sussidio november 2016

   “What I want is mercy, not sacrifice”

From the WORD of GOD

Jusus said, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
What gain, then, is it for anyone to win the whole world and forfeit his life? And indeed what can anyone offer in exchange for his life? For if anyone in this sinful and adulterous generation is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’ ( Mk 8, 34-37)

From the DOCUMENTS of the CHURCH

This call is also addressed to us. How can we fail to hear its echo in the great appeal of Saint John Paul II: “Open the doors”? Yet, in our lives as priests and consecrated persons, we can often be tempted to remain enclosed, out of fear or convenience, within ourselves and in our surroundings. But Jesus directs us to a one-way street: that of going forth from ourselves. It is a one-way trip, with no return ticket. It involves making an exodus from ourselves, losing our lives for his sake (cf. Mk 8:35) and setting out on the path of self-gift. Nor does Jesus like journeys made halfway, doors half-closed, lives lived on two tracks. He asks us to pack lightly for the journey, to set out renouncing our own security, with him alone as our strength.In other words, the life of Jesus’ closest disciples, which is what we are called to be, is shaped by concrete love, a love, in other words, marked by service and availability. It is a life that has no closed spaces or private property for our own use, or at least there shouldn’t be. Those who choose to model their entire life on Jesus no longer choose their own places; they go where they are sent, in ready response to the one who calls. They do not even choose their own times. The house where they live does not belong to them, because the Church and the world are the open spaces of their mission. Their wealth is to put the Lord in the midst of their lives and to seek nothing else for themselves. So they flee the satisfaction of being at the centre of things; they do not build on the shaky foundations of worldly power, or settle into the comforts that compromise evangelization. They do not waste time planning a secure future, lest they risk becoming isolated and gloomy, enclosed within the narrow walls of a joyless and desperate self-centredness. Finding their happiness in the Lord, they are not content with a life of mediocrity, but burn with the desire to bear witness and reach out to others. They love to take risks and to set out, not limited to trails already blazed, but open and faithful to the paths pointed out by the Spirit. Rather than just getting by, they rejoice to evangelize… For us who are disciples, it is important to put our humanity in contact with the flesh of the Lord, to bring to him, with complete trust and utter sincerity, our whole being.
“My Lord and my God!” (v. 28). We would do well, today, and every day, to pray these magnificent words, and to say to the Lord: You are my one treasure, the path I must follow, the core of my life, my all. (Pope Francis, ,Holy Mass with Priests, Men and women Religious, Kraków , 30 July 2016)

From the WRITINGS of Blessed A. ROSMINI

My dear brother in Jesus Christ.
if we are afraid of what the world says, we shall never do anything that makes for the glory of God. There is nothing I care less about than such chattering. We shall be wretched creatures if we take notice of the world’s tittle-tattle, or if we give credence to its false (though often subtle) reasonings. We shall lose our way…’ Really! Is what the world calls madness truly so? If so, then the cross of Christ is madness too; and so is the gospel; and so is the action of the apostles, who exposed themselves to all sorts of dangers and sufferings among barbarian nations; so is the witness of faith given by the holy martyrs … all madness. But in reality how desirable is this kind of ‘madness’; would that I had this same madness, and that it were incurable and went to extremes! This divine madness is something I long for, and with tears daily plead to God for. I am certain that you will not reallyregard this as madness, but rather see it as true wisdom. But if what the world takes to be madness is really wisdom, why not embrace this wisdom?… I will tell the world very plainly what I have come here to do: to fulfil my vocation; to answer the call of God; to get well away from so foolish a world; to purify my conscience; to save my soul. Heaven help anyone who does not know what he has to do in the place where he is called by the Lord. Christ’s words are plain. Those who think they can find a middle path, a compromise, are deceived by the devil. This is not what Christ taught. He has no need of us; he only invites us out of his mercy…. So walk straight ahead before him. In this way you will provide yourself with a solid foundation; and the only such foundation is the starkness of the cross. I embrace you warmly in Christ.
Yours affectionately, Rosmini
(To Luigi Gentili in Rome, from Calvario, 22 June 1830; The Ascetical Letters, Vol. I, let.75, pp.137-142, translated and edited by John Morris I. C.)

LET US PRAY

Rule in me with almighty , absolute dominion.
O God, my God, give me yourself;
I shall exult in you and glorify you forever.
Give me what you see I need.
(A. Rosmini)
PASTORAL YEAR 2016 – 2017
ON-GOING FORMATION
INSTITUTE OF CHARITY
ROSMINIAN SISTERS OF PROVIDENCE

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