On the Impact of “Begin Again”
As we enter the liturgical season of Easter, perhaps it is a good time to do a Spiritual Checkup. How did we fare with our Lenten promises? It has been a penitential season of “Pandemic” proportion. Have we taken any of this “given” time to reflect on life, the last things, or to increase our prayer time? As a bonus have we written that novel, learned how to play the piano, gotten very physically fit and learned to speak conversational Italian? Hopefully good has prevailed alongside the sacrifices and sorrows we have no doubt encountered.
One of the best things I have gained from more study and reflection time is a newfound friendship with Venerable Bruno Lanteri, founder of The Oblates of the Virgin Mary. I was introduced to Bruno on a Podcast by one of my favorite spiritual guides, Father Timothy Gallagher, OMV. Ven. Bruno has become an inspiration and helpful mentor to me in my practice of Spiritual Direction.
During his seminary studies, Bruno encountered a brief struggle with the influence of the heresy Jansenism. Jansenism was a very strict interpretation of Church teaching, which greatly discouraged reception of communion and even denied absolution to those seeking mercy in confession.
Ven. Bruno came to know the infinite mercy of God through his experience of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and the teachings of St. Alphonsus Ligouri.
God sent Bruno a great teacher and friend, a Jesuit priest, Fr. Nicholas von Diessbach, who would instruct him, mentor him in priestly formation, and introduce him to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius that deeply impacted and influenced the whole of his life.
Venerable Bruno Lanteri became the founder of a Religious Order formed by and dedicated to the promotion of the Spiritual Exercises. In his Directory, or Original Rule of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, about their purpose, Ven. Bruno writes:
Their … aim is of attending with all diligence to the salvation and sanctification of souls by way of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. They prefer this means because it is so fitting for providing instruction for the people in the principal things to be believed and done, of which the Exercises of St. Ignatius are like a compendium: and because it is a means known from experience to be among the most efficacious to procure a change of heart and to further promote sanctification.
Ven. Bruno was also dedicated to educating with “well-chosen” Catholic books (because of his exposure to the dangers of heresy) and supported lay and priestly associations. Although he suffered poor health his entire life, Bruno provided real care for the needy. He walked the streets to meet the poor and abandoned, feeding them, clothing them, teaching them the catechism and preparing them to receive the Sacraments.
In his day, due to practical travel restraints (much like a Zoom meeting because of Covid-19), a lot of his spiritual direction was given through letters. The Oblates have preserved many of these letters and made some of them available for people like you and me to read and study. Reading the letters stirred my curiosity that much of his spiritual direction was given to laypeople in various stages and situations of life.
In his Spiritual Direction, Bruno was both firm and compassionate in his instruction. He believed very strongly that having a disciplined Spiritual Program to follow was necessary to grow in relationship with Christ and personal holiness. The Spiritual Life, like learning to play the piano well or to speak conversational Italian, must be practiced and practiced.
In Bruno’s letters, he reminded his directees of the importance of following the spiritual programs they agreed upon. To grow, heal, and or gain the answers and peace they sought from God, directees needed to practice and follow their spiritual direction programs.
As he explained the importance of the practice of their programs he also gently advised them that if they failed to follow their plan all they must do to get on track was to simply Begin Again.
During this time of exile from what was our ordinary way of life pre-Covid-19, I have found immense comfort and peace when I practice the spiritual concept of Begin Again.
The depth of impact in this simple yet challenging spiritual teaching “when practiced” is freedom. Begin Again instructs the concept of staying in the present moment. Begin Again teaches the formula for forgiving not 70 but 70 times seven each day (Matthew 18:22).
How many times does the just person fall a day? (Hebrews 24:16). But each of us can practice; each of us can practice and practice. We can, as my friend, Venerable Bruno Lanteri says, “begin again a thousand times a day if necessary.” And that dear reader is MAGNIFICENT!
Acknowledgments: Much gratitude to Br. Leland Thorp, OMV, and the Oblates for their prayers.
The OMV website.
The informative website: Venerable Bruno Lanteri /www.omvusa.org/bruno-lanteri/life-legacy/.
The Documentary, “Nunc Coepi—The Life of Venerable Bruno Lanteri.”
Begin Again: The Life and Legacy of Venerable Bruno Lanteri, Biography by Fr. Timothy Gallagher, OMV.
Podcasts by Timothy Gallagher through Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcast
For updates on Venerable Bruno Lanteri, The Cause for the Canonization, visit Venerable Bruno Guild.