On 30 June 2023 – on the day in memory of Blessed Gennaro Sarnelli, the student priests of the Collegio Maggiore, gave thanks for the academic year (2022-23) with the celebration of the Holy Mass, which is about to end in June.
Father General Rogério Gomez CSsR, who presided over this Holy Mass, together with Fr. Paul Vinh CSsR, General Consultor, and with the Director of the Collegio Maggiore, Fr. Martin McKeever CSsR, invoked the strength and spirit always to be the Redemptorist missionaries who carry the message of the Redeemer to others.
In the homily dedicated to Blessed Gennaro, Fr. Paul reminded the students, “Our studies and our formation must arrive at this moment – the moment of meeting the most abandoned.” Showing the example of Blessed Gennaro, Father Vinh gave a clear line of conduct that derives from our Redemptorist vocation by saying: “Our existence is for the mission. For Saint Alphonsus, the very moment the Redemptorist mission was born was that of the encounter with the poor, the most abandoned in Scala.”
Unfortunately, we often do not remember the person of our Blessed. Still, as Fr. Paul said in his homily: “Father Gennaro was a spiritual master and a well-known writer who devoted himself entirely to bringing the Gospel to the abandoned and poor of the slums around Naples. He especially sought out women, boys and girls who were victims of human trafficking and exploited as prostitutes, workers and in criminal activities.”
In the conclusion of the homily, Fr. Paul also presented the simplest way how we can follow Blessed Gennaro Sarnelli: “Being faithful in prayer and being close to the poor will help us live the mission with which our Constitution, number 7 says: “They will therefore try to go to meet the Lord where he is already and is working in a mysterious way.”
Father General greeted each student individually at the end of the Holy Mass with wishes for a good and fruitful holiday.
The Collegio Maggiore is an international community of Redemptorists who study at the Alphonsian Academy or one of the universities of Rome and live in the Redemptorist general house adjacent to the church of Saint Alphonsus. This year the College comprises 25 brothers from different Units of the Congregation from Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe.
P. Andrzej Kukła CSsR
