Fabio Ciardi, OMI

The synodal journey Pope Francis started (in fact the Holy Spirit started on the day of Pentecost) continues! And we are its protagonists.

Charisms fulfil their identity on this journey by sharing their gift, because sharing is in the very nature of charism. At the same time, sharing enriches the charism, allowing it to manifest its full potential. On this journey undertaken together and in mutual sharing, there is in fact something more, something that goes beyond the sum of its components, something that has the mystical consistency of the Risen Lord present among those who are gathered in his Name. It is much more than simple cooperation. “Christian life,” Pope Leo recalled in this regard, “is not lived in isolation, as though it were an intellectual or sentimental adventure, confined to one’s mind and heart. It is lived with others, in a group, in a community, because the Risen Christ makes himself present among the disciples gathered in his Name” (6 June 2025).

I shall develop and expand five points, with a “methodological” conclusion:

1. Personal charisms in relation within the same charism.

2. Charisms in relation within the Charismatic Family.

3. Charisms in relation to each other.

4. Charisms in relation to different ecclesial vocations.

5. Charisms in relation to the world.

6. A method for communion.

1. Relations between personal charisms within the common charism

I shall dwell at length on this first point, because I am convinced that if we are unable to live synodality within our own Institute, it will be very difficult to live it in the wider ecclesial sphere.

We cannot think of the charism of an Institute as a monolithic, anonymous reality. “Religious life” – Pope Francis pointed out on 7 November 2022, speaking to the members of the Community of the Claretianum Institute of Theology of Conserated Life – “can only be understood by what the Spirit works in each person called”.¹ Each person is invited to contribute to the understanding and implementation of the charism. As the Instruction Mutuae Relationes recalls, “Indeed, individual religious, too, certainly possess personal gifts, which without doubt usually come from the Spirit (and are therefore personal “charisms”).

They are intended for the enrichment, development and rejuvenation of the life of the Institute, in the unity of the community and in giving proof of renewal” (n. 12). The first level of the relationship between charisms therefore needs to be lived within the common charism of a missionary Institute, characterized by its communitary, collective, participatory, sharing nature, that arises when a number of people interact as they identify with the same mission.

The need for charismatic sharing arises from the awareness that each member of the Institute is unique, unrepeatable, indispensable: an object of personal love by God, endowed with a special vocation within the common vocation, that is not for that member alone, but to be put at the service of the same mission, to ensure that the endeavours of all the members of the Family converge in a dynamic of unity that enriches and enhances the common charism and

makes it truely effective in the service to the Church. “It is in communion, even when this proves painful, that a charism is seen to be authentic and mysteriously fruitful”, we read in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (n. 130).

I feel that the dynamic and active verbs Mutuae Relationes uses to indicate the contribution that the individual members of an Institute are called to offer with their respective charism are indicative: “enrich, develop and rejuvenate”. Enrich: the charismatic heritage received must be made to bear more fruit. Develop: the charism, although rich, contains elements that have not yet been fully expressed and are waiting to be brought to light with resourcefulness,

experimentation, creativity. Rejuvenate: the charism needs to correspond with the ever-new cultural context of the times. Each member is called to be a responsible, active protagonist in carrying the mission of the Institute forward. It is important to give each member enough freedom to express diversity and give full rein to gifts which, if coordinated and lived in harmony, can constitute a path for personal fulfilment while benefiting the entire group.

“The first service that each one of us owes the other,” Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in La vita communitaria dei Cristiani/Community: Life Together, “consists in listening to the other. Just as our love of God begins with listening to his Word, so too does our love for our brother begin by learning to listen to him. God’s love for us is expressed not only in the gift of his Word to us, but also in his lending an ear to us. And we, in turn, do our brother the same

service when we learn to listen to him.” ² And this great theologian and witness to faith in dark times, in situations very similar to those we are experiencing today, challenges and warns us: “Whoever is unable to listen to his brother, ends up by no longer listening to God and always wanting to speak himself. The death of the spiritual life begins here and, in the end, nothing survives but spiritual chatter, that sort of clerical condescension that suffocates everything with devout words.”³

It is a theme that was particularly dear to Pope Francis, convinced that unity is multiple:

“Uniformity is not Catholic, it is not Christian.… Unity does not imply uniformity, it does not necessarily mean doing everything together, or thinking in the same way. Nor does it signify a loss of identity. Unity in diversity is actually the opposite: it involves the joyful recognition and acceptance of the various gifts which the Holy Spirit gives to each one and the placing of these gifts at the service of all members of the Church. It means knowing how to listen, to accept differences, and having the freedom to think differently and express oneself with complete respect for the other who is my brother or sister. Do not be afraid of differences!” ⁴

How many different aspects, how many different interpretations of the same Christian mystery! This calls for reciproal acceptance, recognition of the differences that each person bears and readyness to benefit from the multiple perspectives proposed, without rigidity, exclusion, condemnation. On this point too, Pope Francis’ teaching is enlightening: “Differences between people and communities can sometimes prove uncomfortable, but the Holy Spirit, who is the source of that diversity, can bring forth something good from all things and turn it into an attractive means of evangelization. Diversity must always be

reconciled with the help of the Holy Spirit; he alone can raise up diversity, plurality, multiplicity while at the same time, bringing about unity. When we, for our part, aspire to diversity, we become self-centred, exclusive and divisive, similarily, whenever we attempt to create unity on the basis of our human calculations, we end up imposing monolithic uniformity. This is not helpful for the Church’s mission” (EG, n. 131).

When a personal gift is particularly strong and fruitful, the temptation is to overdo it, starting independent initiatives as though one were a freelance, sometimes to the point of leaving the Institute to reify one’s creativity. Or else, when one has the impression that one’s personal charism is not adequately recognized or valued, one may become despondant, depressed, withdrawn, and inert. Instead, the high road is that of “sharing personal charisms”: putting

one’s creativity, imagination, energy, enthusiam, and talents at the service of the common charism.

The success of an Institute’s government is measured by its ability to recognize the gifts of its members, foster them, and direct them constantly to the same mission, so as to strengthen thecontribution that each insight is called to give to the Church. Thus by preventing escape and individual digression that could distort the nature of the Institute, it guarantees the unity of the charismatic family in its various ministries and cultural spheres, besides maintaining its

identity. Mutuae Relationes invites individual religious to work “in the unity of the community and in giving proof of renewal” (n. 12).

Establishing a community is not simply building common spaces of individualistically understood freedom or shared comfort. Maurizio Bevilacqua highlighted this point in his publication on synodality in consecrated life: “It is necessary to build a ‘we community’ that fosters each person’s growth. An attitude that welcomes diversity as a gift must express a commitment to positive integration. This is also a service that consecrated life could offer to today’s increasingly multicultural society”. ⁵

There is no future for consecrated life if members are not empowered to be proactive or fail to assume responsibility for the life and mission of the Institute in all its aspects with bold creativity.

It takes experience to recognize and enhance the different gifts and talents, to help them to merge in harmony, avoiding jealousy, pettiness, but rejoicing in the specific and unrepeatable contribution that each member can make. For fear of dying out, a number of Institutes have “conceeded ‘space’ not to mature people, but to those who think they can give a new face to the charism through entrepreneurial options”. ⁶ There is a danger that by allowing a religious

man or woman ‘free scope’ to start projects according to business models, ⁷ the Gospels’ response might risk being equated to “methods based on efficiency, and ‘business logic’”. ⁸ Thus, ending up very far from Pope Francis’ recommendation: “We must not form administrators, managers, but Fathers, Brothers, companions” on the journey and not “functionaries”. ⁹

If a community does not live authentic “synodality”, it will be difficult for it to be open to others in the broader dimension of sharing charisms.

2. Charisms in relation within a Charismatic Family

In the Apostolic Letter for the Year of Consecrated Life (21 Nov. 2014) Pope Francis spoke, perhaps for the first time, at least terminologywise, of a larger family – a ‘charismatic family’, composed of men and womens’ Institutes, religious, members of Secular Institutes and lay people who all share the same charism:

In fact, around every religious family, as well as the Societies of Apostolic Life and the Secular Institutes, there is “a larger family, a ‘charismatic family’ that includes a number of Institutes which identify with the same charism, and especially the lay faithful who feelcalled, precisely as lay people, to share in the same charismatic reality” (n. 1). ¹⁰

The ancient Orders have a long experience in this regard: the same charism is lived in a maleconsecrated mode (first order), in a female consecrated mode (second order), in a lay mode(third order). Around the different Orders a myriad of Institutes inspired by the same charism has arisen. But even a congregation like the one I belong to, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, shares its charism with about forty Institutes of Consecrated and Secular life as well as an indefinite number of Lay Associations.

The various appeals that Pope Francis has addressed in recent years to the Charismatic Families have been a pressing invitation to share charisms within the single charism to enhance it. Particularly significant are the words he addressed to the Camillians on the occasion of their 59 th General Chapter, 2 May 2022:

From the charism that initially inspired St. Camillus, various ecclesial realities have gradually evolved that today form a single constellation, namely, a charismatic family” formed of men and women religious, secular consecrated people and lay faithful. None of these bodies claims to be the sole guardian or holder of the charism, as each receives it as a gift and interprets and implements it according to its specific vocation, in the different historical and geographical contexts. The original charism remains at the centre, as a perennial source of light and inspiration, which is understood and dynamically embodied in different forms. Each one of them is offered to the others in a mutual exchange of gifts that benefits everyone, in practical communion and in view of the implementation of the same mission. [...] “Dear Brothers and Sisters, I encourage you to cultivate the spirituality of communion among yourselves and with everyone, in that synodal style that I proposed to the whole Church, listening to each other and all to the Holy Spirit, to appreciate the contribution that each one offers to the one Family, so as to express more fully the multiple potential that the charism embodies. Seek out God’s will in communion”. Be increasingly aware that “it is in communion, even when this proves painful, that a charism is seen to be authentic and mysteriously fruitful” (Evangelii Gaudium, n. 130). ¹¹

Today there is an “Association of Charismatic Families in Dialogue”, recognized and adopted by the men’s and women’s respective Union of Superiors General, which regularly brings many Charismatic Families together. It is a practical way to facilitate reciprocal knowledge, relations and friendship between the members of the General Curias and the Associations linked to the various Charismatic Families. Besides encourage the study of the identity, function and challenges facing the various members of each Charismatic Family together; to share current experiences; to further the search for the most appropriate methods for more effective development and action; to promote greater commitment in the various fields of the new evangelization.

Without this broad scope, latent in the multiple ways of living the same charism, an Institute risks atrophying. To the extent that people with different vocations are allowed to express the common charism in their environment, and according to the nature of their vocation, it will assume a new, creative expression, and so help all the associated groups to understand it better. This means a real synodal journey within the same charismatic Family.

3. Charisms in relation to each other

We now come to the third level of communion: that between different charisms.

On 6 June 2025, for the first time Pope Leo had the opportunity to address the matter, speaking to the General Chapters of different charisms: of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis, of the Society of African Missions, and to the Formators of the Institute of the Servants of the Paraclete. He highlighted the variety and unity, the beauty of their harmony in the one Church of God: “The groups to which you belong, which differ from one another in kind in history, are all important to the Church. You represent three charismatic realities that emerged at different times in the Church’s history and in response to various specific needs. Yet you are united with and complementary to each other, within the harmonious beauty of the Mystical Body of Christ” … as the apostolate often calls for concerted action (cf. Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 7). “Dear Friends, thank you for your visit in this Hall today, which manifests three luminous dimensions of the Church’s beauty”.

It is inconceivable that one live one’s specific charism and exercise the ministry linked to it apart from communion with all the other charisms and ministries. Only in a relationship of unity can one understand the common root that unites them and the ‘divine’ attribute that each of them expresses. At the same time, in this relationship of unity, one can grasp the peculiarity of each and gradually acquire a working knowledge of the ‘wonderful variety’ of which the Church is composed. This fact makes one realize that one’s charism and one’s Institute are not an absolute reality, but are part of a greater reality; a greater vital organism.11 Discorso alla famiglia camilliana, 18-III-2019.

Every charism, the Apostle Paul taught, is a gift for the whole community while, at the same time, it needs the support of other charisms. We Catholics are transparent, open to one another, ready to give as well as to receive, living the ‘communion of saints’, the reality of the Church’s communion: “For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas’ [to update, we could say: Francis, Ignatius, Teresa of Avila, but also Padre Pio, Mother Teresa, Escrivá de Balaguer, Chiara Lubich…] or the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours; and you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (1 Cor 3:22-23). This text by Paul is enlightening, showing that the many affiliations converge in the one definitive belonging, in Christ, to God. What a great conception; what a vast horizon unfolds, what a release from short-sighted particularism!

In the liturgy, Mother Church nourishes us with the writings of the Fathers and Saints of all times, of all places, of all spiritual trends; she makes us celebrate their feastdays, she proposes them to us as examples, certain that if a Franciscan pays attention to Teresa of Avila’s teaching on prayer, he does not thereby abandon the path of Saint Francis, if a Benedictine reads Saint Francis de Sales, he does not deviate from his path. Sharing belongs to the nature of charism. Yes, “Nessuna charisma basta da solo/no charism is enough on its own”, as Rino Cozza entitled one of his books. Communion between the different charisms is a truly enriching experience: one contemplates its variety, its beauty and this is a source of joy, of ecclesial communion.

The invitation in the Instruction Starting Afresh from Christ outlines a clear programme in

this regard:

The communion that consecrated men and women are called to live extends far beyond their own religious family or their own Institute. By opening themselves to communion with other Institutes and other forms of consecration, they can expand communion, rediscover their common evangelical roots and together grasp with greater clarity the beauty of their own identity in the charismatic variety, as “branches of the vine” (Jn.15:1-8). They should compete in mutual esteem (see Rom 12:10) and “earnestly desire the highter gifts: charity” (1 Cor 12:31).… We can no longer face the future as a disgregated body. There is a strong need

to be Church, to live the adventure of the Spirit and of following Christ together, to communicate the experience of the Gospel, learning to love the other communities and religious families as one’s own.Thus, everyone can share in “The joy and hope, the grief, and anguish of the men of our time”, as well as in their success. The new forms of evangelical life also call for dialogue and communion (Gaudium et Spes, n. 1, n. 31).

Today there is much talk of “networking” between Institutes, which is important, but it is not everything. Cooperation and the sharing of resources, skills, joint action between organizations in view of a common goal is certainly strategic. But in “networking” alone there may still lurk some utilitarian, or selfish motive … very different from living the “mysticism of the encounter”, the communion that demands giving freely, because “every true encounter with a charism is the encounter with a voice that calls for selflessness first and foremost” ¹² . Obviously, this demands commitment, it requires effort….

“Journeying together means consolidating the unity grounded in our common dignity”, Pope Francis reminded us in his Message for Lent 2025.

It would be good, in this regard, to remember the many organizations (SEDOS is one of these) that work for communion and cooperation between different charisms.

4. Charisms in relation to the different ecclesial vocations

Each Charismatic Family is called to rethink and live its special charism in the broader horizon of ecclesial communion, careful to include all the adherents of the People of God, starting with the lay ones, so that “no one may feel left out”. The first time that Pope Leo spoke of charisms, he did so in this synodal context. It is worth listening to part of his Homily at the Pentecost Vigil with the Movements, Associations and New Communities, on 7 June 2025:

“On the evening of my election, moved as I looked out at the People of God gathered here, I spoke of ‘synodality’, a word that aptly expresses how the Spirit shapes the Church. That word begins with the Greek syn – meaning with – which speaks of the secret of God’s life. God is not solitary. God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a ‘with’ in himself – and God-with- us. At the same time, the word synodality speaks to us of the road ahead – hodós – for where there is the Spirit, there is movement, a journey to be made. We are a people on the move. This does not set us apart but unites us to humanity like the yeast in a mass of dough, which causes it to rise. The Year of the Lord’s Grace, reflected in the current Jubilee, has this fermentation within it. In a divided and troubled world, the Holy Spirit teaches us to walk together. The earth will rest, justice will prevail, the poor will rejoice and peace will return once we no longer act as predators, but as pilgrims. No longer each of us for ourselves, but walking alongside one another.… Dear Friends, God created the world so that we might live as one. ‘Synodality’ is the ecclesial term for this. It demands that we each recognize our own poverty and our riches, that we feel part of a greater whole, apart from which everything withers, even the most original and unique of charisms. Think about it: All creation exists soley in the form of co-existence, sometimes dangerous, yet always inter-connected…. So be deeply attacted to each of the particular Churches and parish communities in which you

cultivate and exercise your charisms. Together wih the bishops and in cooperation with all the other members of the Body of Christ, all of us will then work harmoniously as one. The challenges facing humanity will be less frightening, the future will be less dark, and discernment will be less complicated…. If, together, we obey the Holy Spirit!”.

The previous day he had recommended:

“This unity, which you live in groups and communities, spread it everywhere: together with the Pastors of the Church, with the other ecclesial realities, making yourselves close to the people you meet, so that your charisms may always be at the service of the unity of the Church….” “For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world” where “we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice…” (Inauguration Homily, 18 May 2025).

The Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici on the Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World had emphasized, on several occasions, the circularity or pericóresi of the different vocations in the Church, their intimate reciprocity, their mutual dependence. It states for example:

“In Church communion the states of life by being ordered one to the other are thus bound together among themselves. They all share in a deeply basic meaning: that of being the manner of living out the commonly shared Christian dignity and the universal call to holiness in the perfection of love. They are different yet complementary, in the sense that each of them has a basic and unmistakable character which sets each apart, while at the same time each of them is seen in relation to the other and placed at each other’s service” (n. 55).

The Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata, in turn recalls the “reciprocal relations” that exist between the various forms of life, “at the service of each other, for the growth of the Body of Christ in history and for its mission in the world” (n. 31). The Document also speaks of the need to foster mutual relations of communion for the perfection of life and the apostolate among lay people, priests and religious, (cf. nn. 18-20; 25 March 1996). ¹³

The Instruction Starting Afresh from Christ notes that the recognition of the lay vocation, (i.e. that the laity are Christians in their own right who, by virtue of being Christian, are called to holiness and mission on a par with consecrated people) is “a reason for joy for consecrated people, who now feel closer to the other members of the People of God with whom they are on a common journey in the sequela Christi, in a more authentic communion, in emulation

and reciprocity, in the mutual help of ecclesial communion, without superiority or inferiority” (n. 13).

The Instruction acknowledges that “a new type of communion and cooperation is being established within the different vocations and states of life, especially between the consecrated and lay people”. It then highlights some practical lines of cooperation: “Monastic and Contemplative Institutes can offer lay people a prevalently spiritual relationship and the necessary space for silence and prayer. Institutes engaged in the apostolate can involve them in forms of pastoral cooperation. Thus, members of Secular, Lay or Clerical Institutes, engage in relationships with other faithful in the ordinary forms of daily life” (n. 31).

What can lay people, for their part, offer men and women religious? If, in former times it was mainly men and women religious who created, spiritually nourished and directed forms of lay aggregation, today it may happen that the lay people and the New Ecclesial Movements, with a great majority of lay people, with their charismatic strength and their awareness of the current needs of the Church today, involve men and women religious and help them on their

spiritual and pastoral journey. A passage from the Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici states this simply: “In turn, the lay faithful themselves can and should help priests and religious in the course of their spiritual and pastoral journey” (n. 61).

For people who usually live their Christian commitment in the family, the parish and society, ecclesial life offers many forms of lay association. “The Church’s rich variety” – we read again in Christifideles Laici – “is manifested still further from within each state of life. Thus within the lay state diverse ‘vocations’ are given, that is, there are different paths in the spiritual life and the apostolate which are taken by individual members of the lay faithful. In

the field of a ‘commonly shared’ lay vocation, ‘special’ lay vocations flourish” (n. 56). These are associations of prayer, charitable, cultural, social commitment…. Often they are formed and organized on the basis of an authentic particular vocation”.

In fact, this vision of the reciprocity of vocations in the Church is expressed in a luminous page of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium: “In virtue of this catholicity, each part contributes its own gifts to other parts and to the whole Church, so that the whole and each of the parts are strengthened by the common sharing of all things and by the common effort to attain to fullness in unity. Hence it is that the People of God is not only an assembly of various peoples, but in itself is made up of different ranks” (LG, n. 13).

The challenge therefore consists in identifying a deeper communion, latent within the People of God itself, able to further the one mission. A unity that does not deny the plurality of vocations and ways of living the Gospel, but rather presupposes and enhances them. Parallel paths cannot be taken within the Church.

Each charism is called to “lose itself”, merge in ecclesial communion, on entering the local Church and give of itself, to then resume its charismatic reality enriched by its communion with all the other vocations. No religious institution will have enough light and strength to face the complexity of today’s society alone. We must work together, not so much to find common strategies – although these may be necessary – but above all so that from unity, from the presence of the Risen Lord who imparts his Spirit, each single Institute may receive the light to read the signs of the times, understand the essence of its own charism, and find ways to implement it today.

5. Charisms in relation to the world

Finally, each charism is called to relate to the world; according to its precise nature it addresses the whole of humanity. Synodality is a 360° journey. Charisms do not exist for themselves, but project “beyond themselves”, constant giving is the only way they can truly fulfil themselves: they are alive, they “update”, they are open to the future to the extent that they are ready to respond to ever-new needs. “The Church which goes forth” (EG, n. 24), the

movement to the “peripheries”, does not only imply a pastoral method, a way to implement the charism, but a hermeneutic way to interpret, understand and develop it. A charism is understood by its relation to history, being challenged in its practical, daily contact with the people among whom it is called to live and interact and to whom each one is sent. We are called to walk with everyone!

We become human through contact with the people where they live, there in the physical and existential peripheries, without withdrawing into protected niches: touching the hands of the poor to whom we give alms, become close and “take on the ‘smell of the sheep’” (ibid., n. 24), without being afraid to express sympathy, affection, closeness, overcoming the culture of waste, contesting the globalization of indifference...

The first “reform” the Church needs, Pope Francis said, must be one’s attitude. … “I see clearly that what the Church needs most today is the capacity to heal wounds, warm the hearts of the faithful, by closeness, sympathy”… accompanying them in their darkness, able to converse as well as descend into their night, into their darkness without getting lost. ¹⁴ They are prophetic opportunities, which seem arduous, indeed impossible to grasp. They nevertheless, constantly challenge us, and our deep concern impels us to do more.

A charism is understood and retains its prophetic vitality by taking a real interest in the whole person, in all the people of one’s time and in one’s environment, being ready to listen humbly, explore with friendly concern, absolute availability. Closeness to the men and women of today means accepting and sharing their values, their aspirations, the needs and anxieties that grip them, immersing oneself in the present and accepting all its human implications, sympathizing with the men and women of our time, fully incarnated; because only from within can hope and redemption be offered. We are called to open the ray of Apostolic Charity to all men and women, especially to those most distant, to extend the arch of dialogue as far as Charity possibly can: “Charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”... (1 Cor 13:7).

6. A method for communion

For sharing – in relationships and in dialogue – to reach the depth that leads to full identity, a “method” is necessary, in the original sense of the Greek term: “a path to follow together”.

The paradigmatic journey of the two disciples going to the village named Emmaus immediately springs to mind (see Luke 24:13-32). The Risen One, on joining them – He is the Way – dierméneusen, literally unfolded, explained, interpreted Scripture. In this fellowship there is a profound hermeneutic teaching. The Risen One’s joining the disciples on their journey shows that the life of the Church is a journey, and how Christ, the tireless traveller continues to accompany them/us. And what if we saw in those two wayfarers the representatives of two charisms? Maybe a clue of how to begin the “synodal journey”? We know that this word, synod, comes from the Greek, which means “to travel the road together”. However, we do not usually remember that there is another fine Latin word that

speaks of walking together: “co-ire”, from which derives “comes”, our “companion”, the one with whom we undertake a common journey: our “travelling companion”.

Walking together, as companions, with the Companion who joins us and does hermeneutics, “explains the charism”.… How? Let us reread a precious indication in the Decree Perfectae Caritatis: “A community gathered together as a true family in the Lord’s Name enjoys his presence, through the love of God which is poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit” (n. 15).

Enjoy indicates a steady presence that, according to the Conciliar text, accompanies the journey of the community, just as the Risen One became a travelling companion to the two going to Emmaus. We could take it as an emblem of the synodal journey within the Charismatic Family, among the different vocations and ecclesial charisms, of this journey with all “men of good will”. Now, as then, the Risen One present among people who live different charisms, communicates his Spirit, illuminates and makes hearts burn with ardour; fosters, we could say, not only an enlightened understanding of one’s own spiritual and charismatic identity, but the active involvement of one’s whole person, that fully adheres to God’s plan and draws the strength to exercise it in life. The Gospel’s “words”, of which every charism is an expression, acquire new meaning and assert their inherent vitality.

This requires the assistance of Charity – “a community gathered together as a true family in the Lord’s Name” –, the practice of the “new commandment” of mutual love, “through the love of God which is poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit”. The new Commandment of mutual love can take place not only between individuals, but between charisms, between different ecclesial vocations, and is expressed by acknowledging the gift of the other, through mutual respect and esteem, through dialogue, through cooperation. This requires setting self aside, being humble, so as to enhance the other. Not to impose, but at the same time offer the wealth of the charism’s work and experience over the centuries. Welcoming and appreciating the gift of others. “Those who join with others in pursuing an apostolic goal and those who enjoy a charism” – Pope Leo would say – “are called alike to enrich others, through the emptying of self. It is a source of freedom and great joy” (6 June 2025).

The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life’s Instruction, Fraternal Life in Community (1994), presents a mass of scriptural references in this regard to show the practicality of this path. They are worth remembering so as not to make “synodality” seem too vague.

“Every day, communities take their jouney up again, sustained by the teaching of the Apostles: ‘love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honour’ (Rom 12:10); ‘live in harmony with one another’ (Rom 12:16). ‘Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you’ (Rom 15:7); ‘instruct one another’ (Rom 15:14);

‘wait for one another’ (1 Cor 11:33); ‘through love serve one another’ (Gal 5:13); ‘encourage one another’ (1 Thess 5:11); ‘bear with one another in love’ (Eph 4:2); ‘be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another’ (Eph 4:32); ‘be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ’ (Eph 5:21); ‘pray for one another’ (James 5:16). ‘Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another’ (1 Pet 5:5); ‘have fellowship with one another’ (1 John 1:7); ‘let us not grow weary in well-doing … let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith’” (Gal 6:9-10), (n. 26).

How can we translate the Gospel’s words into practical attitudes of sharing and cooperation between charisms? “Not many missions, but a single mission. Not introverted and quarrelsome, but extroverted and luminous”. The Pope pronounced these words on 7 June 2025 last in Saint Peter’s Square, whose colonnade almost becomes a symbol, “like an open and welcoming embrace”, which “magnificently expresses the communion of the Church, experienced by each of you in the different associative and community experiences…”. CHECK AGAIN

A few questions for the participants to reflect on, share and discuss

1. In the study on charisms, is there a reference to the broader ecclesial context: the Founder's relationship with other contemporary Founders; any cooperation with other Institutes throughout history; a theological reference to the charismatic dimension of the Church?

2. How does the entire Charismatic Family exercise doctrinal reflection in the formation of candidates, in sharing the mission, in developing apostolic policies?

3. Are there obstacles to a true synodal journey in the respective Intitutes? What are the “good practices” that are being tested in this regard?

4. What opportunities are there for greater cooperation between the various Institutes? In this case too, “good practices” can be shared.

5. Is integrating one’s charisma into the local Church difficult? How can communion with other vocations be increased: priestly, lay...?

(Fabio Ciardi, Oblate of Mary Immaculate, professor emeritus at the Pontifical Institute of Theology of Consecrated Life Claretianum’ in Rome. He has taught at various Pontifical Universities in Rome. Author of numerous publications. Since 1995, consultor to the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life; since 2022, consultor to the Dicastery for the Clergy. At present he is director of the “General Service of Oblate Studies” at the General House of the OMI Missionaries).

1. Andare alle frontiere per essere audaci nella missione, in L’Osservatore Romano, 7-XI- 2022, 16.

2. Cf., D. Bonhoeffer, La vita comunitaria dei Cristiani, a cura di Natale Benazzi, Roma 2015, p. 106, and “Fraternal Life in Community”.

3. Ibidem.

4. Address to Fraternity of the Charismatic Covenant Communities and Fellowships, 31-X-2014.

5. M. Bevilacqua, Fare strada insieme. La sinodalità nella vita consacrata, Rogate, Roma 2024.

6. R. Cozza, Nessun carisma basta da solo. La fine degli spazi chiusi, EDB, Bologna 2017, pp. 37-38.

7. Ivi, p. 38.

8. Congregazione per gli Istituti di Vita Consacrata e le Società di Vita Apostolica, Scrutate, n. 78. Cf. “Scrutinize – Keep Watch”, 27 Oct. 2014, (Second Letter for the Year of Consecrated Life).

9. A. Spadaro, Svegliate il mondo. Colloquio di Papa Francesco con i Superiori Generali, (of men), in ‘La Civiltà Cattolica’, 165 (2014/1), p. 10. Wake Up the World – Pope Francis’ conversation with Superiors General.

10. Lettera per l’Anno della Vita Consacrata, III, 1.

11. Discorso alla famiglia camilliana, 18-III-2019.

12. R. Cozza, Nessun carisma basta da solo, cit., p. 36.

13. Cfr. ibidem, nn. 18-20, e specialmente n. 55 e la fine del n. 61. (25 March 1996).

14. Cf. Intervista concessa a Antonio Spadaro, ‘La Civiltà Cattolica’, 3918 (19-IX- 2013), 462.