Lettera congiunta November 2019
“My dear Brethren, Sisters of Providence, Adopted Sons and Daughters, Ascribed members, Friends, and sympathisers of the Rosminian Family,”
the two images – the roots and the foundation – were used by Jesus, by St. Paul, by Rosmini and by other spiritual masters with the aim of indicating fecundity and solidity. In the latter case, it refers to the Church founded on the rock of the Word of God. In the first case, it still refers to the Church, which, with proper care of the roots, will not remain as sterile as the fig tree of the parable but will produce an abundance of good fruits.
Let us take a closer look at the image of the foundation. In our age we must be vigilant about the solidity of our Christian faith. It almost seems to be on a volcano that ejects fiery stones, unbreathable ashes, with continuous seismic shocks that make the earth tremble under your feet. What to do?
Let us imitate the faith of Mary Most Holy, founded on the rock of the Word. She kept/preserved the word of the Angel and the word of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple. Let us recognize ourselves as instruments chosen to keep/preserve the new wine of the Word of God because “we are dear to God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ” (Jude 1,1). What is divine – and therefore each of us, new creatures by the grace of Christ – must be kept/preserved. There is no doubt that it will bear fruit if kept/preserved with creative fidelity. Fidelity is our task, creativity is not lacking in the artist, the Holy Spirit, always active in the faithful like Mary and the Saints.
Let us take a closer look at fecundity. If we look at the fruits of Christian communities, we find that the harvest is rather poor, whereas the bad weeds do not seem to diminish. To give the primacy to God is to give the primacy to charity, because God is charity. It was Paul who said that nothing could separate him from Christ; equally, nothing should separate each of us, who belong to the Rosminian family, from dedicating our life to charity, in every thought, in every word, in every action (see Const. Nos. 1056,1057).
Dear Brothers and Sisters, we welcome your careful attention at “keeping the Institute in its good state” (Part XII of the Constitutions). We also welcome the words of Pope Francis at the audience of 1st October 2018, by which he exhorted Fathers, Sisters, Ascribed members of the Rosminian Family to “continue the mission with joy and hope. May the Holy Spirit make you living instruments of universal charity in the world “. We welcome the call of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who joined his voice to the voice of other shepherds who had gathered to find a solution to the moral decadence of the Church, as he asked to give
adequate attention to the primacy of God, a necessary condition for Christianity at all times. “Without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15: 5).
The monthly leaflets for permanent formation will still be a valid personal aid, for the communities of Fathers and Sisters, for the meetings of the Rosminian Family, and for the meetings of the Ascribed members when the Fathers or the Sisters cannot be present. The theme for the year will be:
“THE GIFT OF GRACE: the dynamic foundation of the Christian life”
The topic will allow for the exploring of the theme of Grace and of the Sacraments, which are its effective signs.
“Through these Sacraments Christ and ourselves and all those whom he has redeemed, become one body (just as head and limbs make up a single body), and one vine (just as the vine is composed of stock and branches), although the branches of this mystic vine spread throughout the whole of earth and heaven” (A Rosmini, A Society of Love).
Every ascribed member, every religious is a branch of Jesus. Even if we cannot pursue great external activities, this incorporation into Christ is a great event bearing fruits, and it is worth living it joyfully, until the last grape of the last bunch suspended between earth and sky comes to maturity. The Lord knows how to transform it into a drop of his precious blood, for our salvation and the salvation of others.
We recommend to your prayers Church and Rosminian Vocations, male and female; and we also recommend to your prayers, in spirit of unity, the Fathers, Sisters, Ascribed members of the East Africa Province, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of their mission, undertaken in obedience to the signs of Providence and to the indications of the Church.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, on the 12th anniversary of the Beatification of Father Founder, we pray that all the members of the Rosminian Family will follow the same path of perfection, with the same enthusiasm and the same perseverance.
Let us take a closer look at the image of the foundation. In our age we must be vigilant about the solidity of our Christian faith. It almost seems to be on a volcano that ejects fiery stones, unbreathable ashes, with continuous seismic shocks that make the earth tremble under your feet. What to do?
Let us imitate the faith of Mary Most Holy, founded on the rock of the Word. She kept/preserved the word of the Angel and the word of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple. Let us recognize ourselves as instruments chosen to keep/preserve the new wine of the Word of God because “we are dear to God the Father and kept safe for Jesus Christ” (Jude 1,1). What is divine – and therefore each of us, new creatures by the grace of Christ – must be kept/preserved. There is no doubt that it will bear fruit if kept/preserved with creative fidelity. Fidelity is our task, creativity is not lacking in the artist, the Holy Spirit, always active in the faithful like Mary and the Saints.
Let us take a closer look at fecundity. If we look at the fruits of Christian communities, we find that the harvest is rather poor, whereas the bad weeds do not seem to diminish. To give the primacy to God is to give the primacy to charity, because God is charity. It was Paul who said that nothing could separate him from Christ; equally, nothing should separate each of us, who belong to the Rosminian family, from dedicating our life to charity, in every thought, in every word, in every action (see Const. Nos. 1056,1057).
Dear Brothers and Sisters, we welcome your careful attention at “keeping the Institute in its good state” (Part XII of the Constitutions). We also welcome the words of Pope Francis at the audience of 1st October 2018, by which he exhorted Fathers, Sisters, Ascribed members of the Rosminian Family to “continue the mission with joy and hope. May the Holy Spirit make you living instruments of universal charity in the world “. We welcome the call of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who joined his voice to the voice of other shepherds who had gathered to find a solution to the moral decadence of the Church, as he asked to give
adequate attention to the primacy of God, a necessary condition for Christianity at all times. “Without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15: 5).
The monthly leaflets for permanent formation will still be a valid personal aid, for the communities of Fathers and Sisters, for the meetings of the Rosminian Family, and for the meetings of the Ascribed members when the Fathers or the Sisters cannot be present. The theme for the year will be:
“THE GIFT OF GRACE: the dynamic foundation of the Christian life”
The topic will allow for the exploring of the theme of Grace and of the Sacraments, which are its effective signs.
“Through these Sacraments Christ and ourselves and all those whom he has redeemed, become one body (just as head and limbs make up a single body), and one vine (just as the vine is composed of stock and branches), although the branches of this mystic vine spread throughout the whole of earth and heaven” (A Rosmini, A Society of Love).
Every ascribed member, every religious is a branch of Jesus. Even if we cannot pursue great external activities, this incorporation into Christ is a great event bearing fruits, and it is worth living it joyfully, until the last grape of the last bunch suspended between earth and sky comes to maturity. The Lord knows how to transform it into a drop of his precious blood, for our salvation and the salvation of others.
We recommend to your prayers Church and Rosminian Vocations, male and female; and we also recommend to your prayers, in spirit of unity, the Fathers, Sisters, Ascribed members of the East Africa Province, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of their mission, undertaken in obedience to the signs of Providence and to the indications of the Church.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, on the 12th anniversary of the Beatification of Father Founder, we pray that all the members of the Rosminian Family will follow the same path of perfection, with the same enthusiasm and the same perseverance.
Father Vito Nardin Mother Maria Antonietta Toomey Superior General I.C. Superior General R.S.P.
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