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Celebration of the Dies Natalis of Fr. d'Alzon in Assumption family
Roma, November 19, 2023
Roma
Our sisters in Italy -Religious, Oblates, Little Sisters and Orantes- responded to our call to live together the Dies Natalis of Fr. d'Alzon, a little ahead of schedule, to allow for a Sunday gathering. So, on this day, forty of us gathered at the Generala House to listen to the Postulator General, Fr. Vincent Leclercq, about the sanctity of Fr. d'Alzon and his call to our own sanctity; to celebrate the Eucharist together; and to share a time of festivity and conviviality.
Click here to see some pictures of the day
...and, below, see the homily delivered by the Superior General, Fr. Ngoa Ya Tshihemba, on this occasion:
“This November 19th, the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, we are gathered, it's true, to celebrate the Lord's resurrection. But, as you know, it is also and above all to remember a man, a founder, a spiritual father: Father Emmanuel d'Alzon. So it is with this joy that we gather here.
We wanted to celebrate this day as a family, as you can see, and I think that's very significant. Today's readings give us a theme for our meditation. Indeed, we can easily imagine these words being spoken to Father d'Alzon by the Lord he served all his life: "Very well, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful for few things, I will entrust you with many; enter into the joy of your Lord." It is because we believe that Father d'Alzon was a good and faithful servant, that we pray that the Church will recognize his holiness.
Recently, I was reading a document in which it was mentioned that 30,000 people attended his funeral. That's impressive. In fact, I was saying this to a brother, we can present this as a “miracle” for his canonization. 30,000 people can't leave their homes for nothing. In a message from Father François Piccard to Father Galabert, we understand why this large number: "Your letter did not find our Father alive; he returned his beautiful soul to God in full self-knowledge and absolute abandonment to the one he had loved and made loved. His tenderness towards the Blessed Virgin had grown even more, and this Mother watched over his last moments in a visible way…. There was only one cry in the midst of the tears: It was truly the death of a holy man. No more divisions in the city; universal consternation, a kind of stupor reigned everywhere". Yes, a “cease-fire” observed to honor the memory and life of a holy man.
Curious coincidences surround the last moments of his life: you know it was a Sunday (November 21, 1880. The Lord's Day and the feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the temple). And as those around him prayed the rosary, Father d'Alzon's last words were, "My Jesus, I love you!" It should be noted that this was at the same time that they had just finished the 10 Ave Maria of the mystery of the Assumption (among the glorious mysteries). And as it was midday, the bells had rung for the Angelus prayer. What a coincidence!
You remember, of course, the question Father Picard asked him a little while ago: “Is there nothing you desire?” His answer was loud and clear: "Nothing but Heaven.” I can only imagine that the ringing of bells at the moment of his death must have been intended to celebrate Father d'Alzon's meeting with his Master. And I imagine his Master saying to him the words of today's Gospel: "Very well, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful for little (...) enter into the joy of your Lord."
What is your deepest desire? I don't know what my answer would be if this question were addressed to me. At the beginning of each year, as novice master in the Philippines, I used to ask the novices this question. It was expressed differently, of course, but the idea was the same. The answers I received were always oriented towards what some call “the things of this world”: the end of war, the end of poverty, becoming this or that, etc.
My dear brothers and sisters, having a desire is one thing, but remaining faithful to it until the end is quite another. And the man we are celebrating today, Father Emmanuel d'Alzon, is a man, a founder, a spiritual father who kept his eyes fixed on his goal, despite the ups and downs of life. In today's second reading, Saint Paul warns the Thessalonians about the Lord's Day. "But you, brothers, since you are not in darkness, that day will not surprise you like a thief. For you are all sons of light, sons of the day". Yes, Father d'Alzon was not in darkness, and those around him were astonished to see him so serene. Brother Philippe Pesant, speaking of Father d'Alzon's situation, wrote the following to Father Paul Bador: "What a contrast between his position and ours. While we are bent over in pain and sadness, this good father retains an admirable calm and serenity; he always receives us with a smile on his lips, and if his words cannot be heard, his gaze at least shows how happy he is to die". (Pierre TOUVENERAUD, l'humble grandeur de la mort du P. d'Alzon, p.39).
Yes, why shouldn't he be happy to die, when Emmanuel d'Alzon knew that this death was rather a door that inaugurated his long-awaited encounter with his Lord. What was Father d'Azon's secret to ending his race serenely and admired by all? That secret seemed to lie in his desire for heaven, which had become his daily prayer, his Combat, his life and his mission: “Your Kingdom come".
As we gather today to remember this great man of God, let us also ask for this same grace. So that our deepest desire may become our prayer, as our patriarch St. Augustine also asks of us. This is a day of celebration for all of us, religious and lay members of the Alliance in the great family of the Assumption.
I conclude this little meditation by renewing the exhortation of the 34th General Chapter, which asks us to continue to pray for the beatification of our founder, Father Emmanuel d'Alzon. Doing so may stimulate us to work for our own holiness.
Father d'Alzon's beatification will be an opportunity for us to offer the whole Church a spiritual guide, a defender of "God's rights" in a world that claims to build itself without God. Perhaps we haven't all been given the same gifts to do this. It doesn't matter how many talents we have. Some two, others five or one. But the parable of the talents invites us all to be grateful. We are heirs to a spirituality, a charism, a founder. And for that we give thanks to God. But this same parable also invites us to be fruitful. Today, we remember a good example of gratitude and fruitfulness.
If I have decided to revisit some of the facts surrounding the death of Father d'Alzon, it is in order to awaken in us the desire to mobilize ourselves, even more, for the cause of the beatification of our founder.
May God keep us in his love and give us the grace of fidelity and fruitfulness. Amen.