This I want you to be (ENG)

It is with joy and gratitude that we present this new volume on the missionary spirituality and education of our Founder, Blessed Joseph Allamano. We, the men and women missionaries of the Consolata, are privileged to possess – in abundance – the words of our Father. Our resources are rich and authentic. We have received this legacy from those who were personally trained by the Founder and we guard this treasure zealously. For the most part the legacy consists of those Sunday conferences and conversations that reflect his genuine thought. Our early brothers and sisters had the good fortune to hear these words from his own lips; they carefully recorded and passed them on to us. Thanks to those who went before us we who read these words today feel he is still speaking to us.

The Founder’s conferences have been published in six volumes (three addressed to men missionaries and three to women missionaries). The six volumes include the handwritten notes Allamano prepared weekly as well as his listeners’ notes. To this we would add the great work to which Father Lorenzo Sales devoted his intellect and heart: “La Vita Spirituale” – the organized exposition of the Founder’s thought as found in the Sunday conferences he delivered to missionaries over a period of twenty-four years.

This legacy belongs to us the Consolata Missionaries and is a continual source of inspiration. As true sons and daughters of Allamano we will be faithful to this legacy and will pass it on to others – not just in writing but by the example of our lives and our choices. There is one basic way of accomplish this – by remaining united to and one with our Founder. Let us never lose sight of what he said at the end of his life: “I will give my spirit to those who are one with me.”

In recent years both our congregations have felt the need to edit these records of our Father’s thought; we have eliminated elements that seemed out of step or out of date during this time of post Vatican II Church renewal. This was no easy task: everything our Father said or wrote is important and we do not want to lose anything. After considerable reflection we assigned a member from each of our congregations to work with others of our brothers and sisters on this task: in the light of Church renewal synthesize Allamano’s essential thought as found in “La Vita Spirituale” and the volumes of his conferences. This volume is the result of that endeavor. It contains the whole Allamano’s spiritual legacy. Reading this book we have the distinct sensation that he is speaking to us directly as a father, in his own words and on the subjects that were closest to his heart.

This book is intended above all for the younger members of our congregations; it will help them fathom the teachings of our Founder. It is also addressed to all those sons and daughters of Allamano, all lay missionaries and everyone interested in the spirit of this great man, the teacher of priests and father of two great missionary families. The sources we use in this work are by no means outdated – they are the basic point of departure for anyone seeking a fuller understanding of Allamano’s thought.

We thank Father Francesco Pavese and Sister Angeles Mantineo and all those who cooperated with them for what they have accomplished. This book is the result of their common endeavor and hard work; it is ample proof that they are true sons and daughters of our Founder. We can only hope that everyone who reads these pages will have the same experience an early missionary described: “After every conference we found ourselves repeating the words of the disciples of Emmaus ‘Were not our hearts burning within us as he spoke and explained the Scriptures?’”

May Our Lady, the Consolata, and Blessed Joseph Allamano give light to our minds and bless us.