St. Joseph Allamano’s Spirituality of Sacrifice and Gratitude and the relevance of his apostolic virtues of patience and sacrifice in response to the theme suffering.
The English word ‘’suffering’’ is often traced back to Middle English. It is said to have originated from the Latin suffero, sufferre, sustuli/sublatus - sub [from below] and ferre [to bear], through Anglo-Norman French suffrir - to suffer (Pearsall & Trumble 2002). The basic etymological nuance is that of carrying a burden. A burden is something that causes either physical or emotional discomfort or both. It is something that one suffers.
The word ‘’suffering’’ may be construed as either an abstract noun, like in the expression, ‘’the suffering of God’’, or a qualifying term, as in the expression, ‘’the suffering servant’’. Suffering is also used as a qualifying term for the mental state of a person or group of persons, as in the expressions: ‘’the suffering people of God’’ or ‘’the suffering servant’’.
In his book, “why suffering?” Professor Magnante IMC states that, Suffering is a phenomenon of human experience. It is part of human life (Magnante 1997:9). It is unavoidable and one can even venture to say necessary. Magnante goes on to say that, in every society, epoch, religion and human discipline, there have been and continue to be repeated efforts at describing and making sense of human suffering. As well as accepting suffering as part and parcel of the human condition, there have been incessant efforts at responding to the natural human question, why? Why do humans suffer? What is the purpose, if any, of suffering? In theological circles, suffering has also been extended to God, in the concept of 'divine suffering'. In this understanding, God is said to suffer in solidarity with human beings.
The theme of suffering cuts across the Bible. It finds it special place both in the Old Testament and the New Testaments. Suffering in the Old Testament then is mostly understood in terms of pain, sorrow, affliction and anguish. This anguish or pain emanates from different and numerous experiences, such as sickness, loss (of loved ones, property, and land), guilt and frustration with the absence of God (cf. Simundson 1992:219). The pain or affliction may also be physical pain and/or emotional pain. The physical pain includes pain brought about by childbirth as in the case of Genesis 3:16 or manual labour as in the cases of Adam and the Israelite slaves in Egypt (cf. Gn 3:17; Ex 3:7). It also includes pain brought about by sickness (cf. Job) and the effects of war and hunger. Mental or emotional pain is witnessed in cases of loss of loved ones as in the cases of Jacob (Gn 37:33-35), David (2 Sam 12:15-19; 18:33) and Job (1:20-22), and in the loss of land and independence, that is, the exile (cf. Ps 137 and the book of Lamentations perspective of the 'relationships' among the Israelites and other nations, on the one hand, and their relationship with God, on the other.[1]
In the New Testament, Jesus suffered more than any human before or after him. He had first-hand knowledge of rejection, humiliation, injustice, and shunning by friends and family. He prepared his proponents to expect the same (Matt. 5:44–45). The one who has not examined Christ’s last hours should know that metal and bony spicules tore his flesh to ribbons; cold iron spikes slammed into his hands and feet. The splintered wood scoured his slashes as Christ suffocated to death on a cross. [2] Apart from Jesus, the New Testament presents to us various people who went through moments of suffering in their life: those who were tormented by the demons, those who suffered from various diseases, those who lost their loved ones, and those who lived in abject poverty.
The theme of suffering might sound scary, and we might not wish to speak about it. However, it is a theme that finds its reality in our Institute and in our missions among those whom we serve. As stated previously, in the New Testament, Jesus suffered more than any human after him, in the same way, Our Founder Blessed Joseph St. Joseph Allamano suffered more than anyone in the Institute.
As a child, St. Joseph Allamano lost his father when he was barely three years. His life was shaped by Mariana Cafasso whom he later referred to as “that holy woman”. St. Joseph Allamano had a frail health from his early years in the seminary. He confirms this in his spiritual writing saying: “I don’t want to talk about myself, but I have to say that as a seminarian I had very bad health. Every fifteen days I suffered from a Migraine headache that wouldn’t let me do anything.” Besides, St. Joseph Allamano went through a trying moment during the period of his mother’s sickness and more so when his mother died. From the pen of Agasso, we read that Mariana Cafasso became bedridden, turning deaf and blind. During this period, St. Joseph Allamano was the closest to her, and he could tap her hands as a means of communicating with her. When she died, St. Joseph Allamano was in the seminary, and he only learnt of her demise two weeks later. He never attended the burial of his mother.
The suffering of St. Joseph Allamano became even more vivid during the process of founding the Institute. How much fatigue did he go through? How much opposition did he face from his fellow clergy? How much accusations were falsely levied upon him by the clergy who saw him as one robing the diocese of its vocation? What of the financial misappropriation that he was false accused of? It reached a moment that St. Joseph Allamano had to say, “and I resign”.
This might seem trifling; however, we mind that, after founding and establishing the Institute, St. Joseph Allamano like St. Paul went through a very long period of anxiety with one question: “is the Institute doing the Will of God?” Put in his own words, St. Joseph Allamano says: ‘’ I often ask myself these questions especially at night before retiring. I examine myself concerning matters here and in Africa. I take my note book and go over the list, thinking of everyone, one by one….are things running smoothly? ‘’ St. Paul had the same anxiety for all the churches he founded because he loved the churches, and their spiritual welfare weighed upon him very heavily, so that he could speak of being in anxiety over these churches: ‘’And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches’’ (2 Cor. 11:28).
The tension between St. Joseph Allamano and Bishop Perlo caused him a lot of pain. Not only this, but the feeling that Perlo was doing things in his own way, was unbearable to St. Joseph Allamano, who wanted things to be done orderly, with patience and well. At a given moment, St. Joseph Allamano felt that, his wishes were not being respected by Perlo. The fact that, him and Perlo at a given time could not see each other face to face or communicate directly to each other made St. Joseph Allamano very sad. We have to remember that at a given moment, they could only communicate through what St. Joseph Allamano calls little notes. This was against St. Joseph Allamano’s style of living together.
The death of Can. Camisassa was a big blow to St. Joseph Allamano. Concerning Can. Camisassa he said: “he was always ready to sacrifice himself to spare me. With his death I have lost my two hands. We were always together as one for 42 years. Every evening we spent long hours together in my study. We promised to tell each other the truth and we kept this promise.”
Towards the end of his life, St. Joseph Allamano went through a great deal of suffering both physically and emotionally. There were moments that felt no longer needed in the Institute. Agasso narrates this in this way: “………Allamano did not say a word, climbed into the carriage and came back to the Shrine. I saw him coming into the sacristy rather downcast and his left eye looking very inflamed. I ran to him…. I asked him where he had been and what happened to him. He replied that he had come from the Institute and added: they do not want me anymore. They do not want me anymore. Let them do as they please, provided that they act according to the spirit of the rule…”
Being such acquainted with suffering, Our Founder Blessed Joseph St. Joseph Allamano speaks passionately about suffering in his spiritual writing. St. Joseph Allamano doesn’t look at suffering from the negative standpoint. No, he looks at suffering from the spiritual point of view. At the same time, St. Joseph Allamano uses the words sacrifice interchangeably with the word suffering in that sometimes when he talks about sacrifice, he refers to suffering and the vice versa. How then does St. Joseph Allamano approach the theme of suffering in his spiritual writing?
To begin with, St. Joseph Allamano begins his exposition of suffering or sacrifice from the Christological point. He then goes to the anthropological level and finally the spiritual level. St. Joseph Allamano states that, when his earthly life was coming to an end, Our Lord Jesus Christ said to his apostles: ‘’ we must now go to Jerusalem so that all that was written by the prophets concerning the son of man may be accomplished. He will be delivered up to the gentiles. He will be mocked and outraged and spat upon. They will scourge him and put him to death.’’ To St. Joseph Allamano, this episode about Jesus is a great lesson for us since as human beings and more so as missionaries, we have to love and embrace sacrifice. This makes Our Lord as St. Joseph Allamano puts it, to be an example of what sacrifice means, for he suffered both in body and soul, while he could have lived a peaceful life. Meaning that, to St. Joseph Allamano, sacrifice that is not embodied in the suffering of Jesus has no spiritual meaning.
From the Anthropological point of view, St. Joseph Allamano relates suffering to the nature of human being and the descent from Adam. All humanity descended from Adam and born with the original sin and the inherent miseries of human nature. Thus, to St. Joseph Allamano, suffering is inevitable. The important thing is to suffer with merits. And so St. Joseph Allamano askes: who is there without sin? Is this not related to what St. Peter writes as he states: “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall.’’ (1 Peter 1:24-25). From the anthropological view, we find what we might call St. Joseph Allamano’ s spirituality of Sacrifice and gratitude. What does this mean?
As stated above, St. Joseph Allamano tied suffering to the human nature by the descent from Adam. However, the pain that comes with the suffering should not stop us from thanking God every moment. Therefore, to St. Joseph Allamano, the first vocal prayer we should say in common each morning is the ‘’ Dio Gratias’’ in answer to the “Benedicamus Domino”. The Lord will always be moved by this ‘’ Deo Gratias’’ and will blessed us all day long, states St. Joseph Allamano. To the Founder, ‘’ Deo Gratias’’ should be familiar and should echo in our lips often during the day. In relation to this, we remember St. Augustine who said that: “what better thing can we conceive, say or write than” Deo Gratias’’? In all circumstances, our Founder would like us to put into practice the exhortation of St. Paul who said: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Apart from the Christological and Athropolocal standpoint, St. Joseph Allamano looks at pain and suffering from the spiritual perspective. He states that, even pain or suffering can gain us virtue. What does this mean? In his letter to the Colossians, Paul writes: ‘’ Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.’’ (Colossians 1:24) St. Peter also writes: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:1). These Biblical texts present to us the spiritual gain of suffering. Paul talks of the spiritual joy that someone encounters when he or she suffers because of the apostolate. On the other hand, Peter believes that, God is not indifferent to the suffering of those who serve him, for at His own time, He comes to their aid. To St. Joseph Allamano, suffering is the Our Lord uses to purify us.
Apart from St. Joseph Allamano, there are confreres who have gone through serious moments of suffering in the Institute. Those confreres who have to live with terminal illnesses, those confreres who suffer hardships in their missions, those confreres who suffer the pain of losing their loved ones, those confreres who suffer due to various problems in their families, those confreres who suffer because a times, they have been misunderstood or even falsely accused, those confreres who feel rejected and less valued in their communities by their own brothers, those confreres who have been tagged in the Institute as problematic, incompetent just because they committed a mistake once, those confreres who are battling with emotional or psychological wars in their lives drugging them into a life that might be contrary to what people believe to be noble, those confreres who due to old age must stay on daily medication without breaking the routine. The situation of these confreres reminds us of what Pope Francis said in his address to the Chapter members during the XIII CG: “the history of your Institute, is made-like in every family-of joys and sorrows, of light and shadows…” (CG.44)
Outside the Institute, the theme of suffering finds its fuller expression among the Christians we serve in our missions. Those families who live in abject poverty without the basic needs, those single mothers and fathers who are jobless but are still compelled to fend for their children, those women who are exploited in the society around us, those children who lack the basic needs in life, those orphans who do not know what it means to have a parent, those sick people who languish in their sickness due to efficient medical care, those aged people who have been abandoned by their families….! We encounter such people in our mission. The situation of these people reminds us again of the address of Pope Francis during the XIII General Chapter: “do not be tired of bringing comfort to populations that are often marked by great poverty and acute suffering...” (CG 43).
This is the situation we have in our Institute and in the world around us. It is providential that, Our Founder Blessed Joseph St. Joseph Allamano left for us the apostolic virtues that to help us in our moments of suffering and in turn help those around who also suffer. It is the spirituality of these apostolic virtues that I now attend to.
- Spirit of sacrifice and the Apostolate.
According to St. Joseph Allamano, all the Saints followed in the footsteps of Our Lord. Thus, St. Paul said: “imitate me as I imitate Christ”. (1 Cor 11:1) In his apostolic work, St. Paul dealt with much physical and moral suffering: whipping, stoning, shipwrecks and internal pain as a result of his ministry. St. Paul suffered all these due to apostolate. Did he give up? No he didn’t. In fact, he affirmed that: “and let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9–10).
What about us? St. Joseph Allamano asks. St. Joseph Allamano states that as missionaries, sacrifice forms part of our mission of saving souls, for in apostolic life, there are many roses but also many thorns for both body and soul. Therefore, even those in formation have to accustom themselves with the exercise of spirit of sacrifice. St. Joseph Allamano disagrees with those who only visualize the missionary ideal in a merely poetic way, forgetting that souls are saved only through the cross and from cross, as Jesus did. To St. Joseph Allamano, when a missionary suffers for our Lord, he is never a burden.
In our missionary life, there will be moments that we encounter suffering. This is inevitable. It is such moments that we are called to embrace St. Joseph Allamano’s virtue of sacrifice remembering the great sacrifice that Jesus did for humanity. It is incumbent upon each of us to still the same virtue in those whom we serve in the missions calling to embrace sacrifice for their faith, for the Church, for their families and for their brothers and sisters as Jesus did.
- Patience
Apart from the virtue of sacrifice, St. Joseph Allamano presents to us patience as a virtue to confront suffering. Concerning this virtue, St. Cyprian said that, patience makes us dear to God, moderates our anger, restrains our tongues, governs our minds, preserves peace, sustains discipline and breaks the fury of the passions. According to St. Joseph Allamano, patience helps us to support all the virtues for without patience they would fail. However, it must be made clear that, when St. Joseph Allamano speaks about patience, he doesn’t imply that we should become pathetic, cold indifferent on insensitive.
Blessed Joseph St. Joseph Allamano finds the virtue of patience in the passion our Lord Jesus. St. Joseph Allamano states that, during his passion, Jesus showed the greatest patience in bearing every type of suffering towards Judas, those who whipped him and towards his crucifiers. To give the virtue of patience its biblical foundation, St. Joseph Allamano quotes the letter to the Hebrews: “you will need patience to do God’s Will and receive what He has promised.’’ (Hebrews 10:36) What has God promised? To St. Joseph Allamano, it’s simple: eternal life.
St. Joseph Allamano categorises patience in three levels in exercise: The first level belongs to those who bear suffering without rebelling against God, but with some complaints. Such people look for consolation and they immediately want to be relieved of their sorrows. On the second level, St. Joseph Allamano states that there are those who bear everything with full resignation to the Will of God without complaining or looking for consolation. On the third level, are those who bear every ill with joy. This doesn’t mean that they are insensitive to suffering, but they have so much love that they almost don’t feel the pain any longer. This is what happened to martyrs: God usually didn’t make them insensitive to suffering, but their desire to conform to the crucified Jesus was so great that their love overcame pain.
In our missionaries, we will always encounter situations which will call for patience. Patience in learning new cultures, patience in dealing with our confreres in the community patience in dealing with those we serve….!! We must remember that St. Joseph Allamano had warned the pioneer missionaries right from the start: ‘’ no one in Consolata was expecting quick and sensational results….with patience, the day of harvest will come’’ The same words of St. Joseph Allamano should ring in our ears. If we learn to be patient, then we shall teach those who we serve to have patience: patience with each other in their families, patience with each other in the missions, patience with each other at their work place…..!!!
Conclusion
Suffering poses arduous puzzles. That suffering prevails in the world is undeniable, but the reason for its ubiquity, the pattern, if any, of its distribution across the world and among the great diversity of people, its impact on individual and societal well-being, and the means to confront it are by no means easily explicable.[3] St. Joseph Allamano’s spirituality of sacrifice and gratitude is one the means of responding to suffering. Through this spirituality, St. Joseph Allamano invites us to practice the heroic virtues of patience and love of sacrifice in those moments that we encounter life challenges. The centrality of Jesus’ passion in our life and the lives of great men and women who endured suffering for their faith urge us on.
[1] Geyser-Fouchè, Ananda B., & Munengwa, Thomas M.. (2019). The concept of vicarious suffering in the Old Testament. HTS Theological Studies, 75(4), 1-10. https://dx.doi.o rg/10.4102/hts.v75i4.5352
[2] Salma Gundi, (2017, November 30).Re: The New Testament Embraces Suffering. https://blogs.bible.org/the-new-testament-embraces-suffering
[3] Abdalla, Bakinaz. (2023). Evil and suffering in the world. Religious Studies. 59. S1-S6. 10.1017/S0034412523000689.