This is a precis of the address (original - Spanish)
CHRISTIAN WOMEN IN THE REAL WORLD
We all feel an urgency in these historic times with the changing of the Millenium. This is a responsibility, and it is necessary to respond to it. The theme chosen by the preparation committee of this Assembly: "ora et labora" underlines the unity between the self and action, between contemplation and service. It is the heart of the Gospel and the message of St. Madeleine Sophie. Through our Sacre Coeur education, we have received a heritage, which we must develop through interiorisation and discernment.
1. The world today
What do we see? If one turns on the TV, a mass of problems: globalisation, external debt, outcasts, refugees, migrants, AIDS, violence, war, corruption, injustice...enormous wealth in proximity to misery.
In other times, man worked to live. Today, in capitalist societies, one works to accumulate wealth. This financial system, which has to serve the majority, disconnects itself from the production of goods, and it becomes "artificial", because it no longer produces goods which are necessary and tangible but numbers on computers.
Moreover, this system has perverse effects which were unforeseen: the threat to ecology and enormous social dislocation, which provokes violence, the consumption of and traffic in drugs, the rupture of solidarities...
However, the globalisation which produces these serious problems also has positive aspects: technological progress, solidarity, fraternity and sharing.
We are living through historic change and a totally new epoch; the crisis is global. We know this, but what is difficult is to become conscious, to feel ourselves personally involved and to search for effective responses. Confronted with an antagonistic civilisation, we must call everyone to a civilisation of love.
2. The Gospel Today
This we also know: it is love, love from the source, love incarnate, love given and given out. In the world, love, in all its forms, is the only wealth necessary: in education, in health care, in work and employment, in nourishment, the natural environment, the human environment, climate protection, for an economy of growth for all, in dignity and participation. It is thus that the Gospel was seen by the first Christian communities, according to the acts of the apostles, and this is the untiring teaching of the Popes and the Church.
But is it possible for us to act in the world according to the Gospel, in a realistic way? Is there hope for change? The gap between the message which we carry and our behaviour makes it difficult "for the world to believe".
But in fact, Christianity has just began. If there is hope for change, it is hope which is difficult to realise, if we rely on simple optimism. But present upheavals make it possible for change to take root in "in the other half of humanity". In fact, no inhuman situations have resulted directly from the power of women, because they were not included until very recently in power of a certain kind. What hope can come from their inclusion?
3.Women, and Christian Women, in today’s world
This theme is too vast for us to cover here, but we live in times which offer us historic vision: where Christian womanhood seeks its place in the worldwide movement which is changing the face of the earth. This relatively recent period where women have awakened to a new place in a masculine-dominated society, creates a search for something new, different, and harmonious. This is the moment to see ourselves as persons, in a situation of dialogue between men and women. Is this the basis for a new alliance within humanity?
In the time of St. Madeleine Sophie, hardly anyone cared about the education of women because their sphere of life was limited to the home and the family. All the same, their influence could sometimes reduce the consequences of certain acts conceived by men. Today, we can - and we must - act in our own right, so that we can prevent pain and distress.
But this new power is not a given: each advance has its price...Are women capable of changing the world? Mother Barat had foreseen this: it will be possible if we commit to formation at all levels (and this includes our own!), if we keep a living faith and the values of the heart, placing the human being at the centre, in the light of the Gospel.
And women are not better than men, they can be as cruel and manipulative...which is why it is important to make "the mind descend into the heart", in pursuing our PERMANENT FORMATION at all levels, politically so we can intervene usefully:
4.The Sacre Coeur Alumna today
Despite her desire for a contemplative life, St. Madeleine Sophie accepted the call of God to dedicate herself to education. As a woman of conscience, she was aware of the needs of her times and discovered within them the will of God. She consecrated herself to her task, uniting her great learning and her respect for thought.
It is up to us to respond in kind through a permanent and serious formation, and through the charism of the Sacred Heart, to move towards deep and true relationships between us, in the Heart of Christ. Like our Foundress, today we must again unite psychological and human traits with the spiritual and divine, those which permit us the openness and flexibility to accept change and to shape it, to grow without fear, to find responses to the needs of the 21st century.
The demands of today go far beyond the "good education" of the past. We are confronted with a world which demands excellence through generosity, dynamism, competence and humility in constant love. As Sacre Coeur alumnae, we have been given a "talent for relationships". Shall we be creators of true relationships? Times change, but the human heart does not change. And the image of Mater inspires us always; between reading and spinning she takes the time for inner thought and prayer, in the middle of her work. This is a precious antidote to contemporary stress!
Mother Barat opened up an educational revolution by founding schools and colleges for all social classes, in solidarity with all humankind, finding in each person a dignity both human and divine.
For us also, education does not simply imply knowledge, but above all, true values. Education today must form habits of consumption and lifestyles which favour physical and moral health. The economic system does not in itself possess the criteria which allow us to distinguish new forms of response to new needs. It is therefore urgent to form a new culture of consumption, a culture of responsibility for producers, professionals and the means of social communication. At the heart of a civilisation of death, let us create a civilisation of life, in educating towards a new life and towards human dignity.
We cannot do everything but each must do her "little bit", which depends on herself, but this little bit has to be heartfelt and effective, as St. Madeleine Sophie wrote.
This "little bit" is often the only possible choice (even for economists!) and this has began to be recognised: micro-enterprises, cooperative banks, alternative economies which contribute towards the creation of a culture of solidarity for life: austerity and participation contribute towards realistic and serious politics. All this is part of the culture of the heart and the Gospel. The small and the humble are contented. Those who have empty hands are content, because they are open to the Spirit.
If we are not open to the Spirit, to Life, this assembly will just be a pleasant holiday, a source of nice memories. But we all feel that we live in times of urgency. We have come to Mexico to meet each other in earnest, in order to grow in conscience, to accept our responsibilities as Christian women in today’s world, and to seek ways to act together.
The third Millenium will be that of the alliance between masculine and feminine, of dialogue and communication. Can we also make it the Millenium of peace and love? It is possible in Him who gives us His strength and His Power of transformation. Let us listen to Him and , together, collaborate in relationships of the Heart, of peace, of sharing, knowing that, without Him, we can do nothing.
San Luis Potosi
April 1998