Walking and running are bodily exercises, whereas spiritual exercises are called “the ways of disposing the soul to rid itself of all disordered affections and, once eliminated, to seek and find the divine will” in one's life for the salvation of the soul. So wrote St. Ignatius of Loyola and this is precisely what happened from August 21-25 during the spiritual exercises of the Servants of Suffering Associates held at St. John Rotondo.
Immersed in an atmosphere of joyful fraternity, in a harmonious alternation of moments of prayer, meditations by the priests, deepening of the Word of God and the statutes, we experienced moments of great serenity in the spirit and exultation of the heart. Indeed, it is difficult to explain the joy, sweet and gentle, that one feels in being together as a family with brothers who come from so many parts of the world. It is the beautiful and shared awareness of not only having a natural family, but also a spiritual family, on which to count, with which to share joys - which manifested are multiplied - and crosses - which told are halved.
“Sanctify oneself in order to sanctify” was the theme of these exercises. The way to holiness is unique: the imitation and following of Christ,which is expressed in many charisms, including service to suffering. An associate's commitments are means of sanctification; they are imbued with grace to sanctify ourselves and to put ourselves at the service of others.
The interventions of the Founding Father, Msgr. Pierino Galeone, who with his well-known mercy and profound wisdom refined the moments of listening and confrontation experienced during these days, focused on two aspects: love, which is necessary to put the Word of God into practice, and prayer, which must always accompany listening to the preaching, so that “the Lord may be the pilot of our will. Thus God directs our will to love: he drives the evil one out of the mind and heart and makes you decide with God what to do.”
The moments of grace were amplified during the Masses with the rites of admission to the time of probation, to the temporary and final promises, because it was there that each associate renewed his or her adherence to God's call to holiness and to live the charism by joining the mission of Padre Pio, "recognizing his or her own weakness," as H.E. Msgr. Giuseppe Russo recalled, "and entrusting it to God.
The unfailing presence of so many brothers from foreign countries, Ireland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Spain, Great Britain as always spurs us on to be courageous witnesses of a charism that will certainly last until the end of the world, because that is what Father said and because after all “there will always be suffering to serve, there will always be suffering to offer.”