17 The Charism of the Founder’s Generation and the Charism of the Institute The founding charism—as the experience of the Holy Spirit—must be passed on, shared and lived out together. For an institute to come into being, it needs disciples and companions, endowed with a special grace. The grace gathers them around the founder and lets them share in his spiritual experiences, calling, and initiative, so they may live by the same ideals and lay foundations for a future religious community. This grace may be called the charism of the fi rst generation, the charism of the founder’s generation, or the charism of the co-founders. It contains both the charism of the founder and the charism of his fi rst disciples. It plays a very important role in the founding and development of the religious family of a singular, unique personality: it helps us to more precisely read the signs of the times, to specify the vision and the ideas, to construct the projected foundation, to inspire further plans of life and work, to create the framework of the community, and to defi ne the domain of the apostolic work in the Church. In the track of the founder and his disciples’ communal life, an unalterable spiritual nucleon of the charism is created, which makes it possible for this gift to express the potential of the original founding experience at various times and to survive amidst transitory things. If the charism of the founder and the fi rst generation is passed down from generation to generation, it becomes the charism of the institute. This is the gift of the Spirit who enables the members of the institute to faithfully read and update the founding charism, to bring it to life according to current needs and the understanding of their generation. On the one hand, this gift refers to the original idea and legacy of the founder and the fi rst generation; while on the other hand, it allows drawing from the pool of sound tradition worked out throughout the history by various collective bodies (chapters, conventions, committees, councils) as well as single individuals. Goals and challenges which were timely during the founder’s life may not be the only ones today, while the specifi c evangelical values that he practiced may not be exhaustive of the institute’s charism. However, the continuity of the bond with the founder and faithfulness to the original idea are always essential. Thus, the charism of an institute is not static but a dynamic reality: it is characterized by evolution and movement. This evolution goes in two main directions: ad intra and ad extra. The fi rst concerns the faithful imitation of Christ and striving for unity with Him. The second puts an emphasis on the openness to the Holy Spirit, active participation in the history of the world and acceptance of the new challenges of the time. Evolution and renewal will only be authentic when the institute realizes both of them in harmony. The consecrated life is also enriched by so-called functional charisms related to a specifi c function or offi ce. Formerly this gift was knows as “the grace of
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mw==