Signs of the times

Process of openness to the signs of the times

To adapt oneself to the signs of the times and to do it with "creative fidelity and dynamics" does not suppose to alter the foundational charism, nor does it suppose to adapt its substantial lines to the current moment that our Works are living; it implies to make a re-reading of the first inspiration or the original charism to respond today.

This re-reading must satisfy in an integral form this interrogation: how would the founder set his Work now and here, how would he answer to the challenges of the society of today and to the expectations of the Church about our Order?

The creative fidelity and dynamics invite our personnel -to all collaborators- to enter in its dynamics, whose characteristics we can identify as follows:

• Attitude of search held to find responses for our better service.



• Creative fidelity to the foundational roots; they contain the germen or genesis of the mission for any epoch and type of Work.



• Coherence with History, whose evolution changes contexts, needs and cultures.



• Optic of process: it is not a matter of punctual or transitory decisions, but a far reach vision that runs itineraries with stages of analysis, clarification of objectives, strategies, resources.

If persons are those who make the Works and leave their stamp in them, the Order of the Pious Schools has to question itself now as ever before -given the change of epoch in which we live- what typology of persons it wishes as collaborators.
Joseph Calasanz was a clairvoyant prophet: "strive to give the cassock only to those persons more suitable to be founders" [22] . Today that requirement is widened to new addressees: it also covers our Lay faithful in any of their modalities.