My Mother, My Confidence! Week of the Institute
Calino, August 19-27, 2002
Giuliana Spigone
“Bethany: privileged place
that sees the resurrection
of Lazarus”
(Sowers of Hope)
THE RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS
(Jn 11:1-45)
After having listened to, meditated and shared on the many aspects of Bethany and of community life, there is almost nothing left to add. But perhaps we can summarize the whole concept of these realities with the expression given by our “Father” in “Sowers of Hope” in which he describes the Bethany as “the privileged place that saw the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus” (Sowers of Hope p. 29). It is a nice expression, “privileged place”, for it frees one from any eventual animosity toward the Bethany and gives the sense that wherever we find ourselves it will always be a privileged, beautiful, and positive manifestation of the loving Providence of the Father. Bethany is the dwelling place of the Master, and the gift of the Spirit, always rich in newness and originality. Indeed, there is always something new in the Bethany – don’t you notice the blooming that is taking place here and now? There is always an interior novelty in the Bethany, always a newness of life, even in the midst of the tiresome daily routine.
Therefore, let us look at our Bethanies with a renewed heart. Let us make all our centers - as well as the homes of the Externs and of the Cooperatives - like Bethanies, not in the sense of structure, but in the spirit of consecrated communities. Bethany is “the sweetest place of Christian spirituality” (Sowers of Hope, p.29), of mutual love and communion. Throughout this reflection we will dwell on the Gospel of St. John (Jn 11:45), in which we will find elements applicable to ourselves, as individual Oblates, as well as to the Bethany, and to the Institute.
“Master, the one you love is ill” (Jn 11:3). This is how the evangelical account begins. This is also how the story of our personal apostolic oblation began. For didn’t we notice the illness of the brothers and sisters of out time? Didn’t we notice in them hatred instead of love, solitude and violence? Aren’t these perhaps the illnesses of our society today that affect our brothers and sisters: the lack of love, the lack of hope and of peace, alienation and separation from God? This is the fate of our brothers and sisters with whom we walk, and who turn to us in their thirst. We, in love with the Divine Master, who is also thirsting for souls, recognized his presence, and thus, for Him and because of Him, have become Apostolic Oblates. It was the Lord who made his thirst resonate in our heart – his thirst for souls. And we answered to his thirst with our yes, and to the thirst of humanity also thirsting for God. Thus, our life became a bridge between God and humanity, the place of communion, of encounter, and of a continuous plea: “Lord, the one you love is ill.”
However, should it happen that we too become ill - and many times we are, not only physically, but in heart and spirit – we shall find the courage and the humility to turn to the Lord and say: “Lord, we are ill!” I am ill, and I, too, need others. Many times we feel compassion toward people who are far from the Lord and make intercessions for them, yet we find it difficult to recognize our own internal and mutual need for the Lord’s presence. All too often we do not notice the need that our sisters have for the Lord, need for my help to meet the Lord, and to love - my sister’s truest illness.
Love is one of the main tenets presented in the “Program of Spiritual Life”, in which the Founder wrote: “Love God, love Him in our sisters and neighbor. Love them, not only in a natural way, but also in a supernatural way; love them because they are dear to God. We love all souls in God. Perhaps it is too generic to say that we love all souls; in reality we love our brothers and sisters as they are, in this time and space, with their difficulties and problems, spiritual and material, and in their poverty. They are our brothers and sisters in need of ‘much love’” (Progr. of Spirit. Life).
“Jesus loved Martha, her sister and Lazarus very much” (Jn 11:5). “When we examine the mysteries of Jesus’ life, one by one, we find that Jesus - from the moment of his incarnation to his last breath on the Cross - had only expressions of love -” (Progr. of Spirit. Life). So many times we heard our “father” share that what moved him most was precisely this infinite love of God, manifested in Jesus! Many of us witnessed or heard the Founder speak with deep emotions of God’s infinite love for us, of God’s fatherly tenderness. He used to say: “How good the Lord is, how much He loves us, and how tender our heavenly Father is with us.” Such expressions not only revealed the sentiments of the heart of the Founder, but also filled with awe the heart of those who lived next to him. If we wish to understand the true heart of Bethany, we must dwell on this principle: “Jesus loved very much.”
Although God’s divine love is infinite, here God expresses his human love with the maximum intensity; He expresses his human love through the marvelous bond of friendship that Jesus has with Martha, Mary and Lazarus; God’s love takes up the flavor of family, fraternal, and friendship love – an open and self-giving love. This is exactly what the Bethany should be: a place of family love.
People coming to the Bethany should find Jesus alive not only in the Eucharist, “loving much”, but also alive in the Apostolic Oblate who, without hesitation, or distinction of persons, “loves much.” Can each Apostolic Oblate say, “I love much?” Can she say I love much and without partiality? We can examine ourselves on what it really means to “love much” - and we shall do so by continuing to reflect on the Gospel’s account; however, I am sure that in our heart we already know what it means to love much, and the generous sacrifice that it implies.
“When He heard that Lazarus was ill, Jesus remained two more days in the place where he was” (Jn. 11:6). It may seem strange that Jesus, attached as he is to Lazarus, does not run to Bethany. Why? Obviously Jesus makes the right choice: the glory of the Father. He waits and does not go immediately. Is it because He is too busy, or because He has something else to do, or other commitments? No, he simply waits. It is necessary to make sure that Lazarus is really dead and that many Jews gather at Bethany. We see in Jesus’ attitude the quality and purity of his love – He waits; He can wait. The qualities of Jesus’ love are waiting, prudence, discernment, and the option for the essential. These are also the characteristics of true detachment - a detachment based on love, and on the search for the good of others. Jesus’ detachment is not self-interested, nor is it ruled by indifference or mental closeness or cold calculation such as: “I don’t care.” No. Jesus loves Lazarus, and yet He waits.
In our Program of Spiritual Life there are at least ten chapters on detachment. We cannot dwell on each one of them now, but it would be a good idea to revisit them at any point of our oblation, for this spiritual journey in detachment should not be undertaken only at the beginning of our formation, but always.
Our heart can be compared to scotch tape: when we think we have it in place, it catches somewhere else! Let us not attach ourselves to anything but God alone! Let us try with all our strength to walk an itinerary of conversion, in order to reach a level of purified love, a love that seeks God alone, seeks his glory, and the good of others. Only this kind of love can relate to other, can make space for others, and provide a long lasting communion.
“Many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother” (Jn 11:19). “It is necessary that they (Oblates) form a community among themselves, and for others: a community of faith, that lives the charism of consecration in fidelity to the Institute and to one’s commitments, in Eucharistic contemplation, and by being one in heart and mind; a community of love, open to others through example, and also be an invitation to others to come and know and share in the apostolic experience, in the apostolic flow that gradually matures around the Bethany” (Sowers of Hope pp. 29-31).
Bethany means openness toward all others. It is not enough to accept one another, to be receptive of each another, or to feel comfortable with one another; we must share our experience with all others. Perhaps others will inconvenience us, they will take up our time and space, but they are a gift, a gift of communion. Many times we have reminded ourselves that the Bethany is the place of experience, the place where we plan and share apostolic endeavors, but it is also good not to forget the two characteristics that the Founder pointed out to us, as the characteristics of the Bethany of Martha and Mary: faith and love.
What is that we are to live? We are to live faith and love. What should others find in our Bethany? They should find faith and love; a faith that is both a gift and a conquest, a faith that is trust, abandonment and filial confidence in the Lord. Our love is an answer to the infinite love of God - an answer to a relationship with Someone. We do not talk to ourselves – though sometimes we do by mumbling; but this is not love, nor is it the sign of a relationship with Someone who calls us, or the sign of a relationship with the brother or sister who challenges and inconveniences me.
These are vertical dimensions, the basis for a Bethany rooted in faith and love that create a supernatural environment where people can breathe deeply, and everything and everyone radiates God’s infinite goodness. This kind of faith begets mutual trust, respect for the freedom of the other, and enhances the other’s potential charisms. This faith also makes me believe that each person bears the image of the divine; it implies that I look at the other with eyes of anthropological optimism. Faith lived in this way changes our way of dealing with one another, and with all others, it enables us to live a communion of love. To love in small ways, in small matters, without too many external words or visible gestures, but in a discrete, silent, and self-sacrificing way that begets joy and imbues with a sense of peace the whole community.
“When Martha heard that the Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him; but Mary sat at home” (Jn 11:20). With this verse John begins the dialogue between Martha and Jesus. Mary, too, is somehow involved in this dialogue. The dialogue is described in verses 21-27 and concludes with Martha’s affirmation: “Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world” (Jn 11:27). Martha’s statement is the confirmation of the revelation Jesus made of himself: “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn 11:25).In a sense, we might say that Bethany is the place of the resurrection, the house of a dialogue that is carried out in silent adoration and attentive service to others - yet no less a dialogue with the Master. We may call dialogue the attention we give to the needs of others, and our intercessory prayer for them; we may call dialogue the passion we feel in the search for the good of others, through the diversity of people and situations.
We can still hear the invitation by our Founder to live the “charismatic dialogue!” Lived in the light of the Spirit, this dialogue has nothing of the self-seeking or of the close-mindedness that unfortunately sometimes affects us. We do not know how to dialogue – perhaps out of presumption, or self-righteousness or egoism? I would hope not. We do not know how to dialogue because we are poor and fragile creatures, in search of a true, simple and open dialogue, free from the sad silence that tries to avoid every discussions.
In order to dialogue one must be present. Yet, many times even when we are present, we do not dialogue, we are in the house but do not exist. We must be present to each other without prejudice, free from our own ego, and at the same time strong in order to resist the trials that always gnaw at the root of our communion and at every step we take to pursue it. We must not become discouraged nor give up. We must never say: I have had it! I tried, but now it’s over. Rather, we must be strong and brave in always starting over again.
At the beginning of the Institute we used to do the “proofs” – which was the way that we practiced some particular virtues. We were practicing the virtues and striving to overcome ourselves in order to acquire a new image, new attitudes, and a new ability to live in communion, to live the apostolic oblation.
We cannot live in fear of each other, or with the constant effort to gain peace at any cost. Nor can we – with the excuse of being honest – step over the boundaries of courtesy, either by words or by gestures, and say: I am honest, and I speak my mind. This is not a virtue, but a false sincerity that has no respect for the sensitivity of the other, nor does it know how to forgive, how to show compassion or to excuse and to receive the other back.
Let us return to the dialogue “inspired” by the Spirit. Let us always pray before we dialogue, before we meet, before we plan, or sit down to eat. Do we know how to dialogue at the table? Do we ever remember that we prayed “Our Father who are in heaven…?” We prayed our Father, not my Father or your Father.“Our Father…, give us this day…” This is a community plea, a prayer that should open us to a loving and respectful dialogue. There is always a moment of grace in our common prayer and work. All we have to do is open our heart, and we shall be surprised at how dialogue blooms and becomes more constructive and serene among ourselves. Our only challenge should be to recognize Jesus, the Son of God, alive among us and in our history, and hear his reassuring words: “He who believes in me, even if he dies will live.” Our dialogue should be impregnated with faith, even when expressed in human terms, and filled with promise and fidelity. Even our chit-chatting should serve to create communion by keeping Jesus at the center of our speech – the Jesus of Bethany.
In all this, we must remember how Mary is introduced to Jesus. “Mar sat at home”; it is Martha who tells her ‘the teacher is here and is asking for you” (Jn 11:28), and “Mary rose quickly and went to Him” (Jn 11:29). Martha calls Mary; Martha is the instrument of the master’s call to Mary. We have always seen Mary as the privileged one, for it is Mary who sits at the feet of the Lord in contemplative listening. Yet, it is Martha who alerts Mary. There is a sense of mutual understanding between the two sisters. What about us? What if the other should be the voice of the Lord for me? And how about me being an instrument of the Master for the other? God has a project for both Martha and Mary, as well as for the Bethany. How can we discover and live his project? There is a quest for resurrection in each one of us – a resurrection we cannot attain alone. For resurrection is not an isolated event – Lazarus does not resurrect on his own, rather, there are many people around him, people who prayed for him and rejoiced with him.
All Oblates–Internal, External and Cooperatives–are called to communion. It is only in this communion of diversity and specialty of each other that the great project of universal holiness and brotherhood can be realized. Who can deny the value of holy families? How can we sanctify the world if we do not live as a leaven of communion and of love among each other? Who will bring the Father’s universal call to holiness to all the corners of the world?
Together we can make it, even if there are only two of us – as it has happened in Latvia. Only two went to Latvia, yet the whole Institute went with them. And they are happy, and feel gratitude toward the One who has done great things in them. They feel our support, and know of our presence through prayer, as well as through our fidelity and commitment. Together we will make it. Together, in prayer, in sacrificial offering, in joy and in the unity of our apostolic oblation - just like Martha and Mary.
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!” (Jn 11:32). Like Martha, Mary too expresses to the Master her faith and certainty. Their faith is not only about the future, but also about the past, “if you had been here” – they believed that anything they would have asked for it would have been done to them. Love does not allow death to happen. For this Jesus calls Lazarus back to life, for this God calls us to life every day, to the true and lasting life.
Our communities are called to be signs of true life. In a world totally absorbed in what is passing and transitory, we stand as the sign and the presence of the Eternal; we stand as witnesses of a call to spiritual dimensions, and as incentive to faith and to hope.
“When Jesus saw Martha weeping, and the Jews…, became perturbed and deeply troubled…, and he wept”, at which the Jews said, “see how much he loved him!’” (Jn 11: 33-36). We, too, have just lived these sentiments of love for Lucia; we realized how much we loved her; how dear she was to our heart.
“One of the first characteristics of love is that love is relational, it establishes a unifying rapport with another person, a unique rapport that requires the effort to imitate and to resemble the other… Another characteristic of love is the emotional aspect, and the sharing of one’s being with the other in mutual love. Lastly, love is also passionate. In us, the object of this kind of love is God and neighbor (Giaquinta, Retreat “Communio”).
Jesus’ manifestation of love leaves us speechless. Jesus is moved and cries to the point that the Jews remark: “See how much he loved him!” It is amazing how practical and creative Jesus’ love is. While they were still speaking, He says to them: “take away the stone!” (Jn 11:39). Christ’s love, Divine love, not only feels deeply, but finds solutions and creates new possibilities. Let us learn from Jesus how to love; let us make his love the measure of our love.
Moreover, in Jesus’ love we find the gift of that balance that is necessary not only to our personal life, but also to the life of the community and to the apostolate. The combination of balance and self-control, of balance and harmony, are qualities that enhance our rapport with Jesus, make him our all, and the Lord of the Bethany. Jesus comes to bring all people, his friends, back to life; He comes to bring us back to life, his friends, who chose him as the heart and cornerstone of our life.
We, too, can succeed in finding this balance, as did poor Lazarus, who was dead, locked in a tomb, in a stench. The lesson for us is that no negativity, no weakness, or even death, is ever too big to be changed into new life. So many times our offenses against communion appear so big, so impossible and close to spreading the “stench of bad witness”; today Jesus tells us: “Take away the stone!” and “Lazarus, come out!” (Jn 11:43).
Come out Apostolic Oblate, my beautiful friend, come to the light, where the cup is overflowing with the joy of self-giving. Come out Bethany of my dream, come to the fire stronger than death, open your Eucharistic heart to everyone, draw everyone to holiness and send many to sow hope along the city roads. This is the Lord’s invitation: we must come out from our sepulchers (our tombs), remove the stones that block our communion and resurrection. Let us come out from behind the harsh and deadly stone, that we might manifest God’s glory and others may believe. They will believe if they see our effort, our commitment, our love and good will in removing all obstacles to communion. Let us come out from our close-mindedness, so that every Bethany may continue to be for all time the “privileged place” and the life-giving place for all who yearn for life.
The passage from darkness to light demands that we remove the stones. What stones? And how? The unfastening of our hands and feet, in order to go, freed and renewed, to announce holiness to all. “We must stretch ourselves; if I said that we must burst out it might sound too strong an expression; but I say, we must expand ourselves, get larger. In this way we will find more space in our heart for joy, for meaning, and for life” (G. Giaquinta 1990).
Let us widen the horizons: America, Belgium, India, Latvia. Every Oblate must have an apostolic, missionary, and universal soul. Every Bethany must be a center of outreach, an Horeb center, and a center of universal action.
“Let us continue our search and effort in trying to understand what the Lord wants from us. Our radars, as it were, must always be attuned to the voice of the Lord, to the voice of the Spirit and of the Church… Every Oblate must have an apostolic and missionary soul… Our environments must be places of experience: the Bethany, the Horeb and Spirituality centers…, as well as all our activities… Through our own quest for holiness, we must become the focal point of all these experiences (Giaquinta, Retreat 1983).
Let us allow the words of the Founder challenge us, and through prayer and sacrifice be supportive not only of the missionary effort of our Institute, but also be missionary ourselves, in our own environment, and look with graciousness at all the initiatives promoted by Pro Sanctity. Let us look graciously at the work of Pro Sanctity. In this way, all will appear more worthwhile, and will gain a greater and more positive meaning for us and for everyone.
During this new year, the entire Pro Sanctity Movement will focus on the theme “Holiness and Communion.” How can we be the first to live and therefore radiate communion around us? We can do this best by remaining rooted in the fundamental principles of the charism given us by the Founder, and by honestly and faithfully adhering to them. Let us stop delegating responsibility, as an excuse to our laziness, and ask ourselves: “Where is my heart? Where is my treasure?”
“Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him” (Jn 11:45). There is a need to see and to experience in order to recognize the call. One of the Vocational Conventions was entitled: “Bethany, light for all vocations.” Bethany must be light for every vocation; a light that attracts to the Apostolic Oblation, to the Movement, to the Fraternity and to the Cenacle: “Numerous contacts, visits, rapport and meetings will develop around the Bethany, making it the center of the spiritual and apostolic life of the three Institutes and of the Movement” (Sowers of Hope).
From the writings of the Founder, from all the reports that were presented, and from our sharing, we have seen clearly how the Bethany is not only a place of hospitality for the Oblates, for the Cooperatives, for the Sodales, and Social Animators, but for all those who share with us the Pro Sanctity charism. Bethany is the house of everyone, since we all are called to live the paschal experience. Everyone must know the infinite, saving and sanctifying love of God. Anyone crossing the threshold of the Bethany – or of the home of the Externs and Cooperatives – must be able to meet Jesus in the warmth of a fraternal friendship.
But there is more. The charism is not just a message or a mere spirituality - it is life. It is the incarnation of both he message and the spirituality promoted by the ecclesial reality that is the Pro Sanctity Movement. This means that we cannot keep anonymous, or remain abstract by saying, this is the charism, this is the message, and holiness is for everyone without translating these principles into practical life and evangelization. The apostolate of the Pro Sanctity Movement encompasses many levels – it goes from pre-evangelization to the highest levels of spirituality; it takes people from where they are at and accompanies them, hand-in-hand, to the perfection of the Father, to holiness.
It is important that we understand that all our apostolate is “Pro Sanctity”, first because it aims at leading people to holiness, and secondly because all that we do is directed toward the larger project of the Pro Sanctity Movement. Otherwise, we will simply remain the best directors of community, or of catechesis, and a presence in the parish activities – as we do in many cases – but not the promoters of our specific apostolic means. All of the above is positive. Especially for the Externs to be involved in the parish and do catechesis is very important, but we all need to keep in mind that our goal is not just to proclaim the call to holiness, but also to “create the practical means for the spreading of the Movement itself” (see Comment to Const. #5).
Perhaps these concepts are clearer in some of us, but not in everyone. We all need to know that if we have faith in our apostolate the Pro Sanctity Movement will develop in the heart of every Bethany through our common effort. The principle that Pro Sanctity cannot develop because its goals are too high is not true. As the Founder taught us, we need to take our brothers and sisters by the hand and accompany them along the steps of perfection – slowly, but surely, they will gradually not only come to believe in the Pro Sanctity Movement, but also become its promoters.
This, however, requires a serious, personal, and corporate effort. Every Bethany is called to put forth this effort. During this year everyone – Institutes and Movement – will strive to reflect on and to promote the theme “Holiness and Communion” in the Church and in the world; we all must strive for a change of heart and mind and support this common apostolic effort.
We have many people around us, a large following it seems, people who encourage and support us, people who share in our prayer and the prayer of the Church; however, it seems that only a few become committed to the work of the Movement. The question is: are we inviting them to participate more closely, that is, to become involved, to undertake with us a journey of evangelization, and commit themselves to be apostles of holiness? Before I entered the Institute I knew the Movement, but no one ever asked me to belong to it. During our gatherings I grasped the infinite love of the Father, and through apostolic experiences I understood that in order to bring answers to the world it was necessary to become totally and exclusively committed to the Lord. I don’t know, but at that time perhaps other people might have committed themselves to the Movement.
Do we believe in the necessity to have people who, like us, might take up the responsibility to become promoters of holiness? Eventually, we have the ability to announce the message, but not the determination to invite others or to involve them; is this perhaps because we are not in communion with one another?
Let us strive to believe in the charism in its entirety, to believe in the value of our apostolic structure, and to unify all our efforts as Bethany. This will make everything easier and simpler for those who wish to participate in our activities. Only if they see us work in unity and in communion will they approach us and come to know not only the individual person, but our structure as well. Only then will they make an experience of Bethany, of Apostolic Centers, and will hear more clearly the message of the infinite love of Christ and his thirst for souls - they will learn to love and to give.
It is necessary to multiply the members of the Institutes, but also the apostles of holiness – the members of the Pro Sanctity Movement. To gather members who will draw from the Bethany the spirit and the style of communion, of intimacy with Christ, and develop a redemptive passion that will strengthen them to be, as it were, the “martyrs for holiness” in the world. In this way every Bethany will become the promoter of the life of the Pro Sanctity Movement. All this, however, will require a more intense spirituality on our part, a greater understanding of the message, and a joyous openness and availability.
In the mind of the Founder we are apostolic oblates, sowers of hope, and eucharistic Oblates consecrated for the world, to bring joy, peace and love to everyone. Let us rise above our small personal and communal problems, and forget our many needs, such as our private hours for rest, the hours when we cannot receive visitors… The Bethany is the place of hospitality at all times, the gym, as it were, where we, along with other people, exercise the knowledge of God, and the heroic virtues that will enable us to face the world with all its daily challenges.
This is true also for the home of the Externs and Cooperatives: to be the place where the word of God is shared, where people grow in attention to each other, and plan the apostolic activities; homes that resemble Pro Sanctity centers, and that contribute to the larger project of universal holiness and fraternity.
At the beginning of this year dedicated to “holiness and communion”, all our effort should be focused on, and motivated by, this dimension. I would like to see that the whole Institute – all of us together –try to reclaims the experience of Bethany. Bethany not in the sense of private business, for this is not what the Founder would like to see, but as a place receptive to the Lord - as we see in this poster prepared by Tiziana for the Week of the Institute: the Lord crosses the threshold of the Bethany, his silhouette is reflected on the glass window and forms an icon of the Trinity, symbol of unity and communion. Christ’s presence creates communion in the Bethany; the doorknob is on the outside to signify that anyone may open the door and enter, to create communion, and to sit at the table of charity.
I really hope that starting from this Week of the Institute, the vital breath of the Holy Spirit will help us renew our fraternal communion in the strength of the ideal and the duty we have to work for solidarity. Solidarity is a duty and not an option; it is a goal that we must strive to pursue.
This renewal is the work of the grace that comes to us through our consecration, but it is also the fruit of our practical effort, as well as of our attitude of good will. It is not enough to rely on the grace from God; we must also strive personally, with generosity, and availability to be open to the Lord who seeks to renew us, for the Lord can work in me only if I give him the chance to, that is, only if I collaborate with his grace. It was the Lord who called me to partake in his redemptive passion.
With this presentation, we have drawn for ourselves a spiritual itinerary based on very fundamental principles.
The first dimension of this itinerary is that we walk together, trying not to miss any opportunity – joyful or painful – to promote a positive and constructive communication with each other through sharing, with the awareness that unity is our strength, while division not only leaves us in our weakness, but does not help the Institute develop.
The second dimension is that we return often to the altar in order to draw from prayer the necessary strength to live our apostolic oblation, our communion, and mission. It is the dimension of an “ongoing liturgy” – as the Founder described it; it is a dimension that we revisited during these days. Perhaps we still have to discover the strength that this ongoing liturgy can give to our ordinary daily life.
The third dimension is that we build, or re-build, a rapport among each other, inspired by virtue and not by instinct or mere human elements. This is perhaps the most difficult commitment. But it is a commitment that we must seriously undertake if we really wish to present our Founder with an Institute that is renewed, converted, transformed, and heroically holy on the tenth anniversary of his passing to the Father.
The motivation for reclaiming the Bethany is not our own personal perfection - such as: I pray, I observe the silence, I participate in the community meetings, etc… Although these are very important and positive elements, the pursuit of our personal perfection is only instrumental and not the primary goal of the Bethany. That is, our personal effort toward perfection is only in view of a higher goal, it serves to contribute, with love, to the growth of the Institute. I keep the Rules not out of self-gratification, or for my peace of mind, or to feel good, but because I wish to contribute to the holiness of the Institute and to its development. If I have not yet reached this goal, I must admit that I still have a long way to go, in prayer, in communion, in my relationship with God and with others.
Perhaps the motto for this year’s program of formation should be: “From a renewed Bethany to a new missionarity”; from a renewed Bethany, a new impulse to be missionary. We need to renew our Bethanies in order to make our apostolate real and more authentic.
Though challenging, this proposal is very essential if we are to keep with the “high standard” of our life, and of the task we are called to perform in the Church and in the world. Today, much is being said about the “high standard of Christian life” and about holiness; today, we are summoned to give authentic answers to the Church and to the world. Pettiness, mediocrity, and the like, will never contribute to the renewal of the Institute or to the development of the Movement, as the Founder wrote in the “Program of Spiritual Life.”
We cannot relent, not even for a brief moment, in the face of the demands of our oblation, which impels us to be for others through a permanent and constant service offered in total availability, generosity, and empathy. Nor can we water down the aims of our apostolate, of our missionarity, of our consecration, or silence our apostolic zeal by finding excuses for our personal laziness, or by blaming the community for its limitations. This is true: we often blame the community for its limitations, but do not do anything to overcome them – to overcome not only the limitations of the community, but also our own personal limitations.
We must be able to proclaim the message through an authentic presence of communion; that is to say, we all, Oblates and Movement, must give witness to a spiritual family that is united in the same charism. We cannot walk alone, but must be in communion with the other Institutes – the Animators and the Sodales. You might say that, for many reasons, this is not an easy task; I say that we must always find in our heart the ability to dream and to hope - otherwise we might reduce to mediocrity even our very desire. Let us cultivate hope, for even though hopes and dreams are fulfilled in the future, they begin today. Think of all the things that the Founder dreamed and that we see fulfilled today. So many times he dreamed of Eastern Europe – today we are in Latvia.
Only a family that is spiritually united can bring about all things. Let us look at the future with hope, and not let the present limitations and poverty keep us from dreaming! As a spiritual family, we must be able to speak God’s language to our world; we must be able to witness, especially to the youth, the beauty of this great vocation; we must be a family that radiates God’s thirst for the holiness of everyone. Too often we listen to our own thirst, to our own needs and wants, instead of listening to the thirst and needs of others, and try to help them.
At the conclusion of these days, let us resolve to look with a new heart and a new mind at the present situation, of which we are a part, and have hope and trust toward the future. Every day presents us with new life - today, tomorrow, next day, always. The world is filled with sadness: people are depressed, anxious, in crisis; everyone goes to the psychologist and to the neurologist because they have lost every sense of hope, every sense of positive outlook, the sense of God’s presence and all the good that comes from him.
Yes, much is negative around us, but we can turn things around with our heart, with our love, and with our hope – we are sowers of hope! Perhaps these are difficult concepts to be put into practice, but each one of us knows that the Lord has chosen us as his instruments of redemption, of his grace and peace. Therefore, we must be transformed and become like him - even if this requires effort - in order to witness to the world the possibility of new life for everyone. The Holy Spirit is the giver of new life. In faith, let us remind each other that our tomorrow can only be fulfilled together.
Together: with all of you who support me on my journey. Together: in every decision for which the Institute prays, struggles, suffers and offers. Together: in every project to be accomplished. Let this be our certainty and the assurance that there will be a tomorrow for us. The Institute is everyone’s responsibility. There are here and there difficult situations – I think of families, of communities, of Oblates, where a generous availability is required. But, with eyes of contemplation, we must notice also the seeds of goodness that are sown everywhere in our Institute. Without hesitation we can say that our Institute is a “beautiful Institute”, not out of a false optimism, but because in our Institute there are true seeds of generosity, and of sacrifice that make the soil fruitful.
Community dimension and journeying in communion are two essential elements that will allow us to establish the foundation of our future. It is only together that we can build up our future. We are a half way into the quinquennial of the general Assembly; I believe that what we have said in this conclusion can be the introduction to our preparation for the Assembly 2004, a strong call from the Lord, almost a command: this is the hour of unity, the time for communion, the time to work together, and the time to open ourselves to the demands of the world and of the Church.
As always, the image of bread is symbolic of our ideal, and opens us to the idea of giving, of nourishment, and the sacramentality of our oblation: as bread we offer ourselves; as bread we wish to take away the hunger; as bread we become sign and instrument of holiness. It is from the Eucharistic bread that we learn every day to grow in unity.
This is both a command and a gift that finds its nourishment in the rich soil of our active spirituality. It is this active spirituality that today, more than ever, urges us to take to the deep: Duc in altum. It is an active spirituality that impels us to start over again, that urges us to go further out into the deep, saying: you have already labored and are tired, it doesn’t matter, go ahead, take to the deep. Moreover, it is an active spirituality that knows how to wait in faith; it is an up building spirituality that colors everything with great generosity, yet is not “activism”, such as: I can do a lot of things, and many more, but rather; this spirituality is based on one prayer that says: “Help me today and always, that I may never tire of starting over again” (Morning Offering).
Duc in altum: do not hesitate to have faith, to leave the shore, and lose everything, for it is only in heroic dying that we can build unity and fraternity – this is the great pedagogy of holiness. This is the virtuous journey proposed to us by this Week of Institute: to take up an active spirituality that will form and prepare us for the future, and all that the Lord has in store for us. We do not know what the Lord will ask of us; with confidence and trust, we need to be open to the mystery of God’s loving will.
May Mary be the guide of our life, the instructor, as it were, who teaches us how to live a new life of service to the Church, to humanity, to evangelization, to holiness, and to fraternal communion.
This last dimension of communion is perhaps even more difficult than the proclamation of holiness. When I speak of holiness to people they listen, while I rest in the hope that the Lord will give growth to the seed I planted in their heart. When I speak of fraternal communion I cannot but be practical, I must not just mean mere words, but must become a witness by taking up attitudes that are intentionally positive and practical and not left to chance. Fraternal communion takes some time to bloom; I will see it bloom when suffering turns into love and not into sadness. Moreover, the fatigue to promote communion is real, but I can still find joy in the effort; fatigue should not make me sad - my only sadness should be that of not being a saint, and of not being able to live in fraternal communion with my sisters, in order to announce together the universal call to holiness and fraternity.
I will stop here, although it would be good to find together not so much a methodology as how to form communion, but a renewed enthusiasm in our communal living. In our community planning or meetings shouldn’t just happen out of duty or obligation, but rather out of the joy that comes for being together, in order to know together God’s expectations on us all. In any Bethany, at any time or in any situation, and with any of our sisters, we should learn to be instruments of communion and of redemption. To practice and exercise virtues, and to lift each other’s weight, is an exercise that forms my heart and mind and energizes my spirit.
Lastly, communion demands love, understanding, and receptivity toward each and every one of my sisters. In Omaha, at Boys Town, there is a beautiful monument representing a boy carrying another boy on his shoulders. The inscription reads: “Isn’t he heavy? No, “ is the answer, “he is not heavy; he is my brother.” Each of us should say of each other: “No, she is not heavy; she is my sister!” Only in this way can we build a new community, where fraternity and charity reign.