We celebrate the 112 years of the return of our Father and Founder, Saint Arnold Janssen to the Father’s house. Thus ended the journey of a lifetime devoted to a great missionary dream. After leaving, he gave us three missionary families as a legacy. Today, a large number of lay women and men share the same charism. May the words of Bishop Drehmanns on the day of his funeral inspire us:

“We have buried a just man. May the good spirit, the spirit of faith and prayer and sacrifice, which your venerable Founder implanted and instilled in his Society, always remain alive in it. Then his work will never die”.

Let us continue with courage the task of continuing to impregnate our society with the seeds of the Gospel, so that the fruits may be abundant. May the Founder’s spirit of humility, throughout his life, be the compass of our missionary commitment: “Not I, but the Lord …”:

“This vineyard, dear confreres, is our Congregation and all the territories entrusted to it. The hand of God planted and cared for this vineyard; the Lord gives it the sun, the rain and the growth. Personally, I cannot claim anything, but only a weak collaboration, and not even this in my own capacity. Neither does the idea come from me, nor the firm constancy in the midst of great difficulties, nor the powerful help in the realization, the mood amid the general mistrust. Not me, but the Lord …