UNISINOS – RESIDÊNCIA CONCEIÇÃO
Residência Conceição 3 March, 2022 LII:1
UNISINOS
Cx. P. 101
93.022-630 São Leopoldo, RS e-mail: [email protected]
BRAZIL http://www.egfbenya.com
Dear Friends Benefactors, Family, Colleagues, and Collaborators,
The commemorations are annual events. Each year we remember and celebrate solemnities, feasts and special memorials of our Faith, beliefs and commitment to Almighty God. All legitimate faiths including the Hindu, Moslem and Jewish traditions have similar sequences of celebration, a liturgical calendar. These mark something of the Spirituality of each faith.
However the annual repetition of these celebrations can lead to a habit more than a Spirituality, mere ritual more than a Sacramentality. The Spirit of God must always enliven and direct these celebrations. The spirit of the original event, be it Ashura, Ramadan, Passover, Christmas, Easter, the Ascension, and others, must be preserved. If it is lost, we run the risk of acting more as trained subordinates rather that dedicated disciples.
A collective Mysticism must always mark and enlighten our celebrations. That mysticism has a spirit of its own, specific for each celebration in each faith. It can vary from one culture to another. It can vary from one person to another. Yet, that spirit must always capture something of the original event, It can also add something to the vitality of that event, a continuous progression of meaning and understanding as persons, peoples and the entire people of God continue our navigation of this life in witness to Him and His Call.
That mysticism finds a unique sprit in the Passover-Lenten-Pascal celebration. Some 70 days of fast, abstinence, prayer in preparation each year continuing to the celebration of our Salvation, our Redemption. It happened once and for all-time during an intense period of some 24 hours that were so concentrated in their demand, suffering and power that only the Savior Himself knew it all.
That first Christian Pascal celebration was more mystery than celebration. Christianity really had no formal Lenten season. That only arose some time later as Christians began to perceive what had happened. Questions and doubts abounded for the apostles and disciples. Fear predominated more that Joy. Only with time did understanding begin. That understanding grows with our commemoration and celebration of the event each year.
The gift of Salvation is continually bestowed on each generation as it arrives, as its members receive inception, are conceived and are born into this world. The Faith is regenerated with each new generation. Yet, it is for us, the established generations to receive and form the new generations in the Miracle of Mystery that defines our Redemption. We do it through Sacramental celebration. Join us in this celebration of gratitude and renewal, personal and communal. I personally thank God for YOU, your families and your presence in my life and vocation. I remain gratefully
In the Love of the risen Jesus Christ,
Pe. Ed Benya, S.J.