Christ the First and the Last, the Living One (Cst 11)

The Superior General’s Introductory Letter for the Dehonian Jubilee (2024–2028) highlights that our celebration’s spiritual core rests on reflection upon Constitutions nn. 9–39. We are pleased to share the third reflection and testimony, centered on Constitution no. 11.

Christ the First and the Last, the Living One (Cst 11)

Christ prayed for the Kingdom to come, which is already at work in his presence among us. By his death and resurrection, he opened us to the gift of the Spirit and to the freedom of the children of God (cf. Rom 8:21).

He is for us the First and the Last, the Living One (cf. Rev 1:17-18).

Constitution no. 11, with the linguistic choice of presenting the past and the present, links the current vocation of the Dehonians to follow and proclaim Christ with Christ’s historical commitment to the advent of the Kingdom. The text transitions from Christ’s prayer (“Christ prayed for the Kingdom to come”) to the reality of the presence of the Kingdom in Christ (“The Kingdom is already at work”). This dynamic presence of Christ highlighted in Cst. 11 reveals an important theological vision: just as Yahweh revealed Himself not as a static and distant God, but as a dynamic God actively present for the people, Christ, the eternal Word, has drawn intimately close, pitching His tent among us to share our journey and frailties. The core theological assertion is that the Kingdom for which Christ prayed is already active and operative through His very presence among us.

The text also highlights the profound link between Christ’s paschal mystery and the Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit. By His death and resurrection, Christ opened us to the gift of the Spirit and to the freedom of the children of God. In the Gospel of John, the moment Jesus gave up his spirit upon the cross (John 19:30) is often interpreted mystically as a foreshadowing of the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is then immediately symbolized by the water flowing from His pierced side. This same Spirit was poured out upon the disciples on Easter evening. This outpouring opened believers to freedom and empowered the Church for fidelity as the sacrament of Christ’s presence in the world.

These two fundamental Christological reflections are underlined, and concluded, with the declaration that Christ is the First and the Last, the Living One. In other words, He is the Life, meaning that history and life must be written in harmony with the “alphabet of Christ” as the only words that lead to life.

For Dehonians, this reflection presents a profound existential challenge. We are called to confront ourselves by the choice of accepting or rejecting Him, and thereby valuing or squandering our own lives. The gift of the Spirit, which brings freedom, requires a continuous internal transformation, where our thoughts, desires, affections, and actions are guided not by our own ego, but by the Spirit of God. This allows us to transition from the “old man” to the “new man”. This ‘new man’ is the state of acknowledging Christ as the Life; He is the First and the Last. Dehonians walk this path of acknowledging Christ the Life by living the religious life with the gaze firmly fixed on the “open side of the Crucified” and on the “Heart of Christ”. Through the Spirit, who acts as the intermediary, Dehonians continue to experience Christ as alive and present within them.

(Yudistiro Adifitrityassanto, SCJ)

My experience as Novice Master in Vietnam

A personal testimony from Fr. Paulo Henrique, SCJ, Head of School Ministry at Gymnasium Leoninum, a Dehonian school in Germany.

Vivat Cor Jesu, Per Cor Mariae!

I am Father Paulo Henrique. I come from Brazil and currently live in Germany. I arrived here in 2022. During my first three months, I attended a course on youth ministry with the Salesians. After that, together with a team, I took over the school ministry here in Handrup at the Gymnasium Leoninum.

Constitution No. 11 speaks of Jesus Christ as the one who for us is the First and the Last, the Living One. And it is precisely this experience that we try to live out and bear witness to here at the school: Jesus Christ, who is alive and present in our midst.

Here in Handrup, we have a wonderful school with more than 1,200 students, many teachers, and many other people who work here. It is actually a large complex.

I am not directly active as a teacher—that is, as someone who teaches a specific subject. Nevertheless, I also understand my presence here at the school as that of an educator. It is about heightening the awareness of young people, the students, to the fact that Jesus Christ is in our midst; that we can call upon His name, sing a religious song, pray, celebrate Holy Mass, or simply make the sign of the cross. My task is to help us all recognize that the school, too, is a place of the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This happens very concretely in daily school life. We begin our activities with a prayer and also end them with a prayer. At the start of the school year, we begin with a Holy Mass, and likewise, we end the school year with a Holy Mass. At major events and on the most important days—such as Father Dehon Day—we start with Jesus and end with Jesus.

He is truly the First and the Last, the One who lives. In daily school life, we try to make the presence of Jesus Christ visible and to express it in a simple and concrete way: by calling upon His name, praying, celebrating Holy Mass, and creating moments in which we can realign our hearts toward Him.

The school itself also helps us in this through many symbols: the Dehonian cross, images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, depictions of Father Dehon, and many other signs connected to our spirituality. It is also very meaningful that the students have the opportunity to encounter a priest here at the school every day. And not just one, but also the other religious brothers and sisters who live here or visit us regularly.

I perceive this daily presence of the religious community as something very positive. It is truly an outreach to the people. It is a presence that tries to be close to everyone who is here and to be with them—forming a community together and experiencing the presence of the Heart of Jesus with one another.

It is a great joy to be able to bear witness to the Dehonian charism at this school, which has existed for more than 100 years and has a very strong tradition connected to the Heart of Jesus. Here, we have the opportunity to live and bear witness that for us, Christ is the First and the Last, the Living One.

(Paulo Henrique, SCJ)