In the Second Book of Maccabees (1:18-22), there is a scene laden with symbolism: the fire on the altar, a sign of God’s presence and true worship, does not disappear during the destruction of Jerusalem, but is carefully hidden. Years later, Nehemiah wants to recover it, and what appears is not fire, but a thick, seemingly lifeless substance. When exposed to the sun, it ignites brightly.
The interpretation of the exegetes says that the sacred can be hidden, but not extinguished; it can be transformed, but not lose its essence. God, in due time, restores its strength and its light.
During the turn of the 20th century, the Augustinian Recollects experienced one of their most challenging periods. Just 60 years earlier, they had nearly disappeared due to the liberal revolutions in Colombia and Spain. The Philippine missions saved the Recollects, but this lifeline of 1835 also sank in 1898.
The Philippine Revolution meant the forced and violent abandonment of many evangelization and development projects: the Order’s first external school, parishes and missions throughout the archipelago, social and productive projects, the common goods that financed daily life… Everything disappeared abruptly.
There were imprisonments and murders of friars, caravans of missionaries seeking refuge, and overcrowding in the few safe convents. But, as in the biblical text, what seemed like an extinction was, in reality, a period of concealment and purification. The charismatic fire —the interior life, the community, the mission— did not disappear; with creativity, new paths of resistance were forged.
They expanded throughout Spain and the Americas and carried out extensive pastoral, educational, and missionary work. More than a geographical expansion, it was a spiritual and charismatic renewal. The tragedy culminated in a General Chapter (San Millán de la Cogolla, 1908) as a moment to safeguard and strengthen the new Recollection.
The 129th Chapter of the Province of St. Nicholas of Tolentine, held in May, can be understood within this same framework. A Chapter has an obvious administrative and organizational component, but its fundamental purpose is communal discernment regarding fidelity to the Gospel and to its own charism.
Just as Nehemiah did, the Chapter proposes returning to the sources, even if they seem hidden or distant; it invites us to recognize God’s action, even in the face of losses and grief, discouragement or reconfigurations; and it raises how to rekindle the flame, perhaps in new or unexpected ways.
Our ecclesial and social context is very complex. Secularization coexists with a religious revival fraught with doubts about its scope and led by those who want to exploit faith for other interests; consecrated life does not appeal to most young people; and new pastoral and ecclesial challenges are emerging.
In this context, the Chapter has been a time of confident renewal, based not so much on human strategies as on the certainty that the fire belongs to God. Just as in those historical periods described, our transition could be a Paschal experience of loss and stripping away toward a new fruitfulness.
We have another advantage, because we know where our “hidden fire” is: in a faithful and testimonial community life, in the shared mission with the laity, in the recovery of the spirit of Saint Augustine to be witnesses, promoters and animators of the search for God.
That prayer from the second book of Maccabees can be readapted today:
Lord, God of all, creator and guide of your people:
You who remain faithful throughout history
and do not let the fire of your love be extinguished,
look upon this Augustinian Recollect Family gathered in your name.
You who accompanied our brothers in their displacement
and brought forth new life when all seemed lost,
rekindle your fire within us.
Gather us in unity, strengthen our fraternity,
make us faithful witnesses of your presence in the world.
May we cherish the gift we have received
and offer it generously,
so that wherever you send us,
your light may shine brightly once more.
For you are the one who saves,
who guides, and who renews all things;
to you be the glory forever.
Amen.
