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The General Superior's Letter Print E-mail
Written by Fr. Aquileo Fiorentini, IMC   
Friday, 18 May 2007
BLESSED CHARLES DE FOUCAULD
ANNUAL PROTECTOR

Dearest Missionaries,

On 13th November 2005, during the solemn celebration of the Beatification of Blessed Charles de Foucauld in the Vatican Basilica, Card. José Saraiva Martins affirmed: “Charles de Foucauld has greatly influenced the spirituality of the XX century and remains, at the beginning of the third millennium, a fruitful point of reference, an invitation to a radically evangelical life style, besides that which is proper to the various groups founded by him, many and diversified as they are, forming his spiritual family. To receive the Gospel in all its simplicity, to evangelize without one’s own beliefs on others, to witness Jesus and at the same time respect other people’s religious experiences, reaffirming the primacy of charity lived in a brotherly milieu, these are just some of the most important aspects of a precious inheritance which urges us to make it so that our life, in imitation of that of Blessed Charles, be a “crying out of the Gospel from roof tops, … crying out that we belong to Jesus”.

We missionaries feel very close to us this apostle who has so much influenced the mission of the XX century with his extraordinary spiritual vigor. May his intercession awaken in us the fire of holiness and mission in order to completely bring about the ideal which Blessed Allamano wished for his Institute.

Continuing my reflection on our annual Protector, in this second part I will try to understand better the influence which Blessed Charles’ witness and spiritual doctrine may have on our own missionary work.

1. Mission
Evangelization:
a simple and radical concept

For Blessed Charles, evangelization is inseparable from Gospel since it constitutes the answer to a specific request made by Jesus. Meditating on the mystery of the Visitation, De Foucauld places on Jesus’ mouth the following words: “To the souls who lead a life of silence, of seclusion, away from the world, in solitude, I say: ‘All of you, work for the sanctification of the world, apply yourselves to it like my Father, without words, in silence: go and establish your hermitages among those who do not know me; bring me among them by building an altar, a tabernacle, and bring to them the Gospel, preaching it with your example and not with your mouth, living it and not just announcing it; sanctify the world, bring me to the world’”.

In this appeal are present all the constitutive elements of his style of evangelization: silent presence, the importance of the Eucharistic adoration and prayer, and above all the essential prerequisite that evangelization be first of all imitation of Jesus himself. In some present day cultures, where conversion to Christianity has no place (as far as visible form is concerned), Christian presence finds in Blessed Charles’ special vocation a prophetical indication: dedication, welcoming spirit, meekness, service, friendship, quest for understanding through love, are real and possible ways for missionary action. To live in this fashion it means to bring about mission in a real way, though certainly it may not be considered the only way. The example of De Foucauld urges us also to be courageous and prophetical when confronted by injustices: “… we must ‘love justice and hate iniquity’, and when the temporal government does a grave injustice against those people entrusted somehow to our responsibility […], then we have to denounce it […], it is not our duty to be ‘sleeping sentinels’, ‘speechless dogs’, ‘mindless shepherds’”.

The new model of an evangelizer

Since he was not allowed to openly preach the Gospel, Blessed Charles believes that to study is a winning strategy to be adopted in order to do apostolate among the Muslims of the Sahara region. He endeavors to know the Tuareg and their culture, approaching them with prudence and discretion, establishing with them friendly relationships. He tries also to better their life conditions, thanks to the witness of goodness. In May 1903 he thinks of founding the Brothers of the Sacred Heart as “a congregation of missionaries who do not preach the Gospel openly, but they make it known, admired, loved through their life of prayer, charity and poverty”.

He ministers openly to the Christians he meets, whereas for the others he prepares the soil. He does not want to convert them, even though he intensely whishes that one day all may benefit from the joy that comes from encountering Jesus. “For the spreading of the Gospel I am ready to travel to the ends of the world and live till judgment day”.

With his thirst to bring Jesus to all people he goes as far as Hoggar in order to reach the nomadic tribe of the Tuareg. He does not go hurriedly through the various stages of his apostolate. He rather places himself as a brother among the brothers of a different religion, whishing that through his love they may perceive the infinite goodness of his Lord. He shares his own ideals by participating in the shortcomings of the people among whom he lives and offering to them his brotherly friendship. He whishes that they may better their life condition, always respect the rights of each individual, and have a high esteem of their own cultural values. Thus he sets out his own work of evangelization. He starts an enormous work of writing and translating their own language (a collection of popular writings, grammar, and dictionary), so that their culture may be known in the world and one day, when the right time will come, they may hear Jesus… in their own language.

In short, De Foucauld teaches with his own life that if one really whishes to reach the heart of the people to be evangelized, then the best way is to make oneself one of them, becoming for them a universal brother. He describes himself a missionary-monk. Monk, because he spends many hours with Jesus adoring him in the Eucharist, in the silence and solitude of the desert, in the hermitages he has built and in which he has lived, at Beni-Abbés, Tamanrasset, at Assekrem (Algeria). The Word of God becomes for him like a drop which, by repeatedly falling on the rock, it excavates it. Jesus becomes his “only model” that leads to the Father. Missionary, because on account of his love for Jesus and the brothers, he is ready to leave his much loved solitude to help the neediest, to fight slavery, welcome anyone in need.

Apostles yes, but by which means?

Blessed Charles is quite clear and tells the evangelizers in an unmistakable way which means to use in approaching other people: “with all those I am dealing with, without any exception, I do so with goodness, tenderness, brotherly affection, exemplary virtue, humility, and that kindness which is characteristic of every Christian. With some of them without ever saying a word about God or religion, being just patient as God is patient, being good as God is good, showing them brotherly concern and praying; with others, telling them about God in as much as they can accept him, and as soon as they wish to find the truth studying religion, by putting them in touch with a well chosen priest capable of helping them… Above all, we must see in every person a brother”.

He makes himself known to the local people by trying to enter into a friendly and trustworthy relationship with them. In one of his writings, Observations on the trips of missionaries in the Sahara, we find his method of life and mission. For instance he says: “Whenever possible, missionaries should stay by themselves, eat by themselves, so as not to waist too much time and thus be able to devote themselves to their spiritual exercises and good works, without being forced to listen to bad talks and thus loose the respect thus far enjoyed by showing their faults, but be rather more approachable by the poor”. On the other hand whenever he comes across a tent, a group of tents or a small hut, he never fails to stop and establish friendship with the people.

He becomes a friend of the Tuareg, better still, a brother, a little brother, a universal brother. He does not just live in their midst, but rather together with them. He invites them into his own hut and he is their own guest: with them he drinks green tea, he respects their customs, listen to the women singing their tribal songs recounting old stories. In this way he learns to understand their problems, desires, fears. After some time he talks and thinks in their own language. He becomes one of them. They call him Marabutto, the man of prayer. The high chief of the Hoggar Musa, Ag Amastan, honors him with his friendship.

Blessed De Foucauld is a pioneer in the study of the local languages and knowledge of their culture as integral part of evangelization. He believes that enculturation is a consequence of the mystery of incarnation: he who is committed to know the brothers is getting closer to Christ himself who unknown is present in them.

In order to prepare the way for future missionaries he concludes a series of linguistic studies of great scientific value. He translates the Four Gospels in the Tuareg language. He writes a grammar and a dictionary. E’ is the first priest who lived with them in the Hoggar. His pastoral project envisages also, among other things: “To do the utmost to help the poor in this region, entirely forgetti9ng myself; to visit every year the arrhem1 of the Hoggar, to accept invitations to travel through the Sahara if that may be deemed useful; if possible, every year to spend a few days in the tents of the Hoggar”.

2. Fundamental attitudes of the little brother

Humility:

“God wants to show us that littleness and humility are necessary to achieve greatness. Jesus Christ has not desired anything else for himself”. Humility implies an attitude of service, love, tolerance, respect. It means to reach simplicity and holiness, symbolized by the trustful attitude of a child. If we are unable to be humble, then we are also incapable of joy, because only humility can destroy the egocentrism which makes joy impossible. A humble person is not afraid of failures; he fears nothing. To be humble is to be exactly as God sees (wants?). Humility brings along with itself the virtue of a pleasant mood, offers to everybody a pleasant smile, the result of the new life Christ gives us, Easter joy of the risen ones, as Saint Augustine exhorts us.

Poverty:

“… The Master was poor, the servant must not be rich; the Master lived by the work of his hands, the servant must not live by the interest accrued by his own investments…”.

To bring goods into one’s own possession and resort to all means to retain them is to deprive others and render them needy, afflicted by hunger and misery. Poverty is the privileged place of the divine, the highest school of real love, the strongest reminder for mercy, the encounter with God made easy, the surest way to pass through this earth.

Prayer:

“Through prayer we learn to recognize Jesus and keep ourselves united with him in our intentions and sentiments”.

Prayer is our first realization of our total self giving to God through word, gesture and silence. We do this first of all for ourselves and then for whomever comes to us thirsting for God. Charles De Foucauld was a man or prayer, associating together the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and His presence in the poor. He used to go into the desert to meet God, but also to meet those who lived far away from Him. He founded The Union of prayers for the evangelization of peoples, a long thought out project which aimed at having prayers said for the missions.

Work:

Brother Charles believes that evangelical holiness is possible for all those who lead an ordinary and poor life, and are therefore obliged to work. In fact those who allow themselves to be guided by the “spirituality of Nazareth” can demonstrate that it is possible to reach holiness through prayer and work.

Goodness:

“That which is good is brought about not by what is said or done, but through what one is, by the degree of love which accompanies our action. Jesus lives in us and our action is the action of Jesus who works in us and for us. Man’s good deeds are directly linked to the degree of his holiness: let’s always keep in mind this truth”.

Charles lives his prayer life through his continuous meditation of Sacred Scripture and adoration. In his constant desire to be “universal brother” to every person, he exerts determination to become a living image of the love of Jesus. “I wish to be good so that it may be said: If such is the servant, what will his Master be?”.

He tries to accomplish his “work of fraternization” among the Tuareg, simply by “proclaiming the Gospel with his own life”. To a protestant friend he explains it in these terms: “I am sure that our good God will welcome into heaven all those who have been good and honest, without a person having to be a roman-catholic. You are protestant, others are non believers and the Tuareg are Muslims. I am convinced that God will receive us all if we will deserve it”.

The heart of his fraternity is the chapel where he spends long hours in adoration of the Eucharist. It is the centre of his apostolate which is considered by him “very great and beautiful mission, requiring though much virtue”. Our task is to continue the mystery of the Visitation: “to do as much good as possible to the Muslim people, so many and forsaken, bringing in their midst Jesus present in the most holy Sacrament, as the Holy Virgin sanctified John the Baptist by bringing Jesus close to him”.

Self surrender:

Father, I entrust myself to You, do to me whatever pleases You: whatever You may do to me, I thank You. I am ready for everything, and accept everything so that Your will may be done in me and in all Your creatures; I do not wish anything else, my God. I entrust my soul into your hands, I give it to You, my God, with all the love of my heart, because I love You. And it is for me a loving need to give myself, to surrender myself into Your hands without reserve, with infinite trust, because you are my Father”.

This well known prayer of self surrender does not require any comment from me. It reflects his attitude of total surrender to the God of life and mission. It becomes a challenge for all of us.

Martyrdom:

“The Little Brothers should reflect every day on one of the benefits received from their Spouse Jesus and that is the possibility, the sure hope, of concluding one’s own life with martyrdom: may they prepare themselves totally to this blessed end…”. Blessed Charles always desired to give his life for his Lord and for those to whom he had been sent.

He who agrees to be guided by the Spirit who animated Jesus of Nazareth is capable to serve the truth up to the total acceptance of martyrdom. All that proceed from a pure heart, righteous and noble, is like a powerful cry even to the ears of violent people. The act of giving one’s own life to save that of others is the up most demonstration of love and generosity.

3. Timeless intuitions

I would like to list some intuitions which, sprung up from a heart filled with love for God and the brothers, continue to educate even today in the church and in every missionary situation. The recent Beatification of Charles De Foucauld has placed the stamp of approval of the Church to his teachings and holiness of life.

The participation of the laity in the mission:

Faced with the difficulty of many governments unwilling to welcome priests and religious in Algeria, De Foucauld thought of recruiting the laity as cooperators in the missions. It was especially towards the end of his life that he became aware of the great work which could be accomplished among the Tuareg through the cooperation of the laity. Schools were needed, for the education of women, care of the sick… but no religious nun was allowed to go into the Sahara in those days. It was then that he wrote the statute for an association of lay people. He was absolutely convinced that through their example they would influence many people as it had happened at the beginning of Christianity. “We need Christians like Priscilla and Aquila who can accomplish good in silence, living as poor itinerant sellers”.

New ways to evangelize:

The “extreme” situation in which De Foucauld lived has facilitated the birth of an innovative missionary method. One that first of all aims at evangelizing the environment where Christians are very few. Secondly, it tries to fully involve the lay people.
The strategy proposed by Blessed Charles proceeds from a rigorous analysis of the milieu and Tuareg society in which he lives. First of all he suggests to promote and develop the human potentials of the people which he himself finds worthy of much attention: “They should be ‘educated’, and through such education, they should be introduced to ‘education and civilization’”. He believes that civilization “is constituted by these two things: instructions and meekness”. More over, besides methodology, Brother Charles recommends an attitude of attentive listening and of discreet encounter with the other, under the eyes of God. He writes to Mother Augustine: “Confronted with the vastness of the work and considering the small number of workers, we see the necessity of making up to the lack of external means with interior and supernatural ones. It is a grace. Natural means are not within our power, whereas the supernatural ones are always within our reach and they are so much more powerful! Let us endeavor to acquire more and more the awareness of the presence of Jesus”. The best apostolate for Blessed Charles is that of goodness: “All of us Christians, men and women, priest and lay people, celibate and married, have been called to be apostles through witnessing, so that we may bring others to Jesus by being amiable and becoming all to everybody”. An “indirect apostolate”: the apostolate of friendship which avoids any undue pressure and does not cause distrust or antipathy.

The imitation of the hidden life of Jesus at Nazareth:

It is this the core of the timeless charisma of Brother Charles of Jesus. This is the ideal which led him first to the Trappe, then to Nazareth and finally to become a priest-missionary in the Sahara to “manifest the Gospel in a way which is hardworking and hidden, in the silence in which God manifests His presence as a ‘whispering wind’”.


4. The timeless message of Blessed Charles de Foucauld

His singular personality of an ascetic and mystic has up to now inspired eighteen Religious Institutes, eager to share his charisma in following Jesus. He has considerably influenced the spirituality of the XX century and is even now, at the beginning of the third millennium, a fruitful point of reference and a challenging provocation. To receive the Gospel in its utter simplicity, to evangelize without the claim of a conquest, to witness Jesus in complete respect of any other different religious experience, to reaffirm the priority of charity lived according to the fraternity style: these are just a few significant aspects of his precious legacy.

His message, though addressed to modern-day society, has its roots in the tradition of the apostles and martyrs: “We tend to have high esteem of those works whose effects are readily visible and tangible. God, on the contrary, values first of all love and then the sacrifice inspired by love and the obedience that comes from love. We must love and obey with love, giving one’s self as victim with Jesus, as it may please him! It is up to him to show, if he wishes, whether we shall live the life of Saint Paul or that of Saint Mary Magdalene”. In other words, the life and death of Blessed Charles are for us a call to discover or find again that which is more radical and essential in Christian vocation: life according to the Gospel, fellowship of Jesus, the primacy of God in mission. To us missionaries he teaches a simple and radical way to evangelize, which is inseparable from a total fellowship of Christ. He demythologize the idea that evangelization is simply a communication of Gospel data, and does not rather imply the responsibility of making them credible by the testimony of one’s own life.

Blessed Charles may have thought that his mission had terminated in a total failure. But in the light of Holy Friday it was not so. The experience of his life was non other than a reflection of that of Jesus, of the Saints and of every Christian. His example consoles us when we too may be deprived of success in our apostolate, when, despite our pastoral endeavors, our churches remain empty and society seems to head towards loosing its Christian identity.

Conclusion

We have come in contact with a man of God who has lived an original spirituality, characterized by strong colors both in its horizontal and in its vertical dimensions. He was a champion of holiness, but also a marvel of science, an incomparable linguist, a man capable of human relationship, an admirable planner, a tireless worker. This man, after a long quest, has found his place in the Church and his full personal realization in a style of life dedicated to people and God.

May his “pedagogy of holiness” urge all of us, Consolata Missionaries, to walk with determination towards that “high measure of ordinary Christian life” to which the Church invites us at the beginning of this new millennium. The intercession of the Consolata and Blessed Allamano sustain each one of us to live intensely the biennium of sanctity decided by our XI General Chapter.

Receive my brotherly greetings,

Fr. Aquileo Fiorentini, IMC
Father General
Last Updated ( Thursday, 17 May 2007 )