?

7. To Choose Life Montfortians Must Let go of What no Longer Gives Life

The Montfortian family has to identify the realities they can no longer escape. If

we begin to l ist them now: let us say for example, the diminishing numbers,

advancing age, and maintenance responsibilities that casts a larger shadow over

mission, the funerals outnumbering new vocations (in some sectors), the shrinking

pool of available and able members for leadership, more building space and property

than wha t is utilizable or justifiable, the brokenness of our communities, the

cultural and personal tensions that cries out for relief, the frustration of the good

intentioned and the joy of the easy going ones, the irrelevance of certain presence

and the inevitability of certain absence etc.

In this process what must spur Montfortians on is their faith in the great mystery of

life, death and resurrection. We all of us, particularly those of us who wish to be

relevant, know deep down inside of us that in order to begin again, we must let go

and let die what needs to die. We must surrender in faith and thus in order to choose

life we must let go of what no longer gives life. It is left to us the members of the

Montfortian family to identify them and deal with them.

Based on the study of the history of many congregations, it is discovered that despite

having recognized the signs of diminishment and destabilization and having made the

choice for renewal and repair, most communities do not succeed. While they may

wax eloquent about a new vision, most will simply not do any serious and hard work

of deep change required to put their words into action. Instead, they will whittle away

at the words that once inspired. They will do only ornamental changes. “They will

wordsmith, argue over how and who, and lose sight of the why. They will resist the

very change they say is essential with as much vigor as is their will to change. They

will choose incremental over deep change and they will die a slow death”.22 Dr. A.P.J.

Abdul Kalam’s advice is useful here: “You Cannot Change your Future. But you Can

Change your Habits. And Surely Your Habits Will Change Your Future”. We need to

identify what are the habits to be changed!

8. Reach Across Boundaries and Borders:

What gives us Montfortians a sense of being larger/ complete than our being Indian

or Thai or Pilipino or French? It is our international character that gives us

completeness, wholeness, longevity and strength in the Church/world today. Indeed,

as part of a “worldwide religious life movement”, our religious communities and the

three congregations can reach across boundaries and borders to support

“compassionate and just institutions” and reorganize others. It is also a

responsibility on the part of those sectors that have begun to experience increasing

numbers to train and convince its members to move out of their countries and

Provinces (even within the same country) towards those sectors that can guarantee the

future and survival of Montfortian charism and dynamism.

22 Ted Dunn, p.11

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It also involves setting up religious life in frontier areas, as an expression of its mystical aspect, (What about Montfortian contemplative unit?) and its prophecy. It involves making one’s own the boldness of the Founders, the evangelical response where life calls, the commitment to migrants/refugees, the trafficking of persons, the environment, the poor, the elderly, the indigenous people, and the woman; a response to integral and sustainable human development, and a systemic change that can humanize and unite. The structures can be a stupendous mediation for the mission. The apostolate structures must be connected with the motivations that gave them their origin and they must not be heavy; they must let the charism shine through.

9. The Great Insight of Encounter or Inter-Counter:

Though this is already happening among many institutes, it is picking up now

leading to building bridges and social and spiritual ties. Inter-congregationality is

gaining strength, thus integrating the religious forces to achieve larger goals. We can

sum up thus: inter-culturality, inter-congregationality and inter-vocationality or

partnership with the laity. The first is being well rooted in one’s culture, uphold

essential openness to the enrichment that comes from interaction with other

cultures23; inter-congregational is although being well rooted in the specific charism

of one’s congregation, uphold essential openness to the enrichment that comes from

collaboration with other congregations; then inter-vocationality is although being

well rooted in our specific vocation as religious, uphold essential openness to the

enrichment that comes from contact with other vocations in the Church, especially

with the laity.24 It is relevant to say here that Montfort prayed for disciples who are

gathered from every nation and from cross-cultural groups (PM.18).

10. Formation: Initial formation is crucial. It must contain genuine spiritual

experience. Contact with the poor must become a key element of formation, both

initial and ongoing. Formation must not be exceedingly academic. It must cultivate

human capacities for the mission. We must first of all work on the human dimension

of every religious especially these days when many enter consecrated life “wounded

by modern day life” (USG Assembly).

The task before the senior Montfortians (ongoing formation) is to evaluate everything

we do, not from the perspective of what can be reduced or removed, but from the

perspective of what the Montfortian family must do. We must shape our activities to

support our priorities, guided by boldness and discernment and our existing

strategic commitments. The secret is to hold constant to our core values and identity;

base priorities on anticipated societal and ecclesial needs, focus on significant issues,

build upon Montfortian lived experience and reputation as an international

congregation/s. In general, we will have to reaffirm the priority of our mission; focus

on issues with the most potential for addressing existing and long-term

circumstances. The difficulty for us is clearly seeing what should be kept and what

should be relinquished in order to preserve the whole. This is the task the

Montfortian charism/s is called to carry out together.

23 Cfr. Paul Raj sg., Culture Over Christ: A Crippling Challenge in Indian Religious Life, ATC, Bangalore, 2014 24 José M. Arnaiz, “The Great Challenges of Consecrated Life Today”, p.13

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CONCLUSION:

As I conclude my attempt to shaping a Montfortian future, we can describe it in many

words. Anyway, whatever vocabulary is valid for the future, it is certain that all the

Montfortians may not look at it from the same perspective; but the unfolding

events make us perceive that we are living collectively (individually?) through

a very dark night. Montfort believed that the congregation/s are Lord’s own doing

and it is the work of the Lord (PM)!

It is not easy to talk about the shape of the future. As the poet Paul Valery puts it:

“the difficulty of reconstructing the past, even the recent past, is altogether

comparable to that of constructing the future, even the near future; or rather, they

are the same difficulty. The prophet is in the same boat as the historian”25. All the

same one has to do so with firm faith and hope, and continue to rebuild. The present

cannot be neglected. At the time of Tercentenary we must forge a present that has a

future.

The words of the Sufi poet Rumi (13th century) sheds light on this: “The past and

the future hide God from our sight; burn them with fire.” What reveals the future

is the living present. When we embrace the present, the past and the future are

included. Can the Montfortians stand behind and watch? As someone said,

Montfortians must leave the balcony and enter the procession, walking well within

the everyday reality of the people. Jesus’ example is clear!

In a paper in 1972 mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz termed

something as the butterfly effect, saying that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in one

location could potentially affect the weather patterns in other locations. If that is the

case with one butterfly, 150 Montfortians congregating in one place and thinking

seriously of shaping their future could certainly generate some butterfly effects on

their life and mission in the years to come.!

Brother Paul Raj Rome

Bibliography: Arbuckle, G. A. Out of Chaos: Refounding Religious Congregations. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1988. Chaleff, Ira. The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders. San Francisco: Barrett Koehler Publishers, 2003 (3rd ed.).

Chittister, J. D. Remembering the Vision: Embracing the Dream. LCWR Assembly Keynote Address. Atlanta, Georgia, 2006 Couturier, D. Religious Life at a Crossroads. Origins: CNS Documentary Service, (36) 12, August 2006

25 Crisis of the Mind, First Letter, 1919

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David Bornstein, How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, Penguin Books, New Delhi, 2005. James Tooley, The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey into How the World’s Poorest People Are Educating themselves, Penguin & Viking, New Delhi, 2009. José M.Arnaiz, The Great Challenges of Consecrated Life Today. Ken Robinson, Creative Schools, Penguin Books, New Delhi, 2016. Love is Giving Everything, Testimonies by the Consecrated, International Edition,

Switzerland, 2015.

Malay & Arindam Chaudhuri, The Great Indian Dream: Restoring Pride to a Nation Betrayed, Macmillan, 2003. Marina Gorbis, The Nature of the Future: Dispatches from the Socialstructed World,

Free Press, 2013 Nygren, D. and M. Ukeritis. Religious Life Futures Project. Chicago: DePaul University, 1992 Paul Raj, Culture Over Christ: A Crippling Challenge in Indian Religious Life, ATC, Bangalore,2014 Peter Saltzstein’s Essays on “Philosophical Science, Chaos & An Unpredictable Tomorrow”, 2016 St. Montfort’s Prayer for Missionaries. Ted Dunn, Refounding Religious Life: A Choice for Transformational Change in Human development, Vol.30,2009. Thomas Friedman, Hot, Flat, and Crowed: Why the World needs a Green Revolution and how we can renew our Global Future, Penguin Books,2008 USG Assembly Papers, Rome, 2016