Consecrated Life at the Crossroads of a Limit Situation: Animation, Formation and Mission in times of Pandemic

“Now… let’s stand still. For once on earth let us not speak in any language,
for one second let’s stop, let’s not move our arms so much.
It would be a delightful moment, with no rush,
without engines, we would all be together in an instantaneous restlessness …
Do not confuse what I want with total inactivity:
life is what this is about, I want nothing to do with death.
If we were not so single-minded about keeping our lives moving so much,
and for once we could do nothing, perhaps a great silence might
interrupt this sadness of never understanding ourselves
and threatening ourselves with death,
perhaps the earth might teach us when everything
seemed dead then everything was alive.
Now I will count to twelve, and you keep quiet, and I will go.”
Pablo Neruda[2]

Introduction

I do not know at what point during the crisis these words will reach you. Changes are so fast and unpredictable that writing becomes almost impossible. I write on Easter day waiting for it to take place beyond the liturgical calendar. I am still waiting for life and I hope to challenge death in a short time: Where is your victory? Naively it has been said that the virus makes us equal, but the truth is that the virus has exposed the scandalous inequality between people and social groups, the incredible mismatch of health services, the amazing vulnerability of the global economic model, the fragility of the most basic human relationships and the poverty of world leadership. ‘Stay at home’ means for a small group to choose where they will spend their days in quarantine, while for millions it means being locked up with the whole family in a very small space where many inconveniences arise: if I don’t work today, what will we eat tomorrow?  Domestic violence, emotional tension and stress, the inability to meet the basic needs of children, or health and even to have a test in case of symptoms, the virus outside can mean hunger inside. Complying with measures for safe hygiene is not possible for many people who today find themselves between a rock and a hard place.  For them this seems like choosing between dying of starvation or dying infected by the virus.  For many sisters and brothers today this extreme situation is similar to Israel’s hecatomb[3] (slaughter) as they wait for one prophetic word and action that will not leave them abandoned, that will keep their hope alive and that will be at their side now more than ever.  Today we cannot abandon the poorest, but how can we get closer?  How can we be there in times of physical distance?

1. Limit Situations[4] and Human Vulnerability

The pandemic we are experiencing – death, suffering, fear, uncertainty, unemployment, physical separation – has placed humans on the dividing line between being (the known) and non-being (the unexpected). When falling into a limit situation, the person tends to free himself, according to Jaspers, from all the conventions, external norms and socially accepted criteria, which sometimes tied him down and which are a characteristic note of the “human existence” sphere. By allowing the person to go from being “in-authentic” to “authentic,” the extreme situation rips him from the shackles of common consciousness, which, according to existentialism, is not capable of doing theoretical, scientific thinking. The extreme situation that humanity is experiencing today is forcing us to rethink everything that previously constituted the meaning of life … everything appears illusory today for most of humanity: the world of appearances, human extravagances, consumption, one fighting for little things, our own securities. In this situation we hope that the human person begins to understand that this world and the way of life that we assume, separates us from the real, transcendent being, capable of a transformative solidarity, capable of entering and remaining at peace in one’s inner world and from there, to leave with the best of him/herself, to give life, so that all life advances … It is in the limit situation where the person is most open and free to meet God from his/her, sometimes, unbearable vulnerability.  It is in the extreme situation where we manage to see the other as a possibility, a call and not simply as a threat.  From the lips of a girl one could say: “Blessed pandemic, you have forced us to stop and rethink everything”!

2. The Biblical Exile – Israel’s limit situation – a historically focused reflection for those in Consecrated Life during these Times of Pandemic:

The Exile was a widespread hecatomb: the people lost everything that had supported their faith and sustained their integral existence:  land, the temple, the kings … Everything crashed to the ground; identity cracked; they were without power, without privilege, without direction; Israel found itself lost, with no horizon.  All was darkness (Lam 3: 2,6), an experience of nothingness, of chaos; as if God had rejected his people forever (Lam 3: 43-45): “My hope that came from God has ended” (Lam 3: 18), “I no longer know what it is to be happy” (Lam 3: 17 ), “God has abandoned us” (Isaiah 49: 14).  My friend, infected with the virus along with her entire family, on leaving the intensive care unit where she had been in a coma for 15 days and on an artificial respirator asked me on the phone: “Where is God?  has he abandoned us?”  She asked without knowing that her three children were already leaving the hospital and that her husband was close to death, in a room close to hers. The prophets and prophetesses led the people to a new experience of God, of the meaning of life, of relationships, of daily affairs, of the person, the family, the community and national interests. The extreme situation is a time for a new, serene prophecy, full of hope for the vision of what is coming – of what we do not yet know – for the profound interpretation of the signs in history. How was prophecy reestablished in Israel in times of hecatomb? a) A new ardor: from the ashes they brought out reasons for hope, for the crisis, feelings of purification and ways of recovery – With a new perception of God: Father (Isaiah 63:16), Mother (Isaiah 49: 15), Liberator, (Isaiah 43: 14), Husband of the people (Isaiah 54: 5), in nature, history and politics, Creator of the world and of the people (Isaiah 40: 28; 43: 15; 44: 6). – With a reinterpretation of the past: the people are no longer a race, the land no longer belongs to Israel, the temple is no longer of the Jews but of the peoples, the election is no longer a privilege.  Everything could be summed up in a dual conviction of both freedom and faithfulness: “Don’t worry about events of the past. Behold, I am going to make something new. It is already coming about: do you not yet see it?” (Isaiah 43: 18-19). – With a reinterpretation of the present: with realism, critical sense and mission consciousness. b) A new method (cf. Isaiah 44-60): listening and dialogue, tenderness and welcome; critical sense in order to see in darkness; faith in a God who is faithful, loving, close and missionary. c) A new expression: that makes transparent all of nature, history and politics in alliance with the poor; God’s presence in the life of people; new forms of human coexistence: “Break the unjust chains, unfasten the ties of the yoke, cut free the oppressed, share bread, clothe the naked.” (Isaiah 52: 6-7); for ongoing practice of law and justice. d) Mission of the believer: (Isaiah 61: 1-3). In the midst of the crisis there is a call for the complete and total liberation of those who are overwhelmed by uncertainty, widespread injustice, and systems of oppression. This liberating action is God’s action and God’s presence in the lives of those who dare to bring him closer to history.

3. Hermeneutical Keys for those in Consecrated Life during this Limit Situation:

a) Being inserted in the crisis while maintaining distance from it to understand it, to make sense of it: this is perhaps the most necessary and most appropriate contribution of consecrated prophecy. Faith does not take us away from the pandemic but allows us to enter its essence from the outside, to open it up to new horizons.In recent months, many religious communities have entered into deep processes of prayer, discernment and prophetic vision, in communion with and in solidarity with humanity, with the earth, with all of history. I personally cannot resist the thousand and one conspiracy theories, the xenophobic, racist, misogynist jokes that abound in the virtual network.  A sense of humor is a defense mechanism but it also has its limits; otherwise it becomes an escape from what is difficult for us to assimilate. This is the time for prophecy, and prophecy calls for the audacity to enter the crisis without fear and with a deepened sense of everything and the common good.
b) Networking action and communion with all possible instances of relationships: community, family, neighborhood, work, city, country, planet. Being “all in the same boat” can save us from the storm, with dialogue, listening, mercy, forgiveness, tolerance, solidarity. It has been repeatedly said that physical distancing forced on us by the pandemic is an extraordinary opportunity for connection in many other ways. Isolation is not an option for those in Consecrated Life today. There are already too many isolated people in the world.  How will we connect the whole, human family, to those who do not have access to the virtual planet? I was speaking with one Congregation’s general council who are quarantined in Rome. They have lost several sisters and many people in the homes for the elderly whom they serve in various countries in Europe. This general council decided to go together and visit virtually all communities, especially those most affected by the pandemic, to become close and in solidarity with them.  They told me sad and very moving stories but at the same time filled with a sense of communion and hope capable of bearing witness. We must meet now:meeting, we will pass through the fire of this extreme situation together; meeting, we will rescue what we had lost; meeting, we will return to essentials.  Finding ourselves is what God does when we are lost.
c) The willingness to convert, for a change of meaning and paradigms, with humility and determination, with sincerity and coherence, beyond alienating and alarming theories, beyond apocalyptic, pietistic, naive interpretations. Even now there are those who talk about universal punishment of a God that does not stop his anger against an always-alienated humanity. The famous United States ex-nuncio, Viganó, summoned the bishops to do a general exorcism because “the devil is at work.” Behind the pandemic there is an opportunity for humanity to respond before it is too late. This is an opportunity for all of you, both for all women and men and for today’s women and men in consecrated life.  Changing meaning and paradigms means taking on a new lifestyle, right now.  New behavior that favors life is the most credible way of any missionary activity, in this society that is suffocating from so many meaningless speeches. During these days of pandemic, some contemplative communities in Spain have dedicated themselves to tireless work to produce support materials, such as masks for those in medical services burdened by the shortage of these supplies. This is direct action to protect the lives of those who are at the forefront of the crisis in hospitals and in many other social services that have not ceased during the quarantine. It is a simple and effective example of what it means to change the paradigm when reality violates our ideal lifestyle, our sense of well-being.  We will not find peace by turning our backs on reality to continue our life as if nothing happened. Reality can force us to change the way we see and understand, and especially it can change the way we act.
d) The attitude of silence such as wonder, discovery, questioning, letting-go. Today we must regain the value of the word to heal hope and to regain boldness. The recovery of the word and its meaning requires the recovery of silence and solitude. Oh, blessed pandemic since you forced us to be silent and to be alone! What does it mean to speak to God beyond the many dogmatic assurances in which we become accustomed to living? What does it mean to speak of faith when life appears so vulnerable before us? What does dialogue mean, the relationship through the word, when we get used to empty rituals where communication is superficial and mere pretense?
e) Valuing the human person and creation above all, without naivety, granting structures, politics and the economy their due place. That which goes beyond the idea-truth-knowledge-dogma and includes the decision->good-decision->moral = functional relations “for”, art-beauty-aesthetic-love prevails = gratuitous relations “with” the brother-poor-God, who it is not only true goodness, but also the weaving of person-love-encounter.. In recent months, in many places for socio-political and economic decisions, there has been a great controversy about the primacy of life over the economy, of the person over the institution, of common good over the individual’s good.  This crisis has forced the regeneration of political action.  The world’s political leadership was unmasked in their decisions while facing the pandemic and the criteria that have been used to make those decisions. I have today’s statistics in front of me: about 2 million infected people and more than 120 thousand deaths worldwide.  But these numbers do not make me lose sight of the fact that these are persons, families, communities, towns and cities … These deaths and these infections rip apart tissues that are knit with other torn tissues at a distance.  A cry comes out from the bowels that I would like to be universal: life is at the center, it cannot be otherwise.  But saying this today is a very complex exercise. In the university where I work I have argued that the well-being of people is the essence of our decisions, without ignoring that this well-being also depends on the well-being of this institution to which they and they are vitally connected.
f) The alternative commitment of the believer who is not late but rather “with the desire of those who have to put out a fire”, as Saint Vincent de Paul said about service to the poor. This commitment joins obedience with life, faith with liberating action, truth with justice, participation with righteousness. It is from there that the believer cries out to earth, life, history, which is not that he has changed them for Christ but that he loves them so much that he reaches Christ in them. Many consecrated people and lay believers are on the front lines of care for the victims of the pandemic. Their tireless work and commitment inspire us. This pandemic is leaving behind a long trail of martyrs, of men and women who have given their lives for life itself.  Some of them are our consecrated sisters and brothers who serve in hospitals, nursing homes, social services, care for the homeless, etc. Well, let me to stop writing for a moment and stand up, and, from the depths of my heart, to applaud you and thank you for your commitment, for your courage, your decision, your tireless martyrdom … while I wonder what more we might do to help you, to support you when undergoing your endless varieties of fatigue, in your doubts and your own fears. Yes, we must give them everything they need to continue this service without risking infection. I have spoken to so many such individuals throughout the night on the phone or on the computer and after hearing them I experience a helplessness that comes over me and overwhelms me deeply.
g) Nature’s reaction to the pandemic offers its own revelation. I read with interest about some phenomena happening in many places on earth. In the tourist areas sea water has turned multicolored again, dolphins have come closer to the shores, birds fly through the cities, some wild animals roam the deserted streets, the sky is bluer and levels of pollution are at lower levels, the ozone layer is recovering… It seems that the whole earth and in it all life forms are being freed from the most lethal virus that permanently overwhelms them: the human person and his irrational lifestyle. Hopefully this is a defining moment in the global commitment to all life and not simply to human life. Hopefully today we can recognize that all forms of life are woven harmonically in a mysterious way that reveals the creative hand of God that watches over everything. Hopefully we will be able to understand the language of nature, its apparent relief when we disappear. Hopefully we can understand what the resilience of life means, the resilience of the earth and from them we can find our own resilience.

Conclusion

With this pandemic we are facing questions about life’s ultimate dimensions, both as individuals and for all of us.  Like viruses, our common humanity can erase miserable barriers, walls, and those ideologies constructed to keep them at a distance.

How will we overcome the pandemic?

1) By means of a global socio-political and economic commitment and global collaboration. The nations of the earth, now more than ever, must come together to support each other in their communications and information, care of victims, drug and vaccine development, sharing best practices openly, and above all generating a global strategy that is capable of defeating this virus.
2) Serious attention to science and medicine. The great scientists and experts in pandemics and respiratory diseases have a lot to tell us and to teach us. We must listen to them and follow their directions.
3) The care and protection of caregivers and those who defend life: in hospitals, on the streets, in social services.  We must recognize, protect, surround and support those who, by their very own lives, are taking care of us.
4) Attention to the most vulnerable sectors of the population: the homeless, the elderly, people with health conditions that make them vulnerable, the underemployed … If we do not take care of the most vulnerable now, we will have lost the opportunity to recognize and take care of the dignity of every person and, in addition, the virus and its consequences will stay with us for a long time. For believers and for those of us in consecrated life, this is the time for love and action, the time for justice to be creative to infinity …

Guillermo Campuzano, CM
Western Province, USA
translation:  Dan Paul Borlik, CM

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[1] This article was first published (in Spanish) in the magazine, CLAR, May, 2020.
[2] Redacted selections from Extravagaria by Pablo Neruda (Author), Alastair Reid (Translator), Noonday Press; Bilingual edition (January 2001), page 26.
[3] hecatomb, Greek origin, a large-scale slaughter or sacrifice, originally of a hundred oxen.
[4] A concept developed in the philosophy of Karl Jaspers