Heralding a New Document

Cardinal Franc Rodé, C.M., the Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, on this World Day of Consecrated Life granted an interview to the Italian section of Vatican Radio, in which he announced that his Congregation, together with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, is preparing a document, which will also deal with the liturgical formation of the religious. Here is an NLM translation of the relevant part of the interview:


Q.: The Congregation is also engaged in a reflection about the importance of prayer ...

Card. Rodé: Some say that today men and women religious pray too little. I do not know that, I do not know if it is true and I certainly hope it is not. Prayer presents difficulties today, difficulties which maybe [were not so much present] in the past, in a time in which the rhythm of life was a bit more human, and there was not so much stress, not so much noise, maybe [then] prayer, recollection, concentration, thinking, elevating one's mind towards God were much easier. Today in a world as busy as ours, prayer becomes certainly more difficult. We must emphasize the absolute necessity of prayer in the spiritual life of consecrated men and women. This we want to try to do with the creation of a document we are preparing. Then there is also another point of view: Cardinal Cañizares, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, had the idea - which he prposed to me - to produce an interdicasterial document, with a first part entrusted to our dicastery and a second seen to by the dicastery for Divine Worship, about the liturgical formation of men and women religious. This, too, seems very important to me because on the one hand there is a certain "ignorance", a certain lack of liturgical knowledge and training in young men and women religious; on the other hand, there are also liturgical fantasies that are not always of good taste and which do not correspond to the desire and the will of the Church and to the spirit of the Liturgy itself. Some corrective measures appear, therefore, necessary. This part will be the responsibility of the Congregation for Divine Worship, and together we will produce a single document, consisting of two parts, that regarding prayer and that regarding liturgical formation. I think that both parts are necessary and will - I hope - benefit the spiritual life of men and women religious.