The fruitful contagion of holiness
by Angelo Sceppacerca
Sometimes saints pass by us and we don't notice. Yet the joy of being loved by God cannot be hidden. It is the discovery of the golden thread that binds all the facts of existence, it is the piece that completes the mosaic of humanity in which every man is inserted. It is true joy. It can be read on the face, in the eyes, in the gestures. It takes root in the depths of the human being and releases buried energies that can no longer help but act. Joy that infects and frees and helps to understand the facts of life. It is the story and the experience of many when they have a strong, life-changing encounter. It can be an encounter with a witness, but also with a fact of life, an illness, the death of a loved one, an engaging and profound spiritual experience.
The testimony of one's life is a real contagion, it also applies to non-Christians. Gandhi said of himself: I am an incorrigible optimist.
A journey to the planet of miracle
by Mario Carrera
«When you return from a trip there is always something to talk about». Well, the road to reaching the goal of canonization is a mine of interesting stories. A wonderful adventure. I walked along paths with the bloody footprints of a young man who emerged in a singular way from a dramatic accident. Paths full of darkness for human reason, however, a darkness vibrant with mystery. This human story, shrouded in pain and the fear of dramatic outcomes, was pervaded by an energy coming from an "elsewhere" which supported a drama crossed by a solid hope strengthened by the prayer of intercession to Don Guanella.
Talking about the weeks in hospital of the young William Glisson, his reappearance at the bright window of life, his return to family affection, the blossoming of a love that will lead him to marriage, was like traveling through a galaxy of sparkling stars that is ending like a fireworks celebration.
A master of humanity looking for disciples
In the "Giornale dell'anima" Blessed John XXIII recalls the day of his ordination with these words. «I visited the churches I was most fond of, the altars of the saints most familiar to me, the images of the Virgin Mary. They were very short visits, but it seemed to me that evening that I had something to say to each of them and that they had something to say to me, and, in fact, it was so."
All those who will be present in Rome or will watch through television or ideally participate in the glorification of Don Guanella in St. Peter's Square on 23 October 2011, will certainly have had the experience of having been on their knees in front of an image of Don Guanella, of to have asked for something and to have felt something good being born in their soul.
The event of the canonization will be a privileged circumstance of the Spirit to echo positive feelings and operational intentions and thus continue in our history the experience of charity which constitutes the luminous halo for Don Guanella.
On the day of canonization, Don Guanella will ideally be entrusted with the title of "Itinerant Master of Love of Neighbor". His teaching will begin immediately. He will do it through the magnetic waves of the means of social communication, his message of brotherhood will flow like regenerating water into the souls of many people and the most sensitive souls will hear a bewitching song of nostalgia and a desire for good resound.
The example of his life, in imitation of Christ, still for us today becomes "broken bread" for the life of the poor: poor in bread, hope, affection, health, intelligence, roles in social life .
October-November 2011
The magazine of San Giuseppe
gushing source
of hope
I have been receiving and reading The Holy Crusade for many years, always obtaining a sense of peace and hope from it. My life has been full of pain and suffering, from the death of my husband many years ago, to cancer, to work problems and more, but I have made it this far, raised my daughter, who graduated and married. I have a wonderful nephew, who is the reward of everything and is also the only reason that still makes me love life and want to live it near him and for him.
In my darkest moments I asked Saint Joseph for help and in some way, even incomprehensible, he must have helped and supported me if I got this far.
But now everything seems to be collapsing because my daughter, who has always lived next to me, will move and I will no longer be able to have my little Daniele near me, laugh and cry, suffer and rejoice with him and for him. It would take too long to explain why this separation is so painful: they are delicate and thorny family stories, which would only bore, for which I blame my mother-in-law and my son-in-law, perhaps mistakenly.
I would like everything to be resolved for the best for my daughter and her family, for my son-in-law's mother and for me. There can be many solutions different from this one which can satisfy everyone and perhaps be the beginning of new and more peaceful relationships.
I prayed a lot to Saint Joseph: he knows what I need, but my prayers were not enough.
Now I ask you to pray for me to Saint Joseph: he knows what to do. Help me. My husband Dionisi Daniele, deceased, my daughter Alice, my nephew Daniele and I are already under the protection of Saint Joseph, now I would like my son-in-law Canzio Venturi to also be a member of the Pious Union.
Thank you for your time and patience, I hope for your prayers.
Patrizia Bucci - Rimini
A shared degree
with the poor
Dear Director, I am a member of the Pious Union of the transit of San Giuseppe. With much gratitude I would like to thank my protector Saint Joseph who always listens to my prayers and continually supports and guides my two children in difficulties.
On October 19th my daughter graduates in Medicine and instead of making wedding favors she would like to donate an offering to San Guseppe, I would like to know how to do it.
Thank you.
Francesca - Catanzaro
Dearest Mrs Francesca,
what a beautiful joy to read your letter; with you I thank God for the intercession of Saint Joseph and I pray that you may continue to smile on the path of his long life. The confetti to celebrate your daughter's graduation are also noble; I pray that the effort of her studies will always be at the service of the physical and spiritual well-being of the sick.
I instinctively suggest the joy of a lunch for the poor on the day of Don Guanella's canonization.
In the next issue of our magazine you will read about the initiative to be able to give a lunch to all the poor people who live in the shadow of the charity of the Don Guanella Opera, particularly in poor countries.
I calculated that a nice lunch (which will include dinner and also the next day's meals) can be offered with 3 euros.
If you want to join this initiative: «A lunch so that no one is alone» see it. (see art. page 21)
It would seem to me like a graduation with "fireworks" with the bright eyes of the poor deprived of everything, but rich in a grateful smile.
Saint Joseph...
and his body?
Dear Director,
the priest said in the homily of the Holy Mass on the feast of the Virgin Mary Assumption into heaven: «The only ones who are in Heaven with their body are Jesus and the Most Holy Mary».
I have always been convinced that in heaven, body and soul, there are three of us with Saint Joseph. It should be kept in mind that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that documents or attests to Mary's immaculate conception, much less that speaks of her assumption into heaven. Only the dogmas of our faith attest to this, and if you don't believe in these, you are not a Christian.
Therefore I firmly believe that over time it will be recognized that Saint Joseph is also in heaven with his body becoming like that of Christ as we saw him act after the Resurrection. The story of the Redemption begins with two characters inextricably linked: the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, her legitimate husband. By divine revelation, he agrees to be united to his wife even if she is carrying a child of whom he is not the father...
Saint Joseph is present at the birth of Jesus, he is his protector and savior from certain death, if he does not organize and lead Mary and Jesus to Egypt. He ensures their life in that foreign country by being their valid support. So it is when he returns to Nazareth where he not only protects and supports but also teaches a trade to Jesus who will be self-sufficient with his mother until the beginning of his public life as Messiah.
When Saint Joseph heroically and holyly carried out his earthly mission as father of Jesus and protector of the Holy Family, he was taken body and soul to heaven. Therefore there is no mention in the Gospel of the death of Saint Joseph and the Most Holy Mary for the simple fact that they have never experienced earthly death as we understand it. The same goes for the evangelical silence on the tomb of the Madonna because she was never buried. And the Gospel is also silent on the burial of Saint Joseph because it never happened.
If Saint Joseph were buried in the ground, the very stones would cry out: he is here! But these are silent because Saint Joseph is in heaven body and soul.
We know of the perfection of God that does not break a unity created by Him, and does not create divisions and disparities of value from one to another. Therefore the Holy Family in heaven is not disunity: they are not two plus one; equally all three are there with body and soul.
The Church in its divine wisdom knows of the greatness and holiness of Saint Joseph and among all its great saints has elected him its Protector. There is therefore nothing against faith in thinking about his Assumption into Heaven. I believe this, and a priest told me that this is a personal devotion, but it is not a sin.
Gianbusto of Nomadelfia
Dear friend,
she lives in a small town, where the name itself says «fraternity is law» and, therefore, where love and sharing are the driving force of everything. it is natural to think that Jesus reserved for his "earthly" father what he reserved for his mother, Mary. Just as she was assumed with that body that gave flesh to Jesus, so Saint Joseph, who nourished and instructed that body to live the life of men, should enjoy the same fate as Mary, his lovely wife.
This supposition is not new, already Saint Bernardino of Siena (1444) in his preaching said: «One must piously believe, but not assure, that Jesus honored his Most Holy Mother and his putative Father with equal privilege. As she made the most holy Mary ascend to heaven glorious in body and soul, so on the day of her resurrection, she also united Saint Joseph with her in glory. Just as the Holy Family, formed by Christ, the Virgin Mary and Joseph, lived a hard-working and loving life together, so it is right that now in the glory of heaven, they reign together with body and soul." Alongside San Bernardino there were also other saints who supported this belief.
It is not a dogma of faith, and no one can prevent us from cultivating this belief that the "earthly trinity" can live alongside the Holy Trinity with their glorified flesh.
Best wishes and continue to live the "nomadelphia" as a model of Christian life.
A revolution in the world of desires
by Ottavio De Bertolis
We have reached the end of the Decalogue, and we combine the last two commandments, or words, those that traditionally go under a sort of duplication: "do not desire another's wife", and "do not desire other people's things". We unify them into a single “do not desire”, which is a sort of lowest common denominator.
To begin to clarify the meaning of this Word, we must first of all distinguish between "desires" and "cravings", or whims. Desire is something profound, which sculpts our identity and which constitutes what God created us for: so one can desire to study physics, or be an astronaut, or become a father, or consecrate oneself to God. These types of desires say our vocation itself: any other type of experience will be less significant and important for those who live them, and these desires will likely remain deeply rooted in us, overcoming any contrary or adverse evidence. It may be difficult to remain faithful to it, but it is not impossible, and the effort made in this sense will contribute to making us feel like ourselves, authors and protagonists of our choices. True desire is indelible, precisely because, ultimately, it comes from God.
New shoots in the "priories"
of Mother Anna Maria Cánopi
The Lord has plans unknown to us and always surprising. The tree rooted on the rock of San Giulio Island, which had grown unpredictably, was ready to transplant some shoots elsewhere. And there were many bishops who came to ask us - almost to beg us - to give our presence to their dioceses too. Among the numerous and continuous requests we were able to satisfy some.
In Valle d'Aosta, the «Regina Pacis» Priory was born on 12 October 2002. The monastery is created from the renovation of some rustic medieval "grange" of the canons of the Great San Bernardo. As in a cradle, surrounded by mountains, next to the Hospitaller House of the Canons, the "Regina Pacis" community, initially made up of seven members, also gradually grew. Now there are about fifteen nuns. The activities they carry out are, to a proportionate extent, some of those already learned in the abbey on the island, in particular sacred vestments, icons and various crafts.
10 words to fall in love with God and man
by Gianni Gennari
Eighth meeting: we resume the journey to "see better", even with our poor eyes of mind and heart, the reality of the God revealed in history to Abraham and his descendants, and then definitively given as Savior in Jesus, God and Son of God. Faith tells us that He "became man", incarnated in the womb of a woman from Nazareth named Mary, died crucified and rose again for us as Messiah and Savior who, coming out of history redeemed by Him, gave us the Holy Spirit, thus creating a People definitively called to salvation by grace and mercy, that "People of God" that we call "Church".
Intention of the month November 2011
Offer prayer
Divine Heart of Jesus,
I offer you by means
of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary, Mother
of the Church, in union
to the Eucharistic Sacrifice,
prayers and actions,
the joys and sufferings
of this day:
under repair
of sins,
for the salvation of all
men, in grace
of the Holy Spirit,
to the glory of the divine Father.
Pope's intention
The Eastern Churches
Catholics are known
and esteemed in theirs
spiritual wealth
Missionary intention
The African continent
find in Christ the strength to
walk in reconciliation
and in justice
Intention of the Bishops
The Spirit of the Risen One
help us celebrate
memory in faith
of the deceased brothers
Intention of the Pious Union
If you love me don't cry
"The Sir
welcome into the light
of his Kingdom
all the deceased,
especially those
more needy
of mercy"
«Don't cry, if you love me! If you knew the gift of God that is in heaven! If you could hear the song of the angels and see me among them! If you could see with your own eyes the horizons, the endless fields and the new paths I traverse! If you could contemplate for an instant, like me, the beauty before which all other beauties would disappear!
Believe me, when death comes to break your chains, as it broke those that chained me, and when on a day that God has fixed and knows, your soul ascends to this heaven where mine preceded it, on that day you will return to see the one who loved you and always loves you and you will meet his heart with all its tenderness. You will return to see me, but transfigured and happy, not waiting for death, but advancing with you on the new paths of light and life, drunkenly drinking at the feet of God a nectar, of which no one will ever be satisfied. Dry your tears and don't cry, if you love me!" (St. Augustine) ■
Intention of the month of October 2011
Offer prayer
Divine Heart of Jesus,
I offer you by means
of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary, Mother
of the Church, in union
to the Eucharistic Sacrifice,
prayers and actions,
the joys and sufferings
of this day:
under repair
of sins,
for the salvation of all
men, in grace
of the Holy Spirit,
to the glory of the divine Father.
Pope's intention
The terminally ill
are supported
by faith in God
and from love
brothers
Missionary intention
The celebration of World Mission Day
grow among the People of God
the passion for evangelization
Intention of the Bishops
The Holy Spirit
support
and comfort
the families
in difficulty
Intention of the Pious Union
For the souls in Purgatory
«O Jesus,
very lovable
We beg you
to lift
the Souls who suffer
in Purgatory
from the pain
of your distance"
The Church calls "Purgatory" the final purification of the elect, which is something completely different from the punishment of the damned. As in Hell, so in Purgatory there is a double punishment: that of meaning and that of damage. 1) The punishment of the senses consists of sensitive torments produced by a fire whose mysterious power makes the soul suffer as if it had the body. 2) The penalty for damage consists in temporary separation from God. The duration of the stay in Purgatory depends on the penalties to be expiated. In this life God's mercy predominates, in the afterlife his justice predominates. On this earth we can atone for a lot with little, but in Purgatory we can atone for little with a lot. With our votes, we have the possibility of coming to their aid so that their sentences are alleviated and shortened. The most effective means is the Holy Mass. Let us remember that we can purify ourselves on earth before dying. Earth can therefore replace Purgatory, or at least make us shorten it. ■
We have moved from the right to the "duty" to die
Interview with Luciano Eusebi
More than a thousand people will be killed in Belgium by 2011 because this is their will. By the end of the year, more than a thousand patients will have undergone euthanasia.
«A sign – states Luciano Eusebi, full professor at the Faculty of Law at the Catholic University of Milan interviewed by ilSussidiario.net – that the predicted euthanasia drift has occurred in the country; in certain cases, death has turned into a sort of automatism."
The news was reported by the Belgian newspaper "Le soir". According to the newspaper, the prediction was arrived at starting from a simple consideration: since January 2011, 85 people a year have died a "sweet death". These are predominantly men (54 percent) and people aged between 60 and 79 years. The majority - 80 percent - are affected by a tumor which, in 92 percent of cases, will lead to their death, even in the short term. Finally, 52 percent of euthanasia administrations are carried out at home or in some nursing homes for the elderly. «The data - explains Eusebi - indicates how the reasons for the "no", which we have always tried to support towards euthanasia, were justified. We have always been worried, in fact, that everything could be resolved, ultimately, in a sort of "scrapping" of the weak subjects".
Eusebi goes into specifics: «The attention to proportionate therapeutic treatments and to avoiding extremist ones is acceptable». But exceeding this threshold generates serious consequences; «It leads to considering weak subjects as ballast. It is no coincidence that psychological research underlines how the so-called "right to die" transforms, both with respect to the patient and his family, into a psychological pressure to free the social context from the weight of his condition. This trend makes the transition from consensual to automatic euthanasia possible."
One wonders whether such a risk has been averted in Italy. «The law on the end of life – reflects Eusebi – gives importance to possible advance declarations, of course; but within the context of a judgment that remains based on the responsibility of the doctor and on an evaluation of the proportionality of the therapies. Those who expected a law that would undermine the legal principles in force on the impracticability of a doctor-patient relationship aimed at death were disappointed. The law, therefore, should protect us, at least in its theoretical statements, from drifts like the Belgian one."
But the law is not enough. «These trends, in practice, must be contained in an educational and cultural dimension; and, even more, support for family contexts. By helping the family we avoid tendencies of abandonment, because this constitutes the first dimension of welcome where conditions of existential precariousness exist."
For terminally ill patients and their loved ones, some fundamental supports already exist: «We have networks of hospices and palliative care centers where the patient can be followed, freeing him from suffering and allowing him, even in advanced disease conditions, to maintain a capacity for reflection and dialogue. All of this isn't even exceptionally expensive. However, it is obvious that this is a commitment to society."
According to the professor, however, there are no alibis: «the resources are there. A welcoming society is possible." But, preliminarily, a reflection is necessary: «What model of democracy and civil coexistence do we intend to adopt? The one in which the person counts for his material efficiency so, when this is no longer recoverable, his very existence loses meaning; or the one according to which the person is worth as such, and not for what he is capable of doing?