Session for the religious brothers at Betharram

How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! (Psalm 133)

Impossible to find a better summary of the session 8-15 September than in this line from Psalm 133: How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!

Indeed it was very good for the 14 religious-brothers from six different vicariates to be in Betharram together, at the initiative of the St Michael Garicoits Region in the thick of the Jubilee Year. It was only meant to be a Franco-Italian meeting, it turned out to be a Congregation event in a typically Betharramite style: simplicity, cordiality, dedication.

It was good to get to know each other better – from Europe, Africa and America – during the festive evenings (for memory: musical chairs helped with introductions!), all kinds of exchanges, prayer and even fits of laughter.
It was good too to walk in the footsteps of our Founder:

• Have a detailed visit not only of the sanctuary but also the farm and see to what extent the Brothers placed their mark on Betharram – the place and its works.
• Reread one’s personal “sacred story” at Ibarre, under a steady shower of rain, and at Garacotchea celebrate the poverty and the beauty of those early days.
• Meet up with the descendants of the Anguelus at Oneix, the Benedictines at Belloc, and every time feel St Michael ever more present, and at the same time feel assured in one’s specific vocation.
• Discover Bayonne Cathedral and the old Carmelite monastery in Pau; reflect on connections with the past and have a meal with the community.
• Return to Betharram like returning home; take strength in one’s commitment with talks and sharing on the three vows and the mission.
• Renewal of religious profession in the oratory, during a celebration which was both intimate and solemn when the moment came for us to sign the act of consecration on the very desk belonging to St Michael.
• Be with the People of God at Lourdes Grotto, in the sanctuary and on the hill of Calvary; be at one with the local church for the feast of the Holy Cross, and with the universal Church through the presence of Mgr Vincent Landel.

It was good, despite the language barrier, to be able to talk about past wounds, about today’s toil and future challenges. It was good and necessary to write down our convictions, and to call on the Congregation of the Sacred Heart to be our witness.

It was good and necessary to return to what is most important: as religious, whether ordained or not, we are brothers first of all. We inherit this fraternity and it binds us. The religious-brother has an important role to play: in community he recalls our common identity and fidelity to the Family; outside he is the bridge between priests and laity, through proximity, service and evangelical witness in everyday realities.

It is right to thank all those who organised and hosted this special occasion and were part of it. It is right and fitting to thank the Lord who called us, consecrated us and sent us in our divers ministries, to a universal brotherhood. For a whole week we enjoyed it. It is up to us now to live by it more and more, day by day, with all the love necessary and humour.

Yes, how good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity. It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard of missionaries. It is like the dew which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing life for evermore. (cf. Psalm 133).

Jean-Luc Morin, scj

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FDV
To our Brothers

As part of the jubilee of St Michael Garicoits, we the Brothers were invited “to get together in a fraternal spirit to reflect on our vocation and our place in the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Betharram.

For us this session was a wonderful experience: it afforded us an opportunity of getting to know each other better and of discovering our roots. It also allowed us to mutually enrich each other, to share in depth and so to revive in ourselves the gift of a religious vocation.

A religious is a person who gives his life to God and to his brothers in a family, in the Church and in the world. It is because there is the gift of self that chastity, obedience and poverty are possible and fruitful, and that the mission derives its meaning.

CHASTITY
Our conviction: To profess the vow of chastity in our world represents a sacrifice, real but necessary, to announce Jesus Christ and to be free and available for all those whom we meet.
Life in community lived in brotherly love can help us to be faithful totally to this gift of ourselves to God, and to break down certain solitudes. Because one feels loved one can love in return with a love which is real, gratuitous and universal. In a word: brotherly.
A question: How can the vow and gift of chastity be sign which speaks in our present day society?”

POVERTY
Our conviction: Everything we have is a gift from God. To share it is good news. That is something which helps us to be witnesses of the Gospel and of the choice of consecrated life which we have made.
We are following in the footsteps of Jesus who sets us an example of radical poverty. It also means leading a simple and modest way of life, bearing in mind the life style of the region where we live.
A question: How as a Betharramite can I practice evangelical poverty in community and on the mission?

OBEDIENCE
Our conviction: Obedience is a daily struggle against self, but it is also an act of faith. For us today it also means: “Here I am” in the dialogue we have with our superiors, a dialogue of mutual trust in view of self fulfilment. It means rediscovering our roots – FVD. Here I am, without delay, without reserve, without return – something to be taken seriously. In that way we can reach a consistency and fidelity of life without which happiness is not possible.
A question: Can we really be faithful to our vow of obedience by accepting that the good of the Congregation prevails over personal considerations?”

THE MISSION
Our conviction: The mission means “offering our sweat to the Lord”. Every religious is associated “to the mission of the community. It is a good thing to entrust certain responsibilities to brother-religious, according to their aptitude.
In order to maintain a well balanced life every brother receives a religious and professional formation adapted for him. With his superior he keeps an eye on his on-going formation.
Because of his station in life the brother is more attentive to the working class and close to the simple folk. “He must help the community to maintain at the heart of its mission a sense of realities and a care for the poor.
A question: How does the Congregation enhance the value of the presence, witness and mission of the religious-brothers in the world?

Our vocation is worthwhile. It is our choice and we are happy with it.

Whether we are priest or brother our first commitment is to be a religious of Betharram and to be of service to the Gospel according to our talents. Complementarity between religious and human formation should lead us to recognition of identity and to real fraternity within the community and at the exterior.

This international session was the first of its kind. We hope that it will not be the last and that we will meet again in five years time. Don’t let this letter lie in the archives! Next time why not have a session with the religious-brothers of Asia?

Betharram, 15th September 2013.