To all the members of the Hospitaller Family of St John of God. 

Dear Brothers and Co-workers, members of the Family of Saint John of God, next Saturday 15 November we will celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lady of Patronage. It is significant for us, the Hospitaller Family of Saint John of God, to celebrate this feast in the period that reminds us of the closing of the 70^th General Chapter of the Order held in Częstochowa last year. This coincidence makes us feel that we are accompanied by Mary, our Hope, Mother and Mistress of Hospitality on our journey. The Virgin Mary has always occupied a privileged place in our spirituality; it is She who teaches us to live with hope even in the most difficult and painful moments of the Order and of all our guests. Pope Francis, at the General Audience in St Peter's Square on 10 May 2017, said: “Mary experienced more than one night on her journey as mother. Since her first appearance in the narrative of the Gospels, her figure stands out as if she were a character in a drama. It was not easy to respond with a ‘yes’ to the Angel’s invitation: yet she, a woman in the flower of her youth, responds with courage, despite knowing nothing of the fate that awaits her. In that instant Mary appears to us as one of the many mothers of our world, courageous to the extreme when it comes to welcoming, in one’s own womb, the history of a new man to be born. That ‘yes’ is the first step in a long list of examples of obedience — a long list of examples! — that will accompany her journey as mother. Thus, Mary appears in the Gospels as a silent woman, who often does not understand all that is happening around her, but who contemplates each word and each event in her heart.

In this disposition there is a beautiful sample of Mary’s psychology: she is not a woman who is depressed by the uncertainties of life, especially when nothing seems to be going the right way. Nor is she a woman who protests violently, who curses life’s fate, which often shows us a hostile face. She is instead a woman who listens: do not forget that there is always a great connection between hope and listening, and Mary is a woman who listens. Mary welcomes life as it is conveyed to us, with its happy days, but also with its tragedies that we would rather not have met. Until Mary’s supreme night, when her Son is nailed to the wood of the cross.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I wanted to remind you of these words from Pope Francis' catechesis, not only because of their prestigious author, but also because they teach us to face the inevitable difficulties of life with courage. Our Hospitaller Family is also witnessing the birth of something new that we cannot yet imagine, but which must enter the world if Hospitality is to have a future. We are witnessing the difficult birth of this "new thing", which we cannot yet give form to, but which we sense is necessary and will bring us joy. Let us learn from Mary to look to the future with hope and to say a clear, decisive and unconditional yes to the new and beautiful things that the Lord wants to create in our Order.

I do not wish to appear naïve or too idealistic, but I believe that trusting in God as the Virgin Mary did, with a strong faith and a consistent life, certainly helps us to open up to the new and allow ourselves to be involved in new projects conceived by God for us without resistance or posing obstacles to His will because He is the true Hope.

St John of God's life, though brief, was marked by this willing openness to God's will, which he sought throughout his existence until the day when without hesitation he threw himself into the river in an unsuccessful attempt to save the unfortunate young man who had fallen into the waters of the Genil River. That rescue attempt cost him his life. I would like us, like St John of God, to allow ourselves to be surprised by what the Lord has in store for us, letting go of the past when necessary and, like Mary, being ready to become credible bearers of hope, opening ourselves to forms of hospitality that speak of and transmit the goodness, beauty and tenderness of God.

As the St John of God family, it is our vocation, like Mary, the Mother of Hope, to give life where everything seems to be dying, to be light where every light threatens to go out, to stand up for human dignity where respect for people, especially those most vulnerable and in need of protection, is trampled underfoot.

We need, especially in this complex time, to recover our devotion to the Virgin Mary, not only by enhancing the various festivities proposed by the Universal Church and the local Churches, but by ensuring that She is always an integral part of our spirituality and our daily actions as our Constitutions in art. 25 remind us. May She accompany us on this journey of seeking God's will and help us to open our hearts without any fear, knowing that in God's will we find our peace and future.

I end this short message by once again making Pope Francis' words my own: “For this reason we all love her as Mother. We are not orphans: we have a Mother in heaven who is the Holy Mother of God. Because she teaches us the virtue of waiting, even when everything seems to lack meaning: she is ever confident in the mystery of God, even when he seems to have eclipsed himself due to the evil of the world. In the most difficult moments, may Mary, the Mother that Jesus gave to all of us, always support our steps, may she always say to our hearts: “Arise! Look forward, look to the horizon”, because she is the Mother of Hope.”

I greet you all fraternally and wish you to discover the beauty of the Virgin Mary and your love for her again and again.

Have a joyful celebration!

Brother Pascal Ahodegnon, O.H.

Superior General