Most of the painful moment in the life of any religious society is when the vision of the founder is lost. We cannot build the future if we don t have a clear vision of what has been the past. The challenge for us, new generation, is to keep awake in our heart the values which had sustained the life of our founder de Brésillac. This article tries to bring up two important elements, the spiritual and the missionary convictions of de Bresillac, and to show their relevance for us today. The history of de Brésillac starts at Castelnaudary. Melchior de Marion Brésillac was born in southern France on 2 nd December 1813 in Castelnaudary. He is the eldest of five children, three boys and two girls. He was from a Christian family. He was baptized on 5 th December 1813 at St John the Baptist parish. At the age of 19, Brésillac expressed his desire to become a priest. From 1832 up to 1838, his father (Gaston) sent him as a boarder to the diocesan college of Carcassonne to take a course in rhetoric and philosophy. From 1834 up to 1838, He taught the science in the minor seminary and studied theology in the major seminary. On 9 th of June 1838, he was ordained deacon and on 22 nd of December 1838, he was ordained priest in the Cathedral of Carcassonne. From 1838 up to 1841, he was appointed as a curate in his own parish at Saint Michael in Castelnaudary. De Brésillac was an educated man. His childhood was in general a peaceful and joyful time in his life. He was for twelve years missionary in India (from the 24 th of July 1842 to the 14 th of January 1854) and for 40 days missionary in Sierra Leone (from 14 th of May 1859 to the 25 th of June 1859). The missionary life of de Marion
Brésillac was essentially rooted in the cross of Christ. He embraced the cross of Christ for the glorification of God and the sanctification of the people to whom he was sent. He said: Love of the cross took me from the comforts of the ordinary life, from the shelter of template the difficult work of the mission and I said: I will carry this cross, I will drink this chalice, I will go and I will die with Jesus Christ, my God 1. The book Faith Hope Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarians, almost unknown, traces the main themes which lead us towards the spirituality of Bishop de Marion Brésillac. This book is a fruit of a retreat given in 1853, two years, before de Brésillac left India in 1855. This work can be considered as a summary of his spiritual reflection during his twelve years of mission in India. During this retreat, de Brésillac offered to the seminarians of India the fundamental perspectives for a well organized spiritual life in order to be strong to face any missionary challenge. He said: Put down your roots deep in the holy soil enriched by the blood of Christ 2. For him, it is fundamental to make a connection between personal holiness and missionary effectiveness. The book is divided into four meditations followed by eight talks. The talks are used to explain the different meditations. The first meditation stresses our relationship to God. For de Brésillac, God through his marvelous love has accepted to associate us to share his ministry. He said: it is by his mercy and his particular providence on your account that he has chosen you among so many other young people of your age, of similar position, of 1 De Bresillac, Retreat to Missionaries, 177. 2 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 148.
equal merit, who where perhaps better than you, endowed with superior gifts of nature 3 Therefore, since we have been chosen by God, we acquire automatically a new status. We are no longer servants, but we are now friends of God. He said: I will not call you servant; I will not call you sinner, but friend. That is why I will not address you with words of fear, but with words of love 4. However, our new relationship with Christ leads us to a new way of life, which with Brésillac is not the way of conversion 5, but the way of progress and perfection 6. The second Meditation presents the journey towards perfection. For de Brésillac, our dignity comes from our soul. He writes : The Lord blew the breath of life into nostrils ( Gn.2:7) and God created man in the image of himself making him superior and more pleasing to God than all the creatures of the earth; excelling especially by his admirable power of knowing God ( ) and- by supernatural grace- of contemplating and possessing him for all eternity 7. God has made us collaborators of his grace for the salvation of people 8. Therefore, we have to keep in our heart the fact that we are salt of the earth ( ) we are light of the world (Mt.5:13-14), we must therefore have the flavor which the acts of all virtues give and shine with the most brilliant beam of perfection 9. We are called according to de Brésillac to walk in the presence of God and to be perfect (Gn.17:1) 10. It is an obligation (for us) to reach at least some degrees of 3 M.BRESILLAc, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 19. 4 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 21. 5 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 21. 6 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 21. 7 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 40. 8 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 41. 9 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 41. 10 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 41.
perfection 11. This journey towards perfection is only possible according to de Brésillac through the practice of the theological virtues (Faith, Hope, and Charity). The third Meditation underlines the fact that the journey towards perfection highly recommended for those who are sharing the life of Christ has its source in the daily living of the cardinal virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity. For de Brésillac, living faith (hope and charity) ( ) is incompatible with immorality 12. For him, a dirty window distorts the light of the sun and a damaged mirror gives a deformed image 13. Therefore, we understand that: It is not possible that a heart depraved and obscured by the stain of sin will shine with the living light of heaven. 14 Through the theological virtue (faith, hope and charity), we have access to the supernatural life. For de Brésillac, this supernatural life which we now live by faith is, therefore, the only true life which will not cease with the death of our bodies but will find its fulfillment in the vision of God 15. The fourth Meditation invites us to learn to be faithful, to make our will strong in order to fulfill the project of God. For de Brésillac, only one way is recommended. He writes: In order that I may be faithful until death to the ministry of your altar, keep me, O God, for in your refuge (Ps. 16:1). 16 Being totally rooted in God, can only assure a strong spiritual life. He said: Look to God unceasingly, march always under his gaze ( ). God sees everything, surveys everything ( ) noting is small which is done in the name of the Lord; nothing is small when it is raised above nature by faith 17. 11 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 41. 12 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 66. 13 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 66. 14 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 66. 15 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 67. 16 M.BRESILLAc, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 139. 17 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 149.
At the end of this section of our reflection, we realize with de Brésillac that the spiritual life in order to be strongly built, demands a certain journey. We need to acknowledge ourselves as friends of Christ by his call to share his mission. And this new status invites us to a life which is totally oriented towards the life of perfection. This life of perfection is possible through the daily living of the theological virtues (Faith, Hope, and Charity). We will be faithful to our vocation and this enterprise only by being strongly rooted in God. De Brésillac vision of mission was very clear. For him, the fundamental dimension of mission was primary evangelization: going with zeal, conviction and commitment to proclaim the word of God to the people who have never heard it. He wrote: For the missionary there are still other places waiting to be cleared for planting As soon as you degenerate into parish priests and bishops you no longer deserve to be called missionaries. 18 This missionary activity invites a number of challenges. We are called according to de Brésillac to bear Witness by our way of living.the theme of communal life and witness is basic elements for any missionary activity according to de Brésillac. He said: Even if an aspirant has all other good qualifications, he shall not be incorporated into the association if he is seen to have too much of a spirit of independence in him, or a marked reluctance to adapt to characters different to his own. 19 The missionary activity must essentially focus on promotion, respect and transformation of the cultures. He said: The same plant, under different climates, takes on diverse forms and appearances ( ) you must not expect the same taste in fruits which the plant produces in different places on the earth ( ). Beware, above 18 De Bresillac, My Thoughts on the Missions in Mission and Foundation Documents, 117-118. 19 De Bresillac, Fundamental Articles of 1858 in Mission and Foundation Documents, 222.
all, of despising the fruits just because they do not seem to taste as sweet as the ones you used to harvest in gentle Italy. You would soon make the vine sterile, and you would run the risk of despising the very work of the Holy Spirit 20. The transformation of the culture can really achieve if we have a local clergy. The theme of establishment of local clergy was one of the points which brought dissention between De Brésillac and his confreres. But for de Brésillac pain, suffering, misunderstanding,are components of the missionary life. That is why, for de Brésillac, there is no mission without the love of the Cross. He said : Love of the cross took me from the comforts of the ordinary life, from the shelter of template the difficult work of the mission and I said: I will carry this cross, I will drink this chalice, I will go and I will die with Jesus Christ, my God 21.Therefore, we cannot love the cross, if we don t have any passion for mission. The desire of de Brésillac was to be, a missionary from the bottom of his heart. De Bresillac is a source full of richness to strengthen and to orientate our mission. The Society of African Missions has tried to follow the steps of her founder from 1859 up to today. The fundamental goal of the life of Bishop de Marion Brésillac was to preach the Gospel and to save many souls 22 by the witness of the life of perfection based on the theological virtues (Faith, Hope and Charity). This conviction must inhabit our hearts today. We must be devoted to the spiritual care of the souls. But this project can only be fulfilled if we are able first of all to have for ourselves a 20 De Bresillac, My Thoughts on the Missions in Mission and Foundation Documents, 89. 21 De Bresillac, Retreat to Missionaries, 177. 22 R.A.SAGAYAM, How did Mgr. Marion Bresillac Learn to be a missionary from the bottom of his heart trough his pastoral experience in India, 89.
strong spiritual life and a passion for mission. For de Brésillac, it is not only to save our souls that we have to work. We must work also to reach perfection-to store up merits and to enrich our souls for eternity 23. Today, we need to proclaim the Gospel of Christ not by our beautiful language, but by our lives. Our lives must speak for us. Christ must be preached and revealed through our lives. Our perfection will be for the people to whom we are sent a great sign of sanctification. We are not called to become like angels. But we are called to show humility, obedience, modesty, meekness, kindness, faith, hope and charity 24 to the people to whom we are sent. This attempt will not be possible unless we are strongly rooted in God and really animated by the spirit of perfection. The Word of God will be rooted in the heart of the people not by wonderful and heroic actions that one can produce each day, but in the ordinary actions accomplished daily in faith, for God, with God and in God 25. Our daily struggle towards the life of perfection will be what will sustain us and will give value to our missionary activity. At the end of our reflection, we realize that, for de Brésillac, the missionary is called necessarily to perfection. But perfection for him does not mean extraordinary action but consists chiefly in the ordinary things. 26 Perfection, according to de Brésillac, is faithfulness in our daily commitments. The missionary must always follow the example of Jesus who lived in total fidelity to his commitment, a simple and ordinary life. So that he could become the model for majority of people. For de Brésillac the ordinary life which, in union with God in faith, hope and charity can be transformed into supernatural, meritorious and holy 23 M.BRESILLAc, Retreat to the Missionaries, 113-114. 24 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 147. 25 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 149. 26 M.BRESILLAC, Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 145.
and perfect work. God is at work with us. Our closeness to Him, our holiness, is the guarantee for our fruitful pastoral work. Zagore Akanou Ange Donald, Sma zagoredonald@yahoo.fr. 1-BRESILLAC,M., Faith,Hope, Charity: Spiritual Exercises given to Indian Seminarists, 1853, Rome, SMA publications, 1988. Retreat to the Missionaries, 1849,Rome, SMA publications, 1985. 2- SAGAYAM,R.A., How did Mgr. Marion Bresillac Learn to be a missionary from the bottom of his heart trough his pastoral experience in India, in Mgr de Marion Bresillac (1813-1859) Alife for the missions, bulletin n*131, September 2009, 89-106.