Calendar

April 1900

01 Apr - 01 Apr

Cf. Notes and Documents, XIII, 144, 1851.

A missionary who would have these virtues of humility and gentleness deeply engraved in his soul and who would make them enter into all his dispositions and ways of acting,…

01 Apr - 01 Apr

Henry Koren: Essays on the Spiritan charism [condensed]

The second aspect of the Spiritan charism of availability is evangelical poverty in its twofold dimension: material poverty and spiritual poverty. The first can be summarised thus: while respecting the…

02 Apr - 02 Apr

Cf. Notes and Documents, XIII, 144, 1851.

The missionary who does not have the virtues of humility and gentleness is a monster in the apostolate of Jesus Christ, even if he has the zeal of Saint-Paul and…

02 Apr - 02 Apr

Poullart des Places: Fragments of a personal rule

O God, who leads people towards the heavenly Jerusalem when they put all their trust in you, I want to abandon myself entirely to your divine providence; I put aside…

03 Apr - 03 Apr

Cf. Notes and Documents, VII, 5, 1845.

Now, I am chained up, I ought to walk. I will walk until this body falls into dissolution, and then God will find a stronger and more pleasing instrument to…

03 Apr - 03 Apr

Redemptoris Missio no. 11

Why mission? Because to us, as to St. Paul, 'has been confided the privilege of announcing the unfathomable riches of Christ to the pagans' (Eph. 3:8). New life in him…

04 Apr - 04 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 74, 1835.

It would be good to moderate your external actions slightly so as to be able to keep your soul in a perfect stillness, and always to be in this quiet…

04 Apr - 04 Apr

Memorandum of Tisserant. N.D. 1, p. 597

Towards the end of 1831, the Directors of St. Sulpice sent François Libermann to Issy. For 15-18 months, he had nothing else to do apart from sweeping up the leaves…

05 Apr - 05 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, IV, 687, 1851.

Suffer all that the divine goodness allows you to suffer, with this desire to sanctify souls, to attract for them at least the divine grace so as to bring them…

05 Apr - 05 Apr

Words of Poullart des Places, recorded by Charles Besnard in his Life...

You know that for some time now I have been using all that I have to help poor seminarians pursue their studies. I know several who are excellent subjects but…

06 Apr - 06 Apr

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

It is necessary that our will exist only in God’s will. Meditate on this very well and you will find treasures of graces. Besides, not only our will that is…

06 Apr - 06 Apr

Frans Timmermans, Supérieur général, Lettre d’avril/mai 1976

On parle (maintenant) d’une « politique du personnel » menée au niveau du Centre et non pas seulement au niveau des Provinces. Tout cela est la toile de fond sur…

07 Apr - 07 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 27, 1837.

All discouragement comes from the devil or from self-love. The grace of God instead of discouraging us, gives us great strength to triumph over ourselves and all our enemies. It…

07 Apr - 07 Apr

Maynooth: Our Mission, p. 98

Mission, seen as the announcing of the Good News of the Kingdom, has always been at the very heart of our Spiritan life (SRL 1). But recently, a certain style…

08 Apr - 08 Apr

Cf. Commentary of Saint John, 85, 1840.

After our baptism, the Holy Spirit dwells in us in a holy and vivifying way. He is here to become the principle of all our soul’s movements. It depends on…

08 Apr - 08 Apr

Bishop Edward Barron, writing to the Cardinal Prefect of Propaganda Fide, 27.07.1842

I base my hopes for the conversion of these people on their characteristics of gentleness and friendliness that they have already shown towards us. From dawn to dusk they come…

09 Apr - 09 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 120, 1835.

It is necessary that our will exist only in God’s will. Meditate on this very well and you will find treasures of graces. Besides, not only our will that is…

09 Apr - 09 Apr

Pierre Thomas: Mémoire sur la Vie de Claude Poullart des Places

Regarding the subject of his meditations, the first was his own sins. This is how he normally started to pray and he often spent the whole time he had set…

10 Apr - 10 Apr

Cf. Notes and Documents, I, 149, 1828.

My Father who is in heaven will know very well what he will do with me. My body, my soul, all my being belongs to him and depends entirely on…

10 Apr - 10 Apr

Libermann to Carron: 20.09.1837. L.S.1, p.301-302

You must be holy because the Father of Our Lord is holy and because his Spirit, who must live and act in you, is holy. Give yourself up entirely to…

11 Apr - 11 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 17, 1830.

Oh my dear friend, leave alone my dear poverty, my dear sickness, and a hundred thousand more sufferings. Sufferings alone can bring me to resemble our Lord Jesus Christ.

11 Apr - 11 Apr

Henry Koren: Essays on the Spiritan Charism p.15-18

The second element of the Spiritan charism is attention to the revelation of the Holy Spirit in the concrete situations of everyday life. For such an openness, we must detach…

12 Apr - 12 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 10, 1830.

My dear friends, I can assure you that my dear sickness is a great treasure for me. I hope that if our Lord Jesus Christ continues to give me grace…

12 Apr - 12 Apr

Note from Doctor Samson Libermann on his young brother, Jacob. N.D. 1,...

All I can remember is that he had a delicate constitution, which made him the underdog with his brothers, but they still loved him very much. He stood out by…

13 Apr - 13 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 10, 1830.

I defy the world to discover for myself a happy person, for, who is richer than the person who wants nothing? Who is happier than the person whose desires are…

13 Apr - 13 Apr

The apostolic life is at the heart of our Spiritan vocation. It is 'that life of love and holiness lived on earth by the Son of God in order to…

14 Apr - 14 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 10, 1830.

Yet, do you mean to say that if I was a priest, I could have a place and come to help my family. No, my dear friends, it will never…

14 Apr - 14 Apr

Libermann: Instructions to Missionaries, 14.04.1851. E.S. p. 480-495

Just as Jesus Christ was sent by his Father and lived for his Father, you also have been sent by him and you must live for him in the spirit…

15 Apr - 15 Apr

Cf. Commentary of Saint John, 338, 1840.

My Lord Jesus! I hear your cry, you call me, Lord, here I am: I am thirsty! Oh! Great thirst, which goes to failure, for I am completely empty and…

15 Apr - 15 Apr

Bernard Kelly: Life began at Forty. p. 111-113

Libermann was ambitious. He wanted badly to make the most of his life and, to this end, he was prepared to make great demands on himself. He was a man…

16 Apr - 16 Apr

Cf. Commentary of Saint John, 85, 1840.

Lord! Please drown me in your so desirable and desired heavenly waters, drown there my concupiscence, drown there my pride, drown there all my vices and faults, in order that…

16 Apr - 16 Apr

Joseph Shanahan, to Sister Brigid, 17.11.1935. Letters II, p.221

I am convinced that all missionaries should have an unbounded confidence in God's holy Providence, especially in the midst of grave temptation: e.g. serious difficulties of no matter what nature,…

17 Apr - 17 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, IV, 687, 1851.

May God give you his peace and his love.

17 Apr - 17 Apr

Since the beginning, the service of the poor has been one of the basic commitments of the Congregation and nearly all the significant experiences take root in this same concern.…

18 Apr - 18 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters I, 126, 1835.

Enter most deeply into your innermost self and never come out. If you do that, your joy will be full and the peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ will flood…

18 Apr - 18 Apr

Jacques Laval to Libermann: 25.01.1848

I won't talk to you about my poor soul; it is very tired and cowardly, rarely thinks about God, hardly loves Our Lord Jesus any more and is no longer…

19 Apr - 19 Apr

Cf. Notes and Documents, XIII, 144, 1851.

All rigidity of will, all trust in oneself and one’s own ideas must disappear, and be wiped out, if one is to possess these two magnificent virtues which are gentleness…

19 Apr - 19 Apr

Populorum Progressio no. 37

There are some countries and geographic and cultural areas which do not have a local community of Christians; elsewhere such communities are so small that they are hardly a clear…

20 Apr - 20 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 388, 1839.

When I noticed a soul that seemed to be called to the perfection of interior life, I would try to keep it away from too much movement, precipitation, trouble, anxieties,…

20 Apr - 20 Apr

Libermann to Luquet: 26.11.1838. L.S. II, p.116-117

Don't allow yourself to get upset about the faults you commit. Guard against becoming impatient with yourself or getting depressed because of your weaknesses. Beware of any sort of anguish…

21 Apr - 21 Apr

Cf. Notes and Documents, VII, 37, 1845.

With regards to prayer, there is no need to look for lots of reflections, or to produce lots of acts of the will. Stand before Jesus like a poor miserable…

21 Apr - 21 Apr

Pius XII: Fidei Donum

With the coming of independence in Africa and the establishment of hierarchies to govern the local Churches, the resultant missionary needs are urgent and serious. Everybody, from bishops to lay…

22 Apr - 22 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, IV, 687, 1851.

May your life be therefore one of love, peace, of zeal and mercy. Live for God in this spirit and for these souls that are so poor.

22 Apr - 22 Apr

Samson Libermann, talking of his younger brother, Jacob. N.D I, p. 51

Up to the age of 15, Jacob studied nothing but Jewish theology. The only subject for his meditations was the Talmud and its various commentaries. Until he was 20, he…

23 Apr - 23 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 341, 1839.

Go your way cheerfully, simply, without dissipation, but without strain or inhibition, without apprehension of being well or ill judged, of pleasing or displeasing, without wanting to appear important, to…

23 Apr - 23 Apr

Libermann: Règlements of 1849. III,I, nos. 2-3

As the Congregation, along with all its members and all its works, exists only for the glory of God, all its undertakings must be of a religious nature. Consequently, nobody…

24 Apr - 24 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 341, 1839.

Try to keep your mind free, cheerful, and open. This openness of heart and mind is indispensable for the acquisition of true interior spirit.

24 Apr - 24 Apr

John Paul II: Redemptoris Missio no. 91

The missionary is a person of the Beatitudes. Before sending out the Twelve to evangelise, Jesus teaches them the paths of mission: poverty, meekness, acceptance of suffering and persecution, the…

25 Apr - 25 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 341, 1839.

In the course of a conversation, observe moderation, peace, gentleness. Do not centre too much on yourself, forget yourself completely. In fact, anytime you start thinking of yourself, you will…

25 Apr - 25 Apr

Eugénie Caps, foundress of the Spiritan Sisters

During my thanksgiving after communion this morning, Jesus made it clear to me that he wants a new order of missionary sisters and that you and I must bring it…

26 Apr - 26 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 341, 1839.

Once recreation is over, think no more of what you have said and done. If an indiscreet word has escaped you which might have displeased a confrere, do not trouble…

26 Apr - 26 Apr

P. Schouver, Supérieur Général, Lettre Noël 96

Les voies de la mission au-delà des frontières sont ouvertes là-bas (en Extrême-Orient). J’ai en mémoire : un Franciscain dans les montagnes de Taiwan, au milieu des populations indigènes comme…

December 25, 1986

27 Apr - 27 Apr

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…

27 Apr - 27 Apr

From E.G.C. Knechsteden, 1978. cf. I/D no 18

It is important that we Spiritans see ourselves as religious missionaries. There may be an unconscious assumption amongst us that the priesthood is more 'important' than the religious life; that…

28 Apr - 28 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 238, 1836.

There would be many things to say about genuine simplicity, because generally, we do not know what it is. We look at it as something ordinary, and yet, it is…

28 Apr - 28 Apr

Spiritan Rule of 11.03.1848, edited by M. Leguay

The aim of the Congregation is to form associates who will be committed to ecclesiastical discipline, with a love for all the virtues, especially obedience and poverty. They will be…

29 Apr - 29 Apr

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 109, 1835.

Of what good is it to amuse our hearts with frivolities during the short time that stay on earth? Will all these things not pass away? All these things vanish,…

29 Apr - 29 Apr

Cardinal Margéot: Homily for the beatification of Jacques Laval

The poor are evangelised by the poor. It was the custom in the co-lonial society at that time for mothers to give their babies to local women to nurse because…

30 Apr - 30 Apr

Cf. Commentary of Saint John, 328.

Our Lord will communicate the most abundant gift of his Holy Spirit to us, which will fill us so much with his love, his holiness, his power and all the…

30 Apr - 30 Apr

Claude Poullart des Places: Fragments from a personal Rule

Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit, whom I adore with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength, I beg you to grant me faith, humility, chastity…