Catechesis 1 - RUE DU BAC: A MESSAGE OF LOVE
A study and reflection guide on the conference “Rue du Bac: a message of love” of Fr. Benjamin Romo, CM. (August 8, 2000) page 45, Opening the door of the third millennium.
OBJECTIVES:
To
discover the fullness of the message of Rue du Bac.
To focus
our project as an Association on the contents of the message.
To take on the challenges posed to us by society.
1. THE MESSAGE OF CATHERINE LABOURE: A DYNAMIC FORCE FOR LIVING
Mary took the time to have a meaningful conversation with Catherine Laboure, a simple, uneducated country girl. There was not only the joy of the meeting, but also the very sharing of her whole life, as well as a calling to a precise mission.
“... Catherine heard someone calling her by name...”
Read the
first part of the conference: pages 45-50.
What
stands out? Write down 5 questions that the text suggests to you.
From an
evangelical point of view, how is Catherine Laboure portrayed as bearer of
the message of the Virgin?
How should we, members of JMV, look at this meeting of the Virgin with St. Catherine?
These
two apparitions of the Virgin to Catherine show Mary’s desire to be part of
our lives, inviting us to go to her. The symbolic function is receptive;
there is genuine communication. Catherine has established contact with Mary.
Catherine is a realistic and effective peasant woman: she does not confuse
the visions in her patient and informed activity. She writes about the
apparitions with consistency and modesty, never putting herself as the centre of
attention.
Today,
Mary continues to call us. As members of JMV, she invites us to follow the
same route as that of Catherine so that we put into action the words of Jesus:
“Go
find my brethren and tell them...” (Jn. 20:17)
This experience introduces us to a four-stage process, in which we are called to:
SEARCH
To take the trouble to come out of oneself, to give up one’s way of looking at things and situations so as to meet the other just as he/she is.
Mt. 9:9
Mk. 1:1-3
Mt. 5:14,
16
Jn. 21:1,
4, 7
When
we reflect on our lives, do we know how to recognize the appeals God makes to
us? By whom? In what way?
WELCOME
To
open oneself to a life of greater intensity which gives rise to a richer quality
of life. Dare to encounter Jesus, to make Christ the Centre of our lives.
Mk. 10:50
Lk. 24:32
Jn. 20:19-20
Can it be said the JMV is an Association that prays?
To communicate and share with others so that together we appreciate and discover the extraordinary quality of life. Mary led Catherine on the way of the mission. Mary revealed to Catherine that God trusted her and that He placed in her hands a precise mission to realize his Plan of Love. This mission would not be accomplished without suffering: it is not possible to make place for love without encountering the experience of suffering.
Lk. 10:3-6
Mk. 16:15-20
Lk. 2:19, 51
Catherine’s faithfulness to her mission inspires us to also be faithful to the message of Mary at this moment in time. Do we dare to seek something new, something creative, yet remaining faithful to our origins?
To
commit oneself to serve, to be in touch with the life of God is to be in touch
with the lives of others, to listen to their appeals, to work with them to find
answers and to discover the face of God in their features.
“God, who favours the simple and the poor, honoured his Mother with the title Miraculous....”
Invited
to OPT FOR THE POOR, which means OPTING FOR THE GOD OF THE KINGDOM
PROCLAIMED BY JESUS OF NAZARETH, is a demand of the New Evangelization.
In order to perceive the meaning and the contents of this option for the poor,
we need to place it in the dimension of Faith.
An
experience of faith or of God can be lived out in different manners but all of
them give us:
An
assurance that God is there
A burning
desire to be perfect and to live closer to God
The
strength to fight for the Gospel
A longing
to pray and serve the poor.
What
do you think of these affirmations? Do you perceive them in St.
Catherine? In the message of the Virgin? In what attitudes and
experiences? Does it coincide with your way of living?
2.
MARY QUESTIONS US TODAY
The conference presents to us some Challenges (pages 53-55):
Which
challenges do you think are the most important?
What are the ways we must go in order to be renewed? (Specify some.)
How can I motivate my own spiritual life and that of my group?
How do I reach out to the poorest of the poor? Am I able to talk to other young people about Jesus Christ? How do I go about it?
How can I
discover and manifest to others Mary as portrayed in the Gospels?
We
discover a STRONG INVITATION to:
LOVE THE WORLD
ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE FILLED WITH LOVE
LIVE OUT THE GOOD NEWS AS MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH
2.1
TO LOVE THE WORLD
To
discover the presence of Jesus and live as responsible men and women, capable of
taking the risk for love in order to build a new world. In all the events
of life, Mary never stopped loving and believing in the power of Love.
“The
Virgin’s Message was given to a world and a humanity agonizingly and wearily
in search of its way, thrilled with its material development, tempted by pride
and rationalism and marked by egoism and hatred...” Are not these also the
realities we see in our world today?
What are
the ways we propose?
How do we
commit to our world of today? Organizations, charitable and service
projects, institutions, apostolate…?
2.2.
ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE FILLED WITH LOVE
...opening our hearts to God. Like Mary let us believe that our Lord saves us. Let us learn from her to be servants of the Word. The Word of God is essential for us members of the Vincentian Family. Mary teaches us that we must first let the Word speak to us so that LOVE will fill our lives.
Are
we capable of letting the Word of God be the driving force of our lives when we
hear the cries of the poor, when we hear them in the Church?
Through
Mary God reminds us that we have a mission to fulfil in the future of the world.
The conference tells us of the need to regain the social dimension in the
apostolate of the Association. In other words, we are invited to take on
the challenge of going back to our origins and there discover that dimension
which encompasses material service and advancement of the poor…
THE
CHURCH TELLS US…
“…
be apostles both in the family communities and in the parishes and dioceses,
which themselves express the community nature of the apostolate, as well as in
the informal groups…” (Decree “Apostolicam actuositatem” no. 18)
“There
is a source of great joy for the Church in the fact that there is a daily
increase in the number of lay persons who offer their personal service to
apostolic associations and activities, either within the limits of their own
nation or in the international field or especially in Catholic mission
communities and in regions where the Church has only recently been implanted.”
(Decree “Apostolicam actuositatem” no. 22)
The
pastoral agent of today in this new phase of evangelization should be a person
who:
Takes on, lives out and commits to the Gospel joyfully and freely.
Is a Church person
Knows and makes as his/her own the problems of the people
Is open and knows how to listen to others and allows him/herself to be evangelised by them
Does not seek neither power nor privileges but rather lives in an attitude of service
Is free and decisive
Is deeply rooted in Christ
Do
you agree with the above? What qualities would you add to it? Do you
find in St. Catherine and in the Virgin’s Message of Love these
characteristics?
....
going to other young persons through young persons
“Young persons should become the first to carry on the apostolate directly to other young persons, concentrating their apostolic efforts within their own circle, according to the needs of the social environment in which they live." (Decree “Apostolicam actuositatem” no.12)
Do we
propose our JMV groups to our friends as a new experience for them?
The
conference talks to us about reaching out to young persons. Can you
specify a group or community project?
What means or instruments could we use in order to spread our joy of belonging to this Association?
Read the conclusion: “Discover the message of love and discover the mission that she entrusts to you.”. What is our mission? Specify a commitment the group is willing to take on.