February 2012 - Nº 17

Is Religious Life in an Identity Crisis?

“But you, who do you say I am?”

A few weeks ago, I was participating in a meeting with a few Major Superiors on the theme of Religious life today. During the sharing, I was touched by the reflection of Father Adolfo Nicolas, Jesuit, which conjured up in my heart a call to reflect on our own identity. For this reason, I will share with you some thoughts that seem to me to address the Congregation:

“Today more than ever, this is the time of Wisdom. With the multiplicity of our cultural and religious contexts, faced with the fragility of life, the precariousness of relationships, the political and economic instability, the loss of credibility of some institutions, the human   person needs to hear words of wisdom. More than ever, they are seeking persons of wisdom. The future will belong to Wisdom who comes to give meaning...without imposing, but rather like Jesus, in quality relationships with others, bringing them to discover the best of themselves and the mission where hopefully they can bring their contribution in order to   better realize a more just and human world.”

How can we make that Word of hope our own? Will we let ourselves be touched by it and maybe even enlightened? Our time is the time of Wisdom...Is it not a call to affirm our   identity as Daughters of Wisdom, chosen and accepted in a Congregation that has its place in today’s world?

The question of identity has always been fundamental for us human beings. It is often    mentioned in the Bible. God himself declared Jesus’ identity as “…the Beloved of the       Father” during his baptism in the Jordan and at the Transfiguration¹ . John the Baptist asks Jesus: “ Are you the one who is to come..?”^2. Later, Jesus asks the same question of his     disciples: “But you, who do you say I am?”³ and to Peter, He will say: “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church”⁴ thus clearly linking identity and mission.

As Leaders of Congregations, many times the question of the identity of religious life surfaced for reflection. We found ourselves facing the challenge of the frequent conflict emerging between personal identity and institutional identity. [...]

Daughters of Wisdom, we are invited to draw our deep identity from a relationship with God according to the spirit of Wisdom, that is, according to our experience of life enlightened by the Word of God. Without definite answers, we must always be women of desire, search and consistency, capable of offering to the world “spaces” of wisdom in order to journey with those persons who are in search of identity!

Thus, personally and as Congregation, we will show the sign of a religious life marked by Wisdom Culture!

Sr. Louise Madore, DW
Superior General

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1 Lk, 3:22, Mt 17:5
2 Lk 7:19
3 Lk 9:20
4 Mt 16:18