The saints next door are the beautiful face of the Church
Apostolic exhortation Gaudete et exultate
by Angelo Forti
Pope Francis, as in a musical overture, constantly returns to the theme of the joy of being Christian. The three apostolic exhortations of his pontifical magisterium are sung to the melody of joy. He began the first exhortation with the Evangelii gaudium, in the second exhortation to joy joy was added as the flowering of love, Amoris laetitia and, now, in the third exhortation, the note of joy returns with the rejoicing that leads to 'Exultation Gaudete et exsultate.
These joyful notes become jubilant, running through the musical score of the Beatitudes, a evangelical page that the Indian poet Gandhi called: "The highest words of human thought".
Montini in Milan: bishop, father, teacher and servant of the Gospel
Paul VI canonization in October
by Gabriele Cantaluppi
The faithful «today goes to the cinema, and everything appears clear to him; he goes to the theater and the same thing happens; he turns on the radio and television and everything is understandable to him", then "he finally goes to mass, and he understands nothing about everything that happens in front of him". These words, written in the letter on liturgical education for Lent in 1958, four years after his entry into the diocese, would be enough to give a glimpse of the soul with which Giovanni Battista Montini welcomed his commitment as archbishop of Milan. He recognized the specificity of Milan in the Italian national panorama, a city launched at breakneck speed towards modernity and economic development, in a very difficult historical moment, in which the economic problems of reconstruction, immigration from the south, the spread of atheism emerged and Marxism within the world of work.
Some ideas for a spirituality of the widow
The widow reveals the two fundamental attitudes of the Church (bride) before Christ (groom): waiting in hope and the certainty of the encounter. Conjugal love wounded by material absence continues purified by pain and sublimated in memory, preparing the reunion. She relives her experience internally, illuminating it with an eternal love.
Married life is a progressive education for a new way of being, where the temporary absence marked by the lacerating pain of separation gives way to a spiritual bond that incorporates what has already been experienced into a new way of living; in relationships, both family, professional and social, it sows a new love whose sweetness and greatness goes beyond what is seen and experienced through the senses.
The spiritual dimension of love illuminates and makes relationships fertile with new shoots, new sensations in which the love of God fills the voids of solitude. The widow, especially if she lives the experience of the Ordo Viduarum, strongly lives the gift of charity in her family environment, showering attention on those who need it most, and rekindling the flame of hope in their hearts. Secondly, she opens herself to the needs of others with a constant action of service and support for those who are not capable of overcoming life's difficulties on their own and need a helping hand. The widow acts as a friendly presence who helps and supports those who are at risk in difficulty. But where does she find the strength for such an exposed mission, she who carries her own fragility in her heart? Jesus said to Saint Catherine of Siena in one of his apparitions: "Make yourself capable and I will become a torrent." Here is the secret: making yourself strong with the strength of Christ.