“We assume as a priority solidarity with the poor, the excluded, and those whose right to life is under threat, so that this may have an impact on our personal and community lifestyle, on our apostolic mission, and on our institutions” (PTV no. 40).
The community of Las Rehoyas began its journey in 1998. Since then, we have been defining and shaping our path, guided by the statement above from the Declaration of the XXIII General Chapter. In this sense, we highlight the fundamental convictions from which we seek to shape our entire life as Claretian religious:
- We are physically located on the margins of our society not only because we were assigned to this community, but also by personal choice. We are convinced that the place we stand on, and the people with whom we relate, shape life itself. We have chosen to shape our life from this context. Our experience is that this enables us to take on the option and perspective of the poor as the foundation from which to understand reality and to shape and assume our style of life.
- We strive to remain focused on seeking what is essential and dedicating ourselves to it. That essential is none other than God’s desire to bring forth, in history, a world in which all his children may live in dignity.
- We are convinced that the consecrated life we have embraced carries within it a radical alternative which, today, is profoundly necessary. In contrast with the exclusionary neoliberal culture in which we live, we try to shape and live the essential dimensions of our life (community, vows, prayer…) in such a way that we may be a sign of another culture which, in itself, makes possible an inclusive world.
- Our being missionary religious entails the demand to go out, to move. We continue to strive to make a threefold movement:
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- Towards the desert: solitude, nakedness, detachment… are conditions that make it possible to nourish the contemplative dimension, leading us to a twofold deepening: into our own being, to immerse ourselves in the Presence in which we live, move, and exist; and into reality, to discover the humanising heartbeat of God present within it.
- Towards the periphery: we remain attentive in order to be present in the peripheries, to make there the memory of Jesus — a memory that will always be dangerous. This has led us to define where and with whom we carry out our mission: the three parishes located in marginalised neighbourhoods, people who are imprisoned during their time of detention and later when they are released, and migrants.
- Towards the frontier: convinced of God’s presence in every sphere, person, and situation, we strive to draw near with an attitude of listening, collaboration, and mutual enrichment… to those persons and groups different in culture, ideology, or religion, overcoming fears, prejudices, and exclusionary or condemnatory stances.
