At sunset on October 20th, the liturgical feast of St. Magdalene of Nagasaki, patron saint of the secular Augustinian Recollects, the FSAR of Madrid met in the Church of Our Lady of Buenavista de Getafe, Madrid to celebrate the Eucharist and then enjoy an aperitif in a fraternal atmosphere.
Secular Augustinian Recollects of the FSAR from the parishes of Saint Rita, Saint Monica, Saint Florentina, Our Lady of Loreto -located in the city of Madrid- and the Getafeña Parish; the community of group Saint Augustine de Las Rozas, who was in charge of the liturgical songs, and some
representatives of the Recollect houses of Madrid, including Carlos González, prior provincial of Saint Nicholas, and the vicars of Our Lady of Candelaria and Saint Thomas of Villanova, Lorenzo Pérez de Eulate and José María Sánchez, respectively. Carlos González presided over the mass and was accompanied by eleven concelebrants. An image of St. Magdalene of Nagasaki was prominently displayed next to the chancel. During the entrance procession the professed students sang one of the beautiful liturgical hymns for the feast of the saint: “How much heaven spills for your girlish smile; how much love and how many dreams of lit spring fly free for a mountain of martyrs joys “…
In the homily Carlos González proposed an image: the house of Betania where they lived Mary, Lazarus and Martha, and to whom Jesus frequently went to rest and to converse. From these characters he deduced the characteristics of the Augustinian charism: a family, in which Mary is the image of the interior life; Lázaro, represents the value of friendship with Jesus; Marta, the life of service and dedication.
Magdalene of Nagasaki also knew how to live, like Mary, the value of prayer or inner life as related by her biographers; friendship, for their relations with Blessed Augustinian Recollect missionaries Vincent of Saint Anthony and Francis Jesus ; the life of apostolic dedication, walking through the mountains to encourage Christians who they remained hidden from the persecutors of the faith in Christ.
Magdalena, persecuted, finally surrenders and confesses her faith in Christ, being subjected to cruel torments until she died in the ordeal of the hole.
In the procession of the offerings, some fraternal members presented, together with the bread and the wine, some significant objects for them, such as a tray with twelve candles
lit, representing the twelve FSAR of Spain and the Manual of the Fraternity Secular Augustinian Recollect.
Before the end of the celebration, Maricela Valles, president of the FSAR of Spain took the floor, greeted and thanked all those present, making special mention of Fray Teodoro Baztán, who has written several books to accompany the
process of permanent formation of the FSAR. Maricela made brief comments about some recently published books: the new FSAR Manual, the Rule of Life and the Statutes, the Prayer and the Ritual To end the celebration, the assembly sang with a vibrant voice the hymn to Saint Magdalene of Nagasaki “A star is born in the East…”
The Augustinian Recollect priest Antonio Antón invited all those present to an aperitif in the parish hall, where the fraternal feast continued in honor of Saint patron saint of the FSAR.
