Life of the Congregation (1)

On Saturday, June 10, at the parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Belo Horizonte, Bro. Iran Lima da Silva scj made his perpetual profession. The vows were received by Fr. Gustavo Agín scj, Superior General, who presided over the Eucharistic celebration, accompanied by numerous Betharramite religious and a large assembly. Our young Brother here retraces in a few lines his initial journey.

I am Brother Iran Lima da Silva. I was born on 22nd February 1981 in Pombal, a small town about 400 km from João Pessoa the capital of Paraiba State in north-eastern Brazil. My parents are Paulo Carvalho da Silva and Inácia Lima da Silva. I am the second of five children..

I spent my childhood in the countryside, in a place called “Mont Joyeux”. I worked for several years in agriculture with my parents and brothers. Born and educated in a very humble family, I learned the simplicity characteristic of the population living inland ... Yes, I am a child of the interior countryside of Brazil. It was in this place, in this family, in this environment that I made my first steps in the faith; And it was there that at the age of seven a vocation was awakened in me.

I knew the Congregation at the age of 20, thanks to Fr. Jair Pereira, who was originally from the same region. Because of distance, our first contacts were made by letters. It was through this correspondence that I learned to know the Betharram charism. Deeply touched and attracted by the charism, I decided to deepen it. Indeed, I was fascinated by the simplicity, the availability and the life of Saint Michael, because they connected with my own roots; I identified with him, his story, his way of being. From that moment on, I never ceased to cultivate the desire to be an apostle of the Sacred Heart in the family of Betharram.

I entered as an aspirant in 2003. Everything I have experienced as part of my initial formation has been important. I would highlight among other things the period of the novitiate and, more recently, the Spiritual Exercises of thirty days. The time of the novitiate marked me for the deep experience of God, for prayer, which he offered me, and for having experienced very deeply the feeling of being a Betharramite religious. In this stage I drank from the living source and the richness of our spirituality. In the Spiritual Exercises, I experienced in depth the presence of God in my history, which helped me to confirm all that I had experienced so far, as well as the call to be a definitive member of the Betharram family, through the religious profession.

It is a path of growth and maturation in faith, with the desire to pattern my life on the following of Christ, and all the challenges that this entails; times of renunciation, of construction and of destruction, especially, as regards my way of thinking, feeling and acting.

As a consecrated person, with the help of the grace of God and the accompaniment of my brothers, I wish to serve people and be a good Betharramite... I am on the road, in discernment, in the learning phase, which includes falls and restarts ... allowing me to be formed; I let myself be molded in the hands of God so that my devoted service to the Church and the Congregation may be the work of God and for God. May God be everything, always! Always ahead, Fiat Voluntas Dei.

I embrace you…

Iran Lima da Silva, scj