Friends,
In this season of the birth of our Savior and the hope for mankind that he brought, I thought it would be appropriate to share Father Scott Jones response to my query about the November 8th meeting of those in formation. Here is Father’s response. -Sue Larkin
Hi Sue,
Thanks for the email. Yes, Rome seems like a long time ago! Here is some info on the formation classes.
We had a good turnout at our November 8 meeting. The responses were excellent, as were the follow-up thank you emails. The topicwas prayer.
My focus was on how each form of consecrated life has a unique approach to prayer, which is a gift to the Church:
1) Monastic Religious: Choral prayer and lectio, rooted in contemplation.
2) Apostolic Religious: Ministerial life structured around communal prayer (e.g. Liturgy of the Hours recited in common)
3) Consecrated Virginity: Prayer for her diocese and receives the Liturgy of the Hours in the consecration rite. Particularly spousal in imagery.
4) Consecrated Hermits: Prayer in solitude for the Universal Church.
5) Secular Institutes: What is our unique approach to prayer?
Answer:
I first asked them to share brief quotes regarding prayer from their own constitutions and then suggested we look for some common denominators among the secular institutes present. I then presented the following, based on what they shared:
Out of any form of consecrated life, our approach to prayer is most closely connected to Jesus’ own approach to prayer.
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