Letter Superior General 1 July 2014

CONGREGAZIONE

SUORE DELLA PROVVIDENZA ROSMINIANE

My dear Sisters,

We know the experience of setting out on a journey to be with

someone close to us, in their last hours of earthly life, wondering

if they are still conscious, if they will recognize who is present and

whether they can hear; and when they actually speak, we hang

on their every word. I visualize Manzoni’s last days with Rosmini.

Manzoni becomes a ‘human channel’, a ‘bridge’ conveying

an invaluable message to all Rosminians ever since. Faced with the reality of losing his dear friend so soon, he expresses the desire which must have been in the hearts of all followers of Rosmini: “your presence among us is necessary” and “God will spare you to complete the many works you have begun”. But Rosmini, true to his spirit, as we know throughout his life, stresses: “the works begun by God will be completed by the means he holds in his hand, there is no limit to them, they are an abyss into which we can peer and adore”. Around this bed, we can sense the atmosphere of the sacred: loving silent adoration of God and what His will holds for him now. The response to Manzoni’s immediate question of desperation ‘What shall we do?’ is more than simply words for Manzoni; instead, it is a legacy for each one of us: ‘Adore, be silent, rejoice’ along with a gesture of love and friendship: “profoundly moved at the sight of his friend, the dying man drew Manzoni’s hand to him and kissed it”.

Rosmini, man of faith spent his life in union with God, adoring and living His Providence, wherever it took him: we recall his time at Calvario, waiting for God to show him the way forward. And these last hours of his earthly life are no different: “I am in God’s hands and therefore I am well”. We see him “desiring”, rejoicing in the reality of the closeness of death; for him, St Paul’s words ring true: “Rejoice in the Lord always, the Lord is near”. (Phil 4:4) (cf. Leetham, Rosmini, p473-4)

This is the essence of our inherited charism, our personal calling to holinessand is vital to our communalmission as followers of our Founder, Bl Antonio Rosmini. Maybe we can still ourselves in silence and re-kindle within, that inner-glow and beauty of our first call – an encounter with the Person of Christ, while giving thanks for such a wonderful gift:this confidence is expressed in the inscription placed over his cell door at Stresa: ‘In silentio et in spe erit fortitudo vestra,’; and the same is expressed in those other words written over his cell at Calvario: ‘ Bonum est praestolari cum silentio salutare Dei‘.

While thanking God for this day, my wish for us all is to be blessed in our vocation with a new understanding of the sentiments summed up in:

‘Adorare, tacere, godere’.

Happy 1^st July!

Loving Greetings to the Sisters who rejoice in the celebration of their Anniversaries of religious life.