Friar Gabriel Robles, general postulator: “I admire in Friar Mariano Gazpio how he recognized in all something good and did not get carried away by criticism, nor to whom he had done evil”

On May 22nd, Pope Francis received cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation of the Cause of Saints, in audience, he authorized

This is a long-awaited and very significant step in the official recognition of his holiness. Behind it is the work of a team of Augustinian recollects who have rebuilt Mariano Gazpio’s life, collected testimonies, reviewed his writings and touched at the gates of the local Church, first, and Universal, then to initiate the processes and mechanisms by which Catholics recognize in some people the imprint of God and his mercy on humanity.

The Augustinian recollect Gabriel Robles (Panama City, 1962) has been the postulator of the causes of canonization of the Order since June 2018. A former student of St. Augustine’s College in his hometown, he professed as Augustinian recollect at the age of 23 and was ordained a priest in 1989. Since then he has worked in the Dominican Republic, Spain, Panama and Italy.

We wanted you to explain to us the significance of this recent recognition of the Church about one of the religious of the Province of St. Nicholas of Tolentine who encloses in his biography almost all aspects of church service that an Augustinian recollect can do: missionary in China, religious trainer and spiritual director.

Friar Gabriel, what is a postulator?

It is the one who represents before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints the “actor” part, that is, the people or institutions that ask for and promote that a faithful deceased Christian with a reputation for holiness be declared holy by the Church.

In the case of Religious Orders, it is common to entrust one of its members with this task in all causes of canonization of religious of his Order. The general prior commissions the postulator to study in the previous studies and follow up on the process.

What steps does this process take?

It begins by trying to attain the moral certainty that the proposed person lived the virtues heroically and that his fame of holiness is true in God’s people. This part is informative and takes place in two stages: first in the Diocese where the religious died and then in Rome, with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

From the moment a process of canonization begins, the protagonist becomes called “Servant of God”. Except in the case of martyrdom – in which once it has been demonstrated it can be passed to beatification – the process in the Diocese is completed, they are sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, where their study continues.

When the Congregation notes these virtues, it presents the case to the Holy Father so that, if it so considers, it may make the “declaration of the heroics of virtues”. This is the exact step that occurred last Saturday and, with it, Friar Mariano Gazpio, until now described as Servant of God, becomes called Venerable. However, he has not yet been declared Blessed and cannot yet receive public worship.

What has this new step meant in the process of Friar Mariano Gazpio?

Technically, on May 22nd there was an official recognition in the Church that Friar Mariano Gazpio lived heroically the theological virtues (faith, hope and charity), as well as cardinals (prudence, justice, temperance and strength). All Christians are called to live these virtues, but not all of us do so with the same constancy and quality. We can now safely say that Friar Mariano Gazpio has done so throughout his life and is considered worthy of veneration, that is, of great respect for his virtues.

This is a very important detail, because holiness in the Church is first and foremost is all a grace of God. The saint is the one who lives founded on God and God receives his strength to support himself. Those who have lived like this deserve recognition and generation because he remembers that each of us can, with God’s grace and if we are docile to it, live like this too.

Thus, when Pope Francis made the aforementioned statement, Friar Mariano Gazpio is already “Venerable”. According to the SAR, it is the “first title bestowed by the Catholic Church on those who die with a reputation for holiness, and to whom the holy church commonly follows, and finally that of saint”.

What steps will they take now?

The declaration as a Blessed normally requires the finding of a miracle performed through the intercession of the person in process; once declared Blessed, another miracle will be required for the declaration as a saint.

Both acts are powers of the Pope. Miracles are always God’s work and we must obtain the certainty that an alleged miracle has been done because of the intercession of the person in the process of canonization. When there is a suspicion of a possible miracle there will be an informative process that, as in the case of virtues and fame of holiness, begins in the Diocese where the alleged miracle occurs, and then continues in Rome.

Does this “Venerable” statement have any practical impact?

It certainly does. From a psychological and sociological point of view, we all need “identification models” that help us to safely embark on the path of life, or at least with a well-founded persuasion of not being on the wrong path.

If we always had to start from scratch, we wouldn’t make much progress and waste much of our lives, depriving ourselves and depriving others of many good things. That is why for the Augustinian Recollect Family this statement by Friar Mariano Gazpio as Venerable is an encouragement to recognize that it is possible to live virtuously, for someone has lived it “in our midst”. We, on our own terms, can imitate him.

In short, it implies finding that those who live founded on God and are consistent are also worthy of recognition. Let’s not forget that being recognized has to do with being valued. And if we are not valued, our lives lose meaning: who wants a life in which they are marginalized as a person?

It is always good news for the Church to know that one of its members has managed to live her faith consistently, as a testimony of the transformative power of the gospel of Jesus. It is something that encourages and full of satisfaction and, why not say so, of sound pride.

What aspects of Mariano Gazpio’s life have caused him the most admiration?

There are aspects that, although surprising and cause admiration, are also imitable and therefore practicable. For example, his constant sense of God’s presence and his life of prayer; dedication given to activities with a deep sense of responsibility; their ability and availability to initiate new life trajectories; filial and loving obedience to the provisions of the Church; the ability to overcome one’s temperament and choose simplicity and simplicity; the ability to recognize in all something good and not let anyone, even those who have done us evil, be carried away by criticism.

These are very varied aspects that fit into the puzzle of an existence fully founded on God. Their spirituality is no longer exactly ours, but they are no longer inspiring aspects as well as a challenge to put them into practice today.

For example, if a believer fails to feel God’s presence in his life, his faith can become a recipe book of sometimes poorly endured doctrines and prayers. If we do not see God present in what we do and, especially among ourselves, maintaining faith can be a thing of an effort of the will impossible to accomplish. It’s like rowing in the sea looking for land, but with an endless horizon where the earth never appears.

Fray Mariano was characterized by a deep life of prayer, already from his years of formation, developed in the mission in China and during persecution, in the convents of Monteagudo and Marcilla, in community and in solitude. Praying is always possible, in adversity or prosperity, because God is always with us.

It surprises the fruitfulness of his apostolate and the memory he left in so many who alluded to him as a “living saint”. It gives you a thought that before leaving Spain your life experience had been limited to a very limited rural environment, but this did not prevent you from an impressive inculturation in a world located in the antipodes of what you knew.

For us religious, it is very inspiring their ability to give and dedication to the tasks entrusted, their deep sense of responsibility at the head of a parish or a school of catechists, or by putting stamps and carrying the letters to the mail. And in addition to that constancy, that availability to change destiny and start a new way of life, a way not to settle for what is available, but to have the free spirit to go where the Church needs us.

A wonderful aspect was his sensitivity to the Magisterium of the Church. Despite the changes that Vatican II brought to someone like him, he accepted the New Sensitivity of the Church with conscious and, I would say, cooperative obedience; a docility that has nothing to do with blind obedience, but with seeing and living God’s presence in the Church.

I was also struck by his continuous “self-recycling”, his knowledge of his own character and his choice for simplicity, for always searching for and finding something good and valuable in others. He never got carried away by the demon of gossip and criticism, as Pope Francis would say. He knew how to recognize evil, but he did not know how to curse, not even to whom he had done that evil.

What can we do from now on to promote his example?

Promoting someone’s recognition is not marketing. We are not announcing a “product”, but sharing a “certain and proven result”; not something, but someone whose life and examples are accessible and imitable to us. The first thing, then, is to be convinced that presenting to others the life of a brother like Friar Mariano is not irrelevant.

Certainly beatification will be impossible if we do not make your life known. St Paul said it referring to Christ:

To expect the beatification of Friar Mariano Gazpio to “fall from heaven” is not only extremely passive, but disrespectful to God, from whom we would be waiting for him to “take the chestnuts out of the fire”… And that’s very comfortable , which doesn’t fit with being Christians, nor did Augustinian recollects .

And I’m not talking about an “intellectual” task, multiplying publications, even if they are much needed. But let us be honest: are they distributed “thoroughly lost” among the faithful? What about our own family and friends? Moreover, do we know ourselves anything about his life, have we read anything about him?

We must propose it in pastoral activities. You don’t love what you don’t know; Well, what difficulty there is in publicating prayer groups, lay Fraternities, ARY ( Augustinian Recollect Youth); to name a new room or hall; to create a scholarship with his name for low-income people; to form or foster solidarity groups with migrants inspired by their person and work. Creativity is endless for this.

What does Friar Mariano Gazpio represent for the people of the 21st century?

In addition to some of the things already pointed out, I think the main thing is to realize that in the Church the relationship of the faithful with the saints implies three aspects blended together: veneration, imitation and intercession.

Sometimes the latter takes on greater relief and preponderance, and we even get to see those who seek saints “thousands”. But every saint, in addition to being a valid intercessor, is worthy of veneration precisely because his own has been a life of friendship with God, of constant encounter with Him and of sharing such friendship with others.

And there’s the aspect that should challenge us more, imitation. He’s not an alien, an isolated case, someone else to admire than to imitate. In imitation is the great value of the saints to believers, to increasingly shore up our lives in God and let Him transform it; cooperating with his grace and letting us be guided by his Spirit.

Friar Mariano Gazpio notes that there is no condition of life difficult or complicated enough to prevent him from being with God, seeking him, and finding him in what we do. And that being docile to God and self-discipline us in this docility bears fruits of inner peace and serenity, of service and dedication to the common good.

And also, why not say so, it bears fruits of recognition and appreciation of others. Many of those who lived with Friar Mariano found in him a brother willing to welcome them, especially as a confessor or spiritual counselor. Those who were his novices keep uplifting memories that shone in him and that did them so much good.

What advice do you give us from your knowledge of the Venerable Mariano Gazpio?

I encourage everyone to know the figure of this good friar, dedicated missionary and man of prayer. You will find many things that will give you what to think about and question how virtues lived heroically in your specific circumstances, full of limitations and discomfort.

And in the face of what may seem strange about his lifestyle, because of his social and cultural context so diverse from ours, let us not remain anecdotal. Rather, let us wonder how to live today, in our own environment and circumstances, those virtues.

If we succeed, we will have found in Friar Mariano a good friend who encourages us to travel from faith, as he did, one’s life in God’s presence.