Who are we?
During the M. Afr. chapter of 1967 our Society, like every other religious institute in the Catholic Church, had to revise its constitutions in the light of the second Vatican Council which had just finished. One of the questions that the members of the chapter had to answer was: “who are we?”. Are we basically secular priests committed to the evangelisation of Africa or are we basically religious priests – like the members of other religious orders? After a lot of reflection and debate the chapter delegates decided that we are neither diocesan priests, not religious priests; we are “apostles”! (and this includes our brothers who were left out in the more clerical view of things of those days). Our founder, Cardinal Lavigerie, had said to his first missionaries: “Be apostles, and nothing but apostles!” Being apostles is who we are called to be. We are apostles of Jesus Christ (who had been sent by the Father), sent by the Church to Africa and to people of the African world. We are sent, not just as individuals, but as members of international, inter-cultural and inter-generational communities. We are sent to be authentic witnesses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by what we say and by our very way of life. We are servants of Jesus who are called to live in deep solidarity with the people to whom we are sent so that the gospel that we preach is not something totally foreign to them but rather a message that is profoundly meaningful for them in the reality of their lives.
Our Spirituality
In this context our spirituality is the concrete way in which we, as followers of Jesus and as members of a community of apostles and sent to bring the gospel to the people of the African world, are called to live out our vocation. It is the way we seek to live our following of Christ as his missionaries and to nourish our fidelity to our calling.
Personal elements and shared elements of our spirituality
Every spirituality must take into consideration at least two different aspects. On the one hand, all the members of the Society share in a common charism, we have a shared mission. But on the other hand, each one of us is unique; each member has his own personality, his own personal history; each one of us is living in a particular situation and has his own responsibilities and tasks. Thus each person’s spirituality will have both shared elements and at the same time elements which are more personal. What will nourish the fidelity of a young confrere who has just arrived in a country of which he does not yet know the language and the culture may be somewhat different from what nourishes the fidelity of an “old-timer” who has been there for many years or of a confrère who is called to be the superior of a house of formation. What the way the out-going extrovert lives his personal relationship with the Lord may not be the same as the way the more reflective introvert will live that same relationship. And yet in the spirituality of all of these confreres there are common elements, because they all share a common vocation and we live and work in community. Each person is called to work out his own personal synthesis which takes into consideration his vocation as a Missionary of Africa and also his own personal reality: his personality, age, function, etc.
Personal and communitarian elements of our spirituality
Another element of the synthesis that each one of us is called to make is the balance between what is personal and private on the one hand and what is communitarian on the other. As apostles we are called to have a deep personal relationship with God. How do we live out that relationship? As Missionaries of Africa we live and work in community. Therefore, our spirituality has a strong community dimension. Wherever possible the confreres come together in the morning end evening to pray together Lauds and Vespers and when we do not have outside commitments we celebrate the Eucharist together. We seek to create communities of brothers whose lives are rooted in a life of prayer. We try to organise in our communities days of recollection and of sharing of our spiritual life. Through this prayer in common we seek to support one another in our prayer.
As well as our shared prayer in community each one of us has his own rhythm of personal prayer, a time when each one retires into his own “inner room” and there we enter into a very personal relationship with the Lord. As well as having our own time of personal prayer everyday we also seek to have a personal retreat every year. (Though sometimes these retreats may be organised at the level of the Province or the Sector).
The fruits of our spirituality
The authenticity of every form of spirituality can be judged on the basis of its fruits. One of the key fruits of an apostolic spirituality is “zeal”. Having experienced something of the love of God for us and something of the fire of the Holy Spirit, we are impassioned – as was Jesus – to bring the Gospel of Jesus to other people in both words and in deeds.
Another fruit of an apostolic spirituality is a deep solidarity with the people to whom we are sent. Just like Jesus who emptied himself and who entered fully into our human condition, so too the missionary is called to enter into the culture and the lived reality of the people to whom he is sent. This will express itself concretely in a great respect for the people, for their language and their culture and in a deep concern especially for those who are on the margins of society.
Another fruit of an authentic apostolic spirituality is the creation of an “esprit de corps” in the community. Our prayer and our reflection on the Word of God should lead us to create communities of brothers who support one another and who live in a real fraternal way. Jesus said: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (Jn 13, 35). The brotherly way in which we live – in spite of (or thanks to) of our many differences – is a powerful way in which we give witness to the Gospel. It is also a source of support and encouragement.
Another fruit of our spirituality is a readiness to go wherever we are sent. The missionary is not someone who is “doing his own thing”. Just like Jesus, the missionary is sent – by God, by the church, by the Society. He is ready to collaborate with his confreres in community and with the leaders of the church (both local and universal). In his prayer and personal and communal reflection, the missionary is constantly trying to discern what God wants him to do. This is part of what it means to live in obedience.
There are many other aspects of our apostolic spirituality and many other fruits. In brief, each one of us is called to be rooted in Jesus as the branch of the vine and bearing abundant fruit for God and for his people.
The basic sources of our spirituality are the Bible, the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius and the writings of our founder Cardinal Lavigerie.