Life of the Congregation

The religious of the Region Fr Auguste Etchecopar, with a heart full of joy, give thanks to the Lord who has allowed them to crown the year 2014 with three ordinations that took place in Brumadinho (Brazil) for Br. Glecimar Guilherme da Silva (nicknamed “Terere”) and Br. Eudes Fernandes da Silva (called “Eudinho”), and in Ciudad del Este (Paraguay) for Br. Raul Villalba. We wish the newly-ordained priests that the love for the Lord and for his Church may grow in them day by day and that his Spirit may guide them always!

I have always expected that the priestly ministry would be for me a dream come true! Today, as a Betharramite priest, I can contemplate how great is God’s love for us: to be a priest is more than a personal achievement! It is the fulfilment of the plan of salvation in my life, that is the joy of being a sacramental offering.
At present, my Vicariate has entrusted me with the mission of being the formator of Postulants! This mission is important and urges me to be faithful in my prayer life and to always be in a state of discernment! In this mission I am fully committed in fulfilling what I am called to be as Betharramite! I am quite happy to guide my young brothers at the beginning of their journey in discerning their vocation.
Now I ask God to enlighten me with his grace, so that, in Christ, I can be faithful to the ministry entrusted to me! I put in God’s hands my vocation and my ministry! May he, the Doctor of souls, always grant me his light and make myself light in the journey of my people and instrument of healing for many hearts and souls!
Father Glecimar da Silva scj

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At the beginning of this year, dedicated to the consecrated life, Pope Francis wrote a letter to the Religious, in which he says: “Who has found the Lord and follows him faithfully, is a messenger of the joy of the Spirit” (n.6).
The Pope is urging us to renew and deepen the meaning of our vocation with joy and passion. I was ordained as a priest a month ago. Everyday I ask the Lord to make my vocation new. In the history of each vocation, God himself is the mysterious person who does the calling. As betharramite religious and priest, I am marked by the sign of God’s consolation, and in my ministry I am called to bring this consolation to others. This is Pope Francis’ desire, expressed in the book of Isaiah too: to bring to all the consolation of God and to be witnesses of his mercy. So, I am called to spread the truth of the Gospel. As Betharramite religious and priest I have some dreams and projects:
- to be a facilitator and not a hindrance of God’s grace in the life of the people;
- to witness a God who fully loves us, beyond our human wretchedness and weaknesses;
- to show this particular face of God through our charism, by following in a creative and faithful way what Saint Michael laid down for us in our Rule of Life;
- to bring to all the joy of my personal encountering with the Lord;
- to build up the community with my tenderness, in the limits of my position.
As a newly-ordained Betharramite priest, today, this is my dream and my wish for my Congregation: may our Congregation always make the experience of being together around the table (community), because this is the special place to be nourished, to strengthen the bonds and to go to the mission. I pray to the Virgin Mary and to Saint Michael, that they may help me to be faithful to my betharramite vocation.
Father Eudes Fernandes da Silva scj

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“My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour”.
I make the words of Mary my own because the feeling pervading my being is one of gratitude and lowliness. Gratitude, because God, in his infinite love, has turned his eyes towards me; lowliness because, in spite of my limitations, Christ has called me to share in his priesthood.
To start my priestly ministry in the school with the youth, is a great challenge; by virtue of my offering, I wish to be an appealing witness to draw people to Jesus annihilated and obedient.
I thank God for calling me. I thank the Betharram family for supporting me in giving my answer. I appeal to the intercession of our Father Saint Michael Garicoits, that I may be a Priest according to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Father Raul Villalba scj

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Golden Jubilee

Last month, our Brazilian brothers, Fr. Vital Paulo Campos and Fr. Antonio Scarpa, celebrated their golden jubilee in Conceição do Rio Verde (Brazil) and in the very church where they had been ordained priests on December 20th, 1964.
Before them, on December 8th, in Adrogué (Argentina), Fr. Francisco Daleoso scj celebrated the golden jubilee of his priestly ordination too. A large number of faithful thanked God for 50 years of consecration of this beloved priest and Argentian missionary.
To them all, thank you! Forward, with joy and ad multos annos!

For me this is the time to thank the Lord, to be an instrument in his hands to do the good works He expects from me. Then I have to say thank you to my family for being close to me in my priestly ministry in a discreet way.
Furthermore, this Jubilee was an opportunity to show to the people the way of walking: only in communion with all the brothers. First of all I thanked the Congregation for always caring for me with tenderness since the days of the minor seminary until now. I had the opportunity to express my gratitude during our Regional Assembly in Paraguay.
At the beginning of my ministry as a priest, I learned how to work in the education field in Saint Michael College: this helped me to carry out my mission at Dom Helder for 26 years. I expressed my gratitude to the communities for helping me to become a priest: J. the America, S. Domingos, Brumadinho, Santa Luzia, Nova Granada. At Conceição do Rio Verde, near my village, Itanhandu, in the same Basilica where the four of us (Geraldo Luz and João Batista have gone to the Lord before us) were ordained, we thanked our Mother Mary for the blessings received over these 50 years.
Antonio Scarpa scj