Handover of Leadership, the Mission Continues

Our constitutions are written in such a way that if a vacancy arises in the leadership of a Unit, or in the leadership of the Society itself, the Vice-Superior, himself elected during an Assembly, takes over and carries on the mandate until the end. If such a case does arise, it is often due to a reason of incapacity, poor health, death, misconduct. However, today’s situation shows us that there can be unexpected but much more delightful reasons for a vacancy, namely the promotion of one of our own, Kieran, to the service of the Episcopacy. We have no choice other than to “untie him and let him go” (cf. Jn 11, 44), since he must detach himself from the leadership of the Society. We give thanks for all that Kieran has been and continues to be for the SMA, for his many years of service, of leadership and grace. On this new and unknown road, which the Lord sends him on, we wish him courage, peace and joy. We are sure that in this service, which he will discover each day, he would use all that the SMA has given to him, and he would carry the missionary charism to Ireland, which has given so much to the SMA, and which, thus, is to receive in return, a little of what she herself has given.

On this 14th day of July 2010, at the Generalate of the SMA, there was no “taking of the Bastille”, nor, indeed, the taking of power; there was, in the simplicity that marks our own SMA style, a handover, a fraternal exchange of good wishes. It was followed by a prolonged family celebration around the table which was a little more sumptuous than would normally be the case. The Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles, the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of the Presentation, a few SMA members who were visiting and some friends attended the celebration. Here, words of assurances were freely spoken... The handover has been an opportunity to show appreciation for the team work that had been accomplished and an opportunity, also, to remind ourselves that the work of the three remaining years of the mandate will also be carried on in a team with Paul Ennin, Tom Wright and the member whom the Lord will send us, following the discernment of the members.

The recent Plenary Council has readjusted the orientations and decisions of the General Assembly of 2007 and gives us an important plan to implement. This Plenary Council showed, once again, the necessity of an even greater solidarity between all the Units of the SMA, on the levels of both personnel and finance; the necessity of focusing on both our charism and that which constitutes our mission, as well as the necessity of creating new ways of doing mission.
The rereading of our origins, of our history, the reflection on our missionary charism that had been undertaken for the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the SMA Foundation, and for the anniversary of the death of our Founder, led us to rediscover our poverty, our availability and, above all, the confidence to which we are invited. Confidence in God who calls us and who goes before us; confidence in each of our brothers, who have their own stones to bring, and without whom the mission of the SMA would not exist; confidence in the people who are very close to us, who participate in our charism, and who help us; confidence in those who welcome us and with whom we wish to establish some signs of the Kingdom. Let us not be obsessed by the craving for security – financial security, structural security, security of health – but rather, let us strive for the confidence and security of our faith.

May they be increasingly numerous, those who, through our proximity with people and our encounter with them, come to echo as we do Jesus’ praise of thanksgiving in today’s Gospel:
“Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I proclaim your praise: what you have hidden from the wise and the learned, you have revealed to the little ones. Yes, Father, because that is what it pleased you to do” (Matt 11, 25-26).

Jean-Marie Guillaume SMA
Superior General

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