The Spirituality of Blessed Francisco Palau As a Means of Fulfilling the Two Commandments꞉ Love of God and Neighbour
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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. ii 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. iii 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! iv 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………………………………………………………………………. v 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 vi 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 vii 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 ......