Blessed James Alberione

Opera Omnia

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IX
PREFACE TO THE 1st EDITION

During the school year 1911-1912, there came the idea to give practical pieces of advice in pastoral theology to the Most Reverend Students of the second course of the conferences in moral theology of the Seminary of Alba. The desire was to suggest to them some practical notes for availing with piety, science and zeal for their own benefit and for the benefit of souls. The students themselves asked for it. However, inasmuch as he who had to give them lacked the practice which, in such a matter, counts much more than any teacher, he sought and obtained suggestions from as many as eighteen among the more zealous parish priests of the diocese; he availed with various treatises in pastoral theology, with booklets, magazines and newspaper articles regarding such subject; he was assisted in gathering, choosing, arranging and correcting them by other various priests.
To all these are due, out of justice and sincerity, every praise and thanks.
The summary of those notes is now published for three reasons: to respond to the counsel and the desire of various good persons: to leave a remembrance of the teachings and priestly education to the young priests who, year after year, leave behind the seminary; to obtain from those expert priests who will read these pages their observations, corrections, additions believed to be
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X convenient. And this third reason is the strongest: more so because no one can teach more rightly and more competently than he who has practiced what he teaches others. Hence the reader is heartfully asked to give some of their opinions and suggestions, while assurance is given that he shall be duly credited and which shall make these notes less incomplete. Thus, he shall have cooperated, although indirectly, to the great task of saving souls.
Besides, everyone knows that the field of practical pastoral theology is an immense one: that in practice, there is so much variety of cases that it would be impossible to deal with all of them: that the very same pastoral is presently going through a quite difficult period of transition, etc.
Here is but a small sketch of the vast study that has to be done by those who are in the know, who are practical and have adequate constancy for resolving the most difficult problems that the conditions of our times have created for the pastors of souls.
May Mary Most Holy, Queen and Counselor of the Apostles, deign to bless the efforts and the holy undertakings of so many priests who, with every zeal, work in the mystical vineyard of the Lord.
[Alba, 1 August 1912]
THE AUTHOR
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