To think that God assumed our nature in order to lavish His divine love upon us through a human Heart is enough to move a heart of stone! From all eternity, how He longs to come into contact with us! This Heart loves us without limits and imparts to us goodness, gifts, and virtues.
I have a vague idea of the intensity of this love, considering how much I love each one of you, to a degree you cannot imagine. If it were possible for me, I would infuse graces of holiness into your souls such as have never been known in history! Because the love that descends from a superior to his subalterns wants to do them good, to lead those under him to the height of perfection and divinization.
On this feast of love, how I would like to embrace each one of you and express all the affection I have for you! This is one of the reasons why we should long for eternity, where there are no problems of time or space. Then we will comprehend how great is our mutual love!
Words of Msgr. João to his spiritual children
on the occasion of the Solemnity of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus, on 19/6/2009
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Having stood out as a Catholic university leader in his youth, a time when he consecrated himself entirely to Our Lady, João Scognamiglio Clá Dias organized the St. Thomas Aquinas Course, which would later give way to the Aristotelian-Thomistic Philosophical Institute and the St. Thomas Aquinas Theological Institute, affiliated, respectively, with the Pontifical Salesian University – the Salesianum, in Rome, and the Pontifical Bolivarian University in Medellin, Colombia.
Deepening his theological studies with eminent professors of the University of Salamanca, such as Fr. Marcelino Cabreros de Anta, CMF, and great masters of the Order of Preachers, notable among them Fr. Arturo Alonso Lobo, Fr. Esteban Gómez, Fr. Victorino Rodríguez y Rodríguez and Fr. Antonio Royo Marín; he published short biographies of some of them in English and Spanish, in gratitude for the sincere friendship and formation received from them.
In the course of his academic studies, he obtained degrees from various universities: Bachelor of Theology from the Ítalo-Brasileiro University Centre in São Paulo; Licentiate in Humanities from the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra, in the Dominican Republic; Master of Psychology from the Catholic University of Colombia; Doctor in Canon Law from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas – Angelicum, in Rome; Doctor of Theology from the Pontifical Bolivarian University.
He also founded the monthly magazine Heralds of the Gospel, published in English, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, with a circulation of hundreds of thousands of copies, as well as the academic journal Lumen Veritatis, having collaborated assiduously with both.
Blessed with an admirable gift of oratory, he always demonstrated great zeal in propagating the truths of the Faith, instilling courage in the practice of virtue and certainty in the victory of the Holy Catholic Church. For this reason, in a fruitful intellectual and pastoral activity, which he exercised from the beginning of his vocation until his last days, his ability as a writer came to the fore. He was the author of thirty published works, some with a circulation of nearly two million copies and many translated into other languages.
Several countries have honoured him for his evangelizing, cultural, scientific and even military activities. In the military sphere, he received the Marechal Hermes Medal, awarded by the 2nd Police Battalion of the Brazilian Army, and the Friend of Raposo Tavares Regiment diploma, awarded by the 4th Light Infantry Battalion – Quitaúna Barracks, both from the Ministry of Defence. Additionally, civilian institutions honoured him with the Plaque of Recognition and the Collar of Honour for Merit, awarded by the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo, the Anchieta Medal, the highest honour of the São Paulo City Council, and the Tiradentes Medal, the highest commendation of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro. His academic distinctions include being named a member of the Thomas Aquinas International Society in Spain and the Mexican Academy of Sciences, as well as the PROIN Prize and the title of Doctor Honoris Causa, awarded by the Italo-Brazilian University Centre.
In the ecclesiastical field, he was elected a full member of the Pontifical Academy of the Immaculate Conception in the Eternal City and the Marian Academy of Aparecida in Brazil. Benedict XVI named him Honorary Canon of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome and Apostolic Protonotary, and also awarded him the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal in recognition of his work at the service of the Holy Catholic Church.
Works Published by Msgr. João
1. Organizer of Reflexões e exemplos de Santos, oportunos para nossos dias (1984).
2. Fr. Santiago Ramírez, OP. A Champion of the Angelic Doctor Advances His Work (1984).
3. Fr. Cabreros de Anta, CMF. A Firm Pillar of Canon Law in Our Century (1986).
4. Cardinal Stickler. Salesian, Erudite and Librarian of the Holy Catholic Church (1987).
5. Antonio Royo Marín, OP. A Master on the Spiritual Life, a Brilliant Preacher and a Famous Writer (1987).
6. Organizer of Como ruiu a Cristandade medieval? Humanismo, Renascença e protestantismo (1992).
7. Mother of Good Counsel (1992-2016).
8. Organizer of Despreocupados… rumo à guilhotina. A autodemolição do Ancien Régime (1993).
9. Victorino Rodríguez y Rodríguez, OP. A Star of Thomism Shines on Catholic Culture Amid the Storm of the Contemporary Crisis (1995).
10. Dona Lucilia (1995-2013).
11. Pequeno Ofício da Imaculada Conceição comentado (1997‑2010), in two volumes.
12. Fatima, Dawn of the Third Millennium (1998-2007).
13. Rosário, escudo e força dos católicos (1999).
14. Jacinta e Francisco, prediletos de Maria (2000).
15. Orações do dia a dia (2001).
16. Sacred Heart of Jesus: Treasury of Goodness and Love (2002).
17. Via-Sacra (2002).
18. Os mistérios luminosos do Rosário (2003).
19. A medalha milagrosa. História e celestiais promessas (2003).
20. Rosário, oração de paz (2003).
21. ¿Una hora no pudiste velar conmigo? Reflexiones para el tiempo cuaresmal (2010).
22. New Insights on the Gospels. Commentaries on the Sunday Gospels (2012-2014), seven-volume collection.
23. O dom de sabedoria na mente, vida e obra de Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira (2016), five-volume collection.
24. In the End, My Immaculate Heart Will Triumph (2017).
25. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. A Prophet for Our Times (2017).
26. St. Joseph: Who Really Knows Him? (2017).
27. Mary Most Holy! The Paradise of God Revealed to Men (2019-2020), three-volume collection.
