On the evening of December 7th, 2015 the Salvatorian Missionary Year was closed by several events around the world. It was a humbling experience to be present at the event in the motherhouse of the Society of the Divine Savior in Rome.
An informative exhibition about the life of the founder Fr. Francis Jordan was opened in the corridor of the first floor in the motherhouse. You can view some photographs in our gallery.
A possible miracle in Brazil through the intercession of Fr. Jordan could be a big step forward in the process of beatification of the founder. These message was made public by the Generalate of the Society of the Divine Savior today. Reed more about this interesting news here in several languages →
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At the closing eucharist of the annual unit meeting three persons did their first commitment. They are from the community of Medellin and now members in our big Lay Salvatorian community – WELCOME!
The Lay Salvatorians are grewing – at last in Australia. Two new members made their first commitment.It’s a joy for the whole Salvatorian family. A big welcome …
The message of Easter: Jesus is alive. A wife, Mary Magdalene, was the first human, who was allowed to announce the Good News – and had to do. Once more it was a radical sign of God, in which he tried to make it clear for the humans, that their rules and hierarchies are not guilty for him.
Fifty days after Easter the disciples of Jesus came together. Why? They celebrated a feast, the Jewish Shavuot. It takes place 7 weeks and one day after the feast of Pesach. It is the celebration of the harvest ( 2. Mose 23,16) or the day of the first field crops (4. Mose 28,26). It reminds also on the overhanding of the second version of the Ten Commandments from God through Mose to the people of Israel. And doubtlessly this feast inspired the Christian Whitsun. Continue Reading
Noli me tangere, fresco by Fra Angelico
Let’s focus on a woman, who was put into the background throughout the history by men, although she was the first human who meet the resurrected Jesus, this year. The reasons why this happened are manifold and diverse. One major fact – she was a powerful woman and that was simply impossible at the time she was living!
It is almost universally agreed today that Mary Magdalene has the reputation in Western Christianity as being a repentant prostitute or loose woman. However, these claims are unfounded. The identity of Mary Magdalene is believed to have been merged with the identity of the unnamed sinner conflating who anoints Jesus‘ feet in Luke 7:36-50. Mary Magdalene, the anointing sinner of Luke, and Mary of Bethany, who in John 11:1-2 also anoints Jesus‘ feet, were long regarded as the same person. Though Mary Magdalene is named in each of the four gospels in the New Testament, none of the clear references to her indicate that she was a prostitute or notable for a sinful way of life, nor link her with Mary of Bethany. Modern scholarship has restored the understanding of Mary of Magdala as an important early Christian leader.[1]
People of many countries celebrate the feast of St. Valentine on February 14th. It’s often not a day of vacation but they give presents of love to others who are in their hearts. The legend behind you can read on Wikipedia in several languages.
We from the GC of the ICDS took this date to improve our worldwide communication, especially in the mirror of the Salvatorian missionary year. We invite all Lay Salvatorians and certainly all members of the Salvatorian family to participate on this action of brotherly/sisterly friendship and love. So there are two possibilities to participate: Continue Reading
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Today – on December 8th, 2014 we have the joy to tell you that 9 persons made their first commitment to the ICDS at Guatemala, yesterday. They had a good preparation to take on this important step in their life – some of them about 4 years. They were guided by a Lay Salvatorian originally from Spain who is working in the Salvatorian mission in Guatemala.
Also in Malaysia is a new group of Lay Salvatorians living, educated by Salvatorian sisters. They made their first commitment in September, during the presence of Fr. Mario Agudelo SDS.
Let’s take them into our prayers and welcome in our Salvatorian Family. It’s really a joy to see such joyful faces in our rows.
May the Lord always be upon you and guide you on your life way,
following the Salvatorian mission.
The International Community of the Divine Savior (ICDS), as well both Generalates, the Society (SocDS) and the Congregation (ConDS), declared 2015 the YEAR OF THE SALVATORIAN MISSION, celebrating the first Salvatorian Mission of the SDS to Assam, India 125 years ago. At the same time, Pope Francis called the year 2015 the YEAR OF THE CONSECRATED LIFE.
Here some remarks for these two special celebrations:[1]
Next year we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the sending of the first Salvatorian missionaries to Assam as well as the 125th anniversary of the death of Fr. Otto Hopfenmüller and the 25th anniversary of the resumption of the Salvatorian mission in Assam. These events have led us to proclaim 2015 as the Salvatorian Missionary Year under the motto “The Savior’s Mission is our Passion”.
We wish to invite everyone to participate in this time of grace, which will promote the missionary spirit at the personal, community and congregational level for all the members of the Salvatorian Family. Furthermore, Pope Francis has proposed the celebration of the Year for Consecrated Life from the first Sunday of Advent 2014 to 2 February 2016. This suggests, therefore, that mission and consecration ought to go hand in hand in the life of every Salvatorian.
We think that the Holy Spirit has given us these two awesome ideas to combine not to choose one over the other:
