We grow in love incarnating the attitudes of our Spiritual Models– Good Shepherd, Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Francis of Assisi. They are the masters of the spiritual Amigonian life; occupy, then, a determining role in the configuration of our own being and acting.
Amigonian Spirituality
In following the Good Shepherd, we are called to grow in love particularly in developing the attitudes of simplicity and humility, of compassion and mercy, of joy and hope, and of dedication and generosity. These attitudes distinguish our doing and acting , and like the Good Shepherd we are called to know the sheep, walk before them, look for those who are lost, share their joys and sorrows, and are willing to give our lives for them.
In our Congregation, we have the model and protectress, the “Mater Dolorosa” or Our Lady of Sorrows. Our Father Founder entrusted us to her and with her, the Congregation cooperates in educating the youth. Her presence in our lives is the source of our generosity and mercy, strength and tenderness that our mission requires.
Furthermore, with a Franciscan spirit, we follow Jesus Christ as minor religious, imitating the examples of Francis who considered himself the last one among his brothers and the servant of all, for this is what the brothers and sisters have been called: to feed the hungry, to give water to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to visit the sick, to visit the imprisoned, or ransom the captive, and to bury the dead (cf. Matthew 25).
CHRISTOCENTRIC DIMENSION
The Christocentric Dimension is founded in the love for Christ, Redeemer and Savior, merciful and loving Shepherd, who lives and gives Himself freely and abundantly for the salvation of men.
These are qualities that emanate from the divine heart of Jesus and are revealed in His love towards them.
Father Luis’ acts of love and charity towards the poor, and especially towards children and victims and any form of discrimination meant loving them as Christ loved them, with a conscious desire of being their Redeemer and Savior, good and merciful Shepherd who lived and gave Himself for them.
Father Luis always had a great devotion to the divine heart of Jesus in which he saw the ardent flame of love burning for the salvation of all mean, the just as well as the unjust, drawing them back to His love. Father Luis, filled with the spirit of such love, expressed that love in many through his works and mercy for the outcast, the prisoner, the orphan, and the destitute, and in so many ways, showed those whom he cared for the great love of the Redeemer.
Love is the charism of the Congregation, preferentially towards children and youths who have deviated from truth and goodness. Father Luis wanted this trait of Jesus also to be that of the Superiors and Religious to whose care, troubled, disruptive youths were entrusted. (Constitution no. 47)
He, himself, tried to imitate the Divine Master’s great love, whether as a Religious or as a Founder and Bishop. On his episcopal Coat of Arms, I had these word written: “I give my life to my sheep.”
Father Luis can rightly say with St. Paul: “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.” This dimension, then, essentially requires of following Christ the Redeemer, Good and Merciful Shepherd who comes to look for those who have been lost.
In following the Gospel of mercy, attention is focused on the words of St. Luke: “You are always to be prompt. . . do not ignore any means by which you may achieve the objective of serving your neighbor, even to the point of sacrificing your life if necessary. ”
In 1926, Father Luis wrote to his religious his so-called “last will” letter:
Beloved Sons and Daughters, you whom the Lord established as little shepherds of His Flock are the ones to go in search of the lost sheep and bring the stray back to the Fold of the Good Shepherd.
Father Luis also wrote:
The religious will work diligently to strengthen their spirit and enkindle their will in their love for God by means of prayer to communicate to their neighbor that divine love, and to be more disposed to serving Him through the works of the Congregation. (Letters, Circulars. 1926)
These are the words by which Father Founder lived absolutely selflessly. (Constitution no 2)
Father Luis wanted for his religious what he, himself, wanted: a deeper understanding of the teachings of Jesus as revealed in the parables. To have such understanding, and insight, it is sufficient to recall the parable of the prodigal son, or the parable of the unmerciful servant. There are many passages in the teachings of Christ that communicate the inherent message of love, of mercy, and each from a fresh perspective. (Giovanni Paolo II, 1980)
Be it sufficient to have before us, as examples, the Good shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep, or the woman who sweeps the house in search of the lost coin. In following this Amigonian spirituality, the Amigonian educator thus receives adolescents and pre-adolescents with selfless love and assumes responsibility for developing well balanced characters; that is, in addition to the arts and sciences, the Amigonian educator teaches Christian virtue so that the individual will have the capacity to face life with honor and dignity.
MARIAN DIMENSION
The Marian Dimension is founded in the love and devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows who, at the foot of the Cross, lived the passion of Jesus, united herself to Him in a very special way and thus, gave herself to the Father as Co- Redemptrix of the human race.
The title “Our Lady of Sorrows” by which we venerate her, and her title as Co-Redemptrix, establish her for us a fountain of generosity, fortitude and tenderness. These virtues are also required in our mission; Thus, the Virgin Mary must always be present in the whole process of integrating these specific religious elements. (Oltra et al, 1983)
Pope John Paul II affirms:
Mary obtained mercy in a particular and exceptional way as no other person has. At the same time and in the same exceptional way, by the sacrifice of her heart, it was possible for her to share in revealing God’s mercy. . . No one has experience, to the same degree as the Mother of the Crucified One, the mystery of the cross, the overwhelming encounter with divine, transcendent justice and love: that ‘kiss’ given to justice by mercy. No one has received into his hands, as much as Mary, that Mystery, that truly divine dimension of the redemption effected at Calvary by means of the death of the Son, together with the sacrifice of her maternal heart and her definitive ‘fiat’.
Mary, then, is the one who has deepest knowledge of the Mystery of God’s mercy. She knows its price; she knows how great it is. In this sense, we call her ‘Mother of Mercy;’ ‘Our Lady of Mercy;’ or ‘Mother of Divine Mercy.’ In each of these titles, there is deep theological meaning, for they express the special preparation of her soul, of her whole personality, so that she was able to perceive, through the complex events, first of Israel, then of every individual and of the whole of humanity, that mercy of which ‘from generation to generation’ people became sharer’s according to the external design of the Most Holy Trinity. . .
And finally, through her hidden and at the same time, incomparable sharing in the Messianic mission of her son, she was called in a special way to bring close to people that love which He had come to reveal: the love that finds its most concrete expression of their freedom, the blind, the oppressed and the sinners, just as Christ spoke to them in the words of the Prophet Isaiah, first in the synagogue at Nazareth and then in response to the question of the messengers of John the Baptist. (Giovanni no. 9)
Based on this doctrine of the Church, Father Founder recommended that his sons, the Tertiary Capuchins, receive the Virgin Mary in their hearts and lives, and accept the words of Jesus who, seeing His mother from the Cross, said to her : “Woman , this is your son. ” And to the disciple standing near her, Jesus said:“ This is your mother. ‘ (John 19: 26-27) Father Luis wanted his Sons to accept Mary, the Sorrowful Mother, as John did:
- As the means of bringing them closer to Christ and His work of redemption;
- As the inspiration of their faith and their love; and
- As the bright star to light their way.
Thus, the Virgin Mary is both the Mother and Teacher of every virtue to every Tertiary Capuchin; she is the one who teaches them how to love the poor and oppressed, whom God entrusts to their care, making them ready to gladly give their lives for them if necessary.
FRANCISCAN DIMENSION
The Franciscan dimension is founded in St. Francis the Seraphic Father in whose footsteps Father Luis Amigo followed throughout his life.
Father Founder was inspired by the Seraphic Father a living image of Christ. Thus, I wanted to leave St. Francis to his sons and Daughters as a model of humility, poverty, love for God, and real for the salvation of men.
As a young priest, Father Founder was already involved in restoring and organizing the Secular Franciscans (Third Order) with the purpose of following the examples of the Seraphic Father to “restore the Christian way of life in the world.” To succeed, he says, nothing is better than living the Gospel completely as the first Christians lived it – in penance, prayer, and mutual love. (Romans 1:66)
Father sought to imitate St. Francis since the beginning of his religious life. As he approached the sunset of his life, I emphasized St. Francis as a model for his Sons and daughters to follow saying:
To be worthy of so high a mission, you must endeavor, beloved Sons and Daughters, to strengthen your spirit and to model your life after the Seraphic Father, St. Francis, who was given to us by the Lord to imitate:
- His deep humility, as I have truly considered himself the worst of sinners;
- His love of poverty, which was unrivaled and sought as grace from God for himself and for his mendicant Order;
- His zeal for the salvation of others, for which the Lord granted through the intercession of Mary the famous jubilee of the Portiuncula; and
- His love for God which transformed him into a living image of Jesus Christ by the marks of His wounds. (Letters, Circulars. 1926)
Father Luis realized that from such spirit imbued with humility, poverty, zeal and love, came the apostolic fervor for the poor, the oppressed, and the moral deviant which St. Francis demonstrated throughout his exemplary life.
The same spirit moves his followers today to perform works of mercy in various fields, to respond to the urgent needs of God’s people.
Father Luis wanted his Sons and Daughters to emulate the Seraphic Father’s spirit of simplicity and humility, of poverty and zeal for the salvation of men, for in this spirit they would find the fortitude needed to reach and rehabilitate wayward youths.
To be truly helpful to the poor, it is necessary to live like them, in poverty, as the Seraphic Father did, as Father Founder Luis Amigo did, and as others did who followed the example of Jesus.
The virtue of simplicity and humility were most evident when St. Francis dismounted from his horse and kissed the leper he had seen. He showed the leper love that was much stronger than the natural repugnance he felt at first sight of the leper – the love that comes from God.
SEPTENARY TO OUR LADY OF SORROWS
To obtain favors through the intercession of the Venerable Bishop, pray one Hail Mary for each sorrow; then recite the Prayer.
1 – St. Simeon’s Prophecy
2 – The flight into Egypt
3 – Jesus lost in the Temple
4 – Mary meets Jesus carrying the Cross
5 – Jesus’ crucifixion and death
6 – Jesus’ piercing and descent from the Cross
7 – Jesus’ burial and Mary’s solitude
Pray for us
Oh Holy Mother of God
That we may be made worthy
of the promises of Christ
PRAYER
Let us pray.
Oh Lord, who has made your Venerable Fr. Luis Amigó, a father and a teacher to redeem the deviated youth leading them in the way of salvation, grant us, we beg you, to imitate the ardent and generous love he showed to you, to the Blessed Sorrowful Virgin and to the lost sheep of your flock.
Glorify your humble servant here on earth and through his merits and intercession may we obtain the grace we are asking for. Amen.
