MISSIONARIES OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD The No. 40 - April 2016

Cupof the New Covenant It All Begins With Mercy

William Nordenbrock, C.PP.S.

ohn Paul Lederach is an American sociologist, professor, author and Jpeacemaker who teaches at the Uni - versity of Notre Dame in the United States. He is a protestant of the Anabaptist tradition and has allowed his personal experience of God’s mercy to anoint him for a ministry of reconciliation. In his book, Journey Towards Re - concilia tion, he presents a compelling understanding of reconciliation that draws upon a biblical image found in Psalm 85. He writes that reconcilia- tion occurs when: Mercy (kindness) Pope Francis opens the Holy Door at St. Peter's and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. (85:11) By presenting the values as persons, the psalmist pre- The Theme of Mercy sents a very tender image of reconcil- iation, and Lederach uses this image in Our Spirituality * See page 15 Robert Schreiter, C.PP.S.

It All Begins With Mercy he Holy Father declared 2016 an ministries around the world, and to by William Nordenbrock, C.PP.S. 1 Extraordinary Jubilee Year of respond to them in faith through the The Theme of Mercy TMercy, and in official documents, mystery of Christ’s blood. Father speeches and dramatic actions has in Our Spirituality Barry Fischer brought this reading presented his vision of God as a mer- and responding in faith together under by Robert Schreiter, C.PP.S. 1 ciful Father whose face is revealed to two headings: “the cry of the blood” Mercy in the Early Life us in Christ. Mercy is an idea closely and “the call of the blood.” “The cry and Ministry of St. Gaspar connected to many themes of of the blood” is heard in the cries of by Barry Fischer, C.PP.S. 6 Precious Blood Spirituality. I would all those who suffer, who experience like to reflect here on how what Pope oppression and exclusion, who mourn The Precious Blood Francis has spoken of mercy relates to loss, who carry deep wounds. It was as Source and Expression what the C.PP.S. has tried to develop first heard in the Book of Genesis, of Mercy in its understanding of the spirituality when the blood of Abel, who had been by Robert Schreiter, C.PP.S. 9 of the blood of Christ over the last slain by his brother Cain, cried out three decades. Showing mercy from the earth (Gen 4:10). in everyday life Following the injunctions of the Today, the Missionaries of the by Michael Rohde, C.PP.S. 11 Second Vatican Council, the Mis - Precious Blood and all those devoted sionaries of the Precious Blood have * been trying to read the signs in their See next page * T Continued from front page h “ The cry of the blood” is heard in the cries e to the blood of Christ continue to lis- of all those who suffer, who experience C ten for the cry of the blood. u oppression and exclusion, who mourn loss, p “The call of the blood,” on the other who carry deep wounds.” o hand, is God’s response to those f cries, presented in the shedding of Christ’s blood as the sign of God’s t PRECIOUS BLOOD h desire to heal the wounds of the brought together in three biblical e SPIRITUALITY AS “LIBERATION” world that have been inflicted by sin symbols that symbolized the saving N and human wrongdoing of all kinds. work of the blood of Christ: e That hearing of the cry of the blood w But before beginning to trace the cry came about through a reading of the covenant, cross, and cup. The covenant of God with Israel, sealed C of the blood and the call of the blood signs of the times in Latin America. o that has shaped our recent spirituali- In the 1970s and 1980s, the C.PP.S. in blood (Ex 24:1-8), and the new v covenant in Christ’s blood (Luke 22: e ty, a reminder of our history would Missionaries working there experi- n be useful. When St. Gaspar del enced first-hand the oppression and 20) are signs of God’s deep solidari- a ty with humanity, especially in times n Bufalo founded the C.PP.S. in 1815, poverty of the people. In Chile, the t he put devotion to the blood of country was being ruled by a ruth- of adversity. The cross of Christ, Christ at the center of the new com- less military dictatorship. Brazil was where his blood was poured out for munity’s life. The “divine blood” (il also under a dictatorship at that time. us, shows how Christ’s own suffer- divin sangue), as he was wont to call But what was of even greater pas- ing enters into and transforms all it, was a sign of God’s great love and toral challenge there was discrimina- human suffering. And the cup mercy. This was an important mes- tion against indigenous peoples and offered at the Last Supper as his sage for the people of those times. destruction of the environment. In blood for us to drink is at once a cup of suffering (as the cup that Jesus Made weary by the years of war with Peru, an insurgency known as “The accepted from his Father in his Napoleon, the people of what is now Shining Path” (el Sendero Lumi - prayer in Gethsemani [Matt 26: 39]), needed renewal and spiritual noso) was mercilessly killing peas- as well as the cup of blessing by revitalization. Devotional prayers ants and indigenous peoples. A civil which God is praised, a sign of the and meditations on the blood shed- war raged in Guatemala. The cry of heavenly banquet to come (cf. Luke dings of Christ in his Passion formed the blood in all of these places was 22: 16). A spirituality of the blood of the core of this spirituality. unmistakable and compelling. Christ, therefore, is a spirituality of In the middle of the twentieth centu- If the response to the signs of those solidarity with those who suffer, and ry, the renewal of biblical studies, as times in the 1970s and 1980s could a spirituality of hope for the genuine well as deeper research into how the be summed up in a single word, it liberation that only God can bring. blood of Christ had been understood was “liberation.” Liberation had Liberation as a theme in Latin by mystics and theologians through- become a widespread theme America (and beyond) continues to out the history of the Church, pro- throughout Latin America after the meeting of the Latin American bish- be important, especially for all those vided new resources for developing people who continue the struggle for ops at Medellín in 1968. God’s sav- a more developed spirituality that justice and inclusion. The document ing power, in response to the signs of went beyond devotional exercises. coming from Aparecida, the site of those times, was the experience of These new resources would make it the most recent meeting of the Latin that saving, liberating grace that possible to re-examine the “call of American bishops in 2007, and the fuelled the struggle against injustice the blood”—the ways in which the frequent words of its principal and oppression. blood of Christ gave expression to drafter, Cardinal Jorge Maria God’s saving activity in the world— A renewed spirituality of the blood Bergoglio – now Pope Francis – are in light of the new “call of the of Christ was a response to the call evidence of that. blood” that began to appear in the for justice and liberation in those set- 1970s. tings in Latin America. It was PRECIOUS BLOOD SPIRITUALITY AS “RECONCILIATION” “‘The call of the blood’ is God’s response to those cries, presented in the shedding of The 1990s brought new signs of the times that needed to be read. These Christ’s blood as the sign of God’s desire to did not replace the ones that the heal the wounds of the world.” Missionaries had read earlier; indeed the need for liberation continues 2 unabated. But new events, and of their self-understanding is evident T h in their ministries, from work among e the traumatized populations in Peru C after the insurgency years in the u 1990s, among youth gangs in p Chicago today, and in care for cre- o ation itself, especially in Peru and f Brazil. t h A NEW THEME: MERCY e N The focus on liberation and on e reconciliation continues among the w Missionaries. But the election of C Pope Francis has opened yet another o v set of new horizons. At his first cele- e bration of the Sunday Angelus in St. n a Peter’s Square, he sounded the n Fr. Robert Schreiter in a dialogue with Prof. Clemens Sedmak theme that has come to characterize t during the Spirituality Workshop in Salzburg his pontificate up to this point: the call for mercy. God’s infinite capac- lessons learned from the previous beyond the events and persons who ity for love and forgiveness has decades, opened up a new theme; have inflicted them. Reconciliation become a constant refrain in the namely, that of reconciliation. Some is more than redressing the past; it Pope’s proclamation of the Gospel. of the new events included the col- requires what the Apostle Paul called Pope Francis began to set out his lapse of Soviet Union and with it, “a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). From understanding of mercy in his most of the world order of the so- a Christian point of view, the com- Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii called Cold War. In 1992, the United plexity of wounds is such that recon- Gaudium. He says there that at the Nations’ Year of Indigenous Peoples ciliation has to be considered first very heart of being a Christian is our and foremost the work of God, a brought to world attention the plight encounter with Jesus Christ. To work in which we are called to par- of indigenous peoples, especially in experience that encounter is to expe- ticipate. That is certainly the outlook the Americas and in Australia and rience God’s mercy, which means of St. Paul, who preached what some New Zealand. The UN Year of the the experience that “when every- have called “the gospel of reconcili- Woman in 1994 revealed that thing is said and done, we are infi- ation.” domestic violence, especially nitely loved.” He quotes there the against women and children, was to From the perspective of a spirituality Book of Lamentations: “the stead- be found everywhere around the of the blood of Christ, it is Christ’s fast love of the Lord never ceases, world. The genocide in Rwanda that blood that brings about reconciliation his mercies never come to an end; same year prompted the relief and (cf. Rom 5:1-11). Indeed, the Letter they are new every morning.“ (EG 6; development agencies of the to the Colossians reminds us, “For in Lam 3:22-23). In his announcement , under the umbrella him the fullness of God was pleased of the extraordinary jubilee year of of Caritas Internationalis, to realize to dwell, and through him God was mercy, Misericordiae Vultus (“The that peace building was essential to pleased to reconcile to himself all Face of Mercy”), he calls mercy “the the longer-term success of develop- things, whether on earth or in heaven, beating heart of the Gospel” (MV ment efforts. In all of this “reconci- by making peace through the blood 12). In both of these documents he liation” became the watchword for of his cross.” (Col 1:19-20) echoes Pope John Paul II’s encycli- dealing with the past so as to make That the Missionaries of the cal Dives in Misericordia, a docu- possible a different kind of future. Precious Blood have made the min- ment that deserves revisiting during Indeed, if efforts at liberation were istry of reconciliation a central part this Jubilee Year. There Pope John focused primarily on the future, the work of reconciliation looks more to healing the deep wounds of the past “ ...the Missionaries of the Precious Blood as the precondition for that different have made the ministry of reconciliation a kind of future. central part of their self-understanding.” It is a “different kind” of future inas- much as wounds can be wide and 3 deep, having dimensions that go far 3 T Paul II says that “…mercy consti- h “ ... embracing mercy requires an ongoing, e tutes the fundamental content of the messianic message of Christ and the even daily, encounter with Jesus Christ. C u constitutive power of his mission.” Christ is “the door of mercy,” Pope Francis p (DM 6) Moreover, the late pope tells us (MV 3).” o says, mercy reveals the truth about f God and about ourselves. The truth t about God is that mercy, unbounded h loving kindness, is who God is. The encounter that we experience once are meant to be. We become “merci- e truth about ourselves is that we have again the overwhelming love that is ful like the Father,” which Pope N been created in God’s image and offered to us, a love that calls us to a Francis has called “the motto” of this e w likeness. Each human being bears in deeper conversion to Christ. In other Jubilee Year (MV12). Here the Pope this image and likeness a dignity that words, we will only be effective in holds up the image of the merciful C o we struggle to understand (DM 6). witnessing to God’s mercy if we can father of the parable of the prodigal v mirror that mercy in our own lives son in Luke 15:11-32, but also of the e Now mercy must be understood in and then show it to others. Father, the First Person of the n this biblical sense, and not be a Trinity, who sends the Son and the n restricted to its more modern, juridi- Second, our witness to mercy finds Holy Spirit into the world for the for- t cal meaning as an indulgence its most suitable expression when it giveness of sins and the transforma- extended to wrongdoers by a judge is manifested among those who have tion of all things. or magistrate who foregoes the right been pushed to what Pope Francis to punish wrongful acts. Nor does calls “the existential peripheries”, THE SPIRITUALITY mercy mean indifference to evil, sin, the margins of existence: those who OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD: wrongdoing, and injustice. Rather, are persecuted, downtrodden, op - SOURCE AND EXPRESSION mercy must be understood in its pressed; those whose precarious OF MERCY most biblical sense found in the existence makes them most vulnera- Hebrew word hesed, sometimes ble to the vagaries of the indiffer- How might the need for mercy, a translated as “steadfast love” or ence, neglect or outright wrongdoing sign of our times identified by Pope “loving kindness.” In the Old of others—these are the places Francis, be seen and lived out in a Testament it is considered as one of where God’s mercy is at once most spirituality of the blood of Christ? If the most fundamental characteristics manifested and most needed. To be covenant, cross, and cup have been of God: One who is slow to anger instruments of God’s mercy is to “go the biblical symbols that have char- and abounding in kindness (cf. Num forth” to those peripheries. Pope acterized the call of the blood in 14:18). This great love is revealed to Francis exemplified this by making recent years in the work of liberation us in God’s forgiveness of sins and his first trip outside of not to and reconciliation, might there be wrongdoing. God, Pope Francis some important city or shrine, but to yet another biblical image the reminds us, never tires of forgiving the refugee camps on the island of embodies mercy for our time? us; if anything, we are the ones who Lampedusa in the Mediterranean. I would like to propose a biblical tire of seeking God’s mercy (EG 3). This leads to a third implication of symbol that brings together how the What are the implications of em - embracing mercy. Our “going forth” blood of Christ might be considered bracing mercy as the central theme as a genuinely missionary Church is both the source and expression of of the Gospel? Let me mention but our participation in the “going forth” mercy: Christ the paschal lamb. Why three of them. First of all, embracing of the Son and of the Holy Spirit into the paschal lamb? The references to mercy requires an ongoing, even the world for the sake of redemption Christ as the paschal lamb, and the daily, encounter with Jesus Christ. and reconciliation. In this mirroring redeeming blood of the lamb, occur Christ is “the door of mercy,” Pope of the activity of the Holy Trinity, we principally in the New Testament in Francis tells us (MV 3). It is in this become most authentically who we the Book of Revelation. There the meanings of the paschal lamb from the Old Testament are “ The traditional corporal works of mercy summed up: the blood of the lamb remind us that mercy always takes very which protected the Hebrews from the plague in which the all the first- concrete form, especially as we move to the born in Egypt were killed (Ex 12:21- margins, to those “existential peripheries” 23) is now the blood of the lamb that Pope Francis is pointing us toward.” who has rescued for God people “from every tribe and tongue and 4 people and nation” (Rev 5:9) As the 4 blood of the paschal lamb rescued the Hebrews, so now it redeems the T h people who have come “through the e great tribulation” (Rev 7:14). The C lamb of Revelation has been merci- u lessly “slain” (Rev 5:9), but now p stands once again and is the one who o can open the seals of the book of life. f The vision of the 144,000 in white t robes, whose suffering has been h e washed away by the blood of the lamb, praise the lamb, now seated on N e the throne. Their lives have been w shattered by violence, but now their C traumas will never return, because of o the victorious lamb: v e They will hunger no more, and thirst n a no more, the sun will not strike them n down, nor any scorching heat; for t the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (Rev 7:16-17) For the saints of the Book of Revelation, the blood of the lamb is at once the source and the expression of the mercy of God. God is the source of the “water of life” that bespeaks the generosity of God’s mercy. Its healing, redemptive power puts the lie to narratives of the world that hold that poverty and violence are The maximum expression of God's mercy inevitable, that some people are dis- posable and expendable, that strangers cannot be trusted, that was cut down, “slaughtered” but now Blood is a symbol that embraces the everything is shallow and fleeting, stands once again in the power of the paradoxes and even seeming contra- and cannot be relied upon, and that resurrection. This newest phase of the dictions we find in the Bible. The people stand alone in their suffering. spirituality of the blood of Christ, Hebrews believed that the life of all The traditional corporal works of embodied in the lamb of the Book of beings was in the blood (cf. Lev mercy – feeding the hungry, clothing Revelation, knows the violence done 17:14), but blood that has been shed the naked, visiting the sick – remind to the vulnerable – both human beings is a sign of death. The lamb holds us that mercy always takes very con- and to the earth – and with his own together contradictions as well: it is crete form, especially as we move to blood marks the way out of violence vulnerable and innocent, yet mediates the margins, to those “existential into a place of safety and rest. Those God’s saving power. The blood of the peripheries” that Pope Francis is who have been stricken are now lamb therefore has an enhanced pointing us toward. That the lamb has raised up, the Book of Revelation tells capacity to embrace the contradic- suffered allows it to enter into and us, and “they follow the lamb wherev- tions of our world that the mercy of transform our suffering. The lamb er he goes.” (Rev 14:4-5). God aims to resolve: a generosity to overcome exclusion and alienation, a reliability and faithfulness that over- “ Reconciliation has to be considered first comes the fragmentation of trust, the offer of empathy to end the isolation and foremost the work of God, a work in of suffering. The blood of the paschal which we are called to participate.” lamb, then, beckons us into a future with the promise of God’s outpouring of mercy on au world that is so much in need of it. 5 T h e C u p Barry Fischer, C.PP.S. o f GASPAR’S YOUTH t Gaspar participated in both functions. the inner life and external activity, h AND EARLY YEARS e OF MINISTRY The work of Santa Galla would remain between being and doing. He was especially dear to the heart of Gaspar. what today we could call a ¨contem- N He would anxiously cry over it during plative in action.” e From early on Gaspar took seriously his exile and, even when he became w the Corporal Works of Mercy. He THE PREACHER showed a great concern for the poor the head of the new Congregation C OF THE PIAZZA MONTANARA o and sick. As a young boy, he was which he founded, he would still ded- v moved to charity by the beggars, the icate his apostolic efforts to it. Gaspar could often be found in the e n marginated and the poor who thronged However, Santa Galla was not his only Campo Vaccino, amidst the broken a the Via San Stefano del Cacco under concern. In all, Gaspar participated in arches and the half-buried columns of n the windows of the Palazzo Altieri. at least seventeen projects, confrater- the ancient . There day t The apartment of the del Bufalos was nities, archconfraternities, pious workers from the fields would gather on the ground floor. Gaspar reached unions or associations, ¨circles¨. Each in search of work or to sell their out of the windows continuously to of them was connected to a place of wagon full of hay. Gaspar moved eas- give food to those unfortunate ones. At worship, to a saint, to a liturgical or ily among these bizarre and rough fig- times he even deprived himself of charitable practice. They were com- ures, inviting them to come together breakfast and lunch—all to alleviate posed not only of priests but of lay and he spoke to them of Christ. the hunger of those who gathered out- people, fathers of families, old people, Among them he learned how to speak side his window. people of every class. to the crowds and developed the gift which was natural in him: preaching in When he was twelve or thirteen years Gaspar also taught catechism to the a way that reached the common folk. old he would go with his boyhood children and wayward boys of the friend Pippo Berga to visit the sick in streets. He personally sought them out As a young priest he founded the the hospitals. In those days the poor and ran after them, calling each of Night Oratory (1808), to get the men and the abandoned had no other alter- them by name. He treated them with out of the bars and into a more positive native than to seek refuge in these kindness and spoke to them of God atmosphere. He wished to offer the establishments of public charity. In the and taught them about Jesus. farmers and day workers an opportu- nity for religious activities, since dur- midst of this labyrinth of suffering Though occupied in many activities, ing the day they were unable to attend. Gaspar wandered about speaking kind Gaspar extended great compassion for The little medieval Church dependent words and treating the sick in an affa- those individuals locked up in prisons. on , Santa Maria ble manner. Hence, he directed the priest-members in Vincis, served as a place for this When he was eighteen, Gaspar exhib- of Santa Galla to provide spiritual activity which was an apostolate espe- ited one of his greatest gifts: organiz- training for these incarcerated persons. cially loved by Gaspar and some of his ing for action on behalf of the ‘people He also frequented the correctional companion priests. on the margins’. Together with some institution for minors next to the Gaspar once preached the “Spiritual of his classmates, Gaspar ministered Church of . Exercises” (1813) to the “poor of the to them, offering religious instruction We are told that Gaspar always Baths” at the request of Abbot Canali. to the peasants from rural areas who demonstrated a solicitude for the Those splendid baths of yesteryear came to Rome to sell their hay; pro- imprisoned, perhaps nurtured by his sheltered those living on the very lim- viding catechism for orphans and chil- own prison experiences. He systemat- its of basic sustenance. These despised dren of the poor; and setting up a night ically visited prisons in the course of and abandoned ones come to realize shelter for the homeless. his missions and, not a few times, that these priests dressed in black Gaspar was a youth who did not con- wrote letters in which he forcefully loved them and were concerned with tent himself with words, but also intervened to aid prisoners. He recom- their salvation. served the needs of society with mended more effective human and During his exile, Gaspar's compassion action and with sacrifices. In this way spiritual assistance and called for a deepened. Though he had been about he would find out what it meant to be milder treatment for all of them. He works of mercy for most of his life, in a priest, what sort of priest people openly solicited a lessening of a sen- the silence of his cell this work was needed. tence or an early release for a person clearly defined by the Precious Blood Special mention needs to be given to who was desperate. of Christ. In the solitude of exile, the the hospice of Santa Galla. This All this apostolic zeal was accompa- vision became clear: to continue the pious work had two functions: to nied by studies, inquiry, meditation, works of mercy and evangelization in instruct and help the poor and to pro- recollection and prayer - the sign of a the context of community. He would 6 vide the homeless with a place to live. rare, innate growing harmony between join forces with other men and women united in the bond of charity to touch T “ Though Gaspar had been about works of h others with the redeeming grace of the e blood of Jesus. mercy for most of his life, in the silence of C IN HIS PREACHING u his cell this work was clearly defined by p St. Gaspar brought devotion to the the Precious Blood of Christ.” o Blood of Christ out of the sanctuary f and into the streets. His preaching was rooted in the saving act of Christ on t h the cross and so he carried the crucifix e close to his heart. Indeed, the mission was a time of great lawlessness and the immorality and savagery of the cross became the symbol of the newly many towns were out of the control of bandits not with weapons( because N e formed community. the civil authorities. One town in par- that had been tried and failed), but w Sonnino He began his Popular Missions with ticular, , was so bad that the with spiritual forces. He suggested government had given up completely C the solemn procession in order to that Gaspar and his new band of mis- o motivate the people and to make them and had become so desperate that they sionaries go into the towns and v remember that the mission was a time decided to destroy the whole town. provinces where the bandits lived and e The people were supposed to move n of divine mercy and therefore one establish mission houses. There they a should celebrate it with joy. In the out, and although they were to be were to preach the Word, establish n middle of the mission, there would be compensated for their loss of property, churches and chapels, and see to the t the plan was to level the town. A num- the presentation of the image of the continued instruction of the people. Blessed Mother, mother of mercy, into ber of houses were demolished before the people’s outcry forced the authori- And that is what the young missionary whose hands he commended the mis- society did. Between 1821 and 1823 sion. ties to stop. Sonnino was just one of many problem places. six new mission houses were opened. A special mention needs to be made Each house was to have five mission- with regard Gaspar’s preaching in the Cardinal Bellisario Cristaldi, a great aries and each team was to conduct 12 bandit-infested Lazio region, south of admirer of St. Gaspar, and the papal missions a year. In that way every Rome. In the early 1820s there was a treasurer and advisor to Pope Pius town would hear the message of severe problem in the Papal States. VII, had a plan for eliminating the redemption and reconciliation during The bandits had control over many of scourge of banditry which he present- a two year cycle. From these houses the towns in the coastal provinces. It ed to the Pope. His plan was to fight St. Gaspar and his companions went

Gaspar carried the message of God's mercy to the bandits 7 T taught divine mercy. He would always h e be assiduous in the confessional, both in Rome and equally on the missions. C In that apostolate all his human com- u p passion and mercy would shine forth. Hearing confessions also deepened his o f awareness of humanity’s grandeur as well as its weakness, its unhappiness t and its cry for help. h e During the last months of his life, N terrible outbreak of cholera claimed e the lives of hundreds of thousands w of people in Europe. It also reached C Rome. Even though Gaspar’s health o was quite poor by then, he insisted v e on returning to Rome to assist the n victims of the epidemic. He died a n there in a small apartment in the t Teatro Marcello, on December 28, 1837, assisted by his friend, D. Vin - cenzo Pallotti and his fellow Mis - sionaries. The medical report noted the cause of death: “He died a victim Bicentennial Pilgrims visit the Church of St. Michael in Sonnino of charity.”

CONCLUSION out and preached the merits of the nently clear – mercy is a gift. It cannot Precious Blood. They called the peo- be earned or deserved. In fact, St. Paul No one sums it up better than ple to repentance and to return to faith- reminds us in the letter to the Romans, Vincente Pallotti in his Deposition fulness. They would preach on the “God proves his love for us in that for the Cause of Gaspar del Buffalo: street corners at night. They instructed while we were still sinners Christ died “The virtue of mercy, considered as a the children. Armed with only the cru- for us.” (Romans 5:8) The Good News virtue annexed to Christian charity, cifix, they went into the hills to seek for sinners is that the reign of God is at was exercised by the Servant of God out the bandits to win them over. In hand, that we are already saved in such a full, continuous way as pos- two years the bandit problem was through the blood of the Lamb. sible in the circumstances that he under control. Gaspar and his Missionaries would encountered, and even in a universal In a letter to the Holy Father, Gaspar establish groups of lay people wherev- manner as can be asserted because of begged him to “desist the abuse of er they preached a popular mission. his corporal and spiritual works of beheading and cutting up the cadavers These lay groups, called “Circles”, mercy. This was a virtue which dis- of those who were condemned to were composed of women and men, of tinctly characterized the life of the death by justice. The prisoner who has young people, and of priests, who Servant of God.” been anointed and died in reconcilia- would meet in order to pray and to Gaspar was a true missionary whose tion with God should be given a study and to do good works, thus feet carried him to wherever there was decent, Christian burial.” keeping “alive” the fruits of the popu- the need for mercy. The mercy he At a time when many thought God to lar mission. This was something novel preached throughout his life was be far off and a severe judge, and in the times in which Gaspar lived. translated into action, in commitment preaching often focused on our sinful- Several of these Circles had as their with those who needed it. We might ness, Gaspar preached the love of mission both the spiritual and corporal describe his life in terms that Pope Christ Crucified who embraces even works of mercy, so dear to Gaspar´s Francis uses today. He carried the the most hardened sinner in His love. heart. Good News to the peripheries of soci- When he went into the mountain areas BACK IN ROME ety, both the geographical as well as of Lazio to find the bandits, he refused the existential peripheries. an army escort, since he carried the Back in Rome his thoughts were only weapon necessary: the crucifix. Gaspar often repeated this phrase in directed to the abandoned ones. But his preaching: Gaspar countered the image of a dis- his preference for the most poor did ¨Christus dilexit nos, et lavit nos a pec- tant and judging God (Jansenism) with not stop him from doing something for catis nostris in Sanguine suo¨. (Ap. 1,5) the figure of Christ, the King of love, the men of science, the humanists, the wounded and crucified, dying and ris- artists and including the socially priv- “He loved us and he redeemed us from ing and infinitely merciful. ileged, the “aristocrats”. He also our sins through His Blood.” (Rev 1:5) Reconciliation starts with God’s preached to the “curia workers.” Thus He sawu in this text a Program to fol- 8 mercy. The scriptures make it emi- to the teachers of earthly justice, he low. T The Precious Blood h e as Source and Expression of Mercy C u p Some Concluding Reflections from the C.PP.S. Spirituality Week of the Teutonic Province o f Robert Schreiter, C.PP.S. t h e Pope Francis’ announcement of the “Generosity” reflects the infinite We won’t leave you in the lurch.” N Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy pre- goodness and love of God. It mani- We were keenly aware of this as e sented opportunity to reflect anew fests itself through a “wideness in thousands of refugees from Syria w on our spirituality of the blood of our heart” of hospitality and making and the Middle East streamed C Christ. What does it mean, on the room for others. through Salzburg every day as our o one hand, to look at the world anew Symposium met. v It is expressed also in our metanoia, e through the lens of mercy and, on the our capacity to turn ourselves around Being reliable means having a “firm n other hand, to revisit themes of our a in conversion, but also in our ability and steady heart.” This firmness of n spirituality from the perspective of to see beyond the current state of heart is also the fruit of contempla- t mercy? things, to gain new perspectives. It tive prayer, the encounter with the Mercy is an essential characteristic means, therefore, achieving new “still point” at the very heart of cre- of God. It is the revelation of the points of view in our encounters ation. Practicing contemplative pra - boundless love of God. It goes with people who think and act differ- yer and engaging in adoration are together with the justice of God, ently from ourselves. also very important in a ministry of which expresses God’s intentions for “Reliability” mirrors the faithfulness reconciliation-learning to wait on all creation. of God, especially in situations that God, as God brings about reconcilia- There are three characteristics that are changing rapidly or even becom- tion. mark our response to God’s mercy in ing chaotic. Being reliable sounds “Empathy” is the capacity to feel our lives: generosity, reliability, and like this: “We are staying here with one’s way into the lives and the empathy. you, even if everyone else is leaving. worlds of people different from our-

Refugees at Slovenia-Austrian border (Nov. 15, 2015) 9 T er. But it is also the eschatological h “ Our communities and our houses are to be e cup of blessing that encourages us in hope to imitate Christ in his work of C ‘gateways of mercy’ in which people u encounter the face of the Father’s liberation, reconciliation, and mercy. p And finally, it is participation in the o mercy-Jesus Christ.” life of Christ and sign of the partici- f pation of all people and all of cre- t ation in the common home of the h Father. e N selves. Empathy is something God peripheries of our society. When Reflection on mercy called forth a e has for all creatures, and is manifest- viewed from an ecological perspec- fourth biblical symbol: that of the w ed to us especially in the Incarnation. tive, this means solidarity with the lamb of the Book of Revelation. In C This divine empathy is given expres- entirety of creation. And it goes the lamb, the paradoxes and even the o sion in a church that goes forth as a v without saying that we must find contradictions of the current signs of e community as “missionary disci- ways to welcome the refugees into the times are held together. The n ples” (Pope Francis). a our common home. lamb—slaughtered and seemingly n Generosity, reliability, and empathy conquered yet now alive and victori- t The cross is the place where we have to be key characteristics of our encounter the suffering of the ous—stands for us as a sign of the ministry as Missionaries of the world—but not just suffering, but faithfulness of God in spite of all the Precious Blood. Our communities also forgiveness and the transforma- indications of defeat, hopelessness, and our houses are to be “gateways tion of suffering. As we move and meaninglessness. The lamb has of mercy” in which people encounter toward the peripheries, we come to achieved the redemption of the the face of the Father’s mercy— stand under the cross. 144,000 through his blood, and Jesus Christ. The corporal and spiri- remains for us source and expression The cup has been a symbol with tual works of mercy should be of the power of the mercy of God in many meanings in our spirituality, emphasized in our ministry, as they our world. and our reflections on mercy were in lives and ministries of St. expanded that even further. The cup Mercy is now to become for us a Gaspar and St. Maria De Mattias. is a symbol of the destiny that God regular part of our spirituality and a As Christian men and women, we has measured out for us. It is like- conscious part of our ministries, have the task of reading the signs of wise the cup of suffering, in which drawn as it is out of uthe treasure of the times (or the “cry of the blood”). all our afflictions are brought togeth- our heavenly Father. In the course of the symposium, we have engaged ourselves with the variety of these signs that are already manifested in our ministries: in the family, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and in many other areas. For us in Europe, two of the major signs that we now encounter are the care for the environment and the refugee crisis. Reflections on these two urgent situations need to be part of our spirituality. We also reflected again on the “pre- cious” in our name and in our spiri- tuality. Being “precious” takes on new significance when we think about our need to protect the envi- ronment. Our environment is pre- cious, as are all its inhabitants. We turn now to the principal biblical symbols of our spirituality: The new covenant sealed in Christ’s blood remains for us the call to soli- 10 The Paschal Lamb: the official seal of the C.PP.S. 10 darity with all those who live on the T h howing mercy in ife e S everyday l C u p Michael Rohde, C.PP.S. o f “Now is the time for mercy. It is stream of people in need. It is time to after the young people in need of care. t important that the faithful live it and act because fear and barrier-building “Haus Samuel” caters to “unaccom- h bring it to all sectors of society. Off provide no solution but merely shift panied children in need of protec- e you go!” – with these words Pope needs and problems to another time tion”. They mainly come from the N e Francis launched the extraordinary and place. war zones in Syria. w “Holy Year of Mercy” on 8 Time to act! That was also the motto Time to act! We missionaries have C December 2015. This was not a sig- for all those involved in the “Samuel made the former St. Kaspar boarding o nal to start a “mercy movement” but v House” project – the Missionaries of school available, the local authori- e to confirm, encourage and integrate n the many existing projects aimed at a n alleviating the intense suffering of “ ‘Haus Samuel’ caters to ‘unaccompanied t people currently fleeing from war and misery. Last year, around 20 children in need of protection’.” million people left their homes. They were either forced out or sought decent living conditions and the chance of a better life. The signal the Precious Blood, the Youth Welfare ties have provided the legal and Pope Francis gave in launching the Office and Social Services in the financial resources and renovated Holy Year of Mercy came at a time District of Höxter, the Petrus Damian the building, Petrus Damian staff when the mood (particularly in Youth Association in the Archbisho - look after the children and it is Europe) was beginning to change. pric of Paderborn, the teachers and planned that St. Kaspar School will Sympathy and the wish to help were pupils of St. Kaspar Grammar School be involved in the integration giving way to fear and a feeling of in Neuenheerse and the local families process. The school has set up a helplessness in the face of an endless who have taken on the task of looking “welcome class” for this purpose but

Students from St. Gaspar School in Neuenheerse with a Syrian Family 11 T the children will be integrated into h “ What we heard from pupils was: “We e normal school life as quickly as pos- sible. The children are taught for C want to be active! We don’t want just to u three to five hours in the morning, p followed in the afternoon by sport learn theory but to interact with people in o and activities to familiarize them a practical and direct way!” f with our culture and way of life. The t program is very popular. h e That is not to say that there have not been hitches. The project was sup- N “What we are doing here is not char- school, the school authorities, teach- e posed to begin in January but had to ity!” or “We are not Good Samari - ers and pupils have worked hard w be postponed, mainly because of the tans!” over the last few years to develop a C renovation work. The first children school profile. One of the results of o did not actually arrive until the mid- Social work and acts of charity have, v it seems, been taken over by the state this work has been to include “social e dle of February – eight teenagers awareness” in the curriculum for the n between 13 and 16 years old. The and legally regulated. Religion no a longer plays a role in everyday life. next to the last school year. n welcome class has also been operat- t ing since 15 February. It is still too But there is still scope for unbureau- This includes three lessons per early to report on the project’s suc- cratic and spontaneous action. Use of week, one research paper and exten- cess. There are bound to be teething words connected with religion is sive work experience. What we troubles and it will take time before often derided, particularly by young heard from pupils was: “We want to a routine sets in. But it was interest- people. Their reaction varies from be active! We don’t want just to ing to find out what motivates those “I’m not from a church charity!” to learn theory but to interact with peo- taking part in the project. Most “Your halo is a bit crooked today!” ple in a practical and direct way!” expressed an interest in foreign cul- Being religious is seen as a sign of They do not specifically use the tures or saw a connection with their weakness and nobody wants to be word “mercy” but that is a sign that job. The central aim seems to be “taken over” by an institution. Put - times have changed: what is impor- clear: to integrate the young people. ting on the “guise of religion” is con- tant is that “by their fruit you will When the word “mercy” was men- sidered dishonest and not authentic. recognize them” (Mt 7:20). tioned, however, we were met first But there is also another side to the Much of the preparation work has with silence and then with protests: story. At our St. Kaspar grammar already been done. There are plans

12 The “Samuel House” in Neuenheerse, Germany T h e C u p o f t h THE DREAM CONTINUES e our response to the cry of the blood N e w C Copies of the Bicentennial DVD o v in English, Italian, and Spanish e are available both in PAL n a and in NTSC format n t

If interested, contact: [email protected]

for teaching German, sport and young people they now live along- and networks show that fears still music after school, as well as practi- side. exist and have to be taken seriously. cal work in the school’s “cloister The reaction of the local population We must therefore constantly pro- garden” and a second “green” class also gives cause for concern. The vide information and actively seek room for lessons outdoors. opposition to immigration and dialogue so that problems can be But fears and anxieties have also increasingly violent protests against dealt with at an early stage. been expressed: not about the work, migrants and refugees must not be So far that dialogue has proved to be there we have only encountered ignored. Fortunately, in our village positive as far as the “Samuel keenness and positive expectations there continues to be an atmosphere House” project is concerned. in view of the extensive prepara- of acceptance and good will. The Merciful or, rather, generous and tions, but because of the uncertain population has been kept fully courageous decisions have made that political situation. How long can the informed of the project and anxieties possible. Now we need to build up young people stay? Will adult mem- have been openly discussed in a con- experience and go forward in the bers of their family come and join structive and positive way. Still, same spiritu of generosity and them? Is there a danger of them anonymous postings on social media courage. being deported? Among the many imponderables is the interaction between the local youth and the “ The children should not be left on their newcomers. The children should not be left on their own to cope with the own to cope with the traumatic experi- traumatic experience of fleeing from ence of fleeing from war and being con- war and being confronted with a new environment. Instead there should be fronted with a new environment.” a gradual process of learning, grow- 13 ing and maturing together with the 13 T «The true and proper meaning of mercy does not h e consist only in looking, however penetratingly and C u compassionately, at moral, physical or material evil: p mercy is manifested in its true and proper aspect o f when it restores to value, promotes and t R h draws good from all the forms of evil e E H existing in the world and in man. N e T w A Understood in this way, mercy consti- C F tutes the fundamental content of the o v messianic message of Christ and the e E n a H constitutive power of His mission. n t T His disciples and followers under-

stood and practiced mercy in the E

same way. Mercy never ceased to K

I reveal itself, in their hearts and in

L their actions, as an especially

L creative proof of the love which does

U

F not allow itself to be “conquered by evil,”

I but overcomes “evil with good.” The C

R genuine face of mercy has to be ever E M revealed anew. In spite of many prejudices, mercy seems particularly necessary for our times.» (Pope St John Paul II, Dives in Misericordia, n. 6)

«The Church is commissioned to announce the mercy of God, the beating heart of the Gospel, which in its own way must penetrate the heart and mind of every person. The Spouse of Christ must pattern her behaviour after the Son of God who went out to everyone without exception. In the present day, as the Church is charged with the task of the new evangelization, the theme of mercy needs to be proposed again and again with new enthusiasm and renewed pastoral action. It is absolutely essential for the Church and for the credibility of her message that she herself live and testify to mercy. Her language and her gestures must transmit mercy, so as to touch the hearts of all people and inspire them once more to find the road that leads to the Father.»

(Pope Francis, Misericordiae Vultus, 12) 14 * Continued from front page T “ Mercy is the value that serves as the key to h e as a foundation for the work of rec- unlock the gates in the walls that separate onciliation. For reconciliation, we C u need to create a space for each of peoples in conflict.” p these values to be honored, because o often a conflict will be characterized f by an emphasis of one value at the expense of the others. ble. To respond to the injustice with foundation for creating a better t h So someone will be calling for jus- the usual method of investigating an South Africa. e individual crime and pursuing jus- tice, wanting to see a wrong correct- This was not a plan that pleased N ed, without recognizing the need for tice in the legal system would be everyone. Some people wanted the e mercy. Someone else will be calling beyond the capability of the justice “eye for an eye” or retributive jus- w for peace at all cost, even if the cost system. To try to pursue that course tice. But this example shows how C of action would overwhelm the jus- o is the loss of accountability and the the four necessary values were con- v absence of truth telling. Let me offer tice system and would dominate the sidered and respected to arrive at e an example from the work of the national psyche and it would hinder reconciliation. First the victims n the possibility of creating a new a Truth and Reconciliation Commis - offered mercy to the wrongdoers. n sion in South Africa. country built on a more just system. Justice was partially served by the t Therefore the Commission pursued a wrongdoers acknowledging their With the overthrow of the apartheid bold path. government, there was a passionate guilt. And with the truth having been cry for justice from the victims of They created a process that offered told, it was possible to close this apartheid. The cry for justice amnesty (mercy) to those who sup- chapter of history and begin to con- declared that those that had been ported apartheid, if they would con- struct a new and peaceful nation. harmed needed to be made whole fess in a public forum the truth of What is important to notice is that and those who had committed the their actions. The Commission the process of reconciliation began wrongdoings had to be punished. offered mercy to encourage the truth with the giving of mercy. Mercy is But the Commission recognized that telling that was necessary to bring the value that serves as the key to complete justice for such a horrible closure to this painful and shameful unlock the gates in the walls that and systemic crime, such as history. In this way, some measure of separate peoples in conflict. The apartheid, was not going to be possi- peace was created which became the example and model of this is

“For Christ is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.” (Ephesians 2:14) 15 T sion of God to mold our hearts so h “ Without mercy, the social fabric of family e that we can be persons of mercy and compassion. It starts with the mercy C and community cannot be mended when u that God gives us, but finds expres- p it has been torn by conflict.” sion when we go to another with our heart in our hand. o f * * * revealed when we reflect on our rec- ed. Lederach tells the story of a t The Jubilee Year of Mercy has been h onciliation with God, which did not woman, who was a peacemaker in e begin with our acknowledging our the midst of a civil conflict in her a gift to the Church and to our Congregation. It reminds us of the N guilt and asking for mercy, but with homeland, who described peace- e the Incarnation and God’s gracious making in these terms: “You have to unlimited mercy of God and invites w and unconditional gift of mercy, go to your enemy with your heart in us to reflect on the place of mercy in C made in love. your hand.” To be merciful is to offer Precious Blood spirituality and o your heart to another. our charism of reconciliation. v So in the Christian perspective of Responding to that invitation, this e reconciliation, it is the victim of the The Missionaries of the Precious n issue of the Cup of the Covenant is a a wrongdoing that has to initiate the Blood are not a vowed religious con- resource for reflection and dialogue n process of reconciliation. That is a gregation, rather we were founded t about mercy. The two main articles difficult truth for us to live. Isn’t by Saint Gaspar to be a community provide a foundation for us. Our the- anger often our first reaction when that is bound together by free choice ologian, Fr, Robert Schreiter, pre- someone does wrong to us and aren’t and the bond of charity. While the sents a clear synopsis of the theme we quick to call for justice? Isn’t Bond of Charity has particular sig- of mercy in our spirituality. Fr. Bar- mercy and forgiveness something nificance to us members of Gaspar’s ry Fischer, the Director of the that we give to others only if they congregation, I think that it is also is International Center for Precious first admit their wrongdoing, apolo- an image that can speak to families. Blood Spirituality in Salzburg, gize and make amends? I think that In family and community, mercy is brings to us stories to inspire us from is true for most of us, even though often a needed lubricant for daily the merciful ministry of our founder, we all know these words: life. Without mercy, the social fabric St. Gaspar. Fr. Michael Rohde of the Be merciful (compassionate) as your of family and community cannot be Teutonic Province describes the ini- heavenly Father is merciful. Do not mended when it has been torn by tiative of the educational commu- judge and you will not be judged. Do conflict. nity in Neuenheerse, Germany in not condemn and you will not be Living a spirituality of the Precious response u to the needs of young condemned. Pardon and you shall be Blood allows the mercy and compas- refugees. pardoned. (Lk 6:36-37) To forgive someone is a risky behav- Next Issue: October 2016 ior. To open your heart in forgive- ness to another leaves yourself vul- nerable to being harmed again. “The Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy” Offering mercy leaves us undefend-

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