Tivoli - hope among the poor

Offering the input for these days of ongoing formation among the Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart have afforded me the opportunity to read and reflect on Pope Benedict XVI's second encyclical, Spe Salvi. It is the theme that the sisters have wanted me to expound for them. I would have read the encyclical very quickly, but because of this I have had to spend time with it. It is simply written and invites meditation.

These days in Tivoli have been wonderful for me, and while I have been giving input to the sisters, it is I rather than they who have benefited most from these days. I was thinking this morning, during the mass as we prayed the psalms, that this has been a beautiful way to celebrate the days of Christmas.

During dinner yesterday, on of the oldest sisters, Sr Pia, came up to Sr Graziella and whispered something in her ear. At that point, Sr Graziella smiled and stood to make the announcement, to the effect that it was getting late for the baby Jesus so Sr Pia would sing him a lullaby. At that moment, Sr Pia (who is 92) pulled out the figure of the infant Jesus from beneath her apron -- it was the figure from the manger scene at the entrance of the chapel. She held the doll as if it were the baby, and gently rocked it while singing a Christmas lullaby. The rest of the sisters smiled or laughed (the laughs that come from joy not ridicule) and Sr Pia went through all the verses. At the final verse, all the women joined in with her to sing.

Yesterday and the day before as well, many sisters came to me to make their "end of the year confession," as they said. In the course of the conversations, they all spoke of the calling to live among the people of the little forgotten towns and to help in the most disorganized and poorest of the parishes. "Monsignor Cognata founded us for this," they told me. In fact, most of their houses are in the most hidden towns of southern Italy. They also have houses in northern Italy, but again, these are in the towns and not in the big urban centers. They are also in 6 different towns of Bolivia, which is the poorest country in Latin America. They live Salesian spirit in their total availability to the poor people and the poor Church. They work with families with few resources to help parents to educate their children, and they totally refuse any help from agencies that might be involved with the power structures (which in southern Italy have been tainted by corruption for a couple of centuries).

So today, my conference was a summary of the action steps for hope as found in Benedict XVI's encyclical, Spe Salvi. I was able to cover the chapters on prayer in that encyclical, so it followed well from the presentations of yesterday on Prayer in the Salesian tradition. I was very nervous about today's presentation, but the sisters responded during the discussion period with a lot of practical applications from their own community, from Bishop Cognata, and from their Salesian style. It all worked out well to conclude the series of conferences.

Afterwards, I head a couple of more confessions, then spoke with several older sisters in the house are are based precisely in this community. We spoke too of vocations. It seems that they have a number of young women who come and help out as volunteers for a while and these look at joining the community. The way of life is strenuous, the superior told me. "When you work with the poor," she told me, "you time is not your own. You are always on call. This is what surprises many of the young adults who come to us. They want to help, but they have a hard time with the constant demands."

Several of the other sisters confirmed this. "Still, there is a great joy in knowing you can make a contribution to give people hope," one of the sisters told me. "This is what it is all about: Spe Salvi - Hope will save us."

Wow! Sacred Scripture (and encyclical) in action!

I packed and walked about the old town, taking some photographs. We had dinner at 13.00, with some more singing and poems - also ways that in the Salesian tradition we used to conclude retreats. I remember as a young cleric that we used to do this too - but now we no longer celebrate at the final meal in my California province. At the meals I sat beside the mother general, and with the general councilors -- so I had a lot of questions and they schooled me along in the spirit of their institute.

Following dinner, there were the prayers in chapel and a few minutes to rest. I was able to spend a few more minutes with Sr Carmelina Mosca, the Mother General, who took me around the garden and day care center -- in an area of the compound that the sisters only recently acquired. From there we looked out on the town, she showed me the old paper mills that were abandoned when the economy went south, and spoke of the great history of Tivoli and of the great hopes for the future even during these last years of economic crises. And I was able to take her photo (here she is the children's garden).

When we left the garden, I was able to thank so many of the sisters for the days spent with them. We then loaded up cars and vans, and at 16.00 Sr Graziella was driving a group of us out of the courtyard to the road back to Rome…

It was dark by the time we pulled into the UPS, and made my way to my room to upload these reflections into the blog. Much more is going through my head at the moment and so perhaps I will revisit this theme in my entries. I have a few days to think of all these experiences now.