Our presence among the Churches and among men
After a pause in January, the prior, br Enzo, has again been engaged in his preaching ministry in various cities in Italy and abroad, as well as at several conferences, weeks of Biblical studies, and retreats for priests in Bose. During this period he preached the monthly retreat to priests of the Italian dioceses of Lucca (invited by bishop Italo Castellani), Pistoia (at the request of bishop Mansueto Bianchi), and Casale Monferrato (invited by bishop Alceste Catella)
After a pause in January, the prior, br Enzo, has again been engaged in his preaching ministry in various cities in Italy and abroad, as well as at several conferences, weeks of Biblical studies, and retreats for priests in Bose. During this period he preached the monthly retreat to priests of the Italian dioceses of Lucca (invited by bishop Italo Castellani), Pistoia (at the request of bishop Mansueto Bianchi), and Casale Monferrato (invited by bishop Alceste Catella). In addition, he preached in the dioceses of Trent (at the invitation of archbishop Luigi Bressan), Piacenza (at the invitation of bishop Gianni Ambrosio), Milan (at the invitation of auxiliary bishop Erminio De Scalzi), and Pavia (at the invitation of bishop Giovanni Giudici).
He also took part in conferences and evenings on Biblical, spiritual, and cultural topics: at the international conference of the Catholic Biblical Federation held at the Pontifical Urbanian University in Rome, with a lecture on “Lectio divina: method and practice”; at the 9th International Congress of the Liturgy, held at the Pontifical Gregorian University, with a talk on “The future of the liturgy”; in Venice, where he participated in an evening on “Living in time”, organized by the cultural association Chorus; in Milan, at the church of San Carlo al Corso, where he gave a talk on “Among you it is not to be so”; at the Gobetti Theater in Turin, where he was invited to participate at the Biennale Democracy on the topic “Divine power and human power”; at the cycle on “The invention of war” organized at the Ducal Palace in Genoa, with a talk on “Justice, the fruit of peace”; at the Book Salon of Turin, invited to give a talk on “The Gospel, announcement of good life” and to participate in a round-table discussion on “Catholics, values, and politics”.
Abroad the prior took part at the Days of ecumenical studies organized for pastors, priests, and ministers in Sweden, where he gave talks on “The spirituality of the pastor and of the priest” and “Introduction to lectio divina”; he had been invited by the Lutheran bishop Martin Lind and the Catholic bishop Anders Arborelius. In Paris, at the invitation of cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, he took part in the initiative of the Court of the Gentiles organized by the Pontifical council for culture on the topic of dialogue between believers and non-believers. In the cathedral of Brussels in Belgium he presented a meditation on the theme “Between interior attention and engagement: the Christian particularity”.
Other brothers and sisters of the community have also in these last months carried out a service of preaching in various local churches and religious communities in Italy and abroad, taking part in conferences of a church and monastic nature. In December br Guido preached the spiritual retreat to the Benedictine community of Ermeton in Belgium. In February the same br Guido and br Matthias made two contributions to the course on Monasticism and ecumenical dialogue held at the monastery of the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Milan. In addition, in April br Guido gave some talks at the meeting of those responsible for formation in new monastic foundations throughout the world, held in Rome under the auspices of the Alliance Inter-Monastères. In March sr Lisa preached the retreat to priests of the diocese of Venice, in the presence of cardinal Angelo Scola, and gave several talks at various local church communities. Br Luciano gave a conference on the Psalms on the occasion of the priests’ retreats of the Cuneo diocese; during Lent, together with br Ludwig, he gave conducted weekly sessions of lectio divina in the church of St Lawrence in Turin. Br Goffredo continued to participate in the work sessions of the bishops’ commission for the revision of the Roman missal, in addition to taking part at the meeting of the national liturgical consulta and giving talks on liturgical topics in various Italian diocese.