Luis Padilla López

The Word of God touches the Heart

Let it be done to me according to your Word

www.edicionescalasancias.org

84

The Word of God touches the Heart. Let it be done to me according to your Word

Author: Luis Padilla López

Publicaciones ICCE

(Instituto Calasanz de Ciencias de la Educación)

Conde de Vilches, 4 - 28028 Madrid

www.icce.es

ISBN: 978-84-7278-589-2

Depósito legal: M-13425-2020

Imprime: Gramadosa

Translated by F. Antonio Marco

publicaciones@scolopi.net

Copyright is reserved.

Reproduction, publication and distribution, whether total or partial, of all the original material contained in this book is expressly forbidden unless written authorization has been given.

For further information contact: www.icce.es

The Word of God touches the Heart

Let it be done to me according to your Word

Acronyms and abbreviations

C Constituciones y Reglas Comunes de la Orden de las Escuelas Pías. Madrid, 2004.

CC Constitutions of the Congregation of the Poor of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools. Written by St. Joseph Calasanz in 1620-1621. Approved in 1622. Madrid, 2004.

Cu Dionisio Cueva (2006): Calasanz, Spiritual and Pedagogical Message. ICCE Publications. Madrid. 2nd ed.

EP Picanyol, L.: Epistolario di San Giuseppe Calasanzio. Eds. Calasanzianae. Rome 1950-56. There are 9 volumes. The texts come from the books of other Piarist Fathers and from the Selected Letters of St. Joseph Calasanz. Salamanca. 1977. 2 Volumes.

FEDE General Curia: Piarist Formation and Studies. XLVI General Chapter. Ediciones Calasancias, Madrid-Rome, 2009.

M Codice Calasanziano Palermitano [1603-1648] published by G.L. Moncallero and Giuliana Limiti, Edizioni dell’Ateneo, Rome, 1965.

MT Memorandum written by Calasanz to Cardinal Michelangelo Tonti. Foundational Documents of the Pious Schools. Ed. Calasancias. Salamanca, 1979.

RC Regestum Calasancianum in the General Archive of the Order.

YR Your Reverence.

To all the Formators and Formandi of the great Calasanzian family.

Finally, I had time to write this book on the biblical texts that Calasanz quotes in his Constitutions, Memorandums and Letters. It is evident that Calasanz alluded to small phrases from the Bible.

I begin by thanking my dear brother Ricardo Cerverón, who sent me all the biblical quotes located in Calasanz’ writings.

Luis Padilla López Sch. P.

“The voice of God is the voice of the Spirit, which comes and goes, touches the heart and passes; we do not know where it comes from or when it blows. It is important, therefore, to be always on the alert so that it does not come suddenly and go away without fruit”.

[Calasanz]

0. Introduction

Calasanz takes the Word of God as said for Him, because it touches his heart, it affects him, and he tries to discover the human behavior that God gives him for life. What I have done is to enlarge the biblical text and to put in brackets the verses that appear in it. I have also taken into account biblical quotations that he has in the background of his letters, although he does not write them specifically.

From the New Testament, Calasanz quotes fundamentally the Gospel of Matthew, which was the liturgical text of the time; sometimes the Gospel of Luke; I think once the Gospel of Mark; several times the Gospel of John and in some of his letters, also the letters of James, those of St. Peter and frequently those of St. Paul the Apostle. In addition, from the Old Testament there are phrases from the Psalms, Proverbs, Wisdom, the Book of Job, Maccabees, Chronicles, Exodus, Genesis... It is clear that he is a doctor of theology and that he has an intuitive recourse to Sacred Scripture in the various circumstances of his life and of the Order.

0.1. How to read this book?

As the book is intended for spiritual retreats, it is not meant to be read in a row. The text is made up of meditations that can help you in moments of prayer. Moreover, considering that the chapters are full of biblical quotations, and quotations from Calasanz’ writings, you have to stop to understand what they mean. I let the Word of God and the Word of Calasanz speak so that they can touch your heart. If you stop to read the Word you will experience the good it brings.

If you want to deepen your reading, you can follow two methodologies: the pedagogy of grafting and lectio divina.

0.1.1. First methodology: The pedagogy of grafting[1]

1 Rochais, André. Pedagogia del injerto. Formación Personal Metódica n. 47. 1985.

This pedagogy of Personality and Human Relations aims at integrating texts. It is aimed at all those who have to transmit knowledge and who want their teachings to be both useful to those who receive them and to build their personality. With the image of grafting onto a tree, the aim is to ensure that the teaching received enriches the person and enables him to produce better fruits of thought and life.

0.1.1.1. The essentials of the pedagogy of grafting:

1. A quality sprout, therefore a teaching content capable of developing the spirit and stimulating the growth of the person.

2. A presentation adapted to the audience.

3. A text, rather than an oral presentation.

4. To prepare the subject so that the graft can take hold.

5. To allow time for integration of the text.

0.1.1.2. The eight stages of the pedagogy of grafting:

1. Inventory of what I know about this subject.

1. What do I know about the subject?

- What is clear in me?

- What is confused or vague?

2. What questions do I ask myself about this subject?

2. Share the inventory if working in a group.

3. First reading of the text: I read the text and write down my questions regarding the understanding of the text.

4. Response to the questions if working in a group: Only the questions of understanding of the text. Questions on the theme are reserved for the sixth step.

5. Integration of the text. Two methods to choose from:

1. A simple method:

- I highlight what struck me.

- I note down my reactions and my reflections.

- I formulate my questions on the topic.

2. A method to classify the topics into categories. I take all the topics that have caught my attention and classify them into three categories:

- Those that have interested me. Why did they interest me?

- Those who have touched me deeply. I look for why they have touched me

- Those that provoke resistance or even rejection in me. I will find out why I have had these reactions.

- I will formulate my questions about the topics presented. A good amount of time is needed to do this integration. It is a good idea to announce how much time you will have. Minimum one hour or more.

6. Sharing after an integration.

1. What has caught my attention?

2. What is significant for me from this integration work?

3. My questions.

7. What do I feel invited to do? I place myself in the deepest part of myself and ask myself:

1. In which directions do I feel the desire to progress?

2. Do I feel invited to something specific? To what?

8. Sharing what I feel invited to: This sharing allows the participants to discover a range of possible searches and/or activities. It also allows them to get to know each other.

0.1.1.3. This is how I apply this pedagogy to read each chapter of the book

The working times are the following:

1. Inventory on the topic. Considering only the title of each chapter you ask yourself the following questions:

1. What do I know about this topic? [e.g. about Our way of looking at reality, which is the title of the first chapter]?

- What’s clear to me?

- What’s confusing to me?

2. What questions come to my mind about [Our way of looking at reality]?

2. You read the text of each chapter for the first time, trying to understand everything it says. Comprehension questions may arise from this.

3. Integrate the text by asking questions. You have them at the end of each chapter. I have added a few more.

If you work in a group, you can follow all the original times of the pedagogy of grafting.

0.1.2. Second methodology: Lectio divina

For the biblical texts that appear in each chapter you can follow this methodology.

0.1.2.1. Reading the text

Calasanz was used to read every night the readings of the next day’s mass.

The aim of the book has been to read carefully the phrases that Calasanz quotes; but I have not made the actual exegesis on them, although I make some allusions in each chapter and in some notes. I have only tried to identify how these phrases touched his heart to the point of discovering the human behavior that God gave him. We can do the same as Calasanz. For my part, I have let all these texts speak to me and I have placed them in the corresponding chapters.

For the reading of the biblical quotations, I remind you that the Gospels were written to follow Jesus. It is good that in the texts of the New Testament where the Lord appears, you focus on his person, his behavior and what he says or values, and you realize how all this touches your heart. If in the text you read the Master does not appear, try to discover the experience of the Spirit that it hides.

For Calasanz: The voice of God is the voice of the Spirit, which comes and goes, touches the heart and passes, and you do not know where it comes from or when it blows; it is very important, therefore, to be always alert so that it does not come suddenly and go away without fruit.[2]

2 EP 131. Rome, 22 November 1622.

0.1.2.2. Meditation

After a quiet reading, if you give yourself time, you will notice that certain words or phrases touch your heart, affect you.

It is a matter of repeating that word or phrase, trying to make it run through your whole interior until you can identify the affection that it awakens in you with clarity. You can notice the presence of this little touch because it brings light and strength; it tells you what to do and you feel the strength to do it.

Calasanz testifying in the process of beatification of the Venerable Glycerio Landriani says: Touched by the Holy Spirit he left [had the strength to leave] all the comforts he possessed with previously, and gave himself to an exemplary life... and he did so because of the great faith and interior light that God our Lord had communicated to him[3].

3 Calasanz testifying at the trial of Venerable Glycerio. Declaration on Calasanzian Spirituality. Special General Chapter, Order of the Pious Schools. Rome 1969. Note 32.

Calasanz describes meditation as follows: It is necessary to let go of speculations and identify the affections: In meditation, the understanding is applied to discourse on the proposed matter, but it will be more useful if they try to effectively move the will to embrace in practice the affections that are necessary, leaving the speculations, which are not suitable for prayer[4].

4 Common Rites 14,74 p. 9 by Fr. Santiago Graziani. On the first page, in Calasanz’ handwriting, it says that it is approved by him. This is what I heard from Fr. Dionisio Cueva.

Writing about Fr. Gelio, Calasanz highlighted the feelings Fr Gelio had in his prayer and meditation. I could still write about the feelings that Fr. Gelio Ghelini had in his prayer and meditation of the passion of the Lord and of the singular gift of tears and of his most ardent zeal for the honor of God. But as I have to leave for Frascati, I will leave it for now[5].

5 EP 16. Rome, 4 September 1617 What a pity he was not more extensive! The letter is addressed, after Fr Gelio´s death, to his brother.

André Rochais, founder of Personality and Human Relations, tells us that the Spirit knocks at our door through a sensation that has God’s action as its content: The Spirit acts by inner impulses that are perceptible in the innermost in the form of internal sensations of a psychological type. God’s action in us is perceptible only through these psychological sensations. It is necessary to grasp every sensation which is likely to contain an action of the Spirit. His habitual mode of Presence is to knock by means of the sensation which is there, and to stand at the door waiting for ourselves to come and open, that is to say, to decipher the sensation. To become attentive to these sensations that inhabit us is to remain where the Spirit manifests itself in us, that is to say, in the depths of ourselves[6].

6 André Rochais in Método del Grupo de Crecimiento 3. Madrid. 1981.

Your intelligence pays attention to that feeling and you can read it and discover all the content of growth that it brings for the good of your neighbor, small and poor.

Therefore, the subject of meditation is that affection, that feeling, that sensation that has God’s action as its content. If one reads carefully the content of that feeling, one realizes the human behavior that God himself is giving us. From that Word that touches our heart we are born as persons, very similar to the humanity of Jesus[7].

7 Very similar to the humanity of Jesus, is an expression of Fr Gustavo Baena S.J.

The expression of Calasanz, the Spirit touches the heart is from the Holy Fathers. André Louf, Cistercian abbot, comments: You have been reborn not from corruptible but from incorruptible seed: The Word of the living God that permeates our hearts is the Word of God. The Word of the living God that remains eternally. The place of this birth, where the Word is fruitful in us, is the heart. The grace of baptism becomes a reality when a Word of God for the first time truly challenges our heart. To discover this experience, the Holy Fathers use a very rich vocabulary: The Word of God touches our heart, wounds it, pricks it, pierces it, pierces it and opens it[8]. André Louf is quoting 1Pet 1, 29: You have been begotten again from a germ not corruptible, but incorruptible, through the living and abiding word of God.

8 Louf, André. El Espíritu ora en nosotros. Editorial Narcea. Louf is quoting 1Pet 1, 29: You have been begotten again from a germ not corruptible, but incorruptible, through the living and abiding word of God.

For Calasanz, the heart is the place where the Holy Spirit acts. At the same time, he speaks of a place of peace in the human being. For my part, I have combined heart and place of peace and I refer to both in the following way: the intimate heart’s place. Passions, greedy feelings, can be hidden in the inner man, but not in the heart.

When the bible speaks of the heart, it refers to the inner man. In the heart dwells the Spirit and in the heart dwells sin; with the heart we think and feel. The feelings, in the Bible, the fruit of the action of the Spirit, are located in the entrails. Christ’s sentiments such as compassion [the sorrow Jesus feels for the pain of people] and mercy [the action corresponding to that compassionate impulse] Jesus feels them in his entrails. Our God is intimate.

Tomas Spidlik, who researched the Eastern Catholic monks for 40 years, said in the retreat given to St. John Paul II and his Curia: The Eastern monks express themselves in a very simple way: the Holy Spirit speaks in the heart and man listens to him with his heart. And how does he listen? The heart senses, i.e. grasps, a global intuition in which all the human faculties participate[9].

9 Spidlik, Tomas. El camino del Espíritu. Editorial PPC, p. 54.

0.1.2.3. Prayer

Prayer emerges from the experience of meditation.

You have to wait for it to emerge. It is not a prayer that you make, it is given to you. The Spirit Himself tells you what to pray. It can be addressed to the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit or Mary, in the form of petition or thanksgiving, or however it is given to you.

0.1.2.4. Contemplation

The biblical text gives us a way of seeing God. If you focus on the touch of the heart, you can discover the God who reveals himself to you. You can describe him and, above all, contemplate him.

0.1.2.5. Practice

To be recollected to pay attention to the conversations of the inner man who is the true Presence of the Lord and the practice of those conversations, of those tastes, of those suggestions, of those impulses, of those feelings, of that guidance of the Holy Spirit which inclines you to be useful to the small and poor neighbor is the fundamental of Calasanzian prayer[10].

10 Padilla, Luis. With Calasanz we are men of prayer. Ediciones Calasancias. Madrid/Rome 2010.

Prayer is affective and effective; it affects you and gives you a human behavior. It transforms you. The true Presence of the Lord is seen, seeing those most in need.

0.1.2.6. If you work in a group or community

You can share each step.

0.2. What are you going to find in this book?

I have expressed in its pages small clarities that the Lord has given me.

The first thing you are finding is the Introduction. I hope it is helping you to read the book fruitfully. In the first chapter, you can see how reality is the only thing that can touch our hearts and awaken the guidance of the Holy Spirit who inclines us to respond to the needs of small and poor people. I make a synthesis of how Calasanz sees reality and how he knew how to identify the suggestions of the Spirit in his heart. Tracing his writings, we can see how the biblical texts motivate him to respond to the reality.

At the end of each chapter there are integration questions with the grafting pedagogy in mind. If you feel like answering them, you can do so.

In the second chapter you will find out how ecclesial and social transformation is born from being wise in the inner school. It is necessary to lower oneself to know oneself in order to distinguish with clarity and strength the impulses of the Spirit from the impulses of greedy interest. This makes possible a commitment that seeks only to make God visible by being useful to our neighbor, according to the vocation that God gives us. This chapter is the densest and the most significant. Calasanz focuses on being wise in the spiritual life and here he accumulates many biblical quotations especially from the Apostle Paul, from the Gospel of John and from the Gospel of Matthew.

In the third chapter you will see how the Spirit makes us disciples - missionaries of the school of the Master. The biblical texts quoted by Calasanz help us to understand how discipleship, being with the Lord, remaining united to the Lord, drives us to live our Piarist mission.

In the fourth chapter Calasanz teaches us to live the common life as the Body of the Lord, according to St. Paul the Apostle. As the Spirit dwells in every human being, he himself behaves by making Community. It is necessary to connect with the one who is Community to make community.

In the fifth chapter Calasanz makes us disciples of Jesus by praying, especially in his most difficult moments. From him we learn to be centered in the guidance of the Spirit who teaches to pray to the humble with ineffable groanings and in the contemplation of Jesus Crucified. The biblical quotations are from Matthew, Luke and the Apostle St. Paul.

In the sixth chapter Calasanz teaches us to follow Jesus’ way of life by living our Baptism. Seeing how Jesus loves us we can respond to his love by giving our whole life to small and poor people. You will find many biblical texts on obedience, chastity and apostolic poverty.

In the seventh chapter you can see the Piarist priesthood according to Calasanz. His way of speaking about the Superiors made me see the depth of his priestly experience: Shepherd who does not seek his own, but serves for the good of the sheep.

In the eighth chapter you can contemplate Mary as Mother of God. She is the work of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, a disciple to do the will of God. The catechism that Calasanz wrote is the basis of the biblical texts that you will find, as well as the Book of Revelation.

In the ninth chapter you will see the purpose of the Piarist School, what the Piarist educator has to be like and what are the main points of our shared educational mission or ministry. You will be able to discover the biblical texts quoted by Calasanz.

As you read each chapter you can see the biblical texts that appear. Before reading the next chapter, I invite you to stop and do this little exercise: How is Jesus in these biblical quotes? How is Calasanz? How are you?

This book is a complement of the other two I have written. I am referring to Calasanz´ Intuitions on Piarist Formation and Like Calasanz we are men of prayer. The worksheets of the first one alluded to Calasanzian biblical texts. Also, in the notes of the second one, there are several biblical texts quoted by Calasanz. These small details, in the worksheets and in the notes, announced the need to collect everything in a new book[11].

11 I invite you to read them when you can. The full review is as follows: Padilla, Luis. Calasanz’ Intuitions on Piarist Formation. ICCE. Madrid. 1998. Second Edition. You can also consult the book by Padilla, Luis. Like Calasanz we are men of prayer. Ediciones Calasancias - Madrid 2010.

With regard to the title of this book, I have taken into account what Calasanz says: The voice of God is the voice of the Spirit, which comes and goes, touches the heart and passes; one does not know where it comes from or when it blows; it is important, therefore, to be always alert so that it does not come suddenly and go away without fruit[12]. Thus, it appeared: The Word of God touches the heart. Let it be done to me according to your word. In reality, the Word of God touches the heart of Calasanz and the heart of every Piarist. So that the Word of God do not go away without fruit, we can, like Mary, keep the Word in our hearts and practice its suggestions, saying: Let it be done to me according to your Word, being useful to the little and poor neighbor.

12 Cu 699.

Finally, all these quotations from Calasanzian biblical texts help us to see better our charism, our ministry, our pedagogical spirituality and our beloved Calasanz.

Many thanks to Carles and Juan Pablo, my brothers in the community, who helped me with their valuable suggestions. In this second edition I have corrected some mistakes.

I have also added an annex to make retreats with this booklet, and another annex with all the biblical texts that Calasanz quotes in his writings.

Luis Padilla López, Sch.P.

Comunidad Glicerio Landriani,

Quito. Ecuador. 2018

Chapter I

Our way of seeing the reality

Ps 10,14. Lk 4, 16-21 [18]. Rom 8,28

In this chapter I want to describe the reality that Calasanz saw in his time. How he discovered his response to that situation by an action of the Spirit that touched his heart through the biblical texts of Psalm 10,14, Mt 25,40 and Lk 4,18. Furthermore I am surprised by his way of receiving from God’s hand the adverse and the prosperous, for his own good and that of his neighbor, trusting in the words of Rom 8,28 and Job 1,21.

1.1. What does Calasanz see in the reality of life?

In the year 1622 Calasanz sees the world as follows: In almost all countries the majority of their citizens are poor and can only for a short time keep their children in school[13].

13 CC n. 198

In 1626 he sends a memorandum to the Congregation of the Holy Office and describes how he sees the reality of the children of Rome: Many of the children, because of the poverty or neglect of their parents, do not go to school, nor do they devote themselves to any art or exercise, but live scattered and idle, and so they easily indulge in various games, especially card games, and when they have no money to play, they must first steal in their own house and then wherever they can, or else they find money in other terrible ways... Usually these poor boys, brought up in such vices, end up as adults on gallows and galleys. In order to stop from the beginning an evil so pernicious to the republic, the Fathers of the Pious Schools offer themselves to the arduous task of teaching them out of charity...[14]

14 Memorandum to the Congregation of the Holy Office. 1626. Cfr. J. Santha, p. 54- 55 Reg. Cal- XII p. 42.

Therefore, the first thing we have to do as Piarists is to observe the reality of our time, especially that lived by children and young people, and become aware of how this situation affects us, how it touches our hearts until it awakens in us compassion and vocational mercy.

From my dear people of Ecuador, I highlight the massive emigration that has taken place to other nations. One can see the economic benefit it has brought to families and at the same time, I have noticed the lack of presence of parents with their children for many years. This is the childhood and youth that we find today to understand and help.

1.2. Calasanz, inspired by God, responds to the reality of life through education, by being useful to the small and poor neighbor

In 1645 he is still convinced of what reality is like and how to respond in order to transform it: The poor must not be abandoned, since they constitute, as has been said, the great majority of the Christian Republic[15].

15 Exposition defending the right of the poor to education. 1645. Cfr. Faubell, Vicente. Antología Pedagógica Calasancia. Publicaciones Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca. 1988. p. 34.

What was the reason for Calasanz’ decision to found the Pious Schools?

On the one hand, the dissolution he saw in the poor boys of Rome. On the other hand, a phrase from Psalm 10:14: To you the poor have been left, you are the helper of the orphan. It has touched his heart in such a way that he felt it as a saying for him. We have the following testimony: Having once asked him [Msgr. Matthew Judiski to Calasanz] for what reason he decided to found this religion of the Pious Schools, he answered me: The reason I had was none other than the dissolution I have seen in the poor boys of Rome, who, not having a good education because of the poverty or neglect of their parents and also reflecting on the words of the psalm which says: “You have been left to the poor, you are the helper of the orphan”, I considered this sentence said to myself and so I began to catechize them in the Christian faith and in letters[16]. There is another letter from 1646 where Calasanz quotes the same Psalm 10,14. He says to a Prince: And, finally, because the poor, of whom also many are eminent in learning and most useful to the republic, are in a special way entrusted to the Prince, to whom applies what God says: “the poor have been left to you”. It is noticeable that when Calasanz writes or speaks, he gives testimony of what happens or has happened to him at the suggestion of the Spirit. This is a very valuable key to realize how his personal life appears in his writings.

16 Giner. Proceso Informativo sobre la Beatificación de S. José de Calasanz. p. 670-686. EP 4413.

He sees with evidence how the guidance of the Holy Spirit inclines him to serve God by doing good to the little people and the poor: I have found in Rome the best way to serve God by doing good to children. I will not leave it for anything of this world[17].

17 Fr Berro. Annotazioni. This is how Calasanz reacts when he receives the news that finally, after 8 years, he is given the canonry. This reality is very significant. It seems strange that it took 8 years to give him the canonry. It was the best thing that could have happened for him to discover what he was created for by God. This experience and others such as the “no” from the Jesuits, the Dominicans, the government of Rome to welcome more poor children in their schools, are the experiential basis to receive everything from the hand of God for his good, to discover his vocation with evidence, as we will see later in this chapter.

In 1621, when he wrote the Memorandum to Cardinal Tonti, on the occasion of our Congregation becoming an Order, Calasanz was aware that God had inspired him the Pious Schools to respond to the educational needs of poor children: It is God who, for the help of his Church, at various times, inspires this multiplicity of Institutes to his true servants, especially in great need[18].

18 MT n. 18

1.3. Initially, it educates so that the poor can earn a living by learning a trade

At the beginning, Calasanz wanted to educate so that the poor children would be able to earn their living by learning some trade, keeping God in mind: The Superior should take care to appoint a diligent teacher for these poor boys: he will teach them writing and arithmetic; thus, they will be able to earn their living more easily[19]. Look for a subject who, while teaching writing and the abacus, will also teach them the holy fear of God, for it is from this class that the children go out into the world to learn some trade, and it is very important that they come out well taught in the holy fear of God[20].

19 CC 198.

20 EP 2742. Rome, 18 June 1637.

Calasanz, in other texts, goes much further. These writings are very significant because they are addressed to Cardinal Tonti or sent to the Commission of Cardinals who are deciding what to do with the Pious School. There he expresses very clearly the fundamental purpose of the Pious School. Let us see.

1.4. Calasanz gives testimony of what he intends with education

Our ministry is the foundation of all ministries. It lays the foundations for each boy to discover his vocation and from there he can humanize the reality.

In 1621, in the Memorandum to Cardinal Tonti, he tells us: Our ministry is a compendium of all ministries, not only by helping our neighbor in case of need in everything that others help, but by preparing and disposing souls by means of a good education to be capable of receiving the service of all other ministries[21].

21 MT 26.

In 1645, in Memorandums to the Cardinals, he affirms: And that policy should not be followed, according to which, when there is a poor person who is fit to study Latin, because he has not been able to follow his studies, he leaves school and, living in idleness, becomes a vagabond and a criminal[22]. And he goes on to say in other memorandums: If nature does not make the poor fit to learn letters, as we experience daily in our schools where we use every diligence to admit to grammar school only those whom we find fit to attend them; if perhaps, either by mistake or by the importunity of some of his parents, he is admitted being incapable, or very soon he himself, finding himself unfit, begs to be removed, or the Prefect, after reports from the Master, removes him[23]. From the beginning of the world until now, God has chosen from among the poor many who have turned out to be distinguished philosophers, theologians, very wise men and very high in dignity[24].

22 Memorandum to the Commission of Cardinals 1645. Cfr. Faubell, Vicente. Antología Pedagógica Calasancia. Publicaciones Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca. 1988. p. 26.

23 Anonymous Memorandum to the Commission of Cardinals 1645.

24 Memorandum to the Commission of Cardinals 1645. Cfr. Faubell, Vicente. Antología Pedagógica Calasancia. Publicaciones Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca. 1988. p. 26.

In these texts we can see where Calasanz is going with Education. He wants each child to be educated according to his or her talent and not to stay where parents or society wants to place them: mostly in the mechanical arts.

1.5. Our education does not only educate to awaken the aptitudes or talents of the poor, but aims at the reform of the Church and of society

Society is transformed by stimulating the good, preventing and curing the evil in each person: Our ministry puts into practice, with the fullness of charity in the Church, an effective remedy, preventive and curative of evil, inducing and enlightening for the good[25].

25 MT 9.

In the education of the poor, according to their talents, lies the reform of the Church and society: Our Congregation tends to the careful education of the child as its genuine goal. As many Ecumenical Councils affirm, in it lies the reform of society[26]. Ecumenical Councils, Holy Fathers, philosophers of right judgment affirm, united, that the reform of Christian society lies in the diligent practice of the mission to educate from infancy[27].

26 CC 175.

27 CC 2.

Educating the poor, from their infancy, according to their aptitude touches the structure of society and transforms it. At the same time, the poor being educated according to their talents are capable of transforming the Church and society. For Calasanz the aptitude or talent is given by nature and/or by God.

This reality of social transformation, educating the poor according to their talents, was the main cause for the Congregation of Cardinals with Pope Innocent X to say “no” to the Pious School. In the Memorandum to Cardinal Giulio Roma, president of the Commission of Cardinals appointed by Pope Innocent X, for the affairs of the Pious School, Calasanz goes so far as to say that for the subtlest reason of state they want to modify the education given by the Pious School: So, Your Eminence, having Your Eminence by your deepest piety the firm intention to preserve this ministry in favor of the poor, do not pay attention to those relaxing modifications, which they propose for the most subtle reason of state[28].

28 Memorandum to Cardinal Giulio Roma. 1645

1.6. Reality can hit our lives

How does Calasanz react to the adverse or prosperous events of life?

We have many letters of Calasanz where he tells us clearly how he reacts: All things are governed by God with supreme and little understood providence: it is necessary by force or by love to go through them. But it is better to be always ready to receive from the hand of the Lord whatever happens to us, as the best ordered things that can happen for our good. Calasanz follows, here, St. John of the Cross: These things are not done by men but by God who knows what is convenient for us and orders it for our good. Do not think anything else but that all things are ordained by God, and where there is no love, put love and you will get love. It is a matter of being very much with great constancy and patience in all the tribulations and labors that God puts you through from without and from within, spiritual and corporal, taking everything as from his hand for your good and remedy and not running away from them, because they are healing for the soul[29].

29 EP 380. Rome, 27 December 1625. St John of the Cross: Letter 26 and Living flame of love 2,30.

Calasanz accepts reality as it comes because he believes that God guides everything to make visible his Love, his glory, making us good. God is never against us. We must believe that God guides all things for his greater glory and our good, although we, as ignorant and weak in his things, sometimes consider as adverse what is useful to us, and as convenient what is contrary to us. Let us, then, let his divine Majesty guide the boat and let us receive from his most holy hand all that happens to us[30].

30 Cu 52.

Normally we tend to keep what is prosperous and not what is adverse. Calasanz considers that everything comes from the hand of God who is a good and loving Father.

Everything allows us to carry forward what God gives us in order to respond to reality. Considering that everything comes to me from God’s hand and that I do what I do because of his love, and that he is a good and loving Father, I bear everything with patience, determined to die rather than abandon the enterprise[31].

31 EP 2454. Rome 3 October 1635.

1.6.1. The Calasanzian biblical texts to read and respond to reality are:

Psalm 10:14 is the psalm of the Piarist vocation. Fr Berro tells us that our holy Father used to retire before the Blessed Sacrament in the Church of the Holy Apostles and came out of his prayer highly consoled and enlightened, saying that among the other places the Lord makes himself heard in the Blessed Sacrament[32]. Also Fr Scassellati: From the teachings he gave, as he often did to me, recommending acts of humility to be done in secret and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament from which he said that one receives great light for the way of the Spirit[33].

32 Fr Berro. Vol I, Part I, p. 19.

33 Scassellati. Pro. Inf. 1650 – RC 30, p. 105 and 111.

One day, after returning from Trastevere where he has seen that many children, because of poverty or parental neglect, did not go to school, and after asking the Jesuits, Dominicans and the administration of Rome to enlarge their schools to help more poor children, receiving a “no” from all... I retired to the Church of the Holy Apostles, to recite the Divine Office before the Blessed Sacrament, or to the Church of the Madonna dei Monti, and a phrase from a psalm touched my heart: To you the poor have been left, you are the helper of the orphan, with such clarity and force that I considered this sentence said to myself and so I began to catechize them in the Christian faith and in letters[34]. Further on, in the Memorandum to Cardinal Tonti [1621] states with evidence that: It is God who, for the help of his Church, at various times, inspires this multiplicity of Institutes to his true servants, principally in great needs.

34 At first, I placed the recitation of the Divine Office in the Church of the Twelve Apostles, but in the booklet celebrating the Jubilee of May 8, it is said that the phrase of the psalm was given to Calasanz in the Church of Madonna dei Monti. It is stated that it was said by witnesses in the process of Beatification. Whether in the Church of the Twelve Apostles or in front of Madonna dei Monti, the background is the same. If it was in front of Madonna dei Monti, I understand better why Calasanz sometimes says that the Pious School was founded by Our Lady, or it was the work of Mary. And it is clear that the visit of Madonna dei Monti, giving him confidence and encouragement, at the time of his last illness, about the future of the Pious Schools, takes on more importance.

In Mt 25:40: The Word of the Lord encourages us to exercise our specific ministry because: “As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me”. How is God doing in this life? As it goes for every child, because our God is incarnate. What happens to one of the least of these happens to Him. God cries out the fundamental needs of the human being from their fragility. At the same time, God strengthens us to be able to love in every situation.

The text touches the heart of Calasanz giving meaning to all we do as Poor of the Mother of God. We receive the poor child as Mary receives the poor Jesus: And since we profess to be authentic Poor of the Mother of God, under no circumstances will we despise poor children; but with tenacious patience and charity we will strive to enrich them with all their qualities, stimulated especially by the Word of the Lord: “What you did for one of the least of these my brothers, you did it for me “[35].

35 CC 4.

At the same time, this text of Matthew has an eschatological nuance: Let all of you be there with a bold spirit, to serve the Lord in his members who are the poor. So that we may hear in due time: As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me[36].

36 Cu 1445.

The visit of Jesus to the synagogue of Nazareth which is narrated in Lk 4, 16-21 [18] is the Gospel of the Piarist mission. In the year 1645 a memorandum was sent to the commission of Cardinals and in it a part of Luke’s Gospel is quoted[37]: Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, entered the synagogue, as was his custom, on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. The volume of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He unrolled it and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; he has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim a year of the Lord’s favor. He rolled up the volume, handed it back to the minister and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. So, he began to say to them. This scripture which you have just heard has been fulfilled today.

37 According to our researchers, the handwriting of this text is of Fr. Casani, when he was Calasanz’ assistant. It is evident that he consulted with Calasanz to send this memorandum to the Commission of Cardinals.

The text touches the heart of Calasanz in the following way: The poor must not be abandoned constituting the great majority of the Christian republic and having been redeemed themselves also with the precious blood of Jesus Christ and so dear to his Majesty that he said he was sent into the world by his eternal Father to teach them: Evangelizare pauperibus misit me. [He has sent me to evangelize the poor]. From which we can conclude how far from Christian piety and the sentiments of Christ is that policy which says that it is harmful to the republic to teach the poor because it diverts them, they say, from the exercise of the mechanical arts[38].

38 Demonstration defending the right of the poor to education. Año 1645. Faubell, Vicente. Antología Pedagógica Calasancia. Publicaciones Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca. 1988. p.34.

Calasanz interprets the text by saying that the mind of Christ is to teach and evangelize the poor according to their aptitude. Society excluded the poor from being educated according to their aptitude and relegated them to the mechanical arts. It was harmful to society to educate the poor according to their talents. The Calasanzian option does not only take into account the personal transformation of children and young people, but lays the foundation for young people to be able to transform the church and society according to their vocation.

Here, evangelizing and teaching are synonymous. The Father has sent us into this world to evangelize the poor. To evangelize is to educate the poor according to their aptitude or talent that is given by nature or by God. The anointing of the Holy Spirit inclines us to evangelize by educating small and poor people according to their vocation. In this way we make visible the Love of God by being useful to the small and poor neighbor. This is the basis of the vocation culture.

The letter to the Romans 8,28-29 [28] gives us the attitude to the events of life because these events make us like the beloved Son of the Father. Reality can hit our lives. How does Calasanz react to the adverse or prosperous events of life? He receives the adverse or the prosperous by keeping in mind what the Apostle Paul says: We know that God works in all things for the good of those who love him, of those who are called according to his plan. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

The text of the letter to the Romans touches the heart of Calasanz: I have already listed above various texts where Calasanz recommends to receive everything from the hand of God who loves us much more than we love ourselves; here I add: by thanking God for what situations bring, you will see how this life passes with inner pleasure. Receive everything from the hand of God, who loves us much more than we love ourselves[39]. Giving Him thanks for the honor He does us in sending them to us[40]. If you know how to take all your mortifications from God’s hand with patience, you will pass through this life with inner joy[41].

39 EP 4458. Rome, 4 May 1647.

40 EP 4229. Rome, 15 October 1644.

41 EP 700.

In Mt 3:17, God, the good and loving Father is revealed to us. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water; and the heavens were opened, and [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”.

For Calasanz, to be son is to receive everything from the hands of the Father. We realize that the Father loves us because, as Jn 5, 20 tells us: The Father loves the Son and shows him all that He does. And what He does is always in our favor, whether adverse or prosperous. He is a good and loving Father; He guides everything for our good and that of our neighbor. He treats us all as his beloved Son.

With Job 1,21 Calasanz receives the most difficult moments of life by loving. It is a text that Calasanz keeps in mind in the face of life’s adversity. We have a letter of 1641 where he says to a Father: Holy Job did not say the Chaldeans have taken away my camels, but the Lord gave them to me, the Lord took them away from me[42].

42 EP 3808.

All Piarists know the adverse situations that hit the life of Calasanz and our religious Order. I take as an example the Brief of Innocent X to identify his reactions.

As we have seen Calasanz receives from the hand of God all that is happening in this visitation to the Order, by the hierarchy of the Church. He accepts the reality as it is and clearly expresses his charism to the commission of Cardinals. God intervenes for his good in all that life brings him: adverse or prosperous. God is never against him, but always seeks his good.

In any case, on 17 March 1646, in the evening, all the fathers gathered in the oratory of St Pantaleo, Bp. Joseph Palamolla read the Brief of Innocent X. When he heard the Brief his first reaction was The Lord gave it to us, the Lord took it from us. As it seemed good to the Lord so it was done. Blessed be his Holy Name. If we take from his hand the positive things, why should we not receive the negative?[43].

43 Calasanz quotes Job 1:21: Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb and naked I shall return to it. Yahweh has given it to me and Yahweh has taken it from me. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

That same day he wrote letters to two communities in which he summarized the Brief and at the same time encouraged them to continue joyfully exercising the mission: The secretary of the Vicar of the Pope has arrived at this very moment, at hour 24, and has published the Brief in which he says that each house of our Religion must govern itself, subject to the Ordinary of the place, as in the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. That whoever among our professed members wishes to pass to another Religion, even if it is laxer, may do so. That henceforth we cannot dress except as those of the Chiesa Nuova, without any vow. That there be no General or Provincial, and that each one be governed according to the Constitutions made by some Prelates, and that the Collegio Nazareno be subject to the Roman Rota. And a more extensive copy of everything will be sent in due time. But YR do not lose heart, because we hope in the Lord that everything will be settled as long as we remain united[44].

44 EP 4344. Rome, 17 March 1646.

Pax Cristi. The Brief of His Holiness having been promulgated this afternoon, the outline of which you will see in the enclosed note, it is communicated to YR so that you may know how the things of Religion are going. So don’t stop exercising joyfully the Institute and being united and at peace, hoping that God will remedy everything. That is all I can think of[45].

45 EP 4342. Rome, 17 March 1646. In the summary I have made of Calasanz’ reactions to the Brief, I have taken as a background some sentences verbatim from: Miguel Ángel Asiain. The Year with Calasanz. ICCE Publications. Madrid 1991, p. 165.

The next day, faced with the Brief of Pope Innocent X, he discerned what God was asking of him, he became aware of all that he felt inside, he named how the event affected his sensibility: I do not know what to hold on to. He sees if the Spirit is asking him the possibility of moving to another religious Order, albeit a more lax one, and he sees that he does not: I do not want another religion. And suddenly he discovers to continue with the gift as it has been left to him without new Constitutions being drawn up: I do not know what to hold on to; nevertheless, I affirm that I do not desire another religion, but that we will remain like this until God wills[46].

46 EP 4346. Rome, 18 March 1646.

On another occasion he says: I believe that YR will have already heard what has happened to our Order. It has been reduced to a Congregation and is under the local Ordinary. For God has willed it so, blessed be he forever[47].

47 EP 4350.

He sees clearly with Ex 14, 13 to remain so, as the decree of Pope Innocent X has left him, until God wills. Moses answered the people: Do not be afraid, stand firm, and you will see the salvation that God grants you this day.

Once he has discovered what the Lord suggests to him, he realizes what he can do with what life has brought him. He is guided by the truth, by remaining so until God wills, and he does all he can to change the situation. He writes to the governments where the Pious School exists to manifest to the Pope all the good that the schools do in their states. We remain in the hope that blessed God will change the heart of His Holiness and will not allow our Institute to be lost[48].

48 EP 4379. Rome, 2 June 1646.

It is admirable the last autograph letter of Calasanz: Remain constant and you will see the help of God upon you. This is what we are asking for you now, so that you may not be discouraged, but that your strength may shine more brightly in the trial. For lack of sight, I cannot continue writing. May the Lord always bless us all[49].

49 EP 4463. Rome, 20 May 1647.

The hope that 2 Chr 20,17 awakens in him makes him see the salvation of God: You do not have to fight on this occasion. Be firm and stand still, and you will see the salvation of the Lord. We do not have to fight; we have to follow the clarity and the strength that has come.

Every adverse situation is good to pray with 2 Macc 1, 3-6 [6]. We ask the Lord not to abandon us in times of misfortune. We must encourage all the Piarists with prayer, confident in the promise of the Lord: May the Lord give you all a great heart to adore him and to do his will with a great heart and a generous spirit. May he open your hearts to his Law and his precepts, and grant you peace. May he hear your supplications, be reconciled to you, and not forsake you in time of trouble. This is what we are now asking for you.

With 2Pet 1,10 we have to strengthen our vocation and election in adverse situations: Make every effort to strengthen your vocation and election. By doing so you will never fall.

And finally with Mt 16,18 the confidence in the promise of the Lord to his Church is awakened: The gates of hell will not prevail against our religion[50].

50 EP 4248. Calasanz is quoting verbatim Mt 16,18 which refers to the Church.

Calasanz dies in 1648, full of confidence because of the apparition of Our Lady of Monti. Later, on 24 January 1656, Pope Alexander VII again recognized the Pious Schools as a Congregation of simple vows and in 1669 Pope Clement IX elevated the Pious Schools as religious Order[51]. In 1767, Clement XIII canonized Calasanz on 16 July.

51 Cfr. Faubell, Vicente. Antología Pedagógica Calasancia. Publicaciones Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca. 1988. Calasanzian Chronology.

And, here we are, with the same enthusiasm, celebrating the Calasanzian Jubilee Year of the 400th anniversary of the Pauline Congregation of the Pious Schools 1617-2017 and the 250th anniversary of its canonization.

1.7. Conclusion

Calasanz, with his way of seeing, receiving and responding to reality, shows us his way of evangelizing by educating.

The biblical texts that Calasanz quotes give us the gift:

- Our way of seeing reality from the situation of people, cities, towns, villages and small and poor neighborhoods.

- Our vocation: The small and poor people has been left to us. What is done to the poor child is done to God.

- Our mission: The poor child has been left to us to educate and evangelize him according to his aptitude or talent, that is to say, according to the vocation that God is creating in him.

- Our way of receiving everything from the hand of God for our good and that of our neighbor. Adverse or prosperous events leave us loving and trusting in the Lord, makes us similar to the beloved son of the Father, and does everything possible to change the situation according to the circumstances.

- Reality and the Spirit incline Calasanz to let go of the plans he had when he decided to go to Rome, to go out to see and listen to the periphery of the poor and there to find the need of education to evangelize the little ones.

1.8. Integration questions

1. What strikes you about this chapter?

2. What reactions and reflections have been aroused?

3. What do you find difficult to accept in this chapter, and why?

4. What touches your heart?

5. What questions do you have about our way of seeing reality?

6. What do you feel invited to do with these Calasanzian texts?

7. Would you like to spend some time in prayer with a phrase or word that has touched your heart until you discover the human behavior that the anointing of the Spirit gives you?

8. How do you react to the adverse or prosperous events in life? Do you discover your Piarist vocation in the adverse and in the prosperous situations?

9. What does mean to you “going out to the peripheries of the world”?

Chapter II

Sages in the inner school

Rom 8 [4.9.14.16.26.28.31]

The external social reality is born out of decisions that are cooked up in the inner reality. It is necessary to learn to read and discern not only the outer reality but also the inner reality.

To be wise in the inner school it is necessary to distinguish various realities in every human being:

- The tendency of the Holy Spirit dwelling in every human being[52]
52 CC 23.

- How to use memory, intelligence, freedom and will in the spiritual life and in study[53]
53 CC 22. Cu 949 and EP 4557. Rome, 13 June 1648.

- The tendency of insatiable greed[54]
54 CC 16.

- How to respond to the needs of the body[55]
55 EP 2148. EP 2581

Finally, I describe the criteria for discerning the two tendencies that inhabit the human being and how the Piarist, consciously going through this formative process, is.

I return to each of these points.

2.1. Being wise in the inner school

What is it to be wise? It is to connect with the Spirit of God, with the true Presence of the Lord that dwells in us, and to let ourselves be led by it until it becomes visible, in order to humanize reality (PRH expression), according to the vocation that God gives.

The Apostle Paul’s letter of 1 Cor 3:16-20 [18] tells us what it is to be wise in the sight of God: Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. Let no one be deceived! If anyone among you thinks he is wise according to this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise; for the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God. Indeed, the Scripture says: “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”. And again: “The Lord knows how vain are the thoughts of the wise”.

Calasanz affirms: The way to become wise and prudent in the interior school is to become like a fool in the eyes of men, allowing oneself to be guided like a donkey. This is a true doctrine, but as it is contrary to human sense and prudence, few follow it and thus the word of Christ is confirmed: Narrow is the way [that leads to Life] and few are those who find it [Mt 7, 14][56]. In another letter, Calasanz says, referring to a priest who was tempted to change religious congregation: As a little wise in matters of spirit, he has set his eyes not on his imperfections as he should, but on those of others[57].

56 EP 2300. Rome, 3 December 1634. The letter ends thus: I exhort you to collaborate with Fr Superior, and all together you will accomplish with great fruits the work of the Lord; may he bless us all always. There is another very similar letter where he does not say wise in the interior school but wise in the lower schools. It is the letter EP 130. Rome, 8 November 1622. It goes like this: The way to become a wise and prudent man in the lower schools is to make oneself as a fool in the eyes of men, allowing oneself to be led about like a donkey. This is the true doctrine, but understood by few, because it is contrary to human sense and prudence; followed also by few.

I am aware of this reality. The two letters refer to obedience by the phrase: letting oneself be led like a donkey which Calasanz quotes in his Constitutions in the chapter on obedience n. 108. It is clear that one refers to being wise in the interior school. Does the other refer to being wise in lowering oneself to teach the little children in the lower schools? I think so. There is a profound relationship between the humility that consists in abasing oneself to know oneself, which is the key to being wise in the inner school and our humble ministry of abasing ourselves to the capacity of little children and the poor, which is also of wise men because they are in the eyes of the world so low and vile; therefore, it is necessary to become foolish in the eyes of men. In fact, there is a letter of Calasanz where he unites the two ways of living humility: lowering to know oneself, by lowering oneself to give light to the children. You can read the letter from EP 1236. Rome, 19 October 1629: I am very upset that YR has so many worries and disturbances as you means to me by your last letter, which do not come from humility, because if you had it, you would know that the shortest and easiest way to be exalted to your own knowledge and from this to the attributes of the mercy and prudence and infinite patience and goodness of God, is to lower yourself to give light to children, especially to those who are destitute of all. Since this is such a lowly and vile profession in the eyes of the world, few want to lower themselves to it, and God usually gives a hundredfold, especially if, in doing it well, they have persecutions or tribulations, which, taken patiently from the hand of God, are a hundredfold in spirit and few know how to practice this doctrine, few receive a hundredfold in spiritual goods.... The three letters can be found translated in Cartas Selectas de S. José de Calasanz. Volumes I and II, Colegio “P. Scio”. Salamanca. 1977. Several authors: S. Giner; A. Ródenas; M.A. Asiain; J. Lecea; and L.M. Bandrés. In any case, I am sure, after speaking with Fr. Burgués, in charge of the Piarist archives in Rome, that they are two letters where Calasanz said the same thing: wise men in the inner school.

57 EP 1237

And in a writing on the quality of the true religious, he shows what it is to be wise in the interior school: The religious should not listen to murmurings, nor to idle words, but should always have his interior powers withdrawn so that, fleeing from earthly conversations, he may be more attentive to the conversations of the interior man, which is the true presence of the Lord, from which all the perfection of the religious soul springs as from a fountain[58].

58 Cu 949. Qualitá del vero religioso. Written by Calasanz, w/d. Fr Dionisio Cueva, on the basis of the subject matter and parallel texts, this date can be established approximately between 1631-1638. The autograph manuscript is in the Arch. Gen. of Rome. [Reg. Cal. XII 27.2].

2.2. Learning to identify the tendency of the Holy Spirit

Calasanz recommends to the Master of Novices to identify in the young man who comes to the Pious School the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the true Presence of the Lord, so that he may be wise in the interior school: On one point we want to strongly advise the Master: that he discover in each novice the internal inclination or, what is the same, the guidance of the Holy Spirit who teaches the humble to pray with ineffable groans; by this way he will strive to lead each one to the summit of perfection[59].

59 CC 23. For Calasanz the summit of perfection is to live perfect charity as he says in [CC 1]: In the Church of God, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, all Religious Institutions tend to perfect Charity as their genuine goal, through the exercise of their specific ministry.

Calasanz bets the Pious School of all times on this number of his Constitutions. It is about cooperating so that each novice, each educator, can identify in him, the guidance of the Spirit, the true Presence of the Lord to live it and make it visible on this earth. And although Calasanz does not use the word Gospel on this occasion, it is the Apostle Saint Paul who tells us that to discover the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to act in coherence with his suggestions, that is the gospel.

2.2.1. The Calasanzian biblical text for reading and discerning inner reality is the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans[60]

60 Cfr. Fr. Baena’s course on St. Paul.

2.2.1.1. What is evangelizing? Rom 1, 16. Rom 15, 13 and Rom 8

For the Apostle Paul, what is the gospel? It is the power of the Spirit dwelling in us that frees us from the covetous tendency, from sin, which also dwells in us. The guidance of the Holy Spirit makes us listen to the cries of creation, the cries of reality, to respond as children of God. He teaches us to pray. It makes us receive from God’s hand the adverse or the prosperous for our good and that of our neighbor. Nothing and no one can separate us from the love of God poured into our hearts by the Spirit given to us.

He announces the Gospel to us at the beginning and at the end of the letter to the Romans: In Rom 1, 16: I am not ashamed of the Gospel, which is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. And in Rom 15, 13: The Apostle Paul tells us that this power of God is the Holy Spirit.

For these two quotations from the letter to the Romans, to evangelize is to identify the power of the Holy Spirit, in each person, and to act according to his suggestions.

This is the content of the letter to the Romans in chapter eight. The Apostle Paul is the first in the New Testament to use the word gospel. For him it has different meanings that point to the same thing. Gospel is his experience of conversion as he himself says in Galatians 1, 16: when God wished to reveal his Son in me, to proclaim him to the Gentiles. Also, gospel is to participate in the death and resurrection of the Lord for our salvation [1 Cor 15, 3-4]. For Calasanz, to live the baptismal life is to live the Piarist formative model and the religious consecration according to the way of life of the Lord: If he knows how to prepare himself to receive the Holy Spirit, the act of profession will be for him like a new baptism[61]. That is to say, gospel is to realize the paschal experience of Pentecost happening today, here and now.

61 Cu 671

Thus, we can follow the humanity of Jesus, by the power of the Spirit of the Risen One who dwells in every human being; by the power of the living and shining Lord in every small and poor person[62].

62 Allow me a clarification: All subjects of the school or of non-formal education, all the Calasanz Movement, all catechesis, all talks and sacraments, I hope that they will end up identifying the guidance of the Holy Spirit who awakens seeing reality, and listening to the voice of God, which is the voice of the Spirit. Look at what Vatican II tells us in the Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis: Therefore, it is the duty of priests, as educators in the faith, to see to it, by themselves or by others, that each of the faithful is led in the Holy Spirit to cultivate his own vocation in conformity with the Gospel, to a sincere and active charity and to the freedom with which Christ set us free. Ceremonies, however beautiful they may be, and associations, however flourishing, will be of little use if they are not directed to the education of men to Christian maturity. To promote this, priests will be of help to them, so that in the events themselves, great or small, they may be able to see clearly what reality demands and what is the will of God. The faithful should also be well instructed not to live only for themselves, but, in accordance with the demands of the new law of charity, to administer grace to their neighbor, just as they have received it, and thus to fulfil their duties in the community of mankind in a Christian manner [n. 6]. Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi states forcefully: The techniques of evangelization are good, but not the most perfect ones can replace the action of the Spirit. Not even the most refined preparation of the Apostle is capable of doing anything without the Spirit. Without the Spirit, the most convincing dialectic is powerless to move man [n. 75].

Calasanz has a similar saying about hardened adults: [Our] Ministry is truly the most to be welcomed by men who unanimously applaud it and desire it in their homeland, perhaps foreshadowing the good of the universal reform of corrupt customs, which is the consequence of diligent cultivation of those tender and easy to straighten plants which are the children, before they harden and become difficult, not to say impossible, to guide; as we see in the men who have already been made: despite all the help of prayers, talks and sacraments, few change their lives and only a small minority are really converted [MT 15]. The letter to the Hebrews in 3, 7-14 states: “If you listen to his voice today, do not harden your hearts... Take heed, brethren.... Encourage one another daily, as long as this “today” lasts, so that none of you may be hardened, deceived by sin. We are indeed partakers of Christ if we hold fast to the attitude of the beginning until the end”.

2.2.1.2. The content of the Gospel: Romans 8:1-39 [4.9.14.16.26.28.31]

The Apostle Paul, after telling us what evangelization is, announces the content of his Gospel in Romans 8. The whole text is Calasanzian. Let us see:

- The Spirit frees us from condemnation, sin, death and fear by giving us life in Christ Jesus: No condemnation weighs on those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit, which gives life in Christ Jesus, has set you free from the law of sin and death... and fear.

- The Spirit liberates by dwelling in the heart of each person, giving us the Presence of the Lord who is life and love, because he gives us the Spirit of Christ who is also in us. We can live according to this gift. Those who live according to the Spirit desire the spiritual... The tendencies of the Spirit are life and peace... You live according to the Spirit, for the Spirit of God dwells in you. He who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him; but if Christ is in you.... the Spirit is life because of justice. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies by His Spirit who dwells in you...

- The Spirit himself unites to our spirit. The action of the Spirit makes us children of God in the image and likeness of Jesus. The whole of creation is crying out for children of God to appear on this earth to make a new world and a new earth. All who allow themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are children of God. And you have not received a Spirit of slaves to fall back in fear; rather, you have received a spirit of adopted children that makes us exclaim: Abba, Father! The Spirit himself joins with our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs of Christ, if we share in his sufferings, so that we may also be glorified with him... The whole of creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth. And not only it, but also, we, who possess the first fruits of the Spirit; we ourselves groan within ourselves, longing for the rescue of our body...

- The Spirit makes us aware of what He Himself is doing in us or what He drives us to. Only the Spirit makes us to know God. The spiritual life consists in becoming aware of what the Spirit is doing in us in order to act accordingly. To pray according to St. Paul is to pray the request that the Spirit suggests to us. The Spirit teaches in every situation and we need prayer time to find out the attitude or practice that He suggests to us. The Spirit also comes to the help of our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with ineffable groanings, and he who searches the hearts knows what the aspiration of the Spirit is, and his intercession on behalf of the saints is according to God.

- Everything that happens to us is for our good, as we have already seen in the previous chapter. Moreover, we know that in all things God intervenes for the good of those who love Him...

- Nothing and no one can separate us from the Love of God manifested in Christ Jesus, because we can always choose to love in every situation. If God is for us, who can be against us... Who can separate us from the Love of Christ... I am sure that [nothing and no one] can separate us from the Love of God manifested in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I conclude chapter eight of the Letter to the Romans with Rom 5:3-5 [5] where the Apostle Paul invites us to identify: The Love of God that dwells in our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation begets patience; patience, tested virtue; tested virtue, hope; and hope does not fail, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

2.2.1.3. Other biblical texts of the Apostle Paul to be wise in the interior school.

In 2 Cor. 4:16-17 [16] we can discover that the man who is born from within is born of the Spirit touching our heart, and renewing himself day by day: We do not lose heart. Even when our outer man is crumbling, the inner man is being renewed day by day. Indeed, the slightest tribulation of a moment produces for us, above all measure, a heavy stream of eternal glory.

The Spirit gives us light and strength, as he tells us in Eph 1:16-19 [18.19]. God enlightens our heart according to the efficacy of his mighty power: I never cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation to know him perfectly; enlightening the eyes of your heart, that you may know what is the hope to which you have been called by him; what is the richness of the glory bestowed by him as an inheritance on the saints, and what is the sovereign greatness of his power toward us believers, according to the efficacy of his mighty power.

In Gal 5:13-25 [18] we can see how the tendencies of the Spirit are contrary to the tendencies of the flesh. The Spirit gives us the freedom to behave according to the human nature of Jesus. To live according to the Spirit is to experience a deep closeness to all reality and a freedom to serve one another out of love. If we are led by the Spirit, we are not subject to the law, nor to the tendencies of the flesh. If we live according to the Spirit, let us act according to the Spirit: Brethren, you have been called to freedom; only do not use this freedom as a pretext for the flesh, but serve one another out of love... If you live according to the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh has desires contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit contrary to the flesh, so that they are antagonistic to each other, and you do not do the things that you would. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.... The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law. For those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and its desires. If we live according to the Spirit, let us also act according to the Spirit.

Truly, 1 Cor 2:7-16 [12.13] speaks to us with clarity. No one knows God’s innermost being, only the Spirit who dwells in us teaches us what God gives us. True wisdom and happiness are hidden in Christ crucified because every adverse or prosperous occasion is a good occasion to love: We speak of a wisdom of God, mysterious, hidden, destined by God from before the ages for our glory, unknown to all the rulers of this world, for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. Rather, as the Scripture says: “what eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and what has not come into the heart of man, that God has prepared for those who love him”. No one knows God, no one knows God’s innermost being. The Spirit of God who dwells in us makes him known to us. We know the graces that God gives us, taught by the Spirit: For God has revealed it to us through the Spirit, and the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For what man knows the innermost part of a man except the spirit of man which is in him? In the same way, no one knows the innermost part of God except the Spirit of God. And we have received not from the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the graces which God has given us, of which also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual realities in spiritual terms. Man, naturally does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, for only spiritually can they be judged. But the man of the spirit judges everything, and no one can judge him. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he might instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

All the following quotations tell us that it is God who does the willing and the acting. In Phil 2:13 we discover that: It is God who, beyond your good disposition realizes in you to will and to act. With 1 Thess 4:9 we can learn from God to love one another: You have no need for me to tell you anything in writing, because you yourselves have learned from God to love one another. Calasanz affirms with 1 Tim 8, 9 that the law is for the unjust: Yes, we know that the law is good, provided that it is taken as law, keeping in mind that the law was not instituted for the just. And finally in 1 Cor 6, 10 we verify that: Whoever is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

To conclude all these quotations from the Apostle St. Paul, a question: In whom does the Holy Spirit dwell?

The same Apostle St. Paul answers in Rom 2, 14-15 that the law of God is written in the heart of every human being: When the Gentiles, who have no law, naturally fulfill the prescriptions of the law, without having a law for themselves they are law; as those who show themselves to have the reality of that law written in their heart, their conscience attesting to it.

St. John Paul II also affirms: The Spirit is manifested in a particular way in the Church and in her members, but his presence and action are universal, without any limit of space or time. The Spirit’s presence and activity affect not only individuals, but also society, history, peoples, cultures and religions... The Spirit of God is an active presence throughout the world, not only in religious aspirations, but also in human values such as justice, solidarity, peace and harmony. The missionary attitude always begins with a feeling of deep esteem for what is in man. It is a matter of respect for all that the Spirit, who blows where he wills, has worked in him. All authentic prayer is elicited by the Spirit who is mysteriously present in the heart of every man[63].

63 St. John Paul II. RM 12 and 28.

2.2.1.4. Biblical texts from the Gospel of St. John to be wise in the interior school

Only the Spirit, who abides in us, teaches us by making us very similar to the human behavior of Jesus because he receives from the Father and the Son what he teaches us; he is devoid of himself.

Jesus tells us that our expectations about him prevent us from seeing him as he is, in our inner self and in his humanity. That is why in Jn 16:7,12-16. He speaks to us about: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you... Much I have yet to say to you, but you cannot bear it now. When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into the whole truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will explain to you what is to come. He will give glory to me, for he will receive of mine and explain it to you. All that the Father has is mine. That is why I said, “He shall receive of what is mine, and shall declare it to you. In a little while you will no longer see me, and in a little while you will see me again.

St. John the Evangelist invites us to remain in the teachings of the Spirit by putting them into practice. The Spirit teaches everyone, small and great.

Calasanz is convinced with 1Jn 2, 27 that it is the Spirit who teaches us all things: As for you, the Spirit which you have received from him abides in you; and you do not need anyone to teach you, but the Spirit, who is the source of truth and not of lies, teaches you all things, so abide in him as he taught you.

The Spirit teaches everyone, as Jn 6:44-45 tells us. All will know me from the least to the greatest: To instruct one another you will not need to encourage one another, saying: “Know God,” because all will know me, from the least to the greatest[64].

64 Jn 6:44-45. St. John alludes to Jer 31:33-34. This is the new covenant: It will be a covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God and they will be my people. They will no longer have to indoctrinate, one their neighbor and one their brother, saying, “Know Yahweh,” for they shall all know me, from the least to the greatest, when I forgive their guilt, and their sin shall be remembered no more. The letter to the Hebrews also speaks in the same way: Heb 8:6-13. I highlight verse 13: By saying “new” covenant, he made the old one obsolete, and what is obsolete and becoming old is about to disappear.

Calasanz uses the image of the fountain of living water to tell us that, if we are attentive to the conversations of the inner man, which is the true presence of the Lord, perfect charity is born from it as from a spring. The Spirit is the source of living water and teaches us to announce to the little and poor people what has happened in us.

In every human being we must identify the source of living water as Jn 4:13-42 [14] shows in Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman: If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.... Everyone who drinks of this water from the well will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never thirst, but the water that I give him will become in him a fountain of living water springing up to eternal life... God is spirit and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth... The Samaritan woman leaving her pitcher, ran into the city and said to the people: Come and see a man who has told me all that I have done... Many Samaritans of that city believed in him because of the words of the woman who testified, He has told me all that I have done. When the Samaritans came to him, they begged him to stay with them. And he stayed there two days. And there were many more who believed on his words. And they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your words; we ourselves have heard and know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.

The fundamental of Piarist education is to identify one by one, what the Holy Spirit does in each human being. The earlier the better. Children realize that they are immediately connected to the guidance of the Holy Spirit if there is a favorable environment for their growth.

How clearly St. John Paul II speaks to us in Pastores dabo vobis about formation for the priesthood: The educational task, which also corresponds to the Christian community as such, must be addressed to each person. In fact, God with his call touches the heart of each person, and the Spirit who dwells in the depths of each disciple [1 Jn 3:24], is infused in each Christian with diverse charisms and with particular manifestations. Therefore, each person must be helped to accept the gift that has been given to him in particular, as a unique and unrepeatable person, and to listen to the words that the Spirit of God addresses to him. In this perspective, attention to vocations to the priesthood must also take the form of a decisive and convincing proposal for spiritual direction. It is necessary to rediscover the great tradition of individual spiritual accompaniment, which has always borne such precious fruit in the life of the Church. In certain cases, and under precise conditions, this accompaniment can be helped, but never substituted, with forms of analysis or psychological help. Children, adolescents and young people should be invited to discover and appreciate the gift of spiritual direction, to seek it and experience it, to ask for it with trusting insistence from their educators in the faith. For their part, priests should be the first to dedicate time and energy to this work of education and personal spiritual help. They will never regret having neglected or relegated to the background many other activities that are also good and useful, if fidelity to their ministry as collaborators of the Spirit in the orientation and guidance of those who are called demands it. The purpose of a Christian’s education is to reach the full maturity of Christ under the influence of the Spirit [Eph 4:13][65].

65 Pastores dabo vobis on priestly formation, n. 40.

The previous text quotes 1 Jn 3:24: Whoever keeps his commandments dwells in God and God in him; by this we know that he dwells in us through the Spirit whom he has given us. And he also quotes Eph 4:11-13: Christ appointed some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the proper organization of the saints in the functions of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to the state of perfect manhood, to the full maturity of Christ.

It emphasizes that the Spirit, teaching us from within, is not an obstacle to listening to one another. Precisely this teaching of one another will make us united because it comes from the same teaching of the Spirit who gives us the joy of his light and his loving power. We look at each other with the eyes of the Spirit to admire, value and place people according to the aptitudes and talents that the true Presence of the Lord gives them.

It is about learning to be attentive to the Presence that loves, touching our hearts and giving us the joy of giving. He gives us the light that is always light, the light that allows us to see everything as it is. She gives us the strength of her love, to give her love, her light and her joy as she gives it to us.

2.2.1.5. How do all these biblical texts touch the heart of Calasanz?

To identify the tendency of the Holy Spirit that dwells in every human being, we have to lower to know ourselves.

2.2.1.5.1.The beginning of the spiritual life is self-knowledge. It is the experience of humility.

The spiritual life begins by lowering to know oneself to distinguish in our inner reality the inclination or tendency of greedy interest, from the inclination or tendency born of the guidance of the Holy Spirit that impels us to lower ourselves to the capacity of the least of these. In this process of self-knowledge, God makes himself known as gratuitous, compassionate and merciful Love that puts our eyes where God puts them[66]. Preferably in small, poor people and towns[67] and in great need of Calasanzian education.

66 This is an expression of Fr Gustavo Baena, in his book Revelación. Teologia. Vida Cristiana. Publicaciones VID. Medellín, Colombia 2015. It is also the way Calasanz speaks in EP 1237: He has set his eyes on the imperfections of others instead of his own.

67 MT 26.

It is a good beginning of the spiritual life the own knowledge and misery in which we are all born, and also of the ingratitude with which, after so many benefits, we have corresponded to God. If you exercise yourself in them with diligence, I assure you that you will have in this life some knowledge of God, which is a science so great that a particle of it surpasses all the human sciences, after which men spend the greater part and the best years of their lives, and, as a reward, the sciences tend to swell and exalt those who possess them. On the other hand, the knowledge of God beatifies man according to the degree to which, after knowledge, he grows in divine love. I exhort you that every day the first thing to do is to carry out this study, after which the Lord will grant you all the other things that the world does not know[68].

68 EP 1339. Rome, March 15, 1630.

Calasanz has as a background in the above text 1 Cor 8:1-3 [1]: We all have knowledge. But knowledge puffs up; by the contrary, love builds up. If someone thinks he knows something, he does not yet know it as he ought. But if one loves God, that one is known by him.

We have to know the covetous tendency, the benefits of God and whether we have been grateful or ungrateful to him. This process of self-knowledge awakens humility in us, makes us experience littleness, makes us become aware of the inner reality from which the outer reality is born. Self-knowledge is one more subject of our apostolate or mission. We must study it every day. Calasanz is sure that if we study it every day, we will have some knowledge of God which is a science so great that it surpasses all human sciences, because the knowledge of God is to give us his love.

This process of self-knowledge makes us follow Jesus crucified who only knows how to Love. Every situation is a good opportunity to love. If we lower ourselves to know ourselves, we will encounter a series of psychological sufferings that we must consciously go through. There we meet the Crucified One. We find ourselves in relationship with the Presence that allows us to relate to every person, loving them in the most difficult circumstances of life: Pray the Lord, as I have told before, to give you in particular the true light to know the truth of the invisible things which God has prepared for those who (follow) him in his most holy passion, for through it they will come to the knowledge and love of those things. God usually gives this grace to the humble, as the prophet says: he gives knowledge to the little ones [Ps 118:130], and the more one lowers himself in the knowledge of himself, the more God will exalt him to the knowledge of the invisible and eternal things. May the Lord grant us perfect conformity to his most holy will and bless us all always[69].

69 EP 4392. Rome, August 12, 1646.

The path of our own knowledge, at first, we experience it as a struggle that later becomes easy and safe if we know how to live it according to the Spirit: The life of man [which is understood to be that of the servant of God, for others are men in name only], as the saint Job 7:1 says: “It is a militia or war on earth”. Why is it marveled that the Lord permits him so many interior and exterior adversities, if not so that, like a good soldier, he may fight valiantly, distrusting himself and trusting in the divine fervor and demanding it from Him continually with great importunity?[70]

70 EP 1165. Calasanz is quoting Job 7:1 interpreting it on how to win the inner battle.

If we lower ourselves to exercise humility every day and unite it to the study of the various subjects of the light of God and of the world[71] according to our vocation, we will feel the capacity to lower ourselves to educate and to be able to make an incredible profit in the small and poor neighbor. This is experienced through practice: May the Lord grant you all a great spirit of profound humility, which, the more profound it is, the higher and greater will be the virtue of knowledge and love of God and neighbor, and if you know how to combine this virtue with study, you will obtain an incredible benefit for your neighbor, as those who know how to do it will experience through practice, and I will help them with my daily prayers[72]. Try to educate good students in letters and spirit, and be sure that with the same measure you measure, you will be measured. This should awaken us to be very attentive and vigilant in all our actions, especially in helping our neighbor[73].

71 Mt 9.

72 EP 4557. Rome, 13 June 1648.

73 EP 2532.

It is necessary to first go through the whole formative process oneself in order to know how to help others. Calasanz quotes, in the above text, Mt 7:1-5 [1]: Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, you will be measured. How is it that you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, and do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say, Let myself take the speck out of your eye, having the beam in your own eye... Take the beam out of your own eye first, and then you shall see to take out the speck of your brother’s eye.

2.2.1.5.2. To act according to the inclination awakened by the guidance of the Holy Spirit that dwells in every human being.

We are men of the Spirit if we follow the path that the Spirit opens, if we perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God, if we see all creation, all reality with the eyes of the Holy Spirit. Calasanz, therefore, earnestly asks us to discover the guidance of the Holy Spirit that dwells in every human being who is teaching the humble to pray with ineffable groanings [Rom 8:26][74]. To stimulate the good of people is to discover and let oneself be led by the tastes of the Holy Spirit. All this is cooked by cultivating prayer.

74 Cfr CC 23. The synonyms that Calasanz uses when he speaks of ineffable groanings are the following: suggestions, inspirations, tastes of the Spirit, conversations of the interior man, impulses, consolations, particular feelings or graces, touches of the heart, touched by the Spirit, illumination, spiritual goods, interior consolations, fervor, devotion, spiritual gifts, light and strength, words that the Lord says in the heart, and holy thoughts.

2.2.1.5.3. How to identify the guide of the Holy Spirit that dwells in us?

As I have already said, everything begins with the impulse to know oneself, because the beginning of the spiritual life is our own knowledge[75]; everything begins with the impulse to recollect oneself and to be attentive to the conversations of the true Presence of the Lord[76] and to listen to the teaching of the Holy Spirit that touches our heart, in the various situations of life, to put them into practice by being compassionate and merciful. It is about being born from the inner inclination or guidance of the Spirit. It is about being born again[77].

75 EP 1339

76 Cu 949.

77 Cfr. CC 23. EP 131 y Jn 3,1-17 [8].

- By means of a gentle invitation: The voice of God is a soft and delicate breeze, if you are not attentive you cannot hear it[78]. It is the silence that speaks. It is the experience of the prophet Elijah in 1Kings 19:11-14 [12]: Yahweh said to Elijah, “Go out and stand on the mountain before Yahweh”. Then Yahweh passed by, and there was a hurricane so violent that it split the mountains and broke the rocks in its path. But Yahweh was not in the hurricane. After the hurricane, an earthquake. But Yahweh was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, fire. But Yahweh was not in the fire. After the fire, the whisper of a gentle breeze. When Elijah heard it, he sheathed his face with his mantle, went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice came to him and said, “Elijah, what are you doing here? I am burning with zeal for Yahweh...
78 Giner, p. 253.

- By means of an action that is given with evidence: This evidence indicates a direction of vocation in life that makes sense: I have found in Rome the best way to serve God by doing good to children. I will not leave it for anything of this world[79].
79 Berro. Anotazioni.

- By means of a word that God says in the heart: Calasanz told Fr Berro that with a single word that God said to his heart he suffered joyfully during fifteen years of great works that befell him[80].
80 Giner, p. 253.

- By means of graces or particular feelings that bring joy, light and strength. God gives himself to us with joy. The light tells us what to do and at the same time, the Spirit, gives us strength to do what he tells us. When the Spirit touches our heart, he gives us a positive reality that brings joy, light and strength and we gather it as a watershed to live it as a channel, as it is given to us, for free[81].
81 EP 1817. EP 424. EP 2164. EP 4120.

It is necessary, therefore, to learn to read the content of these interior motions, live and direct, in order to receive all the graces brought for the common good. These conversations and teachings are vital certainties and evidences[82] that are given to us from the dear place of the heart.

82 These are expressions of André Rochais when he refers to Being. Calasanz has a similar way of speaking: I certainly know [EP 1472]. It will be known by experience [EP 4416].

2.2.1.5.4. What does the guidance of the Holy Spirit teach us?

It teaches us:

- About our way of seeing reality: The poor must be educated according to their aptitude or talent.

- About our identity: It is about seeing in ourselves and in others the interior goodness, the gifts, the aptitudes or talents and to take each one according to their qualities to exercise our ministry. Knowing that all this is a participation in God’s way of being which has as its source the Presence of the Lord in us.

- About our vocation that is born from seeing how reality awakens the Spirit that touches our heart. For Calasanz, talent is our vocation. It is the capacity that pulls us to give our whole person to the service of evangelizing by educating. It speaks of our priestly and educational vocation and of our consecration to live the Lord’s way of life.

- About our bonds of fraternal life and love: The first thing in common life is the one who is Community, the Presence that loves each human being, the Spirit that makes community with each member of the Body, impelling us to educate the small and poor member. From there we act and speak.

- About our relationship with God the Father who loves us much more than we love ourselves. It also teaches us about our relationship as disciples of the school of the Master; about our relationship with Mary Mother of God, and about our relationship with Calasanz, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Teresa or saints of our devotion.

- About our common prayer: The Spirit teaches the humble to pray with ineffable groans. It is an affective and effective prayer. The Spirit touches our heart and joyfully gives us his light that tells us what to do and his strength to be able to do what he tells us. His little touch transforms us to be useful to our small and poor neighbor.

2.3. Learning to use the inner powers in the spiritual life and in study

2.3.1. Learning to use memory, intelligence, freedom and will in the spiritual life

For Calasanz, to be attentive to the inner inclination that the Holy Spirit awakens in oneself and in other people is to identify the live and direct Gospel. It is to be recollected and attentive, with the interior powers [our spirit], to the conversations of the inner man who is the true Presence of the Lord [The Spirit of Risen Jesus] from which is born, as from a source, the capacity to love things in order to share them and to love people unconditionally so that they can live their vocation and humanize the reality. The Spirit inclines us to this or that path in such a way that the whole person is taken up by the guidance of the Holy Spirit and becomes visible in fruits that are useful to small and poor people and towns: The religious must always have his interior powers recollected and attentive to the conversations of the interior man who is the true Presence of the Lord, from where all religious perfection is born as from a fountain[83]. Since the Holy Spirit has given you strength... let us help you in this holy inspiration[84]. When one is more favored by God with some particular graces or sentiments, so much the more should one humble oneself, so as not to lose them. They are lost with a little presumption. Let us recognize ourselves as useless instruments of the Lord because we rather hinder his works than help them[85].

83 Cu 949. I have written to love things and people. When we love we come out of our egocentrism. To love things is to share them, not to be attached to them.

84 EP 2164. Cu 573. EP 202.

85 EP 1817. Calasanz is quoting Lk 17:10: When you have done all that you were commanded to do, say: We are but poor servants; we have only done what we had to do.

Calasanz is quoting Lk 17, 10: When you have done all that you were commanded, say: We are but poor servants; we have only done what we had to do.

It is impressive what the humble Presence of the Holy Spirit does in every human being. It is the most beautiful relationship in the world because it allows us to relate to everyone. For Calasanz it is evident: As soon as you are introduced in the Spirit, I will send you wherever it may be, for then you will know how to help others[86].

86 EP 1424. In the Letter, Calasanz says that he will send him to Naples.

Therefore:

- The first thing, for Calasanz, is to discover, through particular graces or feelings, the guidance of the Holy Spirit in every person awakening, according to his vocation, an inclination to be useful to the small and poor neighbor or to respond to some need of the Church or society to make reality more human.

- The second thing is to learn to gather the inner powers so that they know how to be attentive to the conversations of the inner man who is the true Presence of the Lord or what is the same, the guidance of the Holy Spirit. From there is born, as from a source, the capacity to Love, the human being that the action of the Spirit is creating very similar to the human behavior of Jesus. The intelligence is attentive, the memory recalls the Presence of the Lord, freedom allows itself to be led by the tastes of the Spirit taking into account the whole person, and the will cooperates to put into practice, with joy, the light-force it has received. At the same time, intelligence must be developed, taking into account the different aptitudes of people, aptitudes that are given by nature or by God. From here is born a dialogue between the Letters [scientific research] and the Spirit [with the certainties and evidences brought by the light-force][87].
87 Here, although I follow Calasanz, I am also influenced by André Rochais, founder of PRH. Calasanz repeats in his letters: With practice you will experience with certainty what I say. This means that Calasanz is aware of a way of knowing based on the practice of living what the Gospel says. It is not so much a matter of speaking, but to bear witness behaving according to the guidance of the Spirit with the light and strength that his impulses bring. If one acts according to them, this practice brings certainties and evidences.

- The third thing is to learn to know the arts and deceptions of the passions, the greedy feelings that separate us, with the force of their first impulse, from the true Presence of the Lord or the Spirit of the Lord who dwells in us. Here we must know how to read, understand and discern the different states of our sensibility so that it may be cleansed and be able to see God who communicates by giving himself and making us capable of giving our life to the poor in need of education and evangelization.

- The fourth thing is to learn to give to the body according to its need, so that our senses may see with the eyes and tastes of the Spirit. In addition, we must rely on the body’s strength to act. Today we can say that we must discover the wisdom of the body[88].
88 It is an expression of André Rochais.

2.3.2. Harmonize the spiritual life with the study of science and teaching methodology

To live the Piarist vocation, it is necessary to develop the intelligence, with the necessary studies, to be ordained as a priest and to be prepared to be a competent educator. It is good to study, during initial and ongoing formation, having centers of interest[89]. Calasanz states that studies have to be united to prayer and to the experience of humility[90], which consists in lowering to know oneself because in this process of knowing oneself, God makes himself known as Love[91].

89 It is an expression of André Rochais.

90 CC 210. EP 4557.

91 EP 1339.

2.3.3. Self judgment and will

Sometimes the interior powers are driven by self-judgment and personal will[92]. These are the passions of the intelligence and of the will. For a long time, this reality has been understood as taking the contrary to the person to see how he reacts. But looking more slowly at the texts in which these expressions appear, we can deduce that self-judgment is a way of thinking different from the tastes of the Spirit. Calasanz says to a Provincial: I would like in Y.R. a little mortification of your self-judgment. I wanted to try you in this office so that if you come out well, I can confirm you in that or another province, since those who have such an office must have great patience to take advantage of the talent they see in each subject and also know how to remedy with fatherly affection the faults and imperfections, exhorting them in private on the way to conquer religious perfection[93].

92 CC 22.

93 EP 3721.

Our own will itself is the freedom connected with the passions to put them into practice: I would like that, considering your imperfections, to know your misery and, with profound humility, to ask God for forgiveness. Otherwise, he who lives his own will would usually die with it[94]. The own will is very difficult to be cured as Y.R. sees it there in some by your own experience[95].

94 Cfr. EP 3402.

95 EP 2256.

In this, Calasanz follows the Holy Fathers. Tomas Spidlik tells us in the retreat he gave to St. John Paul II on the Eastern Catholic monks: The root of the seven deadly sins is self-will. It is a bad thought to which we become so attached that we want to put it into practice at all costs. Reason does not see it, but we justify ourselves [this is self-judgment]. Self-will is constancy and steadfastness in evil. Only with humility can it be overthrown[96].

96 Spidlik, Tomas. El camino del Espíritu. Editorial PPC, pp. 75-76. This is the retreat given to John Paul II.

André Louf, Cistercian abbot, also confirms it: Self-will or own will. It is not about the will as a spiritual aptitude, source of freedom and of the gift of self. The renunciation of self-will wants to favor freedom, but in harmony with the authentic being of man. The wills are desires in a wild, in an indeterminate state, not polarized by love. These multiple attractions remain marked by the dynamism of sin. These desires swarm in an external zone, decentered from our deep being. These desires monopolize our freedom which, disoriented, becomes self-will.

There is the state of simplicity and the state of multiplicity of desires. Simplicity is the desire that inhabits us for God, a desire deposited in our heart by the Holy Spirit. The own-will is a bronze wall between man and God. We must learn to renounce all desires that keep us far from our depths and from God’s desire in us. Thus, God will appear in not clinging to anything[97].

97 Louf, André. La vida Espiritual. Ed. Carmelo.

The inner powers of intelligence, memory, freedom and will are used with their capacity to become aware and discern the inner and outer reality; with their capacity to decide according to the awareness of the voice of God who dwells in our heart, taking into account our whole person and the situation that is being lived; with their capacity for reflection in the necessary studies and finally with their mismatches with regard to naming the truth.

Therefore: It is about entering into communication with that God who dwells in oneself by putting myself at the disposal of his action that is impelling me to look with compassion and mercy on others. That is why what we really see in an experience of God are the faces of the most suffering human beings. To experience God is to put one’s eyes where God does, that is, on the most unprotected beings[98]. When God allows to be seen, we see him seeing the needy, the small and the poor.

98 Baena, Gustavo. Revelación. Teología y Vida Cristiana. Entrevistas. Publicaciones VID. Medellín. Colombia, p. 24.

2.4. Learning to identify the tendency of insatiable greed

When we let go of the tendency of the Spirit, we realize that there exists in us another egocentric tendency that inclines us to evil.

2.4.1. To learn to know the arts and deceptions of the inclination or greedy tendency of personal interest that separates us, in the first impulse, from the inclination or tendency of the guidance of the Holy Spirit

Calasanz tells us: I have seen the letters of Narni that manifest a great knowledge of our lousy inclination, and whoever knows it can easily guard against it[99]. That inclination or tendency manifests itself by means of the passions that are hidden in the interior of man that with difficulty are diagnosed and with greater difficulty are uprooted[100]. Passion has a great force in the first movements[101]. Passion blinds men[102]. It is true: He who is not content with the necessary things will never be content with the superfluous, because man’s greed is insatiable[103].

99 EP 770.

100 CC 16.

101 EP 2581.

102 EP 2183.

103 EP 1448.

The Spirit from within the human being is creating us as Jn 6:63 tells us: It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

Calasanz wants to know which way we follow: I would like to know if it is true that you follow the way of the Spirit or the way of the flesh[104]. The way of the flesh is not synonymous of body; it is the whole person: thinking, feeling and acting in disagreement with the way of the Spirit.

104 EP 2161. Calasanz is quoting Rom 8:9.

2.4.1.1. Calasanz biblical texts in order not to be carried away by the greedy tendency

Calasanz is centered with all his soul that we enter by the way that opens the suggestions of the Spirit. Therefore, in order to be guided by the Spirit, it is good to know the arts and deceptions of the insatiable greed that separates us from the voice of the Spirit[105].

105 EP 912 and EP 1488.

For 1Tm 6, 10: Greed is the root of all evils.

2.4.1.1.1. How is the covetous tendency for St. Paul the Apostle?

In Rom 1, 19-28 [21] we become aware that we have known God, or better, God makes himself known through the creation and humanity of Jesus. But we do not thank him, we do not follow his Presence that creates and loves: What can be known of God is in them manifest: God has manifested it to them. For the invisible nature of God from the creation of the world is revealed to the intellect through his works: His eternal power and divinity, so that they are inexcusable; for when they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor gave thanks to Him, but became confused in their reasoning, and their foolish heart was darkened; boasting that they were wise, they became fools... Therefore, God gave them over to the lusts of their heart... he gave them over to vile passions...And because they were not careful to keep the true knowledge of God, God gave them over to their foolish mind, that they might do which is not fitting.

The human behavior that Calasanz discovers from this biblical quotation: In the past I have been very ungrateful for so many benefits that God has given me[106].

106 EP 1149.

That is why in Rom 7:14-20 [18] we realize that we are sold to the power of sin. We know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under the power of sin. Really, I do not understand myself. For I do not do what I want to do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the Law that it is good; in reality it is no longer I who work, but sin that dwells in me. For I know well that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; indeed, to desire what is good is within my reach, but not to do it, since I do not do the good that I want, but I do the evil that I do not want. And if I do what I do not want to do, it is not I who does it, but sin that dwells in me... Woe is me! Who will deliver me from this flesh that leads me to death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

The human behavior that Calasanz discovers: To humble oneself in the presence of God is to confess that one has no good in oneself, nor aptitude for good things without his grace[107].

107 EP 1149.

For the Apostle St. Paul, sin ,in the singular, is a force, a power, that dwells within man and impels him without control to possess and to hold on to everything he finds, including his self, above others. If this power encounters resistance, it unleashes violence, oppression and murder of his brothers. It is cured only by the man who is born from within, who is impelled by the Holy Spirit who dwells in the human being[108].

108 Baena, Gustavo. Course on St. Paul at the Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá. Personal notes.

2.4.1.1.2. We can choose the tendency of the Spirit and we can understand the arts and deceptions of the tendency of only personal interest as Rom 8, 2-12 affirms.

We can follow what Rom 8:2-4 says: The law of the Spirit that gives life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what was impossible to the law, being reduced to impotence by the flesh, God, having sent his own Son in sin-like flesh, and in order to sin, condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who follow a conduct, not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit[109].

109 Rom 8:2-12 Paul speaks here of sin, in the singular, as the covetous tendency of self-interest, that is, the tendency of the flesh. The Spirit of Christ by dwelling in us frees us from the tendency of the flesh as it happened in Jesus who condemned sin in the flesh, or as the letter to the Ephesians 2, 16 says, giving in Himself death to Enmity, killed hatred in Himself. Through him we all have free access to the Father in one Spirit.

There are two tendencies in us: One, the tendency of the Spirit that inclines us to serve our neighbor by becoming aware of what the same Spirit has given us. It makes us in the image and likeness of the humanity of Jesus. The other tendency is that of the flesh that acts separated from the Spirit and closes us in ourselves; there is only our personal interest, it tends to extinguish the Spirit. Calasanz tells us: The actions of pride that are born of pride impede the grace that should be sought with great humility[110]. We must learn to choose between following a conduct that is born of the Spirit or choosing a conduct that is born of the greedy tendency. Jesus, throughout his life and in his passion, taking on our humanity lived united to the anointing of the Spirit, to the Love of the Father. He was never guided by the tendency of the flesh, which manifests itself in the form of temptations. Calasanz gives great importance to ask for the help of the guardian angel in temptations and to speak about them in order to distinguish the two tendencies in us and to know how to choose the tendency of the Spirit: The Master should often and prudently try to dialogue with the novices about the temptations that most afflict them; he will be able to provide, in this way, the necessary remedy. He should be attentive to those whom he discovers to be not very faithful in this matter, because most of the time they tend to deceive themselves[111].

110 EP 2445.

111 CC 26.

The Apostle St. Paul describes what it is to live according to the greedy tendency of the flesh in Rom 8:5-12: Indeed, those who live according to the flesh, lust after the flesh... The tendencies of the flesh are death... they do not submit to the law of God, nor even can they; so those who live according to the flesh cannot please God. But you do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, for the Spirit of God dwells in you... So then, my brethren, we are not debtors to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh you will die.

In Gal 5:16-24 [17.19] the Apostle Paul makes us understand how the covetous tendency works in order to understand, by contrast, all its arts and deceptions and to be able to choose the tendency of the Spirit: Proceed according to the Spirit, and give no satisfaction to the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh has lusts contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit contrary to the flesh, as they are so contrary to each other, that you do not do the things that you would... The works of the flesh are known: Fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, discord, jealousy, wrath, ambition, divisions, dissensions, rivalries, drunkenness, carousing and the like, concerning which I forewarn you, as I forewarned already, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God... For those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts. If we live by the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. Let us not be conceited, provoking one another and envying one another.

We can choose, as Sirach 25:2 states, between pride and humility. Calasanz writes about: God hates[112] the proud poor man. The word “hate” in the Bible is a sign that one gives first place to something else. It is not a emotion in this case. Three types of people my soul detests, and their conduct fills me with indignation: the proud poor, the rich liar, and the dirty and foolish old man.

112 In Luke, Jesus tells us that he is a friend of sinners and publicans. [Lk 7:34].

In life, as Wisdom 3:4 tells us: There is a time to weep and a time to laugh.

2.4.1.2. What does Calasanz understand by the tendency of insatiable greed?[113]

113 It is an expression of Calasanz in EP 1488: The greed of man is insatiable. Moreover, he writes about the inclination to evil, about our lousy inclination. [EP 770]. On an effective remedy, preventive and curative of evil. [MT 9]. On a feeling contrary to the Spirit. [EP 2498]. On his feeling under species of good deceives him. [EP 2394]. True sentiments bring as their content a resemblance to the way of being of the person of Jesus.

It is the same as what the Apostle St. Paul and St. John understand about the tendency of the flesh, or the tendency of sin in the singular, or the tendency of only personal interest, without taking into account the needs of others. The inclination to evil, the cravings, the greedy tendency, the tendency of the flesh, is not synonymous with the body; it is the whole person deciding apart from the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Calasanz tells us in unison with the Apostle St. Paul in Rom 8:9: I would like to know if it is true that you follow the way of the Spirit or the way of the flesh[114] .

114 EP 2161.

To live disconnected from the guidance of the Holy Spirit is to live, as the Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians, like animals: If you do not become spiritual, you will walk like animals, since men of sense, whom St. Paul calls animals, do not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God[115].

115 EP 2581.

Calasanz quotes 1 Cor 2:14: Man, naturally does not grasp the things of the Spirit of God; they are foolishness for him. And he cannot know them because they can be judged only spiritually.

Finally, he quotes the letter to the Galatians 5:17: It is better to make an effort now that one can work, even if the flesh opposes the Spirit, to do all that one can and to help the laity[116]. It is necessary to give to the spirit according to its need and to the body also according to its need and no more to the body because it kicks the spirit and becomes, as St. Paul says: animal man[117].

116 EP 2489.

117 EP 2148. The animal man of St. Paul I believe refers to 1 Cor 2:14: Man, naturally does not grasp the things of the Spirit of God; they are foolishness to him. And he cannot know them, for they can be judged only spiritually

2.4.1.3. For Calasanz the twisted tendency is manifested in the form of temptations

It is the whole person when he allows himself to be guided:

- By the insatiable greed: He who is not satisfied with the necessary things, will never be satisfied with the superfluous ones, because the greed of the man is insatiable[118].
118 EP 1488.

- By our own judgments which are ways of thinking different from the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or by our own will which is the will connected with the passions to carry them into practice. It is an obstinacy in evil[119].
119 CC 22. EP 3402.

- Because of the musings. The opposite would be according to Calasanz: to discover all the thoughts and musings that he feels within himself in order to give him the necessary remedy. If this charitable exercise lasted for two or three continuous months, I am sure that he would mend his ways, and that sorrow for having offended God and the desire to do penance for his sins would enter his heart[120].
120 EP 3055.

- Because of the absurdities that pass through his imagination from morning to evening[121].
121 EP 912.

- Because of the covetous feelings of the passions, which are feelings of separation from God, in their first impulse, in their first movement[122].
122 EP 912.

- Because of imaginary quietude: And since you have already gone so far in the temptation to go to Spain or to change Religion for greater imaginary quietude, which God knows if you will find it real, I do not know what to tell you because you would not give me credit either; I only tell you that I will pray and I will truly beg Our Lord to give you light to succeed because it is a matter of “summa rerum” which is the vocation; I will write two words about this to the Father Provincial who has authority for what will be necessary. May Our Lord make you a saint as I wish for myself[123].
123 EP 1236

- From the greed of the senses or sensuality. We can use the senses as they are or from the tendency of greed: then we get attached to things, food, money, people; dominating or possessing, we get attached to the body when we give it more than it needs.

- Finally, attachment to oneself that seeks only one’s personal interest, seeking power or various ambitions[124].
124 EP 1488. EP 586. CC 34. EP 2332. EP 1517.EP 2630. Calasanz is very clear: he wants us to find out if we are moved by God or by the passions, by the good inclination or by the inclination to evil, by attachment to things or by attachment to God. He invites us to distinguish in order to be able to choose because the good inclination leads us to life and the crooked inclination leads us to death. Finally, what motivates me to act? In action it is evident that there is often a mixture of the two tendencies. Which one in fact predominates? Thus, little by little we adjust ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

- Here the neighbor does not appear, and if he appears, it is to harm him. We do not love. The cloud of passions hides the light of the sun and they are like high walls that stop the clarity of the Spirit[125].
125 Melloni, Javier. Los caminos del corazón. Sal Terrae, p. 33.

2.4.1.4. The biblical texts touch the heart of Calasanz to prevent and cure evil

How to prevent? The purpose of all education was to prevent evil. There are the regulations he wrote, and how he accompanied children and young people to their homes. How he spoke truthfully to the children and not by shouting. How in the classes the children who knew more helped those who knew less. How he invited children to express their inner feeling instead of being punished. The whole atmosphere of invoking the Holy Spirit at the beginning of the classes, the practice of the Continuous Prayer, the sacramental experience, learning the holy fear of God... The selection of the educators. All the main efforts of Calasanz were aimed at preventing and curing evil as we shall see in the chapter of our shared mission. Here, I focus on how to cure evil because it is less known.

How to heal?

Through spiritual accompaniment or the spiritual direction. Expressing all our inner feelings until we find the place of peace where the Holy Spirit acts: Try to negotiate and be at peace with God on whom all our good depends. To do this well, the only remedy is to communicate to the Superior all your inner feeling, so that the enemy cannot defeat you in anything. If you work in this way, you will achieve great peace, which is a great treasure. I will not cease to ask the Lord to hold you in his pious hand. Do not fail to act according to my advice, for I am sure that you will do well, and you must do so, because our life is short. May the Lord bless us all[126]. St. John of the Cross advises those who guide souls: Let such as these who guide souls warn and consider that the principal agent and guide and mover of souls in this business are not they, but the Holy Spirit who never loses care of them and that they are only instruments to straighten them in perfection by the faith and law of God, according to the spirit that God is giving... And so, all their care is not to accommodate to their own way and condition, but to see if they know where God is leading them, and if they do not know, let them leave them and do not disturb them[127].

126 EP 736.

127 St. John of the Cross. Living Flame of Love 3,46. Let us remember his poetry: With no other light and guide but that which burned in the heart.

- By means of Confession: Expressing all the reflections that he feels in his interior until the clarity of conversion is found: I have the feeling that the remedy for the brother that can be used is that, a confessor who has charity should confess him twice a week and visit him often, inducing him to discover all the thoughts and reflections that he feels in his interior, giving him the necessary remedy. If this charitable exercise lasted two or three continuous months, I am sure that he would mend his ways and the sorrow for having offended God and the desire to do penance for his sins would enter his heart[128].
128 EP 3055. At this moment the Church distinguishes between spiritual accompaniment, whose objective is to see which interior tendencies are of God, and psychological accompaniment, whose objective is to identify the best of the person and to make conscious the unconscious of his personal history until he learns to manage it or cure it according to the different investigations. Another different reality is confession, the objective of which starts in the separation from the Love of God and neighbor that we have lived, to receive the Lord’s forgiveness. In Calasanz’ time all this was united, that is why it produced so much fruit: I am sure it will go well... I am sure he would make amends.

It is noticeable that when Calasanz says I am sure that he would make amends, he himself has put into practice, on a daily basis, the spiritual accompaniment or the sacrament of reconciliation or conversion. What Calasanz really intends is the transformation of the person, change of life, practice of the suggestions of the Spirit that invites us to look at people to discover in them God acting and to take them where God leads them. Moreover, when we see people suffering, the compassionate impulse of the Spirit awakens in us to do something for them, full of mercy and unconditional service.

From the relationship that God has with us works and more works should be born, as St. Teresa used to say: O my sisters, how forgotten must her rest be, and how little honor must be given to her, and how far from wanting to be held in anything, the soul where the Lord is so particularly! For if she is very much with Him, as is right, she should remember little of herself; all her memory is lost in how best to please Him and in what she has for Him. This is what prayer is for, my daughters; this is what this spiritual marriage is for, that works, works be always born[129]. In this way we are useful to our small and poor neighbor.

129 Teresa of Avila. Seventh Mansion c. 4, 6-9.

The most important thing for the Apostle James in James 1:22,25 is to practice the Word: Put the Word into practice and do not limit yourselves to listening to it, deceiving yourselves. He who concentrates on the study of the perfect law [that which makes free] and is constant, not as a forgetful listener, but to put it into practice, will find happiness in practicing it.

Calasanz repeats in his letters: This means that sentence so little understood and much less practiced... Learn this practice and try to arrive at this great simplicity that then you will find true that sentence that says...[130].

130 EP 912. The full text reads: Whoever arrives at this practice of knowing how to maintain himself like a two-year-old child, who unaided falls many times, will always distrust himself and will always invoke the help of God. And this means that sentence so little understood and much less practiced: “Unless you become as little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” [Mt 18:3]. Learn this practice and strive to attain this great simplicity, and then you will find true that sentence that says: “He is intimate with the simple” [Prov 3:32].

Really if we enter by this formative process, from great sinners usually God makes great servants of his[131]; that is to say, he makes us holy men, men of God, men servants of God, men of Spirit that look where God looks, to the small and the poor, as the humanity of our Master, blessed Christ our Lord, revealed to us.

131 EP 2167. Roma, 31 December 1633.

2.4.1.5. Other Calasanzian biblical texts to discern the tastes of the Spirit from the greedy tastes.

Calasanz in a thousand ways invites us to enter by the way that leads to life. That path is opened by the guidance of the Holy Spirit and asks us to let go of the spacious path that leads to perdition. I return here to other texts that help us to discern which tendency we are moving towards in order to choose the impulses of the Spirit.

Mt 7:13-14 tells us that there is a choice between two roads: Wide is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who walk it. Narrow is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it. To find it and walk on it, it is necessary to renounce one’s own judgment and will[132].

132 EP 1360. EP 2300. EP 2933. EP 3673. EP 3907. EP 3913. EP 4121. EP 4217.

A Father is invited to go to Rome to communicate to him the Spirit that the Lord has given him and to learn the narrow way that leads to heaven: I am writing a letter to Father John Luke and in it I tell him, with fatherly affection, how much I wish to communicate to him with charity the Spirit the Lord has given me; and I exhort you with all possible affection to come to Rome and stay with me for some time, to learn the narrow way that leads to heaven, which, once learned, becomes easy and safe. Let us wait to see what he answers because I have not written to him at anyone’s request, but on my own impulse for his true good[133].

133 EP 3913, Rome, 8 February 1642.

In Jn 3:1-21 [8] Jesus tells us that we must learn to listen to the voice of God, which is like the wind. We must choose and put into practice the impulses of the Spirit. Thus, we are born again. Every age is a good time to be born of the Spirit: There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a Jewish magistrate. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you have come as a teacher from God, for no one can do the signs that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”. Nicodemus said to him, “How can one be born when he is old, and can he enter again into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born again. The wind blows where it wills, and you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit... God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world... Everyone who does evil hates the light and does not go to the light, so that his works may not be censured, but he who does the truth goes to the light, so that it may be clear that his works are done according to God. But he who works the truth goes to the light, so that it may be made manifest that his works are done according to God.

Thus, the encounter of Jesus with Nicodemus touches Calasanz. The voice of God is the voice of the Spirit, which comes and goes, touches the heart and passes, one does not know from where it comes or when it blows; it is important, therefore, to be always alert so that it does not come suddenly and go away without fruit[134]. One can be born again at any age.

134 EP 131. Calasanz quotes Jn 3:8.

The voice of the Spirit is like the wind, we do not see it and at the same time it makes itself felt. God is invisible and at the same time becomes visible. We notice the effects of the action of the Spirit, the action of the Trinity that dwells in us, transforming us very similar to the humanity of Jesus (as Fr. Baena says), by means of:

- A soft sensation.

- Evidence to act.

- A word that the Lord says in the heart.

- Graces or particular feelings.

All these little touches bring:

- Joy because the Lord gives everything with joy.

- Light because they tell us what to do.

- Strength of love to do it.

God is creative action full of love without a spark of self-interest, without a spark of sin. He is in a state of gift. The expression that Calasanz quotes most often when he names God is God gives. When we feel in a state of gift, loving the small and poor neighbor, there we are connected with the tastes of the Spirit, we follow God’s way of being. We only notice the effects of his action in order to live it through obedience or through love of neighbor[135].

135 Here I have in the background chapter 5 of the Foundations of Teresa of Avila, where we are told that the prayer of the corners must be left aside when there is obedience and love of neighbor involved. We must learn to discern when to act and when to pray personally.

In Mt 25:14-30 God shares with us his way of being. We need to be aware of all that God gives us in order to give it as it is given to us, as it is needed: It is also like a man who, when he went away, called his servants and entrusted his property to them: to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his ability; and he went away. Immediately, he who had received five talents traded with them and gained five talents more. The one who had received two talents gained two talents. But he who had received one went away, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. And after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them...He who had received one talent also came and said, ‘Lord, I know that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter. Therefore, I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Here is your talent.

Calasanz uses this parable to speak of all that God gives us: inner goodness, gifts, qualities, capacities, abilities, aptitudes and talents. We have to develop all that he gives us. We cannot hide them out of fear. Calasanz places people according to their talents. He distinguishes between aptitudes, which are diverse capacities, and talents, which are the capacity that pulls the whole person and manifests the vocation he has as a state of life and profession. All this is done freely by the Spirit of the Lord. For example: when the cleric brothers ask to be priests, Calasanz turns to the parable of Matthew to identify if they are apt or suitable and not to reject the divine grace by hiding on earth the talents of the Lord depriving our religion of this increase of priests[136].

136 Giner. Calasanz, teacher and founder. BAC 1998, p. 868. On another occasion, when he gives obedience, he says: Since God gives the Spirit to whom he wills and we have to employ those who are apt in something, you will give Brother Martin the letter that is included in the present letter. [EP 2559].

It is necessary not to lose the experience of the relationship as a child as Mt 18:1-10 [3.10] and Prov 3:32 tell us. We cannot live without shaking hands with God as a little child does: At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said to him, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? He called a little child, put him in their midst and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in my name receives me. Whoever scandalizes one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him to have one of those millstones hung around his neck, and to be cast into the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of scandals! Scandals are bound to come, but woe to the man through whom the scandal comes! If, therefore, your hand or foot is an occasion of sin, cut it off and cast it from you; it is better for you to enter into life maimed or lame than, with both hands or both feet, to be cast into eternal fire. And if your eye is an occasion of sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; it is better for you to enter into life with one eye than with both eyes to be cast into the hell of fire. Beware of despising one of these little ones; for I tell you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

When Calasanz speaks to us of the multiplicity of desires of the passions, he invites us to be simple as children who know how to look at and shake hands with God. To be simple is a question of where we look or where we place our attention. To be a child is to look at God and not at the multiplicity of passions or greedy desires: If you consider the absurdities that pass through your imagination from morning to evening, when you should always be in the presence of God, you will see that you do not know how to take two steps without falling, because you have stopped looking at God to look at the creature with your thoughts or imagination. Whoever arrives at this practice of knowing how to keep himself like a two-year-old child, who falls many times without help, will always distrust himself and will always invoke the help of God. And this means that sentence so little understood and much less practiced: If you do not become like a child, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Learn this practice and try to reach this great simplicity and then you will find true that sentence that says: “his intimacy is with the simple”.

In my way of speaking, passions or greedy feelings in their first impulse separate us from looking at God and our neighbor. Calasanz says that passion has a great force in the first movements and in the letter that I have quoted above he adds: You have stopped looking at God to look with the thought or imagination at the creature[137]. This is why it is necessary to know the arts and deceptions of the passions. When these feelings appear, we must stop and realize that they warn us that we expect or value something else. From there we can communicate in a different way[138]. His intimacy is really with the simple[139].

137 EP 2581 and EP 912.

138 I have in the background Marshall Rosenberg’s “Comunicación no violenta”. Urano ed. I highly recommend reading it.

139 Prov 3:32.

We are invited to follow what the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thess 4:3-10 [3] God wants to make us holy by relating to our brothers and sisters as God has taught us to love them: For this is the will of God: your sanctification. That you turn away from fornication, that every one of you know how to possess his body in holiness and honor, and not be ruled by passion, as the Gentiles do, who know not God. Let no man trespass against his brother, nor take advantage of him in this matter...for God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness. He therefore who despises this, despises not man, but God, who gives you the gift of his Holy Spirit. As for mutual love, you do not need me to write to you, for you have been instructed by God to love one another. And you practice it well with the brethren.

God’s will is our sanctification. We have been given the Holy Spirit to know how to relate to one another and to our brothers and sisters, learning from God how to love one another. The Spirit truly dwells in us and makes us fraternal because we have his Life and his Love in common.

Every day, as Psalm 19:2-5 [2] affirms, we can discover God’s will. The heavens tell the glory of God, the firmament announces the work of his hands. Day to day he communicates his message, night to night he passes on the news. Without speech and without words, and without a voice that can be heard, his proclamation resounds throughout the earth, his words to the ends of the earth.

2.5. Learning to give to the body according to its needs

In the spiritual life it is very important to take into account the body, with its needs. At the same time, we have to realize that the action of the Holy Spirit touches our heart and it is the body that makes visible the human behavior that he gives us. It is necessary to consult the forces of the body to act. Otherwise, we can fall into a disordered activism. Therefore, we must learn:

- to use the senses[140]
140 Since Calasanz talks so much about attention, I began to read about the capacity that all human beings have to pay attention to the present, which is presence and gift. The way Mindfulness uses the senses can help you a lot to feel the reality from the senses. For example: It is great to pay attention to the breath and realize all that you feel when you contemplate it as it is. The breath breathes by itself. Notice everything you feel when you pay attention to it. Reading books on Mindfulness I have discovered how the creator breathed into the human being and gave him the breath of life as it says in Gen 2, 7: Then Yahweh God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. Jesus also, alive and shining, breathed into his disciples and gave them the Holy Spirit, his love, able to forgive. You can find it in Jn 20:20-23: The disciples were glad to see the Lord. Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you”. When he had said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit, whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; whose sins you retain, they are retained. I am becoming accustomed to realize that as I breathe in I receive the life of the creator with all that life brings, adverse or prosperous; and as I breathe out I send to all people and the whole universe the love that Jesus has given me, beginning with me. Try it. You can practice it. You can use all the senses with mindfulness. For this purpose, I recommend the book by Kabat-Zinn Jon, Mindfulness for beginners. Ed. Kairos. 2013. Includes CD with guided meditations. There is a whole world to discover, in this sense, as St. John of the Cross says: The soul likes to be alone with loving attention to God without particular consideration in interior peace and stillness and rest and without acts or exercises of the powers of memory, understanding and will, at least discursive ones, which is to go from one to the other; but only with loving attention that we say without particular intelligence and without understanding about what.

- to respond to the needs of the body

- to let the body make visible the invisible suggestions of the Spirit who inclines us to educate the small and poor neighbor.

Today we know that the body needs to move by means of appropriate exercises. It is curious the following sentence of Calasanz: You could study together with the brother... and sometimes to go for a walk as a necessary exercise for health[141].

141 EP 1306.

We know that the body is wise, its well-being is a sign of health and its pains can be symptoms of physical illness or symptoms of psychosomatic realities. It is necessary to learn from this wisdom.

2.5.1. Biblical texts that Calasanz quotes on the body

Everything that Jesus tells us in Mt 11:30 is bearable because the yoke of God is gentle for those who live it according to the tastes of the Spirit. If we live according to the Spirit and not according to the senses when they are carried away by greed, we will realize that the yoke of Jesus is gentle and his burden light. We must even live the tastes of the Spirit without holding anything back because the impulses of the Spirit are in a state of gift: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

1 Cor 2:14 warns us to remain united to him who is united in us. If we let go of this union, the animal man appears: Man, naturally does not grasp the things of the Spirit of God; they are foolishness to him. And he cannot know them because they are judged only spiritually.

How important is the suggestion of James 1:26-27 [26] not to deceive the heart with the tongue: If anyone thinks he is a religious, but does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, his religion is vain. Pure and blameless religion before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their tribulation and to keep oneself uncontaminated from the world.

We have to learn to manage our judgments against others and to visit and respect them with affection. There must be coherence between the heart and the tongue. Calasanz speaks of gossiping groups. We gather as a group to talk about the one who is not present: Do not murmur neither of those at home nor of those outside. Avoid anything that reveals disrespect[142]. And in a letter, he adds: It is said that it is the language of God when the religious speak of mortification, humility, observance of the rules, contempt for the world and its vanities. In the same way, it is said that it is the language of the devil to speak of relaxation, pastimes, pleasures, self-esteem, quarrels, murmurings and the justification of one’s own faults. Where the first language is, God reigns; and where the second language is, the devil reigns[143].

142 EP 168.

143 EP 196.

Eph 5:15-20 [18] invites us not to fill ourselves with wine but with the Spirit, which is what really fills us because we always receive to give: Take heed how you live; do not be foolish, but wise, making the most of the occasion, for the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what is the will of the Lord. Be not drunk with wine, which is a cause of debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit. Recite to one another psalms and hymns and inspired songs. Sing and chant in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2.5.2. The way in which the previous texts touch the heart of Calasanz

It consists in the practice of not being guided by the tastes of the senses, when we use them guided by greed, but in the practice of living them as they are from the tastes of the Spirit. Actually, for Calasanz it is evident that the smallest taste of the Spirit surpasses all the pleasures of the senses[144]. Therefore, the tastes of the Spirit come first and from there the tastes of the senses are transformed. It is the person who decides to use the senses, letting himself be carried away by greed or letting the senses learn to look, taste, savor, rest, listen, smell, intuit and express with words and with the body the tenderness that we carry in our heart. We eat consciously in order to be healthy and to be able to serve; we sleep to rest and to replenish our strength, in order to be able to help our neighbor; we look consciously to see reality as it is in detail without labeling it, to see the needs of people, and to respond to them according to our abilities; we look to see the goodness in each person, and to express our admiration for them with affection; to respond to the pain of each human being because compassion and mercy are awakened in us. Things are loved to be shared, not accumulated. The senses in themselves are what they are and must be lived as they are with their capacity for presence and gift, without more. Calasanz tells us: Little by little you should deprive yourself of the [greedy] tastes of the senses and penetrate into the tastes of the Spirit. Then you would find this way of life easy, because the yoke of God is soft for those who want to live it according to the Spirit[145].

144 EP 1894.

145 EP 1894.

In a general way Calasanz tells us: The religious should give to the spirit according to his need and to the body also according to its need and no more to the body, because it kicks the spirit and becomes, as St. Paul says: “an animal man”[146]. As for the Father... if he does not become spiritual, he will walk like the animals, since the men of the [greedy] sense, whom St. Paul calls animals, do not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God[147]. Man is an animal by choice and it does not correspond to his nature. This does not mean that Calasanz does not value the behavior of animals: he marvels at the docility of donkeys. He had two to move around Rome. This experience made him say in his Constitutions on obedience: Adopt an attitude pleasing to God, allowing yourselves to be led and brought by his Providence through the Superiors; like the little donkey that Christ rode on Palm Sunday, which allowed itself to be led and directed everywhere[148].

146 Cu 968.

147 EP 2581.

148 CC 108

He takes exquisite care of the sick as we will see in the chapter on community life. Here I add: Try to stay healthy so as to help the schoolchildren as best you can[149]. I hope that the Lord will soon give you health, so that you can help in the schools, for the benefit of the poor children and the glory of his divine Majesty[150].

149 EP 164.

150 EP 519.

It is necessary to take into account the strength of the body in order to act: For some days I have had a slight fever and a cold, but now I am beginning to feel better, thanks be to God; in a few days I hope to have enough strength to go there[151]. The local Superior will be able to grant a day of physical and spiritual recreation. Only and exclusively to replenish physical and spiritual strength, they can go to some beach if the coast is near, or to another place if it is not[152].

151 EP 1764. Calasanz uses the word force for the body: forces of the body. For the passions: passion in the first movements is strong but it blinds men. And finally, he uses the word force for the inclination that awakens the Holy Spirit who gives us light and strength.

152 Lecea, Jesús María. Statements on our Constitutions, Rules and Common Rites. Analecta Calasanctiana n. 50. 1983. N. 134, p. 603. Written by Calasanz in 1637.

2.6. Criteria for discerning the two tendencies

Although one can discern from where one makes the decision, it is, above all, in human behavior where we can notice the mixture of our tendencies. It is good to ask ourselves which one predominates in practice, because according to:

Mt 7:16 the good tree bears good fruit. The tree is known by its fruits. Every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produces good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. By their fruits ye shall know them[153].

153 In the older Fathers I would like a little more humility, for if they had it, the Lord would give them greater light and would exalt them to supernatural things. The older a religious is in Religion, the more he is obliged to be humbler, since it is supposed that in it he is practicing virtue; and the true meaning of all this is in what the Lord said: “by their fruits you will know them” (Mt 7:16), the work praises the master. EP 2385.

Calasanz tells us: We will see what spirit these young people have. Let YR observe their behavior and tell me your opinion[154]. You would do well to induce the brother to do in the future for the love of God what he did in the past out of self-interest[155]. It is clear that he is moved only by the love of God[156]. It is clear that he does it only for the love of God without expecting any temporal reward[157]. Had they love of God, they would manifest it by true acts of humility in which this love is made manifest[158]. The religious is more obliged to gain in humility the longer he has been in the congregation, where it is presupposed that he is practicing virtue. The true meaning of this is in what the Lord said: “By their fruits you will know them “[159].

154 EP 559 and EP 161.

155 EP 437.

156 EP 374.

157 EP 591.

158 EP 313.

159 EP 2385

Truly, according to Rev 14:13, the works accompany us: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. From now on, yes,” says the Spirit, “let them rest from their labors, for their works accompany them.

We can recognize our sin and learn from our self-centered behaviors.

Learning from our sin for the next time is fundamental as Jesus tells us in Lk 18:9-14 [14]: To some who considered themselves righteous and despised others, he told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray; one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed inwardly in this way: ‘O God! I thank you that I am not like other men, rapacious, unjust, adulterous, nor like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all my earnings. But the publican, standing at a distance, dared not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner!” I tell you, this one went down to his house justified, and that one was not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled; and he who humbles himself will be exalted. In the same way we can pray with Psalm 50 saying: Have mercy on me a sinner: Be merciful to me, my God, for your goodness; by your great compassion blot out my guilt; wash away my iniquity, cleanse me from my sin...

For Prov 3:34 and James 4:6. God gives his grace to the humble: God resists the proud and gives his grace to the humble.

Calasanz affirms: Actions born of pride impede grace, which should be sought with great humility[160]. Let all strive to practice the virtue of holy humility if they want to attain true charity and holy love of God and to understand with true foundation the things of the Spirit. This is what I can think of for now[161].

160 Cu 1054.

161 EP 3761.

God through the prophets and above all through his beloved Son has told us that he is not focused on punishing us, but that he overlooks our sin so that we can reconnect with the Presence that loves us and thus to change our behavior. Calasanz quotes Ezekiel; for my part I add two quotes from the letters of St. Paul the Apostle that go along the same lines and one from the Gospel of St. Matthew.

According to Ezek 33:11 the Lord seeks our conversion: I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his ways and live. And Calasanz, quoting St. Augustine: From great sinners God usually makes great servants of his[162].

162 EP 2167. Rome, 31 December 1633

The Apostle St. Paul in Rom 3:21-26 tells us that Jesus passes over our sins so that we can go on to connect with him, who never disconnects himself from us: But now, independently of the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, attested by the law and the prophets; the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, for all who believe - for there is no difference. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God - and are justified by the gift of his grace, by virtue of the redemption accomplished in Christ Jesus, whom God exhibited as an instrument of propitiation by his own blood, through faith, to show his justice. He passed over the sins committed previously, in the time of God’s patience, in order to show his righteousness in the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of those who believe in Jesus.

Of the same experience 2 Cor 5:19 speaks: For in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting men’s trespasses against them, but putting the word of reconciliation on our lips.

Therefore, according to Mt 5:8 they are: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

At this moment, today, we can choose because for: 1Cor 7, 29 and Mt 24, 50 life is short, therefore it is necessary to choose between the two tendencies. Time is short[163]. Your life is short and your hour uncertain[164].

163 1 Cor 7:29. From so much quoting Calasanz in his letters, seeing the date in which he writes, I have had the sensation of time. The time is really short.

164 Mt 24:50 The Lord will come to that servant on a day he does not expect and at a time he does not know.

And finally, Prov 16:32 affirms: A patient man is better than a brave man, and it is better to control oneself than to conquer cities. As Calasanz writes: One must know how to govern oneself[165].

165 EP 237.

This is the formative process that Calasanz wishes for all his religious and educators. To be wise in the interior school. Are you not struck by so many biblical texts cited by Calasanz to follow the way of the Spirit?

Those of us who have spent so much time in formation realize what he says about himself, about the formators, and about the novices: Blessed God will give you the strength to obtain results, if not in all, at least in some. Perhaps these will be the most despised by men and the most chosen in the eyes of God[166]. I am fully aware that because of my great offenses against God, the previous fathers have not obtained the benefit I had hoped for[167]. For the time being, let YR do the best you can, until God in his mercy deigns to shine upon us a ray of light that will enlighten us in his holy service[168]. It is fitting for the novices that they be brought up in the spirit... that they not become lax in spirit[169]. I never cease to love people well, even if their condition is not suitable for religion[170]. By the grace of the Lord, I do not lose my love for people[171]. May Our Lord make you holy as I desire for myself[172].

166 EP 2923.

167 EP 2805.

168 EP 4110.

169 EP 1495 y EP 934

170 EP 201.

171 EP 206.

172 EP 1236.

2.7. How is the Piarist educator who goes through the formative process of being wise in the interior school

Calasanz tells us in the Memorandum to Cardinal Tonti: For the reform of society, men of apostolic life are needed, very poor and very simple, [I think we should add very humble] prophesied by St. Vincent Ferrer, prophesy interpreted and referred to these religious by a man of holy and portentous life in the beginnings of this institute[173].

173 MT 26. Cfr. Calasanz´ Intuitions…. Luis Padilla López, Sch.P, p. 34-38.

Here, I connect the first chapter with the second one. For Calasanz only men of God of apostolic life, very poor, very simple and very humble can transform the Church and society in a more just and fraternal way, according to the vocation that God has given them.

2.7.1. Men of God

St. Peter is aware in 1Pet 2, 16 that we can act as servants of God: To act as free men, and not as those who make freedom a pretext for evil, but as servants of God.

As St. Athanasius speaks of Men of God and the Latin Vita Pachomii translates the term by servant of God[174], we can say that we are servants of God or men of God who live from the endearing place of the heart in the adverse as well as in the prosperous. Being always the same, that is, of the same being without passion [moving us] from the place of peace[175]. Calasanz tells us: Man is only the servant of God; the others are men only in name[176]. We are men of spirit who center our thoughts not on the [covetous] senses... but in the conversations of the interior man who is the presence of the Lord[177]. Men of God, men servants of God, men of spirit who experience in their hearts the true Presence of the Lord by loving, conversing as a true friend, encouraging them from within to look at the needy to see his goodness and to accompany him in healing his wounds by being useful to the small and poor neighbor.

174 Cf. Tomas Spidlik in his books.

175 Cu 991.

176 Cu 991.

177 EP 1165. EP 2457. EP 2175. Cu 949.

Conversing as a true friend is what Jesus tells us in Jn 15:15: I no longer call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

2.7.2. Men of apostolic life centered in the spirit of the mission

In Mt 10, 1.7 the Lord calls us to proclaim the Kingdom as we have received it: And calling his twelve disciples, he gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out, and to cure every disease and sickness... Go and proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand... You received it freely, give it freely.

I add the parallel of the Gospel of St. Mark for the phrase: to be with Him, which is typical of Calasanz: To remain united to Christ the Lord, desiring to live for Him and to please Him[178].

178 CC 34.

According to Mk. 3:13-15, mission is born of the most beautiful relationship in the world: Jesus went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted; and they came to him. He designed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach with power to cast out demons.

We live by the inspirations of the Spirit in every situation or event to respond to the needs of the world and of the Church. For it is God who, for the help of his Church, at various times inspires this multiplicity of Orders to his true servants, especially in great needs[179].

179 MT 18.

What action do we religious have to take? What action? The Council speaks of apostolic action originated and animated by the Holy Spirit. Only an action of this kind fits into the very nature of religious life....The proper characteristic of such action is the impulse of charity nourished in the heart of the religious. The heart considered as the most intimate sanctuary of his person in which vibrates the grace of the union between interiority and activity. It is urgent, therefore, to foster personal and community awareness of the primary source of apostolic and charitable action as a lived participation in that mission of Christ and of the Church which has its origin in the Father and demands of all those who are sent to exercise the awareness of charity in the dialogue of prayer[180]. The apostolic action that is born from the impulses of the Spirit cannot be lived and cannot be put into practice if we do not remain in contact with that same place from where the suggestions are born, because from there, from the conversations of the inner man we continue to receive joy, clarity and strength, to live the action according to the circumstances.

180 Document of the Sacred Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes, 1981. The Contemplative Dimension of Religious Life, n. 4.

2.7.3. Very poor men

Calasanz repeats many times in his letters to 1 Tim 6, 7-10 [8]. We only look for food and clothing, while living an apostolic life in the rest: For we have brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it. As long as we have food and clothing, let us be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation, into snares, and into many foolish and pernicious lusts, which plunge men into ruin and perdition. For the root of all evils is the lust for money and some, by allowing themselves to be carried away by it, go astray in the faith and torment themselves with many sufferings.

For Calasanz, the key to the apostolic life is the utmost apostolic poverty: The fewer things you carry with you, the more you will trust in the crucified one and the more things, the less. He alone should be the only guide and the only authentic sign of the superiors, as the apostles did when they went to preach the Gospel. If the Lord would give you this confidence in Him, it would do you great benefit and graces to do much good to the neighbor. The Lord wants his ministers in the apostolic style, as true apostles or ambassadors of his and in this true trust consists the fruit of the labors done for love of him[181]. The Lord will provide whatever is necessary, provided that we try to take care of the children with all diligence[182]. The total poverty means that we are not owners but administrators, and the apostolic poverty means that we carry what is necessary, giving freely what the Lord has given us. We seek only food and clothing, the same as those worn by the poor men of the country, while living an apostolic life[183].

181 EP 1301.

182 EP 829.

183 EP 1053. EP 7c.

2.7.4. Very simple men

According to Mt 18:1-4, we must become like children because the Lord is intimate with the simple: At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said to him, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? He called a child, put him in their midst and said, Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. In the same way Prov 3:32 speaks to us: His intimacy is with the simple[184].

184 EP 912.

Calasanz invites us to look at God, and from God to look at this reality, these things, these people, this community, these children as God looks at them. Without personal judgments, without personal will, but full of understanding of the interior [of the person] with the love of a Father, with compassion and mercy[185]. Or the other way around, look at people until the eyes of the Spirit awaken in you. We must know how to shake hands with God like a two-year-old child and not follow the first impulse of the passions that separates us from God. We can choose in every situation to manage our capacity of attention. Then, looking at people we will notice the reactions of the God who dwells in us, and we will realize that God looks at us giving us His Love to give it as He gives it to us, because His intimacy is with the simple ones. Remember what St. John of the Cross tells us: The gaze of God is to give us his Love.

185 EP 912. EP 862. EP 1415. EP 1816. EP 893.

I am glad to know that you have some knowledge of your enemies, who the more hidden they are within us, the more dangerous they are, because they know how to pretend to be friends and deceive with this fiction, not only the laity, but also many religious. I would like all our religious to know them in such a way that they know all their arts and deceptions, and they will realize that they are so enslaved by them, so to speak, that none of them knows how to take two steps without falling to the ground. This is already true of the righteous, of whom it is said that they fall seven times, which means many times a day. What, then, shall we say of the sinner who has his capital enemies for friends. If you consider the nonsense that runs through your imagination from morning to evening, while you should be always in the presence of God, you will see that you do not know how to take two steps without falling, because you have ceased to look at God in order to look at the creature with his thoughts or his imagination. Whoever achieves this practice of knowing how to keep himself like a two-year-old child, who falls many times without help, will always distrust himself and will always invoke the help of God. And this is what is meant by that sentence so little understood and much less practiced: “If you do not become like little children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” [Mt 18:4]. Learn this practice and try to attain this great simplicity and then you will find true that sentence that says: “His intimacy is with the simple” [Prov 3:32]. May the Lord grant this grace to you and to all your companions, whom you will greet on my behalf[186].

186 EP 912. I remember here St. Augustine in his book The Confessions: You were with me and I was not with you. You were inside and I was outside. Late I loved you, beauty so old and so new, late I loved you. Now you are the Life of my life.

2.7.5. Very humble men

As Mt 18:4 tells us, we must humble ourselves like a child: Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Not only must we humble ourselves, but according to Mt 25:40 what we do to the least of these we do to the Lord: What you did it to one of the least of these you did it to me.

Finally, Mk 10:28-31 [30] affirms that whoever has left everything... will receive a hundredfold... with persecutions: Peter began to say to Jesus, “You see, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said: I assure you: no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or property for me and for the Gospel, will be left without receiving a hundredfold: now, at present, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and property, with persecutions; and in the world to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first”.

Simplicity helps us to recollect ourselves and focus our attention on the Presence that loves. In turn, we are humble and small, because we lower to know ourselves. In that process of knowing ourselves, God makes himself known as compassionate and merciful Love. This experience of seeing God lowering himself to our heart makes us capable of lowering ourselves to the capacity of small and poor persons and towns because what is done to the little ones is done to God himself[187]. The text that follows is fascinating because it unites the lowering of ourselves to know ourselves with the lowering of ourselves to give light to children. In fact, one knows oneself and knows God, lowering oneself to the capacity of children, receiving from the hand of God the persecutions: I am very upset that Y.R. has so many worries and disturbances as your last letter means to me. They do not come from humility, which if you had it, you would know that the shortest and easiest way to be exalted to our own knowledge and from this to the attributes of the mercy and prudence and infinite patience and goodness of God, is to lower ourselves to give light to children, especially to those who are helpless of all. For being an office so low and vile in the eyes of the world, few want to lower themselves to it and God usually gives a hundredfold, especially if, doing it well, we have persecutions or tribulations, which, taken with patience from the hand of God, the hundredfold of spirit is found and few know how to practice this doctrine, so few receive the hundredfold of spiritual goods[188].

187 Cf. EP 1339. EP 1236.

188 EP 1236. Rome, 19 October 1629.

If we are reformed from within, that is, if we are formed to distinguish the two tendencies that dwell within us and we choose the tendency of the Spirit, and we educate each one of the children so that they can do the same, they will discover their vocation and one of them can be the Piarist vocation: In the young people who learn in our schools we can see if they are of good or bad inclination, if they have good intelligence or not, and by educating them well they give good results. What I am writing must be put into practice as the word of God coming through the Superior[189]. This is the basis of vocational culture.

189 EP 2581. Rome, 28 August 1636.

2.8. Conclusion

Calasanz desires that we be men, without any personal interest, chosen and moved by God, to reform youth, which is an apostolic office: Men of proven virtue, without any interest and, like the Apostoles, had in their minds only the honor and glory of God[190]. Subjects chosen by God are needed to reform the youth in those regions, which is an apostolic office[191]. Now there are subjects moved by God, more appropriate than in the past[192].

190 Alessandro Bernardini General of the Lucca Congregation speaking that Calasanz [The Prefect] wanted to form a Religion since a long time ago. Giner Guerri, Severino. Saint Joseph of Calasanz. Master and Founder. BAC. Madrid. 1992. p. 459.

191 EP 2394. Rome, 23 June 1635.

192 EP 3692, Rome, 3 August 1641.

Men called with a particular vocation, reformed from within: Many workers are needed, of great spirit and called with a particular vocation[193]. It is necessary to be a man willing and reformed from within[194].

193 MT 24.

194 EP 1367.

As we have seen, all this great number of biblical quotations are centered on stimulating the good, which for Calasanz is the Holy Spirit teaching the humble. Therefore, it is a matter of learning to:

- Discover the guidance of the Holy Spirit in each person that inclines us to respond to the reality according to the vocation that the same Spirit gives us.

- Proclaim the Gospel that for the Apostle St. Paul is to identify the paschal experience of Pentecost today with all that he does in us to announce it, from a true testimony, identifying it in others.

- Identify the gift of the fountain of living water that God has given us to announce what we have known about ourselves in relation to the crucified one. There we will experience that all suffering hides the capacity to love.

- Identify the request that the Spirit gives us to discover the human behavior that He is creating, very similar to the humanity of the Master. Our prayer is affective and effective. It gives us the joy of the light that tells us what to do and gives us the strength to do it.

- To choose the tastes of the Spirit that open a path that at first seems difficult but then becomes easy and safe because it impels us to love; from other greedy tastes that open a spacious path, but lead to perdition.

- To have the inner powers collected and attentive to the conversations of the inner man who is the true Presence of the Lord from which everything is born.

The more we saturate ourselves[195] with the tastes of the Spirit the more the tastes of the covetous inclination will appear to cure them. We must learn to:

195 Gustavo Baena likes to say: When one does not justify a saturation of personal interest, the saturation of the Spirit of the Risen One sweeps it.

- Identify the covetous tendency which in its first impulse separates us from the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We must know the arts and deceptions of the passions or of the tendency of the flesh, as the Apostle Paul says, in order to connect again with the One who awaits us as His beloved children. We can choose always.

- Shake hands with the God who dwells in every human being and has its hand outstretched to each person from within. Being simple, striving to look at him to see ourselves in his gaze and to see all reality from his gaze, and being humble to lower ourselves to know ourselves and to lower ourselves to the least ones.

- Naming and expressing all our inner feeling in spiritual direction to distinguish which tendency appears; or in psychological help to identify all that is positive in the person and to heal from the wounds of our history. Here we truly follow Jesus crucified

- Celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation or conversion to experience how the Lord overlooks our sin. This makes it possible for his Presence to appear by loving us. One becomes like the one who has forgiven us. A change of behavior takes place. We can celebrate it.

We must learn to choose between the greedy tendency and the tendency of the Spirit that urges us to be useful to the small and poor neighbor. Depending on the choice, we have either this world or a new heaven and a new earth. The good tree bears good fruit. Hence, the importance of the examination of conscience to identify by which tendency we have been guided in our acts or behaviors. We can begin with the tendency of the Spirit and in practice the two tendencies appear mixed. It is necessary to identify the tendency that predominates in the action.

St. John Paul II told young people from all over the world, gathered in Denver [United States] in 1993: Do not stifle your conscience! Conscience is the only most secret nucleus and the tabernacle of man, in which he feels alone with God[196]. In the depths of his conscience, man discovers the existence of a law which he does not dictate to himself, but which he must obey. This law is not an external human law, but the voice of God who calls us to free ourselves from sin and stimulates us to seek what is good and true. Only by listening to the voice of God within us and acting in conformity with his directives will you freely attain what you long for. As Jesus said, only the truth will set you free.

196 Vatican II. GS n. 16.

Time is short, we must choose today, now that we are here: If some of our religious have heard with disgust that evangelical truth that: The way that leads to life is narrow and strait the entrance, I greatly regret their ignorance. They think that, being subject to sensuality, they can walk along this path. They should, instead, gradually deprive themselves of the [greedy] tastes of sense and penetrate into the tastes of the Spirit. Then they will find this path of life easy, because the yoke of God is easy for those who want to live according to the Spirit, but difficult for those who want to live according to the [covetous] senses. And he who waits for the future time to make this test, it may happen that he will lack it[197].

197 Cu 999. Calasanz quotes Mt 7:14: The way that leads to life is narrow and the entrance is hard. And he adds the quotation from Mt 11:30: The yoke of God is easy.

For Calasanz, the spiritual life is a path, the one that opens the impulse of the Holy Spirit; and also the spiritual life is growth, it makes us grow as human beings very similar to the humanity of Jesus to humanize reality. The Holy Spirit gives us the freedom from sin, giving us with his Presence the life and love of God that makes us capable of loving our neighbor. We count on his assistance in every situation:

- May the Lord give you all a new place, a new spirit, so that you may become such that you may all be of great help to your neighbor.

- May the Lord increase your gifts and graces, so that with them the splendor of your family may grow.

- May the Lord strengthen and increase you in the spirit of true formators of our Institute in that Province.

- The Spirit often speaks through the mouth of a simple person.

- May the Holy Spirit assist and enlighten everyone to know how to conform to his divine will. I praise and thank God and I ask him with supplications to increase more each day, in Y.R. and in all the others, his Holy Spirit.

- May God grant you his Holy Spirit and the fullness of his holy gifts. And since I can think of nothing else, I conclude by asking the Lord to make you always grow in holy love of God and neighbor[198].
198 All these phrases of Calasanz were taken from Asiain, Miguel Ángel [1998]. La Trinidad en Calasanz: Las Escuelas Pías hacia el Jubileo. Madrid: ICCE.

- When Calasanz asks for the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit for all of us, he has as his background Is 11:1-3: A branch shall come forth from the stem of Jesse, and a shoot shall grow out of his root. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge, [of piety] and of the fear of the Lord.

Truly Calasanz was touched by the Spirit and wishes to communicate to us the true Presence of the Lord, the Spirit that the Lord has given him so that we may be moved by God, introduced into the Spirit, guided by the Spirit who teaches the humble who see the reality, by means of: ineffable groanings, promptings, inspirations, tastes of the Spirit, inner taste, conversations of the inner man, particular graces or feelings, compassion and mercy, inner consolations, spiritual goods, spiritual gifts, holy thoughts, great spirit, fervor of spirit and inner devotion, new spirit, gentle breeze, word that the Lord speaks in the heart, voice of the Spirit, good inclination, consolations and suggestions of the Holy Spirit that touch our heart with the joy, light and strength of love, faith and hope to make us good disciples of the school of the Master, good disciples of the sentiment of Christ[199] who loves the small and poor neighbor according to his aptitude or talent.

199 They are expressions of Calasanz in his Constitutions, letters, memorandums to the Commission of Cardinals and annotations of Father Berro.

I believe it is necessary to end this chapter by praying with the sequence of the Holy Spirit, having clear that the Spirit is already dwelling in the dear place of the heart. Let us pray in this way to prepare ourselves to receive his Presence that loves with closeness and freedom.

Come divine Spirit, send your light from heaven.

Loving Father of the poor; gift, in your splendid gifts.

Light that penetrates souls; source of the greatest consolation.

Come, sweet guest of the soul, rest of our effort, respite in hard work, breeze in the hours of fire, joy that wipes away tears and comforts in mourning.

Enter to the depths of the soul, divine light and enrich us.

See the emptiness of man if you are lacking within him; see the power of sin when you do not send your breath.

Water the drought-stricken earth, heal the sick heart, wash away stains, infuse warmth of life into the ice, tame the untamed spirit, guide the one who twists the path.

Divide your seven gifts according to the faith of your servants.

By your goodness and your grace give to effort its merit; save the one who seeks to save himself and give us your eternal joy.

Amen.

2.9. Integration questions

1. What has struck you about this chapter?

2. What reactions and reflections have been awakened?

3. Is there anything that bothers you or that you reject? Find out why.

4. Is there anything that has touched your heart in a significant way?

5. What questions remain for you about being wise in the inner school?

6. Do you feel invited by the Spirit to...

7. Would you like to spend some time in prayer with a phrase or word that has touched your heart until you discover the human behavior that the anointing of the Spirit gives you?

8. How do you react to lowering yourself to your own knowledge, which for Calasanz is the beginning of the spiritual life?

Baena (2015) wrote:

The gospel is not an oral or written message; neither is it a doctrine, nor a story. It is an event that always continues to happen in the history of every human being. It can only be lived in community and it is essentially announced through testimony. Only if we are beings truly transformed by the gospel, we will be credible and truly be the word of God. (p.108).

Chapter III

We are good disciples of the master’s school

1Cor 2, 1-4

The guidance of the Holy Spirit gives us the feeling of the Blessed Christ, gives us the gift of being a disciple of the school of Christ, gives us Jesus as our Master and Lord. It gives us the most beautiful relationship because it allows us to relate to the whole world: We must leave the false world and follow in the footsteps of Christ by entering into the spiritual life[200].

200 EP 1882.

The Gospel according to John 7:37-38 tells us: On the last day of the feast, the most solemn day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me, and he who believes in me will drink, as the Scripture says. Out of his bosom shall flow rivers of living water”. This he said, referring to the Spirit which those who believed in him would receive. For as yet there was no Spirit, for Jesus had not yet been glorified.

3.1 The true Presence of the Lord dwells in you, conversing with you. The Lord, the Christ, became our interior Master

It is one thing to want to follow the blessed Christ, the wisdom of Jesus Christ, and to strive to do so, and quite another to see how the Lord is united to each person, how he dwells in each person and how he is calling to follow him through the conversations of the interior Man who is the true Presence of the Lord. From there is born, as from a fountain of living water, the true evangelical following: Love of God and of the small and poor neighbor, in the image and likeness of the humanity of Jesus.

Calasanz tells us: Have the patience necessary to be a good disciple of Christ[201]. If you are not satisfied with obedience... you will never be a disciple of the school of Christ[202]. Christ became a teacher of humility, wanting us to learn from him[203].

201 EP 2362.

202 EP 526.

203 EP 3888.

3.1.1. Calasanzian biblical texts on the True Presence of the Lord

The Apostle St. Paul speaks of his experience in Damascus: When God was pleased to reveal his Son in me in order to proclaim him. From that experience everything is garbage before the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

This is what he says in Gal 1:15-16 [15], when God willed to reveal his Son to me: But when he who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace was pleased to reveal his Son to me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles[204].

204 Calasanz speaks of the conversations of the interior man who is the true Presence of the Lord [Cu 949].

Therefore, in Phil 3:7-11, the Apostle Paul tells us that everything is loss before the knowledge of Christ Jesus: What was gain to me I have counted loss for the sake of Christ. And further: I judge all things to be loss before the sublimity of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as garbage, that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not with my righteousness, which comes from the Law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God, resting on faith, and to know him, the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, made like him in death, seeking to rise from the dead[205].

205 Calasanz, in the common prayer, invites us to know Jesus Crucified.

A parable is a comparison and Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God, that is, the creative action of God who asks for the first place in the human being is like finding a hidden treasure.

For the joy of finding it, I give it the primacy in my life to share it with the small and poor neighbor[206].

206 I am aware of the different opinions about the Kingdom of God. Many say that it is a project that Jesus has of justice and fraternity for the world; others say that it is the creative action of God who asks the first place in each person from where the whole commitment to a new world and a new earth is born. The Old Testament has the messianic expectation of a political anointed one who will take care of the needy people. There is also the eschatological aspect of the Kingdom of God. For the synoptic gospels the Kingdom of God became visible in the human behavior of Jesus. So, you can choose. Furthermore, look at what St. Paul says in Rom 14:17: The Kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Mt 13:44. He tells us how the blessed Christ or his Kingdom is the hidden treasure to be found: The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field that when a man finds it, he hides it again and, for the joy it gives him, he sells all that he has and buys the field that one.

It is from that encounter that human behaviors are born as we see in Jn 14:14 where we make visible the invisible one, we carry in our heart as Jesus says: He who has seen me has seen the Father[207].

207 I believe that Calasanz, in constantly inviting us to practice the virtues that are born of the Spirit’s suggestions, is asking us to make the Father visible through our behavior.

The Lord is always hidden, he allows himself to be felt, but we long to see the face of love that we all carry in our hearts[208] as Jesus tells us in the parable of Lk 12:35-38 [37]. The Lord has gone to a wedding feast and it is necessary to be awake in order to be aware of his arrival. When you see him, you will see him serving you and making you capable of serving your small and poor neighbor: Have your waist girded about and your lamps burning, and be like men waiting for their Lord to return from the wedding, so that as soon as he comes and knocks, they may instantly open to him. Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he comes, finds awake: I tell you the truth, he will gird himself, make them sit at table, and, going from one to another, will serve them. Whether he comes in the second watch or in the third, if he finds them so, blessed are they![209]

208 This is an expression of Maurice Zúndel.

209 Cfr. EP 1544.

The most important thing in the spiritual life is what Jesus tells us in Mt 7, 21: We must conform our will to the will of the Father: Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven[210].

210 What is the will of God? André Louf affirms: “Creative Benevolence” of Hebrew origin was translated into Latin by will. In Greek it is said: Télema or Eudokia. It comes from the Hebrew: Rason or Hsp. It means: aspiration, desire, love, joy. The love of God rests on the people chosen as his pleasure. Pleasure is the Hebrew term that the Vulgate translates as Will. The joy that the Lord experiences for his people, the great love that he feels for his chosen one; such is his will. He loves his people despite their unfaithfulness. This same love now rests on Jesus. André Louf quotes: 1Jn 4:7-8: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love has not known God, because God is Love. According to Hosea 4:1-3,6 Yahweh complains about the inhabitants of the earth because there is no faithfulness in the earth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God...My people perish for lack of knowledge [of what God wants]. For my part, I would add that for the prophets of the Old Testament, to know God is to do justice to the poor and the helpless. Cf. Jer 22:16: To do justice to the poor and the helpless, is that not to know me? Therefore, it is the love of God to do justice to the poor and needy according to the vocation that God gives.

3.1.2. How does the heart of Calasanz touch the true Presence of the Lord?

The interior powers that are memory, intelligence, freedom and will have to learn to have them recollected and attentive to the conversations of the interior man who is the true Presence of the Lord. From there the capacity to Love is born as from a fountain and we learn to remain united to Christ, as the Lord is united to every human being.

The religious should not listen to murmurings or idle words, but should always have his interior powers withdrawn so that, fleeing from earthly conversations, he may be more attentive to the conversations of the interior man, which is the true Presence of the Lord, from which it is born as from one source all the perfection of the religious soul[211].

211 Cu 949.

The voice of God is the voice of the Spirit, which comes and goes, touches the heart and passes, one does not know where it comes from or when it blows; it is important, therefore, to be always alert so that it does not come suddenly and go away without fruit... The voice of God is a soft and delicate breeze; whoever is not attentive cannot hear it...[212]

212 EP 131 and Giner, Severino. San José de Calasanz. Maestro y Fundador. BAC 1992 p. 168.

Keep united to Christ the Lord, desiring to live only for Him and to please Him alone[213]. Encourage him to follow Christ who is the hidden treasure[214].

213 CC 34.

214 EP 1466.

When we are attentive to the conversations of the interior man, the Piarist mission is born of discipleship.

3.2. We are disciples who listen to the Master’s voice, carrying out the Father’s plan

Obedience to the Father is born of being a child. To be a child is to receive everything from the hands of the Father. It is a relationship of unity. The Father in the Son, and the Son in the Father, and the Son in us. This is the way of speaking in the Gospel of St. John. Calasanz tells us:

Christ our Lord our Savior said: I have not come down from heaven to carry out my own plan. Therefore, it would be the greatest folly for one of our religious to pretend to do his own will...[215].

215 CC 99.

3.2.1. Calasanzian biblical texts to realize the Father’s plan

According to Jn 6:38 Jesus Christ does not do his own will but the will of the Father: I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

Thus it is described in Jn 5:19-37 how Jesus does the Will of the Father: Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but what he sees the Father is doing; what he does, that also the Son does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he does. And he will show him even greater works than these, that you may be astonished... I can do nothing on my own: I judge according to what I hear; and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. If I were to bear witness of myself, my testimony would not be valid. It is another who bears witness for me, and I know that it is valid... The works that the Father has given me to perform, the very works that I perform bear witness for me, that the Father has sent me. And the Father, who has sent me, is the one who has borne witness of me...[216].

216 Jn 5:19-37. I have added Jn 5 to Jn 6, because Jesus explains how he discovers the will or plan of the Father. Jesus feels loved by the Father in what the Father shows him.

What is the will of the Father for us Piarists? It is answered in Lk 4:1-21 [18]: Jesus returned to Galilee by the power of the Spirit, and his fame spread throughout the whole region, and he went about teaching in their synagogues, praised by all. He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as his custom was, and rose up to do the reading. The volume of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He unrolled the volume and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, he has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim a year of the Lord’s favor. He rolled up the volume, handed it back to the minister and sat down. In the synagogue all eyes were fixed on him. He began to say to them, “This scripture which you have just heard has been fulfilled today.

3.2.2. How does the heart of Calasanz touch the Father’s plan?

We have already seen it. As St. Ignatius says in his Spiritual Exercises: We return to taste what the Lord has already given us until we are satisfied. The Father’s plan for the Pious School is to educate the poor in letters and spirit according to their aptitude or talent. Here, Calasanz lets Jesus speak in the synagogue of Nazareth: The poor should not be abandoned, for they too have been redeemed by the precious Blood of Christ and so appreciated by his divine Majesty that he said he had been sent into the world by his eternal Father to teach them: He has sent me to evangelize the poor[217].

217 Lk 4:18. Casani and Calasanz, starting from their own experience, make their own interpretation of the text.

He interprets it the text of Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth in this way: From which we can deduce how far it is from Christian piety and sentiment of Christ the policy that teaches that it is harmful to society to teach the poor because, it is said, it diverts them from the mechanical arts[218]. One should not follow that policy, according to which, when there is a poor person who is apt to study Latin, because he has not been able to continue his studies, he leaves school and living in idleness becomes a vagabond and a criminal[219]. Our ministry is truly the more worthy because it revolves around the salvation of the soul and the body together[220].

218 Faubell, Vicente. Antología Pedagógica Calasancia. Salamanca. 1988. Exposition defending the right of the poor to education (1645), p. 34.

219 Faubell, p. 28.

220 MT 7. Here, Calasanz uses Greek anthropology.

It is true that among the divine works the most divine is to cooperate in the salvation of the soul [and of the body][221].

221 EP 1374. To cooperate in the salvation of the soul [I add and of the body] because Calasanz in the Memorandum to Cardinal Tonti 7 says: Salvation of soul and body together. Here Calasanz follows Greek anthropology.

3.3. We are Disciples of the Master who teaches us poverty and humility through his works, and gives us the mission of abasing ourselves to the smallest, of educating small and poor people and towns

Following St. Teresa in the Way of Perfection, Calasanz tells us: If you believe me, you will strive to be humble and poor indeed since between these two virtues dwells at ease the holy charity which is the goal of all religions[222].

222 EP 1622. St. Teresa tells us: I cannot understand how there is or can be humility without love, neither love without humility; nor is it possible to have these two virtues without great detachment from all that is created [Way of Perfection, chapter 24, verse 2].

3.3.1. Calasanzian biblical texts on the apostolic extreme poverty

Calasanz speaks of extreme poverty because we are not owners, we are administrators; and he speaks of apostolic poverty because we go with what is necessary to give freely what has been given to us freely.

Not only we have to give what the Lord gives us, but we have to give it as he gives it to us, as Mt 10, 1-10 tells us: freely you have received it, give it free: And calling his twelve disciples, he gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness... Going to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is near... Freely you received it, freely give it. Do not buy for yourselves gold or silver or copper in your purses, or a bag for the journey, or two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the laborer deserves his wages.

For according to 2 Cor. 3:4-18 [4] our ability comes from God and makes it possible for us to make the invisible visible by our behavior, which is born of the working of the Lord, who is the Spirit dwelling in us: This is the confidence we have before God through Christ. Not that by ourselves we are able to attribute anything to ourselves as our own, but our ability comes from God, who has enabled us to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life... For the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord, therein lies freedom. But all of us, with our faces uncovered, reflect the glory of the Lord as in a mirror; we are becoming more and more glorious in that same image; this is how the Lord who is Spirit acts.

The Apostle Paul in 2 Cor 4:5-16 [16] speaks to us about the experience of the person who gives himself to others. The interior man is renewed day by day. Calasanz speaks of the interior man; he speaks of the Spirit giving us light and strength, and he speaks of our weakness. We preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For the same God who said, “Let light shine out of the bosom of darkness, has shone it in our hearts, to enlighten us with the knowledge of the glory of God which is in the face of Christ. But we carry this treasure in earthen vessels so that it may appear that such an extraordinary power is from God and not from us... That is why we do not lose heart. Even when our outer man is crumbling, the inner man is being renewed day by day[223].

223 2Cor 4,5-16. Calasanz invites us to have our interior powers recollected and attentive to the conversations of the interior man who is the true Presence of the Lord [Cu 949].

We are ambassadors and cooperators of Christ according to 2 Cor 5:20 and 6:1-2 [1]: We are therefore ambassadors for Christ, as though God were exhorting through us. In the name of Christ, we beseech you, be reconciled to God! And as his fellow workers, we exhort you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says: In the time of your favor I listened, and in the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

3.3.2. How do these biblical texts on poverty touch the heart of Calasanz?

When Calasanz gave an obedience, the Piarist only carried the crucifix. Everything else was common and he could find it in the community where he went. Thus, detached from everything, we can preach the holy gospel. He wants us as his ministers in the apostolic style, as his true ambassadors: The less things you carry with you, the more you will trust in the crucifix, and the more things, the less. You should carry just the crucifix as the only guide and authentic patent of your superiors, as the apostles did when they went to preach the holy Gospel. If the Lord would give you this trust in him, he would do you great benefit and grace to do much good to your neighbor... The Lord wants his ministers in the apostolic style, as true apostles or ambassadors of his and then, in this true trust consists the fruit of the labors done for love of him[224]. So, on this occasion each one should show the affection and love he has for his neighbor to show the inner love he has for God[225]. Calasanz goes along the same lines as Acts 20:35 when Paul bids farewell to the priests of Ephesus: In everything I have taught you that it is in this way, by working, that one should help the weak and that we must keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus: There is greater joy in giving than in receiving. For as Mt 25:40 tells us: As you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.

224 EP 1301.

225 EP 4495.

The poverty of the Piarists united to pastoral work produces much fruit: I have received letters that you have reached Nikolsburg in Moravia, where we have three very observant convents with a great influx of children of heretics, who with great ease are converted to our faith and, what is more important, with the consent of their parents; seeing that we have only food and clothing, they tell them: If God calls you that way, go where God calls you[226].

226 EP 2902.

It is necessary to be well accompanied by Christ who is the hidden treasure: Greet Brother Michael on my behalf and encourage him to detach himself from all the things of the world as vain and false and to follow Christ who is the hidden treasure, found by few. I will not fail to help his good desire with prayers[227]. The Lord will repay you for everything you do for the poor as if it were done for God himself[228].

227 EP 1466.

228 EP 2425.

If the supreme poverty is taken away, we will not go to the poor: If the supreme poverty is taken away from the Order of the Pious Schools and that austerity in living and dress prescribed by the Constitutions... that splendor is taken away which alone makes it admired and sought after even by the infidels... and the poor towns and villages are deprived of the possibility of benefit from our ministry by not having the means to support teachers who demand financial income and comforts[229].

229 Memorandum to Cardinal Giulio Roma.

In the quarrels, Calasanz does not let himself be carried away by them but by what the Gospel says in Mt 5, 40: If anyone take your tunic, let him take the cloak as well.

3.3.3. Calasanzian biblical texts on humility

When Calasanz speaks of humility, the word he uses is abasement.

To have the same feelings of Christ: not to retain God within us but to give him. To divest oneself of all personal interests. It is God who lowers himself by becoming man by being obedient to the Father in adversity or prosperity. God is so fragile![230] So vulnerable! That is his mystery: he only knows how to Love without opposites[231].

230 This is an expression of Maurice Zúndel.

231 Without opposites is an expression of Eckhart Tolle in “The Power of Now”. Gaia Ed. 2014, page 94: True love has no opposite. If your “love” has an opposite, then it is not love, but the ego’s intense need for a fuller and deeper identity, a need that the other person temporarily fills.

As Phil 2:1-8 describes, Christ lowered himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on the Cross. If there is an exhortation in the name of Christ, an encouragement of love, a communion in the Spirit, an endearing mercy, fill me with joy, having the same mind, the same love, the same spirit, and all seeking the same thing. Let nothing be done through rivalry or vainglory, but in humility, considering others as superior to ourselves, not seeking our own interests but the interests of others. Have among yourselves the same sentiments as Christ: Who, though he was in the form of God, did not retain equality with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave. Assuming human likeness and appearing in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross[232].

232 Calasanz invites us to lower ourselves to know ourselves; to lower ourselves to the capacity of the students, to be obedient.

We can learn this abasement, this humble obedience from our Master, as the Lord tells us in Mt 11:28-30 [30]: Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Humility according to Jn 10:7-10 [7] enables us to enter through the door which is Christ: Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep... I am the door; if anyone enters by me, he will be safe; he will go in and out and find pasture... I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.

Because really, for Jesus in Mt 11:25-27 [25] God reveals himself to the little ones, to the humble: At that time Jesus took the word, and said, I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, for such has been your good pleasure. Everything has been given by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him[233].

233 Mt 11:25-27 [25]. This text is used by Calasanz to say that God reveals himself to devout brothers more than to proud priests. The parallel of Luke 10, 21-22 is interesting. At that moment, he was filled with joy in the Holy Spirit and said: I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to the simple. Yes Father, for such has been your good pleasure. My Father has delivered all things to me, and no one knows who the Son is but the Father; and who the Father is but the Son and he to whom the Son wills to reveal him.

Only the humble make God visible as the Lord manifests in Mt 23, 11-12. He who humbles himself shall be exalted: Let the greatest among you be your servant. For he who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

3.3.4. How does being humble touch the heart of Calasanz?

To learn from the Master by being his assistant[234]. Since the Lord dwells in us, we must let him pass through us, we must make him visible by being witnesses of him: As Christ became a teacher of humility, wanting us to learn from him, so you must see to it that these young people learn this virtue by having Christ as their teacher and you as their assistant. I will ask the Lord to give you much spirit to teach it and to give these young people our great love to learn it[235].

234 Assistant. At the University, the professor usually gave the lesson. When the professor was absent, another person read the lesson, as an assistant of the professor.

235 EP 4381.

The more one lowers himself in the proper knowledge, the more God will exalt him in the knowledge of the invisible and eternal things. To enter into one’s own knowledge is to experience the passion of the Lord: I will pray to the Lord, as I have done before, may he give you in particular the true light to know the truth of invisible things, which God has prepared for those who [follow] him in his most holy passion, for through it they will come to the knowledge and love of those things. God usually gives this grace to the humble, as the prophet says: he gives knowledge to the little ones, and the more one lowers himself in the knowledge of himself, the more God will exalt him in the knowledge of the invisible and eternal things. May the Lord grant us perfect conformity to his most holy will[236].

236 EP 4392. Normally I translate imitare, which Calasanz says, as follow. Calasanz also uses in some letters to follow: One must leave the fallacious world and follow in the footsteps of Christ by entering into the spiritual life [EP 1882].

Humility, lowering ourselves to our own knowledge, enables us to find true peace, and thus by our own experience we can teach it to every person: The religious who does not walk along this path of holy humility will in the end find himself deceived by the enemy. Let him, therefore, truly practice this holy virtue and he will find true peace and will teach it also to the laity. It will be the greatest consolation you can give me[237]. Humility makes us enter through the door which is Christ: The priests, if they do not humble themselves, will never enter through the door which is, as Christ said: I am the door, look at their words and actions if they are [followers] of Christ and Y.R., as Superior, must show them the way to reach this door...[238].

237 EP 2390.

238 EP 2336.

Humility makes us see the mysteries hidden from the wise and prudent of the world: With the special affection I have always had for you, I have asked the Lord to make you a great servant of his and imitator in the interior, first of all, of his most holy will, where you will discover the mysteries hidden from the wise and prudent of the world, and reserved for the humble[239].

239 Cu 736.

From the discipleship of humility is born the mission of lowering oneself to the capacity of the little and poor people. The text that follows is admirable because it unites lowering oneself to one’s own knowledge with lowering oneself to the capacity of children and young people. It is by teaching that we get to know ourselves and the mercy of God: The shortest and easiest way to be exalted to one’s own knowledge and from this to the attributes of the mercy, prudence and infinite patience and goodness of God is to lower oneself to give light to children, and in particular to those who are like the helpless of all, which, being such a low and vile profession in the eyes of the world, few want to lower themselves to it, and God usually gives a hundredfold, especially if, in doing it well, they have persecutions or tribulations, which, taken with patience from the hand of God, are a hundredfold in spirit[240].

240 EP 1235.

Calasanz asks the children to pray for us so that we may find the path of humility. It is a sure way to find many gifts and graces from God: Try to help yourself with special prayers, especially from young children, so that the Lord may enlighten you in knowing how to find the path of humility that it is the sure way by which they find many gifts and graces from God. All the rest is vanity and great fatigue[241].

241 EP 979.

3.4. Disciples of the Master who loves us crucified, and makes us to live the mission as doing good and suffering evil; this is a good life

We are disciples of the Crucified when we love every person from the heart. To love one’s enemies is the good life. Calasanz invites us, in prayer, to contemplate the life and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the Apostle St. Paul: The most exquisite care must be taken, therefore, never to break the custom of praying interiorly twice a day: one hour at dawn and half an hour at sunset, before supper. In profound silence and quietness of body and spirit, kneeling or in some other suitable posture, we will strive, after the example of St. Paul, to contemplate and [follow] Christ crucified and the various steps of his life. He will be our frequent reminder during the day[242].

242 CC 44. Where Calasanz says imitate, I put in brackets [follow] by the action of the Holy Spirit.

3.4.1. Calasanzian biblical texts on being disciples of the Crucified One

The Apostle St. Paul sees that the wisdom of the Crucified One is strength to love in every situation.

Rom 5:3-5 tells us that Jesus crucified makes visible the power of the Spirit, the power of God who is Love: We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation breeds patience; patience, tested virtue; tested virtue, hope; and hope does not fail, because the Love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

All pain hides the capacity to Love as St. Paul the Apostle tells us in 1 Cor. 2:1-4. The power of the Spirit is Jesus Christ crucified: For I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with the prestige of speech or wisdom to proclaim to you the mystery of God; for I did not want to know among you anything but Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you weak, timid and trembling. And my word and my preaching were not based on persuasive discourses of wisdom, but on the demonstration of the Spirit and of his power, so that your faith might be founded, not on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

In 2 Cor 12:9-10 [9] we can see how his grace, his love, is sufficient for us; this is the strength in weakness. Grace is God giving himself. The impediments make us enter into the joy of God’s strength, which is who begins the good work: My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is realized in weakness. Therefore, I will gladly continue to glory especially in my weaknesses, so that the strength of Christ may dwell in me. Hence, I take pleasure in my weaknesses, in the insults, in the needs, in the persecutions and anguish I have endured for Christ; because when I am weak, then I am strong. Truly for 1 Cor 1:18: The preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved, to us, it is the power of God.

Therefore Rom 12:14-21 [21] invites us to choose to bless the enemy. Bless those who persecute you, do not curse; rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Be of one mind with one another. Not indulging in haughtiness; drawn rather to the lowly. Do not indulge in your own wisdom. Without repaying anyone evil for evil... If your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; in so doing, you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil before good, but overcome evil with good.

Calasanz is convinced, after contemplating Jesus crucified during the hour of morning prayer, that the wisdom of Love exists in the adverse as well as in the prosperous, as Mt 5, 43-45 [43] tells us. The wisdom of the Crucified One is the love of the enemy: You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, who makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

It is evident from Ps 41:9 that God himself accompanies us in misfortune. God himself suffers our suffering and at the same time gives us the strength to love in that situation: I will be at your side in misfortune.

The disciple is not above the Master, as the Lord tells us in Mt 10:22-25: You will be hated by all for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved... The disciple is not above the master, nor the servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they malign those of his household!

We only have to make sure according to Titus, 2, 7-8 [8] that the adversary has nothing bad to say about us. Show yourself to be a paragon of fine works: purity of doctrine, dignity, sound speech, blamelessness, so that the adversary may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say about us.

It is here that we can see that when I am weak then I am strong. Look how the Apostle Paul speaks in 2 Cor 12:9-10 [10]. When I am weak, the more clearly I see that I do nothing good without the grace of God: Therefore I take pleasure in my infirmities, in the reproaches, in the necessities, in the persecutions and distresses suffered for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak then I am strong.

In 2 Cor. 1:3-7 we can see that what God does in tribulation is to console us so that we may console others: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merciful Father and God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our tribulation so that we may comfort those who are in all tribulation, through the comfort with which we are comforted by God! For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so also our consolation abounds through Christ. If we are troubled, we are troubled for your consolation, which makes you bear with patience the same sufferings which we also bear. Our hope for you is firm; for we know that, as you are united with us in suffering, so you will also be united with us in consolation[243].

243 2 Cor 1:3-7. Calasanz says: The cross has within itself so many internal goods and consolations that surpass all other aspects. [EP 257]. The whole text is Calasanzian.

According to Mt 5, 11-12 we are right when we are persecuted. When we are persecuted, we can find joy and rejoicing because we are succeeding in following Jesus our Master: Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. This is also spoken of in James 1:2-4: Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, when you are surrounded by all kinds of trials, knowing that the tested quality of your faith produces patience, but patience must culminate in a perfect work so that you may be perfect and whole, leaving nothing to be desired.

At the beginning, following Jesus crucified according to Mt 11:12 is difficult: The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it away. It is necessary to become violent with ourselves, to make an effort of will, to be attentive, to adjust oneself to the tastes of the Spirit. One must know how to consciously go through tribulations. To learn the way of the Spirit. At first, it seems difficult, but later it becomes easy and safe, as Acts 14:22 says: We must go through many tribulations to enter the Kingdom of God.

For the Lord’s invitation in Lk 9:23-26 [23] is clear: If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man to have gained the whole world, if he himself is lost or ruined? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory, and in his Father’s glory, and in the glory of the holy angels.

3.4.2. How does the following of crucified Jesus touch the heart of Calasanz?

Let us not forget that during one hour every day in the morning the Piarists contemplated the life and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. Paul the Apostle. In the following letters we see how the meditation of Jesus crucified touches the heart of Calasanz and how he discovered the practice of this little touch.

Love of the enemy is the visibility of the following of the crucified one: It is necessary to forgive everything for the love of God, even for the good of religion, and to love from the heart the one who has been contrary to us and to pray for him. This is what the law of Christ, our master, wants[244].

244 EP 4392.

The following text is surprising: You can read it slowly and you will see how one gets the gist of it. When our Redeemer taught us to attain effectively the forgiveness of our sins, he did not say forgive us Lord, because we have done much penance, nor because we have done much prayer or miracles, but because we forgive our enemies. When this is done out of love for him, is the effective remedy for any forgiveness[245].

245 EP 2506.

The following letter manifests a saying that Calasanz repeats a lot: To do good and to suffer evil, this is good life. For it is written: to do good and to suffer evil, this is good life. The Lord will give strength and spirit to all to correspond to his holy will[246]. As St. John of the Cross says: Where there is no love, put love and you will get love.

246 EP 1629.

Every tribulation hides the capacity to love. Every situation is a good occasion to choose the strength of love: The time of tribulation and mortification should make virtue and perfection grow. My strength shows itself perfect in weakness, that is, in tribulation[247]. I bear the grievances with patience. I was taken to the Holy Office without knowing why, and after they told me, I saw that I was innocent in that. The Lord wants to test us by the way of tribulation, But trust in Him. Be encouraged to suffer, because it is necessary that we go through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God[248].

247 EP 4468.

248 EP 4125.

When we experience misfortune, the crucified one is united to our tribulation. He suffers with us. We are both suffering at the same time and therefore all suffering hides the Presence that loves. We can choose what He decided: If you want to persevere in the service of God and obtain the eternal prize, know that it is necessary for us to go through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God, and also to be sure of what the prophet says: “I will be at your side in trouble”. It is necessary, therefore, to be of good cheer, because you have on your side the one who can do all things[249].

249 EP 3933.

We do not go after pain, but when we consciously go through exterior or interior tribulations that fall upon us, we experience in practice what Calasanz says. Yes, it is certain, the cross hides within itself so many internal goods and consolations, which surpass all things. What we find is true happiness and joy because we find the One who Loves in the adverse and in the prosperous. All pain hides the capacity to love every human being, including love for the enemy. In the Cross God consoles us in order to be able to console: None of the ancient philosophers knew true happiness and joy and, what is worse, few, not to say very few, know it among Christians, because Christ, who is our Master, has placed it on the Cross; which, although it seems to many in this life that it is very difficult to practice, nevertheless has within itself so many internal goods and consolations, that it surpasses all the earthly ones[250].

250 EP 257. Cf. the text of St. Paul on being consoled in order to console, listed above: 2 Cor 1:3- 7.

3.4.3. The discipleship of the crucified gives us the mission to accompany those who are crucified and to suffer with them

Our ministry is low and vile in the eyes of the world: The shortest and easiest road or way to be exalted to one’s own knowledge and from this to the attributes of the mercy and prudence and infinite patience and goodness of God, is in stooping down to give light to children, particularly to those who are destitute of all. Since this is such a low and vile office in the eyes of the world, few want to lower themselves to it, and God usually gives a hundredfold, especially if, in doing it well, they have persecutions or tribulations. Taking them with patience from the hand of God, we find a hundredfold of spirit. And because few know how to practice this doctrine, few receive a hundredfold of spiritual goods[251].

251 EP 1236.

It is a matter of returning good for evil. To suffer evil and to do good is a good life: In the service of God, it is good to bear all things patiently and to return good for evil with all charity and meekness, so that your neighbor may be edified. Try to give good example to your neighbor all together and show that you did not go to Nursia except for the good of their children; thus, you will overcome all slander[252]. We do not do little if we know how to conform ourselves to the times. For it is written: “To do good and to suffer evil is a good life[253].

252 EP 86.

253 Cu 497.

We can do all our actions out of pure love of God. He gave us the gift of doing them, they are from Him and for Him; they are for our neighbor: It is fitting that we, in doing all our actions only for love of God, place all our hope in Him, for He will defend us against all slander. And at His hour, He will treat us as He sees fit, while making special prayers for those who are contrary to us[254].

254 EP 80.

3.5. Disciples of the Master who teaches us to be good shepherds

We are shepherds who give life to the most helpless children. We know the difficulties of each child in order to give them the appropriate remedy. We move among small and poor towns and villages in great need of educational assistance. We see to it that the teachers take care of their children like shepherds[255]. [The Piarist educator] lowers himself to give light to the children, especially to those who are the most neglected of all[256]. I am very pleased that you attend to the study of cases in which young people are often involved, for this is our principal institute[257]. [We move] among towns and people who are preferably small and poor and very much in need of educational assistance[258].

255 Declarations on the Constitutions, written by Calasanz for the General Chapter of 1637, n.190.

256 EP 1236.

257 EP 557.

258 MT 26.

3.5.1. Calasanzian biblical texts on being good shepherds

It is the whole text of St. John’s Gospel on I am the door, I am the good shepherd.

Jn 10:7-18 [7.8] describes how the good shepherd knows his sheep and gives his life for them: Jesus is the door through which we can enter and go out to find food. Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep... I am the door; if one enters by me, he will be safe; he will go in and out and find pasture... I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly. The good shepherd lays down his life for the people. He knows the little, poor people and the people know him. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. But the hireling, who is not a shepherd, to whom the sheep do not belong, sees the wolf coming, abandons the sheep and flees; the wolf seizes them and scatters them, because he is a hireling and does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know my sheep and my sheep know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and lay down my life for the sheep. I also have other sheep which are not of this fold; those also I must lead, and they will listen to my voice; and there will be one flock, one shepherd. Therefore, the Father loves me, because I lay down my life to take it again. No one takes it from me; I give it willingly. I have power to give it and power to take it again. That is the command I have received from my Father.

3.5.2. How does this voice of God, this voice of the Spirit touch the heart of Calasanz?

He is especially concerned about being good shepherds of the children: We are not hirelings: The hireling runs away, because a hireling does not care about the sheep; so, the children learn more vice than virtue[259].

259 MT 23.

3.5.3. The discipleship of following Christ as the good shepherd gives us the mission of being good shepherds of children and young people

We are good shepherds who give our lives for children and young people. We are not hired hands.

It is clear to the Lord in Lk 15:4-7 [7] that we must seek what is lost: Which of you who has a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go and seek the one that is lost, until he finds it? When he finds it, he lays it very gladly on his shoulders, and when he gets home, he calls his friends and neighbors together and says to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the sheep that was lost to me.” I tell you that, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who is converted than over ninety-nine righteous persons who have no need of conversion.

This text touches the heart of Calasanz through an educational behavior. God is grateful to the educators who pay attention to the smallest persons: Ministry in truth the more to be thanked also by God, much more than the conversion of a sinner, although this gives joy in heaven; because in the school not only many repent of many offenses against God, but many others are daily preserved in baptismal innocence[260].

260 MT 15.

We attend children’s cases as a main part of our ministry, and we place ourselves in people, cities, towns, villages and small and poor neighborhoods in great need of educational assistance. We know how to listen to each little person so that he/she can identify the conversations of the inner man, as the true Presence of the Lord that heals evil.

Calasanz considers that adults are already hardened and despite all the help of prayers, talks and sacraments, few change their lives. All our apostolate has as its purpose that children and young people identify in them the guidance of the Holy Spirit and behave according to his suggestions: Ministry indeed the more to be thanked by men who unanimously applaud it and desire it in their homeland, presaging perhaps the good of the universal reform of corrupt customs. This is a consequence of the diligent cultivation of that tender and easy-to-straighten plants which are the boys, before they harden and become difficult, not to say impossible, to guide; as we see in the men already adult. Despite all the help of prayers, talks and sacraments, few change their lives and only a small minority become converted[261].

261 MT 15.

In the background, the pastor teaches and heals. He cooperates to identify the teaching of the Spirit and prevents and cures evil by helping the child to express all the inner feeling until he finds the place of peace from where the capacity to love is born as from a fountain of living water. The texts where Calasanz speaks of the service of the Authority so that they can understand and help their companions and brothers, I use them to understand the interior of children and young people: Try to understand his interior well with the love of a father, for he is in dire need of help[262]. To be right with God... the only remedy is to communicate all your interior sentiments [to the spiritual father or competent master] so that the enemy cannot defeat you in anything. If you work in this way, you will attain great peace, which is a great treasure... Work according to my advice, because I am sure that you will do well, and you must do so, because our life is short. May the Lord bless us all[263].

262 EP 1415 [EP 736].

263 EP 736. Calasanz says: To express all his interior sentiments to the Superior, who is Fr Peter.

3.6. Disciples of the Master who receives small and poor people and towns

What you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me, says the Lord: If those of our people who have gone to those regions should consider that what is done for a poor child is received by Christ in his own person, I am sure they would use greater diligence[264].

264 EP 2441.

3.6.1. Calasanzian biblical texts on receiving small and poor people and towns

According to Mt 18, 1-10 [3.10] the greatest is the least: At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said to him: Who then is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? He called a child, put him in their midst and said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever therefore humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives one such child in my name receives me. But whoever scandalizes one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him to have one of those millstones hung around his neck and to be sunk in the depths of the sea... Beware of despising one of these little ones; for I tell you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of the Father who is in heaven.

Calasanz invites us to become like children and not to despise them, to know how to receive them with the love of a Father: Since we profess ourselves to be truly poor of the Mother of God, under no circumstances will we despise poor children and always, in all circumstances and with characteristic determination, we will help the poor, even if they are ragged[265].

265 CC 4 and Calasanz’ explanation of this number in Declarations on our Constitutions, Rules and Common Rites. They were written by Calasanz in 1637. Cfr. Fr. Lecea, Jesús María. Analecta Calasanziana, n. 50 - 1983, p. 570.

For Calasanz, to become like a child is a practice: it is to look at God, it is to give him his hand. It is to be simple. It is to stop looking at the multiplicity of greedy desires. You have stopped looking at God to look with thought or imagination at the creature. Whoever arrives at this practice of knowing how to maintain himself like a two-year-old child, who falls many times without help, will always distrust himself and will always invoke the help of God. And this is what is meant by that sentence so little understood and much less practiced: “Unless you become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven” [Mt 18:3]. Learn this practice and strive to attain this great simplicity, for then you will find true that sentence that says: “He is intimate with the simple” [Prov 3:32]. May the Lord grant this grace to you and to all your companions, whom you will greet on my behalf[266].

266 EP 912.

Mt 25, [40.45] reminds us that the true Presence of the Lord sees small and poor people. We will ask the Lord at the end of our life “When did we see you small and poor?” He will answer us: Truly I tell you, whatever you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me... Truly I tell you, whatever you failed to do to one of the least of these, you failed to do to me.

3.6.2. How does it touch the heart of Calasanz to receive small and poor people?

The following text of Calasanz is shocking. It makes sense because we act according to the charism, that is, we were founded for the poor: As for receiving poor students, you work in a holy way by admitting as many as come. Because our institute was founded for them. And what is done for them is done for Christ. The same is not said of the rich[267]. You could and should have used your talents in favor of many poor children, who represent the person of Christ... See to it that you do not have to give a narrow account of your idle talents[268].

267 EP 2812. Calasanz does not exclude receiving wealthy students. Since the school is located in small and poor people and villages, it also admits the few rich people who come to the free Pious Schools. It is a question of charism, that is, for whom we have been founded. It is not a question of exclusion. Later the Church will tell us: They must admit poor students, they can admit rich students [Brief Nobis Quibus of Clement XII. 1731].

268 EP 4465.

3.6.3. The discipleship of receiving the little poor gives us the mission of the Pious School

Life in common is lived in the logic of the Body of the Lord as described by the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 12:24-25. The poorest members must be cared for. In order that there may be no division in the Body of the Lord, we must give equal attention to everybody, giving greater honor to the members that lacked it: God formed the body by giving greater honor to the members that lacked it, so that there would be no division in the body, but the members should have the same concern for one another[269].

269 For Calasanz, the Community, as the Body of the Lord, is at the service of the poor students and these are members of the Body of the Lord.

Calasanz tells us clearly that the little poor are members of the Body of the Lord. They are members of our community, for we are the Body of the Lord inclined towards those who need it most: Let all of you be there with strenuous spirit, to serve the Lord in his members who are the poor. That we may hear in due time: “As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” [Mt 25:40][270].

270 Cu 1445.

3.7. Conclusion

Being a Disciple of the Master gives us the Mission of the Pious School:

- With his obedience we lower ourselves to give light to the children according to their aptitude.

- With the apostolic poverty he makes us reach small and poor people and villages.

- With humility we lower ourselves to know ourselves, lowering ourselves to the most needy.

- With love every adverse or prosperous situation is good to follow the crucified one.

- With goodness as a shepherd, we accompany each boy in his reality.

- By doing good to the little ones, through education that evangelizes, we see the presence of the Lord on this earth.

We are educational communities that look to the smallest and poorest members so that there is no division in the Body of the Lord.

Calasanz tells us: Each one has to show the affection and love he has for his neighbor in order to show the inner love he has for God[271]. It is necessary to leave the false world and follow in the footsteps of Christ by entering into the spiritual life[272]. It is a matter of allowing oneself to be conformed to Christ through the Spirit.

271 EP 4495.

272 EP 1882.

The following chapters of the book are part of discipleship. We are good disciples of the Master’s school when:

- We are the body of the Lord [Chapter IV]

- We are men of prayer [Chapter V]

- We leave everything for the love of the Lord [Chapter VI]

- We are Piarist priests [Chapter VII]

- We are poor of the Mother of God [Chapter VIII]

- We live our Piarist ministry [Chapter IX]

3.8. Integration Questions

1. What strikes you about being a Disciple of the Master?

2. What reactions and reflections have been awakened?

3. Is there anything that you find difficult to accept? What? Why?

4. What has touched your heart?

5. What questions do you have about being a disciple of the Master’s school?

6. Do you feel invited to some attitude or behavior by the action of the Spirit in you? Do you want to spend some time in prayer with some phrase or word that has touched your heart until you discover the human behavior that the anointing of the Spirit gives you?

7. How does the Lord relate to you? Make a list of biblical texts that have touched your heart throughout your life and ask yourself: How is the Lord in those texts? How are you?

Chapter IV

We are the body of the Lord

1Cor 12 [4.6.7.11.13.21.22.26.27]

Life in common indicates that God is present. The true Presence of the Lord can only be lived in community because He makes community with every human being. This way we are disciples of the Master’s school: I hear that you always observe the common life. This is a sign that true charity exists there and, consequently, that God is present[273].

273 EP 2960.

Calasanz speaks:

- Of the Body of the Congregation: Someone is needed who assumes as his personal objective the good government, the care and growth of the whole body of the Congregation: this is the Father General[274].
274 CC 257.

- That we all form one Body: In our religion, brothers are as necessary as clerics and priests, because they all form one body. And we do not one must say to the other: I do not need your help. But in holy peace, with great merit, let each one work according to his aptitude for the pure love of God[275].
275 EP 3990. Here he quotes St. Paul the Apostle in 1 Cor 12:21.

- That the evil of one does harm to the whole Body: YR do what you can and may none of the Religion lose reputation, because the one´s evil harms the whole Body[276].
276 EP 1492.

- Of the head and the members: It is necessary to arrange the things of Religion both in the head and in the members[277].
277 EP 1693.

- Of serving the Lord in his members who are the poor: Let all be there with a strenuous spirit, to serve the Lord in his members who are the poor[278].
278 Cu 1445.

- That we live in the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit: In the Church of God and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, religious institutions tend to perfect charity as their genuine goal, through the exercise of their ministry[279].
279 CC 1.

Today we say that the Body of the Lord, or the People of God, are a community of communities united by the same Spirit with diverse charisms.

4.1. The first thing in the Body of the Congregation is the action of the Holy Spirit in the people

The first thing in the Community is the One who is community; He makes community with every human being. The first thing is the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the charism that he gave to Calasanz, who dwells in each member of the Body. I believe that this is the mystery of community life: to make community as God makes community with every human being according to the gift he has given us. The action of the Holy Spirit makes community by including himself in the person, making him capable of going out of himself for the educational benefit of his small and poor neighbor, overcoming all personal interests. For this reason, it is necessary to discover and lead each one where the guidance of the Holy Spirit inclines him: On one point we want to warn the Master earnestly: that he may discover in each novice the internal inclination or, what is the same, the guidance of the Holy Spirit who teaches the humble to pray with ineffable groanings; along this path he will strive to lead each one to the summit of perfection[280].

280 CC 23.

If the novice or the Piarist have connected with the One who is Community and let themselves be led by Him, they are witnesses of community life and in the community meetings they will let to speak the one who knows how to make community: Let everyone be there and let everyone know and participate, through the weekly congregation, in what is being done. The Holy Spirit often speaks through the mouth of a simple person, especially if he is devout[281].

281 Cu 519.

I admire the joyful look that Calasanz has on the Community: The Spirit speaks through the persons; we have to arrange the work according to the aptitude or talent that the Spirit has given to each one. This is one of the keys of the community union because the other key of the unity is that all be at the educational service of the poor students. In this way we can grow in our own knowledge, in the service of religion and of poor students.

The community is centered on the gift of the Piarist mission or our educational ministry. Placed according to our aptitude, we know how to lead the children according to their aptitude: I am sure that the Holy Spirit will always show his will through someone. Gathered together, then, arrange the work to be done by each one, according to his aptitude. And then, with this union, let they all attend first to the benefit of their own souls and then to the service of religion and of the poor students. I will be very happy for all your good[282]. I emphasize the contemplative gaze of Calasanz: I rejoice very much for all the good of each Piarist.

282 EP 3198.

Calasanz speaks of coming together to discern:

- Our educational mission, giving the floor to all the members of the community: It is sometimes better to govern with a few who are united, than with many, some of whom are disunited... I wish that at least once a week you would have a small congregation to discuss the things of the school and the way to improve them, listening to the opinion of all, since the Holy Spirit often speaks through the mouth of the one who is least thought of[283].
283 EP 132. Rome, 31 December 1622.

- The good government of the house, that is, we evaluate what we live and do, giving the floor to all the members of the community: Because the Lord is no respecter of persons and ordinarily reveals his secrets to the simple, we desire that the local ministers themselves, at least once a month in the oratory after prayer, discuss in the presence of all the good government of the house, hearing the opinion of each one to see what the Holy Spirit inspires[284]. For four eyes see more than two, and an abundance of counselors brings salvation[285].
284 Exhortation of Our Holy Father to Superiors - RC 13,47

285 Prov. 11,14 EP 1331.

- How to understand and help the children in the sacrament of reconciliation: Try to behave in such a way that peace and union are preserved in that house, and that all are employed according to their talents; that the priests have a meeting at least three times a week on a case of conscience in the afternoon recreation so that all may be more apt to confess[286].
286 EP 1008. Rome, 2 December 1628.

We treat each other as true companions and brothers in the Spirit: We are true brothers in the Spirit[287]. We must not let those whom we have had as brothers in Christ during this life of religious observance fall into oblivion after death[288]. I knew the interior goodness of Fr. Gelio... My dear companion for many years and brother in the Lord[289].

287 EP 2351.

288 CC 82.

289 EP 16. Calasanz likes to call every Piarist “Companion” and “Brother”, instead of “subject”.

The best for the sick, the elderly and those of weak constitution: It is ordered to all Provincials and other superiors that the best places and rooms in our houses be reserved for the sick. In newly built houses, an infirmary is to be installed, isolated and located in the most pleasant part of the building[290]. Affable and loving treatment of the sick[291]. Special care shall be taken with the elderly and those of weak constitution[292]. For the time being, dedicate yourself to the service of the sick for the love of God alone, for whom we must expose ourselves to every bodily danger. He accepts in his own person all that is done for the poor and sick, especially on such occasions[293].

290 Declarations on the Constitutions 1637.

291 CC 75.

292 CC 78.

293 EP 1580. To Fr Alacchi, 1631.

4.1.1. Calasanzian biblical texts on “We are the Body of the Lord”

For the Apostle St. Paul the Body of the Lord is a living organism, and functions by giving life from God. The source of this life is the same Spirit who works all in all, creating unity and diversity. You can see how Calasanz identifies his community charism exactly like the Body of the Lord.

In 1 Cor 12:4-28 [21] the Spirit creates unity and diversity, all being the Body of the Lord.

The Spirit creates unity by dwelling in each person. He works everything in everyone; and he creates diversity: We are God’s participation with diverse charisms. Each human being manifests a unique light and a common power of love: There is a diversity of charisms, but the same Spirit; a diversity of ministries, but the same Lord; a diversity of actions, but the same God who works all in all. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith in the same Spirit; to another the charism of healings in the one Spirit; to another the power of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another diversities of tongues; to another the gift of interpretation. But all these things are worked by one and the same Spirit, distributing them to each according to his will.

We all drink of the same Spirit. We come together in community because we are witnesses of being one[294]. For just as the body is one, though it has many members, and all the members of the body, notwithstanding their plurality, do not form but a single body, so too does Christ. For we were all baptized into one Spirit, that we might all be one body, both Jews and Greeks, slaves and free. And we all have drunk of one Spirit.

294 This is an expression of Paul Ferrini in his book The Twelve Steps of Forgiveness.

Each member of the body gives to the whole body what it needs: So also, the body is not made up of one member, but of many. If the foot should say, “Since I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” would it cease to be part of the body for that reason? And if the ear should say: Since I am not an eye, I am not of the body, would I cease to be part of the body for that reason? If the whole body were the eye, where would the ear be? And if it were all hearing, where would smell be?

Now then, God placed each of the members in the body according to his will. If all were one member, where would the body be? Therefore, the members are many, but the body is one. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee. Nor the head to the feet: I have no need of you.

Unity happens by paying attention and respect to the weaker members. If one member suffers all the others suffer with it. If one member is honored, all feel honored: Rather, the members of the body that we consider the weakest are indispensable. And those which seem to us the vilest of the body, we surround with greater honor. Thus, our dishonest parts we clothe with greater honesty. For our honest parts do not need it. God formed the body by giving greater honor to the members that lacked it, so that there would be no division in the body, but all the members shall have the same concern for one another. If one member suffers, all the others suffer with him. If one member is honored, all the others share in his joy.

We are the Body of Christ: each member makes it visible: Now you are the body of Christ, and its members each in its own way. This is how God placed them in the Church...[295]

295 1Cor 12,4-28 [21]. In his letters, Calasanz is speaking that we are one Body, that is why I have written the whole chapter 12 of First Corinthians about the Body of the Lord.

The Apostle Paul in Corinthians does not speak of head and members; he speaks of our being inhabited by one and the same Spirit, and of all of us forming the Body of Christ. We can make the invisible visible because he acts in us. We only perceive the effects of his action that inclines us to be useful to our small and poor neighbor.

Community life is going forth[296]. Each member goes out to serve the other members of the body without any personal interest and the whole body goes out to the poorest members, to the mission, to our Piarist ministry, as Calasanz says: Let all of you be there with a strong spirit, to serve the Lord in his members who are the poor. So that we may hear in due time: “As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me”[297].

296 This is an expression of Pope Francis.

297 Cu 1445. 10 February 1647.

In the letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul also speaks of the Body of the Lord.

In Rom 12:3-16 the common life is imbued with humility and charity. Esteem is born of realizing what God has given us. We are one body in Christ, having different gifts for the service of the other members of the body: By virtue of the grace given to me, I say to all of you, do not esteem yourselves more highly than is fitting, but rather esteem yourselves soberly according to the measure of faith that God has given to each one of you. For just as our body, in its unity, has many members, and not all members have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, being members one of another. But having gifts differing according to the grace given to us, if prophecy, let us exercise them to the extent of our faith; if ministry, in ministry; teaching, by teaching; exhortation, by exhorting. He who gives, with simplicity; he who presides, with solicitude; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let your charity be without pretense; detesting evil, adhering to good; loving one another cordially; esteeming one another more highly; with zeal without neglect; with a fervent spirit; serving the Lord; with the joy of hope; constant in tribulation; persevering in prayer; sharing the needs of the saints; practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Be of one mind toward one another...[298]

298 The whole text is reminiscent of Calasanz in his letters

According to Jn 17:20-21, love is born of our feeling that we are freely included in one another: I pray not only for these, but also for those who through their word will believe in me, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I in you, may they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

And finally, in Galatians 5:5-6 we see that faith works through charity: As for us, through the Spirit and faith we hope for the righteousness we long for. For being of Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any efficacy, but faith working through love.

Calasanz speaks to us in his Constitutions and in his various writings about faith acting through Charity. I am not able to identify all the times he writes about the love of God and neighbor. I only highlight a few phrases that he applies preferably to Superiors and Masters: Love is patient and does not seek its own.

- Love is patient to see goodness and to know how to give the offices according to the talent of each one: Those who have such an office of Provincial must possess great patience to take advantage of the talent they see in each subject and to know how to remedy with the affection of a Father the faults and imperfections[299]. There is a great difference in the government of a house, if one knows how to give the offices according to the talent of each one[300].
299 EP 3721.

300 EP 2983.

- Love does not seek its own, it seeks the good of its neighbor. We give to our neighbor what God has given to us. Hence the need for self-knowledge to discern the two tendencies in us. Service is done with joy: It is necessary to divest ourselves of the royal garments of self-love and, with the bare feet of good example in everything, to clothe ourselves from head to toe in the mantle of holy Charity, which makes us joyfully realize that admirable saying of the Apostle: Charity does not seek its own. Therefore, as good shepherds of the Lord’s flock, you should provide first of all for the spiritual and bodily needs of the sheep entrusted to you... so that you may be at ease and do God’s service cheerfully[301]. Each one must show the affection and love he has for his neighbor in order to show the love he has for God[302].
301 Our Holy Father’s Exhortation to Superiors - RC 13,47.

302 EP 4495.

- Love is humble: Humility makes men very apt to know the truth and to love the true good. Through humility we learn to know what is to be done in all actions[303].
303 EP 4532 and EP 1325.

- In community life as well as in the educational mission, it is necessary to lead persons according to their aptitude or talent so that peace and community union come about. Calasanz tells us: I know very well the talent that each one of us has in our religion[304], because in his Constitutions, Father General was to have: A catalog of all the houses of the Congregation and another of the professed persons or those on probation who are in each house and province. In it, along with their names, their qualities will be described in detail. See to it that it is updated every year[305].
304 Cu 490.

305 CC 262.

This is also what 1Pet. 4:10 affirms. Let each one use willingly the grace he has received: Let each one put the grace he has received at the service of others, as good stewards of the various graces of God.

Thus, the Apostle Paul ends by saying in 2 Cor. 3:11: Finally, brethren, rejoice; be perfect; be of good cheer; be of one mind; live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.

For according to 1 Cor 13:1-13 [4.5.7] holy charity joyfully brings to fulfillment that wonderful saying of the Apostle: “Charity seeks not her own: Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, yet if I have not charity, I am as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Though I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; though I have fullness of faith so as to remove mountains, yet if I have not love, I am nothing. Though I bestow all my goods, though I give my body to the flames, yet if I have not charity, I profit nothing. Charity is patient, is kind; charity is not envious; it is not boastful or arrogant, or rude; it does not seek its own interest; it is not irritated; it does not take account of evil; it does not rejoice in injustice; it rejoices in the truth. It excuses all things. It believes all things. It hopes all things. It bears all things. Charity never ends... Now faith, hope and charity subsist, these three. But the greatest of them all is charity.

4.1.2. Other biblical texts quoted by Calasanz to live the common life

We must be aware of what the Lord tells us in Mt 18:19-20 [20]. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them: Amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth to ask anything, whatever it may be, they shall obtain it of my Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

This loving Presence says in Rom 15:1-3 [1] that we should help one another: We who are strong should bear the infirmities of the weak and not seek our own pleasure. Let each one seek to please his neighbor for the good, seeking his edification; for neither did Christ seek his own pleasure.

Until we do what Jesus did with us. He burdened us with his love. This is what Eph 4:1-7 [1] invites us to do: I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, exhort you to live in a way worthy of the vocation to which you have been called, with all humility, meekness and patience, bearing with one another out of love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the bond of peace. One body and one Spirit, as one is the hope to which you have been called. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, acts through all and is in all. To each of us grace has been given according to the measure of Christ’s gifts. As we will see later, for Calasanz, to bear with others is to help the brother to unburden himself of his imperfections by expressing all his inner feelings.

According to Mt 18:15-17 [15], fraternal dialogue has its steps: If your brother sins, go and rebuke him, alone with him. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. If he does not listen to you, take one or two others with you, so that all matters may be settled by the word of two or three witnesses. If he disregards them, tell it to the community. And if he disobeys even the community, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Start again with all love to help him.

Fraternal dialogue must be sincere according to Mt 7:1-5 [2]. Judge not, that you be not judged: For with the judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with the measure you mete, you shall be measured. How is it that you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you have a log in your own eye? Take first the beam out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

From God, without judgment, we can see better the goodness that the Spirit is doing in people and we can see better what to do in the face of imperfections, as Calasanz tells us: When you see some fault, you should admonish with brotherly love, so that the one who admonishes may produce fruit in his neighbor[306].

306 EP 1449.

We only have to live the unity that the Spirit, by dwelling in all of us, has given us; without separating us from it, as he tells us: Acts 2, 42-45 [44]. We are already One: [The Jerusalem community] were constant in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers... All the believers were of one mind and had all things in common; they sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all, according to each one’s need.

This is the unity that the Trinity lives in every human being. The Lord affirms in Jn 17:11-26 [11] as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us: Holy Father, watch over them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one... As you, Father, have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world... As you, Father, are in me and I in you, may they also be one in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me... Father those whom you have given me, I want them to be with me where I am... I have made your name known to them and I will continue to make it known to them so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.

Let us not forget what Num 22, 22-35 says: Every person is the Word of God. In the community meetings, Calasanz, wants everyone to speak because if God spoke through Balam’s donkey, how much more for a person who has no education: Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two assistants were with him. When the donkey saw the angel of God, standing in the road and ready to attack Balaam with a sword, she got out of the way. Without further thought, Balaam struck the donkey to get her back on the road. Then the angel of God stood on a very narrow road, between the stone walls of two vineyards. When the donkey saw the angel, she stepped aside and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. Then Balaam struck him again. Then the angel went forward and stood in a place so narrow that no one could move to either side. When the donkey saw the angel, she fell to the ground and would not go another step. Balaam became very angry and struck the donkey with a stick. At that moment, God made the donkey speak and said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, why did you strike me three times? Balaam answered, “You have mocked me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now! The donkey replied, “I am your donkey! All my life I have carried you everywhere, and I have never treated you badly, as you have done to me today! Balaam replied, “You are right. At that very moment, God allowed Balaam to see the angel, standing in the road and ready to attack him with his sword. Balaam then knelt down to touch the ground with his forehead, and the angel of God said to him, “Why did you strike your donkey three times? It was I who closed the way for you, for it does not seem to me that you should go to Moab. If your donkey had not seen me and had not stopped three times, I would have killed you by now, and left her alive. Balaam said, “Forgive me, Lord. I have behaved very badly. I did not know that you were trying to stop me on the road. If you do not want me to go to Moab, I will return to my house at once. And the angel of God said to him, “Go with them, but you will say only what I tell you[307].

307 Num 22, 22-35. Exhortation of Our Holy Father to Superiors - RC 13,47. Special General Chapter. Order of the Pious Schools. Rome 1969. Declaration on Calasanzian Spirituality, Note 138.

4.1.3. Here are other letters of Calasanz where he tells us how other biblical texts touch his heart

Where there are two or three gathered in my name I am in their midst. We have already spoken of community gatherings[308]. If you meet with zeal for the glory of God and for the greater good of the students, you will find in practice that the Holy Spirit will be in your midst, because where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst[309].

308 It can help community life to have a cycle of weekly meetings. The first week is a meeting to get to know one another. From mutual knowledge comes love. The second week meeting for ongoing formation. The third week on the mission and the understanding of children’s cases. The fourth week evaluation of all that we have lived and worked on.

309 EP 265. EP 1172. EP 2147. EP 2757.

It is necessary to learn to bear with each other’s imperfections. To bear is to help to unburden oneself of imperfections little by little. It is a blessing that the behavior of the brethren awakens in us different passions. Everyone has to look at how to understand those passions and what personal history they hide in order to know how to name, manage and heal them. We awaken them mutually in order to grow in the spiritual life, in the life of dedication to our brothers and sisters: Let us try to put into practice the advice of St. Paul, that is, to bear with each other’s imperfections, so that they may live in holy peace, which I would like to give them more in deeds than in words[310]. Let them have with each other the charity that their evil requires[311]. Those who have some spirit must help with charity and patience those who have imperfections and faults, so that in this way the service of God may be done[312].

310 EP 2036.

311 EP 237.

312 EP 2538.

To bear with patience is to help him to gradually rid himself of his imperfections: Try to console him and treat him with paternal affection because, as Superior, you must bear with the imperfections of your subjects and help them to rid themselves of them little by little. It is not possible for one to become perfect immediately[313]. Corrections in the room, from solo to solo, usually produce optimal fruit[314].

313 EP 899.

314 Cu 580.

If there is simplicity, there is connection with the Spirit of God and one can see with the eyes of the Spirit the goodness of the persons and therefore compassion is born. It impels me not to criticize or disqualify the brother for his imperfection, but it hurts me to see the brother with that imperfection and it is born for me to pray, to understand his interior because he needs help: With the Spirit of God withstood all insults[315]. Holy simplicity is very dear to the Lord, and with the truly simple he is accustomed to deal at ease... Try to close your eyes to the imperfections of others, considering yourself only in the presence of God, so that the faults of the brethren will not cause you discomfort. Moreover, he should pray frequently to the Lord for them[316].

315 EP 2362.

316 EP 862.

To live fraternal dialogue adequately, it is necessary to understand the brother. It is necessary to put on the ears of empathy to identify the facts, the feelings, the needs and what is being asked for[317]. It is necessary to identify with clarity that behind criticism or tense environments, what is there is that:

317 In this way of speaking, I have Marshall Rosenberg in his book Nonviolent Communication. Ed. Urano. Year 2000.

- People are not placed according to their talents: If individuals are well distributed, according to their talents and trying to have them all united in holy peace, things can only go well[318].
318 EP 2559.

- The corporal or spiritual needs of the people are not met or the people do not take responsibility for their needs: Superiors, as good shepherds of the Lord’s flock, must provide first of all for the spiritual and bodily needs of the sheep entrusted to them, so that they may be at ease and do God’s service joyfully[319]. I cannot bear not to serve you in your need. May the Lord grant you His grace to serve Him better[320].
319 Part of the Exhortation of our Holy Father to Superiors - RC 13,47.

320 EP 1235.

- One is carried away by passions: Greedy feelings insatiable in their first impulse, which each one has to learn to understand, manage and cure. It is the responsibility of each one to do this work with the help of competent people: None of you must remain obstinate in his opinion but, as a servant of God, when one proposes something and gives his reasons, the other must say with peace his opinion and give his reasons likewise. And then, without passion, resolve whatever seems more convenient[321].
321 EP 1958.

- There is no atmosphere of affable and loving treatment in daily life. To a married couple he says: It gives me occasion to beg you this with the greatest humility that I can, a few words of the letter of Your Lordship where you affirm that you say neither good morning nor good afternoon. I have prayed and I will continue to pray that the Lord may inspire this holy union in your hearts with efficacy[322].
322 EP 3289.

- We do not experience the unity that the Lord has already given us: Sometimes it is better to govern a house with a few who are united than with many, some of whom are disunited[323].
323 For community tensions and conflicts: Cfr. Calasanz´ Intuitions… p.130-135.

Therefore, when it seems that there is no community life, we must ask ourselves what is behind it in order to solve it with peace: Are the persons placed according to their talents? Are the fundamental needs satisfied, as far as possible? Does the person need to be understood in his passionate impulses in order to help him? Is there in the community a kind treatment in daily life? Do we experience the unity that the Lord has given us? If it happens that one corrects the other, take the warning with a good heart[324]. Admonishing with brotherly love, so that the one who admonishes may produce good fruit in the neighbor[325]. As for the brother... try to understand his interior with the love of a Father, for he is in dire need of help[326].

324 EP 1953.

325 EP 1449.

326 EP 1415.

All should tend towards unity. Unity already exists. We see it being born and growing when:

- We realize that the Lord does not come alone, he comes with all the people where he is and he comes loving them.

- We identify in ourselves and in others, with clarity, the charism and mission of the Pious Schools.

- We place each person according to his aptitude or talent in any part of the world. We are pilgrims.

- We realize that we all drink from the same Spirit.

- We respond in community to the mission of educating by evangelizing small and poor people and towns.

We gather together because we are witnesses that we are already one[327]. Calasanz tells us: I recommend peace and union among you as Christ recommended it to the Apostles[328]. I wish you to be of one heart and one soul in the service of God[329]. Let the Superior strive so that all may tend toward unity of sentiments, of language, of thought, of wills. Thus united, by the bond of fraternal love, they will consecrate themselves more effectively to the service of God and of their neighbor[330]. YR is right to be as charitable as you are to everyone...I recommend to you not to forget those at home, because well-ordered charity begins with oneself[331]. See to it that even if there are only two of you, you never leave the common exercises that we do here, because leaving this week one that seems not to matter much, little by little you leave the others[332].

327 It is an expression of Paul Ferrini in some of his books.

328 EP 1958.

329 EP 4028.

330 CC 171.

331 EP 907.

332 EP 276.

4.2. We are a missionary community

For Calasanz the community is at the service of poor students in any part of the world.

The letter that, I believe, Your Eminence [Cardinal Dietrichsteis of Nikolsburg] has written to the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide seems to me to be the work of the Holy Spirit, because in the minds of some superiors a certain aversion towards our institute has infiltrated and it has been heard that sending people of ours to foreign countries is not well seen by all because we are so few in number and we do not have subjects prepared like the other religions. I yield to more sound judgment and words, but being cooperators of the divine will and its power while we do not enter into such functions by ourselves, I hope that He will give us the necessary strength. I am more than ever ready to continue the enterprise begun, and I am sure that the furious impetus of hell, which fears to suffer great loss because of our poor family in these and other places, will not prevail in overthrowing us. Be assured, Your Eminence, that I will not fail to do all I can to serve you, begging you to bear in mind that we grow little by little, as happens with natural plants. Had we people from the country it would be easier and much quicker, finding great difficulty because of the distance of the journey and the difference in language. However, we will not back out; on the contrary, I hope shortly to send more, among whom I would very much like to be able to count myself, so that I could personally show my affection in the service of Your Eminence and for the benefit of your subjects[333].

333 EP 2049.

When Calasanz speaks of our religious Congregation or our Order, he uses the image of plants. It is a good image to treat us in Community and to treat the little ones: We grow little by little like the natural plants and however small and weak a plant may be, if it happens that an experienced gardener takes care of it and looks after it, in a short time it will grow, bloom and bear fruit. Your Eminence sees how small and weak is the nascent plant of this work of God. I beg you never to neglect its care, for perhaps sometime you will taste its ripe and sweet fruit[334].

334 EP 2049. Cu 831.

The same image is used for children. Do you not notice the same relationship between the common life and our common mission? The reform of the Church and Society is a consequence of the diligent cultivation of those tender and easy to straighten plants that are the children, before they harden and become difficult, not to say impossible to guide, as we see it in men already made. Despite all the help of prayers, talks and sacraments, few change their life and really become a meager minority[335].

335 MT 15.

4.3. Discerning the Body of the Lord336

336 This is an expression of the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 11:28. It refers to having the poor in mind when we celebrate the Eucharist. Calasanz uses this expression in order for us to study this sacrament.

Calasanz speaks of the sacrament of the Mass, of the Eucharist, as the Body of the Lord and invites us to understand what we pronounce with our heart: And because he knows little of so great a mystery and sacrament, he should first of all study it well so that it cannot be said that he does not discern the Body of the Lord[337].

337 Cu 470.

- Before beginning the Eucharist, consider that you carry an embassy to the eternal Father on behalf of the whole Church. Today we can say that the Lord is united to every human being and when we celebrate the Eucharist, we must bring all people to the table of the Presence that loves. We celebrate with the whole universe and the whole Body of the Lord: Consider, before beginning the Mass, that you carry an embassy to the eternal Father on behalf of the whole holy Church, not only for the exaltation of the Catholic faith and forgiveness of sinners, but also for the relief of the souls of the faithful departed. To ask for such graces, much humility is needed, and it is good to begin well from the beginning[338].
338 EP 1350. Rome, 29 March 1630.

- Calasanz tells us that: We speak with the eternal Father and with the Trinity...one speaks with blessed God and with the Most Holy Trinity...And he adds: Understand what the words you pronounce mean and say them...with the heart[339].
339 Cu 441 y 444.

- In the Eucharist, Jesus makes us participate in the love that he lived in his passion so that we can communicate it to the children who come to our schools: We must go out of the holy sacrifice of the Mass with zeal for the service of God[340]. You will ask God, therefore, one and more times every day in secret, and especially at Mass, for the grace to be able to bear that fruit to which you are obliged in the children who come to our schools because he who does not have in himself fervor and love of God, cannot communicate it to others[341].
340 Cu 445.

341 Cu 1255.

- United to make visible the invisible One who receives us in his Body[342] for the service of small and poor people and towns. Strive always to be very united in the service of the Lord[343]. Be there with a strong spirit, to serve the Lord in his members who are the poor. So that we may hear in due time: as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me[344].
342 He receives us in his Body is an expression of Pope Benedict XVI.

343 EP 168. Rome, 9 July 1623.

344 Cu 1445.

4.3.1. Calasanzian biblical text on the sacrament of the Body of the Lord

The Apostle St. Paul speaks to us that: Only one bread, only one Body we are. We make communion with the covenant that Christ made by giving his life to every human being. Keeping in mind Calasanz’ advice to understand the meaning of the words we pronounce, I believe that the best text is 1 Cor 10:16: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a communion with the blood of Christ? And the bread that we break, is it not a communion with the body of Christ? Because there is only one bread, and though we are many, yet we are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

4.4. Conclusion

- The community is born from the awareness of the One who is Community. God makes community with the human being by including himself in every person through his Spirit. The One who is Community dwells in us in an invisible way, therefore we are his visible Body. Only the Spirit knows how to make community. If we Piarists are formed to identify the One who is Community that dwells in every human being, we know how to make community taking into account our Piarist vocation and mission. It is a community that makes visible the invisible One who makes community:

- The Spirit who is the action of the Father and of the Son dwelling in every human being is selfless. He gives us what he receives from the Father and from the Son to give it to all the members of the Body of the Lord, especially to the small and poor members.

- God does not come alone, He comes with all the people where He is, He comes with His Body. That means, and here I am at a loss for words, that before I meet you, I feel you are included in the Presence that dwells in me; that is why God is in me, loving you. We are already one. We are united by the Spirit.

- The love of God has been poured into our hearts with the Spirit that has been given to us. That is why every situation, whether adverse or prosperous, is a good opportunity to love with the same love that God loves us. The Spirit does not condemn, but only reminds us that we can be free[345].
345 This is an expression of Paul Ferrini.

- The way we communicate each other is very important in creating a favorable environment for community life. We must know how to translate people’s judgments by asking ourselves the following question: What does this person expect or value when he or she speaks like this? When he says no, whom is he saying yes to?[346]
346 Here I recommend Marshall Rosenberg. Nonviolent Communication. [How to use the power of language to avoid conflicts and reach peaceful solutions]. Ediciones Urano. Barcelona. 2000.

- The community is the place where the transformation of people takes place. It is there where the dedication to each member takes place, especially to the small and poor members. We are a living organism at the service of the weakest members of the community and of people and cities, towns and small and poor neighborhoods in great need of educational assistance.

- The other member of the community is another in himself[347]. That is to say, he is inhabited by the Spirit of Christ as I am, by the same Piarist charism as I am. That is our common good. When we look like this, we are looking with the eyes of the Spirit.
347 This is an expression of Paul Ferrini.

- God acts through the humanity of Jesus and through every human being because we are his Body.

- The Spirit unites and differentiates. The action of the Holy Spirit longs for we respect the unity in the diversity that he himself creates. I do not want by means of agreements to deny the difference of our brothers because that difference is the sap that runs in the Body of the Lord to help one another. It could be that the variance is so different from the charism that the only thing it is saying is that a gift is appearing, different from the original charism. Here it is necessary to discern what the Holy Spirit suggests.

- The Lord speaks through every person, whether they are educated or not, whether they are children, young or old. That is why in the meetings we have to listen to each person. How good it is to have a rhythm of community meetings where we can all speak with confidence:

- Meeting of experiences to get to know each other. Respecting the rhythms of each person.

- Meeting on permanent formative processes.

- Community meeting to prepare the Sunday biblical readings through lectio divina or another suitable instrument.

- Meeting on our educational and pastoral mission taking into account the lines of the Order and the Province.

- Meeting on cases of children. We help each other to understand what the children experience in order to know how to help them, in the sacrament of confession or in spiritual or psychological accompaniment.

- Evaluation meeting where we express what works and what does not work to find solutions among all.

- I believe that the wisdom of Calasanz to manage tensions and conflicts makes us live all community meetings with discernment, and at the same time makes fraternal dialogue an opportunity to grow as Body of the Lord.

- In the Eucharist we experience how the Lord receives us all in his Body no matter how we are, from there is born our community relationship centered on the mission. In the Eucharist we celebrate the Body of the Lord that we are.

- How good it is to contemplate ourselves inhabited by God who makes us sharers in his way of being! If we pay attention to each person, the shining eyes of the Spirit will awaken in us to see the inner goodness, qualities, aptitudes and talents of our brothers and sisters. Filled with admiration, we will know how to help one another to grow in what God gives us with his closeness and freedom.

- It is a blessing that each member of the community can awaken our personal inconsistency, our insatiable greed, our unhealthy need to be recognized and loved, our imperfections and ambitions. We are already recognized and loved by the Lord. Others are never the cause of what happens in us, they are a stimulus to awaken our discomfort, they warn us of what we expect or value each one of us. From there we can communicate what we need or value without judgment or aggressiveness. Remember what Calasanz says: When the passions of sensitivity and of our mind are hidden, they are more dangerous; therefore, when they appear we are advanced in the spiritual life. All this is awakened in order to learn to manage our greedy tendency and to be able to heal the wounds of our personal history. The imperfections of all will be a good opportunity to feel the pain of those who suffer and to find ways to favor the expression of all that inner feeling that hides our wounds of personal history until we find the inner peace that opens us to our brothers and sisters. That is what Calasanz means by bearing: helping us to unload and heal our imperfections. What to do if that does not happen? One understands what is happening and will awaken acceptance of what the brother is experiencing for the moment. It is very healthy to learn to accept reality as it is by being compassionate and merciful as the Lord is with each one of us.

- The community is at the service of the mission. It is missionary. We are pilgrims to go where we are needed, according to obedience.

- The holiness of persons and of the community takes place in community life. The community is a representation of Paradise[348]. Community life is an expression of the Trinitarian Life that dwells in all the members of the Body.
348 EP 1524. Rome, 15 November 1630.

4.5. Integration questions

1. What struck you about the Calasanzian life in common?

2. What reactions and reflections have been awakened?

3. Is there anything that you find difficult to accept? What? Why?

4. Is there anything significant that has touched your heart?

5. What questions do you still have about being the Body of the Lord?

6. Do you feel invited by the Spirit to...?

7. Would you like to spend some time in prayer with a phrase or word that has touched your heart until you discover the human behavior that the anointing of the Spirit gives you?

8. How do you handle community tensions and conflicts?

Chapter V

We are men of prayer

Jn 3, 3-8 [8]. Rom 8, 26. 1Cor 2, 1-5 [2.4]

We are men of prayer, men of the spirit, friends of prayer when we cultivate it continually: If our religious were men of prayer... but, not being men of spirit, their thought is centered on the [covetous] senses. They will never bear fruit either for themselves or for their neighbor as long as they are not mortified and devout in prayer. See, now, what work can progress without spirit. However, among all those who are there, there will always be two or three who give themselves to the service of God and the usefulness of their neighbor, and these few keep the Holy Spirit so that he does not leave the house[349]. If they were friends of prayer, they would immediately heal their own will... their own will is very difficult to heal as YR sees it there in some by experience[350]. Without the cultivation of prayer every Religion is close to its relaxation and crumbling[351].

349 EP 2175. Rome, 7 January 1634.

350 EP 2256. Rome, 12 August 1634.

351 CC 44.

I have already expressed in the introduction what meditation and prayer is for Calasanz. Also, in the chapter on Wise men in the interior school I have written about how to identify the action of the Holy Spirit and what He is teaching us. On this occasion I return to the essentials of Calasanzian prayer by quoting other biblical texts. Everything you are about to read is centered on this question: What is prayer for Calasanz?[352]

352 For more information on prayer in Calasanz: Padilla, Luis. With Calasanz we are men of prayer. Ediciones Calasancias. Madrid/Rome 2010.

Since this chapter repeats some texts of Calasanz that I have written before, I hope you will read it keeping in mind what St. Ignatius says in his Spiritual Exercises: It is not much knowledge that satiates and satisfies, but the interior feeling of things. And on another occasion, he adds: Wherever you find what you are looking for, return again and again until you are satisfied[353]. Calasanz tells us that the most important thing is to meditate on how good the Lord is, to praise and bless him, and with joy to conform oneself to his most holy will[354].

353 Phrases of St. Ignatius.

354 EP 1468.

5.1. The Holy Spirit teaches the humble to pray with ineffable groaning[355]

355 Cfr. CC 23.

He teaches the humble. To be humble is to lower to know oneself. It is necessary to know the greedy inclination, the benefits of God and if we have been grateful or ungrateful to Him. In this process of self-knowledge, God is beatifying to man. God makes Himself known as Love. It is there that we can identify the conversations of the inner man who is the true Presence of the Lord. In that place of peace, which is the Love of God and makes us be ourselves, we identify the effects of the action of the Holy Spirit. We feel what he asks of us in order to put it into practice through human behaviors that are useful to the small and poor neighbor. Calasanz comments: The real man is the servant of God, that others are not men but in name... and a great servant of God is he who is not disturbed nor moved from his quietude, neither in adverse cases, nor in prosperous ones, but is always the same, that is, of one and the same being, without being moved from his place by passion. This being the same is what conquers the crown. And wherever passion intrudes, reason is disturbed, and once disturbed, it cannot judge freely[356]. It is a poor man’s business to take as alms again and again what the Lord inspires him[357].

356 Cu 991.

357 EP 163.

I don’t know where I read the following: Dag Hammarskjöld who was secretary of the United Nations and created the meditation hall that exists in the building, says: In each of us there is a center of stillness surrounded by silence. This center of stillness is already there and it is in each one of us. It is not necessary to create it, but only to find access to it.[358]

358 Cfr. EP 1165 y 2457.

St. John Paul II invites us to discover the Spirit as the One who animates men in their hearts and makes the seeds of salvation germinate within human life[359].

359 Text by St. John Paul II.

- This prayer is affective because the voice of the Spirit touches our heart and it is effective because that little touch gives us an inclination to serve the little ones: On one point we want to warn the Master earnestly: that he discover in each novice the internal inclination or, what is the same, the guidance of the Holy Spirit who teaches the humble to pray with ineffable groans; by that way he will strive to bring each one to the summit of perfection[360].
360 CC 23. There is a saint of the Russian Orthodox tradition (1815-1894]; his name is Theophanes the Recluse. When he speaks about prayer, he says: I want to remind you of just one thing. One must descend with the mind to the heart, to remain there before the face of the Lord who, because he is always present, sees everything within you. Prayer will have a firm and secure hold when a little fire [of love] begins to burn in the heart. Try not to extinguish this fire, and it will consolidate in such a way, that prayer will repeat itself; and then you will have within you a whispering stream.

- Notice what it is to be humble for Calasanz: God usually gives this grace to the humble, as the prophet says: he gives knowledge to the little ones, and the more one lowers himself in the knowledge of himself, the more God will exalt him in the knowledge of the invisible and eternal things. May the Lord grant us perfect conformity to his most holy will[361].
361 EP 4392. Rome, 12 August 1646

- To be humble is the beginning of the spiritual life: It is a good beginning of the spiritual life that of our own knowledge and misery in which we are all born, and also of the ingratitude with which after so many benefits, we have corresponded to God. And, if you exercise yourself in them with diligence I assure you, that you will have in this life some knowledge of God which is a science so great, that one particle of it, surpasses all the human sciences, after which men spend the best years of their life, and as recompense sciences tend to swell and exalt those who possess them. On the other hand, the knowledge of God beatifies man according to the degree to which, after knowledge, he grows in divine love. I exhort you that every day the first thing to do is to carry out this study, after which the Lord will grant you all the other things that the world does not know. For me it will be a great consolation, but the profit and merit for you will be very great, which the Lord will grant you abundantly, as I wish for myself[362].
362 EP 1339. Rome, 15 March 1630.

- In the process of knowing oneself, that is, in how we react to reality, we hear the voice of God, which is the voice of the Spirit that touches the heart and gives us the gift of his capacity to love: The voice of God is the voice of the Spirit, which comes and goes, touches the heart and passes, we do not even know where it comes from or when it blows. It is important, therefore, to be always alert so that it does not come suddenly and go away without fruit[363].
363 EP 131. Rome, 22 November 1622. I recall that Spirit in our language comes from the Latin Spiritus which is masculine. In Greek it is Neuma which is neuter. In Hebrew it is ruah which is feminine. All these sounds, with meaning in each language, point to translate them as vital breath, blow, wind, air, according to the contexts in which they appear.

- It is a matter of remaining united to Christ the Lord as the Lord is united to every human being, by means of the interior powers collected, and attentive to the conversations of the interior man who is the true Presence of the Lord from which the perfect charity comes like from a source. Keep united to Christ the Lord, desiring to live only for Him and to please Him alone[364]. The religious... must always have the interior powers recollected so that... He may be more attentive to the conversations of the interior man, who is the true Presence of the Lord, from where all the perfection of the religious soul is born as from a fountain[365]. How do we gather the inner powers? How do we become attentive to the conversations of the inner man? Alfredo Calvo, trainer of Personality and Human Relations invites us to interiorize ourselves in this way: To reach the deep zone, the intelligence needs to take distance from the preoccupations, projects and ideas of the cerebral-myself; from the disturbances of the sensibility; from the needs of the body; from others [in our depth we will find others much better] and from the environment. [From our depth we will look at our world from God]. For this, having made the decision to leave all that, the intelligence begins a movement of recollection towards the interior, until it reaches a place in the person where it feels free of all that. All this previous step is indispensable. In practice, this step is done by looking for the environment and the most convenient time to interiorize oneself. One can help oneself to this recollection by lowering one’s eyes. Once this distancing is achieved, it is necessary to go deeper. In the deep zone.
364 CC 34.

365 Cu 949.

Already in the deep zone our intelligence pays attention to what is happening there. That is to say, it tries to capture the sensations that are alive at that moment. A sensation is felt in the body and this type of sensation is felt in the abdomen [I like to say in the bowels] or very deep in oneself. Once the sensations have been located in the body, you call them by name, writing down the inventory of those you find. From the sensations noted down, we choose one that we feel will teach us something new about ourselves, and we analyze it[366]. When he says “analyze” it is not a matter of reflecting on the sensation but of reading what the sensation says; all this is done very well by writing its content.

- From the action of the Holy Spirit, works must be born; these are the true spiritual children. Calasanz tells us: I esteem very much, since the Lord has not wanted to grant the perfection of marriage to the daughter of Lord Ramon, be she betrothed herself with Christ by becoming a nun. Christ will be a much better spouse[367]. In another letter she writes: The Lord, who did not wish to give you bodily children will be pleased to give you many spiritual children, that is, the good works that you do for the spiritual union of your soul with your spouse Christ blessed through divine grace. Try always to keep herself in it with the frequency of the most holy sacraments and of the reading of spiritual books, giving, for the love of your husband, some alms to some poor people whom you know to be in need. And pray also for me, who because of my grave age of 84 years cannot work[368]. Pray to His Divine Majesty to inspire me to do whatever be for His greater glory and the help of the poor, in the service of whom I intend to use the little that my health and life will give me[369].
367 EP 3977.

368 EP 497.

369 Giner, Calasanz, maestro y fundador, p. 534.

366 Calvo, Alfredo. PRH Argentinian trainer. I want to analyze my positive. August 1992.

5.1.1. Calasanzian biblical texts about what the Holy Spirit asks of us

Calasanz has as background, this text of the prophet Ezekiel, Ez 36, 25-28: I will pour upon you a pure water that will purify you. From all your filthiness and idolatry, I will purify you; and I will give you a new heart, and infuse into you a new spirit. I will tear out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit in you, and cause you to walk according to my precepts, and you shall keep and do my commandments. And you shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers. You shall be my people, and I will be your God.

According to Rom 8:26, we ask always moved by interest. Only the Spirit knows how to ask what we have to do. It is a matter of scrutinizing the heart and knowing the aspiration of the Spirit that the same Spirit makes us aware of. This request clashes with our weakness. We must be aware of it so that the same Spirit may sweep away our weakness and we may receive the inclination of the Spirit who sets his eyes on the service of the little and poor people. The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with ineffable groanings, and he who searches the hearts knows what the aspiration of the Spirit is, and that his intercession on behalf of the saints is according to God.

According to 1Jn 2:27 it is the Spirit who teaches us: As for you, the Spirit which you have received from him abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you; but this Spirit, who is the source of truth and not of falsehood, teaches you all things. So, abide in him, as he has taught you.

To will and to act has God as its source. Philippians 2:13 says that we can do nothing without his grace: It is God who, beyond your good disposition, works in you to will and to act.

All this wisdom is born according to 1 Cor 2:1-5 [2.4] from contemplating and making visible the love of Jesus Christ and him crucified: For I, brethren, when I came to you, I did not come with the prestige of speech or of wisdom to proclaim to you the mystery of God, for I did not wish to know among you anything but Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you weak, timid and trembling. And my word and my preaching were not based on persuasive discourses of wisdom, but on the demonstration of the Spirit and of his power, so that your faith might be founded, not on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

2Cor 1:3-7 [1] affirms that the Lord comforts us in tribulation that we may comfort those who are in tribulation: Blessed be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our tribulation that we may comfort those who are in all tribulation through the consolation with which we are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. If we are troubled, we are troubled for your consolation and salvation; if we are comforted, we are comforted for your consolation, which makes you bear with patience the same sufferings which we also endure. Our hope for you is firm; for we know that as you are in solidarity with us in suffering, so you will be in consolation[370].

370 2Cor 1, 3-7. For Calasanz, the cross has so many internal consolations that it surpasses all other aspects.

True prayer according to Jn 15:4-5 [4] is born of remaining connected to the Lord. His presence in every human being gives us “the relationship in”: Abide in me, as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing[371].

371 Jn 15:4-5. Calasanz invites us to remain united to Christ the Lord.

Prayer is born of the voice of the Spirit that dwells in every human being. Jesus, in Jn 3:3-8 [8] tells us that we are born as human beings from that voice of God that is the voice of the Spirit: Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born from above... Truly, truly, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you: The wind blows where it wills, and you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. That is why it is necessary to recollect ourselves and be attentive to these conversations of the inner man.

We have to do the work that the Spirit gives us, without taking possession of ourselves[372], as Mt 20:1-16 [8] tells us. In the evening, the Lord calls the workers and pays the wages, beginning with the last and ending with the first: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Having settled with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. Then he went out about the third hour, and when he saw others standing in the marketplace, he said to them, “You also go into my vineyard, and I will give you whatever is right. And they went. He went out again at the eleventh hour, and when he found others standing there, he said to them, “Why do you stand here all day? They said to him, “Because no one has hired us,” and he said to them, “You go into the vineyard. When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, “Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last and ending with the first. So, they came, beginning from the last to the first. So those of the eleventh hour came and collected a denarius each. When the first came, they thought they would be paid more, but they also received a denarius each; and when they had received it, they murmured against the owner, saying, “These last have worked but one hour, and you pay them as you pay us, who have borne the burden of the day and the heat. But he answered one of them, “Friend, I do you no injustice; did you not settle with me for a denarius? Then take what is yours and go. For my part, I want to give to this last one the same as to you. Can I not do with mine what I will? Or will your eye be evil because I am good”? Thus, the last shall be first and the first last.

372 This is an expression of Maurice Zúndel.

Finally, Lk 2:51-52 [51] invites us to keep the Word in our hearts as Mary does: Jesus went down to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph and lived subject to them. His Mother carefully kept all things in her heart. Jesus grew in wisdom, in stature and in grace before God and man.

5.1.2. These biblical quotations touch the heart of Calasanz

What is prayer for Calasanz?

- It is learning to gather our inner powers until we find that place of peace where one is always the same, of one and the same being. Once we arrive there, to that endearing place of the heart, we become attentive to our inner powers to connect with the tastes of the Spirit, with his impulses, which are the effects of his action. All this manifests itself in the form of particular graces or feelings. We have to learn to read their contents that bring joy, light and strength. Then we will see how the Spirit is inclining us towards the neediest in a unique way.

- It is dealing with the Holy Spirit: God knows with how much love I wish you the continued assistance of the Holy Spirit, so that, dealing with Him behind closed doors, at least once or twice a day, you may know how to guide the little ship of your soul along the path of religious perfection towards the port of eternal happiness, this being the first and principal business to be dealt with by each one of us; and if it goes well, all other matters will be resolved with good success in the presence of God even though it may seem otherwise to human prudence. It would be of great satisfaction to me if in these circumstances of so many disturbances YR would show great courage of spirit, to bear with patience all things for the love of God, to whom I will pray in particular to give you the grace to do much good to your neighbor with the talent for it that he has given you. That is all I can think of for now. May the Lord bless us all[373].
373 EP 3858. Rome, 3 January 1642.

- It is to contemplate Jesus crucified and the different steps of his life, following the example of St. Paul the Apostle. This is the fundamental way of prayer, united also to the prayer of the Holy Rosary. Prayer must be cultivated as a plant is cultivated. In profound silence and calmness of body and spirit: We contemplate Jesus who throughout his life knew how to let himself be carried by the anointing of the Spirit who inclined him to be a man for others. Knowing the Master, we know ourselves as his disciples who are sent as He was sent by the Father to the least and the neediest: Without the cultivation of prayer every Religious Family is close to its relaxation and collapse. The most exquisite care must be taken, therefore, never to break the custom of praying interiorly twice a day: one hour at dawn and half an hour at sunset, before supper. In profound silence and quietness of body and spirit, kneeling or in another suitable posture, we will strive, after the example of St. Paul, to contemplate Christ crucified and his virtues in order to know him, [follow him] and remember him frequently during the day[374]. To the religious who does not lack food and clothing, it seems to me that God gives him a magnificent opportunity to employ his intelligence in his proper object, which is Christ crucified, where there are hidden infinite spiritual treasures for those who abhor the tastes of sensuality and love those of the spirit. Let us ask the Lord to give us spirit and fervor to [follow him] as far as possible[375]. Bear grievances with patience. I was led to the Holy Office without knowing why and after they told me I saw that I was innocent in that. The Lord wants to test us by the way of tribulation. But trust in Him. Be encouraged to suffer, because it is necessary for us to go through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God[376]. Since I cannot console you with facts, I will pray to the Lord to console you interiorly and to increase your spirit and your knowledge of the judgments of God[377].
374 CC 44.

375 Cu 94.

376 EP 4125. Rome, 29 August 1643.

377 EP 4273. Rome, 3 June 1645.

- It is to use a simple method. Calasanz tells us about it when he speaks of prayer in the room. It is a good beginning to connect with the suggestions of the Spirit: Finally, and with all earnestness, we exhort everyone in the Lord that, while it is given to them to remain in the room, they strive to practice external and especially internal acts of humility, contrition, thanksgiving and others that the Spirit will suggest to them. The Father, who sees what is hidden, will reward them and lead them to the solidity and perfection of the virtues[378]. Next, I quote some letters of Calasanz where he tells us how to practice the internal acts:
378 CC 48.

- Humility is practiced by becoming aware of what the Lord has given me in order to receive it: To humble oneself in the presence of God is to confess that one has no good in oneself, nor aptitude for good things without his grace[379].
379 EP 1149. Rome, 10 July 1629.

- Contrition is practiced by recognizing that I have not received what the Lord has given me, that I have been ungrateful. I have made my life disconnected from Him: And that in the past I have been very ungrateful for so many benefits that He has bestowed on me[380]. We become aware of the past, not to regret it, but to learn from it and to reconnect with the Lord.
380 EP 1149. Rome, 10 July 1629

- Thanksgiving is practiced by taking back what the Lord has given me; realizing who has given it to me so that his goodness may be known; and to give freely to the most needy what the Lord has given me freely: What shall I give you, my Lord, for so many benefits as you have done to me, especially because you have died on the Cross for me? I want to offer you a gift of love. Here it is: I rejoice and am pleased that you are omnipotent, beauty itself, infinite wisdom and goodness. I esteem your will more than any other good and I am ready to die a thousand deaths rather than act against it. I desire that your goodness be known and loved by all, and I want as much as possible to see to it that all know and love you[381].
381 Acts of the virtues. Spiritual Itinerary of St. Joseph Calasanz. Adolfo García Durán p. 108. Note 551.

- Calasanz also speaks to us about making acts of faith, hope and charity:

- Act of faith. Faith is a gift of God, and every gift of God is God himself making himself present in our heart, giving us his Presence and his Love. It is there that God himself becomes trustworthy[382]. Becoming aware of his Presence and of what he gives us, we trust in the action of the Holy Spirit, we trust in God, behaving according to his vocational inspirations: We must believe that God guides all things for his greater glory and our good... Let us, then, let us allow his divine Majesty to guide the boat and let us receive from his most holy hand all that happens to us[383]. I am very glad that you persevere in the Institute and that you trust in God who has called you to work in this vineyard and who will give the reward at the end of the day, that is, at the end of life, and will not allow neither wind nor rain nor any other accident to make us abandon the vineyard[384].
382 This is an expression of Fr. Gustavo Baena.

383 M 15.

384 EP 4509.

- Act of Hope. In the face of adversity, we must make acts of hope. Seeing what the Lord has given me and trusting in Him, I hope that the storm will pass, keeping my heart calm and united to Him, doing everything possible on my part so that the situation will change: At this very moment the Brief [of destruction of the Order] has been published... But YR do not lose heart, because we hope in the Lord that everything will be arranged as long as we remain united[385]. We hope against hope.
385 EP 4344.

- Act of Charity. Faith acts through charity. We are born loving because God is included in every human being. God is in me, loving you. Every adverse or prosperous situation is a good occasion to love. Moreover, the situations that strike our life make us like the blessed Christ. Therefore, even if there are times when God is not felt, it is there that we experience gratuitous love the most, that is, everything is from Him and for Him or for our neighbor. He is free to give me what I need at that moment. Thus, the act of charity is done by looking to God and to our neighbor. Giving what my God has given us. That is why Calasanz says:

Continue to exercise joyfully our Institute, [our educational ministry] and to be united and at peace, hoping that blessed God will remedy everything[386]. So that on this occasion each one should show the affection and love that he has for his neighbor in order to show the internal love that he has for God[387].

To make acts of repentance, faith, hope and charity is what Calasanz recommends to us in the last moments of our life: Let there be some watching over the dying and let them gently encourage them to make acts of repentance, faith, hope and charity[388].

- Action is born from contemplation: Attend to the service of God with the active life, but without forgetting that it can be united with the contemplative[389]. St. Teresa in her book on the Foundations affirms: The profit of the soul is not in thinking much but in loving much. How is this love to be acquired? By determining to work and to suffer and to do it when it is offered, when there are things that touch on obedience and the good of one’s neighbor. Whichever of these two things is offered, they ask for time to leave the time that we so much desire to give to God, which, in our opinion, is to be alone thinking of Him. Said by his mouth: What you did for one of these little ones, you do for me. And as far as obedience is concerned, He will not want me to go any other way than He who loves Him well, obedient unto death... Here, love is seen, not in the corners, but in the middle of the occasions; and believe me that, although there are more faults and even some small failures, that without comparison is a greater gain for us. You see that I always speak on the assumption of walking in them out of obedience or charity, which, if this is not the case, I always sum up by saying that solitude is better. The reason I say that it is profitable is because we are given to understand who we are and the extent of our virtue[390]. The document of the Sacred Congregation of Religious and Secular Institutes of the year 1981, on Contemplative dimension of Religious Life, affirms: Mutual interpenetration between action and contemplation: What action? The Council speaks of apostolic action originated and animated by the Holy Spirit. Only an action of this kind fits within the very nature of religious life, insofar as it constitutes a sacred ministry and a particular work of charity which have been entrusted to religious by the Church and are to be exercised in her name. The characteristic of such action is the impulse of charity nourished in the heart of the religious; the heart, considered as the most intimate sanctuary of his person, in which vibrates the grace of the union between interiority and activity. It is urgent, therefore, to foster personal and community awareness of the primary source of apostolic and charitable action, as a lived participation in that mission of Christ and of the Church which has its origin in the Father and demands of all those who are sent to exercise the awareness of charity in the dialogue of prayer[391].
389 Cu 718

390 Teresa of Avila. Book of Foundations. Ch 5, 3 and 5, 15

391 Document of the Sacred Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes, 1981, on the Contemplative Dimension of Religious Life, n. 4.

- There are various forms of prayer: Morning and evening common prayer on the life and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Spiritual exercises. The Continuous Prayer. The crown of the 12 stars where Mary is the work of the Trinity. The Holy Rosary. The antiphon We fly to your patronage. The petition for all the needs of the Church and the world. The petition of the children; Calasanz prayed for all the needs of the world, of the Church and of the Order. The liturgy of the Hours and of the Eucharist. The study of the Gospel or Lectio Divina. Examination of conscience. Action is born of contemplation[392].
392 Cfr. Padilla, Luis. With Calasanz we are men of prayer. ICCE Publications. Madrid/Rome. 2010, p. 135-169 on different ways of prayer.

386 EP 4342.

387 EP 4495.

388 CC 64.

5.1.3. Other Calasanzian biblical texts on the cultivation of prayer

In Mt 6:6-7, [6] we see clearly that the place of the heart is the sanctuary where prayer takes place: You, however, when you go to pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father, who is there in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not talk much, like the Gentiles, who think that by their talk they will be heard. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

According to Lk 11:5-10 [5] we can always knock at the Father’s door, for he always opens the door: And he said to them, If one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has come to my house on a journey, and I have nothing to offer him;’ and he answers him from within: Don’t bother me; the door is already closed and my children and I are in bed; I can’t get up to give them to you. I assure you that if he doesn’t get up, because his friendship, he will rise up so that he will cease to trouble him and will give him whatever he needs. I say to you, ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

In Rev 3:19-20 [19] it is the Lord who knocks at the door of our heart as one who desires to enter[393]: I rebuke and correct those whom I love. Be fervent, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into his house and dine with him and he with me.

393 This is an expression of St. Teresa of Jesus in her books.

Remember what I have already said in chapter II about Wise men in the inner school. The voice of the Spirit knocks at the door of our heart by:

- A soft feeling.

- A signal to act.

- A word that God says in our heart.

- Particular graces or feelings.

It is about reading what he says, to open the door to him because he is teaching you how to live:

- The way you see reality.

- Your identity.

- Your vocation.

- Your life in common.

- Your relationship with God the Father, the Master, the Holy Spirit, Mary, Calasanz, and the saints of your devotion.

- Love, justice, solidarity, compassion and mercy.

Ps 41, 9 serves as a basis for Calasanz to speak that we are of a mixed life which is more perfect. The action is born of contemplation: Do as the holy David advises: that by day Yahweh gives his grace, and by night his song. During the day: the children have to see in the Piarist the works of mercy that are born of compassion and at night the Piarist gives thanks for what he has lived and prepares the next day perhaps by making the examination of conscience. Thus, we are active that are born from being contemplative. The action is born from the heart. You make visible the invisible that has been given to you. If the action is born from the inner inclination of the Spirit, that action cannot be lived if you are not connected with the anointing of the Spirit. From that place new suggestions for action are born. In this way the activity can leave you tired because you expend bodily energies and at the same time you feel full, in a state of gift.

Calasanz cites the biblical text discovering the following practice: The day should be spent in works of mercy and the night in thanksgiving and preparation for the following day... If the Holy Church has granted this grace [of being a religious Order] to those of general or specific ministry of only active or only contemplative life, why should it be denied to those who with one or the other ministry live a mixed life which is more perfect?[394]

394 Cu 692 y MT 26.

St. Teresa tells us: I understand here that His Divine Majesty asks us to do great works in the service of our Lord and of our neighbor. For that reason we enjoy losing that delight and contentment; that although it is more active than contemplative life, and it seems to lose if you grant this request, when the soul is in this state, Martha and Mary never cease to work together because in the active the interior works and when the active works come from this root they are admirable... because they come from this tree of love of God and for Him alone[395].

395 Teresa of Ávila. The Mansions, c. 7,3.

Rom 8:31-38 [31] affirms that if the active life is born of the love of God and through his love, nothing and no one can separate us from that love: What shall we say in the face of this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Who can separate us from the love of Christ? tribulation? distress? persecution? [Nothing and no one] can separate us from the love of God manifested in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Father always listens to our prayer, as Ps 65:18-20 tells us: If I had devised anything evil, the Lord would not have heard me. But God has heard me, attentive to the voice of my prayer. Blessed God, who has not turned away my prayer nor his love far from me.

It only remains for us according to Ps 89:2: To sing the mercies of the Lord forever.

5.2. Conclusion

Calasanz wants us to read St. Teresa’s Way of Perfection, seeing the fruit it left in him: If the priests of our Religion knew how important it is to work for the love of God, they would not be idle even for an instant. And if the time that the priests could not spend on helping the children, according to the order of our Institute, they would spend it in reading the Way of Perfection of St. Teresa, they would see how their hearts would be inflamed, because the words of this saint have a great efficacy for those who read them with devotion[396].

396 EP 2860. Rome, 15 May 1638.

Both Calasanz and St. Teresa are saying the same thing. Prayer is happening. It is about connecting with the suggestions of the Spirit that makes us human, similar to the humanity of Jesus.

St. Teresa tells us in the Way of Perfection why we do not realize the happening of prayer: Before I say about the interior, which is prayer, I will say some things that are necessary to have those who pretend to have prayer, and so necessary that, without being very contemplative, they can be far ahead in the service of the Lord; and it is impossible if they do not have, to be very contemplative, and when they think, they are, they are very deceived. Do not think, my friends and sisters, that there will be many things that I will entrust to you. The first is love for one another; another is detachment from everything that is created; another is true humility, which, although I say it lastly, is the principal one and embraces them all[397].

397 Teresa of Ávila. Way of Perfection, c. 5,3.

We become aware of this inner event:

- If we work on attachments: The Spirit of God is so delicate that it is perceived only by those who are very attentive, and whose soul is very well purified and detached from all things and also from herself[398]. St Teresa tells us: Now let us come to the detachment that we must have, for in this is everything, if it goes perfectly. Do you think, sisters, that it is little good to strive for this good of giving all of ourselves to the Whole without making ourselves parts of it? In Him are all good things, as I say, and for this let us give many thanks to the Lord. And Calasanz adds: If ours were men of prayer…; but not being men of the spirit, their thoughts are centered on the [greedy] senses. They will never bear fruit, neither for themselves nor for their neighbor, as long as they are not mortified and devout in prayer[399].
398 Anotazioni of Fr Berro. Volume I p. 79. Teresa of Ávila. Way of Perfection, c. 6,1 and c. 12,1.

399 EP 2175. Rome, 7 January 1634.

- If we are simple: It is a matter of looking at God and of looking at reality, things and persons as God looks at them: Holy simplicity is very dear to the Lord. And with those who are truly simple, he usually converses with pleasure[400]. St. Teresa goes the same way: I do not ask you to think of Him, nor to draw many concepts, nor to make great and delicate considerations in your understanding; I only want you to look at Him. For your Bridegroom never takes His eyes off you, daughter, and He has suffered a thousand ugly and abominable things from you, and it has not been enough for Him to stop looking at you. And is it much that, having taken your soul’s eyes off external things, do you sometimes look at Him? It is so important for Him that you look at Him again, that he will not remain short for His part[401].
400 EP 912. Rome, 4 August 1628.

401 Teresa of Ávila. Way of Perfection, c. 42,3.

- If we are humble. If we abase ourselves in our own knowledge, the more God will exalt us in the knowledge of the invisible and eternal things: I will pray to the Lord as I have done before, that he will give you in particular the true light to know the truth of the invisible things... God usually gives this grace to the humble, as the prophet says: He gives knowledge to the little ones and the more we abase ourselves in our own knowledge, the more God will exalt us in the knowledge of the invisible and eternal things. May the Lord grant us perfect conformity to his most holy will[402]. St. Teresa tells us: I cannot understand how there is or can be humility without love, nor love without humility; nor is it possible to have these two virtues without great detachment from all that is created. Calasanz tells us the same thing: If you believe me, you will strive to be humble and truly poor, since between the two virtues dwells at ease the holy charity that is the goal of all religions[403].
402 EP 4392.

403 Teresa of Ávila. Way of Perfection, c. 24,2 and EP 1662.

- If we practice silence: Silence, sentinel of Religion, we will have to observe it with loving solicitude[404]. In the house where silence is observed, there is an excellent disposition to allow the Spirit to inspire holy thoughts in the religious[405]. If you want the Holy Spirit to dwell among us, let gossip conversations be forbidden and let silence be introduced[406].
404 CC 49.

405 EP 1970. Rome, 12 February 1633.

406 Cu 1171.

- If we grow in the Love of the little and poor neighbor: It is true that saying, that I do not remember whose saint it is, although it seems to me to be of St. Augustine: He who prays works well, but he who helps his neighbor works better. I myself, old as I am, often go to help in the schools[407]. Remember what Saint Teresa has already said to her nuns: Before I speak of the interior, which is prayer, I will say some things that are necessary for those who claim to have prayer.... The first is love for one another[408].
407 EP 4204. Rome, 28 June 1644.

408 Teresa of Ávila. Way of Perfection, c. 5,3.

- If we persevere in prayer with determination: We must ask the blessed God with importunity, as he teaches us in the parable of the poor man who went to his friend’s house in the middle of the night to ask him to lend him three loaves of bread... perseverance crowns the work[409]. The one who perseveres to the end will be saved[410]. I ask you to be strong and constant and you will see the help of God upon you[411]. I would want in everyone a great determination both to serve God and to be united to him by charity and love[412]. St. Teresa speaks to us about determination in the following way: The greater the soul’s determination - and it is understood by the works and not by polite words - the more the Lord comes in this way. The whole claim of the one who begins prayer - and do not forget this, which is very important - must be to work and be determined and to dispose herself with all the diligence she can to make her will conform to that of God; and, as I will say later, be very sure that in this consists all the greatest spiritual perfection[413].
409 EP 89.

410 Mt 10, 22.

411 Psalm 62:2. In the most difficult moments of the Order.

412 EP 228.

413 Teresa of Ávila. Way of Perfection, c. 56,1 and The Mansions, c. 2,8.

I conclude: I exhort you, as much as I know and as much as I can, not to lose your interior peace because of any event, no matter how serious it may be. Rather, try always to keep your heart calm and united to God, having recourse to prayer when you are most troubled. That the Lord often calms the tempest of the sea[414].

414 EP 826. Rome, 22 April 1628.

Calasanz in the previous letter quotes Mt 14:24-33. Courage, it is I; do not be afraid: Jesus told the disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of him to the other side, while he was sending the people away. When he had sent the people away, he went up on the mountain alone to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. The boat was now much distant from land, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary to them. And in the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, and said, “It is a ghost,” and for fear they began to cry out. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Courage, it is I; do not be afraid”. Then, Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. “Come,” he said to him. So, Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water, going toward Jesus. But when he saw the violence of the wind, he was afraid, and as he began to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me”. Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and took hold of him, saying, “You of little faith, why did you doubt? They got into the boat, and the wind died down. Those in the boat fell down before him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Various sentences of Calasanz on prayer:

- The servant of Christ seeks to be holy and does not wish to appear to be so[415].
415 Cu 654.

- You have given nothing to Christ if you have not given him your whole heart[416].
416 Cu 655.

- He is not a friend of God who is not a friend of prayer[417].
417 Cu 649.

- It is necessary first to gather as a basin in order to water others as a canal[418].
418 Cu 213.

- He lives securely in religion who does not live for himself but for God [and his neighbor][419].
419 Cu 612.

- The Spirit of God is so delicate that it is perceived only by those who are very attentive and whose soul is very well purified and detached from all the things of the world and also from herself[420].
420 Fr Berro. Anotazioni. T.I p. 79.

- He misuses the room who in it, either does not speak with Christ, or does not work for Christ[421].
421 Cu 619.

- A religious who does not know how to pray is like an unarmed man who can be wounded on every side. Without prayer, one cannot be right with God. For it is as necessary to the interior man as bodily nourishment is to the exterior man[422].
422 Cu 691.

- Make every effort to help the poorest, for by their prayers they will preserve the work[423].
423 EP 1943. Rome, 1 January 1633.

- I will pray to the Lord to console you interiorly and to increase your spirit and your knowledge of God’s judgments[424].
424 EP 4273. Rome, 3 June 1645.

- Try to help yourself with special prayers, especially of the little children, so that the Lord may enlighten you in knowing how to find the path of humility, which is the sure way by which you find many gifts and graces from God. All the rest is vanity and great fatigue[425].
425 Cu 1034.

5.3. Integration questions

1. What strikes you about the cultivation of prayer?

2. What reactions and reflections were awakened?

3. Is there something you can’t accept? Why?

4. List what has touched your heart.

5. What questions remain for you about We Are Men of Prayer?

6. Paying attention to the Spirit’s promptings. Do you feel invited to...

7. Would you like to spend some time in prayer with a phrase that has touched your heart until you discover the human behavior that the Spirit gives you?

8. You can integrate the acts of humility, contrition, thanksgiving, faith, hope and charity into your prayer.

Chapter VI

We leave everything for the love of the Lord

1Cor 13 [4.5.6.7]

The living and resplendent Lord is endearing, because of His Presence in every human being He can impel us to leave everything for His love, just as He gives everything for our love. We unite ourselves to Him just as the Lord is united in the conversations of the inner man who is the true Presence of the Lord. His Presence does not come alone; that is why to leave everything for His love is to leave everything for the people who dwell in Him, being compassionate and merciful to them. Being members of the Body of the Lord, we give ourselves to all the members of his Body, especially to the poor, with a humble behavior of service. We look at small and poor people and villages, in great need of educational and evangelical assistance, in order to give them all the love that the Lord gives us. We are consecrated by the Love of the Consecrated: Whoever seeks to crown the summit of perfect charity, the girdle of consummate unity (Col 3:14), will not find a path that is more upright and easier than the faithful practice of the virtues which, religious, who have renounced this world and desire to be united to the Lord, strive to profess by the power of their vow. Thus it will happen that, after leaving everything for love of Him, they will follow Him in haste, body and soul, by living genuine chastity, poverty and obedience[426].

426 CC 95.

We are chaste, poor and obedient in order to love. The baptismal experience is the Calasanz formative nucleus or the Piarist formative model[427]. It is the experience of religious consecration. Therefore, the vows express the following of the Lord’s way of life, and at the same time, they make us let go of disordered affection, attachment to things, our own judgment and our own will[428]. They make us remain in ordered love, in sharing and in following the tastes of the Spirit to abase ourselves to the least ones. All this can be lived if we lower ourselves to know ourselves, if we are humble.

427 The Calasanz Formative Nucleus are three numbers of its Constitutions. They are located in chapter II: Admission of the novices to the period of probation. They are n. 23 which speaks about how the master of novices has to help the young man to discover the guidance of the Holy Spirit who inclines him to this or another path. No. 16 where Calasanz speaks to us about the passions that are hidden in the interior of man that with difficulty are diagnosed and that with greater difficulty are uprooted or cured. And finally, no. 22 where the novices have to occupy themselves with breaking their own judgment and their own will and learn to bear with simplicity their own contempt. The three numbers are summarized positively as follows: We must have the interior powers recollected and attentive to the conversations of the interior man who is the true presence of the Lord from where religious perfection is born as from a fountain, which consists in the perfect charity that is lived in our specific ministry. At the same time, we must learn not to let ourselves be carried away by our passions and to know how to give to the body according to its needs so that it may have the strength to serve. This is the baptismal experience for Calasanz, which is based on what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 6:10: His [Jesus’] death was a death to sin once for all, but his life is a life for God. So, you also, consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

428 Our own judgment and our own will are the passions of the intelligence and of the will. Self-judgment is a way of thinking that is not in accord with the tastes of the Spirit, and self-will is the will connected with the passions to put them into practice.

If he knows how to prepare himself to receive the Holy Spirit, the act of profession will be like a new baptism[429]. I will be pleased if, ten days before the beginning of the course, all of you together make spiritual exercises to renew your vows with greater devotion and fervor. Make them according to the time you have available[430]. Deal with God frequently in your interior, for this is the proper office of every religious[431]. I exhort you and all the others to walk in the path of the Lord with simplicity and religious perfection, which as a true spiritual father I desire for everyone. I say this in the presence of God, who is truth[432].

429 EP 1360. Rome, 13 April 1630.

430 Cueva 682.

431 EP 649. Rome, 2 July 1627.

432 Cu 701. Here Calasanz quotes Jn 14:6: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

6.1. The spirit gives the person the gift of obedience

6.1.1. Obedience happens when we are with our inner powers recollected and attentive to listen to the conversations of the inner man who is the true Presence of the Lord.

Once we have heard and verified our Piarist vocation as given by the Father’s creation, every event, every situation, every person and all things touch our interior in different ways. It is a question of to listen to the way the conversations of the inner man touch our heart, to respond according to the suggestions of the Spirit, to admire the inner goodness of people, to prevent and cure the inclination of greedy interest, and to respond to the various realities from the good Spirit.

6.1.1.1 Obedience strips us of the reactions of the sensitivity and of the own judgments and the own will

United to the Lord who always did the will of the Father, we are conscious of not allowing ourselves to be carried away by the sensitivity - sensuality or by the own judgments that are ways of thinking misaligned of the tastes of the Spirit or by the own will that is the freedom connected with the passions to take them to the practice. We return to the humility to discern what we live.

6.1.1.2 We allow ourselves to be led by the impulses of the Spirit

Being aware that God acts through the humanity of the Lord and through other human beings: Whoever believes that a burden beyond his strength has been imposed on him, do not refuse it if the difficulties are in sight; carry it with simplicity and trust in the Lord; the strength of the Lord is realized in weakness. But, if the Superior does not know of your weakness or ineptitude, let him know simply, calmly, plainly and naturally the difficulties that you find for that mission. Do not insist any longer and wait with humility for his decision[433]. Adopt an attitude pleasing to God, allowing themselves to be led and brought by his Providence through the Superiors; like the little donkey that Christ rode on Palm Sunday, which allowed itself to be led and directed everywhere[434].

433 CC 104.

434 CC 108.

6.1.2. Calasanzian biblical texts on being attentive to listen to the voice of God that speaks in every human situation touching the heart

In We are good disciples of the Master I have expressed several biblical texts that Calasanz cites to realize the design of the Father. Here I complete with other quotes referring especially to the service of authority.

Col 3:14-16 [14]. He invites us to clothe ourselves with Love: And above all things put on love, which is the crown of perfection. And let the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, for to it you have been called as one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you in all its richness. Instruct and admonish one another with all wisdom, singing to God from the heart.

What the disciples discover in the paschal mystery, as they feel transformed by the Spirit of the Risen One dwelling in them, is that God not only acts immediately in the heart of every human being, but that he acts through the humanity of Jesus and through all human beings[435].

435 Baena Gustavo. Revelación. Teología. Vida Cristiana. Publicaciones VID. Medellín, Colombia. 2015.

And, 1Pet 5:1-3 recommends us to feed the flock of God: To the elders among you I exhort, I, an elder like them, a witness of the sufferings of Christ and a partaker of the glory that is about to be revealed. Feed the flock of God that is entrusted to you, keeping watch, not under compulsion, but willingly, according to God; not for petty gain, but from the heart; not tyrannizing those whom it is your lot to care for, but being models of the flock[436].

436 1Pet 5, 1-3 Cfr. CC 283.

According to Lk 10:15, we must learn to listen to God through human beings: Whoever listens to you listens to me; and whoever rejects you rejects me; and whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me[437].

437 Lc 10,15 Cfr. CC 101.

As Jesus did in Mt 16, 13-15, the superiors have to ask: What do people say about me? When Jesus arrived in the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples this question: Who do people say that the Son of man is...? And who do you say that I am?

It is good to understand with Prov 11, 14 that: Where there is misrule, the people sink, abundance of counselors brings salvation. For according to Rom 13, 1: The authorities that exist have been constituted by God[438].

438 Calasanz quotes these biblical texts speaking of the service of authority.

According to Lk 17:10 the works that we do, if they are good, are done by God as an efficient cause through us: When you have done all that you were commanded, say: We are but poor servants; we have done only what we ought to have done. And 1Cor 14:40 adds: Let all things be done decently and in order.

Lk 19:33-36 Let yourselves be led by Providence, as the little donkey was led by the Lord on Palm Sunday. Calasanz had experience of the docility of the little donkeys when he went through Rome: When the disciples untied the little donkey, the owners said to them: Why do you untie the little donkey? And they answered them, Because the Lord hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus; and throwing their cloaks on the donkey, they made Jesus mount up. And as he rode on, they spread their cloaks along the road.

For 1 Sam 15:22 obedience is worth more than all the burnt offerings: Samuel said, Does Yahweh delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to the word of Yahweh? It is better to obey than to sacrifice, better docility than the fat of rams.

Jesus in Lk 22:24-27 tells us that he did not come to be served but to serve. The ministers take the place of the Lord who, being rich, became poor and died crucified. The power given to him by the eternal Father over all creatures, he used it all in our service and not his own: The kings of the nations rule over them as absolute lords, and those who exercise power over them call themselves benefactors; but not so you, but the greatest among you, should be like the younger, and who governs like who serves. For who is older, he who is at table or he who serves? Is it not he who is at table? For I am in the midst of you as the one who serves[439].

439 Lk 22:24-27 [27] Exhortation of Our Holy Father to Ministers - RC 13:47

Calasanz writes in the Constitutions: Father General will also establish Provincials who will govern them with rectitude. In their style of service, they should follow the love, gentleness and goodness of Our Lord Jesus Christ, not dominating their brothers, but making themselves models of the flock, leading them to perfection more by example than by words[440]. There is a great difference in the government of a house, if they know how to give offices according to the talents of each one[441].

440 CC 283.

441 EP 2983. Rome 4 December 1638.

According to Rom 10:12 God makes no distinction between persons. Blessed God gives the talent to whom He wills: That there is no distinction between Jew or Greek, [no distinction of persons] for one and the same is Lord of all, rich to all who call upon Him.

Those in charge of the service of authority cannot lead people wherever they want, but they have to discover where the Lord is leading them in order to place them where they are needed: I am very sorry for the opinion of Father..., who would have to conform more to the will of the Superior than to his own; nevertheless, if he believed he was acting well, and he as well as any other priest, should consult with YR to know your opinion and help him with all affection, because they should know that thus they help the will of God, and by not doing so they are mistaken[442].

442 EP 2249. Rome, 15 July 1634.

As a good observer of what happens, look at what Calasanz identifies in the community realities: Regarding the young man about whom Father… was writing, he was a young man that I dressed in Rome and was optimal for the school, but he was not accommodated in Moravia because of Father’s …. way of being... and so he determined to leave Religion and come to Venice to leave the habit. I always judged him fit for our institute, but not everyone knows how to govern the various qualities of persons, nor all can walk at the same pace. If he goes there, which I do not think so, and would like to continue, accept him[443].

443 EP 1910.

For Acts 1, 1 the service of the authority first does and then teaches: The first book I dedicated, Theophilus to all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning...

6.1.3. According to obedience we dedicate ourselves to the education of children and young people

When we make the profession, we commit ourselves to Education according to obedience: This vow is essential and at the same time it is not absolute: On those words: and according to obedience, peculiar care about the teaching of children is declared to be an essential vow[444]. I have read your opinion on the vow of teaching children which, well considered, is not absolute, as are the other three, but consistent with the vow of obedience. Thus, if the superior wants one to teach, he must teach; and if the superior does not want another to teach, he is not bound by the vow of teaching[445].

444 Declaration about our Constitutions and Rules, written by Calasanz in 1637.

445 EP 2110. Rome, 6 September 1633.

The most fascinating thing about obedience is that it makes us pilgrims. We go where we are needed to give what we are: It is necessary that the religious comes to judge himself a pilgrim in this life and that there is for him no other homeland than heaven, where his Father and blessed Christ is, who has begotten him with the shedding of his blood, and his Most Holy Mother, the Most Pure Virgin, who certainly accepted us as sons at the foot of the cross. Such religious are those who do great good to their neighbor and great honor to religion. May the Lord give us his grace as I hope[446].

446 EP 1510. Rome, 12 October 1630.

6.1.4. One cannot live obedience without humility

One cannot live obedience without lowering to know oneself, without being humble: I would really like to have you with me in time to let you know how great is the virtue of obedience supported by humility[447].

447 EP 3275. Rome, 18 February 1640.

Humility makes us distinguish what is our own judgment, our own will, a sensitive discomfort, from what is a suggestion of the Spirit to respond to an educational and evangelical need in any part of the world.

6.2. The Spirit gives the person the gift of chastity

6.2.1. Chastity impels us to love as the Lord loves every little and poor person

The gift of chastity is born of gathering the interior powers to be attentive to the conversations of the interior man who is the true Presence of the Lord from where the capacity to Love is born as from a source: The religious... must always have the interior powers gathered... so that he may be more attentive to the conversations of the interior man, who is the true Presence of the Lord, from where all the perfection of the religious soul is born as from a source[448].

448 Cu 949.

The gift of chastity gives us the Lord’s way of life on this earth. It keeps us united to Christ the Lord: In our Congregation all will follow the modesty of Christ: in the way they look, especially in their gait, in their composure, in their conversation, and even in their manner of speaking[449]. Let them remain united to Christ the Lord, desiring to live only for him and to please him alone[450].

449 CC 165. In the chapter on chastity, Calasanz speaks in the following way: It is truly exalting for the religious, while they are still clothed in this mortal flesh, to cultivate chastity of gaze, of walk, of speech, of the whole composure of the body: like angels of heaven. But they must know that any stain on this heavenly virtue, a gift of God, is extremely shameful. They will avoid with all their might the impure thought -throwing it, in its birth, against the stones-, the scabrous conversation and whatever exhales a certain aroma of vanity of this world. And they will especially watch over the modesty of their eyes, lest death enter through our windows [CC 112].

450 CC 34.

In Gen 12:1 chastity leads us to the land that the Lord will show us: Yahweh said to Abran: Go from your country, from your homeland, and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make a great nation from you [451].

451 Gen 12:1 and add the following text from Psalm 44:11: Hear, O daughter, look, give ear, forget your people and your father’s house, for the king is enraptured by your beauty. He is your Lord, bow down before him! [EP 3384]

Psalm 44:11 makes it possible for us to see how the Lord sees us: Hear, daughter, look, give ear, forget your people and your father’s house, for the king is enraptured by your beauty. He is your Lord, prostrate yourself before him!

6.2.2. Chastity is lived by loving with ordered love and stripping oneself of disordered affections

This supposes living a process of affective maturity where the capacity to love every person in a close and free way predominates more than the need to be loved. It is always a joy to be loved, but we cannot be hooked on that reality[452].

452 Influenced by André Rochais, founder of Personality and Human Relations.

I do not remember where I read this phrase: In the measure in which love diminishes, the need for everything that is not love increases. Calasanz tells us: Try, then, to divest yourself of all [disordered] affection for family and friends and make it spiritual. Love them with a well-ordered love; and keep yourself united to Christ the Lord, desiring to live only for Him and to please Him alone[453].

453 CC 34.

What is Ordained Love?

- It is a love that treats every human being as a brother and friend: Let every individual be dear to you as your brother in Christ... For in the service of the Lord there is no respect of persons. And the philosophers and mathematicians say: two things equal to a third are equal to each other. Therefore, try to maintain universal your spirit[454]. Love with ordered love relatives and friends[455].
454 EP 4439. Rome, 10 February 1647.

455 CC 34.

- It is a patient love to see gifts, goodness, aptitudes and talents in people in order to place them according to their ability: See to occupy everyone in such a way that each one works in that for which he has talent, since in that for which one has no talent he cannot apply himself so easily and it is well to know the inclinations of each one; when one can be compelled with love to occupy himself with an office it turns out better than when it is with force[456].
456 EP 1226. Poli, 4 October 1629.

- It is a patient love, with paternal affection, with a compassionate and merciful heart, to remedy faults and imperfections: He has need of great patience to know how to make use of the talent he discovers and to know, also, with paternal affection, to remedy faults and imperfections, exhorting them one by one[457]. I want the saint zeal of God united with holy prudence and with much patience and compassion[458]. Always be charitable to all, and in all your actions show yourself understanding and benign[459].
457 EP 3721. Rome, 24 August 1641.

458 EP 2717. Rome, 13 May 1637.

459 Cu 865.

- It is a love that gives to the body according to its need: The religious should give to the spirit according to its need and to the body according to its need and no more to the body, because it kicks the spirit and becomes, as St. Paul says: animal man[460]. The servant of God does not live to eat, but eats to live and serve[461].
460 EP 2148. Rome, 3 December 1633.

461 Cu 633.

- It is a love that lowers itself to small and poor persons and peoples in great need of education: If you do not have in yourself fervor and love of God, you cannot communicate it to others... to children[462]. If you have love for God and for yourself, you will manage to learn what you do not know in order to do good to the poor or, to speak better, to Christ in the poor[463]. Love facilitates work, especially when our love of God is reflected in our neighbor: in helping in the good education of children, especially the poor[464].
462 EP 3041. Rome, 12 February 1639.

463 EP 3041. Rome, 13 May 1637.

464 EP 2859. 15 Rome May, 1638.

- It is a humble love. Humility is the foundation of Love for God and neighbor. It makes us distinguish the tendency of love from the possessive, domineering and egocentric tendency. Humility makes men very apt to know the truth and to love the true good[465]. Through humility we learn to know what must be done in all actions[466]. Humility makes us lower ourselves to the poorest and to the capacity of the least. Without humility, without self-knowledge, one cannot live the gift of chastity.
465 EP 4532. Rome, 15 February 1648.

466 EP 1325. Rome, 16 February 1630.

6.2.3. Calasanzian biblical texts on the gift of consecrated chastity

The following texts help us to cultivate consecrated chastity: Calasanz quotes them or has them in the background of his letters.

According to Rom 5:3-5 [3] the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us: We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation begets patience; patience, tested virtue; tested virtue, hope; and hope does not fail, because the Love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Spirit who has been given to us.

Love is manifested in deeds and not only in words, as 1Jn 3:18 tells us. Let us love with deeds: My children, let us not love in word or in mouth, but in deeds and according to the truth.

For Mt 10, 34-36 the enemies of each one can be those of his own household: Yes, I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and the enemies of each one are those of his own household. According to Ps 55:22-23: Their words are softer than butter in their mouth, but they plot war; their words, smoother than oil, are naked swords. Commit your burden to the Lord, he will sustain you[467].

467 Psalm 55, 22-23. In the same letter Calasanz joins Mt 10:34-36 and Psalm 55:22-23. [EP 3074].

Our first love is the Lord. There we will find our relatives, friends and every human being, loving them as Jesus tells us in Mt 10:37-39 [38]. He who loses his life for my sake will find it: Whoever loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; whoever loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up his cross and follows after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life, will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake, will find it.

True love is without opposites[468]. Every person is loved because he or she is included in the loving Presence that dwells in every human being; this is what the Lord invites us to do in Mt 5:45-46 and Mt 5:39-42. We can love our enemies and not resist evil but overcome evil with good; we can put love where there is no love: For I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, who makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust[469]. For I say to you, do not resist evil, but rather, whoever strikes you in the right cheek, offer the other as well. To the one who wants to quarrel with you to take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well; and to the one who forces you to walk a mile, go with him two miles. Give to anyone who asks you, and to anyone who wants to borrow something from you, do not turn your back on him.

468 Without opposites is an expression of Eckhart Tolle.

469 Mt 5:45-46.

In 1 Cor 13:4-8 [4.5.6.7] the Apostle Paul describes humble love, a patient love that does not seek its own: Love is patient, it is kind; love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not puffed up, it is not proud; it is decent, it does not seek its own interests, it is not irritable, it does not take in account evil, it does not rejoice in injustice, it rejoices in the truth. It excuses all things. It believes all things. It hopes all things. It bears all things. Love never ends.

If we choose love in every situation, according to Rom 8:31-39 [31] nothing and no one can separate us from the love of God manifested in Christ Jesus our Lord: If God is for us, who can be against us... who can separate us from the love of Christ...? I am sure [that nothing and no one] will be able to separate us from the love of God manifested in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In Ps 44:11-12 we see that God’s gaze is to give us his Love, as St. John of the Cross says. The Lord looks at us and shares with us his goodness and beauty. We must listen, look and pay attention to what his Love tells us: Consider the exhortation of the prophet addressed to him: Listen, daughter, look: listen, forget your people and your father’s house, the King is captivated by your beauty[470].

470 Psalm 44:11-12 [CC 33].

According to 1Jn 4:18-21 [18.21], inner love for God is manifested in love for one’s brother: There is no fear in love; but complete love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. He who fears has not been made complete in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he sees cannot love God whom he does not see. And we have received this commandment from him: whoever loves God, let him also love his brother.

For Mt 22:37-39: The first commandment is like the second. We love as the Lord loves us by being included in him. God is in me loving you. Being Love in you. The Love that admires and serves is awakened by looking at people, to the point of discovering their capacities and opening spaces to live them, and to respond with compassion and mercy to their needs. Jesus, when he looks at people, sits down and observes what people do[471], then expresses what he has seen from the admiration or compassion he feels. These feelings impel him to be merciful, to do something effective for the person in need. We must look at the children until we identify the Presence of the Lord in them to admire him and recognize all that he does and needs: You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is similar to this: Thou shalt love your neighbor as yourself[472].

471 Jesus sits, observes, asks questions, expresses what he lives, especially through parables, that are comparisons to identify in ourselves what he identifies in his humanity: the Father urging him to love us. These feelings of admiration, compassion and mercy have as their content the action of the Father and the Spirit in Him, and impel Him from this place of Relationship to look and to heal.

472 Mt 22, 37-39. There are so many letters in which Calasanz invites us to love God and neighbor!

We have the capacity to love, because the love of God, the love of Jesus, has been poured into our hearts with the Spirit that has been given to us, as we are told in Romans 5:5. The same goes for 1 Jn 4:7-16: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love has not known God, because God is love. In this the love of God was manifested among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent us his Son... In this we know that we dwell in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit.... We have known and believed in the love that God has for us. God is love and he who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him.

Chastity leads us to abase ourselves to the least of these: We love small and poor people and towns. The fundamental of our ministry according to Mt 19:14 is: Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

With determined determination[473] the Lord in Lk 9:62 urges us to look forward from the present who is Presence and gift: No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.

473 This is an expression of St. Teresa of Ávila.

6.3. The Spirit gives the person the gift of poverty

6.3.1. The gift of supreme apostolic poverty

Supreme apostolic poverty is God’s way of being that the Lord makes visible in his life. Supreme because my God is not an owner, poor because he shares everything and apostolic because without taking anything, only what is necessary, he only connects with Him to share his life and his love with us[474]. This experience of God makes us confident in giving because, just as we have received freely, we can give freely and we will continue to receive freely in order to continue giving freely... This way of being produces such splendor that converts children and families to that God that the Piarists make visible.

474 In the background, ways of speaking by Maurice Zúndel

6.3.2. The supreme apostolic poverty invites us to follow Jesus crucified trusting in Providence

This is the practical spirit of the supreme apostolic poverty: the following of Jesus crucified. The less things you carry with you, the more you trust in the crucifix and the more things, the less. You should carry only that as your only guide and authentic sign of the Superiors, as the Apostles did when they went to preach the Holy Gospel. If the Lord would give you this confidence in Him, he would do you great benefit and graces to do much good to your neighbor[475].

475 EP 1301. Rome, 17 January 1630.

Poverty invites us to trust in Providence: It would be a great folly on our part if, working as we do, we were to claim temporal remuneration from men. Besides, it seems to me that, in doing this exercise [of educating poor children], we would be doing a great disservice to divine providence, which provides the necessary things for the birds of the field, and that we should not have so much faith in his providence, having seen by experience over so many years the care that the Lord has for us[476]. Often there are those who ask us for money and we have nowhere to get it but from God’s mercy[477]. It is not a poor person who does not experience the discomforts of poverty[478]. Poverty makes it possible to connect with the grace of God, with God himself giving himself freely: Poverty has disappeared and then the grace of God[479]. The more you separate yourselves from property and [follow] holy apostolic poverty, the richer you will be and the more you will be enkindled with spiritual gifts by God. May he, in his mercy, be pleased to instill this spirit of apostolic poverty in all our religious. Amen. Amen[480].

476 EP 1961. Rome, 29 January 1633.

477 EP 1488. Rome, 27 July 1635.

478 Cu 625.

479 EP 2162. Rome, 24 December 1633.

480 EP 727. Rome, 15 November 1627.

6.3.3 Apostolic poverty leads us to lower ourselves to educate small and poor people and villages

Poverty together with the letters and the spirit, free of charge, has a great power of conversion: I have received letters that have arrived from Nikolsburg in Moravia, where we have three very observant convents with a great influx of children of heretics, who with great ease are converted to our faith and, more importantly, with the consent of their parents. Seeing that we have nothing more than food and clothing, they tell them: if God calls you that way, go where God calls you[481].

481 EP 2902. Rome, 11 July 1638.

He wrote to Cardinal Giulio Roma, president of the Commission of Cardinals: If you take away the supreme poverty... you take away that splendor which alone makes it admired and sought after even by the infidels... and you deprive the poor cities and towns of the possibility of benefiting from our ministry, since they have nothing with which to support teachers, who demand economic income and comforts[482].

482 Memorandum to Cardinal Giulio Roma. President of the Commission of Cardinals. 1645.

Between poverty and humility dwells at ease holy charity: If you believe me, you will strive to be humble and truly poor, since between these two virtues dwells at ease holy charity which is the goal of all religions[483].

483 EP 1662. Rome, 9 August 1631.

As we have already seen, this is how Calasanz defines us in the Memorandum to Cardinal Tonti: We are men of apostolic life, very poor, very simple [and very humble][484].

484 MT 26.

6.3.4. The supreme apostolic poverty strips us of attachments and property

If we become attached to things and property, we disconnect ourselves from the love of God. We cease to be humble: The more we humble ourselves for the love of God, the more we love him. Likewise, the poorer we become for the love of God, the greater love of God we show. Some lose this great love for the extraordinary affection they have for a book, a hat, a case or any other such nonsense... God resists the proud and gives his grace to the humble. May YR stimulate holy humility and poverty in our religious, and you will do them great good[485]. We are called to share with the poor the table of creation: If by chance in any city or community someone wants to make us a legacy, let the community itself or the magistrate administer this legacy by giving us only the little that will be necessary for food and clothing and distributing the rest elsewhere or for pious works... In this way any suspicion that we seek temporal goods will disappear and, in truth, whoever is not content with the necessary things will never be content with the superfluous, because man’s greed is insatiable[486].

485 EP 2630. Rome, 17 November 1636.

486 EP 1488. Rome, 11 September 1630.

6.3.5. Calasanzian biblical texts on the supreme apostolic poverty

I have already quoted some of them in Good Disciples of the School of the Master. Here I complement with other texts.

As a totally poor person, one enters the Pious School taking into account Mt 18, 21. Sell what you have and give it to the poor and then follow me: If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven; then follow me.

For 1Tim 6, 7-10 [8.10] as long as we have food and clothing, let us be content with that: We have brought nothing into the world and can take nothing out of it. As long as we have food and raiment, let us be content with that: Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, and into snare, and into many foolish and pernicious lusts, which plunge men into ruin and perdition. For the root of all evils is the lust of money, and some, by being carried away by it, have gone astray in the faith and tormented themselves with many sufferings.

According to Mt 6:24. We cannot serve two masters: No one can serve two masters; for he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

As long as we exercise our ministry with diligence according to Mt 6:25-34 [26.32] we can trust in the Providence: Therefore, I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, and for your body, what you shall wear. Is not life more precious than food, and the body more precious than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?..... Your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough of its own evil.

God does as a child does in this life. It is evident to Jesus in Mt 25:39 that what we do to the little ones we do to the Lord because he is included in them: Truly I tell you, whatever you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.

For 2 Cor 8:6-9 [7] God loves a cheerful giver: Behold, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Let each one give according to the judgment of his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion: God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to fill you with all grace, so that having what is needful always and in all things, you may still have a surplus for every good work, as it is written, “He has distributed, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever”.

According to James 4:6. God gives his grace to the humble: God resists the proud and gives his grace to the humble.

Lk 12:37. Blessed are we who are awake and waiting for the Lord; we shall see him serving us and making us capable of serving those who need him: Blessed are the servants whom the Lord, when he comes, will find awake; truly I say to you, he will gird himself and make them sit at table and, going from one to another, will serve them.

Ps 115:18-19 manifests our commitment in solemn profession: I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all the people; in the court of the house of the Lord, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Calasanz writes to us saying: The ratification of solemn vows or profession made out of pure love of God is an action so pleasing to God that it surpasses all other actions that a person can do except martyrdom. But he who loves God as he ought, should frequently renew an act that pleases God so much; and, above all, by the good example to his neighbor. I will hold him in great esteem and I will ask the Lord to give everyone a new fervor to be heroic in the pure love of God, first and foremost precept of the most holy law of the Lord[487].

487 EP 4024

6.4. Conclusion

Obedience, Chastity and Poverty are people living by the impulses of the Spirit:

- Obedience leaves us living by the will of God, even if our sensibility or our own judgements and self-will shriek. We save others by our faithfulness to what the Lord shows us. Obedience leaves us loving in every adverse or prosperous situation. We are pilgrims to go where we are needed.

- Chastity strips us of disordered affections and gives us the gift of Love ordered to each person. We let pass the Love that the Lord has poured into our hearts with the Spirit that has been given to us. It is necessary to see ourselves with the goodness and beauty that God sees in us in order to live the gift of chastity. St. John of the Cross says: Let us see ourselves in your beauty where pure water flows! Chastity leaves us loving with joy. It makes us patient to see goodness in people and to lead them where God leads them. As Calasanz says: Chastity keeps us united to Christ the Lord, desiring to live for Him and to please Him alone[488].
488 CC 34.

- The supreme apostolic poverty strips us of attachments and property. We are stewards of the goods we have in order to share them. It makes us live out of trust in God. Apostolic poverty makes visible the mystery of the invisible “poverty of God” (as Maurice Zúndel says)[489]. Calasanz is convinced. Poverty is the defense of religion; in fact, because they did not have money, the Order was not completely destroyed by the decision of Pope Innocent X.
489 Cf. Bibliography on Maurice Zúndel.

- Being humble is the upright and dutiful way leading us to the fullness of Love to small and poor people and towns in great need of educational assistance.

All should not be led to religious perfection in the same way, but according to the talent of each one[490].

490 Cu 722.

Let everyone study the Constitutions, at least the chapters that concern the subjects, and let all be resolved to observe them as they sound. That nothing is asked of them but a very just thing, and approved by the Holy Spirit through his Vicar[491].

491 Cu 812.

6.5. Integration questions

1. What struck you about leaving everything for the love of the Lord who loves us first?

2. What reactions and reflections have been awakened?

3. Is there anything you cannot accept? Why?

4. Is there anything significant that has touched your heart?

5. What questions remain for you about We leave everything for the love of the Lord?

6. The Holy Spirit invites you to...

7. Would you like to spend some time in prayer with a phrase or word that has touched your heart until you discover the human behavior that the anointing of the Spirit gives you?

Chapter VII

We are piarist priests

Jn 10, 9-18 [7.9.11.12.14]

The Piarist priesthood is a called with a particular vocation. It is a free gift of the Lord that must be lived with humility. Calasanz has in clear that: Christian perfection does not consist in being a priest or a brother, but in loving God [and neighbor][492]. However, when the priestly vocation appears among the cleric brothers, he reacts in the following way: Given that among the cleric brothers, by the grace of God, there are some who are apt and suitable to receive holy orders, so that we do not appear to be rejecting divine grace by hiding the talents of the Lord on earth and depriving our religion of this increase of priests of whom it has so much need...the faculty is given to Father General to promote them in due time if he finds them apt[493].

492 EP 1385. Rome, 11 May 1630.

493 Giner, Severino. San José de Calasanz Maestro y Fundador. BAC Madrid. 1992 p. 868.

Humility is the foundation of the Piarist priesthood: If one can lower to know himself, he can realize the gift that the Lord has given him to live it as God gives it to him: Try to acquire so much humility that in due time he will find himself worthy to be promoted to the priesthood for which great disposition and capital of virtue is needed[494].

494 Cu 427.

Humility shall make him capable of lowering himself to perform humble services: It would not be a great thing if the priests, in case of need or to exercise humility, would sometimes do the collection, tidy up the dining room, sweep the house, and even help in other tasks that seem low and vile[495].

495 Cu 449.

Humility will make him capable of lowering himself to give light to the little ones: The shortest and easiest way to be exalted to his own knowledge and from this to the attributes of the mercy and prudence and infinite patience and goodness of God, is in lowering himself to give light to children, especially to those who are neglected by all; because in the eyes of the world it is so low and vile, few want to lower themselves to it, and God usually gives a hundred for one[496].

496 EP 1236. Rome, 19 October 1629

7.1. The Piarist priest occupies the place of the Lord by being:

- Head of the Body: He gives life to the Body of the Lord from within each member: We exhort and pray all the ministers, by the heart of the Lord, to remember that they occupy the place of that Lord who, being very rich, became poor to enrich his little children and suffered hunger, thirst, heat, cold, weariness, even enduring scourging, thorns, nails and spear, and who in his extreme need wanted to be watered with gall and vinegar, when for others he had turned water into wine, and who finally wanted to die naked on the trunk of the Cross[497].
497 Exhortation of Our Holy Father to Ministers - RC 13,47.

- Shepherd of the Lord’s flock: As good shepherds of the Lord’s flock, you must provide first of all for the spiritual and bodily needs of the sheep entrusted to you, so that they may be at ease and do God’s service joyfully[498].
498 Ibid.

- Charity that does not seek its own: it seeks the good of the whole community and seeks the good of small and poor persons and towns. It is necessary to strip off the royal garments of self-love and, with the bare feet of good example in everything, to clothe ourselves from head to foot with the mantle of holy charity, which joyfully fulfills that admirable saying of the Apostle: Charity does not seek its own[499].
499 Exhortation of Our Holy Father to the Ministers - RC 13,47.

- Minister in the apostolic style: True apostle or ambassador of the Lord: The Lord wants his ministers in the apostolic style, as his true apostles or ambassadors. And in this true confidence consists the effect of the fruit of the labors carried out for his love[500].
500 Cu 1189.

- Humble service of the Authority: His whole person is at the service of the Lord’s flock: The ministers enjoy freedom with the power and authority that the Lord has given them over the flock. They must [follow] even in this the Lord himself, that the Power that was given to him by the eternal Father over all creatures, he employed it all in our service and not in his own[501].
501 Exhortation of Our Holy Father to the Ministers - RC 13,47.

7.2. The main mission of the Piarist priesthood

To guide the students and those in formation where God leads them. To prevent and cure evil. To stoop to teach the letters and the spirit. To celebrate the Eucharist as the Body of the Lord by creating fraternal communities. To be cooperator with the truth.

- He loves with a father’s love and with a mother’s heart persons and small and poor people, lowering himself to exercise our ministry: The students must see in the Teacher, kindness, mercy and love of a father[502]. Let him behave with his brothers like a loving mother with her dear children, who is deeply grieved by his bad state and all the more so, the older he is[503]. See to it that all the priests humble themselves to exercise our ministry for the pure love of God[504]. Now there is hardly a priest to be found who wants to have a school, priests being more suitable than clerics and brothers to educate students well[505]. Let him be very equal in love to his brothers, imitating the sun equally beneficial to good and bad, according to the doctrine of Christ in the Gospel[506]. Let him have compassion for those who are at fault or who sin, and not for that reason judge them, but rather be grieved more for the spiritual harm of his brother than for his own bodily harm, however serious it may be[507].
502 EP 893. In another letter EP 679 adds: father and even mother.

503 It is maxim 6th of the famous rules of the novices. These rules were given by Calasanz to Father Casani, novice master at that time, and according to what I heard from Fr. Giráldez, they come from St. Bernard.

504 Cu 452.

505 EP 2394.

506 Maxim 8th.

507 Maxim 5th.

- He leads the pupils according to the teaching of the Holy Spirit who inclines us to discover our vocation: The young people who learn in our schools, it is seen whether they are of good or bad inclination, whether or not they have good intelligence, and by educating them well they give good results. What I am writing, although I do not command it in virtue of holy obedience, must be put into practice as the word of God, coming through the Superior[508].
508 EP 2581.

- Awakens the good, prevents and cures evil: [Our] ministry is truly the most meritorious, for establishing and putting into practice, with fullness of charity in the Church, an effective remedy to prevent and cure evil, and to induce and enlighten for the good[509]. I hope the confessors to be true spiritual fathers. All diligence should be employed in this, because it is the goal of our Institute[510].
509 MT 9.

510 EP 1375. St. John of the Cross. Flame of Living Love 3.46.

- It teaches Christian piety and human sciences, letters and the spirit, the light of God and of the world: As we have already said, the aim of our Congregation in the exercise of the Pious Schools is the education of the child in Christian piety and in human science in order, with this formation, to attain eternal life: In the attainment of this goal, we have thought it necessary, besides the example of a spiritual life, the doctrine and the method of teaching it. Therefore, when serious progress in the authentic virtues on the part of those who have been admitted to the profession is ascertained, it will be necessary to think of grounding them in doctrine and in the methodology of teaching[511]. [Our] ministry is destined for all boys of whatever condition - and therefore for all men who first pass through that age - by means of letters and spirit, good morals and manners, the light of God and of the world[512]. See to it that the schools are well run both in letters and in spirit, since this is our institute[513].
511 CC 203.

512 MT 9.

513 EP 1167.

- Celebrate the Eucharist as the Body of the Lord: And because he knows little of so great a mystery and sacrament, it is convenient to study it well so that it cannot be said that he does not discern the Body of the Lord[514]. Consider, before beginning the Mass, that he carries an embassy to the eternal Father on behalf of the whole holy Church[515]. You should all realize, especially the priests, that every morning they speak and should speak familiarly with the eternal Father and the Most Holy Trinity in the holy sacrifice of the Mass, from which they should go forth with great zeal for the service of the Lord[516]. I marvel that he has become, not to say negligent, so miserly of his talent, which does not consist in celebrating Mass, but in teaching the pupils the letters in the holy fear of God[517]. And since they are so many to do evil, let us resolve to do good. And if they steal life and goods, let us give life and spiritual goods to the young[518].
514 Cu 470.

515 Cu 457.

516 Cu 445.

517 Cu 1231.

518 EP 1723.

- Today we can add that the Piarist priesthood creates community of communities with the children and young people and with the Piarist fraternities. If they gather with zeal for the glory of God and the greater good of the students, they will find in practice that the Spirit will be in their midst, because “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” [Mt 18:20][519].
519 EP 2757. Rome, 14 July 1641.

- He is a cooperator with the Truth: In a humble attitude we should expect from Almighty God the necessary means to be effective cooperators with the Truth, for He has called us as laborers to this most fertile harvest[520]. May the Lord, through His infinite compassion and mercy, always give us His holy grace to work always the good for the greater glory of Him and the greater good of our neighbor[521].
520 CC 3. Fr Ausenda, Giovanni. Extracurricular apostolate in the Piarist tradition. Ed. Calasancias, Salamanca, 1983, p. 7. He tells us: In the time of Calasanz numerous confraternities flourished in Rome; he himself was enrolled in five: the Twelve Apostles, the Christian Doctrine, the Wounds of St. Francis, the Holy Trinity of the Pilgrims and the Suffrage. This personal inclination undoubtedly played an important role when he promoted the creation of organized groups among students and adults.

521 EP 1759.

7.2.1. Calasanzian biblical texts on the Piarist priesthood[522]

522 Where Calasanz best describes the Piarist priesthood is when he speaks of the Ministers of the Community who clearly had to be priests. Thus, he describes the priesthood and the humble service of authority at the same time.

In Eph 5:21-32 the Lord, being head of the Body of the Lord, gives himself for the Church and the world. The Lord is head of the body. Neither in the first letter to the Corinthians, nor in the letter to the Romans it is spoken of the Head of the Body. It speaks of the Holy Spirit who dwells in each member giving life to the whole Body. Only in the letter to the Ephesians 1, 10 and 5, 21-32 when Apostle Paul speaks of the divine plan of salvation and married life and in the letter to the Colossians 1,18 and 2,19, he speaks of the Lord as the image of the invisible God and of remaining united to the Head that gives life to the Body. The Head dwells in each member, it is what we see in the Eucharist when we receive communion. Moreover, the Head does not come alone, he comes with all the members where he dwells and he comes loving. This is the experience of unity which is our common good. Each member has as its center the Presence that loves, the Head of the Body. It is the only currency that circulates in the house of God; it is the sap that nourishes the whole Body. Therefore, because of the way Calasanz speaks to the Ministers, it is good to quote the letter to the Ephesians, applying it to those in charge who occupy the place of the Lord in the community, especially because of their self-giving for it: Christ is the head of the Church, the savior of the body. The Church is submissive to Christ [as savior]... Christ loves the Church and gives himself for her, to sanctify her, purifying her by the bath of water, by virtue of the word... He loves her as his own body... This is a great mystery; I say this in regard to Christ and the Church. In his letters, Calasanz quotes this text to speak of marriage. I have dared to apply it to the authority of the superiors and to the priesthood of every Piarist, because of the total dedication that he asks of the ministers to the community.

Col 1:15-20 [18] also tells us that Christ is the head of the Body, of the Church: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, thrones, dominions, principalities, powers: all things were created by him and for him, he existed before everything, and everything has its consistency in him. He is also the head of the body, of the Church. He is the Beginning, the Firstborn from among the dead, so that He is the first in everything, since God was pleased to make all fullness reside in Him, and to reconcile through Him and for Him all things, by pacifying, through the blood of His cross, the beings of the earth and of the heavens.

For Colossians 2:19 the Lord is the most beautiful relationship in the world because he allows us to relate to the whole world. We are his Body: [We must] keep ourselves united to the Head, from whom the whole body, by means of joints and ligaments, receives nourishment and cohesion, in order to realize its growth in God.

Jn 10:9-18 [7.9.11.12.14] describes how the Lord is the door and the Shepherd of the community: I am the door of the sheep, if one enters by me, he will be safe; he will go in and out and find pasture... I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. But the hireling, who is not a shepherd, to whom the sheep do not belong, sees the wolf coming, abandons the sheep and flees, and the wolf catches hold of them and scatters them, because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know my sheep, and my sheep know me, as the Father knows me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep... No one takes my life from me; I lay it down willingly.

The most important thing for 1Pet 5, 1-3 [2.3] is that the service of the authority be according to God: To the presbyters who are among you I exhort you, a priest like them, a witness of the sufferings of Christ and a sharer in the glory that is about to be revealed. Feed the flock of God that is entrusted to you, keeping watch, not under compulsion, but willingly, according to God; not out of petty desire for gain, but from the heart; not tyrannizing those whom it is your lot to care for, but being models of the flock.

Charity does not seek its own; it leads each person where God leads him, where God inclines him. For 1 Cor 13:4-7 [4.5] charity is patient to see the goodness that God gives: If I have not charity, nothing profits me. Charity is patient, it is kind; charity is not envious, it is not boastful, it is not puffed up; it is decorous; it does not seek its interest; it is not irritated, it does not take account of evil; it does not rejoice at injustice; it rejoices with the truth. It excuses all things. It believes all things. It hopes all things. It bears all things.

According to Mt 5, 45 we are beloved children of our heavenly Father, who makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

In 2Cor 4, 5-6 [6]: We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For the same God who said, “Out of the bosom of darkness let light shine”, has shone it in our hearts, that he may enlighten us with the knowledge of the glory of God which is in the face of Christ... Therefore, according to 2Co 5:20-21 [20]: We are therefore ambassadors of Christ, as though God were exhorting through us. In the name of Christ, we beseech you, be reconciled to God! For he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

For Mt 20:25-28 [28] the service of authority stems from the fact that the Lord did not come to be served but to serve: You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them as absolute masters, and the great ones oppress them with their power. It is not like this among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

7.3. The Piarist priest harmonizes humility and life according to the Spirit with the study and methodology of the sciences.

The beginning of the spiritual life is to learn to be humble: to lower oneself in one’s own knowledge; from there is born true formation in the life according to the Spirit.

One must learn to harmonize one’s own knowledge, the foundation of a life according to the Spirit, with the studies of philosophy and theology, and also to harmonize everything with the studies and methodology of letters and the spirit.

- Lowering to know oneself: God usually gives the grace of [following] the Lord in his most holy passion to the humble, as the prophet says: he gives knowledge to the little ones. And the more one opens oneself to the knowledge of oneself, the more God will exalt him in the knowledge of things invisible and eternal. May the Lord grant us perfect conformity to his most holy will[523].
523 EP 4392. Rome, 12 August 1646.

- To lower oneself to know oneself is the foundation of the spiritual life. It is the first thing to be taught: It is not my intention that as long as the young men in the first year of the novitiate have not made some profit in the spirit, they should devote themselves to studies, and I am sorry that because of the carelessness of someone who has governed them, after they have professed, they have occasion to regret that they have not made the novitiate and that they have not been taught the things of the spirit as they should have been, and that they have devoted themselves to labors from the beginning, as you say. See to it, then, that they devote themselves first to what is most important, that is, to religious perfection[524].
524 EP 4120. Rome, 31 July 1643.

- How clearly Calasanz speaks, in the last years of his life, about how one must learn to harmonize humility [one’s own knowledge] with the studies of the higher sciences: May the Lord grant you all a great spirit of profound humility, which the deeper it is, the higher and greater will be the virtue of knowledge and love of God and neighbor; and if you know how to combine this virtue with study, you will obtain an incredible benefit in your neighbor, as he will experience with the practice whoever knows how to do it; and I will help him with my daily prayers[525]. Have the professed study higher sciences, but see to it that the letters do not inflate, as is often the case with many, or cause self-esteem; but if they want them to have a real effect, let them accompany with holy humility, and they will experience that the examples of humility move more than the words of the proud[526]. For Calasanz, self-esteem is to have oneself above what one is. It is a judgment one makes about oneself. Self-love, as the Gospel says, is born of self-knowledge because we have no good in us without the gift of God, without his grace. That is true esteem. It is born of the relationship that the Lord has with us.
525 EP 4557. Rome, 13 June 1648.

526 EP 4531. Rome 15 February 1648.

- Harmonizing the study of letters and the spirit: I approve that our young people attend first to the proper profit of the spirit and then to the letters; and I will not cease to ask that the Lord give them a spirit of profit of Religion[527]. I am very unhappy that our clerics show so little desire to learn. The reason is that they do not know the great usefulness that they would procure for the students if they were capable of teaching them both the letters and the spirit... in such a way that the poor children would be able to profit both in the letters and in the spirit, and that their parents and relatives would be content and satisfied[528]. Let the Superior see to it that these students do not waste time after recess and that they are not negligent in their assiduity in prayer, nor in living humility; let them harmonize study with the fervor of piety and let both render reciprocal service to each other[529].
527 EP 4240. Rome, 29 November de 1644.

528 EP 576. Rome, 16 January 1627 and EP 1153. Rome, 13 July 1629.

529 CC 210. In EP 2359, Calasanz rejoices at the ordination of a Piarist: Father Diomedes said his first Mass this morning, Sunday, in our Church. They kissed his hand not only all those at home, who are his true brothers in the Spirit who is superior to the flesh, but also all the students who filled the Church.

7.4. Conclusion

St. John Paul II says in Pastores dabo vobis, speaking of the Priest:

- Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, his Body. He is “Head” in the new and original sense of being “servant”, according to his own words: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” [Mk 10:45]. Jesus’ service reaches its fullness with his death on the cross, that is, with the total gift of himself in humility and love. The spiritual life of New Testament ministers must therefore be characterized by this essential attitude of service to the People of God, free from every presumption and every desire to “tyrannize” the flock entrusted to their care [n. 21].

- The image of Jesus Christ, the Shepherd of the Church, his flock, proposes once again, with new and more suggestive nuances the same contents of the image of Jesus Christ, Head and Servant. Jesus presents himself as “the Good Shepherd”. He has compassion for the people, because they are weary and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. He seeks out the scattered and the strayed and rejoices when he finds them, he gathers and defends them, he knows them and calls them one by one, he leads them to fresh pastures and still waters, he prepares a table for them, nourishing them with his own life. By virtue of their consecration, priests are configured to Jesus the Good Shepherd and are called to imitate and revive his pastoral charity [n. 22].

- Participation in the same pastoral charity of Jesus Christ: The interior principle, the virtue that animates and guides the spiritual life of the priest as configured to Christ, Head and Shepherd, is pastoral charity, participation in the same pastoral charity of Jesus Christ: a gratuitous gift of the Spirit and, at the same time, a duty and call to the free and responsible response of priests. The essential content of pastoral charity is self-giving, the total gift of self to the Church, sharing in the gift of Christ and in his image. Pastoral charity is that virtue by which we imitate Christ in his self-giving and service. It is not only what we do, but the gift of ourselves that shows Christ’s love for his flock. Pastoral charity determines our way of thinking and our way of acting, our way of behaving towards people. And it is particularly demanding for us [23].

To conclude: I would like to emphasize once again how Calasanz, in the last years of his life, expresses very clearly how we have to be formed as religious and how we have to be formed as Piarist priests. How well he describes, when he speaks to the Ministers of the Community, what the Piarist priesthood is, the humble service of the authority that does not seek its own!

7.5. Integration questions

1. List what strikes you about living the Piarist priesthood.

2. What reactions and reflections have been awakened?

3. Is there anything that is difficult for you to accept? What? Why?

4. List the most significant things that have touched your heart.

5. What questions do you still have about the Piarist priesthood?

6. The Spirit suggests to you some human behavior...

7. Do you want to spend some time in prayer with a phrase or word that has touched your heart until you discover the human behavior that the anointing of the Spirit gives you?

8. Do you notice any resemblance between what Calasanz says about the Piarist priesthood and what St. John Paul II writes in Pastores dabo vobis?

Chapter VIII

We are poor of the mother of God

Lc 1, 26-56. Lc 2, 1-20

8.1. We are poor of the Mother of God

When we welcome and help poor children in every circumstance as Mary welcomed the poor Jesus. When with our patience and charity we discover the good inclinations of children. When we treat with maternal affection children under 10 years of age. What we do to the little ones, we do to the Lord: And since we profess ourselves to be true Poor of the Mother of God, we will not, under any circumstances, despise poor children; but with tenacious patience and charity we will try to adorn them with every virtue, stimulated principally by that Word of the Lord: What you did for one of the least of these my brethren, you did it for me[530]. And always and in every circumstance and with characteristic commitment, the poor will be helped, even though be tattered[531]. We declare that teachers will treat with all affection pupils from the age of ten and under, who learn only syllabication and reading. And since teaching these children at such a tender age involves greater familiarity, the conscience of the teachers is taxed on this point. The Superior will always place in these classes priests and teachers mature in age[532]. It is necessary to experience what it means to be Poor of the Mother of God[533].

530 CC 4.

531 Declarations on our Constitutions, Rules and Common Rites. Written by Calasanz in 1637. Cf. Fr. Lecea, Jesús María. Analecta Calasanziana n. 50. Year 1983, p. 570.

532 Declarations on our Constitutions, Rules and Common Rites. Lecea, Jesús María, Analecta Calasanziana n. 50. 1983, p. 561.

533 EP 1272.

8.2. Mary is the work of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

Work of the Father: Mary is Daughter, Mother, without sin, wife of St. Joseph. Work of the Son: The Son chose her as Mother; the Son became man, was nourished by her in his infancy, wanted to be educated by her in his childhood and revealed to her the mysteries of salvation. Work of the Holy Spirit: He chose her as spouse, revealed to her his name of Holy Spirit; was both virgin and mother; made her a living temple of the Holy Trinity and exalted her in heaven above all creatures[534].

534 Cfr. The Crown of the 12 Stars.

8.3. The Pious School and the Charism were founded under her protection

Calasanz trusts in the last moments of his life in the help of the Blessed Virgin. It is necessary that we have recourse to the help of God and to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, under whose protection the work was founded[535]. I entrust myself and will always entrust myself to the Most Holy Crucifix and to the Blessed Virgin, his Mother, so that they may deign to protect this religion[536]. Warn that we are Poor of the Mother of God and not of men. And so, let insistence be with our Mother, and not with men, for she never bothers with our importunities, but men do[537].

535 EP 4417. Rome, 20 October 1646.

536 Cu 116.

537 Cu 105.

Father Camillo Scassellati, third General of the Order declared in the Informative Process that Calasanz, two or three days before his death, was visited by Our Lady of Monti: Father Joseph, with a clear voice and in confidence, said to Father Francis, perhaps without noticing that I was sitting next to the tavolino: “Yes, I must have confidence, because the Blessed Virgin has promised me her help”. Father Francis asked him again and Father Joseph said in a perfectly clear voice: “I must have confidence because Our Lady of Monti has promised me her help”[538].

538 Asiain, Miguel Ángel. Itinerario de Espiritualidad Calasancia. Tomo III, p. 175.

8.3.1. Calasanzian biblical texts on we are the Poor of the Mother of God

Lk 1:26-56. All the texts of the infancy of Matthew and Luke are Calasanzian. They appear in the catechism that he wrote: the Annunciation, the birth, the discussion in the midst of the doctors of the temple and the visitation in the last moments of her life when she appeared to him on her deathbed, as I have already said. With very simple questions he leads the children to discover the mystery of the Annunciation, how we celebrate it on March 25 in the liturgy. To end with a moment of thanksgiving for such a great benefit.

In the sixth month God sent the angel Gabriel to a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he went in and said to her, “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.”

She was troubled at these words and wondered what the greeting meant.

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God; you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and ever, and his kingdom will have no end.

Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I know not a man?

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore he who is to be born will be holy and will be called the Son of God. Behold, Elizabeth also, your relative, has conceived a son in her old age, and this is already the sixth month of her who was said to be barren, for nothing is impossible with God.”

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel left her and went away[539]. Of the three divine persons, which one became man? The Son.

539 Lk 1:26-38. This is the entire Catechism of Calasanz.

Where did he take on human flesh?

In the womb of the most pure Virgin Mary.

In what village was the most pure Virgin when the Son of God became man through the work of the Holy Spirit in her most chaste womb?

In Nazareth.

What day of the year did the Son of God become man? March 25.

What feast does the Holy Church celebrate in memory of this great mystery?

The Annunciation.

Why did the Son of God become man? For us.

And shall we not thank him for so great a benefit?

Yes, Father.

Let us kneel down then and recite…[540].

540 Salvador, López. Documentos de San José de Calasanz. Ed. Calasancia Latinoamericana. Bogotá 1988, p. 245.

In Jn 19:25-27 [27] Mary received us as children at the moment of the Cross: Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Jesus, seeing his mother and beside her the disciple whom he loved, says to his mother, Woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

His Most Holy Mother, the Most Pure Virgin, who certainly accepted us as her children at the foot of the Cross[541].

541 Cu 84.

Lk 1:38 tells us that Mary’s education of her Son Jesus was to do the will of God the Father. She herself is a disciple of the Word of God. Calasanz gives great importance in his letters to conforming to the will of God: Mary said: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word”. In the same way Lk 8:19-21: His mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not come to him because of the crowd. They told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to see you. But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and keep it.

The Lord invites us in Jn 14:23-26 to love him: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him... The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Mary is the work of the Father, the Son and the Spirit. Her Son taught her the mysteries of salvation. The Trinity dwells in her and from within her is creating her as disciple and mother. Mary loved Jesus with all her heart.

In Mt 25:40 we are aware of what the Lord tells us: Truly I tell you, whatever you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me. As Mary received the poor Jesus and educated him doing the will of God, so all the Piarists receive and educate small and poor people and towns.

The crown of 12 stars alludes to Rev 12:1: A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

8.4. Conclusion

Each one of us is the work of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, first we are disciples to discover how the Trinity is creating us and what mission we are given. We must take each child and young person where the Spirit leads him or her. We are poor of the Mother of God and we receive the little ones as Mary receives her Son. Lastly, Calasanz, invites us to pray the Rosary, the Crown of the 12 stars and the antiphon We fly to your patronage.

To conclude, I would like to write all the texts of our Constitutions about Mary. They are great.

Chapter I. The Calasanzian mission: And since we profess to be truly poor of the Mother of God, under no circumstances will we despise poor children, but with tenacious patience and charity we strive to enrich them with all their qualities, especially stimulated by the Word of the Lord: “What you did for one of the least of these my brothers, you did for me[542].

542 C 7.

The Pious Schools, supported by the protection of the Virgin Mary, Mother and Educator of Christ, having passed the test over the centuries, attentive to the needs and aspirations of men, feel sent by the Church also in our times, and try to build a more just and fraternal world[543].

543 C 11.

Chapter II. Our following of Christ: The Virgin Mary, associated with her Son in total communion of love, faithful companion of his Passion, first sharer in his Resurrection, precedes us with her light in the following of Christ. With her presence and intercession, we will be able to show in ourselves the image of the Son and our students will learn to model in themselves the one whom she engendered and educated[544].

544 C 23.

Chapter III. Our Community Life: Gathered in Community of faith for the love that the Father has given us and for the Calasanzian vocation, and imitating the lifestyle of Christ with his disciples and of the early Church with Mary, we are in a certain way ministers of the hope of the future Kingdom and of the fraternal union among men[545].

545 C 25.

Chapter IV. Community of prayer: Familiar and assiduous dealings with Sacred Scripture will introduce us to an intimate knowledge of God and his plan of salvation. Like the Virgin Mary, who, keeping and meditating faithfully and constantly on the Word of God in her heart, entered into the mystery of Christ and proclaimed with fullness the greatness of the Father[546].

546 C 42.

We feel with the Church as we celebrate with faith and devotion the Mysteries of Christ throughout the liturgical cycle. With childlike love we accompany the Virgin Mary in her participation in the Mystery of Christ. For this we use, among other means, the prayers already consecrated by our Piarist tradition. We cultivate in us and encourage in our students devotion to our Holy Father[547].

547 C 49.

Chapter V. Consecrated Chastity: Chastity for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven is an eminent gift of the Father’s love, which we receive in the Church. By it we follow Christ with undivided love and imitate the Virgin Mary, and thus we are united more closely to God and love all men with singular charity[548].

548 C 53.

Familiar intimacy with God is nourished by Sacred Scripture, prayer and Sacraments; and in such a way it transforms the heart that makes our dedication to God and to others more generous every day. Our filial devotion to the Virgin Mary and her protection, repeatedly implored, increase our strength to vigorously imitate her example of fidelity[549].

549 C 59.

Chapter VI. Our Poverty: Among the poor and humble, the Lord Jesus chose the Virgin Mary as his Mother, who surpassed all in poverty and humility. And St. Joseph Calasanz, who learned humility and other virtues by experiencing venerable poverty, wanted us to be authentic Poor of the Mother of God[550]. Our form of dress must always be coherent with our vocation as Poor of the Mother of God[551].

550 C 65

551 C 67.

Chapter VII. Consecrated Obedience: Following this way of life and always ready to serve the Kingdom, we live our obedience with living faith as a witness before the world to the mystery of the Cross and Resurrection. And taking as our example the Virgin Mary, the handmaid of the Lord, a marvelous model of fidelity, we fulfill the Father’s plan with a prompt and joyful spirit[552].

552 C 89.

Chapter VIII. Our Ministry in the Church. There is no number of Mary. There are two numbers in Chapter I: The Calasanzian Mission.

Chapter IX. Formation of religious: This profession and vows, under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and of our Holy Father, Joseph Calasanz, I consider them to be firm, solid and valid, and I want them to be so forever[553].

553 C 119.

8.5. Integration Questions

1. What struck you?

2. What reactions and reflections were awakened?

3. Was there something that you cannot accept?

4. How did being poor of the Mother of God touch your heart?

5. What questions do you have about being poor of the Mother of God?

6. Do you feel invited to...

7. Would you like to spend some time in prayer with a phrase or word that has touched your heart until you discover the human behavior that the anointing of the Spirit gives you?

8. How is your devotion to Our Lady Mary, Mother of God?

Chapter IX

Our piarist ministry

Lc 4, 18-19 [18] y Mt 25, 40

Inspired by God, Calasanz responds to a need of the Church and Society: to educate and evangelize small and poor people and towns according to their talents. I want to express in this chapter what is fundamental to our Piarist ministry.

9.1. The purpose of our mission

We tend, in the Church of God and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to perfect Charity through our specific ministry[554].

554 CC 1.

I invite you to savor once again this quotation from 1 Cor 13:4-8 [4.5]: Charity is patient, it is kind; charity is not envious, it is not boastful, it is not puffed up; it is decorous; it does not seek his interest; he is not irritated; he takes no account of evil; he does not rejoice in injustice; he rejoices in the truth. It excuses all things. It believes all things. It hopes all things. It bears all things. Charity never ends. You can identify all that it says in you. The finality is not a goal. It is you loving through our specific ministry.

We tend to ensure that the child is happy -learns to live- throughout his or her life. In this goal lies social transformation[555].

555 CC 2. CC 175. MT 5 [1621].

This text of Dan 12, 3 Calasanz repeats it several times in his letters: The teachers will shine like the brightness of the firmament; those who educated the people to be just will shine like the stars for all eternity.

We intend that the whole person of the child be saved[556].

556 MT 7.

According to 2Pet 2, 1-3 [3] we must: Reject, therefore, all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all kinds of evil speaking. Like newborn babes, desire pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up to salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good.[557]

557 2 Pet 2,1-3. Calasanz speaks of baptismal innocence.

We educate for the glory of God and the usefulness of our neighbor, to make God visible by being useful to our neighbor[558], to do everything for the love of God and the usefulness of our neighbor. Let us do what good we can do for the glory of the Lord, and let us not worry about being remunerated and well regarded or even slandered. For what we do, we do only for the glory of his divine majesty, who will judge us according to our works[559]. May the Lord, in his infinite mercy, give us his grace. That we may always work well for his greater glory and the good of our neighbor[560].

558 CC 345.

559 Cu 11.

560 Cu 23.

In 1 Cor 1:31: As the Scripture says, “Let him who boasts boast, boast in the Lord. So Calasanz lives it: Let us do the good that we can do for the glory of the Lord and let us not worry about being remunerated and well seen and even slandered. That what we do we do only for the glory of his Divine Majesty[561].

561 Cu 11.

9.2. The educators who make possible the purpose of the exercise of the Pious Schools

Since this task we are undertaking is so important and requires people endowed with the greatest charity, patience and other virtues, we must consider with great care who should be admitted or excluded from formation for our ministry[562].

562 CC 96.

- Educators called with a particular vocation: Many workers are needed... with a great spirit... and called with a particular vocation because they are going to encounter the difficulties that derive from a life mortified by the obligatory contact with children; laborious because of the continuous effort of their profession, and despicable in the eyes of the flesh, which considers the education of poor children as vile[563]. Our ministry is the most agreeable for whoever is called to labor in this vineyard and to work in this harvest so abundant[564].
563 MT 24.

564 MT 16.

- Educators called to reform the interior of children and young people: Subjects chosen by God are needed to reform the youth in these regions, which is an apostolic office[565]. It is necessary to be a willing and reformed man from within[566].
565 EP 2394. Rome, 23 June 1635.

566 EP 1367.

- Educators called to be suitable cooperators with the Truth: In a humble attitude we must expect from Almighty God the necessary means to be effective cooperators of the Truth, since He has called us as laborers to this most fertile harvest[567]. Calasanz affirms that our ministry is divine and we are cooperators. We are cooperators with the divine will; we cooperate in the salvation of soul and body; we cooperate with the action of grace in the souls of innocent children[568].
567 CC 3.

568 Cfr. Calasanz´ Intuitions… Fr Luis Padilla López, Sch.P pp. 246-247.

- Wise educators in the interior school to be true spiritual fathers or mothers and to be able to teach the way of living spiritually to the students: The Brother must teach with modesty and religious gravity to the students as a schoolmaster not only the letters but also the way of living spiritually[569]. For us, the young people who learn in our schools are more suitable, and we can see if they are of good or bad inclination, if they have good intelligence or not, and by educating them well, they will give good results[570].
569 EP 1375, Rome, 27 April 1630.

570 EP 2581, Rome, 28 August 1636.

The first document on evangelization, after Vatican II, that alludes to the Catholic school comments: In any case the validity of the educational results of the Catholic school is not measured in terms of immediate efficiency. In Christian education, in addition to the freedom of the educator and the freedom of the learner, placed in dialogical relationship, the relationship of both with the grace factor must be kept in mind. Freedom and grace mature their fruits at the pace of the Spirit, which is not measured only by temporal categories. Grace, by grafting itself onto freedom, can guide it to its fullness, which is the freedom of the Spirit. When it collaborates consciously and explicitly with this liberating force, the Catholic school becomes a Christian leaven in the world. Convinced that the mysterious action of the Spirit is at work in every person, the Catholic school also offers itself with its educational project and with the specific means at its disposal, even to non-Christians, ready to recognize, preserve and promote the spiritual and moral goods, as well as the socio-cultural values that characterize the various cultures[571].

I remember that Calasanz received in Moravia children from Protestant families and many converted to our faith seeing that we have nothing more than food and clothing. He also received Hebrews telling them that he would never deal with them in particular about anything of our holy faith; and he organized groups of parents and students just as he enrolled himself, when he arrived in Rome, in five confraternities[572].

- Educators with an authentic progress in the educational virtues: Heaven is reached only through love[573]. Love facilitates the work, and more so when our love for God is reflected in our neighbor through the good education of children, especially the poor[574].
573 Cu 22.

574 Cu 1220.

- A tender, cordial, kindly love: The pupils must see in the teacher kindness, mercy and fatherly love[575].
575 EP 893. Rome, 7 July 1628.

- A patient and compassionate love: He needs great patience to know how to make use of the talent he discovers and also to know how, with paternal affection, to remedy faults and imperfections by exhorting them one by one[576]. It is truly convenient to use all patience and charity with children, to guide them on the right path[577].
576 EP 3721. Rome, 24 August 1641.

577 Cu 1243.

- A humble love which united with letters makes it possible to know the truth and love the true good: Make yourselves continually more capable in letters to help your neighbor, and much more in the virtue of humility, which united with letters, makes men most apt to know the truth and love the true good[578].
578 Cu 1026.

- A demanding, kind, and diligent love: Let the students realize that the Teacher knows and not thing or speak of him as a teacher who does not know[579]. Encourage the [educator] to be diligent and accommodate himself to the ability of the students, not only in pointing out the vernacular texts but in explaining the lessons. And treat all students with gentleness [with the truth declared] so that they may understand that he cordially desires their benefit. That in this way he will encourage them to be diligent in school and more easily attract them to the service of God[580].
579 EP 371. Rome, 2 December 1625.

580 EP 1488. Rome, 11 September 1630.

- A cheerful love because God loves a cheerful giver: Work cheerfully, doing all works for the love of God[581]. Think of things that may cause you joy, for example the reward God has in store for those who help the poor, chiefly in spiritual things and holy fear of God. The wise man says: Those who have taught many will shine like stars for all eternity. This exercise should be done with joy, as St. Paul exhorts us, saying: God loves a cheerful giver[582]. Go forward joyfully and, at the same time, do not lose the holy fear of God, but grow in love. That everything will always turn out happily for you. For this is the true fountain of living water and of perfect wisdom[583]. Remain joyful in the Lord, and if anything happens to you, let me know, and I will console you[584]. In good works impediments and contradictions always arise; be content. Since it is your aim and your will to serve God and to be useful to religion, with your patience you will always succeed in all things[585]. All should rejoice and each one should attend to his work for the good of his neighbor, for the pure love of God[586].
581 Cu 1179.

582 Cu 1172. The text quotes Dan 12:3 and 2 Cor 9:7.

583 Cu 1176. Calasanz quotes the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman. Jn 4:14: Whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never thirst, but the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

584 Cu 1180.

585 Cu 1182.

586 Cu 1185.

- Educators who are disciples of the school of the Master and who know how to live as the Body of the Lord: I would be very unhappy if those young people who come determined to leave the world and follow in the footsteps of Christ were not devout [I would wish that] entering the spiritual life, they would do great things[587]. Let the teachers see to it that the children know the mysteries of the life of Christ and the acts of virtue...[588]. The brothers are as necessary as the priests, because they all form one body. And they should not say to one another: I do not need your help. But in holy peace, let each one work according to his aptitude for the pure love of God[589].
587 EP 1882. Rome, 2 October 1632.

588 EP 1450. Rome, 30 July 1630.

589 Cu 426.

- Educators based on the doctrine and methodology of teaching according to their aptitude: In the teaching of grammar and in any other subject, it is of great benefit to the student that the teacher follows a simple, effective and, as far as possible, brief method. For this reason, every effort will be made to choose the best among those recommended by the most learned and experts in the subject[590]. If, by chance, Mr. Galileo asks Fr Clemente to remain in his house some nights, allow him to do so; and God willing, he will know how to make the best profit of it[591].
590 CC 216.

591 Cu 1301.

- Educators who place all their aptitudes and talents at the service of their students: Let there be no one who has hidden his talent[592]. Try not to do in religion like that servant who had one talent and hid it. I wish he would do as the servant who had two talents and gained two others and was rewarded by being made Lord of two cities. The more talents one tries to have in order to help his neighbor for the love of God, the more he resembles God[593]. See to it that everyone is occupied in such a way that each one works in that for which he has talent, since in that for which one does not have talent, he cannot apply himself so easily and it is good to know the inclinations of each one; when one can be obliged with love to occupy oneself with an occupation, it is better than when it is with force[594]. God gives talent to whom he pleases, and it is rich for all those who invoke it; in which there is no respect of persons[595]. I want ours with such talent, that they can then communicate it to others[596]. The prestige of schools is in having good teachers[597].
592 Cu 447.

593 Cu 974.

594 EP 1226.

595 Cu 34. Calasanz quotes Rom 10:12: He is rich to all who call upon him, and Rom 2:11: in whom there is no partiality.

596 Cu 1241.

597 Cu 1240.

- Educators who harmonize the experience of a life according to the Spirit with the study of the sciences and the methodology of teaching: May the Lord grant you all a great spirit of profound humility, which the deeper it is, the higher and greater will be the virtue of knowledge and love of God and neighbor, and if you know how to combine this virtue with study, you will obtain an incredible benefit for your neighbor, as will be experienced in practice by those who know how to do it, whom I will help with my daily prayers[598]. It will be good for our young people to attend first to the benefit of their own spirit and then to the benefit of the letters[599].
598 EP 4557. Rome, 13 June 1648.

599 EP 4240, Rome, 31 July 1643.

- Educators: Men of God, very poor, very simple, and very humble, who are able to lower themselves to the capacity of children and young people. Let them all try to have their hearts set on God to always fulfill his most holy will[600]. And since they are so many to do evil, let us resolve to do good. And if they steal life and goods, let us give life and spiritual goods to the young[601]. On this occasion, each one should show the affection and love that he has for his neighbor in order to show the internal love that he has for God[602]. Mercy and prudence and infinite patience and goodness of God is in lowering himself to give light to children, especially to those who are the most helpless of all[603].
600 Cu 44.

601 EP 1723.

602 EP 4495.

603 EP 1236. Rome, 19 October 1629.

571 Congregation for Catholic Education. The first document on the Catholic school after Vatican II. Rome 1977, n. 84 and 85.

572 EP 2909. In Moravia we have three very observant convents with a great influx of children of heretics, who very easily convert to our faith and, what is more important, with the consent of their parents; seeing that we have nothing more than food and clothing, they tell them: if God calls you that way, go where God calls you.

P. Berro. Historical notes. Volume I. Book I, pp. 33-34: The Hebrews themselves wanted to come to the Pious Schools and in fact about twenty came for a few days. The rabbis held a meeting among themselves and ordered the parents of those children not to send them to the Pious Schools. Nothing could be done, even though our Father Joseph promised them that nothing of our holy faith would ever be discussed with them in particular, but that they would only be told in common with all the other pupils about the virtues necessary to live in the fear of God and to observe his holy law.

Ausenda, Giovanni. Extracurricular apostolate in the Piarist tradition. Ed, Calasancias Salamanca. 1983, p. 7: In the time of Calasanz numerous confraternities flourished in Rome; he himself was enrolled in five: the Twelve Apostles, the Christian Doctrine, the Wounds of St. Francis, the Holy Trinity of the Pilgrims and the Suffrage. This personal inclination undoubtedly played an important role when he promoted the creation of organized groups among students and adults.

Since to lower ourselves to exercise our ministry was low and vile in the eyes of the world and persecutions appeared, Calasanz tells us: It is convenient that we, doing our work for the love of God alone, place our hope in Him, and I hope that He will defend us from all slander... Meanwhile, make particular prayer for our adversaries[604]. Try to be well with God if you want God to be always with men[605]. I will ask the Lord to give you continually more light, to know and love the invisible and eternal things that the blessed God has within Himself. I hope that He will guide our things for the greater glory of His Divine Majesty[606].

604 Cu 1186.

605 Cu 3.

606 EP 4285.

9.2.1. Calasanzian biblical texts

Mt 9:35-38 [35.37] is the text of the pastoral ministry of vocations. We pray to the Lord because the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few. Calasanz asks us to teach and to heal; he asks us to be shepherds of the children: Jesus went through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. And when he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, for they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples: The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

According to 2Cor 9:7-9 [7] we cheerfully give our life to the poor: Each one gives according to the judgment of his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion: God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to fill you with all grace, so that having always and in all things what is needful, you may still have a surplus for every good work, as it is written: He has distributed; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.

In 1Cor 9:19-23 [22] being free from all, I have become the servant of all: Indeed, being free from all, I have become the slave of all, that I might gain the most. With the Jews I have become a Jew, that I might gain the Jews. With those who are under the law, as one who is under the law - even without being under the law - that he might gain those who are under it. With those who are without law, as one who is without law to win those who are without law, not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ. I have become weak with the weak to win the weak. I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some. And all this I do for the sake of the Gospel in order to be a sharer in it.

Psalm 113:5-8 [5] tells us what God does with the poor. We know from Jesus that God does not dwell above but in every human being. He feels compassion, through human persons, and he stoops down to look at the lowly to lift them up from dust and garbage: Who is like Yahweh our God, with his throne on high, who stoops down to see the heavens and the earth? He lifts up who is helpless from the dust, he lifts up the poor from the dung, to seat him in the midst of the nobles, in the midst of the nobles of his people.

Mt 7:1-5 invites us to consciously go through the formative process, because with the measure with which we measure we will be measured: Do not judge, lest you be judged, for with what judgment you judge you will be judged, and with what measure you measure you will be measured. How is it that you see the plank that is in your brother’s eye, and consider not the beam that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, seeing there is a plank in your own eye? Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then shalt you be able to see to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Since our ministry is low and vile in the eyes of the world, Mt 5:43-48 and Lk 6:35-36 invite us to love our enemies: You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, who makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what do you do particularly? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Look at the parallel of Luke that Calasanz also quotes: Love your enemies; do good and lend without expecting anything in return; then you will receive and your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Judge not and you shall not be judged, condemn not and you shall not be condemned; forgive and you shall be forgiven. Give and it shall be given unto you; a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall he put into the train of your garments. For with the measure you mete, it shall be measured unto you.

Truly for Jn 14:6-12 [6] we are co-operators with the Truth: Jesus says to Thomas: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you know my Father also... He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say: Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not say on my own; it is the Father who abides in me that does the works. Believe me: I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do, and will do even greater works, because I go to the Father[607]. Also for 3Jn 8: We must welcome such persons, to make us cooperators in the work of Truth.

607 Jn 14:6-12. [6] Calasanz says that Christ is the Truth.

The following texts are united in the letters of Calasanz. Lk 16, 25 and Mt 25, 40 invite us not to abandon the service of the Lord: In death God will say to him: Son, you received your good things during your life...therefore you have abandoned my service, for what you did for one of the least of these you did for me[608]. For 2Pet 1:10: By good works you will assure your vocation and choice. For according to Lam, 4, 4: The little ones ask for bread and there is no one to give it to them.

608 EP 4422. Calasanz links Lk 16.25 with Mt 25.40.

Finally, in Acts 20:35 we are told that there is more joy in giving than in receiving: In everything I have taught you that it is so: It is by working that we must help the weak, and that we must keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, who said: There is greater joy in giving than in receiving.

9.3. The main thing in our specific ministry of evangelizing by educating

Calasanz tells us in the Memorandum to Cardinal Tonti: The good education of the young is, in truth, the worthiest ministry, the noblest, the most meritorious, the most beneficial, the most useful, the most necessary, the most natural, the most reasonable, the most pleasing, the most attractive and the most glorious[609].

609 Cu 1195, quoting the Memorandum to Cardinal Tonti 1621.

The main points of our ministry are:

9.3.1. The school

In Calasanz the word school has three meanings. He speaks of being wise in the interior school; of being good disciples of the school of the Master and of the exercise of the Pious Schools. The persons are the three schools. The Educator is the three schools and the children and young people are the three schools. The first school discovers the guidance of the Holy Spirit in order to be led by him. It is from this first school that is born to be disciple of the school of the Master. In the third school, the reform of the youth takes place and the aptitudes and talents of the children are awakened through Letters and the Spirit to be wise, disciples and committed to ecclesial and social transformation according to their own vocation. I have written repeatedly to take care with great diligence of the schools which is our principal institute... our principal ministry[610].

610 EP 1107. Rome, 18 May 1629 and EP 1035. Rome, 6 January 1629.

All the principals are united in Calasanz. Each one is involved in the other.

9.3.2. Piety, the Spirit and the Light of God

The principal of Piety appears above all in its Constitutions: It shall be the duty of our institute to teach the children, from the first rudiments, correct reading, writing, arithmetic and Latin, but principally piety and Christian doctrine and to perform it with the greatest possible skill[611].

611 CC 5 Cfr. CC 2. CC 203.

In his letters, the main theme is the Spirit or the way of living spiritually. That is to say, to be wise in the interior school. From there virtue and good morals are born. It is necessary to teach by word and deed the letters together with the Spirit: Good example both in things of the spirit and of the letters... Able to teach them both the letters and the spirit together... To make the school children profit in the letters and in the spirit, try to learn one thing and the other... So that the poor little ones get profit in the letters and in the spirit... See to educate good students in letters and spirit... Teach the students as a schoolmaster not only the letters but also the way of living spiritually... Make the students good in letters and good morals... Exhort the students in the benefit of letters and virtue... If we do this well, the Lord will send us not only his temporal help to live and to be able to build, but also the spiritual graces that are for us the true goods that we should seek with all diligence[612].

612 EP 756. EP 576. EP 1613. EP282. EP 1153. EP 688. EP 1442. EP 263. EP 1167. Cfr. Fr Miguel Giráldez. El Espíritu que el Señor me ha dado.

Continuous Prayer: In continuous prayer, this father will teach the little ones how to be prepared for the sacrament of penance; the older ones for the sacrament of the Eucharist and a simple and accessible method of prayer; and other subjects adapted to the capacity of the children[613].

613 CC 194.

We live what 1Thess 5:15-22 tells us: Rejoice always. Pray constantly. Do not quench the Spirit: See that no one repays another evil for evil, but always seek the good of one another and of all. Rejoice always. Pray constantly. In everything give thanks, for this is what God in Christ Jesus wants of you. Do not extinguish the Spirit; do not despise the prophecies; examine everything and hold on to what is good. Abstain from every kind of evil.

The light of God and light of the world or light of men appears in the Memorandum to Cardinal Tonti: Our ministry is truly the most meritorious, for establishing and putting into practice, with fullness of charity in the Church, an effective remedy, preventive and curative of evil, inducing and enlightening for the good, destined for all boys of whatever condition - and, therefore, for all men, who first pass through that age - through letters and spirit, good habits and manners, the light of God and of the world[614].

614 MT 9.

With the light of God, we have: catechesis to learn the life of Christ, all that pertains to a true Christian, Continuous Prayer, preaching to kindle love of God and neighbor. The living of the sacraments. That is, to be good disciples of the school of the Master.

With the light of men, we have: to teach with order and division of classes to read, write, count and all the Latin language... with a brief, simple and effective method, adapting to the capacity of the students according to their aptitude or talent.

Savor again this text of Dan 12, 3. They educated the people to be righteous. They educated the people in justice: The teachers will shine like the brightness of the firmament; those who educated the people to be righteous will shine like the stars for all eternity.

For 1Jn 2:27 the anointing of the Holy Spirit teaches you about all things: As for you, the anointing which you have received from the Son abides in you, and you need no one to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things - and it is true and not a lie - as he taught you, abide in him.

9.3.3. The holy fear of God in the hearts of the children

All educators together with the letters and the spirit must teach the holy fear of God. As for the schools, since it is our principal ministry, great care must be taken to put great diligence in literary things in order to attract school children to the schools, but our principal aim must be to teach the holy fear of God[615]. Every care should be taken that the schools are well run not only in the matter of literature, but also in the spirit and fear of God[616]. Let them attend with all diligence to the exercise of the schools and especially to the spirit and holy fear of God which is our own institute[617].

615 EP 2876. Rome, 5 June 1638.

616 EP 3087. Rome, 14 May 1639. Calasanz´ Intuitions…. Luis Padilla López, Sch. P. P. 272-279.

617 EP 2623. Rome, 5 November 1636

What is the holy fear of God? It is not fearing God[618]. It is the key to being wise in the interior school. It consists in knowing how to manage our attention, in being vigilant to distinguish the good inclination from the inclination of only personal interest and to let ourselves be led by the inclinations of the Spirit.

618 EP 1432. Rome, June 29, 1630. The fear of God is not to fear God. Calasanz writes to us: They should pray there for the cities that suffer from plague and war. That, for the rest, we are all brothers in Christ, and it would be a work of charity. To wait to pray when the plague is approaching is to act more out of fear than out of love of God. It is good to pray now for the remedy of those who are in such great danger.

It is the secret of spiritual discernment. This is why it is convenient to use the expression of the holy fear of God as a synonym for teaching us to be wise, learning to live: The fear of God, the principle of wisdom, consists in being always vigilant so as not to do anything that would be offensive to God; and since we are of such a fragile nature, blessed is he who always remains in this fear [in this vigilance]. We must all have it and always teach it to our students[619]

619 EP 1024. Rome, 21 November 1628.

It is a matter of learning to have the interior powers recollected and attentive to the conversations of the interior man who is the true Presence of the Lord from where the capacity to love God and neighbor is born as from a fountain[620]. Go forward joyfully and, at the same time, do not lose the holy fear of God, but grow in love. That everything will always turn out happily for you. For this is the true source of living water and of perfect wisdom[621].

620 Cu 949.

621 EP 2104. Rome, 27 August 1633. St. Teresa of Ávila in Way of Perfection tells us: And take this advice, which is not mine, but that of your Master: Try to walk with love and fear. And I assure you: Love will make you hasten your steps; fear will make you watch where you put your feet so as not to fall. With these two things, surely you will not be deceived... As not saying anything about love and fear of God! [c. 69].

Do not fail on your part to comfort everyone in the holy fear of God which is acquired through profound humility and the knowledge of one’s own misery[622].

622 EP 4321. Rome, 30 December 645. In the original it says: santo amor di Dio.

For Prov 1:5-7 [7] we teach how to be wise by learning how to live. The wise man listens and increases his knowledge and the intelligent acquires skill. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. But for Wisdom 8:1: Wisdom spreads herself resolutely from one end of the earth to the other and rules the universe rightly.

9.3.4. The sacramental life is the whole of my institute

The sacraments are people living and celebrating baptism, reconciliation, eucharist, confirmation, marriage, anointing of the sick and the presbyteral priesthood. Since I have already spoken about the Piarist priesthood, I will speak about the other sacraments: Let them attend to the exercise of the students, for this is our Institute, not only in regard to letters but principally to the frequency of the most holy sacraments. Teachers and also priests who do not teach school should pay attention to this, helping to catechize the children so that they know how to go to confession and receive communion. This is the true way for us to obtain the spirit and the grace of God[623].

623 EP 2876. Rome, 5 June 1638.

9.3.4.1. Baptism

The Piarist formative model is the baptismal experience. Our ministry is truly the most grateful on the part of God, much more than the conversion of a sinner, although this gives joy to Heaven; for in the schools not only do many repent of many offenses against God, but many others are daily preserved in baptismal innocence[624].

624 MT 15.

Rom 6:2-11. This is a quotation from the Apostle Paul on the baptismal experience. The death of Jesus was a death to sin once and for all, but his life is a life for God: We who have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or are you not aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, even so we also should live a new life... His death was a death to sin once for all, but his life is a life for God. So, you also, consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

9.3.4.2. The confession

Also called the sacrament of the reconciliation. We have already seen that in the time of Calasanz in this sacrament was united what today is separated: the spiritual direction, the psychological help and the confession properly said. Confessors are true spiritual fathers: among the religious there must be a confessor of students. With his much affection and benevolence, let him draw the hearts of the boys to God and let them respect and love him as their true Father[625]. Let Father... not be intransigent in punishing the pupils, but in confessing them and training them in the things of the spirit, which will do much more than if he were to teach them. Whenever the confessor asks that one be forgiven [the punishment] so that he may go to confession, he should be forgiven. The sacrament has a greater effect than punishments[626]. Whenever you can, always try to be present when the Prefect imposes a punishment on a student: intercede for him, obtain pardon and take him with you to confession, because then, after the benefit received, he will manifest all his sins more easily and sincerely... You will see the improvement immediately if you make them frequent the sacraments[627]. Superiors should see to it that they entrust the ministry of hearing the confessions of the students to priests who have not only obtained the licenses of the Bishop, but who are of advanced age and whose affection and example will lead the children to manifest their faults with naturalness[628]. The confessors should be convinced that the faithful exercise of this ministry with the children constitutes a work very pleasing to God[629].

625 CC 193

626 EP 1427. Rome, 25 June 1630. EP 1441.

627 Lecea, Jesús María. Declaraciones sobre nuestras Constituciones. Reglas y Ritos Comunes. Analecta Calasanctiana n. 50. P. 623 n. 215. EP 1378.

628 CC 316.

629 CC 318.

According to Jn 20:21-23 Jesus breathed on the apostles and said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit: Jesus said to his disciples: Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you. When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them; whose sins you retain, they are retained[630].

630 Jn 20, 21- 23.

9.3.4.3. The Eucharist

It teaches the child to speak familiarly with the Father and all the Most Holy Trinity. From the Eucharist one must come out with a love of God that is reflected in the neighbor: In continuous prayer, this father will teach the little ones how to prepare for the sacrament of penance; the older ones, for the sacrament of the Eucharist and a simple and accessible method of prayer; and other subjects adapted to the capacity of the students[631].

631 CC 194.

In preaching: Preachers profit more by the example of their life than by the erudition of their words[632]. For the children, develop only accessible and useful themes. Meditate beforehand on what you are going to say and prepare yourself humbly, imploring the Lord’s help[633]. In preaching, do not spend more than a quarter of an hour, nor shout with a loud voice. Let the discourse be familiar, simple and spiritual[634]. Win the children over to the service of God with the example of your life and with your simple doctrine, sprinkled with anecdotes of some saints[635].

632 CC 326.

633 CC 328.

634 EP 1415. Rome, 15 June 1630.

635 CC 333.

1 Cor 10:16 is the text of St. Paul the Apostle on the experience of the Eucharist. The bread is only one, we are only one Body. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a communion with the blood of Christ? And the bread that we break, is it not communion with the body of Christ? Because there is only one bread, even though we are many, we are one body, since we all participate in the same bread[636].

636 Calasanz asks us to understand well the words that we pronounce in the Eucharist. The text I quote makes us understand very well the mystery of the Eucharist.

9.3.4.4. Confirmation

The Piarist formative model is the experience of baptism and confirmation. It is there where Calasanz, without naming it, speaks of the experience of the confirmation: To discover the guide of the Holy Spirit that inclines the person to the service of the poor and needy: On one point we want to warn the Master strongly: that he discovers in each novice the internal inclination or, what is the same, the guide of the Holy Spirit that teaches the humble to pray with ineffable groans; by that way he will strive to take each one to the summit of perfection[637] .

637 CC 23.

In Gal 1:15; 2:19; 5:13-18.25 the Apostle Paul speaks to us about his experience of proclaiming the gospel: When he who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace was pleased to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles... I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me... You have been called to freedom; but do not use this freedom as a pretext for the flesh, but serve one another.... out of love. For the whole law reaches its fullness in this one precept: You shall love your neighbor as yourself... This I say to you, proceed according to the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh has lusts contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit contrary to the flesh, as they are so contrary to each other, that you do not do the things that you would. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law... If we live by the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.

According to Rom 8:14-16 [14] the Spirit unites himself to our spirit. This is what happens in the experience of Confirmation: All those who allow themselves to be guided by the Spirit of God are children of God... The Spirit himself unites himself to our spirit in order to bear witness that we are children of God.

It is now a question of becoming aware of what Rom 8:26-27 tells us. We must grasp what the Spirit is asking of us: The Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with ineffable groanings, and he who searches the hearts knows what the aspiration of the Spirit is, and that his intercession on behalf of the saints is according to God.

9.3.4.5. Marriage

Makes visible the union of Christ with his Church: I greatly regret the difficulties that the common enemy has placed between the two spouses who are our neighbors and great benefactors. May the Lord, in his mercy, be pleased to grant them the peace and union that is signified by the most holy sacrament of matrimony, which represents the union of Christ with the Church. I will not cease to pray and remind them at every Mass, because of the great obligation that we have towards this couple and their family... I have prayed and will continue to pray that the Lord may inspire this holy union in their hearts with efficacy[638].

638 EP 2218 y EP 3289.

Eph 5:21-31 He speaks to us about living the sacrament of marriage: Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her... This is a great mystery; I say this in regard to Christ and the Church. In Eph 5:27: Christ beautifies the Church as his bride.

9.3.4.6. The Anointing of the Sick

Let charity be done when it is possible[639]. I am very pleased that YR gives yourself to the service of the sick by administering the holy sacraments to them and, if it is necessary, to put yourself in bodily danger to help your neighbor; do it, and in this way, you will truly manifest yourself to be poor of the Mother of God who has no affection for anything but the glory of God and the help of your neighbor[640].

639 EP 1233.

640 EP 1601. Rome 12 April 1631.

We must keep in mind what James 5:14-15 tells us: Is one of you sick? Let him call for the priests of the church, and let them pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

9.3.5. To study children’s cases in order to understand and help them

This principal is linked to the sacrament of confession. Calasanz explains to us what it consists of: I am very happy that you have been examined and approved for confessions. I would like you to dedicate yourself to the study of cases in which the children usually incur, because this is our principal ministry[641]. He is not too fond of studying cases of conscience and therefore fails to take advantage[642]. Try to behave in such a way that peace and union may be preserved in that house, and that they may be employed according to their talents. Let the priests have a meeting at least three times a week on a case of conscience in the afternoon recreation so that all may be more apt to confess[643].

641 EP 557. Naples, 21 November 1626.

642 EP 549. Rome, 15 July 1634.

643 EP 1008. Rome, 2 December 1628.

Try to understand his interior well with the love of a father, for he is in dire need of help[644].

644 EP 1415. Rome, 15 June 1630.

The following texts by André Rochais are very useful for listening to, understanding and helping children and young people:

The Educator is the one who is capable of detecting the positive in someone and his mechanisms to move forward. From his depth it will be born a positive look capable of regenerating beings and energizing them for existence. Look sufficiently at each one, until that kind of deep look awakens in you, capable of calling into existence, so that no one is lost. Do not strive to have it. It must be born on its own. If you have to use your will, let it be only to give you the means to become close to each other. The inner look always comes later as a consequence. This creative look is particularly necessary for those who are tired of life, for those who are disappointed with themselves, for those who do not exist. But it is also needed by all those who are on the way [Quoted in a PRH Courier on the occasion of his death in 1990]. We think that parents [also educators] can contribute to the healing of their own children, even if they were the authors of the wounds to be healed. Here are some indications:

– Take seriously any suffering of a child, adolescent or young person. If the suffering is purely physical, he needs to be accompanied by a loving presence, a gentle and peaceful presence; otherwise, he may feel abandoned or unloved.

– If it is a psychological suffering, if it is his/her heart that feels the pain, take time to listen to it, invite to say what hurts so that all the pain of the moment is evacuated and nothing is covered up. As a nine-year-old girl used to say: “when you have cried everything, then it does not hurt anymore”.

– Do not try to make excuses for the one who caused the pain. Let the suffering come out: that is the essential thing. Just being there and listening is consoling. Excusing the other can come later.

– If the suffering seems to be rooted farther away than the setback that caused it today, ask him/her if he/she has been suffering for a long time, and when it goes back. Listen to him; consequently, keep quiet; let him speak. Invite him to go to the end of what he/she feels. To welcome everything. If we feel that it is unfair in the reading of the past, if it involves us or someone we love, do not react, because for the moment, the important thing is that he can say everything he once rejected.

– The evacuation of a past suffering, especially if it is old, is not done all at once. Therefore, if the child, in the analysis of a new sorrow, returns to it, listen to it again, with patience, gentleness, kindness, understanding, without judging it.

– What not to do if you are the cause of the suffering:

- Do not blame yourself. It is necessary to accept having caused harm to your child. Be saddened: yes; let yourself sink: no. These mistakes are part of our human condition:

- Now, when the child suffers, the important thing is that he can express his suffering and live it to the end.

When the suffering has subsided, we will be able to explain what we experienced when we caused him harm. But be careful not to go from explanation to justification. The child may feel the justification as: if you felt bad, it is not because of me, but because of you. Is it fair? In any case, that does not help [Note from Session Observations: Helping my children to exist].

Our specific ministry is one to one according to Jn 10:10-15. We are shepherds of every child: I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd: The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. But the hireling, who is not a shepherd, to whom the sheep do not belong, sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees, and the wolf catches hold of them and scatters them, because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and my sheep know me, as the Father knows me, and I know my Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep[645].

645 Jn 10:10-15. Calasanz speaks of the salaried worker in the Memorial to Cardinal Tonti; and in the Declaration on the Constitutions that we teachers are shepherds of the children.

9.3.6. People, towns, villages and small and poor neighborhoods

Normally we say “mainly the poor”. Calasanz speaks of preferably people, towns, villages and small and poor neighborhoods: If the holy Church has granted the grace of being a Religious Order to the Jesuit Fathers, with such a variety of vows, for the benefit principally of large cities and noble persons, why not to the poor of the Mother of God... for towns and people preferably small and poor and very much in need of educational assistance?[646]

646 MT 26. In the Memorial to Cardinal Giulio Roma. President of the Commission of Cardinals. 1645 he speaks of cities and towns: If we take away the extreme poverty... we deprive the poor cities and towns of the possibility of benefiting from our ministry by not having the means to support teachers who demand economic income and comforts. In a letter, Calasanz speaks of the foundation in the neighborhood of Duchesca in Naples in the following way: Here we have opened schools in the Duchesca district. When we arrived, they ordered the eviction of more than 600 prostitutes who lived there, and they gave us a large building for the Church, which was used to stage comedies. So that where before God was so offended, now more than 600 children praise Him. . From many other neighborhoods they have insisted that we go there to choose a site, and they give us all kinds of facilities. For now, it is not possible, but with time it will be done [EP 560]. Therefore, the complete sentence would be: Our ministry is for people, cities, towns, villages and small and poor neighborhoods.

If you establish a good free school in a small and poor village, all the poor will go there, and the few rich who are there, if they so desire, will also come: As for receiving poor pupils, you work saintly by admitting as many as come. For it is for them that our Institute was founded. And what is done for them is done for Christ. The same is not said of the rich[647].

647 EP 2812. Rome, 27 February 1638.

The supreme apostolic poverty is fundamental for going to the poor: If you take away the supreme poverty... you deprive poor towns and villages of the possibility of benefiting from our ministry, since we do not have the means to support teachers who demand economic income and comforts[648].

648 Memorandum to Cardinal Giulio Roma, President of the Commission of Cardinals. 1645.

We are used to dealing with the poor: Since we are used to dealing with the poor, I had no idea of the courage and nobility of Your Most Illustrious Lordship[649]. And in the midst of our poverty, we also know how to help poor families: To give alms at length, having compassion for the poor, giving it with charity and pure love of God is worth much before God[650].

649 EP 3733. Rome, 4 September 1641.

650 EP 532.

Our vocation is to teach the poor: Whoever does not have the spirit to teach the poor does not possess the vocation for our institute[651]. There is no religion poorer than ours and more concerned with the service and benefit of the poor[652]. Let all of you hold fast to the firm hope that God will answer for our Institute, which is founded solely on the charity of teaching children, especially the poor, so that it cannot be said: “The little ones ask for bread; there is no one to distribute it to them[653].

651 EP 1319. Rome, 9 February 1630.

652 EP 2304. Rome, 15 December 1634.

653 Calasanz quotes Lam 4,4.

In the course of history, this way of speaking became more nuanced to the point that in 1731 the Church had to intervene to clarify our ministry: The Clerics Regular Poor of the Mother of God, called of the Pious Schools, in conformity with the Constitutions of their Order, must admit poor children and can admit rich and noble children[654].

654 Brief Nobis Quibus by Clemente XII. 1731. Documentos Fundacionales de las Escuelas Pías. Ed. Calasancias. Salamanca 1979, p. 243.

It is evident for 1Cor 1:26-31 [28.31] that God has chosen the contemptible of the world: Look, brethren, who are called! There are not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many of nobility. God has chosen rather the foolish of the world to confound the wise. And God has chosen the weak of the world to confound the strong. God has chosen the lowly and contemptible of the world, that which is not, to reduce to nothing that which is. From him it is for you to be in Christ Jesus, whom God has made for us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, so that, as the Scripture says, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.

According to Lk 14:12- 24 [23] you must compel all the poor to come in until the house is full: When you give a meal or a supper, do not call your friends, or your brothers, or your relatives, or your rich neighbors; lest they invite you in turn, and you have your reward. When you give a banquet, call the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind; and you will be blessed, for they cannot repay you, for you will be rewarded at the resurrection of the just. When one of the guests heard this, he said to him, Blessed is he who is able to eat in the kingdom of God. He answered him, A certain man gave a great supper and invited many; and at supper time he sent his servant to say to those who were invited, Come, for everything is ready. But they all began to make excuses together... The servant returned and told his master. Then the master of the house was angry, and said to his servant, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame. The servant said, “Lord, what you commanded has been done, and there is still room.” And the Lord said to the servant, “Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in until the house is full. For I tell you that none of those invited shall taste of my supper”.

This text is used by Calasanz in the following way: The Lord commands those who are obliged, the Christian by baptism and the religious by vows, to fulfill their obligation, saying: compel them to enter. The original text of Sacred Scripture also refers to obliging the poor to enter.

9.3.7. To educate the poor according to his aptitude or talent. According to the vocation that nature gives him

We have already seen, in the first chapter of this book, how Calasanz explains the Pious School saying clearly to the Commission of Cardinals that the main thing of his ministry is to educate the poor according to his talent, it is to educate him according to his nature, according to what God gives him, according to his vocation, so that he is capable of transformation of the Church and the Society: If nature does not make the poor fit to learn letters, as we experience daily in our schools where we use every diligence to admit to grammar school only those whom we find fit to attend them; if perhaps, either by mistake or by the importunity of some of his parents, he is admitted being incapable, or very soon he finds himself unfit and asks to be removed, or the Prefect, after a report from the Teacher, removes him[655].

655 Memorandum to the Commission of Cardinals 1645.

We educate so that small and poor people and towns discover the vocation given to them by nature and/or by God. This is the basis of the vocational culture: He should not have been admitted to the vows, being a native of Bologna and having wandered through various parts of Italy, because for us are more suitable the young people who learn in our schools, which are seen if they are of good or bad inclination, whether or not they have good intelligence; and educating them well they give good results. What I am writing, although I do not command it in virtue of holy obedience, must be put into practice as the word of God, coming through the superior[656].

656 EP 2581. Rome, 28 August 1636.

This text from Mt 25:14-30 speaks to us of how God gives us by making us capable: The kingdom of heaven is like a man who, when he went away, called his servants and entrusted his property to them: to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his ability; and he went away. Immediately he who had received five talents traded with them and gained five talents more. And the one who had received two gained two more. But the one who had received one went away, dug a hole in the ground and hid his lord’s money... I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the ground... [657]

657 Mt 25, 14-30. Calasanz quotes this parable to speak about the priestly vocation of the cleric brothers and says that he does not want to hide this vocation, if there is, in the ground. He also quotes it so that we educators put into practice all the talents that God has given us to be useful to our small and poor neighbor.

The transformation of the human being takes place in family and community life. The discovery of vocation is done in a group, it is done in community, it is done by accompanying each member of the Body of the Lord. Here appears the Piarist community, the Calasanz Movement, the parishes as a community of communities, the shared fraternity and the non-formal education.

There are three biblical texts, in Calasanz, that are fascinating when united because they make us understand much better what we carry in our mission as Body of the Lord. Those biblical quotes touch his heart and he discovers the human and communitarian behavior that the Spirit gives him.

- The first is Mt 18:20: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst.

Calasanz comments: If they gather with zeal for the glory of God and the greater good of the students, they will find in practice that the Holy Spirit will be in their midst, because where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst[658].

- The second is 1 Cor 12:21-27 [21.24.27]: The eye cannot say to the hand: I have no need of you! Nor the head to the feet: I have no need of you! But the members of the body that we consider the weakest are indispensable. And those that seem to us the vilest of the body, we surround with greater honor.... God has formed the body by giving more honor to the members that were lacking, so that it may not be there division in the body, but that all the members should have the same concern for one another. If one member suffers, all the others suffer with him. If one member is honored, all the others share in his joy. Now then, you are the body of Christ, and his members, each in his own way.

Calasanz affirms: In our religion [the laity], the brothers are as necessary as the clerics and priests, because they all form one body. And one should not say to the other: I do not need your help. But in holy peace let each one work according to his aptitude for the pure love of God[659]. And on another occasion, he says: Let them all be there with a strong spirit, to serve the Lord in his members who are the poor[660].

- And the third is Mt 25:40 so that we may hear in due time: As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.

658 EP 265. EP 1172. EP 2147. EP 2757.

659 Cu 426.

660 Cu 1425.

9.3.8. Free popular education

The supreme apostolic poverty makes it possible for education to be popular and free. We must find ways to make education free, taking into account the laws and possibilities of each nation: If one takes away [from the Pious School] the extreme poverty and austerity in living and dress prescribed by the Constitutions, approved by Gregory XV, of happy memory, and observed to the present day, it is deprived of that splendor which alone makes it admired and sought after even by the infidels, as experience shows.... and the poor towns and villages are deprived of the possibility of benefiting from our ministry, since they do not have the means to support teachers who demand financial income and comforts[661]. Let the teachers ask nothing of the students, so that they may see that they teach out of pure charity[662].

661 Memorandum to Cardinal Giulio Roma. President of the Commission of Cardinals. 1645.

662 Cu 1430.

Lk 4:16-21 speaks of educating and evangelizing the poor according to their aptitude: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor; he has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord... This reading you have just heard has been fulfilled today. Mt 10:8-10 adds: Freely you have received, freely give. Do not get for yourselves gold or silver or copper in your purses, or a bag for the journey, or two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the laborer deserves his living.

I conclude: Calasanz seeks changes of life, the transformation of the person, to be able to give himself to the most needy: The ministry of the school is the most useful because of the numerous changes of life that are made, as can be seen frequently among the boys, so much so that they do not know themselves as they were before[663]. From these changes is born the transformation of the Church and Society.

663 MT 11.

9.4. Conclusion

I admire the beauty and goodness of the purpose of our ministry, the preparation and quality of the Piarist educator and the main points of Calasanzian education. As Calasanz says, the Church is embellished by our Order and ministry: At the right hand of the Lord is the queen adorned with a variety of gold and jewels... adorned with a variety of gold brocades[664], with a variety of congregations and ministries.

664 Sal 45, [10.14]

At this time in the Pious School in addition to schools or colleges we have the Calasanz Movement, parishes and non-formal education centers. How to take into account in all that we carry the Calasanz main points? We can continue to be creative as the Spirit guides us when we gather as the Body of the Lord to help its members who are the poor.

I highlight the different meanings of the word school in Calasanz. This way of speaking can help us to integrate what we are creating in our specific ministry. I believe that our charism and ministry, our pedagogical spirituality, is at the heart of our shared fraternity.

9.5. Integration Questions

1. List what struck you about our Piarist mission.

2. What reactions and reflections have been awakened?

3. Is there anything that you cannot accept, that you do not agree with? What? Why?

4. Is there anything significant that has touched your heart?

5. What questions do you have about our Piarist ministry?

6. Do you feel invited by the Spirit to some human attitude or behavior?

7. Do you want to spend some time in prayer with some phrase or word that has touched your heart until you discover the human behavior that the anointing of the Spirit gives you?

8. How do you live the Calasanz main points in your Piarist ministry?

Chapter X

To finish

Our vocation, our charism and our ministry are impregnated with the voice of God that comes and goes, touching our hearts and giving us its fruit. We have been born of the living and effective Word of God, which is like a double-edged sword and we have built our house, our Pious School, on the rock of the voice of the Spirit that invites us to do the will of the Son and the Father as our beloved Calasanz did to transform the Church and society through education that evangelizes small and poor people and towns.

10.1. Calasanz felt touched by the voice of God

Calasanz, to live our specific ministry, was touched by the voice of God, which is the voice of the Spirit, which comes and goes, touches the heart and passes, one does not know where it comes from or when it blows; it is important, therefore, to be always alert so that it does not come suddenly and go away without fruit[665].

665 Cu 699. EP 131. Rome, 22 November 1622.

10.2. The voice of the Spirit causes us to be born again

It is in Jn 3:3-8 [8] that Jesus tells us that if we listen to the voice of the Spirit and put it into practice, we are born again: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, “How can one be born when he is old? Can he enter again into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of the water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born again. The wind blows where it wills, and you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So, it is everyone who is born of the Spirit.

St. Peter also speaks of being born again of the Word of God in 1Pet 1:22-25: We have been begotten again by an incorruptible germ, the living and abiding Word of God: Love one another intensely with a pure heart, for you have been begotten again of a germ not corruptible, but incorruptible, through the living and abiding word of God. For all flesh is like grass, and all its splendor like the flower of grass; the grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word, the good news preached to you. And there follows 1Pet 2:1-3 [3]. We have tasted how good the Lord is: Reject all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking. As newborn children, desire the pure spiritual milk, so that, by her you grow up unto salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good.

10.3. The Word of God is living and effective

Look at the voice of God in Heb 4:12-13 [13]: The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the point where soul and spirit, joints and marrow are divided; it judges the desires and intentions of the heart. Nothing is hidden from him; everything is manifest and uncovered in the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

10.4. The Word of God is lived by being it[666]

666 “Beeing it” is an expression of Fr. Gustavo Baena

For this reason, Mt 7:21,24-27 [21.24] invites us to practice the voice of God, to do the will of the Father: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven... So, everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock: the rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it was built on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like the foolish man who built his house on sand: the rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was its ruin.

Yes, the Word of God touches the heart of Calasanz and the heart of the whole Piarist family. The Word of God is made visible by the human nature of the Lord. At the same time, Calasanz and each person is the Word of God if we let speak, with our true testimony, the voice of the Spirit that dwells in us and converses amicably with each human being: I am sure that the Holy Spirit will always show, through someone, his will[667]. That is why we say with Mary, Mother of God in Lk 1, 38 Let it be done to me according to your Word.

667 EP 3198. Cu 519. Exhortation of Our Holy Father to Superiors - RC 13,47.

I add a small clarification. When Calasanz quotes a biblical phrase, the Word of God is preceded by various expressions:

- The prophet says...

- The wise man says...

- A holy soul says...

- It is said...

- The Lord said...

- That it may be verified...

- This sentence so little understood and much less practiced...

- If you practice you will find true that sentence which says...

- For it is true...

- It is true...

- As the holy Job says...

- You must have engraved on your heart that sentence which says...

- Let him do as the holy David counsels...

- He shall walk according to the saying...

- Take it patiently...

- The means which Christ our Lord taught us is...

- Take care that saying be not fulfilled...

- The Lord commands. In saying...

- Thus is the word of Christ confirmed...

- Thus, is that sentence of Christ confirmed...

- For the Holy Spirit says...

- If you are imitators of Christ...

- The true meaning of the practice of virtue is in that which the Lord said....

- The Lord has said speaking of...

- Be assured...

- Now I am willing to do so because...

- They do not understand the words that Christ said...

- If they have heard with disgust that evangelical truth...

- Blessed Christ said thus...

- Although it is a certain thing...

- Although it is written...

- Very true is the sentence of wisdom in the proverbs...

- Because it is doctrine of holy scripture taught by God to...

- Christ having said blessed by his mouth...

- According to the doctrine of Christ in the Gospel...

- If they imitate Holy Job...

- Having said the Holy Spirit by Solomon...

- The poor little ones who...

- Reviving the faith that tells us...

- Saying God...

- I trust in those words that say...

- I hope in that authority that says...

- Know that it is necessary that...

- I desire that...

- Being found written...

- Being true that...

- Be encouraged to suffer for God, for...

- I desire in the Lord the entrance into...

- Hoping that...

- Let all be assured...

- Founding myself on those words of a prophet who says...

- According to the prophet...

- It will be seen by experience that...

- I am sure that God at the hour of death will tell him...

- Blessed God teaches us by that example...

- He should follow that sentence...

- Since in the service of the Lord...

- Keep in mind what that servant did...

- That we may hear in due time...

- That it may not be said that...

- If some of our religious have heard with displeasure that evangelical truth which says...

- Stimulated especially by the Word of the Lord...

- As St. Paul says...

- According to the counsel of the Apostle...

- According as St. Peter teaches us...

- I have asked the Lord to make you a great servant of his, and imitator, inwardly, of his most holy will where...

- Meanwhile I ask everyone to be strong and steadfast, and you will see the help of God.

All these sayings are direct and clear and seek to give security to us Piarists because what Calasanz says is based on the word of God, in the Sacred Scripture, so that we have engraved in our hearts what the blessed Christ said and we can act according to what the Holy Spirit teaches us.

After all these ways of speaking, Calasanz writes the biblical phrase without citing where exactly it is found. Our dear researchers added to the phrases of Calasanz the biblical authors, chapters and verses. It is evident that they correspond with what Calasanz writes. Thank you very much.

10.5. The main thing of our ministry is to identify the voice of God

All the Piarists and all the little and poor people can identify that voice of the Spirit to be born to a new world from where we can humanize the reality[668], because our ministry:

668 This is an expression of André Rochais.

- It is the look of God to: see in the young people their good inclination and lead them on that path. We can also see their greedy inclination to cure it, we can see the intelligence they have to carry them according to their aptitude or talent[669].
669 EP 2581. Rome, 28 August 1636. The original text reads: For us are more convenient the young people who learn in our schools, who are seen whether they are of good or bad inclination, whether or not they have good intelligence, and by educating them well they give good results.

- It is the most useful ministry because of the many changes in the lives of young people, so much so that they do not recognize themselves as they were before[670].
670 MT 11.

- It is a compendium of all the ministries, not only by helping others in case of need in everything that others help, but by preparing and disposing souls [and bodies] through a good education to be capable of receiving the service of all the other ministries[671].
671 MT 25.

- He intends: finally, the reformation of the whole of Christendom, employing in it men of apostolic life, very poor, very simple [and very humble][672].
672 MT 26.

10.6. We Piarist educators are cooperators with the voice of God, with the voice of the Spirit who teaches the humble

Calasanz on his knees: He earnestly asks the master of novices to discover in each novice [and earnestly asks each educator to discover in each child and young person] the internal inclination or, what is the same thing, the guidance of the Holy Spirit who teaches the humble to pray with ineffable groanings; by that way he will strive to bring each one to the summit of perfection [which is perfect charity][673].

673 CC 23. Calasanz speaks in this text of his Constitutions of the novices. He speaks, in the same way, of every child or young person who participates in our ministry of evangelizing by educating. Cf. Note 659.

That is why educators:

- We are cooperators of the guidance of the Holy Spirit[674].
674 Cf. CC 23, although the word cooperate does not appear. The whole text speaks of the action of cooperating.

- We are cooperators with the Truth[675].
675 CC 3.

- We are cooperators with an angelic and divine work[676].
676 MT 8.

- We are cooperators with the divine will and of its power[677].
677 EP 2049. Rome, 28 May 1633.

- We are cooperators with God in the salvation [of the body] and of the soul[678].
678 EP 1374. Rome, 27 April 1630. I add [body] because Calasanz says in MT 7: That our ministry is truly the more worthy because it revolves around the salvation of both soul and body.

- We are cooperators with the most divine work which is the salvation [of the body] and the soul[679].
679 EP 3126.

- We are cooperators with the action of grace in the souls of innocent children[680].
680 López, Salvador. Documents of St. Joseph Calasanz. Calasancia Latinoamericana Ed. 1988. He refers to the book of Fr John of Jesus Mary on the Education of Piety, p. 135-145.

- We are called with a particular vocation as laborers in this most fruitful harvest. For to him who is called it is very pleasant to labor in this vineyard and to work in this harvest so abundant[681].
681 MT 24 and 16.

10.7. Calasanz, throughout the book:

He has spoken to us with the special affection that he always has for us[682]. He has communicated to us the Spirit that the Lord has given him; he has treated us with affection and we have been with him to learn the narrow path that leads to heaven, which once learned becomes easy and safe. Everything has been born from an impulse of the Spirit who seeks only our good[683].

682 Cu 736.

683 Cfr. EP 3913.

He has invited us to savor the tastes of the Spirit in order to put them into practice: the voice of God which is the voice of the Spirit. Of the Spirit we only perceive the effects of his action, like the wind that we do not see, but we do notice how it moves us. The Spirit moves us by means of graces or particular feelings, which allow us to see the true Presence of the Lord, seeing small and poor persons and towns.

He asks us to live devoid of our own self in order to remain connected to the Spirit: When one is more favored with some particular graces or sentiments, so much the more he must humble himself, so as not to lose them. They are lost with a little presumption[684]. If we are aware of this fact we can choose to reconnect.

684 EP 131. Rome, 22 November 1622. [EP 1817]

He asked for each member of the Calasanzian family: I have asked the Lord to make you a great servant of his and [a follower] in the interior, first of all of his most holy will, where you will discover the mysteries hidden from the wise and prudent of the world and reserved for the humble[685].

685 Cu 736. [I normally translate to imitate as to follow, which Calasanz also uses in some letters: We must leave the false world and follow in the footsteps of Christ by entering into the spiritual life [EP 1882]. Calasanz is quoting Mt 11:25: At that time, Jesus took the word and said: “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to little ones”.

My dear Calasanz, thank you for your testimony of life, thank you to the Father who creates all of us Piarist laity and religious similar and complementary to you to respond, in a creative way, to the needs of evangelizing by educating people, cities, towns, villages and small and poor neighborhoods of the XXI century.

Bibliography

Reading the following Piarist publications, I found several suggestions and many Calasanz-Texts to bring this book to a successful conclusion.

Asiain, M.A. (1998). La Trinidad en Calasanz. Las Escuelas Pías hacia el Jubileo. Madrid: ICCE.

Asiain, M.A. (1991). El Año con Calasanz. Madrid: Publicaciones ICCE.

Asiain, M.A. (1990). Itinerario de Espiritualidad Calasancia. Tomo III. Un Camino de Discipulado Calasancio. Madrid: Eds. Orden de las Escuelas Pías.

Asiain, M.A. (1981). El Camino de José de Calasanz. Salamanca: Eds. Calasancias.

Asiain, M.A. (1980). La Experiencia Cristiana de Calasanz. Salamanca: Eds. Calasancias.

Asiain, M.A. (1979). La Experiencia Religiosa de Calasanz. Salamanca: Eds. Calasancias.

Ausenda, G. (1983). Apostolado Extraescolar en la tradición escolapia. Salamanca: Eds. Calasancias.

Cueva, D. (1973). Calasanz: Mensaje Espiritual y Pedagógico. Madrid: Publicaciones I.C.C.E.

Faubell, V. (1988). Antología Pedagógica Calasancia. Salamanca: Publicaciones Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca.

García-Durán, A. (1967). Itinerario Espiritual de San José de Calasanz de 1592 a 1622. Barcelona.

Giner, S. (1992). San José de Calasanz. Maestro y fundador. Madrid: BAC.

Giner, S. (1985). San José de Calasanz. Madrid: BAC Popular.

Giner, S. (1973). El proceso de beatificación de S. José de Calasanz. Madrid: ICCE.

Haro, Rosalía (1987). El Santo Temor de Dios en San José de Calasanz. Barcelona: Instituto Hijas de María.

Lecea, J. M. (1983). Declaraciones sobre nuestras Constituciones, Reglas y Ritos Comunes de San José de Calasanz. Analecta Calasanziana. N. 50. Julio-Diciembre. Salamanca.

López, S. (1988). Documentos de San José de Calasanz. Bogotá: Ed. Calasancia Latinoamericana.

Orden de las Escuelas Pías. (1971). Declaración sobre la Espiritualidad Calasancia. Notas. Roma: Capítulo General Especial.

Ruiz, Á. (1983). Comunidades Eclesiales Calasancias. Salamanca. (Prot 632/83).

Santha, G. (1956). San José de Calasanz. Su Obra y Escritos. Madrid: BAC.

Lesaga, J.M. Asiain M.A. Lecea, J.M. (1979). Documentos Fundacionales de las Escuelas Pías. Salamanca: Eds. Calasancias.

Giner, S.- Ródenas A.- Asiain M.A.- Lecea J.- Bandrés L.M. (1972). Cartas Selectas de San José de Calasanz. Salamanca: Colegio P. Scio. 2 Volumes.

Other bibliography used in this book

Baena, G. (2015). Revelación. Teología. Vida Cristiana. Medellín: Publicaciones VID.

Baena, G. (s.f.). Curso sobre el Apóstol San Pablo en la Universidad Pontificia Javeriana. Bogotá.

Cerverón, R. (2007). Sancti Josephi Calasanctii Scripta. Scripta scolopi.net

Louf, A. (2000). El Espíritu ora en nosotros. Madrid: Ed. Narcea S.A.

Louf, A. (2011). Iniciación a la vida espiritual. El camino hacia el hombre interior. Salamanca: Ed. Sígueme.

Louf, A. (2004). La vida espiritual. Burgos: Ed. Monte Carmelo.

Louf, A. (2005). El camino Cisterciense. Burgos: Ed. Monte Carmelo.

Padilla, L. (2010). Con Calasanz somos hombres de oración. Madrid/Roma: ICCE.

Padilla, L. (1998). Intuiciones de Calasanz sobre la formación escolapia. Madrid: ICCE.

PRH Internacional. (1997). La Persona y su Crecimiento. Fundamentos antropológicos y psicológicos de la formación PRH. Madrid: Personalidad y Relaciones Humanas.

Rochais, A. (1985). Pedagogía del Injerto. Formación Personal Metódica. N°47. Madrid: Personalidad y Relaciones Humanas.

Rochais, A. (1981). Método del Grupo de Crecimiento. N° 3. Madrid: Personalidad y Relaciones Humanas.

Rosenberg, M. (2000). La comunicación no violenta. Barcelona: Ed. Urano.

Santa Teresa de Jesús. (1982). Camino de Perfección. Madrid: Ed. Aguilar.

Spidlik, T. (1998). El camino del Espíritu. The retreats he gave to Pope St. John Paul II. Madrid: Ed. PPC.

Zúndel, M. (2003). Otro modo de ver al hombre. Madrid: Ed. Desclée De Brouwer.

Zúndel, M. (2002). Qué hombre y qué Dios. Madrid: Ed. PPC.

Zúndel, M. (2002). El evangelio interior. Madrid: Ed. Sal Terrae.

Zúndel, M. (2008). Poema de la Santa Liturgia. Madrid: Ed. PPC.

Zúndel, M. (2008). No habléis de Dios. Vivid en Él ¡Y que se os note! Burgos: Ed. Monte Carmelo.

Annex to make spiritual retreats for seven day

Exercise 1

We do these spiritual exercises...

- To seek and find the will of God [EE 1]. To enjoy God’s way of being and to esteem the Will of God more than any other good [Act of Virtues]. 1Jn 2:16-17: The world is passing away. He who does the will of God remains forever.

- To rid oneself of disordered affections [CC 34], knowing the arts and deceptions of the passions, which are covetous feelings in their first movement [EP 912].

- To love with ordered love [CC 34], gathering the interior powers and paying attention to the conversations of the interior man, who is the true Presence of the Lord, from which perfect charity springs as from a fountain [Cu 949].

- To make visible the glory of God by being useful to the little and poor neighbor [EP 4335].

Calasanz tells us: I hope that in these spiritual exercises the Lord will give you grace, together with the other brothers, to communicate to them a little fervor, so that their labors may be greatly useful to their neighbor and that they may do the work of the school with the profit that is due to the pupils [EP 909]. Calasanz in these days of retreat wants to communicate to us the Spirit that the Lord has given him: I wish to communicate to you with charity, with paternal affection, the spirit that the Lord has given me [2 Cor 3: 17-18] and I exhort you with all possible affection... to stay with me for some time, to learn the narrow way that leads to heaven [Mt 7: 13-14] which, once learned, becomes easy [Mt 11: 28-30] and safe [Mt 11: 28-30]. I write to you on my own impulse for your true good [EP 3913]. According to Mt 13:3-9.16-23: The Word bears fruit according to the soil that receives it.

We can do three exercises every day: questions, prayer and lectio divina.

Integration questions on the contents of the chapters

You begin by reading the chapters corresponding to each day’s exercises and then answer the following:

1. Do you have any comprehension questions?

2. What has caught your attention in this chapter?

3. What reflections and reactions do you experience?

4. What do you reject? What do you say yes to, when you reject something?

5. What has been the most significant thing that has touched your heart?

6. Do you feel invited to something, from within yourself, to live the pedagogical spirituality of Calasanz?

Personal prayer

Calasanz invites us: to cultivate prayer [CC 44], to be men of prayer, men of spirit [EP 2175], friends of prayer [EP 2256].

What is prayer for Calasanz?

It is dealing with the Holy Spirit: God knows with how much love I wish you the continuous assistance of the Holy Spirit, so that, dealing with Him behind closed doors [Mt 6:1-7], at least once or twice a day, you may know how to guide the little ship of your soul along the path of religious perfection towards the port of eternal happiness, this being the first and principal business that each one of us must deal with and if it goes well, all other matters will be resolved with good success in the presence of God even though it may seem otherwise to human prudence. It would be of great satisfaction to me if in these circumstances of so many disturbances YR would show great courage of spirit, to bear with patience all things for the love of God, to whom I will pray in particular to give you the grace to do much good to your neighbor with the talent he has given you for this purpose [Mt 25, 14-30]. That is all I can think of for now. May the Lord bless us all [EP 3358].

The Spirit who prays with ineffable groanings already exists in all of us [Rom 8:26-27]. It is a matter of connecting with that prayer that is already happening in us. It is a matter of returning to the heart, which is God’s place in us, as the Holy Fathers say [André Louf]. The Spirit gives us what he receives from the Father and the Son [Jn 16:12-15]. This prayer impels us to love our neighbor with the talent that God gives us [Mt 25:14-30].

Methodology of Calasanzian prayer

Finally, and with all earnestness, we exhort everyone in the Lord that, as long as it is given to them to remain in the room [Mt 6:6-8], they strive to practice external and especially internal acts of humility, contrition, thanksgiving and others that the Spirit will suggest to them [Gal 5:22-25]. The Father, who sees what is hidden, will reward them [Mt 6:6-8] and will lead them to the solidity and perfection of the virtues [CC 48].

Matter of prayer

Following the example of St. Paul: Contemplate Christ crucified [1Cor 2:1-16] [his virtues] and the mysteries of his life, so as to know him, [follow him] and remember him frequently during the day [CC 44]. The matter of prayer is the Word of God that has touched your heart, because it is not to know much that satisfies and satiates the soul, but to feel and taste things interiorly [EE 2].

Various modes of Calasanzian prayer

For all modes of prayer, we always begin with a deep silence and quieting of the body and spirit, kneeling or in some other suitable posture. [CC 44] How to quiet the body and the spirit? The interior powers recollected and attentive to the conversations of the interior man [2 Cor 4:1-18] who is the true Presence of the Lord [2Cor 3:17-18] from which springs like a fountain [Jn 4:1-42] religious perfection [Cu 949], or what is the same, perfect charity [1Cor 13]. [CC 1]. If you bring your attention to your breathing, you will become aware of the heart’s endearing place.

First mode of prayer: Perform the acts that the Spirit suggests

- First step: Profound calm and silence of body and spirit.

- Second step: Make an act of humility. Humility is practiced by becoming aware of what the Lord has given me in order to receive it: To humble oneself in the presence of God is to confess that one has no good in oneself and no aptitude for good things without his grace. [Jn 5:19-20]. [EP 1149].

- Third step: Make an act of contrition. Contrition is practiced by recognizing that I have not received what the Lord has given me, that I have been ungrateful. I have made my life disconnected from him: and that in the past you have been very ungrateful [Rom 1:18-25] for all the benefits he has bestowed on you [EP 1149]. With a humbled heart we become aware of the past, not to regret it but to learn from it and to reconnect with the Lord.

- Fourth step: To make an act of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is practiced by taking back what the Lord has given me, realizing who has given it to me so that his goodness may be known and to give freely to those most in need what the Lord has given me freely: What shall I give you, my Lord, for all the benefits you have given me, especially because you died on the Cross for me? I want to offer you a gift of love. I rejoice and am pleased that you are omnipotent, beauty itself, infinite wisdom and goodness. I esteem your will more than any other good [Jn 4:34] and I am ready to die a thousand deaths rather than act against it. I desire that your goodness be known and loved by all, and I want as much as possible to see to it that all may know and love you [Act of Virtues].

- Fifth step: Become aware of what has happened in prayer. What material did I choose to pray about? What happened during the time of prayer? Did I find what I was looking for? What do I feel invited to do by the Spirit? You can also do this mode of prayer by practicing an act of faith, hope and charity or other acts that the Spirit will suggest to you.

Second way of prayer: Contemplating Christ crucified and the mysteries of his life

- First step: Profound calm and silence of body and spirit.

- Second step: Contemplating Christ crucified and the various mysteries of his life. [CC 44]. Here we can use the methodology of lectio divina to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Crucified [1Pet 2:20-25; 1Pet 3:13-17; 1Pet 4:1-2 and 1Pet 4:14-16].

- Third step: Becoming aware of what happened in prayer. What material did I choose to pray? What happened during the time of prayer? Did I find what I was looking for? What do I feel invited to by the Spirit?

Third way of prayer: Examination of conscience

- First step: Deep calm and silence of body and spirit.

- Second step: Ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten us to discern what we have experienced during the day.

- Third step: List the benefits received and give thanks for the transformation that has happened in us by practicing them.

- Fourth step: Make an examination of conscience. To do this we ask ourselves: Where do our thoughts, words and actions come from during these spiritual exercises or during a day? We take up thoughts, or a saying or an action and ask ourselves where they were born from.

- Fifth step: If the action was born of our greedy tendency, we ask ourselves what inclination of the Spirit we do not have. I learn for next time. If the action was born of the inclination of the Spirit, I savor the joy of giving. I say: Let it be done to me according to your word.

- Sixth step: I finish the examination of conscience by contemplating what happened, doing it. Giving thanks to the Father, to Jesus, to the Holy Spirit for the lights received.

Fourth mode of prayer: lectio divina

Calasanz takes the Word of God as spoken for him [1Thess 2:13] and for the Pious School; it affects him, and he tries to discover the human behavior that it gives him in order to be useful to the small and poor neighbor. He is very attentive to how phrases from the psalms or various biblical texts touch his heart in the various circumstances of his life in order to put them into practice. There are biblical texts that have already touched your heart. You can make a list of the most significant ones. They will serve you as prayer material during these spiritual exercises.

Lectio Divina is done as follows:

Look for Deep calm and silence of body and spirit.

- First step: Reading. Calasanz was accustomed to read every evening the readings for the next day’s Mass. According to Prov 22:17-19: I am going to instruct you today.

It is a matter of slowly reading the corresponding text over and over again until a word or phrase awakens your heart, which is the place where the Holy Spirit lives in you. God himself gives you the Word you need at this moment, in this situation you are living.

- Second step: Meditation. Chew and ruminate on the Word that has touched your heart. Prov 4, 23 recommends us to take care of the heart: My son, above all else, watch over your heart, for in it are the wellsprings of life.

Calasanz tells us: The voice of God is the voice of the Spirit, which comes and goes, touches the heart and passes by; one does not know where it comes from or when it blows. It is important, therefore, to be alert so that it does not come suddenly and go away without fruit [EP 131].

Calasanz, in the previous letter, quotes the encounter of Jesus with Nicodemus: Do not be surprised that he said to you: You must be born again. The wind blows where it wills, and you hear its voice, but you know not from where it comes nor where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit [Jn 3:7-8].

In meditation: It is necessary to let go of speculations and identify the affections [Common Rites]. It is a matter of repeating that Word that has touched your heart, [Ez 36:26-27] that has affected you, until you receive the nourishment you need at this moment. As you repeat the Word, you receive light and strength to live what you are told. It causes you to be born again. We can be born of the Word at any age, as St. Peter tells us: You have been born again from a germ that is not corruptible but incorruptible, through the living and abiding Word of God [1Pet 1:23].

Therefore, in Meditation: It is a matter of ruminating on the Word with a naked attention, empty of concepts and multiplicity of desires, with the heart vigilant and available to the promptings of the Spirit who reveals the bonds that unite us all in Christ and in God [André Louf, taking into account what the Holy Fathers say about Lectio Divina].

- Third step: Prayer. That Word that has touched your heart is inspired by the Spirit and connects with the Holy Spirit who, dwelling in you, is teaching you to pray with ineffable groanings [Rom 8:26-27].

It is not a prayer that you pray, it is a prayer that the Spirit is praying in you [CC 23]. It is given to you. It can be an act of petition, of contemplation, of adoration; it can be an act of humility, an act of contrition, an act of thanksgiving; it can be an act of faith, hope and charity, or other acts of prayer that the Spirit will suggest to you [CC 48].

During the prayer: The Word that touches your heart makes it possible for the heart to awaken and live. Beautiful [and practical] words addressed to God will flow from your heart. The psalm is born [André Louf], which God gives to you today.

- Fourth step: Contemplation. No one knows God’s innermost being except the Spirit of God. We receive the Spirit that comes from God in order to know the graces that God gives us. [1 Cor 2:11-12].

Can you describe the God who has revealed himself to you through the voice of the Spirit that has touched your heart? Stay contemplating how he looks at you, how he gives you his Presence, how he gives you his Love that makes you capable of Loving every human being, especially the most needy. Contemplate how he transforms your life.

- Fifth step: To practice God’s way of being. By means of the human behavior that the Word gives me, I make visible on this earth the invisible One. He, who dwells in every human being, has touched my heart to be useful to the small and poor neighbor. It is necessary to discern the suggestions of the Spirit in order to practice them. What human behavior brings the little touch of the heart?

Having once asked him [Mateo Judiski to Calasanz] for what reason he decided to found this religion of the Pious Schools, he answered me: The reason I had was none other than the dissolution I have seen in the poor boys of Rome, who, not having good education because of the poverty or neglect of their parents. Furthermore, reflecting on the words of the psalm that says: To you the poor have been left, you are the helper of the fatherless [Ps 10:14], I considered this sentence said to myself and so I began to catechize them in the Christian faith and in letters [Testimony in the process of beatification of St. Joseph Calasanz]. 1Jn 2:5-6 says: Whoever keeps his word, the love of God has reached its fullness.

The affective Word that touches our heart becomes effective [James 1:22-25] and bears fruit [Mt 7:17]. One begins to behave according to what that Word is saying to me in a vital way. One finds a solid rock on which to build a house [Mt 7:21-27].

It is easy [Mt 11:28-30] to put into practice [Is 55:10-13] what the Lord tells us because he gives us a light, which is always light, and a strength of love [Eph 1:15-25] to carry it out in the midst of the difficulties of life. They are determinations, impulses, actions that the Spirit suggests to you to show you the path of growth in your Piarist vocation. We can say with Mary: Let it be done to me according to your Word [Lk 1:38].

Fifth mode of prayer: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The liturgy of the hours, the holy rosary, the crown of the twelve stars and the old prayer “We fly to your patronage…”

- Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: It is a place where the Lord gives us the joy of giving, enlightens us to know what to do, gives us the strength of his love to do it. Keeping in mind what St. John says in the farewell of the Last Supper. The Presence of the Lord gives us “the relationship in”: The Father in Me, I in you and you in Me.

- The liturgy of the hours: Calasanz decided that the divine office was not prayed in community. We are an Apostolic Order. Only the Chaplet was prayed in community. It consisted of the recitation of five psalms beginning with a letter of the name of Mary. During that time the recitation of the divine office was personal for the priests. Certain phrases of the psalms touched the heart of Calasanz and he discovered the human behavior that the little touch gave him to put into practice, as you have been able to identify by reading this booklet.

After Vatican II we pray Lauds, Vespers and in some communities Compline as a community.

- The Holy Rosary: In Calasanz’ time the rosary and litanies were prayed. Calasanz at the time of his last illness recommended us to pray it. We contemplate with Mary the mysteries of the life of her Son Jesus.

- The crown of the 12 stars: Calasanz composed this prayer to contemplate Mary as the work of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We too are the work of the Trinity.

- We fly to your patronage…: This is a 4th century prayer. The Order of the Pious Schools, according to Calasanz, was founded by Mary and under her protection. This prayer is part of the Piarist tradition.

Conclusion

Father Berro writes about Calasanz: I remember having heard many times from his mouth, when he exhorted us to sweep the schools and to work voluntarily for the love of God, adding that his divine Majesty grants particular spiritual and interior help to those who work for it, and that a single word that he says interiorly to the soul gives such vigor and strength that it voluntarily and joyfully endures any work. But the Spirit of God is so delicate that it is perceived only by those who are very attentive and whose soul is very well purified and detached from all things of the world and also from themselves. And on another occasion, he added: I know of a person who, with a single word that God spoke to his heart, suffered joyfully for fifteen years of great works that befell him.

Contemplate Calasanz from the Beatitudes

- Mt 5, 1-12. The poor in spirit, the weeping, the hungry, the merciful, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemaker, the persecuted. Rejoice and be glad.

- Lk 6:20-26. The poor man is right... the rich man is wrong.

Documents of the magisterium of the church that can help us in these spiritual exercises

St. John Paul II tells us in Pastores dabo vobis, n. 40

The educational task, which also belongs to the Christian community as such, must be addressed to each person. In fact, God’s call touches the heart of every person, and the Spirit who dwells in the innermost being of every disciple [1 Jn 3:24] is infused into every Christian with different charisms and particular manifestations. Therefore, each person must be helped to accept the gift that has been given to him in particular, as a unique and unrepeatable person, and to listen to the words that the Spirit of God addresses to him.

A document of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life invites us to live a

Mutual interpenetration between action and contemplation: What action? For the religious, it is not just any action. The Council speaks of apostolic action originated and animated by the Holy Spirit. Only an action of this kind fits into the very nature of religious life, insofar as it constitutes a sacred ministry and a particular work of charity which have been entrusted to religious by the Church and are to be exercised in her name.

The characteristic feature of such an action is the impulse of charity nourished in the heart of the religious: the heart considered as the most intimate sanctuary of his person in which vibrates the grace of the union between interiority and activity.

It is urgent, therefore, to foster personal and community awareness of the primary source of apostolic and charitable action, as a participation in that mission of Christ and of the Church which has its origin in the Father and demands that all those who are sent exercise the awareness of charity in the dialogue of prayer [The Contemplative Dimension of Religious Life, n. 4.

Tomas Spidlik tells us: The Eastern Fathers express themselves in a very simple way: The Holy Spirit speaks within the heart and man listens to him with his heart. And how does he listen to him? The heart senses, that is, it grasps the divine inspiration by means of a global intuition in which all the human faculties participate... Therefore, do not mix the voice of God with human reasoning and sensitive imaginations. [Retreats at the Vatican].

Be humble to accept all that will appear during this retreat, to discern the intimacy of God who dwells in you, who touches your heart and opens the way to His will

The guesthouse: The human being is an inn, every morning a new guest arrives, a joy, a depression, a meanness, it comes a momentaneous conscience, as an unexpected guest. Receive them and treat them all well! Even if they are a string of lamentations that violently strip your house of furnishings. Yet treat every guest with honor: He may be emptying you to fill you with a new delight. Dark thought, shame, malice, welcome them at the door with laughter and invite them in. Be grateful, whoever comes has been sent to you from beyond to guide you. [Poet Rumi, 13th century]

This Calasanzian retreat place us at the heart of the educational task. Let us do these exercises to learn to listen to the words that the Spirit of God addresses to each person we meet every day, beginning with ourselves.

Exercise 2

Our way of seeing reality

In almost all the States the majority of their citizens are poor and can only for a short time keep their children in school [CC 148]. The poor, not to be abandoned, constitute, as has been said, the great majority of the Christian Republic [Document sent to the Commission of Cardinals 1645].

1. The psalm of the Piarist vocation is 10, 12-14 [14]: To you the poor have been left, you are the helper of the orphan. When God really lets himself be seen, we see him seeing the needy.

2. The Gospel of the Piarist mission is Lk 4, 16-21 [18]: The poor are not to be abandoned constituting the great majority of the Christian republic and having been redeemed themselves also with the precious blood of Jesus Christ and so cherished by his Majesty that he said he was sent into the world by his eternal Father to teach them: Evangelizare pauperibus misit me. [He has sent me to evangelize the poor.] From this we can conclude how far from Christian piety and the sentiments of Christ is that policy which says that it is harmful to the republic to teach the poor because it diverts them, they say, from the exercise of the mechanical arts [Memorial to the commission of Cardinals by Father Casani. 1645].

3. If you know how to receive from the hand of God, with patience, all mortifications, you will pass through this life with interior pleasure [EE 700]. Reality strikes our life. Receive everything from the hand of God, who loves us much more than we love ourselves [EP 4458]. Be sure of what the prophet says: I will be at your side in trouble [Ps 90:15]. It is necessary, then, to be of good courage, because he has on his side the one who can do all things [EP 3933].

- Rom 8:28-29 [28]: We know that in all things God intervenes for the good of those whom he loves. 1Thess 5:18: In everything give thanks.

- Mt 14:24-33 [27.32]: Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid!

- Acts 14:22: We must go through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God. Jn 19:16-17: Carry the Cross. Lk 12: 11-12: When you are brought before the authorities, the Spirit will teach you what to say.

- Job 1:21: The Lord gave it to us; the Lord took it from us. As it seemed good to the Lord, so it was done. Blessed be his name. If we take from his hand the positive things, why should we not receive the negative.

- 2 Macc 1:3-6 [6]: This is what we are now asking for you.

- 2P 1:2-11 [10]: Therefore, brethren, make every effort to establish your vocation and your election. By so doing you will never fall.

- Mt 16:18,21-26: The gates of hell will not prevail against our religion.

- 1Cor 2:9-16 [9]: What God has in store for those who love him.

Message of Pope Francis for the Calasanzian Jubilee Year 1617-2017

Above all, follow the traces that children and young people have written in their eyes. Look them in the face and let yourselves be infected by their radiance in order to be bearers of the future and of hope. May God grant you to find yourselves prophetically present in the corners where children suffer unjustly. In fact, today there are millions of children without access to education, excluded in the big cities, limited in their aspirations and plans for the future because of human selfishness and greed; thousands of children who have been removed from their homes and schools because of wars, and who require special educational attention. And all children who are in school are in continual need of authentic teachers, to help them grow from deep roots, to show them Christ and accompany them on life’s journey.

Exercise 3

Spiritual life begins with knowing oneself and knowing the love of God

It is a good beginning of the spiritual life that of one’s own knowledge and misery in which we are all born, and also of the ingratitude with which, after so many benefits, we have corresponded to God. If you exercise yourself in them with diligence, I assure you that you will have in this life some knowledge of God, which is a science so great that a particle of it surpasses all the human sciences, after which men spend the greater part and the best years of their lives, and, as a reward, the sciences tend to swell and exalt those who possess them. On the other hand, the knowledge of God beatifies man according to the degree to which, after knowledge, he grows in divine love. I exhort you that every day the first thing you should do is to carry out this study, after which the Lord will grant you all the other things that the world does not know [EP 1339].

- 1Cor 8, 1-3 [1]: Knowledge puffs up, love instead builds up.

- Tim 4:16: Take care of yourself.

Wise in the interior school

Subjects chosen by God are needed to reform youth in those regions, which is apostolic office [EP 2394]. Now there are subjects moved by God [3692]. We are barefoot religious on the outside and reformed on the inside [EP 2685]. The way to become wise and prudent in the interior school is to become like a fool in the eyes of men, allowing oneself to be led like a donkey. This is the true doctrine, but since it is contrary to human sense and prudence, few follow it, and thus the word of Christ is confirmed: Narrow is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it [Mt 7:12-14]. [EP 2300].

- 1 Cor 3:16-20 [18]. It tells us what it is to be wise in the eyes of God.

Learning to identify the tendency of the Holy Spirit

On one point we would like to strongly advise the Master: that he discover in each novice the internal inclination or, in other words, the guidance of the Holy Spirit who teaches the humble to pray with ineffable groanings; by this path he will strive to lead each one to the summit of perfection [CC 23].

- 1Jn 2:27: It is the Spirit who teaches us all things.

- Jn 6:44-45: All will know me from the least to the greatest.

- Eph 1:16-19 [18.19]: The Spirit gives us the joy of giving the light, which is always light, and the power of Love.

- 1Cor 2:7-16 [12.13]: No one knows God’s inmost being, only the Spirit who dwells in us teaches us what God gives us.

- Gal 5:13-25 [18]: We can see how the tendencies of the Spirit are contrary to the tendencies of the flesh.

- 1Cor 3:16: Do you not know that you are God’s sanctuary and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

While in Rome, the venerable Glycerio, at the home of his brother, Bishop Fabricius, with a silk habit and honors, touched by the Holy Spirit, left all the comforts he had previously possessed and gave himself to an exemplary life, exchanging his silk clothes for very poor ones and for very simple food, which commonly caused great admiration and he did it because of the great faith and interior light that God our Lord had communicated to him [Declaration on the Calasanzian Spirituality. Note 32].

- Pro 21:1: The heart of every person is in the hand of God, and he inspires what to do or say.

What is evangelization?

- Rom 1:16 and Rom 15:13: To evangelize is to discover the power of the Holy Spirit in people.

Content of the Gospel

- Romans 8:1-39 [4.9.14.16.26.28.31]. What does the Holy Spirit in human beings?

- Rom 5:3-5 [5]: The Love of God dwelling in our heart through the Holy Spirit given to us.

- 2Cor 5,19: God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world to himself.

- Gal 1,16: When God wished to reveal his Son in me, to proclaim him to the Gentiles.

- 1Cor 15,3-4: The gospel consists in participating in the death and resurrection of the Lord taking place in the person

- Rom 6:10: The experience of baptism is to die to sin for the life of the Risen One.

- 2 Cor 3:17-18: The Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

- Phil 2:13: God works in us to will and to act.

- 1Thess 4:9: We can learn from God to love one another.

- 1Tim 8:9: The law is for the unjust.

- 1 Cor 6:10: Whoever is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

God shares with us his way of being

Given that among the cleric brothers, by the grace of God, there are some who are apt and suitable to receive Holy Orders, so that it does not seem that we reject divine grace by hiding the talents of the Lord on earth and depriving our religion of this increase of priests of whom it has so much need... The faculty is given to Father General to promote them at the proper time if he finds them apt [Fr. Giner. Calasanz Master and Founder page 868]. Rom 2:11: In God there is no partiality of persons.

- Mt 25:14-30: Parable of the talents.

- Rom 10:12: God is rich to all...

- 1Cor 9:19: I have made myself the slave of all, that I may gain as many as I can.

- Is 11:1-4: The spirit of the Lord will rest upon him. The gift of mercy was added to him.

- Is 55:1: Come to the waters, all you who are thirsty.

Conclusion

Let everyone try to have his heart set on God so as to always fulfill his most holy will [EP 4422]. If the vocation is true, it will be confirmed [EP 2503]. Let it be what pleases him and how it pleases the Lord [EP 51]. With no other light and guide but that which burns in the heart [St. John of the Cross]. According to Mt 7:15-27: By their fruits you will know them.

Pope Francis in his apostolic exhortation on holiness (GE)

What matters is that each believer discerns his own path and brings out the best in himself, that which is so personal that God has placed in him according to his own way, “because the divine life is communicated to some in one way and to others in another” (St. John of the Cross) [GE 10-11].

We are all called to be saints by living with Love and offering our own witness in our daily occupations, wherever we find ourselves [GE 14].

All the Christian faithful of every condition and state, strengthened by so many and such powerful means of salvation, are called, each in his own way, to the perfection of that holiness with which the Father himself is perfect [LG 11].

Pope Francis in his homilies in Santa Marta during the daily celebration of the Eucharist

The Word of God touches the heart

When we listen to the Word of God, what happens in my heart? Am I attentive to the Word of God? Do I let it touch my heart? Or am I looking at the ceiling thinking about other things and the Word enters through one ear and goes out the other and does not reach the heart? What I am doing to prepare myself, so that the Word reaches the heart? And when the Word reaches the heart there is a cry of joy and there is a celebration.

Let the Holy Spirit be the protagonist of our life

It is the Spirit who makes us rise from our limits, from our dead, because we have so many necroses in our life. The message of the Resurrection is that of Jesus to Nicodemus: we must be reborn. But why does he give way to the Spirit? A Christian life that calls itself Christian that leaves no room for the Spirit and that does not allow itself to be led by the Spirit is a pagan life, disguised as Christian. The Spirit is the protagonist of the Christian life, the Spirit - the Holy Spirit - who is with us [it can be said that he is in us], accompanies us, transforms us and conquers us. Therefore, there can be no Christian life without the Holy Spirit, who is our daily companion, a gift of the Father, a gift of Jesus.

Let us ask the Lord to give us this awareness that we cannot be Christians without walking with the Holy Spirit, without acting with the Holy Spirit, without letting the Holy Spirit be the protagonist of our lives. Our companion on the way is the Holy Spirit.

Catechetical Directory 2020

There is no greater freedom than to allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit, to give up calculating and controlling everything and to allow Him to enlighten us, to guide us, to orient us, to impel us where He wants us to go. He knows well what is needed in every age and at every moment. [Page 34].

Exercise 4

Learning to identify the tendency of insatiable greed in order to cure it

The passions that are hidden in the interior of man, with difficulty are diagnosed and with greater difficulty are uprooted [CC 16]. It is true: Whoever is not content with the necessary things will never be content with the superfluous, because man’s greed is insatiable [EP 1488]. Do not be carried away by your passionate sentiment, which under a kind of good deceives you [EP 2394]. It is a sentiment contrary to the sentiments of the Spirit [EP 2498]. It is an inclination to evil that must be known in order to easily guard against it [EP 770].

The more hidden passions are within us, the more dangerous they are... I would like all our religious to know them, so that they know all their arts and deceptions... Consider the nonsense that passes through your imagination from morning to evening... you will see that you do not know how to take two steps without falling, because you have stopped looking at God, to look with your thoughts or imagination to the creature. Whoever comes to the practice of remaining like a two-year-old child, who falls many times without help, will always distrust himself and will always invoke the help of God. This is what he means: If you do not become like a child, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Learn this practice and try to reach this great simplicity, then you will find true that sentence that says: His intimacy is with the simple [EP 912].

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us: The passions or feelings in themselves are not good or bad. They only receive moral qualification insofar as they depend on reason or the free will [N°1767].

- Mt 18:1-10 [3.5.10]: Unless you become as little children you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

- Prov 3:32: His intimacy he has with the simple.

- Jn 6:63: It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

I would like to know if it is true that you follow the way of the Spirit or the way of the flesh

- Mt 13:24-30: We must distinguish the wheat from the tares.

- Mt 5:37: Let your speech be: Yes, yes; no, no; for that which is more than this, proceeds from evil.

- Mt 16:26: What does it profit a man to gain the world if he loses his life?

- Rom 8:6: Those who live according to their own instincts do not perceive the things that are according to the Spirit of God.

- Rom 8:9: But you do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, for the Spirit of God dwells in you.

- Lk 12:15: Beware of all greediness.

- 1Tm 6:10: Greed is the root of all evil.

- 1Jn 2:16: What is in the world?

- Eccles 1:2: All the rest is vanity.

Those who live according to the flesh desire what is proper to the flesh

According to St. Paul: The way of the flesh is not synonymous with the body, it is the whole person: thinking, feeling and acting in disagreement with the way of the Spirit that makes us look where God looks: to care for the needy.

- Jn 3:20: Whoever does evil hates the light.

- Rom 1:19-28 [21]: We become aware that we have known God, or better, God makes himself known through creation and the humanity of Jesus, but we do not thank him, we do not follow his Presence that creates and loves.

- Rom 7:14-20 [18]: We realize that we are sold out to the power of sin.

- Rom 8:2-12: We can choose the tendency of the Spirit. The law of the Spirit that gives life in Christ Jesus. Describe what it is to live according to the flesh.

- Gal 5:16-24 [17,19]: The Apostle St. Paul makes us to understand how the covetous tendency works, in order to understand, by contrast, all its arts and deceptions and to be able to choose the tendency of the Spirit.

- Col 3,1-17: Mortify the passions of our earthly man. Follow the way of being that God has given us.

- Mt 11:22: The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence.

- Mt 7:15-20: By their fruits you will know them.

- 1Cor 7:29: The time is short.

How can this multiplicity of greedy desires be prevented and cured?

By looking at our temptations, our inadequacies: Often and with prudence, the Master should try to dialogue with the novices about the temptations that most afflict them; thus, he will be able to provide the necessary remedy. He should be attentive to those whom he discovers to be not very faithful in this matter, since most of the time they tend to deceive themselves [CC 26]. Job 7:1: The life of man is war or war on earth.

We must look at the multiplicity of desires which, according to the Holy Fathers, are our seven passionate feelings: pride, laziness, anger, envy, avarice, lust and gluttony. We can add: sadness, jealousy, hatred and fears that paralyze us. It is necessary to know their arts and deceptions [EP 912]. Passion has a great force in the first movements [EP 2581]. Vehement passion blinds men [EP 2183]. The tastes of the Spirit surpass the tastes of the senses.

Expressing our interior sentiment: Try to negotiate and be well with God on whom all our good depends. To do this well, the only remedy is to communicate to the Superior, who is Father Peter, all your interior sentiments, so that the enemy cannot defeat you in anything. If you work in this way, you will obtain great peace, which is a great treasure. I will not cease to ask the Lord to hold you in his pious hand. Do not fail to act according to my advice, for I am sure that you will do well, and you must do so, because our life is short. May the Lord bless us all [EP 736].

The Lord receives a humbled and broken heart [Ps 50]: I have the feeling that the remedy that can be used, is that of a confessor who has charity to confess him twice a week and to visit him often, inducing him to discover all the thoughts and cavils that he feels within himself, giving him the necessary remedy. If this charitable exercise lasts two or three months, I am sure that he would mend his ways and enter into his heart with sorrow for having offended God and the desire to do penance for his sins [EP 3055]. Talk to Jesus Crucified.

- Rom 12:21: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

- Eph 2:4-9: But God, rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, when we were dead because of our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and made us sit with him in heaven in Christ Jesus. For you have been saved by grace through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; nor does it come from works, so that no one may boast. (Cfr. Miguel Angel Asiain. Year with Calasanz. Page 11. And he adds: Look for merits, look for justice, look for motives; and see if you find anything that is not grace (St. Augustine).

Evagrius Ponticus (I do not remember where I read this synthesis on the passions)

The passions that are hidden inside the human being are:

- In the area of greed: insatiable greed manifests itself in food as gluttony, in sexuality as lust, and in the possession of goods as avarice.

- In the zone of emotions: anger manifests itself as depression, sadness, resentment, bitterness, and as acedia that do not let us live in peace.

- In the zone of the spirit: the unreal self-image manifests itself as envy, vainglory and pride.

Pope Francis at the Wednesday Audience: to see God we must free ourselves from the deceptions of the heart. In his homily, the Pope says that this is the only way to see God. Official Summary of the Catechesis

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

In this catechesis we reflect on the Beatitude that says: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Mt 5:8). This beatitude promises us the vision of God and has as a condition purity of heart. What does it mean to have a pure heart? It means to keep within ourselves which is worthy of an authentic relationship with the Lord, and to lead an integral, linear and simple life in His Presence.

Having a pure heart is a path of inner purification. It is necessary to recognize that our worst enemy is often hidden within ourselves, and we need to convert to the Lord. This process involves recognizing the influence of evil within us, and allowing ourselves to be led with docility by the Holy Spirit. It is a path of maturation that involves renunciation, sincerity and courage.

When we discover our thirst for good and the mercy of God that sustains us, a path of liberation begins that lasts a lifetime and prepares us for the definitive encounter with the Lord. It is a serious work and, above all, a work that God does in us through the trials and purifications of life, and which leads us, if we accept it, to experience great joy and a deep and true peace.

Note: In the homily the Pope ends by saying:

In this beatific vision there is a future dimension, the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven, but also another: To see God means to understand the plans of Providence in what happens to us, to recognize his presence in the sacraments, his presence in our brothers and sisters, especially in the poor and suffering, and to recognize him where he manifests himself. Thus, in the groove of the Beatitudes, a path of liberation begins that lasts a lifetime; a serious work that the Holy Spirit does if we give him space; a work of God in us even in trials and purifications. Let us not be afraid, let us open the doors of our hearts to the Holy Spirit so that He may purify us and lead us on this path to full joy.

What Marshall Rosenberg’s nonviolent communication (NVC) says about unpleasant feelings

Marshall says that these feelings, which are not bad in themselves, but unpleasant, alert us that there is an unmet need within us. When we connect these feelings with the unmet need, we value that is not being taken into account. Then we can handle them better. Example: Discovering the gift of anger.

- What people do is never the cause of how we feel. It is only a stimulus. The first thing is to name what people say and do

- If anger appears within us. Stop it. Breathe. Be quiet. See what’s going on inside you.

- The cause of our anger: we choose to go into our head and judge the other person. We judge who is right, who is wrong and who is at fault. I am angry because I am making this judgment about the person. I name the judgment

- I translate that judgment or those judgments in my mind into the unmet need of my own that they express.

- I name the new feeling that expresses my unmet need

- Now we can talk:

- I express the event as if it had been recorded by a camera. When you said or did such and such a thing.

- I express the actual feeling that was hiding my unmet need. I feel: I name the feeling

- I express the need that was hidden in my judgment. Because I need...

- We add a clear, positive, present-framed request about what we want from the other person without demanding it. Would you be willing to...

- I listen with empathy to what the other person expresses.

- Everyone’s needs can be taken into account, we can find a common strategy to meet them wholeheartedly, for the joy of enriching the life of every person

[Cfr. Marshall Rosenberg. The surprising purpose of anger. Editorial Acanto].

Exercise 5

Learning to use inner powers in the spiritual life

The religious must always have his interior powers concentrated and attentive to the conversations of the interior man who is the true Presence of the Lord, from whom all religious perfection is born as from a fountain. [Cu 949]. It is a matter of seeking the “taste of God”. When one is more favored by God with certain graces or particular sentiments, so much the more should one humble oneself so as not to lose them. They are lost with a little presumption. Let us recognize ourselves as useless instruments of the Lord, rather hindering his works than helping them [EP 1817].

- Lk 17:10: When you have done all that you were commanded, say: We are but poor servants; we have only done what we had to do.

As soon as he is introduced into the Spirit, I will send you to Naples, for then you will know how to help others [EP 1424].

The interior powers are recollected and attentive: Lk 12:35- 47 [37] to be faithful to the guidance of the Holy Spirit

- Ps 19:18: Day by day he communicates his message.

- Mt 25:13: Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour when the Lord will come.

- Lk 12:37: Blessed are those servants whom the Lord will find watching when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them sit down to eat, and will serve them.

- 1 Cor 16:13: Be watchful, stand fast in the faith. Do all things in love.

- 1Pet 5:8-10: Be sober, be vigilant.

- Ezek 40:4: Son of man, look carefully, listen attentively and pay attention to all that I am about to show you.

- Prov 8:34: Blessed is the man who listens to me, keeping watch at my door day after day, keeping watch at the door of my house.

In Greek, attention is prosoché, and prayer is proseuché. The first is the mother of the second according to the Holy Fathers [Thomas Spidlik giving retreat at the Vatican].

The powers collected and attentive to the interior man who is the true presence of the Lord

- 2Cor 4, 16-17 [16]: We can discover the man who is born from within, born of the Spirit touching our heart and who is renewed from day to day.

- 1Pt 3:3-4: We speak about the woman or man hidden in the heart [André Louf].

- Jn 4:13-42 [14]: Perfect charity springs as from a fountain from the true Presence of the Lord

- Prov 16:32: Better a man who is master of himself....

To learn to break the passions of the intelligence and of the will

Sometimes the interior powers are carried away by one’s own judgment and will [CC 22], or by the imaginary stillness [EP 1236], or by the thoughts and cavils that he feels in his interior [EP 3055], or the nonsense that passes through his imagination from morning to evening [EP 912]. Calasanz tells the Provincial of Naples: I would like in Y.R. a little mortification of your own judgment. I wanted to try you in this office so that if you come out well, I can confirm you in that or another province. Those who have such an office must have great patience to take advantage of the talent that they see in each subject and also know how to remedy with fatherly affection the faults and imperfections, exhorting them privately on how to attain religious perfection [EP 3721].

Self-will is the freedom connected with the passions to put them into practice: I would like that, considering your imperfections, you would know your misery and, with deep humility, ask God for forgiveness. Otherwise, he who lives his own will usually dies with it [EP 3402]. Self-will is very difficult to cure, as YR sees it there, in some, from your own experience [EP 2256]. It is necessary to break down the wall of one’s own will, to let go of the desires that hold it far from its depth, far from its heart [André Louf].

Harmonize the spiritual life with the studies of the sciences and methodology of teaching

Calasanz manifests that studies must be united to prayer and to the experience of humility [CC 210].

Learn to give to the body according to its need: 1 Cor 2:14-16 and 1 Cor 6:12-19

The religious should give to the spirit according to its need and to the body also according to its need, and no longer to the body, because it kicks the spirit and becomes, as St. Paul says, an animal man [1 Cor 15:44-49]. [EP 2148]. The strength of the body must be checked in order to act: For a few days I have had a slight fever and a cold... in a few days I hope to have enough strength to go there [EP 1764].

Don’t lose sleep over writing, because health is much more important [EP 456]. You will be able to study together with Br. Giacomo and sometimes go for a walk as a necessary exercise for health. [EP 1306]. The servant of God does not live to eat, but eats to live and serve [Cu 633]. Try to stay healthy and help the school children as best you can [EP 164].

To replenish your physical strength, you can go to the beach.

- Jas 1:26-27 [26]: Do not deceive the heart with the tongue.

- Eph 5:15-20 [18]: He invites us not to fill ourselves with wine but with the Spirit which is what really fills us because we always receive giving.

- 1Thess 4:3-9 [3]: God wants to make us holy by relating to our brothers as God has taught us to love them.

Conclusion: We must learn to follow our conscience [EP 173]

- Intelligence is attentive to the conversations of the interior man, which are born from the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Look at the true Presence of the Lord who communicates to us what the Father tells him from where the capacity to love is born as from a fountain

- Freedom allows itself to be led by the inclination of the Holy Spirit and not by sensuality

- Will can put into practice the acts that the Spirit will suggest because they bring light, that always is light, and strength to put them into practice. Taking into account the forces of the body, and the various events of the reality of life. (In this way of speaking I take into account what is said in Personality and Human Relations and at the same time what Calasanz says).

As Calasanz tells us: This narrow road may seem difficult at first, but later it becomes easy and safe. Note: I only want to remind you of one thing. You have to descend with your mind to the heart, to remain there before the face of the Lord who, because he is always present, sees everything within you. Prayer will have a firm and secure hold when a little fire [of love] begins to burn in the heart. Try not to extinguish this fire and it will consolidate in such a way that prayer will repeat itself; and then you will have within you a whispering stream. [Saint of the Russian Orthodox tradition: Theophanes the Recluse].

Testimony of Etty Hillesum: A 27-year-old Jewish girl who kept a diary of what she saw, experienced and felt about the annihilation of the Jewish community in the Netherlands. Amsterdam 1941 - Auschwitz 1943.

What I live inside me, and which is not mine alone, I have no right to keep to myself alone... It will be necessary for someone to survive to testify that God was alive even in a time as ours. And why shouldn’t I be that witness? (Back cover of the book).

There is a deep well in me, and in that well is God. Sometimes I manage to reach it, but most often the stones and debris obstruct the well, and God remains buried. Then it is necessary to bring him back to the light.

To collect myself inside. Perhaps this is the most perfect expression of my feeling of life: I withdraw into myself. And I call this myself, this level of my being, the deepest and richest of all and the one in which I withdraw, God.

I will help you, my God, not to extinguish yourself in me (cf. 1 Thess 5:19), but I cannot guarantee anything in advance. However, there is one thing that is becoming clearer and clearer to me: it is not you who can help us, but we who can help you and, in so doing, help ourselves.

I will adopt as a principle to help God as much as possible and if I succeed, then I will be there for others as well. This is all we can save in this age, and also the only thing that counts: a little bit of you in us, my God. Perhaps we too can help to bring you to light in the devastated hearts of others (Lebeau, Paul. 1999. Etty Hillesum. Editorial Sal Terrae. Chapter 6).

Exercise 6

We are good disciples of the school of Blessed Christ, Teacher and Lord

The guidance of the Holy Spirit gives us the feeling of Christ; gives us the gift of being the good smell of Christ; gives us the gift of being a disciple of the school of Christ; gives us the gift of the blessed Christ, Master and Lord. It gives us the true Presence of the Lord, who dwells in you and in every person, which is the most beautiful relationship in the world because it makes us capable of relating to the whole world. We must leave the false world and follow in the footsteps of Christ by entering into the spiritual life [EP 1882]. Have the patience necessary to be a good disciple of Christ [EP 2362]. Christ became a teacher of humility, wanting us to learn from him [MT 11:28-30]. [EP 3888]. Christ the Lord, our Savior, said... [CC 99].

- Jn 16:12-15: The Spirit will receive what is mine and will explain everything to you.

It is one thing to want to follow the blessed Christ and to strive to do so, and quite another to see how the Lord is united to each person, how he dwells in each person and how he is calling him to follow him through the conversations of the inner Man [2Cor 4:16], who is the true Presence of the Lord [2Cor 3:17]. From there is born, as from a fountain of living water [Jn 4:14], perfect charity [1 Cor 13] to God and to the little and poor neighbor.

- Jn 15:14-17: Subjects chosen by God, moved by God.

- 1 Jn 4:10: God loved us first and sent us his Son.

- Jn 6:44: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.

- Mt 13:44: Blessed Christ or the Kingdom is the hidden treasure to be found.

- Gal 1:13-24 [15]: When God wished to reveal his Son in me. Gal 2, 15-21: It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. Phil 3, 7-11: All is garbage before the knowledge of Christ Jesus.

- Jn 14, 14: He who has seen me has seen the Father.

- Lk 12, 35-38 [37]: Be awake to realize the coming of the Lord.

- Jn 8, 31-36: If you keep my word, you are truly my disciples.

- Jn 13, 34-35: If you love one another, as I do, you are my disciples.

We are good disciples of the school of the master if we carry out the design of the Father. We are pilgrims to help poor children wherever they are most in need

If you are not satisfied with obedience... you will never be a disciple of the school of Christ [EP 526]. I really wish, in time, to have you with me to make you know how great is the virtue of obedience supported by humility [EP 3275]. Deal frequently with God within yourself, for this is the proper office of every religious [EP 649]. In obedience, understanding and will are exchanged with God [EP 4427]. Christ our Lord and our Savior said: I have not come down from heaven to fulfill a plan of mine [Jn 6:38]. [CC 99].

- Jn 5, 19-37: How the Lord does the Will of the Father.

- Mt 7, 21: We must conform our will to the will of the Father.

- 1Jn 2, 27-28 [27]: His anointing teaches you all things.

- Phil 2:1-11: Have among yourselves the same sentiments as Christ.

- Lk 4:1-21 [18]: This is the mission of the Father for us Piarists.

- 1 Sam 15:22: Obedience is worth more than all burnt offerings.

On those words of the profession: And according to obedience, peculiar care about the teaching of children [CC 31], it is declared to be an essential vow [Cu 677].

We are aware that God acts through the humanity of the Lord and through other human beings (as Fr. Baena says). Calasanz tells us: Whoever believes that a burden beyond his strength has been imposed on him, do not refuse it if difficulties are evident; carry it with simplicity and trust in the Lord: the strength of the Lord is realized in weakness [2Cor 12:9]. But if the Superior does not know of your weakness or ineptitude, let him know simply, calmly, plainly and simply, the difficulties you encounter for this mission; do not insist any longer and wait humbly for his decision [CC 104]. They adopt an attitude pleasing to God, allowing themselves to be led and guided by his Providence through their Superiors; like the little donkey that Christ rode on Palm Sunday [Jn 12:4], who allowed himself to be led and guided everywhere [CC 108]. There is a great difference in the government of a house if one knows how to give the offices according to the talents of each one [EP 2883]. Wis 8:1: God governs the whole universe in an excellent way.

- Lk 10:16: He who listens to you listens to me.

- 2Cor 12:7-10 [9]: The strength of the Lord works in weakness. My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is realized in weakness.

- Rom 10:12: God makes no distinction of persons; he gives himself wholeheartedly.

- Lk 19:33-36: Letting himself be carried away by Jesus like the little donkey on Palm Sunday.

- Mt 16:13-15: Like Jesus, superiors must ask, “What do people say about me? Rom 13, 1: The authorities have been constituted by God.

- Lk 22, 24-27: Jesus tells us that he did not come to be served but to serve.

- Acts 1, 1: The service of authority is first to do and then to teach.

Obedience breaks our own judgment [Cu 627], our own will [Cu 1106] and the attachments of sensuality [CC 101] and makes us follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It makes us pilgrims [Cu 84], where it is most needed, to give what the Lord has given us. Obedience leaves us loving in a concrete situation. Every situation, whether adverse or prosperous, is a good opportunity to love.

We are good disciples of the school of the master who teaches us poverty and humility through his works, setting us free to give light to small and poor people and towns

Christ teaches us with works the supreme apostolic poverty

- Mt 18:21: Sell what you have and give to the poor and then follow me.

- Mt 10:1-10: Freely you have received; give it freely.

- Mt 6:25-34 [26.32]: We can trust in Providence.

- 2Co 3, 4-18 [4]: Our ability comes from God.

- 2Cor 5, 20 and 6, 1-2 [1]: We are ambassadors and cooperators of Christ.

- The Lord wants his ministers in the apostolic style, as true apostles or ambassadors of his and in this true confidence consists later the fruit of the labors done for love of him [EP 1301].

- Acts 20:35: There is greater joy in giving than in receiving. God loves him who gives joyfully.

- 1Tim 6:7: We seek only food and clothing, having in the rest an apostolic life.

- Mt 25:40: Whatever you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.

- 2Cor 4:5-16 [16]: He speaks to us of what the experience of the person who gives himself to others is like. So that on this occasion each one should show the affection and love he has for his neighbor in order to show the inner love he has for God [EP 4495].

If we take away the utmost apostolic poverty... we deprive the poor cities and towns of the possibility of benefiting from our ministry by not having the means to support teachers who demand economic income and comforts [Memorial to Cardinal Giulio Roma].

The supreme apostolic poverty invites us to share

If by chance in any city or community someone wants to make us a legacy, let the community itself or the magistrate administer this legacy by giving us only the little that will be necessary for food and clothing and distributing the rest in other places or for pious works... In this way any suspicion that we seek temporal goods will disappear and, in truth, whoever is not content with the necessary things will never be content with the superfluous, because man’s greed is insatiable [EP 1488].

- Mt 6:24: We cannot serve two masters.

- 1Tim 6:10: Greediness is insatiable.

Christ teaches us humility by his works

As Christ became a teacher of humility, wanting we could learn from him, so you must see to it that these young people learn this virtue, having Christ as their teacher and you as their assistant. I will ask the Lord to give you much spirit to teach it and to those young people a big love to learn it [EP 3888].

- Phil 2:1-8: God humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on the Cross.

- Mt 11:28-30 [30]: Learn from me that I am meek and humble of heart.

- Jn 10:7-10 [7]: Humility enables us to enter through the door which is Christ.

- Mt 11:25-27 [25]: God reveals himself to the little ones, to the humble.

- Mt 23, 11-12: He who humbles himself will be exalted.

- Jas 4, 6: God gives his grace to the humble.

- Sir 25, 2: My soul hates the haughty.

So many troubles and disturbances as I am signified by your last letter do not proceed from humility, which if you had it, you would know that the shortest and easiest way to be exalted to our own knowledge and from it to the attributes of mercy, prudence and infinite patience and goodness of God, is in lowering oneself to give light to children, in particular to those who are destitute of all [EP 1236].

We are good disciples of the school of the Master when we remain united to Him, with the desire to please Him alone

The gift of chastity is born of gathering the interior powers to be attentive to the conversations of the interior man who is the true Presence of the Lord from where the capacity to love is born as from a fountain. In our Congregation [they will follow] all the modesty of Christ: in the way they look, especially in their gait, in their composure, in their conversation and even in the way they speak [CC 165].

Try, therefore, to rid yourself of all disordered affection for family and friends and make it spiritual. Love them with a well-ordered love, and keep yourself united to Christ the Lord, [1 Cor 6:15-20], desiring to live for him only and to please only him [CC 34].

- Gen 12:1: Chastity leads us to the land that the Lord will show us.

- Ps 44:11-12: Behold the beauty that God creates in you.

- Jn 15:1-11 [4]: Abide in me, as I abide in you.

The faithful religious who desires to obtain from our Institute the most seasoned fruit, consider addressed to him the exhortation of the Prophet: Hear, O daughter, look, give ear, forget your people and your father’s house: the Lord is enraptured by your beauty [CC 33].

Love with well-ordered love every person, relatives, friends, brothers and sisters in the Lord, and small and poor people and towns

- Mt 10, 37-39 [38]: He who loses his life for my sake will find it. [Jn 12:20-26 [25].

- 1Cor 13:4-8 [4.5.6.7]: Charity is patient to see goodness.

- Rom 5, 3-5 [3]: God’s love has been poured into our hearts with the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

- 1Jn 3, 18: Let us love with deeds and truth.

- Mt 5, 39-42 and 45-46: We can love enemies and to not resist evil but to overcome evil with good; we can put love where there is no love.

- Rom 8:31-39 [31]: Nothing and no one can separate us from the love of God manifested in Christ Jesus our Lord.

- Mt 22, 37-39: God is in me loving you.

- 1Jn 4, 18-21 [18.21]: Inward love for God is manifested in love for our brother.

- Jn 15:12: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

- Mt 14:14: He saw so many people that he felt compassion.

- 1Jn 4:7-16: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

- Mt 19:14: Let the little children come to me.

Love is patient to see goodness, it is compassionate and merciful with paternal affection to remedy faults and imperfections, and love is humble. God himself gives us his love so that we can give it as it is given to us. God is in me, loving you. Being Love in you. God dwells in every human being and does not come alone, he comes with all the people where he is, and he comes loving them with a gratuitous and unconditional Love. When God lets himself be seen, we see him looking at the needy. When Jesus looks at the Father, he sees that the Father looks with Love at every human being, especially the most excluded by men.

Humility makes men very apt to know the truth and to love the true good. [EP 4532]. Through humility we learn to know what to do in all actions [EP 1325].

To divest oneself of disordered affections towards all persons, relatives, friends, brothers in the Lord, small and poor persons and towns

I do not remember where I read the following phrase: In the measure in which love diminishes, the need for everything that is not love increases.

- Mt 10, 34-36: The enemies of each one can be those of his own house. Ps 55:22-23: How are the words of relatives on some occasions?

- Lk 9:62: No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. Lk 14:25- 33: To be a disciple of mine....

Solemn Profession

Whoever seeks to crown the summit of perfect charity, the girdle of consummate unity, [Col 3:14] will not find a more upright and righteous path than the faithful practice of virtues, which by force of the vow, the religious, who have renounced this world, are determined to profess and desire to be united to the Lord. Thus, it will happen that after leaving everything for love of him, they will follow him in haste, body and soul, in living genuine chastity, poverty and obedience [CC 95]. If he knows how to prepare himself to receive the Holy Spirit, the act of profession will be for him like a new baptism [EP 1360].

- Rom 6:1-11 [11]: Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

- Ps 115:18-19: I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all the people.

Calasanz prays for us: I have asked the Lord to make you a great servant of his and [follower] in the interior, first of all of his most holy will, where you will discover the mysteries hidden from the wise and prudent of the age and reserved for the humble [Mt 11:25]. [Cu 736].

Pope Francis in the apostolic exhortation after the Synod of Youth

Christ, our hope, lives and He is the most beautiful youth of this world. Everything he touches becomes young, becomes new, is filled with life. So, the first words I want to address to each of the young Christians are: He is alive and wants you alive!

He is in you, He is with you, and never leaves. No matter how far away you go, there is the Risen One calling you and waiting for you to begin again. When you are feeling old because of the sadness, grudges, fears, doubts and failures. He is there to give you back strength and hope.

To all young Christians I write with affection this Apostolic Exhortation, that is, a letter that recalls some convictions of our faith and at the same time encourages to grow in holiness and in commitment to our own vocation.

Ejercicio 7

We are good disciples in the School of the Teacher who, crucified, loves us and makes us to live the mission by means of, where there is no love, give love; this is the good life

The most exquisite care should be taken, therefore, never to break the custom of praying interiorly twice a day: one hour at dawn and half an hour at sunset, before supper. In profound silence and quietness of body and spirit, kneeling or in some other suitable posture, we will strive, after the example of St. Paul, to contemplate and [follow] Christ crucified and the various steps of his life. He will be our frequent reminder during the day [CC 44].

- Rom 5:3-5: Jesus crucified makes visible the power of the Spirit, who is Love.

- 1Cor 2:1-4: The power of the Spirit is Jesus Christ crucified.

- 2Cor 12:9-10 [10]: His grace is sufficient for us, his love, that is strength in weakness.

- 1Cor 1, 18: The preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved, to us, it is the power of God.

- Rom 12:14-21 [21]: He invites us to choose to bless the enemy.

- Mt 5, 43-45 [43]: The wisdom of the Crucified One is to love the enemy.

- Ps 41, 9: God himself accompanies us in misfortune.

- Mt 10, 22-25: The disciple is not above the Master.

- Titus, 2, 7-8 [8]: Let the adversary have nothing bad to say about us.

- 2Cor 1, 3-7: What God does in tribulation is to console us in order to be able to console. Calasanz tells us: The Cross has within itself so many internal goods and consolations that surpass all the earthly ones [EP 257].

- 2Cor 4:10-12: We always bear the death of Jesus.

- Mt 5:11-12: We are right when we are persecuted.

- Jas 1:2-4: Consider it a great joy to suffer various trials.

- Mt 11:12: It is difficult at the beginning to follow Jesus crucified

- Acts 14:22: We must go through many tribulations to enter the Kingdom of God.

- 1Pet 2:20-25 [20]: Do good and suffer evil, that is good life.

- Lk 9:23-26 [23]: The Lord’s invitation is clear: If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

In the service of God, it is fitting to bear all things patiently and to return good for evil with all charity and meekness, so that the neighbor may be edified. Let them try to give good example to their neighbor all together and show that they did not go to Nursia except for the good of their children. Thus, you will overcome all slander [EP 80].

We are good disciples of the school of the Master who teaches us to be good shepherds

Seeing to it that the teachers take care of their children as shepherds [Declaration on the Constitutions 1637]. The hireling runs away, because a hireling does not care about the sheep; so, the boys learn vice rather than virtue [MT 23]. The Piarist educator lowers himself to give light to the children, especially to those who are the most helpless of all [EP 1236]. It is very dear to me that you attend to the study of cases in which young people often fall into, for this is our principal institute [EP 557]. We move among towns and people, preferably small and poor and in great need of educational assistance [MT 26].

- Jn 10:7-18 [7.8]: He describes to us how the good shepherd knows his sheep and lays down his life for them.

- Lk 15:4-7 [7]: We must look for the lost sheep. Calasanz tells us: Ministry in truth the more to be thankful also for God, much more than the conversion of a sinner, although this gives joy in heaven; because in the school not only do many repent of many offenses against God, but many others are daily preserved in baptismal innocence [MT 15].

- Mt 18:1-10 [3.5.10]: The greatest is the least. Calasanz tells us: Since we profess ourselves to be truly poor of the Mother of God, under no circumstances will we despise poor children [CC 4] and always, in all circumstances and with characteristic zeal the poor will be helped, even if they are ragged [Commentary on n. 4 of the Constitutions].

- Mt 18:3: If you do not become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. To be simple is to stop looking at the multiplicity of greedy desires and to look at God [EP 912].

What you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me

- 1Cor 12:24-25: The poorest members must be cared for.

- Mt 25:40: What you did it to one, you did it to me. God considers as done to him whatever is done for love of his poor.

Let them be there in a spirit of effort, to serve the Lord in his members who are the poor. So that we may hear in due time: as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me [Cu 1445]. As for receiving poor students, you work in a holy way by admitting those who come to you. For it was for them that our Institute was founded. And what is done for them is done for Christ. The same is not said of the rich [EP 2882]. What is done for a poor child is received by Christ in his own person [EP 2441].

Exercise 8

We are the body of the Lord

Calasanz writes to us: I hear that you always observe the common life. This is a sign that true charity exists there and, consequently, that God is present [EP 2960]. The brothers are as necessary in our religion as the clerics and priests, because they all form one body. And one should not say to the other: I do not need your help. But in holy peace, let each one work according to his aptitude for the pure love of God [EP 3990].

The first thing in the body of the Lord is the action of the Holy Spirit in people and the Piarist charism

The first thing in the Community is the One who is Community, the one who makes community with every human being, the one who gives us the Piarist charism. On one point we want to warn the Master strongly: that he discovers in each novice the internal inclination or, what is the same, the guidance of the Holy Spirit who teaches the humble to pray with ineffable groanings; by this way he will strive to bring each one to the summit of perfection [CC 23].

In common life, the Holy Spirit is allowed to speak: I am sure that the Holy Spirit will always show his will through someone. Therefore, when you have come together, let each one of you decide the work to be done, according to his own aptitude. And then, with this union, let them all attend first to the profit of their own souls and then to the service of religion and of the poor students. I will rejoice exceedingly over all your good [EP 3198].

- 1 Cor 12:1-28 [21]: The Spirit creates unity and diversity, all of us being the Body of the Lord. Calasanz writes to us: Let all of you be there with a spirit of effort, to serve the Lord in his members, who are the poor, so that we may hear in due time: As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me [Cf. 1445].

- Prov 11:14: Abundance of counselors brings salvation.

- Rom 12:1-16: The common life is permeated with humility and charity.

- Jn 17:20-21: Love is born of feeling gratuitously included in one another.

- Gal 5:5-6: Faith is seen to act through charity.

- 1Cor 13:1-13 [4.5.7]: Love is patient, it does not seek his own, but he responds to the bodily and spiritual needs of others and respects their freedom.

- 1Pet 4:10: Let each one use willingly the grace he has received.

- 2Thess 3:10: He who does not work, let him not eat.

- 2Cor 3:11: Rejoice, be of good cheer, be of one mind, live in peace, the God of love is in you.

- Phil 2:1-11: Have among yourselves the same feelings of Christ.

- Ps 113:5,6: God being in heaven stoops down to look upon the lowly.

- Mt 18:19-20 [20]: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

- Rom 15:1-3 [1]: He invites us to help one another.

- Jas 5:13-16: Care for the sick that God may heal and raise them up.

- Eph 4:1-7 [1]: To live according to the vocation with which we have been called.

Fraternal dialogue: communion and participation

When you see some fault, you should admonish with fraternal love, so that the one who admonishes may produce fruit in his neighbor [EP 1449].

- Col 3, 5-17 [13]: Calasanz writes to us: Let us seek to put into execution the advice of St. Paul, that is, to bear with the imperfections of the other and thus live in holy peace. I would like to give it to you more by deeds than by words [EP 2036]. With the Spirit of God, he endured all insults [EP 2362]. Holy simplicity is very dear to the Lord, and with the truly simple he is accustomed to deal at ease... Try to close your eyes to the imperfections of others, considering yourself only in the presence of God, so that the faults of the brethren will not cause you discomfort. Moreover, you should pray frequently to the Lord for them [EP 862]. To bear with is to help him to unburden himself of his imperfections little by little [EP 408].

- Mt 18:15-17 [15]: Fraternal dialogue has its steps.

- Mt 7, 1-5 [2]: Judge not, that you be not judged.

- Acts 4:32-34: We are already one; therefore, we come together and share.

- Jn 17:11-26 [11]: As you, Father, are in me and I in you, may they also be one in us. Calasanz tells us: I recommend peace and union among yourselves as Christ recommended it to the Apostles [EP 1958].

- Num 22, 22-35: Listen to the Word of God in every person. That is the content of Balaam’s donkey.

When tensions and conflicts arise in community life, we must ask ourselves what is behind them in order to solve them peacefully: Are people positioned according to their talents? Are fundamental needs satisfied, as far as possible? Does the person need to be understood in his passionate impulses in order to help him? Does the community treat each other kindly in daily life? Do we experience the unity that the Lord has given us?

We are a missionary community

For Calasanz the community is at the service of poor students in any part of the world. We grow little by little like natural plants and however small and weak a plant may be, if it happens that an experienced gardener takes care of it and upkeeps it, in a short time it will grow, bloom and bear fruit. Your Eminence see how small and weak is the nascent plant of this work of God; I beg you to deign never to neglect its care, for perhaps sometime you will taste its ripe and sweet fruit [EP 2049]. This same image, of tender plants that are easy to straighten, is used for the children. The community is at the service of the mission. We are pilgrims.

- Mt 10:23: If they persecute you in one town, flee to another.

Discern the body of the Lord. We carry an embassy to the eternal Father when we celebrate the Eucharist

- 1Cor 11:17-28: The Lord’s Supper.

- 1Cor 10:16: To understand what we say in the Eucharist.

Exercise 9

We are men of prayer

We are men of prayer, men of spirit, friends of prayer, when we cultivate it continually. Calasanz tells us that the most important thing is to meditate on how good the Lord is, to praise and bless him and joyfully conform to his most holy will [EP 1468].

The Holy Spirit who dwells in the heart of every human being is praying with ineffable groans

The Holy Spirit teaches the humble to pray with ineffable groans [CC23]. To be humble is to lower to know oneself. In this process of self-knowledge God is beatifying man. God makes himself known as Love. It is there where we can identify the conversations of the interior that is the true Presence of the Lord from where works are born to make God visible by being useful to the small and poor neighbor.

- Ezek 36:25-28: I will give you a heart of flesh. I will infuse you with my Spirit.

- Rom 8:26: The Spirit prays in us with ineffable groanings.

- 1Jn 2:27: The Spirit teaches us all things.

- Phil 2:13: God works in you to will and to act.

- Jn 15:4-5 [4]: Prayer is born of remaining connected to the Lord.

- Jn 3:3-8 [8]: He tells us that we are born as human beings from that voice of God which is the voice of the Spirit.

- Mt 20, 1-16 [8]: The work is to be done divested of ourselves.

- 1Cor 2, 1-5 [2.4]: Contemplate Jesus Christ crucified.

- 2Cor 1:3-7 [1]: The Lord comforts us in tribulation so that we may comfort those who are in tribulation.

Learning to connect with the heart

Keeping the inner powers recollected and attentive to the voice of the Spirit that knocks at the door of our heart, as one who wishes to enter, through:

- A gentle invitation: The voice of God is a gentle breeze [1Kings 19:9-12] and delicate; who is not attentive cannot hear it [Quote from Fr. Severino Giner]

- Evidence to act: I have found in Rome the best way to serve...

- A word that God says to the heart: A single word that God says interiorly

- Particular graces or feelings [EP 1817]. Interior consolations [CL 1662].

It is about reading what the creative action of God says in order to open the door of our heart to him, because he is teaching you to identify:

- Your way of seeing reality: Most people are poor [CC 148]

- Your identity: your qualities and aptitudes [EP 2559] at the service of the Piarist charism

- Our common life [EP 2960]: United by the bond of fraternal love [CC 171].

- Your Piarist vocation: They will consecrate themselves more effectively to the service of God and the usefulness of their neighbor [CC 171].

- The relationship with God the Father, the relationship with the blessed Christ, Master and Lord, with the Holy Spirit, the Eucharist, the relationship with Mary, Calasanz, and the saints of your devotion, such as Saint Teresa, Saint Francis, Saint Augustine, Saint John of the Cross, Saint Bernard and the Holy Fathers. In addition, he is teaching us: Love, Truth, Justice, Justice, Sharing, Admiration, Compassion and Mercy.

- Mt 6:6-8 [6]: The Heart is the sanctuary where prayer happens.

- Lk 11:5-10 [5]: We can always knock at the Father’s door because he always opens the door to give us what we can give to others.

- Rev 3:19-20 [19]: It is the Lord who knocks at the door of our heart as one who desires to enter. And Psalm 119:11 adds: I keep your words in my heart.

Graziani and Calasanz invite us to pray keeping in mind the matter or points of meditation: But it will be more useful if we try to move our will effectively to embrace in practice the affections that are necessary, leaving aside the speculations that are not relevant to prayer. The affections toward which we should direct our will are: love, admiration, contrition, gratitude, compassion, joy, hope, conformity to the will of God and the [following] of Christ. The good of prayer consists in exercising these affections in the proper way, and not in simply contemplating the mystery or speculating scientifically about it. We must try to find motives for it in what we meditate, according to what the Holy Spirit dictates to us [Common Rites of the Order. Approved by Calasanz in 1628].

Contemplatives in action. The unity of interior and exterior life

From the Holy Spirit that dwells in our heart, prayer and the Piarist mission are born. It is necessary to discern to what the Spirit impels us and to realize that we cannot live what he tells us if we do not remain attentive to the intimate place of the heart from where we receive how to pray or how to do the suggestions of the Spirit. In the examination of conscience, we can discern where our prayer or our apostolic action comes from in order to make ourselves available to the action of the Holy Spirit.

Calasanz writes: Let him do as the holy David advises: The Lord gives his grace by day and his song by night. The day should be spent in works of mercy and the night in giving thanks and preparing for the following day [EP 1544], so that Martha and Mary may be together [Cu 694].

St. Teresa tells us: I understand here that his Divine Majesty asks us to do great works in the service of our Lord and of our neighbor, and for this reason he enjoys losing that delight and contentment; that although it is a life more active than contemplative, and it seems he will lose if he grants this request, when the soul is in this state, Martha and Mary never cease to work together because in the active the interior works, and when the active works come from this root they are admirable... because they proceed from this tree of love of God and for Him alone [Mansions c.7,3].

- Ps 41:9: Both prayer and action are born of the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

- Rom 8:31-38 [31]: No one can separate us from the love of God.

- Ps 65:18-20: The Father always hears our prayer.

- Ps 89:2: Eternally sing the mercies of the Lord.

Conclusion: Remain united to his Divine Majesty in all his actions [Fr. Berro].

We become aware of the inner event of prayer:

- If we work on our affections: The Spirit of God is so delicate that it can only be perceived by those who are very attentive and whose soul is very well purified and detached from all the things of the world and also from themselves [Annotations of Fr. Berro].

- If we are simple: Whoever achieves this practice of knowing how to keep himself like a two-year-old child, who falls many times without help, will always distrust himself and will always invoke the help of God. And this means that sentence so little understood and much less practiced: Unless you become as little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven [Mt 18:1-4]. Learn this practice and try to reach this great simplicity, and then you will find true that sentence that says: His intimacy is with the simple [Prov 3:32]. [EP 912].

- If we are humble: I will pray the Lord to give you in particular the true light to know the truth of the invisible things that God has prepared for those who [follow him] in his most holy passion, for through it you will come to the knowledge and love of those things. God usually gives this grace to the humble, as the prophet says: he gives knowledge to the little ones [Ps 118:130], and the more you lower yourself in your knowledge, the more God will exalt you in the knowledge of the invisible and eternal things. May the Lord grant us perfect conformity to the will of God. [EP 4392].

- If we practice silence: If you want the Holy Spirit to dwell among us, forbid the gossiping meetings and introduce silence [James 1:26].

- If we grow in the Love of the small and poor neighbor: It is true that saying that I do not remember whose saint it is, although it seems to me to be St. Augustine’s: he who prays works well, but he who helps his neighbor works better. I myself, old as I am, often go to lend a hand in the schools [EP 1274].

- If we persevere in prayer with determination [Mt 10:22 and Lk 11:5-8] [EP 4427].

In conclusion, Calasanz recommends to us: I exhort you, as much as I know and as much as I can, not to lose your interior peace because of any event, no matter how serious it may be. Rather, try always to keep your heart calm and united to God, having recourse to prayer when he is most troubled. The Lord often calms the tempest of the sea [Mt 14:24-23]. [EP 896].

Note: I only want to remind you of one thing. You have to descend with your mind to the heart, to remain there before the face of the Lord who, because he is always present, sees everything within you. Prayer will have a firm and secure hold when a little fire [of love] begins to burn in the heart. Try not to extinguish this fire and it will consolidate in such a way that prayer will repeat itself; and then you will have within you a whispering stream. [Saint of the Russian Orthodox tradition: Theophanes the Recluse].

Exercise 10

We are piarist priests

The Piarist priesthood is a free gift of the Lord that must be lived with humility. Calasanz is clear that: Christian perfection does not consist in being a priest or a brother, but in loving God and neighbor [Mt 22, 34-40] [EP 1385]. When the priestly vocation appeared among the cleric brothers, Calasanz reacted in the following way: Given that among the cleric brothers, by the grace of God, there are some who are apt and suitable to receive holy orders, so that it does not seem that we reject divine grace by hiding the talents of the Lord on earth and depriving our religion of this increase of priests of whom it has so much need... the faculty is given to Father General to promote them at the proper time if he finds them apt. [Giner].

Humility is the foundation of the Piarist priesthood: He abases himself to love from the cross.

- We lower to know ourselves [EP 1339]

- We lower to discover the guidance of the Spirit in every human being [CC 23]

- We lower to perform humble services [Cu 449] Mt 11:12: The Kingdom suffers violence

- We lower to serve the community [EP 3990]

- We lower to give light to the little ones [EP 1236]

The Piarist priest occupies the place of the Lord being:

- Head of the Body.

- Ephesians 1, 10 and 5, 21-32: The Lord is head of the body that gives itself.

- Colossians 1, 15-20 [18] and 2,19: It speaks of the Lord as image of the invisible God and of remaining united to the Head that gives life to the Body.

- Shepherd of the Lord’s flock.

- Jn 10, 9-18 [7.9.11.12.14]: He describes to us how the Lord is the door and the Shepherd of the community.

- 1Pet 5, 1-3 [2.3]: Let the service of authority be according to God

- Charity that does not seek its own.

- 1Cor 13:4-7 [4.5]: Charity is patient to see the goodness that God gives.

- Mt 5, 45: We are beloved children of our heavenly Father, who makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

- 2Cor 4, 5-6 [6]: We do not preach ourselves

- Minister with the apostolic style.

- 2Cor 5, 20-21 [20]: We are ambassadors for Christ.

- 1Cor 9:22-23: I have made myself the slave of all to save as many as I can

- Humble service of authority.

- Mt 20:25-28 [28]: The Lord came not to be served but to serve.

- Mt 23, 1-12 [11]: The greatest among you is your servant.

The principal mission of the Piarist priesthood

- To love with a father’s love and a mother’s heart [EP 679]. 1Thess 2:7-8

- To prevent and cure evil [MT 9]. Mt 12:35-37

- Teach Christian piety and human sciences, letters and the spirit, the light of God and of the world, good morals and virtues, and the holy fear of God

- Celebrate the Eucharist by dealing familiarly with the Most Holy Trinity [Cu 441]

- Be a cooperator of the Truth [CC 3]. 3Jn 8

- Creator of confraternities, [Ausenda], creator of community of communities.

We need subjects chosen by God [Jn 15:16-17] to reform the youth in those regions, which is an apostolic office. I marvel that he has become, not to say negligent, so avaricious of his talent [Mt 25:14-30] which does not consist in celebrating Mass, but in teaching the pupils the letters and the holy fear of God [Prov 9:10] [EP 3098]. EP 3098].

The Piarist priest harmonizes humility and life according to the Spirit with the study and methodology of letters and the human sciences

To be a priest, it is not enough to be twenty-five years old, but also to have the necessary knowledge. And, what is most important, great humility to know how to exercise such a high and tremendous ministry [Cu 433]. Let the Superior see to it that these students do not slack off after their ordinary recreation, nor slacken in their assiduity in prayer or in humility: let them harmonize study with the ardor of piety so that both may render reciprocal service to each other [CC 210]. May the Lord, through his infinite compassion and mercy, always give us his holy grace to always do good for the greater glory of himself and the greater good of our neighbor [EP 1759]. And since so many of them do evil, let us resolve to do good. And if they steal life and goods, let us give life and spiritual goods to the young [EP 1723]. I ask the Lord for all of us together a great desire to work with our neighbor through our ministry [Cu 224].

Speak familiarly with the Trinity in the Eucharist

- 1 Cor 11:28: Discern the Body of the Lord.

- 1 Cor 10:16: Understand what we say in the Eucharist.

Consider before beginning Mass, which carries an embassy to the eternal Father on behalf of the whole Church [Cu 457]. Every morning we speak familiarly with the Trinity in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass from which we must go forth with great zeal in the service of God. [Cu 445]

Note: Vatican II says in the Decree “Presbyterorum Ordinis” n. 6 that the priest, as an educator in the faith, seeks to ensure that every faithful is led, in the Holy Spirit, to cultivate his own vocation.

Therefore, as educators in the faith, it is the task of priests, whether by themselves or through others, to see to it that each faithful is led, in the Holy Spirit, to cultivate his own vocation in conformity with the Gospel, to a sincere and active charity, and to the freedom with which Christ set us free. Ceremonies, however beautiful they may be, and associations, however flourishing, will be of little use if they are not ordered to educate people to Christian maturity. To promote this, priests will be of help to them, so that, in the events themselves, great or small, they may see clearly what reality demands and what is the will of God. In the same way, the faithful should be well instructed not to live only for themselves, but, in accordance with the demands of the new law of charity, let each one who has received grace administer it in favor of his neighbor, and thus let all fulfill their duties in the community of men in a Christian manner.

And, the same decree “Presbyterorum Ordinis” in n. 8, emphasizes that the presbyter is a cooperator with the truth.

All priests are sent to cooperate in the same work, whether they exercise parochial or supra-parochial ministry, whether they devote themselves to research or teaching, whether they work with their hands, sharing the fate of the poor wherever, with the approval of the competent authority, it seems appropriate; or, finally, they carry out other apostolic works or works ordered to the apostolate. They all conspire, certainly, to the same end, the edification of the Body of Christ, which, in our days, especially, requires multiple organisms and new accommodations. Hence it is of great importance that all priests, whether diocesan or religious, help one another, so that they may always be cooperators with the truth.

St. Paul VI tells us in Evangelii Nuntiandi n. 75: The techniques of evangelization are good, but not even the most perfect ones can replace the action of the Spirit. Not even the most refined preparation of the Apostle is capable of doing anything without the Spirit. Without the Spirit, the most convincing dialectic is powerless to move people.

Exercise 11

We are poor of the mother of God

When we receive and help in every circumstance the poor children as Mary welcomed the poor Jesus. When with our patience and charity we discover the good inclinations of children. When we treat children under 10 years of age with maternal affection because what we do to the little ones we do to the Lord.

And, since we profess ourselves authentic Poor of the Mother of God, under no circumstances will we despise poor children; but with tenacious patience and charity let us strive to adorn them with every virtue, stimulated principally by that Word of the Lord: What you did for one of the least of these my brethren, you did for me [CC4]. And always and in all circumstances and with characteristic zeal, the poor will be helped, even if they are ragged [Declarations on our Constitutions and Rules]. We declare that the teachers will treat with all affection the pupils of ten years of age and under, who learn only syllabication and reading. And as teaching these children at such a tender age involves greater familiarity, the conscience of the teachers is taxed on this point. The Superior will always place in these classes priests and teachers who are mature in age.

It is necessary to experience what it means to be Poor of the Mother of God [EP 1272].

- Mt 25, 40: Lo que hicisteis a uno de los más pequeños me lo hicisteis a mí.

Mary is the work of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

Work of the Father: Mary is Daughter, Mother, sinless, wife of St. Joseph. Work of the Son: The Son chose her as Mother; the Son became man, was nourished by her in his infancy, wanted to be educated by her in his childhood and revealed to her the mysteries of salvation. Work of the Holy Spirit: He chose her as his bride, revealed to her his name of Holy Spirit, was at once virgin and mother, made her a living temple of the Holy Trinity, and exalted her in heaven above all creatures [Crown of the 12 stars].

- Rev 12:1: A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.

The Pious School and the Charism were founded under the protection of the Mother of God

Calasanz Charism relies throughout his life on the help of the Blessed Virgin. We can ask her in all confidence: It is necessary that we have recourse to the help of God and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, under whose protection the work was founded [EP 4417]. I entrust and will always entrust myself to the Most Holy Crucifix and to the Blessed Virgin, his Mother, so that they may deign to protect this their religion [Cu 116]. Warn that we are Poor of the Mother of God and not of men. And so, let insistence be with our Mother, and not with men, for she never bothers with our importunities, and men do [Cu 105].

Father Camillo Scassellati, third General of the Order declared in the Informative Process that Calasanz, two or three days before his death, was visited by Our Lady of Monti: Father Joseph, with a clear voice and in confidence, said to Father Francis, perhaps without noticing that I was sitting next to the tavolino: Yes, I must have confidence, because the Blessed Virgin has promised me her help. Father Francis asked him again and Father Joseph said in a perfectly clear voice: I must have confidence because the Blessed Virgin of Monti has promised me her help. [Cited by Miguel Angel Asiain].

- Mt 1, 14, 25. Mt 2, 1-23 and Lk 1, 26-56. Lk 2, 1-52: All the infancy texts of Matthew and Luke are Calasanzian.

- Lk 1:38: He tells us that the education Mary gave to her Son Jesus was to do the will of God the Father.

- Lk 8:19-21: My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.

- Jn 14:23-26: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

- Jn 19:25-27 [27]: Mary received us as children at the moment of the Cross. His Most Holy Mother, the Most Pure Virgin, who certainly accepted us as sons at the foot of the Cross [Cu 84].

Conclusion

Each one of us is the work of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, first we are disciples to discover how the Trinity is creating us and what mission it gives us. We must take each child and young person where the Spirit leads him or her. We are poor of the Mother of God and we receive the little ones as Mary receives her Son. Finally, Calasanz invites us to pray the Rosary, the Crown of the 12 stars and “We fly to your patronage”.

To conclude, I would like to write down all the texts of our Constitutions about Mary.

Chapter I. The Calasanzian Mission: And since we profess to be truly poor of the Mother of God, in no circumstance we will despise poor children, but with tenacious patience and charity we strive to enrich them with all their qualities, encouraged especially by the Word of the Lord: What you did for one of the least of these my brethren, you did for me [C 7].

The Pious Schools, supported by the protection of the Virgin Mary, Mother and Educator of Christ, having passed the test over the centuries, attentive to the needs and aspirations of mankind, feel themselves sent by the Church even in our times, and try to build a more just and fraternal world [C 11].

Chapter II. Our following of Christ: The Virgin Mary, associated with her Son in total communion of love, faithful companion of his Passion, first sharer in his Resurrection, precedes us with her light in the following of Christ. Through her presence and intercession, we will be able to show in ourselves the image of the Son, and our students will learn to model in themselves the one whom she begot and educated [C 23].

Chapter III. Our community life: Gathered together in a community of faith by the love that the Father has given us and by our Calasanzian vocation, and imitating the way of life of Christ with his disciples and of the early Church with Mary, we are in a certain way ministers of the hope of the future Kingdom and of fraternal union among men [C 25].

Chapter IV. Community of prayer: Familiar and assiduous dealings with Sacred Scripture will introduce us to an intimate knowledge of God and his plan of salvation. Like the Virgin Mary, who, keeping and meditating faithfully and constantly on the Word of God in her heart, entered into the mystery of Christ and proclaimed with fullness the greatness of the Father [C 42].

We feel with the Church as we celebrate with faith and devotion the Mysteries of Christ throughout the liturgical cycle. With childlike love we accompany the Virgin Mary in her participation in the Mystery of Christ. For this we use, among other means, the prayers already consecrated by our Piarist tradition. We cultivate in ourselves and encourage among our students devotion to our Holy Father [C 49].

Chapter V. Consecrated Chastity: Chastity for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven is an eminent gift of the Father’s love, which we receive in the Church. By it we follow Christ with undivided love and imitate the Virgin Mary, and thus we unite ourselves more closely to God and love all men with singular charity [C 53].

Familiar communication with God is nourished by Sacred Scripture, prayer and the Sacraments; and in such a way it transforms the heart that it makes our dedication to God and to men more generous every day. Our filial devotion to the Virgin Mary and her repeatedly implored protection increase our strength to vigorously imitate her example of fidelity [C 59].

Chapter VI. Our Poverty: Among the poor and humble, the Lord Jesus chose the Virgin Mary as his Mother, who surpassed all in poverty and humility. And St. Joseph Calasanz, who learned humility and other virtues by experiencing venerable poverty, wanted us to be authentic Poor of the Mother of God [C 65]. Our manner of dress must always be consistent with our vocation as Poor of the Mother of God [C 69].

Chapter VII. Consecrated Obedience: Following this way of life and always ready to serve the Kingdom, we live our obedience with living faith as a witness before the world to the mystery of the Cross and Resurrection. And taking as our example the Virgin Mary, the handmaid of the Lord, a marvelous model of fidelity, we fulfill the Father’s plan with a prompt and joyful spirit [C 89].

Chapter VIII. Our Ministry in the Church. There is no number of Mary. There are two numbers in Chapter I: The Calasanzian Mission.

Chapter IX. Formation of the religious: This profession and vows, under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and of our Holy Father, Joseph of Calasanz, I consider them firm, secure and valid, and I want them to be so forever [C 119].

All Mary’s behavior is born of docility to the action of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in her. Her richness is Trinitarian: All God serving her, doing her good, makes her the visitor of every human being as he did with her cousin St. Elizabeth.

Mary cooperated in the education of her son starting from her own experience at the Annunciation, when she said: Let it be done to me according to your Word. Jesus lives from the same experience, when he says: My only food is to do the will of my Father.

Calasanz with his formative intuitions intends that the Piarist being wise in the inner school, disciple of the school of the Master and creator of a new school through the exercise of the Pious Schools, be docile to the work of the Father, the Son and the Spirit as Mary, Mother of God.

You will prove to be truly poor of the Mother of God, if you has no attachment to anything other than the glory of God and the usefulness of your neighbor [Cu 1068].

May the Lord grant you on these Holy Feasts the spirit of holy humility to deal fruitfully and with spiritual consolation with the Blessed Virgin, with her Son and with St. Joseph around the manger [Year 1633].

Pope Francis tells us: Give a complete education. To come out of the heritage left to us by the Enlightenment, that to educate is to fill the head with concepts, and the more things we know, the better the education is, isn’t it?. To educate is to mature the person through the three languages: the language of ideas, the language of the heart and the language of the hands, and that there be harmony among the three; that is, that our students feel what they think, and do what they think and feel. To educate the harmony of the person is to educate the person. And, I would add - and this is key today - that youth must be educated in movement. It is also necessary to educate by rebuilding the educational pact that is broken: between the family, the teacher, the school and the young people and to help the recognition of the teacher who gives his life, paying him well.

The children have roots, but they do not assume them... Try to encourage dialogue between grandparents and grandchildren... When you educate yourself, as I have told you, you announce and transform.

Exercise 12

Our Piarist Ministry

Inspired by God, Calasanz, responds to a need of the Church and Society: to educate and evangelize small and poor people and towns according to their talents. I want to express in this chapter the fundamental of our Piarist ministry.

The purpose of our Piarist Mission

- We tend, in the Church of God and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to perfect Charity through our specific ministry [CC 1].

- 1Cor 13, 4-8 [4.5]: Charity is patient, it does not seek its own.

- We tend that the child be happy -learns to live- throughout his life. In this goal lies the social transformation [CC 2. CC 175. MT 5].

- Dan 12, 3: Calasanz repeats it several times in his letters: The teachers will shine like the brightness of the firmament; those who educated the people to be righteous will shine like the stars for all eternity.

- We intend that the whole person of the child be saved [MT 7].

- 2Pet 2:1-3 [3]: Reject, therefore, all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all kinds of evil speaking. As newborn babes, desire pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up to salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good.

- We educate for the glory of God and the usefulness of our neighbor, to make God visible by being useful to our neighbor [CC 335], to do everything for the love of God and the usefulness of our neighbor. Let us do whatever good we can do for the glory of the Lord, and not worry about being remunerated and well regarded and even slandered. That what we do, we do only for the glory of his divine majesty, who will judge us according to our works [Cu 11]. May the Lord, in his infinite mercy, give us his grace. That we may always work well for the greater glory of his own and the good of our neighbor.

- 1 Cor 1:31: As the Scripture says, Whoever boasts, let him glory in the Lord.

Educators who make possible the purpose of the exercise of the Pious Schools

Since this task we have before us is so important and requires persons endowed with the greatest charity, patience and other virtues, we will have to consider with great care who should be admitted or excluded from formation for our ministry [CC 6].

- Educators called with a particular vocation: Many workers are needed... with a great spirit... and called with a particular vocation... [Jn 15:16-17]. [MT 24].

- Mt 9, 35-38 [35.37]: This is the text for the pastoral ministry of vocations. We pray to the Lord because the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few.

- Lk 9, 46-50 [47]: Whoever receives this child in my name receives me.

- Educators called to be suitable cooperators with the Truth: In a humble attitude we should expect from Almighty God the necessary means to be effective cooperators of the Truth, for He has called us as laborers in this most fertile harvest [CC 3].

- Jn 14:5-7: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.

- 3Jn 3-8 [8]: Co-workers in the work of Truth.

- 2Cor 3.4.5.6, 1-10 [1]: We are cooperators with Christ.

- Wise educators in the interior school to be true spiritual fathers or mothers and to be able to teach the way of living spiritually to the students: The brother must teach with modesty and religious gravity to the students as a schoolmaster not only the letters but also the way of living spiritually [EP 1375]. For us, the young people who learn in our schools are more suitable, and we can see if they are of good or bad inclination, if they have good intelligence or not, and by educating them well, they will give good results [EP 2581].

The Church is convinced that the mysterious action of the Spirit is at work in each person. Therefore, the Catholic school, with its educational project and with the specific means at its disposal, offers itself also to non-Christians, ready to recognize, preserve and promote the spiritual and moral goods, as well as the socio-cultural values that characterize the various cultures [The Catholic school].

I remember that Calasanz received in Moravia children from Protestant families and many converted to our faith seeing that we have nothing more than food and clothing; he also received Jews telling them that he would never deal with them in particular about anything of our holy faith; and he organized groups of parents and students, just as he enrolled, when he arrived in Rome, in five confraternities [EP 2909. Annotazioni, Berro and Ausenda Giovanni]

- Educators called to reform the interior of children and young people: It takes subjects chosen by God [Jn 15:16-17] to reform the youth in these regions, which is an apostolic office [EP 2394]. It is necessary to be a man who is willing and reformed from within [EP 1367].

- Mt 10, 7-10: Proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is near and cure evil.

- 1Cor 9, 19-23 [22]: Being free from all, I have made myself servant of all

- Educators with an authentic progress in the educational virtues: Heaven is reached only by love [Cu 22]. Love facilitates the work, and even more so when our love for God is reflected in our neighbor through the good education of children, especially the poor [Cu 1220].

- A tender, cordial, kindly love: Schoolchildren must see in the Teacher, benignity, mercy and fatherly love [EP 893].

- Lk 6:36-38: Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.

- A patient and compassionate love: You need great patience to know how to make use of the talent you discover and also to know how to remedy faults and imperfections with paternal affection, exhorting them one by one [EP 3721]. Truly all patience and charity should be used with children, to guide them along the right path [Cu 1243].

- Lk 15:11-31: A compassionate and merciful love. All the miracles of Jesus are born of feeling compassion and showing mercy. In this way he cures evil

- A humble love that, united to the letters, makes it possible to know the truth and to love the true good: Make yourselves continually more capable in the letters to help your neighbor, and much more in the virtue of humility, which, united to the letters, makes men very apt to know the truth and to love the true good [Cu 1026].

- Mt 11:28-29: Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart

- A gentle and diligent love: Let the students realize that the Teacher knows and not hold him or speak of him as a teacher who does not know [EP 371]. Encourage [the educator] to be diligent and to accommodate himself to the ability of the students, not only in pointing out the vernacular texts but also in explaining the lessons. And let him treat all the pupils gently, [stating the truth, not shouting], so that they understand that he cordially desires their benefit. That in this way he will encourage them to be diligent in school and more easily will draw them to the service of God [EP 1488].

- A joyful love because God loves a cheerful giver: Work cheerfully, doing all works for the love of God [Cu 1179]. This exercise should be done with joy, as St. Paul exhorts us, saying: God loves a cheerful giver [Cu 1172]. Go forward joyfully and, at the same time, do not lose the holy fear of God, but grow in love. Remain joyful in the Lord, and if anything happens to you, let me know, and I will console you [Cu 1180].

- 1Cor 13:4-8 [4.5]: Charity is patient, does not seek its own.

- 2Cor 9, 7-9 [7]: God loves a cheerful giver.

- Lk 10:25-37: To love God and neighbor.

- Educators who are disciples of the Master’s school and who know how to live as the Body of the Lord: I would be very unhappy if those young people who come determined to leave the world and follow in the footsteps of Christ were not devout [I wish that] entering into the spiritual life they would do great things [EP 1882]. Let the teachers see to it that the children know the mysteries of the life of Christ and the acts of virtue [EP 1450]. The laity, the brothers, are as necessary as the priests, because they all form one body and should not say to one another: I do not need your help. But in holy peace, let each one work according to his aptitude for the pure love of God [Cu 426].

- Jn 14:6-12 [6]: Christ is the truth. We are cooperators with the Truth.

- 1Cor 12, 1-30: The Body of the Lord.

- 1Cor 13: Love is patient... does not seek its own.

- Educators grounded in doctrine and in the methodology of teaching according to their aptitude: In the teaching of grammar and in any other subject, it is of great benefit to the student that the teacher follows a simple, effective and, as far as possible, brief method. For this reason, every effort will be made to choose the best among those recommended by the most learned and expert in the subject [CC 216]. If by chance Mr. Galileo asks Father Clement to stay at his house for a few nights, let him do so, and God willing, he will know how to get profit of it [CC 1301].

- Educators who put all their aptitudes and talents at the service of their students: Let there be no one who has hidden his talent [Cu 447]. Try not to do in religion like that servant who had one talent and hid it. I wish he would do as the servant who had two talents and gained two more and was rewarded by being made Lord of two cities. The more talents one strives to have in order to help his neighbor for the love of God, the more like God he becomes [Cu 974]. See to it that everyone is occupied in such a way that each one works in that for which he has talent, for in that for which one does not have talent he cannot apply himself so easily and it is convenient to know the inclinations of each one; when one can force one to take up an occupation with love, it is better than when it is by force [EP 1226]. I want our pupils to have such talent that they can then communicate it to others [Cu 1241]. The prestige of the schools is in having good teachers [Cu 1240]. Mt 25:14-30: The parable of the talents.

- Educators who harmonize the experience of a life according to the Spirit with the study of the sciences and the methodology of teaching: May the Lord grant you all a great spirit of profound humility, which, the deeper it is, the higher and greater will be the virtue of knowledge and love of God and neighbor, and if you know how to combine this virtue with study, you will obtain an incredible benefit for your neighbor, as will be experienced in practice by those who know how to do it, whom I will help with my daily prayers [EP 4557].He will be pleased to see that our young people attend first to the proper benefit of the spirit and then to letters [EP 4240].

- Mt 7, 1-5: He invites us to go consciously through the formative process, because with the measure we measure we will be measured.

- Educators: Men of God, of apostolic life, very poor, very simple and very humble, who are able to adapt to the capacity of children and young people. Let all of them try to have their hearts set on God in order to fulfill always his most holy will [Cu. 44]. And since they are so many to do evil, let us resolve to do good. And if they steal life and goods, let us give life and spiritual goods to the young [EP 1723]. On this occasion each one should show the affection and love that he has for his neighbor in order to show the internal love that he has for God [EP 4495]. The mercy and prudence and infinite patience and goodness of God is in lowering himself to give light to children, especially to those who are destitute of all [EP 1236]. Mt 19:29: In abasing himself, God gives a hundredfold of spiritual goods.

Since to lower ourselves to exercise our ministry was low and vile in the eyes of the world and persecutions appeared, Calasanz tells us: It is convenient that we, doing our work only for the love of God, place our hope in Him; and I hope that He will defend us from all slander... In the meantime, make a special prayer for our adversaries [Cu 1186]. See to it that you are right with God if you want God to be always with men [Cu 3]. I will ask the Lord to give you continually more light to know and love the invisible and eternal things that the blessed God has within Himself. I hope that He will guide our things for the greater glory of His Divine Majesty and the usefulness of our neighbor [EP 4285]. Mt 5:43-48 and Lk 6:35-36: They invite us to love our enemies to the point of making them friends. Ps 11:5-8 [5]: Speaks to us of what God does with the poor.

- Educators who do not abandon the service of the Lord in small and poor people and towns.

- Lk 16:25 and Mt 25:40: They invite us not to abandon the service of the Lord: In death God will say to him: Son, you received your good things during your life...therefore you have abandoned my service, for what you did for one of the least of these you did for me [EP 4422]. 2P 1, 10: By good works you will secure your vocation and election.

- Lam, 4, 4: The little ones ask for bread and there is no one to give it to them.

- Acts 20, 35: There is more joy in giving than in receiving.

Exercise 13

The Main Points of our specific Ministry to evangelize educating people and towns small and poor

Calasanz tells us in the Memorial to Cardinal Tonti: The good education of the young is, in truth, the most worthy ministry, the most noble, the most meritorious, the most beneficial, the most useful, the most necessary, the most natural, the most reasonable, the most pleasing, the most attractive and the most glorious.

The school

In Calasanz the word school has three meanings: To be wise in the interior school [EP 2300]; to be good disciples of the school of the Blessed Christ, Master and Lord [EP 2362. EP 526. EP 3888], and to do the exercise of the Pious Schools [CC 203]. The people are the three schools. The Educator is the three schools and the children and young people are the three schools. The first school discovers the guidance of the Holy Spirit to let oneself be led by Him. From this first school is born the disciple of the Master’s school. In the third school the reform of youth takes place and the aptitudes and talents of the children are awakened by means of the Letters and the Spirit to be wise, disciples and committed to ecclesial and social transformation according to their own vocation. I have repeatedly written that the schools, which are our principal institute [EP 1107], our principal ministry, should be cared for with great diligence. [EP 1035].

Piety, the Spirit and the light of God

- Piety appears above all in his Constitutions: It will be the duty of our institute to teach the children, from the first rudiments, correct reading, writing, arithmetic and Latin, but principally piety and Christian doctrine [practicing it] and to do so with the greatest possible skill [CC 5].

- The Spirit or the way of living spiritually appears as the principal one in his letters. That is, to be wise in the interior school. From there virtue and good morals are born. It is necessary to teach in word and deed the letters together with the Spirit: Give good example both in the things of the spirit and of the letters [EP 756]. Able to teach them letters and the spirit together [EP 576]. As a schoolmaster, teach the students not only the letters but also the way of living spiritually [EP 688]. See to it with every effort that the schools are well run both in letters and in the spirit because this is our Institute; if we do it well, the Lord will send us not only his temporal help to live and to be able to build, but the spiritual graces that are for us the true goods that we must seek with all diligence [EP 1167].

- 1Jn 2:27: The anointing of the Holy Spirit teaches you about all things.

- Continuous Prayer: In continuous prayer that father will teach the little ones how to prepare themselves for the sacrament of penance; the older ones for the sacrament of the Eucharist and a simple and accessible method of prayer; and other subjects adapted to the capacity of the children [CC 194].

- 1Thess 5:15-22: Always be joyful. Pray constantly. Do not quench the Spirit.

- The light of God: Our ministry is indeed the most meritorious, for establishing and putting into practice, with fullness of charity in the Church, an effective remedy, preventive and curative of evil, inducing and enlightening for the good, destined for all boys of whatever condition - and, therefore, for all men, who first pass through that age - through letters and the spirit, good habits and manners, the light of God and of the world [MT 9].

With the light of God we have: catechesis to learn the life of Christ, everything that belongs to the true Christian, the Continuous Prayer, the preaching to kindle the love of God and neighbor. The living of the sacraments. That is to say, to be good disciples of the school of the Master.

With the light of men we have: to teach with order and division of classes, to read, write, count, and all the Latin language... with a brief, simple and effective method, adapting to the capacity of the students according to their aptitude or talent.

- Dan 12, 3: The teachers will shine like the brightness of the firmament; those who educated the people to be just will shine like the stars for all eternity.

The holy fear of God in the hearts of the children, which is the beginning of wisdom

All educators, together with the letters and the spirit, must teach the holy fear of God. As for the schools, since it is our principal ministry, great care should be taken to put great diligence in literary things in order to attract the school children to the schools, but our principal goal must be to teach the holy fear of God. [EP 2866]. Every diligence should be taken to see that the schools are well conducted not only in regard to letters, but also in regard to the spirit and fear of God. [EP 3087]. Let them attend with all diligence to the exercise of the schools and especially to the spirit and holy fear of God which is our proper institute [EP 2633].

What is the holy fear of God? It is not fearing God [EP 1432]. It is the key to being wise in the inner school. It is to be in a state of discernment. It consists in knowing how to manage our attention, in being vigilant to distinguish the good inclination from the inclination of only personal interest and to let ourselves be led by the inclinations of the Spirit. It is the secret of spiritual discernment. That is why it is convenient to use the expression of the holy fear of God as a synonym for teaching us to be wise, learning to live from spiritual discernment: The fear of God, the principle of wisdom, consists in being always vigilant so as not to do anything that is offensive to God; and since we are of such a fragile nature, blessed is he who always remains in this fear [in this vigilance]. We should all have it and always teach it to our students [EP 1024].

It is a matter of learning to have the interior powers recollected and attentive to the conversations of the interior man who is the true Presence of the Lord from whence is born as from a fountain [Cu 949] the capacity to love God and neighbor. Go forward joyfully and, at the same time, do not lose the holy fear of God, but grow in love. That everything will always turn out happily for you. For this is the true source of living water and of perfect wisdom [EP 2104]. Do not fail on your part to comfort everyone in the holy fear of God which is acquired by deep humility and the knowledge of one’s own misery [EP 4321].

- Prov 1:5-7 [7]: We teach to be wise, to learn how to live. The wise man listens and increases his knowledge; and the intelligent acquires skill. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, fools despise wisdom and instruction.

- Wis 8:1: Wisdom spreads resolutely from one end to the other and rules the universe rightly.

- Jn 4:10-14 [14]: If you knew the gift of God... the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

The sacramental life is the whole of my institute

The sacraments are people living and celebrating baptism, reconciliation, eucharist, confirmation, marriage, anointing of the sick and the presbyteral priesthood. Since I have already spoken about the Piarist priesthood, I will speak about the other sacraments. Pay attention to the exercise of the students, for this is our Institute, not only with regard to letters, but principally to the frequency of the most holy sacraments. This is the true way for us to obtain the spirit and the grace of God [EP 2876].

- Baptism: The nucleus of Piarist formation is the baptismal experience. Our ministry is truly the most to be thankful for on the part of God, much more than the conversion of a sinner, although this gives joy to Heaven; for in the schools not only do many repent of many offenses against God, but many others are daily preserved in baptismal innocence [MT 15].

- Rom 6, 2-11: This is the quotation of St. Paul the Apostle on the baptismal experience. The death of Jesus was a death to sin once and for all, but his life is a life for God.

- Confession or the sacrament of reconciliation. In Calasanz’ time, this sacrament unites what today is separated: spiritual direction, psychological help and confession itself. Among the religious there must be a confessor for the students. With his great affection and benevolence, let him draw the hearts of the children to God and let them respect and love him as their true Father [CC 193]. Let the Father... not be intransigent in punishing the students, but in confessing them and training them in the things of the spirit. He will do much more than if he was teaching in a school... whenever the confessor asks that one be forgiven [punishment] so that he may go to confession, he will be forgiven. The sacrament has a greater effect than punishments [EP 1427]. Whenever possible, make sure that you are always present when the Prefect imposes a punishment on a student: intercede for him, obtain forgiveness and take him with you to confession, because then, after the benefit received, he will manifest all his sins more easily and sincerely... He will see the improvement immediately if he makes them frequent the sacraments [Statements on our Constitutions]. Superiors should entrust the ministry of hearing the confessions of students to priests who have not only obtained the licenses of the Bishop, but who are of advanced age and whose affection and example will lead the children to manifest their faults naturally [CC 306]. Confessors should be convinced that the faithful exercise of this ministry with children constitutes a work most pleasing to God [CC 318].

- Jn 20:21-23: Jesus breathed on the apostles and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; those whose sins you retain are retained

- The Eucharist: it teaches the child to speak familiarly with the Father and the whole of the Blessed Trinity. From the Eucharist, one must come away with a love of God that is reflected in one’s neighbor: In continuous prayer, this Father will teach the little ones how to prepare themselves for the sacrament of penance; the older ones, for the sacrament of the Eucharist and a simple and accessible method of prayer; and other subjects adapted to the capacity of the students [CC 194]. Consider, before beginning Mass, that he carries an embassy to the Eternal Father on behalf of the whole holy Church [EP 1350].

In preaching: Preachers profit more by the example of their life than by the erudition of their words [CC 326]. For the children, develop only accessible and useful themes. Meditate beforehand on what you are going to say and prepare humbly, imploring the Lord’s help [CC 328]. In preaching, do not spend more than a quarter of an hour, nor shout with a loud voice. Let the discourse be familiar, simple and spiritual [EP 1415]. Win the children over to the service of God by the example of your life and by your simple doctrine, sprinkled with anecdotes of some of the saints [CC 323].

- 1Cor 10, 16: There is one bread, we are one Body

- Confirmation: The Piarist formative model is the experience of baptism and confirmation. It is there where Calasanz, without naming it, speaks of the experience of confirmation. To discover the guidance of the Holy Spirit that inclines the person to the service of the poor and needy: On one point we want to warn the Master strongly: that he may discover in each novice the internal inclination or, what is the same, the guidance of the Holy Spirit that teaches the humble to pray with ineffable groanings; by that way he will strive to lead each one to the summit of perfection. [CC 23].

- Gal 1:15; 2:19; 5:13-18,25: The Apostle Paul speaks to us about his experience of proclaiming the Gospel.

- Rom 8:14-16 [14]: The Spirit unites with our spirit.

- Rom 8:26-27: We have to grasp what the Spirit asks of us.

- Marriage: It makes visible the union of Christ with his Church: I am greatly sorry for the difficulties that the common enemy has placed between the two spouses who are our neighbors and great benefactors, May the Lord, in his mercy, be pleased to grant them the peace and union that comes signified with the most holy sacrament of marriage, which represents the union of Christ with the Church. I will not cease to make prayer and to remember him at all Masses, because of the great obligation we have towards this couple and their house..... I have prayed and will continue to pray that the Lord may effectively inspire in your hearts this holy union [EP 2218 and EP 3289].

- Eph 5:21-31: He speaks to us about living the sacrament of marriage.

- Eph 5:27: Christ beautifies the Church [with various Congregations] as his bride.

- Anointing of the sick: Let charity be done when it is possible [EP 1233]. I am very pleased that YR gives yourself to the service of the sick by administering the holy sacraments to them. And if it is necessary to put yourself in bodily danger to help your neighbor, let you do so, and in this way you will truly show yourself to be poor of the Mother of God who has no affection for anything but the glory of God and the help of your neighbor [EP 1601].

- Jas 5:14-15: Is any of you sick, let him call for the priests of the church, and let them pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.

To be fond of studying cases of children to understand them and help them in confession, in spiritual accompaniment or in psychological accompaniment

This main point is linked to the sacrament of confession and spiritual accompaniment. Calasanz explains to us what it consists of: I am very happy that you are examined and approved for confessions. I would like you to dedicate yourself to the study of cases in which the boys are in the habit of incurring, because this is our principal ministry [EP 597]. He is not too fond of studying cases of conscience and so he does not succeed in taking any profit [EP 549]. Conduct yourself in such a way that peace and union are preserved in that house, and that you are employed according to your talents. Let the priests have a meeting at least three times a week on a case of conscience during the afternoon recess so that all may be more apt to confess [EP 1008]. See to it that his interior is well understood with a father’s love, for he is in dire need of help [EP 1415].

- Jn 10:10-15: We are shepherds of every child.

Our ministry is for people, cities [towns and neighborhoods], small and poor

Normally we say “principally the poor”. Calasanz speaks of preferably people, cities, towns, villages and small and poor neighborhoods: If the holy Church has granted the grace of being a Religious Order to the Jesuit Fathers, with such a variety of vows, for the benefit mainly of large cities and noble persons, why not to the poor of the Mother of God... for towns and people preferably small and poor and very much in need of educational assistance? [MT 26]. In the memorandum to Cardinal Giulio Roma, Calasanz speaks of cities and towns. And in a letter, he says that he founded in the neighborhood of the Duchesca in Naples EP 560].

If you establish a good free school in a small and poor village, all the poor will go there, and the few rich people who are there will also come, if they so desire: As for receiving poor students, you work saintly by admitting as many as come. For it was for them that our Institute was founded. And what is done for them is done for Christ. The same is not said of the rich [EP 2812].

The supreme apostolic poverty is fundamental for going to the poor: If you take away the supreme poverty... you deprive the poor towns and villages of the possibility of benefiting from our ministry, since they do not have the means to support teachers who demand economic income and comforts [Memorial to Cardinal Giulio Roma. President of the Cardinal’s Commission]. We are accustomed to deal with the poor: Since we are accustomed to deal with the poor, I had no idea of the courage and nobility of Your Most Illustrious Lordship [EP 3733]. And in the midst of our poverty, we also know how to help poor families: To give alms at length, having compassion for the poor, giving it with charity and pure love of God is worth much before God. [EP 532].

Our vocation is to teach the poor: Whoever does not have the spirit to teach the poor does not possess the vocation for our institute [EP 1319]. There is no religion poorer than ours and more concerned with the service and benefit of the poor [EP 2304]. Let all of you hold fast to the firm hope that God will answer for our Institute, which is founded solely on the charity of teaching children, especially the poor, so that it cannot be said: The little ones ask for bread; there is no one to give it to them.

In the course of history, this way of speaking became more nuanced to the point that in 1731 the Church had to intervene to clarify our ministry: The Clerics Regular Poor of the Mother of God, called of the Pious Schools, in conformity with the Constitutions of their Order, must admit poor children and can admit rich and noble children [Brief Nobis Quibus of Clement XII].

- 1Cor 1:26-31 [28.31]: God has chosen the worthless of the world.

- Jas 2:1-8 [1.5]: In God there is no respect of persons. God has chosen the poor.

- Lk 14:12- 24 [23]: All the poor must be forced to enter until the house is full. Calasanz uses this text in the following way: The Lord commands to those who have committed themselves, the Christian by baptism and the religious by vows, to fulfill their obligation, saying: compel them to enter. The original text of Sacred Scripture refers to force the poor to enter the banquet of the Kingdom.

- Lam 4:4: The little ones ask for bread and there is no one to distribute it to them.

Educate the poor according to his aptitude or talent, according to the vocation given to him by nature and/or God

If nature does not make the poor fit to learn letters, as we experience daily in our schools, where using every diligence to admit to grammar school only those whom we find fit to attend them; if perhaps, either by mistake or by the importunity of some of his parents, one is admitted being incapable or very soon he himself, finding himself unfit, begs to be removed, or the Prefect, after reports from the Teacher, removes him [Memorial to the Commission of Cardinals. 1645]

We educate so that small and poor people and towns discover the vocation given to them by nature and/or by God. This is the basis of the vocational culture: He should not have been admitted to the dressing, being a native of Bologna and having wandered through various parts of Italy, because for us the young people who learn in our schools are more suitable, and we can see whether they are of good or bad inclination, whether or not they have good intelligence, and by educating them well they give good results. What I am writing, although I do not command it in virtue of holy obedience, must be put into practice as the word of God, coming through the superior [EP 2581].

- Mt 25, 14-30: God gives us talents to help the little ones.

The transformation of the human being takes place in family and community life, helping or teaching the poor, allowing oneself to be accompanied by a person who knows how to discern the spiritual life

Here appears the Family Life, the Piarist Community, the schools, the Calasanz Movement, the Parishes as a community of communities, the shared Fraternity and the non-formal Education. How to live them in harmony, so that they can help each other?

There are three biblical texts, in Calasanz, that are fascinating when united because they make us understand much better what we carry in our mission as Body of the Lord. These biblical quotes touch his heart and he discovers the human, family and community behavior that the Spirit gives him.

- Mt 18:20: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Calasanz comments: If they gather with zeal for the glory of God and for the greater good of the students, they will find in practice that the Holy Spirit will be in their midst, because where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst [EP 265; 1172; 2147 and 2757].

- 1Cor 12:21-27 [21.24.27]: We are all necessary in the Body of the Lord. Calasanz affirms: In our religion [the families, the laity], the brothers are as necessary as the clerics and priests, because all form one body. And one should not say to the other: I do not need your help. But in holy peace let each one work according to his aptitude for the pure love of God [Cu 426].

- Mt 25:40: Let all of you be there in a spirit of effort to serve the Lord in his members who are the poor [1 Cor 12:24-25], so that in due time we may hear: as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me [CC 1425].

The superior will establish in each house a Master of the Spirit who will cooperate with him in guiding the religious towards perfection and who will have as his special charge the youngest, as if he were their Master of Novices [CC 299].

Free popular education

The sum of apostolic poverty makes it possible for education to be popular and free. We must find a way to make education free, taking into account the laws and possibilities of each nation: If one takes away [from the Pious School] the supreme poverty and that austerity in living and dress prescribed by the Constitutions, approved by Gregory XV, of happy memory, and observed to this day, one takes away that splendor which alone makes it admired and sought after even by infidels, as experience shows... and the poor towns and villages are deprived of the possibility of benefiting from our ministry, since they have nothing with which to support teachers who demand economic income and comforts [Memorandum to Cardinal Giulio Roma]. Let the teachers not ask for anything from the students, so that they may see that they teach out of pure charity. [Cu 1430]. [Ruth 2, 15-17].

- Lk 4:16-21: To educate and evangelize the poor according to their aptitude.

- Mt 10:8-10: Freely you have received, freely give. Out of pure love of God.

Calasanz aims at life changes, transformation of the person to be able to give himself to the most needy: The ministry of the school is the most useful because of the numerous life changes that are made, as can often be seen among the children, so much so that are not known as they were before [MT 11]. From these changes is born the transformation of the Church and Society.

Conclusion

I admire the beauty and goodness of the purpose of our ministry, the preparation and quality of the Piarist educator and the main points of Calasanzian education. As Calasanz says, the Church is embellished by our Order and ministry: At the right hand of the Lord is the queen adorned with a variety of gold and jewels... decked with a variety of brocades of gold [Ps 45:10, 14], with a variety of Orders, Congregations and Ministries.

How to take into account in all that we do the Calasanzian main points? We can continue to be creative as the Spirit guides us when we gather as the Body of the Lord to help its members who are the poor.

Our ministry is a compendium of all ministries, not only by helping our neighbor in case of need in everything that others help, but also by preparing and disposing souls by means of a good education to be capable of receiving the service of all other ministries [MT 26].

For the Culture of Vocations, John Paul II tells us in Pastores Dabo Vobis, No. 40

The educational task, which also corresponds to the Christian community as such, must be addressed to each person. In fact, God with his call touches the heart of each person, and the Spirit who dwells in the depths of each disciple [1 Jn 3:24], is infused in each Christian with diverse charisms and with particular manifestations. Therefore, each person must be helped to accept the gift that has been given to him in particular, as a unique and unrepeatable person, and to listen to the words that the Spirit of God addresses to him.

In this perspective, attention to vocations to the priesthood must also take the form of a decisive and convincing proposal for spiritual direction. It is necessary to rediscover the great tradition of individual spiritual accompaniment, which has always borne such precious fruit in the life of the Church. In certain cases, and under precise conditions, this accompaniment can be helped, but never replaced, by forms of analysis or psychological help. Children, adolescents and young people should be invited to discover and appreciate the gift of spiritual direction, to seek and experience it, to ask for it with trusting insistence from their educators in the faith. Priests, for their part, should be the first to devote time and energy to this work of education and personal spiritual help. They will never regret having neglected or relegated to second place other many activities that were also good and useful, if this was required by fidelity to their ministry as collaborators of the Spirit in the orientation and guidance of those called. The purpose of a Christian’s education is to reach full maturity in Christ under the influence of the Spirit [Eph 4:13].

Exercise 14

Contemplation to reach out [Phil 3:12], to receive, and give [Acts 20:35] love

Spend some time in prayer to see how God’s Word has touched your heart during these days of Retreat, and to be able to say with Mary: Let it be done to me according to your Word.

God can only Love. We can choose to love and serve God and our small and poor neighbor, being so with our life. Every situation, adverse or prosperous, is a good occasion to make the Love of God visible, because according to Rom 5:5: The Love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. And, adds Rom 8:31-39: I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God manifested in Christ Jesus our Lord.

St. Ignatius tells us: Love should be put more in works than in words [EE 230]. Calasanz tells us the same thing: Works are an indication of love, not the very well composed words [EP 2412]. Love makes the work easier, especially when our love for God is reflected in our neighbor [EP 2859]. It is really necessary to have a lot of patience and charity with children in order to set them on the right path [EP 4453]. I will pray to God to give you the grace to do much good to your neighbor with the talent you have been given for it. That is all I can think of for now. May the Lord bless us all [EP 3858]. Jesus tells us in Mt 21:28-32: Not by what I say but by what I do I am in tune with the love of God [Dolores Aleixandre].

St. Ignatius adds: Love consists in communication... in giving and communicating mutually... in such a way that, if one has knowledge, to give to the one who does not have it... [EE 231]. Calasanz tells the same: How much I desire to communicate to you, with paternal affection, the Spirit that the Lord has given me... [EP 3913]. The same Jesus in Jn 15:15-16: I call you friends because all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

1. Gather your inner powers and bring your attention to the conversations of the inner man who is the true Presence of the Lord dwelling in your heart. The Lord never comes alone He comes with all the people where He is. He comes with all the saints. They all come doing us good, asking for us. Come to the fountain that runs and flows [St. John of the Cross]. The Trinity dwells in you, as Jn 14:23-27 tells us: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode in him.

2. Ask for inner knowledge of so much good received so that, recognizing it, you may be able in everything to love and serve [EE 233] God and your small and poor neighbor. God has consoled you in these Exercises: To attain inner knowledge, it is necessary to live beyond the surface and to inhabit that dimension that the Bible calls the heart. Only those who live in contact with the core of their being, the seat of interiority and intimacy, will be able to feel and know the various motions that are caused in the soul in order to practice that knowledge that integrates interiority and conduct [Dolores Aleixandre].

3. The Lord himself desires to give me as much as he can according to his divine ordination. List all the benefits of creation, salvation and particular gifts, considering with great affection how much God has done for me and how much he has given me of what he is or has. Consider therefore all that you can give to God: Take, O Lord, and receive all my freedom, my memory, my understanding and my whole will, all my goods and possessions. You gave it to me; to You, O Lord, I give it back. All is yours, make of me according to your will. Give me your love and grace, for that alone is enough for me [EE 234]. Jesus loves you in the same way according to Jn 13:1: To the end [Dolores Aleixandre].

4. Contemplate how God dwells in creatures. Contemplate how God dwells in you and in every human being [EE 235]. He makes us participate in his own life. The Father is happy to do good to you. God’s love makes, gives, wants to give himself, to dwell, to animate, to make feel and understand and to make a temple of his creature, to work and labor, to give being by preserving, vegetating and sensing and making his Presence and his gifts descend [Dolores Aleixandre].

5. Consider how God works and labors for me in all things created [EE 236]. With his work he precedes me with his Love, as Jn 5:17 says: My Father always works, and I also work. Ps 92:5: Your deeds, O Lord, are my joy, and the works of your hands are my rejoicing [The biblical quotations are from Dolores Aleixandre].

6. See how all good things and gifts flow from God, just as the rays descend from the sun [Jas 1:16-18], the waters from the fountains [EE 237]... See how the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit look upon you, making you capable of love, because God’s look is to give us his Love. Therefore: Let us see ourselves IN his Beauty where pure water flows! [St. John of the Cross], because when God lets himself be seen, we see him seeing the needy. Mt 11:25-26: I bless you Father, for you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to the simple. Yes, Father, it seemed good to you.
St. Augustine confesses: Late I loved you, beauty so ancient and so new, late I loved you! You were within me, and I was outside, and outside I sought you; and, deformed as I was, I threw myself on these beautiful things that you created. You were with me, but I was not with you; I was held away from you by things that would not exist if they did not exist in you. But you called me and cried out until you broke my deafness. With your splendid radiance you put my blindness to flight. Your fragrance penetrated my breath, and now I sigh for you. I tasted your flavor, and so now I am hungrier and thirstier for that taste. You touched me and with your touch you enkindled me in your peace... Now you are the Life of my life [Confessions of St. Augustine. Book X, 27. Quoted by Dolores Aleixandre in Contemplation to attain love. A biblical approach. Sal Terrae. 2017].

7. Let us say together with Calasanz, with the whole Pious School and with all the children and young people of the world: What shall I give you, my Lord, for so many benefits that you have done, especially because you have died on the Cross for me? I want to offer you a gift of love. I rejoice and am pleased that you are Omnipotent, Beauty itself, infinite Wisdom and Goodness.
I esteem your will more than any other good and I am ready to die a thousand deaths rather than act against it.

I desire that your Goodness be known and loved by all, and I want as much as possible to see to it that all may know and love you. [Acts of the Virtues].

At the end of these Exercises

- Jesus tells us in Jn 16:33: I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer! I have overcome the world. In Jn 17:26: I have made your name known to them, and I will continue to make it known to them, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. And in Jn 13:34-35: I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. As I have loved you, so you also are to love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

- St. John Paul II tells us: Do not suffocate your conscience! Conscience is man’s most secret nucleus and tabernacle, where he feels alone with God [Vatican II, GS 16]. In the depths of his conscience, man discovers the existence of a law which he does not dictate to himself, but which he must obey. This law is not an external human law, but the voice of God who calls us to free ourselves from the prey of sin and stimulates us to seek what is good and true. Only by listening to the voice of God within you and acting in conformity with its directives will you freely attain what you long for. As Jesus said, only the truth will set you free [Jn 8:31-36] [Address to young people gathered in the United States. 1993].

- Calasanz tells us: I have asked the Lord to make you a great servant of his and [a follower] in the interior, first of all of his most holy will, where you will discover the mysteries hidden from the wise and prudent of the world and reserved for the humble. [Mt 11:25-26]. [Cu 736].

To make visible the glory of God by being useful to the little and poor neighbor, useful to the Church, useful to the public welfare, to transform the Church and Society.

Annex 2 on biblical texts of constitutions, letters, memorials and testimonials

The letters with * are from the Opera Omnia: Publication of all the writings of St. Joseph Calasanz. Editorial ICCE. Madrid.

Ricardo Cerverón sent me the biblical texts before the edition of the Opera Omnia. I have simplified what he sent me.

I made the synthesis of the biblical texts of the Constitutions of Calasanz.

CONSTITUTIONS

BIBLICAL TEXTS

BIBLICAL QUOTES

CC 3

He has called us as laborers in this most fruitful harvest.

Cooperators with Truth

Considering the gentleness with which He governs the world.

Mt 9, 37.38.

3Jn 8

Wis 8,1

CC 4

What you did with one of my younger brothers, you did with me.

Mt 25, 40

CC 23

The Spirit teaches us to pray with ineffable groans.

Rom 8,26

CC 26

Discuss temptations.

Mt 4, 1-11

CC 31

Formula of Profession: I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all the people in the court of the house of the Lord.

Ps 115, 14.18.19

CC 33

Listen, daughter, look: lend an ear, forget your people and your father’s house: the King is captivated by your beauty.

Ps 44,11

CC 35

Be careful not to keep looking back after you’ve got your hands on the plow!

Lk 9,62

CC 44

Following the example of St. Paul, contemplate and imitate Christ crucified and the different steps of his life.

1Cor 1,23 – 2.2

CC 48

The Father, who sees what is hidden, will reward them.

Mt 6,6

CC 95

Whoever seeks to crown the summit of perfect charity, the girdle of consummate unity.

Col 3,14

CC 99

Christ the Lord, our Savior, said: I have not come to do my will.

Jn 6,38

CC 101

Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me.

Lk 10, 16

CC 104

The strength of the Lord acts in weakness.

2Cor 12,9

CC 108

Like the little donkey that Christ rode on Palm Sunday, who allowed himself to be directed and led everywhere.

Mt 21,7

CC 171

Let them all strive for unity of sentiment, language, thought and will. Thus, united by the bond of fraternal love, they will devote themselves more effectively to the service of God and neighbor.

2Cor 3,11

CC 194

Continuous prayer

1Thess 5,17

CC 229

With all reverence I invoke Jesus Christ, Eternal Wisdom, as Witness that I choose to...

1Cor 1,30

CC 283

Provincials: In their style of service, let them imitate the love, gentleness and goodness of Our Lord Jesus Christ; not tyrannizing those entrusted to them; but becoming models of the flock, let them guide them to perfection more by works than by words.

1Pet 5,3

0058

The Lord said: I have not come to be served but to serve.

Mt 20,28

0102

Wine, which hides debauchery, according to the testimony of the Apostle.

Eph 5,18

0131

The voice of God is the voice of the spirit, which comes and goes, touches the heart and passes, and one does not know where it comes from or when it blows.

Jn 3,8

0143

This is the will of God, your sanctification.

1Thess 4,3

150*

Every day communicates its message. Every day we can discover God’s will.

Ps 19,18

0196

Says the Wise man: those who have taught many will shine like stars for all eternity. God loves a cheerful giver.

Dan 12,3 2Cor 9,7

244*

What does it profit a man to gain the world?

Mt 16,26

248*

Force them to enter.

Lk 14,232

0265

621*

1172

2147

2757

Where two or three are gathered in my name I am in their midst.

Mt 18,20

0315

The Lord does not want death but amendment.

Ezek 33,11

0405

I would like to see the schools attended with due diligence, “so that the adversary will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us”.

Titus 2,8

0453

And because you know little of so great a mystery and sacrament, it is fitting that you should first of all study it well, so that it cannot be said that he “does not discern the body of the Lord”.

1Cor 11,29

601*

Everything else is vanity

Sir 1,2

653*

It is horrendous to fall into the hands of the living God.

Heb 10,31

0912

If you do not become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. His intimacy is with the simple.

Mt 18,3

Prov 3,32

929*

The astuteness of snakes.

Mt 10,16

1017

2226

Let them strive to bring him in who does not want to enter the house and the supper of the Lord, having been invited for love.

Rev 3,20

Lk 14,23

1035

1331

3190

It is true that an abundance of counselors brings salvation and four eyes see more than two.

Prov 11,14

1165

The life of man, as the holy Job says, is militia or war on earth.

Job 7,1

1191*

I have done everything to everyone to save some at all costs.

1Cor 9,22

1282*

What belongs to Caesar, give to Caesar and what belongs to God give to God.

Mk 12,13

1353

2205

3933

4125

It is necessary that we go through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God. Moreover, be sure of what the prophet says: I will be at your side in trouble.

Acts 14,21-22

Ps 90,15

1360

2300

2933

3673

3907

3913

4121

4217

The path is narrow and few find it. Narrow is the road that leads to life and few find it. The way to heaven is narrow and the gate is strait. Broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who walk in it. God saying narrow is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it. It is necessary, in order to find it and walk on it, to renounce our own judgment and our own will. Be with me for some time, to learn the narrow way that leads to heaven. Few are those who find salvation.

Mt 7,13-14

1437*

What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, if he loses his soul?

Mt 15,26

1528*

As we forgive those who offend us.

Mt 6,12

1537

Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer nor his love far from me!

Ps 65,20

1544

Blessed is the servant whom the Lord when he comes shall find awake.

Lk 12,37

1544

1573

Let him do as the holy David counsels, that by day Yahweh gives his favor, and by night his song.

Ps 41,9

1574.1*

You do not know what you are asking for

Mt 20.22

1620*

Woe to you, O city of great wealth, settled among the canals, rich in treasures! Your end has come, the end of your robberies! Thus says the Lord: For three crimes of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke my sentence.

Jer 51,13-14

Am 2,1

1719*

If you do not do penance, you will all perish in the same way.

Lk 12,5

1759

Blessed are you when you are reviled and persecuted for my sake, says the Lord.

Mt 5,11

1760

The means Christ our Lord taught us is: pray for those who persecute and slander you.

Mt 5, 44

1830

The religious who does not know how to bridle his tongue makes his religion vain.

Jas 1,26

1850*

2175*

3659*

3649*

He who does not work, let him not eat.

He who does evil, hates the light.

2Thess 3,10

Jn 3, 20

1908

The [authorities] that exist have been constituted by God.

Rom 13,1

1931

The fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom.

Prov 1,7

1961

If I had seen iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened to me.

Ps 65,18

2036

Try to put into practice the advice of St. Paul, that is, to bear with each other’s imperfections.

Eph 4,2

2085

Your life is brief and the hour uncertain.

Job 14,5 Mt 24,50

2104

This is the true source of living water and perfect wisdom.

Jn 4,14

2148

Animal man

1Cor 2,14

2249

If the righteous is barely saved, where will the wicked and the sinner stop?

1Pet 4,18

2256

The way of the senses “leads to perdition”.

Mt 7, 13

2289

Being holy matrimony ordained by God and the great sacrament of the Church, by saying “that which God has joined together”.

Mt 19,6

2332

The Holy Spirit saying, “My soul hates the poor proud man.

Eccl 25,4

2336

Christ said: I am the door.

Jn 10,9

2372.1*

3910

4416

God intervenes in all things for the good of those who love him. Those who are diligent for themselves ordinarily cooperate in evil, since our nature is commonly inclined toward evil.

Rom 8,28

2385

3011

The Lord said, By their fruits you shall know them.

Mt 7,16

2416

2835

2838

The Lord said, speaking of superiors: He who rejects you rejects me; he who listens to you listens to me; and he who rejects you rejects me.

Lk 10,16

2425.1*

God, being in heaven, comes down to look at the humble.

Sal 113, 5-6

2450

The law is not instituted for the righteous.

1Tim 1,9

2455

If you are chased in one city, flee to another.

Mt 10,23

2475*

Let Martha and Mary be together.

Lk 38,42

2495*

God makes no distinction of persons.

Act 10.34

2532

Be assured that with the measure with which you measure, you will be measured.

Mt 7,2

2600.1*

Better a self-possessed man than a conqueror of cities

Prov 16,32

2626*

I will sing forever the mercies of the Lord.

He recited the miserere.

The simple and ignorant conquer heaven.

Ps 89,2

Ps 50

Lk 10,21-24

2630

4242

I will sing forever of the Lord’s mercies. God resists the proud and gives his grace to the humble.

Ps 88,2 Prov 3,34 Jas 4,30

2650

When you have done what you were commanded, say: We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we ought to have done.

Lk 17,10

2688*

2812*

As for receiving the poor students, you do what is holy by admitting all those who come, because our Institute was founded for them; for what is done for them is done for the sake of the Blessed Christ, which is not said of the rich.

Mt 25,40

2757

3777

For the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent conquer it.

Mt 11,12

2769

3074

Our own relatives will be our enemy; their words, softer than oil, but they are naked swords.

Mt 10,36 Sal 54,22

2923

To deprive themselves little by little of the tastes of sense and to penetrate into the tastes of the spirit. Then they would find this path of life easy, because the yoke of God is soft for those who want to live it according to the spirit, but difficult for those who want to live it according to the senses.

Mt 11,30

2927

Those who live according to their own instincts do not perceive the things that are according to the Spirit of God.

As for Fr. Angel, if he does not become spiritual, he will go with the animals, for St. Paul calls sensual men animals, because they do not perceive the things that are according to the Spirit of God and remain in the state of animals if death finds them in that state.

Rom 8,6

3051

Time is short and the violent conquer heaven, and the negligent can barely save themselves.

1Cor 7,29 Mt 11,12

3055

The superior must first do and then teach

Acts 1,1

3082

Although it is written that there is no malice as great as the malice of women, yet the malice of passionate and obstinate religious seems greater. [This is the only text that I have not transferred to the book. Calasanz speaks of one’s own will connected with the passions in order to put them into practice. This is obstinacy].

Eccl 25,17.26

3115

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

Mt 9.37

3338

The wicked, when he reaches the depths of sin, despises it.

Prov 18,3

3384

Go out of your land and your father’s house... I will make of you a great nation. And in another place the prophet says: Hey, daughter, look, forget your people....

Gen 12,1-2 Ps 44,11

3673

As the Gospel says, if he takes the tunic, let him have the mantle.

Mt 5,40

3808

Job did not say: The Chaldeans took away my camels, but the Lord gave them to me, the Lord took them away from me.

Job 1,21

3853 4439

God gives talent to whom he pleases, and is rich to all who call upon him...in him there is no partiality.

Rom 10,12 Rom 2,11 2Cor 19,7

3858

I wish to YR the continued assistance of the Holy Spirit, so as to deal with him “behind closed doors”.

Mt 6,6

3860

The Holy Spirit says by Solomon: its time to weep and its time to laugh.

Eccl 3,4

3871

He is good for a higher school, if he does not want to be like that useless servant who hid his talent.

Mt 25,24-28

3875

We profess, according to the Apostle’s advice: as long as we have food and clothing, let us be content with that.

1Tim 6,8

3901 4454

The poor ask for bread and in many places, there is no one to give it to them. We all have a great desire to serve the Lord in his members who are the poor, so that we may hear in due time: What you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.

Lam 4,4

Mt 25,40

3903 4422

I am sure that God at the hour of death will say to him: You received your temporal reward, for which you abandoned my service, being so: What you did to one of the least of these you did to me.

Mt 6,2

Mt 25,40

3933

I am with him in tribulation.

Ps 91,15

3943

It is inevitable that there will be scandals, yet woe to that man through whom scandal comes.

Mt 18,7

3990

All form one body and should not say to one another “I have no need of your works”, but in holy peace and with great merit let each one work according to his talents for the pure love of God.

1Cor 12,21

4028

I wish that all may be of one heart and soul in the service of God.

Acts 4,32

4028

I say this in the presence of God, who is the truth.

Jn 14,6

4073

Recommending the house and himself to God many times, day and night, in silence, without anyone seeing him. For the days are evil.

Eph 5,16

4082

Patience must be accompanied by “perfect works”.

Jas 1,4

4413

You have been entrusted with the poor.

Ps 9,34

4115 4430

Not he who begins, but he who perseveres.

Mt 10,22

4135

He who does not humble himself will not be exalted. When entering through the narrow gate it will be seen who will have known how to humble himself while he had the opportunity.

Mt 23,12

Mt 7,13

4248

The gates of hell will not prevail against our religion.

Mt 16,18

4249

If God is with us, who is against us?

Rom 8,31

4273

It is better to give than to receive. There is greater happiness in giving than in receiving.

Acts 20,35

4276

Be assured, all of you, that whoever does not humble himself in this life will not be exalted in the next.

Mt 23,12

4309 4339 4463

Be still, and you will see the help of God come upon you. Be still, and you will see the salvation of Yahweh coming upon you. And we pray for you that you may be sorrowful, but that in tribulation your virtue may shine forth more brightly.

2Cor 20,17 2Macc 1,6

Thess 4,12

4311

The prince’s heart is in the hand of God.

Prov 21,1

4392

God usually gives this grace to the humble, as the prophet says: He gives understanding to the little ones.

Ps 118,130

4410

Considering the gentleness with which he governs the world. In the works of God there is no need to run, but to wait with great tranquility and patience on divine Providence, which unfolds vigorously from one end of the world to the other and governs the whole universe in an excellent manner.

Wis 8,1

4416*

God intervenes in all things for the good of those who love him.

Rom 8,28

4422.1*

You have already received your temporary reward. What you did to one of the least of these my brethren, you did to me.

Mt 6,2

Mt 2540

4427

It is necessary to ask God with importunity, as he teaches us by the example of the man who went to a friend’s house at midnight to ask him to lend him three loaves of bread.

Lk 11,5-8

4430.1*

Not he who begins, but he who perseveres.

Mt 10,22; 24,13,

Mk 13,13

4439*

In God there is no respect of persons. Two things equal to a third are equal to each other.

Rom 2,11

4445*

God’s judgments are inscrutable.

Rom 14,17

4449.1*

Come to the waters all you who are thirsty.

Isa 55,1

4451

Here we are praying for you.

2 Macc 1,6

4453

See to it that you do not do in Religion what that servant did who had one talent and hid it; but I would like that you should do as the servant who had two talents and gained two more, and was rewarded by being made master of two cities.

Mt 19,12-26

4454.1*

The little ones ask for bread and there is no one to give it to them

Lam 4,4

4463*

Last biographical letter. Be constant and you will see the help of the Lord upon you. Now we pray for you that you may not be saddened but that your light may shine more brightly in tribulation.

2Chr 20,17; 2Macc 1,6; 1Thess 4,12

4466

St. Peter teaches us to make every effort to strengthen your vocation and your election. That by good works you will secure your vocation and election.

2Pet 1,10

4468 4473 4562

The time of tribulation and mortification should increase virtue and perfection. My strength shows itself perfect in weakness, that is, in tribulation. My strength shows itself perfect in weakness. Know how the religious must remain constant in the service of God, persevering to the end.

2Cor 12,9

4520

If you do not employ yourself in doing something in the service of religion, you will find nothing in God’s book, for his works accompany them.

Rev 14,13

4521

With the special affection I have always had for you, I have asked the Lord to make you a great servant of his and imitator, in the interior, above all, of his most holy will, where you will discover the mysteries hidden from the wise and prudent of the world, and reserved for the humble.

Mt 11,25

4527

I wish that YR will purify more and more in yourself all your actions with the love of God, being true that who loves the earth becomes earth, who loves gold becomes gold and who loves God “becomes one spirit with Him” and thus you will overcome all the temptations of the infernal enemy, and will always continue to help your neighbor.

1Cor 6,17

4540

In the meantime, I ask everyone to be strong and steadfast and you will see God’s help upon you.

Ps 62,2

4562*

Virtue is perfected in the midst of tribulation. The crown is prepared for those who persevere.

2Cor 12,9

Mt 10,12

2Tim 4,7

4571

Who chooses the most despised thing in the world to confuse the strongest.

1Cor 1,27

4521

With the special affection I have always had for you, I have asked the Lord to make you a great servant of his and imitator, in the interior, above all, of his most holy will, where you will discover the mysteries hidden from the wise and prudent of the world, and reserved for the humble.

Mt 11,25

4527

I wish that YR will purify more and more in yourself all your actions with the love of God, being true that who loves the earth becomes earth, who loves gold becomes gold and who loves God “becomes one spirit with Him” and thus you will overcome all the temptations of the infernal enemy, and will always continue to help your neighbor.

1Cor 6,17

4540

In the meantime, I ask everyone to be strong and steadfast and you will see God’s help upon you.

Ps 62,2

4562*

Virtue is perfected in the midst of tribulation. The crown is prepared for those who persevere.

2Cor 12,9

Mt 10,12

2Tim 4,7

4571

Who chooses the most despised thing in the world to confuse the strongest.

1Cor 1,27

MEMORIAL TONTI

BIBLICAL TEXTS

BIBLICAL QUOTES

18

Standing to your right is the queen, bejeweled with gold, attired with variety, clothed in tissue of variously wrought gold.

Ps 45, 10 and 14

23

The hireling runs away, because a hireling does not care about sheep.

Jn 10,13

23

The harvest is abundant and the laborers are few.

Lk 10,2

MEMOR. TO CARDINALS

BIBLICAL TEXTS

BIBLICAL QUOTES

Fr Casani

The Spirit has sent me to teach the poor.

Lk 4

TESTIMONIALS

BIBLICAL TEXTS

BIBLICAL QUOTES

Bishop Mateo Judiski

To you the poor man has been left, you are the helper of the orphan.

Ps 10,14

Table of Contents

Acronyms and abbreviations

0. Introduction

Chapter I

Our way of seeing the reality

Chapter II

Sages in the inner school

Chapter III

We are good disciples of the master’s school

Chapter IV

We are the body of the Lord

Chapter V

We are men of prayer

Chapter VI

We leave everything for the love of the Lord

Chapter VII

We are piarist priests

Chapter VIII

We are poor of the mother of God

Chapter IX

Our piarist ministry

Chapter X

To finish

Bibliography

Annex to make spiritual retreats for seven day

Annex 2 on biblical texts of constitutions, letters, memorials and testimonials