The importance of discernment in the context of ongoing formation, necessary for missionary renewal in the face of new challenges and opportunities. This was the topic of study on Monday, May 12, in the program of the ongoing formation course that brings together in Rome, 16 Consolata missionaries from different parts of the world.
By Peter Githaiga Njoroge *
The reflection was led by the Xaverian missionary and Under-Secretary of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue of the Holy See, Father Paulin Batairwa Kubuya. Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, after his religious formation in Bukavu, the religious was sent to the Philippines. Subsequently, he spent twenty years between China and Taiwan, dedicating himself to interreligious dialogue. Appointed by Pope Francis, he has been working in the Dicastery in Rome since 2020.
Father Paulin clarified that his considerations “do not arise from systematic academic work on Consecrated Life, but rather from personal experiences and reflections matured along the way, particularly in the Asian context”. And he added: “this entire journey was made with much discernment that has shaped my life as a religious missionary ad gentes, in the specific field of interreligious dialogue”.
This attitude applies very well to the group celebrating 25 years of priestly ordination and/or religious profession, who are taking a break from their missionary activity, like the first disciples who return to tell the Lord their experience, aware of the need to continue listening and discerning, following the Master who never ceases to call and send.
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In this sense, the speaker recalled that, “discernment consists in recognizing and identifying the will of God, His plan for each of us, for our good and for that of the brothers and sisters around us. Discernment means allowing our eyes to contemplate God’s plan for humanity, for the world in which we live and on the role that each one, as an individual or as a community, is called to play to make it concrete and visible in history”.
Considering the objectives of the course, the Xaverian missionary stated that “in the context of ongoing formation it is important to underline the continuous nature of discernment: it is not an isolated moment, but a permanent attitude of the believer. The search for God’s will and the desire to incarnate it concretely in one’s life represent in fact a constant dimension of the Christian vocation”.
Discernment, Father Paulin reiterated, “is not only an intellectual or spiritual exercise, but translates into a concrete path of personal and community growth, guided by some fundamental objectives”.
The day was then marked by moments of rich sharing in groups that revealed in the course participants, the joy of belonging to the Consolata family. Naturally, there were mentions of the challenges and vulnerabilities that are part of religious and missionary life.
* Father Peter Githaiga Njoroge, IMC, missionary in Kenya.
