Author : Ramanandraibe Benoit Fidele (MSF)
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 116 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (989 download)
Book Synopsis The mission of consecrated life in the context of Madagascar today by : Ramanandraibe Benoit Fidele (MSF)
Download or read book The mission of consecrated life in the context of Madagascar today written by Ramanandraibe Benoit Fidele (MSF) and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I'm a missionary from Madagascar and I belong to the consecrated life. Working in this thesis has been for me an activity of retrospection and personal renewal. It has been a challenge and an opportunity. I have learned to look at my missionary life and the Madagascar missionary context in a new light. In this I hope that the Madagascar Church and society may have full benefit from the journey undertaken in this thesis. The context of Madagascar needs a trajectory of renewal in religious life and mission in this third millenium. The Church's understanding and practice of her mission, as well as her motives, evolve as societies encounter one another and as they evolve. The tension between faith and daily life of people in this fast-changing world obliges consecrated life in Madagascar to move on, rethink and reframe its vision-mission. A mission that starts from above seems to be no longer fitting for the Malagasy context today. In Madagascar where there are many Churches and diverse religions, an evangelization which aims to bring people into the Catholic Church as possessor of truth sounds imperialistic. In Malagasy society threatened by division, consecrated life is called to facilitate reconciliation and communion. The Madagascar Church and society today urge consecrated persons to understand their mission beyond a simple observance of laws in their convent and in the Catholic Church. Consecrated life should not be a way of neglecting the reality in the world. A total donation to God and to be a sign of future life should never be an excuse not to face the present situation in this world. Consecrated men and women are called to commit themselves with the people around them for the sake of God's Reign in the world, and to bring people to the fullness of life. The mission of consecrated life does not happen in the abstract ; it must concretely respond to the challenges of the time. The issues of poverty, culture, religions, and formation in Madagascar today oblige consecrated life to move towards a new praxis. Vatical Council II documents propose a new perspective on the mission of the Church, a new perspective on consecrated life, and on its mission. It is also proposed that a theology of mission must adhere to constants and yet flexibly and creatively respond to different contexts. Therefore, mission of consecrated life in Madagascar today must start from below. Consecrated men and women must see and have concern for the present Malagasy experiences. They have to see the condition and situation of people around them, they have to discern it with evangelical criteria and according to Christ's message of God's Reign and they have to act to respond to the needs and challenges of the situations around them. That is the reason why we use a pastoral approach of "see-discern-act" in this study. A "missionary is not a person who always brings something and gives it to the people where he/she carries out a mission. He/she has to learn from context and human experiences. It means, a missionary must be ready to receive in a dialogical way from others, not only to give insights.