Calendar

January 1900

01 Jan - 01 Jan

From the testimony of Fr. Jules Darmond C.S.Sp. and Mgr. Kabwé

Two or three minutes after the last priest had left the guardroom, there was the sound of repeated firing. It was about half past nine in the morning. In the…

January 1, 1900

02 Jan - 02 Jan

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 208, 1839.

Never allow yourself to be discouraged by your weaknesses, and whenever you think you have committed some fault, reflect back gently on yourself, then present yourself before Our Lord in…

January 2, 1900

02 Jan - 02 Jan

J. Gay, "Les Chemins de la Paix", p. 173

Listening calmly to what the Holy Spirit has to tell us and living intensely the love of Christ so as to be close to the poor- this is the essence…

January 2, 1900

03 Jan - 03 Jan

Fr. Francis Griffin: Letter to the Congregation, 30.07.1950

On virtually every page of his letters and spiritual writings, our Venerable Father reminds us that our missionary life is essentially something supernatural and that the duties of our religious…

January 3, 1900

04 Jan - 04 Jan

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 341, 1839.

If an indiscreet word which may have displeased a confrere escapes you, do not bother about it, humble yourself before God in all tranquillity, and think no more about it.…

January 4, 1900

04 Jan - 04 Jan

From the Memoirs of Tisserant, N.D.I, p. 595

Although Libermann was nothing out of the ordinary as a student of theology, he was quite exceptional as regards his spirituality. But one of its characteristics was that it looked…

January 4, 1900

05 Jan - 05 Jan

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 419, 1838.

A cardinal principle in spiritual life, is to simplify things as much as possible. The more simple and uniform our way of acting is, the more perfect it is, and…

January 5, 1900

05 Jan - 05 Jan

Joseph Shanahan to Holy Rosary Sisters

Be perfectly human, perfect the human and the natural, be fully a woman. Don't be afraid of your little heart; it is made to be used. If it becomes too…

January 5, 1900

06 Jan - 06 Jan

Cf. Notes and Documents, I, 662, 1839.

I believe that all those who seem ready to give themselves to God in this holy work will be disposed for everything, and can only experience greater spiritual joy, in…

January 6, 1900

06 Jan - 06 Jan

Letter from Libermann to Desgenettes, 07.02.1844, N.D.VI , p.44-45

I appeared in Rome before the ecclesiastical superiors with nothing to recommend me, no guarantees and no supporters. All I had was a plan to put before them. I had…

January 6, 1900

07 Jan - 07 Jan

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 366, 1837.

All that you have to do, is to keep yourself docile and pliable in the hands of the Spirit of life, whom Our Lord has placed in your soul to…

January 7, 1900

07 Jan - 07 Jan

The Itaici Chapter had been remarkable for the emphasis it put on Spiritan experience as a source for seeing where the Spirit was leading us. It is in experience that…

08 Jan - 08 Jan

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 424, 1840.

It would be a great and very admirable thing if the Holy Spirit accomplished in our souls this very holy union with Jesus in Mary, and with Mary in Jesus.…

January 8, 1900

08 Jan - 08 Jan

Poullart des Places, Retreat 1701

I am searching for God. He has given me life for the purpose of serving him faithfully. The world would never bring me any reward for being attached to it:…

January 8, 1900

09 Jan - 09 Jan

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 352, 1837.

There were moments when I believed that our Lord and Master was going to abandon and reject me. You continue to pray that this may be nothing, for I am…

January 9, 1900

09 Jan - 09 Jan

Bishop Joseph Shanahan to the Holy Rosary Sisters, 07.10.1928. Letters I, p....

It is the children of Nigeria who are responsible for the amazing things that have happened, and the unbelievable rapidity with which God's Church has branched and blossomed in a…

January 9, 1900

10 Jan - 10 Jan

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 503, 1838.

We must distrust ourselves all the time, in everything we do and, and in everything that we say and think. We have to be careful and not act with that…

January 10, 1900

10 Jan - 10 Jan

P. Frans Timmermans, Supérieur général, Rapport au Chapitre général de 1980, à...

Dès à présent la Congrégation doit accepter que l’Eglise d’origine fasse partie de la Mission. On ne peut pas malheureusement dire que c’est vrai partout. Il existe encore de profondes…

11 Jan - 11 Jan

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 266, 1839.

It is the night of the Cross, of privation, of interior darkness, it is the moment to live by Faith, but by a Faith full of hope in the divine…

January 11, 1900

11 Jan - 11 Jan

Libermann, Mémoire of 1846; Chapter III, Population

According to the estimates of the experts, the number of blacks shipped to the New World from the start of the slave trade until 1826 was around 14 million. If…

January 11, 1900

12 Jan - 12 Jan

Cf. Commentary of Saint John. Cf. 380, 1940.

The supreme rule for all souls wishing to live for Jesus, is to give little importance to themselves and much to others. Their mind must be borne towards our Master…

January 12, 1900

12 Jan - 12 Jan

Poullart des Places: Reflections on the Past

I wanted to arrive at a situation where, having given everything away, I would just live on charity. I wanted to keep nothing apart from my health so that I…

January 12, 1900

13 Jan - 13 Jan

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 392, 1839.

Never want to advance further than is given to you from on high. Be content to aim at renouncing yourself in everything and having a peaceful desire to live for…

January 13, 1900

13 Jan - 13 Jan

Letter to Ignace Schwindenhammer, 13.01.1842, N.D.III, p.102

The Holy Spirit wants to be the soul of your soul. Our task is to make him absolute ruler of our spirit so that he will share his life and…

January 13, 1900

14 Jan - 14 Jan

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 392, 1839.

My Jesus, you know well that I am nothing, that I can do nothing and that I am worth nothing. Here I am just as I am, that is to…

January 14, 1900

14 Jan - 14 Jan

Daniel Brottier to Mgr. Le Roy : 06.01.1919

You probably remember, Monseigneur, that several things made me hesitate about perpetual vows. I had often felt drawn (and it still occurs sometimes) by a desire for the contemplative life.…

January 14, 1900

15 Jan - 15 Jan

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 300, 1839, II, 300, 1839.

I have left Rennes. I have not a single person or creature on earth in whom I can put my trust. I have nothing, and I do not know what…

January 15, 1900

15 Jan - 15 Jan

General Chapter, Itaici, 1992. No 4

We thank God that identification with the people we serve is nothing new in the Congregation. The stories we heard at Itaici show that this sharing the lot of people,…

16 Jan - 16 Jan

Cf. Notes and Documents, I, 638, 1839.

You need to remain always in Our Lord in a great spirit of humiliation and love, letting him act rather than acting yourself; follow the movements that he gives you…

January 16, 1900

16 Jan - 16 Jan

Henry Koren C.S.Sp: "Essay on the Spiritan Charism and on Spiritan History",...

As soon as historical conditions made Spiritan missionaries possible (around 1730), foreign missions were added to the list of preferred poor and abandoned works. Then, the splendid work done by…

January 16, 1900

17 Jan - 17 Jan

Cf. Notes and Documents, X, 24, 1848.

My heart is for the Africans, wholly for the Africans. I am Jesus’ servant. He wants me to love everyone as he loves everyone; but he inspires me with a…

January 17, 1900

17 Jan - 17 Jan

From the first Spiritan Rule, 1734, n°2

The end of the Congregation is to form "poor clerics" in zeal for the principles of the Church and love of virtues, above all, those of obedience and poverty, so…

January 17, 1900

18 Jan - 18 Jan

Cf. Notes and Documents, I, 662, 1839.

I think that all those who seem ready to give themselves to God in this holy work will be disposed for everything and can only experience great spiritual joy in…

January 18, 1900

18 Jan - 18 Jan

Libermann - Ecrits Spirituelle Supplement, p. 79

If Our Lord gives us his Spirit, it is not so that we will continue to live, even partially, according to our own; this same Spirit has to be our…

January 18, 1900

19 Jan - 19 Jan

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 282, 1839.

Open your souls, expand them, make them as vast as seas before our most sweet Jesus, so that he makes them overflow with his most holy love.

January 19, 1900

19 Jan - 19 Jan

Libermann: Ecrits Spirituels Supplement, pp 17-19

Uniting our soul to God means a renunciation and loving aban-donment of all that we are into his hands, so that we no longer live but by him, with him…

January 19, 1900

20 Jan - 20 Jan

Cf. Notes and Documents, II, 160, 1852.

Are you going to give in to anxiety and discouragement because a man leaves us, a man who brought nothing but talents, a name and a fortune? What is all…

January 20, 1900

20 Jan - 20 Jan

Poullart des Places: "Reflections on the Past"

God is full of a tender love for me and is anxious that I should not get lost; he arranged for me to do this retreat when nothing was further…

January 20, 1900

21 Jan - 21 Jan

Cf. Notes and Documents, XIII, 405, 1851.

The holiness of Jesus Christ must reside in the missionary, and this holiness must, at the same time be founded in his heart and be produced in his conduct by…

January 21, 1900

21 Jan - 21 Jan

Libermann: Spiritual Letters 1 pp246-247. 1836

The importance of a good director is very great; but the firmness and perseverance of our will in the service of God, and the constant desire to live for him…

January 21, 1900

22 Jan - 22 Jan

Cf. Notes and Documents, II, 497, 1841.

I want to tell you of the great mercy and goodness of Our Lord Jesus Christ towards an unworthy servant who does not deserve so much as to pronounce his…

January 22, 1900

22 Jan - 22 Jan

Henry Koren: "To the Ends of the Earth", p. 35

In 1733, the Spiritans obtained access to the Far East when Fr. Guillaume Rivoal was sent to Cochin China by the Foreign Missions Society. Others followed. How many is difficult…

January 22, 1900

23 Jan - 23 Jan

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 484, 1838.

A priest is something great! He is a man who possesses all the perfections of our Lord, for the greatest quality Jesus was clothed with was his divine priesthood.

January 23, 1900

23 Jan - 23 Jan

Libermann writing to Grillard, 23.01.1838. L.S. 1, p. 404-408

This desire to be in a constant state of prayer is a great blessing from God and you should pursue it seriously. But be careful that it is not simply…

January 23, 1900

24 Jan - 24 Jan

Cf. Spirituals Letters, I, 414, 1838.

When we enter this way of pure faith disengaged from the senses, we see ourselves as a heap of misery. We must therefore not trouble ourselves, or get agitated over…

January 24, 1900

24 Jan - 24 Jan

From the Homilies of Père Warnet, 1840

Our consecration goes to the very spirit of our Constitutions: the promises we make are the inheritance we have received from our predecessors. They had none of the riches of…

January 24, 1900

25 Jan - 25 Jan

Cf. Notes and Documents, XIII, 405, 1851.

As Jesus Christ was sent by his Father and lived for his Father, likewise you, who have been sent by him, must live for him and in the spirit of…

January 25, 1900

25 Jan - 25 Jan

Jacques Laval writing to Libermann, 25.01.1848

As for Père Laval, he is all in, he needs a retreat, he is flying on one wing, he is all but ruined and does no more than spoil the…

January 25, 1900

26 Jan - 26 Jan

Cf. Notes and Documents, X, 24, 1848.

Since I love black people so tenderly, I want that all my life be occupied with bringing happiness to the people of Africa, not only their happiness on earth, but…

January 26, 1900

26 Jan - 26 Jan

Libermann to Fr. Boulanger, 13.11.1850. N.D. XII, p. 464-465

The missionaries in Guinée must be, above all, men of God and of the Church, and after that, they are members of the Congregation to which God has called them…

January 26, 1900

27 Jan - 27 Jan

Spirituals Writings, 374, 1838.

Jesus Christ sends us as he was sent. Our mission is his. It is Jesus who lives in those he sends, who suffers in those he sends, who attracts souls…

January 27, 1900

27 Jan - 27 Jan

Nicolas Warnet, Sermons. 1840 c.

To be consecrated to the Holy Spirit means to do what is pleasing to him; there can be no devotion to one's master unless his wishes are what motivates us.…

January 27, 1900

28 Jan - 28 Jan

Spiritual Writings, 374, 1838.

In order that Jesus to lives in those he sends and to do all things in them and through them, it is necessary that they live in him, be united…

January 28, 1900

28 Jan - 28 Jan

Le Vavasseur, talking of Libermann. N.D. (appendix) p.151-152

The more we get to know him, the more we appreciate and admire him. He has an extraordinary prudence in what he does, a clarity of view, an aura of…

January 28, 1900

29 Jan - 29 Jan

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 484, 1838.

A priest should have nothing of a human way of life about him; he ought to act and behave no more as a human being, but the spirit of Jesus…

January 29, 1900

29 Jan - 29 Jan

Daniel Brottier, in his letter requesting profession; 19.08.1903

Forgive my presumption, but if are looking for someone for a dangerous and risky place, you can count on me. The blood of the missionary is the seed of Christians;…

January 29, 1900

30 Jan - 30 Jan

Cf. Notes and Documents, II, 160, 1841.

When obstacles arise, you have to go, go always, remain at the foot of the wall, wait for it to fall, then pass over it.

January 30, 1900

30 Jan - 30 Jan

Libermann: Commentary on St. John: 3.8

The wind blows wherever it wants: you hear its sound but you do not know where it comes from. Blessed is the one who listens to this divine voice and…

January 30, 1900

31 Jan - 31 Jan

Cf. Notes and Documents, II, 290, 1840.

Apostolic life is nothing other than the life of holiness which the Son of God led on earth to save and sanctify souls, and by which he sanctify himself to…

January 31, 1900

31 Jan - 31 Jan

Henry Koren: "Essay in the Spiritan Charism and on Spiritan History", p....

One can see with the examples of Fr. Caris, Allenou, Le Loutre, Bishop Kerhervé, Fr Maillard, Bishop Pottier, Frs Lano‘, John Mo-ranvillé and Matthew Hérard, how the Spiritans or yesteryear…

January 31, 1900