Following Jesus Christ in the image of John of God

2 February 2022

 

To all the Brothers and Communities of the Order

 

Dear Brothers,

 

On 2 February, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, we shall be celebrating the 26th World Day for Consecrated Life, and with this in mind I would like to send my best wishes to all the Brothers and Sisters of our Hospitaller Family, and invite you all to celebrate and thank our Lord for His gift of the vocation to the consecrated life, in our case following the spirit of St John of God, our Founder.

The Covid-19 pandemic, which is causing so much suffering throughout the world and in our Hospitaller Family, has been with us for two years now. At the present time, especially in Europe, we are experiencing a new episode with even more infections than ever, although it seems that, thanks to the vaccines, the repercussions on health above all, are less severe. We all hope that little by little the pandemic will gradually weaken and no longer bear down so heavily on our lives.

During 2022 we are celebrating the Provincial Chapters and, as you know, here too the pandemic is having a significant impact. We have had to postpone the Chapters in Asia and Oceania to a later date. We hope that we shall not have to postpone any more Chapters, and that we shall manage to hold them all before the end of the year. We have already celebrated the first two Chapters of the Austrian and Bavarian Provinces.

Chapters are very important events for the life of the Provinces and the Order as a whole. They are a gift from our Lord, to reinvigorate life in every Province. They give us an opportunity to thank our Lord for having called us to practise Hospitality and to serve the sick and those in need. All  the members of the Order are called to undergo a synodal experience in the Provincial Chapters, journeying together, listening to one another, all of us listening to the Holy Spirit, so that He may shine His light along the path of Hospitality that we are to take in the future.

This year we are celebrating the 450th anniversary of Pope St Pius V's Bull, Licet ex debito, with which the Church gave its approbation for our Institute. Beyond the event itself, it is important to understand and reflect on the historical context in which this occurred, and its consequences. Barely twenty years had passed since the death of John of God, and the plight of the Brothers of John of God's hospital in Granada had become very difficult. Seriously tangible interests threatened to undermine the continuity of the work begun by John of God. The Brothers, led by Rodrigo de Sigüenza as the 'Brother Major' of the Granada hospital, endured great suffering in those years, even after the proclamation of the Bull, until it was fully recognised. That is why this Bull was so important for the Brothers at that time and continues to be so important for us today. Because it officially recognised the work of John of God, overcoming the dangers that were then threatening to abort his work, and put an end to it.

All this was made possible by the charismatic power and passion with which the Brothers lived in Granada and in the other places where they had begun to expand. The people, the faithful, witnessed this and testified widely on behalf of the Brothers, acknowledging their service and dedication without limits, welcoming all the sick and needy people who came to their hospital, caring for them with great tenderness, dedication and compassion, even putting them up in the chapel of the hospital in Granada, when it was needed during the Alpujarras war. That passion and charismatic energy with which the Brothers lived at that time in the image of John of God, led by Rodrigo de Sigüenza, Sebastián Arias and Pedro Soriano among others, made it possible for the work of Hospitality initiated by John of God to make strides forward and remain alive in time up to the present day.

Calling to mind this historic event must always help us, especially in this year of the Provincial Chapters, to find the keys that the Spirit of the Lord is offering us for the future of our Order: a life consecrated in faithfulness and passion for Jesus Christ, and with boundless dedication to the sick and the needy, in the image of John of God.  

   

May this year's 26th World Day for Consecrated Life inspire and encourage all the Brothers of St John of God to live with the same enthusiasm and passion for hospitality as St John of God and his first followers did.

 

United in our Lord and in St John of God I send you my fraternal and hospitaller best wishes.

 

 

Brother Jesús Etayo

Superior General