23 Finding the Domain of Apostolic Work Another gift of the Holy Spirit, common to all founders, is the ability to properly read the signs of the times and to discern the current needs of the Church and the world. It is also the awareness of current challenges and the ability to point out solutions. Immersed in Christ and His Word, they weigh the facts and circumstances, as John Paul II said: “From familiarity with God’s word, they draw the light needed for that individual and communal discernment which helps them to seek the ways of the Lord in the signs of the times. In this way, they acquire a kind of supernatural intuition, which allows them to avoid being conformed to the mentality of this world, but rather to be renewed in their own mind, in order to discern God’s will.”25 Looking at the world with the eyes of the spirit, they saw shortages and the new needs of the Body of Christ as well as social problems and ailments. They discovered the deep sense of historic events and the challenges of their times. Courageously, dynamically, and judiciously responding to circumstances, they sought a free apostolic domain, thanks to which they could contribute to the salvifi c mission of the Church. It seems that rising up new forms of consecrated life has been always a precise response to the Church’s current needs. All models of consecrated life known throughout history— anchorites, cenobites, clerics regular, knightly orders, mendicants, canons regular, congregations, lay institutes—manifest a specifi c manner of responding to the new circumstances within the Church and the world. Some founders—especially those who lived at turning points in history, such as St. Benedict, St. Francis, and St. Ignatius—demonstrated in this aspect an extraordinary originality and insight. They brought important and radical changes into the religious life thus sowing the seeds of future great reforms in the Church and the world. This ecclesial outlook on the founding charism lets us see its three strata that create a solid internal unity and enrich the Church. First, it brings Christ and His message closer in a new manner, as seen from the charism’s own perspective. Then, this new presence of Christ’s particular aspect begins to show itself as a response to specifi c needs of the times. And fi nally, it is the infl uence of the community’s spirituality and mission over its form. Showing how the Gospels may be applied to life and making Christ “closer to us,” the founders become authentic apostles as well as an actual response sought by their contemporaries. We’d venture to say that in his way, each founder is a forerunner of a new evangelization, which is—as John Paul II said, addressing the Council of the National 25 VC, 94.
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