Saint Anthony Mary Claret
Particular Examen on the Virtue of Humility: Degrees of this Virtue
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- Resolutions made during the Exercises of the year 1850, the 2nd day of May, Feast of St. Athanasius 1836
- Rule of Life and Resolutions Formed During the Retreat in Preparation for my Consecration
Particular Examen on the Virtue of Humility: Degrees of this Virtue
1844 Catalan original: MSS Claret II, 9 Introductory Note The Saint made his retreat from July 8th to the 18th this year, at the same time as he was preaching it to the clergy of Vic. The resolutions are short, because they build on those of the preceding year. They reveal a new demand for humility and a new nuance affecting the practice of his monthly day of recollection. Text I will not talk about my books or sermons.1820 At the end of each month, half an hour more of examen and prayer.1821 The retreat began on July 8th and ended July 18th of the year 1844, Vic.1822 1845 (Catalan original: MSS Claret II, 9) Introductory Note As in 1844, the Saint, swamped with preaching work, made his retreat while preaching it to the clergy of Mataró. He began the retreat after preaching the triduum for Carnival and the beginning of Lent to the faithful. The space he devotes to this single resolution shows how busy he was. Text Mataró, April 9, 1845 Refers to the same matter as last year.1823 1846 Catalan original: MSS Claret II, 9 Introductory Note After preaching missions in Tarragona and Lleida, Claret returned to Vic to rest, write and prepare himself for his next campaign. His “rest” was interrupted by a retreat he gave to the Clergy of Vic and by a mission he preached to the people during the Octave of the Assumption. It seems certain that his friend, the well-known philosopher Jaume Balmes, attended the clergy retreat. The two had at least one interview, of which Balmes kept a written summary.1824 Text 1. Silence of things.1825 2. Mortification. Vic, July 24, 1846 1847 Catalan original: MSS Claret II, 9 Introductory Note In September 1846, Claret resumed his mission campaign in Tarragona, until he had to interrupt it again in February 1847, because of a flare-up of the civil war. He retired to Vic, where he was in a quandary what to do, since he could not allow the Word of God to be halted. On the one hand, he intensified his work for the apostolate of the press, and on the other, he planned and prepared for new mission campaigns. He even considered going into the interior of Spain, where things were at peace, or else to French Cerdagne, where Catalan was spoken. Up to the time he made his retreat in August, the Lord had still not shown him his will. In a letter to Canon Joseph Caixal (his main collaborator in the ministry of the press), he wrote: “I’m going to answer quickly and briefly, for I must soon be off to begin the Exercises. Commend me to God that I may make them well.”1826 This time, apparently, the Saint would be able to make his retreat in complete solitude. Text Mortification.1827 1848 Original missing: A Conjecture We do not possess a copy of Claret’s retreat resolutions for 1848, nor are we absolutely certain that he made a retreat that year, although it seems hard to believe that he would have abandoned a habit of almost twenty years’ standing. Toward the beginning of February 1848, he was in Madrid, accompanying Vincentian Bp. Bonaventure Codina to the Canary Islands, to work as an apostolic missionary.1828 He arrived in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, on March 11th. In the city of Las Palmas, during the first half of April, he preached a clergy retreat in the main hall of the Bishop’s residence. He may have made his own retreat with the clergy at this time. Afterwards (with one possible exception) he hardly had time to do so. “I’m going it alone,” he wrote to Bp. Casadevall, “like a desperado, preaching and hearing confessions day and night, and even so, the people have to wait as much as nine days and nights for their turn.”1829 He could now see that the interruption of his ministry in Catalonia had been providential: “It seems that God has taken me out of Catalonia, where they say it is impossible to preach Missions for want of peace, and has placed me here, where such abundant fruits are being harvested. Blessed obedience! For I let myself be led by it and give constant thanks to God.”1830
MSS Claret II, 9 Introductory Note It is almost certain that at the end of his missionary campaign in the Grand Canary Island, Fr. Claret “after Easter, retreated to make the spiritual exercises in the Bishop’s house.” 1831 This took place beginning on Monday April 9; but there are neither notes nor resolutions from that solitary retreat. Still, during that same year Claret made another retreat which was exceptionally important: it was the founding retreat of the Congregation of Missionaries, Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He refers to it in his Autobiography (n. 490). We still have the outlines of the talks he gave at this memorable retreat.1832 He wrote the single resolution he made on a small piece of paper. On the back of it he wrote this thought in Catalan: “In this world, a person can say he loves God, provided he is pleased that God is God and that He is loved and served by everyone, and is pained to know that God is offended and grieved. And he strives to make Him known, loved and served by all, and to prevent all the sins he can.”1833 [English edition note: The following text was added to the introductory note for “1849” in the 1995 English translation but mistakenly placed in the year “1848.” It does not appear in the Spanish text. See Works, II pp. 156-157.] Fr. Cristóbal Fernández – rightly, to J. M. Lozano’s way of thinking – suggests that the Saint made a retreat in the Canary islands in April 1849, prior to his return to Spain. In 1892, in the second edition of the Spirit of the Congregation, Fr. Joseph Xifré states that the idea of founding the Claretian Congregation was the result of a heavenly inspiration: In proof of this, we present the affections and resolutions which he [Claret] made at prayer on the day when God inspired him with this idea. “Aided by your grace,” he said to God and the Blessed Virgin, “and by the companions you have destined for me, I shall found this Congregation – of which I shall be the last of all and the servant of all. Hence, I shall kiss their feet and wait upon them at table, and count myself most fortunate in rendering them these services.” In a footnote, Fr. Xifré adds: “All that we have recounted here is clear from the notes in which he wrote down the resolutions he formed while at prayer that day, and which, by a special coincidence, we were able to get hold of.” Lozano remarks: “Could it not be that the notes Fr. Xifré had, but which were later lost, were the missing set of retreat resolutions?” (cf. J. M. Lozano, The Claretians [Chicago 1980], pp. 46-47). Text
On this feast of St. Mary Magdalene, I resolve, in imitation of Jesus, of Mary Most Holy, and of today’s Saint, to continue pursuing the third degree of humility.1834 Anthony Claret, Priest July 25, 1849
[April and May, spiritual exercises with his relatives and missionaries] MSS Claret II, 42 Introductory Note This year, Claret’s resolutions were made under the weight of a new burden: his election as Archbishop of Santiago, Cuba.1835 From this same year we have two different sets of resolutions: 1) a set dated May 2nd (1850 a), and 2) a “Rule of Life and Resolutions” (1850 b) which is undated. It is hard to tell whether both are the outcome of one retreat, but they are probably not. The retreat made at the end of April lasted the normal length of time and was not very closely related to Claret’s consecration, since the Papal Bull was not sent until May 18th or 19th and was then held back by Madrid Government for some three months. In September, the Saint preached another retreat to the clergy of Vic. Among those making the retreat was Canon Jaume Soler, who was to be consecrated along with Claret. During this second retreat, Claret would have been able to draw up his episcopal rule of life. Both sets are presented separately here (as 1850 a and 1850 b). This is how they appear in the manuscript notebook, and besides, they reveal rather distinct concerns. The resolutions of May 2nd (1850 a) are, in effect, a confirmation of earlier resolutions. The resolution “to do the better thing” is stated more explicitly. This retreat began around April 23rd. It inaugurated the retreats given by the Claretians at the Mission House of Vic. This retreat was notable for the fervor and acts of humility of the retreatants (one of whom died during the retreat). Among those making the retreat were the Missionaries, some members of the missionary team that planned to accompany Claret to Cuba, along with Oratorian Father Peter Bach, and Canons Passarell and Caixal. Text
Resolutions made during the Exercises of the year 1850, the 2nd day of May, Feast of St. Athanasius1836 1. To walk always in the presence of God. 2. I will do everything for the greater glory of God; and when two things concur, I will do the one that seems better. 3. I will keep in mind the maxim of Epictetus: sustine et abstine. Abstine: from gluttony and any carnal liking. Sustine: work, illness and contempt.1837 4. With the Lord’s help, I will always strive for the third degree of humility. 5. The maxim of St. Louis Bertrand: Spernere se, spernere nullum, spernere mundum et spernere sperni.1838
[September and October: spiritual exercises in preparation for the episcopal ordination] MSS Claret II, 11-15. 41 Introductory Note As the Resolutions of 1843 can be said to typify those of Claret’s ministry as an Apostolic Missionary, so this second set of Resolutions for 1850 can be said to typify those of his ministry as Archbishop of Cuba. “I prepared myself,” he writes, “by a retreat of several days, during which I drew up a plan of life for my governance. Thus prepared and disposed, I received my consecration.”1839 The general concern manifested here is how to live as an archbishop and as a holy man. Claret’s dynamic character beckoned him to lose himself in the manifold tasks of a shepherd of souls. To counteract this natural tendency, he took as his norm Paul’s advice to Timothy: Attende tibi et doctrinae.1840 Although the plan of life here differs little from that of the preceding period, it does stress two virtues he is going to need in his new post: fortitude and equanimity. One noteworthy element is his new attitude toward Christ, who is no longer his ‘Captain,’ but rather the inner force that moves and spurs him on. As his episcopal motto he had chosen part of 2 Cor 5:14: Charitas Christi urget nos.1841 The reference to aestimati sumus sicut oves occisionis1842 seems almost a presentiment of the attempt on his life at Holguín, which some years later would crown and seal his pastoral ministry in Cuba. The results that he expects from this fortitude in charity are peace and evenness of mind, “without allowing myself to be overly swayed either by sadness or happiness, always remembering Jesus, Mary and Joseph, who also had their sufferings” (n. 19). The choice of Patrons in the first resolution is most apt: Francis de Sales’ gentle patience, Charles Borromeo’s zeal for reform and Thomas of Villanova’s deep concern for the poor. Claret would be distinguished for all these traits in his Cuban ministry. Text
Rule of Life and Resolutions Formed During the Retreat in Preparation for my Consecration
17. I resolve to walk always in the presence of God and to direct all things to Him,1850 not seeking in anything my own glory, but only the glory of God, in imitation of Jesus Christ,1851 whom I will always strive to imitate, considering how He might have acted on such occasions. 18. I resolve to do ordinary things well and in the way that seems best to me. And of two things concurring, I will always strive to choose and do the better, even though it means some sacrifice of my own will. 19. I will always strive to keep the same humor and balance, without allowing myself to be overly swayed either by sadness or happiness, always remembering Jesus, Mary and Joseph, who also had their sufferings. I will consider that God has disposed things for the better, and therefore I will not complain. Rather, I will say: May God’s will be done in all things. Aut facies quod Deus vult, aut patieris quod tu non vis (St. Augustine).1852 God told St. Mary Magdalene dei Pazzi that she should always stay in an unalterable humor, be very agreeable with all sorts of persons, and never let a word of flattery escape her lips. Self-control. On Titus 1:8, St. Jerome says: Sit Episcopus abstinens ab omnibus animi perturbationibus, ne ad iracundiam concitetur, ne illum tristitia deiiciat, ne terror exagitet, ne laetitia immoderata sustollat. Talis fuit S. Martinus Turonensis Ep. Nemo unquam Martinum vidit iratum, nemo moerentem, nemo ridentem; unus idemque semper caelestem quodammodo laetitiam vultu proferens, extra naturam hominis videbatur. Tantam adversus omnes injurias patientiam assumpserat, ut cum esset summus sacerdos impune etiam ab infimis clericis laederetur: nec propter id eos aut loco unquam amoverit, aut a sua caritate repulerit. Numquam in illius ore nisi Christus, numquam in illius corde, nisi pietas, nisi pax, nisi misericordia inerat; etiam pro eorum qui obtrectatores illius videbantur, solebat flere peccatis.1853 Perfection consists in loving God and loathing self (St. Mary Magdalene dei Pazzi). Charitas Christi urget nos... .1854 Quis ergo nos separabit a charitate Christi? Tribulatio? An angustia? an fames? an nuditas? an periculum? an persecutio? an gladius? Propter te mortificamur tota die, aestimati sumus sicut oves occisionis (Rom 8, 35.36, etc.).1855 - Imposuisti homines super capita nostra (Ps 65, 12).1856 Spiritus Sanctus docet: Pauca loqui cum discretione. Multa operari cum fervore. Ac jugiter laudare Deum (Cornelius a Lápide; Act 2, 3).1857 1851 MSS Claret II, 42 and 309 Introductory Note Archbishop Anthony Mary Claret made his official entry into Santiago, Cuba, on February 18, 1851. Following his pastoral plan, he began with the clergy. A week after he arrived, he preached a retreat to the priests of the cathedral and of the parishes in the capital. This time he made his retreat together with his clergy. In the years that followed, he made it apart with the members of his household. His retreat resolutions proper, dated March 1st, take up only three lines, but they are quite significant. As if to anticipate the wave of difficulties and contradictions that would beset him, he stresses fortitude and patience. Although he was extraordinarily active at this time, the resolutions seem to speak more of suffering and forbearing. The added timetable is revealing for the amount of time it envisions for study. Text Cuba, March 1, 1851 In silentio et spe erit fortitudo vestra (Is 30:15).1858 Patience. Silence. Hope and Prayer. Accipe. Redde. Time.1859 Distribution of time 1. I will rise at 4:00; private prayers and preparation for Mass. 2. At 4:15, mental prayer. 3. At 5:00, Mass and thanksgiving. 4. At 6:00, Sacred Scripture. 5. At 8:00, breakfast, Hours... 6. At 9:00, Dogmatic and Moral Theology. 7. At 10:00, [Church] Discipline, Canons and Laws. 8. At 11:00, Audience and Languages. 9. From 1:00 to 3:00, dinner and rest. 10. At 3:00, Recitation and Natural Sciences. 11. At night, Prayer and Mystical Theology. 12. On Saturday evenings and vigils, sermon preparation. 1852 MSS Claret II, 42-43 Introductory Note On March 31, 1852, Claret returned to Santiago, interrupting his first pastoral visit throughout the archdiocese, in order to preside at Holy Week Services and Easter Mass. He began his retreat – the first one that he made apart with the members of his household – on April 17th. “I and the members of my household also made our own retreat each year, before the others did. We remained in the palace [i.e., the episcopal residence] during this time, keeping strictest silence. No letters or calls were received. Absolutely no business was conducted during that period of ten days, and since everyone had been so in-formed, we were left in peace throughout.”1860 This was not strictly true of this year, because they had to leave the residence in order to hear the confessions of the prisoners in jail, since the latter could no longer put off their Easter duty.1861 In a gesture of human understanding and kindness, the Archbishop one day allowed the retreatants a period of conversation, in order to strengthen community ties after a long missionary campaign during which they had been unable to share any of their experiences. This was especially important for those who, like Fr. Stephen Adoaín, had barely gotten to know the rest. Text
20th day of April, 1852
I resolve every month, on the first free days, to read these resolutions and The Dove.1865 Mutual questions on it with my companions, if they have read it. On this 26th day of April, 1852. Anthony Mary
MSS Claret II, 43, 45-48 Introductory Note The recorded results of Claret’s first pastoral visit were impressive: 73,447 Communions, 97,070 Confirmations, 8,577 marriages validated. The list of religious items distributed included 98,217 books, 89, 5000 holy cards, 20,660 rosaries and 8,931 medals. The difficulties had been even greater. “Many obstacles stood in my way,” he wrote to Pius IX, “I had to put up with many persecutions and the Devil waged a fierce battle against me.”1866 Since these difficulties came mainly from the machinations of government officials concerning marriages between Blacks and Whites, and since the Saint was adamant in his opposition to the widespread concubinage to which this gave rise, he saw no other solution than to resign, especially because he felt inwardly called to a more universal apostolate. The Civiltà Cattolica, after presenting a glowing account of the marvelous work that Claret had performed, not only during his pastoral visit, but also during the recent public disasters of earthquakes and a cholera epidemic, compared the Archbishop to a new Charles Borromeo, but added: “Unfortunately, he seems bent on resigning the mitre, and is simply waiting, so he says, until he has finished his pastoral visit. If this happens, it will be an irreparable loss for that Church.”1867 He made his retreat with the members of his household during Eastertide. Although he did not state a single new resolution, he did add a list of special heavenly Patrons and some interesting “Observations.” Text I refer to the same resolutions of the preceding years, except that I will strive to fulfill them with greater exactness. 12th day of April, 1853. Anthony Mary St. Francis de Sales January 29th St. Charles Borromeo November 4th St. Thomas of Villanova September 18th St. Antoninus May 20th St. Catherine April 30th Yüklə 5,08 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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