In his greeting, Fr. Leonir Chiarello, Superior General of the Scalabrinian Missionaries, outlined the purpose of the meeting: to rediscover, trusting in the Spirit—the protagonist of all ecclesial life, in the service of creative fidelity—the richness of Scalabrini’s spiritual traits through a renewed reading in light of the proclamation of his sainthood.
Regarding the structure of the Conference, Fr. Graziano Battistella, a Scalabrinian, emphasized: “We started from the fact that we needed to present Scalabrinian spirituality with particular attention to the intercultural dimension. This required us to ask ourselves what spirituality is and, secondly, what the intercultural dimension implies. We thought another step was also necessary. If it is called Scalabrinian spirituality, there must be a reference to Scalabrini. And at the same time, our spirituality cannot be that of Scalabrini. So, how do we move from the spirituality of Scalabrini to the spirituality of the Scalabrinians? We thought of looking at two examples: a very established spirituality, that of the Jesuits, and one still in the making like ours, that of the Xaverians. However, spirituality is already lived by those who are on mission with migrants, and so we listened to the testimonies of lay people, secular missionaries, missionary sisters, and missionary fathers. We gained many insights, many stimuli...”.
Asking the question: What is spirituality?, Cristina Simonelli, professor of patristic theology in Verona and Milan, highlighted the urgency of learning to recognize, for everyone and everything, the space to exist, even in our time marked by complexity, which requires us to learn to inhabit it, to stay and co-exist even where questions remain open, starting from the excess of spirituality that overflows, surpasses the measure. Thus, we can make any of our moments the “tenth” hour, four in the afternoon, that is, the hour of the meeting of Andrew and John with Jesus (cf. Jn 1:38-39), during which He invites them to follow Him to the house where He dwells, filling their lives with meaning and fullness.[...]
During the Conference, the Eucharist, the leaven that seeks to be present in every situation, gathered us each day as we allowed ourselves to be transformed as one Body, in gratitude for His presence, as the foundation of all our actions and the link with the whole universe. The group work allowed us to share research, impressions, questions, to formulate proposals and to get to know each other more closely. The thematic vigils on hospitality, encounter, itinerancy, and universality, rich in symbols, were yet another opportunity to experience the vibrancy of the Scalabrinian charism.
On the last day of the Conference, we received the gift of being able to meet Pope Francis. We know how much the reality of migrants is close to his heart!
In his speech, he reminded us that “the tragedy of migrations forcibly caused by wars, famines, poverty, and environmental hardships is today before everyone’s eyes. And it is precisely here that your spirituality comes into play: how to dispose the heart towards these brothers and sisters? With the support of what spiritual journey? Scalabrini helps us, precisely by looking at the missionaries of migrants as cooperators of the Holy Spirit for unity. His is an enlightened and original vision of the migratory phenomenon, seen as a call to create communion in charity. […] And here is a first appeal for us, to cultivate hearts rich in catholicity, that is, desirous of universality and unity, of encounter and communion. It is an invitation to spread a mentality of closeness—‘closeness’, this key word, is the style of God, who always draws near—a spirituality, a mentality of care and welcome […]. And here is the second appeal that the Holy Bishop of Piacenza addresses to us, when he insists on the need, for the missionary, to have a relationship of love with Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, and to cultivate it especially through the Eucharist, celebrated and adored.”
Now, for each participant, follows the time of pouring into the realities in which they are present, of commitment, of incarnating the glimpsed perspectives: being workers of communion among differences, living a boundless welcome towards the Other and the other, to pour into history that humanity which we can only draw from the source of spirituality.
Filomena
Read the full article in our magazine: SSE 2023 n.5
