Human Fraternity (first day)
Scripture Reading: Lk 10:25-37
Spiritan Rule of Life
- In local Churches, (…) awakening an understanding of the universal mission, of justice, and of kinship between peoples are (part of) our principal activities.
Decisions of the General Chapter of Bagamoyo II (2021):
* Mission Priorities should be in line with a creative reading of the signs of the times in the light of our Charism, and a synodal/ collaborative approach, that is, collaboration.
They should include:
- outreach to the youth (taking into account the emerging digital world),
- Special attention to the marginalized, new urban poor, migrants and respect for ecology;
- Working for justice and promoting integral ecology.
Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti (Encyclical), 2020, nos. 258, 261 and 262:
Never again war! (…) Every war leaves our world worse than it was before. War is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil. (…) Let us ask the victims themselves. (…) With the money spent on weapons and other military expenditures, let us establish a global fund that can finally put an end to hunger and favour development in the most impoverished countries.
Question: How can my community promote human fraternity beyond the boundaries of the Church?
Prayer: Our Father
Final Prayer[1] : (said by all)
O God, Trinity of love,
from the profound communion of your divine life,
pour out upon us a torrent of fraternal love.
Grant us the love reflected in the actions of Jesus, in his family of Nazareth,
and in the early Christian community.
Grant that we Christians may live the Gospel,
discovering Christ in each human being,
recognizing him crucified in the sufferings of the abandoned and forgotten of our world,
and risen in each brother or sister
who makes a new start.
Come, Holy Spirit, show us your beauty,
reflected in all the peoples of the earth,
so that we may discover anew
that all are important and all are necessary,
different faces of the one humanity
that God so loves. Amen!
Interreligious Dialogue (second day)
Scripture Reading: Lk 7:1-9
Spiritan Rule of Life
15.3. In certain circumstances it is not possible for us to preach the gospel by word. In such cases our motivation is the conviction that the Holy Spirit is already present and that our presence is witness and service in the name of the gospel for the Kingdom (Ad Gentes, 6).
16.3. We try in dialogue to co-operate honestly with the leaders and the faithful of other religions as well as with those who do not believe in God. We put our trust in the Holy Spirit, leading both us and them “to the complete truth” (Jn 16,13).
Decisions of the General Chapter of Bagamoyo II (2021):
* Each circumscription and each spiritan carry the concern for interreligious dialogue. Lay Spiritans associated with interreligious dialogue should be interested in, so that we can offer them training and the possibility of a long-term commitment in this field.
* Let commitment for interreligious dialogue be integrated into the strategic plan of the circumscription, according to the reality and concrete challenges of each circumscription, and specify the places and means necessary for this missionary commitment.
* The period of pastoral placement is particularly favourable for involvement in interreligious dialogue.
Pope Francis, The joy of the gospel (Encyclical Evangelii Gaudium), 2013, n. 250:
An attitude of openness in truth and in love must characterize the dialogue with the followers of non-Christian religions, in spite of various obstacles and difficulties, especially forms of fundamentalism on both sides. Interreligious dialogue is a necessary condition for peace in the world, and so it is a duty for Christians as well as other religious communities. This dialogue is in first place a conversation about human existence or simply, as the bishops of India have put it, a matter of “being open to them, sharing their joys and sorrows”. In this way we learn to accept others and their different ways of living, thinking and speaking. We can then join one another in taking up the duty of serving justice and peace, which should become a basic principle of all our exchanges. A dialogue which seeks social peace and justice is in itself, beyond all merely practical considerations, an ethical commitment which brings about a new social situation. Efforts made in dealing with a specific theme can become a process in which, by mutual listening, both parts can be purified and enriched. These efforts, therefore, can also express love for truth.
Question: Do I know any non-Christians? If so, what kind of relationship do I have with them?
Prayer: Our Father
Final Prayer[2]: (said by all)
Lord our God,
you invite us to reconciliation and fraternity between all believers as well as between unbelievers and between all people of good will. You call all thinking people to reject mindless violence and blind extremism; you call us to appreciate the values of tolerance and brotherhood, promoted and encouraged by different religious faiths.
Grant that the lives of believers may be a witness to the greatness of faith in God, who brings together those who are divided and raises the human spirit, so that their brotherhood becomes a symbol of understanding between East and West, between North and South and between all who believe that God has created us to know each other, to work together and live together as brothers who love one another.
You raise up this hope among us and challenge us to pave the way in our world today, with the aim of attaining a worldwide peace which all people may enjoy. Amen.
Justice and Peace (third day)
Scripture Reading: Lk 4:17-21
Provisional Rule of the Missionaries of the Holy Heart of Mary (1841)[3]:
They will be the advocates, supporters and defenders of the weak and powerless against those who oppress them. The great love and power of Our Lord Jesus Christ must develop in their hearts in all circumstances. Their whole conduct though, should be guided by a holy prudence and gentleness which their master will show them if they are faithful.
Commentary by Fr. Libermann: In the colonies and untamed countries, we will find a host of unfortunate people who are utterly dependent on other men who often treat them in a most violent way. It is for the missionary to take charge of the cause of the oppressed; he must defend the weak against those who maltreat them. But let him be careful not to let himself be carried away by indignation or other reaction or violent impression which the sight of such maltreatment could create in him; in such situations the missionary must keep control of himself, being careful not to be imprudent or provoke such people without obtaining some relief for the victims whom he wishes to defend.
Decisions of the General Chapter of Bagamoyo II (2021):
*In parishes confided to us and in works involving Spiritans, JPIC groups will be formed with an appropriate accompaniment. These groups will be particularly attentive to forming and sensitizing people to situations of injustice, to threats to human life and the environment, and to the defence of social, fiscal and economic justice.
Pope Francis, Address of His Holiness at the Founder’s Memorial (Abu Dhabi)
(4 February 2019):
Justice is the second wing of peace, which often is not compromised by single episodes, but is slowly eaten away by the cancer of injustice.
No one, therefore, can believe in God and not seek to live in justice with everyone, according to the Golden Rule: “So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets” (Mt 7:12).
Peace and justice are inseparable! The prophet Isaiah says: “And the effect of righteousness will be peace” (32:17). Peace dies when it is divorced from justice, but justice is false if it is not universal. A justice addressed only to family members, compatriots, believers of the same faith is a limping justice; it is a disguised injustice!
Question: What role does my community play in defending the weaker members of society?
What part does it play in promoting justice?
Prayer: Our Father
Final Prayer[4] : (said by all)
Prayer to the Creator
Lord, Father of our human family,
you created all human beings equal in dignity:
pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit
and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter,
dialogue, justice and peace.
Move us to create healthier societies
and a more dignified world,
a world without hunger, poverty, violence and war.
May our hearts be open to all the peoples and nations of the earth.
May we recognize the goodness and beauty
that you have sown in each of us,
and thus forge bonds of unity, common projects,
and shared dreams. Amen.
Development and Safeguarding Creation (fourth day)
Scripture Reading: Rom 8:19-22
Decisions of the General Chapter of Bagamoyo II (2021):
* Development work is a call from the Church that is heard and acted upon by the congregation. Development must therefore be at the heart of our mission; it is included in the strategic plan of the circumscriptions.
* Confreres and communities are called to a simple and eco-friendly way of life.
* There will be a particular attention (…) to matters linked with threats to the environment, nature and natural resources.
Pope Francis, The joy of the gospel (Encyclical Evangelii Gaudium), 2013, n. 186.
Our faith in Christ, who became poor, and was always close to the poor and the outcast, is the basis of our concern for the integral development of society’s most neglected members.
Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ (Encyclical), 2015, n. 14:
I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all. The worldwide ecological movement has already made considerable progress and led to the establishment of numerous organizations committed to raising awareness of these challenges. Regrettably, many efforts to seek concrete solutions to the environmental crisis have proved ineffective, not only because of powerful opposition but also because of a more general lack of interest. Obstructionist attitudes, even on the part of believers, can range from denial of the problem to indifference, nonchalant resignation or blind confidence in technical solutions. We require a new and universal solidarity. (…) All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.
Question: How do we participate in improving the living conditions of the people to whom we are sent?
What can we do to be converted towards a simpler and more ecological “lifestyle” in community?
Prayer: Our Father
Final Prayer[5]: (said by all)
Triune Lord, wondrous community of infinite love, teach us to contemplate you in the beauty of the universe, for all things speak of you. Awaken our praise and thankfulness for every being that you have made. Give us the grace to feel profoundly joined to everything that is.
God of love, show us our place in this world as channels of your love for all the creatures of this earth, for not one of them is forgotten in your sight.
Enlighten those who possess power and money
that they may avoid the sin of indifference,
that they may love the common good, advance the weak, and care for this world in which we live.
The poor and the earth are crying out.
O Lord, seize us with your power and light, help us to protect all life, to prepare for a better future, for the coming of your Kingdom of justice, peace, love and beauty.
Praise be to you! Amen.
Migrants and refugees (fifth day)
Scripture Reading: Mt 25:31-46
Decisions of the General Chapter of Bagamoyo II (2021):
*In parishes confided to us and in works involving Spiritans, JPIC groups will be formed with an appropriate accompaniment. These groups will be particularly attentive to forming and sensitizing people to situations of injustice, to threats to human life and the environment, and to the defence of social, fiscal and economic justice.
*Special attention will be given to situations of injustice regarding migrants, refugees, prisoners, indigenous peoples (Bagamoyo I 1.25.) and regarding conflicts and intercultural and interreligious issues.
Pope Francis, “towards an ever wider ‘we’”, Message of Pope Francis for the 107th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2021 (26 September 2021):
The Holy Spirit enables us to embrace everyone, to build communion in diversity, to unify differences without imposing a depersonalized uniformity. In encountering the diversity of foreigners, migrants and refugees, and in the intercultural dialogue that can emerge from this encounter, we have an opportunity to grow as Church and to enrich one another. All the baptized, wherever they find themselves, are by right members of both their local ecclesial community and the one Church, dwellers in one home and part of one family.
Question: “I would like once again to encourage the welcome of refugees, in whom Christ is present, and give thanks for the network of solidarity which has been formed to help them”. (Message of Pope Francis, Angelus of 13 March 2022).
To what extent are we concerned about our brothers and sisters who are migrants or refugees?
Prayer: Our Father
Final Prayer:
Lord our God, no-one is a stranger for you. Neither is anyone far from your tender care.
In your goodness, look on migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Those who have been separated from their families, those who are lost, those who have been forced into exile far from their homes. Grant that they may arrive safe and sound at their destinations.
Help us always to show your goodness to strangers and those in need. We ask you this through Jesus Christ Our Lord, who himself was a refugee and a migrant, travelling in a foreign land in search of a home. Amen.
Safeguarding Minors and Vulnerable Adults (sixth day)
Scripture Reading: Mk 9:35-37
Provisional Rule of the Missionaries of the Holy Heart of Mary (1841)[6]
In their relationships with children, the missionaries will avoid those attentions and too natural feelings of affection which come so spontaneously because of their innocence, their piety etc; they should also avoid too affectionate shows of tenderness, such as embraces, kisses (…).
Commentary of Fr. Libermann. You must never let yourself be attracted to a child because of his appearance; emotional feelings for a child are dangerous (…) you must be very careful never to show any preference based on such feelings; because that can be very harmful to a child, and could prevent you from achieving any good results from meeting them. It is not good at all to be indulgent towards a handsome-looking child. You have to be cautious dealing with children. It would be better if you do not touch them at all; if you feel a certain attraction towards any child, you must put yourself on guard and behave appropriately.
Decisions of the General Chapter of Bagamoyo II (2021)
- Each circumscription will include in its global plan of on-going formation, some training in the protection of minors and vulnerable persons and updating for all its members.
- Our listening to victims and our desire to act justly in their regard echoes the charism of our Congregation which sees the poor as the first ones to receive the Good News.
Pope Francis, Letter to the People of God, 2018, n. 2:
The only way that we have to respond to this evil [of sexual abuses] that has darkened so many lives is to experience it as a task regarding all of us as the People of God. This awareness of being part of a people and a shared history will enable us to acknowledge our past sins and mistakes with a penitential openness that can allow us to be renewed from within. Without the active participation of all the Church’s members, everything being done to uproot the culture of abuse in our communities will not be successful in generating the necessary dynamics for sound and realistic transformation.
Questions: What kind of discussions do we have in community on the subject of the protection of minors and vulnerable adults? How do we see those who are victims of abuse? How do we look upon confreres who have been convicted of such crimes?
Prayer: Our Father
Final Prayer[7]: (said by all)
May the Holy Spirit grant us the grace of conversion and the interior anointing needed to express before these crimes of abuse our compunction and our resolve to courageously combat them. Amen.
Education and Youth (seventh day)
Scripture Reading: Mt 25:14-30
Spiritan Rule of Life
- In local Churches, (…) engaging in social and educational work in line with our Spiritan calling are (part of) our principal activities.
Decisions of the General Chapter of Bagamoyo I 2012, n. 1.32:
* We transmit, by example and an appropriate formation, the Spiritan vision and ethos in our educational commitments (groups, personnel, teachers, parents, students and pupils).
Decisions of the General Chapter of Bagamoyo II 2021:
* Mission Priorities should be in line with a creative reading of the signs of the times in the light of our Charism, and a synodal/ collaborative approach. They should include outreach to the youth (taking into account the emerging digital world). (…).
Pope Francis, Address of Pope Francis at the Founder’s Memorial (Abou Dabi) (4 February 2019):
Education also happens in a relationship, in reciprocity. Alongside the famous ancient maxim “know yourself”, we must uphold “know your brother or sister”: their history, their culture and their faith, because there is no genuine self-knowledge without the other. As human beings, and even more so as brothers and sisters, let us remind each other that nothing of what is human can remain foreign to us. It is important for the future to form open identities capable of overcoming the temptation to turn in on oneself and become rigid.
Investing in culture encourages a decrease of hatred and a growth of civility and prosperity. Education and violence are inversely proportional. (…).
Young people, who are often surrounded by negative messages and fake news, need to learn not to surrender to the seductions of materialism, hatred and prejudice. They need to learn to object to injustice and also to the painful experiences of the past. They need to learn to defend the rights of others with the same energy with which they defend their own rights. One day, they will be the ones to judge us. They will judge us well, if we have given them a solid foundation for creating new encounters of civility. They will judge us poorly, if we have left them only mirages and the empty prospect of harmful conflicts of incivility.
Questions : How do we communicate with the younger generations (confrères, young adults, adolescents, children)? How do we take their aspirations into account? What do we want to transmit to them?
Prayer: Our Father
Final Prayer: (said by all)
God our Father, you travel alongside humanity down through the generations speaking to them and facilitating their awareness and growth. Teach us to discover the varied gifts you have planted like a seed in each one of your sons and daughters. Help us to educate our children and young people with love and confidence, with intelligence and tact. Help us to rejoice with them in their discoveries and successes, and to be patient and calm with them in their weaknesses.
Give us your Spirit of love, of discernment and wisdom, so that we can walk together on your path at the service of your plan of faith, peace and joy.
Through Jesus Christ, your Son, our guide and light on the road, he who knew how to raise up the broken-hearted and show your love to the marginalized, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever!
Synodality and collaborations (eighth day)
Scripture Reading: 1 Co 12:1-11
Spiritan Rule of Life
- In local Churches (…) fostering Christian communities and the education and training of a committed and responsible laity are (part of) our principal activities.
24.3. In some places those who are working with us wish to be associated with us. We welcome them with joy, inviting them to share our spirituality and our apostolic life. (…).
Decisions of the General Chapter of Bagamoyo II (2021):
* Circumscriptions will only accept missions which are consistent with the vision of the Congregation, which are viable and realized in collaboration with Lay Spiritan Associates and other partners in mission. Synodality as a criterion for commitment will be essential.
* extract from the Final Chapter Message: “The General Chapter, (…) inspired by the Word of God “Behold, I am doing something new” (Isaiah 43:19) (…) overwhelmingly affirmed Pope Francis’ call to be a Synodal church, with dialogue, unity, consultation and active participation of everyone at every level all the time, on our journey together toward our shared mission.”
Letter of the Superior General “Synodality is the Identity of the Church and of the Spiritan Mission” (17 January 2022).
Synodality, according to Pope Francis, expresses the nature of the Church, her form, her style, her mission. It is not a slogan, it means ‘WALKING TOGETHER’, it is a living expression of being Church, where all are protagonists, in search of a continuous conversion. It is a dynamism of reciprocal listening, without fear of debate. The focal point is the pastoral discernment that results from openness to the inspiration of the Spirit who, today as in the time of the Acts of the Apostles, blows when he wills, where he wills and how he wills. (…).
We Spiritans are already doing much in this spirit of Synodality in our communities and provinces, as we have always tried to live with great openness. Faithful to the inspiration of Pope Francis and docile to the decisions of the General Chapter, we are asked to strengthen this commitment, heart and soul, to build a Church in which all its members would have a voice, to listen to the Spirit and put into practice his inspirations for our times. The General Council urges all circumscriptions, communities and confreres, to actively participate in the synodal journey, integrating ourselves into the dynamisms of the local Churches and helping to sensitize and engage those with whom we live and work.
Question: How am I and my community involved in sharing the Spiritan charism with the laity?
Prayer: Our Father
Final Prayer[8]: (said by all)
We stand before You, Holy Spirit, as we gather together in Your name.
With You alone to guide us, make Yourself at home in our hearts;
Teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it.
We are weak and sinful; do not let us promote disorder.
Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions.
Let us find in You our unity so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth and what is right.
All this we ask of You, who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen.
Poor (ninth day)
Scripture Reading: Ja 2:1-7
Provisional Rule of the Missionaries of the Holy Heart of Mary (1841)[9]
Missionaries of the Holy Heart of Mary will have a special care and tenderness for the poorest and most miserable. They will treat them with special love and kindness, and will obtain for them all the help and solace they can without asking whether they deserve it or not. They will often converse with them, they will visit them frequently in their poor surroundings and will allow no chance to escape of instructing them in Christian truth and of helping them to improve their lot. They will use the means they judge to be necessary to help them frequent the sacraments, and prepare them for this. They will enrich them and fill them, as far as they can, with every sort of spiritual blessing.
Spiritan Rule of life
24.1. Our closeness to the poor brings us to hear afresh the gospel that we are preaching. It becomes an unceasing summons to conversion and an invitation to adopt a simple style of life.
Decisions of the General Chapter of Bagamoyo II (2021):
* Mission Priorities should be in line with a creative reading of the signs of the times in the light of our Charism, and a synodal/ collaborative approach, that is collaboration. They should include (…) taking into account the emerging digital world), to the new urban poor, migrants and respect for ecology;
Pope Francis, The joy of the gospel (Encyclical Evangelii Gaudium), 2013, n. 197 and 198:
God’s heart has a special place for the poor, so much so that he himself “became poor” (2 Cor 8:9). (…).
This is why I want a Church which is poor and for the poor. They have much to teach us. Not only do they share in the sensus fidei, but in their difficulties they know the suffering Christ. We need to let ourselves be evangelized by them. The new evangelization is an invitation to acknowledge the saving power at work in their lives and to put them at the centre of the Church’s pilgrim way. We are called to find Christ in them, to lend our voice to their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to speak for them and to embrace the mysterious wisdom which God wishes to share with us through them.
Question: What poor person could I visit in his/her home?
Prayer: Our Father
Final Prayer[10]: (said by all)
All-powerful God,
(…) You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature
as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day. (…)
[1] Pope Francis, Encyclical Fratelli tutti, 2020, n. 287.
[2] Prayer composed from the conclusion of the Abu Dhabi Declaration of Pope Francis and the Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmad al-Tayyeb, on “human fraternity for world peace and common coexistence”, February 2019.
[3] Part I, Chapter 9 “Some rules of conduct towards those we are to evangelise”, Article 6.
[4] Pope Francis, Encyclical Fratelli tutti, 2020, n. 287.
[5] Pope Francis, Encyclical Laudato Si’, 2015, n. 246.
[6] Part Two, Chapter 3 “Chastity”, Article 16.
[7] Pope Francis, Letter to the People of God, 2018, concluding prayer.
[8] Prayer for the Synod 2023.
[9] Part I, Chapter 9 “Some rules of conduct towards those we are to evangelise”, Article 3.
[10] Pope Francis, Encyclical Laudato Si’, 2015, n°246.
