11 November 1990
Arezzo, Italy

My dear Sisters,

Many years ago I recall a very saintly Confrere saying on his deathbed that he was not so much preoccupied by the evil he had done during his life, but by the good he failed to do. That was many years before the Church changed the wording of the Confiteor in our Mass. When the liturgical changes were made fourteen or fifteen years ago, there was a little phrase inserted into the Confiteor in which we ask God's pardon, not only for our sins of thought, word and deed but also for our sins of omission. When we find ourselves at the end of a day saying: "Well, I cannot recall any wrong I have done to anybody in the Community today," it is well to spend a little more time asking ourselves, "What more good could I have done today?" Perhaps we have not hurt anyone's feelings, but have we given them much encouragement in their work; have we positively promoted unity in the Community; have we offered a word of praise to anyone during the day; how much time have we spent reflecting on the hidden needs of those with whom we live in Community? Yes, we have need of God's pardon for failing to do the good we could do.

I have been reflecting on our sins of omission because the failure of the five foolish virgins were caused by sins of omission. The failure was not that they fell asleep, not that they failed to awaken at midnight, not that they were unwilling to accompany the bridegroom. No, their failure lay in this: that they had not provided sufficient oil for their lamps, that they had not sufficient foresight in the living of their lives.

The foolish virgins should have thought and planned a little for the future. Perhaps you might say that Our Lord has advised us to think only of today and its needs. "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself." (Mt 6:34). However, to worry is one thing, and to plan is another. Foresight is one thing; anxiety is another. Our Lord encourages us to reduce anxiety in our lives. He does not discourage us from prudently planning for the future. Towards the end of St. Vincent's life he appointed a very young man Superior. He was only twenty-six years of age. This priest, Father Durand, had the good sense not only to ask St. Vincent for some advice on how he should behave as a Superior, but also to commit St. Vincent's words to writing. As you would expect, the advice St. Vincent gave him was both spiritual and practical. After St. Vincent had treated of the importance of prayer and humility, he reminded the young Superior that he had to attend to the temporal needs of his community. Let me quote a sentence or two: "If in the Gospel the Son of God directed us not to take thought for the morrow, this should be understood as deprecating too much anxiety and worry about worldly goods. It certainly does not mean neglecting the means of livelihood.... Give yourself, then, to God, for the purpose of ensuring the temporal welfare of the house to which you are going." (Coste XI, Fr. ed., p. 350-351).

Prudent planning for the future is part of our Community life. In recent years the Provincial Project and the Project of the local community have assumed importance in the Company. The Community Project is, our Constitutions state, a means of vitality in its service of Christ (cf. C. 3.46). If the Community is to advance securely into the future, it needs a plan. It needs to exercise foresight. The Community must be numbered among the wise virgins of the parable. If we are to have a good community project, it is necessary that each Sister try to contribute in simplicity to the making of it and to contribute to its implementation by a humble acceptance of it.