“Without God’s grace I could accomplish nothing”
Words from Bishop Ronilton, SCJ
I am Dom Ronilton Souza de Araújo, bishop of the Diocese of São Raimundo Nonato, in the State of Piauí, in Northeastern Brazil. I have been a bishop for two years and nine months now; I am still a young bishop, I am learning to be a bishop.
A joyful experience in the grace of God
I recently shared with my fellow bishops and SCJ confreres a little bit of my life, my vocation, and my mission. And I feel happy, encouraged, full of hope, despite the great challenges we face in this ministry, and I truly believe that all of this is God’s grace. In fact, that is what I wrote in the letter addressed to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, at the time, saying precisely that without God’s grace I could accomplish nothing. This motivates me every day, especially since there is genuinely a lot of work, a lot of service.
Union with Christ as strength
And how do we overcome these difficulties? I learned in our Congregation to remain united to Him: “Remain in me and I will remain in you. Without me, you can do nothing.” This is what I seek to live every day through the strength of prayer, meditation on the Word of God, and the daily Eucharist. Even when I have no outside commitments, I make an effort to celebrate the Eucharist every day and to have a personal time of adoration. For now, I live alone in the episcopal residence, and prayer is the anchor for me that sustains me in my search, in my answers, but also in the strength and light needed to continue the journey.
The main challenge
There is also something I believe in very much, and I had the opportunity to share it with our bishops, with the priests, as well as with the general government gathered together: the challenge of bringing about, for example, a work of reparation. I even used the word “restoration”: it is about a restoration of our presbyterium. I feel that God has called me to this mission because everywhere there is a need for reparation. It is true, it is necessary everywhere, but perhaps even more so among priests. So, I try to bring my experience and my intimacy with Christ, because I deeply believe in this project, in this process of restoring relationships to be more human, more filled with love and forgiveness. And without an encounter with Christ, this is impossible.
This is my message. Continue to pray for all of us. And may God bless each of you.
