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Society of the Missionaries of St. Francis Xavier
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THE GENERAL CHAPTER OF THE SOCIETY The XVI General Chapter was held in the year 2002. It was the first General Chapter held after the approval of the renewed Constitutions. (Fr. Lino Florindo, a Professor at All Mission Seminary, Pilar, Goa reflects on it.) The Society of the Missionaries of St. Francis Xavier, popularly known as the Society of Pilar, Goa held its XVI General Chapter at Pilar from 30th July to 15th August, 2002. Thirty two priests and a Brother, representing over 400 members, participated. The highlight of this Chapter was the Final Statement issued by it in which a vision was outlined, together with various strategies in order to realize this vision in the rough and tumble of the Society’s life. The Final Statement put one in mind of the historic Message to Humanity issued at the instance of good Pope John by the Ecumenical Council Vatican II within a few days of its not only for Catholics but for all men & women of Good will. This Final Statement is, however, meant for the members of the Society doing marvelous work in the vineyard of the Lord. It is meant for all members: The old Society, among who was the Venerable Fr. Agnelo de Souza, worked with might and main to make Jesus Christ known far and wide. But their vision was narrow – restricted to the Archdiocese of Goa which, those days, included parts of today’s Pune, Belgaum and Karwar dioceses. In course of time, the Society started declining largely because it did not have a seminary of its own; it depended totally on the priests of the archdiocese joining it. Providentially it got a new lease of life in 1939 when it was Re-organized by six priests and two Brothers. Since the Constitutions approved in 1891 were found to be inadequate, the same were “revised” and approved by Patriarch Costa Nunes in 1946. The Re-organized Society has pursued missionary apostolate with single-minded devotion. Thanks to its All India Mission Seminary, it got a regular supply of priests to be sent to different corners of the country and abroad. It no longer depended on the diocesan priests joining it. Then came the epoch and young, finally professed and temporarily professed – priests, Brothers, scholastics – all who take pride in being a member of our missionary institute. It is the fruit of the prayerful reflection on the Patrimony of the Society, of the members of the General Chapter – a prayerful reflection in which all of them enthusiastically participated for 16 days. Constitutions A historical digression is called for to understand this. When the Society was founded in 1887 for the first few years, it had no Constitution to go by. It came in 1891, approved by the then Patriarch Dom Valente. Though it was short, the aims and objectives of the Society were clearly spelled out – the Society would be missionary in character. The Constitution was revised in the year 1999. Pioneer Missionaries What does that mean? It means “moving towards people who have not yet known Christ”. We are supposed to work principally in areas where Jesus Christ is not yet known and among Christians who are not sufficiently mature to incarnate the faith in their own environment and proclaim it to others. We are also supposed to reach out to people of other faiths and all people of good will – in dialogue and service. This three-fold pioneering mission of the Society is in keeping with the recent teaching of the Church – Ad Gentes, Evangelii Nuntiadi and, specially Redemptoris Missio. This is an arduous task. It is difficult to put this vision into practice. It calls for resilience and creativity. This resilience and creativity is to be instilled in the members during their years of Formation. A young man who wants to dedicate his life for this difficult apostolate has to cultivate team – spirit. Without it we may not succeed in our efforts. Today “team ministry” is the in – thing and “one man show” is Out! This is the reason why in all seminaries “formation” is imparted by means of the “group system”. This enables a person to develop his talents, grow integrally in freedom and learn how to be a collaborative leader. He also learns to shed his individualism and competitive mentality and…eventually excel in whatever apostolate he is given. This XVI General Chapter after assessing our life and apostolate gave some directives to our Missionary, Social and Educational Apostolates. If we are to be great missionaries, we have, to begin with ourselves! Charity begins at home! Hence there is insistence on COMMUNITY LIFE – our liturgy, our relationships (Life – Faith dimension). Community life is our Apostolate No. 1. In the measure we are a united, loving community (witness), in that measure we will do our apostolate (proclamation). If, as Pope Paul VI says in Evangelii Nuntiandi, we are to transform the world by the power of God’s Word, then it stands to reason that we have to excel in speaking, reading & writing the language of the people we are sent to. Then not only our liturgy but even our constructions (presbytery, Church, Community hall) will be in consonance with the life and culture of the people we live with. If we don’t do this, then we will only be “transplanting the Church” as in the past !! It is a good thing that members have been reminded of the “preferential option for the poor”! In many places this phrase is almost forgotten. As disciples of Jesus Christ, today vis-à-vis the rampant corruption, communalism, religious bigotry, whose side do we take: the side of the oppressed or the side of the oppressor? The Chapter reiterated the vision of our Constitutions: that governance including finances in the Society is at the service of our apostolate. Finally it reflected on Formation of “molding ourselves”. The Formators have been invited to function professionally so that all contribute to the holistic development of the formees. Formation does not stop once a young man steps out of the portals of the seminary, after his ordination. It continues even after! Hence, the Superiors at various levels are directed to provide “ongoing formation” to our members. The 49-point document concludes thus: “Every member of the Society is called upon to use his talents and gifts unselfishly for community building. The Society in its turn plans and helps each individual member to give his all for the apostolate. In this process we ourselves become that community which Jesus envisaged – a community of love manifested in our spirit of collaboration, our fraternal concern for each other, and finally our joy in being community. As Pope John Paul II says in Redemptoris Missio No. 91: The characteristic of every Authentic Missionary Life is the inner joy that comes from Deep Faith. May this Final Statement find a warm welcome in all our
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