MARCH
25
1853. Claret publishes his great Pastoral Letter, the fruit of the visit he recently concluded. He will send it to the Pope and to many bishop friends.
1858. Bishop Joseph Caixal has already accepted a foundation in his diocese of the nuns from Cuba. Claret gives various guidelines for creating the document for the Government, among others, those concerning the subsidies required by the Concordat.
EXPANSION (1906-1922)
XI GENERAL CHAPTER (1912)On April 28, 1912, the XI General Chapter began in Vic. In it, Fr. Martin Alsina was again elected Superior General. In this Chapter, the elimination of the Provincial General Consultors was requested, the Vice-Provinces were definitively formed, the rules of the Provinces were discussed, the coat of arms of the Congregation was changed and the abbreviated name of Missionaries was adopted. The following year, the Constitutions were translated into Spanish.
The General Chapter asked the new General Government to move the headquarters of the General Curia from Aranda de Duero to Madrid. In September of 1913 the transfer was made to Buen Suceso.
Jose Antonio Ortiz
Guatemalan Priest (1822-1877)Guatemala (Guatemala). Son of a Spaniard and a Guatemalan. He had a law degree and was a notable lawyer. He attended the First Vatican Council on behalf of his brother Mariano, Bishop of Teya, who was sick. Another brother of his, Isidro, was Consul of Costa Rica in Seville and Cadiz. We know that he personally spoke to Claret during his visit to Seville in 1862. He was a notable writer and ardent polemicist. In some of his works he alludes to Claret. In 1888 he commented about Claret: An apostolic and exemplary man, whose life has just been written, rightly calling him Servant of God, who after his zeal in the missions, his selflessness and humility as a Bishop, the integrity of his habits in the midst of a corrupt court, his love of poverty and his continual mortification; if he lacks something to be sanctified and increase his glory, he has been the target of the viciousness, calumny and shamelessness of the ungodly. He died on March 19th.
The Means of the Spiritual Exercises
Fifth Means: the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. As I have already mentioned elsewhere, I have made the Spiritual Exercises every year of my life since I was a student. I first made them following the text of St. Ignatius when I was in Rome-once by myself, upon arriving in that city, and again in the Society of Jesus, before I had to leave it because of illness. The Jesuit Fathers themselves conducted these, which were the ones that made the most lasting impression on me. (Aut 306).
The Exercises of St. Ignatius are one of the most powerful tools I have used in the conversion of priests, which is without doubt one of the most difficult of undertakings. Nevertheless, I have seen the most gratifying results in a great number of priests who have been truly converted, and not a few of them have turned out to be very zealous and fervent preachers… (Aut 308).
I have also given them several times to the laity, to men and women separately, each in turn, and I have noticed that the results have been more solid and lasting than those of missions. For this reason I published a book entitled The Exercises of St. Ignatius, explained by me… (Aut 309).
FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION
- Do you practice the Spiritual Exercises each year, in a special way and with due care? (cf. CC 52).
- Do you give Spiritual Exercises to different types of audiences?
When we stop struggling to find God and instead allow ourselves to experience life, we will be drawn into the Divine presence and essence.”
(Paul Coutinho, Just as You Are, p. 7)