21 to gather round him and his idea, to live in spiritual communion and to contribute to the development and the maturation of the new institute. This action of grace is made manifest in the founder’s openness to other people, in his predisposition to read “other people’s signals,” in his protectiveness, in his ability to “transplant” his original inspiration and ideas, in his capability of infl uencing people, in his gathering and implementing “human power”. It is the gift of discerning vocations and choosing candidates, “radiating paternity and fraternity”; it is an enthusiasm for God’s causes, a zealousness in apostolic work, and an immunity from ill treatment. Thanks to this “grace of attraction,” the fi rst cluster of disciples is formed, the germ of the future institute is sown. The founder’s special role in the emerging institute transpires through his relations with the companions. He occupies the central place and is the binding element of reference for all. This fi rst occurs when he becomes the leader of an informal group of initially “attracted” friends, and later when he appears as the creator and superior of the community. The relations between the founder and his companions have been depicted in many ways: as a process of planting, as a spring, as a river, and as a construction. The founder has been depicted as a shepherd and as a father fi gure. The most frequent images is that of planting which points, above all, to the Lord’s direct intervention at the onset: it was He who planted the seed of new life in His Church, out of which a tree developed and grows ever taller. In this very sense the image of a tree entered the Council documents: “as if on a tree which has grown in the fi eld of the Lord, various forms of solidarity and community life, as well as various religious families have branched out in marvelous and multiple ways from this divinely given seed.”24 However, the oldest depiction is that of the father, which inscribes itself perfectly into the image of a religious family. These two pictures complement each other: “the family” underlines the horizontal (fraternal) bonds between the community members, while “the father” points out to the vertical (hierarchic) relations with the founder. The founder is the father who gathers his sons/disciples and passes on to them the legacy of the new family, his own example and rules, which specify the goals of the spirit, norms of life and governing. Yet, all those pictures tell us the same thing: there are special bonds between the founder and his fi rst companions based on faith, love, and mutual trust. All founders realize that God entrusted them with a specifi c and unique role and that no one can replace them in its fulfi llment. 24 LG, 43.
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