THE BOOKCASE

This work was presented by the Fr. General to all the Dehonian Family in his letter of March 14th last. We reproduce it in its entirety.

The Centro Studi has just published the critical edition of “La Rénovation sociale chrétienne” (Christian Social Renewal), that is, the 9 Lectures given in Rome by Fr. Dehon.

In the introduction, after a description of the origin of these Lectures and their impact in the Roman environment, there is the presentation of the social action of Fr. Dehon within the social and ecclesial context of France at that time. This is followed by the critical edition of the 9 Lectures: they are accompanied by explanatory notes and preceded by a short presentation which puts them in context and summarizes their content. Lastly, in the third part, the aim has been to make current the message of these Lectures and the principle themes of Fr. Dehon’s social thought, which still today, at the beginning of the new millennium, can guide the social commitment of the Christian in the light of the Gospel.

The introduction, presentations and explanatory notes all serve to help the reader to understand the text and to appreciate how far reaching Fr. Dehon’s attitudes were.

This publication aims to be a response to the wish of the XX General Chapter. The Governor General, in expressing this desire, fervently proposed that all the Congregation should: “Spread the social doctrine of the Church and maximize the writings of Fr. Dehon. With this object the Centro Studi of Rome has published a critical edition of the Social Works of Fr. Dehon. They have encouraged the translation from the French of Fr. Dehon’s Social Works and have also distributed them outside the Congregation” (We the Congregation in the Service of the Mission”, n. 18.3b, Project 1997-2003).

The preparation of the celebration of the General Conference at Recife, on the subject of “Economics and the Kingdom of God”, has reawakened the attention and the interest of the S.C.J. religious in these social themes.

The celebration of the meeting of the Dehonian Family in October 2000 showed how different lay people had discovered the figure of Fr. Dehon, and his “reparatory spirituality”, precisely in their social commitment in favor of the poorest classes of their own countries.

Today the careful reading of this volume, now published, shows us how Fr. Dehon’s social passion for man is inseparable from his view of the love of God, which is manifested in the contemplation of the Heart of Christ. In this same perspective, we are called to face the challenges of our time, certainly different from those of Fr. Dehon’s time; so this writing is truly a book for our “today”.

I should like to thank the Centro Studi for this critical edition of “La Rénovation sociale chrétienne” (Christian Social Renewal), and particular thanks are due to Fr. André Perroux who, with painstaking research and patient work, has given a specific contribution to setting the writings and the social action of our founder within the socio-ecclesiastical context of France.

I ask the Dehonian Family to use this work of Fr. Dehon by translating it also into their own language, because it is up to us to support the work for the Kingdom of the Heart of Jesus in favor of the poor and humble.

Fr. Virginio D. Bressanelli, S.C.J.

Superior General

The first Seminar on the Inculturation of the Dehonian Charism in Latin America took place in Santiago, Chile in 1988; the theme was “Being With the People”.

Two years later, in the month of February 2000, the second Seminar was held, with the theme “With a Heart Full of Solidarity”.

The Commission for Spirituality and Apostolate of the AU Province dedicated itself to the preparation and realization of this new meeting of the Commissions of Spirituality and Apostolate of Latin America, which, thanks to God, we were able to hold in Luján, the city which developed near the Marian Sanctuary of the Argentinean Nation.

As a starting point, the theme of solidarity was chosen, since, for us, this seems to be a key word which can translate one of the fundamental dimensions of our charism to contemporary man, in a way that is simple and clear.

The Seminar then set itself to clarify the range of this intuition, searching for the development of the theme in its different aspects: biblical, theological, pastoral...

The chosen methodology, according to our Latin American tradition, was that of Seeing, Judging and Acting, while seeking a vision of the unity, although unfinished, of this theme.

The participants and the first conclusions of this Seminar can be read in the Letter to the Dehonian Family which the participants prepared at the end of the meeting in Luján.

Certainly the lively climate of these days was a much appreciated fruit of this “Dehonian solidarity”, one which we are already sharing among the different Latin American countries and the whole of the American continent (this time there were also two delegates present from Canada and the United States).

By a happy coincidence this spirit of solidarity was the same as that which John Paul II proposed at the beginning of the Great Jubilee year 2000. The Pope, in his first address to the diplomatic corps assigned to the Vatican, affirmed with strength: “The century which is beginning must be the century of solidarity”. And he added: “Today we know better than yesterday; we are never happy and at peace without one another, and even less when we are against one another”. According to the Pope, solidarity, to become effective, “presupposes very positive commitments”, and among those which he considers priority are: peaceful dialogue between civilizations and religions; respect for human rights; the prevention of wars and the sharing of goods and prosperity.

With this theme of solidarity for the 21st century, the Seminar of Luján coincides with a theme already proposed by the Pope in various other circumstances (Cf. for example, the theme: Globalization and Solidarity in “The Church in America” n. 55).

The Commission for Spirituality and Apostolate, AU

The current “Notre Règle de Vie: Constitutions et Directoire Général” (Our Rule of Life, Constitutions and General Directory) (1986), marks the end of a long progress of debates and reflection, of research and study, initiated in the Congregation with the General Chapter XV (1966-67); it is a progress followed and verified in the successive assembly stages (Chapters and General Conferences).

In this progress a double objective has always been aimed at: the renewal of the contents-ideas-principles which inspire us, and the revision-redefinition of the basic codes; and this, in view of the single primary objective: the renewal of our way of living and working.

The critical structures of the Rule of Life which are offered here, as also in the themes in the appendix, indicate the directional lines of this progress and are an aid for a more “intelligible” reading of “Our Rule of Life”. This is done by viewing it as deriving from its historical, doctrinal sources and from the various corrections-adjustments of the text. In this way the text speaks for itself in its richness or poverty, without super-imposing on it any spiritual, theological or exegetic comments, however rich and erudite these may be.

Therefore this guide to the reading of the Rule of Life is proposed as an aid to understanding its meaning; a meaning which the General Chapters understood to be expressed within the proposed and approved text.

The Rule of Life is made up of five parts (Cf. Index). Each part is made up of numerous paragraphs which are developed in 144 numbered sections.

The summary, placed at the beginning of the paragraphs, speaks of the themes indicated by the Chapter Commissions, which will later be developed under the various numbers, as well as in the connections made between the ideas in the themes to be dealt with.

The content of the individual numbers deals with the essential nucleus, privileged when compared to other elements of spiritual association, and accentuates those aspects proposed at the General Chapters.

The story of the text, with its modifications and variations, with its additions and omissions, with its corrections, helps the reader to comprehend the text according to the meaning which the 1973 Rule of Life, and then the General Council XVII desired to express. The basic texts of the Rule of Life 73 is printed in Italics, as are the latest additions and corrections which have been accepted for the definitive version of the text.

The sources cited (General Council XV, Council documents, the Bible, the works of Fr. Dehon) refer to the texts which directly inspired the General Chapters in their efforts for the elaboration of Our Rule of Life. The references to the General Council XV are presented according to the marginal numbering of Documenta (Doc) VII and the analytical summary of the themes.

The volume is therefore a guide to reading the Rule of Life, since it liberates the meaning of the individual Constitutions from the interior of the text itself, as it has been elaborated by the editors.

It is not a comment on the Rule of Life since, starting from the text, spiritual reflections, biblical text, the thoughts of Fr. Dehon and the ecclesial magistero are all added to it from the outside. Such a comment would certainly enrich the text and have its uses, but it would only be occasion for assistance with the association of ideas and for further personal development of the text. What we have here on the other hand, is not a comment but an offer of an original documentation, from which a personal comment, inherent to the text, can be elaborated.

The “quaestiones disputatae”, that is, the themes collected in the second part of this work, are those which were discussed in the Chapters and in the General Conferences referring to the Rule of Life. Any reference back to these themes is indicated in the commentary notes with the sign Cf. (compare).

Lastly, the volume is enriched by an analytical index of the Rule of Life. This guide to its reading is only an aid, but... it is necessary if one wishes to gather, from the interior of the text, that true meaning which is proposed to us as the Rule for our religious Dehonian life.

(From the “Premessa” - Premise)

As indicated by the title, this volume contains the “Proceedings” of the meeting of all components of the Dehonian Family, held in Rome, October 8-14, 2000.

It is not so much a journalistic description of the event, as it is a collection of the texts, speeches and communications presented and listened to during that encounter.

The most interesting things here are the “texts”, which can be used as a kind of framework for reflection, and are proposed to clarify what is meant by the expressions: “Dehonian Family” and “Lay Dehonians”. The document, “Instrumentum laboris”, is an orderly summary of the responses received. These responses made it possible, during the meeting, to verify what had been said and to put together the subsequent united proposal.

The “communications” presented by the individual delegations were also interesting: a succession of testimonies through which all the groups offered what could be called their own “identikit” in order to know each other better. The contributions from the experts, on the other hand, are rather on a theoretical level and offer some criteria to stimulate and direct practice.

Of fundamental importance, because of their authority and for the theme dealt with, are the Superior General’s contribution, entitled “The Dehonian Family”, and the Chapter’s “Conclusive Proposals”, which express the essential and qualifying characteristics needed for a group to be able to define itself as “Dehonian”.

Andrea Tessarolo