Letter for March 14, 2025, on the anniversary of the birth of Father Leo Dehon
This year we celebrate the birth anniversary of the Venerable Fr. Leo Dehon within the embrace of the ordinary Jubilee of the Church: “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5). Furthermore, we do so on the threshold of the centenary of his death and on our journey towards the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Congregation (2028). These events and dates invite us to renew our Christian commitment and to thank God for the life, charism, and work of our Founder. He himself experienced the universal jubilees of 1875, 1900, and 1925. The last was convened by Pius XI with the Bull Infinita Dei misericordia. At that time, the Supreme Pontiff entrusted three specific intentions to the mercy of God: peace in hearts and among nations, Christian unity, and – even then – the stabilization of the situation in Palestine.
As the Church entered the Jubilee of 1925 with these longings, our Founder began to sense the end of his days approaching. In January of that year, he wrote in his diary: “My race is ending; it is the sunset of my life.” Fully aware of the moment, he honestly asked himself: “What have I done with these 82 years?” . He questioned himself as if he were one of the Gospel servants required to give an account of all the master has entrusted to them. Without ignoring his fragility, his response firmly consolidates his deepest conviction: “I have committed countless faults, but I trust in the mercy of the Sacred Heart”.
Indeed, Fr. Dehon frequently acknowledged his mistakes and weaknesses, but always along with an unwavering confidence in the goodness of the Lord. He seized significant occasions to express it, especially during certain anniversaries or particular events of the Congregation and of his personal life. He used them to “ouvrir mon coeur”, as he himself says, and to share about himself, his vocation, and his expectations for the Congregation. A clear example is found in his “Memories 1843 – 1877 – 1912”, published on the occasion of his seventieth birthday. He presents them as his spiritual testament.
From his vivid memory, profound spirituality, and the calm maturity of his later years, Fr. Dehon offers us much more than a mere chronological account of events. As readers delve into these pages, they can recognize the voice of a man who knows how to interpret life through eyes of faith. Precisely because of this, he was capable of assimilating – not without difficulty – the adversities and setbacks he faced.
Amid all, surrendering himself to God’s hands was his daily spiritual practice. Fr. Dehon avidly nourished himself on the Gospel, meditating on it, contemplating it, and celebrating it in the Eucharist, through study and permanent communion with the Church, always attentive to the wavering of his time. Indeed, it is remarkable the level of commitment he demonstrated from the very beginning. Fr. Dehon himself gives us a glimpse of this commitment mentioning it as part of his early ministry work:
I had in Saint-Quentin a good group of collaborators for the works, for the Patronage, the newspaper, and the founding of the parish of Saint Martin. The Patronage led to the founding of the Workers’ Circle, the Social Conferences, the meetings with employers… It was a small social University…
Yet, his apostolic zeal did not distract him from himself nor from the vocational questions which God had sown in his heart. Something profoundly pressing still required his attention:
I felt called to religious vocation since my adolescence. It was always the conclusion of my retreats. But I did not have sufficient clarity in prayer to choose one community over another. I sought and waited. My entire attraction was directed to the Sacred Heart and to reparation.
But in these lines, Fr. Dehon does not only describe his vocational state. He openly reveals how he undertook the process of discernment – his method. In other words, he speaks to us of the “Dehonian way” of dealing with vocation: “Je cherchais et j’attendais”. Seeking and waiting! A balance of desires and emotions. It meant to know how to search diligently and to await the right time, the kairos of God, breaking through in daily life and in the unexpected; to keep the heart awake, capable of looking beyond immediate successes or failures. On this point, I recall what a wise and experienced bishop from Cuba once said: “What matters is not finishing the day satisfied for having achieved the desired good; rather, it is concluding the day with the honesty of having done everything possible to achieve it, even if it didn’t happen.”
Isn’t that what Fr. Dehon precisely teaches us through his testimony? Indeed, day after day, he learned to keep life and its moments open to the good action of God. Welcoming the Father’s will, he knew how to open his existence and mission to close collaboration with others. He did not get lost in the tyranny of passing desires, nor was he controlled by ephemeral protagonism incompatible with Jesus’ way. He knew how to seek and wait. To maintain that good disposition, he surely found continuous support in the calm and consistent meditation of the Gospel.
What biblical accounts might have inspired him? Why not consider, for example, Andrew and his companion when they were with John across the Jordan? Without imagining it, both began a new discipleship there, fulfilling for them their people’s deepest expectations. A simple yet provocative question from the Master – “What are you looking for?” (Jn 1:38) – was enough to commit them for life. And what about that ever-seeking woman, Mary Magdalene, who was confronted with a question – “Whom are you looking for?” (Jn 20:15) – brightening her face and filling her expectation with Easter joy? In each of them, Andrew and Mary, seeking and waiting were fully satisfied when they encountered Jesus. These encounters so transformed their lives that within their communities they became witnesses of “hope that does not disappoint”, enthusiastic bearers of the Good News of the Lord, conqueror over death and evil.
Throughout his life, Fr. Dehon continues to speak to us of this same Good News. He joyfully and faithfully gave himself in service of the Kingdom. Yet at this point, it seems fitting to recall that in his old age, a few months before his death, our Founder still engaged not only with the great news of the Gospel but also with daily news, aiming to stimulate interest and dialogue within his community:
I buy newspapers for the community; it seems good to me that we stay informed about contemporary history and have topics to discuss.
Certainly, in those days, not every news was good. We know it. Neither is all news today. The Pope’s intentions mentioned above from the Jubilee 100 years ago remain painfully relevant. To resolve them today, many offer themselves as new golden calves, eager to lead humanity toward impossible “exclusive paradises”, “rare lands” for exploitation, or “dream shores” built upon devastating cruelty. These are the same false idols as always. As such, they neither seek nor wait – they simply devour.
Thank God we have models of kindness and compassion who, quite the opposite, alert and show us the true path forward. Among them, there is our Venerable Fr. Dehon, whom we remember today with special affection and gratitude. His life and charism are God’s gift to the Church and to humanity. Let us zealously and authentically safeguard – starting at home – his longing for each of us, for our communities, and for those who find in him inspiration for their Christian lives and encouragement to continue “seeking and waiting”:
Fr. Dehon expected his religious
to be prophets of love
and servants of reconciliation
of people and the world
in Christ [cf. 2 Cor 5:18] (Cst 7).
Fraternally
Fr. Carlos Luis Suárez Codorniú, scj
General Superior and his Council
