Final Message - Extraordinary General Asembly of the UAC
Friday, 25. May 2007, 16:28:46
Extraordinary General Assembly of the Union of Catholic Apostolate,
Grottaferrata, Rome, May 14 - 16, 2007.
Final message.
“The Spirit of truth will lead you to the complete truth (Jn. 16,13).”
We, the members of the General Coordination Council of the UAC and all those who participated in the Extraordinary Assembly of the UAC, greet you all, brothers and sisters in the Union, fraternally and with affection, at the end of the Assembly.
With full hearts we thank God and our Mother Mary, Queen of Apostles, for all that they gave us in these days and especially for the joy of being together in our deliberations and in a spirit of communion.
These have been intensive days dedicated to the revision of the General Statutes of the Union, which, as you know, were approved “ad experimentum” for a five year period, by the Pontifical Council for the Laity in 2003. Parts of the Statutes have been rewritten in order to present them again to the Holy See in 2008, this time for definitive approval. This has been a very demanding task but one in which we experienced reciprocal listening and the riches of our diversity.
We come from different corners of the world ranging from Cameroon to Brazil, from Australia to Poland, from Uruguay to Tanzania, from the United States of America to Ireland and South Africa, and indeed from many other countries, therefore we have diverse cultures, many languages and very varied life experiences. We have striven to put all this treasure at the service of one another so as to discover that which the Holy Spirit wished to communicate. We asked for an awareness of this right from the opening Mass in which the President of the Union, Fr. Séamus Freeman, invited all to pray the Spirit that His will be fulfilled and not our individual wills, for the good of all.
There have been moments of very intensive work and occasions to nourish the spirit in communal prayer and liturgy from which we drew strength to serve our common family. We were very aware that many persons throughout the world were supporting us from a distance with their prayers and the offering of their Christian lives lived in union with us. We were just an expression of this broader communion.
In the final Eucharistic Celebration we lived another experience of universality and of love. Fr. Fritz Kretz, Rector General of our priests and brothers, and spiritual guide and assistant of the Union, reminded us that while the statutes, like all laws, have a purpose which is to protect the charism, or gift of God, and to indicate the way to be followed, that which is more important is life and living. The lived life and the charism which is incarnated day after day is what makes us what we are today: a Cenacle, gathered around Mary, living a journey towards a destination which is known to God but not to us.
The awareness of being family, a true family, gathered in the name of Jesus, Apostle of the Eternal Father, to revive faith and rekindle love, everywhere and with every means, has matured slowly in us; this is an ‘old truth’ which is also always new, always to be rediscovered.
The General Coordination Council and the entire Assembly wishes to be at the service of all, and so we have kept you all in our hearts, together with God’s presence. In this spirit everything is done in service of the entire Church, striving to respond to her need of evangelization; and in service of the world which has a great need of authentic Christian witness and of our apostolic spirituality.
In the course of this week everything took place in simplicity and in service; each person, priest, sister or lay, was at the service of all. We got to know one another, we shared many experiences with one another and, finally, we said goodbye, but with the commitment to remain united by our charism and in forming part of the same family. We invite all to live this same communion in your life situations, in the community, in the family and in the missions.
We return home, and to those with whom we live, certain of having taken another important step forward in the history of our Union, not merely because of the task accomplished, but because of the work of the Spirit in these days.
Our thanks to those who welcomed us and cared for our lodgings, our thanks to God for the gifts received and which we will strive to transmit to all, thanks to our Heavenly Mother for having supported us, and to St. Vincent for having accompanied us.
Ad Infinitam Dei Gloriam.
Grottaferrata, Rome, May 14 - 16, 2007.
Final message.
“The Spirit of truth will lead you to the complete truth (Jn. 16,13).”
We, the members of the General Coordination Council of the UAC and all those who participated in the Extraordinary Assembly of the UAC, greet you all, brothers and sisters in the Union, fraternally and with affection, at the end of the Assembly.
With full hearts we thank God and our Mother Mary, Queen of Apostles, for all that they gave us in these days and especially for the joy of being together in our deliberations and in a spirit of communion.
These have been intensive days dedicated to the revision of the General Statutes of the Union, which, as you know, were approved “ad experimentum” for a five year period, by the Pontifical Council for the Laity in 2003. Parts of the Statutes have been rewritten in order to present them again to the Holy See in 2008, this time for definitive approval. This has been a very demanding task but one in which we experienced reciprocal listening and the riches of our diversity.
We come from different corners of the world ranging from Cameroon to Brazil, from Australia to Poland, from Uruguay to Tanzania, from the United States of America to Ireland and South Africa, and indeed from many other countries, therefore we have diverse cultures, many languages and very varied life experiences. We have striven to put all this treasure at the service of one another so as to discover that which the Holy Spirit wished to communicate. We asked for an awareness of this right from the opening Mass in which the President of the Union, Fr. Séamus Freeman, invited all to pray the Spirit that His will be fulfilled and not our individual wills, for the good of all.
There have been moments of very intensive work and occasions to nourish the spirit in communal prayer and liturgy from which we drew strength to serve our common family. We were very aware that many persons throughout the world were supporting us from a distance with their prayers and the offering of their Christian lives lived in union with us. We were just an expression of this broader communion.
In the final Eucharistic Celebration we lived another experience of universality and of love. Fr. Fritz Kretz, Rector General of our priests and brothers, and spiritual guide and assistant of the Union, reminded us that while the statutes, like all laws, have a purpose which is to protect the charism, or gift of God, and to indicate the way to be followed, that which is more important is life and living. The lived life and the charism which is incarnated day after day is what makes us what we are today: a Cenacle, gathered around Mary, living a journey towards a destination which is known to God but not to us.
The awareness of being family, a true family, gathered in the name of Jesus, Apostle of the Eternal Father, to revive faith and rekindle love, everywhere and with every means, has matured slowly in us; this is an ‘old truth’ which is also always new, always to be rediscovered.
The General Coordination Council and the entire Assembly wishes to be at the service of all, and so we have kept you all in our hearts, together with God’s presence. In this spirit everything is done in service of the entire Church, striving to respond to her need of evangelization; and in service of the world which has a great need of authentic Christian witness and of our apostolic spirituality.
In the course of this week everything took place in simplicity and in service; each person, priest, sister or lay, was at the service of all. We got to know one another, we shared many experiences with one another and, finally, we said goodbye, but with the commitment to remain united by our charism and in forming part of the same family. We invite all to live this same communion in your life situations, in the community, in the family and in the missions.
We return home, and to those with whom we live, certain of having taken another important step forward in the history of our Union, not merely because of the task accomplished, but because of the work of the Spirit in these days.
Our thanks to those who welcomed us and cared for our lodgings, our thanks to God for the gifts received and which we will strive to transmit to all, thanks to our Heavenly Mother for having supported us, and to St. Vincent for having accompanied us.
Ad Infinitam Dei Gloriam.
