From HPRweb.com:
Oftentimes, during the most difficult periods of history, the Lord is most generous with us. He inspires novel integrations in the spiritual life that can facilitate our closeness to him and our ability to love others with that same generosity. Because, as Vatican II’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et spes) suggests, part of the “responsibility members of the Church carry is to read the signs of the times and interpret them in the light of the Gospel.” We need a new awareness of how to live our faith this way, confronting the needs of our age. 1 Loving attention is a new integration of traditional spiritual practice and prayer, that is especially apropos for the Church, and particularly a “pearl of great price” for busy, overworked priests of today. We live in times rocked with the sex abuse crisis and the ordained priesthood, with dire predictions of grossly inadequate numbers of active priests to serve a growing Catholic population, and with the reality of closing or clustering parishes. While accessible to everyone, the practice of Loving Attention is an especially empowering attitude of “prayerful living” that can help re-energize and equip priests with tools to delve into the challenge of ministry in this context.
In fact, the practice of Loving Attention was forged in the crucible of very difficult times during the Mexican Revolution, and proved very effective in forming priests who were “united in Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit to press onward towards the Kingdom.” 2 They celebrated Mass in homes, dodged authorities and were often martyred. Loving Attentionwas the innovation of Ven. Father Felix Rougier, M.SP.S., (1859-1938), the co-founder of The Missionaries of the Holy Spirit. This religious congregation of priests was founded in 1914 in Mexico, at the height of ecclesial oppression by the Mexican government. The charism of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit is spiritual guidance of souls (especially of priests), spiritual direction, and the Sacrament of Penance. When Pope Pius X heard of the main aim of this congregation, he exclaimed, “Blessed be God! This is what the Church needs most at this moment; to have good spiritual guides.” 3 We can say the same for our age!
What does Venerable Fr. Felix Rougier, M.SP.S., mean by the term: Loving Attention to God?
Read the entire essay, written by Mary Gannon Kaufmann.
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