In this historic city of Granada, on May 26, 1876, José Gras y Granollers, with the act of blessing two small premises, “inaugurated the Institute.” To mention this endearing and discreet founding moment, today of our charismatic family, is to affirm that our following is rooted in the experience of the discreet and simple God who reigns in our hearts, keeping in force in each HCR the mission of making him reign in other hearts, a very exciting mission in this time of God that we live in!
In the apostolic letter that Pope Francis wrote on the occasion of the Year of Consecrated Life in 2015, he invited us to “look at the past with gratitude,” “live the present with passion,” “embrace the future with hope.” In light of this invitation I wish to frame these opening words for this jubilee year. Time of blessing, gratitude and commitment for each Daughter of Christ the King who lived our consecration, together with many men and women, young people and children, with whom we joyfully shared the gift of the charisma received, for almost 150 years.
This jubilee year invites us to: “Look at the past with gratitude…
- For the life of José Gras, a man vocationally in love with Jesus Christ. The founding father (as we affectionately call him in the charismatic family) was born in Agramunt, he traveled several and diverse itineraries through the Spanish geography before arriving at the Sacromonte Abbey in Granada, in October 1866. Far from remaining anchored in the secure material and apostolic stability that that house offered him, animated by that Christ-centered passion and the strong call he felt for many to know and adore Jesus Christ, he first founded the “Academy and Court of Christ”, a literary religious association that sought to make Jesus Christ known as King so that he reigns in the hearts of men and women, children and young people, even priests and bishops. From this first work the Daughters of Christ the King Institute was born, with the purpose of making Christ reign in the family and in society through teaching, a means through which we give channel and visibility to the charisma received.
- For the almost 150 years of founding that we are preparing to celebrate as a time of grace and blessing. This jubilee year is a time to look at history without nostalgia, but with grateful memory for the life of M. Agnes and many Daughters of Christ the King who allowed themselves to be seduced by Jesus Christ and in a brave, daring, generous and joyful way offered their lives to the mission of making him reign in the hearts of so many brothers and sisters who today feel grateful to be bearers of this charism in Albania, Argentina, Benin, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, Italy, Senegal, Peru and Togo. Thanksgiving also for the seed sown in places and countries where we no longer have a religious community, but we continue to live in the warmth of the gift received.
- For so many brothers and sisters who felt they were bearers of a charisma that led them to pronounce Christ reigns in a simple, joyful, risky and committed way. Thank you for each student, so many families, educators, catechists, members of the MAR and so many friends who, upon learning about the life of José Gras, inevitably decided to follow Christ as King.
This jubilee year invites us to: “Live the present with passion”…
- Knowing that the charisma and mission received to make Christ reign is current and current because our world is urgently crying out for the values of the Kingdom to be visible. We feel that living the charisma, of following Christ as King, we must translate it into a commitment to peace, justice, truth, brotherhood, hospitality, forgiveness and gratuitousness.
- From the certainty that there are many of us who share the charism and the mission. Seeing ourselves as a great charismatic family has been developing through new steps, some nights a little confusing but always supported by the living, open charisma called to continue giving life and hope. This jubilee year, because it is God's time, is conducive to continuing to create links with the different groups that make up the charismatic family, always rooted in the common gift we have received.
- In each of the countries where we are located, deploying the mission received in:
• Own schools and diocesan schools
• Home schools and nurseries
• University residences
• Various parish works
This jubilee year invites us to: “Embrace the future with hope”
- With a compassionate look at social reality, available and generous in the mission. This jubilee year, a year of grace and blessing, will model us at the HCR to embrace the present of the Institute with prophetic value, convinced that this work is from God and the time we live in is also his time, the time of the discreet and simple God.
- To strengthen the sense of a charismatic family, all of us who share the charisma and the mission are convinced that we form a great family capable of making our people feel the truth of the Gospel and the possibility of making visible the values of the Kingdom of God.
- Because we know we are on our way, towards a Horizon that reveals to us that our charismatic family is alive, that it is in motion and that the multiple and diverse situations always challenge and impel us to walk in the warmth of the Spirit of God, nourished by the ever-living sap of our charism, making our way with many brothers and sisters, being bearers of the good news of the Gospel.
With the words of José Gras, who tells us: “Associate yourself with other hearts that can communicate warmth and light to you and you will live, and you will see the horizons of your own health expand and you will be, at the same time, apostles of public salvation. “Associate yourselves and associate souls with your apostolate of love.”, I declare the opening of this jubilee year for the 150 years of founding of the Institute of the Daughters of Christ the King.
