Presentation of the European Committee
Word
from Louis JOLY, MSC Lay.
Health problems unfortunately prevent me from
being amongst you…I am sorry.
I am, however, delighted to be “in communion”
with you, in the Holy Spirit… I thank God for reuniting you all in the Sacred
Heart of Jesus, sharing our one and only motto “May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere!”
You are all representatives of the Laity of
the large Jules Chevalier Family…27 countries! And we think of all those who,
for one reason or another, could not attend this important event….
It is indeed with great hope and expectation
that I entrust this meeting to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart…. I ask her to lead
us to the very heart of Her Son, Source of our mission.
The European Lay Committee asked me to tell
you how it all began on the continental level, the way we organised our
meetings and the financial consequences.
First of all, it is important to fit this
presentation in the right frame…and to go back to the intuition of Father Jules
Chevalier for the MSC Laity…because every structure has to remain at the
service of the Life and the Spirit.
INTUITION
OF FATHER JULES CHEVALIER.
1) –Father Jules CHEVALIER,
expressed his mission in the following concrete terms: « Regenerate the Christian
society ». He wanted people to live the Gospel and to take the Gospel
seriously! For him, this was the only way to change civil society! For him, the
Religious MSC Society was not the ultimate aim, but in fact a means to continue
Jesus’ mission and to fight evil!
2) It was Father Jules Chevalier’s
belief that the religious MSC Society would not be able to accomplish its
mission without the active cooperation between the professed and a group of
Lay! According to Chevalier, with the help of these two groups, Society would be able to attain its goal!
3/ It was
also Father Jules Chevalier’s conviction that devotion to the Sacred Heart was
a reaction against evil! For him, this was an effective way to live Gospel! “A way to live according to the Heart – a way of living”.
A traditional Religious Congregation
would not suffice as a missionary force! That is why he kept on talking about
his vision on the three branches. That is what he wrote down:
“The
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have to be true Religious, to be at the image
of the ONE whose Reign they want to spread! At the
same time, they have to stay in touch with clergy so that they can spread the
Sacred Heart’s divinity! In order to reach all layers of society, we need a
third order of laity…to enter the life of those that are not reached by a
priest!
THE INTUITION OF FATHER JULES CHEVALIER IS A “LIFE’S WORK”.
From the Word coming out
of the Father’s Heart, the world erose. And “From the heart of the word becoming flesh, crucified on
These words of Jules Chevalier,
which form the core of our MSC spirituality, fit into the vision of
The water and tree of life. The
conclusion.
22:1. And he shewed me a
river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and
of the Lamb.
22:2. In the midst of the street thereof, and on both
sides of the river, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its
fruits every month: the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations.
All missionary parts of the
Chevalier Family: Congregations, provinces, Communities, Communions,
Fraternities, Parishes etc. inserted in our lives, are trees planted on the river side…
The river side,
that is Church! Born out of the wound of Christ’s Heart…Church feeds us,
is the foundation and makes us grow…
The tree’s branches,
that is the spirituality of Father Chevalier. A spirituality that invites
us to find Prayer, contemplation in Church…
“Our spirituality is a missionary
and apostolic spirituality that has to reach the end of the world and the most
remote corners of our society. Through celebration of the Eucharist, we come
together and that is why we form a true Community! Our missionary Spirit tells
us: Go and walk in the streets, meet and talk to young people, be Missionaries
of the Sacred Heart without any boundary, take part in the evangelization of
Church!. These were the words spoken by Michael Curran
in Issoudun 1995.
The roots are needed to give the tree
stability and the force to overcome storms and bad weather conditions!
The trunk of the tree represents the Charisma of Father Chevalier.
Father
Chevalier’s intuition forms the different Religious branches, diocese priests,
laity…that carry the actions of the communities, communion, Fraternity.
The
leaves are you and me…in our own lives…
We
are the leaves – living with the feelings and desires of the Heart of Jesus:
truth, justice, faith, tenderness, compassion, mercy, peace. The Leaves that
heal our parents, our friends and colleagues at work and all those we meet and
suffer from evil.
This
is the “life’s work” of the members of the Family of Father Jules Chevalier.
A few important dates which lead us to this meeting
today:
|
1993 |
General Chapter in September 1993. Edition of the text:
« MSC Association » (Documents 5) in which the base lines of the
Laity Association of the Chevalier Family were written down. |
|
1994 |
ISSOUDUN ’94. Meeting of the MSC Family
France-Switzerland (in the intuition of Father Jules Chevalier on the three
branches of the MSC Society: the Professed, Diocese Fathers and Laity) A few conclusions of this meetings: v
The MSC Family is an entity living today, it needs growing in unity and
diversity v
The MSC Family is inspired by the Holy Spirit working towards a new
“Pentecost” in the three branches. v
The future is ours! More than ever! Everything is possible to those who
believe and give in to the Heart of Jesus. |
|
1995 |
ISSOUDUN 95: International Meeting of the
Chevalier Family (28 countries were represented. The Intuition of Father
Jules Chevalier was felt in the three Congregations: MSC, FNDSC, MSC Sisters) v
“And where do we go from here?” It is
important for the Association to grow throughout the world! It is my
sincerest hope that in this spirit, the Issoudun
meeting will have an important impact in the whole world…propagating
encouragement and inspiration…(Michael Curran, MSC General) |
|
1997 |
General Conference in |
|
1999 |
International Meeting of the Laity of the
Chevalier Family in ISSOUDUN 99 - July 19 – 25, 1999. An
international Charter of the « Lay Missionaries of the Sacred
Heart » of the Chevalier Family was adopted as a basic document for all
lay that are engaged with the three congregations living the spirituality of
Father Chevalier. An International Coordinating Team is set up to coordinate,
to share information and to suggest Formation courses. “Our desire
to make unity amongst us even more stronger, has inspired us to: propose the creation
of continental institutes, to create an international body that coordinates
and shares information amongst all Lay groups and to think about the
possibilities to offer a decent formation! (International Charter of the
MSC Laity of the Chevalier Family) |
|
2002 |
The « Cuskelly
Symposium » has offered both Lay and Professed of the Chevalier Family
the opportunity to talk about the future of the Lay engagement. During this
Symposium the suggestion came to organise a meeting on continental level…as a
first step… |
|
2003 |
European Meeting of the Laity of the Chevalier
Family at ISSOUDUN. Presentation of a text edited by the three Generalats on May 27 2003 in Presentation of the “Lay Association of the
Chevalier Family in |
Creation of the European Committee
Since the “ISSOUDUN 99” meeting, the International
Coordinating Team (only composed of European representatives to reduce
travelling costs), has mainly focused on its coordinating task, on sharing
information and on the creation of the Internet website www.laymsc.org. This internet site will make
all formation and sharing elements accessible for all countries. Up till now
this information was only available to COR NOVUM and/or in the various
countries…
The meetings twice a year of the European members
have led to the preparation of the first European meeting « ISSOUDUN
2003 ». During this meeting, we created the Association of “Lay of the
Chevalier Family in
Why did the Association need Statutes?
As Father Jules Chevalier would have wished, we are
all Missionaries of the Sacred Heart! We all share the Charisma of Father
Chevalier! Still, every branch needs its own “autonomous » “organisation”
and “activities”. The sole reason for creating this Association is to give the
Coordinating Team of the MSC Lay of the Chevalier Family” the means to operate
“legally” and to function “autonomously” and “financially”.
The
Statutes of the Association «European MSC Lay of the Chevalier Family” allow
v A legal existence on European level, in French right, to have an
autonomous accounting and to organise meetings.
v A coordination of the different European countries, via one or two
representatives appointed as members of the Association. These members meet on
a regular basis.
v An organ that offers support to the different groups in their spiritual
tasks …through the acceptance of the “International Charter of the MSC Lay of
the Chevalier Family”
v A close link with COR NOVUM for formation and for guidance of the three
congregations by one religious representative.
v To continue its mission as an International Coordinating Team and to
organise the next international meeting we are attending today.
The international meeting today in
Importance of our regular meetings
Besides the legal need to have at least two
meetings a year, there is of course the dimension of sharing and of the
formation of these meetings! Every meeting is a true source of joy, hope and
recognition! Praying together, spiritual formation, sharing experiences and
sharing our lives as “MSC Lay”….these are all things that make us stronger…
The meetings are time consuming!….taking into
account the far distances we have to travel each time…but each time, we
experience “Pentecost”…’cause thanks to the richness and understanding of each
participant, we are united through the Holy Spirit…despite of all linguistic
difficulties!
But, these are also the true and humane moments
during which the “family dimension” of the Chevalier Family is really
experienced! We have the time to share family life.. in all our diversity…
The “Chevalier Family” is in no way a “theoretical
term”!! this Family truly exits! A spiritual Family of
which the members are invited to live “the feelings and desires present in the
Heart of Jesus” according to “the Heart”!
Financial consequences
Every family needs money to pay communal expenses.
Up till now, the International Coordinating team has always been able to meet
these needs, thanks to
v The financial support of the Generalats
in the organisation of the main meetings
v The financial support of the European Provinces as
to Formation and meetings
v The different Lay groups that cover the travel
expenses of their representatives
v The gifts of the Alain de Boismenu
Centre for the MSC Lay formation (offered to the Coordinating Team at the Centre’s
closure)
This is perhaps the right time to express our
warmest thanks to all our benefactors!
It is obvious that the time has come to discuss the
financial situation of every Coordinating team! This does not need to be a
problem, but a sign of the vitality of our Lay branch within this large
“Chevalier Family”.
Conclusion
The Coordinating Team sincerely hopes that you will
come in large numbers to live this experience! It is our hope that new
Coordinating Teams be born! Let all groups and countries get to know each
other! Overcome all difficulties, but remember the words of Father Jules
Chevalier “For God, Obstacles become opportunities!”
Let us confide in Our Lady of the Sacred Heart! May
she lead and accompany this Lay branch of the Chevalier Family to the very
Heart of Jesus so that
“The Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere”!