ASIA/HOLY LAND – Patriarch Pizzaballa: this is what Charles de Foucauld tells us, the Saint who “seems to have done nothing”.
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Nazareth (Agenzia Fides) – What is striking about the Christian adventure of Saint Charles de Foucauld is that during his life, “he seems to have done nothing”. He did not convert anyone, he did not found anything, he was not successful in any of his projects, “he did not bring any results”. Charles de Foucauld only loved Jesus, imitating him in everything, even until his death. Precisely for this reason, his account suggests to all the baptized that in order to be Church “it is not necessary to build large companies”, that all ecclesial activity is fruitful only and when “it arises from the encounter and love of Christ”, while “without the love to Christ, all that remains of us are costly structures, whether physical or human.” With these words, and with other evocative images, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins, wanted to remind the brothers of the Churches of the Holy Land of the most intimate features of the spiritual history of the monk recently canonized by Pope Francis , and what these features suggest regarding the dynamics of the apostolic mission in the present time. He explained it during the thanksgiving mass for the canonization of Charles de Foucauld, celebrated in Nazareth, in the Basilica of the Annunciation, on Sunday, May 29. The liturgical celebration, presided over by Patriarch Pizzaballa, was also attended by bishops and priests from other Catholic Churches of the Holy Land, as well as Little Brothers and Little Sisters of Charles de Foucauld, along with members of other religious communities inspired by the spirituality of De Foucauld and present today in the land of Jesus.
Precisely in Nazareth – the Patriarch recalled – Charles de Foucauld spent important moments of his life, decisive for his path of conversion, “to the point that part of the spirituality attributed to him is called precisely ‘spirituality of Nazareth'” . A spirituality modeled on family life lived with Jesus by Joseph and Mary, understood as a desire to live with Christ and in Christ every moment and every breath of daily life, after having encountered him. “A loved one” the Patriarch underlined in his homily “is never known once and for all”. And also in the same way following Christ “means continuing to seek him every day, wanting to see his face, being able to recognize him in the lives of the little ones, experiencing him. It is a path made of consolations, but also of many dark moments, of questions that are not heard, of interior emptiness, of long waits, of purifications, of silences”. Precisely, following his expectation and his demand to see the action of Christ every day, Charles de Foucauld enters into the heart of the mystery of the Church, and of his mission. “For those times,” Archbishop Pizzaballa pointed out, “theirs was a new way of evangelizing: at a time when Western missionaries were going all over the world to bring the Gospel in their own way, Charles de Foucauld wanted to go between the people, in a way, to be evangelized by them, approaching them, trying to learn their values, their ways, their culture, their language, their traditions. He felt himself a brother to all, anticipating what is today a central theme in the life of the Church. But his idea of fraternity was not based on vague or generic sentiments. He was based on a direct relationship with Jesus and flowed from it.” What is striking about this saint – is that he seems to have done nothing. He did not convert anyone, he did not found anything and, reading the archives of our convents in the Holy Land and the Patriarchate, he did not succeed in any of his projects, he did not impact anyone with his testimony. On the contrary, perhaps, knowing our surroundings a little, he should have been considered one of those somewhat strange characters that often frequent our surroundings in the Holy Land. In short, he is a saint who did not bring any results. None. And he dies trivially, like many today. The only criterion by which one can measure the experience of him in a certain way is love. The love for Christ led him to imitate him in everything, until his death”. True love – the Patriarch remarked – “is always generative, always open to life and new horizons. And this was also the case with Charles de Foucauld. After his death, precisely around him, which did not conclude anything in his life, various congregations, movements, spiritual paths were born, inspired by his experience. Some of them are present here among us, in our Jerusalem Church.
Thanks to his unique path of holiness – the Patriarch continued – Charles de Foucauld also invites the Church of Jerusalem “to free ourselves from the search for results at any price, for success in our efforts. He reminds us that to be a Church it is not necessary to build large companies. The life of the Church is life-giving when it arises from the encounter and love of Christ. This is the first witness to which we are called. Without the love of Christ, all that remains of us are costly structures, whether physical or human.” In addition, the experience of Charles de Foucauld shows everyone that “loving Christ means loving man, where he is, just as he is, without pretending anything, but being close to him: in his work, in his family, in his questions, in his suffering, in his pain. Without trying to provide solutions, which often do not exist, but bringing the love of Christ. And here, in the Holy Land, it means being at the side of each person in their desire for life, in their thirst for justice, in their demand for dignity. It means asking for the strength of forgiveness, building friendships with everyone, rejecting the idea of an enemy, but wanting to be brothers with everyone.
For the new French saint, the men and women to whom Christ must be confessed in daily proximity as a “universal brother” were the Muslims of the Maghreb countries. Charles de Foucauld – Patriarch Pizzaballa recalled – leaves us as a legacy “the search for a serene relationship with those who do not know Christ, and in particular with Islam, which so profoundly marked his life, and which is such a current issue and necessary at this time. Not to convert us, of course, but to bear witness to the love of Christ, who makes us all brothers”. The former French officer, who had lost all vital relationship with Christianity during his adolescence – the Patriarch has recalled, among other things -. He begins his path of rethinking his spiritual life precisely thanks to contact “with those Islamic, poor and religious populations.” A journey that “will take him little by little to meet Christ, with whom he will fall in love and whom he will never abandon. People who did not know Christ brought him to meet Christ.”
(GV) (Agenzia Fides 5/30/2022)
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