Dear Brothers,
“For the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, for in Him you were enriched in every way”, and “called to fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (I Cor 1:4.)
This scriptural passage is familiar to us as we gather ourselves around the Eucharist. The invocation of Saint Paul to the different early Christian communities in his time demonstrates that we are called to be one with Jesus Christ. It is interesting to note that this hopeful invocation was written at a time of great uncertainty and fear. St. Paul, called all men and women of the Christian faith to strive – aided by the virtue of hope -to be witnesses to their faith. Indeed, this is the same invocation I ask of you today. We, who are consecrated in the family of the Clerics Regular Minor, are also special in the eyes of God and called at this unprecedented time to live our lives sustained by this virtue of hope. Even when our civil and ecclesiastical life is impeded, disturbed or out of the normal course of things, we find that our transitory life is configured to the mystery of Easter and Christ who is the light of the world. In effect, the consecrated life is at the very heart of the Church as a decisive element for her mission, since it “manifests the inner nature of the Christian calling” and the striving of the whole Church as Bride towards union with her one Spouse (Vita Consecrata, 3). We are called to be the light of Christ to others in our daily mission.
As we enter this beautiful celebration of Holy Week, let us enter into the heart of God, who redeems us and makes all things new. May the Holy Week be an opportunity for us to deeply examine our lives. May our daily challenges be a means where we can better seek and know the will of God in our daily lives. Sometimes we feel discouraged, things don’t always go as planned. But remember that in the lowest point of our lives God gives this as an opportunity to find our courage and power to be a better person. In the lowest point of our lives, God loves us deeply. To love means not to stay in our own comfort zones, but to continue the walk, take up the cross and follow every step of the way with Jesus. We must never be sluggish or lazy in our spiritual lives by remaining fixated on our own scars, sufferings and feelings of helplessness. We must eagerly look forward to where we are being led at this time. Calvary is a very short pilgrimage compared to the Easter Resurrection of the Lord, which is eternal.
Do not stop and dwell in Mt. Calvary
At Mt. Calvary, we have seen the most heinous crime in the history of mankind; Jesus, the man and our Savior, was unjustly condemned because of our sins. Despite this unfortunate event, Jesus invites us to look past the injustices and look forward to the promise and hope that the empty tomb brings. The empty tomb is a representation of the promise of new beginnings. We are reminded that though we are almost drowning in the endless sea of pain and suffering, all this will come to an end. No matter how bad we spiral into darkness, Jesus promises that we will rise again, with a new heart and new spirit. Calvary is inevitable. No life is perfect. Calvary is not meant to punish us, but to remind us that sin always ends. Christ will always be willing to die for our sins so that we may always live a life that is pleasing to the eyes of God. A life of love and holiness.
Transfigured Christ
In the Apostolic Exhortation, Vita Consecrata, we are invited to recall and reflect upon the great Icon of the transfigured Christ who revealed to us the perfect communion of the Holy Trinity. This image of communion remains for us religious as THE ICON of our foundation in community life. Truly, the concern here is not only to give a solid foundation to the consecrated person’s identity, but more so, a greater understanding regarding the original vision of that identity, integrating the divine and human. We need to remind people about this phenomenal and beautiful transfiguration of Christ, specially in these times that we are playing hide and seek with an unknown enemy and taking one’s own life seemed to be the easiest way out of this pandemic.
People though they might know it are longing, to see our faith, our love, our commitment and our support. May our missionary calling help our CRM religious to respond to the local situations of our communities by presenting the healing and comforting hands of God in the midst of this pandemic. Let us not allow the pandemic to rewrite the beautiful story of God’s love to man. Rather may the Trinitarian ICON, which we uphold in our communities, be like a seraph cross that our people may look at to see goodness and healing in the midst of so many discouraging events.
Easter Sunday
This is our second year celebrating Easter Sunday in the pandemic. Though, there are no grand celebrations in our churches, Let us be excited with the hope that Easter brings. Let us always remember how every night of the Easter Vigil, we solemnly sing the Exultet in the liturgy to proclaim that the night of death and suffering is over and we welcome the new life promised by God. We sing the Halleluiah and the Gloria in Excelsis Deo with majestic fervor. These hymns are like the movement of marching songs after a hard battle. Christ our light has conquered our sins destroyed death once and for all. The power of evil ends.
This is the great day of rejoicing, the triumph of Christ the King whom we worship. Jesus, the source of our worship, stays with us in the celebration of the Eucharist. We greet each other Happy Easter with faith and confidence that our faith is bigger than all of our sins combined. We are forgiven and we must walk with Christ in the light of day. His grace is brought to us through his paschal mystery. This is at the very heart of our Charism, the life of the paschal mystery of Christ.
The identity of our religious family, the depth and core of our existence is rooted in the Paschal Mystery of Christ. Though we are burdened with sin, the process of dying and rising is at the very act and love of God in the resurrection. That is why it is of utmost importance to us to be near the Eucharist as the source and summit of our every spirituality. In the Eucharist we remain in the presence of Christ who feeds and gathers us around his table so we may be inspired to more zealously accomplish our daily ministry.
Let us entrust our religious communities, wherever we find ourselves at this time, to the patronage of our dear St. Joseph whose year we are gracefully celebrating within the Church. I also invoke his protection during this time as we are discerning and preparing for the next Dieta Generale in February in Rome. The work is ongoing and we thank the availability of online communication that allows us to continue our work.
May the beauty of the evangelical counsels, which are a precious gift for consecrated people, always be lived and upheld by every religious. Let us also keep each other in our prayers so that we may be protected from the virus and the consequences it brings to our health and our spiritual and physical well-being.
God is always accompanying us and may his will be done! A Blessed Holy week to all and greetings of Happy Easter to you and to our Christian communities.
