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Letter to the Three Montfortian Congregations
In view of the Preparation for the Tercentenary of Montfort’s Death
Rome, January 31, 2014
How is a Tercentenary celebrated?
The archives reveal that the past celebrations- those of the centenary and the bicentenary – were held in the midst of harsh conditions. In 1816, Europe was recovering from the Napoleonic wars and suffered the “year without summer”, a sort of mini ice age caused by the volcanic eruptions in Indonesia. In 1916, Europe was at war. In spite of the difficulties, and although horses and carriages were requisitioned for the war effort, more than 20, 000 persons went to St. Laurent on April 27 to celebrate the bicentenary of the death of Montfort. At Pontchâteau, in July, more than 12, 000 persons gathered for the celebrations. On that occasion, the “Moulin du Père de Montfort” (Montfort’s Mill) was inaugurated. Finally, worldwide, in Holland, Italy, Canada, United States and Shiré (Malawi), various celebrations highlighted the bicentenary. And now, what will be for us the year of the Tercentenary?
Finally, we observe that the 250th anniversary was particularly fertile in projects. That year, the Complete Works appeared, courageously guided by Father Gendrot. Hence the Avrillé and Poitiers sessions were born and thereafter, the footsteps of Montfort. As a missionary project, for the first time in history, the three Congregations present in Canada made a commitment in the mission project of Papua New Guinea. The Tercentenary should be as fertile in promising projects.
1. WHAT IS CELEBRATED?
This question can be answered by another one : Who is celebrated? A person is celebrated, Montfort! This means bringing to mind who he was in his life, developing awareness of who he is for us and for the Church today and finally exploring what it can be for us in the future: what orientations, what specific projects can he inspire us?
2. HOW TO CELEBRATE?
2.1: Celebrating Montfort means...
Before listing a series of activities, let us think of a way of celebrating a person we admire and love. The first question is not “What will we do”, but rather “What would please this person?” Therefore let us ask ourselves “What will please Montfort on this feast emphasizing his birth in heaven?” The answer can easily be found in what Montfort wrote, accomplished and desired all his life. This can be summarized in three points:
1. To discover and welcome God’s immense love for each of us and for the world. This love was manifested in Christ, Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom. And it was in Mary that Christ came in us and to us, and He still does it today.
2. To proclaim the joy of the Good News by word and gesture, by one’s personal life and relationship with others.
3. To bring the Father’s compassion to the poor of the world by welcoming them and being with them, by our concrete commitment to defend, help and accompany them.
2.2: Three dimensions to inspire our projects:
To celebrate Montfort, each Entity and the members of the three Congregations are invited to :
1. Rediscover the spiritual way of Montfort, his own personal way to grow in his relationship with God and to journey more fully in that way.
2. Share in his missionary zeal by feeding on the Word of God and exploring new ways of communicating the Gospel to the world, and in the words of Pope Francis, especially to the people on the fringes. (E.G. nos 20, 30, 46, 191, 288)
3. Get concretely involved in projects with persons or groups who are disadvantaged or deprived on the material, social and spiritual levels.
We will choose and build activities and projects around these poles. There will be two kinds: those coming under the initiative of the three General Administrations via the Tercentenary, the others left to the initiatives of the Entities of the various countries.
3. With whom do we celebrate?
The Tercentenary is an opportune time to make Montfort better known where we are established. Our aim should be to reach as many persons as possible.
However, we believe that a more intense collaboration and participation should be made with the following groups:
3.1. The members of the three Congregations :
Where the members of the three Montfortian Congregations are present, collaborating together in the preparation and the implementing of the various events is important.
3.2. Lay Associates should be involved with us as much as possible.
3.3. Finally, it would be good that any group or community coming within the sphere of influence of Montfort be invited in the planning as well as in the execution of the project.
(Foyer of Charity, Legion of Mary, Focolari, etc.)
4. CONCRETE PROJETS
4.1: Activities planned by the three General Councils
One year ago, the three General Councils of the Montfort family implemented a Tercentenary Committee in charge of administering the following activities:
4.1.1 – Inauguration of the Tercentenary
This will be done on May 24 2015, on the day of Pentecost, at St. Laurent-sur-Sèvres. The Daughters of Wisdom will take on the responsibility for that feast.
4.1.2 – Symposium on a Montfortian Theme
This symposium will be held at the Catholic Institute of Angers, June 2-3, 2016 in collaboration with the Institute. The Brothers of St. Gabriel accept the leadership of this project.
Possible theme: To explore and celebrate the legacy of Montfort for today.
4.1.3 – Closing celebration of the Tercentenary
This celebration will be held September 11, 2016 at the Calvary of Pontchâteau. The Company of Mary will take charge of this last event.
4.1.4 – New edition of the Complete Works of Montfort
We speak here of the original works in French. We suggest that a committee be established to carry out this project. It seems preferable to begin by editing one text at a time and then combining them in a single volume.
4.2: Activities suggested for the various Entities
From what was stated at paragraph 2 above, the activities aim at implementing the following three elements: spiritual journey, Evangelization, presence among the poor.
Here are some suggestions from these three points:
Spiritual Journey Evangelization Presence with the poor and at the fringes
- Retreat centered on Montfortian spirituality
- - Publications presenting Montfort’s spirituality in an accessible way
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- - Preparation of a tool of spiritual animation for the Tercentenary.
- Special issues of the Montfortian magazines
- Pilgrimages – participation to the Montfortian pilgrimage at Lourdes in 2016. Pilgrimage «on the steps of Montfort in Rome»
- - Artistic expressions for theater, song and painting,
- - Media Presentation and presence (Web, blog, youtube…etc.)
To bring the baptized to rediscover the joy of the Gospel through parish missions, spiritual return to the roots
To find new ways of proclaiming the Gospel – for example, on social media
To launch new projects to make Jesus Christ known to people spiritually and socially on the fringes. To be conscious of our presence (or our absence) close to destitute in our societies or elsewhere;
To evaluate existing projects and raise awareness.
To launch a new project, either by supporting another project of another Entity or by starting a new presence among the destitute in one’s own Entity
Attached, you will find the Tercentenary Year Calendar. To simplify, we built up two pages in landscape format that can be stuck together. This schedule will allow you to concentrate activities on the events of the life of Montfort and the main liturgical feasts.
5. The logo
The logo was developed by Sr. Claudette Danis, DW. It represents Father de Montfort walking. It symbolizes his missionary walk to bring the Gospel and his spiritual pilgrimage with Christ and Mary. The curved lines evoke the momentum of our Congregations from past to future. The black and white version of the logo will be posted on the internet site. It can be used for the publications or the souvenir items related to the Tercentenary: T-Shirts, scarves, bookmarks…etc.
6. Internet - web site
A committee has already been formed to develop a web site for the Tercentenary. On this site all the activities organized by the three Congregations in the various Entities will be posted.
The members of the Tercentenary Committee at the level of the General Councils are:
Sisters Louise Madore DW and Jacqueline Portefaix DW,
Brothers John Kallarackal sg and Yvan Passebon sg,
Fathers Georges Madore s.m.m. and Pierre Bonhommeau s.m.m.
Conclusion
In Montfort’s last letter to Marie-Louise Trichet in April 2016, ten days or so before his death, he wrote: “My dear daughters, (…) I think of you always, especially during holy Mass. I will never forget you.” (Letter 34) Through the activities and celebrations of the Tercentenary, we also want to say to Montfort that we will not forget him ever. What better way to tell him then to follow him closely in our spiritual journey and our evangelical commitment. May this Tercentenary be not only a memorial of the past, a look on the present but also a momentum forward with Montfort’s courage and trust in Providence. This present will really please him!
Sister Louise Madore, DW Brother John Kallarackal b.s.g Father Santino Brembilla s.m.m.