Commissions of the Order (7)
New
Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Commission
Written by Super User
The General Commission for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation met for its last session of the sessennium from 6-11 May 2019. Since its composition in 2014 it has been seized with the task of promoting the formation, development and animation of JPIC structures in the whole Carmelite Family. Over the course of the past five years the General Commission has been working towards the publication of a Carmelite JPIC Handbook. At the end of our latest meeting we presented the Prior General, Fr Fernando Millan Romeral, O.Carm., with a copy of the handbook entitled "From Contemplation to Action: Handbook for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation in the Carmelite Tradition". The document acknowledges that there has always existed in Carmelite consciousness the desire to be of service to God and one’s neighbour in diverse ministries of prayer, pastoral care, education and advocacy. During the July 2017 Carmelite JPIC International Congress at Fatima, participants expressed the desire to have a handbook to help those appointed to JPIC ministries by providing information on the foundations, nature and methodology of Carmelite JPIC ministries.
Appreciation and gratitude go to all the members of the Commission who were drawn from various branches of the Carmelite Family – friars, consecrated religious sisters and a lay woman. The members of the Commission are: Frs Conrad Mutizamhepo, O.Carm (Praeses), Hariawan Franciscus Adji, O.Carm. (Indo), Eduardo Agosta Scarel, O.Carm. (ACV), Mark Zittle, O.Carm. (SEL), Jane Remson, COLMC, Annah Theresa Nyadombo, HLMC, and Ester Martin Lozano (Karit). Fr Florent Dundji Dhenyi, O.Carm. (Ita-Con) (RIP) was a member of the Commission but died in the DR Congo on 6th June 2017.
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From Contemplation to Action – Handbook JPIC 2013-2019
Introduction
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.. Gen 1:31 (NIV)
“The ultimate purpose of other creatures is not to be found in us. Rather, all creatures are moving forward with us and through us towards a common point of arrival, which is God, in that transcendent fullness where the risen Christ embraces and illumines all things.”
Pope Francis, Laudato Si’
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for
the blind, to set the oppressed free” –
Luke 4:18, Is 61:1 (NIV)
Francisco de Sales Alencar Batista
Prayer is the center of our lives and cannot be eliminated from a community and an authentic ministry flow. The prayer of the Carmelite community is a sign to the world that the Church prays [..]. Liturgical prayer is the highest form of encounter with God in the community and actualizes what is celebrated. Personal prayer is closely connected with the liturgical prayer: one flows from the other (Con. 64, 69).
In the last General Chapter, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI addressed to the Carmelites in 2007, Pope Francis challenged us to put prayer at the center of our lives as the source that nourishes, witnesses and expresses the noblest values of the contemplative dimension of the our charism. Prayer, according to the Holy Father, must characterize the dynamism of our presence and mission in the Church and in the world: "You are called to live on the heights of Mount Carmel, it is also true that you are called to give testimony in the midst of God's pilgrim people in the world toward the Promised Land [...]. Now more than ever is the time to rediscover the inner path of love through prayer and offer today people, in witness of contemplation, as well as in preaching and mission, not useless shortcuts but the wisdom that emerges from meditating 'day and night in the law of the Lord,' the Word that always leads to the glorious Cross of Christ."
Starting from the awareness of the urgent need to treat with special attention to the liturgy and prayer life in the Order, the General Chapter has sought to respond positively to this challenge, urging us to take seriously the responsibility with the development of a culture of prayer in all levels of our lives and of our mission: "We feel called to build communities of prayer whose main service is to teach people how to pray in the places where they are and serve, shaping it to a culture of prayer with our speeches, with our celebration of the liturgy participatory and contemplative, with the practice of Lectio Divina and with our attention to other forms of prayer" (Final Message, 2013).
The Commission for Liturgy and Prayer, created by the General Chapter in 2013, has as its overall objective to "foster in the Order prayer life in all its aspects." The Commission will work from the guidelines approved by the General Chapter and will try to address the concrete needs emerged in the field of liturgy and prayer, fulfilling concrete tasks entrusted to it for the next six years.
Members
- Francisco de Sales Alencar Batista (praeses)
- Edmondo Caruana (Mel)
- Mario Esposito (SEL)
- Michael Farrugia (Mel)
- Giovanni Grosso (Ita)
- Robert Manik (Indo)
- Giuseppe Midili (Ita)
