sussidio 5 February 2019

   “NO ONE IS SAVED ALONE”

From the WORD of GOD

“Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: 20 I pray not only for these but also for those who through their teaching will come to believe in me.21 May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.22 I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one”. (Jn17:1.20-22)
2 As the chosen of God, then, the holy people whom he loves, you are to be clothed in heartfelt compassion, in generosity and humility, gentleness and patience.13 Bear with one another; forgive each other if one of you has a complaint against another. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same.14 Over all these clothes, put on love, the perfect bond.15 And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together in one body. Always be thankful.16 Let the Word of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God;17 and whatever you say or do, let it be in the name of the Lord Jesus, in thanksgiving to God the Father through him. (Col 3:12-17)

From the DOCUMENTS of the CHURCH
The Holy Spirit bestows holiness in abundance among God’s holy and faithful people, for “it has pleased God to make men and women holy and to save them, not as individuals without any bond between them, but rather as a people who might acknowledge him in truth and serve him in holiness”. In salvation history, the Lord saved one people. We are never completely ourselves unless we belong to a people. That is why no one is saved alone, as an isolated individual. Rather, God draws us to himself, taking into account the complex fabric of interpersonal relationships present in a human community (6).
I like to contemplate the holiness present in the patience of God’s people: in those parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to support their families, in the sick, in elderly religious who never lose their smile. In their daily perseverance I see the holiness of the Church militant. Very often it is a holiness found in our next-door neighbours, those who, living in our midst, reflect God’s presence. We might call them “the middle class of holiness”(7). Growth in holiness is a journey in community, side by side with others. . Living or working alongside others is surely a path of spiritual growth. Saint John of the Cross told one of his followers: “You are living with others in order to be fashioned and tried”(141). The common life, whether in the family, the parish, the religious community or any other, is made up of small everyday things. This was true of the holy community formed by Jesus, Mary and Joseph… It was also true of the life that Jesus shared with his disciples and with ordinary people(143). A community that cherishes the little details of love, whose members care for one another and create an open and evangelizing environment, is a place where the risen Lord is present, sanctifying it in accordance with the Father’s plan (145).
Our path to holiness can only make us identify all the more with Jesus’ prayer “that all may be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you” (Jn 17:21) (146).
(Gaudete et Exultate, Apostolic Exhortation of the Holy Father Francis)

From the WRITINGS of Blessed A. ROSMINIThe immediate aim of the members of this Society is to be in a safe place…where they may look to themselves and endeavour through mutual help to remedy to their own weaknesses and to be purified from their own vices. (CSC n. 523)
Each of you, in the spirit of our Institute, must co-operate in the amending not only of himself but of all his brethren too. What the Rules prescribe in this connection involves a most delicate practice of charity, of a kind quite unknown to people in the world and inconceivable to them. Moreover each of us has to do all he can, according to God’s gift, for the amendment of himself and of his companions. And when he has made every possible effort, he must preserve complete tranquillity of mind and resignation of spirit, looking to God for everything and not being disturbed if things do not go perfectly well. This is the way to peace, in which we make gentle progress towards God. (To Don Alessio Martin at S. Michele, from Domodossola, 3 March 1838;
A.L. Vol. III, let.46, p.72,translated and edited by John Morris IC )
Each of you must love dearly his companions in Jesus Christ, without any exception. We all form one body, and each of us is a member of that body; so each one must for his part study how to do everything possible in order to promote the perfect concord and health of the body and its members. In particular each of us must wish to see all his companions advance in solid virtues. This holy charity, and this care which each will take for the spiritual good and the good order of the whole house will show us to be true followers of our Master, who said: ‘Men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.’
(To the Brethren of the Institute in the House at Trent, Monte Calvario, 8 October 1832; A.L. Vol. II, let. 43, p.57)

LET US PRAY

How good, how delightful it is
to live as brothers all together!
It is like a fine oil on the head,
running down the beard,
running down Aaron’s beard,
onto the collar of his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermon
falling on the heights of Zion;
for there Yahweh bestows his blessing,
everlasting life. (Ps 133)

PASTORAL YEAR 2018 – 2019
ON-GOING FORMATION
INSTITUTE OF CHARITY
ROSMINIAN SISTERS OF PROVIDENCE

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