The Holy Father, Pope Francis sent a message to the Superior General of the Marist Brothers, Father Emili Turú Rofes, on the occasion of the bicentennial of the foundation of that Congregation.
Dear brother,
I am thankful for this opportunity to greet you and through you, to greet the entire Marist family, on the occasion of the bicentenary of the foundation of your Congregation, during which you will celebrate the XXII General Chapter in Columbia. You wished to focus this event on the theme: a new beginning, during which you will present an entire program of renewal which will look to the past with gratitude, discern the present and open your hearts to the future with hope.
Gratitude is the first sentiment that arises in the heart. An attitude of recognition is needed in order to evaluate the great work that God has accomplished through you. At the same time, giving thanks does us well; it helps us to recognize ourselves as small in the eyes of the Lord and benefactors of the tradition that has been handed on to us without our having to have done anything to inherit it. You are part of a great family that has been enriched by the witnesses who knew how to give their lives out of love for God and their neighbour in a spirit of brotherhood which is a characteristic of your Congregation and which makes every brother beloved to me (Philemon 16). These past two centuries of your existence have been transformed into a great history of giving in favour of children and youth, which has spanned the length and breadth of the five continents and has trained them to be good citizens and, above all else, good Christians. These good works are an expression of the goodness and the mercy of God who, despite our limitations and trepidation, never forgets his children.
However, it is not enough to contemplate the past, without including a discernment of the present moments. It is just that these too should be examined and it is good that this be done in the light of the Spirit. Discernment is the process of recognizing the present moment with objectivity and charity, facing it with a foundational spirit. Saint Marcelinus Champagnat was an innovator of his time in education and formation. He himself experienced the need for love in order to bring to light the potential that each boy holds hidden within himself. Your holy Founder said: Education is to a child what a crop is to the field. No matter how good he is, if he is left fallow, he produces nothing more than brambles and weeds. The role of the educator is one of constant surrender and includes a burden of sacrifice; however, education is a matter of the heart, which makes it different and sublime. Being called upon to cultivate requires first of all that you cultivate yourselves. The religious-educator must begin by taking care of his interior field, his human and spiritual reserves, so that he can in turn go out to plant and to care for the land that has been entrusted to him. You must be conscious of the fact that the land that you till and form is sacred, seeing within it the love and the imprint of God. With such dedication and effort, faithful to the mission that you have received, you will contribute to the work of God, who calls you to be simple instruments in His hands.
Finally, I encourage you to open yourselves with hope to the future, walking with renewed spirit; not taking a different road but being enlivened by the Spirit. Today's society needs people who are firmly established in their principles who can build a better world for everyone and bear witness to what they believe. The motto of your religious Institute is already a project for life: All for Jesus through Mary, all for Mary through Jesus. It is a matter of placing your confidence in Mary and allowing yourselves to be guided by her in humility and service, in promptness and silent surrender; these are attitudes which all good religious educators aspire to transmit by means of their example. Young people will recognize in your way of being and acting, the fact that there is something extraordinary and they will understand that it is worth their while not only to learn these values but above all to internalize them and to imitate them. Mary will accompany them in this effort and, together with her, they will ratify their vocations, contributing to the creation of a new humanity, where the vulnerable and the forgotten are valued and loved. This future which they desire and of which they dream is not an illusion. Rather, it is created beginning today as they - and you - say yes to the will of God in the certainty He, who is a good Father, will never disappoint our hope.
I thank the Lord and Mary, Our Good Mother - as Saint Marcelinus liked to call her - for the presence in the Church of your vocation and your service, and I ask for you the gift of the Holy Spirit, that inspired by Him, you may be living signs to children and to young people, as well as to all those in need, of the closeness and the tenderness of God.
From the Vatican
10 April 2017
Francis
(Original text in Spanish)
Message of His Holiness, Pope Francis
to Father Emili Turú Rofes
Superior General of the Marist Brothers
Dear brother,
I am thankful for this opportunity to greet you and through you, to greet the entire Marist family, on the occasion of the bicentenary of the foundation of your Congregation, during which you will celebrate the XXII General Chapter in Columbia. You wished to focus this event on the theme: a new beginning, during which you will present an entire program of renewal which will look to the past with gratitude, discern the present and open your hearts to the future with hope.
Gratitude is the first sentiment that arises in the heart. An attitude of recognition is needed in order to evaluate the great work that God has accomplished through you. At the same time, giving thanks does us well; it helps us to recognize ourselves as small in the eyes of the Lord and benefactors of the tradition that has been handed on to us without our having to have done anything to inherit it. You are part of a great family that has been enriched by the witnesses who knew how to give their lives out of love for God and their neighbour in a spirit of brotherhood which is a characteristic of your Congregation and which makes every brother beloved to me (Philemon 16). These past two centuries of your existence have been transformed into a great history of giving in favour of children and youth, which has spanned the length and breadth of the five continents and has trained them to be good citizens and, above all else, good Christians. These good works are an expression of the goodness and the mercy of God who, despite our limitations and trepidation, never forgets his children.
However, it is not enough to contemplate the past, without including a discernment of the present moments. It is just that these too should be examined and it is good that this be done in the light of the Spirit. Discernment is the process of recognizing the present moment with objectivity and charity, facing it with a foundational spirit. Saint Marcelinus Champagnat was an innovator of his time in education and formation. He himself experienced the need for love in order to bring to light the potential that each boy holds hidden within himself. Your holy Founder said: Education is to a child what a crop is to the field. No matter how good he is, if he is left fallow, he produces nothing more than brambles and weeds. The role of the educator is one of constant surrender and includes a burden of sacrifice; however, education is a matter of the heart, which makes it different and sublime. Being called upon to cultivate requires first of all that you cultivate yourselves. The religious-educator must begin by taking care of his interior field, his human and spiritual reserves, so that he can in turn go out to plant and to care for the land that has been entrusted to him. You must be conscious of the fact that the land that you till and form is sacred, seeing within it the love and the imprint of God. With such dedication and effort, faithful to the mission that you have received, you will contribute to the work of God, who calls you to be simple instruments in His hands.
Finally, I encourage you to open yourselves with hope to the future, walking with renewed spirit; not taking a different road but being enlivened by the Spirit. Today's society needs people who are firmly established in their principles who can build a better world for everyone and bear witness to what they believe. The motto of your religious Institute is already a project for life: All for Jesus through Mary, all for Mary through Jesus. It is a matter of placing your confidence in Mary and allowing yourselves to be guided by her in humility and service, in promptness and silent surrender; these are attitudes which all good religious educators aspire to transmit by means of their example. Young people will recognize in your way of being and acting, the fact that there is something extraordinary and they will understand that it is worth their while not only to learn these values but above all to internalize them and to imitate them. Mary will accompany them in this effort and, together with her, they will ratify their vocations, contributing to the creation of a new humanity, where the vulnerable and the forgotten are valued and loved. This future which they desire and of which they dream is not an illusion. Rather, it is created beginning today as they - and you - say yes to the will of God in the certainty He, who is a good Father, will never disappoint our hope.
I thank the Lord and Mary, Our Good Mother - as Saint Marcelinus liked to call her - for the presence in the Church of your vocation and your service, and I ask for you the gift of the Holy Spirit, that inspired by Him, you may be living signs to children and to young people, as well as to all those in need, of the closeness and the tenderness of God.
From the Vatican
10 April 2017
Francis
(Original text in Spanish)
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