| MOVEMENT
FOR RESTORATION
“Lead
us back to you, O Lord, that we may be restored”
(Lam 5:21a)
We
are at the crossroads in our life and mission as CFC.
There is intense conflict and disunity, even among the
top leadership. CFC has been put in disfavor with our
bishops as a result of the lack of submission of top
elders. The place of GK as a pillar of CFC is being
eroded and we are sliding to the social apart from the
spiritual.
Have
we lost our way?
We
indeed have been guilty of infidelities to our covenant,
even as God continued to use us in the power of His
Spirit in our first 25 years. But in His love for us,
God brought us to Lamentations this year, as His way
of opening our minds to the dangers of continuing to
slip away from our call. Now there is conflict and disunity.
But even this is part of God’s plan to purify
us.
How
do we find the right way?
“Lead
us back to you, O Lord, that we may be restored: give
us anew such days as we had of old.” (Lam 5:21).
The key to restoration is to go back to our original
charism. Going back is the way to go forward.
In
1993, we had 3 key words to describe ourselves and our
mission: Global, Wholistic,
Catholic.
-
CFC
is an evangelistic and missionary community, serving
the universal Church.
-
CFC
is a family life renewal movement, with womb-to-tomb
support environments.
-
CFC
is an integral part of the life and mission of the
Roman Catholic Church.
We
are Families in the Holy Spirit renewing the
face of the earth.
We
will still do work with the poor, which is part of the
mission of Jesus, but our work with the poor will not
be our primary focus. The work for justice and for life
will be given equal importance. And none of these services
should be allowed to negatively impact on our basic
mission of evangelization and family life renewal.
Lamentations
is a time of purification, leading to greater empowerment
for the work ahead. Lamentations is about restoration.
It is about fully living out our covenant, and living
out our call according to our original charism.
We
all need to take responsibility for the life and mission
of CFC. Together, in this movement for restoration,
let us all discern and follow where God moves us.
(Friday
the 13th, July 2007) |