Titus Brandsma left many writings, either in the form of books, articles or letters, but he never wrote about his teachings on fraternity. In spite of that, he lived a fraternal life. We can learn how he valued fraternity from his life journey. For Titus, love is the foundation of fraternity. Fraternity is impossible without love. Titus' love for others grew from his close relationship with God. Titus realized that God loved him and that he loved God. This experience of love with God made Titus love his fellow human beings. When dealing with others, Titus realized that his main task was to love them. Titus lived the second Law of Love, namely: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Titus believed that God was present in his fellow human beings. To love and serve them means to love and serve Jesus. His love is also shown in the form of generosity. Titus always told his brothers and sisters in the Order to share with those in need. He warned them not to be stingy in giving food and money to the poor, because they had the right to the food and money. He urged the brothers and the sister to live on charity. For him, the poor are God's friends. In order for us to be friends of God, we must be friends to his friends.

Titus's fraternity is not limited to certain circles or to his own group (ad intra) but penetrates group boundaries (ad extra). He never discriminated against people because of their religion, ethnicity, race, class, or nationality. Titus made friends with people regardless of their background. Titus also fought for equal rights for his neighbors regardless of their ethnicity, race, religion, and social class. True fraternity always transcends the boundaries of fit and unsuitability. True fraternity does not look at whether someone has the same views or backgrounds.

Fraternity for Titus not only includes being together in physical terms, although that is also important, but also being together in spiritual terms. Being together in the presence of God is no less important than doing something together and working together. Titus also paid attention to the spiritual development of his brothers. When Titus heard that there was a nursing home for the elderly people that needed a priest to celebrate the weekly mass, but was unable to provide the stipends, he asked permission from his prior to give them spiritual services. Likewise, when Titus was imprisoned by the Nazis, Titus always tried to provide spiritual service to other prisoners.

One of the shelters run by the Indonesian Carmelite NGO is dedicated to Titus Brandsma. The shelter was blessed on April 18, 2018. It is located in one of the slum areas in Malang. This shelter functions as a shelter for homeless poor people. These unfortunate people are taken care with love by the volunteers. Any person, regardless their religious background, ethnicity and affiliation, may live in the shelter but, of course, it depends on bed availability. The requirements to be accepted in those houses are that they are really poor and have nobody to takes care of them.

The shelter also functions as an informal school for children from poor families to develop their knowledge. Students with different religious backgrounds participate actively in this school. The subjects offered by this informal school are the usual subjects (mathematics, English, and general knowledge). The difference between this informal school and formal schools is the process of teaching is founded on love. Students are accepted as they are, with their strengths and weaknesses. Each student is taken care of without any judgement being made. Their competence is developed individually since we believe that every child is created uniquely. The students are happy to study here because they are respected as individuals. Thanks to God, most of the students studying in this informal will be successful when they go to a formal school. Moreover, this informal school offers character building and the Christian value of love. Students are invited to respect themselves, be open to others, accept differences and love their neighbors without knowing their backgrounds. Finally, this informal school also offers performance and creativity classes. The students are encouraged to develop themselves and to be independent.    

There are some other done by the volunteers together with the local people. They cook together and share the meal with people living on the streets and poor people in the area. On certain occasion they cooperate with donors to get daily needs and then share them with the poor families who are affected by the Covid 19 pandemic.   

Many people with different backgrounds love to come to that place since they may experience the love shared by the volunteers, the patients, the teachers and the students. Students from Islamic university in Malang often come to visit the patients and the students. They also become volunteers in some of the programs. The spirit of fraternity of Titus Brandsma really fills the atmosphere of this shelter. This place becomes a meeting place for people to celebrate fraternity.

Below are some pictures of the activities done in the Titus Brandsma Shelter, Malang. 

The Carmelite NGO in Indonesia established Mercy House — dedicated to Blessed Titus Brandsma — in Malang in April 2018 to serve the elderly and children from families of all faiths. The elderly are provided a dignified place to live with food and care. The children are provided education and enrichment. It is a living example of Blessed Titus’ words “He who wants to win the world for Christ must have the courage to come in conflict with it."

You can see a short video on the Indonesian Mercy House Dedicated to Blessed Titus Brandsma below.

* Fr. Hariwan Adji, O. Carm., the author of this article, is the current prior provincial of the Indonesian Province of the Carmelite Order. He is a member of the Carmelite NGO and chair of the Indonesian Carmelite NGO. He holds a doctorate and is a lecturer on the Faculty of Humanities at Airlangga State University.

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