Csaba Lengvári took his solemn vows on 25 May in the Piarist Chapel in Budapest in front of a large celebrating community of family members, relatives, consecrated members of the order, friends and numerous students and former students.
Csaba Lengvári, named after King Saint Stephen, (the founder and first king of the Kingdom of Hungary), committed himself during Holy Mass to following Jesus Christ more closely for the rest of his life, taking the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, as well as the fourth vow of the Piarists: special care for the education of children and young people.
This vow expresses a special consecration in the name of following Christ, which ‘is deeply rooted in baptismal consecration and expresses it more fully.’ The sacred vow creates a new relationship between the Holy Trinity and man in Jesus Christ, said Provincial Superior Viktor Zsódi, who spoke in his homily about the close connection between baptism and commitment to the consecrated life.
The prayer of trust that comes from faith, the Litany of All Saints, expresses the Church’s trust in the intercession of the saints and makes us experience the communion between the Church in the heavenly Jerusalem and the Church on its earthly pilgrimage.
He highlighted the example of the Mother of the Pious Schools, the young Mary’s ‘yes’, ‘which calls us to dare to rely on God, even when we do not see the way clearly. Let our faith transform our lives!’
The Pious Schools are invited to grow in self-identity and, through the signs of the times, to rediscover how to respond from our hearts to the needs of the present moment. The nature of the monks’ service is also determined by how they fulfil their mission: in deep communion with the Lord and attentive to the signs of the times, which enable the monk to ‘pass on the message of the Word of God who became man in a language that the world can understand’.
The Memorial written to Cardinal Tonti, which summarises Calasanz’s fundamental insights, also emphasises the need to combine educational service with evangelical commitment in the Piarist vocation. According to this memorandum, education is the foundation of a better society, plays a key role in the pastoral activity of the Church, is the guarantee of the future of the whole person and of the person, and is a vocation that fills those who practise it with joy.
Calasanz calls us to continuous conversion every day. ‘To change, to learn, to learn to change and to convert on a personal, community, collegial and institutional level. To live a permanent Easter with Jesus, to be constantly reborn.’
Finally, he drew a parallel between the presentation of the pallium and the white garment received at baptism. The pallium, the ceremonial garment of the order, signifies holy love, which is patient and kind, endures all things and forgives all offences.
‘I wish you to make your perpetual vows with faith-filled confidence, to interpret the events of your personal life in such a way as to discover in them the love and care of God, to experience every change in your life as an opportunity given by God to respond with creative fidelity to your Piarist religious community of believers,’ concluded the provincial superior in his homily.
After taking his perpetual vows, Csaba Lengvári signed the document and donned the pallium. He was then greeted by all the members of the community present, including the oldest member of the province, Father Lajos Kerényi. The new monk and Father Lajos, who will soon celebrate his 98th birthday, were greeted with loud applause by those present.
For the occasion, Father Pedro Aguado sent a personal letter to Csaba Lengvári, which was read by Father József Urbán, assistant to the general.
“I pray for you that your final religious consecration will be as Calasanz intended: radical, complete, self-giving, humble, and centred on the one Lord. You are consecrating yourself to Christ and placing your life entirely in his hands through the Order of the Pious Schools, which is so dear to all of us. (…) You know well what I wish for you at this important moment in your life: that you become a new Calasanz. This is the vision, this is the horizon that I am opening up before you, and I know that this is also your most sincere desire, with complete humility: to be a new Calasanz, at the service of children and young people whom God will place on your path.”
Csapó, Viktória
