5
800
Centenaries
400
followed the Second Vatican Council. In this new phase, we need a vision of religious life in which we see our purpose and our symbols afresh and with clarity. With respect to the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, we need to see them as symbols through which we as Trinitarian religious can transform our world, a transformation that Christ makes real in the Eucharist. As Trinitarians, we must find ways to be more visible in Church and in society, realizing that religious life is an integral part of the Church that has been too hidden in recent years.
2. Do you think that it is an important event for the Trinitarian Family?
Whenever there is a reason to celebrate within the life of any and every family, it is an important moment in its life. And these centenaries are certainly important moments and give all of the Trinitarian Family reason to celebrate. Many religious orders and congregations have come and gone, serving their purpose, in the history of the Church. These centenaries tell us that we have a reason to continue to be, that God wants us around so that we may continue to take part in the redemptive mission of Christ himself, as we bring his redeeming and liberating love to those who are the captives of today, most especially to those Christians who suffer persecution because of their faith.
These centenaries should motivate us and push us to deepen our bonds within the Trinitarian Family and to rejuvenate us.
3. How can we offer these two important figures as relevant witnesses in today’s world?
Both, our Founder, St. John de Matha, and our Reformer, St. John
Baptist of the Conception, are figures that speak to our world today. The times, places and people have changed, but the situation that our world finds itself has not changed. What I mean by this is that humanity continues to suffer and to be in need of the healing and redeeming love of Christ made real through the ministries and lives of Trinitarian men and women. Both figures can animate us in our communal and apostolic life and encourage us to be actively engaged in the life of the Church and the world.
Perhaps one way we can present them as relevant witnesses to the Gospel in the world today, is to do more in making them known. It seems as so few people outside of the Trinitarian Family have any knowledge of either of these two great saints. We must be more proactive in presenting them to the world through individual and communal efforts.
4. How can we present these outstanding figures as models for our young people in formation?
Our men in formation do not lack for models to emulate in religious life. We have such wonderful examples in the lives of St. Michael of the Saints and Blessed Dominic Iturrate to be sure. However, both the founder and reformer need to be presented and seen anew in light of our understanding of our religious calling and the living out of that calling today. Their “radical yes” to God’s call to take on such a unique mission in the life of the Church such as redeeming Christian captives, speaks loudly to the “radical yes” that all of us make when we dare to assume a life that is different from that of the world.
By looking to SS. John de Matha and John Baptist of the Conception, our religious in formation can view models in which through the total gift of self of the Trinitarian, Jesus
again finds a dwelling place on earth, and seeks to assimilate the one consecrated to himself. Pope John Paul II in Vita Consecrata wrote that “consecrated persons make visible, in their consecration and total dedication, the loving and saving presence of Christ, the One consecrated by the Father, sent in mission. Allowing themselves to be won over by him (see Philippians 3:12), they prepare to become, in a certain way, a prolongation of his humanity.” Thus, the very love, mercy, and providence of God are made tangible and real to people of every age through the Trinitarian who becomes a sign and vehicle of His presence and action in the world today.
I can think of no better examples than our own holy men and women, in particular the founder and reformer, who set before us wonderful examples of selfless dedication to Christ in service to the captive. Truly, in their role as models, they serve as a great benefit for the awakening of renewed fervor within our Trinitarian vocation.
As sons and daughters of St. John de Matha and St. John Baptist of the Conception, with these exceptional models before us, we must strive to continue to fulfill the vision and mission that they began so long ago and embrace them and make them our own today.
"These centenaries should motivate us and push us to deepen our bonds within the Trinitarian Family and to rejuvenate us."