Fr. Robert Schreiter, c.pp.s. speaks at the 2018 Kansas City Provincial Assembly
Summary of the Discussion on “The New Creation”
by Fr. Robert Schreiter, c.pp.s.
Called on a Journey
Moving toward a “New Creation” calls the Kansas
City Province of the Missionaries of the Precious
Blood to embark on a journey. To help orient us in
this regard, we can turn to images in the Bible. The
Bible recounts a variety of different journeys, un-
dertaken out of different motives and with different
goals. Our movement toward a New Creation might
draw on elements from some of these to shape
our journey:
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Abraham and Sarah were well settled into what
might be called “retirement” when they were
called to set out for a new land and a new story.
They could have stayed comfortably where they
were, but were urged to move to something new.
Jacob and Esau undertook a journey back to-
ward each other after years of separation. They
did not know exactly what to expect, but found
themselves in a new place once they met.
Moses was called by God to lead the Israelites
out of Egypt to a Promised Land. The journey
turned out to be more demanding and lengthy
than they had anticipated. Part of the journey
was a purification process. In the words of an
old Jewish proverb: “It took God three days to
12 • The New Wine Press • July 2018
get the Israelites out of Egypt, but it took forty
years to get Egypt out of the Israelites.”
• Ruth decided to accompany her mother-in-law
Naomi to her homeland, even though Ruth
would be an alien there. Accompaniment can
change people.
• Jesus was called out of his home village to a
ministry that led him through Galilee and sur-
rounding regions, down through Samaria and
Judaea. His family didn’t know what to make of
it, and tried to bring him home.
• Paul thought he was making a trip to Damascus
to persecute the followers of Jesus. On the way,
God set him on a new path that led him in a
very different direction. He came to describe
that path as one of his being reconciled to God.
Which elements of these biblical stories help us
chart our way to a New Creation?
Discerning the Vision/Call that Guides Us
The New Creation process is about more than a
technocratic merger or reducing bureaucracies. It
is about responding to what God is calling us to do
at this time. Sometimes we speak of “seeing” a new