Writing an editorial for Heralds of the Gospel magazine has never been so gratifying and, at the same time, so demanding… And both the satisfaction and the difficulty of the task are due to the same reason: in this special issue, it is our aim to pay a fitting tribute to our founder, Msgr. João Scognamiglio Clá Dias, who has departed for eternity.
Let us explain. Certainly you, the reader, have some tie with our institution that has led to your having these pages in your hands, and you therefore have probably heard or read about our spiritual father from time to time. It is very likely that you even harbour a certain admiration for him and his work, for which we are very glad. But the yearning that pulses in the hearts of his children in these moments following his passing from this life far exceeds such dispositions.
Our endeavour is to provide our readers with an understanding of Msgr. João that is sufficiently in-depth to allow them to in some way experience the same feelings that have pervaded us since the day we had the chance to meet him in person, to hear him preach, to receive his counsel, or at least to receive a look from him and, in short, to admire some of the countless achievements he brought to fruition for the exaltation of the Holy Church.
However, as we said, such an endeavour proves to be an extremely demanding one, because “no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 2:11). Isaiah, wonder-struck before the infinite greatness of the Creator and the magnificence of His works, exclaimed: “Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counsellor has instructed Him?” (40:13). Reversing the terms of the prophet’s astonishment, we who knew Msgr. João and benefited from his conviviality, example and teachings could well say: “Who can adequately describe all that the Holy Spirit deposited and made blossom in the soul of this providential man?”
In fact, despite this difficulty, we can be completely sure of one thing: in the richness of his soul and the multiplicity of his achievements, our founder was a man guided by the Paraclete.
In the works of the Consoler, there is truly a profusion of aspects and an ever-present novelty that often confuses the more naturalistic observers, who cannot conceive of the variety of ways and of deeds that the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity can combine in a single soul. Revelation describes the spirit found in Wisdom thus: “intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible, beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits” (Wis 7:22-23).
This plethora of predicates makes it even more complex to choose one that summarizes the essence of Msgr. João, as we venture to do in the verse that opens this issue. It is true that it is not possible to say everything in the few words of a title, but the image chosen seems eloquent to us: “A pillar in the temple of my God” (Rv 3:12).
In fact, in the midst of the debacle of today’s society and an almost epidemic infidelity within the Holy Church, this man, like a pillar among the ruins, maintained an unshakeable adherence to true Catholic doctrine and its indelible morals, embodying the very ideal of the upright priest; like the pillar of cloud and fire that led the Hebrews in the desert (cf. Ex 13:21), he led a multitude of spiritual children along these same paths; and like the imperturbable pillar of an army, followed by weak but faithful troops, he fought, with determination and perseverance, the good fight that such fidelity brought with it; he completed the course that Providence had marked out for him and kept the faith to the end (cf. 2 Tm 4:7).
In considering the various aspects of the figure of our spiritual father presented in these pages, the reader is invited to take as a backdrop the fact that Msgr. João was an instrument docile to the action of the Paraclete, to bring to earth the Reign of Mary
In this sense Msgr. João personified the prophetic intuitions of St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort with admirable precision when he outlined the moral profile of the saints that God would raise up in the not-too-distant future to constitute the historical era in which Our Lady would reign over all hearts: “Men filled with the Holy Spirit and imbued with the spirit of Mary. Through them Mary, Queen most powerful, will work great wonders in the world, destroying sin and setting up the Kingdom of Jesus her Son upon the ruins of the corrupt kingdom of the world” (Le secret de Marie, n.59).
And because of his union with the Blessed Virgin, these words of the French Saint about the souls most particularly united to her can also be applied to him: “When the Holy Spirit, her Spouse, finds Mary in a soul, He hastens there and enters fully into it. He gives himself generously to that soul according to the place it has given to His spouse” (Traité de la vraie dévotion à la Sainte Vierge, n.36).
Thus, in considering the various aspects of the figure of our spiritual father that will be presented in the following pages, we invite the reader to take as a backdrop the fact that Msgr. João was a particularly blessed and docile instrument of the action of the Paraclete, in order to bring to earth the Reign of Mary prophesied by Our Lady herself at Fatima when She said: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
In the writings of St. Louis de Montfort, this Reign is identified with the one that the Holy Spirit will build through a profound action in souls – in Mary, through Mary and with Mary – in such a way as to make the splendours of divine grace hidden for centuries in the Heart of the Most Pure Virgin shine forth as never before in history.
From this point of view, we can say that the founder of the Heralds of the Gospel was a true forerunner of this Reign, anticipating in himself what, in the most diverse ways, will be realized in all those who, by remaining faithful in the midst of the increasingly dense darkness that covers the world, come to contemplate the radiant dawn of that divine and Marian day that will soon shine upon humanity.
If the following pages cooperate in any way to arouse in their readers the desire and hope to be part of this blessed phalanx, our efforts will be deemed very successful. ◊
