These days we are reading chapter 5 of the Acts of the Apostles. The apostles have just been questioned by the high priest, in front of a council. Peter and the others replied: “We must obey God rather than men” and this was enough to make the council members so angry that they wanted to kill the apostles. At this point the wise Gamaliel intervened. With an intelligent speech, he convinced everyone to set them free, after having beaten them and with the explicit order not to speak of Jesus anymore.

The interesting fact is that the apostles went away happy to have been “counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the name”. Then, contrary to the indications received, they resumed proclaiming Christ. Luke the Evangelist is presenting to us the first Christian community as the community of the Beatitudes; the apostles are the poor, the meek, the persecuted and they are happy to be like this; they are living the same experience as Jesus.

I wonder: but we believers, are we willing to be Christians seriously on the model of the primitive church? Our founder, St. Jerome insisted a lot on returning to the style of the time of the apostles. My fear is that many times we have every interest in hiding our identity, especially in certain environments. It is true, we live in difficult times but imagine if the apostles had continued to hide: perhaps the blood of so many martyrs would have been avoided but we would have had the joy of knowing Christ? If all the missionaries of all times had remained calm in their homelands, without risking anything, would Christianity have come to us? I don’t know this answers but I understand one thing: the Church needs of Christians who do things seriously.

Today, as at the time of apostles, the Church needs witnesses. Every baptized person has the vocation of a witness and, if he does things seriously, he could also face difficulty. However he will be happy, joyful, sure that Christ does not abandon his witnesses.

Today for us Somascan Fathers, is a very important day because it is the birthday of our Order. At the end of 1568, pope Pius V, had approved our Order with an official document called brief. In that document there is a little prophecy that gives us hope for our future. “There is no doubt that this Congregation will last forever”. Exactly 453 years ago the first six somascan professed the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. One of them was Angiolmarco Gambarana, our first superior general. After the six, many other people followed in the footsteps of St. Jerome Emiliani, including us. 453 years are not a few, we are really aged but I believe that our charism, our mission are still young, fresh and actual.

This evening, during the evening prayer, we somascan religious will renew, in a devotional way, our vows.

Fr. Angelo Gambarana, on April 29, 1569 exhorted his companions: “We profess our vows to God, as to the Supreme Good! … Dear brothers, with all the passion, diligence and commitment, let us strive to observe these particular constitutions without forgetting the words of the prophet psalmist who says: “I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, etc.” (Ps 115:14) and we warmly thank God who has condescended to bind us poor people among his servants”.

Today I will renew my vows with this personal prayer: “O Lord, I am here in front of you, with my sins and my limits. I want to respond again to your call, aware of my weakness. You are my Supreme Good, you are my treasure, you are my precious pearl. I’d want to be totally yours, I want to be free. I want to be poor, chaste, obedient in order to follow you without any obstacle and to serve my brothers and sisters, especially the poor and the least. O Lord, St. Peter and the apostles, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Jerome Emiliani,  Angiolmarco Gambarana and his five companions, in ancient times did things seriously. I also want now to do things as seriously as they did. I ask your help to be faithful to my vocation and to my identity of somascan priest. I ask your grace to be serene and strong in any situation, to be happy whatever work I will be called to do, to be welcoming and smiling with whoever I meet”. Amen!