The New Wine Press vol 25 no 10 June 2017 | Page 5

Leadership
What Stories Are We Missing?
by Fr. Mark Miller, c.pp.s., Provincial Council
During these past several months, most of us have completed the four
discussion questions that we were to take to prayer and reflect upon as to
how we believe the Lord is calling us into the future. The important ques-
tion for us is, do we believe we have a future? When we answer that ques-
tion in the affirmative, we then ask what will the future look like for us and
for those who follow us? Here it may seem to get a little more complicated.
One of the temptations we must resist is to look back, as if—because it
worked then—it will work now. The Lord is calling us to a new creation,
to a new expression of who we are as Missionaries of the Precious Blo od,
comprised of incorporated members, covenanted companions, actively
involved volunteers, and laity of all stripes desiring to move forward
in bringing about a renewal in our Church and world. We are aware of
some of the challenges that lie before us; we are conscious of the risks
that may have to be taken. However, we must approach the future with a
sense of hope just as our former leaders have done, knowing that when
we “read the signs of the times in faith,” our God will guide us to a future
yet unknown.
Our first discussion was to share our best memory of experiencing
community life. It was an exercise in identifying the ingredients of that
experience so as to understand more clearly how significant that was and
whether we were able to implement those ingredients into our present
experience of living in community. The second discussion invited us to
see how we might be invited to “expand our tents” so as to include more
deeply those who share our spirituality and mission on a deeper level. This
conversation also asked us to reflect upon the “internal mission” and the
“external mission” of our personal and communal lives. The third discus-
sion invited us to look at some of our Normative Texts and reflect upon
which ones described our present way of life most sufficiently. This discus-
sion may have highlighted some of our deficiencies in living community
life but also reminded us of some of the more important aspects to what
we committed ourselves when we were incorporated or covenanted. Our
fourth discussion centered on how Pope Francis is inviting us to live our
“consecrated life.” Two aspects of his Apostolic Letter that struck me were
the phrases “read the signs of the times with the eyes of faith” and “live in
the light of the loving relationship of the three divine Persons.”
We have become familiar with the phrase “read the signs of the times,”
but when we add the phrase “with the eyes of faith,” it demands a more
careful reflection. How is our faith calling us to respond with greater com-
passion and understanding to the issues of our day? Perhaps our “external
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