7 June 2008
Roodepoort

Dear Faithful

    Two weeks ago we celebrated the golden jubilee of Br. Vinzenz - fifty years in the religious life as a brother. How many today understand this call? How many still understand what is the religious life? It is a very beautiful life, honoured and loved by the Church for centuries.

    To be a brother in the religious life is to be consecrated to God. That is the essence and the whole life of the brother. He consecrates his entire life to God by and through the evangelical vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

    To live for God and only for Him means to renounce the world and its goods, even the legitimate. A man naturally desires to see his offspring through marriage. He has a right to own things, which he and his family needs for their sustenance. To accomplish these things he wants and desires certain things or actions. This is the life of a man called to the married state and it is certainly a noble state of life. Such a one, fulfilling his duties can become very holy.

    But in the religious life, a man renounces all these legitimate things in order to unite himself as perfectly as possible to God, following Our Lord Jesus Christ as his Master and Model. It is for this reason that he takes the vow of chastity. His calling is not to the married life but to be united to God alone. He takes the vow of poverty to renounce all transactions with the world and, above all, he takes the vow of obedience in order to renounce even his own will.

    These acts of renunciation may seem to the world strange and unbearable, but in reality, give him a supreme freedom. Legitimate finance, desires and marriage may certainly be good, but it cannot be denied that they bind us in a certain degree to the things of this world. The religious brother, through his vows, has no care of these things. His life is a perpetual union with God. The world may give its legitimate pleasures, but they have no comparison, neither in degree nor in duration to the joy and peace of heart that God imparts upon His consecrated ones.

    What are the advantages, the worldling may ask? Apart from the joy and peace of heart already mentioned, the religious participates closely in the work of redemption. Certainly, this is the greatest work, for, as Our Lord said: “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world but lose his soul?” By his consecration, the religious brother is very close to Our Lord Jesus Christ, to His cross, to his work of redemption. The cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ becomes his life. For this reason the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the highlight of his day, for the Mass is the redemptive sacrifice of Our Lord. His prayers are thus more effective and his works more meritorious. Our Catholic theology teaches us that the effectiveness of prayer and the merit of good works are not found so much in the size of the work, but rather in the degree of charity they are performed. Is it not the same here upon earth? An enormous gift given you by someone who is hardly in your favour is less valuable to you than a much smaller gift given to you by someone you love and loves you. The religious brother gives his whole life, and what is more precious still, gives his will to God. The will and the intellect are the most precious faculties man possesses. It is even more precious than the body. Through the vow of obedience, the religious gives this most precious faculty to God. It follows then that he gives his love to God. This is what makes his prayers and works so strong before God. This is why he participates so closely in the great work of redemption.

    The modern argument that religious do not marry because it is a hindrance to their apostolic work is far from the truth. The aim of marriage is to beget children; the aim of the religious is to cooperate in the work of redemption. They have two entirely different goals. The religious brother will spend much of his time also at work. In this, he supports the Church, which is the mystical body of Christ. St. Benedict's motto was: Ora et Labora: Pray and work. Yet work and all that he does physically for the church remains secondary.

    Now then it follows from this that the religious is not a man who is fearful of marriage or the legitimate things of the world. His natural heart may also be drawn to these things, but what is essential is this: That through a great and magnanimous generosity he renounces all these things for the love of God.

    Why are there so few young men who would give their life to God in this calling? Generosity is a state of soul no longer fostered by the world today. Egoism is the norm of the day. I think we can be convinced that God is calling many young men to the religious life, but the world has such a grip on these poor souls that they do not hear the call of God. Let us pray, therefore, that God in His mercy may soften and humble the hearts of many young men.

Dear friends, we have all seen the power of the rosary. We prayed that the holy Mass may be liberated, and so it was done. But the battle is far from over. Modernism still infects the Church, in her liturgy and in her doctrine. This evil has to be eradicated. It is for this reason that the Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X is calling for a perpetual Rosary Crusade. Let each family or person bind themselves to pray the rosary for this intention. Our Lady will hear your prayers again as she did the first time. This perpetual rosary crusade should be organised at parish level. It fills our hearts with joy to see that some parishes have already launched this crusade. Please approach your pastors that this crusade be launched and organised in every parish.

The prayer we asked of you for Zimbabwe when the country went to the voting polls also had a strong effect. It seems certain that the powers did not foresee the outcome. Now that poor country continues to Calvary and another vote is set for the 27th of June. We beg of you, once again to storm heaven in a novena for the good outcome of this second poll. Therefore, we ask you to once again take up the prayer we had distributed to you and beg the Holy Virgin to spare that country. Let us begin the novena on June 18th, feast of St. Ephraem. In case you do not have the prayer, I add it here below:

Prayer for Zimbabwe

Almighty and everlasting God, in Thy hands are the powers and rights of all nations; look down graciously upon those in authority over us, especially in Zimbabwe, that by the protection of Thy right hand, soundness of religion and safety of the State may ever abide. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Three Hail Marys.

In my last letter to you I had written that we sent up a truckload of food to Zimbabwe. Well, let us give thanks to God for the load arrived at our priory, St. Joseph's priory, on the feast of St. Joseph, the 19th of March. You can imagine the joy of these people. For once the old expression: “Food for Africa” became a reality, 17 tons of it! In the meantime, sufficient funds have again come in and we have been able to send a second load. It too arrived: 15 tons, on the 4th of June. The first load cost R338,583.60 and the second R303,580.00. We thank all benefactors most profoundly. The beneficiaries of this food too, have been charged to pray for you all.

On quite another subject, we also have the joy of beginning here in southern Africa a correspondence Catechism course. We must extend our thanks to the St. Joseph's correspondence Catechism course in Australia. The coordinators there have been so kind as to give us their whole course so that we may use it here. Now this course consists of 7 levels, ranging from infant (preparatory level) to advanced level. Each part consists of about 15 lessons together with tests and final exam. We send you the lessons; you study them, write the test and send it back to us for marking. If you or you children, or both for that matter, wish to subscribe, please write to the above address marked “St. Joseph's Correspondence Catechism.” The little problem is: at which level will you start? For the little ones under ten, they start with the prep. level. For others there is a test, the outcome of which will determine their starting level. Each level will cost R250.

Lastly, around the 15th of August I will be saying bye-bye to you since the Superior General wants me to move on. Your new superior will be Fr. Marc Vernoy from France. He will in fact become the superior of the whole of Africa. This means the unification of southern Africa with our missions in Gabon and Kenya. Pray for him that he may handle well this enormous and extensive task.

May this letter then also serve as an adieu from me and may God and His Holy Mother bless and guide you always.

Servus Mariae

Fr. C. Daniels

    7 June 2008

    Roodepoort

Superior of the Society of St. Pius X in southern Africa