P. Fernando Millán Romeral, O.Carm., General Prior
(The following text was prepared by P. Fernando two months after his election as General Prior of the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. He has translated it into several languages and usually addresses the participants of individual provincial chapters in this manner. This was also true at the end of his visitation to the delegation in the Czech Republic. We are happy to share his words of encouragement with the readers of the Carmel magazine. It was translated from the Italian by P. Gorazd.)
I am very glad to be with you at your meeting. Each chapter is an intense moment in the life of the province or provincial commissariat. It is a time of reflection, decision-making, brotherly fellowship, and prayer. When we Carmelitans gather at a chapter, we cannot limit ourselves to “meeting,” to “elections,” or to organizational and bureaucratic considerations. A chapter requires spiritual preparation, a special attitude of openness, listening, acceptance, and generosity. Our Rule, the celebration of the eighth centenary of which we have just concluded, imposes upon us in article 15 that we gather, if possible on Sunday, the day of the Lord, which means at the time of grace, to speak about our common life, with all that pertains to it:
On Sundays or on other days as necessary, discuss the matters of the salvation of souls and the observance of all that pertains to your state of life; let the brothers who have been noted for some transgression or offense be admonished with impartial love.
At this first meeting after the General Chapter held in 2007, we must naturally also discuss what was entrusted to us by the General Chapter. The theme of the chapter – A Praying and Prophetic Community in a Changing World – lists some fundamental points of our life: we live in community and we are a community. Our communities are characterized by being communities that pray, which means (they are characterized by) living in the presence of the Lord and reflecting on this presence in the events of everyday life. Such a contemplative attitude makes us prophetic communities, bearing witness to different values, to a different way of life, and to a different lifestyle (than those common around us). It makes us communities that ask questions and seek answers. All of this we live in this world, in our society, in our history... in a world that is changing at a dizzying pace, which presents ever new challenges to the Order and the Church.
In reflecting on this theme, we have been accompanied and assisted by experts of various backgrounds and focuses. In my closing speech to the participants of the chapter, I explicitly stressed that we must open ourselves to the future with hope and joy, even though we are aware of our limitations and problems – there are many, and they are not simple – which we encounter in our Carmelite life in various ways. And I encouraged you to consider this historic moment (for the Order, for the Church, and for society) as a kairos, as an opportunity (for acceptance) of grace and for meeting the Lord of history:
The transformation that seems to characterize our world thus becomes something ambiguous, if not outright plurivocal: a challenging task, but also an opportunity for purification, discernment, and renewal; ultimately (it is) a kairos for the Order and for the Church.
In the context of this provincial chapter and at the beginning of a new six-year period (of the life of the province), I would like to propose four concepts for your reflection. I hope and wish that this will not be a mere “routine reflection” that the General Prior must make at the beginning of a chapter. Rather, it should be a message, bringing encouragement and hope, directed at each one of you individually and to the province as a whole.
1) Hope
Frequently, at meetings of religious, who are undoubtedly men and women of hope, we hear defeatist, alarmist, or outright apocalyptic news. When we listen to them, it seems that the province, the Order, the Church, or the world is headed towards inevitable demise. John XXIII spoke of “prophets proclaiming disaster” (profeti di calamitá) and Pope Benedict XVI has just published his second encyclical titled Spe salvi, in which he skillfully encourages living in hope, rooted in Christ. Only in this hope, which is akin to the very essence of faith, can we be saved. This brings us a comforting message today: only if we live in hope will we truly be saved!
This could be the central message of our General Chapter held in 2007, during which we certainly experienced a wonderful atmosphere of community, joy, and hope: we can be small communities in which the Gospel reigns, and thus hope, joy, commitment, and holiness; communities that are truly attractive and often become leaven and seed for the Kingdom of God. It doesn't involve creating small ghettos or seeking some kind of spiritual elitism, which the Church has always rejected, but rather seeking an authentic way of life that, even in our weakness, limitations, and human misery allows us to pursue the calling that the Lord has made to each of us one day.
Such communities can truly become attractive focal points for (new) vocations. Not for the increase of statistics or numbers (of people), not for maintaining activities and convents, which are certainly important, but as a living and real witness that Christian life, religious life, and in our particularity Carmelite life can be lived in simplicity and joy.
In October 2007, I participated in Rome – this was my first official act as General Prior – in the beatification of the martyrs from the Catalan province. Sixteen Carmelites and one enclosed sister from the convent in Vic gave their lives to witness their faith in Christ. And other processes of beatification of groups of Spanish Carmelites who laid down their lives under similar circumstances are ongoing. Many Carmelites sacrificed their lives throughout the 20th century. How can we not recall the excellent figure of Blessed Tito Brandsma, who remained faithful to his convictions until the end and was filled with hope even in the most difficult moments in prison? Or how can we not recall Blessed Hilarion Januszewski, a true martyr of love for his neighbor in the hell of the Dachau concentration camp, or Blessed Isidore Bakanju, who died because he refused to take off his scapular and rosary? All of them represent remarkable examples not only of faith and love for one’s neighbor but also of hope, for through their death they showed even to their tormentors the supreme value of life and human existence, which does not end within the limited framework of the immediate moment, “usefulness,” selfishness, or personal pleasure, but transcends all of this and reaches far beyond. Their death shows us the infinite and transcendent value of our life and existence.
May they help us from heaven to grow in our vocation and live it generously and fervently.
