Blessed James Alberione

Opera Omnia

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[DFin 14. 22. 195. 197]
WAY OF PURIFICATION

[DFin 31. 47. 79. 217] Glory to the Father

Domine, noverim me, noverim Te,
Nec aliquid cupiam nisi Te.1
Hæc est vita æterna, ut cognoscant
te et quem misisti.2

[DFin 20. 22] Who is God? The necessary being. Ego sum qui sum3 Tu solus Dominus:4 pure spirit: supreme greatness: for knowledge, science, power, eternity, omnipotence, glory, most perfect. No need for anyone, happiest by himself... My God and my all.5

Consequence: a) Admiration: consideration - first part of the visit. b) Perennial, total, praise ab omni creatura (from every creature). c) Perfect love as infinite good, above all things.6
In union with the Three Persons and with the Angels sanctus...,7 laudate...,8 benedicite...9
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Who am I? A most contingent being: you are he who is not.10 You are nothing, as soul and body, on your own you are nothing, as to being and doing, on your own: most imperfect.

Consequences: Humble truth: as to knowledge, power, life, existence: I am nothing.
Life in the right place: in the beginning and end - Respect, honor.
Humility of heart: general fruit.

[DFin 20. 54] God Creator

He creates the universe: Supreme dignity and divine power. The spirits: beautiful, numerous, destined for a lofty goal. Material things: their quantity, variety, order.
What am I among all beings, among the possibilities, among the more perfect, those that take place?

Creates man: Crown of visible beings. Image and divine likeness as to soul: lutum11 as regards the body. Capable of being like God, like the beast, like the demon.
The gifts: integrity, grace, knoweldge, immortality.
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The original sin: Indication of man's supreme weakness: cause of spiritual ruin:
ignorance, subject to temptations and concupiscence, to death and pains;
to sin;
explanation of the evils in the world.
Humility of heart: general fruit.

[DFin 20. 55. 69. 73. 77. 78. 81. 82. 91] God Governor12
Universa quæ condidit Deus,
providentia sua tuetur et gubernat
attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter
et disponens omnia suaviter.13

With His law

a) eternal: that necessarily has a purpose; order, direction of every action and movement: ab æterno ordinata sum:14 most wise is each of his orders.
To which I must conform: taking as supreme law and maximum act of love the will of God (v. Dresselio Eliotropo [Eliotropio]).15

b) natural: inasmuch as the eternal law is written in the conscience and mind of every person and thus it becomes natural. It is for every man easy, unchangeable, necessary.
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c) Long examination of conscience on the commandments (of natural law, if the circumstance of the sabbath is excepted).

In order to live as just men: special end of the first part of the Spiritual Exercises.

[DFin 43] Examination - Instruction

The Will of God is the great sun to which the soul, like the sunflower, has to be always turned.
The will of God: in superiors; in events; in one's inner self. Doce me facere voluntatem tuam, quia Deus meus es tu (Ps. 142).16

Commandments. Here one needs to go through all the commandments to find out how they were observed.
In order to become: Christians, religious, priests, one needs to be human first.

Natural virtues: justice, prudence, temperance, fortitude.
Humility of heart: general fruit.
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[DFin 29.43] Our end
Momentum a quo pendet æternitas.17

1. Yesterday we did not exist: but we were created by God: Ipse nos fecit et non ipsi nos.18
Whereby we may give glory to him on earth.
Glorifying him, we would be participants of his happiness in heaven.

2. Today we are! But suspended between two eternities.
Let us choose what we want.
We build it up ourselves.
That of not working for heaven means getting lost. Homo æternitatis sum.19

3. Because of this, he has given us two order of means: natural, that is, intelligence, will, memory, and the external senses, with life, material, social, familial goods; and the supernatural means that are faith and the grace wherby we believe and work worthily in view of our supernatural end.

[DFin 29. 30. 36. 43. 52] End of creatures

1. To be at the service of man in the service to God on earth in order to obtain eternal beatitude
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in praise of God. There are three orders of created things: physical (earth, plants, mass, animals, elements, etc.), that produce physical progress; moral (intelligence, heart, family, social living together, various roles in society); spiritual (sacraments, priesthood, religious life, etc.).

2. The use of them makes life good and eternity happy; the abuse of them is eternal ruin. The use of time, of houses, of clothes, of food, etc.; the use of the family, of intelligence, of the heart, of its passions, of social relations, etc.; the use of the sacraments, of reading and of the Scripture, of the teacher, of the confessor, etc. The abuse of money, of pleasure of the senses, of the inclination for honor; the abuse of the mind, of passions, of freedom, of the family, of social position, etc.; the abuse of the Real Presence, of the occasions for merit, of religious instruction, of grace, etc.

3. Creatures given to us for what is good can all become occasions of abuses especially after the original sin: because of the revolt of things brought by this sin and the revolt of the senses against reason, of this against God, of time against eternity. Because of this we must journey after the example of Jesus Christ, who made the most right use of them,
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he taught us on this with the word; he earned the grace for us.

* * *

[DFin 23. 73. 81. 137-143] 1. To be superiors20 not servants of them, through reason, through faith, through grace; according to the will of God.
To be indifferent to them when they are indifferent by their nature: honor, health, ingenuity, life, occupations, etc. St. Paul: scio et humiliari, scio et abundare; et satiari et esurire; et abundare et penuriam pati.21

2. Abstain ourselves: from what blocks us: abstine, that is, mortification when there are dangers. On our part, let us always prefer poverty, humiliation, humble place. Let us direct: mind, will, memory, external senses.

3. Take what is useful to us: sustine and better than one can and possibly more when it contributes to the service to God:
a) the virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
b) the means of sanctification: sacraments, Masses, examinations of conscience, visits, meditations, prayer.
c) schedule, duties of state, life in common.
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[DFin 29. 43. 123] Man's true property

1. Paradise is our all and only destiny: ours because God has created us for it and Our Lord Jesus Christ has reopened for us paradise lost. It is not our end to acquire wealth, honor, pleasures. The whole of creation has the nature of means and it has been given us to use; but it shall be taken away and he who looks for it shall be in trouble. Vanitas vanitatum...22 Inquietum...23 Instead, Paradise... Simile est regnum cælorum... inventa una pretiosa... dedit omnia et comparavit eam.24
Simile est thesauro in agro... vendidit omnia et emit eum.25

2. It totally satisfies: it is beatific vision, love, joy; thus the mind, the will, the heart shall be satisfied; with accidental enjoyments, also the sensitive part: the body glorious, sinlessness, exemption from ills. It shall be proportionate to the merits: that is to the love of God and love for souls; it is the only thing ours and eternal.

3. The thought of Heaven must: detach us from earth and make us use everything as means; make us fervent because unusquisque mercedem accipiet secundum...;26
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prepare for ourselves the desire for heaven, cupio dissolvi,27 and let this desire become the king of desires, producing the fruit of thirst for merits, for perfection, for souls.

[DFin 43. 81] End of God

1. Final end: glory to God. God essentially loves himself by loving the perfection that is in himself and all he created for himself and for his own glory, universa propter semetipsum operatus est Deus.28 He is to achieve this through man and by man, on earth with praise and docility of mind and of heart to God; in eternity with perfect knowledge, praise, love of God; that is, through man's happiness. Thus we have the supreme end and the subordinate end.

2. The more this is achieved, the more perfect is knowledge and love of God. Knowledge of God goes from ignorance, from error to thinking like God in Jesus Christ. It is the state of those souls who are always united with God and and in him see, judge and arrange everything. Religious instruction, good reading, but more, the infusion of faith,
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hope and the knowledge of God work in this state.
Bring to perfection knowledge of God; then avoid sin, and also fear serviliter servilis,29 transform it to filial. Then climb the different steps of the love of God: sadness of sin; benevolence and desire for the Glory of God; pleasure for divine glory and perfection; to live of love of God.

3. One steps up from ignorance, from human knowledge from hatred for mortal, venial sin, from self love: until the knowledge of God, to the pure love of God, a little each day.
Be perfected with the love of Jesus: quis vos separabit a charitate Christi?30 Nothing! The stairway is Mary who takes grace from God in order to give it to us; from us she takes away self love and puts in its place the love of God.

[DFin 43] Happiness

1. The heart, the soul long for happiness: complete, that entirely satisfies man, eternal.

2. Now this does not lie:31 in riches,
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in honor, in pleasure, in moral and intellectual goods. In fact, they are finite, temporal.

3. Foolish is he who disordinately goes after temporal goods: he shall not be satisfied in life; shall be desolate in death; fearful about eternity.
Desire for them inasmuch as they are means for heaven: rather fear them with prudence lest they become snares of perdition.

[DFin 20. 82. 123. 137-143] Truth, foundation, order, justice or degrees of humility

1. How is the divine design to share his happiness and to receive praise for it undertaken? Through creation, wherein everything is made from nothing: we are nothing! We received everything from God.
We are sinners. Here is the proof of man and his fall, destruction of the divine plan. Aside from original sin there also is the actual; because of this we are less than nothing.
We are in extreme need, because in everything, always, we need light, grace of the Holy Spirit, because only in grace and in divine light there can be
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merit, strength, Church, Priesthood, religious state.

2. Thereby: exclude totally vain complacency and vain purposes: soli Deo honor et gloria;32 believe rightly; seek, enjoy suffering and humble ourselves in order to make amends with Christ for our sins; remain in state of prayer and habitual supplications thereby obtain grace, light, mercy from the Holy Spirit.

[DFin 31. 47. 79. 217] 3. Thereby, the three degrees of humility: a) the first depends on the fact that everything was received from God in the natural order (Theology of the Father); b) the second, from the fact that we are, rather, sinners and every human ill is inadequate to make amends for the least sin, the blood of Christ of infinite value was required for it (Theology of the Son); c) having to create a new life, priestly, religious, Christian, there is the continuous need of the Holy Spirit (Theology of the Holy Spirit).

Previsions
Notum fac mihi, Domine, finem meum.33

1. Can I know if I will be saved? Absolutely, no; relatively, yes. Because
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it can still happen that the sinner gets converted and the just is perverted. Judas and the good thief explain it: Unus ne desperas, unus ne presumas.34 What meritorious deed has not been done will not be found; what good or evil has been done shall remain; God is faithful to him who has done good; God is merciful to the sinner.

2. For what reasons? Trust in ourselves, with the consequent lack of prayer, loses and damns also he who already is a saint; trust in God and the consequent prayer saves also the greater sinner.

3. The true enemy is pride that trusts in one's self; the true friend is Jesus Christ and the Cross. Jesus Christ vita et resurrectio35 initium, instead, omnis peccati est superbia.36 Long examination on pride and on faith.

The test

1. Life is a test. This is a fundamental and directive concept. Paradise, the supernatural state, is together mercy of God and our reward (or merces = wage). Thus was it for the Angels, thus is it for man. I placed before you the way of life and the way of death, elige vitam.37
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2. Most brief test. Face to face with eternity, life is but a moment: momentaneum et læve æternum gloriæ pondus...38 As it was for Judas and for the other Apostles, Cain and Abel.

3. An only and irreparable test. We live and die only once. Whoever overcomes the test pauci intrant per eam viam, he who does not pass it multi intrant per viam, quæ ducit ad perditionem.39 Develop the right idea of life; do not let yourself be the object of the games of youthful fantasy, nor of the lying world, nor by the impression of things sensible: but be guided only by reason and by faith: beatus vir qui cum probatus fuerit accipiet coronam vitæ.40

[DFin 81] Death

O mors, bonum est consilium tuum.41

1. Death is the end of the test, of faithfulness euge serve bone et fidelis42 Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem quoniam cum probatus fuerit....43 The good grain... the weed...44

2. Death stirs fear with its
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uncertainty: sicut fur in nocte45 estote parati;46 certainty in it is the hope of him who lives of the love for the Lord and longs for the motherland, the vision of the Heavenly Father, the reward.

3. Death is the logical conclusion of life. The conclusion depends on the premises. The premises do not leave the conclusion as a matter of free choice. He who lives well shall die well; who has sowed shall reap; God is faithful! Hence: live well so to die well! What good has not been done cannot be found again. Tempus non erit amplius.47
In the world, however, there is the thesis of God; Ego bonus.48 From here, we see God the Father's disposition while waiting to welcome the sinner. Just as he has created us and redeemed us without our merit, so he welcomes in every hour those repentant, also at the last moment.

Two deaths

1. Death of the sinner and death of the just. Pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors Sanctorum ejus.49 Mors peccatorum pessima.50

2. This depends on the correspondence as
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a whole substantialiter saltem51 on the particular will of God for each one and on the careful use of natural gifts and special gifts; or else on the substantial rebellion against the divine will or on their waste and disordinate and obstinate use.

3. A long examination: on the general vocation to one of the three states;52 on the special vocation in one of the three states themselves; on the gifts and most particular gifts in one's intimate life; on the sincerity itself of the virtues.

Time

1. It is the period of trial with succession: in opposition to the motionless state of eternity. It is a compendium and contains: all the natural and supernatural graces: the true treasure of the earth and of the earth alone.

2. Long or short life can be a grace, or danger on man's part depending on his use or abuse.
Time shall be our exaltation or our condemnation: years pass and we shall be accountable to them.
It is most short in comparison with eternity;
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almost an imperceptible quantity; but it establishes and dominates eternity itself.

3. Don't lose it; in doing evil, or in useless things, or in things with no merit, or anxiously. Use it in doing good, with order, with right intention.

Judgment

With the test over, the assignment is checked.

1. Judgment is: to fall into the hands of the living God.53 Terrible for the unfortunate, most consoling for the just. In life we have the freedom to act: also physically we can do evil. Given the sample of our humble submission or proud rebellion, we go back to God's hands.

2. The examination of life: Ut reddet unusquisque prout gessit sive bonum sive malum.54 The book says: what had to be done; conscience: what has been done. Examination of the service to God by the mind, the heart, works. Iudicium sedit et libri aperti sunt.55 Will fare well: a) he who is diligent with the examination of conscience; b) he who is most modest in life, and he who attends more to his inner self than the outer. Will fare ill he who does the opposite.
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3. The right, precise, irrevocable establishment of our eternity. It is the sentence and the immediate execution: Serve bone,56 serve nequam,57 Ignem æternum,58 vitam æternam.59 Weed and good grain,60 elegerunt bonos, malos autem foras miserunt.61
Sentence given according to the use of the talents:62 the choice of our eternity we do ourselves in life, especially during the first, the second, the third crisis.63

Confession64

1. Confession is the first penance, raised to Sacrament. It has two parts: remedy and absolution of the past; medicine and principal means of conversion for the future.

2. Reconciliation is the universal mission of Jesus Christ: veni salvum facere quod perierat.65 Penance is the exercise of each of us of this general ministry. Human beings are all guilty: Jesus is the Reconciler. Penance is the second table of salvation; it restores all merits; gives back the power to meditate, closes hell, opens heaven, cancels away much and even the whole of Purgatory.
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3. Two dispositions are principal: sorrow for the past; prayer for the future. Then, important conditions are examination of conscience, confession, resolution and amendment.

[DFin 79. 123] Man hence

Having emerged from the hands of God in order to glorify him in eternity, man has to go through the trip of trial that is called life. The Father himself has sent his Son, Master, to show, undertake, make himself vehicle of man, thereby man shall be judged if he has made himself conform with such Son: in his mind, in his will, in his life; love being in such conformity; so that he who has loved may continue his love, reward for eternity; he who has not loved may stay away from God for all eternity.
This is so considering the world is the imperfect kingdom of God due to human ills and weeds; eternity being God's perfect kingdom also for man: eternal glorification of God. Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram;66 and the scarred image of man, is repaired in the Son of God, and shall overcome the first in beauty
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through the Holy Spirit, by the overabundance of grace.

[DFin 81. 149. 150. 216] Conclusion

of the first period, that is meditation
of the Theology of the Heavenly Father

a) We come from Heaven; we go to Heaven, let us hold on the only and secure way; if we lose the way let us go to confession; if we already are on the right path, let us speed up our course.

b) In the yearly Exercises the yearly program is set; in the monthly retreats it is reviewed point by point; in the weekly confession it is repaired, it draws light, strength; in the daily examination of conscience, it is checked.

c) To make us saints, incarnate God in us; we need to put in our share: we with God; that is: Examination: annual, monthly, weekly, daily: Daily meditation, Direction and confession, thereby giving value to the effort.

Donec formetur Christus in vobis.67
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1 “Lord Jesus, would that I know me, that I know you” (see DFst 7).

2 Jn 17:3. The complete sentence is: “Hæc est autem vita æterna: ut cognoscant te solum Deum verum et quem misisti Iesum Christum - Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.”

3 Ex 3:14: “I am who am.” Cf. page of DFms, Attachment no. 1, p. 274.

4 “You alone are Lord.” Phrase from “Gloria in excelsis Deo”.

5 Phrase allusive to the words pronounced by the Apostle Thomas: “My Lord and my God” (Jn 20:28).

6 Cf. Act of love.

7 Is 6:3: “Et clamabant alter ad alterum et dicebant sanctus sanctus sanctus Dominus exercituum; plena est omnis terra gloria eius - 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!' They cried one to the other. 'All the earth is filled with his glory'.”

8 Ps 150:1: “Laudate Dominum in sanctis eius, laudate eum in firmamento virtutis eius - Praise God in his holy sanctuary; give praise in the mighty dome of heaven. Give praise for his mighty deeds.”

9 Ps 103(102):20: “Benedicite Domino angeli eius, potentes virtute, facientes verbum illius ad audiendam vocem sermonum eius - Bless the Lord, all you angels, mighty in strength and attentive, obedient to every command.”

10 In the biography of St. Catherine of Siena written by B. Raimondo da Capua (book I, chap. 10), one reads that the Lord appearing to the saint told her: “You know, beloved daughter, who you are and who I am?... You are she who is not: instead I, am He who am. ”

11 Jb 10:9: “Memento quæso quod sicut lutum feceris me et in pulverem reduces me - Oh, remember that you fashioned me from clay? Will you then bring me down to dust again?”

12 Cf. page of DFms, Attachment no. 2, p. 275.

13 The statement comes from Vatican Council I (See DENZINGER-SCHÖNMETZER, Enchiridion Symbolorum, ed. XXXIV, 1967, no. 3003) and contains small variations: “Universa vero, quæ condidit, Deus providentia sua tuetur atque gubernat, attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter et disponens omnia suaviter”. It could be translated with: “God with his providence takes care of all things that he created and governs them by extending himself from end to end mightily and governs all things well.” The part in Italic comes from Wis 8:1.

14 Prv 8:23: “From of old I was poured forth.”

15 P. GEREMIA DRESSELIO, S.I., La conformità alla volontà di Dio (Heliotropium) , Alba, Pia Società San Paolo, in 32°, 432 p. The Latin term heliotropium means “sunflower”. In his little book of 1627 the German ascetic Dresselius teaches that the fastest way to holiness is to keep one's eyes fixed on the Eternal Sun in order to do its divine will.

16 Ps 143(142):10: “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.”

17 “The moment (instant, time) on which eternity depends.” St. Jerome in his Letters has a similar statement: “A moment lost is the price of eternity.”

18 Cf. Ps 100(99):3: “Know that the Lord is God, our maker to whom we belong.” Fr. Alberione, however, wants to underline that “He has made us and we did not make ourselves.”

19 “I am a man of eternity.” It has not been possible to identify the author of this sentence. Cafasso used to say: “First thing then is I am a man of eternity. St. Augustine calls the Christians, beginners, because they are candidates for eternity. Tirones æternitatis christiani, æternitatis candidati. Tertullian named the Christian as man made not for this but for the future world: Christianus est homo non huius sed futuri sæculi” (G. CAFASSO, Meditazioni per Esercizi Spirituali al Clero, a cura di G. Allamano, Tipografia Fratelli Canonica, Torino, 1892, p. 164).

20 The concepts regarding the use of creatures come from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius: “Principle and foundation” - “Man has been created in order to praise, to revere and to serve God, Our Lord, and, through this, save his soul; and the other things on the face of the earth have been created for man and in order to help him achieve the end for which he was created. Thereby, it follows that man must use them inasmuch as they help him towards his end; and so much he abstains from them as much as they are an obstacle to him towards this end. Hence it is necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things, for as long as it is granted to the freedom of our free will, and it is not prohibited by it; in such a way that we do not want, on our part, health rather than sickness, wealth rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor, long life rather than short, and so in all the rest; desiring and choosing only what better leads us to the end for which we were created” (no. 23).

21 The complete sentence is: “Scio et humiliari, scio et abundare ubique et in omnibus institutus sum: et satiari, et esurire, et abundare, et penuriam pati” (Phil 4:12). The complete translation is: “I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.”

22 Eccl 1:2: “Vanity of vanities”

23 The complete sentence is: “Quia fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requiescat in te - Because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless unless it finds rest in you” (ST. AUGUSTINE, Confessions, I, 1).

24 Mt 13:45f: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

25 Mt 13:44: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field... goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

26 1Cor 3:8. The complete sentence is: “Unusquisque autem propriam mercedem accipiet secundum suum laborem - Each will receive wages in proportion to his labor.”

27 Cf. Phil 1:23. The complete sentence is: “Desiderium habens dissolvi et esse cum Christo - I long to depart this life and be with Christ.”

28 Prv 16:4: “The Lord has made everything for his own ends.”

29 “Purely servile”

30 Cf. Rom 8:35: “...to separate you from the love of God?” The exact text is “to separate us... ”

31 In the original Italian an obsolete term is used.

32 1Tm 1:17: “To the only God... honor and glory forever and ever.”

33 Ps 39(38):5: “Lord, let me know my end.”

34 The sentence should be: “Unus ne desperas, alter ne presumas - Let one not despair; the other, not presume.”

35 Cf. Jn 11:25: “Ego sum resurrectio et vita - I am the resurrection and the life.”

36 Cf. Sir 10:15: “The beginning of every sin is pride”. The CEI translation in Italian sounds differently: “The beginning of pride is in fact sin.” The Nuovissima versione of the Bible published by Edizioni San Paolo translates the passage thus: “Because arrogance begins with sin” (verse 13). The NAB English translation is: “For pride is the reservoir of sin” (verse 13).

37 Dt 30:19. The complete text, wherein the two quotes are included, is: “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live...”

38 Cf. 2Cor 4:17. The complete text is: “Id enim quod in præsenti est momentaneum et læve tribulationis nostræ, supra modum in sublimitate, æternum gloriæ pondus operatur in nobis”. That is: “For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” - In the New Vulgate, the Latin text is a bit different.

39 Mt 7:13-14. The two Latin phrases are not literally quoted. It means: There are few who find the way that leads to life. Many are those who enter through the way that leads to perdition.

40 Jas 1:12. The complete sentence is: “Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem, quoniam cum probatus fuerit, accipiet coronam vitæ - Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life...”

41 “O death, good is your counsel.” Allusion to Sir 41:3 where the sentence is a bit different and has another meaning: “O mors, bonum est judicium tuum homini indigenti - O death! How welcome your sentence to the weak man of failing strength.”

42 Mt 25:23: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

43 Jas 1:12: “Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life...”. - In the quote, the last part of the sentence is omitted: “accipiet coronam vitæ.”

44 Cf. Mt 13:24-30,36-43.

45 1Thes 5:2: “Like a thief in the night.”

46 Mt 24:44: “So too, you also must be prepared...”

47 Rev 10:6: “There shall be no more time.” This is the meaning intended for this phrase. It, however, has a meaning that is quite different, that is: “There shall be no more delay.”

48 Cf. Mt 20:15: “An oculus tuus nequam est quia ego bonus sum? - Are you envious because I am generous?”

49 Ps 116(115):15: “Too costly in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful.”

50 Ps 34(33):22: “The sinner's death is worst.” This is the meaning usually given to the sentence. It, however, has a different meaning: “Evil will slay the wicked” (NAB). “È ucciso l'empio dalla sua malizia - The wicked is slain by his sin” (Nuovissima versione Edizioni San Paolo): “Interficiet peccatorem malitia” (Nuova Volgata).

51 “At least substantially”.

52 Cf. DFst 83-85.

53 Cf. Heb 10:31: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

54 2Cor 5:10. The exact sentence is: “Ut referat unusquisque propria corporis, prout gessit sive bonum sive malum - So that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.”

55 Dn 7:10: “The court was convened, and the books were opened.”

56 Cf. Mt 25:23: “good servant.”

57 Mt 18:32: “wicked servant.”

58 Cf. Mt 18:8 and 25:41: “eternal fire.”

59 Cf. Mt 25:46: “eternal life.”

60 Cf. Mt 13:24-30,36-43.

61 Mt 13:48. The complete sentence is: “Elegerunt bonos in vasa, malos autem foras miserunt - ... (they) put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away.”

62 Cf. Mt 25:14-30.

63 To understand this expression, then repeated in DFst 44, it is useful to read the following passage of a sermon held by Fr. Alberione in 1936: “Is the Sister good? Wait ten years after her perpetual profession, because there are three crises; the first at fifteen (this you have overcome having entered religion); the second, in the Novitiate (many of you have also overcome this); the third shall come after four or five years of perpetual profession (Santi Spirituali Esercizi, Istruzioni alle Maestre, October 1936, Pia Società Figlie di San Paolo, Roma-Alba, p. 6).

64 In the manuscript notebook are found, located before this title, 11 chapters, that in the printed book did not find place. They can be read in the Appendix, at the end of this book, pp. 261-271.

65 Lk 19:10. The complete sentence is: “Venit enim Filius hominis quærere et salvum facere quod perierat - For the Son of Man has come to seek and save what was lost.”

66 Gen 1:26: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”

67 Gal 4:19: “Until Christ be formed in you.”