Fr. Maloney’s annual letter on missions in the Congregation of the Mission is now posted on the English version of the international site of the Congregation of the Mission.To the members of the Congregation of the Mission
My very dear Confreres,
May the grace of Our Lord be always with you!
When St. Vincent announced the opening of the mission in Madagascar, Charles Nacquart, who was 31 years of age, volunteered. On March 22, 1648, St. Vincent wrote a touching letter, accepting his offer:
The Company has cast its eyes on you, as the best offering it has, to do homage to our Sovereign Creator and to render him this service, together with another good priest of the Company. O, my more than dearest Father, what does your heart say to this news? … You will need generosity and sublime courage. You will also need faith as great as Abraham? and the charity of St. Paul. Zeal, patience, deference, poverty, solicitude, discretion, moral integrity, and an ardent desire to be entirely consumed for God are as appropriate for you as for the great St. Francis Xavier (SV III, 278-279).
Nacquart was an extraordinary missionary. During the long voyage to Madagascar, he learned the indigenous language so well that shortly afterwards he was able to write a brief summary of Christian doctrine which was published under the title A Small Catechism, with Morning and Evening Prayer. He evangelized the territory around Fort Dauphin tirelessly, but died at 33 after only a year and a half on the mission. Reflecting on his death, St. Vincent exclaimed to the confreres gathered at St. Lazare:
That great servant of God! … What a great loss …, but also what a great gain! O, Savior! ?he blood of martyrs, the seed of Christians.?span> This leads me to hope that his martyrdom (because he died for God) will be the seed of Christians and that God, in view of his death, will give us the grace to bear fruit … So let us ask God to give the Company this spirit, this heart, this heart which will make us go everywhere, this heart of the Son of God, the heart of Our Lord, the heart of Our Lord, the heart of Our Lord… (SV XI, 290-291).
As you have probably already guessed, today I am writing to you, as I do every October, to bring you news about the missions, where many wonderful missionaries like Charles Nacquart continue to serve, and also to appeal for your help.
For the full text visit http://www.famvin.org/cm/curia/Maloney/mission2003.html
