To all dear friends of the Pallottine Family!
Along with a warm greetings from Rome, we send you this letter, written in collaboration with the International UAC Mission working group and addressed to those of us touched by the profound experience of sharing the suffering of Christ and seeking to live it in a spirit of sacrifice and self-giving. The letter seeks to be an encouragement for all who are on this often difficult path, and a sign of gratitude for their apostolate and their presence among us.
We ask Ven. Elisabetta Sanna to accompany us, so that we, like her, may be able to go through every suffering with faith in the infinite Love of God.
In the bond of charity, substantial constituent of our family, we ask you to ensure that this this letter reaches as many people as possible so that it may in this way become the common heritage of all.
In communion of prayer and love.
Donatella Acerbi, President
Rory Hanly SAC, General Secretary
FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER
UNIONE DELL’APOSTOLATO CATTOLICO
Piazza San Vincenzo Pallotti, 204 – 00186 Roma, Italia
Tel. (+39 06.6819469 – Fax:: (+39) 06.6876827 – E-mail: uac@uniopal.org
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Dear sisters and brothers,
warm greetings and a fraternal embrace to all of you whose faces reflect the suffering face of Jesus.
In this privileged time of Holy Week which we are now celebrating, we are invited to contemplate with new eyes this suffering face of Jesus, soon to be transformed in the radiant glory of the resurrection, and to let his loving gaze penetrate and bless and transform every dimension of our life and our being. The God who has taken on our burdens and our sufferings identifies himself in a special way in this holy time with all who bear the burden of illness and infirmity, and this urges us to reach out to you, precious members and collaborators of the Pallottine Family. This significant occasion stirs immediately in us an ardent desire to express our gratitude for the special and unique contribution which you are making towards the realization of our common charism and mission, entrusted to us by our beloved Saint Vincent Pallotti.
Vincent Pallotti pointed to prayer and suffering, lived in communion with the passion and sufferings of Christ, as a highly effective means to revive faith and rekindle charity: “Each one can contribute at least with prayer, with which everyone, healthy or infirm, can intercede, that faith may be revived and love rekindled among Catholics and spread throughout the world; and this can very easily be obtained by the poor sick and those who groan in their tribulations through the offering of their sufferings” (cf. OOCC IV, p. 19).
St. Vincent, without exception, invites all of us to carry out the works directed towards rekindling charity and calls all who are living in tribulation and suffering due to illness, injustice or marginalisation to contribute in this apostolic mission. Suffering lived in faith and in union with God is a highly effective means to bear witness to a living faith and an ardent charity. Pain, every pain, is a precious pearl for those who are following Christ in the footsteps of Vincent Pallotti.
Often faced with so many problems in the world, such as the lack of faith and charity in social relations, we feel discouraged and helpless. But the appeal of St. Vincent is always current and strong for all of us: “Prayer done with humility, trust and perseverance is the infallible means to obtain all which is for the greater glory of God and for the salvation of souls: that faith be revived, and charity rekindled among Catholics, and propagated throughout the world” (cf. OOCC IV, p. 39).
When our darkness becomes so deep, our pain seems so meaningless as to tempt us to despair, when we don’t feel the presence of Him who consoles us in spite of everything, Christ is there with us, faithfully loving us, and accompanying us on that same road which he has already travelled right to the end. He himself offers us his Spirit who instils in us new hope and a new sense of beginning once more to believe that the infinite love of God passes through even our darkness, our pain, our desperation.
Dear friends, you can become and already often are a valuable instrument of evangelisation, of support for other brothers and sisters who are suffering. An instrument of light where you live, transforming your environment into a place of solidarity and mercy. The experience of illness, of isolation, of marginalisation, – when they find meaning and newness in the encounter with Christ, will make you particularly qualified and credible in bringing the light of the Gospel not only to those, who in similar situations still feel useless and lost, but to all who rely on you. “Love transforms everything”, Pope Francis reminds us.
Dear sisters and brothers, through the bond of fraternal love which unites us, we look on you as very effective missionaries and apostles of our Lord! May you always be ready to speak to others about the love of the Risen Christ, to share the marvels and experiences of God’s mercy. Thus the mission to pray and offer our daily suffering for the sake of others so that they may again find the way towards our Lord, who is infinitely merciful, crazy with love, as our Founder would say, may give you much joy and confidence. Truly, you are a treasure not only for our Pallottine Family, but for the Universal Church and the entire world.
All of us Union members and collaborators wish, with great respect, to encourage and help our brothers and sisters marked by suffering and illness to persevere in the mission that brings Life to others. Pope Francis reminds us that “the Cross of Christ invites us also to allow ourselves to be smitten by his love, teaching us always to look upon others with mercy and tenderness, especially those who suffer, who are in need of help, who need a word or a concrete action; the Cross invites us to step outside ourselves to meet them and to extend a hand to them” (Pope Francis, Way of the Cross with the young people, Rio de Janeiro 26 July 2013). And for this, we intend to consciously exercise the specific instruments of every work of mercy: tenderness, listening, practical help, personal
encounter, a smile, prayer.
“Wisdom of the heart means being with our brothers and sisters. Time spent with the sick is holy time. It is praise of God who conforms us to the image of his Son, who `came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many´ (Mt 20:28) (Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the 23rd World Day of the Sick 2015).
We also wish to express our deepest gratitude to all the members and collaborators of the Union spread in various parts of the world dedicated in many works and initiatives that bring love, healing and relief to those suffering in body and soul.
Finally, we invite all members and collaborators of the Union, and especially those who share in a particular way the sufferings of Christ through illness and infirmity, to adopt the following short prayer as an offering of ourselves and all that we are to God: Jesus, you accepted the Passion and Cross, in order to reveal to us the merciful face of the Father. Accept our every pain, disease and suffering, so that the mystery of your Cross in us may reveal the power of your Resurrection, and obtain for us the grace of being “merciful like the Father.” Amen.
May this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy bring to the entire Pallottine family the grace to live the mission “of reviving faith and rekindling charity throughout the world”. Through the intercession of St. Vincent Pallotti, we invoke on all one the blessings of God who is rich in mercy.
To Mary, Mother of Mercy, we entrust our journey as joyful and confident pilgrims.
Donatella Acerbi
President
Frank Donio SAC – Vice President
Rory Hanly SAC
General Secretary
Rome, Palm Sunday, March 20th 2016
