ANIMATION
“He is the life and soul of the community.” This is the observation I heard, just last week, about a priest in one of our formation communities. This is the meaning of animation – being the ‘life and soul of the community.’
In fact, the word ‘animation’ comes from the Latin word, ‘anima,’ which means soul, life. The superior has to be for the community what the soul is for any living being. What does the soul do for a living organism? The soul does mainly three things: i) it gives identity; ii) it gives unity; iii) it gives dynamism (life). As long as the soul is present, an organism manifests these three characteristics. Once the soul leaves, it loses these characteristics. Take the example of a human being. Till a particular moment we say he/she is alive, that is, he/she is a human being and has a name (identity); every part of the person is glued together and works together for the good of the whole (unity); and the person has vivacity, energy (dynamism). After a particular moment, we say he/she is dead. He/she becomes a corpse (loses identity); each part disintegrates (loses unity) and becomes inert (loses life). Like a soul, the superior has to give identity, unity and life to the community and its members.
The superior guarantees the identity of the community in two ways: i) The superior is the steward of the charism of the congregation and of the vision/ mission of the community. The superior ensures that only those things that promote the charism and mission are pursued by the members. ii) It is said that, over a period of time, every organization takes on the characteristics of the one who leads it. The superior cultivates in himself/herself those characteristics that are in keeping with the charism and mission, so as to be able to bequeath that to the community.
Fr Jose Kuttianimattathil SDB
To read the entire article, click Subscribe
