A review of "The Meaning and the Mission of Religious Life in the Local Church"

Abstract

This is a collection of papers, reports and reflections from the General Assembly of Canadian Religious, held in May 1980. The theme of the Assembly was: 'The Meaning and Mission of Religious Life in the Local Church'. The Assembly followed a pattern now familiar to many religious and diocesan priests. It began with an evaluation of 'Our Blessed History' (pp. 21-60), followed by an admission of 'Our Sin History' (pp 61-82), with one final session dedicated to 'Our Hopes for the Future' (pp. 83-103). If you haven't the energy to read through the selected reports of the forty or more workshops then you will find a neat summary of their deliberations on pages 107-115. Here you will find the remark, 'We found more weariness and fatigue in continuing to count our blessings on Saturday afternoon'! The final section of the book contains the various addresses and homilies given at the conclusion of the Assembly, as well as two addresses given by Pope John Paul II to the sisters and male religious in Brazil.