An essay by Linda Buck, CSJ, from the upcoming book Leaders of Hope
I am writing this after the devastating fires in Los Angeles in the United States. I live about 10 miles from one of the major fires that turned the town of Pacific Palisades into ash. This was only one of several fires during January 2025 that created the worst fire storm we have ever seen in this area, destroying over 15,000 structures and caused over 25 deaths. Those running from the flames called them “devil winds,” noting the Santa Ana Winds so common in Southern California, that fueled the destruction.
The numbing effect of the disaster is still in the air, with an outpouring of care and resources. Yet, no one can take away the process of grief, disorientation, anger, and rebuilding. There is a tension implicit in this journey as we claim terms like “LA Strong” and “we will rebuild better.” Perhaps these are simply faint claims to bolster the spirit and show we are resilient.
The tension of this devastating, unreal reality reminds me of what I am experiencing in religious life today. As I reflect on transformational leadership and the transformation of systems that is occurring, I am reminded of the nature of fire and how it destroys yet also creates. I share some of my reflections.
Destruction
There is no doubt that fire causes destruction. It usually comes as a surprise as we do not generally plan for a fire to tear through the places we call home and those things we are most familiar with. As a native Californian, we plan for fires (and earthquakes). We have a “go bag” containing important documents that can be grabbed quickly. Our lives are a constant foreshadowing of potential crisis. Yet, nothing can truly prepare us for when disaster happens. Similarly, despite every attempt to be prepared, we are also unprepared for the changes happening in religious life today. This is because the changes happening are not about making decisions, shifting ministries, and selling properties, although this is a reality for so many congregations in all parts of the world. Difficult, gut-wrenching decisions of loss and change.
The change religious life is going through goes beyond because it is a change to our very systems and way of being. As Pope Francis and others have indicated, we are in a change of era (1). This is mentioned in the Introduction of this book. The very institution of religious life is shifting and will hold echoes of what it was, carrying forward something no one can yet see. It is like an island shrouded in fog. We know it is there; we may get a glimpse of it, yet it is elusive.
Even with this destruction, I hold such great hope. This is radical courage. As Paulo Freire indicates, we are in a phase of transition that demands a time of announcement and a time of decision.
This shock between a yesterday which is losing relevance but
still seeking to survive, and a tomorrow which is gaining sub-
stance, characterizes the phase of transition as a time of
announcement and a time of decision. (2)
The current models are not allowing for this expansive freedom of announcement and decision-making. I often say that, for the younger generation of religious, the future is being created for us.
We are in a system that is “losing relevance but still seeking to survive.” It is not religious life that is losing relevance. The essence, ideals, and call of religious life are needed more than ever during this time. Rather it is the structures that are created to be religious life that are losing relevance.
I do not have the answers. What I witness right now is a dying of our current structures. Even the most robust ministry or the largest congregation will be called to face a reality to navigate in a new way. No one will be spared from this experience. The fire is destructive. The frame of the houses will turn to embers and collapse.
Walter Brueggemann, in The Prophetic Imagination, writes about the end of the dominant culture. It is a warning, as well as an invitation to its inevitability. We must remember that Jesus’ life is a witness to a change of era.
Jesus is remembered and presented by the early church as
the faithful embodiment of an alternative consciousness.
In his compassion, he embodies the anguish of those reject-
ed by the dominant culture, and as embodied anguish, he
has the authority to show the deathly end of the dominant
culture. (3)
Containing the Fire
What type of leadership is needed as we navigate this destruction and move into the glimpses of the unknown future? We need leaders who possess radical courage and who can hold space for communion, encounter, silence, participation, and inclusion. Pope Francis has told us that we must keep widening our tents, in reference to Isaiah 54:2. The Working Document for the Continental Stage of the Synod states that the “tent is a space of communion, a place of participation, and a foundation for mission” (4). It takes radical courage to widen our tents. I do wonder if the tent structure of religious life is too tightly tied in place, the ropes too short, and thus the tent that needs to widen cannot.
In real life, like the fires in Los Angeles, we experience the relief when fire begins to be contained, and when it is fully contained. This means the destruction will end. However, for the unfolding journey of religious life, I think the containment and control many in my generation are witnessing will only hinder the future. The destruction, or better put, deconstruction, needs to be allowed. This is a fire we want to see unleashed.
Dare I say that it seems we are putting what we think is new wine into old wineskins?
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the
new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the
wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new
wineskins, and both are preserved. (Luke 5: 37-39)
We are in a new time, yet many of our structures, institutions, and mindsets demand that we continue to sustain them, which promotes the status quo. We need to let go of the myths and the history that hold us hostage. These become the story and the history rather than a part of the total story.
In my work with leadership formation and facilitation, I have the privilege of journeying with leaders of all kinds, including elected. There is one theme that repeatedly emerges from leaders: we cannot put old wine into new wineskins, yet it seems like this continues to be a reality. For example, there is talk by those on a team, or the entire congregation, or the ministry, that there is a desire to work collaboratively, create space for different approaches and ideas, and foster a circular rather than hierarchical way of being. However, my experience is that this does not happen. A “younger” sister agrees to be a leader because of these commitments and yet, the reality is nothing like the agreement. It seems that the system remains similar to what it was, even though the words might be used (e.g., “we are working collaboratively”). I know many “younger” sisters who are experiencing burnout, serious illness, or discern to quit because the dominant system that protects the status quo will not create space for something new. It appears that old wine is being put into old wineskins and the new wine is being wasted.
Purposeful Fire
Walter Burghardt, SJ refers to the idea of taking a long, loving look at the real (5). This contemplative movement is a challenge and call for every generation, as Nigerian scholar-activist Chinua Achebe clearly states.
Every generation must recognize and embrace the task it is
designed by history and by providence to perform. (6)
We have six generations within religious life today (7). Each generation has its own developmental task. In religious life, it seems that the generations get lumped together, diffusing this reality. As the Introduction mentions, four of these generations are labeled as the “younger” or “newer” sisters. This eliminates the ability to claim the developmental tasks that every generation needs to accomplish to continue moving the system forward.
In my early years of religious life, I remember having a conversation with someone in my congregation about ministry. I remember asking the question: “What were you doing for ministry when you were in your 40s?” She replied she had been a principal of a school, on the leadership team, etc. I smiled and noted the responsibility and leadership she had at this “young” age. She got the point. This is but one example of what I hear from my peers, and the generation before us, who were overlooked for leadership positions by their preceding generation of sisters. We continue replicating the pattern. Now, my fear is that my generation, Gen X, will do the same for those who are truly the “younger” generation (Gen Y and Z). How are we leading differently?
Change is difficult. It is challenging to take that long, loving look at the reality of our lives, the fragility of aging health, the changes that have taken place in religious life that keep going. However, in this change of era, it is not about personal change (although it is very personal); rather, it is about the change of the systems. We are transforming, not changing.
Transformation is a purposeful fire – a fire that keeps burning to allow for the new seeds of life to burst forth, like pyrophytic plants that need fire to activate the seeds. It is important to note that all transformation involves change; however, not all change is transformational. Think of a campfire with its pile of wood. I can change the type of wood and the configuration of logs to ensure the best fire. My actions will result in better or worse flames. This is my ability to change fire. On the other hand, think about a burning log, with its embers glowing. The fire is transforming wood so nothing I do will restore it to its original structure. I believe this is what the Spirit is trying to do with religious life. My observation and greatest fear are that we are simply reconfiguring the logs and saying this is transformation.
Rebirth
I often wonder if we are so trapped in our institutions that we miss the new life emerging. This new life is like the phoenix rising from the ashes. The phoenix bird is a symbol of resurrection, coming from Greek and Egyptian mythology. Leadership for religious life needs to claim radical courage, allowing space and support for new life to emerge, rising in grass root ideas and actions. This is when religious are at their best because we respond to the Spirit’s creative impulse.
How do we claim this radical courage? It is not easy and bears considerable risk. Radical courage comes from the softest place of vulnerability within a leader’s heart. It grows and retreats, only to grow again until it finds its bearings and knows it can no longer remain hidden. It moves from the softest of places to carry a strength of voice that brings forth an honesty that speaks a truth that may or may not be heard.
Radical courage is a spark that ignites change – a prophetic voice that pierces the status quo. The radical acts of courage I witness are the voices that are often fretful to speak, my own included, yet they muster the courage to claim an alternative narrative that is drowned out by the dominant narrative that holds too much space.
At the age of 55, I am already consciously trying to be a generative leader for those whom I currently journey alongside and for those who will follow me. I do not want to hold onto a position because no one else can do it or the position is not attractive to the younger generation. Ministry, leadership, and organizations need to continue generating life and relevancy. Otherwise, they are obsolete. It may take a long time for them to die, but they will eventually.
As religious, we need to embrace the idea of generativity and create space for the new life that is always seeking the sun. The words of adrienne maree brown are a compass, for individuals, organizations, and systems.
If I’m not replaceable, then I haven’t done my job well. If other people can’t come in and do the work, then I haven’t learned how to teach, to offer, and to hand myself over. (8)
Radical courage is about risking hope. The future is inter-congregational, trans-charism, and global. The structures are being created to allow this future to unfold, yet they are nascent and fragile. We are risking hope by persevering. The global networks created by the “younger” generation of religious are leading with radical courage. It is embracing a different mindset and different behaviors, expanding beyond the constraints of congregational boundaries or even charism silos. Risking hope is about seeing things differently and with new mindsets. This current “newer” generation of sisters is the present and the future. It takes radical courage to claim this narrative.
Questions for Reflection
What is the call of leadership today as we navigate the dying of the dominant system (current religious life and the systems that support it) and the emergence of a new way?
As you reflect on the generation you are a part of, what is your generation’s task? What task “must [your generation] recognize and embrace [as] it is designed by history and by providence to perform”?
How do we embrace radical courage as leaders and claim a new narrative for religious life?
References
Pope Francis (October 3, 2018). Opening of the Synod Dedicated to Youth. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speech- es/2018/october/documents/papa-francesco_20181003_apertu- ra-sinodo.html
Freire, Paulo (2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. 30th anniversary edition. Continuum.
Brueggemann, Walter (2018). The Prophetic Imagination. 40th anni- versary edition. Fortress Press.
Working Document for the Continental Stage of the Synod (Octo- ber 27, 2022) https://www.synod.va/en/highlights/working-docu- ment-for-the-continental-stage.html
Burghardt, Walter (Winter 1989). Contemplation: A Long, Loving Look at the Real. Church, No. 5: 14 – 17.
I hesitate to use this quote by Chinua Achebe, Nigerian activist, writer and professor because he is speaking of a the plight of the Nigerian-Biafra War which was frought with Western influence and colonized histories. However, in this short quote, he offers wisdom that is important for us today, especially in religious life. So, I thank Achebe, honoring his original intent and continue this exploration in gratitude. From There Was a Country: A Memoir (2012).
We currently have six generations present in religious life today. These include Gen Z (1997 – 2009), Gen Y or Millennials (1981 – 1996), Gen X (1965 – 1980), Baby Boomers (1946 – 1964), the Silent Generation (1928 – 1945), and although few, the Greatest Genera- tion (1901 – 1927).
adrienne maree brown on creating the future. Interview with Alice Grandoit. Undated. https://www.deemjournal.com/stories/amb