Spirituality
Sa-Fa Spirituality
The spirit of the body and of the family is born from charity and, consequently, from God who is charity itself. All the members who make up a Congregation in which this spirit truly exists have one heart and one soul; they love and help one another, they share the joys, sorrows, successes and failures of all; reciprocal attention and a close brotherhood unify the most diverse spirits and characters; what belongs to one belongs to all and the words “mine” and “yours” no longer have any meaning; each one considers himself less than the others and God reigns over all… (Circular 21, IV, July 2, 1864).
The vital core of Sa-Fa spirituality is the “family spirit”, as lived and presented by Brother Gabriel Taborin : “The spirit of the body and of the family is born from charity and, consequently, from God who is charity itself. All the members who make up a Congregation in which this spirit truly exists have one heart and one soul; they love and help one another, they share the joys, sorrows, successes and failures of all; reciprocal attention and a close brotherhood unify the most diverse spirits and characters; what belongs to one belongs to all and the words “mine” and “yours” no longer have any meaning; each one considers himself less than the others and God reigns over all… (Circular 21, IV, July 2, 1864).
Sources of our spirituality
- The liturgy and sacramental life, particularly the sacraments of daily Christian life (the Eucharist and Reconciliation) and the celebration of the feast of the Holy Family.
- The Word of God listened to and meditated on in the light of the mystery of Nazareth. The texts that refer to the life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Nazareth, the gospels of Christ's infancy, and those that refer to fraternity and the family in the Bible deserve greater attention.
- Personal and community prayer, with the memory of the Holy Family and some prayers of our own (invocations to the Holy Family, songs and prayers). There are also some symbols and objects created to express spirituality (the picture of the Holy Family, the coat of arms, etc).
- The life and teachings of the Church, particularly those concerning consecrated life, the family, Christian education, catechesis, liturgy, etc.
- The life of Brother Gabriel Taborin (his charism, his writings) and the life of the Institute of the Brothers of the Holy Family and the Sa-Fa Family (its history, the places and cultures in which it lives and is incarnated today).
Contents of our spirituality
- The image of God. The focal point of spirituality, which is the mystery of Nazareth, leads us to see in God the community of love that is the Holy Trinity. The relationship between the Holy Family, the divine Trinity and the Christian community is essential.
- The mystery of Nazareth. The life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph forming a family in Nazareth reveals the family and everyday aspect of the mystery of the incarnation. The mystery of Nazareth is related to all the other mysteries of the life of Christ (public life, death and resurrection) and of Christian life.
The Holy Family
- The Church as the family of God. The image of God-Trinity as a family corresponds to that of the Church as a family of the children of God. To live in the Church is to enter into a relationship with all its components and to contribute to its growth, until it brings together all the dispersed children of God.
- A look at the world. Sa-Fa spirituality leads us to see the world as a place where the great family of the children of God lives, where his Kingdom begins to be built, and to value the diversity of cultures.
- Christian existence inspired by the mystery of Nazareth. The spiritual tradition of the Institute, contemplating the painting of the Holy Family, has synthesized Christian life in these three dimensions.
Sa-Fa Family
The Sa-Fa Family also has some methods and ways of working, lived and experienced over time in the Institute of the Brothers of the Holy Family :
- The effort to live daily life in all its dimensions in the light of the “family spirit”.
- The reading and meditation of the Word of God from the mystery of Nazareth. The interpretation and discernment of the signs of the times “with Nazarene eyes”.
- The construction of the community (group, family) through the community meeting and the life project.
- Formation according to the charism of the Institute, according to the Formation Guides.
