INSTITUTE OF SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGIOUS FORMATION
TANGAZA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN AFRICA
THE SPIRITUALITY OF BLESSED FRANCISCO PALAU AS A MEANS OF FULFILLING THE TWO COMMANDMENTS꞉ LOVE OF GOD AND NEIGHBOUR
BY BLESSING ANAYO ABONYI, CM 16/00382
SUPERVISOR REV. FR. REMIGIUS IKPE, OCD
An Integration Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for
a Certificate in Spirituality
NAIROBI 2018 DEDICATION
I dedicate this work to all the Carmelite Missionaries who strive each day to walk in the footsteps of Christ, committing themselves to their vocation to love God and love neighbour, as
Christ commands and as lived by their founder Blessed Francisco Palau, in faith, hope and love.
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EPIGRAPH
"We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the
one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 John 4:16)". "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another (John 13:34-35)". By this all men will know that you are my disciples.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to express my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the Most Blessed Trinity and
Mother Mary for their protection and care, for the good health of body and mind throughout my
studies and helping me to finish this work. I thank my parents, Mr. Paul Abonyi Ugwu and Mrs.
Ann Oyibo Abonyi both of them deceased, for their support and prayer. Particular thanks go to
Sr. Theresa Adanna Ani, my Delegate Superior and her Council for granting me the opportunity
to study in the Institute of Spirituality and Religious Formation at Tangaza University College
and their support to my journey in Missionary Carmel. In a special way I wish to express my
gratitude to my supervisor Rev. Fr. Remigius Ikpe, OCD for his encouragement, guidance and
direction during the course of researching and writing this paper.
My thanks and appreciation equally go to my Formators, Sr. Collette Banza, CM., Sr.
Felly Covacha, CM., Sr. Blessing Ezugwu, CM and all my sisters in International Intensive
Juniorate for their support, encouragements and prayer. I offer special thanks to Sr. Felly
Covacha for providing me with some Carmelite Missionaries documents which were very useful
in my research. I also thank Sr. (Nkechi) Rosemary Mbah, CM, and Sr. Doris Okonkwo, CM for
devoting their time to read (through) this work. My sincere thanks also goes to all the lecturers
who instructed me, all my classmates and all who have contributed to the success of this work.
May God bless you all!
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STUDENT’S DECLARATION
I, the undersigned, declare that this integration paper is my original work achieved through my
personal reading, scientific research method and critical reflection. It is submitted in partial
fulfilment of the requirement for the Certificate in Spirituality. This work has never been
submitted to any other College or University for academic credit. All sources have been cited in
full and acknowledged.
Name of Student:
Blessing Anayochukwu Abonyi, CM
Signed......
Date………………………………………………………………………….
This integration paper has been submitted for examination with my approval as the college
supervisor.
Name of Supervisor:
Rev. Fr. Remigius Ikpe OCD
Signed…………………………………………………………………….
Date……………………………………………………………………….
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ABBREVIATION Acts Act of the Apostles Can Canon Law CAT Catechism of Virtues CCC Catechism of the Catholic Church Ch Chapters CM Carmelite Missionaries CMF Clarentian Missionaries Fathers Cor Corinthians EG Evangelii Gaudium Eph Ephesians ET Evangelica Testificatio FR Father Gal Galatians Heb Hebrews Isa Isaiah John John KW Keep Watch Lam Lamentation Luke Luke Mark Mark Matt Matthew OCD Order of Discalced Carmelite Ps(s) Psalms Pet Peter Rev Revelations Rom Romans SG Seeking the Face of God St Saint V Verses
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION ...... ii EPIGRAPH ...... iii STUDENT’S DECLARATION ...... v ABBREVIATION...... vi GENERAL INTRUDUCTION...... 1 BACK GROUND OF THE STUDY ...... 3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ...... 5 PURPOSE AND AIM OF THE STUDY ...... 6 STUDY OBJECTIVE ...... 7 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ...... 7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY...... 7 RATIONAL/JUSTIFICATION ...... 8 SCOPE AND DELIMITATION...... 9 DIFFICULTIES AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM ...... 9 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS ...... 10 METHODOLOGY ...... 10 CHAPTER ONE ...... 11 PALAUTIAN SPIRITUALITY OF THE LOVE OF GOD AND NEIGHBOR ...... 11 Introduction ...... 11 1.1 The Family Background of Blessed Francisco Palau...... 11 1.2 His Human Characteristics ...... 12 1.3 His Education ...... 12 1.4 His Religious Consecration and Ordination ...... 13 1.5 The Influence of Blessed Francisco Palau ...... 14 1.6 The Works of Blessed Francisco Palau ...... 15 1.7 Palau’s Charism Portrayed in His Work “My Relations with the Church” ...... 16 1.8 Palau’s Charism, Spirituality and the Foundation of the Carmelite Missionaries ...... 18 Conclusion ...... 21
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CHAPTER TWO ...... 22 THE CHALLENGES OF LIVING THE TWO COMMANDMENTS OF LOVE ...... 22 Introduction ...... 22 2.1 Gossip and Envy as Challenges of Two Commandment of Love...... 22 2.2 The Challenges of Cold-War in Fraternal Living ...... 24 2.3 Pastoral Individualism Vis-a-Vis Fraternal Ministerial Collaboration ...... 27 2.4 Digital worldliness as a Shield to Healthy Communal Communication ...... 29 2.5 Spiritual Worldliness as a Shield to Intimate Divine Communion ...... 30 2.6 The Challenges of Selfishness and Spiritual Slot...... 31 2.7 Challenges of Sterile Pessimism as a Shield for Joyful Fraternal Living ...... 33 2.8 Challenges of Clericalism ...... 34 2.9 Challenges of Careerism and Vain Glory ...... 36 2.10 Challenges of Business Mentality ...... 37 2.11 Dualistic Thinking and Excessive Rationalism ...... 38 2.12 Activism and Lethargy ...... 39 Conclusion ...... 40 CHAPTER THREE ...... 41 TOWARDS BETTER LIVING OF THE VALUES OF THE TWO COMMANDMENTS ...... 41 Introduction ...... 41 3.1 Living the Beatitudes as a New Relationship Brought about by Christ ...... 41 3.2 Response to Intense Prayer and Contemplation ...... 43 3.3 Self Knowledge and Knowledge of God ...... 46 3.4 Listening ...... 48 3.1 Discernment ...... 48 3.4 Mindfulness ...... 49 3.5 Smile...... 50 3.6 Appreciative Attitude to Others ...... 51 3.7 Holistic Thinking...... 52 3.8 Blessed Francisco Palau’s Virtues ...... 52
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3.9 Integration of Shadows...... 54 3.10 Integral Self-Care ...... 55 3.11 Response to the Asceticism ...... 56 3.12 Response to Communion and Fraternity ...... 57 3.13 Imitation of Mary the Mother of God ...... 60 Conclusion ...... 62 GENERAL CONCLUSION ...... 63 Summary ...... 63 Recommendation ...... 64 Conclusion ...... 65 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 66
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GENERAL INTRUDUCTION
According to the Holy Scripture, the purpose of God is to gather the whole of creation
under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, in whom, by the power of the Holy Spirit, all are brought into
communion with God (Cf. Eph. 1). All creation is a community of subjects to be communed
with. They need to love and be loved. We are created to love and be loved, for when we do not
love, we will find our alternatives lies in loneliness, destruction and despair. Love means open
arms, sacrifice, it leads to self-surrender. If we close our arms to love, we will find that we are
left holding on only to ourselves. This is the problem of our world today. Many people are being
denied love from their childhood to adulthood or even till death.
Others are dying in loneliness, depressed, confused, disturbed, hostile or hopeless. It is
our love that will heal their brokenness and their wounds. Francisco Palau experienced this love
in a deeper and unique way since from his childhood; my heart developed its passion from
childhood.1 He knew well that the supreme ideal of Christian life is to love God and to love
neighbor. He knew that these two precepts of love have to be integrated in our lives: “you must
always remember that perfection consist in the fulfillment of the precept of love: love of God and
Love of neighbor.” 2 He exclaimed: “God in creating my heart, breathed into it, and his breath
was a law that He imposed on it, and that law says, “Love!”. My heart was built by the hand of
God to love and be loved, and it only lives out of love.”3
The Christian life and consecrated life in particular is a call to holiness. St. Teresa of
Avila has named three things that are needed for prayer and spiritual growth to be possible in life of any Christian. They are namely, detachment, humility and love. This paper concentrates only
1 Cf. F. PALAU, Writings, My Relation with the Church, 1017. 2 F. PALAU, Writings, Letter, 1052. 3 F. PALAU, Writings, My Relation with the Church, 1017.
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on the aspect of love and it seeks to understand the spirituality of Blessed Francisco Palau the
founder of Carmelite Missionaries as a means of fulfilling the two commandments of love of
God and love of neighbor. In order to capture the theme, the researcher divided the work into three chapters.
Chapter one examines the Palautian spirituality of the love of God and neighbour. This
chapter will explore the life, works and legacy of Blessed Francisco Palau. It presents his family
background, his education, religious consecration and ordination. It also explores the influence
of Blessed Francisco Palau, his Works, especially his Work: “My Relations with the Church,”
which portrays the Charism he left behind as his legacy. The chapter also presents a brief
explanation of this Charism, his Spirituality and the Foundation of the Carmelite Missionaries.
The second chapter deals with the challenges in fulfilling this commandment of love.
This lead to exploring some challenges like; gossip and envy, cold- war in Fraternal living,
pastoral individualism, digital worldliness, spiritual worldliness, selfishness and spiritual slot,
sterile pessimism, clericalism, careerism and vain glory, business mentality, dualistic thinking
and excessive rationalism and activism.
The third chapter explores the possible solution in living the values of the commandment
of love. To achieve this, I propose the following as important in our times: living the beatitudes,
prayer and contemplation, Response to listening, knowing one self, discernment, mindfulness,
smile, appreciative attitudes to others, holistic thinking, Blessed Francisco Palau’s virtues,
integration of shadows, integral self- care, asceticism, fraternal living and finally imitation of
Mary the Mother of God.
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BACK GROUND OF THE STUDY
The inspiration for researching on this topic came from a desire to explore deeper the
practical implications of fulfilling the two commandments: love of God and love of neighbor.
These two commandments are usually assumed as the sum and charter of a perfect Christian life,
in any state of life. The writings of Blessed Francisco Palau are another inspiration that led to the
choice of this topic, because it leads one to discover that Blessed Francisco Palau’s life was
rooted in love for God and humanity. This is summarized in his legacy where he writes that:
“The law says you shall love God; you shall love your neighbors. God man constitutes as head, a
moral body with the neighbors and this moral body.”4
Let us search in the garden of God this most fragrant and most beautiful flower. The love in God is like an immense fire in its core and constituent.5 With the love with which the Father
loves the Son, and the Son’s love for us, we have to correspond with this same love. “We have to
love God with all the fullness of our affections for being what he is, the supreme goodness, and
to love our neighbors as ourselves. For Francisco Palau the Church was the object of his love. He
said, “I live and will live for the Church, I live and I will die for her.”6
In the Catholic tradition, during baptism or profession in the religious life, the candidates
used to change the name and take a new name which has a spiritual significance marking the
transition from the old way of life to the new way of life. In many countries, it is customary for a
person being confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church (and some Anglican dioceses) to adopt a
new name, generally the name of a saint, thus securing an additional patron saint as protector and
guide.7
4 Carmelite Missionaries, The legacy and Testimony, 23. 5 Cf. F. PALAU, Writings, Month of Mary, Second Day. 6 Carmelite Missionaries, The legacy and Testimony, 10. 7 Cf. F. MERCADANTE, “Confirmation”, 27.
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Though this tradition is no longer mandatory, for those who still make use of this spiritual tradition, most of its occurrences happen during first profession after novitiate in the religious life. This study is based on the experience of the researcher, who was inspired during her religious profession to take the traditional appended religious naming “of the Holy Trinity” and since then has been longing to deepen her knowledge of the type of love that existed in the three persons of God she discovered that God is love, and that love is to be expressed in God and neighbor in self-giving.
In Jesus' teachings, our relationship with our fellow men, women and children is inseparable from our relationship with God. Love of God and love of our neighbors are two aspects of the same calling: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (Cf., John 13:34-35).
In order to achieve this, the researcher shall present the spirituality of Blessed Francisco
Palau as a means of fulfilling these two-commandment love of God and love of Neighbors.
“Blessed Fr. Palau, OCD states that, charity towards one’s neighbors, that is, the love of God spreading from our hearts towards the neighbor produces in our souls effects truly appropriate to its nature such is mercy, it disposes the soul to take part and to consider as its own the needs of our neighbor.”8
As a member of the Carmelite Missionaries, a congregation founded by Blessed Francisco
Palau y Quer, the researcher decided to focus on his life. The decision was not just because he was their founder but because of his firm determination, ardent and passionate love of God and neighbor expressed in the total self-giving in which he served the Church until his death. Fr.
8 F. PALAU, Writings, My Relation with the Church, 551.
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Eulogio Pacho, OCD commented about him that: “Fear never played a role in the life of
Francisco Palau not even when everything was at stake, including his life. His ideal was clear,
his vocation definite and brought to maturity by suffering”.9
Blessed Francisco Palau loved the Church until the end of his journey on this world, and his dreams was to live and die for the Church became a reality at the end of his life. He could not stop to say, “I live and will live for the Church, I live and shall die for her.”10
Moreover, Palau had a passionate love which he developed from childhood and which
had been the compass of his life: “My heart was made by the hand of God to love and to be loved, and to live only through love. I did not know this mystery. My heart developed its passion from childhood: I already loved passionately, and this passion was my torment and my sorrow.”11 All these together, inspired the researcher to explore the spirituality of Blessed F.
Palau as a means of fulfilling these two commandments of God: love of God and Neighbours.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
According to the nature of the religious life, for a religious to enjoy true contentment in the life requires a deeper understanding of the meaning of the greatest commandment of God. This kind of love of God and of neighbor is a reality comprehensible only in a kind of love communicated in total self-giving. Blessed Francisco Palau's experience of the mystery of the
Church: God and neighbor fulfill his long and intense search. The writings of Blessed Francisco
Palau give us in synthesis his spiritual process and original experience of the mystery of the
Church, he exclaimed, I found you because you let yourself be known, for him the church is God
9 E. PACHO, Francisco Palau y Quer: A Passion for the Church, 18. 10 F. PALAU, Writings, My Relation with the Church, 773. 11 F. PALAU, Writings, My Relations with the Church, 1017.
5 and neighbor.12 It confirmed what Karl Rahner said, that there is no love for God that is not, in it, already a love for neighbor; and love For God only comes to its own identity through its fulfillment in a love for neighbor.13
Religious life is meant to be “a witness and a prophecy in the world, making visible to all the sign par excellence of the Kingdom, which is Communion.”14 Blessed Francisco Palau said that once the soul is united with God by love, charity, aided by all the virtues, the graces and gift of the Holy Spirit, produces in soul love of one’s neighbor.15 It is difficult for some to live in the same community with others because of lack of tolerance. In that way, many religious fail to recognize and take advantage of the values of union with God in prayer and in communion with our brothers and sisters who present themselves in their daily lives as opportunities to gain inner joy and contentment.
Consecration makes us persons who are given to God without conditions. More concretely, it makes us “living memories of Jesus’ way of being and acting,” of his obedience, poverty and chastity. It transforms us into signs and communicators of God’s love for humanity.”16 The researcher invites any other persons who want to live a perfect life to understand that loving God above all and our brothers and sisters is where perfection is fulfilled.
PURPOSE AND AIM OF THE STUDY
The main aim of the study is to explore and attain a deepen knowledge of the spirituality of
Blessed Francisco Palau, especially to discover how he lived out the Two commandments: love of God and neighbor. The study thus aims at exploring the significance of the Two
12 F. PALAU, Writings, My Relations with the Church, 1019-1020. 13 KARL RAHNER, “Reflections on the Unity of the Love of Neighbour and Love of God”, 232. 14 Carmelite Missionaries, an Incarnated Grace on the Way, 12. 15 Carmelite Missionaries, legacy and Testimony, 91. 16 J. ARNAIZ, the Great Challenges of Consecrated Life Today, Nov. 2016.
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Commandments in the Scripture, the documents of the Church and in the life and works of some
of the Saints. This is meant to give a solid understanding of the meaning and significance of the
two commandments for the Christian life and find the challenges of fulfilling the commandments
and the solution towards living the values of the commandment to full and in new ways
commanded by Christ and lived by the Church and Blessed Francesco Palau, the founder of the
Carmelite Missionaries.
STUDY OBJECTIVE
This study is guided by the following objectives:
1. To investigate the Palautian Spirituality of love of God and neighbor; 2. To explore the challenges of living the two commandments according to Francisco Palau; 3. To propose the possible solution towards living the values of love of God and neighbor.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is the Palautian Spirituality of love of God and neighbor?
2. What are the challenges of living the two commandments according to Francisco Palau?
3. What are the possible solutions towards living the values of love of God and neighbor?
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The proper understanding of what love of God and neighbors is all about and its
importance in Christian faith, in spiritual life will help the Carmelite Missionaries to guard against the temptation to easy life and self centeredness that will make them not have passion for
God and humanity in giving themselves in the service to God through humanity. The study thus has a purpose which envisages that this exploration will be of great benefit to the Carmelite
Missionary Sister and especially the young ones in the formation to focus on the work of their
Founder.
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The people also may be inspired on the best way to fulfill these two commandments and
carry their own cross in their daily life with right disposition according to the Carmelite
Missionary Charism and Spirituality. The researcher is of the view that the conversion should
begin from her since one can only give what one has. She also intends through this study to
enrich other sisters most especially those in formation on the right attitude to the understanding
love of God in their daily life, so as to live joyful and fulfilled religious life as Carmelite
Missionaries.
RATIONAL/JUSTIFICATION
The researcher has chosen to write on the topic love of God and neighbour because perfection in Christian faith and God’s law is by fulfilling the commandment of love, it is a very important element in religious life which in her experience is facing a lot of challenges today. It will also be of greater help to the researcher and others in reviving and strengthening our relationship with God and humanity which is indispensible if one is to grow in perfect life and be a strong Christian fulfilling our baptismal promises and our individual commitment faithfully since all the commandment is summed up in love.
This study is based on the conviction that a deeper knowledge and understanding of the
kind of love expressed in the two Commandments, the kind of love based on self-giving, love for
God and love for humanity, could inspire a religious to maintain the desire of living a radical and authentic life as a religious. This study could also be used by those who guide others in training for the religious life, faith formation, and also could be of great help to all the ministers of the
Church. It can help as a source of inspiration for vocation directress, postulant and novice mistresses.
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SCOPE AND DELIMITATION
The study will focus on the Spirituality of Blessed Francisco Palau as a means of
fulfilling these two-commandment: love of God and love of Neighbors. It will concentrate on the
teachings of the Church about the two commandments: love of God and neighbor. The work will
also explore how Blessed Francisco Palau understood and lived the two commandments. The
study will be focused on the life and works of Blessed Francisco Palau, exploring how he
fulfilled the two commandments in his life and how his daughters should live it today.
Despite exploring the documents of the Church and the works of other Saints, the study is
delimited to the aspects of the documents of the Church and the works of other Saints that shed
light on the life and works of Blessed Francisco Palau in order to make a more in-depth
exploration of what he proposes in this regard for his daughters.
DIFFICULTIES AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM
In the process of doing this research, the researcher may encounter some challenges, for
instance, most of the materials of the Congregation may not be focused directly on the explanation of the two commandments but this challenge may be overcome by fishing out the values of the two commandments expressed in the documents of the Congregation of the
Carmelite Missionaries and applying them to the topic of the study.
These challenges will be overcome through the support of the Superior, who will fund the research and give the needed permission to obtain the needed data from the different communities. The tool of emails and other electronic means of communication such as
WhatsApp would also be used to collect the needed data for the study.
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RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
This study is based on the hypothesis that if the Carmelite Missionaries faithfully embrace these two greatest commandments of God: love of God and neighbor as exemplified by Blessed
Francisco Palau their founder, they would live joyful and fulfilled life for their own benefit, the wellbeing of their Congregation and be more efficient in their ministry in the Church and for the greater glory of God.
METHODOLOGY
In this study, the researcher will make use of different sources to facilitate the study and get the required information, the researcher will largely make use of the document of the
Congregation of the Carmelite Missionaries, Church documents, and other relevant books from the library, that explain the significance of the Two Commandments, as well as unpublished materials, internet sources and the writings of Blessed Francis Palau.
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CHAPTER ONE
PALAUTIAN SPIRITUALITY OF THE LOVE OF GOD AND NEIGHBOR
Introduction
The paper explores the life, works and legacy of Blessed Francisco Palau, the Founder of the Carmelite Missionaries. It presents as synopsis of his family background, his education, his human characteristic, religious consecration and ordination. The paper also explores the influence of Blessed Francisco Palau, his Works, especially his Work: “My Relations with the
Church,” which portrays the Charism he left behind as his legacy. The paper also presents a brief explanation of this Charism, his Spirituality and the Foundation of the Carmelite Missionaries.
1.1 The Family Background of Blessed Francisco Palau
Francisco Palau y Quer was born in Aytona, Lerida, in Spain on December 29, 1811 and was baptized this same day of his birth in keeping with local custom. Francisco was the 7th of the nine children of Joseph Palau and Maria Antònia Quer, who were fervent royalists and devoted Catholics. Francisco’s birth occurred when Spain was passing through a dangerous period brought about by the French invasion of Spain, known as the Napoleonic invasion, further complicated by the War of Independence that ensued as a result of the chaos.17 As a result, people suffered greatly from insecurity, hunger, hatred, miseries, tensions, corruption and the like.
All these trying situations notwithstanding, Palau’s family though poor but modest knew how to manage their meager resources earned from their labour in the fields as well as reaching out to their neighbor. They would gather together to pray the rosary after their day's labors. He was thus; nurtured with fervent Christian virtues of love, joy, true devotion to God, through prayer, sacramental life, pious practices, devotion to Our Lady and intense services in the
17 Discalced Carmelites of Lafayette, Blessed Francis PALAU Y QUER: 1811 – 1872.
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Church. This is the spiritual and religious environment in which Palau was brought up.18 The
entire Palau family was active in the parish life and fervent in the reception of the sacraments.
The father and all the children were members of the parish choir.19
This seems to be where Palau developed his sense of communion which later formed the core of his personal charism that he bequeathed to the religious congregations he founded.
1.2 His Human Characteristics
Fr. Francisco Palau was a man of his time, going over his letters we can discover how he was, his face though austere and serious reveals serenity. His personality proves to be full of contrasts: he was reflective and calculating, intuitive in his ideas, rapid in his decisions. In spite of being pragmatic and realistic in his works and projects, he was sometimes idealistic and a dreamer. He was logical and reflective in his plans and projects; he possessed a very rich imagination. He was coherent in his principles, and also flexible to adapt to concrete situations.20
He combined easily rectitude and the legitimate opportunism. Intrepid in his
undertakings, tenacious in what he proposed and condescending with others. He was zealous of
his reputation and that of others. Faithful to his friends was open to friendship in spite of being
an introvert. His presence in spite of being austere provoked confidence and was warm with his
friends.
1.3 His Education
Francisco Palau was confirmed at the age of six in 1817 and began his studies the same
year. He was very intelligent but his family was not able to afford his education. Providence had
it that his sister Rosa got married and took him to Lerida to continue his education. At the age of
18 E. PACHO, (Ed.), F. Palau y Quer: A Passion for the Church, (Burgos: Monte Carmelo, 2006), 9-10. 19 E. PACHO, Francisco Palau y Quer, 9-10. 20 Cf. Biographical Trajectory, 100 Fichas sobre Francisco Palau, 27.
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14, Palau decided to become a priest. Francisco Palau was enrolled in the diocesan seminary of
that city in October 1828, where he studied philosophy and theology. He was granted a
scholarship, with full tuition, room and board, through the help of his parish priest, who was
impressed by his good conduct.
In the course of his seminary studies, Palau came to know the Discalced Carmelite friars.
The image of the prophet Elijah filled him with enthusiasm, as did the deeds of St. Teresa and
contemplative silence of the St. John of the cross; this became the stuff of his dreams and
embodiment of his ideals.21 In 1832 he relinquished his scholarship to enter the Order of the
Discalced Carmelites in Barcelona hoping to have his desires fulfilled in the convent. He was
very sure of his Carmelite vocation, to the extent that he wrote: “To live in Carmel, I needed only
one thing, that is vocation; I was convinced of it…”22
1.4 His Religious Consecration and Ordination
With clear interior conviction Palau made his solemn religious profession of vows and
consecrated himself to God on November 15, 1833. On February 22, 1834 he was ordained
deacon. In July of 1835, crowds attacked the convents of Barcelona and set fire to them. Luckily,
they were all able to escape from death, but from then on, their life in community was
completely disbanded. Hoping against hope, Francis lived as best he could his religious
obligations while waiting to return to his established convent and community life. Anti-clerical unrest in Spain prohibited the re-opening of the Carmelites' monastery.23
Hence, Father Francisco had to live his Carmelite spiritual life privately, alternately
devoting himself to pastoral works and to prayerful solitude. During this time, he was ordained
21 CF. E. PACHO, Francisco PALAU Y QUER: A Passion for the Church, 17. 22 F. PALAU, Writings, The Solitary Life, 248. 23 CF. E. PACHO, History of the Congregation of the Carmelite Missionaries: The Beginning and the first steps, 38.
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to the priesthood by Bishop Santiago Fort y Puig on April 1, 1836 at the age of twenty-four. In
1851 he founded a catechetical organization, school called “The School of Virtues”, he was exiled by the government to the Spanish island of Ibiza in 1854, having been falsely accused of fomenting labor unrest. Following the end of his exile in 1860, he received a mystical experience in which he perceived in a profound manner the Church as she to whom he had personally given
his life.24
It was from the background of this vision of the Church that he addressed these words to
the Church regarding his ordination: "On the day I was ordained to the priesthood, I was
consecrated through ordination to your service...I am yours with all that I do, all that I am and
possess." This is the formative experience that led to his personal Charism of the Church as a
sign of communion, which later formed the core of the Charism of the religious congregations he
founded. He died on March 20, 1872. He was beatified on 24th April 1988 by Pope John Paul II.
His feast is celebrated on November 7th.
1.5 The Influence of Blessed Francisco Palau
Blessed Francisco Palau was influenced by his family who brought him up in Christian
ways. As a child he learned to trust God and to be faithful in his dealings with others. He had
passionate love for God and his neighbor. Coming from a poor family, he had the experience of
what it entails to be poor. This experience is said to have influenced him to be charitable to the
poor, the less privileged in the society. He took to heart that to love God is to fulfill every
covenantal responsibility toward him. But since God’s people are his covenant partner, he had a
special concern for the well-being of others.25
24 Discalced Carmelites of Lafayette, Blessed Francis Palau y Quer: 1811 – 1872. 25 E. PACHO, History of the Congregation of the Carmelite Missionaries, 48.
14
The bible also influenced Blessed Francisco Palau. For instance, he was captivated by the
teaching of Jesus from which he became convinced that the law of grace26 is made manifest in
the love of God above all things because he is infinite goodness, and thy neighbors as thyself”
(Matt 19,19; 22, 37-40; Mark 12, 30-31; Rom 13,9; 1 John 4,20-21). For him, God and neighbors is our beloved object of love which forms one perfect, moral body, and this body is the Church in the broad sense.27 Father Palau was also influence by his filial affection for the Virgin Mary,
who revealed herself to him in 1864 as the Church's most perfect figure.28
There are other saints who influenced also the life Blessed Francisco Palau. For instance,
it is from Saint Elijah that Palau learned to become aware of the presence of God in the
unexpected, and to be silent enough to hear God’s whisper. Palau patterned his life on Elijah’s
contemplative way, seeking divine intimacy in silence and solitude, especially during the period
of his persecution. He was influenced by the intimate friendly relationship with Christ which he
learned from St. Teresa of Avila; a radical self-abnegation he learned from St. John of the Cross.
1.6 The Works of Blessed Francisco Palau
There are seven works attributed to Fr. Francisco Palau: The Struggle of The Soul with
God; The Solitary Life; Catechism of the Virtues; The School of Virtue Vindicated; Month of
Mary; The Church of God Prefigured by the Holy Spirit; My Relations with the Church and his
Letters. One of the things unique in his writings is that they reveal what he was experiencing
during each period. He used the means of writing to express all the significant events and
challenges he faced.
For instance, The Struggle of the Soul with God gives a clear picture of the religious
situation of Spain, with all its details. In this book he instructs souls in the spirit of prayer that
26 F. PALAU, Writings, My Relations with the Church, 919. 27 F. PALAU, Writings, My Relations with the Church, 919. 28 F. PALAU, Writing My Relations with the Church, 919. 15 must be followed during the horrible tempest that wrecked the Spanish Church29 and My
Relations with the Church, is an expression of his sentiments and the mysterious experiences that invaded and soaked him in love, which motivated his pastoral ministry and the foundation of his congregations.
All these works are found in a compilation of Francisco Palau’s writings by Eulogio
Pacho.30 The contents of his works are unique to the very attitudes of Francisco Palau, but with new and original approach from what is Carmelite. Everything in them is shaped by his personal nuances, acquiring proper tonality as well as vibrant sounds of ecclesial ideals, with focus on the mysterious reality of the Church. His works sprang from his vision of the Church and goes back to the Church. In his works lie his original point of view, which renews and recreates the being and the living of what is Carmelite; especially his work: My Relations with the Church.
1.7 Palau’s Charism Portrayed in His Work “My Relations with the Church”
It is in his work My Relations with the Church that Palau portrays his personal Charism, the identity and Charism of the congregations he founded. From the back drop of his experience of much religious and civil turmoil and persecution he felt the need to bear witness to love and unity in the Church. For Palau, the Eucharistic celebration is the fountain and strength of his mission.31 The celebration of the Holy Eucharist is for him an invitation to fully live in communion with Christ and with their neighbor.
It is the intimate embrace between Christ and his Church, it is the maximum expression of communion with the Church where the double precept of love takes form: “And when I receive communion, I believe that I am united with my Spouse, the Church: with the Head with
29 Cf. F. PALAU: Writings, 17. 30 F. PALAU: Writings, 1 – 1667. 31 Discalced Carmelites of Lafayette, Blessed Francis Palau y Quer: 1811 – 1872.
16 an act of divine love and with the members with acts of love for the neighbors”.32It is the sacrament of presence and communion.33 He uses the comparison of matrimony to explain the
“mystical union” between Christ and the Church; the EUCHARIST is the place where the espousal union between the Head and the Body is renewed. It is given to the Church in order that she may be fruitful.34
Francisco Palau emphasizes in this ecclesial communion: the Church is community and communion of those who have access to the Father in one and only Spirit (cf Eph2, 18). The
Church is introduced in the truth and maintained it through the action of the Holy Spirit (cf.
Jn14). The defining element of the Palautian spirituality is the unique experience of Blessed
Francisco Palau of the Church as his beloved. His life was marked by an intense search for the
Beloved which eluded him for 50 years.35
He experienced the Church as a living reality, as one Body where Christ is the Head and the neighbor forming one body with Christ. The Church is a Mystery of Communion; God and man united in one body. This is his spirituality, the inspiration that fired up not only his life but also the lives of his followers and all generations.
His mission naturally flowed from that experience. It was the passion that fired up his preaching and his teaching. He wrote: “My mission is to announce to the people that you are infinitely beautiful and loveable, and to tell them to love you. Love of God and of neighbor: this is the object of my mission. And you are my neighbors forming in God only one thing.”36
The Church as mystery of communion where Christ is the Head and the people forming one body with Christ: God and neighbor united as one body is the focal point of Blessed Francisco
32 F. PALAU, Writings, My Relations with the Church, 812. 33 F. PALAU, Writing, My Relations with the Church, 790-791. 34 F. PALAU, Writings, My Relations with the Church, 790. 35 F. PALAU, Writings, My Relations with the Church, 836-837. 36 Cf. F. PALAU, Writings, MY Relations with the Church, 930.
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Palau’s life and mission. It was the inspiration, the fire, the madness that energized everything he
did in his lifetime
1.8 Palau’s Charism, Spirituality and the Foundation of the Carmelite Missionaries
Father Palau founded two Carmelite congregations the Carmelite Missionary Brothers
and the Carmelite Missionaries Sisters to be authentic signs of communion in the Church. This is
embedded and understood in the Trinitarian Mystery of Communion.37 To make communion
visible in all that they do, when they speak of communion, they call to mind the communion that
exists in and with Christ, in a manner that is always inclusive with all its consequences and does
not exclude anyone. It is very relational; nourishing diversity by a life lived in plurality.
Through this Charism of Communion with God and neighbor, they give charismatic and
prophetic witness to the life of the Church today; in a world so much torn apart by individualism
and indifference, strengthened and challenged through the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.38 Fr
Palau lived the Eucharist as a deep experience of communion with the Church: Christ and all his
members.39 He used to renew every day his vows, his surrender and his fidelity to the Church in
the Eucharistic celebration.
Today, He invites his daughters to do the same, always renew one's commitment to the
Father in the celebration of the Eucharist, “ Eucharist makes us participate in the chastity of
Christ and of the Church: in the sacrament, the more you touch him the clearer you become; the
more you embrace him; he communicate his chastity to you and enjoying him you become holier
37 F. PALAU, Writings, My Relations with the Church, 925 – 926. 38 F. PALAU, Writings, My Relations with the Church, 924. 39 F. PALAU, Writings, My Relations with the Church, 788-802, 872-874,812-814,817-818.
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and purer40, a Eucharistic experience that lead us to renew and to make more concrete our love
for him, who has called and chosen us.
Today, the Charism of the Carmelite Missionaries invites them to be open to the new
ways in which the Holy Spirit is inspiring them to be signs of communion in the heart of the
Church according to the signs of the time. It is in this sense that they see themselves to be
spiritually productive, life-giving through the different practical things they do in order to share
their charism with others. A Carmelite Missionary is expected to be open, willing and generous
to work in any mission where she is sent all over the world. The Carmelite Missionaries, like
their founder renews her fidelity every day on the “altar of the Eucharist” and contemplates
Mary, the woman consecrated to God and to humanity.41
The internal dynamics of this experiential growth in the Carmelite Missionary is nourished by the following dimensions: Fraternity, Contemplation and Mission. Convoked as
"small churches", the Carmelite Missionaries witness to the power of love, accepting and
favoring what is different while at the same time strengthening unity. In the charism of Blessed
Francisco Palau, the Carmelite Missionaries discover the urgency of living communion as
commitment for justice, peace, and solidarity: begin to look, contemplate and meditate on Jesus
crucified, his moral body which is the Church wounded by heresies, errors and sins…negotiate
the cure and comfort of Jesus, who suffers in his mystical and crucified body.42
The foundation date of the Carmelite Missionaries is traced back to 1860, but after the
Spanish Civil War in 1939, the Carmelite Missionary Brothers who survived were incorporated
into the Discalced Carmelite friars. Only the Carmelite Missionary Sisters are now flourishing in
40 F. PALAU, writings, Letter, 1247. 41 Carmelite Missionaries, Incarnated Grace on the Way, 28. 42 CF. F. PALAU, Writings, Letter, 1130-1133, 1053-1055.
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two autonomous congregations, both headquartered in Rome: the Teresian Carmelite
Missionaries, who serve in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America; and the Carmelite
Missionaries, who serve in some 41 countries around world. Carmelite Missionaries are on a
mission to serve the needy.
In this foundation, Fr Palau, stresses that his sons and daughters should practice this
commandment of love: love of God and love of neighbor in the higher degree because perfection
lies in this. He wrote: "the two main points that will enkindle your vocation: the love of God and
Love of neighbors."43 In his foundation he understood that "it was the will of God for him to
establish a religious order which will embrace all the perfection contained in the rules given by
Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem to Carmel, and reformed by our holy Mother Teresa of Jesus; and
it is the will of God, of the saint, and of men to blend to perfection the contemplative life and the
action of teaching, dividing one thing of another and uniting them as the needs of the Church
demand."44
He continued, "that as long as contemplative life is safe and maintained with all its Rules, the active life will be perfected by it. Contemplation will give to action the perfection it does not have of itself."45 "The contemplative life must be blended with active life and to the active life
with works of charity, and among these the most remarkable of which are teaching and care for
the sick."46 The congregation of the Carmelite Missionaries has grown into an international
Congregation whose mission is to serve the Church, living as authentic signs of unity in the
Church according to the Charism inspired by Blessed Francisco Palau.
43 CF. F. PALAU, Writings, Letter,1243. 44 F. PALAU, Writings, Letter, 1256. 45 F. PALAU, Writings, Letter, 1259. 46 F. PALAU, Writings, Letter, 1263.
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Conclusion
The gift of the Holy Spirit through Blessed Francis Palau came through his mystical
experiences of the Church as a bride, and the Church became the object of his love and for the
Church, he would dedicate his entire life, exclaiming: “I live and will live for the Church; I live and will die for her.”47 The inner world of Father Francis revolved around the mysterious reality
of the Church as a sign of communion. One of the unique legacies of Palau is the promotion of
spiritual life founded on recognition and expression of God's love, as opposed to the rational
doctrines of the theology of his day.
47 F. PALAU, Writings, My Relations with the Church, 925.
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CHAPTER TWO
THE CHALLENGES OF LIVING THE TWO COMMANDMENTS OF LOVE
Introduction
In this chapter, we will explore the challenges in fulfilling these commandments love of
God and neighbour. It is divided in twelve parts; first challenge is gossip and envy, and then
followed by cold-war in fraternal living, pastoral individualism, digital worldliness, spiritual
worldliness, selfishness and spiritual slot, sterile pessimism, clericalism, careerism and vain
glory, business mentality, dualistic thinking and excessive rationalism and activism.
2.1 Gossip and Envy as Challenges of Two Commandment of Love
Gossiping pollutes the heart as sewage water contaminates the sparkling water in a deep well. Gossip feeds on envy and jealousy and causes divisions among brothers and sisters.
According to Pope Francis in the morning meditation “the threat of gossip” he said: gossip is a weapon and it threatens the human community every day; it sows envy, jealousy and power struggles. It has even caused murder. Therefore, discussing peace must take into account the evil that can be done with one’s tongue.48
The virus of gossip spreads like wild fire through the media gadgets more easily today than ever before. It saps the vitality of fraternal life in religious life, tarnishes the good name of
brothers/sisters and offers the nasty pleasure of speaking ill of others. Pope Francis has often
warned religious against the disease of gossiping, grumbling and backbiting, which destroys
48 CF. Pope Francis, “the threat of gossip”, 2 September 2013. 22
fraternal life. He invites the religious to guard against the “terrorism of gossip.”49 St. John of the
Cross also warned against the things that affect our communion with God: the tendency to
gossip, the fears which make one faint-hearted, a childish need to be propped up by others’
approval, and so on, let us learn to say no to this temptation.
Say no to your desire, and you will discover what your heart really desires. What makes
you think your longings are God’s longings?50 We need to consciously bar ourselves from indulging in gossip and spreading rumors. Instead, we shall strive to speak well of others and dare to practice fraternal correction directly and honestly to the persons concerned. Pope Frances reiterated that we must never become judges of our brothers through gossip and negative chit- chat. "Those who live judging their neighbor, speaking ill of their neighbor, are hypocrites, because they lack the strength and the courage to look to their own shortcomings.
Whenever you speak ill of your neighbor, you have killed him/her. The Apostle John, in chapter 3 of his First Letter, v. 15, tells us that "anyone who hates his brother is a murderer”.
And the Pope immediately added: “we are used to gossip, to spreading rumours, and we often transform our communities as well as our family into ‘hell’ where this kind of crime that leads
“to killing one’s brother and sister with one’s tongue is manifest”. St. John of the Cross was also aware of this act among religious men and women when he exhorted us in the Precautions that when we join the religious life, we should consider ourselves as a log of wood, ready to be carved into the image of Christ.
Some will carve you with words you would rather not hear; others will carve you with their attitude towards you that would make you feel as if you are nobody; others will gossip
about you everywhere; Yet others will carve you with actions that may make you wonder if they
49 CF. Pope Francis, “the threat of gossip”, 2 September 2013. 50 Cf. M. IAIN, The Impact of God, 43-44. 23
are Christians at all…but your invitation is to forgive them and pray for them. Pope Francis
continued that, in order “that there may be peace in a community, in a family, in a country, in the
world; we must start by being with the Lord. And where the Lord is there is no envy, there is no
crime, there is no jealousy; there is brotherhood. Let us ask this of the Lord: never to kill our
neighbor with our tongue and to be with the Lord just as we shall all be in heaven”.
Fr. Francisco Palau reminded his daughters and all the priests and religious that, our
mission consists in uniting the spirit of love among us and to think of vocations, harmonizing the
active life with that of the contemplation, instead of gossiping against a brother or sister. 51 In
his writings, the rules he wrote advising his sons and daughters on this regard, never to speak
against a sister or a brother in his absence instead to correct him or her with love in his presence.
He said the precept of love of neighbor prohibits you from doing anything or saying anything
evil to your neighbor, and commands you to do good to them.52
This love leads us necessarily to experience God’s paternity, which makes us feel the
sisterly love among ourselves. 53 Our invitation and challenge here is to say no to the spirit of
gossip and envy which affect our fraternal communion and our love for God and humanity.
2.2 The Challenges of Cold-War in Fraternal Living
How many wars take place within the People of God and in our different communities! In our neighborhoods and in the workplace; how many wars are caused by envy and jealousy, even among Christians! Spiritual worldliness leads some Christians to war with other Christians who stand in the way of their quest for power, prestige, pleasure and economic security. Some are even no longer content to live as part of the greater Church community but stoke a spirit of
51 F. PALAU, Writings,Letter,1238. 52 F. PALAU, Writings,Const.,1390. 53 F. PALAU, Writings, Letter,1071, 1130-1132.
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exclusivity, creating an “inner circle.” Instead of belonging to the whole Church in all its rich
variety, they belong to this or that group which thinks itself different or special.
In the encyclical of Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, he said: "Our world is being torn apart by wars and violence and wounded by a widespread individualism which divides human beings, setting them against one another as they pursue their own well-being. In various
countries, conflicts and old divisions from the past are re-emerging." (E.G. 99). He asked
Christians in communities throughout the world to offer a radiant and attractive witness of
fraternal communion. Let everyone admire how you care for one another, and how you
encourage and accompany one another: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if
you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
This was Jesus’ heartfelt prayer to the Father: “That they may all be one, as you, Father , are in me and I in you, so that the world may believe” (John 17:21). Pope Francis expressed that
it always pains him greatly to discover how some Christian communities, and even consecrated
persons, can tolerate different forms of enmity, division, calumny, defamation, vendetta, jealousy
and the desire to impose certain ideas at all costs, even to persecutions which appear as veritable
witch hunts. Whom are we going to evangelize if this is the way we act? (Cf. E.G. 100).
The cold-war among believers is not what Blessed Francisco Palau and Teresa of Avila
dreamed of for their sons and daughters. The fraternity that Teresa of Avila dreams of is a
fraternity of love: “in this house…all have to be friends of one another. All have to love each
other; all have to help each other”54.To reach the goal of this ideal, they have to form themselves
54 Cf. T. AVILA, Way of Perfection, 4, 79.
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and to acquire the pure and universal love without exclusivity. They have to understand love as a
gift and as a task; they have to cultivate the art of practicing forgiveness and Mercy.55
Blessed Francisco Palau affirmed this when said to his daughters: “I wish that all of you
be united in one heart animated by the same spirit of God…, love each other.”56 He continued
that to cultivate communion; you have to go beyond the human dimension and to look into the
depth and see the strong bonds that bind us together: one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one only
God and Father, the same vocation and the same Charism. It consists in integrating the
differences that universality entails, with spirit of unity instead of creating wars among
ourselves.
In this regard, let us ask the Lord to help us understand the law of love. How good it is to have this law! How much good it does us to love one another, in spite of everything. Yes, in spite of everything! Saint Paul’s exhortation is directed to each of us: “Do not be overcome by evil but
overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21). And again: “Let us not grow weary in doing what is
right” (Gal 6:9). We all have our likes and dislikes, and perhaps at this very moment we are
angry with someone. At least let us say to the Lord: “Lord, I am angry with this person, with that
person. I pray to you for him and for her.”
To pray for a person with whom I am irritated is a beautiful step forward in love, and an act
of evangelization. Let us do it today! Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of the ideal of
fraternal love!
55 CF. T. AVILA, Way of Perfection, 36, 7. 56 F. PALAU, writings, Letter, 1053-1055.
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2.3 Pastoral Individualism Vis-a-Vis Fraternal Ministerial Collaboration
The individualism of our postmodern and globalized era favors a lifestyle which weakens
the development and stability of personal relationships and distorts family bonds. Pastoral
activity needs to bring out more clearly the fact that our relationship with the Father demands
and encourages a communion which heals, promotes and reinforces interpersonal bonds. In our
world, especially in some countries, different forms of war and conflict are re-emerging, yet we
Christians remain steadfast in our intention to respect others, to heal wounds, to build bridges, to
strengthen relationships and to “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal 6:2).
As a well-known Egyptian saying goes: “Me, and after me, the flood!” This is the
temptation of selfish people: along the way, they lose sight of the goal and, rather than think of
others, they are unashamed to think only of themselves, or even worse, to justify themselves.
“The Church is the community of the faithful, the Body of Christ, where the salvation of one
member is linked to the holiness of all” (Cf. 1 Cor 12:12-27; Lumen Gentium, 7.) An
individualist is a cause of scandal and of conflict.
In the Evangelii Gaudium by Pope Francis, Pastoral individualism is perhaps the most prevalent temptation that afflicts many of our religious. Many are comfortable to work alone with the support of submissive supporters. Such religious are said to live in communities like
“potatoes in a sack”, unconnected, although living together under the same roof. Pastoral individualism is tempting because it is efficient at the outset and prompt decisions are possible without the delay of the processes of community meetings and planning, discernment and decision-making.
Pope Francis highlighted that to follow Christ means being open to others, being
benevolent, having the ability to overcome selfishness. That in the moment of choice a Christian
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always chooses “all”, with that meekness, that Christian meekness which is the sign of Jesus'
disciples: meekness and benevolence. He admitted that living like this is not so easy, because
you really do receive slaps, on both cheeks. But, he insisted that a Christian should be meek and
benevolent, opening up his heart to work and collaborate with others.57
The Carmel, reformed by St. Teresa of Avila, is rooted on the two pillars: contemplation and fraternity: the blending of contemplative life and moments of community sharing: “the holier you are the more sociable and communicative with the sisters you should be.”58 To go out of ourselves and to join others is healthy for us. To be self-enclosed is to taste the bitter poison of immanence, and humanity will be worse for every selfish choice we make. According to Pope
Francis in the “Evangelii Gaudium” The Christian ideal will always be a summons to overcome
suspicion, habitual mistrust, fear of losing our privacy, all the defensive attitudes which today’s
world imposes on us.
Many try to escape from others and take refuge in the comfort of their privacy or in a
small circle of close friends, renouncing the realism of the social aspect of the Gospel (E.G. 88,
2013). The Pope continued that, the Gospel tells us constantly to run the risk of a face-to-face
encounter with others, with their physical presence which challenges us, with their pain and their
pleas, with their joy which infects us in our close and continuous interaction. True faith in the
incarnate Son of God is inseparable from self-giving, from membership in the community, from service, from reconciliation with others (E.G. 88).
People who Isolate themselves, Unless they find in the Church a spirituality which can
offer healing and liberation, and fill them with life and peace, while at the same time summoning
57 CF. Pope Francis, “Lets Overcome Selfishness”, 17th June , 2013. Video clip. 58 Cf. T. AVILA, “Way of Perfection”, 41, 79.
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them to fraternal communion and missionary fruitfulness, they will end up by being taken in by
solutions which neither make life truly human nor give glory to God (E. G. 89).
2.4 Digital worldliness as a Shield to Healthy Communal Communication
Through the vice of digital worldliness; Virtual communities and friendships replaces real communities and companions in mission. Today, missionaries serving in another country or continent can virtually live in their own culture, enwrapped in the stories, jokes and all the happenings in their own culture, speaking their own language, and spending most of the time watching native films, or chatting with friends from their home country. A missionary may pass lot of time browsing websites of all sorts, which prevent him from dedicating himself to know, love and serve the people to whom he is sent.
The Holy Father in the document “Evangelii Gaudium” invites us to reflect on the impact of
the new continent of internet and media which offer us a wonderful platform for evangelization
and joint action to work for the common good of humanity and the planet. Yet without proper
media education and personal integrity, we may fall for what Pope Francis termed as “digital
worldliness” that is opened and closed by a simple click. Instead of using this platform for
building up fraternity and evangelization, some have become addicted users of the internet for
self-gratification and entertainment.
St. John of the Cross in his Spiritual Canticle informs the soul of the reality of the threats of
the world which he refers to as the “wild beasts” in the 3rd Stanza. The internet can be a very good forum to satisfy the missionary’s self gratification and contentment. According to St. John of the Cross the temptations of the world are in three ways:
First, it makes her think she must live without its favor and lose her friends, reputation, importance and even wealth. Second...it makes her wonder how she will ever endure the
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permanent lack of contentment and delights of the world and all its comforts. The third…makes her think that tongues will rise up against her and mock her, that there will be many remarks and jeers, and that she will be considered almost worthless. 59
However, in the Precautions where St. John of the Cross advises a religious how to be freed of
all the obstacles incurred from the creatures of this world, he has put clearly how to free oneself
from the harm the world inflicts on the soul:
“First precaution, one should have equal love for and an equal forgetfulness of all persons…second precaution is to free oneself truly of the harm stemming from temporal goods and to moderate the excess of the appetite,… third precaution, to guard oneself in the community against all harm like against thinking about what happens in the community and even more against speaking of it” 60 Social media like WhatsApp and Facebook can be effective for sharing information and
building bridges of communication among us. However, there are instances of the abuse of the
same media to promote partisan interests and to avenge persons. We need to grow in
transparency and prudence in the use of the internet and educate ourselves better to use this
platform as evangelizers rather than as mere consumers.61 As a religious community
communications media should not become occasion for wasting time or escaping from the
demands of fraternal life in community. Nor should they prove harmful for your vocation or
become an obstacle to your life wholly dedicated to contemplation.62
2.5 Spiritual Worldliness as a Shield to Intimate Divine Communion
Spiritual worldliness prevents us from valuing and celebrating the goodness of the created world with the freedom of the children of God. It sheds its usual angelic garb and comes out in true colors in the hour of trials and suffering because worldliness slices away suffering and
59 KIERAN KAVANAUGH—O. RODRIGUEZ, the Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, 430. 60 Cf. KIERAN KAVANAUGH—O. RODRIGUEZ, the Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, 656-657. 61CF. Pope Francis, “Homily during Chrism Mass”, 24 March, 2016. 62 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Can. 666.
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obedience from the Paschal Mystery of Christ. There are many vestiges of spiritual worldliness
within us under various guises. Pope Francis addresses another serious temptation for Christians:
spiritual worldliness. He views this as a tremendous corruption, disguised as a good. It “hides
behind the appearance of piety and even love for the Church” when in fact it really consists in serving my own interests, not those of Christ (E.G. 93).
Pope Francis has warned about the menace of worldliness that afflicts the Church and robs her of her true mission in the world (E.G. 93-95). When worldly attitudes and values motivate our ministry and service to the people of God, we are under the spell of the virus of spiritual worldliness. Human glory and wellbeing is sought under the pretty facade of glorifying God.
But, what actually counts is performance, status, esteem, gains and comforts, but not dedication, self-donation, truth, goodness and the cross of Christ. In all these examples, closed and elite groups are formed. Looking down from on high, they constantly point out the mistakes of others, while discrediting those who raise questions.
Meanwhile the multitudes thirst for Christ. The Pope is convinced that “this stifling worldliness can only be healed by breathing in the pure air of the Holy Spirit who frees us from self-centeredness” (E.G. 97). When we are attached to these gratifications, persons, temporal and spiritual things become just a utility for us. We simply use them for our own pleasure and satisfaction. We are invited as a Church to constantly go out from ourselves, focused on Jesus and on our commitment to love our brothers and sisters especial the poor and the needy.
2.6 The Challenges of Selfishness and Spiritual Slot
In my experience to follow Christ means being open to others, being benevolent, having the ability to overcome selfishness. Pope Francis expressed in his document on “Joy of the
Gospel” that “At a time when we most need a missionary dynamism which will bring salt and
31 light to the world. This pastoral acedia can be caused by a number of things (See E.G. 82). The
Pope presented the reason why some people fall into this temptation is because they throw themselves into unrealistic projects and are not satisfied simply to do what they reasonably can.
Others, because they lack the patience to allow processes to mature; they want everything to fall from heaven.
Some others because they are attached to a few projects or vain dreams of success or others, because they have lost real contact with people and so depersonalize their work that they are more concerned with the road map than with the journey itself. Some fall into Acedia because they are unable to wait; they want to dominate the rhythm of life. Today’s obsession with immediate results makes it hard for pastoral workers to tolerate anything that smacks of disagreement, possible failure, criticism, the cross (E. G. 82).
Disillusioned with reality, with the Church and with themselves, they experience a constant temptation to cling to a faint melancholy, lacking in hope, which seizes the heart like “the most precious of the devil’s potions”. To say no to this challenges of selfishness and spiritual slot we are called to radiate light and communicate life, so that in the end we are not caught up in things that generate only darkness and inner weariness, and slowly consume all zeal for the apostolate.
For all this, I repeat: Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of the joy of evangelization! (E.G
83).
To accept God’s Will always and in every circumstance implies the renouncement of one’s will; it is impossible to be conformed to Jesus in everything without renouncement of one’s own
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selfish pleasures. All these means: love of God and neighbor lived in detachment, crosses,
sacrifices, self-denial.63
2.7 Challenges of Sterile Pessimism as a Shield for Joyful Fraternal Living
Pessimism is a form of worldliness found in many missionaries who glory in the past and see the dwindling number of vocations, closing of pastoral positions and aging of members with a very pessimistic mind. They look at the statistics and sociological predictions and foresee a slim future for the Congregation and for consecrated life (E.G.84, 85). For them the blessing of
God can come only in the way it used to be in their younger days. They are confused as to why
God has let the Church down by allowing all that is happening in the world now. According to
Blessed Francisco Palau, pessimism is presenting oneself lower than what one is.64
We miss the whole faith perspective of human history when the present history is sliced out from salvation history and looked through sociological lenses and predicts a gloomy future.
Pessimism closes the heart and mind and prevents us from welcoming and co-creating the emerging future that the Lord asks of us (Cf. E.G. 86). Nobody can go off to battle unless he is fully convinced of victory beforehand. If we start without confidence, we have already lost half the battle and we bury our talents. While painfully aware of our frailties, we have to march on without giving in, keeping in mind what the Lord said to St Paul: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Cor 12:9).
This temptation to sterile Pessimism can lead one to the temptation to let ourselves be led, rather than to lead. The Good Shepherd has the responsibility of guiding the sheep (cf. Jn 10:3-
4), of bringing them to fresh pastures and springs of flowing water (cf. Ps 23). Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of hope!
63 F. GABRIEL, Divine Intimacy, 580. 64 F. PALAU, Writing, Cat. Virtues, Lesn., 326.
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In this regard, according to Blessed Francisco Palau,
Faith is virtue because it does good to the person who possesses it. It makes him good believer, faithful to the revealed truth, member of the body of the Church, and participant of the Kingdom of heaven. It infuses in him the knowledge of those truths, which are the substance, foundation, and beginning of all that we hope from God. Faith directs our intellectual eye to the contemplation of its own object, which is God, the eternal truth, and assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, purifies the understanding of all the errors that it has regarding Divinity, its ultimate end and to all that leads to him; It infuses the holy fear, because it presents God as the highest good and as rewarded of all good and chastiser of evil.65
Pope Francis acknowledges that grief is also part of life. He understands the grief of people who
endure great suffering. “Yet slowly but surely we all have to let the joy of faith slowly revive as
a quiet yet firm trust, even amid the greatest distress: ‘My soul is bereft of peace; I have
forgotten what happiness is...But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love
of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end...’ (Lam 3:17, 21-23, 26).”
2.8 Challenges of Clericalism
Clericalism tarnishes the beauty of religious vocation by using clericalism as a source of
security and self-glory and seeing ourselves as untouchables. I am finally professed, so, what can
you do to me? The document reminds us that a “Religious” should instead be one who has taken
on the form of Christ to be a sacrifice flower, laying down his/her life in service of others;
starting from the service of the brethren in the community. This is what Fr. Francisco Palau in
his instruction to his daughters means, he said: It is convenient that you set an example of humility and obedience. My daughter, serve, be the last of all, humble yourself, this is what will authorize you; manage by obeying and humbling yourself; and to be the first you have to be the last.66
65 F. PALAU, Writing, Catechism of the Virtues, 350-351. 66 Cf. F. PALAU, Writing, Letters, 1271-1272.
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St. Teresa of Avila points out that lack of humility or pride is another challenge to practice love of God and love of neighbor. This lack of humility makes one to be much concern and preoccupied about one’s “honour” and esteem.67 In using the word “honour” St. Teresa is
presented as addressing the challenges of “thinking mainly of prestige, of all that raises one
above the other.68 To be detached from this attachment to honour, we need humility, no matter
who we are or what position we hold; as St. Teresa says: “there is no toxin in the world that kills
perfection(love of God and love of neighbor) as do honour.”
Blessed Francisco Palau in his letter to his daughters says: The first work of charity consists in becoming slaves and servants of one another. To serve, be a servant of all and all of you servant of one another, this is the peak of perfection, without this, perfection is an illusion. Look for what is sweet, pleasant and easy for others, and for you what is difficult to obtain; judge others favorably and unfavorably to one’s self; to condemn one’s self and praise others, to consider good and wise what others think and want, and nonsense to what one thinks, this is the work of divine love, and unions of fraternity [uniones de fraternidad] is based on charity.69 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
Be shepherds of the Church of God, which he bought with his own blood (Acts 20:28). This
temptation too, can lead one to the temptation to complain constantly. It is easy to always
complain about others, about the shortcomings of superiors, about the state of the Church and
society, about the lack of possibilities… But consecrated persons, through the Holy Spirit’s
anointing, are those who turn every obstacle into an opportunity, and not every difficulty into an excuse! The person who is always complaining is really someone who doesn’t want to work. It was for this reason that the Lord said to the pastors: “Lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees” (Heb 12:12; cf. Isa 35:3).
67 Cf. K. KAVANAUGH—O. RODRIGUEZ, The Collected Works of St. Teresa, 78-80. 68 Cf. K. KAVANAUGH, The way of Perfection, 141-142. 69 Cf. F. PALAU, Writing, Letters, ,1269-1270.
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On 24th April 2013, Pope Francis reminded us that the vocation of the consecrated person is to minister the mercy and tenderness of Christ; Explaining the priorities in the life of a consecrated person: To dispense to all the Word of God that he/she received with joy, to carry out the ministry of Christ, without being engrossed in his own concerns, but with those of Jesus
Christ, with constant joy and genuine love, being a minister not a functionary.70
2.9 Challenges of Careerism and Vain Glory
Another form of worldliness presented in the document is careerism. This is presented as manifesting itself in seeking self-glory by eyeing positions of governance of Institutions, pushing for self-promoting specializations and lobbying for leadership positions in the Congregation. The document warns us that without awareness, some of us fall into the trap of this kind of worldliness and sacrifice our time, energy and life itself on the altar of greed for power and positions, and consequently, remain in perpetual discontentment.
Nevertheless, it robs us of the capacity to appreciate the beauty of the unique action of the same Holy Spirit in each person and in each community and to celebrate the fundamental unity that binds us together into one Region of God. Such vain glory steals away from us, the happiness which a religious naturally feels about the good the God is doing in the Region through the members. Blessed Francisco Palau warns his spiritual daughter on this vain glory when he said to his daughters that "they should search for true humility. Do not delight in what you are not, do not boast about what you do not have, do not boast before others what you are not before God.
Do not desire vain glory, honor, and greatness. If it is not, you are proud like the demons. Sit at the last place; let it be your delight to be treated the way a worthless sinner
70 CF. Pope Francis, Homily, 24th April 2013.
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deserves. Be happy when you are insulted. Swallow and eat with pleasure and good appetite, the
contempt and disgrace."71 The problem here is that this temptation can equally make one to enter
into, the temptations to become like Pharaoh – we are in Egypt! – That is, to harden our hearts
and close them off to the Lord and our brothers and sisters. Here the temptation is to think that
we are better than others, and to lord it over them out of pride; to presume to be served rather
than to serve. It is a temptation that, from the very beginning, was present among the disciples,
who – as the Gospel tells us – on the way argued with one another about which of them was the greatest (cf. Mark 9:34). The antidote to this poison is: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).
2.10 Challenges of Business Mentality
Business mentality is an approach to apostolic activity from a managerial perspective as if we are a company running projects for profit. Certainly, we need the wisdom of social sciences and the principles of management and organization to run our apostolate and ministries and manage projects in proper ways. But, the purpose of all our missionary positions goes beyond managerial excellence and institutional gains. 72Reflecting on the way in which greed can corrupt
our hearts and weaken our faith, Pope Francis stressed that we can never serve God and money at
the same time. Money sickens our minds, poisons our thoughts, and even poisons our faith,
leading us down the path of jealousy, quarrels, suspicion and conflict.
The love of money is the root of all evil, because, while money begins by offering a sense of
wellbeing, if we are not careful wealth can quickly lead to vanity, self-importance and the sin of
pride.73 On 22nd June 2013, Pope Francis explained that we often remain trapped in the desire to
71Cf. F. PALAU, Writings, Catechism of the Virtues, 623. 72 M. VATTAMATTAM, Called To Radiate The Joy Of The Gospel In The World Today, 65. 73 CF. POPE Francis, Homily,20th Sept, 2013.
37 accumulate riches to safeguard the future. Business mentality makes us to forget that we are children of God. That riches and worldly anxieties choke the Word of God and do not allow it to grow.74 Blessed Francisco Palau says, "You know how much i esteem poverty. Our Lord got me married to her.75 Poverty has strong sense of renouncement and responsibility before material goods.
For Blessed Francisco Palau, the foundation of his poverty is the love of God: “all that is not
God’s and his love I consider very cheap and all possessions annoys me”.76 This temptation leads to the temptation to keep walking without direction or destination. According to Pope
Francis during his apostolic journey of his holiness to Egypt (28-29 April 2017) he says:
Consecrated men and women can lose their identity and begin to be “neither fish nor fowl”. They can live with a heart between God and worldliness. They can forget their first love (cf. Rev 2:4). Indeed, when they lose clear and solid identity, consecrated men and women end up walking aimlessly; instead of leading others, they scatter them. Your identity as sons and daughters of the Church is to be Copts – rooted in your noble and ancient origins – and to be Catholics – part of the one and universal Church: like a tree that, the more deeply rooted it is in the earth, the higher it reaches to the heavens! (Pope Francis in Egypt 28-29 April 2017).
2.11 Dualistic Thinking and Excessive Rationalism
The tendency to see and judge everything in terms of black and white, good and bad, true and false, friend or foe, moral or immoral makes joyful community life and authentic relationships difficult. Even before understanding what is happening or knowing a person, one would have made the judgment in favor or against. 77 This paper would certainly fail its purpose when it is only analyzed and studied to make a judgment about its orthodoxy rather than allow it to challenge our missionaries to live the joy of their missionary life.
74 CF. POPE Francis, Homily,22th June, 2013. 75 F. PALAU, Writings, Letter, 1175. 76 F. PALAU, Writings, Letter, 1120. 77 Cf. M. VATTAMATTAM Called To Radiate The Joy Of The Gospel In The World Today, 73.
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Dualistic thinking prevents us from seeing the whole picture, reject the wisdom of a
different perspective and keeps shut the door that opens to the surprises of God in our history.
Ideas divide and ideologies tend to destroy the dissidents. The Spirit of the Lord unites our hearts and holds our differences in a creative tension in order to promote growth.78 We are invited to
accommodate the opinion of others in our relationships and in the mission of Christ. Critical
thinking is a gift that God has given to humans to protect from naïve subjectivism. Reason is a
good servant to assist the search for truth and goodness, but a bad master when it usurps the
space of faith, mystery and transcendence in human life.
We missionaries will do well if we, like Mary, contemplate the mystery of God’s action
in our life and cooperate with the Holy Spirit, rather than trying to take control of it by human
ingenuities.
2.12 Activism and Lethargy
It is a virus that afflicts consecrated men and women when he or she progressively
abandons his or her prayer life to give more time for his or her busy apostolic activities. It was a
surprise for many when Pope Francis asked the consecrated men and women to adore the Lord as
the first priority. He also mentioned that it is a deficiency in the Church today. We run the danger
of engaging in many apostolic activities with an empty heart when we do not spend time before
the Lord. Unless the fire of the Holy Spirit burns in our hearts, we cannot be missionaries full of
fervor, joy, generosity, courage, boundless love and attraction (Cf. E.G. 261). Pope Francis
reiterated the need to recover a contemplative spirit to appreciate the divine treasures entrusted to
us, which we share with others (Cf. E.G. 264).
78Cf. Ibid, 74.
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The virus of activism has cost many religious missionaries their own vocation. Action without contemplation is like a firework that, after a fanciful show in the air, falls down on the ground as a charred empty shell. Perhaps, a more dampening impact on the missionary spirit of a community is from the laid-back missionaries who settle with the minimum and deride the hardworking members of the community. When a missionary succumbs to lethargy and settles with mediocrity in life and mission, it is likely that amusements and addictions occupy his heart and turn him away from the joy of missionary commitment.
When it happens, we should do all means possible to help the missionary recover his ‘love for the Lord he had at first’ (Cf. Rev 2:4). Commitment to excellence and quality in all that we do is a personal way of expressing joy and gratitude to our congregational vocation.
Conclusion
Having dealt with the above challenges of living the two commandments of love one can deduce that challenges are not without solution. They are difficult but not impossible to overcome. This is because looking at the challenges one can already start asking question of what to do to overcome them. These challenges now become an avenue for looking for a solution and how to overcome the situation. Finally, religious persons should bear in mind that he/she will surely meet challenges and so should be prepared to face them.
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CHAPTER THREE
TOWARDS BETTER LIVING OF THE VALUES OF THE TWO COMMANDMENTS
Introduction
While we remain alert to the temptations and illnesses that drain our love of God and
neighbor, missionary vitality, it is more important to cultivate and strengthen the virtues and
skills that are necessary for our missionary journey and the solution in living the values of love
God and love of neighbor. We propose the following as important in our times: living the
beatitude, prayer and contemplation, Response to listening, knowing one self, discernment,
mindfulness, smile, appreciative attitudes to others, holistic thinking, Blessed Francisco Palau’s
Virtues, integration of shadows, integral self- care, asceticism, fraternal living and finally
imitation of Mary the Mother of God.
3.1 Living the Beatitudes as a New Relationship Brought about by Christ
The Beatitudes are the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:1-10).
Jesus teaches us that if we live according to the Beatitudes, we will live a happy Christian life.
The Beatitudes fulfill God’s promises made to Abraham and his descendants and describe the rewards in the here and now that will be ours as loyal followers of Christ. 79 The Beatitudes are
at the heart of Jesus' preaching. The Decalogue, the Sermon on the Mount, and the apostolic
catechesis describe for us the paths that lead to the Kingdom of heaven (CCC.1724). The
Beatitudes reveal a world of grace and abundance and we hope and pray that as you walk
through Beatitudes Walk, you will be filled with God’s hope and peace.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt.5:3). “Poor in
Spirit” means to be humble. To have poverty of spirit means to be completely empty and open to
79Cf. Brochure, “The Beatitudes Walk”, Jan. 8th 2018.
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the Word of God. Blessed Francisco presents poverty to the sisters as one that generate freedom
for the radical following of Christ: to follow Jesus it is necessary to cut all chains, bonds, cord
and even the thread that impede our progress... by poverty everything that is exterior is
renounced: clothes, food, money, friend, relation possessions etc,80 free to love and to be loved.
“When none of you has anything, you will be always united and at peace with Jesus Christ.”81
Poverty is at the service of love. Humility brings openness and an inner peace, allowing
one to do the will of God. “Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt 5:4).
If we are humble and appreciate that all of our gifts and blessings come from God, we grow in
love and gratitude for Jesus Christ our Savior. This can produce mourning and regret over our
own sins and the sins of this world, for we have hurt the one who has been so good to us.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt.5:5). A humble person becomes meek, or
becomes gentle and kind, and exhibits a docility of spirit, even in the face of adversity and hardship.
Obedience and submission to the will of God will bring one peace in this world and the next.
“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt.5: 6)
Justice and righteousness in the New Covenant indicate the fulfillment of God’s will in your heart and soul. It is not mere observance of the Law (Matt. 5:20), but rather an expression of brotherly love (1 John
3:10) where all are treated equally. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7)
Mercy is the loving disposition towards those who suffer distress. Love, compassion, and forgiveness towards one’s neighbor will bring peace in your relationships. “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” (Matt 5:8). To be pure of heart means to be free of all selfish intentions and self-seeking desires. Such an act is pure love. An act of pure and selfless giving brings happiness to all.
80 F. PALAU, Writings, Legislation Const., 1387. 81 Cf. F. PALAU, Writings, Letter, 1054, 1055.
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“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9). Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you”. Peace is also a fruit of the Spirit.
Peacemakers not only live peaceful lives but also try to bring peace and friendship to others, and to preserve peace between God and men and women. But one cannot give to others what one does not possess. Praying for peace will help change your heart.
“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the
Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt.5:10). Jesus said many times that those who follow him will be persecuted - “If they persecute me, they will persecute you”. The Lord promised that those who suffer for his sake will be rewarded with the Kingdom of Heaven.
3.2 Response to Intense Prayer and Contemplation
Religious life cannot be sustained without a deep life of prayer, individual, communal, and liturgical life. The religious who embraces concretely a life of total consecration is called to know the risen Lord by a warm, personal knowledge, and to know him as one with whom he or she is personally in communion: "This is eternal life: to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent" (John 17:3). Knowledge of him in faith brings love. This joy of love and knowledge is brought about in many ways, but fundamentally, and as an essential and necessary means, through individual and community encounter with God in prayer.
Pope Paul VI in his apostolic exhortation expresses that, To the extent that you carry on
external activities it is necessary that you should learn to pass from these activities to the life of
recollection, in which the vigor of your souls is renewed (E.T. 35). The spirit of prayer
permeating fraternal life. Pope Paul VI teaches that the Holy Spirit also gives you the grace to
discover the image of the Lord in the hearts of men, and teaches you to love them as brothers and
sisters. Again, He helps you to see the manifestations of His love in events (E.T. 44). The Pope
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continued to advise the consecrated men and women to be conscious of the importance of prayer
in their lives and learn to devote themselves to it generously.
Fr Palau affirmed this when he said: Prayer is the only medicine left for the Church that it
is saved, and in order that this prayer be done rightly the power of the Holy Spirit is necessary.82
The interior man is aware that times of silence are demanded by love of God. Francisco Palau
gives prayer a very important place in many of his works. In his letter to Eugenia Guerin he advised her to enter into the temple of her soul; to remain there in silence and listen to the voice of her King Solomon who always speaks to her from the throne of the altar that is deep in her heart.83 He advised her to practice this faithfully, carefully and perfectly. Fr. Palau always asked
for God’s light in order to know his will. He urges his daughters to commend him to God in
order that his steps and project may be blessed and guided by him.84
In letter 38:2 “God's great work in man takes place in the interior”85 Palau equally talks
about the “two unions of the soul of man and God which is worked out in meditation, silence and
in the interior recollection.”86 Palau is a man of the cave and solitude, he said that God has
prepared for him solitude in the island in such a pleasant place to the spirit that he would not dare
to desire or ask for anything better.87 In his book “Struggle of the Soul with God” Francisco
Palau says that in order that the sins of the human person would not hamper the effect of prayer,
Jesus Christ satisfied fully the divine justice with his life, passion and death.
He redeemed us with the price of his blood from the slavery in which Satan led us and merited for us glory, with all the graces and aids that are necessary to obtain it. God in his
82 Carmelite Missionaries, Legacy and Testimony. 167. 83 Cf. F. PALAU, Writings, Letters, 1039. 84 Cf. F. PALAU, Writings, Letters, 1048. 85 Cf. F. PALAU, Writings, Letters, 1134. 86 Cf. F. PALAU, Writings, Letters, 1135. 87 Cf. F. PALAU, Writings, Letters, 1139.
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providence has ordered not to redeem our misfortunes not to grant his graces unless through
prayer and that some be saved through the prayer of others. The redeemer came and by means of
uninterrupted prayer reconciled the world with the Father.88
At the centre of the prayer of Blessed Francisco Palau is the Eucharist. He said that the host we offer daily to the Father on our alters together with our prayers not only have the purpose of renewing the memory of the life, passion and death of Jesus Christ, but also of forcing the
God of kindness to deign to apply the redemption of his son to the nation, province, city, town, or to those persons to whom the mass is celebrated or who attend it. In order that the prayer of
Jesus Christ and the fruit of his redemption be applied to a certain nation or people, in order that they will be someone to enlighten it through the preaching of the gospel and administer to it the sacraments, is necessary someone or many had first conquered that people and had reconciled it with God with loud cries, supplication, prayers and sacrifices.89
It is through the Holy Spirit who knows how to ask in us; it is only through His power
that we obtain what we ask for.90 Looking at the above it is very clear that prayer has an
important place in the life of Francisco Palau. So with this regard we can say that prayer is the solution to every challenge we may encounter in our daily life. When you encounter God in prayer you will be able to live out your commitment, so that instead of spending time in gossiping, you could use that precious time in praying for the suffering members of the Church, the wounded Church. This also will help you to be at peace with whom God has created you to be, it will help you to be more hopeful and faithful to God. In prayer you will learn to say no to the spirit of sterile pessimism that robs your hope and confidence in God’s giving gifts.
88 Cf. F. PALAU, Writings, Struggle of the soul with God, 35. 89 Cf. F. PALAU, Writings, Struggle of the Soul with God, 35-36. 90 Cf. F. PALAU, Writings, Struggle of the Soul with God, 42.
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3.3 Self Knowledge and Knowledge of God
Self-knowledge is a virtue that St. Teresa of Avila said must never be neglected: “Self- knowledge is so important that, even if you were raised right up to the heavens, I should like you never to relax your cultivation of it.”91 Genuine self-knowledge will result in humility — never
in complacency. By better understanding of ourselves and our loved ones, we will be able to
improve ourselves and grow in our spiritual lives, and help our children and spouses to become
successful and holy individuals as well.92 If I know myself and at home with whom God has created me to be I will be able to appreciate and thank God for the gifts and talents my sisters and brothers have instead of envying them.
How are we to really arrive at a knowledge of our imperfections which is honest, sincere, humble and true? There are several sources that we can take and each has their place. They are divided in three, the first is others, the second is our selves the last one is God. It would behoove us to take a little time and reflect upon these three sources since they can provide a great deal of knowledge about ourselves. Another very good way to come to knowledge of ourselves is to choose a spiritual director and place ourselves under his guidance. If we confess regularly and discuss regularly our spiritual lives with a spiritual director, he can often begin to detect patterns of sinfulness and trace them back to imperfections. 93
The second source of self-knowledge is ourselves. Perhaps the most direct way for us to know ourselves is through our own conscience. The conscience is not a separate faculty from the intellect; rather it refers to an act of the intellect in which we judge the sinfulness of our past actions. Another aspect of ourselves is how we react to people, things and God. How we react to things can reveal how lowly we are. If we have attachments to things and something happens to them we often become enraged or sorrowed. Lastly, we can always ask God directly to reveal ourselves to us so that we can come to knowledge of our hidden faults and failings. I have found it to be the most efficacious and fruitful; it is also the hardest and most painful.94
When we understand our temperaments, we can begin to master those inclinations or
unpleasant reactions that may prevent our growth in virtue and in love. We will develop greater
91 T. AVILA, Interior Castle, trans. Allison Peers (New York: Doubleday, 1989), 38. 92T. AVILA, Interior Castle, trans. Allison Peers (New York: Doubleday, 1989), 38. 93 Cf. CHAD RIPPERGER, “Self-Knowledge”,14-16. 94C. RIPPERGER LINCOLN, “Self-Knowledge Conference, Day of Recollection”, 16-24.
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compassion for others and will stand ready to encourage and strengthen our loved ones — to
begin that transformation of hearts which, through the grace of God, will build a civilization of
life and love here on earth and ultimately, intimate friendship with him. At the dawn of human
consciousness, when people first gained the ability to reflect upon the world around them, it
seems likely that they turned the spotlight of consciousness inward to try to understand
themselves.
St Teresa of Avila adds, “I believe we shall never learn to know ourselves except by
endeavoring to know God, for, beholding His greatness we are struck by our own baseness” 95
People who are completely out of touch with their abilities, traits, and feelings are likely to be
unhappy with themselves and insufferable around others. Indeed, a common definition of mental
illness is a loss of touch with reality, including one’s own traits and capabilities.
Self-knowledge is in the service of love of others because it makes one humble, and humility is the mother and nurse of charity. Coming to know one’s own nothingness and sinfulness, leads to knowledge of God as Creator and Redeemer, and appreciation of God’s tremendous love for each person, especially revealed in Christ crucified. This knowledge of God makes one see the beauty and dignity of the human being created in God’s image and likeness, opens for recognition of the value of every other person and to a greater love for them.
Like the Gospel itself, desiring to love God, knowing oneself is a truly liberating
doctrine, freeing the one who lives by it from his or her false ideas - too small or too big - about
themselves, and from false images of God, setting them free to become fully human and to live
the greatness to which they are called: to know and love as God knows and loves. Lastly, we can
ask Our Lady for this knowledge as well. For she who is the Mediatrix of all grace, can send the
95 ST TERESA OF AVILA, 1577.
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grace necessary for us to see our sinfulness and imperfections. We can also take heart in
knowing that we have Our Lady as a model of perfect self knowledge.
3.4 Listening
Many of the propositions of Blessed Francisco Palau and message from the Pastoral visits of the General Council, Carmelite Missionaries is related to discernment, community life, shared mission and dialogue with cultures and religions, and intercultural formation, require the basic capacity of listening. Sadly, the virtue of listening is spoken about more than being practiced.
Many of us often start a dialogue with minds full of prejudices and ideas so that there is very little space left to understand what the other is communicating verbally and nonverbally.
Dialogue becomes merely a composite of two monologues. The capacity to listen to God, others and to one’s own inner movements is necessary for authentic discernment, community living and intercultural and inter-religious dialogue.
3.1 Discernment
As a religious missionary “with Spirit”, the most important instrument available to us to walk with the Spirit is discernment. It helps us to seek what the Lord is asking of us in every situation of decision making at the level of the person and community. The life of our Founder offers us the best example of how a missionary seeks to know God’s will at each moment of his life. Discernment is like a compass that indicates the direction of God’s will for us. When we need to make important decisions, we shall make it a habit to pray, as Palau did, asking the Lord,
“Lord what would you have me do?” (Acts 22:10).
Fr. Palau has learnt from the tradition of Carmelite, his order how to make a good discernment and he left it as a legacy in the tradition of the Congregation. The introspective question “what does it serve?” Mt 16:26. is a right tool to reach the soul when we are under inner
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pressure or external influences to act in the absence of the clear voice of the conscience. . It pains
me to see that important life changing decisions are taken by some of our priest and religious
missionaries very casually according to the pressures of compulsive thoughts and feelings
without any reference to know what God would want from them in such a situation.
We need to reinforce a culture of discernment in all our decision-making processes. It
would help us to objectify many seducing voices inside and outside of us and listen to the soft
whisper of the Spirit indicating what is true and really good in contrast to what is false or apparently good. Pope Francis invites the Major Organisms to arrange programs to help our missionaries to know and practice the art of discernment in their everyday lives.
3.4 Mindfulness
Watchfulness and alertness are important qualities that the disciples of Jesus and the early
Christians were often reminded to cultivate. They were asked to be aware of the lure of false prophets and the leaven of Pharisees (Cf. Matt 7:15; 24:4-5; Mark 8:15; Rom 16:17,) to keep watching and praying not to enter into temptations (Cf. Mark 14:38; Luke 12:15), and to be on guard against every form of greed and inner indisposition (Cf. Luke 12:15, 1 Pet 5:8.).
Watchfulness is the required quality for waiting on the coming of the Lord (Cf. Matt 24:42;
25:13; Mark 13:35). The term “mindfulness” is used more frequently today to express the state of watchfulness.
In the modern world, we are very attentive to virus threats, health alerts and climatic warning. We take precautions against the danger of hacking of computers and stealing material goods. Unfortunately, most of us are not attentive to the threats to our vocational life and spiritual health. We need to cultivate mindfulness to take care of our inner world from being overtaken by our own emotions and ideas and to be alert to the enticements from outside.
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Mindfulness will keep us to be sensitive to the signs of the times. The virtues of resilience and
endurance in times of trials and conscious cooperation with the will of God require a good level
of mindfulness. Mindless acts often lead to unfortunate consequences. It is important for a joyful
life to cultivate mindfulness.
3.5 Smile
I suggest that our missionaries cherish and use the gift of a smile to witness and proclaim
the joy of the Gospel to our brothers and sisters. A smile is the flower that blooms on the soil of
gratitude and joy in the heart, a priceless gift of exchange among the people of beatitudes. The
Bible attests that “The light of the eyes rejoices the heart” and “a cheerful heart is a good
medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 15:30; 17:22). It takes a
contemplative heart to offer an authentic smile to someone. An artificially simulated smile
withers as quickly as a tender flower offered to please a maiden.
Smile relativizes what is trivial in life and appreciates what is worthy of love. It is healthy to cultivate the “wisdom smile” that blooms as we take cognizance of our own follies and mistakes, and the follies of others.96 This smile has the glow of understanding. A caring smile is
the affirmation of the divine image in the other. Our communities and apostolic venues will have
more liveliness if we can give God’s smile to each other rather than casting cold, fault-finding
glances at their limitations. Our soul replenishes on the smile of God. That is why we pray with
the psalmist, “Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord” (Ps 4:6).
96Cf. M. VATTAMATTAM, Called To Radiate The Joy Of The Gospel In The World Today, 81.
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You may recall the famous story of Leo Tolstoy about an Angel who was sent to the earth to find answers for three questions for resenting the decision of God. He smiles each time he discovered the wisdom of God’s actions.97
3.6 Appreciative Attitude to Others
The gift of rejoicing in the achievements and talents of others is necessary for a missionary to celebrate communion in community life and to promote shared mission. This is perhaps the first gift of God’s love poured in our hearts, which helps to see the other as God’s grace and gift, and never as an enemy or a threat. 98 The other is discovered as a parable of God’s love, a brother or a sister still on the road to holiness. Skills and talents of the other are gifts of
God for you and others, and evoke gratitude. Limitations of the other can help develop our capacity for compassion and fortitude to accept the other in his condition. An appreciative approach enables us to offer others apt fraternal correction to overcome their limitations if possible.99
Authentic encounter with the mystery of God prepares us to encounter the deepest mystery of the other, which transcends their personal strengths and weaknesses as well as their cultural, ethnic, and gender wrappings. Respect and love for the other safeguards subject-to- subject relationship which precludes any treatment of the other as an object. An appreciative attitude for the other born of Gospel love is a condition for our pastoral relationship with people especially the poor in order to love them, as Jesus loves, “to the very end” (Jn 13:1). Any other form of love tends to manipulate and use the poor for ego-centric gains.
97 Cf. M. VATTAMATTAM, Called To Radiate The Joy Of The Gospel In The World Today , 81. 98 M. VATTAMATTAM, Called To Radiate The Joy Of The Gospel In The World Today , 82. 99M. VATTAMATTAM, Called To Radiate The Joy Of The Gospel In The World Today ,82.
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3.7 Holistic Thinking
The capacity to hold differences within a comprehensive understanding of reality is another important gift for a missionary to experience the beauty of his faith and walk to various existential peripheries of human life. A dualistic mind cannot savor the mystery of one and triune
God, the mystery of incarnation, Mary as mother and virgin, Church as communion, different
Charisms in harmonious unity, and the human condition as sinful and redeemed.100 An integral
Christian vision of life offers the space to listen to differences of ideas and perspectives. It helps us to decipher the seeds of goodness and truth in all kinds of diversity that surrounds us.
Conflicts in community are better handled when differences and disagreements are viewed as different perspectives of the same issue. I think the antidote to many “isms” of rigid and narrow views of life (individualism, clericalism, tribalism, caste-ism etc.) is to have a comprehensive view of reality by pooling one’s own perspective with that of others.
3.8 Blessed Francisco Palau’s Virtues
Our Founder gave much importance to the cultivation of virtues that he considered essential for a missionary and Carmelite Missionaries, which are the supernatural virtues, faith, hope and charity.101 They are very relevant today for us to be effective especially in the context
of many worldly values that contaminate young minds today. The first in his list of other virtues
is the foundational virtue of humility, which helps one to be grounded in the reality of one’s own
existence and the mercy of God who saves him her. 102An arrogant, pompous and self-made
missionary cannot give witness to the joy of the Gospel.
100 M. VATTAMATTAM, Called To Radiate The Joy Of The Gospel In The World Today , 83. 101 F. PALAU, Writing, Catechism of the Virtues, 342-369. 102 F. PALAU, in Writing, Catechism of the Virtues, 339-342.
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The other virtue of poverty, meekness, modesty and mortification dissipate selfishness and
sets one’s heart on fire with God’s love. 103This self-emptying love makes a missionary credible
and approachable to the people of God. St. Teresa of Avila pointed out that detachment from
oneself and from one’s ego is much harder than detachment from external things. The “self” she
calls a “thief” which robs us of freedom of spirit which we need to reach without any
hindrance.104 Teresa points out two things which pose a challenge to detachment from the self interest. They are self love and lack of humility.
For St. John of the Cross, what makes it difficult for us to detach from both temporal and
spiritual things is our disordered desire to cling to the gratification we derived from them such
that they fill our hearts and become our only motivation in doing whatever we do. For St. John
detachment is not simply giving up what one possesses but “stripping away the disordered
desires for gratifications in those things.”105 We have come across honest and committed
missionaries who scare away people because they have difficulty integrating their anger and
frustration.
Our love for God and his people invite us to surrender the un-evangelized parts of our own
lives to Christ through the practice of virtues and to engage our whole being in the mission of
Christ. The other is discovered as a parable of God’s love, a brother or a sister still on the road to
holiness. Skills and talents of the other are gifts of God for you and others, and evoke gratitude.
Limitations of the other can help develop our capacity for compassion and fortitude to accept the
other in his condition. An appreciative approach enables us to offer others apt fraternal
correction to overcome their limitations if possible. Authentic encounter with the mystery of God
103 Ibid, 369-379. 104 Cf. K. KAVANAUGH—O. RODRIGUEZ, The Collected Works of St. Teresa, 76. 105 I. MATTHEW, “The Impact of God”, 39-40.
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prepares us to encounter the deepest mystery of the other, which transcends their personal
strengths and weaknesses as well as their cultural, ethnic, and gender wrappings.
Respect and love for the other safeguards subject-to-subject relationship which precludes any treatment of the other as an object.106 An appreciative attitude for the other born of Gospel love is a condition for our pastoral relationship with people especially the poor in order to love them, as Jesus loves, “to the very end” (John 13:1). Any other form of love tends to manipulate and use the poor for ego-centric gains.
3.9 Integration of Shadows
It is naïve for a missionary to pretend to live his/her missionary ideals without struggle and failures as if he/she is free from the influence of original sin and concupiscence. A mature missionary learns to integrate the shadow side of his/her life by recognizing and honestly owning
it up. It could be his hurts, wounds, sins, sense of rejection and other collected hurt feelings from
his/her past. What is not integrated is disintegrating in one’s life.107 People with unhealed
wounds wound others and collect more hurts. In certain cases, one may need professional help to
integrate his brokenness. In the normal context, we have wonderful resources in the Church to
help us live healthy and integrated lives at the service of the people of God.
For example, the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist; meditation, prayer methods, and the practice of Spiritual Direction. I recommend all our missionaries to consciously appreciate and benefit from these priceless resources in the Church. Some of the greatest difficulties of many of us who live in the community is that we lack self-confidence. We do not believe in ourselves, our abilities and our uniqueness as people created in the image and lankness
106 M. VATTAMATTAM, Called To Radiate The Joy Of The Gospel In The World Today , 84. 107 M. VATTAMATTAM, Called To Radiate The Joy Of The Gospel In The World Today, 85.
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of God. St. Paul reminds us that we are God’s work of art (Eph. 2:10)—we are invited to live like that.
In fact we are reminded of this in the post synodal exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI
“conversion is possible only if one is sustained by the convictions of faith, supported by genuine catechesis. The Word of God and the testimony of life go together” (Africae Munus, no 32).
Sometimes we are afraid of the darkness within us; our emotional or sexual problems.108 Growth
comes when we are able to trust others and so trust ourselves; when we accept that God and
others are part of our growth in the struggles of the daily life.
In religious life, this is both a challenge and an accomplishment that one has to work at.
Many religious do not seem to value maturity as something to strive for. In ordinary sense of life,
everyone moves from one stage to the next by successfully going through certain trials,
transitions and challenges.
3.10 Integral Self-Care
Love for the mission prompt us to keep ourselves fit for missionary commitment in any
situation. Taking care of our intellectual, moral, emotional, and spiritual and formation as well as
proper physical health care form vital part of our missionary commitment because we want to
offer the best of ourselves to God and to his people. “According to Fr. Mathew CMF, in the
Evangelii Gaudium by Pope Francis, It is edifying to see many of our missionaries serving
tirelessly with a young missionary heart even in their advanced age. Many of them keep
themselves intellectually up to date and physically fit to serve the community because they
practice the art of holistic self-care in order to care for others.”109
108M. VATTAMATTAM, Called To Radiate The Joy Of The Gospel In The World Today , 85. 109 M. VATTAMATTAM, Called To Radiate The Joy Of The Gospel In The World Today, 86.
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They know how to embrace eventual illness, and physical and mental deterioration of old
age with the same missionary love. It is love of Christ that urges a missionary on both in health and in illness to serve the Lord. It is sad to see some missionaries who spend up their health and energy in inordinate living habits and march towards early retirement already in their middle age.
Missionary care of health is different from the cult of body for self-promotion. I urge our
missionaries to give due attention to their holistic wellbeing and integrity of life so that they can
offer themselves to the Lord as fitting instruments for the proclamation of the Gospel.
3.11 Response to the Asceticism
The practice of asceticism, by drawing upon all those means that the Church proposes for
self-control and the purification of the heart, is also a path to liberation from “worldliness”.
Asceticism fosters a life in accordance with the interior logic of gospel, which is that of gift,
especially the gift of self as the natural response to the first and only love of your life. In this way
you will be able to respond not only to the expectation of your brothers and sisters, but also to
the moral and spiritual demands inherent in the three evangelical counsels that you professed
with a solemn vow.110
Your life of complete self-giving thus takes on a powerful prophetic meaning. Your
moderation, your detachment from material things, your self-surrender in obedience, your
transparent relationships these become all the more radical and demanding as a result of your
free renunciation “of space’, of contacts, of so many benefits of creation…as a particular way of
offering your body.111 According to Pope Francis in a document called “Seeking the face of
God”: Your choice of a life of set- aside becomes an eloquent sign of fidelity for our globalised
110 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Can. 666. 111 CF. Conclusion of Holy Mass, 2 February 2016: L’Osservatore Romano, February 4, 2016, 6; Code of Canon Law, Cann. 599-601; 1191-1192.
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world, accustomed to increasingly rapid and easy relocation, with the risk that many persons
never sink roots in any one place.
In the life of the cloister, fraternal relationships become even more demanding, since
interaction in such communities is constant and close (S.G. 30). He continued that by remaining
close to your brothers and sisters despite disagreement needing to be settled, tension and
conflicts to be resolved, and weaknesses to be accepted, you set a helpful example to the People
of God and to today’s world, so often rent by conflict and division. The path of asceticism is also
a means of acknowledging your own weakness and entrusting it to the tender mercy of God and
the community (S. G. 31).
The commitment to asceticism is necessary for caring out with love and fidelity our daily
responsibilities, for seeing them as opportunities to share in the lot of our many brothers and
sisters throughout the world, and as a silent and fruitful offering for their needs (S. G. 30).
According to Pope Paul VI, the discipline and silence necessary for prayer is a reminder that consecration by the vows of religion requires a certain asceticism of life "embracing the whole being" (E.T. 46). Asceticism calls for the self-giving without which it is not possible to live either a good community life or a fruitful mission. Indeed, without such austerity and renunciation, their consecration itself can be affected.
This is because there cannot be a public witness to Christ poor, chaste, and obedient without asceticism (E.T. 29).
3.12 Response to Communion and Fraternity
In response to communion and fraternity, it must always be remembered that, for
religious men and women, fulfillment comes through their communities. One who tries to live an
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independent life, detached from community, has surely not taken the secure path to the
perfection of his or her own state. Consecrated life, a particular school of love (specialis caritatis
schola), is shaped in its manifold forms of fraternity by the Holy Spirit, because “where the
community is, there is the Spirit of God; and where the Spirit of God is, there is the community and all grace.”We esteem community as a place rich in mystery and “a special experience of the light which shines forth from the Incarnate Word” (K.W. 45).
Community life shows us that it is possible to live as sisters/brothers and to be united even when coming from different ethnic or racial backgrounds (Cf. Ps 133:1). It can and must enable people to see and believe that today in Africa, those men and women who follow Jesus
Christ find in him the secret of living happily together: “mutual love and fraternal communion, strengthened daily by the Eucharist and the liturgy of the hours” (Pope Benedict XVI, Africae.
Munus, no. 117). Community is the place where sisters/brothers share their lives, express their shared charism, share their ministry, spirituality, learn to support each other in their vocational journey and where formation takes place (V.C. 67).
But also, community life presents the greatest challenges. It is in the community that our limitations are revealed to us, where we discover our weaknesses, our egoism, and lack of forgiveness, our emotional and sexual blocks, our frustrations and hatred.112 It is in the
community that we realize how far away we are from the call of Jesus Christ to love our neighbor as he loved us (Jn. 15). True community is librating to the individual, lived positively, community can help individual develop a since of mutual trust that goes beyond any tribal affiliations and loyalties. Community life makes personal relationships possible and so can help people to transcend these challenges. It as well safeguards us.
112 CF. VANIER, Community and Growth, 17.
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We are called, then, to see ourselves as a fraternity open to the complementarily of meeting in fellowship those who are different, so as to grow in unity: “Nor do people who wholeheartedly enter into the life of a community need to lose their individualism or hide their identity; instead, they receive new impulses to personal growth” (K.W. 46). May our communities be places where the mystery of the human touches the divine mystery, in the experience of the Gospel. “The community supports the whole of the apostolate. At times religious communities are fraught with tensions, and risk becoming individualistic and scattered, whereas what is needed is deep communication and authentic relationships (Cf. K. W. 46).
The Pope continued that humanizing power of the Gospel is witnessed in fraternity lived in community and is created through welcome, respect, mutual help, understanding, kindness, forgiveness and joy.” The community in this way becomes a home in which we live according to the difference made by the Gospel. The community that sits at table and recognizes Jesus in the breaking of the bread (cf. Luke 24:13-35) is also the place in which each one recognizes his frailty. Fraternity does not produce perfect relationships but welcomes the limitations of all and takes them to heart and to prayer as a wound inflicted on the commandment of love (cf. John
13:31-35): a place where the Paschal mystery brings healing and where unity grows.
Carmelite Missionaries are called by God to witness this fraternity in the heart of the
Church. In the community they foster those attitudes which are characteristics of the Christian community (cf. Rom. 12): mutual acceptance, service, appreciation of persons, forgiveness and understanding, sincere communication in truth and in love, and mutual edification as a contribution to community building.113 Fr Palau in his writings affirmed what is in the second
113 Carmelite Missionaries, “Communion and Hope, XV General chapter”, Rome 1982.
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volume of the book written by St. Luke, that is in (Acts 2, 44-46; 4, 32); there the fraternity were
advised: that they should be of one heart animated by one and the same spirit.114
He continued his teaching using what is the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 4:32) that, if all of you constitute one heart, if that heart is animated, vivified, guided and led by the Spirit of God, with what abundance God will shower his graces upon you! Be humble, submissive, ready, joyful, simple, without reasoning, without forming one’s opinion, without contradicting the sisters who directs. Obey them as you obey God, because they represent God.115 Observing these
virtues, you will live in peace and will build a house where God dwells and takes delight. God is
the prince of peace and dwells only in hearts united by love. Being united, go together,
captivated by the chains of God’s love.
“Community is only a community when the majority of its members is making the
transition from the community for myself for the community when each person’s heart is
opening to all the others, without any exception. This is the movement from egoism to love, from
death to resurrection; it is the Easter, the Passover of the Lord. It is also the passing from a land
of slavery to a promised land, the land of interior freedom”116
3.13 Imitation of Mary the Mother of God
To the Virgin Mary we turn our eyes and hearts in this final reflection on the Character
Traits in the Work of the Holy Angels. She is our Mother, our life, our sweetness and our hope.
How fitting to turn to her so that she, who formed Jesus, forms us too. We want to learn how to
love as she does. Truly, Mary is God send! From her Immaculate Conception to the Triumph of
114 F. PALAU, Writings, Letter, 1053-1055. 115 F. PALAU, Writings, Letter, 1053-1055. 116 VANIER, Community and Growth, 22.
60 her Immaculate Heart she is a “gospel”, revealing how divine love can and should form and animate the human heart. 117
Become a little child once more and go confidently to your tender Mother; she loves you beyond telling. Let her touch you in love; in this way you will learn to love as she does. Get to know her better, more intimately and personally. Perhaps you have long desired this, perhaps too you are frightened at the prospect…afraid to be known as you are; afraid of rejection; or that it will come to nothing, lacking as you may, perseverance in love. What is the remedy? Accept her love! Yes, accept her love even when this is most painful: in those moments when you discover how unworthy you really are.
Only by accepting her love and taking her hand can you become worthy of her love in a supernatural way! Make note: it would be a fatal, frustrating mistake to think that you first have to merit the love of God or of Mary. Even with grace in your heart, your love should simply be a response to the love of God and Mary, who loved you first. Do not stop merely at accepting her love. Perceive and experience her desire for your love. She desires to receive you into her arms as her beloved child. She stands on the side of God in this desire. Like God she not only wants to give in love, but she also desires the gift of your love. Mary is the answer to your every need; she is the embodiment of love! Your healing begins with accepting her love.
The experience of her unconditional, gentle love will help you to love as she does. In this endeavor, simplicity, humility and docility are keys to the imitation of Mary. Like God she not only wants to give in love, but she also desires the gift of your love. Mary is the answer to your every need; she is the embodiment of love! Your healing begins with accepting her love. The experience of her unconditional, gentle love will help you to love as she does. In this endeavor,
117 Opus Sanctorum Angelorum, “Imitating the Blessed Virgin Mary” 2004.
61 simplicity, humility and docility are keys to the imitation of Mary. Mary, the Temple of the Holy
Spirit, lived the surrender of love.118
Your imitation of Mary in this regard begins with your baptismal vow, when you renounced every other kingdom and illusion of paradise, and sincerely long for and dedicate yourself to the coming and service of God’s Kingdom. The longing for other “kingdoms”
(“paradise lost”) agitates the heart, filling it with distress and sadness. Even when your longings are for a world filled with justice and peace, you need to be on guard, lest you desire a kingdom wherein there is no place for the Cross of Christ. “Christ Crucified” is the “wisdom and power of
God” (1 Cor 1:24).
Conclusion
Looking at the above ways of possible solution overcoming the challenges of living the values of love of God and love of neighbour, one can see that a religious has no excuse to say that he or she cannot surrender in love, though it is challenging but not impossible. It is a matter of understanding what is most important and commit oneself in total love for God and humanity.
It is also a matter of understanding one’s first vocation. In other words, these methods, following all we have discussed will help the religious to be focused and to deepen his/her relationship with
God, with others, as well as be effective in his or her apostolic activities.
There is never a life without challenges as we can remember that God told us that in the scripture. When one decides to follow any part the person definitely knows that he/she will meet one or two things on the way. As Christians one of the things we are meeting on our journey is this commandment to love God and neighbour. There is no two ways to it but to strive each day and do ones best. Let us remember that sometimes what we call our best in not really the best
118 Cf. Opus Sanctorum Angelo rum, “Imitating the Blessed Virgin Mary”,2004.
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because we keep on giving excuses why we do things the way we do it claiming it is our best.
What is required is to extra mile so that it pinches you a bit, it calls for extra sacrifice if you want
to call it that.
GENERAL CONCLUSION
Summary
We have presented in this paper the spirituality of Blessed Francisco Palau as a means of
fulfilling the two commandments of love of God and neighbor. We explored in chapter one the
Palautian Spirituality of love of God and neighbor. In this chapter we have explored the life,
works and legacy of Blessed Francisco Palau, the Founder of the Carmelite Missionaries. It
presents as synopsis of his family background, his education, his human characteristic, religious
consecration and ordination. This chapter also explores the influence of Blessed Francisco Palau,
his Works, especially his Work: “My Relations with the Church,” which portrays the Charism he
left behind as his legacy. It also presents a brief explanation of this Charism, his Spirituality and
the Foundation of the Carmelite Missionaries.
The chapter two of this paper explored the challenges in living the two commandments of
love. In this chapter we look at the gossip and envy as challenges of two commandments of love, cold-war in fraternal living, pastoral individualism Vis a Vis Fraternal Ministerial
Collaboration, digital worldliness as a shield to healthy communal communication, spiritual worldliness as a shield to intimate divine communion, selfishness and spiritual slot, sterile pessimism as a shield for joyful fraternal living, clericalism, careerism and vain glory, business mentality, dualistic thinking and excessive rationalism , activism and lethargy.
Chapter three portrayed the possible solution in living the value of love of God and neighbor. We propose the following as important in our times: living the beatitude, prayer and
63 contemplation, Response to listening, knowing one self, discernment, mindfulness, smile, appreciative attitudes to others, holistic thinking, Blessed Francisco Palau’s Virtues, integration of shadows, integral self- care, asceticism, fraternal living and finally imitation of Mary the
Mother of God.
Recommendation
Looking at the above work the researcher would like to make the following suggestions:
People should be drilled very well about what it means to be a Christian.
Catechism classes should not be done by rote learning but there is need to be explaining to people what they are reciting because it makes more sense. Formation should look on all aspects of human life not only human dimension being more emphasised all the time.
Francisco Palau was able to discover his Charism and mission through his faithfulness and docility to the Holy Spirit and the inspiration from the life of the discalced Carmelite order.
It is pertinent to recommend that: those in charge of the initial formation in CM should make it a priority to orient the formees with the attitude of searching, studying, and assimilation of the history, life, Charism and spirituality of the CM that they may be able to possess the spirit of the congregation, deepen it in their life and be able to build up from it their personal charism for the love and service of Christ and his mystical and moral body (the Church).
The sister should constantly refer to the Scripture, Fr. Palau’s writings and the documents of the Congregation to always keep in touch with the spirit of the Congregation they should strive to strike a balance between prayer (contemplative silence and solitude), apostolate and community life; constantly strengthening this balance through their sacramental union with Jesus in the Eucharist.
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Many of us fail to hold on in times of storms and tempests in relationships and ministry,
and spiritually evolve in and through those struggles. Instead, they give into acedia and some
choose to “save themselves” by abandoning the Congregation. Our formation processes need to
help the missionaries, all priest and religious men women deal with the crosses, sufferings and
shadows of life. We shall not shy away from presenting a Gospel devoid of cross and joyful renunciation.
An important path we are obliged to take in our congregational journey is that of interculturality. It is a prophetic witness in the world which struggles for unity in diversity. In this time, we shall make special efforts to grow further in the path of interculturality.
Conclusion
Looking at the above chapters, it can be clearly figure out that Blessed Francisco Palau’s
willing and selfless embrace in loving God above all and his brothers and sisters with the love in
every trying circumstances of his life did not come by chance. He drew his inspiration from
Christ himself who is the model of life which he demonstrated by giving himself up on the cross,
He is a model of perfect love. He also emulated the good example of Mary, the Mother of God
whom he discovered as the perfect figure of the Church his beloved object, and the saints
whose heart burned with fervent love of Christ and the love of neighbor that led them to lay
down their lives peacefully for faith.
As a result, the theological base that forms Fr. Palau’s foundation of the spirituality of love
of God and love of neighbor that he believed lived and wanted his spiritual daughters the CM to
live is firmly rooted and grounded in the Holy Trinity, the mystery of communion. We can
deduce that Fr. Palau really lived his life and ministry with a heroic love and burning zeal for the
Church that unleashed upon him diverse challenges and oppositions. He responded with faith to
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the words of Jesus, "the new commandment I gave to you that you love one another as I have
you by this all men will know that you are my disciple." Also “whoever wants to be my disciple
must denial himself, take up his cross in love and follow after me.”
Thus, the CM founded by Fr. Palau remains unshaken, despite all the complications she undergoes. Fr. Palau remained faithful, unshaken, and constant and determined in his prayer life
(contemplative silence and solitude) apostolic ministry, evangelical asceticism and passionate love of the Church until death. His exemplary attitude to the love of God and neighbor in his life and ministry call for emulation and should be a great inspiration to the CM and others as they live their lives today.
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JOSÉ M. ARNAIZ, “The Great Challenges of Consecrated Life Today” http://www.paoline.org/paoline/allegati/15808/Arnaiz_LegrandiSfideVCoggi-eng.pdf 21/11/2016
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The Way of our Lord Jesus, “Living a Christian Life” chapter 6 http://www.twotlj.org/G-2-6-B.html Jan. 4th 2018
Brochure, The Beatitudes Walk, Jan. 8th 2018. https://mretreat.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Beatitude- Walk-Brochure.pdf.
The Holy Rosary, “Mary's Love for Her Neighbor.” http://www.santorosario.net/english/virtues3.htm. Jan. 20th 2018.
Pope Francis- riches and worldly cares suffocate life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pQROOzTvRg&t=39s.
Pope Francis- bishops and priests faithful to the Gospel – YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx16SjCKPKI.
Pope Francis lets overcome selfishness, 17th June, 2013. Video clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEsaHXbIP5k&t=57s.
CARMELITE MISSIONARIES DOCUMENT:
Carmelite Missionaries. Legacy and Testimony, Iloilo City: Carmelite Missionaries, 1977.
______. Constitutions and Complementary Norms, Rome: Carmelite Missionaries, 1983.
______. The Joy of Belonging, Pastoral Visit 2012-2018.
______. An Incarnated Grace on the Way, Rome: Carmelite Missionaries, 1995.
______. Francisco Palau y Quer: A passion for the Church, Rome: Carmelite Missionaries, 2004.
PACHO, EULOGIO. Francisco Palau: Writings, Spain, Burgos: Monte Carmelo, 2006.
______. My Relation with the church, Burgos: Editorial Monte Carmelo, 2006.
______. Letters, Burgos: Editorial Monte Carmelo 2006.
______. History of the Congregation of the Carmelite Missionaries: The Beginning and the first steps, Rome: Carmelite Missionaries 1996.
______. The Catechism of the virtues, Burgos: Monte Carmelo, 2006.
______. The Solitary Life, Burgos: Monte Carmelo, 2006.
______. Month of Mary, Burgos: Monte Carmelo, 2006.
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