Columns
from issue no.08 - 2006


LETTERS FROM THE MISSIONS


Who prays is saved in French

Who prays is saved in French

ARCHBISHOPRIC OF ABIDJAN
Abidjan, Ivory Coast

A rich and very profound booklet

Abidjan, Monday 26 June 2006

Mister Director,
I receive the booklet Qui prie sauve son âme [Who prays is saved in the French translation] that you sent me. I thank you.
I read it, it is rich and very profound. It is for this reason that I request permission to print it here, in the Ivory Coast, at the Pauline Sisters, were that possible. I thank you in anticipation hoping for your positive response to my request.
I pray you to accept my fraternal sentiments in Jesus.

Joseph Ake Yapo Auxiliary Bishop of Abidjan

Authorization is very willingly granted
to His Lordship, Monsignor Ake, with whom we rejoice for his nomination as Bishop
of Yamoussoukro announced on 21 July last.

30Days


JESUIT MISSIONARIES,
Sarh, Ciad

It is important to me to express all my, our appreciation

Sarh, Saturday 20 May 2006

Already some years ago I received some issues of the magazine 30Giorni on two different occasions, but I didn’t know who had the idea of making us this gift.
Now that the gift comes from the administration of the magazine itself, which also chose, generously, to enter without knocking, it is important to me to express all my, our appreciation.
As far as our community of Italian Jesuits to whom the magazine is sent is concerned, I must say that by now it is greatly reduced and so I would like to propose and ask whether it is possible to receive the magazine in the French edition; It would give the opportunity for it to be read also by other Fathers and friends who pass by our house. In this regard I would have been very happy to have received the two first numbers that arrived within a short time, nos. 1/2 and 3 of 2006, in French. The pages of the biography of the young Ratzinger, during and after the war, would have interested many, and in a good sense, our very dear German friends and collaborators with whom we work for years particularly in the service of medicine.
As far as the inserts are concerned, the little booklets that accompany the magazine every three months, I have found some of them truly interesting for my work, they will certainly be appreciated and will find some readers even if they are only in Italian.
With much appreciation,

Father Luigi Lomazzi S.J.


SCALABRINIAN MISSIONARIES OF “SANTUARIO DIVINO ESPÍRITO SANTO”
Cuiabà, Mato Grosso, Brazil

I write to say that I am with you

Cuiabà , Saturday 27 May 2006

Dear Editorial staff,
I received two exemplars (numbers 1/2 and 3 of 2006) of the magazine 30Giorni.
Very well known since the time I studied theology in Piacenza, I lost track of it due to expenses and transfer to this Latin American situation.
With surprise and joy I receive this gift and, reading Giulio Andreotti’s letter, I am aware of the value of your initiative. Certainly, after forty years of Brazil, I, a Scalabrinian missionary, feel capable of reading and sharing opinions and discussions.
Therefore: welcome magazine. For now, many thanks, until we hear from each other again.
I haven’t yet read the contents. I write to say that I am with you, and that this initiative interests me greatly.
Cordial greetings,

Father Giancarlo Rizzinelli CS


COMBONIAN MISSIONARIES
Gilgel Beles, Ethiopia

The reading of 30Giorni, which we often do by candlelight, will be for us a true enrichment of mind and heart

Gilgel Beles, Sunday 4 June 2006

Dear Senator Giulio Andreotti,
In the name of my community I want to express to you our appreciation for the exquisite gift of the magazine 30Days.
Our mission among the people of Gumuz, in one of the less developed areas of Ethiopia, is certainly not favored by contacts with the rest of the world, and in particular with the Catholic Church.
Our activity of first evangelization keeps us busy with people of the “wood”.
We feel however the need to enlarge our perspective to remain in harmony with the spirit of the Catholic Church in Italy and in the world.
The reading of 30Giorni, which we often do by candlelight, will be for us a true enrichment of the mind and heart.
May the Lord who has called us to work in this corner of His vineyard, repay you abundantly for the gift you have made us.
With great esteem and friendly greetings,

Father Giacomo Bellini MCCJ


SCALABRINIAN MISSIONARIES OF “SANTÌSIMO SACRAMENTO Y SAN PIO X”
Córdoba, Argentina

I was surprized that someone even remembered me

Córdoba, Sunday 11 June 2006

To all the editorial staff of 30Giorni,
I was surprized that someone even remembered me, who have been in Argentina since 1960, when I saw the two numbers (Year XXIV – nos. 1/2 and 3 of 2006).
Truly I didn’t know “this present historical patrimony” and I tell you that I am happy for so much news… and reflections: a world of today… Trying to find the “signs of the times” experienced today and also those of the past!
I thank you and hope to see you again… every month; but I also tell you that the Lord will help you, will always be with you, and will bless your generosity with all good,

Father Francesco Scapolo CS


 




LETTERS FROM THE CONVENTS


The nuns of Harissa in the courtyard of the convent

The nuns of Harissa in the courtyard of the convent

The “ Théotokos” Carmel
Harissa, Lebanon

Our saintly Mother Teresa of Jesus “reminds us” of the necessity of our giving for those who are the “defenders” of the Church

Harissa, Sunday,
4 June 2006

Mister Director,
We have just received the second issue of 30Jours [30Days in the French edition] and it is a duty to show you our gratitude, all the more so that we cannot allow ourselves to subscribe.
In the Church, our mother, we have the role of “sentinels”, being Discalced Carmelites, cloistered, contemplatives, on the edges … but not relegated. Our saintly Mother Teresa of Jesus reminds us constantly of our daughterhood in the Church and the necessity of our total giving for those who are the “defenders” of the Church.
Your magazine offers us an opening on the world, on urgent needs, it is as a strong call to reawaken our hearts to an ever more intimate seeking of union with Jesus, He who is the founder of the Church and its only Savior.
With these few lines we wish to assure you that our prayer accompanies you and we ask the Lord to help you in this great work of evangelization
May the Most Holy Mother of God bless you.
In the name of all the community,

Thérèse de Jésus ICD, Prioress

***
After having received this letter from the nuns of Harissa, we remained in contact. So when the war against Lebanon broke out the sisters sent us the following appeal which we willingly publish.

30Days

Harissa, Tuesday 18 July 2006

May the grace of the Holy Spirit flower in our souls. We send you the two photos requested: one of the community and one that was taken on the occasion of the passage of His Holiness Pope John Paul II through Lebanon (11 May 1997). We don’t know if we will soon receive the next issue. The situation is very grave.
We send, here below, a few lines written to numerous friends (Spanish speaking) who contacted us to assure us of their prayers. Assuring our prayers for you and all those who work for 30Days.

May the God of mercy, of immense compassion and infinite love, safeguard us all in His Heart.
To all of our beloved brothers and sisters who from all over the world send us messages of fraternity, of encouragement, of intimate union in this infernal tragedy that the martyred Lebanese people are suffering. In the impossibility of writing to each one individually, we greatly thank everyone for their prayers, for their wishes of peace and united all together we will wrest from our God this gift of love, because peace is not obtained through war, this generates nothing but hatred, feuds, separations… may the power of the Gospel conquer in the hearts of all and may peace reign in this world, the work of our God…
The Lebanese do not have enemies… they are a people who know how to love, receive, help all, but don’t have other means of doing so except through their loyal heart, the smile on their lips and the generosity of their works, and… the tears, but…it doesn’t have an army, it doesn’t have arms, it has neither canon nor aircraft… Lebanon is that country sung by the Sacred Scripture. Tall cedars planted by the hand of God. This beautiful Lebanon is immersed in shadows, in the fury and death of hell, this people does not ask armies to assassinate those who kill us, no, it asks nothing other than peace, justice, that it be allowed to live in the sanctuary of every family, singing the Immaculate Queen, everyone a loyal friend of his neighbor…does the world not know that there is a capable people, that there still exists in this world a corner of earth whose people want to enjoy life…?
Make supplication for all of us, so that we may know how to discover, in these shadows that surround us, the mysterious plans of God Our Father which, even though very mysteriously and incomprehensibly, are bearers of grace for all those who love…
Lebanon today is as “the sacrificial Lamb”… it does not resist, it cannot resist, nor does it know how nor want to resist, it doesn’t want to kill, it wants to live.

The Discalced Carmelites of the Lebanese Carmels


BENEDICTINES OF THE “SAINT MARTIN CONVENT”
Hermetschwil, Switzerland

For us this gift represents a great and unexpected joy

Hermetschwil, Sunday 19 March 2006

Dear Mister Director Giulio Andreotti,
Our small community of cloistered Benedictine nuns wants today to thank you with a cordial “May God reward you” for the wonderful surprize of the subscription to 30Tage in Kirche und Welt [30Days in the German edition]. For us this gift represents a great and unexpected joy! We nurture great devotion for the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, who above all carries the name of the founder of our Order, Benedict, and we pray every day for him. We get L’Osservatore Romano, to which your magazine is now added with all its beautiful images and those lovely articles.
We assure you willingly of the prayers of our community for all that you wish and we wish you a holy Lenten time and an Easter of Resurrection full of His joy,

Mother Angelika Sheule OSB Abbess and the Convent


RELIGIOUS OF MARÍA INMACULADA
Guadalajara, Mexico

Thank you for the articles that help us to know the world

Guadalajara, Thursday 4 May 2006

Dear Director,
Some time ago I received the magazine 30Días en la Iglesia y en el mundo [30Days in the Spanish edition] gratis and I thank you sincerely for all the information and the articles that help us know the world and help in training. At present we cannot subscribe, even if we would like to. We hope to do so eventually.
I am a religious of María Inmaculada, our foundress is Saint Vicenta María López y Vicuña, of Spanish origin, canonized in 1975. The magazine came to us in Spanish, which is our basic language. I am Mexican and now I find myself in Mexico.
I am grateful to you and recommend myself to your prayers,

Sister María Auxiliadora Chávez de la Mora


CONVENT OF “NOSSA SENHORA DO CARMO”
Campo Mourão, Paraná, Brazil

With gratitude we pray for your intentions and for those of all your collaborators

Campo Mourão, Monday 8 May 2006

Dear Senator Giulio Andreotti,
Peace, faith and charity of the Risen Lord!
Only the good God can repay for this immense good of receiving the magazine 30Dias [30Days in the Portuguese edition]! With gratitude we pray for your intentions and for those of all your collaborators.
May God be blessed because there continue to be people faithful to and enthusiastic about the Church. 30Days gives this witness of fidelity, love, interest, and with quality.
Thank you for your consideration in our regard. Even if we are small, our supplication for the Church is continuous and the good God does not resist.
The interview with Alfred Läpple was very stimulating. Best wishes for the work and the translation. It is always a grace to receive this information
May the good God reward you with His most abundant graces.
For the community,

Sister Susana de Santíssima Trindade OCD, Prioress


SÄO JOSÉ” CARMEL
Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

We realize that it is a publication faithful to the Magisterum of the Church

Petrópolis, Tuesday 9 May 2006

Dear Senator Andreotti,
The peace of Christ!
Our sincere thanks for your lovely and excellent magazine 30Dias na Igreja e no mundo [30Days in the Portuguese edition] whose subscription you had the courtesy to offer us and some issues of which we have already received.
We realize that it is a serious publication, faithful to the Magisterum of the Church, that confronts current issues, regarding our holy religion and the world, and that, therefore, it will be a great enrichment for all of us.
We thank you also for your appreciation and interest in the contemplative religious. In prayer, we will always ask the Lord to repay you with abundant graces and to bless your apostolate, so necessary, through the good press, in such a way that it can produce good fruits among your readers.
Expressing once again our gratitude to you, for the community of the Carmel of São José, cordially,

Sister Maria Helena de São Lourenço José, Prioress


CARMELITES OF MONTREAL
Montreal, Canada

This magazine will nourish our prayer

Montreal, Monday 22 May 2006

Mister Director,
Dear Brother in Christ,
We have received two issues of your magazine 30Jours dans l’église et dans le monde [30Days in the French edition]. We certainly cannot subscribe to a magazine of such high quality… The fact that you send it to us gratis touches us deeply.
This magazine of training and information will nourish our prayer. Thanks for the fact of thinking of us contemplatives, who wish to carry into the silence of love the joys and the sufferings of the Church and of society.
May the Lord reward your great generosity and allow you to continue your mission in the heart of the Church.
We send you a dépliant of our community as a sign of profound communion in the Heart of Jesus.

Your Carmelite Sisters of Montreal Sister Louise-Marie de la Trinité, Prioress


“NOTRE-DAME DU PESQUIE” ABBEY
Foix, France

We are happy to know something of this Pope whom we admire and love as a precious gift from God

Foix, Thursday 1 June 2006

Dear Senator,
Since the month of March we have received different issues of your magazine 30Jours [30Days in the French edition] and we are profoundly grateful for this.
We have greatly appreciated the quality and above all the spirit of the articles, which is pleasingly distant from the French spirit, sometimes a little too Gallican. We read, in the refectory, the enthusiastic witness of the former professor of Benedict XVI, happy to know something more about this Pope whom we admire and love as a precious gift of God to our time.
The monthly issuing of your magazine fits very well into our life, in which we have little time to read apart from that reserved for the lectio divina and we need information already evaluated a little and selected.
You can count on our prayers so that your work will yield many fruits and contribute to make the truth for which hearts and spirits have great thirst, shine brightly.
We are a Benedictine community of about fifty sisters, we live with joy the agricultural (farm, orchard and garden) and artisan (rebinding and ceramics) life, under the watch of God and in praise of His work of Redemption.
Be assured, dear sir, of our gratitude and of our communion in prayer and in the service of the Church.

Maria Immaculata, Abbess


“SANTA TERESINHA DO MENINO JESUS” CARMEL
Aparecida, São Paulo, Brazil

We suggest that in the magazine there be a space dedicated to the different contemplative Orders, male and female

Aparecida, Friday 2 June 2006

Dear Senator Giulio Andreotti,
We are very grateful for your generosity in sending us the magazine 30Dias na Igreja e no mundo [30Days in the Portuguese edition] and also for your appreciation of us sisters who, as our holy mother Teresa said, «enclosed, we fight for the Lord».
We assure you, in our prayers, the moment you ask for your work of training and information. A work, this, which brings us close to the reality of the world, and makes ours the pains, the joys and the hopes of our brothers and sisters scattered throughout the world.
What strikes us principally about the magazine is the always current news about the Church and the union with our Holy Father Benedict XVI. Thus we can follow the Church throughout the world, through the interviews with the prelates of the various dioceses, especially those farthest away from us.
In particular, the news about the Church where the Catholics are a minority helps us a lot, because we can share the life of our brothers but also have the joy of seeing how the Kingdom of God is being achieved in these places.
You ask a suggestion of us. We suggest that in the magazine there be for some months a space dedicated to the different contemplative Orders, male and female. In this space information about each Order, photos, its charisma and role in the Church could be given. Even if they exist for a long time, we know that for many people this life continues to be unknown and, perhaps, not to make sense.
We are sending you the vocational dépliant of our association. We believe it will be useful to you, because it contains some information about Carmelite life and is well up to date.
We thank you yet again and pray that the magazine may be a means for assuring that God may be more loved and His Church more known.
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and the Virgin of Carmel keep you, along with all your staff,

Discalced Carmelite Sisters


BENEDICTINES OF THE CONVENT OF SANT’ANTONIO
Norcia, Perugia

We have read with joy the life of sweetest Pope Luciani and the information on Péguy

Norcia, Saturday 10 June 2006

Dear Mister Giulio Andreotti,
We received the gift of the books reserved for the subscribers to the monthly 30Giorni nella Chiesa e nel mondo [30Days in the Italian edition] and for some months the magazine itself arrives punctually. We are truly grateful for this double gift.
We have read with joy the life of sweetest Pope Luciani and we are reading with attention and interest the information on the philosopher Péguy, but we cannot express how great our appreciation for the magazine is. Not only is it a great source of topical information, but it is a clear, objective reading of history, we dare speak of a “passion” that sees in events the theological place of another history, the history of God’s salvation that is incarnated in the history of men. Thank you.
We entrust our appreciation to the Lord in our prayers. May He always bless and increase your graces so that your work may reach the noble goals set out and that the sowing of the seed of good that you cast abundantly may always find good soil and produce abundant fruits.
We also entrust your person to the Lord, all your activities, your projects and desires.
With esteem we send you respectful greetings,

For the Monastic Community of the Convent of Sant’Antonio Caterina Corona OSB


VISITATIONISTS OF THE SALESIAN CONVENT OF “OBERRONING”
Rottenburg, Germany

This magazine puts at our disposal interesting information about the situation of the Church and the world

Rottenburg, Friday 16 June 2006

Dear Mister Director Andreotti,
We sisters of the Visitationists of Mary thank you sincerely and heartfully for your subscription gift to 30Tage [30Days in the German edition]. This magazine puts at our disposal interesting information and services about the situation “in the Church and in the world”. We willingly assure you of our prayers for all that you desire at this moment. May the Lord God accompany your work with His blessing.
I greet you with gratitude together with all the sisters,

Sister Blessed Mary Jäger VSM






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