RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY LIFE AS A FAMILY LIFE: The contributions of candidates in formation in advancing family values, and the experience of mercy and healing, within the Religious community life.

E HJ

Abstract


A Community built on a solid foundation cannot be destroyed (cf. Lk. 6:48-49). Religious Community Life is also a form of Family Life, though not based on blood relationship, but on a relationship rooted in Christ; they are both the intention of God who is love, the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit – an undivided unity. Candidates on formation, who would in the nearest future become Religious, come from a family which is the first place of formation. Religious Formation House would build on the Family’s efforts – in line with the Patrimony of their Founder or Foundress – during which transformation takes place. The future of the society and of the church is largely determined and influenced by the quality of the family and, so, imbuing values would help create an acceptable society for all. Efforts to enhance family values and the expression of mercy must be put in place. His Holiness, Pope Francis, urges us to be “persuasive preachers of mercyâ€2, and not to neglect the Corporal and Spiritual works of mercy by reawakening the zeal to be merciful in the Jubilee Year of Mercy and beyond, thereby building a community where members “love†one another and take care to persevere in the unity of the Spirit (cf. Eph 4:1-3). The proclamation of mercy and of truth is the obligation of every Consecrated person, and the Candidates on formation should begin to take steps right from the initial formation in order to internalize these values and not back out.

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References


Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Fraternal Life in Community "Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor", Rome 1994. Gilberto Frigo O.F.M., Catechism of Religious Life, Italy, 2005. John Paul II, Vita Consecrata, Rome, 1996. Pope Francis, Apostolic Letter of His Holiness to all “Consecrated People†on the occasion of the Year of Consecrated Life, Rome, 2014. Pope Francis, The face of Mercy – “Misericordiae Vultus†(Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy), Rome, 2015. Rev Sr. Cecilia Mary Omeife, Parable of the EHJ Sister, Lagos, 2016. The New Jerusalem Bible. Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and Doubleday & Company Inc. 1985.

Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Fraternal Life in Community "Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor", Rome 1994. Gilberto Frigo O.F.M., Catechism of Religious Life, Italy, 2005. John Paul II, Vita Consecrata, Rome, 1996. Pope Francis, Apostolic Letter of His Holiness to all “Consecrated People†on the occasion of the Year of Consecrated Life, Rome, 2014. Pope Francis, The face of Mercy – “Misericordiae Vultus†(Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy), Rome, 2015. Rev Sr. Cecilia Mary Omeife, Parable of the EHJ Sister, Lagos, 2016. The New Jerusalem Bible. Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and Doubleday & Company Inc. 1985.

This reflection was written by the Novices of the Institute of the Sisters of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus (EHJ), in September 2016, under the supervision of the Novice Mistress, Rev. Sr. Josephine Akwaowoh, EHJ. Their Novitiate House is located at Ibonwon-Epe, Lagos State (Nigeria). The EHJ Institute is of Pontifical right and was founded by Late Archbishop Leo Hale Taylor, SMA on 18th January, 1943. The apostolate of the Institute in the medical, educational, social and pastoral field, give concrete expression of the purpose of the Institute. Presently, in the formation house, its members are primarily concerned with their formation and spirituality according to the Constitutions of the Congregation. Our Motto: All to the greater glory of God – “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriaâ€. Editor’s Note: Special thanks goes to Sr. Josephine Akwaowoh, EHJ, for facilitating the collaboration and reflection of the EHJ Novices (2016 set) for this edition of the Catholic Voyage. 2 Pope Francis: Misericordiae Vultus, Rome, 11 April 2015, 18 3 John Paul II, Vita Consecrata, 25 March 1996, 65-67 4 Pope Francis, Apostolic Letter of His Holiness to all “Consecrated People†on the occasion of the Year of Consecrated Life, Rome, 21 Nov. 2014. (Aims. 2) 5 John Paul II, Vita Consecrata, 25 March 1996, 95 6 Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Fraternal Life in Community "Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor", Rome 2 February 1994, 36 7 Pope Francis: Misericordiae Vultus, Rome, 11 April 2015, 11 8 Pope Francis: Misericordiae Vultus, Rome, 11 April 2015, 5 9 Pope Francis: Misericordiae Vultus, Rome, 11 April 2015, 18


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