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comunications and messages
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TO the Animators -
Brothers and laypersons - of the Pastoral of the Youth,
TO the Vocational
Promoters,
TO the Animators of
Brother Gabriel Taborin’s Beatification Cause.
They are many expressions with which we manifest the love
that we have for Brother Gabriel. We are aware of what has
been and made by us, and from there narrow knots of
friendship sprout.
I propose you an expression, not new but little exploded
among us that, I think, it can have curiosity among young
and adults: a musical composition (recital, light and
sound, musical, theatrical operetta…)
My proposal goes especially to you that you work
apostolically with young, that you love seriously Brother
Gabriel and that you treat the others also love him.
With occasion of one of your encounters or manifestations
(for example: Vocational Festival, camps, juvenile Easters,
programming meetings…) in which you find with other
animators of young people, (Brothers and laypersons), with
vocational animators or animators of our Founder’s Cause,
you need to study the possibility of creating a musical
composition, that can be interested to young people and
adults.
You know well the aspects of Brother Gabriel’s life that can
raise interest. After having commented it among you, propose
the youths what you have thought, and wake up their
interest. And if it is possible, in a "moment a hoc",
elaborate with them the topic, text and music. Although, I
think, we don't seek to make something extraordinary that it
embraces and imply all our reality, I am convinced that it
will be an occasion so that we and other people are more
near to Brother Gabriel.
Some intents of this type already exist, although they are
not numerous, (for example: what made Brother Carlos Raco
that was also represented in Buenos Aires). It can
illuminate you with new ideas.
At the moment I address especially to the European sector. A
first occasion for a change of impressions could be during
the days in which the Vocational Festival takes place. It
would be good to find a moment to exchange ideas and to
begin the deep information of the proposal.
With the hope that my call finds a favourable answer, I
already thank you from now on.
I promise to pray for you to Brother Gabriel and I ask you
to do the same thing with me so that he gives us the power
of taking ahead what I propose you.
Fraternally in Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Brother
Carlo Ivaldi
Rome, 18th of March of 2006
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To the Brother Animator Provincial
and to his acknowledge, to the Superior Provincial.
Dear Brother:
Once finished the month of November of 2005, a pleasing duty is going to
put in communication with you sending you a special gratefulness, so
that, in my name, also you transmit to the Brothers of your Province, for
all the things they have carried out during this month to honour the
Brother Gabriel Taborin.
With satisfaction I have received the different proposals that have
arrived from several communities and schools. For what I know, I think
that never to this date, the month of November had been so rich in so
significant initiatives and that it counted with a numerous participation.
I’ve read all of them and I’ve seen a visible and concrete mark of
love towards our Father Founder, Brother Gabriel, and a wish of giving to
know and love more and more, for so much people: children and adults.
I want to bring a particular gratefulness to the Superior Provincial
and the Council of the Province “Virgin of Loreto”, for the proposal,
accepted by unanimity, to all its communities to send an amount of money
for the “Cause of Beatification”.
If any gesture of solidarity expresses love, this of offering the
fruit of a sacrifice is highly meaningful.
I finish expressing again my gratitude that I want you to spread to the
Brothers, I salute you in the name of the Brother Gabriel.
In J.M.J.
B. Carlo Ivaldi
General
Postulator
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The 13th Meeting of the General Administration with the
provincial
Superiors.
Sigüenza (Spain)
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Message to the Brothers and the Laics close to the
Institute.
The experience of a strong
fraternity, at Siguenza on October 2nd to October12th,2005
between the Brothers of the General Administration,
and the seven provincial
Brothers, leaves in everyone of us feelings that
we want to share with all the Brothers of the Institute, the Members of the
Nazarethan Fraternities, close collaborators.
This meeting has been a locale, and a time of a fraternal
and open communication, of sound analysis, and of
discernment between the Brothers in charge of the Institute in order to
guide and animate it.
The firth two days, dedicated to the sharing of
experiences and memory, presented us a general panorama of the situation,
the behaviour of everyone of our Provinces in order to collect orientations
for the years to come.
If certain situations show a rather negative picture owed
to the ageing, to the discoura gement, and the lack of vocations, we have
nevertheless found numerous and visible signs of hope:
-
the commitment of many Brothers, and their efforts to be
authentic witnesses of our charisma.
-
the enthusiastic testimony of young Brothers having taken
part to the meeting in Uru guay in December,2004.
-
John GUARCH’s significant presence for our charisma, and
Coordinator of Nazarethan Fraternities in Spain.
-
the reflection on the meaning of the religious life today
in the Church, through the Congress on the consecrated life which took place
in Rome in
November,2004.
- then ,we
analyzed a few themes of vital importance for our Institute, and on which
we suggest these reflections: the local Superior and the
animation of communities, the vocations, the training and the mission. For
two days, we looked into these aspects that every Brother should put into
the heart of his priorities:
-
a fraternity and a solidarity lived in concrete terms.
-
a continuing education which offers to every
Brother, whatever his age may be, the possibility to meet the challenges of
the religious life, and those
of the mission.
A concern for the vocations as a most probable sign of
our desire of vitality and rebirth. The visits at
La Aguilera, La Horra, Sotillo,
and at Burgos have been a remembrance of the origins of the Brothers in
fertile grounds for our Congregation. In those
places, we benefited from the same quality of
welcome as the one we received everyday during our meeting at Siguenza.
The figure and the word of our Venerable Founder Father
accompanied us during the time of the daily prayer. A particular moment has
been reminded to illustrate the present
topic of his Cause of Beatification and to expose the different initiatives
which are realized in our Provinces. We consider more than ever that his
message is a point of reference for us, Brothers, and Laics
who want to share his charism.
The appeal to spread this charisma and to revitalize it,
brought us to greet the growth aroused by the recent foundations in
Philippines and in India, and to extend the scope of our activities in
order to improve the mission of the Church.
A new period of grace opens up for us and lead us to the
provincial Chapters and to the General Chapter of 2007.Everyone of us,
Brothers and Laics, shall be soon invited to
participate actively to make a valuation, and to develop the next Project of
the Institute in order to give a new fervour to our life.
In the light of the recent Congress on the consecrated
life, we propose for the next years to turn a particular attention to the
essential aspects of our Project of life:
- to
be Brothers” extremely keen on Christ”(prayer, listening to God’s word).
- to
be Brothers” good Samaritans” for our Brothers(hurt in their body or in
their heart).
- to
be Brothers of everybody (the outcast)
In conclusion of our meeting, we are conscious of not
proposing” novelties” for our future because the Project of 2001 is rich
enough and embraces all the points of view of our life. We invite you to
carry on thinking about the main intuitions of this period:
- to
be simply Brothers.
- to
live the gratuitousness in the illumination of the Eucharist.
- to
create animated communities.
May the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
accompany us everyday in our way under the paternal look of the Venerable
Brother Gabriel Taborin.
By the Brothers of the
General Administration and the Provincial Brothers
Siguenza, October12th,2005
Feast of Notre Dame du Pilar.
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To
the Vice Postulator of Latin America,
and to the provincial Animator of Brother Gabriel's
Cause of Beatification,
and for the information to provincial Superiors
I am writing to you at the end of this month of May,
2005, with my eyes fixed on the Virgin Mary, and having in my heart, the
memory of the tender devotion Brother Gabriel had for our celestial Good
Mother. First of all I greet you, then to examin with you a few
important moments during this last month, and to forcast their influence
on our particular job.
During the first days of the month, we have been
informed that His Holiness, the Pope, intended, for a theologial
motive's sake, to touch up the ritual and the formula of the
Beatification, in order to distinguish it from the one of the
Canonisation. On May 9th, the Congregation of Saints'Causes, in
the person of his Prefect, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, and of his
Secretary, Mgr.
Edouard Novak, anniunced that, on the instruction of
the E.R. the Cardinal Camillo Ruini " the Sovereign Pontiff, Benedict
XVI, in considering the exposed particular circumstances, dispensed from
the five years'waiting after the God's Servant's death, so that the
Cause of the Beatification and of Canonsation began at once."
And on May 13 th, the liturgical memory day of our Lady of Fatima,
on the occasion of this meeting with priests and the deacons of the
diocese of Rome, assembled in St John's of Latran, the Pope announced
the beginning of it.
Then, as you know, on Saturday, May 14th, 2005, in
the afternoon, took place the first Beatification of the Pontificate of
Benedict XVI.
I think useful to remind you how it happens. On the
Pope Benedict XVI's decision, in the Vatican Basilica, Cardinal Jose
Maria Martins, the Prefect of the Congregation of Saints' Causes,
presided over the eucharistic celebration which took place at 5 p.m. at
"the Cattedra" altar- Two archbishops and many bishops participated to
the celebration.
After the rituals of introduction, the Pastors of the
two dioceses of God's Lays came near the Cardinal to ask him to proceed
to the Beatification, in reading a few biographical notes; among
them the postulators could be found.
And so, the Cardinal read the Apostolic Letter
through which Benoit 16th put the two God's Lays'names down into the
book of the Blessed and gave the dates for their liturgical memory.
At this moment, on the hut of Saint Veronica, and on
St Helen's, they discovered the carpets with the portraits of the two
Blessed (For anybody who knows the inside of st Peter's, it is obviously
evident that the two tapestries were scarcely visiblefor most of people
in the assembly). During that time, their relics were placed near the
altar by the representatives of the Postulation.
Then, there were the liturgy of the word and the
prayer of the faithful. At the offertory, the gifts have been brought by
the representatives of the Postulation (ecclesiastic objects: damaltics).
The liturgical service was the one of the Sovereign
Pontiff's Liturgical celebration. Songs vould be heard from the Sixtin
Chapel. Only at the end an hawaian choral of forty persons intervened.
In the morning of May 16th, in Paul 6 th's House, the
Pope welcame the 2500 pilgrims who took part to the Beatifiaction in
Rome.
The Saturday the Oservatore Romano, on May 14th, with
the announcement of the Beatification, gave a special "brief account" on
the Blessed (tabloïd)The more complete report appeared on Monday
16th, and Tuesday 17th in the Oservatore Romano.
Through this "new procedure". the chairman of the
Postulators, Father Paul Molinari, a Jesuit, summoned the Postulators on
May 26 th at 4,30 p.m. in order to discuss certain points through either
a pastoral celebration's aspect, or simply a financial aspect.
As regard to the argument at the Oservatore Romano,
the gifts were very numerous. Father P. Molinari immediately
pointed out with Benoit 16th his intention to stress upon the
theological and pastoral value of the Canonisation which is, for that
reason, to be distinguished from the Beatification.
In other expressions, that means, except a few rare
cases for figures of some world wide fame, His Holiness Benoit 16th will
no more celebrate by himself the ceremonies of the Beatification; he
will keep for himself to supervise only those of the Canonisation.
The procedure of the Beatification will take again
the form it had before Paul 6th's reform in 1971. The Pope will hand
over a Bishop or a Cardinal, and the ritual will take place, probably,
in the Vatican Basilica, at the altar "of the Cattedra"
But as in the Beatifications, they will underline the
pertaining to the local church, the celebration will easily be able to
be done in the diocese of the He/ She Blessed.
It is not the a matter of an absolute novelty, but a
matter of the resumption of a secular procedure, begun in 1662, under
Alexander 7th, and remained in use until 1971.
This reduction" of Beatification involves to give a
new dimension to several acts and usages which were introduced in this
ceremony.
The aim of the meeting of May 26th, 2005, was to be
able to introduce the suggestions of the Postulators to the competent
Authorities on certain points.
In order to make his suggestions, the College of the
Postulators took into account two cases: a Beatification which in done
in Rome, which is much more connected with the respect of certain norms
or a Beatification done in a diocese.
They spoked about:
- Standard: even if inconveniences exist (cf
supra) they think allright to maintain it, as well in Rome, as in the
diocese, but in an adapted manner.
- Small book:
printed by the Vatican Typography (and very expensive) it is said to be
maintained in Rome, to hint that, without any doubt, there is not
anything else to do and the expenses will be divided by "causes" and not
by presences. In the dioceses, the local realities must be respected,
those of poverty as well, and always in a liturgical style, with the
essential elements (total liberty given to the Bishop and to the
Postulator),
- Songs: Once the
date is known, it will be allright to point out the songs at once. for
their preparation, and the for a general participation; they will be
knoun songs in various countries. In Rome, they must collaborate with
the Pontifical Center (the Sixtin Chapel is not necessary).
- Holy Mass: if we are at St. Pieter's, we
must follow a scheme, in the diocese it will be freer.
- Liturgical songs: In St. Peter's, the Kyrie,
the Gloria... in latin language, are necessary; in the diocese, only
local songs are sufficient.
- Ritual of the Beatification:
a) Introduction of the He/She Blessed by the
Postulator:
b)
the request done by the Bishop;
c)
the formula of the Beatification pronounced by the
Prefect or his delegate, or by the President of the episcopal
Conference..
- Homily: done by the diocese Bishop
- Procession of the Offertory: even in
Rome we need not so many precious things but significant, usefull,
simple and liturgical ones.
- Relics: Knowing that sometimes, they
remained forgotten in..., it is necessary to introduce, and ask for them
again for the Canonisation. If the Beatification is done in the diocese,
the latter will have at least to take a part of responsibilities.
The month of May has been significant for us thanks
to a few initiatives:
For the novena of the month of May,and in the name of
the "Spirituality Center" Brother Teodoro has composed a prayer for the
Beatification. Probably he will present us other prayers.
As a matter of fact, and because it refers to the
important aspects of "non cult", I have already made you notice and I
repeat just now, that the prayers without any ecclesiastical approval
(they can always be asked for) cannot be put for public use; they may be
used in privacy among us.
Brother José María Dipacce, the provincial Animator
of Uruguay, wrote an article "the oratio in the community on the steps
of the Founder". Reflexions over the eucharistic year (cf, the web page
of the Institute)
- At Montevideo, on May 21th -22 th, took place the
meeting of the Animators of Brother Gabriel Taborin's Cause for Cono Sur.
They were the Vice Postulator, Brother Mario Fierro, the provincial
Animators, Brother José Mario Dipacce from Uruguay, and Brother Ernani
Welter fom Brazil.
There was first a reflexion on the mission of the
Animator: to make people know, love and invoke a Founder, a Father, a
friend of God who deserves a special attention (cf. letter of April
14th) Then, they took in consideration other practical points quoted in
the same document.
- How to urge aged and sick Brothers in this climate
of the Beatification".
- To invite Brothers who are writers or artists... to
contribute with their talents. Particularly, the talket about Brother
Edgado Campos for his little "Stickers".
As the representatives of Cono Sur in Latin American,
they wish a collaboration with the Animators of the Equator and of
Mexico.
If they are not still chosen, they ask
provincial Counsellors to do it the fastest as possible.
They gave a short piece of information on the work
which is beeing done in Rome "Sumarium Super Miro" and special
chronological facts.
They also evoked the possible miraculous recovery of
a person at Tijuana. In the folloving meeting with the provincial
Superiors, the Animators requested laymen or laywomen to be appointed
(above all from Nazarethian Fraternities) so that they would be able to
collaborate with the provincial Animator of the Cause.
For years during which there has not been any
"Meeting with Brother Gabriel" every Province is asked to organise
something particular.
The Animators of the Cono Sur, according to their
possibilities offer their contribution to the Center of Spirituality in
order to elaborate and organise distant lectures on Brother Gabriel
Taborin and on his charism.
They also talked about their last meeting with the
General Consellor in January, 2005, at Montevideo, putting an emphasis
on the scheme of the animation of the Cause (scheme which has been
distributed to all the Animators of the Cause and also to the provincial
Superiors for a study in order to adapt it to the Institute
News:
On June 2nd to June 5th,twenty four young men from
the Holy Familiy College, San Remigio of Villa Brea (Torino) will
participate to a three days'meeting in Belley where with Brother Teodoro
Berzal, they will cover the taborinian way.
In thanking ereryone of you for your affection in
favour of the Cause of the Founder's Beatification, and you quite
know how to manifest it with so many ways, and asking for all of you the
protection of our Saint Patrons, Jesus, Mary and Joseph,. I fraternally
greet you.
Brother Carlo Ivaldi, General Postulator.
Rome, May 28th, 2005
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Dear Brothers, Provincial,
Animators of Brother Gabriel
Taborin's cause of Beatification
and for the
information to
the provincial Superiors
The mandate you entrusted me with at the highest level, and with which
you have been entrusted too at the provincial level, is not as we
imagine, a simple one to do with, but a mission to carry out with love:
to make people know, love and pray a Founder, a spiritual guide, a
father, and thank God for his gift.
Then, the first thing which is up to everyone of
us to do is to tesafy that Brother Gabriel is a God' s friend, that he
deserves our attention and love. And we know that if we really love
somebody, we cannot forget him, let him aside, but we speak to him, and
speak of him.
Some of us, have been appointed for the first
time for this mission, and they ask me what they must do. In this
message, may I suggest things that you will also be able to propose to
the Communities and to the fellow Brothers.
What I shall say to you will certainly not have
to do with the basic level, but may help you to make a further step in
our manner of behaving, and not only in the domain of Brother Gabriel’s
Beatification to stress upon the matter, what I shall say should
specially be useful to us from the old continent; because our fellow
Brothers from Latine America have already covered a long way, a good
deed that the will improve year after year with the members of the
Nazarian Fraternities (provincial meetings and interprovincial ones),
and also with the help of the Center of Spirituality. I should suggest
to the other Animators, to take more advantage of this last month,
lither in inviting it in the Province, or in organising training courses
in Belley with its help.
Of course, we cannot consider this before knowing
well the local realities. The first thing I propose is so do know the
present state of the Province facing the Cause: the sensitivity of
Communities, Brothers, and of Laymen, the value of communal initiatives
which are happening.
I am working on "Summarium super miro", that is to say,
on the reading and the formating of testimonies. What favourably stroke
me, is the sense of great faith in God of witnesses, their high
confidence in the intercession of Brother Gabriel Taborin next to God;
he is shown as someone who is following us in our difficulties,
with whom we can communicate, who is listening to us, and presents our
requests to God. All this is certainly registered in the merit of many
Brothers who knew how to instil in so many people,
above all in the school environment,
(I should add mainly among the she teachers of lower classes,
who often show themselves more sensitive to live and propose the
confidence in Brother Gabriel, and in his
intercession next to God).
Those she-tea chers who, during free moments,
are gathering their thoughts before praying for sick persons,
recommending them to the intercession of Brother Gabriel Taborin.
Those she-teacheras who going into the school,
look at his statue and ask to be helped in their training and who invite
their school boys and girls to ask Brother Gabriel’s intercession next
to God for a sick person.
There are also the members of the Nazarethian Fraternities who pray with
their children before going to bed, and who even propose their
intentions in their parishes.
Nevertheless, what astonished me a little, is the
small know-ledge that those people have about Brother Gabriel.So- and
-so has read his biography, a certain member of people have leafed
through a book or through an instalment, and the greatest number of
people have merely known Brother Gabriel by listening to the Brothers.
They so miss a knowledge, that is to say, a sound knowledge
of his person, of his charima, of his spirituality; this does not anyway
prevent them from speaking to him with confidence, to considering him as
a holy a holy man, a faithful man, strong in adversities, all devoted to
his work of the education of youth, for which he founded a Congregation
which will have to perpetuate his intuition.
And I asked myself why things stand as so. It is true
that our production of booshop is not very plentyful, but may be we
propose too little of what we may have. It seems to me to find the
response of this thinking in "Le trait d'Union" (a review of the Sacré
Coeur Province, on March, 2005, in which you can read an invitation of
the Provincial Brother, about the recent book: "Brother Gabriel Taborin
at the School of the Hoy Family", by Françoise Bouchard. Referring to
the publication of this book, Brother Bruno adds: " Think of our
families who maybe do not know our Founder".
Among priests, religious, sisters and friends so
all the people with whom we are connected, how many of the know Brother
Gabriel Taborin? To how many of them we have suggested the reading of
his biography or anything which will allow them to know our Founder
better? Should we not have to own up?
Now, I recommend you a few initiatives, which, as
mentioned above, are not basic things, but which may help us to know the
reality better, for a subsequent intervention.
* Let us ask to the local Superiors if they ever
thought of choosing the local Animators of the Cause? And in agreement
with the Provincial, let us suggest a few initiatives to these
Animators, above all, in particular moments. It would be allright,
it they have been forcast on time, to make them appear in the calendar
that almost every Province publishes, as we have already done for the
reminder of the novena.
* Let us propose diverse ways of
doing the novena, minor things anyway, but which may help to overcome
routine, pointing out requests of prayers also.
* On the occasion of provincial meetings, let us not
miss the opportunity to remind people of Brother Gabriel's Cause of
Beatification if only to communicate what is being done in the Province.
In many diverse communities, we are not short of good initiatives which
make us think and may be imitated.
* Let us ask the Provincial if we have some equipment
at our disposal in the Province for the animation and propaganda:
images, leaflets, little illustrations, interesting items, collections
of texts, books, comic strips...If those things quoted above are missing
or are outdated, let us propose a few better ones.
* In every Province, there are some Brothers who are
good with their hands, and able to make interesting productions, others
are good technicians in computing, and are able to compose a web page or
a C D, all those means being able to be transmitted to the Provinces.
* "L'Entretien Familial" reprints serious articles
through which we may present the personality of the Founder. (Since the
web page of the Institute contains these information -see n° 88 - it is
easier to reprint them and use them for lectures or for a mere
distribution ).
* Let us invite the Brothers to suggest to sick persons or in
difficulties, to ask for Brother Gabriel's intercession, accompanying
them with prayer. let us offer to other people to unite in prayer with
us. Let us distribute his picture containing the prayer, and let us ask
people to report received graces and favours to us; some certainly
exist, and if we are not aware of them, maybe it is because we do not
ask for them in return
I deal with a point that a few Brothers might
find critical: the financial aspect, that is to say, the offerings for
the Cause. It is an aspect that the Congregation for Saint’s Causes
considers as being important, reserving the right to control it for
itself. If the prayer is a sign of love, of confidence in the
intercession the fact of accompanying the prayer with an offering which
might be the fruit of privation, of a sacriface, is also a concrete sing
of great love.
Every Province ought to have a "cash box of the
Cause" and a current account called "Brother Gabriel's Cause" and which
would collect the offerings. According to the norms, this current
account ought to be managed by the Provincial Animator of the Cause and
by the Provincial Superior.
We often spoke of new causes. And each time, we
have been blocked by a reason that I consider as coming from our bad
manner of judging our fellow Brothers, underlining his faults.
The holy have not been exempted from imperfections or faults. Hoy people
are those who knew how to fight against their faults. Faults did not
prevent them from working for God's Kingdom and acquiring many merits
for heaven.
It would be allright for us to begin boosting the self
esteem of those Fellow Brothers who distinguished themselves by their
commitment, their professional service, or their apostolic job or who in
a simple, religious life, showed the spiritual face of the Congregation.
We are required to get ourselves rid of a certain critical and
pessimistic mentality. We ought not to be afraid of doing that. And that
is still up to the Animator of the Cause; to stress upon what is good in
the Fellow Brothers, to bring out what pleased the Lord in their lives,
and is done according to Brother Gabriel's style of living: "May not
anybody who ever sees or hears any Brother of the Holy Family feel
inclined to do good".
If Brother Gabriel's biographies are rare, those
of Brothers Jerome, Damascene... and of other, are quite non- existant;
and nevertheless, there have been Brothers who transmitted a beautiful
message in the professional or religious field.
Let us collect testimonies and some equipment.
let us not fear of proposing a few of them to peaple for payers... I
know that in Argentina, they are doing so in favour of a few Brothers,
recently dead, that is quite well. Let us not be afraid! Boosting the
self-esteem of a Brother, a gilt of God, inevitably proves that the way
shown by Brother Gabriel has its foundation in the Gospel, a way leading
to holiness.
Let us not forget to involve laymen or laywomen
in them, above all, he members of the Nazarien Fraternities, and those
faithful people who are connected which us. Let us ask them to accompany
us in our prayers to Brother Gabriel so that he may intercede on behalf
of our needs.
But the first persons we must personally invite,
either orally or in writing, are the old fellow Brothers of our
Province, those ones who have already given so much to the Institute,
and who may still transform their oldage into a pleasant gilt to God.
This gilt, added to the richness of their lasting religious profession
"is immensely worth more than the waving of arms and the exuberance of
power". Let us invite those the Lord wanted to choose as the
suffering members of his mystical body, so that accepting
patiently their sufferings and their situation, they may show a strong
request up to the Lord for our Founder's Beatification.
At the beginning of October, 2005, a meeting of
the provincial Superiors with the General Administration will take place
How it would be interesting for us to present some propositions so that
the may be discussed on this occasion.
I already ask to the Animators of the "Cono Sur
who spent the days of "Meeting with Brother Gabriel" at Passo Fundo, at
the end of January, 2005, to make us know what have been the concrete
indications or the decisions they took and which might be adopted by
other Provinces.
I am just thinking of a possible meeting of
Animators of the old continent, in order to study, on the basis of what
the Fellow Brothers of the Cono Sur have already written "a Plan of the
animation of Brother Gabriel Taborin's Cause".
Brothers who are Animator, it is useless to tell
you that I accept every proposition and suggestion which may help us to
make people know and love better Brother Gabriel Taborin.
In the prologue of our Constitution we can read:
"Brother Gabriel remains present
among us:
through your faithful life,
your hopeful life, of charity,
your patience in the adversities,
your total and desinterested donation,
though your devotion towards Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
it is up to you to ensure his permanence,
to fulfil and transmit his message,
and to multiply the number of his disciples".
My not these words be only a pious exhortation!
I fraternally greet you, in an harmony with Jesus, Mary and Joseph..
F.
Carlo Ivaldi
General Postulator
Roma,
April 15th, 2005
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The Names of
the Vice – Postulators |
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To the Superior
Provincial
And to the Brothers of the Institute.
With the present, I tell you the names of the Vic-Postulators and the
Provincial Animators of Brother Gabriel Taborin’s Cause of
Beatification. They are the following:
- Brother Mario Fierro: Vice - Postulator for the Cause in the Province:
"Our Lady of Luján" (Argentina) and the Coordinator in the Sector
"South" of America.
- Brother Teodoro Berzal, Animator of the Cause in the Province: "Sacred
Heart" (France).
- Brother José Mario Dipacce, Animator of the Cause in the Province:
"Saint Joseph" (Uruguay).
- Brother Francisco Javier Núñez, Animator of the Cause in the Province:
"Our Lady of Assumption" (Spain).
- Brother Marco Barozzi, Animator of the Cause in the Province: "Virgin
of Loreto" (Italy).
- Brother Simón Ouedraogo, Animator of the Cause in the Province:
"Sainte Anne" (Burkina Faso).
- Brother Ernani Welter, Animator of the Cause in the Province: "Our
Appeared Lady" (Brazil).
When thanking these Brothers their readiness and the acceptance
of working in the Cause of Beatification, an expression that
demonstrates the consideration and love that they have for him, requests
them that, in its respective Provinces, multiply these initiatives that
show better the knowledge and the love for our Founder’s charisma.
I beg with insistence to all the Brothers that intensify their prrayer
in order to get the Beatification, that have him very present and not
only during the monthly novena. Also, I suggest you that you propose
those who suffer some illness so that they pray confident to Brother
Gabriel requesting their cure and intersection before God.
I also request you that any grace or favours received by
intercession of Brother Gabriel from which have knowledge, make it
arrive to the Animator of the Province.
Although we don't see the results of what we request, we should not
slack in our zeal. Whenever we pray, God intervenes in the way that more
suits the man. How much sick, at the end of a pilgrimage when going to a
certain sanctuary for asking a physical cure, returned home without
having gotten it but willing of bearing their illness with happiness!
On the other hand, let us don't forget that the love for
our vocation of Brothers of the Holy Family, It is a gift that we have
received and makes that we feel spiritual children of Brother Gabriel,
it has to commit to conform our life to Brother's pattern, and that this
is our best way of proclaiming that he is "a true friend of God".
Fraternally, in Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Brother
Carlo Ivaldi
Postulator General
Rome, 8th of March of 2005
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VALIDITY OF THE DIOCESAN INVESTIGATION |
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On 8th June of this year 2004, in the "Ordinary Congress",
the Congregation for the Causes of Saints discussed about:
"If
it is valid the Diocesan Investigation, carried out in the Ecclesiastic
Curia of Azul (Argentina), about the apparent miracle of treatment of
little Felipe
Cifuentes, attributed to Venerable God’s Servant, Brother Gabriel
Taborin, Founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Holy Family;
if
the testimonies have been diligent and correctly examined, and if
whatever refers to the cause in consideration has been analyzed
according the laws".
This Congregations, besides, carefully appreciating all done and
diligently weighing up, answers in written terms: AFFIRMATIVELY about
the validity of the Diocesan Investigation referring to this case. There
are not opposite things.
Given in Rome, in the see of the same Congregation , June, 18th
of 2004.
Giuseppe Card. Saraiva Martins, Prefect
Edoardo Nowak, Archbishop tit. of Luni, Secretary
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Decree Super Validitate
Processus |
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June 18th, 2004, the "Congregation
for the Causes of Saints”
published the "Decree Super Validitate Processus", it
is, the recognition that the court of Azul, (Argentina), has made a good
work and this is why the cause of the Brother Gabriel Taborin can follow
its way.
Our most sincere thanks to Msgr. Emilio
Binchi de Cárcano, bishop of Azul, and to all the members of the
diocesan ecclesiastical Court for everything they did. We also give
thanks to the witnesses that gave their declaration, for their
willingness and, above all, we give thanks to the Brother Mario Fierro,
vice-postulator, for his competence in following the works, the
prevision of everything he could do for the cause and his decision in
critical moments. All of these things are true marks of his great love
for the Founder.
With this, a door is opening but the way is
still long and complex.
Now we are waiting for the assignation of the
Clerk (Relator) to proceed to the compilation of the "Positio super
miro". The first part of this compilation is about:
- Some biographic information about the Brother Gabriel Taborin.
- The “Informatio”: The critical assessment of the proves and formal
elements for a theological trial.
- The chronological exposition of the events.
All this material will be examined,
first, by two Experts, general practitioners, and if their judgement is
positive, it will pass to the Consultant’s Office, formed by five
doctors. And if their declaration is favourable, it will pass to the
Theologian’s study.
Let’s pray to our Saints Patrons, Jesus,
Mary and Joseph, in order that they continue giving us the necessary
assistance at the cause of beatification of the Brother Gabriel Taborin,
him, who said to his brothers that they would have to be happy, because
any Congregation had Saints Patrons as the Congregation he founded.
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SPREADING EVERYWHERE
JESUSCHRIST’S PERFUM
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Dear Brothers and members of the
Nazareth Fraternities:
The month of November brings to all
of us family memories, some of the most beloved and with deep meaning.
We only have to think in the first
of November, the day when Brother Gabriel was born, and in the 24th
when he pronounced his last “Yes” to the celestial Father, that called him
to enjoy the deserved reward for a devoted life to his service, always
faithful in doing his will, even facing many difficulties.
The diary of the month of November
1864, last month of his life, were written with a simplicity similar to
the “little flowers” of Saint Francis. This allows us to go with our
Founder day by day up to the moment of his burial.
There we can read prayers made by
the Brothers asking for his healing and a novena, trusted by the bishop De
Langalerie to all the religious communities of Belley, in order to ask for
his recovery.
As well, this one tells about the
visit of this Bishop to Brother Gabriel before leaving towards the
pastoral visit.
This frank and simple style helps
us to find gestures and words of Brother Gabriel when the 18th
of November, victim of a terrible exhaustion that forced him to remain in
bed up to the moment of his death, he asked the Sacrament of the ointment
of sicks to the priest because “ it’s necessary to prepare all in
order that all could be fulfilled perfectly”; and after, the 20th
of November showed a full joy for having received the Holy Communion: “I
am very happy. This morning I have received my God, and now, although I am
in bed, I have gone to Mass. Indeed, while you were reading the beautiful
prayers of the Holy Sacrifice, my soul was present in the church and I
imagined the priest in the altar”. And the 21st, we can read
that he has renewed his consecration to Our Lady and that he has signed
his will in the present of a public notary and witnesses.
The 22nd of November,
after having received the indulgence “in articulo mortis”, we listened to
him pronounce the sentence that we find exposed in his room: “Such many
graces God has given to me in this room ! I thank him with all my heart!”.
The 23rd of November,
feeling extremely tired and foreseeing the end of his life, his thought
was for his religious men that he wanted near him: “Such a pity that all
those good Brothers are not here, so that I could see them for the last
time and I could give to all of them my last blessing!”
In this typical stile of the “little flowers”, the diary describe the last
moments of Brother Gabriel: at 3’30 hours on 24th of November
he exclaimed: “This is the end” and kissed the crucifix. Then he
pronounces his last words: “Brother Raymond has solved very well the
matters in Chambery, I am really satisfied for this”.
A death that, as some people have
underlined, before this last sentence seems to be far from a stayed up
late mysticism and spiritualism. This is the gleam of a fully devoted life
to live the daily events. He was always attentive and worried for the
Institute, that he believed to be a God’s work and so many sufferings had
to endure for defending it. He was an attentive and sensitive person to
each gesture of his Brothers. He was worried that they would fulfil
correctly their work in the school, the evangelisation and the management.
A last detail on November 26th,
the day of his burial: at 5’30 in the morning the bells of the cathedral
and of the mother-house announced the funeral service: at 6’15 the
Founder’s body was put into the coffin; at 7 a solemn funeral was
celebrated with the presence of a big gathering of friends and
acquaintances.
For all of this, the month of
November is for all of us not only memory, but memorial, a clear
invitation to improve our life following the steps of our Founder.
In order to have this improvement,
our life has to be based in solid and secure foundations, in values that
brings us to fulfil the commitment we have chosen and to strive for
solving our own problems and the problems of the humanity. And all of this
with specific behaviours because we can not forget that the values are
attractive, but they do not become real if they are not inserted in
specific people. They are a reference point that convinces with the power
given by all that is real, that exists, that you can see, hear, touch with
your hand (cf. 1Jn 1,1). In fact, this is what makes Saints. Saint Francis
of Sales said, with an amazing image, the only difference between the
Gospel and the Saints’ life is the same as the difference between a
written song or a sang music.
In this way we can understand
the pedagogic function of remembering our Founder: he is the living proof
that it’s possible to live the Gospel in a simple life, without anything
exceptional, as practically all of us do. This is why Brother Gabriel’s
life encourages to be imitated in little, common and simple things. His
life is with us when we are alone, it is sustaining us with its closeness
to our weakness. Encouragement and support: two words of great spiritual
meaning for day to day life that justify the sense of his remembrance.
I propose, as end of this writing,
to think about a part of Brother Gabriel’s spiritual will, that was
written some months before his death, exactly August 23rd,
1864. It was addressed to the Brothers, but it can also tell many things
to the members of the Nazareth Fraternities. “I
recommend all the Brothers, for the love and interest I have always had
for them, to love each other during all their life and to encourage one
each other to goodness. I have shown many times how I desire that all of
them keep continuously humble, in God’s grace, and be men of prayer. I
recommend them to appreciate specially chastity, obedience and holy
poverty… to be steady in doing good… to be patient with the
sufferings of life and to learn how to accept them with resignation as our
divine Saviour…
I exhort them to love the children
in God and for God, to educate them with holy enthusiasm, specially
teaching them the basis of our beautiful and holy religion and the love of
the virtue. I exhort them to be always a good example for them.
I recommend them finally to be the
faithful and steady support of their beloved Congregation fulfilling their
mission with piety and zeal, honouring it with their good behaviour and
spreading everywhere Jesus Christ’s perfum” (Spiritual will, 3rd
part).
We find in these words the
pillars where we can lean the quality of our life. They are clear,
continuous and directing calls for our daily work.
Brother Gabriel insists in our personal relationship. He invites us to
seal them with healthy solidarity and living together. It is important the
theology of counselling. It is sad to feel lonely. Even for crying we need
the support of a friend’s shoulder. Without opening there is not future.
How useless are closed doors! How silly we are if we only fix attention in
ourselves! Humility, God’s grace, prayer…
Brother Gabriel invites us to
put our attention in the evangelical counsels, in their dynamism of human
growing. When the vows are lived radically, they help to reach Christ’s
fullness, this fullness is called by Paul as “the perfect man”. Those who
remain tied to a fixed form of religious life, stop the specific prophetic
strength of their consecration making it insignificant (Cf. Rev. 3,14-18).
To become victim of this is easier than we think. This happens when our
relationship with Christ is only a pure theory, empty of the necessary
asceticism to bring up to date in the day to day life. Overcoming
the religious formalism is a grace and a duty for each consecrated person.
Paul VI said, talking about
the “pure in heart”: “Nothing makes darker the look in the spiritual
matters than impure thoughts, senses and body (1st Cor. 2,14);
however, nothing better than the cleanness prepares the soul of religious
for loving, understanding and contemplating”.
We are called to bring the sense of life: being men and women of prayer,
being patient in the difficulties that we find in our way, being able to
accept with resignation following the example of our divine Saviour.
Finally we can not forget the
calling to the Brothers in order to work as teachers of a full growing for
developing “respectful citizens and good Christians”, and as expert
discoverers of qualities in order that the young people know what to do
with their life.
In order to avoid that our
remembrance of Brother Gabriel became only words in this meaningful and
dear month of November, we have to ask ourselves, for example, how we life
the monthly novena to ask for his glorification. In case our answer be not
completely satisfactory, we have to ask ourselves what we would do.
The Holy Family, Jesus, Mary
and Joseph, help us to reflect and Brother Gabriel accompany our
daily living!
Fraternally united in Jesus,
Mary and Joseph.
Brother
Carlo Ivaldi, General Postulator.
Rome, the first of November,
2004.
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