English
Today, July 21, we – that is, the Salvatorian Family and the Catholic Church – commemorate the founder of the Salvatorian communities, Blessed Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan. Perhaps a day of remembrance like this is precisely the occasion to delve a little deeper into his life…
Johann Baptist – that was his original German name – was a young man from a poor background who was keenly aware of the spiritual needs of his time. And he wanted to change that, to bring healing to people, to restore balance to what had gone awry.
As his spiritual successors – whether as priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or lay Salvatorians – we are called to recognize these or similar needs in today’s world and to respond to them. In doing so, we need not – and must not – be afraid of complex or challenging questions. Nor is it right to think that this does not concern us, that it does not necessarily have anything to do with our life of faith. On the contrary, we are apostles – and perhaps at times even prophets – of our time. And we are bearers of a special tool, a tool that is meant to endow us with the diverse creativity and love needed to find good and authentic answers to these questions and challenges. By this I mean Salvatorian universality.
Experience teaches us that it is not always easy to face it, for it can indeed become quite a heavy burden and demand a great deal from the one who carries it. Johann Baptist was not daunted by this; rather, as his religious name suggests, he took up his cross. Being an apostle or a prophet in our day is no more a “comfort zone” than it ever has been. Yet it is an invitation to follow a path already trodden by far greater predecessors.
With this in mind, I wish us all a reflective commemoration of John the Baptist.
Christian Patzl