Foreword
I have already walked part of the way,
sometimes in joy, sometimes in suffering,
but always carrying an overflowing hope in my heart.
Because God is our Mother, Mary,
has always accompanied me.
If God would allow me to choose,
I would not take any other path than this.
I have always hoped in Him,
and consequently joy and bliss have never left me
and I have known love.
Here is God granting me today
a few moments of intimacy with Him.
I have wanted it for a long time;
I finally start writing
some thoughts that come from the heart:
they are the experience of a lifetime.
They are the confidences of a father.
I will not be able to tell you anything totally new.
I would just like to remind you of a few words that have already been said on other occasions, certainly, it has come, good counsellor, to your ears, to your heart.
In the whirlwind of today’s life,
be silent within yourself
and meditate on these thoughts
that flow from the depths of my soul.
I hope these simple reflections can enlighten you, give you peace
and make you an apostle,
a man of prayer and love.
May the Peace and Grace of the Lord
may they always be with you on the path of hope.
Living hope
To summarize the ideas you have meditated on in this book, I hope that every day you will try to remember these simple points that are like signposts on your path of hope:
- You want to make a revolution: to renew the world. You will be able to fulfill this precious mission that God has entrusted to you, only with “the power of the Holy Spirit”. Every day, where you live, prepare a new Pentecost.
- Engage in a campaign that aims to make everyone happy. Sacrifice yourself continuously, with Jesus, to bring peace to souls, development and prosperity to peoples. Such will be your spirituality, discreet and concrete at the same time.
- Remain faithful to the Apostle’s ideal: “To lay down one’s life for one’s brothers and sisters”. In fact, “greater love has no man than this” (Jn 15:13). Spend all your energy tirelessly and be ready to give yourself to win your neighbor to God.
- Shout only one slogan: “All one,” namely: unity among Catholics, unity among Christians, and unity among nations. “As the Father and the Son are one” (cf. Jn 17:22-23).
- You believe in one power: the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of the Lord who will give you life: “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). Just as manna nourished the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land, so will the Eucharist nourish you on your journey of hope (Cfr. Jn 6:50).
- Wear only one uniform and speak only one language: charity. Charity is the sign that you are a disciple of the Lord (Cf. Jn 13:35). It is the least expensive badge but which is the hardest to find. Charity […] will be the only language that will survive in heaven.
- Hold fast to a single guiding principle: prayer. No one is stronger than the person who prays, because the Lord has promised to give everything to those who pray. When you are united in prayer, the Lord is present among you (Cfr. Mt 18:20).
- Observe only one rule: the Gospel. This constitution is superior to all others. This is the rule that Jesus left to the apostles (cf. Mt 4:23). It’s not as difficult, complicated, or legalistic as the others: on the contrary, it’s dynamic, gentle, and inspiring for your soul. […]
- Follow loyally one Head: Jesus Christ and his representatives: the Holy Father, the Bishops, the successors of the Apostles (cf. Jn 20:22-23). Live and die for the Church as Christ did. Do not think that it is only dying for the Church that requires sacrifice: living for the Church also requires a lot.
- Cultivate a special love for Mary. Saint John Mary Vianney confided:”After Jesus, my first love is for Mary.” If you listen to her, you will not lose your way; Whatever you undertake in His name you will not fail. Honor it and you will gain eternal life.
- Your only wisdom will be the knowledge of the cross (cf. 1 Cor 2:2). Look at the crossroads and you will find the solution to all the problems that beset you. If the cross is the criterion on which you base your choices and decisions, your soul will be at peace.
