When it was certain that the funds for the financing of Don Guanella's first Work were guaranteed, the bishop of Como, Monsignor. Valfré was happy to give his consent and blessing to him at the beginning of the undertaking, even if he had not previously shown himself enthusiastic about it. However, knowing his man, it was recommended that, for the moment, there should be no further opening of new Houses of Charity.
A certain prudence and certain patience were not characteristics of Don Guanella, so, not much time had passed, he presented himself to the bishop telling him candidly:
- Excellency, forgive me if I did not heed your recommendation, but there was a truly providential opportunity and I could not let it slip away... So I bought a large building, called "La Binda", which Your Excellency certainly knows, and now I have a debt of 40.000 lire... But there is no need to worry because Providence will certainly help us... I'm sure.
The bishop didn't swallow it: he smiled bitterly, stammered something and, shaking his head, went on to say goodbye, dismissing his priest rather abruptly.
Some time later Don Guanella presented himself again to the bishop who imagined that he was coming to bring him his troubles, resulting from the imprudence committed and he prepared himself for a full-blown outburst.
Don Guanella with great naturalness said instead:
- Your Excellency, Providence has thought of it: I was given a villa on a hill above Menaggio, mirroring the center of Lake Como, with a beautiful Swiss chalet and more than 50.000 lire in cash...
The bishop looked at him for a few moments with his mouth open, helpless and helpless, with his eyes widening with wonder and he could only say resignedly:
- Go ahead calmly, Don Luigi, and do what you have to do because I see that Providence is on your side. All I have to do is bless you! The ways of God do not always pass alongside those traced by men.

Like "flowers" with the colors of sanctity

by Carlo Lapucci

The fragments, the different testimonies filtered by heterogeneous sensibilities, have become in this publication of Parables of a Good Samaritan different stones of a mosaic in which this image of extraordinary and intense humanity appears, such as to almost naturally offer the connection of the human dimension with the divine, of time with eternity.
The facts never force the hand of the miracle: they are human events that narrate things of the time seen however in another dimension: they say that man can overcome his limits of selfishness and narrow-mindedness, he can break the shell of the logic of individualism and indifference and, like a germ coming out of the earth, rising into the dimension of love, of charity in the light of Christ.

In his moral writings, Don Guanella has repeatedly insisted on the good orientation of the Christian day, especially wanting to recommend referring every action to God. That is, it concerns the internal ordering of all our activities; but this presupposes a certain regularity and accuracy of external actions.
The external regularity of daily programs is attested by a memory of Don Guanella himself for the years spent in Pianello and by the memories of a priest nephew who, during his time in the seminary, used to spend part of his summer holidays with his uncle in Savogno.
This second document is more interesting than the first, not only because it is more meticulous in detail, but because it demonstrates that, for Don Guanella, the daily timetable was not just a forgotten plan or writing, but a habitual fact, albeit with not rare exceptions imposed by his ministry:
«In the morning after long church duties, having returned home and sipped some coffee, he opened one or two doors that faced each other, thus creating an ambulatory, and walked along it, with long strides, while reciting the breviary.
Once the prayer is over, a visit to the chicken coop, to the rabbits, to the bee hive, to the always very careful and profitable vegetable garden, happy with avenues with polychrome edges for various, abundant flowers, which gradually come to decorate and perfume the chapels of the Church , embellished with numerous fruiting plants and shady cloisters; then to the study table; then to the hasty midday lunch; taking the excuse of a walk, he stopped to converse with a man, to greet an old woman, to visit a sick person, to comfort the poor, until, having reached one of the chapels he had built, he recited a short prayer and took a short break. to rest, he retraced his steps and thus returned to his pen and books, to prayer and to the church."

by Piero Pellegrini

Prosto, a small town at the foot of very high mountains with a beautiful name like Pizzo del Grillo or a dark and threatening name like Monte Gruf, just outside Chiavenna, on the road to Saint Moritz, welcomed Don Guanella, a new priest who came to celebrate his first Mass on May 31, 1866.
The parish priest Don Del Curto had made him a place in his parish house which had been renovated with a coat of whitewash (he had spent 3 lire and 75 cents, as he had recorded towards the end of April in an old account book, for this job); he had put out the most beautiful things of the Church of him who collected valuable works from ancient Piuro buried by a landslide, and had prepared his people materially and spiritually to receive the new priest.

by Angelo Sceppacerca

A nursery school teacher had taken her class to visit a church with figures of saints in the bright stained glass windows. Returning from the visit, the parish priest asked the children: Do you know who the saints are? A child replied: Yes, they are the ones who let the light pass through! The saints let the light of God pass through and continue to illuminate the earth. Now we are here to celebrate a new saint, Luigi Guanella. If saints could be measured in square metres, Don Guanella would be a great window of light, but we cannot forget that all Christians have been united with Christ through baptism: in this sense everyone is already saints, that is, consecrated. On the other hand, the gift received must be welcomed, lived and made to bear fruit.

by Angelo Forti

"The saint is he who adheres to God in faith and love, living a just existence." It is a definition in which every holy person feels described, since the saint is a reflection of the divine light in his person, an energy that moves the will and gives evangelical substance to his actions.
In the prayer of the "Our Father", when we ask God to sanctify His name we ask God to reveal the mystery of His luminous presence in people's lives through His will as a guaranteed path to well-being. The apostle Peter in his first letter writes to the people of God: "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people God has purchased for himself." The seal of sanctity is imprinted as a guarantee of an existence grafted onto divine life itself.

Luigi Guanella was born in Fraciscio di Campodolcino, in Valle Spluga, on 19 December 1842. He became a priest of the diocese of Como in 1866, in politically difficult and economically dramatic moments for the social life of our country. After some experiments, which failed due to the misunderstanding of his contemporaries, in 1886 Don Luigi Guanella began his first great work at the service of the poor in Como. He chose to serve the most miserable and abandoned, deprived of any assistance. He favored the categories of the old, the handicapped and abandoned children. Slowly from that first work other institutions rose in various Italian regions, in Switzerland and then in the USA.
Don Guanella also founded two religious congregations: the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence and the Servants of Charity, who continue to offer solidarity and help those who suffer in every part of the world. Don Guanella was a man who did charity, but it can also be said that God's charity made him and made him the father of the disinherited. He managed to be with them with a spirit of true evangelical poverty.

by Enrico Ghezzi

In the chapter 15 of the book of Genesis, God promises Abraham a 'very great reward' (v.1). Abraham understands that this is what was dear to him and his wife Sarah: not only the promise of the 'land', but above all, a 'descendant'.
The dialogue between God and Abraham, according to the Yahwist tradition, is always described with spare simplicity, but is not without drama: «Lord God, what will you give me? I am leaving without children... Behold, you have given me no offspring, and one of my servants will be my heir" (vv 2.3). Here, for the first time, the Bible notes Jerusalem, Abraham expresses his anxiety, since God's promises seem unachievable, given the physical conditions of Abraham and his wife Sarah. The Lord, then, is not dismayed by Abraham's uncertainties; he leads him outside, under the sky full of stars, and says to him: "Look into the sky and count the stars, if you can... and he added: 'Such will be your descendants'" (v.5).

of Mother Anna Maria Cánopi osb

Nothing in our life happens by chance. For each of us there is a plan of God which he himself brings to completion by arranging the means and favorable circumstances, requiring on our part docility, free adherence - by faith - to his will.
This explains the fact that my parents - despite the economic difficulties - made me continue my studies, while my brothers and sisters, no less intellectually gifted than me, were soon sent to work. Perhaps there was also the reason for my frail physical constitution. For all the family members, however, it was fine and, without a shadow of jealousy, they were pleased with what I learned for them too.
The years of my studies were experienced by me as a continuous and confident exodus.

Don Guanella and Conforti are waiting for October 23rd

Dear Director,
I learned with great joy that on October 23rd Don Guanella will be proclaimed a saint together with Mons. Conforti, because I am close to both of them.
Monsignor Conforti because I am from Parma, my mother received Confirmation from Him and has always considered herself one of his miracle workers, because during an operation carried out at home (it was 1947), without anesthesia, she held a leather glove in her hands Monsignor Conforti who had given her a nun and everything went well.
I am linked to Don Guanella because my maternal grandparents came from Campodolcino to set up distilleries in the Po Valley, one of which was in Parma and my great-grandmother was a Bianchi relative of Don Luigi's mother.
My entire family has always been linked to the Guanellian family and was registered with the "Pious Union of Transit". First my grandmother Purchasepace Vener Maria, my mother Vener Nidi Rosa, my sister Nidi Mazzoli Irma, all deceased, but assisted by Saint Joseph and now I am registered with my husband: Valenti Maria and Marco.
After the consistory meeting on February 21st I went to speak with the Bishop of Parma Monsignor Enrico Solmi and I learned that he knew little about Don Guanella. So I got him a copy of a biography of the saint by Mario Sgarbossa, and the brochures of the Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Como. He was very happy, therefore, I am asking you to send the Holy Crusade both to him and to the Carmelite nuns, because many of them, even if there are only 17 of them, are originally from Lecco and Como and know the works of Don Guanella.
Sorry for the chatter and thanks for everything.
Maria Nidi Valenti

Dearest Mary,
nothing but chatter, it is a great joy to hear his news and also to enjoy the relationship with Don Guanella. It is said that male children take a lot from their mothers and so Don Guanella's sanctity is the fruit of divine grace and also of the DNA of his ancestor Maria Bianchi, Don Luigi's mother.
It will be my duty to send the Bishop our magazine which, already from the April issue, contains an insert on Don Guanella and splendid photos of his homeland. I thank you for the good news, I wish you all the best and for the intercession of Saint Guanella and Msgr. May God bless you and give you joy in living.

Good news as encouragement

Dearest Don Carrera, as promised to beloved Saint Joseph, I bear witness to your help.
Since April 2009, my fiancé and I have been unemployed. Except for a few days of work and dozens of applications and CVs sent, nothing happened. At the beginning of 2010 I prayed the Holy Mantle and the Novena to the beloved Saint, but still nothing happened. On the contrary! The situation seemed to get worse, with even darker and sadder moments such as the death of my father-in-law to whom my boyfriend was very close. Then, when we least expected it, last February 3rd a phone call arrived from the municipality of Cagliari (where we live) and the good news that my boyfriend had been hired for a year! I can't describe our happiness to you! Furthermore, after routine medical visits, he started working on February 19th, just one month before the feast of St. Joseph! We would like to heartily thank the Lord and the Madonna for this grace and Saint Joseph who never forgets his children. As a sign of thanks, with the first salary, we intend to give a small offering for a day's bread. If possible I would like this letter to be published to give hope to many people who find themselves in the same situation as us. I greet you cordially and remember you in my prayers.
Angelica Comunale

Get used to reading the magazine

Reverend Don Mario,
I received your letter of thanks for my offer, and I would like to let you know that your invitation to read "The Holy Crusade" has been punctually answered for more than five years, following the tragic loss of my sister who was a subscriber and of whom I kept my promise, bringing the magazine to my address. I will tell you more, I cut out each time the particular prayer that is reported there, and many of them were proposed on the occasion of retreat meetings with our Archbishop. I am the head of the school office of the diocese of Campobasso/Bojano for everything concerning religious teachers appointed by the diocesan and for those within the school (nursery and primary) who are available and suitable to impart such teaching. Furthermore, I also read the side translations on each page, because I love languages, and I also provide very useful indications on how to carry out a concise translation, which does not betray the entirety of the article to which it refers. Probably, for next Christmas I will use some of the images from the magazine to accompany some of my poems, clearly indicating their origin: they are very significant both on an artistic level and in the message they carry.
In my maternal home, my grandmother celebrated the feast of Saint Joseph every year with the traditional table, where guests of honor were three poor people - a child, a woman and a man - representing the Holy Family. And punctually, on February 17th, under the direction of my mother, the month of Saint Joseph began, followed by the month of May, by that of the Sacred Heart, then of the Precious Blood and, in October, again for Mary and in November for the dead . Many people participated, mostly from the neighborhood, and these experiences are part of my personal training story. I am convinced that Saint Joseph, as befits his humility and the silence that characterized his life, should be better known. A few years ago, following Radio Maria, I listened to the presentation of a book on Saint Joseph, written by a doctor, Dr. Donna: attracted by the poetic nature of the text, I bought it immediately and literally devoured it. I then gave away about twenty copies: to priests and people who bear the name of this Saint, on the occasion of the name day, but also to those who are not called Giuseppe, like my parish priest at the time and the Bishop's vicar.    
Linetta Mazzilli

Monument to the patron saint of workers

Dear Don Mario Carrera, I have been a member of the Pious Union for about ten years, I read and gladly receive your magazine. I am writing to thank Saint Joseph for the grace received last May. I went to a medical check-up, pushed by my wife, because of my high heart rate even though I wasn't feeling any pain. The doctors kept me for four days for tests and a coronary examination which was followed by surgery, which went very well, for the application of three bypasses. I obviously entrusted myself to S. Giuseppe and the post-operative and necessary rehabilitation also went very well. I wanted to inform you that next May 1st marks the 10th anniversary of the monument to St. Joseph that I created in 2001 and which your newspaper reported on page. 14 of the October 2001 issue. Now next to this I will have a column created with the dedication that I was unable to place ten years ago: "Dedicated to Saint Joseph who watches over the world of work". I will be happy to send you a color photo of the event. While I thank St. Joseph, I ask you for prayers for a friend who recently passed away and for another dear friend of mine who went to the clinic for the flu vaccine two years ago and the following day he fell into a coma and is still there today, lying on the bed, motionless. I would like us to pray to alleviate this suffering for him, his wife and his family.
Letter signed