1. Background of the Study
Christology is the part of theology which deals with Jesus Christ. In its full extent it comprises the doctrines concerning both the person of Christ and His works. Accordingly, many writers in Christology present Jesus Christ with different themes and emphases. Some modern writers even used different approaches or methodologies (e.g., patristic, speculative, ontological, functional and cosmic) to discuss the nature of Jesus Christ.[1]
This paper will be focusing on Christology in the perspective of Hannibal Maria Di Francia’s “three major devotions”[2]. It is the aim of the writer to study in the Christological outlook of Di Francia in the paradigm of the Divine Command: “Rogate.”[3] This reference to the Divine Command, “Rogate,” will be discussed in some of Di Francia’s three major devotions to Jesus such as: Feast of the Name of Jesus,[4] The Devotion to the Sacred Heart[5], and Feast of July the First.[6]
In his life, Di Francia deeply felt that vocations in the Church only come through prayer. Since the Church was the great harvest of the people all over the world of any class and condition, Di Francia said that: “No remedy is more efficacious than this one commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ to save the people, nations society, the Church, especially children and youth as well as to evangelize the poor and to get all spiritual and temporal goods for humankind.”[7] He found in the Gospel of Mark and Luke the words of Jesus commanding such a prayer: "Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Mt. 9:38; Lk 10:2) These words became the main source of inspiration for his life and the charism which led his apostolate and intensified his devotion. These words also became the standpoint of his faith to understand Jesus Christ as Lord of the Harvest, and thus the Lord of the “Rogate.”[8] Seeing Jesus Christ in the poor and marginalized people, Di Francia carried out what he defined as the "spirit of a twofold charity: the evangelization of and the care for the poor."[9]
The researcher aims also to present the implications and challenges to pastoral works of the church in the Christology of Di Francia regarding the Lord of the Harvest and the Rogate, particularly in the field of vocation and preferential option for the poor. With this, one may come to know that the missionary spirit of Di Francia, inspired by the Lord of the Harvest, means that he wanted to reach out to the orphans and the poor all over the world. He perceived that the Rogate was the real answer to the scarcity of vocations to the priestly and religious life. He wrote: "What are these few orphans we attend to, these few people we bring the good news to, compared to the millions who are lost and abandoned as sheep without a shepherd?... I looked for an answer and I found a complete one in the words of Jesus: 'Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers to gather his harvest'. I concluded then that I had found the secret key to all good works and to the salvation of all souls."[10] Moreover, the writer hopes to emphasize that Di Francia’s Rogate was not simply a recommendation, but an explicit command and an infallible remedy of the Lord.
This work aims to show the sanctity and mission of Di Francia as an outstanding devoted apostle of the prayer for vocations as deeply felt in our time by all who are concerned with the need for vocations in the Church. Benedict XVI described him as a person “who had an intense love for Christ and always drew inspiration from him carrying out an effective vocations apostolate, as well as courageous work for his needy neighbor.”[11]
2. Statement of the Problem
It is the aim of the writer to study the Christological outlook of Hannibal Mary Di Francia in reference to the Rogate by the Lord of the harvest guided by the following questions:
a. What are Di Francia’s three major devotions to Jesus?
b. What are the Scriptural, Magisterial and theological foundations of the three major devotions?
c. What challenges and opportunities did Di Francia mark in his view of Jesus Christ as Lord of the Rogate?
3. Significance of the Study
This study is significant in:
Theology: This study on Christology of Hannibal Mary Di Francia hopes to contribute to the advancement of Christology, especially on the appreciation of the nature of vocation and apostolate for the poor and childre. It also aims to contribute in the modern approach of pastoral theology, Biblical and Christological approach to the theology of vocation primarily rooted in the call and invitation of the Lord of the Harvest to pray for work in harvest.
Ecclesiology: This study hopes to contribute something to the Universal Church's understanding of the Christology of Di Francia. The contribution lies on the contextual discussion of the research problem. It implies the great challenge today of inculturation that requires one to proclaim the Good News in languages and ways that can be understood by the people of our time, involved in rapidly changing social and cultural milieu.
This study proposes that the Christology of Di Francia can be applied, for example, in the Diocese of San Pablo. It will somehow give an idea regarding promotion of the three major devotions to Jesus as part of spiritual care of vocations in the local Church using the paradigm of Di Francia. It touches not only the religious vocations but, it will also touch the side of secular priestly vocation and lay vocations.
Anthropology: Finally, this study hopes to contribute to the theological education and formation of the Christian. As the study indicates, Christology of Hannibal Mary Di Francia: Challenges and Opportunities may have a transforming effect on spiritual life. It is hoped that the Christian is enlightened in his own vocation or discovery that is primarily rooted in the invitation of Christ to work in the vast harvest of the Harvest-Master by responding in the call to love God and love of neighbor.
4. Definition of Terms
Challenges: pertain to the perspective, analysis of the situation of a particular church and growth “towards the future”[12] and “challenge of formation”[13] living in the context today the divine command of the Lord of the harvest.
Christology: is the “reflection, explanation, and communication of faith, considered the pivot of all theological research that used Christocentrism as an epistemological principle learning and belief, and it has been transmitted without interruption to the critical conscience of contemporary believers.”[14] It is the “recapitulation of theological anthropology.”[15]
Hannibal Mary Di Francia: was born in Messina, Italy, on July 5, 1851. The third of four children, he lost his father when he was only fifteen months old. The sad experience of losing a parent made him deeply sensitive to the plight of children longing for parents and this influenced his life and his educational system. He was only seventeen when, at prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament, he was given the "revelation of Rogate", that is, he deeply felt that vocations in the Church come only through prayer. Subsequently he found that such prayer is commanded by Jesus in the Gospel when He says: "Ask [Rogate] the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers to gather his harvest" (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2). These words became the fundamental insight to which he dedicated his entire life. Hannibal felt that the Rogate was not simply the Lord's recommendation, but an explicit command and an "infallible remedy". For this reason, his charism can be considered as giving life to a providential foundation in the Church. He is the founder of the “two religious Congregations,”[16] namely: The Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus and the Daughters of Divine Zeal under the inspiration of the "Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2). He died in Messina on June 1, 1927. For John Paul II, he is the "authentic forerunner and zealous master of the modern pastoral care for vocations.”[17] The sanctity and mission of Di Francia as an "outstanding Apostle of the prayer for vocations" are deeply felt in our time by all who are concerned with the need for vocations in the Church. John Paul II proclaimed Di Francia a Blessed on October 7, 1990. He was elevated to sainthood last May 16, 2004.
Opportunities: pertains to the apostolate of the Rogate, “pastoral care for vocations and service of charity among the poor ones and abandoned children.”[18]
5. Methodology
In this study, the researcher uses the deductive or the doctrinal method. It is employed with deductive because it is more biblical and not experiential or something theology from below. This deductive method is theology from above which gives more idea from the Sacred Scriptures or in a Sacred Tradition, Church’s Magisterium, history, or any other source that can be used for this study. However, the foundation of this study is more on biblical and Church’s teaching. And those elements were used by the researcher in order to deepen our knowledge in Christology and to be aware of our Christian faith.
6. Organization of the Study
This paper, perhaps, is clearly organized and well in order. It consists of five parts and all of these chapters are focuses only to Mary. The first part is an introduction of the study which consists of Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Significance of the Study, Scope and Limitations, Methodology, and Organization of the Study. This first part over view the whole contents of the study. The last part is the conclusion which includes the Summary, Findings, and Bibliography. Its purpose is to conclude and evaluate the study for its academic purpose.
The second part is the discussion of the sub-problem one in the significance of the study. It focuses on Hannibal Mary Di Francia’s three major devotions.
The third part is the discussion of the sub-problem two that deals with the Biblical, Magisterial and Theological foundations of Di Francia’s Three Major Devotions to Jesus
The fourth part is the discussion of the sub- problem three that deals with the Challenges and Opportunities in the Christology of Hannibal Mary Di Francia.
B. HANNIBAL MARIA DI FRANCIA’S
THREE MAJOR DEVOTIONS TO JESUS
This Chapter is about the three major devotions of Hannibal Maria di Francia based on some manifestations of his devotions to Jesus Christ as the Lord of the Rogate. The discussion begins at the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. That the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus is Di Francia’s devotion to give thanks and petitions to God. This discussion is followed by Di Francia’s Devotion to the Sacred Heart. Di Francia introduced the Devotion to the Sacred Heart as the Lord of the Rogate who is compassionate to the poor and abandoned ones. Finally, this chapter will discuss the Feast of July the First. This idea comes when the Blessed Sacrament brought by Di Francia to the very poor of Avignone.
1. The Feast of the Most Holy Name Jesus
The month of January, for the religious communities of the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus and the Daughters of Divine Zeal, is dedicated to the Name of Jesus, and everyday therein, they read a special passage from a booklet during the evening meditation. Preceded by a solemn novena with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the feast is celebrated the last day of the month. Di Francia wrote the prayers of the novena, added three quatrains to the well known song (All’orecchio, al labor, al cuore…), and during the European war added four verses to each stanza to match the atonement prayers.[19]
To comply with the precept of the Apostle Paul: “In all prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart” (Phil. 4:6). Each request will be preceded by a tender thanksgiving for the graces that the religious communities obtained. Every year they add or take away something from the previous petitions, according to the circumstances. By doing so, the religious communities diversify them and sometimes they had no need to make changes. Furthermore, Di Francia explained in the religious communities with simplicity and clarity what does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus:
Not believing in these promises is not believing in Jesus Christ’s divinity. Asking in the name of our Lord means asking through his divine merits, which can obtain everything from the eternal Father. By praying in the name of Jesus we join his earthly, perfect prayers which the eternal Father could not help granting; now, Jesus repeats his divine petition from the tabernacle, and we join them every time we pray in his name, firmly trusting that God will deny nothing owing to Jesus promise. If we have to pray so in any time, with greater reason we have to do so on the day dedicated to his most Holy Name.[20]
Pronouncing the word “Jesus” calls to mind the mysteries of God’s love, wisdom and charity. To pray to God the Father in the name of Jesus means offering the whole Jesus Christ. This means that the whole Jesus Christ – His body and the totality of His glorious earthly existence – elevated the prayer to the Highest One.[21] To pray in the name of Jesus does not only mean to lean to the merits of Christ, but also to be its intimate pray-ers. For Di Francia there is only one effective prayer to Christ. This means that a person must not think, however, that this prayer is exhausted in prayer recited by Jesus because all of His life was adoration, continuous prayer, from incarnation to life conceived in the womb, in the House of Nazareth, until his death and resurrection. From here, one could say that the life of Christ is a life of perfect prayer.
In this feast of the Name of Jesus place the person of the Lord at the center of the contemplation of the religious communities. Di Francia said: “the name of Jesus is the person of Jesus.”[22] In this feast Jesus is contemplated as temple of God (Jn 2:19-21) and place of the encounter and dialogue/ prayer with the Father. So that is why this devotion should be done with all enthusiasm. Di Francia often called the religious communities’ attention: “I suppose you are doing the novena of the most adorable name of Jesus with great fervor, and hope that you continue to do so. These tremendous times are getting worse (January 22, 1917), urging us to be more recollected and to pray to God with fervent petitions.”[23]
On the feast day itself, the religious communities presented the great petition to the eternal Father to obtain graces through the merits of the most Holy Name of Jesus. Di Francia said: “We recommend that the fervor, with living faith and humble confidence, based on the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, to which the eternal Father denies nothing.”[24] Di Francia’s final petition is made of 34 requests in favor of the religious communities.[25] Each petition is preceded by a thanksgiving for the graces already granted, and is read at noon before the opened tabernacle. The number 34 signifies the life of the incarnate Word, from conception to death. To place all prayers in 34 thanks or petitions means entering in prayers of Christ – that is to say entering in Jesus’ life.[26]
2. The Devotion to the Sacred Heart
The devotion to the Sacred Heart was the sovereign devotion in Di Francia’s heart, because it comes to love for God and neighbor. Di Francia’s love for the Sacred Heart was sculpturally defined: “The Sacred Heart was his heart.”[27] He was struck by the Sacred Heart’s tenderness and compassion as described in the gospel through the various episodes and expressions, from which he derived his own tenderness and compassion for all human misfortunes.[28] He made the Sacred Heart the titular of his congregations, and every year he prepared the feast with at least a triduum of preaching to foster the fervor in the communities. As to the devotion to the Sacred Heart, he declared:
I declare that the outstanding devotion of the order to the most holy Heart of Jesus is very sweet, gentle, and dear to me. I consecrate myself to the adorable Heart and to its most holy desires, wishing to promote its interests as though they were mine. I will glory in offering myself as a lover, son, slave, and victim of this divine Heart, striving to make people know and love it all over the world. But it is in the Eucharistic Communion that I will be so close to it as to never be separated from it. I will say: “Jesus is mine and I belong to him; I have caught him to never loose him.” My duty is to live the life of his Heart.”[29]
Di Francia is convinced that the Sacred Heart means infinite goodness, love, charity, and mercy. The Divine Redeemer is love. Out of love Jesus allowed himself to be formed in Mary’s womb like one of us with a human nature.[30] Out of love Jesus Christ cried in the manger, and drew to himself the hearts of mankind. Out of love Jesus Christ spoke, prayed, hid himself, and worked miracles. In his Passion, out of love He allowed people to put him in the press, oppressing and transforming him into the man of suffering. Thus, the crucified Jesus is the invincible proof of God’s love for man.
Furthermore, Di Francia explained the nature of divine love:
Keep in mind that loving Jesus does not mean to feel a little sensible devotion, nor the pleasure of doing nothing, nor staying in the church; on the contrary, it means to be mortified, to be subject to obedience, to beware of any sin, to embrace the suffering of the work, want, poverty, contradiction, and any trouble. By doing such things, divine love is lit up in the soul and brings consolation to it.[31]
These considerations speak about the spirit of Di Francia, who only wished to do everything the greatest and infinite consolation of the Heart of Jesus. He wished to penetrate the heavens, and reach the throne of the Sacred Heart in order to give beats of a new joy to the divine Heart. It signifies that beats of Di Francia’s heart and consuming for him the energies of his life in the charity for God and neighbor. In the fit of his free zeal for conquering souls to the kingdom of love, he waved to the world the banner of the Rogate, “which contains all the interests of that Divine Heart.”[32]
3. The Feast of July the First
Those who have not know Di Francia can hardly realize the importance he attached to the memorable date July first, 1886. Since that event the institution was in the Creator’s hands. Di Francia develops this idea:
Jesus came to remain permanently. He came as a king to set his kingdom in the midst of his citizens, as a good shepherd to feed the sheep entrusted to him, the flock that had to live with him without fear. He came as the divine farmer to cultivate his little plant. Which had the seed of his divine ROGATE in suffering and mortification….He came as a very loving father in the midst of his children to form a small family living on his body and blood, and to make it able to receive from his divine lips the command of his heart’s divine zeal: “PRAY, THEREFORE, TO THE OWNER OF THE HARVEST THAT HE WILL SEND OUT WORKERS TO GATHER IN HIS HARVEST.” This command is strictly connected with Jesus in the Sacrament, which cannot exist without the priesthood….When Jesus came in the Sacrament, the pious institute was yet bambino in the number of its members, but, it rose as small caravan to start a very intricate pilgrimage. It was always supported by the true Ark of the Covenant, which was not containing the symbolical manna, but the real bread from heaven.[33]
Di Francia made the Eucharist the vital center of the institute. He established the feasts on July first to commemorate the first coming of Jesus in the sacrament to the Avignone Quarter after two years of preparation. Francis Vitale, Di Francia’s first successor, said:
Through such a preparation, the Servant of God aimed at making people understand the difference made by the empty tabernacle and the tabernacle inhabited by Jesus. When the tabernacle is empty, the king of the house, the father, the benefactor, the light, the friend, and all is out; hence the longing of hearts for the coming of Jesus among us to fill the afflicting gap.
The feast of July first is at the center of the history of the congregations founded by Di Francia. It celebrates and actualizes the mystery of the Word who, in the Eucharist, becomes Emmanuel, God with us always, until the end of times (cf. Mt. 1:23; 28:20). This implies to the calling to stay with Christ, because He took the initiative and deigned to come to dwell among his people. This companionship was and is possible because the beloved Son, in his obedience to the Father, humbled himself, and, though he was rich, he became poor for his people and offered himself in his body.[34]
At the origin of this vivifying and prophetic presence there is the gratuitous love of the Father revealed in the Son. This presence actualizes the mystical union which anticipates the heavenly situation when his people will be with him forever: “he will dwell among us, we will be his people and he will be God-with-us” (cf. Rev. 21:3). Moreover, in the Eucharist Jesus makes present among the believers the sanctifying action of the Spirit sent by the Father and shared each day with them, so that, by communicating to the body which is given and to the blood which is shed, the believers may become one offering for the glory of God the Father. The daily participation for this sacrifice of Christ is the effective prayer that in all places and times obtains from the Owner of the harvest the gift of the evangelical workers. It is in this communion with him that we are transformed into that One Worker needed by the contemporary world.[35]
C. BIBLICAL, MAGISTERIAL AND THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS
OF DI FRANCIA’S THREE MAJOR DEVOTIONS TO JESUS
This chapter is about the Biblical, Magisterial and theological foundations of Hannibal Mary Di Francia’s three major devotions to Jesus, namely: Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, the Devotion to the Sacred Heart, and Feast of July the First. The discussion begins at the Biblical foundations of the three major devotions. This discussion will show the scriptural bases of the said devotions. This discussion will be followed by the Magisterial foundations of the three major devotions. This will elaborate the discussion about the three major devotions in Church teachings’ perspective. Finally, this chapter will present theological foundations. This discussion will offer deeper reflections in Christology of the three major devotions using the insights of different theologians.
1. Biblical Foundations
a. The Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
Hannibal Mary Di Francia’s devotion to the feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus is based on Jesus Christ’s divine promise to his disciples: “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it” (Jn. 14:13-14). After this, Di Francia elaborated it more by adding the following verse: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). Di Francia connected it to the following verse: “…so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Phil. 2:10). Di Francia explained:
Reflect properly, had not Jesus come into the world we could have prayed for our entire life and the Father would not have given us a single grace. Our prayers would have been useless, maybe neither good. But since Jesus came into the world, he took our humanity on himself and sanctified it, he redeemed us and incorporated us spiritually in Himself. Because of this all action and prayer which are done as members of Jesus Christ, are fortified by his merits. For this reason he called us ‘branches’.[36]
Furthermore, a branch cut off from the vine does not produce fruits, cannot pray, while united to it, it produces fruits which are prayer and the works of the Kingdom of God. Di Francia added: “Till now you have not asked for anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your happiness may be complete” (Jn.16, 24). Moreover, a person praying in the name of Jesus means that a person unites his or her prayer to the prayers of Jesus. When Jesus prayed in the time of His earthly life with His most perfect prayers, His eternal Father could not refuse in any way His prayers. Here, one could see the “centrality of Christ in the celebration of the feast.”[37]
b. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The inspiration of Hannibal Di Francia to found two religious communities committed to the pastoral works for vocation is based on the compassionate Heart of Jesus. This devotion primarily is rooted under the inspiration of the following verses in the Gospel of Matthew:
When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the Harvest to send out labourers into his harvest’ (Mt. 9:36-38).
Hereby, Di Francia was struck by the Heart of Jesus tenderness and compassion as described in the gospel of Matthew, not only in the above mentioned verses, but through the various episodes and expressions, from which he derived his own tenderness and compassion for all human misfortunes.[38]
The celebration of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, and its related devotion, is for Di Francia an occasion and stimulus to assimilate the same sentiments which were in Jesus (See Phil 2:5-11). The fusion of hearts and sharing of sentiments, are the highest expressions of the union with Christ and the finality for which Di Francia have been moved to give importance on this devotion. Di Francia believed that through sincere prayer (rogate) to the Lord of the Harvest, God “will give shepherds according to God’s Heart” (Jer. 3:15).
In the Litany of the Sacred Heart, there is a most beautiful invocation which is inspired by our reflection upon the Incarnation: “Heart of Jesus formed by Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us.” The invocation which follows reminds us again that the human heart of Jesus was made one with His divine nature: “Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God.” It is to His own Heart that Christ refers in the Gospels: “My heart goes out to My people” (Mt 15:31); and “Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. Your souls will find rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden light” (Mt 11:28-29).
Speaking through Ezekiel, God described His work of Redemption with these words: “I will give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the stony heart from their bodies, and replace it with a natural heart, so that they will live according to My statutes, and observe and carry out My ordinances; thus they shall be My people, and I will be their God” (Ez 11:19-20).
c. Feast of July 1
The Feast of July 1 is very important in the pastoral life of Hannibal Mary Di Francia because it is the center of the history of the congregations founded under the inspiration of the command of Jesus: “ask the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Mt 9:38). . Moreover, the Feast celebrates and actualizes the mystery of the Word who, in the Eucharist, becomes Emmanuel, God with us always, until the end of times (cf. Mt. 1:23; 28:20). It entails also the response of Jesus for the situation of the crowd “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt.9:36). Thus, Jesus presence actualizes the mystical union which anticipates the heavenly situation when his people will be with him forever: “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them” (cf. Rev. 21:3).
2. Magisterial Foundations
a. The Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
In the Apostolic Letter of Paul VI, Summi Dei Verbum, under his discussion about Christian and priestly education, he said that: “the natural energies of mind and will must be ruled by faith and charity, so that all our actions carried out in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ may merit an eternal reward." It teaches that without the healing grace of our Savior it is impossible to fulfill all the commandments of the natural law or to acquire perfect permanent virtue. From this undisputed principle there follows a great practical conclusion: The formation of the man must proceed step by step with that of the Christian and the future priest, so that the natural energies are purified and strengthened by prayer, by the grace which comes from frequent reception of Penance and the Eucharist, and by the influence of the supernatural virtues which receive protection and assistance from the natural virtues.[39]
In the Encyclical of Pius XII, Doctor Mellifluus, he said:
So burning was his love, particularly of Jesus Christ Our Divine Savior, that, loved thereby, he penned the beautiful and lofty pages which still arouse the admiration and enkindle the devotion of all readers. "What can so enrich the soul that reflects upon it (the holy name of Jesus)? What can . . . strengthen the virtues, beget good and honorable dispositions, foster holy affections? Dry is every kind of spiritual food which this oil does not moisten. Tasteless, whatever this salt does not season. If thou writest, thy composition has no charms for me, unless I read there the name of Jesus. If thou dost debate or converse, I find no pleasure in thy words, unless I hear there the name of Jesus. Jesus is honey on the lips, melody in the ear, joy in the heart. Yet not alone is that name light and food. It is also a remedy. Is any one amongst you sad? Let the name of Jesus enter his heart; let it leap thence to his mouth; and lo! the light shining from that name shall scatter every cloud and restore peace. Has some one perpetrated a crime, and then misled, moved despairingly towards the snare of death? Let him but invoke this life-giving name, and straightway he shall find courage once more. . . Whoever, all a-tremble in the presence of danger, has not immediately felt his spirits revive and his fears depart as soon as he called upon this name of power? There is nothing so powerful as the name of Jesus to check anger, reduce the swelling of pride, heal the smarting wound of envy. . ."[40]
Today the Church celebrates the optional memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite this feast is celebrated on January 2. In the liturgical revisions of Vatican II, the feast was removed, though a votive Mass to the Holy Name of Jesus had been retained for devotional use. With the release of the revised Roman Missal in March 2002, the feast was restored as an optional memorial in the Ordinary Form on January 3. The Church reveals to us the wonders of the Incarnate Word by singing the glories of His name. The name of Jesus means Saviour; it had been shown in a dream to Joseph together with its meaning and to Our Lady at the annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel.[41]
Furthermore, this devotion was promoted in a special manner by St. Bernard, St. Bernardine of Siena, St. John Capistrano and by the Franciscan Order. It was extended to the whole Church in 1727 during the pontificate of Innocent XIII. The month of January has traditionally been dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus which is kept on the First Sunday in the year; but if this Sunday falls on January 1, 6, or 7, the feast is kept on January 2.[42]
b. The Sacred Heart of Jesus
In the encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor by Pius XI, issued on May 8, 1928. It deals with the concepts of Acts of Reparation and atonement. In this encyclical Pope Pius XI presented Church's position with respect to the visions of Jesus Christ reported by Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque in the 17th Century. In the encyclical Pope Pius XI stated that Jesus Christ had "manifested Himself"[43] to Saint Margaret and had "promised her that all those who rendered this honor to His Heart would be endowed with an abundance of heavenly graces."[44] The encyclical refers to the conversation between Jesus and Saint Margaret several times.
Pius XII’s encyclical, Haurietis Aquas, gave two reasons why the Church gives the highest form of worship to the Heart of Jesus. The first rests on the principle whereby the believers recognize that Jesus' Heart is hypostatically united to the "Person of the Incarnate Son of God Himself". The second reason is derived from the fact that the Heart is the natural sign and symbol of Jesus' boundless love for the humans. The encyclical recalls that for human souls the wound in Christ's side and the marks left by the nails have been "the chief sign and symbol of that love" that ever more incisively shaped their life from within.
The Pope describes several erroneous opinions regarding this devotion. There are those, who consider it burdensome and of little or no use to men. Others consider this devotion as a piety suited for women, and not for educated men. There are those who consider a devotion of this kind as primarily demanding penance, expiation and the other virtues which they call "passive," meaning thereby that they produce no external results. Hence they do not think it suitable to re-enkindle the spirit of piety in modern times.[45] The encyclical replies with Pope Pius XI: The veneration of the Sacred Heart is a summary of all our religion and, moreover, a guide to a more perfect life. It more easily leads our minds to know Christ the Lord intimately and more effectively turns our hearts to love Him more ardently and to imitate Him more perfectly."[46] Haurietis Aquas opines that the Sacred Heart never ceased, and never will cease, to beat with calm. It will never cease to symbolize the threefold love with which Jesus Christ is bound to His heavenly Father and the entire human race.
The Heart of Jesus Christ loves the human race but as a human and divine heart. It began to beat with love at once human and divine after the Virgin Mary generously pronounced her “Fiat”;[47] The Sacred Heart of Jesus shares in a most intimate way in the life of the Incarnate Word, and is thus a kind of instrument of the Divinity. Therefore, “in the carrying out of works of grace and divine omnipotence, His Heart, no less than the other members of His human nature is a symbol of that unbounded love.”[48]
c. Feast of July 1
The Feast of July 1 is the unique Eucharistic celebration of the religious communities of the Rogationists of the Heart of Jesus and Daughters of Divine Zeal. It remembers the first coming of Jesus in the sacrament to the Avignone Quarter after two years of preparation through the direction of Hannibal Mary Di Francia. This call to mind also that the religious communities founded by Di Francia were born among the very poor of the said Quarter. One of the preparations for the pious solemnity is vital, and makes people feel the commemoration always new: it is the title of the year given to the Son God made man and returning in the midst of his poor through the Blessed Sacrament.
Technically, one could not find any Church documents that explain about the Feast of July 1. However, the Feast of July 1 speaks about the presence of Jesus among the poor ones of Avignone Quarters in the Eucharist, one could find connections to some Church teachings that speaks about the relationship of the Eucharist and the poor – the concept of Emmanuel, “God-with-us.”
The Apostolic Letter Mane Nobiscum Domine, of John Paul II emphasized the force which the Eucharist gives to the community for “a practical commitment to building a more just and fraternal society.”[49] John Paul II explain:
In the Eucharist our God has shown love in the extreme, overturning all those criteria of power which too often govern human relations and radically affirming the criterion of service: Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all (Mk 9:35). It is not by chance that the Gospel of John contains no account of the institution of the Eucharist, but instead relates the washing of feet (cf. Jn 13:1-20): by bending down to wash the feet of his disciples, Jesus explains the meaning of the Eucharist unequivocally. Saint Paul vigorously reaffirms the impropriety of a Eucharistic celebration lacking charity expressed by practical sharing with the poor (cf.1Cor 11:17-22, 27-34).[50]
Eucharist is an experience of the presence of Jesus who invites others to reach out the poor and the needy, in loving service. Action on behalf of the poor and the disadvantaged must be motivated by the Eucharist and one's faith in it. Indeed, selfishness deprive the Eucharist of its meaning (cf. 1Cor.11:20), is a contempt for the community and an embarrassment of the poor (cf. 1Cor.11:22). The purpose of sharing, of course, is not to have Christians who are filled, but to create a society where those who have share with those who do not have. That the Eucharist is central to one’s faith demands that a person envisions a Christian society that brings about solidarity with the poor and the disadvantaged as well as universal fraternal concern.
The Eucharistic celebrations should engender in everyone the courage to build genuine societies that reconcile, forgive, minister to the poor and the marginalized. The Eucharist must be lived by becoming communities of loving concern, hospitality, selfless service to the poor, the excluded, and downtrodden. The breaking of the Bread must continue. That is the sign that we live the Eucharist (cf. Jn 13:1-17).[51]
3. Theological Foundations
a. Most Holy Name of Jesus: “The Revelation of the Name”[52]
Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, defines himself as “the truth” (cf. Jn 14:6), and that is insofar as the divine design of salvation is contained and revealed in him, in his words, and in his deeds. The name of Jesus is not just a word, but a person: Jesus himself. Belief in Jesus is raised to the level of an exposition of the name of God and of what it signifies. On the other hand, it implies the start of friendship: to know a person’s name opens the possibility of and leads to love for that person. Thus, the Evangelist does not only explains to us how Christ reveals the Father to us but also connects us to the love of the Father.[53]
Revelation achieves its height in Jesus, since “in many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son…” (Heb 1:1-2). Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches “Christ’s whole earthly life – his words and deeds, his silences and sufferings, indeed his manner of being and speaking – is Revelation of the Father. Jesus can say: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9), and the Father can say: “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (Lk 9:35). Because our Lord became man in order to do his Father’s will (cf. Heb 10:5-7), even the smallest characteristics of his mysteries manifest “God’s love… among us” (1 Jn 4:9)”[54]
Jesus said of himself, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Mt 28:18), and he exercises this power by performing many miracles. He also gave his disciples the power to perform miracles in his name: “And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits” (Mt. 10:1). He commanded them to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons” (Mt 10:8). Furthermore, the disciples, upon returning, bore witness to his divinity: “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name” (Lk 10:17).
b. The Sacred Heart of Jesus: “The Most Authentic Inner Self”[55]
In faith Jesus can surely be regarded as a man with the most authentic inner self. One only has to go through the characteristics of this attribute to discover how well they apply to Jesus. The man from Nazareth was known through his relationships with others. Jose M. de Mesa and Lode L. Wostyn explained that “In welcoming people, relieving them of sickness and burdensome mental anguish, he has made known to them who he really was: a man for others. Jesus’ freedom with regard to life, manifested sharply in his attitude toward the law, expressed that the source of his actions came from within himself. It was not dictated nor manipulated from external factors. What he did for others welled up from his most authentic inner self. Finally, what Jesus did he did for the wellbeing of people.”[56] Both in Jesus deeds and words, he championed whatever it is which brought comfort to people. He wanted in one way or another to bring people out of poverty so that they can experience comfort.
Furthermore, when we speak of a theology of the Sacred Heart, it means the love of God revealed first to us, the poem of love that issues forth from the Heart of God. This is exactly what St John, whom the Eastern tradition calls, "The Theologian", says in his First Letter: "In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins" (1 Jn 4:10).
c. Feast of July 1: Union with Christ
In its widest sense, the phrase union with Christ refers to the relationship between the believer and Jesus Christ. In this sense, John Murray says, union with Christ is “the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation.”[57] The expression "in Christ" (en Christo, en kyrio, en Christo Iesou, en auto etc) occurs 216 times in the Pauline letters and 26 times in the Johannine literature.[58] Given the large number of occurrences and the wide range of contexts, the phrase embodies a breadth of meaning.[59] According to the narrower sense of the phrase, used in Christian theology, union with Christ is a step in the ordo salutis ("order of salvation"), and the basis of the believer's justification.[60] In this sense, union with Christ follows faith and precedes adoption (Gal 3:26-27). In this way; union with Christ logically precedes both regeneration and justification; and yet, chronologically, the moment of our union with Christ is also the moment when we are regenerated and justified.
Traditional Roman Catholic theology centers the union with Christ in a substantial sense on the unity of the institutional church, past and present. The communion of saints is the spiritual solidarity which binds together the faithful on earth, the souls in purgatory, and the saints in heaven in the organic unity of the same mystical body under Christ its head. Christians, according to Roman Catholic theology, are united to Christ through the sacraments particularly the Eucharist. [61]
D. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
IN THE CHRISTOLOGY OF HANNIBAL MARY DI FRANCIA
This Chapter is about the formation, challenges and opportunities of studying the Christology in view of his “three major devotions to Jesus.” That the said devotions are primarily linked to the Lord of the Rogate. The discussion begins at the Announcing the Good News of Vocation. This discussion is based on the formation that constitutes the fundamental element of vocations that comes from God and devotions to Jesus Christ. This discussion is followed by Answering the Challenge of a New World, which speaks of our time associated in the universal mission of salvation. Finally, this chapter will discuss the Lines of Action: “Life Generates Life” that creates a climate in which vocations can grow.
1. Announcing the Good News of Vocation
The proclamation of the Word of God has profound links with every vocation. It is the Word which calls and which brings a vocation into being. Each meeting with the Word of God is a happy moment for the one who proposes to pursue his or her vocation. The believer who allows himself to be penetrated by the Word of God acquires a new awareness of his own vocation; he keeps himself in dialogue with God; he feels called with strength, and discovers more binding ways of cooperating with the Lord Jesus Christ for the coming of the Kingdom.
The best opportunity for announcing the Good News of vocation, which was also shared by Di Francia, is through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Moreover, the Feast of July 1 could be a model for a unique celebration of the announcement of the Good News of vocation. In the Eucharist the Lord Jesus is present as the One who offers his life in sacrifice for the all humankind. Announcing the Good News teaches that the presence of the One who has Risen is, in the Eucharist, the God-with-us also of Avignone. This tasks regarding responsibility for Announcing benefit from these and other occasions in which they test their own creativity. Their mission is delicate. They must be capable of presenting the Christian life as a vocation and illustrating the meaning and value of the various consecrated vocations. Thus, it teaches that Eucharist makes the believer more capable of and sensible to the relationship with the God, in His Most Holy Name, who calls their names. (Cf. Acts 6:4)
2. Answering the Challenge of a New World
Faith assures us that the Lord Jesus, through his Sacred Heart, will never cease to call men and women to follow in his footsteps, as servants and witnesses who are totally consecrated to the cause of the Gospel. This call is linked with the mystery of salvation, which continually works in the world: the Heart of Jesus, desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (Cf. 1 Tim 2:3f.). But “How are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent?” (Rom. 10, 14f)
Today the answer to the call has become much more urgent, in as far as the Church, “the universal sacrament of salvation,”[62] must respond to the challenge of a new world. This world wants to bring more well-being, freedom, and happiness to men. It assures a vaster dominion over material resources and over the forces of nature. It is full of promises and hopes. However it is also proud in presuming that it can create itself by itself, without God (Gen 11:4).
It is a world full of possibilities and of success, which at the same time experiences uncertainties and profound imbalances. Despite its riches, a great number of men and women continue to be tormented by misery and hunger. Despite its plans for liberation, the evil of injustice, oppression, and violence continue to reign in many parts of the world.
3. Lines of Action: “Life Generates Life”
“Life generates life. Just as a plot of land proves the riches of its vital saps with the freshness and luxuriance of the harvest it produces, so and ecclesial community gives proof of its strength and its maturity with the vocations that succeed in flourishing in it.” The task of fostering in it.”[63]
This message of John Paul II to the Congress is linked with the directive of the Council: “This task of fostering vocations devolves on the whole Christian community, which should do so in the first place by living in a fully Christian way.” (Acts 6:4) The Christian community, living in a particular Church, is made up of individuals and small communities, each of which has some responsibility in the realization of the opportunities for vocations, within the framework of the pastoral care of the whole.
E. CONCLUSION
1. Summary
The discussion in part B started in the presentation of the Feast of the Name of Jesus. Di Francia presented Jesus as the One who mediate with the Father for the needs of poor people. The discussion is followed by the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the compassionate Lord. The last discussion talked about the Feast of July the First which commemorates when the Blessed Sacrament brought by Di Francia to the Avignone Quarters, Messina, Italy. The discussion here shows that Jesus is the Emmanuel or “God-with-us.”
To support the Christology of Di Francia in view of his three major devotions, the researcher presented its Biblical, Magisterial and Theological Foundations on part C. The presentation started with the Biblical foundations of the said devotions that centralizes the Gospel pertaining to the Lord the Harvest (Mt. 9:36-38). The second discussion pertains to the Magisterial Foundations of the three major devotions. It discussed the Most Holy Name of Jesus in terms of the faith and actions carried out in the name of Jesus; the Sacred Heart of Jesus that loves the human race but as a human and divine; and Feast of July 1 that the Eucharist is the experience of the real and sacramental presence of Jesus. Finally, the last part of speaks of the Theological foundations which describes the Most Holy Name of Jesus as “The Revelation of the Name,” Sacred Heart of Jesus as “The Most Authentic Inner Self,” and Feast of July 1 as the “Union with Christ.”
The third part of discussion or part D the formation, challenges and opportunities of studying the Christology in view of his “three major devotions to Jesus.” The devotions were primarily linked to the Lord of the Rogate. The discussion began at the Announcing the Good News of Vocation. This discussion was based on the formation that constitutes the fundamental element of vocations that comes from God and devotions to Jesus Christ. This discussion was followed by Answering the Challenge of a New World, which speaks of our time associated in the universal mission of salvation. Finally, this chapter discussed the Lines of Action: “Life Generates Life” that creates a climate in which vocations can grow.
2. Findings
In the first part of the discussion or part B, the researcher discovered images of Chirst in the following title: the Most Holy Name of Jesus as the Gift, the Sacred Heart of Jesus as Jesus the Compassionate Lord, and the Feast of July 1 recalls Jesus as “God-with-us.” The second part or part C of the discussion that pertains to the Biblical, Magisterial and Theological foundations gave the researcher a strong impression of the three major devotions well-grounded historical data and significance. In the last part, the researcher found out that the part D of the discussion was really important in the present context. Moreover, this gives the researcher a new vision of approach in the three major devotions. The discussions became favorable to the central question of the
In general, the researcher discovered the importance of pious or popular devotions in the study of Christology. He discovered also that the devotions to the Most Holy Name of Jesus, Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Feast of the July 1 were not just ordinary devotions. Moreover, it entails also a lot of challenges and opportunities to study Christology from the point of view of popular religiousity.
3. Recommendations
First, the researcher suggests to have an in-depth study of the Christology of Hannibal Mary Di Francia. Second, whatever is found must be crossed and fertilized with other Christological point of views. Third, further study of the subject matter must be done to have a deeper understanding.
Notes:
[1] Jean Galot, “Various Approaches ,” in Dictionary of Fundamental Theology, ed. René Latourelle and Rino Fisichella (Makati: St Pauls, 1990), 126-130.
[2] Most Holy Name of Jesus, Sacred Heart of Jesus and Feast of the July 1.
[3] Ibid., 109.
[4] See Rogazionisti del Cuore di Gesù – Figlie del Divino Zelo, “Festa del Nome di Gesù: Indagine Storica, Teologica e Pastorale,” Spiritualità Rogazionista 1 (Roma: Rogazionisti del Cuore di Gesù – Figlie del Divino Zelo, 1999).
[5] See Rogazionisti del Cuore di Gesù – Figlie del Divino Zelo, “La Devozione al Sacro Cuore: Indagine Storica, Teologica e Pastorale,” Spiritualità Rogazionista 2 (Roma: Rogazionisti del Cuore di Gesù – Figlie del Divino Zelo, 1999)
[6] See Rogazionisti del Cuore di Gesù – Figlie del Divino Zelo, “Festa del 1° Luglio: Indagine Storica, Teologica e Pastorale,” Spiritualità Rogazionista 3 (Roma: Rogazionisti del Cuore di Gesù – Figlie del Divino Zelo, 1999).
[7] Di Francia, Rogationist Anthology (Roma: Tipolitografia Sped.im, 1985), 389.
[8] See Pietro Cifuni, “Rogate Dominum Messis: Saggio sul Rogate,” Quaderni di Studi Rogazionisti 2 (1996).
[9] Francis Vitale, Father Mary Hannibal Di Francia: His Life and Works, trans. Rosario Scazzi (Messina: Anthonian Typographic School, 1939), 37-39.
[10] Teodoro Tusino, The Father's Soul, 109.
[11] See Benedict XVI, Message to the 11th General Chapter of Rogationists New Languages and New Methods for Proclaiming the Gospel to Humanity (July 5, 2010).
[12] Curia Generalizia dei Rogazionisti, Document of the 9th General Chapter, 83.
[13] Ibid.
[14]Rino Fisichella, “Fundamental Christology,” in Dictionary of Fundamental Theology, ed. René Latourelle and Rino Fisichella (Makati: St Pauls, 1990), 108.
[15] Richard McBrien, Catholicism (New York: Harper & Row, 1981), 171.
[16] Francis Vitale, Father Mary Hannibal Di Francia: His Life and Works, 153.
[17] Benedict XVI, Message to the 11th General Chapter of Rogationists New Languages and New Methods for Proclaiming the Gospel to Humanity (July 5, 2010), http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/ pont-messages/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20100705_rogazionisti_en.html (accessed February 2, 2011).
[18] Curia Generalizia dei Rogazionisti, Document of the 9th General Chapter, 76-77.
[19] See Teodoro Tusino, The Father's Soul, trans. Rosario Scazzi (Rome: General Curia of the Rogationists Fathers, 1973), 234.
[20] Di Francia, Rogationist Anthology (Roma: Tipolitografia Sped.im, 1985), 70.
[21] See Rogazionisti del Cuore di Gesù – Figlie del Divino Zelo, “Festa del Nome di Gesù: Indagine Storica, Teologica e Pastorale,” Spiritualità Rogazionista 1 (Roma: Rogazionisti del Cuore di Gesù – Figlie del Divino Zelo, 1999), 49-50.
[22] Hannibal Mary Di Francia, Writings, vol. 15, 33.
[23] See Teodoro Tusino, The Father's Soul, trans. Rosario Scazzi (Rome: General Curia of the Rogationists Fathers, 1973), 235.
[24] Ibid.
[25] Ibid., 236.
[26] See Rogazionisti del Cuore di Gesù – Figlie del Divino Zelo, “Festa del Nome di Gesù: Indagine Storica, Teologica e Pastorale,” Spiritualità Rogazionista 1 (Roma: Rogazionisti del Cuore di Gesù – Figlie del Divino Zelo, 1999), 50.
[27] Teodoro Tusino, The Father's Soul, trans. Rosario Scazzi (Rome: General Curia of the Rogationists Fathers, 1973), 250.
[28] See Teodoro Tusino, The Father's Soul, trans. Rosario Scazzi (Rome: General Curia of the Rogationists Fathers, 1973), 249-250.
[29] Annibale Maria Di Francia, Le Quaranta Dichiarizioni [The Forty Declarations] (Roma: Curia Generalizia dei Rogazionisti, 1982), 63-64.
[31] Teodoro Tusino, The Father's Soul, trans. Rosario Scazzi (Rome: General Curia of the Rogationists Fathers, 1973), 250.
[33] Ibid., 266.
[34] Curia Generalizia dei Rogazionisti, Document of the 9th General Chapter, 54.
[35] Ibid., 54-55.
[36] Hannibal Mary Di Francia, Writings, vol. 10, 42-46.
[37] See Rogazionisti del Cuore di Gesù – Figlie del Divino Zelo, “Festa del Nome di Gesù: Indagine Storica, Teologica e Pastorale,” Spiritualità Rogazionista 1 (Roma: Rogazionisti del Cuore di Gesù – Figlie del Divino Zelo, 1999), 49.
[38] See Teodoro Tusino, The Father's Soul, trans. Rosario Scazzi (Rome: General Curia of the Rogationists Fathers, 1973), 249-250.
[39] Paul VI, Apostolic Letter to Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Catholic World on the Occasion of the Fourth Centenary of the Establishment of Seminaries by the Council of Trent Summi Dei Verbum (November 4, 1963), 2.
[40] Pius XII, Encyclical Letter on St. Bernard of Clairvauz, the Last of the Fathers to our Venerable Brethren, the Patriarchs, Prelates, Archbishops, Bishops, and Other Local Ordinaries in peace and Communion with the Apostolic See Doctor Mellifluus (May 24, 1953), 29.
[41] Peter M.J. Stravinskas, Ed., Catholic Encyclopedia, 1991 ed., s.v. "Holy Name of Jesus," 475.
[42] Ibid.
[43] Pius XI, Encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor (May 8, 1928), 1.
[44] Ibid., 21.
[45] Pius XII, Haurietis Aquas (May 15, 1956), 11-13.
[47] Pius XII, Haurietis Aquas (May 15, 1956), 61.
[48] Ibid., 75.
[49] John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Mane Nobiscum Domine (October 7, 2004), 28.
[50] Ibid.
[51] Message of the FABC 9th Plenary Assembly, August 16, 2009.
[52] Antonia Garcia Moreno, Jesus of Nazarreth: The King of the Jews, (Mandaluyong City: Studium Theologiae Foundation, 2010), 48.
[53] Ibid.
[54] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 516.
[55] Jose M. de Mesa and Lode L. Wostyn, Doing Christology: The Re-Appropriation of a Tradition, (Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 1989), 127.
[56] Ibid.
[57] John Murray, Redemption : Accomplished and Applied (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955), 161.
[58] Bruce Demarest, The Cross and Salvation: The Doctrine of Salvation (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1997), 313.
[59] Ibid., 326.
[60] Philip Ryken, The Message of Salvation, (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), 186.
[61] J.P. Baker 'Union with Christ,' New Dictionary of Theology (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1988), 698.
[62] Lumen Gentium, 48.
[63] Beginning of Optatam Totius, 2.
2 comments:
Nice work Ritchie!
very good
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