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• 4/24/2025

AA-Info n.8 - April 2025

Fidelity, Between Gift and Duty

EDITORIAL

Fr. Ngoa Ya Tshihemba

Superior General of the Augustinians of the Assumption

I really like the formula used by those who celebrate jubilees, particularly in religious life. Very often, I hear them say: “It is God’s faithfulness that we celebrate. Yes, God has remained faithful.” Indeed, when God makes a covenant with his people, he remains faithful: “I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you shall be my people” (Leviticus 26:12). But this covenant is not one-sided: God invites his people to commit themselves to him and to live in accordance with this commitment. Yet, the Scriptures testify to many failings on the part of God’s people. The title of this editorial echoes this daily struggle: that of persevering in the covenant, despite challenges and trials. It calls us to a renewed commitment and a fidelity to be built every day.

A document from the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life reminded us that “the difficulty of fidelity and the decline of perseverance are experiences that have been part of the history of religious and consecrated life since its beginnings.”[1] This reality should not discourage us. For, for centuries, men and women committed to religious and consecrated life have shown unwavering courage to remain faithful to their commitments by the grace of God. They had to make sacrifices and knew how to choose appropriate means to preserve their promises and achieve their goals.

Some withdrew to the desert (to be far from the “noise of the world”). Others, while remaining “in the world,” made private vows. One of these is our founder, Fr. Emmanuel d’Alzon. I am very impressed by the content of his private vows and the frequency with which he made them:

• In June 1844, at the Sanctuary of the Consolata in Turin, he took a private vow not to accept ecclesiastical offices except on the orders of the Pope.
• In 1845, at Notre-Dame des Victoires in Paris, he made a private vow before the Virgin to work for the Kingdom of God.
• On September 8, 1846, he made another vow: to devote himself entirely to the perfection of Mother Marie-Eugénie de Jésus, foundress of the Religious of the Assumption.
• In January 1861, he took a vow to strive for perfection. His motto would be “Mihi vivere Christus est.”

Here was a man who wanted to dedicate his life to what seemed right and good to him.

There are situations and realities that can undermine our fidelity: poor management of difficulties encountered along the way, selfish ambitions, fear, etc. Making private vows can be an effective way to redouble our vigilance and courage. It was with this in mind that Father Emmanuel Bailly, along with other brothers from Nîmes, formulated the vow of fidelity in 1871. Here is an excerpt: “In the face of the social unrest of our time, we, the undersigned, religious of the Assumption, commit ourselves to remaining faithful to the practice of our rules and to the common life, whatever the circumstances in which we may find ourselves and whatever the situation imposed on our works or our Congregation by events.” (E.S. p. 1090). This excerpt from the formula of the vow indicates its objective: to remain faithful in all circumstances.

Fidelity is not a kind of personal accomplishment based on any kind of personal effort. Who can boast of such a miracle? Our fidelity is sustained by the very One who said: “I will be with you.” It is therefore thanks to a certain duty of memory, which revives in us the promises of the One who is always faithful, that the internal forces are awakened in us and help us to persevere. It is in this sense that our Founder, paraphrasing Saint Thomas, says that man owes his fidelity to God, because of the divine domain over every creature, and in particular over every intelligent creature; because of his benefits of all time; because of the promises made by man[2]. The man who remembers the benefits that the Lord has accomplished in his life will say from the bottom of his heart: “How shall I repay the Lord for all the good he has done me? I will lift up the cup of salvation, I will call on the name of the Lord. I will keep my promises to the Lord, yes, before all his people!” (Ps 115:12-14). This “responsive fidelity” is not experienced through extraordinary gestures, but through fidelity to small things. This is true. We should start there: the need to pay attention to small things and be faithful to them. Let us do our part, and God will do the rest.

To read the full AA-Info n°8, follow this link...