A word from the Superior General

Saint Michael Garicoits tells us that “Our Lord had a spirit of gentleness, humility and commitment, not to punish or confound, but to win us to repentance and the imitation of Him” (M. 323, MS 203). This helps us to better know and live the Gospel as the founder understood so well. Jesus calls us to repentance to be and to live in his image, so that we can live in the love of Father and son, in the Son.

Jesus succinctly describes his mission when he proclaims in the synagogue of Nazareth, the lines from Isaiah 61: 1-2, adding that, “today this is being fulfilled even as you listen” (Lk 4: 16-24).

He was consecrated in the Spirit and sent by the Father to proclaim the Good News to the poor, liberty to captives and sight to the blind, to give freedom to the oppressed, and to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord.

This meant going out to meet people, getting to know their needs, their sorrows and hurts, to comfort them, give them understanding, help and joy. It meant restoring the condition of the people by announcing the love that God has for them. This sums up what Christ did in the Gospel, effecting the healing which is salvation. The parable of the Good Samaritan well expresses tenderness that Jesus lived in his mission.

Saint Michael Garicoits also lived this tenderness as a feature of his mission: “What do we preach about our Lord? Tenderness at all times: in his incarnation, his holy childhood, his passion, his Sacred Heart, in his outward life and inward grace, in his words and in his eyes ... So what should be the main charactistic of our spiritual life? Christian tenderness! Without it, we cannot possess the spirit of generosity to serve God. It is necessary for both our inner life, in our relationship with God as well as in our outer life and our relationships to men. “(MS 200).

The first trait of Jesus’ temperament is to let himself be touched by the plight of individuals, to have compassion on the crowd, the bereaved mother of the young man of Nain, the Good Thief. He is not indifferent to the suffering of people and he allows himself to be moved by them.

The second trait is the fact of going out to meet people in their actual situations, without fear of danger: the Samaritan woman, Zacchaeus, the fishermen Peter, Andrew, and John, James, Matthew the publican, Nicodemus, the rich young man, the leper, his friends at Bethany, the lame, the man blind from birth, the Gerasene demoniac, Jairus ...

The third trait is his passion for meeting people. As recalled by the Pope in Evangelii Gaudium (87, 171, 220, 239), an encounter permits two lives to dialogue together, influence one another, communicate, to give of oneself to enrich the other.

The fourth trait is consolation/liberation. As a result of the encounter Jesus sometimes heals a sick person and releases the person from a demon, like the man born blind. Elsewhere he heals in the sense that someone who is turned in on himself can come out of himself and trust in others and in God and then everything becomes clear. Thus it was for Peter.

At other times, he comforts, forgiving sinners like Mary Magdalene. Or again he can awaken ardour in the hearts of listeners with his fiery speech as he did with the disciples of Emmaus.

Consolation means more than cure; consolation is discovering that life has meaning because God loves me, even though everything might appear otherwise. If we manage to comfort a sick man, it means help to bear the pain of his illness, relieving the pain of his heart to relieve the body.

Jesus also consoles when around him: ‘All were amazed and asked each other: "What is this? This is a teaching with authority” ...’ (Mk 1: 27) so it is in the Sermon on the Mount, the parables and the teaching on the last judgment.

The fifth trait is the change of heart in the person consoled, liberated and restored to happiness, enthused, committed and joyful; it is then that he knows salvation. He now lives and works with a new spirit, alive in a new way, because he feels a new person.

Such is the experience of salvation in practice: the result of healing and consolation after encountering Jesus. It is also decisive for the people, they feel drawn to him (Mt. 14: 13-14; 15, 32, 18, 16-18; Jn 6: 1-2.). This is what will make them believe that he is the way, the truth and the life, and the light of the world, the bread of life, the bridegroom, the resurrection and the living water.

The Kingdom of God is the essence of Jesus’ teaching. When the encounter happens, and there is a change related to the experience of divine love, then a new way of living human relations is emerging: instead of wounding we become peacemakers; instead of seeing others as enemies we see them as brothers; each of us dependent on God as his sons since he loves us; equal among others because God loves them too. We must make these fundamentals our own because in all things and everywhere, they humanise us and confirm us as gifts of God for those He loves.

This is the secret of the Kingdom: we must lose our life to find it; we mustn’t seek to save it at any cost for whatever reason. Serve, love enemies, forgive, give life. May the first among you be the servant of all. He who humbles himself will be exalted. That is why, after having announced the Kingdom of God, Jesus accomplished it by his abasement; by giving his life, his Father could save humanity. Thus he showed his love for God and for men. Jesus, his life, his passion, death and resurrection is the good news; his person, his life and his paschal mystery manifest the Father’s love for every single person.

Gaspar Fernández Pérez, scj
Superior General