Rome, Italy - May 1, '09)
After speaking this afternoon with Fr. Vicente Perharroman, the Claretian Postulator General, I have a clearer insight regarding my future work for Father Aloysius. Rather than becoming distracted with the myriad of details, sermons, homilies, letters, tape recordings of Father, I should move toward the publication of a book, a short biography of less than 100 pages, something easy to read, and which avoids details, controversies, contentious struggles. These complications which can be developed at some later date.
We want a nice summary of Father Aloysius - the man, the priest, the religious, and the apostle. This little work can be the framework by which others get to know Father, who he is and what he did. Showing a human side, it should help offset a tendency to sensationalize. One perspective could include how Fr. Aloysius overcame human obstacles and his personal frailties. The book should be readable and more of a summary. This is the first step, however. Later the more complicated and intricate controversies and details can be explored, but only after the publication of this first little book.
The insight of this approach is beautiful in its simplicity. I personally have been struggeling with the details for years. In hindsight the intricacies have been a distraction. Although I have details, including homilies, talks, letters, etc., I have yet to focus on the general context, in a word, the summary of Father's life and work.
So now is the time for a different approach ...
As for the trip to Spain, I have with me pictures of Father Aloysius, digitalized recordings of several sermons, and a selection of the personal writing of Father, mostly letters which give an insight into the man, the priest, the religious, and the apostle. I also have one of the books written by Fr. Carpenter. It will be useful. I have the white scapular of the Immaculate Heart of Mary which Father Aloysius used to invest the members of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Guild, and I have the actual consecration cards used at the guilds consecrate the members to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Fr. Aloysius used these at all IHM Guild meetings.
My objective in Bilboa is to interview surviving family members, have them identify individuals in several old photographs, speak to members of both sides of the family, the Ellacuria (the father) and the Echevarria (the mother) families. I know someone in the Basque province has the family tree. I need to obtain a copy. Also, I want to visit Father's birthplace in Yurre (now Igorre), his baptismal church (San Cristobal) which was the parish church. Then there are the coats of arms of both families. Especially I want to visit the shrine in Bilboa of Our Lady of Begona. This was the famous place of pilgrimage for the Basques living in that area, even since apostolic times.
The Christian faith in this area was founded by St. Paul, according to local tradition. This is different than the usual tradition in Spain of evangelization by St. James the Apostle. Devotion to Our Blessed Mother in this Basque area also goes back to apostolic times. This is also the land of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, and St. Francis Xavier, the great missionary. Both were Basques. I almost forgot, St. Bernadette of Lourdes is from a Basque area of France. In Bilboa I want to visit the main Jesuit church. I believe is it named after the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The boy, Aloysius (Juan Luis in Spanish) and/or his parents, were impressed by the spirit of the Jesuits. The attraction of the Claretian Missionaries, when Juan Luis (Aloysius) was a boy, was that the Claretians were known as the "new Jesuits." I believe the Claretians at that time dressed in the black cassock, with the black sash tied on the same side as the Jesuits. Oh, I forgot, St. Anthony Mary Claret entered the Jesuits as a priest novice. It was only under obedience that he left. Just a visit to these places will provoke other interesting questions regarding Aloysius, his culture, his personality, and piety, etc.
I'd also like to acquire a set of the books written by St. Anthony Mary Claret, the Founder of the Claretian Missionaries. It has been said by many Claretians that Father Aloysius resembled St. Anthony Mary Claret in many ways, even his stature, his fervour, his love of Our Blessed Mother , and most important, his love for Jesus sacramentally present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Recall the gift which St. Anthony Mary Claret received of retaining the Sacred Species from one Holy Communion to the next for the last 9 years of his life. St. Anthony Mary Claret in the holy cards, is pictured with a glowing Blessed Sacrament within his breast. In many of the photographs of Father Aloysius, he appears to have a glowing Host appear in the middle of his forehead (although some say this is just a glare). For this reason, in many ways, the life of Fr. Aloysius parallels that of St. Anthony Mary Claret.For Father Aloysius, his life was to emulate St. Anthony Mary Claret in his love for God, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the Immaculate Heart of our Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist, the Holy Angeles, etc. It is remarkable that the spirituality of Father Aloysius is most clearly seen in the Autobiography of St. Anthony Mary Claret, an autobiography which the Saint wrote under obedience to his spiritual director. (Incidently, I brought a copy of the Autobiography with me).
... Well, it is just past 8:00 pm and time for dinner ... I must go...