rooted and audacious

i have always liked the liturgical feast of saints peter and paul. it is one feast with the two great apostles together. the related image of this feast are two feet: one as st peter and one as st paul. the foot representing peter is planted solidly on the ground. it is foundational, firm, strong, and not to be moved. the foot representing paul is off the ground stepping forward, courageous, unflappable, and moving in a new direction.

this is church at its best. grounded and moving forward at the same time.

i think it was last year when i had heard of the proposed theme of our claretian congregation general chapter theme: rooted and audacious. i had immediately thought of saints peter and paul. as missionaries, we are called to be grounded and moving forward. i looked forward to see how our worldwide claretian leadership would unpack this theme of rooted and audacious. what will it mean for us?

for me, i had thought that a play on the theme could be “rooted in love; audacious in the Spirit.” as i have written many times in these blogs, for me, our christian faith makes no sense outside the overall framework of love. without love, all of our teachings just become legalistic precepts for power. also, the Spirit is what animates, leads and guides us. at times, despite ourselves. i think that these two ways– love and Spirit– would be a fantasic framework for being rooted and audacious.

at the chapter in rome, the leadership chose a wonderful framework for the theme: rooted in Christ, audacious in mission. i embrace this way of being. to have our foundation discovered anew in jesus as the Christ is to be rooted in the Person who has called us forward in our baptism and all the sacraments. it is to be refocused on how to live our vows– poverty, chastity and obedience– as jesus did. it is to be strengthened by Christ’s real presence in communion. to be audacious in mission is to realize that our work and actions are focused on others. it is not our mission but the mission of jesus continued through us doing our part. these are works done together with mary’s heart.

st paul and st anthony claret become our models in mission. both were audacious in the Spirit to do their part in jesus’ mission to share God’s love.

how are you rooted in God? how do you live your faith audaciously?