The international Claretian family concluded on December 31, 2024, the commemoration of the 120th anniversary since its distinguished missionary, Mariano Avellana Lasierra—recognized as the greatest evangelizer of Chile between 1873 and 1904—gave his life in a mining camp in the north of the country, a life he had vowed to dedicate especially to the sick, prisoners, and the most abandoned.
How could we not see in this the greatest proof of love, which, according to Christ Jesus, consists in laying down one’s life for those whom one loves?
For many years now, February 14 has been consecrated as the Day of Love, and primarily, the Day of Lovers. Centuries ago, it was attributed to Valentine, a Roman physician and devout priest, that he protected and married couples despite an imperial ban by Emperor Claudius II, who believed that marriage was incompatible with a military career. For such disobedience, Saint Valentine is said to have been martyred on February 14, around the year 270. Regardless of these traditions, the date ultimately came to be dedicated, almost by definition, to the celebration and experience of romantic love.
However, beyond the fact that commerce and profit have distorted the true meaning of such a sublime celebration, love itself has become one of the most corrupted and degraded realities. Instead of understanding love as self-giving, even to the point of laying down one’s life for the beloved, it has been turned into a right of possession, domination, and even annihilation and murder of the one who, having supposedly been loved, became deeply hated.
It is no mere coincidence that the 14th of each month, dedicated by the Claretian family to remembering the heroic testimony of love of Mariano Avellana, this February coincides with the Day of Love. Rather, it can be seen as a singular opportunity to show both believers and non-believers his complete testimony of true love. As a beautiful song says: “To love is to give oneself, forgetting oneself, seeking what may make the other happy. How beautiful it is to live to love; how great it is to have in order to give; to give joy and happiness, to give oneself—this is love!”
That Mariano Avellana loved to the point of heroically giving his life was recognized by Pope John Paul II when he declared him Venerable in 1987. His life bore witness to this, in the tireless way he evangelized Chile for 30 years amidst great suffering and hardship, dedicating himself especially to the sick, the prisoners, and the most abandoned. And he did so until he fell, exhausted to death, during the last of his hundreds of missions.
He had not forgotten Christ’s commandment on the eve of His death: “Love one another as I have loved you.” Nor the emphatic words of John, His beloved disciple: “Whoever does not love has not known God, because God is Love. Whoever claims to love God but hates his brother is a liar. How can someone love God, whom they have not seen, if they do not love their brother, whom they have seen?”
And just as Christ loved His friends to the point of giving His life for them, Mariano set out to give his own life in the farthest reaches of an unknown continent to which he had been sent to mission. And he fulfilled it.
Alfredo Barahona Zuleta
