Hardly. St. Luke's Gospel gives us the story of Jesus urging Peter to "put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Peter, who had just come off a night shift of empty nets, knew the situation was hopeless. Besides what did a carpenter know about fishing! But out of politeness he decided to humour his distinguished guest. The result was a record haul.
Interestingly, bulging nets are a current phenomenon in many of the religious families with a global perspective, such as the Spiritans. The vocation drought in developed countries is only one part of the story. The other is the effort to keep up with the vocation boom in the one-time mission countries. The struggle to provide accommodation, formation personnel and finance for those knocking on our doors in Africa, for instance, is also something of a crisis - but one with which we are happy to live.
Today's Challenge
As for the Western world we might well ask ourselves if we have tried sufficiently to test the "deep waters" or are we still inclined to hug the safe and familiar shore. Today we are challenged to leave behind the geographical notion of mission in order to espouse the crossing of ethnic boundaries in outreach to those who are distant from us in culture, faith and history. They may be at the other end of the earth or they may be our next door neighbours. We set aside our national ties as we welcome into our communities people of every culture and background embracing a truly global expression of mission. Sensitive to the constant exhortations of our Holy Father we affirm our commitment to the poor and marginalized. We accept that Spiritans are no longer simply priests and brothers but include a growing number of laity, men and women, married and single. We firmly set before us those apostolates highlighted during our most recent international general meeting (chapter) in Maynooth, Ireland: proclamation of the Good News to those who have not heard it; education, particularly as an aid to promoting the freedom and dignity of the poor and as a service to youth; justice, with an emphasis on accompanying refugees in their distress and supporting the struggle of women towards full human rights.
It's in our blood
Besides, Spiritans are no strangers to "hopeless case" scenarios. Following the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Era our numbers were reduced to two. Somebody must surely have suggested that it was time to pack it in, but, thankfully, that didn't happen. Later, in the 1840s, Francis Libermann, then a seminarian barred from ordination by epilepsy, joined with two fellow students to found a missionary society dedicated to bringing the Good News to the black races of the world. Only a dyed in the wool optimist would have bet on them but... here we are on the brink of our third century.
So, like Peter, let's put aside our hesitations, hoist the sail and head for the deep.
Michael Doyle,CSSp
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