Apostles for Today - September 2016

Apostles for Today 

Prayer and Reflection
September 2016

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Prayer and Mercy.

Misericordiae Vultus begins with a powerful connection between Jesus Christ as the face of the Father’s mercy and our need constantly to contemplate the mystery of mercy. We have, therefore, the link between mercy and prayer at the very beginning. When we study the writings of St. Vincent Pallotti, we are encouraged and challenged by the same combination: prayer and mercy.

For those who have studied the writings of Vincent Pallotti, his emphasis on the place of prayer in our lives and on the Infinite Mercy of God is well known: The practice of holy prayer is most necessary … A Christian without prayer is a person without reason…. A missionary without prayer is a soldier without a sword.

The model of a life of prayer and of mercy is Jesus Christ the Lord who is the true image of the Father’s mercy. Jesus reflects the mercy of God in his very person. And so Pallotti stands before God in prayer, asking for that grace to “be Jesus” on this earth. “In all my works may it always be Jesus Christ who lives and acts in me. United with him, I offer you the correspondence of his most holy humanity. “

This “living in Jesus” in the twofold presence of contemplative prayer and merciful works gives direction and shape to specific aspects of our Christian Life as stated in Misericordiae Vultus:

~      Relationship with God and with one another

~      A source of joy, serenity and peace

~      A meeting place and a bridge between the person and God, between me and the other

~      A more effective sign of God’s action in our lives

~      A sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit, guiding the steps of believers to cooperate in the work of Christ

All of these elements are familiar to those involved in the Union of Catholic Apostolate. The life of Jesus – the very image of mercy – constitutes the “Rule” of the members of the Pallottine Family. The place of prayer is fundamental to our deepening relationship with God and each other, a relationship that, in fact, promotes peace and joy not only within ourselves but throughout the world.

Vincent Pallotti stressed the importance of confidence in our prayer, expecting God to respond generously to our requests: When I ask for some spiritual grace, I shall imagine with solicitude, confidence, humility and gratitude that I have immediately obtained it. I will perform internal acts as if I had really obtained such a grace. And I do not doubt I will obtain it. (OOCC, X, pp. 112-113). How much more can we apply this to ourselves in the UAC when it comes to praying for God’s grace to be a people of mercy and apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ.

St. Vincent often refers to our being “a trophy of God’s mercy,” through the institution of that holy Society which respects, venerates, favors and assists the Catholic Apostolate. By virtue of our very foundation, we are called to be apostles of mercy and imitators of God, alert to the needs of God’s children.

We are further reminded by Pallotti that by the grace of God our lives, words and deeds will be works of God’s mercy and we can safely add that they will be the witness of Divine Love acting in and through us through the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. In addition, we are challenged by our Founder to move forward with utter confidence during this Year of Mercy:

      Let us make every effort to do great things for the glory of our Creator, and let us remember that it is divine grace that makes us holy, and that the same God can give us so great a grace that can make us become greater Saints than any other Saint that has already lived in the Church of Jesus Christ. And let us believe most firmly that God will give us such a grace.

Points for Reflection:

1. How can we as Union – as individuals, families, cenacles -- further develop our life of prayer that will lead us more deeply into the spiritual and corporal works of mercy?

2. In living out the charism given to us by God through St. Vincent Pallotti, what must we do to better listen and respond to the Word of God – our Rule of Life – to be genuine witnesses of mercy as imitators of our Merciful God?

3. What are the needs in our area that we can respond to as a group within the UAC – taking into account the importance of effective prayer and planning as a part of the entire process?

4. What can I do personally in my own prayer life and in my actions to embrace the challenge in this Year of Mercy to be merciful like the Father?

                                        Sr. Carmel Therese Favazzo, CSAC

                                        Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate

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Segretariato Generale, Unione dell’Apostolato Cattolico

Piazza San Vincenzo Pallotti 204, 00187 Roma, Italia uac@uniopal.org

Novena - Beatification of Elizabeth Sanna

Novena in preparation for the Beatification

of 

Venerable Elisabetta Sanna 

The eagerly awaited beatification of Venerable Elisabetta Sanna is approaching. It will be celebrated on September 17^th in the Basilica of the Most Blessed Trinity of Saccargia. The first beatification of a lay member of the Union of Catholic Apostolate is a great joy for our entire Pallottine Family. Thanking the Lord for this grace, we humbly Him that we may be able to open ourselves completely to the graces which He will give us through this occasion. In order to prepare ourselves as well as possible for the beatification, we are publishing - for private use - this novena in preparation for this joyful event.

Biographical information

Elisabetta Sanna was born in Codrongianos (Sassari) on April 23^rd, 1788. At the age of three months, she lost the ability to raise her arms. She married and raised five children. In 1825, she was widowed and made a vow of chastity; she was spiritual mother to the girls and women of her area. In 1831, having embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, she ended up in Rome, and was unable return due to grave physical ailments. She dedicated herself totally to prayer and to service of the poor and sick. She was among the first members of the Union of Catholic Apostolate of Saint Vincent Pallotti, her spiritual director. Her dwelling became a shrine of faith and of burning love. She died in Rome on February 17^th, 1857 and was buried in the church of SS. Salvatore in Onda. Witnesses confirm and shed light on the words of Saint Vincent Pallotti, reported by Fr. Scapaticci and Fr. Vaccari: “Two people until now have carried our Institute forward: one is, as you have often understood from Fr. Vincent, Elisabetta Sanna, a poor woman; the other is Cardinal Lambruschini”. For this reason the “poor” Servant of God received the privilege of being buried in the church of SS. Salvatore in Onda, near the tomb of Saint Vincent Pallotti. When she died, her reputation for holiness was so great that, just four months after her death, a postulator was named for her cause of beatification, which however lasted more than one and a half centuries. She was declared Venerable on January 27^th, 2014. The miracle which finally paved the way for her beatification, approved by Pope Francis on January 22^nd, 2016, was the healing of a young Brazilian woman (31 years of age), Suzana Correia da Conceição, of an atrophy of the muscles of the right forearm and hand with grave functional impairment on May 18^th, 2008 - Trinity Sunday.

Introductory Prayer:

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I thank you for having enriched our sister Elisabetta Sanna in a marvellous way with wisdom, counsel and fortitude. Through her merits, I ask you to grant me the grace which I earnestly desire …………………, if this is in accordance with your Most Holy Will.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…

Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!

Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!

First day: wife and mother (September 8^th)

From when she was a young girl, Elisabetta desired to become a nun. Having lost the ability to lift her arms, she didn’t think of getting married, and yet, as a young woman, many young men wanted to marry her. Thus, on September 13^th, 1807, at 19 years of age, she celebrated marriage with a certain Antonio Maria Porcu, a truly good Christian of modest means. Antonio was an exemplary husband and father who loved his wife and trusted her completely. In fact, he said to his friends: “My wife is not like yours, she is a saint”! Elisabetta would say: “I was not worthy to have such a husband, he was so good”. Their family was a model for the entire area. In the following years, seven children were born to them. She spent her days between the house, the education of her children and the land, where she worked without sparing herself. And she also found time for long hours of prayer in church. She didn’t fear criticism for the faith which she so publicly professed and lived: “This is my style of life - she responded - it hasn’t prevented me from attending to my duties as the mother of a family”. She herself prepared her children for Confession and Communion and passed on to them a great love for Jesus, with much tenderness, without ever being sharp. A true education from the heart

Prayer:

O God, sanctifying Spirit, who love the Church your Bride, you poured the flame of your love into the heart of Venerable Elisabetta Sanna and radiated it in her family, the domestic church. I thank you for this exemplary wife and mother, for her encouraging and simple witness. Give to every woman - married, mother, single, consecrated - the grace of being a presence which forms every family, every community, into a cenacle of faith and love, in generous hard work and sanctifying service.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…

Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!

Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!

Second day: widow and bride of Jesus Christ (September 9^th)

Of her seven children, two died at a very young age. On January 25^th, 1825, her husband Antonio, attended by her, died young. Widowed with five children, the oldest being seventeen, the youngest just three, she felt responsible not only for the administration of the house and land, but above all for their spiritual and temporal education. Maturing in her spiritual path, Elisabetta made a vow of chastity in 1829, with the permission of the Franciscan Lenten preacher, Fr. Luigi Paolo da Ploaghe. She asked her confessor to reminder her often that she was a bride of Jesus Christ.

Prayer:

O Lord, You who consoled Mary after the death of Joseph and had compassion on the widow of Nain, grant me the strength to accept my aloneness without losing myself in sadness. As you did for Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, grant me your peace, your strength and your joy, so that I may use them to serve You courageously in serving others - above all in my family, but also with those dear to me who, in your goodness, you place on my path of life, knowing that every day brings me closer to my ultimate encounter with you, together with (name of husband/wife, if applicable)

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…

Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!

Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!

Third day: pilgrim (September 10^th)

In 1829, the young assistant parish priest, Fr. Giuseppe Valle, arrived in Codrongianos. He became confessor and spiritual director to the Sanna family, in particular Elisabetta. The Christian life of Elisabetta became even more fervent. During the aforementioned Lenten exercises of that year, the preacher Fr. Luigi Paolo spoke with great fruitfulness about the Holy Land. Together with other women, Elisabetta went to him to know more, and remained so inspired that a very strong desire was kindled in her to go to Palestine to see the places where the Son of God was born and was crucified, feeling called to follow Jesus more closely. Thus, in the first months of 1830, she asked Fr. Giuseppe Valle’s permission to go there on pilgrimage. Fr. Valle, after various explanations, said no. Several months passed however, and in July Elisabetta returned to ask him for the desired permission. After deep reflection and prayer, he agreed and decided to accompany her. They began to prepare themselves and their families discretely for the planned journey, hoping that it would help them to grow spiritually and to better serve others. Elisabetta was sure that her mother, then already 65, and her priest brother Fr. Luigi, living in Codrongianos, would be able to take care of her family during the pilgrimage. At the end of June 1831 she, along with Fr. Valle, embarked for Genoa. There the boat for Cyprus was awaiting them. At the last moment, however, Fr. Valle discovered that he lacked the visa for the East. He and Elisabetta then decided to go to Rome, saying: “There too is also Holy land”. And so they arrived in Rome on July 23^rd, 1831. From the very beginning, this journey had the character of a pilgrimage.

Prayer:

O God, always going out to encounter each person, you enkindled in Venerable Elisabetta’s heart the desire to be a pilgrim. I thank you for her encouraging witness. Give me the strength and courage to always go forward to encounter you. Becoming your disciple is the goal of all of my journeying in life. Let me learn to improve, guided by the word of the Gospel. All that I have known and learned now becomes the legacy of my existence, so that I may transmit it through the witness of my life.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…

Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!

Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!

Fourth day: collaborator of Saint Vincent (September 11^th)

In Rome, Elisabetta Sanna lived in a tiny dwelling near the Basilica of St. Peter’s. In her pilgrimage around the churches of Rome, yearning in prayer, Elisabetta encountered a holy Roman priest, Fr. Vincent Pallotti, in the church of Saint Augustine. When in 1832 he decided to accompany her spiritually, Saint Vincent wrote in her name to her priest brother, explaining to him that his sister could not leave for Sardinia for health reasons, but that she would do so once she improved. The Servant of God, while trying to get better, collaborated with Pallotti through prayer, counsel and help to the most needy. Unfortunately, her health got worse. Pallotti supported her in her treatment and in her spiritual growth, and also found her a small job with Archbishop Giovanni Soglia, the future cardinal, while she awaited some improvement in her health. When in 1838 doctor Petrilli wrote, “I am of the opinion that undertaking another journey by boat could lead her to an even worse condition”, Pallotti said to her: “God wants you in Rome”. And the Servant of God remained there, until her death in 1857.

Prayer:

O Venerable Elisabetta, help me to be conscious that my happiness is in doing the will of God. I ask you, Lord, to give me the ability to accept all things that happen to me and, with Your help, always to do the best I can every day according to Your will. You can help me - as you did Venerable Elisabetta - to always listen to You and do Your will. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…

Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!

Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!

Fifth day: woman with a disability who became an apostle (September 12^th)

When Elisabetta was only three months old, a smallpox epidemic caused the death of many children in Codrongianos, and she too was infected. She got better, but was left with slightly twisted arms and somewhat stiff joints. This did not prevent her from growing, learning to bear her disability as something natural, to attend to most of the housework, and to always present herself neat and clean. Notwithstanding her physical disability, she became a collaborator in the Union of Catholic Apostolate, founded by St. Vincent Pallotti in Rome. Those who drew near to her would say of her: “She saw God in everything and adored him in everything. The love of God was her life. Every greater interest disappeared in the face of the interests of God”. In fact, Elisabetta herself often used to say: “My God, I love you above all things”.

Prayer:

Venerable Elisabetta who, with great patience and trust in God, bore the physical pains of illness and the mental anguish of not being able to return to Sardinia, obtain for me in my life your surrender to suffering and the ability always to live beneath the gaze of God, in order to become a docile instrument of Providence for the salvation of others. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…

Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!

Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!

Sixth day: faith in everyday life (September 13^th)

Elisabetta received a profound Christian education in her family, about which her brother, Antonio Luigi, clearly spoke. He speaks of prayer together in family, of praying the Rosary, of participation in church functions and of help given to the poor. Elisabetta persevered in this attitude to faith and prayer throughout her life. All of the witnesses said that people only discussed spiritual things with her. When they went to her room, the conversation alternated between religious instruction and prayer. In a letter written to Fr. Giuseppe Valle on May 18^th, 1846, Saint Vincent confirmed her spiritual progress with the following phrase: “She continues in good works and I hope that she will reach the perfection desired by God, the Father of Mercies”. Every morning she went to St. Peter’s Basilica. The Basilica was her home. When she died, the cry echoed out: “The saint of St. Peter’s is dead”.

Prayer:

O Venerable Elisabetta, help me to be faithful to my daily duties: to the duty of adoration which is the first necessity of my spiritual life; to the duty which unites me to my neighbour, to the particular duties of my vocation, to the duty of material and spiritual charity, conscious that dialogue with my neighbour is above all in the fulfilment of my daily duties with a spirit of faith and charity. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…

Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!

Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!

Seventh day: spiritual mother (September 14^th)

Another area of Elisabetta’s living out of her faith and love was that of spiritual counsel. She had the gift of spiritual discernment and she used it to help the many people who sought her help. In her poor attic, before the painting of the Madonna Virgo Potens (Powerful Virgin), she prayed with her visitors and gave them wise advice. Cardinal Giovanni Soglia also consulted her in certain matters of conscience. Pallotti himself consulted her and brought his spiritual children to listen to her. For this reason, Fr. Rafaele Melia who knew Elisabetta very well, gave her the title of “most attentive mother” of the Union of Catholic Apostolate, and Fr. Ignazio Auconi, his successor in the office of General Superior, confirmed that she had the attentiveness of a mother towards the Work of Pallotti.

Prayer:

O Mary, Powerful Virgin, help our families and communities, above all those who struggle to live in faithfulness, unity and concord! Help consecrated people always to be transparent signs of the love of God. Help priests to be able to communicate the beauty of the mercy of God to all. Help those who govern to know how to always and only seek the good of people. O Powerful Virgin, protect life in all of its forms, ages and situations. Support each one of us so that, through the example of Venerable Elisabetta, we may be able to discern the ways of God and become enthusiastic and credible apostles of the Gospel.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…

Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!

Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!

Eighth day: a great love for the Eucharist (September 15^th)

In Codrongianos, Elisabetta took part in the Mass nearly every day. In Rome, she was in St. Peter’s Basilica every morning and, if she didn’t have other commitments, remained there until the last Mass, because she was convinced that through the Eucharist, we can worthily give to the Lord what we should, through adoration, praise, thanksgiving and prayer. She also encouraged others to go to daily Mass. In a particular way, she adored Jesus in the Eucharist in the churches where the “40 hours of Adoration” were held, and where she remained for a long time, in profound adoration. Fr. Valle said that she managed to receive up to seven Eucharistic blessings in one day. Here the words of Fr. Melia, regarding Elisabetta’s love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, are proven true: “She was so devoted to and enamoured of it that she would have consecrated her whole life to continuous adoration”.

Prayer:

 (prayer of Saint Vincent Pallotti before the Blessed Sacrament):

And you, o Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Powers, Principalities, Virtues, Archangels and Angels, come to visit the Sacramental Jesus, and adore him, thank him and love him for me; and you too, o Holy Patriarchs and Prophets, Apostles and Evangelists, and Disciples of the Saviour, o Most Holy Innocents, Most Holy Martyrs, Most Holy Pontiffs, Bishops, Doctors, Most Holy Priests and Levites, Most Holy Confessors, Virgins and Widows, and all you Saints of Paradise, come all of you and visit his most divine Son in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar and, all together, now and always let us adore him, thank him, and love him.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…

Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!

Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!

Ninth day: The serene hope (September 16^th)

To her profound faith and her burning love for the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, Elisabetta added her serene and joyful hope. When a certain Luigi Schiboni asked her if he would be saved, she replied: “And do you doubt it? Do you not know that a God died for your soul?” Fr. Filippo Tancioni, secretary to Cardinal Soglia who esteemed Elisabetta as a saint, said that she “had total confidence in being saved by the merits of Jesus Christ … and sought to inspire the same trust in everyone”. She often repeated: “I trust in the God of Mercy”. In moments of nostalgia for her family in Sardinia she exclaimed, “mercy, mercy”. These and similar exclamations, rooted in her very lively faith and great love for God, developed in her the serene hope to reach Paradise. Thus, even while still in Sardinia, she composed a kind of poetry (Lauda): “I am completely of God, I am completely of Jesus. I can no longer live far from God. Jesus is my heart, and I am of Jesus!” She expressed her desire in this serene manner: “I would like Heaven full, Purgatory emptied, Hell closed”.

Prayer:

O Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, I admire your courage and constancy in imitating Jesus with faith and serene hope even in the most difficult situations. I am ashamed of my frequent lack of certainty, of my laziness and my lack of coherence: help me to become fully responsible for the gift of faith and thus to always do good with a Christian spirit, so that my neighbour may more easily join with me in praising the Most Blessed Trinity. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…

Saint Vincent Pallotti, pray for us!

Venerable Elisabetta Sanna, pray for us!

August - Prayer & Reflection

Apostles for Today

August - 2016

Dialogue, Relations and Cooperation between People of Different Religions with the Common Purpose of Mercy.

"Go forth, as missionaries, to bring the message of the Father’s tenderness, forgiveness and mercy to every man, woman and child” and follow Jesus’ example “by reaching out to others, in a spirit of respect and openness, in order to share with them the gift we ourselves have received.”

(Video message of Pope Francis for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu City, Philippines)

Every follower of Christ by Christian vocation is called to live dialogue in daily life, which is motivated by the teaching of the Gospel, and shown in human action through mercy and love of others (Luke 10:27; Rom. 13 9-10). Dialogue is a significant approach to persons of other faith communities for the purpose of mutual understanding, cooperation, and transformation. Our dialogue doesn’t end with meetings and conferences but it is a way of living out Christian faith in relationship and commitment to those neighbors.

Scripture gives us many images of neighborliness which extend across conventional boundaries. In the Old Testament (Genesis 12), we find God challenging Abram and Sarai to go and live among strangers. In the New Testament, Jesus breaks convention by speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:6-30) and shows how she can be reached through dialogue. Speaking with a lawyer (Luke 10:25), Jesus reminds him that his neighbor, the one to whom he should show love and compassion, and from whom he may receive grace, may be a stranger. Today, our Lord's call to neighborliness (Luke 10:27) includes the “strangers” of other faith traditions who live in our towns and cities.

Testimony of Relations and Cooperation with other religions:

At this juncture, I would like to share something of my life experience of working with people of other faiths for the common purpose of mercy.

In my 30 years of Consecrated Life, I have been sent to different states of India on mission. Without realising the challenges, I was ready to accept the task entrusted to me by my Congregation. Though I come from a very strong Catholic background, it is here in my ministry that I have discovered my vocation is to give witness to the merciful God in dialogue with the people of different religions.

In one of the Hindu villages, my congregation proposed beginning the ministry of taking care of senior citizens, and eventually I was given the responsibility of constructing a residential building for this purpose. Before I arrived at the place, I was warned about the danger of wearing a religious habit which is not accepted by Hindu fundamentalists in the village. But I was not discouraged or anxious but, rather, was determined to pursue my work from the beginning clothed in the religious habit. Initially, I faced many obstacles which caused sleepless nights, fear and doubts within me. Yet, my trust in the merciful God didn't let this spirit in me die, but urged me to demonstrate his love through my daily service.

Ultimately, one rainy morning, as I was walking towards the village, I saw a man lying under the tree on the water. Though many people passed by no one reached to help him. As every human being, I too hesitated at first, but with the encouragement of my co-sister, a nurse by profession, we lifted the man who was covered with maggots, and washed him in the presence of many bystanders who were of other religions.

This witness of love and mercy towards a Hindu brother transformed the hearts of many fundamentalists around the village, who came forward to render their support. Soon the news of good deeds done by two women of Christ spread around the town. The misconceptions towards a different faith began to disappear in the hearts of the people. At this point I realized that this was a God-given opportunity to visit the families of people of other faiths and take part in their celebrations. This interaction gradually opened dialogue between us to deepen our mutual understanding, and to focus on shared concerns for the common good.

The most joyful event of Christ’s birth is celebrated in our village and town with much spectacle. The procession of the live crib is done together with people of other faith traditions. It is remarkable to realise how all faiths teach us to love one another, and encourage building harmony while honouring the integrity of our differences.

Today there is no longer fear of hindrance in my ministry. Most of the workers in our campus are of other religions. We work together by listening and speaking in openness and respect. Our Home for Senior Citizens has become a centre of service for the cause of humanity, where people of other religions become our partners in spreading Christ’s message of love and mercy to others.

Conclusion

In this Jubilee Year of Mercy, God is calling us into a new millennium with its own challenges and opportunities. We need to understand how the Holy Spirit works among all peoples of the world, especially among those in other religious traditions. We do not hide our differences, nor avoid conflicts, but seek to make them constructive. Thus, the greater our engagement in interreligious dialogue, the fuller our respect and trust become, leading us to an increase in cooperation and common action. Pope John Paul II, on his first visit to India, said: “Dialogue between members of different religions increases and deepens mutual respect and paves the way for relationships that are crucial in solving the problems of human suffering” (Address to non-Christian leaders, Madras – Chennai, 5 February 1986).

Let us pray with St. Vincent Pallotti

“My God, my mercy, I would like to say – but in looking at You in me, I lose myself; I say little or almost nothing: [...] Work in me, all the more […]. Since I feel and I believe that in my inconceivably greater misery, [...] I alone am the creature fit to form the most specific object of your infinite mercy. In me alone does your infinite mercy find the capacity to shine, to stand out and to produce its infinite effects” (OO CC, X, p.313-314).

Sr. Eugine Nirmala Francis SAC

India

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Segretariato Generale, Unione dell’Apostolato Cattolico

Piazza San Vincenzo Pallotti 204, 00187 Roma, Italia uac@uniopal.org

Apostles for Today- July 2016

Apostles for Today

Prayer and Reflection

July 2016

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Mercy and Justice,

Critical Consciousness of Our Time

The relationship between justice and mercy is an age-old issue which has marked the unfolding of Western civilization from the beginning. It has duly come to the fore every time that thought has tried to put order between what tend toward being polar opposites, such as between personal freedom and social order, between guilt and punishment, between recovery and redemption.

The conviction at which the Church has arrived during its two thousand years of history along with biblical revelation, is that broken order and harmony are restored only through linking together justice and mercy.

Justice and mercy are not words that can be substituted one for the other, and nor do they indicate perspectives opposed to each other. In his fundamental encyclical “Dives in Misericordia”, John Paul II said: “ ...  experience shows that other negative forces have gained the upper hand over justice, such as spite, hatred and even cruelty” (n. 12) . In fact, human justice is always fragile and imperfect, subject as it is to limitations and personal or group conditioning, and therefore must include and, in a sense, be supported by, mercy, which is the inner form of love. Indeed, as John Paul II further clarifies, it becomes "becomes more evident that love is transformed into mercy when it is necessary to go beyond the precise norm of justice - precise and often too narrow” (n. 5).

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth,” admonishes St. Paul (1 Cor 13: 6). True mercy, in fact, demands first of all justice, the necessary basis of social life, where the order of the Good, of goodness, should reign. Those who wish to be merciful must first of all be just and must hear, echoing within themselves, that “hunger and thirst for justice” of which Jesus speaks in the Sermon on the Mount. Mercy must produce first justice, if it wants to fulfil its true course. For this reason, mercy is not opposed to nor does it make excuses for justice, but includes it as its main expression and as its essential force. Therefore, mercy inspires and commands justice, it gives it  heart and light because it surpasses for the better its rigid, formal distinctions.

This perspective finds its highest expression in the teachings and the very life of Christ. In many places in the Gospel, the Lord, while showing what we would today call “respect for the institutions” and for the laws of his day, at the same time points the way to a higher justice which goes beyond the merely narrow and psychological, and so transfigures it. And he does so to his final breath.

Tortured, insulted and crucified by the very representatives of the law, only the “thief”, a criminal entreats him. But it is be precisely the “thief” - perhaps even a murderer - who for his gesture of humility and repentance, will be the first to gain Paradise. The carrying out of what Jesus himself had foretold to a caste which through pride considered itself honest and observant of the law - and formally it was:

And yet, “The tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you” (Matthew 21:31).

Benedict XVI takes a similar line in his first encyclical “Deus Caritas Est”, in which he significantly entitled a chapter precisely “Justice and charity”. “The just ordering of society and the State” - he cautions - “is a central responsibility of politics. As Augustine once said, a State which is not governed according to justice would be just a bunch of thieves” - the Pope notes (at n. 28). For which, however, it must never be forgotten that “love - caritas - will always prove necessary, even in the most just society. There is no ordering of the State so just that it can eliminate the need for a service of love”.

The common belief, according to which finally just structures would make any impulse of mercy superfluous, conceals, for the Pope, “a materialist conception of [the human person]: the mistaken notion that [human beings] can live ‘by bread alone’ (Mt 4:4; cf. Dt 8:3) - a conviction that demeans [us] and ultimately disregards all that is specifically human”.

Justice and mercy either walk hand in hand, one preparing the way for the other, or both limp, fumbling along in the dark. This is encapsulated very well in two Gospel parables.

The first is the parable of the unforgiving servant (Mt 18:23) in which the king discovers a servant who owes him ten thousand talents but, because of his pleas, does not carry out his original intention of selling him, his wife and their children, along with all his possessions, in order to pay off the debt. Just after this, the servant meets another just like him who owes him a hundred denarii. He grabs him and starts choking him, demanding that he pay his debt. The unforgiving servant does not want to hear the pleas of his fellow servant and throws him into prison until he can pay. His behaviour is, from the point of view of strict justice, irreproachable: the cancellation of his debt does not lead to an obligation on his part to do the same. What does condemn him, however, is the generous mercy shown towards him which he was unable to make his own: mercy accomplishes what justice never could, and leaves a mark that no decision of justice could ever leave. The unforgiving servant chooses to slip into legalism and falls, however, in his turn into the net of justice: he who was merciful towards him was “beyond good and evil”, but the servant has chosen to cross back over this boundary.

The second parable is that of the workers in the vineyard (Mt 20:1-16). What law, what principle of justice, could ever stipulate that different jobs, of different duration, effort and intensity, be paid equally? And what judge could ever argue with those early morning workers who, believing themselves to have been treated unfairly, murmured against the master: “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat”!

Still, the owner of the vineyard knows how to call into question the very concept of human justice, based on an ordered scale of values ​​and merit. Mercy, however, does not presuppose merit: it surpasses it; escapes its logic, like every true greatness of heart. The unpredictable gratuitousness of mercy completely turns the limited vision of human mentality on its head and becomes a stumbling block even to the principles of justice.

God's justice does not conflict, in reality, with human justice (each worker in the parable receives the agreed remuneration), but transcends it, completing and transforming it with love. For the jurist who pursues justice daily, an awareness of this excess becomes an intense and indispensable hope.

                                                                Cristina Mastrorosati

                                                                CCL Ostia - Italy

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Segretariato Generale, Unione dell’Apostolato Cattolico

Piazza San Vincenzo Pallotti 204, 00187 Roma, Italia uac@uniopal.org

Apostles for Today - June 2016

Apostles for Today

June 2016

Mercy and respect for life

 Dear sisters and brothers in the UAC

After Pope Francis proclaimed the Holy Year of Mercy, I was asked by the General Secretariat whether I would contribute to Apostles for Today by writing a reflection on “Mercy and respect for life (in the broadest sense)”. I agreed, because the topic interests me. Meanwhile a few months have passed and, frankly, I do not quite know what to write. On the one hand the word mercy does not play a great role in our current everyday language; on the other hand, it has now reached a level almost of overuse in the Church. And now I am asked to add my own opinion about it! At the same time, I realise that it is more my nature to ask questions than to give binding answers. But maybe I was “chosen” for this topic because I have a special relationship to “life” through my job as a doctor, and thus my experience comes more from real life than from theological speculation. And so I want to share with you my thoughts, questions and efforts to explain.

When I approach a topic, I like to begin with a glance at the etymological dictionary. This explains the German word “erbarmen” – “to be merciful” as “to free from poverty, misfortune, misery, deprivation or, in the most general sense, from loneliness”. Therefore, in German, the term has a very charitable character. In Hebrew, on the other hand, the word for mercy, “hesed”, is related to that for “womb”, and therefore to birth, creation, and so is directly linked to life. In our own existence and in looking at the history of the world, we experience the fact that life in itself is afflicted with misery, with suffering and death. Why this is so, why the all-powerful and benevolent God created such a frail world, is a question about which many theologians have racked their brains; ultimately I have found no solution that really satisfies me.

God created the world out of love, and out of mercy he redeemed it. We know and have internalised this article of faith. But I find it difficult to see myself as friends with a God who in the enthusiasm of his first love creates a world which he then realises has turned out pretty miserable, so that he needs to intervene again to bring the whole thing to a successful conclusion. (Maybe that sounds a bit too casual and not sufficiently reverent, but this happens to be one of the major objections of people who take a critical view towards our Christian faith - and I would like to take these brothers and sisters seriously.)

We believe that human beings are created by God, are creatures, and therefore so very different from God; not omnipotent, not infinite, not eternal. But we also believe that we are created in God's image, which is reflected in the fact that God grants us freedom, cognition, creativity and dominion over the world. We are not God, but at the same time each one of us is made uniquely in the image of God. This is our glory that can turn into our misery whenever we abandon that image and decide, through words and deeds and attitudes, that we are greater than God, that we want to live all or part of our lives without reference to the call of his infinite love which is inscribed in our very being.  Here lies the root of our sinfulness, from human origins right up to the present. We human beings are conscious of this dilemma of our glory and our misery at the very heart of our existence, of our lived experience.

I escape from this dilemma only when I consider creation as not yet concluded, not completed. What for us creatures is happening in time, is for God, who is outside created time, a state of being “from eternity to eternity”. This is the only way I can explain to myself that the biblical creation account stands at the beginning of “our” time and God calls everything, good and indeed very good, and that then Paul writes to the Church in Rome that “the whole of creation to the present day sighs and groans in travail” and is still on the path to becoming good, even very good, in the fullest sense.. The love of the Father, the Creator, is eternal, and in this eternity he creates out of love the world, life, human beings in his image. In the Son, creation is already anticipated, as it says in John's prologue. He is, now speaking in a human scale, the beginning and the end of creation, its origin and destination. Through his incarnation he guides and accompanies human beings through the time of imperfection. The nature of this support is mercy, the incarnated love of God, flowing into the creation. The fruit of love is creation, the fruit of mercy is re-creation, the new creation or, more understandable for me, the completion of creation, as the prophet Isaiah describes it (Isaiah 11: 6-9). Certainly my thoughts are no “high theology”, but they help me overcome my questions and doubts.

If God is infinite love and mercy, then love and compassion are the most noble characteristics of we human beings as images of God, albeit to a limited and finite extent. If God accompanies us in compassion on our way to completion, it is our calling to accompany the creation over which we reign, the life that has been entrusted to us, the people who are on the way with us in mercy and compassion. If God “shows consideration” towards our temporal imperfection, has “respect” for us, then we also should show consideration to the wretched, the desolate. This means not only looking ahead, so we don’t stray from the right path, but also to look around, to see whether those around us need our help.

And they definitely do need it. This calls for the well-known and often-quoted works of mercy: the so-called corporal works (based on Matthew 25,35 -40) relating to the basic human needs, focus on the plight of people. The spiritual works, formulated by Aurelius Augustinus, relate more to interpersonal relationships, with a focus on needs in relationship to fellow human beings.

One of the foundations of Pallottine spirituality is the likeness of all people to God. This is not a privilege that entitles us to all sorts of things, and certainly not to the destruction of life and the ruthless exploitation of the earth, but is our calling to follow God in his respect for creation, in His love and mercy. It is the calling of each one of us. Basically, charity is institutionalized in our modern welfare state, and therefore there are not a few who understand it as a res publica (a matter for the State) and not as a call for personal action. But precisely my profession of doctor shows me that relationship, based on compassion, mercy and on loving attention has to be a res privata (a matter for private individuals or groups), if it is to bear fruit and thus to succeed.

Respect for life. What does that mean for me? And what does that mean for us in the Pallottine family? I think it means looking lovingly at all creatures, of whom Vincent Pallotti said that he desired so much to be united with them in the Cenacle, even at all created things: to be prudent, cautious and considerate.

Such an attitude could certainly make the world a better place.

                                                   Alois Wittmann UAC

                                                   Germany.

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Segretariato Generale, Unione dell’Apostolato Cattolico

Piazza San Vincenzo Pallotti 204, 00187 Roma, Italia uac@uniopal.org