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| Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C. |
St. John declares that the joy
of his heart was made complete when he shared the Good News of Jesus, the Word
made flesh, with others. In the very first chapter of his gospel, he narrates
how along with Andrew he went in pursuit of Jesus. The Rabbi turned to them and
asked them what they were looking for. When they enquired where He was staying,
they received the invitation "Come and see." This was what they were
hoping for – to be accepted as His disciples and spend time at His feet,
listening to His teachings and heralding God’s salvation for His people. They
joyfully accepted this invitation and went with Jesus and stayed with Him. That
bond of love grew strong over the next three years when he remained close with
the Master as the beloved disciple. At the Last Supper, he leaned on the chest
of the Master to feel His heartbeat. As John stood by the foot of the Cross he
saw the Heart of Jesus pierced open and blood and water streaming out. He wrote - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone
who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life." (John
3:16)
“Their Voice Has Gone Out To
All The Earth, And Their Words To The Ends Of The World” (Romans 10:18)
Inscribed deeply in the heart
of this apostle was the commission Jesus gave to the disciples before His
Ascension, "You will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you,
and you will be my witnesses... to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8) He recaptures all these divine experiences in
his first letter and writes, "What was from the beginning, what we have
heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with
our hands concerns the Word of life - for the life was made visible; we have
seen it and testify to it... what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to
you... so that our joy may be complete." (1 John 1:1-4) The completeness of a joyous Christian
commitment is in the proclamation of the Word. Jesus himself said a light is not
lit to be put under a bushel (Mark 4:21). The Light of Jesus enlightens us that
we might reflect the Glory of it to everyone around us.
From the time of the disciples
the Church has been continuing this work of evangelization. Pope John Paul II
declared clearly - "The Church exists in order to evangelize."
Without this prophetic mission of the Church, Pope Francis warns us that it
would degenerate into a stagnating clerical structure.
“Thy Word Is A Lamp To My Feet”
(Psalm 119:105)
The Vincentian Congregation has
always been at the vanguard of the Proclamation of the Word. Through the
Popular Mission parish retreats and retreat centres around the world, the
Vincentian Fathers have been in the service of the Church to spread God's
Kingdom on this earth. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has
anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor" (Luke 4:18), is the motto
our heavenly patron St. Vincent de Paul gave us. After his example, the
Vincentian community has always been open to respond to the cries of the poor.
The poor however are not only merely those who do not have sufficient financial
means for sustenance but those who are convinced that their financial means are
not sufficient for life and therefore reach out to God to fill their hearts.
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| Blessed Sacrament Church 2013 |
We have been preaching not only
in our retreat centres but we have been responding to the call of the people to
hear God's Word, wherever this call came from. One such response was the Divine
Vision, the media wing of the Divine Retreat Centre producing and telecasting
gospel programs through Goodness and Divine TV channels. In the UK and other
European countries the Divine channel was welcomed with much eagerness. Every
year the Vincentian Fathers held retreats organized by the regular viewers of
this gospel channel. In every such retreat, there was a prayer expressed that
there should be a Divine Retreat Center in Europe. Intercessory prayers were
being raised up to God from all quarters. The Europeans felt a new surge of
faith in their hearts through the preaching ministry of the Vincentian Fathers.
At the same time, they expressed the deep pain of the vacuum felt in the
absence of such inspired and powerful faith proclamation in their usual spiritual
exercises. The migrants from India and other Asian countries who already had a
taste of the Power of God's Word through the retreats at the Divine Retreat
Centre longed for such an experience to be available in their new settings. The
migrants from the African and South American countries were attracted to the
vibrancy of worship and proclamation of God's Word that was effecting a
transformation in their own lives. It was in this atmosphere of spiritual
fervour that God responded to the longing of His people with the gift of a
Divine Retreat Centre in the UK. The ancient heritage site of St. Augustine's
Abbey was offered to us to start a spiritual renewal centre.
“The Glory Of The Lord Has
Risen Upon You” (Isaiah 60:1)
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| St. Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate, Kent - Divine Retreat Centre UK |
St. Augustine's Abbey Ramsgate
was blessed and inaugurated as Divine Retreat Centre UK on 16 March 2014. This
was a Benedictine monastery built upon the mortal remains of St. Augustine of
Canterbury in 1860. St. Augustine was commissioned by Pope Gregory the Great in
595 AD to preach the Good News of Salvation to the British people. He reached
the shores of Canterbury along with a band of Benedictine monks and began the
mission of evangelizing England. The King of Kent himself was converted to
Christianity. Later, more Benedictine monks arrived and the monastery was
established. In 1896 Pope Pius IX declared this monastery as St. Augustine's
Abbey.
His Excellency Peter Smith, the
Archbishop of Southwark, while blessing and inaugurating this spiritual renewal
centre said, "With great joy I welcome the Vincentian Fathers of India to
my diocese. I am sure the Vincentian Congregation which is committed to the
Proclamation of the Word and to the charitable works for the poor will bring a
new spiritual wave into my people.” He spoke in glowing terms about the Asian
migrants who have come into the country bringing in the spiritual wealth of
their religious fervour. Interpreting the gospel of the day which was the
narrative of the Transfiguration of Jesus the Archbishop said, “Once again St
Augustine’s Abbey should become a centre where Jesus brings his disciples to
manifest His Glory and Power. St. Peter after having seen the glorious
manifestation of the person of Jesus flanked by the great prophet Elijah and
lawgiver Moses in delightful oblivion exclaimed that it was good to be there in
Divine presence. Unfortunately, God has disappeared from the lives of the
people today. Hence the delight of life has also vanished from their hearts.
People are not able to relish the beauty of Christian faith and living. I wish
that this new retreat centre will bring the presence of God and delight of
living to them who come here.”
The blessing and inauguration
event was preceded by a weekend retreat in which 200 people participated. The
Abbey has 65 rooms which were cleaned up by the volunteers who came in large
numbers to complete the great task in time. Certain sections of the Abbey were
not occupied for a very long period time and so required renovation and
cleaning up and this involved hard labour. As one enters this heritage
structure which was planned by Augustus Pugin, the famous architect in 1860,
one and a half centuries ago, one is impressed by the cross-shaped broad
verandah flanked by majestic gothic arches. A large gathering of about 2000
people comprising the local Britons, the migrant Indian, Sri Lankan, African
and Filipino communities participated in the event enthusiastically. An elderly
couple living in Ramsgate near the house of the famous English literary figure
Charles Dickens said to me, "We almost despaired that this ancient
spiritual heritage would be lost to us. We thought it would be bought up and used
for commercial purposes. That would have been a terrible blow to the spiritual
heritage of the British nation. In fact the Indian Vincentian Fathers have come
forward to give new life to this ancient spiritual tradition." Listening
to our conversation was another British couple whose ancestor was working in
India with the East India Company. They thanked me and the other Vincentian
Fathers profusely saying "We are this day witnessing the true universal
face of the Catholic Church. In the earlier centuries missionaries went from
Europe to India and other Asian and African countries to evangelize. They
established churches, seminaries and other ecclesiastical institutions. The
church flourished because of their committed hard work. We are so happy that you
are coming back to us as missionaries to give us a new vigor in our
faith." I praised God with them for calling us to a Church which is holy
and catholic, committed to everyone, beyond boundaries.
“All Nations Shall Stream
Toward It” (Isaiah 2:2)
As part of the solemn event,
the entire congregation proceeded to the seashore where St. Augustine of
Canterbury first set foot in 597. We lit a candle there by the Cross set up
there in memory of St. Augustine. Large framed pictures of St. Augustine and
St. Vincent de Paul together with their relics were carried at the head of the
procession. The candle was carried by a Benedictine monk to the altar and there
it was handed over to the Archbishop who then passed it on to Very Rev. Fr.
Paul Puthuva, the Provincial Superior of the Marymatha Province of the
Vincentian Congregation. He pledged to the whole assembly that with great
reverence he accepts this light - a symbol of the rich spiritual heritage of
prayer and fasting of generations of Benedictine monks. "The Vincentian
Fathers are committed to continue this spiritual tradition to be of service to
the Catholic Church in England." He explained that the Catholic Church is
enriched by the great spiritual traditions of St. Benedict and St. Vincent de
Paul. The two spiritualities merge in this retreat centre for the renewal of
God's people.
Rev. Fr. Joseph Edattu, the
young and gifted Vincentian priest appointed to the Centre welcomed the august
assembly to personally experience the graces of dwelling in the Presence of
God.
Most Rev. Msgr. John Armitage,
the Vicar General of Brentwood, the neighboring diocese recounted with the
congregation his experience of the Vincentian ministry of renewal, "Though
I have myself never been to the Divine Retreat Centre in India, I am deeply
impressed by what the retreats have done over the years to the lives of the
people. I was on a ship as the chaplain to the pilgrims sailing in this vessel.
Most of the young people who were serving the pilgrims were from India. They
were sharing with each other their spiritual experiences and praying together
in small groups during their intervals. I was fascinated by their spiritual
vibrancy and enquired out of curiosity how they cultivated such a faith. They
explained to me that they had gone for retreats to the Divine Retreat Centre,
Muringoor, Kerala and these were intense spiritual experiences which
transformed their lives thoroughly. My great hope is that this newly
inaugurated Divine Retreat Centre may bring about the same spiritual quality to
this country. In the increasing secularised milieu of Europe the renewal
efforts of the Vincentian Fathers will bring the much awaited spiritual
vibrance to the lives of the people."
Ms. Mary Dwyer, the Deputy Mayor, representing the civil authority of
the land, expressed her great joy that a new life has come to this ancient
spiritual heritage. She extended generously her cooperation to the Vincentian
Fathers.
We knew it was the Hand of God
that had opened the hearts of everyone ushering us into this mission. We
rejoiced for we also knew “that the One who began a good work will bring it to
completion.” (Philippians 1:6)
“It Shall Blossom Abundantly,
And Rejoice With Joy And Singing” (Isaiah 35:2)
In Ramsgate on the shores of
the sea of Dover, the beautiful season of spring had already set in. Before
this solemn event, lovely pink flowers had blossomed on the cherry trees. There
were many such trees in the compound of the St. Augustine's Abbey. Looking at
those cherry blossoms announcing the advent of spring, Rev. Fr. Marcus Holden
who was in charge of all the heritage buildings of the Diocese of Southwark
made a prophetic declaration - “The first springtime of the salvation of
Canterbury was when St. Augustine set foot on the shores of Kent and proclaimed
the Good News of Salvation. The second springtime set in when in 1860 the
Benedictine monastery was established and the monks took charge of the
evangelization of the area." Then raising his voice he announced,
"Now the third springtime has come in with the Vincentian Fathers taking
up St. Augustine's Abbey to start the Proclamation of God's Word with the
Divine Retreat Centre. It's a time for rejoicing for all of us." As the
crowd gave a thunderous applause, hailing this prophetic announcement there was
a prayer in the hearts of the Vincentian Fathers present that a thousand lovely
flowers of faith must blossom here spreading the fragrance of the God
experience throughout this continent.
Let Us Pray:
Lord Jesus, we thank You for
giving us the joy of Your Word and a mission to share this great Good News with
the whole world. Thank you for sending us to the ends of the earth that we may
join hands with all of humanity as one family of faith.
We thank You for the gift of
St. Augustine’s Abbey and this new mission for the renewal of Europe. We trust
in You to strengthen your humble servants to fulfill your plan for the people
You hold dear to Your Heart. May a thousand blossoms of faith flower here, that
the fragrance of salvation may spread to the ends of the earth.
Amen.
