sussidio february 2017

   “A DEVOTED SON OF THE CHURCH”

From the WORD of GOD
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of man is? ‘And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said, ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. (Mt 16: 13-20)

From the DOCUMENTS of the CHURCH
Mother and Teacher of all nations—such is the Catholic Church in the mind of her Founder, Jesus Christ; to hold the world in an embrace of love, that men, in every age, should find in her their own completeness in a higher order of living, and their ultimate salvation. She is “the pillar and ground of the truth.” (1) To her was entrusted by her holy Founder the twofold task of giving life to her children and of teaching them and guiding them—both as individuals and as nations—with maternal care. Great is their dignity, a dignity which she has always guarded most zealously and held in the highest esteem Christianity is the meeting-point of earth and heaven. It lays claim to the whole man, body and soul, intellect and will, inducing him to raise his mind above the changing conditions of this earthly existence and reach upwards for the eternal life of heaven, where one day he will find his unfailing happiness and peace. Hence, though the Church’s first care must be for souls, how she can sanctify them and make them share in the gifts of heaven, she concerns herself too with the exigencies of man’s daily life, with his livelihood and education, and his general, temporal welfare and prosperity.
In all this she is but giving effect to those principles which Christ Himself established in the Church He founded. When He said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jn 1:,6), “I am the light of the world,” (Jn 8: 12) it was doubtless man’s eternal salvation that was uppermost in His mind, but He showed His concern for the material welfare of His people when, seeing the hungry crowd of His followers, He was moved to exclaim: “I have compassion on the multitude” (Mk 8:2). And these were no empty words of our divine Redeemer. Time and again He proved them by His actions.
(Mater et Magistra, Encyclical of John XXIII, nn. 1-4)

From the WRITINGS of Blessed A. ROSMINI
Oh, do all you can to ensure that your pupil appreciates the dignity of being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, of this immense, divine society to which it is only right that we should turn all our thoughts. Friendship is a fine thing, but how much finer is love for Holy Church! Family affection, again, is laudable; so too is love for our birthplace, our native land. But oh, may our family, our people, our fatherland, be so many means of promoting the glory of the Church of God! A Christian should only consider them as parts of a greater and more sublime society, of the great society of the Church; since through the grace we have received, our families, our peoples, our nations, are part of the Church of Christ; and the part should be subservient to the whole. Try to imprint this deeply in the soul of your pupil; happy will he be if he receives this impression, and carries it indelibly through his whole life!
(To Don Giovanni Stefani at Lisbon, from Milan, 13 September 1826; The Ascetical Letters, Vol.I, let.13, p.34; translated and edited by John Morris IC.)
Holy Father,
I am a devoted and obedient son of the Church, which is the pillar and ground of truth. I submit to all her decisions, against which never a doubt has arisen in my soul. I adhere profoundly to the heavenly doctrines she teaches, where alone is to be found the peace, the joy and the glory of the human mind and the hope of eternal happiness. I have submitted time and time again, with both public and private declarations, all my works and all my opinions to this infallible Teacher and Mother, in whose bosom, by the grace of God I was born and reborn to grace. Holy Father, I aim to modify everything that calls for this in my works; to correct everything that needs correcting; to retract everything that ought to be retracted. I wish to trust in all things on the authority of the Church, and I want the whole world to know that this is the sole authority that I am guided by; that I delight in the truths taught by her; that I glory in withdrawing any errors that I may have fallen into, anything contrary to her infallible decisions.
(To His Holiness Pope Pius IX at Gaeta, from Naples,12 April 1849;
The A.L.Vol.VI,let.94, p.118;translated and edited by John Morris IC.)
Very Reverend Monsignor,
You then add something of great comfort to me, when you tell me that the Holy Father will accompany me with his fatherly affection. I have great trust that whenever in my works I have inadvertently written anything erroneous or harmful, the mercy of God will be indulgent to me, since in my poor labours I have never sought anything but God’s glory, the good of the Church, and the salvation of souls. And God has infused these sentiments in me purely through his goodness. Whatever decision comes from the Holy See I will welcome with all my heart, and conform with it joyfully. I never wish to maintain my own opinions, but only the doctrines of Holy Church, my Teacher. And this too I hope for by the grace of Jesus Christ.
(To Mgr Giuseppe Stella at Gaeta, from Gaeta, 18 June 1849;
The A.L.Vol.VI,let.97,p.121; translated and edited by John Morris IC.)

LET US PRAY
May I walk in the right path, and do nothing
apart from you. You are my All;
may all that I do come from you, not from creatures who,
apart from you, are parts apart from the All.
(A.Rosmini)
PASTORAL YEAR 2016 – 2017
ON-GOING FORMATION
INSTITUTE OF CHARITY
ROSMINIAN SISTERS OF PROVIDENCE

LET US PRAY
– O Truth, establish truth in me,
that I may keep your law.
– Father, I ask you for your divine Son and your Spirit.
– Be as gracious as your heart is great.
(A.Rosmini)
PASTORAL YEAR 2016 – 2017
ON-GOING FORMATION
INSTITUTE OF CHARITY
ROSMINIAN SISTERS OF PROVIDENCE

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