excerpts Secretary-General of the intervention of the bishop of the Episcopal Conference of Italian
Mariano Crusade
I was struck by the opportunity given to us to reflect on the figure of Don Luigi Sturzo, his life, his thought, his works, while it is in full swing, the year of the priest chosen by our Holy Father Benedict XVI, 150 years after the death of St. John Vianney. At a superficial glance does not, in fact, it appears a number of unexpected similarities between the way the priest of Caltagirone and that of the Cure of Ars. Really a surprise: the tireless love for the priesthood, his complete devotion to the Eucharist as life-giving sacrament, the Church and obedience to superiors, the human fortress married to an infinite humility, he did suffer a health, courage to undertake new things, not stop his ministry building in the churchyard of worship ... But perhaps we are talking about the deeper truth of the ordained ministry, the same truth that we find in every true priest, we should be able to find any priest. A truth, that of the priestly service, which Sturzo Don outlined and that has contributed in no small part by his life to discover, or at least to reveal a significant portion of the people of God We realize this easily if we try to look the priest with the help of the Council documents. Since the beginning of Presbyterorum Ordinis the priest is called to its been serving the celebration, proclaiming the Word of God, to serve for the edification of the holy people. Everything we know about the life of Don Luigi Sturzo unfolds like a story from beginning to end unified by the constant priority given to the celebration of mass. He lived with an intensity made possible by a constant value of distinction from the rest of this sacramental action of the practices of devotion, not despised, but who knew how to size directing his life as a believer and a priest on what we now, thanks the council, we profess with renewed confidence as the source and summit of Christian life. When he was confronted with the alternative between ministerial service and other merit but and valuable commitments, Don Luigi Sturzo did what was required to remain what it has become: a priest. He taught us a way to grow the church and faith through the crucible of modernity and providential taught us a path to witness to the faith in the polis hitherto ignored, if not impossible or even considered wrong. If our faith and our Church breathe, breathe deeply if they know that these times of freedom and which allow us to almost force us, if faith is not afraid of consciousness, this is still on his own. How Rosmini, such as Manzoni, as Montini, Don Luis has helped us to explore new dimensions of that high standard of humanity that is holiness, often reminded us how John Paul II. And what's more, Don Luis has taught us that it is true that the Church can be built without lead, much can be done with little power. Which teaching and edifying testimony which has been able to remain on the service, the real and heavy, that often misunderstood, not what is mentioned only as it was a nickname given to offices, prestige, and visibility! We can ask if Don Sturzo was a model priest. It is hard to say. Certainly do not think it conceivable nor desirable in today's circumstances, a priest, secretary of the party. Perhaps this question is not particularly useful. Since it was a credible witness, and still is, and perhaps most of the time, a credible witness, who cares whether it may or may not be a model? We have not, perhaps now more than ever, need to believers and priests who know how to live faithfully in the imagination, choice, rather than the mere repetition? And if we ask this in mind, here is the memory of Don Luigi proves fruitful for the life here is that the instance of fidelity to the Gospel and the Church, which stands in front of each and every priest baptized, becomes more beautiful . That is a testimony of Don Luis fruitful and of great lesson not to the degree of repeatability of his experience, but for the intensity that it reached in some dimensions, and reached always looking in supernatural life the truth and the root of every plot and every moment of our earthly life. Don Luigi gives us measures of intensity that encourage us and comfort us all. Think of the intensity of his inner life. Especially young people should be informed about the scheme, realism and evangelical quality of his prayer life, for the most part hidden, not spectacularized. We can sometimes even scare the duration and depth dell'immergersi of Don Luis in the mystery of God from the word of God but not only from Scripture. How could we have to understand Don Sturzo if separate her passion for studying militant from his life of prayer? Perhaps this is a of the great challenges we face in the act of preparing to face the emergency in education. It should be an opposition to Christian prayer in the study? It should perhaps study of believers opposed to his prayer? As for St. Thomas, for this opposition Don Luigi had no legitimacy, while we, many times, we persist in building both devotional and anti-intellectualism on this harmful and misleading opposition! We think the intensity with which Don Luis has been able to live in obedience. How many careers, how much social life of all kinds Sturzo Don has been able to avoid it or leave it for obedience! Not blind obedience, obedience is not passive, strong obedience, obedience without flattery or renunciations. As the conflict has created in that obedience. With his life of freedom never denied, Don Sturzo gives us a measure of obedience that helps us making us first very, very humble. We still think the intensity with which Don Luis has lived the struggle, the agony of healthy competition. An inner struggle and the public. What little research of peace and consensus at all costs in his spiritual life, such as high infant and idea of \u200b\u200becclesial communion, a communion between people and free. We think - and this is the last mention, but I can not do - the intensity with which Don Luis has always sought the path of renewal, personal, ecclesiastical and civil. Think of how he managed to get open your mind and heart by Roman studies, how he managed to get pastoral experience and changing socio-politics of the early years after his return to Sicily, and finally, as she has become very hard to change the experience of exile - as still not stick firmly to his harsh denunciation of the three "evil beasts": state-charitable culture of public spending, party politics? Maybe Don Luigi will not be a repeatable model, but it certainly is a witness and a spur to a measure of high intensity in the inner life of an intensity in ecclesial obedience, the courage of competitive intensity, and intensity in the courage of renewal.
0 comments:
Post a Comment