Calendar

May 1900

01 May - 01 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, III, 287, 1843.

Saint Joseph must be very dear to every member of the Congregation, because of his intimate relationship with Jesus and Mary because he so deserved the tenderness of the Heart…

01 May - 01 May

Libermann: Règle Provisoire, 1,2,3, gloss

We are called to the apostolate; to carry out this apostolate fruit-fully we need the apostolic spirit. Apart from Our Lord himself, where can we find this spirit more perfectly…

02 May - 02 May

Cf. Commentary of Saint John, 328.

For all those who desire to obtain the salvation and the sanctification of souls, the great means that they have is to go to Our Lord with this devotion to…

02 May - 02 May

Libermann to Poupart, 01.01.1839. L.S.II 386-390

I do not know if I was right, I felt that since they (people being directed by Libermann) were really trying to live the interior life and to renounce all…

03 May - 03 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 209, 1839.

If you make it a habit to live with Jesus and Mary, you cannot fail to strengthen yourself and be soon filled with divine love, because when one is between…

03 May - 03 May

Joseph Shanahan to Mother Bernard, 01.07.1935, Letters II, p.144

I see now more fully realised than ever the beauty of religious life - the staunch fraternal love both human and divine that binds us all together in and with…

04 May - 04 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 159, 1836.

If God finds our heart disposed and empty of the world and of worldly desires, he fills them with his love, with this love so beautiful, so kind, so full…

04 May - 04 May

J. Michel: Mémoire Spiritaine, Etudes et Documents no. 4, p. 113

From his childhood, Claude Poullart des Places had a great concern for the poor. He was convinced 'that their souls were no less dear to Jesus than those of the…

05 May - 05 May

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…

05 May - 05 May

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

Libermann welcomed the invasion of God into his life. His natural sensitivity gave a richness and depth to the impression he received. Periods of solitude and passivity became the most…

05 May - 05 May

The appointment of Fr Léon Lejeune as Prefect Apostolic of Southern Nigeria after 14 years in Gabon sets the mission on a new course. His program emphasises the planting and…

06 May - 06 May

Cf. Notes and Documents, I, 143, 1830.

I seem to hear this Holy Mother yelling at all of us “Come, my dear children, come to me, come and rest on my Heart. My dear Son has put…

06 May - 06 May

Provisional Rule , 2nd part, Chapter 1

Three elements go to make up the spiritual state of the Congregation: community life, the apostolate and the spirit of religion. The "spirit of religion" means that we totally abandon…

07 May - 07 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, IV, 458, 1847.

Support one another mutually, put up with your faults, ease your mutual troubles, comfort your confreres, do not judge them, love them, and be gentle towards them, even when you…

07 May - 07 May

EGC Carcavelos, 1982. cf. I/D no. 32

With the passage of time, all institutes grow old in their commitments and fall away from their ideal. There is constant need for the Congregation to rejuvenate itself, especially in…

08 May - 08 May

Cf. Notes and Documents, I, 143, 1830.

O my good Mother you love me a thousand and a thousand times more than mothers love their children, and you would leave me in sorrow without giving me any…

08 May - 08 May

EGC Arusha, 1989. cf. Spiritan News no. 77

Young Provinces and Foundations are increasing in number: what is the process for passing from Foundation to Province? Above all, we must preserve both the originality and identity of the…

09 May - 09 May

Cf. Notes and Documents, III, 102, 1842.

It is the Spirit who must work in our souls, more or less perfectly according to God’s plans for us and according to our fidelity to correspond to them. Without…

09 May - 09 May

Pierre Haas, Superior General: Christmas Letter, 1989

The EGC of Arusha invites us to turn our gaze towards the future. During its recent session, the General Council, taking into account the suggestions made at Arusha, decided that…

10 May - 10 May

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

Mental prayer is an important business, but a very simple. It should consist in a repose which is simple, peaceful and full of confidence before Our Lord that is all.

10 May - 10 May

Bishop Barron to Libermann, N.D.5, p. 64-65. In the same letter he...

I fear that our missionary enterprise has resulted in failure. I believe that the best way to evangelise the west coast of Africa would be to find young boys in…

11 May - 11 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 388, 1838.

For the chaplet, do not absolutely seek to enter in all the sentiments and thoughts of the prayer that you recite. Keep yourself peacefully united to the Lord or to…

11 May - 11 May

Pope John Paul II: Populorum Progressio, no, 42

What must be aimed at is complete humanism. And what is that if not the fully-rounded development of the whole person? A humanism closed in on itself and not open…

12 May - 12 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 424, 1940.

It is sufficient for me therefore to give my soul unceasingly to Jesus Christ our Lord and to the Most Blessed Virgin our good Mother, so that the divine Spirit…

12 May - 12 May

Libermann: E.S. supplement, p. 17-19

Why do we fail to make progress in our union with God? Because we are never within ourselves to listen to him. We don't hear him because there is no…

13 May - 13 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 64, 1834.

Please note my very dear, that the admirable interior of the Most Blessed Virgin is perfectly similar to that of Jesus. A ray of light and grace flow throughout eternity…

13 May - 13 May

Charles Besnard: Life of Grignon de Montfort

Claude began by renting a room in the rue des Cordiers near the College and gathered there the poor students whom he had already been helping before and whose dispositions…

14 May - 14 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 468, 1840.

Let everything be natural in you and come from the Holy Spirit. Yet, everything which flow from this Spirit is gentle, mild, modest and humble. Strength and mildness, is the…

14 May - 14 May

We live out our mission in willing obedience to the Holy Spirit, tak-ing Mary as our model. This condition of habitual fidelity to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is…

15 May - 15 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 424, 1840.

It would be a great and admirable thing, for the Holy Spirit to accomplish in our souls this holy union with Jesus in Mary and with Mary in Jesus.

15 May - 15 May

Pierre Schouver, Pentecost Letter, 1997

Our brothers and sisters in Africa, including our conFrères, have a lesson for us as we come up against obstacles and an awareness of how weak we are. We sometimes…

16 May - 16 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 424, 1840.

May Jesus live in us as he lived in Mary. May we be united to Mary as she was united with Jesus, in a union of desire, a union of…

16 May - 16 May

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

Always derived from experience, never tied to a system, personal holiness was for Libermann the key of life. In a sheltered seminary setting, it took the shape of a personal…

17 May - 17 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 109, 1835.

We must love God with all our soul, with all our desires and with all our affections. Just when do we love God in this way? It is when we…

17 May - 17 May

Nazaire Diatta: Memoire Spiritaine on Poullart des Places, p. 219

For me, the most striking thing about his (Poullart) spirituality is that he followed the path of the rich young man but in the opposite direction! In contrast to the…

18 May - 18 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 109, 1835.

One must love nothing on earth or in heaven but God alone, and every other things must be loved uniquely for him and in him. It seems a bit hard,…

18 May - 18 May

John Paul II: Redemptoris Missio 34

Missionary activity proper, namely the mission ad gentes, is directed to "peoples or groups who do not yet believe in Christ," "who are far from Christ," in whom the Church…

19 May - 19 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 424, 1840.

It is not the words that fill our soul with divine love and which keep us united in this holy love, but the Spirit of Our Lord, who lives in…

19 May - 19 May

John Paul II: Redemptoris Missio

The specific nature of this mission ad gentes consists in its being addressed to "non-Christians." It is therefore necessary to ensure that this specifically "missionary work that Jesus entrusted and…

20 May - 20 May

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

I am always contented, always happy. My heart is always in a perfect tranquillity and nothing is capable of troubling this peace.

20 May - 20 May

EGC at Dakar, no. 4.4.4

Through our missionary undertakings, we receive something of the abundant riches of grace that God gives to different nations. Before drawing up our own initiatives and programmes, it is our…

21 May - 21 May

Cf. Spiritual Writings, Supplement 102.

Do we not know that, when it comes to seeking the Heart of Jesus, it is with Mary that we have to find it?

21 May - 21 May

Séan Farragher in Memoire Spiritaine devoted to Poullart des Places p. 162.

The first Mass of Claude (who had been ordained on 17.12.1707) must have been a big event, too large to have taken place in the property of rue Rollin. We…

22 May - 22 May

Cf. Spiritual Letter, I, 58, 1834.

Anxiety and trouble are for hell fire. The children of God must not experience it. Do your work with peace and tranquillity, do all that is in you, according to…

22 May - 22 May

B. Kelly, Life began at Forty, p.111-113

Libermann would insist that the real source of unity and continuity in his life was his relationship with God. Nothing is more true. Psychologically unsuited to life in public eye,…

23 May - 23 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 58, 1834.

If it pleases God to make your works succeed, rejoice before him and give him a very humble thanksgiving. If on the contrary, it goes wrong, bless him still with…

23 May - 23 May

Joseph Shanahan: to a Holy Rosary Sister 11.02.1937. Letters I, 133

By your life in all its activities, teach them the secret of God's living love in the very centre of their own soul. And so, the stream of divine life…

24 May - 24 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 119, 1835.

You know what Jesus Christ desires from all Christians: you will love the Lord your God with all your heart. This means that there must be no desire or affection…

24 May - 24 May

We count the following as constitutive parts of our mission of evangelisation: the 'integral liberation' of people, action for justice and peace and participation in development. It follows that we…

25 May - 25 May

Cf. Notes and Documents, I, 143, 1830.

Why did our good Lord put so much of abundance in the Holy Heart of Mary? Oh! This is easy to guess: it is because he knows the misery in…

25 May - 25 May

Once, while preaching, someone asked Jesus where he lived. His answer was 'Come and see'. The Lay Associates are also asking our Spiritan family a similar question: 'Where do you…

26 May - 26 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 341, 1839.

It is essential that you be open and gentle with everyone.

26 May - 26 May

Libermann: Notice, 15.08.1850

When the Society of the Holy Heart of Mary had passed through many trials to which the Lord, in his goodness, allowed it to be exposed, and had gained a…

27 May - 27 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 120, 1835.

I desire that you do a little mental prayer, in order to occupy your mind in a most intimate way of the things of God and by so doing you…

27 May - 27 May

Libermann: A Notice on the Congregation of the Holy Spirit and the...

The Congregation of the Holy Spirit was founded on the day of Pentecost, 1703, by M. Poulart-Deplaces of the diocese of Rennes with a view to training priests consecrated to…

28 May - 28 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, I, 122, 1835.

Do not worry yourself about my health, the good God knows what He has to do. Let Him act in the fullness of his love. Do not worry yourself about…

28 May - 28 May

Maynooth General Chapter: chap. 3, p. 107

The Spirit implants in us the desire to serve the poor and oppressed and shapes our hearts to respond to this desire. The Spirit is behind all the sources of…

29 May - 29 May

Cf. Spiritual Letters, II, 282, 1839.

It is necessary to preserve the life of our Lord in your interior by the purity of your desires and your affections. You must be careful, and never let yourself…

29 May - 29 May

Michael Amaladoss S.J.: Planète-Mission. Lourdes, 1994

We do not bring Christ to where he is not already present: Christ and his Spirit are already there, in a hidden way, before we arrive. So our task is…

30 May - 30 May

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…

30 May - 30 May

Michael Amaladoss S.J.: Planète-Mission. Lourdes, 1994

So to be on mission is to come in contact with a mystery that em-braces the whole world, the whole of history and all peoples: to look, contemplate, discern, listen,…

31 May - 31 May

Cf. Notes and Documents, I, 143, 1830.

Go and present yourself confidently to the most powerful Mother of God, and you will have everything you want. Did you not know that the Holy Heart of Mary is…

31 May - 31 May

Michael Amaladoss S.J.: Planète-Mission. Lourdes, 1994

The Church does not create dialogue between God and man, but she is an on-going sign of its presence, she nourishes it and strengthens it by symbolic acts both at…