Sr. Violaine Paradis, CND recently attended the Convocation of the National Religious Vocation Conference. Below are her reflections on the experience of Convocation, and the themes that were presented. Sr. Violaine has shared this reflection with Vocations Canada, and was gracious enough to allow it to be shared with Around the Well.
I had the privilege to participate for the first time at the biannual National Religious Vocation Conference Convocation in Minneapolis from October 31st to November 3rd. Truly, walking humbly together is “hard work” as Sr. Patricia Chappell, SNDdN, said in her talk on the last day of the Convocation.
During those 4 days, we’ve been challenged to discern how to truly walk humbly together and how to understand religious life today from a different perspective. In this article, I wish to highlight some of my takeaways for each of the days.
On October 31st, I participated in a panel presentation: “God’s Call is Everywhere.” This presentation, was based on the book with the same title, written by Gemma Simmonds, CJ, Patricia Wittberg, SC and Mary L. Gauthier. The book is “the first comparative analysis of research in six countries investigating women who have entered vowed religious life in Catholicism in the twenty-first century”. According to the authors, what is clear is that young women are attracted to religious life. They are responding to a call from God and desiring a life that fosters spiritual growth. The research showed that the spirituality of a community attracts them to a particular institute. They showed a preference for being with members of different ages and of different cultures. In addition, the findings showed that young women were attracted to institutes that had a strong sense of communal prayer, were excellent in promoting vocations, were welcoming, and able to support members. To note, however, is that they identified an area of growth that needed some work, and this was around the preparation of members for ministry.
The following are key learnings of the study. Young religious women are looking for prayer life as well as authentic community life that embraces the signs of the times. In other words, we are invited to reflect on the identity of who we are as we welcome new members. Father Luis Fernando Falcó, MSpS, Ph D, from Cruces Project (Cross Ways), who is based in Mexico, shared with us that consecrated life differs from the cultural mainstream. He asked us to consider the following: to what extent, and in what sense are we different?
It appears that religious life is increasingly perceived as socially distant. We are unknown and not understood. He gathered from the study that religious congregations, especially in Mexico, are reluctant to go towards a proactive adaptation movement, although it is necessary! The congregations should adapt to the times. There is a growing gap among congregations and young women. He wonders why adaptation efforts have not been considered. The ways of life in congregations makes it challenging for young women to be attracted to religious life. Consumed by the mission of the congregation, the rigorous schedules and routine often do not allow for enough time to eat, rest, or visit friends and family members. Congregations need to be proactive in adapting to the current needs of new members, and to healthy rhythms of life that honour prayer, ministry, community needs, family, and Sabbath time. This is important for young women to maintain a healthy life.
On Friday, November 1st, Dr. Ann M, Garrido, D.Min., presented on the topic of “How to walk humbly in Tough Conversations”. She offered insightful strategies on how we can communicate better with one another. She helped us to realize that the way we engage in difficult conversations can often result in the severance of the relationship. Through an experiential process, she helped us to see how there are gaps in those conversations between what we are saying to the other person (our external voice), and what is going on inside our head (our internal voice). For instance, when we are in conversation with another, often there are four voices in action! Most of the time, the feelings are mixed with the facts. As a result, we are not talking about what really needs to be talked about. As a result, my “database” on the situation may not be the same “database” as the other person.
To discover more of Dr. Ann Garrido’s work, visit https://www.anngarrido.com.
On Saturday, November 2nd, we were invited by Brother Christopher A. Patiño, F.S.C., to be “Leaven of Hope”. His talk was about “envisaging and Engendering an Open World”. He gave us the perspective of the worldwide view of religious life in the Catholic Church. Without a doubt, the number of people interested in religious life has diminished in most parts of the world (except for some countries in Asia and Africa). However, Br. Christopher invited us to see religious life as a leaven of hope. He remarked that “the smallest leaven in the dough is needed and can make a difference… the small can be beautiful, the less can be more!”
To help us to deepen this reality, he invited us to reflect on how our congregations experienced life-giving leavening. How do we share this leaven of hope with discerners who are interested in religious life and with those we accompany? We had an opportunity to reflect on these questions in small groups, and together we identified the presence of associates in our communities as leaven of hope. Some communities are looking at establishing an international novitiate which can be life-giving hope for new members.
In a conversation during the presentation, I was in a group with other young religious sisters. We shared that we must have the willingness to risk and live the present moment without having the need to worry about the future. There was a desire expressed to become more inclusive in our communities. It was noted that discerners seek a prayerful life and a focus on the mission. There was also an appreciation for clear structures where there are opportunities to reach out to the poor, while living intentionally, courageously, and authentically. They are invited to ask the question: “What kind of yeast are we? Are we making the kind of bread we cannot eat?” Young people look for belonging, trusting relationship, care before expertise, and truth.
For our final keynote on Sunday, November 3, Sister Patricia Chappell, SNDdeN addressed the theme “Walking Humbly Together Through Foundational Transformative Values.” She began her presentation with a challenging question: “Why do we do the things we do?”
She invited us to recognize our wounds and the need to face the truth: that the industrial revolution was built on slavery and torture. This was the beginning of human trafficking. There was a flagrant misuse of power, and it is still influencing our society today. She pointed out the sin of racism, which manifests itself in “personal racial prejudice mixed with misuse of power by systems and institutions”.
Sr. Patricia shared with us some examples of the misuse of power that have encouraged damaging values. There is little to no room for diverse ideas where much is based on fear and results in polarization. This gives rise to actions that keep groups in silos, where individualism and “either/or” thinking are fostered while encouraging secrecy, control in power, and triangulations.
She sadly pointed out that religious life has absorbed the values of the dominant culture. For example, Sr. Patricia invited us to be careful using “buzzwords” like multigenerational living and interculturalism. In addition, words we use, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion demand a deeper sense of acceptance, and not simply tolerance of each other.
Diversity can broaden our perspectives but is missing when it does not include ongoing, consistent, and authentic cross-racial perspectives. She highlighted the need for real acceptance and not just tolerance. In one example, she spoke about a sister from a different culture, who was asked to “add” something from her country to a prayer service that was already planned, without including her in the process of creating the prayer service. Including her and her diverse perspective felt like an afterthought instead of an experience of co-creating the prayer service together. Equity requires us to ask: Who determines it? When is something fair or just? Who decides? With inclusion, particularly in intergenerational living, do we really let the newer members express themselves? Often in intergenerational living, without really meaning to, conversations tend to focus on the past. How can we engage together with new members about the emerging future?
Sr. Patricia also highlighted the need to rediscover a resource in our Catholic Tradition and incorporate it in our promotional materials from the unique perspective of our congregation’s charism and direction. The Catholic Social Teachings of the Church, first introduced by Pope Leo XIII, became foundational in the promotion of the rights of labourers and of all people. How revolutionary would it be if, as religious communities, we would coordinate our efforts along the lines of the Catholic social teaching and commit ourselves with those that are marginalized and oppressed? As women and men of the church, we are compelled to work with those that are marginalized and oppressed. This calls us to be in solidarity with one another where the common good should be at the forefront.
Sr. Patricia added that there are four foundational values that would enable us to “walk humbly together” and put flesh to the social teachings of the Church. These transformational values are often in conflict with the traditional, Eurocentric (or ethnocentric) values, and cultivate a terrain of anti-racism. These values are:
- The value of both/and thinking with a bias towards actions, and not either/or. This calls us to find solutions that move us, and do not paralyze us.
- The value of having an abundant world view that promotes the use of resources equitably and responsibly on behalf of the common good.
- The value of transparent communication and decision making that guards personal integrity. We need to pay attention to which voices are not included. Often, inclusive processing takes a long time, and when well done. it promotes the empowerment of leadership of all.
- The value of collaboration and cooperation bound by a collective perspective that nurtures individual creativity and accountability. For example, how can we collectively commit to the analysis of antiracism?
Through the lenses of these transformational values, there is hope, joy, and a sense of belief in the future of religious life. “If we want to create an institute in those lines, new ways of thinking must happen, new ways of acting must happen too! It is hard work!” said Sr. Patricia. Are we ready for this deeper inner soul work, to step boldly out of our comfort zone, and have the courage and risk-taking ambitions of our founders who stepped out in their day?
Sr. Patricia invited us to reflect personally and communally on the following questions, which I also encourage us to reflect on:
- What system(s) of oppression have you observed/experienced within your religious institute?
- Does navigating the dominant culture of your institute come easy for you, or is it difficult?
- What would it take for your institute to create environments where the transformational values proposed by Sr. Patricia would take root and flourish?
As I end this reflection, I am aware that there is much more to share and personally integrate. The good news is that I don’t have to engage in it alone. Walking humbly together will give us direction while navigating the hopeful directions learned at the NRVC Convocation. It is hard work, but it is also evoking joy and an opportunity for life-filled encounters with one another.
For me personally, I was happy to reconnect with some sisters I’ve met through Giving Voice! This experience helped me to deepen my reflections on what it means to be in religious life today. It created the space for us to name and share what our hopes are. We were able to dream of concrete ways to honour our hopes and desires in the building of the Kingdom of God. I am so grateful! I thank NRVC and the Congregation of Notre-Dame who invited me to participate.
Sr. Violaine Paradis, CND with the precious help of Sr. Maco Cassetta, CND and Sr. Erin McDonald, CSJ, for editions.
