Grateful for the past – living the present with passion.

“As FIC Brothers we fully commit ourselves to the service of God and the coming of his Kingdom. In love we consecrate ourselves to him who is Love. And in him we consecrate ourselves to one another and to all people”. (Cf. FIC Constitutions 76).

The Kingdom to which service we intend to fully commit ourselves is the “reign of God”, the focus of Jesus’ preaching. Jesus’ message about the reign of God came from his deep experience of God as a Father, who loves the world so much, who “makes his sun rise on the evil and the good”, and who seeks out and embraces his lost sons and daughters. What was essential was his exhortation to “enter” the reign of God, and to be “compassionate” like our Father in heaven. This exhortation culminated in his call to forgive one’s enemies. 

While proclaiming his message about the “reign of God”, Jesus cured a wide range of sick people. He also practiced exorcism on people who the culture viewed as possessed by evil spirits, freeing them from evil. 

Jesus surrounded himself with people considered undesirable, like tax collectors and prostitutes. He was seen in the company of beggars, hungry people, and the socially marginalized. More specifically, he fraternized and ate with “sinners and tax collectors”. He socialized with women in ways inappropriate to that culture, and accepted them among his disciples; Mary Magdalene had an especially important role in Jesus’ movement. He apparently had an unusually welcoming attitude toward children. There was nothing haphazard about the way Jesus did these things. He was intentionally, graphically showing people that God’s reign is open to everyone, with no one excluded or marginalized.

Jesus’ whole life was the living out of the message he proclaimed, including his strange and provocative behavior, constantly flouting / disrespecting the prevailing codes of conduct in his society. He did not observe the accepted norms of ritual purity. He did not care about the rite of hand-washing before meals. He did not engage in fasting. He sometimes violated the prescribed norms of Sabbath practice.

The FIC, as a Congregation, has its origin and history. A young priest, Father Louis Rutten (8 December 1809 – 16 December 1891) felt the call to place his whole life and all his means in the service of Christian education and formation of the young. His concern was for the poor and neglected youth in his native town of Maastricht, where, at that time, the social conditions were extremely bad. To guarantee his existing works of charity, the Christian education and formation of the poor and neglected youth, their development etc. in 1840 he founded a brothers' congregation, now called FIC. Brother Bernardus Hoecken was the first Brother and first superior of the Congregation’s first community. For many years he guided the growing community together with Father Rutten. They were committed people, filled with the Spirit of Jesus. They were seized by Jesus’ person and message. They sensed a vocation and a mission to spread Jesus’ Good News. 

At present the FIC Brothers desire to be faithful to their Founders in continuing their concern and works of charity, especially for the poor and neglected youth in The Netherlands, Indonesia, Chile, Malawi and Ghana.  It also means that, like Bro. Bernardus and Fr. Rutten, each Brother is to grow to become more and more a committed person, filled with the Spirit of Jesus and seized by Jesus’ person and message. It is this growth, if it is to happen continuously, that will enable each of us Brothers to live with passion for the sake of the Kingdom of God; to continue with passion the mission of Jesus; to form with passion our apostolic and fraternal communities. We become like Jesus who passionately proclaimed and lived the values of the Kingdom of God. 

“Remembering with gratitude what our Founders had initiated, may we always be open and ready to welcome the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, to help us live with Jesus’ passion”.

Guido Sukarman, fic