Provincial’s letter, December 2015

By Father Paul Borowski, C.Ss.R. |

December 3, 2015 |

Dear Brothers:

Advent is concerned with that very connection between memory and hope which is so necessary to man. Advent’s intention is to awaken the most profound and basic emotional memory within us, namely, the memory of the God who became a child. This is a healing memory; it brings hope. The purpose of the Church’s year is continually to rehearse her great history of memories, to awaken the heart’s memory so that it can discern the star of hope. . . . It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope.

—Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Seek That Which Is Above (Ignatius Press, 1986)

At times I have problems remembering what I had for breakfast, but I never seem to forget December memories. Recollections of midnight Mass at Our Lady of Fatima while growing up, followed by a late-night ham sandwich and the opening of one present. Memories of my first Christmas away from home while in novitiate, sitting around the fire in the “womb” with other novices in Oconomowoc.

Gathering in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome for Christmas midnight Mass the first year I was doing philosophy studies in Europe. Remembering the numerous Christmas Eve Masses celebrated at St. Clement’s in Saratoga Springs last year, knowing that I would soon be moving on from the parish.

Advent, December, Christmas—this is a time of traditions, memories, and hope. We enter into this season of Advent and recall the hope of ancient Israel as they waited patiently for the Messiah. Soon we will retell the story of a young Virgin who heard the word of God with joy and patiently waited in hope for the birth of her firstborn son.

Before we know it, we will be singing Gloria in excelsis Deo as we gather with parishioners, family, and friends to tell the story when our world welcomed the Word made flesh . . . the time when hope was born into our darkened world.

Besides the season of Advent, this month of December brings us extra “memories” as we recall Pope Pius IX presenting the Congregation the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help on December 11, 1865.

On December 8 the “doors of mercy” will be flung open wide, as the Church asks us to recall the great mercy of our God.

There is much for us to do over these next 25 days, but as we prepare our parishes and communities to celebrate this wonderful day, hopefully we can carve out some time in our schedules to prepare our own heart.

Perhaps one of the things we can do is to read Pope Francis’ bull Misericordiae Vultus, in which he announces the Year of Mercy. A personal or community retreat day to reflect on this beautiful document may help us in our own preparation for Christmas.

(You can read Misericordiae Vultus here.)

. . . [M]ercy is a key word that indicates God’s action towards us. He does not limit himself merely to affirming his love, but makes it visible and tangible. Love, after all, can never be just an abstraction. By its very nature, it indicates something concrete: intentions, attitudes, and behaviors that are shown in daily living. The mercy of God is his loving concern for each one of us

—Misericordiae Vultus, No. 9

Is not this love what Advent and Christmas are all about?

Love is concrete and shows itself in our celebration of a humble virgin, a child born in a manager, and shepherds flocking to adore the newborn King. We as Redemptorists have been entrusted with proclaiming the Good News of God’s mercy to those who are poor and abandoned.

May this season be a time for us once again to share the news of God’s love, visible and tangible, in the Babe of Bethlehem. May this Advent and Christmas season and this upcoming Year of Mercy rekindle in us Redemptorists a deep desire to boldly proclaim the Good News. May this season remind us of the great hope of God’s love and strengthen our spirits.

As always, we remember in prayer our men in formation and all our infirm confreres at Stella Maris, the Villa in New Smyrna, Boston, Brooklyn, and Ephrata.

 

In the Spirit of the Redeemer,

Paul Borowski, C.Ss.R.

The missionaries lead those who have been converted to share fully in redemption, which is at work in the liturgy, especially in the sacrament of reconciliation, where the Good News of God’s mercy in Christ is so wonderfully proclaimed and celebrated, but most of all in the Eucharist, through which the Church is built up.

(Constitution 12)