Socio-ecological approach to our identity: Sons of Immaculate Heart of Mary

By - Efrain Vasquez Mamani, cmf.

1. Brief sketch on our context.

Our very context is built up on masculine and rationalistic culture, that means, the man has power over woman and whole nature, this power is handled with reason and technology. Thereby, the affectivity, the emotions and all related human heart sensitivity is look down or dislike, considers immature – childish, feminine-sided.

This understanding of the reality (Appolonious, Greek mythology), which is coming since 10 thousand years before, is destroying human dignity and all earth alike. The rationalism has as consequence the fragmentary mind setting of the reality, the relationship between human being himself, with the nature and God is broken and undermining the life.

The response to this rationalistic-fragmentarian of understanding of the reality is sensationalism (Dyunisious, Greek mythology), that emphasized the emotions, especially among the youth, for many of them are hard to think and analyze rationally the reality, it becomes a shallow approach to the reality.

Both cases drop-down to extreme, then result is fragmented and sensational human being, objects to consume what ever the marketing shows.

Then, the main challenge is how integrate this fragmented and consumerist human reality. The way is to reintegrate it again. In this sense there is term in Spanish Co-razonar, that mean integration of the reason with the heart ands vise verse. To deal with this reconstruction, becomes very important turn to our deep and meaningful religious and cultural roots, so that it may help us to embrace consciously our new reality.

Gratefully, as claretians, Sons of Immaculate Heart of Mary, with humble heart we are able to respond to this challenge from our very identity, rooted in the heart of our mother. So in the coming up paragraphs we are going to explore a bit our foundational water spring.

2. Anthro-spiritual description of the heart into three main dimensions: Somatic, Psyche and Spiritual.

-       Biological: One of the main part of our living body, it is inside of the body, it communicate with whole body and makes be alive whole parts of our body, it a restless organ, it accelerate and dis-accelerate according our psychological state ...

-       Psychical. Our feelings set up in our heart and stomach, the heart make balance with our mind: emotions and thoughts, symbolically it expresses love, compassion, tenderness, happiness and painfulness. Nevertheless, into an androcentric culture it tells us on our feminine dimension, mother-side, free-given earthiness (Erick Fronn, 1952)

-       Spiritual. Love, spirit, values and virtues, full-life, authentic happiness, new-being, the FIRING FORGE, etc.

3. Mary’s Heart in Claret’s experience.

At this respect, we have abundant resources in Marian spirituality written of our congregation such the “Selective Spiritual Writings of S.M. Claret” by J. Bermejo (1991), “Ex Abundantia Cordis” by J.M. Hernandez (1991), Claret’s “Autobiography”, and so on. In Spiritual Written, Claret makes the very graphical description about Mary’s Heart.

There are two aspects in which we must considerer in Mary’s Heart, namely, her material heart and her formal heart, which her love and will.

The material heart of Mary is the organ, sense or instrument of her love and will. Just as we see through the eyes, hear through the ears, smell through the nose and speak through the mouth, so we love and will through the heart…

The heart of Mary combines all these properties and more beside:

1)    The Heart od Mary not only a living member of Jesus Christ through faith and charity, bus was also the origin and wellspring from which His humanity was taken.

2)    The Heart of Mary was a temple of the Holy Spirit, and more than a temple, since from the most precious blood that flowed from this Immaculate Heart, the Holy Spirit formed the sacred Humanity in the most pure and virginal womb of Mary, in the great mystery of the incarnation.

3)    The Heart of Mary has been the organ of all the virtues in a heroic degree, and singularly in charity toward God and toward men.

4)    The Heart of Mary is at this very moment a living and animate heart, lifted up to the most sublime height of glory.

5)    The Heart of Mary is the throne from which all graces and mercies are dispensed (Bermejo, SW, 587)

On this detailed description, J.M. Hernandez affirms: “By Heart of Mary, S.A.M. Claret understands the real symbol of the person of Mary, which all of the dimensions of her personality: somatic, psychic and spiritual are integrating in a unified and dynamic way” (1991: 52).

The Christocentric understanding of Claret regard Mary’s Heart, as center of all virtues, especially center of the will and love, suggests us how Claret, being fruit of the rational metaphysics and part of mail center culture, was able to integrate deeply and metaphorically the reason and heart. This firing heart, full-power of the transformative Spirit, push out to the mission, it was the very understanding and feeling of Claret, “kindle in me the love of God and neighbor” (Aut 447), he used to pray. The love to God and neighbor as well as to the nature-earth, our common home are our urgent challenge in this XXI century.

4. Scripture reading: Lk 1:46-56.

5. Being for the mission in community.

The mission is our origin and life says our last Congregational Chapter Declaration (1), in the same way the former Chapter Document (2009) stressed our identity:

“The name [Sons of Immaculate Heart of Mary] emphasizes our condition as sons and brothers. It shows that we are human beings loved by God the Father and by Mary, our mother, in the Spirit; called to participate in the life of God (Gen 1:26); graced by the Spirit with filial and brotherly characteristics: dignity, liberty, confidence, joy, tenderness, compassion and solidarity. This allows us to face with hope the challenges of our mission and our personal and community life and not be like those who only rely on their own strength, methods or accomplishments (35).

The experience as sons gives meaning to our special commitment to the Heart of Mary, our Mother (CC, 8) which we make at our Profession: “I offer myself in special service to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary in order to fulfil the aim for which this Congregation has been established in the Church” (cf CC 159; Dir 32-34). To be sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary means to be seekers of the glory of God who desires that all his sons and daughters live with dignity and fulfilment (cf CC 2; TMHL 8) and in harmony with all of creation. Our mission is more urgent at an historical moment when the name of God is hidden and considered banal, the rights of God’s needy children are violated and the survival of the planet is endangered (36).

From these two paragraphs come out the understanding of our contemporary mission related with humankind and with our common home, the earth. The mission today we are caller to understand and practice, not just as a sowing the seeds but also as harvesting the fruit, because God, before ours, has sowed by his Spirit into every culture, religion, etc. where there today abundant fruits.

The very mission of Jesus was to live and build God’s Rein, to transform the unjust reality, to enjoy the New Earth and New Heaven; this for us is to live and build the real creational community, wherein are integrating God, humankind and whole creation.

Prayer.

Mary, my Mother, Mother of Divine Love, I can ask for nothing more pleasing to you, nor anything that you are more ready to grant, than the love of God. Grant me this, my Mother and my love. My mother, I am hungry and thirsty for love; help me, satisfy my need. O Heart of Mary, forge and instrument of love, kindle in me the love of God and neighbor (Aut 447).