Dear Confreres, we have a powerful example and inspiration before us, who now intercedes for us in heaven. Blessed Engelmar had a choice to let the dying die and look forward to hopefully leaving Dachau one day and go back to serving the Lord as a Missionary but his commitment to love, devotion and sacrifice, virtues he had acquired from his faith, would not allow him to do so. He decided he was going to enter the dangerous barracks 23 to serve the dying and he paid with his life. He had an opportunity and he seized the opportunity. We have an opportunity; do we seize the opportunity ? Blessed Engelmar, we now speak to you; you who are the Angel of Dachau, the Martyr of Charity, the Lily of Dachau, the Model of Charity, help us, with your prayers, not to be selfish with our lives and gifts, but to seize the opportunity to serve no matter how painful it becomes. Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said ” LOVE UNTIL IT HURTS, LOVE UNTIL YOU FEEL THE PAIN OF DOING SO”.
“Enlarge the place of your tent,
As we step into the Jubilee Year from December 2024 to 2025,
let us invite God the Holy Spirit to enable us to be real pilgrims of Hope
in our communities and among the people we serve.
Father in heaven,
may the faith you have given us
in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
reawaken in us the blessed hope
for the coming of your Kingdom.
May your grace transform us
into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity
and the whole cosmos
in the sure expectation
of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,
your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee
reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,
a yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread
the joy and peace of our Redeemer
throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed,
be glory and praise for ever.
Amen (more…)
