Spirituality

Christmas or the birth of Christ proving his Incarnation to the world ought to be for the religious of Betharram and for the laity sharing their charism and spirituality the feast which reminds them of their vocation and the demands of their mission.

St Michael was amazed and fascinated by the love of God preceding each of our merits which was evident in all its fullness by the Incarnation of the Word. He offered himself to his Father by his “Here I Am” so as to be at the service of mankind throughout his whole life even to the sacrifice of the Cross.

The Word made Man took his Incarnation seriously; he became fully and totally “man” and “flesh”; the choice of the Word was definitive. The Incarnate Christ’s “Here I Am” is eternal. The fullness of the commitment, the truth of the sharing, the depth of the identity (except in the case of sin, although Christ became a sinner for our sakes) show the seriousness with which he was at the service of mankind.

Saint Michael noticed all the seriousness of the Incarnation: the shock of a God entering into the humility and weakness of the history of mankind to share its weaknesses and (while at the same time showing ways and means of overcoming them), drove St Michael to follow in the footsteps of Christ so as to imitate and follow the “folly of his love”.

The sons of St Michael are also called to take the Incarnation seriously, which should be extended and be actualised among their contemporaries by their life and mission of evangelisation. Our Congregation is a Congregation (as our Rule of Life reminds us) whose task is to reproduce Christ’s “Here I Am” (modal) for the salvation of mankind (mission).

As Sons of St Michael Christ’s Incarnation invites us to reflect on and update the idea of “Incarnation”. “To become incarnate” means to be present in the midst of mankind, to be visible, to understand the different personal and cultural situations, feel the anxieties and questions of people longing to share their problems, their hopes, and their expectations, and at the same time giving them the where with all to work out their salvation and redemption. In a sublime way all this was what made up Christ’s Incarnation.

To revive the “Here I Am” of the Incarnation is the task of Betharramites religious and laity. For them it means being incarnate today in History and in the Church. If you like it’s the fate to which all the Betharramites are doomed; the reality of our charism is eternal in so far as it is a constant preoccupation about the expectations and demands of mankind everywhere, all the time and in every situation. In the same way as Christ’s Incarnation among men is eternal.

Christmas, that is the Incarnation, the “realisation” of “Here I Am” appears as the indispensable foundation of every aspect, both spiritual and pastoral of the work and mission of the Betharramites. It is the root of our spirituality of the Incarnation. The Word chose our humanity; he became poor; he became the backup of anyone wounded, down-trodden, and persecuted or in need; the backup of the rejected as Pope Francis would say today. The road of the sons of St Michael must follow the mystery of the Incarnation (if they are to be called “Betharramites”). On this way, as St Michael reminds us we must assume the feelings which were present in the Heart of Christ Incarnate: charity, humility, obedience, devotion, sentiments which were spoken by the Word: “Ecce venio, Here I Am”.

The Incarnation involves a tending towards God and towards man. It is a relation which is transformed into a surge, forgetful of self and grows through care of the Other and of others and since it takes place in time becomes a project and a gift.

To celebrate Christmas is, for the sons and disciples of St Michael to immerse one’s self in the mystery of God’s Love, made visible and tangible through the Incarnation; thereby getting reason, light and strength so that in the constant movement of time and cultures the Incarnate love is a reality... always inviting “new incarnations”: ours.

Ennio Bianchi scj