My very dear brothers:
The poor one, ignored,
thirsty of God and Fraternity, the monk, the missionary priest... who lost his
heart for this Jesus de Nazareth, “who I test to imitate, in spite of my weaknesses”...
comes to be registered among the Blessed poor, humble, mercy, thirsty of
justice, of pure heart, proclaimed for Jesus of Nazareth… by the Church in Rome, who keeps
the testimony of the Apostles Peter and Paul.
! It was a Great Feast of the Church and the Spiritual Family of Brother
Charles!
During the Vigil Prayer at the Trappist Monastery of Tre Fontane, at Saint-Peters, as much during the Liturgy
Eucharistic of Monday 14th, one could felt the "Spirit of Universal
Fraternity" with our brothers the Touaregs, the Bedouins of the Sahara,
the little sisters and little brothers from Iraq, Afghanistan, Amazon, of the
tribes of Africa, of the slums of our large cities, of the corners of Asia,
Monastic Communities of Siberia, Burkina Faso and Central Republic of Africa,
laypeople from all continents, brothers, priests and bishops... all of whom try
to live the Spirit of Nazareth, given
testimony of the Gospel of the Kingdom
in simple and brotherly liturgical
expressions and with their diverse missionary commitments.
We experienced this great occasion as a letter from the Spirit to our
Churches "which are neither hot nor cold, but tepid..." (Apocalypse
3, 16), so that they listen to the voice of "One who stand at their
door"... through the murmurs of the
million our impoverished brothers and sisters, through:
-
A return to Jesus of Nazareth and to the Gospel of the
Kingdom: "The only One imitated,
celebrated and adored in the Eucharistic".
-
Churches where brothers and sisters are close to each
other in solidarity with the poor and the excluded... "Universal
Brother".
-
Missionary churches that "shout the Gospel with
their lives" and commit themselves to new ways so "that another world
may be possible".
Brother Charles used to say:
"We should keep on looking at the saints but al Him who makes the
saints".
In
And so, brothers and sisters, let us try to open our doors to Jesus of
Nazareth, the Risen One, who visits us on Christmas; let us do this in silence,
with an historic-contemplative prayer, in the Desert, with life’s revision in
fraternity, in our daily sharing.
¡In the "scandalous" joy of Christmas!
Un abrazo!
Mariano.