Homily of Vietnam Provincial Fr Vincent Pham Van Mam SJ
Ho Chi Minh City, 23 May 2020
Dear Brothers,
Today, we all gather here in this chapel to be in solidarity with the whole Society to pray for Fr Adolfo Nicolás, our former General, who passed away last Thursday. Fortunately, I met him several times: when I was studying at the EAPI (almost three years); when I participated in the Congregation of Procurators in Nairobi, Kenya on behalf of the Vietnamese Province; when he visited Vietnam as the President of the Jesuit Conference of
East Asia and Oceania; and when he visited our Province twice as the Superior General of
the Society while I was the rector of St Joseph Jesuit Scholasticate. Also, he prepared the necessary documents about me for Fr Arturo Sosa, his successor, in relation to my being appointed provincial.
During these days, since his death, Jesuit media around the world have mentioned his impressive contributions to the Society of Jesus and the Church during his eight years of generalate. These contributions are not about the great number of his works or missions, but they are primarily about his personality as an excellent leader who had the integration of faith, joy, wisdom, and internal freedom. These contributions are also his tireless efforts in promoting and urging all Jesuits to pursue the deep values of the Gospel and Ignatian Spirituality we learned through his sharing and exhortations.
Through social networks I followed updates on his last minutes in Tokyo, Japan. Some of the most frequent and spontaneous expressions used by Fr Nicolás echo in my mind: “universality of the Society”, “depth in formation and apostolate”, “internal freedom”, “creativity”, “frontiers”, “do not be afraid”… . I imagine he is the man who completely integrated the depth of Jesuit vocation into his life and mission by totally connecting with God and Jesus Christ; at the same time, he passionately taught his fellow Jesuits to follow the same journey as he did. He firmly believed that “being immersed in God’s Spirit is more important than all our talents, academic degrees, or skills. It is also what makes our apostolic activity affective”. Whenever we obtain this, we will find happiness and reap an abundant harvest.
In today’s Gospel of Saturday of the sixth week of Easter (Jn 28:23b-28), Jesus says that his disciples’ joy may be complete when he leaves the world and fulfills the Passover (his passion and resurrection). In response to the call of God, Fr Nicolás went out and left his home to travel back and forth between West and East to accomplish his missions. During his constant journeys, he always kept Jesus at the centre of his life and mission. His gentle smile, joy, and peace are fruits of a radical abnegation for the sake of the Gospel as well as the result of a tireless search and exploration of a transcendent reality in spiritual depth and stability. I believe that his departure today is another Passover through which he will meet his loved one, the God of depth whom he had longed to see, and taught his brothers to look for. In a word, the life of Fr Nicolás is a living message for all of us. Amen.
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