Dear Brothers, This year I will be celebrating our Feast Day with our brothers and new community in New Jersey and I hope that each community commemorates this vital moment in our Congregation. On this Feast Day, we are called in 2020 to prepare ourselves for a yearlong celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the death of our Founder, St. Antony Mary Claret. All Claretians are urged to begin using the texts that we are forwarding from our General Prefectures:
The book, Año Claretiano (Claretian Year), has been uniquely prepared to deepen our understanding of the life of Claret, the life of the Congregation;
The Province has also translated into English two books written by our own Cardinal Aquilino Bocos, CMF on religious life: A Tale of the Spirit, Consecrated Life after the Second Vatican Council and Leadership and Proximity, Guidelines to help Religious Superiors.
I encourage all of you to make these readings a part of your prayer, reflection, and continuing education. Our identity as Claretians begins with Claret and his desire to follow Christ in poverty, celibacy, and obedience. This remained with many of the Claretians who have come before us, having laid the foundation for the Congregation we have today.
The torch is now passed on to a new generation of Claretians to: preach the Gospel using all means at our disposal, to attend to God's people, especially the poor, in their physical, emotional and spiritual needs, and to be Sons of Mary's heart, imitating her compassion for others and her deep reflection upon the life of Jesus.
The General Government is also sponsoring a new feature film on the life of Claret entitled ‘Poor and on Foot’. The film is also being funded through on-line donations. You can click this link to view a teaser of the film which is scheduled to debut next October: We encourage all of you to help promote this film amongst your family and friends and on social media.
There are many examples of the Claretian spirit present in the life of our missionaries and in the people we serve. This can be seen in our work with youth ministry, with the children and young adults in Campus Ministry, at our summer camps and in our religious education programs, and most importantly in the work we do with immigrants and refugees.
I celebrate this Feast Day and the yearlong process of remembrance with prayers of gratitude for those who came before us and those present who spend their lives in the service of the Gospel. Lord grant us that charity that burned in Claret's heart so that we may continue your apostolic work.
Wishing you all a blessed Feast Day!
Rosendo Urrabazo, C.M.F.
Provincial Superior Claretian Missionaries USA - CANADA Province