17th September 2024 – The anniversary of the Death of our Founder – Message from the Superior General

Dear Paulists brothers and sisters,

The anniversary of the death of our Founder in 1933, is always an opportunity to celebrate his life. We, Paulist Missionaries, firmly believe that we are honouring the life of a saint. When reading about the lives of saints, I am often put off by an approach that portrays them as if they were born saints or were somehow destined for sainthood more than you or I am. I am convinced that saints are not born but become saints by cooperating with God’s grace, allowing Him to create a masterpiece out of their lives.

I believe we must approach the life of our Founder with the same understanding. This conviction has led me to seek aspects of his life where he exhibited growth, change, or what is traditionally called ‘conversion’ or metanoia. I wish I knew our Founder so deeply that I could easily identify such areas in his life, but to be honest, at times it has been a struggle. Perhaps we can make of this a shared endeavour, helping each other in bringing our Founder closer to us in a more inspiring way.

One area where I sense a possible ‘conversion’ in Joseph De Piro is in how he discerned God’s will for him. To me, De Piro seems to have had a submissive character, appearing afraid to say ‘no’ to authority. This may have been compounded by the belief at that time that legitimate authority spoke God’s will to its subjects. We can see De Piro’s susceptibility to this as early as his youth. Although he felt called to the priesthood, he yielded to his father’s demand to study law. Once his father was no longer alive, he returned to his original desire, indicating that he was not convinced his father had correctly discerned God’s will for him. After his ordination, he continued to accept responsibility after responsibility, seemingly an easy and sure choice for his superiors, despite the fact that this clearly came to the detriment of his fledgling Society and, at times, his own health.

However, later in his life, there is an incident that shows he had indeed matured in this area.

In 1925, the parish priests of Gozo were trying to establish an orphanage to meet the needs of their island. Previous attempts had failed, and they believed that such an initiative would only succeed if entrusted to a capable and experienced administrator who could ensure the necessary resources were provided. De Piro was the obvious choice. By that time, he was already in charge of three orphanages, with a fourth on the way. De Piro accepted the request on the condition that this orphanage be considered a branch of St. Joseph Home – Malta. This was not to the liking of Mgr. Gonzi, the Bishop of Gozo, who realized that agreeing to this condition would mean the institution would not be under his control. However, De Piro stood firm and made it clear that he, on behalf of the nascent Society of St. Paul, would only accept the responsibility on his terms, partly because he discerned that the statutes formulated by Mgr. Gonzi for the running of this institute did not sufficiently reflect trust in God’s Providence.

This was no small feat, especially considering that Mgr. Michael Gonzi was not someone easily contradicted. Yet, De Piro managed to do so. Isn’t this God’s grace at work? Isn’t this a sign of Joseph De Piro growing in holiness?

So now, the invitation is extended to each of us. In what area of my life am I being invited to allow God’s grace to work and bring about growth, change, and conversion? Of course, this is a deeply personal question for which each of us must find our own answer. However, I suggest one area we might collectively be called to examine, an area we might easily overlook.

I am writing these reflections at the beginning of the Season of Creation (seasonofcreation.org). The call for an ‘ecological conversion’ (LS216-221) has been growing stronger in recent years. But are we taking it seriously enough? This goes beyond planting a tree or separating garbage. It requires a change in lifestyle, a metanoia, embracing a simpler way of life that consumes fewer of our planet’s resources. It means checking any materialistic and consumeristic tendencies that may have crept into our lives. It means adopting a more disciplined approach to our eating habits and physical comfort. All of this can only be accomplished by God’s grace.

Moreover, this would be a concrete way to live out our solidarity—a value identified as one of our MSSP characteristics—with the millions of people who must survive on very limited means. For those of us in consecrated life, this is a practical way to live the Vow of Poverty.

De Piro is again a model for us. I am certain that his choice to leave his family’s environment and live in solidarity with the poor orphans he served was, once again, the work of God’s grace and a sign of his growth in holiness.

May we, when our time comes, be counted among those in whom God’s grace was powerfully at work.