THE SON
In the previous chapter we
saw how God the Father, the first person of the Most Holy
Trinity, is central to the spirituality of Father Félix,
which is none other than the spirituality of Christ, Priest
of the Father and Offering to the Father.
Let us now consider how
the Word made Flesh, the eternal Son of the Father, born of
Mary, is integrated in perfect unity in the spirituality of
Father Félix.
Jesus tells us: "No one
knows the Father but the Son, and those to whom the Son
wishes to reveal Him" (Mt. 11:27). "I am the way, the truth
and the life; no one can come to the Father but by me" (Jn.
14:6). “No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is
at the Father's side, has revealed him." (Jn. 1:18). "No one
has seen the Father; the only one who has seen Him is He who
has come from God." (Jn. 6:46).
Therefore, we cannot speak
of love and devotion to the Father separate from the only
way that leads to Him, the only one who knows the Father,
the only one who can reveal Him to us.
On the other hand, if
Jesus is He who knows the Father, who else can be the model
of love and devotion to this Father? If He is the only Son
by nature, who else can teach us to be truly His sons?
And, lastly, if we are
children of the Father, it is because we participate in the
same divine life of the Son: "I
am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. I am the
vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in
him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do
nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me will
be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather
them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned."
(Jn. 15: 1-6). Our spiritual union with Jesus, because we
have believed in Him and because we have accepted Him with
all our being, is what gives us the right to be children of
God with Him and like Him: "To those who received him and
believed in Him, He gave the privilege to become children of
God. And they are children of God, not by natural birth
which comes from the desire of a man, but because God has
begotten them." (Jn. 1: 12).
Of the Biblical texts I
have cited, there follows clearly the unity which exists
between our relationship with the Father and our
relationship with the Son. It is similar to the oneness of
the road and the end, the river and the spring, the promise
and the condition. It is the substantial unity enjoyed by
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Let us now see some
relevant texts selected from the letters and writings of
Father Félix:
JESUS, OUR REDEEMER
"Let us rejoice in the
Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in which lies our salvation,
our life, our resurrection!"
"When we say 'THE CROSS',
we must understand 'JESUS CHRIST CRUCIFIED'. We rejoice
because by His crucifixion He rescued us, redeemed us,
obtained for us all grace, and eternal life. We have all
this thanks to Jesus, crucified for us. And we rejoice today
with gratitude and love, as we contemplate what Jesus has
done for us. He loved me and gave up His life for me." (Gal.
2: 20) (1)
"May the precious blood of
Our Lord Jesus Christ purify and unceasingly water our
souls, because it is a divine river that runs unceasingly in
the Church to wash away our sins and to give us all divine
life. I want you to have a strong devotion to the Precious
Blood of Christ. We say 'Precious' because its 'PRICE' is
infinite."
"I believe I have never
had the occasion to speak to you about this, but I will do
so soon." (2)
"I ask everything of the
Father, and with complete trust, IN THE NAME OF JESUS, as
the Church teaches us: 'Through Christ, Our Lord.' Because
I have nothing of my own that would make me worthy of being
listened to by the Father, but I have Jesus, I have His
merits. Ah, that Christ... Our Jesus! How much should we
love Him, Him who Ioves us so much!" (3)
"If you could imagine how
painful it has been for me not to have been able to be in
communication with you and not to have answered your letters
as I would have wished... But I have asked the Divine Father
to cure me IN THE NAME OF JESUS, and I am therefore sure He
will grant me this grace." (4)
"Jesus wishes me to
abandon myself in His hands, in full trust. And I firmly
believe that He has forgiven me as only He knows how; and
that He loves me with infinite mercy. How can I not trust
without limits?" (5)
"Oh, Jesus, you have not
been able to defend yourself against love!... And you have
loved me to the point of dying for me on a cross. Oh, Jesus,
I want to give my blood and my life to you who gave your
blood and life for me!" (6)
UNION WITH JESUS
"The union with Jesus to
go to the Father, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
is the center of all our spiritual life." (7)
"Above all and before all,
union with Jesus. This is the only way to go to the Father.
He said it: I AM THE WAY, NO ONE GOES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT
THROUGH ME. [This letter is interrupted here and he adds
only): I can write no more because of ill health... but I am
getting better." (8)
If we do not attain an
intimate union with Christ, we will not carry out the will
of God. Our life, beloved children, even to our last breath,
must be nothing else than to continue the work of Jesus,
under His loving impulse." (9)
"Let us make an effort to
pray more so as to be more united to Jesus, because this is
the only way to gain thousands of souls for God. We have to
be other Jesus and this is our foremost wish.” (10)
"To see with the eyes of
Jesus and that Jesus see through ours. To speak as Jesus
spoke, and that it be Jesus who speaks through our lips. To
love as Jesus loved and that Jesus love with our heart. To
live like Jesus, and that Jesus be our life."
"What a beautiful plan!
But this assumes a great intimacy with Jesus, a special
union of hearts, a total trust, a living faith in which
everything is forgiven and forgotten, and that we live with
Jesus in a true atmosphere of love." "Meditate on each of
these thoughts, because they are a source of holiness. This
plan alone would be sufficient to destroy all our
imperfections." (11)
"In all your actions see
only Jesus, and despise the opinions of others. See
everything through the eyes of Jesus. This is what St. Paul
says: 'I no longer live, but it is Christ who lives in me.'
(Gal. 2:19). (12)
BEING TRANSFORMED INTO CHRIST
"To copy Jesus, to be
transformed into Him, this is the ideal of ideals; the rest
is not important."
"Keep in mind, one and
all, that you came to the Congregation to be transformed
into Jesus Christ, and to be, insofar as it is possible to
each one, another Jesus: 'Those He elected, He also
predestined to reproduce the image of His Son.'" (Rom. 8:29)
(13)
"Each one in his ministry
will have to be ANOTHER JESUS. This is the condition to save
your souls: to become transformed into the only Savior. So
the spiritual life is simple, it consists only of our
progressive transformation into Jesus, and knowing the means
that will help us to achieve this." (14)
"I have prayed much to the
Incarnate Word to bless us all, and to grant each of us not
only to live united to Him, but to become truly transformed
into Him. Ah, if we would understand that this is the whole
of our poor and most precious life!..." (15)
"The great task which
Jesus has entrusted to each of us, is our transformation
into Him."
"And let us not say, my
beloved children, that it is difficult, that it is
impossible. No, Jesus does not demand of us things that are
impossible."
"This transformation, so
desired by Jesus, and so precious for us, has already begun.
Jesus Himself explains it in the parable of the leaven which
a woman mixes with three measures of flour. The flour is us.
The Church, which gives us Jesus in Baptism, is the woman.
Jesus is the leaven which will transform us. And in time it
will leaven everything, and it will become a bread worthy of
the table of the Heavenly Father. We only need to correspond
to this grace to become more and more like that Jesus who is
our only ideal, all our hope and all our love." (16)
"I would like the Heavenly
Father to find His pleasure in each of you, because He sees
that every day you resemble more and more His beloved Son in
whom He is well pleased. This is what the Holy Spirit tells
us through St. Paul: 'Be clothed with Our Lord Jesus
Christ.'" (Rom.13:14). (17)
He told the following to
four young men who took the habit of missionaries of the
Holy Spirit:
"Our habit says a lot,
because it has the inscription: JHS, which means JESUS,
SAVIOR OF MEN. That indicates your mission and your ideal.
You are destined by God to save thousands and thousands of
souls. And I have told you not what they are, but what the
missionaries of the Holy Spirit aspire to be. You are called
to be what Jesus was, for the glory of the Father. When one
is another Jesus, he is truly a savior...So you must say
frequently: I want to be another Jesus, whatever the cost.
That is why you have come here, to work to be another
Jesus." (18)
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO JESUS
"Be concerned with doing
the holy will of God, in such a way that this divine will be
your food, as it was the food of Jesus." "What perfection is
to be found in the practice of this objective! The end of
the spiritual life is union with God, but union with God is
nothing else than the union of our will with the Divine
will. That was the essence of the example of Jesus: 'My food
is to do the will of Him who sent me.' (Jn. 4:34). 'I have
come from heaven, not to do my will, but the will of Him who
sent me.' (Jn. 6:38). 'He who sent me is with me and does
not leave me, because I always do what pleases Him.'" (Jn.
7:29)
"This is how we become
transformed into Jesus, doing every day the will of the
Father, who created our will to unite it to His will." "Oh,
beloved Jesus, your food will be our food, your life will be
our life; we promise you that with the help of your grace we
will follow you from the manger of Bethlehem to the Cross of
Calvary." (19)
"Jesus wishes everyone to
know that love for his divine Father is what made Him
faithful to His will. 'So that the world may know that I
love the Father and I do what the Father has commanded,
arise and let us go.'" (Jn. 14:31)
And what were the
characteristics of Jesus' love for His Father? We can list
the following nine:
1. His love was radical:
"I came from heaven, not to do my will, but that of my
Father." (Jn. 6:38).
2. It was obedient: "I have kept the commands that my Father
gave me." (Jn. 15:10).
3. He denied Himself: "I do not seek to do my will, but the
will of Him who sent me." (Jn. 6:38).
4. It was a gentle love:
"I always do what pleases my Father." (Jn. 8:23)
5. It was a tender love: "I remain in His love." (Jn.15:10).
6. It was a love of union:
"My Father is in me, and I in Him." (Jn. 10:38)
7. It was a most faithful
love: "Father, I have glorified you on earth, and I have
accomplished the work you wanted me to do." (Jn. 7:14).
8. A love capable of any
sacrifice: "The Father loves me because I give up my life."
(Jn. 10:17).
9. A filial love, a love of surrender: "Father, into your
hands, I commend my spirit" (Lk. 23:46).
"The union of infinite
love which unites the Father and the Son from all eternity
continues to be the same after the Incarnation, when the Son
came to earth to fulfill the mission He received from the
Father. Just imagine how great and how perfect our love and
our surrender to the Father have to be, for us to be able to
say that we are a copy of Jesus. But it is the same Father
who sends us also, so forward and upward to the holy
mountain, to Tabor, to Calvary, to eternal glory!..."
"What a wonderful life
plan! To give glory to the Divine Father always imitating
Jesus, like him, doing His Father's will!" (20)
"May you be a living copy
of Jesus: obedient, meek, humble, loving the hidden life of
Nazareth; and also a true apostle, like Jesus: in the
highlands, on the sea, in the city, among crowds, among the
sick, with the children, with the poor, with everybody...
And with Jesus to Mount Tabor, and with Jesus to Calvary, so
as to be able to rise with Him from there to eternal glory."
(21)
The following was his
explanation lo the novices on retreat, of the meaning of
transformation into Christ:
"The novice who wants to
be like Jesus makes an effort to be obedient and docile,
humble and modest, poor and detached from everything, pure
and without a stain of sin, compassionate and generous,
devout and quiet; Jesus was like that. And furthermore, He
was repentant and mortified, prudent and discreet, orderly,
self-sacrificing, with an intense spiritual life, always
with God. And He loved all to the point of giving His life
on the cross lo save us."
"If a novice should make a
good will effort to be like Jesus, then Jesus Himself will
accept him as a disciple and will sanctify him, will make
him happy, will make him apostle, will keep him in His
heart, will love him as His own, will bless him when he
awakens and will guide him all day, will watch over him
always, will keep him from harm and will be with him at his
death." (22)
"Among us there is but one
teacher: JESUS. And we all work enthusiastically to follow
in His footsteps: Thinking like Jesus, speaking like Jesus,
seeing things and people from the point of view of Jesus."
"Oh, most beloved Jesus,
this is what we promise you with all our soul: we will be
like you, honest, humble and good to all! We will be good
with the priests whom you love with a preferential love;
good with those who love us and good with those who
persecute us as they persecuted you; good with the good
souls, and good with the poor sinners... Yes, with your
grace, we will know how to sacrifice ourselves for all and
to see each of our brothers with deep affection... the way
you did." (23)
"Our way is Jesus
crucified. Be like a host consecrated to Jesus: full of
Jesus, our Teacher and model. A missionary of the Holy
Spirit ought to be a voluntary martyr, accepting every cross
for the love of Jesus, martyr to his duty even unto death,
martyr to his apostolate until he receives the crown. This
it is to be a copy of Jesus." (24)
THE LOVE OF JESUS
"May we love Jesus
passionately! This is my constant prayer. This is what I ask
for me and for each one of you."(25)
"Love Jesus with all your
heart, love Him without measure. He is your support, your
Light, your Life, your Spouse, your All." (26)
"Jesus loves you, my
daughter, as only He knows how. How do you love Him? Truly
without limit? Pray as much as you can during the day, go to
visit Jesus and thank Him a thousand times for everything He
has done for you; return to Him love for love. Be faithful
to Jesus! and be happy in his love." (27)
"God, God, God! ... I have
repeated it thousands of times and now I also say very
often: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. And when I say JESUS, I
see everything that He has done for us... For love of each
one of us, He gave up everything. Is it not fitting that we
give ourselves to Him and that we love Him without measure?"
"We live each day in the
love of Jesus. The gaze of the resurrected Jesus is one of
infinite and incomparable love for each one of us. 'He lives
always to intercede for us before the Father' (Heb. 7:25),
and obtains for us more and more favors, more and more
forgiveness, more and more mercy."
"In the midst of the
bright, arid periods of faith, my beloved sons, always bear
in mind, at all times, that Jesus is looking at you, and
that gaze is of pure love, and envelops each of our souls in
His very Soul."
"May the same Jesus, who
is all our hope, grant us the only thing we wish: to be His,
even to the smallest vibration of our spirit." "May Jesus
keep us all in His love and in that of his Divine Father,
and in that of the Holy Spirit, who together are one God."
(28)
"I have just started my
retreat two days ago, and I already see myself as a leper. I
have the clear vision of a soul full of miseries: it is
mine! This is very painful and very good. Ask together with
me for a radical change in my life, a complete conversion."
"The goodness of
Jesus towards me is so great, so incomprehensible... And my
ingratitude so black, everywhere I turn..."
"But I have complete
confidence, because His mercy is infinite for those who love
him, and, despite all, I truly love Him." (29)
JESUS IN THE EUCHARIST
This chapter would never
end if I were to reproduce here everything that Father Félix
wrote about the love of Christ in his letters and talks.
I only wish to add a very
clear aspect of love for Jesus in the spirituality of our
founder, and that is his devotion to Jesus Christ present in
the Eucharist. It is true that Christ, as God, is present
everywhere, but the man, the son of Mary, He who was called
Jesus, He who lived on earth and died for us is only present
in the splendor of His glory and in the consecrated hosts.
Father Félix was always impressed with the physical presence
of the humanity of Christ in our tabernacles. And he made
explicit his love and gratitude towards Jesus dedicating
many hours of his life, day and night, to the adoration of
Christ hidden in the Eucharistic bread.
Very frequently he talked
to the novices about "being with Jesus before the
tabernacle," of "adoring Jesus present in the consecrated
host," of "keeping Jesus company when He is left alone in
the churches," of "visiting Jesus many times a day," of
"comforting Jesus and making up for so much forgetfulness,
so much indifference, for so many sins…"
We will therefore end this
chapter with some paragraphs in which Father Félix talks to
us about love for Jesus in the Sacrament of the Eucharist:
"The Eucharist is the
supreme manifestation of the love of Jesus, not only for His
Church, but also for each of us. The Council of Trent
declared that: 'Our Savior, before leaving this world to
return to His Father, instituted the Sacrament of the
Eucharist in which He poured out the riches of His divine
love towards mankind.'" (S. 13. C.2)
"If we consider in the
Eucharist the three dimensions of love which St. Paul
admires in the Incarnation (Eph. 3:18), we will see that
they are also present in this admirable Sacrament: there is
no limit to the depth, because it is the infinite which
gives itself to us. There is no limit to the breadth,
either, because it is given to all without exception.
Neither is there a limit in time, because it is given at
every instant until the end of time."
"Although the Lord should
confide to us numerous ministries, the center of our life is
the Eucharist. Our soul does not leave this center, where it
finds new strength for its apostolate."
"More Tabernacle, my sons,
more Tabernacle every day!" (30)
"Our spirituality is one
of love for the Eucharistic Jesus. Let us keep our heart in
the Tabernacle, next to the Heart of Jesus which is on fire,
so that He will kindle in us His fire and His love." (31)
"Christ remains present in
each consecrated host, and there he renews His priestly
oblation and invites us to an intimate and personal union
with Him. That is why the prayer before the Most Blessed
Sacrament is our characteristic way of praying and demands
of us special fidelity. This is how we unite ourselves to
Christ in His constant glorification of the Father and in
His intercession for mankind." (32)
"Every day we will offer
the Lord an hour of prayer before Jesus, present in the
Sacrament of the Eucharist.
"As a practice which
conforms to our spirit and mission, we also recommend
dedicating time during the night for adoration of Jesus in
the Eucharist, even when this would require a special
effort." (33)
“I know live a life that
is a bit different, with these pains that have nailed me to
the feet of Our Lord. I do nothing but tell him that I wish
His will be done. I understand that these days of pain are
days of grace. And although I am so sick, what consolation
it is to be able to spend long hours at the feet of Jesus in
our chapel.” (34)
SOURCES
1. Talk to the novices.
September 14. 1932.
2. To the Daughters of the Holy Spirit, March 3, 1929
3. Notes. September 2, 1929.
4. Letter to the students
in Rome. August 1, 1930.
5. Notes. April 17,1924.
6. Notes. November 14,
1921.
7. To the students in Rome. January 13, 1932.
8. Ibid. October 25,1931.
9. Talk to the students,
January 7, 1929.
10. To the students in Rome. June 20, 1931.
11. Ibid., April 13,1929.
12. To a religious man, September 20, 1928.
13. Draft of the 1929 Constitutions.
14. Talk to the Novices, February 9,1930.
15. Ibid.
16. To the students in Rome.
17. Talk to students, January 17, 1932.
18. December 25,1932.
19. Commentary to the constitutions, April 15, 1934.
20. Letter to a priest, March 20,1934
21. Letter to Fr. José M. Gonzalez, March 19, 1919.
22. Talk to the novices, September 6, 1918.
23. Letter to the students in Rome, undated.
24. To a missionary, December 3, 1923.
25. To Father V. Méndez, December 17, 1923.
26. To a religious woman, June 22,1924.
27. To a religious woman, December 6, 1928.
28. To the students in Rome, May 5, 1930.
29. Retreat, November 4, 1925.
30. Retreat, April 22, 1934.
31. Letter to Rome, undated.
32. Constitutions No. 48.
33. Ibid. No. 96.
34. To the students in Rome, April 29, 1934.
