Extracts from the first letter of Fr Robert Brucciani as District Superior
He is no doubt well versed in the Chapter of Matthew referred to and also the notes about it in the Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture
Where are we going?
Being made a superior is like being made the captain of a ship
with a responsibility for bringing the ship, her crew, and her passengers
safely to their destination. Before a journey can begin, consider first the end. What is the final end of our district, what is
the final end of the Society of St. Pius X? Fortunately, our founder,
Archbishop Lefebvre, made this very clear by giving us our constitutions (we
call them The Statutes)
which describe the essence of our Society and its end:
The Society of St Pius the X is a priestly society of common life without
vows. The Society’s purpose is the priesthood and all that pertains to it and
nothing but what concerns it.
The constitutions were approved by Bishop Charrière of Fribourg
in 1970 and received an official letter of praise from Cardinal Wright who was
the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy in 1971. Archbishop
Lefebvre was always keen to point out that they were written in the spirit of
the Church and with the approbation of the Church.
Forty five years later, the essence and purpose of the Society, remains
unchanged. Our priestly society is devoted to the perfection and extension of
the Catholic priesthood. More concretely, it is a society of priests, religious
brothers, oblate sisters and third-order members devoted to the formation of
holy priests. This then is the destination, the finality, the end of the District of Great
Britain and Scandinavia. All our efforts should have this end in view; every
decision we make should be measured by this end.
How do we get there?
The destination being clear, how do we get there? Fortunately, the
route is also clearly described in our constitutions under the title, The Society’s Activities. In summary these are:
(i) To form holy priests in our own seminaries.
(ii) To help priests (whether members or not) sanctify themselves by retreats,
recollections, priestly associations, third-orders and publications.
(iii) To encourage and develop auxiliaries in the service of the altar and
other aspects of the priestly ministry (servers, sacristans, chorists,
catechists, florists, church cleaners, tradesmen, professionals etc).
(iv) To assist or to run schools for the purpose of giving a thoroughly
Christian education for vocations and for truly Catholic families.
(v) To run parishes and preach parish missions.
(vi) To assist aged and infirm priests.
We have no seminary in the district, but there is no shortage of work to do to
raise up vocations for the six international seminaries in the Society or for
the many traditional Catholic communities around the world.
Over
the next few months I will try to discover the treasures and the challenges of
the district and shall pray and reflect at length upon how best to navigate the
passage set out in The Statutes to reach our destination.
One thing is already clear: the best strategy in
the world is worth nothing unless it is rooted in the Divine Will. If we would
only become true apostles of Jesus and Mary — making them the centre of our
lives — we should have all the help we need. An apostle of Jesus and Mary is
one who resides in Their united hearts, desiring only what They desire,
anchored like the ship between the two pillars in the dream of St. John Bosco.
Mary will be our lighthouse, she will send us a heavenward breeze and she will
be our pilot; she will keep us safe from the storm that buffets Holy Mother the
Church and she will bring this ship, its crew and her passengers to their
journey's end.
May God bless you all on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary.
of interest see also
http://gloria.tv/?media=138104&language=KiaLEJq2fBR
of interest see also
http://gloria.tv/?media=138104&language=KiaLEJq2fBR
