In the scorching heat of Turin at the end of July, a group of 75 young people from Portugal, Poland, Spain, Morocco, and Italy gathered to walk in the footsteps of St Joseph Allamano. They are young people close to the Consolata Missionary Institutes and the Consolata Lay Missionaries, who already knew Allamano, hence, they came from far away to set foot on those stones and on those streets he walked over a hundred years ago.
THE SILENCE: According to St. Joseph Allamano – WORDS
St. Joseph Allamano made silence and discretion his lifestyle and the secret of his sanctity. A choice that can be summed up in the motto: “Good must be done well and quietly ,” that is, in the best possible way, in silence. The newspaper Il Momento, the day after the death of St. Joseph Allamano, summarized his lifestyle and holiness in a few lines: He was not a man of ostentation. He was not an eloquent man. He was a man of industrious silence . Fr. Pier Giuseppe Accornero commented on the Turin newspaper’s statement as follows: “A characteristic of St Joseph Allamano’s life: knowing how to act, monitor ¬, influence, and handle people and things while remaining as private as possible. Absent and present. Always and everywhere he acted and directed with his shrewd intelligence, his intuitive finesse ¬, his calm and far-sighted meditation, and the profound piety of a priest filled with the love of God. Those who approached him sensed a man of integrity who, without unnecessary words, confidently indicated the direction, the path, and the decision to be made.” In Allamano’s teaching, contained in the Conferences to his Missionaries, emerges the importance and insistence of seeking the quality of life by doing good well, of being extraordinary in the ordinary in the “silence”, rightly defined as: “industrious”. The sentences excerpted from the Conferences, which concern “silence”, sound like recommendations, suggestions, advice from a Father and Master who indicates to his Daughters the “means” to walk, quickly, on the path of holiness. From the Conferences of St. Joseph Allamano The Language The tongue must be moderated, restrained. The Lord closed our mouths with two gates, while leaving our ears open; two gates, indeed: the teeth and the lips, and why? In order that we speak slowly. So don’t always be silent, but think before you speak. Use of tongue is a serious matter. We may complain about speaking, but never about remaining silent. Hence the importance of holding our tongues and not letting them run wild like a reined horse. Judgments are formed in the head, but the tongue pronounces them. Once we master this language, then everything will be fine, because it will no longer flow if we don’t want it to. How often are things exaggerated, or not stated precisely. How often are words said that are contrary to charity! There’s always a craving for words… What’s said can’t be taken back. If you want to speak, speak, but with words that would be fitting in the mouth of the Lord. Your speeches must always be edifying, or scholarly, or devotional. Not everything that is true can and should be said. Don’t speak out of place or uselessly; you should always speak of things that edify, that help to do good. Ah! no news, neither of this nor that, no curiosity! To speak well, you don’t have to say everything that comes to mind. Some people, if something comes to mind, they say it at all costs, whether it’s good or bad. The Silence You don’t have to maintain perfect, continuous silence, but do it when it’s necessary. Don’t say after you’ve spoken: “But I didn’t think about that.” You have to be careful, you have to think first. Silence: saying only what is necessary and letting those who need to speak, and not always wanting to speak ourselves. Speak when there is necessity, utility, or convenience. Every word spoken to men is one word less spoken to God. We will be held accountable to God for every useless word,…said the Venerable (St. Joseph Cafasso). Silence in due time and place; don’t speak too loudly or when it’s not our turn; talk about serious matters. Be silent during time of work and study; be attentive: every word you say is a word taken from the Lord. You must speak, but first you must learn to be silent so you can then speak well. Those who can’t hold their tongue will talk too much and then say nonsense. Let our speech be: brief and good; brief and sweet; brief and simple; brief and charitable; brief and amiable. We must give an account to God for every idle word, not just every bad word; idle means without necessity or utility. Either remain silent, or say something that is better than silence. When silence is broken, our speech is generally not edifying, but now falls short of charity, of prudence, of piety. Speak with utility, with necessity, and with convenience. This doesn’t mean we should eliminate those words that serve to cheer us up a bit, but not those… I don’t want you all to become mute, but observing internal and external silence is necessary. Inner silence is the most difficult thing to acquire. Sometimes you see a person, you believe they are completely united with God, and then… So many feelings there: envy, jealousy, malice… This is not good; we need to be silent with our passions, with ourselves. When we speak of silence, we do not only mean material silence but also internal silence, which consists in not allowing the imagination and thoughts to work on things that are, if not vain, at least useless. Without recollection, we will never achieve anything. Love silence, and love it because in silence and quiet, the Christian soul grows in virtue. Make as much of your internal silence as you want, there’s never too much of it. By being silent, you learn to speak. And then, speak softly, don’t shout, it’s not necessary to shout. Loud shouting breaks devotion and dissipates it. (Sources : Conferences to the Sisters: vol. 1 July 1914, p. 79; vol. II 17 March 1918, p. 251; 25 May 1919, p. 585-588; vol. III 6 June 1920, 84-87; 21 May 1922, pp. 419-425). To learn more about San Giuseppe Allamano, click here. To learn about the Centenary initiatives, click here
Charism and Consolation – LOOKS of SILENCE
Afghanistan is a country that has suffered the consequences of war for more than two decades. Those who suffer the most are, above all, the most vulnerable, such as children. Saint John Paul II launched the appeal: “Save the children of Kabul,” and religious life responded. Sister Irene Candida, a Consolata missionary Sister, also participated in this wonderful story of charity, encounter, and humanity.
A time to… give – Blessed Leonella Sgorbati
Giving your time to others means giving up part of your own plans to serve others. Blessed Leonella Sgorbati embraced this lifestyle from a young age. Even as a child, she stood out for her willingness to help anyone in need, demonstrating a sensitivity that would remain with her throughout her life.
St. James: the Saint of the Way and of Healing
July is a month that commemorates many beloved saints. One of these is the apostle St. James, chosen as the patron saint of Spain and the subject of a popular devotion that continues to this day. With the Conquest of South America by the Castilian Empire, the veneration of Santiago (as he is called in Spanish) took root in the Andean region, where the saint is linked to traditional medicine and healing. The common element in both contexts is pilgrimage, and also healing.
A time to… write and serve – Blessed Irene
For Blessed Irene Stefani, even rest became a time of service and love. When the daily toils seemed over, her mission continued; the evening hours became a precious time for correspondence. She wrote letters to encourage those who were discouraged, to gently admonish those who needed to find their way again. The list of letters to write was always long. Many people turned to her to send news to distant family members, and Irene, with patience and thoughtfulness, transformed each letter into a gesture of closeness and consolation.
A time to… welcome
The small Catholic Churches in Central Asia experience the summer months intensely, a time of vacation and good weather, which attract tourists from around the world. They visit these wonderful places and find doors and hearts open to welcome them. We share our experiences in Zhanashar (Kazakhstan) and Urgench (Uzbekistan). Bethany in Zhanashar Our community in Zhanashar is located in a small village, where life is simple and familiar. At first, our neighbors would stop by our house, curious to see what we did. For them, hearing that we were “nuns consecrated to God” was—and still is—a difficult concept to grasp, a word outside their everyday vocabulary. Over time, however, by frequenting our home, both children and adults have come to understand that we simply have a different way of life. Today, when we meet on public transportation or at the market, they are happy to see us and immediately introduce us to others, proudly saying, “They are our neighbors!” In Kazakh culture, the bond with those who live next door is sacred, as an ancient local proverb says: “A good neighbor is more precious than a distant relative.” (Kazakh proverb) Our Bethany: a river of welcome for all Today, our community has become a home for everyone. During this holiday season, children wake us early in the morning, eager to play in our courtyard. Young people—Catholics, Muslims, and others of other faiths—come to us because they need to talk, learn, or simply seek a listening ear and attention. Many youth groups prefer to hold their meetings right here in Zhanashar. Our smallness and simplicity have become a welcoming refuge for parishes and tourists: we have hosted small groups from Korea, Astana, Mongolia, and Poland, as well as many individual pilgrims seeking shelter. As we continue to offer our small daily services—such as English teaching, catechism, and the study of local languages—we realize that hospitality has become the beating heart of our apostolate. Uzbekistan: A Church with Open Doors Although the Catholic Church in Uzbekistan represents a small minority in a predominantly Muslim country, it is committed to living its mission, inspired by the words of Christ: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Mt 25:35). This welcome is particularly evident throughout the year, when pilgrims, tourists, foreign professionals, and students arrive in the country for various reasons. Catholic parishes strive to be a point of reference for those wishing to attend Holy Mass, find a priest for Confession, or simply experience a moment of prayer during their travels. In cities like Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and here in our small parish of Our Lady of Mercy in Urgench, visitors of various nationalities and even Christians of other denominations can find a community ready to welcome them with simplicity and fraternity. In this context, we, the Consolata Missionary Sisters, strive to offer these people a discreet yet deeply welcoming presence, so that they can find a conducive environment for encountering the Lord. Therefore, in addition to participating in parish life, we help welcome these visitors, provide information on celebration times, and strive to create an environment where everyone can feel at home, even when far from their homeland. Hospitality: a meeting point The hospitality so characteristic of the Uzbek people finds a beautiful meeting point in the Church’s mission. Respect, listening, and cordiality, values deeply rooted in the local culture, also become tools of silent evangelization. Often, even before words, it is a smile, a shared coffee, or a discreet conversation that reveals the welcoming face of Christ. In a land where Catholics are few, every gesture of welcome becomes a precious testimony. The Church in Uzbekistan reminds us that mission begins not only with the explicit proclamation of the Gospel, but also with the ability to help each person experience, even if only for a few days, the joy of being welcomed as a brother or sister. You come? In short, our mission is to reveal God’s love that welcomes every person, regardless of culture, ethnicity, or religion. This is especially evident here, where the faces of different people create a beautiful mosaic with the photos we take after each meeting. “Be a welcoming place wherever you are, for we do not know when the Lord will visit us!” In Africa, it is said that “A guest is like a river: he brings life and newness along his path,” and Kazakh tradition echoes this truth with a profound saying: “A guest brings blessings to the house” (Kazakh proverb). We thank God for this immense gift, because by welcoming others, we welcome Him, faithful to the exhortation of the Letter to the Hebrews: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers; for by so doing, some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). If one day you wish to come to Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan, know that our doors will always be open to welcome you. Ours are small homes, it’s true, but full of love, and we will be happy to share everything we have with you. We look forward to seeing you in Zhanashar and Urgench, where diversity transforms into communion and every encounter becomes a caress from God. Sister Hellen Njoki and Sister Andrea Carvalho, mc
A time to… “Recharge the Spirit” – Saint Ignatius Shrine
In the late summer of 1880, Saint Joseph Allamano was appointed Rector of the Consolata Shrine in Turin, under whose jurisdiction was also the Shrine of Sant’Ignazio near Lanzo Torinese. From 1880 until July 1923, two and a half years before his death, Allamano regularly traveled to Saint Ignatius during the summer season to organize the Spiritual Exercises held in the complex adjacent to the Shrine.
A time to… Breed champions
Horse racing is much more than a sport. In Mongolia, it represents an ancient tradition, part of the national identity. Training champions is an honor
Saint Joseph Allamano and Time – LOOKS
The value of time. St. Joseph Allamano emerges as a silent master: a man who transformed every hour of his life into prayer, service, and mission. His relationship with time is not an abstract concept, but a lived experience.