Leading up to Francis Libermann's Feast Day on February 2, we'll be traveling through his life and see how his calling from God led to a reinvigorated Mission for the Spiritans and pioneered a Missionary Method that we still use today.

Day 2: THE MISSIONARY IDEA

Francis Libermann entered the Eudist novitiate in Rennes, France, but he was being called in a different direction. Inspired by some friends he’d met, he was called towards missionary action. It was a spark and he prayed that “if it pleases God this little spark will grow and become a clearer light.”

An account from Father Eugène Tisserant: “Libermann had begun to feel strongly that he should give himself wholly to this work for the black people. The first occasion when Mary put this idea into his head was on October 25th , 1839 (...). (...) three days later, as he told me himself, it became even clearer to him that this is what he had to do, so he finally arrived at a definitive decision (...). He always regarded this day as one of the happiest in his life.”

Each of us has had our own journey toward the definitive decision that led us to follow Jesus in this missionary adventure. Since we made our choice of life, we have built a new face, and we have entered into a process of interior configuration to adopt the necessary elements that make possible our life of discipleship in the footsteps of the one who seduced us at a given moment in our existence: Jesus of Nazareth.

These reflections follow the 2024 Francis Libermann Novena prepared by Br. Mariano Espinoza of the Paraguay Group of the Spiritans.