Holiness and spirit of prayer
The spiritual life, according to the teaching of St. Joseph Allamano, is based on prayer, which is not a simple devout act, but the force that sustains every mission and every path to holiness.
Our life must be continually nourished by prayer, so that our service does not become empty and does not lose vigour: “Yes, yes, work; but prayer is more necessary than anything else… First we must sanctify ourselves, first pray, then do good to others.” Prayer, therefore, is not one duty among many, but the source that allows the mission to flourish.
Finally, Allamano invites everyone to strive for continuous prayer, which is not reduced to isolated moments, but becomes daily breathing: a constant dialogue with God that transforms our lives and makes us capable of living, like Saint Paul, saying: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
Invocations
You who prayed to the Father in silence and taught the disciples to say “Father”,
- give us a heart that desires prayer as a vital breath, so that all our actions are born from the encounter with You and find its strength in You.
You who remind us that before our doing comes our being, and that mission flourishes only in those who allow themselves to be sanctified,
- Help us to seek your presence first and foremost, freeing ourselves from haste and activism, so that our interior life may sustain the good we are called to do.
You who transform the lives of those who entrust themselves to You to the point of being able to say with St. Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me”,
- guide us towards a continuous, simple and faithful prayer, so that every moment becomes a dialogue with Youand every desire conforms to your heart.
Let us pray:
Give us, Lord, that spirit of prayer
that St. Joseph Allamano left us as a precious legacy:
a simple and sincere prayer,
capable of sustaining the mission
and of making holiness sprout in everyday life.
Make our hearts docile to your presence,
so that our life may truly become
a continuous dialogue with You,
clear and faithful, capable of illuminating thoughts,
purifying words and transforming our every action
into an act of love. Amen.
