"Father, I wish to pray to you as your divine Son would pray in me" (Rosmini)
On the feast of St. Matthias, one of brothers here at the Rosmini Centre is today renewing his vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. It is a great occasion for him, since he is consecrating himself entirely to God, imitating the form of life of the Son of God, who chose for Himself, while here on earth, to be chaste, poor, and obedient.
In effect, such words go far beyond their restricted meaning: Christ was chaste in the greater sense that He gave Himself to everyone, that He sought the interests of everyone, loving everyone and sacrificing Himself for everyone. Chastity in Christ is His perfect gift of Himself to the human race of all times, to the point of death on the Cross.
Christ was poor because of His absolute dependence from the Father, trusting in Divine Providence, abandoning Himself entirely into the loving hands of His Father in Heaven. In His spirit, He remained free from all things, He was indifferent to events, people, situations the Father put before Him, always willing to accept them for the greater glory of His Father.
Christ was obedient to the Will of His Father: "My food is to do the Will of my Father... In all things I do what pleases the Father... I have come not to do my will but the Will of my Father..." He sought the Will of the Father and carried it out perfectly. His "consummatum est" at the end of His life manifested His fulfilment of the Divine Will right to the end.
The three words, chastity-poverty-obedience, express the whole form of life of the Son of God. He chose it for Himself as the most perfect; we, who desire to imitate Christ in all things, imitate it as the most perfect form of life for ourselves, following the long tradition that stretches back to His disciples and that will last until the end of the world.
We thank God, today, for our brother who is professing to follow Christ by embracing His form of life, and we pray that he may remain faithful to his commitment, as a prophetic reminder to the people of God of the reality of the Heavenly things which we shall all share in God's everlasting Kingdom.
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
O HOLY SPIRIT, Soul of my soul I adore you. Enlighten, guide, strengthen and console me. Tell me what I ought to do, and command me to do it. I promise to be submissive in everything that You shall ask of me, and to accept all that You permit to happen to me; only show me what is Your Will (Card. Mercier)
Click on GALLERY to see the latest development of the ROSMINI CENTRE - See pictures of the Gentili House, of the Chapel of Blessed Antonio Rosmini, and of the planting of thousands of trees. See also an account of the recent visit of students from Our Lady's Convent School in Loughborough.
ENCYCLICAL LETTER "SPE SALVI" OF BENEDICT XVI
Over 10,000 people flocked to Novara for the Beatification of Blessed Antonio Rosmini. The whole event was conducted with great simplicity, order, and solemnity. Cardinal Martins gave a deep sermon, inviting the faithful to see in Blessed Rosmini the "Doctor of Divine Providence", and to follow him on the way to holiness through a complete dedication to love, for God, the Church, the neighbour.
There were many poignant moments: the unveiling of the large painting of Blessed Rosmini soon after the reading of the decree on the beatification promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI; and the procession of the relic of Blessed Rosmini brought to the Cardinal by Father and Mother General, as the Institute total gift of its Founder to the universal Church.
Readers can watch the whole ceremony on a video which has been made available on the website: www.beatificazionerosmini.it
Pope Benedict XVI remembered Blessed Rosmini at the end of the Angelus on Sunday 18th November. This is what he said:
"This afternoon in Novara [Italy], the Venerable Servant of God Antonio Rosmini will be beatified, a great priestly figure and illustrious man of culture, inspired by a fervent love for God and the Church. He witnessed the virtue of charity in all its dimensions and at a high level, but what made him most famous was his generous commitment to what he called "intellectual charity", which means the reconciliation of reason with faith. May his example help the Church, especially the Italian Ecclesial Communities, to grow in the awareness that the light of human reason and that of Grace, when they journey together, become a source of blessing for the human person and for society."
Read Previous Thoughts for the Day
Two Articles on Blessed Antonio Rosmini
Homily of Cardinal Josè Saraiva Martins
Sports Centre, Novara
Sunday, November 18th, 2007
“As you, Father, are in me and I in you, so may they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that it was you who sent me.
1. With hearts full of spiritual joy, we contemplate the Church, in all the splendour of her beauty which in this Eucharistic celebration is manifested in today’s liturgical Feast of the local Churches that is celebrated in [the Region of] Piedmont and during which I have the great joy of presiding, as the Holy Father’s representative, at the rite of Beatification of Antonio Rosmini. The joy of the Church of Trent, which gave him birth, and of the Church of Novara, where he worked and where he gave up his soul to God, expands well beyond their already wide diocesan boundaries.
What a great truth is revealed, yet how much is hidden, in the strong affirmation, just heard in the Gospel of St John, that the Son of God uses in his final prayer to the Father. “I pray not only for these, but also for those who through their words will believe in me. – for us! - May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you. .. I in them and you in me…”! As you in me and I in you, so they likewise in us. The Church lives not in the “light of” but “in” the Trinity, and is loved with the same love with which the Father, the Son and the Spirit love each other. It is the consideration of such an inexpressible reality that leads the Apostle Peter, in today’s second reading, to describe the baptised as: “living stones making a spiritual house, … a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”
2. Today’s solemn celebration conveys the sense of that unbreakable link that exists between the Church and sanctity. Our Church, in fact, is the “Church of the saints” –as J Bernanos says – not a kind of spiritual policemen”. “Sanctity is “an adventure, indeed the only possible adventure”.
It is precisely for having had the strength to undertake this marvellous adventure of sanctity, in a sublime way, that the Church today is inscribing the abbot Rosmini in the register of the blessed. His is a sanctity not just proclaimed but lived in all its fullness.
Thus Rosmini writes at the beginning of the second of his renowned “Maxims of Perfection”, rightly considered the heart of his evangelical spirituality: “The first desire to arise in the Christian's heart from the supreme desire of justice[sanctity] is a longing for the increase and the glory of the Church of Jesus Christ”.
If the aim of the life of all Christians is the sole and infinite desire to please God, within that desire lies the choice of orientating all our thoughts and actions to the in increase and the glory of the Church of Jesus Christ. This fixed and indissoluble gaze at Christ and at his Church demands an extremely strong vision of the latter, something that Rosmini had in the wake of many other Christian thinkers. The first of these was St Augustine who wrote: “Let us rejoice, let us give thanks to God, not just because he has made us become Christians, but because he has made us become Christ himself. Are you aware, brothers, of which grace God has given us in giving Christ as the Head? Exult, rejoice, we have become Christ. If he is the Head, we are the members; we are one person, he and we. ..The fullness of Christ: the Head and the members.. Which is the Head, and which are the members? Christ and the Church”.
Rosmini founded the Institute of Charity (Rosminians) and the Sisters of Providence Rosminian for the exclusive service of this Church, which with Christ forms the “total Christ”. The sole end which Rosmini gave to these two Institutes is that which is the primary purpose of religious life itself: the tireless striving for one’s salvation and sanctity. Totally for the Church. This is an aspect that cost Rosmini dearly and which shines out in a highly significant and exemplary manner in his life; precisely his unshakeable and tenacious love for the Church.
In his Constitutions, he is very clear on this point: “Let us always think therefore of the Church of Christ, not of this Society, recalling in the joy of our heart the promises concerning the kingdom of Christ and the unchangeableness of the divine plan handed down to us as our inheritance”. (no. 468); “.... As long as it [our religious family] is useful to the Church, the heavenly Father will keep and protect it... If it begins to be useless or harmful, he will rightly cut down and burn the sterile tree”. (no.465). His religious sons and daughters, in their journey towards the sole aim of sanctity, should be open to whatever work of charity the Lord, acting mainly through the Pastors of the Church and the circumstances of times and places, would indicate to them:
3. If Blessed Antonio Rosmini, aside from guiding the two religious families that he had founded, dedicated his many energies to cultural tasks, particularly in the field of philosophy, of pedagogy and of theology, it was in response to the calls of the Popes of his time. These had seen in the intellectual gifts of the Roveretan priest the clear indication that he would have to serve the Church and mankind in elaborating a system of thought that would serve as a foundation for the faith. This entailed, as he himself put it, bringing man back to God by the same path of reason by which he had distanced himself by a bad use of same.
This immense task, which cost him fatigue and painful misunderstandings, has recently received the authoritative stamp of the Church, especially in the “Fides et Ratio” [Faith and Reason] encyclical of John Paul 11. In this, which opens with the lovely comparison (“Faith and reason are akin to two wings with which the human spirit raises itself towards the contemplation of the truth”), the late Pope, after having affirmed that the separation between faith and reason is a drama, cites St Augustine: “..It will help lead believers to a stronger conviction that faith grows deeper and more authentic when it is wedded to thought and does not reject it. It is again the Fathers who teach us this: “To believe is nothing other than to think with assent... Believers are also thinkers: in believing, they think and in thinking, they believe... If faith does not think, it is nothing”. And again: “If there is no assent, there is no faith, for without assent one does not really believe”. (Fides et Ratio, n. 79). In this same encyclical, the name of Rosmini is inserted among the modern exponents of this line of dialogue. “ We see the same fruitful relationship between philosophy and the word of God in the courageous research pursued by more recent thinkers, among whom I gladly mention, in a Western context, figures such as John Henry Newman, Antonio Rosmini, Jacques Maritain, Étienne Gilson and Edith Stein ..(Fides et Ratio 74)
The voice of Rosmini is a modern echo of that of the great Fathers of the Church at whose side he can confidently stand by reason of the acuteness and the vastness of his speculative interests, allied in turn with the evangelical ardour of the pastor of souls. Various and many definitions can be, and have been, given of him that describe only a part of the multiple facets of the prism of his extraordinary make-up. In Antonio Rosmini, one finds the philosopher, the pedagogue, the political theorist, the apostle of faith, the prophet, the giant of culture. Nevertheless, whilst all this enriches his significance and confirms his relevance, the key to today’s ceremony is that of the sanctity of Rosmini which, certainly, will help to re-establish the friendship between reason and faith, between religion, ethical behaviour and the public service of Christians.
4. The Church today proclaims Blessed this priest because it has recognised in his industrious existence the signs of virtue which he practised to a heroic degree. As a young priest, he had drawn up for himself a “Rule of conduct” based on the Gospels and which consisted of two principles: “1) To attend seriously to the task of correcting my enormous vices and of purifying my soul of the iniquity that had weighed upon it from my birth, without going in search of other occupations or undertakings for the benefit of my neighbour, because utterly powerless by myself to achieve anything whatsoever for others;” 2) “Acceptance of any works of charity in favour of my neighbour when Divine Providence should offer and present them to me, for God has the power to use anyone and even myself for His works. In such cases, I would maintain a perfect indifference in regard to all works of charity, doing the one proposed to me with the same enthusiasm as I would any other, at least as far as my free will was concerned”.
All those who knew Rosmini, the great personages of his era with whom he was often in contact as well as the most humble faithful, testified that he lived in conformity with this Rule of his, which finds its echo in the words of Jesus, “..without me, you can do nothing” (Jn 15,5) and in those of St Paul to the Philippians, “I can do all things in Him who enables me” (4, 13).
In the newly Blessed, one confirms a constant unifying thread between his thoughts, his belief and his daily life. This results in a testimony of life indicating that unity which is asceticism, mysticism, sanctity. The abbot Rosmini lived a theological life in which in which faith implies hope and charity and with such a dialogue of confident trust in Providence as not to undertake anything, be it big or small, “unless pulled there, as it were, by Providence itself”.
Elevating him to the honours of the altar, the Church indicates this priest as an intercessor and model for persons also of today, for us. The life and the teachings of the Founder of the Institute of Charity exhort us to resolutely put God at the centre of our existence, and to serve Him in man who is His sacrament and in whatever field that the Lord calls us to. Thus we will be glad to be inserted in Christ like branches in the Vine, and in attitude of dialogue, not one of opposition, with the many and at times deceitful currents of modern thought.
Let a hymn of gratitude arise from this Sacred Assembly to the Lord who leads all things with his admirable Providence. Our Blessed will offer us the words which in 1849, in a time of grave trial for him, he wrote to a confrere: “When I meditate on these things I wonder at them; and as I wonder, I love; loving them, I celebrate them; celebrating them I give thanks; and thanking God, I am full of happiness. And how else could I act, since I know both by reason and by faith, and feel deep within my spirit, that everything God does, or wishes, or allows, is done by an eternal, an infinite, an essential love? And who could be grieved by love?”[Ascetical Letters. Morris. Vol 6 n.113]. Amen.
BIBLE STUDY |
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Read the latest news about the Beatification of Fr. Rosmini Click on the word Beatification |
Check the Study link for a detailed commentary on Acts and Revelation. |
The Imitation of Christ"When you have Christ, you are rich, and He is sufficient for you; He will provide for you, and will be your faithful procurator in all things; so that you need not trust in men. For men quickly change and instantly fail; "bur Christ remains for ever" (Jn. 12,34) and stands by us staunchly to the end. No great confidence is to be put in a frail mortal man, though he be useful and beloved; nor should you be grieved if sometimes he be against you and cross you. They that are with you today may be against you tomorrow; because men change often like the wind. Place your whole confidence in God and let Him be your fear and your love; He will answer for you and do for you what is for the best. 'You have not here a lasting city' (He. 13,14) and wherever you are, you are a stranger and a pilgrim; nor will you ever have rest unless you be interiorly united to Christ" (Book 2, 1) |
A Prayer to the Holy Spirit
O HOLY SPIRIT, Soul of my soul I adore you. Enlighten, guide, strengthen and console me. Tell me what I ought to do, and command me to do it. I promise to be submissive in everything that You shall ask of me, and to accept all that You permit to happen to me; only show me what is Your Will (Card. Mercier)
A POEM ON GOD by Fr. Rosmini, soon after his ordination to the priesthood "How blessed it is to speak to God, To talk of God, To be satisfied with God alone; To recall, desire, understand, know, love God; To seek and find God in God; Giving oneself wholly to God, Leaving God for the delights of God; To think, to speak, to work for God; To hope in God alone; To have one's mind fixed on God always; Doing all things with God in God, Dedicated and consecrated to God, Pleasing God alone, Suffering for God, Rejoicing in God alone; To desire God alone, To abide with God forever, To exult in God in times of joy and pain; To see, touch, taste God, To live, die, and abide in God; With God and in God, ravished by God and elevated to God; To offer God to God For God's eternal honour and glory. O God, what joy and bliss you are! God, O God! God, O God! God, O God!" |
The Rosmini Centre House of Prayer is the home of a Rosminian Community open to all for prayer, worship, retreats, instruction. It was a derelict area in the Leicestershire countryside but is now being developed into a Centre of Prayer and Spirituality. We have a comprehensive programme of events - see the link to Programme for details.
Fr. Rosmini, the holy founder of the Rosminian Order, was a great spiritual master, a philosopher, and a theologian: hence all activities at the Centre will be based on the Gospel, the Church, and the special charism of Fr. Rosmini.
Wednesday 20th February 2008: Feast of the Cell and Meeting of the Ascribed at 7.30pm
The feast of the Cell is fast approaching. On 20th February, all members of the Rosminian Family worldwide will be reminded of and will be celebrating the feast of the Cell. I agree that the title of such feast must remain a mystery to all non Rosminians and perhaps even to some Rosminians as well.
The feast reminds us of the time spent by Blessed Antonio Rosmini in his small “Cella” at Calvario during the period of Lent of 1828; more precisely it celebrates the birthday of the Institute of Charity, on 20th February of that year, the day arranged by Fr. Rosmini and Fr. Lowevenbruck to begin the Institute in prayer and fasting, at Mount Calvario, at the foot of the Cross and besides Our Lady of Sorrows.
Many of the pilgrims who went to Novara recently for the Beatification had a chance of visiting Calvario and of praying in the Cella of Fr. Founder and their comments were invariably mixed with great admiration for his great holiness. Many knew that Fr. Rosmini had left the very comfortable life at Milan, and soon after a serious illness that nearly brought him to his early death, he had gone there in the middle of a most severe winter for 40 days of prayer and fasting. The Cell had a bed filled with leaves, and no heating at all. Yet, he persevered and wrote the Constitutions of the Institute of Charity.
Like all birthdays, it will be a joyful occasion, especially during this special year of the Beatification. It will be an opportunity to thank God for the many people who, from that fruitful beginning, have become holy by serving people everywhere through the Institute, and an opportunity for us all to renew our commitment to the charism of Fr. Founder.
Works at the Rosmini Centre are progressing well. Here are two pictures, one of the Chapel dedicated to Blessed Antonio Rosmini and the other of our residence called Gentili House:
Wednesday 20th December 2007: the last Agape meal before the end of the year. It was a beautiful occasion, with over 40 people in attendance. We had the Christmas Novena at the beginning of the meal, and the meal itself was interspersed with carol singing, a quiz on famous couples in the Bible, and a more general quiz. It was a way of experiencing Christian love and friendship keeping the Lord right at the centre.
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Wednesday 25 July: Lord St. John of Fawsley has donated a splendid Altar and Tabernacle by Pugin and various other most valuable religious objects to the Rosmini Centre - to be treated "with great reverence and honour". We visited Lord St. John at his penthouse in London, opposite the House of Commons, and he received us with great warmth and hospitality. We are most grateful for the gifts - which include some items belonging to Blessed Pius IX; and we ask the LORD to grant Lord St. John all that is good. Divine Providence had arranged that the precious gifts should be offered on 1st July, the anniversary of Fr. Rosmini's death and the day the official announcement of his beatification was made. Gifts from heaven, one may well say.
Monday 3 July: The Bible Study Group met to meditate and discuss Luke 9, 18-43: Peter confesses JESUS as the Christ, The Transfiguration, the Healing of a boy with an unclean spirit. The disciples are brought to full faith in the divinity of JESUS progressively and it is significant that the healing of the blind man in Mark 8, preceding the Confession of Peter, is equally in stages: "I see men walking about, like trees" and " Now, I see everything clearly". "Who do people say I am?" - a great prophet; this is the first stage in the mind of people and of the disciples themselves. But now JESUS expects a fuller reply, after His teaching and His mighty deeds; and Peter answers on behalf of all the others, "You are the Christ", which, in the other Gospels is, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" or "To whom shall we go? You alone have words of eternal life, and we believe and know that you are the holy One of God". We discussed the I AM sayings, to deepen our knowledge of the identity of JESUS. We also studied and discussed Peter's words at the Transfiguration, "Bonum est nos hic esse - It is good for us to be here": in the presence of the blessed Trinity - "This is my Beloved"; the importance of special moments of grace, in retreats or small groups of prayer, before coming down into the world to do good - the healing of the boy.
Wednesday 20 June: Healing Mass at the Rosmini Centre, for prayers for specific people known to those who came and who are in need of strength and healing. Deacon Joe and his wife also took full part in the liturgy. There was anointing on behalf of the sick who could not be present, and a blessing with the relic of the Holy Cross of JESUS, with the invitation of uniting all our sufferings to the suffering of Christ.
Thursday 14 June: 22 people gathered at the Rosmini Centre for Adoration, Benediction, and Agape Meal. During the period of Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament there was a consecration to the Sacred Heart of JESUS, whose feast will be celebrated tomorrow. The Agape meal, like for the early Christian community in Jerusalem, was an opportunity to celebrate "being one in heart and mind". Below are two photos of the event:
Monday 11 June: we had the usual Monday night gathering to study the Bible, and specifically, today, Luke 9, 1-9, the sending out of the Apostle. We discussed the meaning of mission: preaching the Kingdom of God and healing the sick. JESUS' command not to take anything is meant to indicate the urgency of the mission, like saying, "Do not waste time on unnecessary things, give all you have to preaching and healing, the harvest is plentiful and the labourers are few". The shaking the dust off the sandals is not meant to be a curse, but a last attempt to bring people to conversion by this final dramatic action; JESUS is saying that we must persevere till the very end in trying to bring people to the Kingdom, like St. Monica with her son Augustine and many others.
Early Church Christians took seriously their responsibility to spread the Good News in their pagan world; most early communities were started by the work of ordinary Christians, like the communities in Antioch, Rome, Alexandria. It was only later than the Apostles got directly involved in such early churches. What does this say about us today? Do we feel responsible for the spreading of the faith in our world or do we think that this is mainly up to bishops and priests?
Below is a photo of some of the members of the weekly Bible Study group:
Friday 8th June: a group of eight candidates for Confirmation accompanied by Fr. Giles, Fr. M. Hare, Mrs Maria Lee came to the Rosmini Centre for their half day retreat before the great day of Confirmation in the Chapel of Ratcliffe College next Sunday administered by our own ex-Ratcliffian Bishop, Rev. John Arnold. The candidates had been prepared over a period of six months, and this was their opportunity to think more deeply and to prepare wih the Sacrament of Penance. It was a very busy afternoon, with an input by Mr. Chris Gallagher, Head of RE at Our Lady's convent, Loughborough from September 2007, Fr. Hare, Fr. Belsito, Mrs. Maria Lee, Fr. Giles. The candidates had a brief time to do the Emmaus Walk around the Centre, crowned with an abundant tea/coffee session. The retreat ended with quiet prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction. Here are some of the pictures of the group.
On Thursday 7th June we visited the Rosmini House in Durham. We were welcomed by Fr. Terry Watson and we had a few hours together talking about the meaning and importance for the Institute of the beatification of Fr. Rosmini, the publication of the first two volumes of Theosophy - the most difficult and rewarding of Rosmini's philosophical works - and many other practical issues. We had time to see Fr. Terry in action as he fed his many fish in the pond: he reassured us that they all had completed their postulantate and novitiate and so they were fully "rosminian". He also showed us a letter from Cameroon addressed to "Antonio Rosmini": it got there safely!
Discussion on Morality
During their stay at the Centre our Scholastics (Rosminian students of philosophy and theology, resident in Rome) had the opportunity of listening to lectures given by two experts on Rosminian philosophy, theology, and spirituality, Fr. A. Dewhirst and Fr. Terry Watson:
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