Congregation - Saint Michael Garicoits Day

Michael:
One day, when you were a child, you tried to touch the sky with your hands
and with this purpose  you climbed  one pick after the other..
To your great surprise and disappointment, the sky was moving away.
The precious pearl was not there;
But you knew that, to get it, you had to leave everything and begin a journey.
"Ecce Venio" "Here I am."
With perseverance, day after day, through new roads, you shaped your ideal of touching the sky with your hands.
And you made it a reality ... When? ...
When you contemplated in the luxuriant nature,
the fingerprints of the Father.
When, in moments of prayer,
the presence of a God
"Consumed by love" took possession of you
and when, in the Eucharist, you lost yourself in Him .
When Our Lady of Bétharram
Would speak to you with maternal affection and when you would run to assist the sick or help the poor.
When you would see growing near you a new religious family
and when you shared with your brothers
the humble bread of the table and the Bread of the Word ...
Even in moments of pain, sacrifice and commitment
you were never lacking in  joy and serenity.
And so,
at the dawn of an Ascension day, you reached the final Paradise
that you so often touched with your hands,
but now, forever and in fullness.
Today, committed in the building the Kingdom
we ask you, Michael, to remain always at our side
so that we are able to strive to be like you: witnesses of the tenderness of Jesus, creating some
"Space" of freedom, justice and love
("flashes of paradise")
in our earthly pilgrimage.
Amen.

José María Ruiz,SCJ