Nemi. Italy. August 20, 2021. Yesterday we were visited by the rain; today we dawn with a fresh breeze coming up from the lake. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed from the dawn of the day and the day begins on our knees before the Mystery.
Today our Liturgy is animated by the brothers present at the Chapter who work in the field of publications, theological institutes of consecrated life, and the service of communications. Those who put the Word into words. In the Eucharist, we encounter the life, work and preaching of St. Bernard, pastor, and doctor, whom we remember today in the Church. An immense man who filled with his personality the first decades of the twelfth century, a master for the consecrated life of all times. We remember his audacity in the ecclesial reform through the Cistercian Order and his permanent rootedness in the Lord, of whom he said: Jesus Christ alone is “honey on the lips, song in the ear, joy in the heart”. And, with him, we ask the Lord for the grace to live as if we were going to die tomorrow and to build as if we were going to remain for a thousand years.
The day was spent sharing in small groups and in plenary sessions the accents and questions raised by the first process of transformation on which the Congregation is embarked. We highlighted aloud the seeds of life that we have discovered, without ceasing to point out the weeds that block the roads, the weeds that harass the wheat fields. The dialogue is also engaged in dialogue with the consultants of the General Government who have been overseeing the smooth running of this process over the years: Brother Carlos Verga, Father Artur Teixeira and Father Henry Omonisaye. Little by little, the work of the Chapter community is intensifying, and the dialogues are flowing not only in person in Nemi, but also with those who are still in quarantine or planning their trips. Just this afternoon two brothers arrived in Rome from India, who will remain isolated as a precaution, but we already feel a little closer to them.
The day concludes with a prayer of thanksgiving for the life dedicated to the publishing apostolates, the accompaniment of religious life and communications. Fr. Alberto Rossa, Fr. José Cristo Rey García Paredes, and Bro. Mario Kevin Armijo. From them, the prayer extends to the whole world. We know that many Claretians and friends have their eyes fixed on Nemi these days: we are grateful for their messages, and we feel the support of their intercession. We also have our hearts set on every Claretian and on the realities that are lived in every corner of the earth. We pray for everyone, especially for those who are suffering the most at this moment, like our brothers in Haiti and Afghanistan. Bro. Josep Jo Estrada, Fr. Josep Codina Farrés (both belonging to Sanctus Paulus) and Br. Richard Allen Suttle (originally from the United States of America and attached to Indonesia-Timor Leste). May the Lord open to them the doors of his Kingdom and may they find consolation in the Heart of Mary, our star in all storms: “If she sustains you, you do not fall; if she protects you, you need not fear; if she guides you, you do not grow weary; if she is propitious to you, you will reach the goal” (St. Bernard).
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