JANUARY
23
1861. Claret is strict with the chaplains and seminarians of El Escorial. He recommends Fr. Dionisio Gonzalez to expel some of them as a punishment and warning.
1866. Claret sends Fr. Joseph Xifre a copy of a letter from the Pope to the Queen. He does so as a delicate response to the antipathy towards the Queen that by Fr. Xifre expressed repeatedly.
CONSTITUTION OF THE INSTITUTE (1858-1870)
IN SEARCH OF LEGAL STABILITY
There was a serious problem of perseverance or of true vocations. Hence, there was a desire to demand more stability: an oath of permanence. Little by little vows, religious profession, etc. Throughout the forties and fifties, there were times when the group was at risk of dissolving. The presence of many ex-monks, ex-friars, etc., due to the seizure, made some enter seeking refuge, without having a true vocation, or to enter without a true commitment. There were also those who were looking for a certain type of Religious Life since at that time the civil government did not allow the existence of convents and monasteries.
After the II General Chapter of 1862 the novitiate was adopted, the oath of permanence, the consecration to the Heart of Mary and the private vows, recognizing the Students as a new class of members in the Congregation. In 1865 the formula of the religious profession was confirmed and the door opened for all the members of the Congregation to make profession of vows. Father Claret himself made it at the end of his life.
Anastasio Gutierrez, CMF
Missionary and Canon Lawyer (1911-1998)
Añatuya (Argentina). Son of Spanish emigrants, he lived his childhood in Santervas de la Vega (Palencia, Spain). Ordained a Claretian priest in 1935, he devoted himself to the work of formation. After four years, he was sent to Rome to get his doctorate Utriusque Iuris at the Lateran University in Rome and remained until his death on January 6th, at 86 years old. In Rome he began to publish remarkable scientific studies. He held various posts and positions of responsibility, both within the Institute and the Roman Curia and the Lateran University. Above all he distinguished himself by his comments on laws and ecclesiastical documents, by his legal-canonical studies, by his works as a Consultor and by his numerous articles in the magazine Commentarium pro Religiosis. In 1965 he founded the Lay Group Seguimi with Paola Majocchi in which great personalities of the Roman clergy also joined. He was a Vatican II peritus, consultant to several Roman Congregations and a great canonist. After his death, a street in Rome was named after him.
Pilgrim with Mary
As a small child I and my sister Rose, who was very devout, made frequent visits to the shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary called Fussimaña, a league away from my home. I cannot describe the devotion I felt at this shrine. Even before I got there, as soon as I could see the outline of the chapel, I felt so emotional that tears of tenderness welled up in my eyes. We started saying the rosary and kept praying all the way to the chapel. I have visited the shrine at Fussimaña whenever I could, not only as a child but as student, priest, and even as archbishop before I left for my diocese. (Aut 49)
FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION
- Are there Marian shrines that are particularly significant in your life?
- What evangelical texts about Mary are more inspiring to you?
- What place does Mary occupy in your missionary preaching?
- Why do so many people gather at the Marian Shrines?
- Movie: “Full of Grace” (70m).
(Blessed Emilio Bover, CMF)