Letter for the Feast of the Sacred Heart 2011

 God gives us the means necessary for living and carrying out our mission  The economy is a basic dimension of the life of every person  In our life as consecrated persons too  After the summons and example of Jesus, who being rich, made himself poor for us, so that we might be enriched by his poverty (2 Cor. 8:9) Solidarity and Freedom in the Administration of Goods Letter for the Feast of the Sacred Heart 2011

1.1.Participants in the hopes and drama of our times  The divine economy is very different from the human economy  The catastrophic results for billions of people when detached from principles of ethics and solidarity  We are especially called to be in solidarity with those who have been excluded from the goods God created for all Solidarity and Freedom in the Administration of Goods Letter for the Feast of the Sacred Heart 2011

1.2.Faithful to our Charismatic Roots  We have a structural dimension of our vocation in the Church when we consider the social consequences of economic activity  “It is necessary that the worship of the Heart of Jesus begin with the mystical life of a soul so that it can then flow out and penetrate the social life of peoples” (OSC, vol. I, pg. 3)  The economy of man cannot be maintained apart from the economy of God Solidarity and Freedom in the Administration of Goods Letter for the Feast of the Sacred Heart 2011

2.1.Open to the Treasure of the Father’s Love  Jesus himself made such examination of this reality essential to the life of human beings  Jesus always sees the goods of this world in their relationship with persons and the Father’s plan  The beatitude of the poor in spirit, who deliberately understand and accept into their lives the power and love of the heavenly Father  Without the presence of the true Lord of the universe, other lords intervene: a beatitude of possession, pleasure, and dominion  Consecrated life seeks to respond to this invitation to live this freeing, human, and joyful rapport with the goods of creation Solidarity and Freedom in the Administration of Goods Letter for the Feast of the Sacred Heart 2011

2.2.Called to the freedom and joy of a heartfelt solidarity  The beatitude of the poor/children of God is the source of a great freedom and existential joy  This joyful freedom grows in the measure in which one is able to shed dependence upon things and power in a renunciation that goes so far even as one’s own life  In consecrated life, we are called to live this invitation. We are not speaking about a thoughtless and reckless attitude, what is a denial of the gospel imperative Solidarity and Freedom in the Administration of Goods Letter for the Feast of the Sacred Heart 2011

2.3.Industrious Administrators of God’s Gifts  Freedom before the goods of earth is at the service of sharing  The option for evangelical poverty in consecrated life does not dispense anyone from the duty to contribute according to one’s abilities to the needs of the community and of those with need  God expects each one to develop and make fruitful what he has received by not thinking about things as exclusively his own Solidarity and Freedom in the Administration of Goods Letter for the Feast of the Sacred Heart 2011

3.1.Ready to pass from I to We and from Mine to Ours (I)  The Congregation follows the model of the first Christian communities in their sharing of goods (Acts. 4:32ff). We put everything at the disposition of the community: material goods, time, talent, and plans are not only mine but ours  The deceit in the management of material goods in the community is a radical denial of the gospel option expressed in religious profession  The sharing material goods is concretely expressed by: a simple and temperate lifestyle; turning over to community use all that we possess; depending on the community for all that we need to live on and work for; Actively collaborating in obtaining and managing the goods Solidarity and Freedom in the Administration of Goods Letter for the Feast of the Sacred Heart 2011

3.1. Ready to pass from I to We and from Mine to Ours (II)  The common burse is one of the essential pillars of the Religious Life of our Institute. In it we turn over absolutely everything and from the same common burse we receive what we require according to each one’s needs and the demands of the ministry  The common burse is practiced at various levels: at the level of each local community, in the various communities belonging to each entity, in the entire Congregation  Knowledge and observance of the Norms for the Administration of Goods (NAB) is everyone’s duty Solidarity and Freedom in the Administration of Goods Letter for the Feast of the Sacred Heart 2011

3.2. Co-responsibility in the Pursuit and Management of Material Goods  The matter of material goods and economic activity always has a relational dimension that ought to involve the entire community  We are co-responsible:  by a conscious effort of each one to find the resources necessary and responsibly to care for and use the means made available for each one’s use,  by giving the community accurate accounts of one’s revenues and expenses,  by participating with the entire community in the financial discernment and planning process,  local and entity counselor require being heard before any financial decisions are made Solidarity and Freedom in the Administration of Goods Letter for the Feast of the Sacred Heart 2011

3.3.Careful Administrators of Community Goods  Management of materialities are given to Treasurers under the direction of the Superiors. They are the complimentary roles and functions  The service of Treasurer is an essential element in the life and mission of every community  It requires ever greater competence and specific preparation (cf. the course for treasurers scheduled for 2012)  The training challenge has special significance in the field of finances Solidarity and Freedom in the Administration of Goods Letter for the Feast of the Sacred Heart 2011

 We wish to learn from Him the love he had in solidarity with mankind  “Rich as he was, he made himself poor for your sake, in order to make you rich by his poverty” (2Cor. 8:9)  It is from him that we learn the free and simple lifestyle, which lead to communion and brotherhood among us  We put all our gifts from God together and we place ourselves in solidarity Solidarity and Freedom in the Administration of Goods Letter for the Feast of the Sacred Heart 2011

Fr. José Ornelas Carvalho SCJ Superior General And his Council