Dear brothers,

our Easter, marked by terrorist events in Brussels, Yemen, Iraq, and most recently in Lahore, ought not to be reduced to a set of sad news items, feelings of impotence or accumulated fears. It is the Passover that Jesus offers us conquering death, and therefore a call to overcome all deaths, personal and social. Yet without shutting our eyes to reality. Let us remove walls of fear, lack of faith, self-pity, or prejudice against Islam or the Muslims of good faith we all know. Let us remove the walls that imprison us or others, and place our gaze on the Risen Lord, a gaze that is not exempt from fear, like the gaze of the women who go to the tomb of Jesus, like the gaze of his own disciples. A human, understandable fear. It is hard for them to accept that the situation has changed, but the Spirit leads them to look to Jesus with the joy of a good friend meeting another. A happy Easter to all, to all those with whom we relate, to all our friends who have problems, to all families and fraternities. Brother Charles wrote on the day of his death that one must die in order to give life. His centenary is an enduring call to contemplate what is meaningless for many people, who only live for money, for security, to be at peace without a care for the pain of others. May the Risen Jesus help us turn bitter water into a fine wine that brings joy to the feast and to day to day life, the life of Nazareth.

Our brother Giuseppe COLAVERO yesterday (Easter Monday) afternoon lived his Easter and his encounter with the Father. We are saddened by the loss of this dear brother and fighter on behalf of the poorest, the founder and soul of the AGIMI (Dawn) association, and good shepherd of his people. We unite ourselves to his people, the Fraternity of Italy. For several months we had been following the progress of his illness, and how cerebral glioblastoma affected his life but not his generous and combative spirit on behalf of the many people he helped. Also a few weeks ago our brother Hermann STEINERT, from Germany, departed us. Both are together with the Lord beholding his face and his heart of a Father. May Hermann and Giuseppe protect and help us. Their fellowship with us has not come to an end.

I encourage you to live this Easter with the joy of the pardoned, as beloved sons of the Father, as the little brother who learns from his elder brother, Jesus, the Lord. Live it with the joy to which Pope Francis invites us. From Europe we feel wounded but not defeated; ashamed for the fate of the Syrian refugees who do not find the door open, like humans who enjoy full rights. How can we integrate these painful realities into our preaching and mission? The European governments are making arrangements costings millions of euros to leave these people in the care of another country. The poor cause annoyance, crowd the streets, foul the place, pitch their tent among us, fight among themselves too, and fall into the hands of the mafia that control their future…

What do we say as Christians, as pastors in our parishes? Who has the right word to foster hope without false utterances, without betraying the Gospel? I encourage you to ponder all this in adoration, before Jesus, who was an emigrant, who had to flee along with his family, who was also a refugee and before his death, a prisoner. Let us contemplate how we cannot remain indifferent to anybody this Easter; our silence would be complicity with injustice. Charles de FOUCAULD, out of his friendship with Jesus, – the Forsaken on the Cross, he who seeks us at the lake shore, he who lives in the shack of the most impoverished, in the refugee camp, or next to a barbed-wire border fence, or in front of the sign that says: “crossing forbidden”, or “for members only” – puts the Risen Jesus before us as a grain that falls on the ground and gives much fruit…

I write this letter to you while accompanying a sick woman to hospital. All speaks to me of humanity and of Jesus; in the smile and the gaze of so many people; in the concerned faces of others; in the silence of the one who hides their pain and of the one who sleeps. I share this contemplative moment as the Easter of joy that overcomes the cry, of the human and Christian values that are in many people and which, from the silence and the celebration in their heart, awake a smile in us, and believe that another world is possible, and that this person is my sister or brother, and that no one should make the friends of Jesus shut up, but who acclaim him as Lord and as companion on the path, wherever they are..

A big Easter embrace with the joy of being your little brother.

Aurelio SANZ BAEZA, brother responsible

Hospital Rafael Méndez, Lorca, Murcia, Spain,
29th March, 2016, Tuesday of Easter Week
(Thanks, dear Liam, for the English version)

PDF: Easter Letter 2016, Brother responsible

Sorry, this entry is only available in Español and Italiano.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Español.

Dear brothers,

with Advent we have an important space for our personal and community renewal of the values of the Gospel that we ought to integrate into our lives: to await the Messiah preparing our interior home; waiting with the brothers and sisters of our communities preparing an open place of welcome, without locking ourselves in because of fear, prejudices or the feeling of being the only ones who really care about things; to await with joy because the Child once more comes as a child and not an adult; to await in this Year of Mercy, this year which is also the Centenary of the passing of Brother Charles, that men may be merciful and may cease to do harm to themselves, with death and suffering, either out of religious fundamentalism or disregard for the lives and rights of others. Peace, dialogue, forgiveness, tolerance, and mercy are not the most cherished values in our world. We only think of them when danger is at hand or when our privileges are cut back. Sometimes we feel nothing can change, or that all is getting worse. Pope Francis invites us to step out of our pessimisms, defeatism and lack of confidence. May the Messiah bring us that peace, an end to the suffering of war refugees, an end to trafficking of arms, humans, drugs, and of resources that impoverish even the very poorest. May God’s Messiah be born once more in Mary of the least and most humble of people, and restore joy, human rights, bread and laughter. How sad it is today to see families, even children, portrayed carrying arms, in greeting friends or relations for Christmas. Sad and pathetic, but fact.

Advent is a favourable time to take advantage of a Day in the Desert, to allow ourselves be led by the Lord; a time of hope and of interior renewal. The desert puts each of us in our place, conscious of our limitations and poverty. In Advent the Desert has the flavour of awaiting a friend or relative at a train or bus station, or at an airport; we see Jesus come down an escalator, or appearing among many people with his light luggage, raising his hand to say, “Here I am, thanks for waiting for me, and for coming to pick me up”. “Nowhere better than in the desert can one hear the call of God to change the world. The desert is the realm of truth, the place where one lives on essentials. There is no room for the superfluous. You cannot keep accumulating things that are not needed. Luxury and ostentation are inconceivable. What is crucial here is to find the right way to live”. (Commentary of José A. PAGOLA on Luke 3,1-6) Jesus is close at hand.

All the news coming in about the start of the Centenary of the definitive encounter of Brother Charles with the Father, in many places throughout the world, among the ordinary people and in the fraternities of the whole Family of Charles de FOUCAULD, fill me with joy and hope; we are all called to live deeply what Abandonment is; to be able to say with one’s hand on one’s heart, “do with me what you want”. Let us leave aside all fear of the unexpected. Let us open the door to whoever comes. To live the Centenary according to the charism that unites us as a Family is to cultivate friendship with people, it is to be with whoever needs us, it is to live according to the Gospel. As we the international team said in the Letter from Perín, it is to live deeply this message of universal brotherhood of Charles de FOUCAULD, so necessary for our world and our Church, appreciating what we receive from the most ordinary of people and from those who suffer wherever they may be.

We ought to proclaim in our parishes that the people of God, like Brother Charles, have much to say to us, above and beyond sad messages, superficial or frivolous messages, appeals to personal security or to consumerism and ostentation. Charles de FOUCAULD thus comments on Matt. 5,3 (“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven”): “Hope! Salvation is at hand; Heaven is close at hand… One thing is necessary: to be poor in spirit… Poor in spirit is to be truly poor to the bottom of our being; truly detached from all, not only from material goods, from the desire for them, yet forgetting oneself, to have one’s soul empty of all earthly desires… Empty of all and full of God… Through God we will feel these desires for others…But all for God: only He satisfies us”.

We followed with deep concern the visit of Pope Francis to Africa, as a messenger of peace and mercy. We shared his meeting with other cultures and with Islam; this brave man who carries Jesus wherever he goes, albeit as head of State on occasions surrounded by security, he gives us hope and brings back the joy of working for the Kingdom as diocesan priests. Mercy that he shows with his life, in the steps that he takes to renew the Church so that it really may be the Church of Jesus, the difficulties he meets within the Church itself, there is no doubt that it is the action of the Spirit. Let us unite our prayers for him and for all that we’ll receive from him through his word and witness in this Year of Mercy.

Let us be united in prayer also that the conclusions of the Synod on the Family may open the Church to advance in the struggle for life, the lives of people, those who were misguided in their marriages, those who are poorly regarded for their sexual condition, those who feel and are Christians but who do not conform to the established model. We all know people who are divorced or separated, people of faith, who till now have felt themselves marginalised by the Church. We might consider: from how many of our brother priests or friends are we divorced? Why do we at times treat as enemies those who share our ministry? What breaks ecclesial communion, ideas or those whom we dislike who hold these ideas or attitudes?

At the Synod on the Family, present not only with his voice but also with his vote was Hervé JANSON, Prior General of the Little Brothers of Jesus: we must thank him for his testimony on the family of Nazareth and his courage to break with patterns “of good behaviour”.

Thanks, Hervé, for the simplicity with which you expressed this universal brotherhood of being with the least, in fidelity to the charism of Charles de FOUCAULD and as a person who lives the Gospel in the lowest place. Nazareth is not just a reference for us; it is also the model of the domestic and parochial community, of brotherhood.

Remembering our sick brothers, our brothers in war-torn countries, or in situations of extreme poverty, remembering all, I wish you from my heart an Advent of renewal, and a Christmas where we allow Jesus to be present in our lives, our decisions, in our relationships and in our work.

With an embrace of hope,

Your brother

Aurelio SANZ BAEZA, brother responsible

Perín, Cartagena, Murcia, Spain, December 8, 2015,
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and beginning of the Year of Mercy.

PDF: Letter of Advent 2015, brother responsible, ENGLISH

October 2015

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Many thanks for the reception you gave me in each moment and place, in Montreal and in Quebec. I found myself among a living fraternity of brothers who love and support each other, at their age, but with a real and committed spirit of Nazareth. Many thanks. Donald CLICHE took on the role of my older brother and cared for me “as he would a nuncio”. His house in Cap Rouge, Québec, surrounded by squirrels, afforded me the chance to contemplate and enjoy the natural surroundings, and to take a walk on my last day through the maple woods in full Autumn.

It was a gift from God to meet Guy BOUILLÉ, on the morning of the 3rd of October, in hospital palliative care in Montreal, and to bless and be blessed silently by him, in company with Laurent RAVENDA and Jean-Pierre LANGLOIS. A few hours later he was already with the Lord in fraternity in the House of the Father with so many brothers who have departed us; I believe that he will have received the strongest embrace from Jacques LECLERC, his great brother and friend.

I enjoyed the human affairs, hopes, encounters, with each brother, with the lay fraternity composed mainly of pastoral agents – thanks to Ciro, that fraternity’s responsible –, in the Montreal COPAM, (Communauté de Partage et d’AMitié) sharing each one’s present moment, each history, touched by the hand of the Lord, who leads us sometimes to where we do not wish to go, but who takes care of all.

A good meeting also with the fraternity of young Christians which Ciro animates, with his spirit of accompaniment and of encouragement, a group made up mainly of immigrants, open to the call of Jesus in the building up of their lives, with a future and a joy that evokes a new world. The community supper and prayer, related to the Sunday Gospel, reminded me of Jesus gathering his disciples, instructing them to build up the Kingdom, with a profundity, despite the superficialities proposed by a First World of comfort and wealth.

Another unexpected gift, which filled me with joy and emotion, was to meet with Sister Gilberte, of the Montreal Sisters of Notre Dame, who with Gianantonio ALLEGRI, of our Italian Fraternity, and Giampaolo MARTA, both missionaries of the diocese of Vicenza, was abducted last year by Boko Haram in the north of Cameroon. Yvonne, a pastoral agent, took me to the Notre Dame House of Prayer in Longueil, and for me it was moving to embrace this woman of the Gospel, to hear her testimony of the love of God throughout her 57 days of captivity with Gianantonio and Gian Paolo and to discover anew a real and not idealised Brother Charles, in the nothingness, without church candles or religious images to which we give devotion.

Spending some time with Guy and Gilberte were the most memorable moments of my time with the fraternities of Quebec – Acadia, and for this I thank the Lord from my poor heart.

Our regional Fraternity meeting of 4th and 5th October in Quebec, with brothers and lay women pastoral agents, united to the Fraternity, was an encounter of brothers and sisters with an admirable spirit of service, with testimonies and a joie de vivre which strengthened me in the hope of a Church such as desired by Pope Francis. The outgoing trio of responsibles made up of Donald CLICHE – regional responsible, Benoît HINS y Richard WALLOT, gave way to Gilles BARIL, the new responsible, who will form a team with Jean-Claude DEMEURS, a great communication specialist, a woman pastoral worker and two other brothers whom he will choose. Thanks to all for your service to the Fraternity. The previous trio gave a good account of their time and of the life of the fraternities, and the air was filled with a spirit of brothers who, as humans and men of God, are a richness for the local churches. The dialogue, adoration, Eucharist, the moments of brotherly sharing were a true faith encounter.

Among decisions and immediate proposals I would highlight the preparation for the next Month of Nazareth in January and the participation in the First Pan-american Assembly in Cuernavaca, Mexico, in February. Gilles y Donald will represent the region of Québec – Acadia.

I accompanied Donald in Quebec visiting René TESSIER, a brother of the fraternity, and diocesan responsible for communication, Gaetan PROULX, auxiliary bishop, and Marc PELCHAT, vicar general, both of the fraternity, who invited us to lunch. It was a joy also to meet up at the major seminary with the fraternity made up of Pierre GAUDETTE, Jacques GOURDE, Roger LABBÉ and Marc BOUCHARD, brothers who have an important track-record in their service to the Church, to the poorest and to the Fraternity. Thanks for your testimonies.

For all this, for all we lived and shared, for the cries of the charism of Charles de FOUCAULD, with his message of universal brotherhood so valid for our Church today, so appreciated by Pope Francis, thanks, brothers, and thanks to God for allowing me witness of your life of fraternity for these days.

I thank also Laurent for his providing a space for adoration, and in which I understood that spirituality goes beyond saying prayers, adoration, contemplation and sharing with others in liturgical celebrations. Spirituality is also a good sense of humour, joyfulness, solidarity, respect, giving attention, when we do anything, working, relating to others, travelling, listening, preparing an activity etc. For this reason it is important to give priority to the monthly Day in the Desert. God seeks us out in the desert to give us good spirit. This good spirit is what Brother Charles put on when he prayed, wrote, dreamt or felt close to the people he lived among: the spirit of Nazareth.

With best wishes.

Aurelio SANZ BAEZA, brother responsible

Perín, Cartagena, Murcia, Spain, 12 October 2015

PDF: Letter of Aurelio to the Fraternities of Québec-Acadia, October 2015

Dear Brothers,

in the midst of this time of Easter, with the joy of the Risen Jesus, and without leaving aside concern for those suffering in so many parts of our world, near and far from us, perhaps right beside us – immigrants, persecuted Christians, those displaced by wars, people treated like animals, child soldiers – people like ourselves living in a different country, or in a social, family or work environment with their Human Rights reduced to pure theory, for reasons we are all aware of, the message of Easter puts us in our place and opens our eyes. That young man dressed in white who in the tomb prepared for Jesus tells the women that Jesus is risen, not to come and embalm him but to go and proclaim that he is alive, that young man is each one of us, and it is our responsibility to tell by our lives as brothers that Jesus is alive, and no stone – greed, envy, hatred, fundamentalism – can hide it and that it is not necessary to continue embalming him with religious formulae that have nothing to do with the Gospel, reduced to an image that is worshipped but not loved. Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, our Brother, God on Earth, strengthens us today with his light and sends us out to be priests, servants of the people, of the least of people, especially of the poor, not as religious professionals – Lords of the temple or masters of a religious court – (resort, condo, golf club – in each country it will have a different style –), who take refuge in ceremonies – and remain comfortable in their power structures and forms. Francis our Pope begins his Bull Misericordia Vultus saying that Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy, and further on, that we are called to live mercy because we first of all have been given mercy. This Holy Year announced by Francis is great news this Easter and calls us to be merciful. However, how difficult and complicated it is to be merciful to those who do not practise it, and that is where we face a challenge in our lives.

It would be good to begin the Holy Year of Mercy in our fraternities doing a Review of Life suggested by each country’s situation and by the overall context of our world. Later we will be able to offer some ideas.

In Easter week we took part in the Assembly of the Charles de FOUCAULD Family in Castelfranco, Italy, with the delegates and responsibles of the Fraternities working in a fraternal atmosphere which the Disciples of the Gospel afforded us at their central fraternity, making us feel very much at home, accompanied in a simple manner by these young Sisters who are a pure joy. Thanks to them and to the team made up of Marianne, Anne Marie, Antonella and Josep, we worked on the theme ‘Charles de FOUCAULD, Man of Prayer, Worker, the Challenges for our Fraternities’, sharing our experiences. We shared the responses to the Preparatory Questionnaire. You can see the summary of our Priestly Fraternity response on the web-site www.iesuscaritas.org It is important to highlight all we did about the Centenary of Brother Charles, gathering the initiatives of the different Fraternities and countries. It is very clear that we want to celebrate the Centennial with the simplicity of people of the Gospel and in the style of Nazareth, without any triumphalism.

Our next meeting will be in Aachen, Germany in Easter Week 2017. The new Preparatory Group is made up of Marianne, (Secretary), Armelle (Little Sister of the Gospel), Antonella (Disciple of the Gospel) and Claudio (Lay Fraternity).

It was a great joy for me to meet up in Castelfranco once more with Secondo MARTIN, the Italian Responsible, in the open session, and with Giannantonio ALLEGRI, whom I met for the first time. His testimony and peace extravaganza helped me also to feel freed from abductions, attachments and dependencies, and called to forgive again and again those who might harm me. This brother gifts us with his Nazareth of life, heart and open hands to show the mercy of God in situations difficult to imagine. His abductors and his liberation live together in his heart.

Other good news this Easter is the proximate beatification of Óscar Arnulfo ROMERO –Saint Romero of America –. His blood shed for the name of Jesus is another call to the universal Church to cherish the generous dedication of men and women who, like Archbishop ROMERO, have given all for their people. This pastor teaches us to be pastors like Jesus, without fleeing from the danger associated with commitment to the poorest. He did not fear the danger and, like Jesus, he sided with others without regard for the consequences. Congratulations especially to our Latin-American fraternities.

Our Brother Charles gives us, witnessing these weeks to changes in the world, to unresolved conflicts, and to new forms of slavery, the possibility from Nazareth to better understand those whose lives become problematic when they lose everything, due to accident, attack, natural catastrophe, war, extreme poverty or illness. How can we understand these suffering people? How do we understand God? Is it a head or a heart problem? How did Brother Charles fit together all he experienced, and how, Gospel in hand, are we called to share and help? For many life has lost its meaning; hope and mercy are the bread we must break daily and this is an exercise of conversion of our hearts, of faith and a contemplative space that puts us on the Cross of Jesus and in the tomb too, to announce fearlessly and joyfully that he is alive, with the stone rolled aside and the door wide open. Sharing pain and joy is a sign of incarnation.

In July we will celebrate the Asian Month of Nazareth in Myanmar, and in November in Marsanne, France. Also in July the Viviers meeting for priests in relation to Islam. These events are mentioned on our web-site www.iesuscaritas.org and we on the International Team urge you to take part, or to pray for the brothers, putting these meetings of the Fraternity in the Lord’s hands, as an act of universal brotherhood. We must not stay only in our little fraternity groups of our local or national Fraternities: there are many other brothers of other languages or races who live the charism of Charles de FOUCAULD as diocesan priests. When we share all this, not like a brand label, or like a spiritual group, we are living universal brotherhood and we draw closer to the model of Jesus, to that of a Samaritan Church, which gets down from its high horse and attends to whoever is in need, without turning back or looking away.

To conclude, thanks for letting me know of any Fraternities events (retreats, Months of Nazareth, meetings…) to announce on the CALENDAR of the web-site. Many thanks to one and all.

With Easter joy, which spreads like the water we sprinkle on brothers and sisters in celebrations in our churches, my sincere and fraternal embrace proclaiming the resurrected Jesus.

Aurelio SANZ BAEZA, brother responsible

Perín, Cartagena, Murcia, Spain, 23 April 2015
(Thank you, Liam, for the translation to English)

PDF: letter-easter-2015-brother-responsible

Dear Brothers,

from the 21st to the 27th of March we met in Perín, at Aurelio’s home, to reflect and work on the life of the fraternities. By means of this letter we wish to be united with you, our brothers spread throughout the world, in Africa, in North and South America, Central America and the Caribbean in Asia, Australasia and Europe.

We believe that an important fact in the life of the Christian communities, that we accompany as priests today, is the teaching of Pope Francis, and the perspectives for the renewal of the life of the Church which he has set out in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium

We are delighted with the convergence between the main themes developed by Pope Francis and some fundamental aspects of the spiritual message of Brother Charles:

• The joy that comes from our meeting Jesus
• The urge to mission, which involves friendship and familiarity with the people entrusted to us (with reference to “the smell of the sheep”).
• The desire for a Church capable of “going out to the periphery”
• The proposal of “a Church with and for the poor”.
• The importance of mercy for all those hurt by life…

Thanks to all our brothers who highlight this convergence in their writings and utterances on the occasion of meetings and retreats. This helps us progress and reiterates the validity our priestly fraternity has at the heart of the life and mission of the Church.

During our week joined in friendship and sharing together in prayer, we addressed various themes which are related, in one way or another, to the “universal brotherhood” desired by Brother Charles:

1) The recognition of the Priestly Fraternity Iesus Caritas by the Congregation for Clergy. This is not just some formal procedure in order to ‘comply’ with them. It is a case, above all, of investing our priestly ministry with the special character that marks the spirituality of brother Charles (the spirituality of Nazareth, the missionary dimension characterised by an apostleship of goodness, the preferential option for the poor, and our willingness to share responsibility with laity…) within the dynamic of the universal Church.

Following a short meeting Aurelio, accompanied by Secondo Martin (Italy) and Honoré (Burkina Faso), had with Cardinal STELLA, the new Prefect of the Congregatio pro Clericis, in Rome, last December we proceeded to send on all the documentation requested with our request. We await recognition.

2) We also worked on the project for the intercontinental meeting of the Americas (North, Central and South with the Caribbean) in Mexico in February 2016.

Our thanks to the fraternities of Mexico who will host this important meeting and provide food and accommodation.

Thanks also to Mauricio da SILVA JARDIM from Porto Alegre and to Mark MERTES from Kansas City for their active involvement in the preparation.

3) In the context of a situation marked by the tensions between part of the Muslim world and the West, we see the importance of the Viviers meeting next June 13 – 19, on the theme “Diocesan Priests, at the service of the meeting of Christians and Muslims in the light of the message of Charles de FOUCAULD”.

This meeting will help us have a better understanding of priestly ministry in its responsibility to promote and develop within Christian communities a movement of encounter and dialogue with Muslims.

Priests of the European fraternities will meet with priests who minister in the Maghreb or in the Sahel. This exchange of experiences could be valuable in helping us to adapt to one another in our concern to serve “universal brotherhood”.

(See the invitation to the meeting on the international Fraternity website: www.iesuscaritas.org)

4) Universal brotherhood includes economic solidarity between all fraternities.

In order to organise the Month of Nazareth or meetings, and the travel involved, the international fund needs regular support.

For this reason we believe that each country should dedicate 10% of its subscription to the international fund.

Mark MERTES, the economic responsible of the International Team, will be in contact with each national treasurer to achieve this aim.

5) Thanks to all who replied to the questionnaire proposed on the occasion of the Meeting of the Spiritual Family of Charles de FOUCAULD which will take place in Castelfranco, Italy, in Easter Week. Aurelio will take part and will fill us in on all the preparations for the celebration of the centenary of the death of Blessed Charles de FOUCAULD.

6) The next meeting of the International Team will be in Perín, Spain, from October 20 to 29, 2015.

It will be a time for us to listen together to all that is happening in fraternities around the world.

It will also be an opportunity for the team to discern what the Lord is asking of us so that, together, in fraternities spread across the whole world, we may all serve the unity of the human family, as called for by the Second Vatican Council and present Brother Charles as “Universal Brother”.

We do not forget that in these meetings of the International Team it is the spirit of Nazareth which guides us and calls us to live it out in our meeting the people and the Christian communities that welcome us.

In this spirit, during the course of our week, we met the Bishop of Cartagena, José Manuel LORCA, Little Sisters of Jesus, brother priests of the Murcia fraternity, as well as all those living in the Torre Nazaret community, those who host them and neighbours of the parish.

We wish you well on your journey towards Easter and offer a heartfelt embrace.

Jean François and Aurelio

Perín, Cartagena, Murcia, Spain, 27 March, 2015

PDF: Letter Jean François and Aurelio,Perín, 27march2015, english

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

what a great joy it is to be with you and to take part in the retreat in Casa Bethânia of San Juan Bautista, Santa Caterina (SC). Thanks to all, and especially to Gildo and the preparatory team. Thanks to Mauricio, my brother on the International Team. For the silent work of Almir, Edimar, Nicanor and other brothers, who received us and looked after us with simplicity both in the Florianópolis seminary and in Casa Bethânia: looking after all the little details with their help and availability, many thanks.

As a European, our Bishops Edson and Eugênio have impressed me, with their fraternity style, truly “smelling of the sheep” and of the street. Eugênio has done us a great favour with his meditations, which have helped us to deepen our living the spirituality of Charles de FOUCAULD, and the shared celebrations of the Eucharist with people from Casa Bethânia, a family without blood ties, but united in faith in Jesus Saviour, and with the resonance of the message of welcome and love of their founder, Father Léo: it is a true miracle to restore to people their dignity and heart.

I believe that the diversity of participants is very good, not just priests of the Fraternity, but also the participation of lay members and supporters of the Fraternity and of the two deacons… This has lent a fine ecclesial and fraternal style to the twelve fraternities taking part in the retreat sharing in the Review of Life and the experiences of the Day in the Desert. Personally it has really helped me to get to know your Fraternity open to human realities, and not just centred on itself.

Pope Francis has been another participant in our retreat. It is as if he has travelled along the path with us. We have appreciated his message, full of the Gospel, his prophecy and his love of the poor: a Church where we feel at home once more, and called to announce Jesus with the joy of the first Christians, in a complex world full of false gods, sometimes in the guise of institutions, individuals, systems, claims… attractions of power, of wealth, of pleasures. Francis has been a breath of fresh air for us and has spurred us on to give of what we have within us, as earthen vessels. His being in tune with the inspirations of brother Charles delights us, with his universal message which brings so much to the Church and also to the lives of the most abandoned.

I felt the joy in the celebrations, with the singing and raised hands, and the silence in the adoration. Thanks for allowing me share life celebrating what we are as wood from the same tree, with branches that afford shade, welcome birds, shelter from the rain, the tree of the cross which is the tree of life.

Eugênio encouraged us to arrange a monthly Day in the Desert in our diaries, as a priority, giving time to the Lord, in order to listen to him, not to burden him with our petitions and prayers, stripped of everything, being just as we are, without pretense… without books, pen or paper… a gift from God. It might seem a waste of time, and, nevertheless, it is time the Lord has for us, gratuitously, in his hands, as we say in the Prayer of Abandonment.

In February 2016, the centenary of Brother Charles, we will hold the first assembly of the Fraternity in the Americas in Mexico. There are eight countries in which the Priestly Fraternity is present… with North, central and South Americans: it is a challenge for our universality as Christians and as brothers; a call to us not to engage in naval gazing but to share the reality of a Church with different characteristics, yet one in the heart of Jesus.

I invite you to make frequent us of our Internet page www.iesuscaritas.org and to share what is happening, communications and forthcoming events of the Brazilian fraternities. We have this means to get to know each other better and to bring us close to our brothers across the whole world.

Thanks for being brothers, for living brotherhood in your lives, and not just in theory. You have done me a power of good!

I bring a sincere embrace from you all to Spain, and from here send you another big and firm embrace.

United in prayer and in the dream of brother Charles, your little brother

Aurelio SANZ BAEZA, brother responsible
Perín, Cartagena, Murcia, Spain, 18 January 2015