Apostles for today

February 2024

Risen Christ walks with us to make us live in the joy of hope

Number 654 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church shows us that there is a double aspect in the Paschal mystery: through his death he frees us from sin, through his Resurrection he opens for us access to a new life.

This is first of all the justification which restores us to the grace of God (cf. Rom 4, 25) “so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too may live in new life” (Rom 6, 4). In approaching our theme for this month there is a whole project of the resurrected Christ on each and every one of us. As he walked with the disciples of Emmaus, he also walks with us today to make us live in the joy of hope.

Let us pause in our thoughts for a moment and remember the experience of the Paschal Vigil. We all have this experience of the celebration of the Easter Eve which begins in darkness but only the Paschal candle guides the procession. The priest sings: Light of Christ and we all respond: We give thanks to God. After this song and this response, you will no longer see sad faces but all the faithful and the celebrants radiate with joy because the risen Christ, light of the world is in the midst of his children. 

The paschal candle always gives us hope that we are children of light and we no longer walk in darkness. Another experience that we would like to contemplate is that in the Gospel of Saint Luke 24: 18-35 where we see the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They were in despair because they believed that Jesus in whom they had placed all their hope had died and that everything was over. But when they realized that on their march towards Emmaus they were accompanied by the risen Christ, their eyes were opened, a new light shone in their hearts and on their faces. A new hope has sprung up and a new page has opened to see their lives and that of their brothers and sisters differently. With renewed zeal, they hastened back to Jerusalem to testify of what they had seen. As Christ gave his life for humanity, Saint Vincent Pallotti also in experiencing the risen Lord, he desired to be food to satisfy the hungry, clothing to clothe the naked, drink to refresh the thirsty, medicine to strengthen the stomach of those who are weak, care to relieve the suffering of the sick, the crippled, the mute and the deaf,

light to enlighten those who are physically and spiritually blind, life to raise the dead by the grace of God. (OOCC X,115).”

As daughters and sons of Saint Vincent Pallotti, we have the great responsibility of perpetuating the ideal of the Founder. This is possible if we walk together in unity and fraternity. Walking alone we go fast and we get lost, but walking together we are strong and we can go far. Let us remember that our Holy Founder Vincent Pallotti bequeathed us his charism. At a time when the Church had to face crises relating to faith and found itself faced with the multiplication of its tasks for the mission, Pallotti realized the urgency of reviving faith and rekindling charity among Catholics and to unite all in Christ. The way he found to achieve this is the collaboration of all members of the Church, both the clergy and the laity, and to unite their efforts in order to promote more effectively the apostolic mission of the Church. (Preamble b.). Experts in Pallottine spirituality speak to us of collaboration as a gift above all gifts. If collaboration is lacking then let us know that the Union is in danger of ruin.

As an Auxiliary Body of the Church (General Statutes no. 58), the Union of the Catholic Apostolate needs to take a step forward in carrying out its mission in the Church. It is necessary to discover new initiatives that engage even the youngest in order to bring new oxygen to the entire Union. Routine is no longer useful. Being a tireless apostle, Pallotti never stopped inventing new methods to be the evangelical trumpet in the Church and in the world. He knew how to open up to the poor and the confined, to the sick and the marginalized, he took care of soldiers, workers, students and prisoners, he was a tireless confessor, he gave conferences to nuns and preached popular missions in parishes, he organized training for young people, adults and the clergy, he opened and supported orphanages, he spread the Good Press, he encouraged foreign missions, he inaugurated the Octave of the Epiphany.

Beyond everything, his concern is to be a man concerned with the infinite Glory of God and the salvation of men. Like the disciples of Emmaus, we must set out again to leave our routines and our comfortable zones and embrace new horizons. Today, there is so much to do around us, there is poverty of all categories: spiritual, material; isolated, people who lost their loved ones, lack of peace, refugees, the homeless, orphans, street children, widows and widowers, elderly people who live alone, people who live with incurable illnesses, drug addicts, people living with inner wounds, couples torn apart by all kinds of problems etc. All these needs around us need answers. The others are waiting for us.

We cannot wait to do great works but rather we can start with small concrete gestures to give our brothers and Sisters the hope of living. There is more joy in giving than in receiving. The following witness helps us see how the risen Christ walks with us when we decide to engage in his mission. Walking requires us to leave one place to go to another. This requires a firm decision and constant will. Every decision in life involves an Easter mystery. I die within myself so that Christ will resurrect me and give me new life in Him.

For us Missionary Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottines), walking with the risen Christ also means being available and accepting the mission entrusted to us. This availability allows us to live the Easter experience. Trusting in the one who calls us and sends us and reading the signs of the times, the Pallottine Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Kibeho Province (Rwanda), by the invitation of the Local Ordinary, they left their country to open a new mission in Brittany (Bretagne) in France in the Diocese of Vannes in the Parish of Saint Peter of Quistinic. They are aware that in the past it was the Missionaries of Europe who were going to evangelize as missionaries. Today, reading the signs of the times, the time has come for African missionaries and those from elsewhere to leave to share what they have received in response to Christ's invitation: “Go to all the world and proclaim the good news” (Mark 16, 15). In Brittany, the Sisters carry out their apostolate with children by giving them catechism and preparing them for the sacraments. They supervise those who feel the call to be altar boys and girls, they visit the elderly and give time to

listen to them, they bring Holy Communion to the sick and doffer accampaniement for those who desire it, they participate in funerals and take care of pastoral care in the parishes, they are part of the Parish choir and they lead Masses during the week... By citing these few apostolates it is to show how much others are waiting for us. It is not by their strength that the sisters fulfil their mission but thanks to the one who calls them and sends them. The sisters are grateful and they rejoice that the first missionaries prepared them well, instilling the missionary spirit in them.

Many elderly people live alone, they need someone to share at least a word with. How important it is to be with those who have lost their loved ones! The presence is very comforting. Sometimes we think that this or that person is used to living alone but deep down we all need each other. How encouraging it is to listen to Christians say that you Pallottine Sisters have brought oxygen to our Parishes. You are lightning rods. All this for the infinite glory of God.

I who write these pages have just spent more than three months in this mission and I give thanks to the Lord who wanted this mission here in Brittany. The others are waiting for us. By praying this prayer of our Pallottine community prayers, let us allow our heart be impregnated with it and let it to engage us again.

Pray:

Guide. Lord, the others are waiting for us:

Assembly. They expect something from us; they wait for our word;

they count on our patience

Guide. Many expect a letter from us, a visit; perhaps they are waiting for us

to give them our time, to look at them with compassion!

Assembly. The world needs us so much, those we meet expect us to call them by their own names.

Guide. Many people look for an open door in us; they need a place and a time to talk with us,  they want to share their burdens with us

Assembly. Now we bring to you, Lord, all those who have come into us:
 accept them and us also with our failings.

Guide. Give us the courage to hold the door of our heart open,
so that all those who seek us can only meet you.

Amen 

Sr Liberata Niyongira SAC

_____________________________________________

Piazza San Vincenzo Pallotti, 204 00186 Roma, ITALIA

Tel: (+39) 06.6876827 E-mail: uacgensec@gmail.com

 www.vincenzopallotti.org