The Servants of Charity

Father Guanella Canonized

Saint Louis Guanella was officially proclaimed a "SAINT" by Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday, October 23, 2011. Watch Event Here (for commentary in English, use audio control next to the volume)

The Servants of Charity from the United States led a pilgrimage to the Canonization. See photos of the fun that they had.

The world is talking about the Canonization of Father Guanella. To read the stories click here.

Fr. Dominic Saginario: Memories of a Missionary Priest

Visit the blog to share your memories of our beloved Fr. Mimi.

Memories of a Missionary Priest

Divine Providence Province

Evangelized by Mary, Accompanied by her into Mission

With the Easter Alleluia still in our hearts and on our lips, we are ushered into the month of May, traditionally dedicated to our Lady. St. Louis Guanella, to express his tender filial love for the Virgin Mary and in order to nurture in the Christian people a genuine devotion to her, wrote a beautiful catechetical booklet entitled “The Month of Flowers.” Mary of Nazareth, portrayed in her essential traits, as narrated by the Gospels, is presented by our Founder particularly as a woman of faith, totally open to the Spirit, attentive to discern and fulfill God’s plan; a pilgrim Mother constantly on the road with her pilgrim Son, missionary of the Father; the mother of Jesus who has become the mother of the Church at the foot of the Cross and in the upper room on the day of Pentecost; Mary, the handmaid of the Lord, the bearer of the Immanuel, always attentive to the needs of her children and constantly ready to run to their aid.

Guided by our Founder’s inspirational thoughts, let us fix our gaze on our beautiful Mother to be evangelized by her example in order to be able to effectively evangelize others:

The Blessed Mother always responded with her most pure affections to every call of God. Try to remove from your heart the noises of the world so that the Word of God will be disclosed more closely to you. Embellish the house of your heart more and more with holy virtues; warm it up with the growing fire of holy love.

Look at the splendor of Immaculate Mary. She is a garden sealed off from the serpent. Detest therefore all kinds of sins, drive them away from you. See that your heart may never be open to evil seductions.
She found herself overfilled with immense graces. However, she hid herself in an abyss of humility. Mary always gave credit to God and glorified Him for everything she received. Learn therefore, to do good, to praise the Lord and to be a light of good example shining to guide others.
At the annunciation, Mary bowed in assent and the eternal Word took flesh in her womb at that very moment. Mary, virgin and mother, could say “The life I live now is not my own: Christ is living in me” (Gal 2:20). We can say something similar when we receive Holy Communion. How precious are those moments when Jesus goes so far as to dwell in our heart under the sacramental species.
Observe the Blessed Mother. She carries within herself the Author of Grace. She rejoices in listening to the inspiration of God to hasten to help her cousin Elizabeth. Behold Mary setting herself quickly on her way. She does not care for the discomfort of the journey nor her family preoccupations. She sets out on the wings of charity. How the heart was beating in Mary’s chest! Likewise must your love be fervent! How you should long to give assistance to many poor people! You must give generously in order to please the Lord more deeply. To love always and in everything is typical of Holy Christians!
Mary does not appear like a preacher but she presents herself as a missionary. She has come to stay with Elizabeth, to please her and yet without realizing it she is leading her to the mountain of holiness. Blessed are you if you know how to imitate Mary’s way of conversing. By doing just this, you can become an apostle of the Lord.
In uttering her Magnificat, Mary has almost become like the mouth of God. In a similar way, you too may be like the mouth of God when, by the way of preaching with all the affections of your heart, you are able to pull a sinner away from the sting of his sins and lead him to the throne of grace and charity. Such work of yours is a divine work.
Learn from Mary how to face adverse circumstances in your life. To learn patience, much practice is required. Patience is learned more by practice than from the books. Mary gives you a perfect example.
The Blessed Mother loved her Jesus with purest love. All the fibers of her heart pulsed for her Divine Son. To Him alone she directed all the thoughts of her mind. Oh! That you too may learn how to love God as Mary did. The true lovers of God wish to be consumed for Him like the oil of the lamp burning before the Blessed Sacrament.
Observe Mary. Her attention is focused on looking at Jesus to learn virtues from Him. She observed Him when He prayed, when He worked, at the table, and even when He slept. How effective is the school of example! Review the life of Jesus Christ many times. If you read what has been written about Him by the evangelists and pay even a little attention, you may feel as though you are seeing Christ with your own eyes, as his disciples did when they accompanied the divine Savior on His journeys and in preaching.
Abiding with the laws and prescriptions of purification, Mary shows us the great good that may be found in always obeying. He who obeys gives his will to the Lord, therefore giving Him the most precious and dearest part of himself.
Mary felt in her mind and heart the sorrows of her beloved Son to whom she was totally associated in carrying out his redeeming mission. If you long to be with Jesus and Mary, prepare yourself for suffering.
The greatness of Mary lies in belonging completely to the Lord and performing humble daily services in His name. From Mary’s example you too learn how to labor all the days of your life for the glory of God and the service of your brethren.

May this “Month of Flowers” be truly a grace-filled opportunity for all of us to experience the loving closeness of our Blessed Mother, as we continue heeding God’s call to proclaim the Gospel of His love with our very lives.

Mary will constantly remind us that the mission of the New Evangelization starts at home, in our personal life, in our family, our community, our neighborhood.

What is needed indeed is trust in the transforming power of the Spirit and a genuine openness to be continually formed and transformed by him into humble yet courageous and faithful witnesses of the Good News that before being announced with our words must shine on our faces, in our deeds, relationships and daily decisions. Let us go with confidence to Jesus through Mary as the first disciples did at Cana of Galilee. The Son can never ignore nor resist the prayers of His Mother. Let us beg her for the graces we need more urgently: for the renewal of our faith, for a new passion for mission which means a new enthusiasm to live and love the way Jesus did.

That is what Fr. Guanella learned from the Gospel of the Lord and from Mary’s example: “Love, love! I need to love as much as I need to breathe. I want to love all my brethren. That is clear as the midday sun. I want to love always all moments of my life, because everlasting love will make me blessed.” (L. Guanella, In the Month of Flowers)

That is Christian vocation! That is our essential mission! That is the pathway to heaven.

Fr. Luigi DeGiambattista, SdC, Provincial Superior

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