MY EXPERIENCE
IN SAINT-AGNÈS, DONNACONA,
I am a Father of St.-Vincent of Paul and vicar of Holy-Agnès of Donnacona since 2 years and half. We followed the catéchèses of the neo-catéchuménat of February 9 to March 30, 1981, with the convivence that took place April 3-4-5, 1981.
We were, to the convivence, about thirty people.
Goal of my intervention:
- Not to demolish and to make disappear forever this spiritual movement that I really believe a work of the mind-Saint.
- My goal is to help the persons responsible of the movement to think on some points, that seem me, to me, and to a lot of other, exaggerated, improper and not always in conformity with the teaching of the church, in order to give back a new breath to this spiritual movement, that has his/her/its place in the church.
To - what I liked:
- I was happy to be able to take the big stages of the spiritual life, that had to bring me to live my baptism better.
- I have a very big taste for God's Speech. I was in joy to the thought that I would deepen this inspired Speech. In fact, I liked to meditate on Abraham, on Moïse and on the path browsed by the Hebrew people: of his/her/its exit of Egypt until his/her/its entry in the promised Earth.
- The reflection on the Path of conversion that I must constantly follow made me a lot of well.
- Several catéchèses touched me.
-I liked the celebration of the forgiveness and the feast that followed well.
B - what I have less liked:
1 - atmosphere:
- Too long Catéchèseses.
- Too numerous and too long words of God to meditate.
- Interminable songs. Impossibility to interpret other songs.
- No good evening, nor to the arrival, nor to the departure, on behalf of the catéchètes.
- No smile on their face. They didn't seem of people that lived the joy of the presence of the Resuscitated. I could not imagine holy Paul with such a face.
- They produced us, by heart, their catéchèse. One felt that, for most, it was the recitation. Sometimes, they had whites of memory and it was laborious for the audience. Then the catéchètes made a "caucus" and the catéchète designated took his/her/its narration.
- They interrogated people personally and the answer that one gave was always false and one told us: "Listen to the catéchèse." According to them, what one had taught us before and that had made us live was improper or false.
2 - what I could not accept in the content of the catéchèses:
- They ridiculed the worship of the Holy-Sacrament. It indisposed several of them.
- They didn't take any account of our different progress. We were not all to the same starting point. For them, we were all of the pagans and they came to bring us "the Good News."
- They don't question the inspiration of their catéchèses by no means. They only swear by Kiko and Carmen.
- For them, the liberal arts are of no utility for our spiritual progress.
- According to them, one must not ask for the recovery, because "all is grace, all is love."
- I didn't accept that the celebration of the eucharistie makes itself outside of the parochial community, Saturday evening, and I felt ill at ease in the rigidity of the rituals in the celebration of this sacrament.
- I could not accept this absolute obedience to the catéchètes.
- I didn't admit either that there is not of period of questions. It was "Believe it and say nothing about you."
- I could only accept the neo-catéchuménat is the only path of conversion. It be reduce the power of the mind indeed, when one knows that "the mind blows where it wants and as it wants it."
C - what I refused:
I refused to be the pastor of the new community.
- After having said "yes" at the end of the convivence because I was the last to be able to answer and that everybody before me had said "yes", the following day, I called the person responsible to tell to him that I could not enter into such a movement.
- The very day of my refusal, without I speak to of it to that that it is, several phoned me to tell me that they had not slept of the night and that they regretted their "yes."
- For my part, when I said "yes" I believed that I would have a certain liberty of action, in the middle of the different activities of the parish. I needed, since the week that followed, to have at least two meetings to prepare and to live the next eucharistie that had to absolutely take place the following Saturday, when my diary was full every evening with the S.P.B., the S.P.M., the churchwardens, the C.P.P., etc. One advised me all to drop and that all would relive after and in better.
- One came to meet me
- a first time, it was the team of the catéchètes of St. Jean-Baptist of the room to tell me that I made the work of the demon.
- a second visit, with the Italian catéchètes, ten times stronger than those of the first and with arguments ten times more powerful for me culpabiliser, while telling to me for example: "What would have arrived if the Virgin Marie had said "no" to God's messenger?"
- a last meeting took place with all those that had participated in the convivence. The animators of Co-Foy played the same game of guilt. As pastor, I took the liberty to intervene, to let people free good to adhere to the movement and to join the community of St.-Augustin or to refuse, that we had to listen to the call of the mind solely without feeling judged us, that we owed all to remain the brothers and sisters united in the charity.
On 30 to 35 people, 12 gave their name.
- During all this harassment that one made me undergo, I felt in peace with the Lord and even the Italian catéchètes didn't succeed in sowing a doubt in my mind.
I could not accept their pressure indeed.
More they made pressure, more I felt strong to answer to them.
Conclusion:
I ask the Lord so that the big persons responsible of the Neo-Catéchuménat make a deep discernment, with the lights of the mind-Saint, on the methods of presentation of their catéchèses, on their content in light of Vatican II and the teaching of the last Popes, and on the inspiration that comes from Kiko and the one that comes of the mind.
I ask the mind-Saint to give them the humility to accept their mistakes. Their obedience to the legitimate authority will be the test of the authenticity of their own conversion.
I wish all my heart that this spiritual movement, inspired by the mind, but wasted by the men, knows a blossoming through God's whole people, in the middle of numerous other spiritual currents, also caused by the mind, so that God's Kingdom built himself/itself "here and now", as the mind wants it.
Aurélien Bernard S.V. cleaned
Holy-Agnès of Donnacona
February 26, 1982
