{"id":96932,"date":"2024-11-03T01:00:06","date_gmt":"2024-11-03T00:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/?p=96932"},"modified":"2026-09-26T16:06:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T15:06:03","slug":"father-ferdinando-colombo-comforting-the-afflicted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/father-ferdinando-colombo-comforting-the-afflicted\/","title":{"rendered":"Father Ferdinando Colombo: Comforting the Afflicted"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

\u00abI will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. The Father will send him in my name, he will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you\u00bb (Jn 14:25-26).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

An evangelical icon, both mysterious and profound, of consoling the afflicted is found in Jesus during the night of his passion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abOn reaching the place, he said to them: \u201cPray that you will not fall into temptation.\u201d He withdrew about a stone\u2019s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed: \u201cFather, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.\u00bb (Lk 22:39-45)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus\u2019 sorrow fills his disciples with grief, and they escape his affliction by taking refuge in sleep. Only an angel coming from heaven can stay near Jesus and console him: it is not recorded what was said or done, but it gives Jesus the strength to enter deeply into the struggle without falling into despair (Blessed Paul VI Community).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps never as in this era of the dictatorship of relativism has humanity \u2013 forever a \u201cbeggar for meaning and fulfillment\u201d \u2013 lacked direction and perspective, and felt so deeply afflicted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The widespread use of anti-anxiety medications across the world offers an undeniable and alarming sign of this reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lack of goods, both material and spiritual; illness and suffering; disorientation and abandonment cause our tears. Who, then, can bring consolation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What characteristics must consolation possess to be effective? Before ascending to the Father, Jesus promised mankind the perfect Consoler, invoked in the sequence of the Veni Sancte Spiritus: Perfect Consoler, sweet guest of the soul, sweetest refreshment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paraclete is the term Saint John uses in his Gospel to signify the Holy Spirit. Derived from legal terminology, its Latin equivalent is advocatus, literally \u201ccalled alongside\u201d, an advocate understood as a defender and, by extension, a consoler. In judicial texts, it refers to \u201cone who stands beside the accused\u201d to defend them (Chiara Mantovani).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whoever chooses to console the afflicted will never lack purpose in this world; consoling the afflicted is undoubtedly one of the most accessible works of mercy and one constantly needed, yet it cannot be delegated to an institutional welfare system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope Benedict XVI writes in section 28 of his encyclical Deus caritas est (God is love): \u00abLove \u2014 caritas \u2014 will always prove necessary, even in the most just society. There is no ordering of the State so just that it can eliminate the need for a service of love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whoever wants to eliminate love is preparing to eliminate man as such. There will always be suffering which cries out for consolation and help. There will always be loneliness. There will always be situations of material need where help in the form of concrete love for one\u2019s neighbor is indispensable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The State which would provide everything, absorbing everything into itself, ultimately becomes a bureaucratic instance incapable of guaranteeing the very thing which the suffering human person \u2014 every person \u2014 needs: namely, loving personal concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We do not need a State which regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combining spontaneity with closeness to those in need. The Church is one of those living forces: she is alive with the love enkindled by the Spirit of Christ\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The afflicted do not merely need comfort, but genuine consolation. The use of the verb \u201cto console\u201d (not to be confused with merely \u201ccomforting\u201d) implies a positive action that, responding to others\u2019 needs, cancels out causes of suffering and restores well-being. While superficial comfort often reduces itself to pious moral exhortations, true consolation aims at eliminating the roots of pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When this does not occur, consolation turns into annoyance, as Job lamented when overwhelmed by misfortune, while his friends tried to rationalize his afflictions: \u201cI have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing? I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you; but my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.\u201d (Job 16:1-5) (Alberto Maggi).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consoling is demanding and requires inner refinement. The routine gestures of condolences often risk becoming an empty display of superficiality and social awkwardness, an obligation people endure without genuine emotional depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only those who have experienced bereavement and have known its grief, inhabited its void, and allowed themselves to be shaped by loss can elevate such encounters with discretion and deep insight into the mourner’s heart. Words and gestures that are truly appropriate remain treasured like rare gems. Such is the enduring power of consolation (Francesco Lamendola).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A journalist once persistently asked to photograph Mother Teresa\u2019s eyes because \u201cthe Mother had an aged, weary face, yet the most radiant and joyful eyes ever seen, surpassing those of any actress, queen, or model.\u201d Hearing this, Mother Teresa replied: \u201cDo you want to know why my eyes are so full of joy? The secret is simple: my eyes are full of joy because my hands wipe away so many tears! Do the same, and I assure you that you will experience the very same joy!\u201d (Testimony of Card. Angelo Comastri).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prayer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To Our Lady of Consolation, chosen by God to become the Mother of the Savior through the work of the Holy Spirit, graciously hear our prayers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You who stood at the foot of the Cross experiencing unspeakable sorrows, you understand all who weep and hold the grace to dry our tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We implore you: come to our aid and console, with maternal love, all who call upon you with trust in this valley of tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit our families, bring healing to the sick, protect children and the youth, and guide back to the right path those who have lost their way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You who now dwell beside your Divine Son, full of heavenly bliss, strengthen our faith, revive our hope, and increase our charity, so that, following your luminous example, we may one day join you in eternal joy. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illustration by Sister Marie-Anastasia Carr\u00e9 (Communaut\u00e9 des B\u00e9atitudes)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00abI will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. The Father will send him in my name, he will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you\u00bb (Jn 14:25-26). An evangelical icon, both … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":96931,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","ss_featured_image_title":"","ss_featured_image_alt":"","ss_featured_image_caption":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2387],"tags":[2611,2737,2845,2655,2613,2651],"class_list":["post-96932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentaries-on-the-works-of-mercy","tag-catholic-church","tag-church-in-the-world","tag-comfort-the-afflicted","tag-god","tag-gospel","tag-jesus","infinite-scroll-item","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"yoast_head":"\nConsoling the afflicted: the meaning of a work of mercy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the meaning of consoling the afflicted: a work of mercy 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Colombo\"},\"description\":\"He was born on December 23, 1936 in Trezzo sull\u2019Adda (MI). He came to know the Salesians of Treviglio and, fascinated by them, on August 16, 1954, made his religious profession in the Salesian Congregation. He graduated in Mathematics and Physics. He became a priest on April 10, 1965. Teaching and youth pastoral activities intertwined during the years he spent in Bologna, Pavia and Treviglio. At the Salesian Institute of Treviglio he taught mathematics and physics. In 1974, in Treviglio, he founded the non-governmental organization (NGO) Amici del Rwanda, later transformed into Amici dei Popoli, which enabled him to provide concrete aid for human development, but above all allowed him to give life to a form of education for global awareness that consists in preparing groups of young people whom he then accompanies to live for a month at Salesian missions, a kind of \u201cmaster\u2019s in humanity at the school of the poor\u201d. 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He came to know the Salesians of Treviglio and, fascinated by them, on August 16, 1954, made his religious profession in the Salesian Congregation. He graduated in Mathematics and Physics. He became a priest on April 10, 1965. Teaching and youth pastoral activities intertwined during the years he spent in Bologna, Pavia and Treviglio. At the Salesian Institute of Treviglio he taught mathematics and physics. In 1974, in Treviglio, he founded the non-governmental organization (NGO) Amici del Rwanda, later transformed into Amici dei Popoli, which enabled him to provide concrete aid for human development, but above all allowed him to give life to a form of education for global awareness that consists in preparing groups of young people whom he then accompanies to live for a month at Salesian missions, a kind of \u201cmaster\u2019s in humanity at the school of the poor\u201d. In 1978 he was sent to Bologna as Parish Priest and Director of the Community in the Parish of San Giovanni Bosco: ten years of pastoral, social and missionary activities. His superiors called him to Turin in 1988 for two closely connected assignments: to give life to VIS, Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo, and to be the Missionary Animator for all Salesian Italy. He moved the headquarters of VIS to Rome, where the NGO flourished and reached the whole world with human development projects. Conferences, publications, educational aids and profiles of missionaries for missionary animation flourished, culminating every year in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin in a three-day event called Haramb\u00e8e, which has become a stable national appointment. With this missionary spirit, he prepares and accompanies hundreds of volunteers who, for two or more years, support the Salesians\u2019 human development projects in Poor Countries. Since 2009 he has been responsible for the management of the Salesian Work of the Sacred Heart in Bologna.","url":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/author\/mission_colombo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96933,"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96932\/revisions\/96933"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaziospadoni.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}