Alberto and Carla Online
n. 18 March 2014
Edition with English translation
Presentation
The Joy of the Gospel
by Pope Francis
Pope Francis has given us his first Apostolic Exhortation: Evangelii Gaudium.
The central theme of this document is joy.
«Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of the joy of evangelization! ... The joy of the Gospel is such that it cannot be taken away from us by anyone or anything» (nos. 83-84).
It is the same Pope who states by reason of the chosen theme: «The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept His offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness, and loneliness» (no. 1).
Addressed to all the Christian faithful, the document’s purpose is to «to invite them to a new evangelization marked by this joy».
The exhortation is divided into five chapters that outline the theme of joy in the life of every Christian and the Christian community: joy in evangelization, communal commitment, commitment to social work, to a just economy, to peace, and to the preferential option for the poor.
Here are two passages on the roots of joy in evangelism, although we invite everyone to read and meditate on the entire apostolic exhortation.
«How I long to find the right words to stir up enthusiasm for a new chapter of evangelization full of fervour, joy, generosity, courage, boundless love, and attraction» (n. 261)!
«Enthusiasm for evangelization is based on this conviction. We have a treasure of life and love which cannot deceive, and a message which cannot mislead or disappoint. It penetrates to the depths of our hearts, sustaining and ennobling us. It is a truth which is never out of date because it reaches that part of us which nothing else can reach. Our infinite sadness can only be cured by an infinite love» (n. 265).
Reading this Exhortation makes our own saints Alberto and Carla come to mind. They lived in joy even in the midst of many difficulties. Even today, their witness spreads joy in the hearts of those who encounter them. They show us that living joyfully is possible.
You can read the exhortation Evangelii Gaudium here.
Experiences
43rd Anniversary of Ven. Carla’s Dies Natalis
On 2 April 2013, Easter Tuesday, we celebrated the 43rd anniversary of Ven. Carla Ronci’s passage from this life toward that in Heaven (this year, her dies natalis falls on the fourth Wednesday in Lent).
The solemn eucharistic celebration was presided over by Bishop Francesco Lambiasi of Rimini.
Here are some passages from the stupendous homily of His Excellency.
«The memory of the Venerable Carla in the light of Easter of the Risen Lord in the Year of Faith commissioned by Pope Benedict XVI shows us that the Saints are the pages of the Gospel in flesh and bone». The saints are the fifth Gospel which is made by the events of the lives they lived. They have lived all the strength and grace of the Gospel.
In Mary Magdalene – “apostle of the Apostles,” as St. Thomas Aquinas calls her – we can see Carla Ronci. She also tells us the reality of leading a life that is frivolous, banal, and of little prayer. To this end, she wrote: «Nobody believes I have not returned to dancing, to the cinema, etc. [i.e., a life consumed by the search for an ultimately empty, unsatisfying excitement]».
Having recognized the fruitlessness of such an existance, Carla discerned a “call,” as did all the Saints. Look at Ss. Paul and Francis of Assisi. Both of them completely changed their lives. So we see the same with Carla. She felt “called” to holiness, and by the age of 14, she had a perfect harmony with Jesus and all Christian brethren; her faith was devoid of complexes or hang-ups. She expressed it like this: «I have certainty that He is present in me, it is He Who acts in me: this is true faith ».
The Resurrection is the entrance of Jesus into eternity and eternity is not before or after the Resurrection but simultaneous for us with it: With the Resurrection, Jesus is not rendered unobtainable, He is here. He is as present to us as He is in America or Palestine, today and in every age. «He gives me the strength to be faithful and happy in active witness». Carla led faith practices for each and everyone, radiating joy and faith. In sickness she witnessed to her faith: her pain, instead of demolishing her faith, rendered its offering more clear.
The saints show us where we’re headed, that is, the House of the Father, where we can all celebrate with Mary our mother.
The bishop then recounted how many years ago, he found a picture of Carla at Loreto, where he read that she had offered her life for priests and vocations to the priesthood. He was at that time rector of a seminary and therefore entrusted with the seminarians, who were then many. Today the number of priestly vocations, said the bishop, has greatly dropped (at Rimini, however, there are 12 seminarians: what a grace!). There is need for priests to animate their parishes: let us unite in prayer, the bishop concluded, so that Carla can obtain for us young people who find themselves “called” to the priesthood in the Year of Faith, so they can, in turn, guide our community to faith.
We also pray for the beatification of Carla for the good of all.
G. Goti
St. Gaudentius Parish (Rimini)
Gruppo Famiglie Mary (The Family Group “Mary”)
Mary: This is the name of a group of families at St. Gaudentius Church in Rimini that wanted to “encounter” Bl. Alberto Marvelli at one of its evening meetings.
Although situated in downtown Rimini, and despite the group’s having met for many years, that doesn’t automatically mean its members knew about Alberto (no prophet is acceptable in his own country!). So on a Saturday evening last spring, couples with grown children invited Professor Elizabeth Casadei to ask her some questions about Marvelli’s life and spirituality.
The meeting had a cordial and informal air, and it was peppered with memories of the parish priest Fr. Aldo Amati, a key figure in the 2004 beatification of Marvelli given his role as vicar general for the diocese.
Children of Vomero (Naples)
Working with young people is difficult for the Church no matter the location, but there are places where it is especially difficult, such as the Vomero district of central Naples.
The Salesians, however, took up the challenge and this led one of them to come to Rimini with thirty boys and girls to learn about Alberto Marvelli this past July. The majority of these young people think living on Rimini’s Riviera means a life in the fast lane, a life lived with abandon. Their guide wanted to present Alberto’s countercultural witness as a blessed, an educator, and a politician (none of these three roles are exactly fashionable among teenagers!). Still, the Salesian priest seems to have been victorious in this challenge. This wasn’t because of his particular capacity to entertain. Rather, it was because of the strength of what he proposed to them: Living not for the here and now but the life to come. Let us accompany them with our prayers.
In cammino vocazionale dalla Lombardia
The Salesian Vocation Ministry of the Lombardy region has launched a vocational process in the footsteps of Bl. Alberto. Making stops in the cities where Marvelli spent his short life (Rimini, Bologna, the Republic of San Marino, Ferrara), more than two dozen teenagers and their teachers (priests and laity) stayed a few days in Rimini to visit the “A. Marvelli” Documentation Center and, most importantly, to pray at his tomb in Church of Sant’Agostino (St. Augustine).
The Rimini leg of the trip allowed them to more closely “meet” Alberto and engage his witness of faith and civic engagement, consumed in this very city and, we can say, “unto the shedding of blood” (Heb. 12:4).
Bellizzi (Salerno): Exhibition of Alberto Marvelli
Between 19-28 April 2013, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, in Bellizzi (SA), had the experience of the Missionare Popolare (People’s Mission, akin to a parish mission, but more extensive). In communion with the universal Church, the parish community has wanted to experience the Mission by rediscovering the gift of Faith.
The decision to have among us the Exhibition on Blessed Alberto Marvelli and his relic was born of a desire to introduce young people of the city to the life of a young blessed. It was a profoundly happy life because in God, he loved and recognized Him in the post-war poor and all the people he met.
Marvelli’s was a life dedicated to study and the Catholic Action apostolate and not just that.
A young man engaged in politics and society, who in this time of crisis may suggest so much to our political leaders and our administrators.
(Maria Teresa P.)
Pastoral Assistance
Young People, You Are Our Hope
(Bl. John Paul II)
Presented at the World Youth Day in Rio di Janeiro, this book tells the stories of 10 young people and their “ordinary holiness”: Alberto Marvelli, Carla Ronci, Carlo Acutis, Chiara Luce, Pier Giorgio Frassati, Isabel Cristina, Jacques Fesch, Rolando Rivi, Francisco Castellò, and Isidore Bakanja (6 Italians, of whom two were from Rimini!).
Edited by Anderson Wagner, himself a young adult and a student of law and philosophy in Petrolina, Brazil, it is a light little book, only 135 pages, colorful, and full of images, photos, texts and narratives. The introduction was written by no less than four Brazilian bishops, and the first story is that of the man who made youth the mark of his pontificate: John Paul II. It is a shame it is only available in Portugese!
* A. Wagner, Jovens, vos sois a nossa esperança, Cançao Nova Editora, Sao Paulo (Brazil)
A new way to spread Alberto’s & Carla’s stories: the Bookcrossing
All ways are good in order to know our saints.
The city of Monte Grimano Terme in the Province of Pesaro and Urbino (roughly 20 miles/32 kms. from Rimini) has inaugurated a project called the Bookcrossing, which consists in placing within its boundaries 14 book sharing stations.
Everyone can take, bring home, read, and “liberate” from a different place the books that interest them: all for free.
This is a new phenomenon in Italy, although it is widely practiced abroad, and is a way to accomplish the widespread distribution of literature, from person to person.
The A. Marvelli Documentation Centre has joined this initiative by donating a large number of books and pamphlets about Alberto and Carla.
Mail from our readers
From Italy and the world: “In prayer with Alberto Marvelli”
Every last Friday of the month some “friends” of Alberto gather in prayer at his tomb in Rimini. In Italy and throughout the world, so many join in from their homes, since they can follow the monthly prayer via e-mail or on Facebook. The following are some messages from those who are spiritually united in prayer. If you want to receive these prayers, simply ask!
- Good day. A little while ago I finished praying with the Bl. Alberto Marvelli prayer group and the young people of WYD. Permit me to thank you. May the Lord bless you a thousand times over (+Francesco Lambiasi, bishop of Rimini).
- I would like to thank you for this initiative. I also want to join you in prayer to God invoking the intercession of the Blessed ALBERTO MARVELLI. Grazie, (+Milton Kenan, Jr., auxiliary bisop of São Paolo, Brazil)
- I sincerely thank you for making known the the prayer of Alberto Marvelli. Our work is a work in the service of young people most in need and is called “Alberto Marvelli.” From Guatemala City, we keep you in our memory. (Raúl Vásquez, SDB, chaplain director of the “Don Bartolomé Ambrosio” Vocational Training Centre)
- Thanks for including me on your list and praying that [my petition] will be granted through the intercession of Alberto. Regards. (Joel)
- I am very grateful for what I receive regarding Alberto Marvelli. Seguo e ringrazio. I follow your efforts and am thankful. In prayer for the Church invoking the Holy Spirit. (M. Franca F.)
- Dearest friends, I thank you because every month we share in the time of prayer under the guidance of Alberto Marvelli. It is a way to unite in prayer and to meditate on the words of our Blessed. Ideally, we go back each month to his tomb in the church of St. Augustine, which many years ago we twice visited […].We ask a special prayer to Blessed Alberto for my mother who for the past month is struggling with a serious illness that has forced her to bedrest. She was the one who gifted my brother with the biography of a young engineer, whose photo captivated her, and this act is what began our family’s devotion to Alberto Marvelli.
(Famiglia Cottone)
- Thank you for this communication. Salutations. (Romero)
- I beg prayers especially for Matheus Lima. I pray for his conversion. God bless you always!! Thank you! (Fabiana Pinheiro)
- Dearest Msgr. Lanfranchi, thank you for this communication. We will be with you in spirit, and we are sure that you and the Friends of Alberto will have a special prayer for S. (Davide T.)
- Thank you for the material and [have a] good continuation of Lent. (Don Cristian)
- I am grateful for having received the the prayer of Alberto. The secretary of the A. Marvelli Union of Naples (Francesco D.)
- Thanks and compliments on this initiative. (Don Pierluigi Cameroni).
- Thank... a good apostolate... (Maria e Nicola)
- I am infinitely grateful for this prayer group. Many young people here in Foggia have also been praying. (Enza B.)