Rome, Italy, August 1, 2018.
“To love souls to the point of sacrificing themselves with heroism and without reserve”
Constitutions, 182
Dear Fathers, Brothers, Seminarians, and Novices,
Just a few days away from “solemnly” celebrating the Transfiguration of the Lord, I wanted to send you this letter today with the encouragement that it might serve as a means of deepening within your souls the certain hope of the joy which should lead us to “tolerate difficulties” while we fervently march on in the fulfillment of our specific end: “to evangelize the culture-to transfigure it into Christ.” For, this is our reason to be within the Church and the ideal that should always beat in our hearts.
Our proper law rightly teaches that “the Transfiguration is not only the revelation of Christ’s glory but also a preparation for facing Christ’s Cross.” Thus, one day we committed “all our strength to inculturate the Gospel,” working “in supreme docility to the Holy Spirit and according to the example of the Virgin Mary, so that Jesus Christ will be the Lord of all that is truly human, even in the most difficult situations and under the most adverse circumstances.”
Consequently, “the choice of ‘outposts’ in mission territories” has become, from our very beginnings, one of the non-negotiable elements of our charism, and one of the priority directives in the expansion of our beloved Institute. Our proper law declares it to be such: “we must collaborate, within our means, with the immense work of spreading the faith among the faithless world. […] Therefore, it seems indispensable that our Institute have foundations in mission lands. For, without a doubt, the best way to help the missions is by sending them missionaries.”
May these lines, then, serve as a homage and an expression of a deep appreciation towards so many of our members who, having heard the demanding call of the Incarnate Word put out into the deep, were disposed to die, as the grain of wheat, to see Christ in all souls and in all things and who even today are found preaching the Gospel in the so-called “emblematic destinos.” May our Good Lord also make use of this missive to encourage others to make—against their sensuality and fleshly and worldly love—an offering of greater value and more importance to put the calling of the Eternal King in action: that of “conquering all the lands” and carrying the name of Christ to “those [places] where no one else wants to go.” The recent visits I have made to several of our missions and the fidelity of so many of our missionaries which I have been able to personally witness have motivated me, as well, to write these lines.
1. Emblematic Destinos
Let us start off by describing what we understand by “emblematic destinos.”
Outposts, emblematic missions or destinos are all synonyms that refer to “places which represent a mark of honor for our small Religious Family, for they deal with mission areas where the missionaries might not see abundant fruits from their labors, where vocations will probably not rise up, and where, most likely, if we had not accepted to go, nobody would have wanted to go due to the difficulties.”
This is not merely ‘a manner of speech,’ but rather a demand which is clearly expressed in our proper law: “No place where a soul is to be found is out of the reach of the missionary. From the humblest huts to the highest heights, the roughest ravines, where there is the fewest amount of people, where the least amounts of fruits are expected, where the people are the most rebellious, where difficulties abound…that is where the missionary should go taking his staff, in his car, by plane, by foot or horseback, in sulky, or by boat…because that is his vocation and that is where obedience beckons him to go.” That is why the Chapter Fathers, both in 2007 as well as in 2016, saw and discerned that the Institute should give priority to these types of missions, precisely because “the choice for mission outposts,” that is “what we have come to call ‘emblematic destinos’” is a non-negotiable element related to the charism of the Institute.
Thus, how grateful must we be to our Lord for having granted us the immense grace of being able to marvelously fulfill his command: Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature in our brief years of existence, thanks to the magnanimous generosity of so many of our brothers!
For they, one day, coherent to the promises assumed in our formula of profession, when we promise to “not be elusive to the missionary adventure” and to “make an oblation of my entire being”—which implies “sacrificing themselves with heroism and without reserve”—went off to precisely those “lowliest and most demanding places” to correspond with the only means fitting for Him who first loved us: radicality.
And so, now, thanks to them, our beloved Institute is in Syria, in Brooklyn (USA), in the Solomon Islands, in Egypt, in Papua New Guinea, in Iraq, in the Gaza Strip, in Tajikistan, in Iceland, in Guyana, in Tanzania and in many other “emblematic destinos.” I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to highlight three of our emblematic missions which are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their foundations this year: Russia, the Holy Land, and Taiwan. Thanks to those who went as pioneers to those places and thanks to those who are heirs to that talent and who knew how to bring it to fruition.
Currently, we can, with a healthy pride, celebrate the magnificent work of God in those places carried out by those missionaries. For, they did not let themselves be overcome by the difficulties, nor “to be daunted by doubts, misunderstanding, rejection or persecution;” nor, were they discouraged by the scarce fruits, the lack of means, nor did they desist before the most terrible nights. Why?
Because an authentic missionary of the Incarnate Word knows that he has been chosen, taken from among men for the most honorable mission of “being instruments of salvation.” Because he is convinced that “he does not work for ephemeral or fleeting things, but ‘for the most divine work among the divine ones,’ which is the eternal salvation of souls.” With a genuine priestly spirit, he becomes ever more enthusiastic as he walks along the royal road of the cross, and within his heart there is an ever growing, lively desire that Christ must reign. Because, in the depths of his soul he feels the divine grievance of our Lord that the laborers are few to be directed to him personally, and that he cannot avoid the sublime “mission of bringing the gospel to the multitudes -the millions and millions of men and women-who as yet do not know Christ the Redeemer of humanity.” Because he knows that his vocation demands of him a self-donation without limits of time or effort and, in imitation of Christ, he desires to lose his life so as to save it and to come to its true fullness.
Indeed, “what sort of missionary would he be—writes Blessed Paolo Manna—if the Cross did not attract him, if he were not entirely persuaded by the truth of these words: For as I see it, God has exhibited us apostles as the last of all, like people sentenced to death” The missionary of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, a man of faith, knows that, in this divine vocation, dying means triumph and humbling oneself is conquering.
Of course, there have always been and always will be those who are ‘wise in the ways of the world’ who would try to discourage or to create obstacles for the missions ad gentes—the proper law even speaks of a “certain negative tendency” by means of which they try to disfigure the end of these missions—with excuses such as “missioning isn’t valid because no one has the right to impose their own way of thinking on others, annulling freedom; that we need missionaries ‘at home’—in one’s native land or where one has carried out their formation—; why send missionaries to countries where our holy religion is under attack—where believers are even imprisoned or killed—when there is a great need for zealous priests to reaffirm and revive the faith within the Church in Christian countries; and there may even be one who, ‘worried’ about protecting his own comfort, will oppose sending missionaries to places where there are extreme climates, adverse cultures, where the sting of poverty is strongly felt, or where there are various dangers. To all of these, we respond with the words of the saints: “The prudent people who make objections have not understood what it’s all about. […] The preservation of the faith among us will be rewarded with the same measure as with we spend all our energy to spread it in other places,” because “faith is strengthened when it is given to others!”
When Saint Vincent de Paul witnessed the death of the first seven missionaries which he sent himself off to Madagascar, when the apostolate had just begun, there were also some ‘prudent men’ who made every effort to convince him to abandon such an enterprise. The saint, nevertheless, looked at the event in a very different manner. He was convinced that he should continue sending missionaries to continue the work because the immolation of those victims was the best foretelling of the success possible for the mission.
“Today missionary activity still represents the greatest challenge for the Church…It is clear that the peoples who have not yet received an initial proclamation of Christ constitute the majority of mankind.” Therefore, the Magisterium upholds the teaching that the multitudes have the right to know the riches of the mystery of Christ. And we, who have the most honorable duty of going wherever we may be sent to proclaim the salvific message of the Incarnate Word. The mission ad gentes is just only beginning! And it is up to us, as religious who “have an essential call to be missionaries,” to ensure to keep alive the missionary impulse and to even intensify it in accordance with the historic moment in which we are living.
Our concern for the missions, especially in those “most difficult places – those where no one else wants to go,” should be transformed into that “interior impetus” of which Blessed Paul VI spoke, that is “in hunger and thirst for making our Lord known, when one contemplates the immense horizons of the non-Christian world.” May we be convinced that, as religious of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, we have received the ends of the world as the five talents which we should make fruitful.
The “prince of missionaries,” Saint Francis Xavier, said: “Many people do not become Christians in these lands, for there are not enough people who dedicate themselves to such pious and holy things.”
Is there one among us who, considering himself to be generous, is not anxious to do something for Christ without being concerned about the sufferings which he will have to endure for it. For, were these not the first things that our Lord proposed to the great Apostle to the Gentiles when he told him: I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name? The grace of our vocation gives us the strength to endure all of this even that which seems insupportable for others.
May we always keep in mind that our missionary vocation “is an invitation to accomplish great works, extraordinary undertakings, and doing it with the impetus of the saints and martyrs who gave everything for God, being willing to die to see Christ in all things,” and “setting fire to our ships” when we disembark on the shores of our new mission.
2. A spirituality of our own
Now, the most noble task of evangelizing “requires a specific spirituality, which is particularly concerned with those whom God has called to be missionaries” which our proper law broadly points out.
“The missionary spirituality is not a genre or type of spirituality specifically different from other Christian spiritualities, for all of them must lead to ‘mihi vivere Christus est,’ that is, to the life of Christ in us. But, it is an orientation, or a form and style and physiognomy of the spiritual life, of union with Christ directed towards the missionary ideal.” From this we can deduce that “the missionary spirituality of the Church is a path towards holiness.”
Such a spirituality is supported by two loves: love towards the Incarnate Word and love of souls.
Indeed, our task and main end as missionary religious is to give ourselves to God, loving Him above all other things; and to necessarily love our neighbor, “since through serving their neighbor for God’s sake, they are obedient to the divine love. Hence it is written Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation.”
“All missionary saints have united in an invisible accord these two inseparable loves. These two are the arms with which the missionary is equipped; the two feet which shall guide his steps; they are the two eyes with which he is to look on any undertakings, targeting his life, so that it might always be, in unity of intention, unity of desires, unity of action, the one and same outcome of love of God for souls and love of souls for God.”
So, as our proper law explicitly states, what comes first is “living with full docility to the Spirit, which implies letting oneself be interiorly formed by Him, so as to become ever more Christ-like.”
– Therefore, “An essential characteristic of missionary spirituality is intimate communion with Christ. We cannot understand or carry out the mission unless we refer it to Christ as the one who was sent to evangelize. St. Paul describes Christ’s attitude: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.”
The great planetary missionary, who was Saint John Paul II, said: “This requires that the missionary be willing to live in a permanent state of conversion. The true missionary is the one who resolutely commits himself to following the paths of holiness. Unless the missionary is a contemplative he cannot proclaim Christ in a credible way. He is a witness to the experience of God, and must be able to say with the Apostles: that which we have looked upon … concerning the word of life, … we proclaim also to you.” And with that experienced wisdom which he gained from his countless trips around the world, the Holy Father added: “After the enthusiasm of the first encounter with Christ on the paths of mission, it is necessary to persevere in one’s daily efforts through an intense prayer life, penance and the gift of self.”
“We need a fire today that is not a spark but a roaring furnace…first of all, the fire of holiness. ‘Holiness then must be called a fundamental pre-supposition and an irreplaceable condition for everyone in fulfilling the mission of salvation within the Church.’” For this reason our proper law, citing the Magisterium of the Church, reminds us: “It is not enough to update pastoral techniques, organize and coordinate ecclesial resources, or delve more deeply into the biblical and theological foundations of faith. What is needed is the encouragement of a new ‘ardor for holiness’ among missionaries and throughout the Christian community.”
Note how Saint Luigi Orione, before sending his first missionaries to Chaco, Argentino, said: I need saints! I need saints! Our beloved Institute can say the same thing today. Because the vitality of our Institute and of its apostolate springs forth from each and every member’s loving and persevering longing for holiness.
– The second distinctive note of missionary spirituality is a consequence of a love for Christ above all things, and it consists in a perfect self-renunciation. Our Directory of Missions Ad Gentes says: “The missionary is required to ‘renounce himself and everything that up to this point he considered as his own, and to make himself everything to everyone.’ This he does by a poverty which sets him free for the Gospel, overcoming attachment to the people and things about him, so that he may become a brother to those to whom he is sent and thus bring them Christ the Savior.”
The Incarnate Word himself taught us this: everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple. Consequently, we can affirm, without room for error that, “nothing so characterizes the life of a missionary as much as sacrifice does.”
In was in this light that Blessed Paolo Manna, addressing the formators of the aspirants of his Institute, said: “We must always have clearly in mind this principle and be completely convinced that, if our vocation means something, it is the solemn and royal commitment, which each one of us makes, of giving of ourselves completely to our Lord, holding nothing back, even to the point of the sacrifice of our lives for the salvation of souls.” “These principles [of renunciation and detachment], we must impart to the students of our apostolic schools and seminaries! When we do not see an appropriate response from them, let us do the same as Judas Maccabee: He proclaimed that those who were building houses, or were just married, or were planting vineyards, and those who were afraid, could each return to his home.”
Something very similar is expressed in our Constitutions: “To better fulfill their mission, they must be convinced that the best way to develop an efficient apostolate is to live in intimate union with the Incarnate Word and to love souls to the point of sacrificing themselves with heroism and without reserve.” And the formators are asked to have “a clear intention of making a very rigorous selection of candidates. This is extremely important in order to maintain the good spirit of the community. When choosing, it is better to err on the side of excess rather than deficiency.”
For this reason our proper law thus exhorts, in a fatherly manner, those who carry out the task as formators within our Institute: “With particular concern they should be so formed in priestly obedience, in a simple way of life and in the spirit of self-denial, that they are accustomed to willingly giving up even those things which are permitted but are not expedient, and to conform themselves to Christ crucified;” pointing out that “The future of an individual brother in religious life and, therefore, of the Institute as a whole, depends fundamentally on the formation that is given during the time of preparation.”
In other words: missionary life within our Institute invites us, in the gentlest way, to “gain total detachment not only from material goods (which is the proper object of the virtue of poverty), but also from everything that is not God Himself.” Such that, in all truth, one might apply the words of the Mystical Doctor of Fontiveros to our missionaries: “abhorring all manner of possessions and not allowing one to worry about these goods, neither for food, nor for clothing, nor for any other created thing, nor for tomorrow, and direct this care to something higher—to seeking the kingdom of God […] for he who looks after the beasts will not be forgetful of you.” And, with this martyrial disposition go off to the missions convinced that “God provides in all things…in such a way that you do not take notice if one is in pain or not, and as much as it costs to leave something, you recognize that it is nothing, and that it must be left sooner or later.”
Saint John de Brébeuf, Jesuit missionary in what was then New France, now Canada, martyred by the same people who he went to evangelize, wrote a document which contained a series of “Important advice for those who God deigns to call to New France”, that he addressed to the noble souls who longed to be missionaries in their Institute, and which can very well be applied to our own.
In this writing the saint makes a long list of the difficulties which are involved in arriving at the place of mission, and the discomforts and adversities which the missionary will have to face in the mission itself: the ‘misery’ of the place where they live, the insects, the pests, humiliations which they endure while learning the language, the bad habits of the Hurons themselves, the dangers and continuous death threats, the total absence of external consolations in the life of piety and prayer, etc. The saint goes on to place on the lips of the reader: “‘But is that all?’ someone will exclaim. ‘Do you think by your arguments to throw water on the fire that consumes me, and lessen ever so little the zeal I have for the conversion of these Peoples? I declare that these things have served only to confirm me the more in my vocation; that I feel myself more carried away than ever by my affection for New France, and that I bear a holy jealousy towards those who are already enduring all these sufferings; all these labors seem to me nothing, in comparison with what I am willing to endure for God; if I knew a place under Heaven where there was yet more to be suffered, I would go there.’ Ah!”—the saint continues—“whoever you are to whom God gives these sentiments and this light, come, come, my dear Brother, it is workmen such as you that we ask for here; it is to souls like ,yours that God has appointed the conquest of so many other souls whom the Devil holds yet in his power; apprehend no difficulties,—there will be none for you, since it is your whole consolation to see yourself crucified with the Son of God; silence will be sweet to you, since you have learned to commune with God, and to converse in the Heavens with Saints and Angels; the victuals would be very insipid if the gall endured by our Lord did not render them sweeter and more savory to you than the most delicious viands of the world. What a satisfaction to pass these rapids, and to climb these rocks, to him who has before his eyes that loving Savior, harassed by his tormentors and ascending Calvary laden with his Cross; the discomfort of the Canoe is very easy to bear, to him who considers the crucified one. What a consolation!—for I must use such terms, as otherwise I could not give you pleasure—what a consolation, then, to see oneself even abandoned on the road by the Savages, languishing with sickness, or even dying with hunger in the woods, and of being able to say to God, ‘My God, it is to do your holy will that I am reduced to the state in which you see me.’” For, truly, “Jesus Christ is our true greatness; to shepherd his flock, we should seek only Him and his crosses. If we seek for something more, we will only encounter physical and spiritual affliction. But if we have found Christ on his Cross, we will have found the roses among thorns, sweetness in that which is bitter, everything in that which is nothing.”
– This leads the way for me to mention here the third characteristic of missionary spirituality which is, according to proper law: “apostolic charity, the charity of Christ who came to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.” In fact, it is impelled by the love of Christ that we are moved to take on the responsibility of evangelization, especially in the “lowliest and most demanding places.”
May this be deeply rooted in our souls: since the fact that ours is “to love and serve Jesus Christ and to help others love and serve Him,” we cannot be indifferent towards the salvation of men. “Loving Christ is loving those whom he loves, as He loves them.” Therefore, our proper law goes on to detail that this charity, in the image of that of the Incarnate Word, “consists in attention, tenderness, compassion, welcome, availability, interest for the people’s problems” for—let us understand this well—“we are not destined for domination or for honors but are given over totally to the service of God and to the pastoral ministry” in the concrete practice of charity which does not leave aside the varying forms of assistance. And on this point, I make my own the words of St. Francis Xavier which he addressed to a missionary: “For the love of Our Lord, I beg you, make yourselves loved…because I will not be satisfied simply with knowing that you love them, but in knowing that you are loved by them.”
Having been able to visit, by God’s grace, the vast majority of our Provinces and Delegations, all of which encompass very distinct realities, some of them being in true “outposts” in places where evangelization is only just beginning, one can admire how our missionaries arrive with their hands practically empty, with nothing other than the Gospel to share, the fervor of their love, and the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Many of them, even nowadays, carry out their mission with the most precarious of means, and to tell the truth, which represent a great challenge for the task they are carrying out. Nevertheless, how much joy and courage they have as they “spend their lives so that others can have life and hope.” For it is out of love of souls that our missionaries have not only begun but also continued many apostolic initiatives at the cost of great fatigue, at times even exhausted, enduring climates that they are not used to, in whatever far off country they are in, adapting to all the local customs and learning the languages which are necessary; ultimately, transforming themselves in such a way that they might save at least some and giving all a service which is purely based on the Gospel, by means of preaching that calls to conversion, administering the sacraments of salvation, exhortation to a life of prayer, forming people’s consciences, etc., such that the souls which have been entrusted to them might reach the full maturity of faith and charity.
Thus, our proper law defines a missionary, in all sincerity, as “a man of charity” for by spending his life for his neighbor, he announces to men the truth that they are loved by God and that they themselves are capable of loving. He loves the souls that are under his care with the love of a father, even with that of a mother, to the point of being able to say with the Apostle: With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us. This is why Blessed Paolo Manna said: “sacrificing one’s life for others is a test of the sincerity of charity which neither God nor men can resist. God must be merciful, and men cannot resist conversion. For, the end for which the martyrs poured out their blood is the same end for which missionaries sacrifice their youth in a way which might be humbler, but quite possibly more difficult.”
Here, I would like to especially remember all of those who, in certain difficult missions, know through experience what it means to persevere in the midst of great difficulties, while even being hidden in total solitude. Know that you, silently—and as such, more eloquently—teach us that “The missionary, to be worthy of the name, must give himself totally and forever…We cannot give to the Lord in half measures, nor count the cost of our giving. If we don’t give ourselves forever, we don’t give ourselves completely.” Such self-giving is possible, by the grace of God, of course, due to a solid life of prayer: “Where prayer is lacking, charity will lack; when charity is lacking, prayer will lack, and due to these shortcomings there are few who are authentic missionaries…”
Dear all: may we always have present in our minds that our way involves “total self-giving” in humble service and generous donation, in a free gift of self by means of loving to the end” which leads us even to the “farthest regions.” “Our small Religious Family must never be closed off, but rather must be open like the arms of Christ on the Cross that were ‘dislocated’ for love’s sake.” But, for this, we need missionaries who, without conditioning their availability, without fear of definitive responses, are disposed to pronounce their joyful fiat and as saints in a hurry are not appeased, nor do they rest until having brought all hearts before the altar of God.
By the grace of God, our Institute currently has 123 requests for new missions, among which many are demanding calls to mission in these “outposts” which we have been speaking about, and we are constantly receiving more and more requests. My question is this: how can we rest, if all those whom Christ desires to call his own have not yet heard about his love? How can one be a missionary of the Institute of the Incarnate Word and not feel the flame of Christ for souls? For, whoever experiences that holy missionary impetus to give everything to God in mission lands even if it means “sowing among tears” to such an extent that with Saint Francis Xavier, at the sight of such labors and pains one can come to say: “More, more,” to such a man, we say: know that within our Institute, you have a most ample field of work and countless occasions to enflame even more that “impulse of zeal for souls.”
Let us not forget that we are called to “be chalices full of Christ, chalices that allow the superabundance of His grace to overflow upon others.” And, “considering the missionary nature of our Institute,” together with Don Orione, we can say: “Whoever does not want to be an apostle leaves the Congregation.”
To our dear novices and seminarians who are preparing for the missions, I want to encourage you to take advantage of these years of formation as much as possible. Our missions need a deep spiritual life, a solid doctrinal formation, and manly discipline which you should already strive to begin to acquire. And, beginning now, be priests in your donation of self and in sacrifice. With great generosity, be attentive and ever ready before the needs of others and prepare yourselves to be in their midst, as the Incarnate Word did, being poor in the eyes of the world but rich in the gifts of God which he will give to you so as to transmit them to others.
To our dear brothers and our monks, I would like you all to know that your participation in the “efforts towards the apostolic mission of the congregation,” though always having been important, nowadays it is urgent and inescapable.
I entrust all of you and your missions—including their diverse circumstances and particular needs—to Mary Most Holy, the Model of every missionary of the Incarnate Word. May she obtain for us the grace from her Divine Son for us, though part of a small Religious Family, to become as giants concerning the heroism of a limitless self-giving.
A big hug for all of you.
In the Incarnate Word and his Most Holy Mother,
Fr. Gustavo Nieto, IVE
General Superior
