Life of the Congregation

On the 12 and 18 December 2015 our two young brothers Juan Pablo Garcia Martinez and Alcides Ramon Riveros Diaz from the Father Auguste Etchecopar Region made their final vows as they prepared to follow in the footsteps of Jesus following the route traced out by St Michael Garicoits. The precious gift of their life and their total devotion represents a moment of joy and gratitude for the Christian community and for the Betharramite family. Their gift is the fruit of a long and patient preparation.

“Here I am”: “Ape aime”
I am happy with this short message to share my simple experience of God and the path which I have followed in the Betharram Congregation. When I was 18 years of age I felt God’s call. It was then that I began to look for answers. I put to one side what I felt interiorly and began to plan my life according to my own projects. At the same time I continued working hard in the parish of San Francisco, Saverio de La Colmena under the care of the Betharramite Fathers. I was born in a simple and hard working family. My father Timoteo Rivero and my mother Silvina Diaz (deceased) showed me the way leading to real joy that is following Jesus. I am their 6th child. I have five older sisters and one young brother.

In 2004, with the help of Father Tobia Sosio, I started discernment serious and in depth. I spent a lot of time in the parish and took part in the first vocational retreats and in those of the Congregation. The following year I was received as a postulant in the San Joaquin parish with Father Javier Irala and Deacon Daniel Pavon. This was a great experience; sharing community life with them I felt God’s call and our Human weakness which follows us throughout our whole life.

Between 2006 and 2008 I was a postulant in the Formation Community at Puente Remanso (Paraguay) My formator was Father Mauro who helped me greatly. The years 2009 – 2010 were the time of my novitiate at Adrogue (Argentina) and were an important stage for me. The novitiate is a great grace. It is the experience of which St John speaks: “What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we contemplated and what we touched with our hands”. (1 John, 1) From 2011 – 2014 I was at Belo Horizonte (Brazil) for my scholasticate. During those years I was able to delve into the depths of what I wanted as a religious. Personal accompaniment and prayer enabled me to have a better understanding of the Gospel. Taking up the evangelical counsels is a challenge not only to put them into practice but also to show Jesus message by behaviour.

2015 was the year of preparation for “Here I am” before the Lord. It was a grace-filled year; it wasn’t easy to leave the Formation Community and take my place in a missionary community but it wasn’t impossible either. The community which received me was that of San Francisco Saverio at La Colmena with Frs Osvaldo Caniza and Milciades Ortigoza who helped me better understand the Betharram charism.

18 December 2015, final profession of Br. Alcides Ramón Díaz (right) and first profession of Sergio Leiva (in the middle) with the Regional Superior, Fr. Gustavo Agín scj

After those 10 years of formation I can say without a doubt that it is worth leaving everything to follow Jesus. I would like to stress the points which helped me to say a definitive “YES”; choosing religious life is an act of faith; what drives me, what attracts me in my decision is the faithfulness of God and his tender mercy. If anyone were to ask me what I am expecting I would say that I am not expecting anything extraordinary from belonging to Betharram; I simply want to be led by the Holy Spirit so that my gift bears fruit because only a generous gift of self for the Kingdom is worthy of belief. So too if one wants to manifest the movement of the Heart of Jesus, the Word Incarnate saying to his Father: “Behold here I am” and submitting to the will of his Father for the redemption of mankind.

Alcides Ramon Riveros Diaz scj

A pathway revealed
My name is Juan Pablo and I made my first vows in our little Betharramite family five years ago. It was the chapel of the Holy Family of Adrogué (Argentina), on December 12, feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of Latin America. I remember with emotion the joy of this first profession: the festive atmosphere, the presence of the brothers and the people of the neighbourhood and my city, family, friends and the desire to respond generously to the pathway God put before me. These first vows have become final, that is, “for life” ... I was accompanied by the same if not greater joy, moved by the faces,the hopeful and affectionate glances and, and by the same desire - if not more so - to celebrate a profession that this time is perpetual. As with the first vows, and at each renewal, a sentence added to the formula provided by our Rule of Life expresses my experience in Betharram and the characteristic of the mission which the Lord entrusts to me: “let it be my God, that I give freely what I received freely: mercy and life.” It is difficult to summarize the most significant moments of these nine years in formation (not counting the three years of initial discernment), the experience of this final step and how I am launched into the future (“Forward always !” as St. Michael encourages us), in my vocation and my mission. But perhaps these two words say everything: “mercy and life”.

12 December 2015, final profession of Br. Juan Pablo García Martinez (right) and forst profession of Mariano Surace (left)

We come for the first time, after meeting a reality or a person who will mark or forever enrich our being. Usually it is an item, a nuance, a gesture or a word that draws attention, leaving in our hearts a strong and indelible impression. “Mercy and Life” is the impression made on me when I met Betharram, an impression that time and the love of God (and the brothers) have made indelible. And it is through this that during the thirty day Spiritual Exercises in novitiate, I experienced the love of the Father in my limits and my infidelities (1st week), I answered “yes” to the call of his Son (2nd week), I suffered with Him (3rd week) and I experienced joy with Him (4th week). It was for this same “mercy and life” that in Brazil, where the scholastics of the Region Etchecopar study theology, I entered, with other brothers into Pastoral Work in the prisons of Belo Horizonte. At first it cost me dearly, Driven by fear, I even heard myself say, in the cell of a prisoner, that Pelé was a greater footballer than Messi and Maradona combined (!!). Joking aside, I understood on that occasion that the Good News of Jesus (God is love!) wanted to be present where so many people are like the deer that thirsts, in need of comfort and hope. It is in this spirit, with my brothers Alcides & Cristian, that we gave ourselves to this mission.”

Mercy and Life” was also the object of the Spiritual Exercises in preparation for final vows. During these exercises, the Lord reminded me: “Never forget Juampi [the name my friends call me] my servant will not break the reed that bends, nor extinguish the flickering flame ... (Is 42.3). “ Finally, I ask that anyone who reads this brief testimony will pray for me. A prayer, so that I can live faithfully (despite my limitations), as a dedicated Betharramite person, and, God willing, as a deacon and priest, the vocation and mission to which the Lord has called me.

Juan Pablo García Martínez, SCJ