by Fr Silvio Roggia
In front of 90 representatives of 14 SF groups, together with a number of lay people and diocesan priests, Fr Cereda reconnected this edition to the first seminar, celebrated in 2016, underlining the elements of continuity, but also the courageous step forward, both for the broad representation of its participants and for the specific theme of the conference: the value and necessity of the miracle in the causes of beatification and canonization.
In his opening speech, Fr Pierluigi Cameroni, Postulator General for the Causes of Saints of the SF, showed how flourishing the path of the SF has been in recent years, in the company of the 169 members already glorified or whose process is underway (Postulation follows 51 SF causes, plus another 5 external ones).
Among the many points that emerged, it is interesting to note:
- Over 50 of this very numerous group are within the age of the Youth Synod, that is, less than 30 years old: a formidable richness of youthful holiness for the Church and for the world.
- he path of holiness is communal. The more we walk together and involve as many people as possible, the more the journey produces the hoped for fruits, which are ultimately to grow in holiness, as taught by the recently published apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, Gaudete ed Exultate.
- The focus or attention to the miracle is a powerful call to the fact that holiness is ultimately to work by the grace of God. If the heroism of virtues count, everything is the result of a relationship of love where the heart and life open to the presence and action of God, and it is so naturally true that the Church is unafraid of demanding the miracle even, and also, as proof from above.
The photos of the seminar are available on Flickr, while all the materials and reports available can be found in the appropriate section on the website: www.sdb.org
