Our task as dispensers of salvation goes beyond proclamation, witness and dialogue and reaches its summit in the celebration of the sacred mysteries. We will examine briefly the nature of this celebration, to what extent it is rooted in our charism and what are the attitudes it requires of us.

The personal journey of conversion to the faith culminates with the inclusion of catechumens in the community though the celebration of the Divine mysteries and the participation in the life of grace. This is what the Council decree Ad Gentes has to say: "Then, when the sacraments of Christian initiation have freed them [the catechumens] from the power of darkness , having died with Christ, been buried with Him and risen together with Him , they receive the Spirit of adoption of sons and celebrate the remembrance of the Lord's death and resurrection together with the whole People of God" (14).
While the Word proclaimed is a call to faith, liturgical celebration is that faith lived in the bosom of the community gathered around Christ. The Lord sent His apostles not just to preach the Good News but to "carry out the work of salvation they proclaimed through the Sacrifice" (SC 6). To accomplish this work Christ makes Himself ever present in the Church and especially through the liturgy in which first place belongs to the Eucharistic Sacrifice "the source and apex of all Christian life" (LG 11; cf. I Cor 11,26).
As we have seen earlier the liturgy does not exhaust the saving work of the Church. But it is the goal towards which that work tends and at the same time the source from which its strength flows (Cf. SC 10). Celebrating the divine mysteries in which salvation is dispensed and experienced is one of our primary obligations; it is the terminus of our journey of conversion and the birth of the Church (Cf. AG 14.15).

The constitutions present a simple and complete synthesis of how our charism is related to the liturgy: "Love for the sacred liturgy, a devout and dignified way of celebrating it, participating in it and making its spirit our own - all of these things are part of the heritage our Founder left us. He would wish that we would achieve distinction in this commitment and that we would be recognized as his sons" (14).
We all know how much Allamano did to train his missionaries to celebrate the liturgy with awareness, devotion and dignity. Special care in celebrating the liturgy - he would say with simplicity - was his weakness. He thanked the Lord who had given him "this spirit" (Cf. Conf I, 211; II, 181).
In Allamano's time one usually spoke about "ceremonies" but that spirit which filled his liturgical life was enlightened and valid. One only need read attentively the Founder's exhortations to realize how full his understanding of and how deep his faith in the divine mysteries celebrated in the liturgy (Cf. Conf I, 124-125, 210-211; II, 49, 618; III, 181, 545-547, 689-690).
Our Founder's convictions were passed on to us with special emphasis. Allamano expected - or better, hoped - to recognize us as his "dear sons" (Conf I, 77) by the care with which we celebrated the liturgy. This must be a "characteristic of a Consolata missionary" (Conf I, 78); he left this as his "will" (Conf III, 546) and as a gift: "I hope to leave you as an inheritance the habit of always celebrating the sacred rites really well" (Conf III, 674). The two adverbs - always and really - cannot escape notice: they express Allamano's personality.
In spite of some weaknesses we can affirm that our missionary family is determined not to neglect this precious heritage. Article 14 of the Constitutions quoted above is the logical conclusion of the sometimes difficult process of renewal and faithfulness that found expression in the 1969 Chapter (Cf. Doc. '69, nos. 42, 298, 314, 334, 459 and elsewhere). It found meaningful reiteration in the last Chapter (XCG 61-63).

We might ask ourselves what are the dispositions we need to foster so that our celebration of the liturgy might constitute and be recognized as carrying out the Mystery of Salvation? We can find no better answer to this question than the words of our last Chapter. They are a description - almost a checklist - the principal dispositions involved.

a. Effort to understand and establish coherence between the liturgy and our life.
"The Chapter recommends that all missionaries celebrate the mysteries of our salvation with joy, participation, fullness of meaning and spirit and strive to practice in their life what they celebrate in their faith" (XCG 62). This disposition comes directly from Allamano. He was convinced that in themselves - even when understood and carried out well - were of no value unless the missionary was conscious of what he was celebrating and was determined to translate their meaning into his daily life (Cf. Conf III, 551,704).
Applying this to the Eucharist here is how Allamano reasoned: to celebrate the Eucharist is "to make Redemption present" and "to give salvation" to mankind living today, because Holy Mass links us directly to the mystery of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord (Cf. Conf I, 190, 472-473; II, 299-300, 303, 406, 410, 412-413, 609; III, 116, 593, 644, 671). One of the Founder's favorite expressions was "to multiply tabernacles." Besides expressing his joy for the presence of Christ that gathers a new Christian community to Himself, has soteriological implications: in the mission tabernacles become "hearths of love for us and mercy for unbelievers" (Conf I, 293). This is why the Founder was not satisfied that we cultivate devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, we must be genuine "eucharistic missionaries," "devotees of the Blessed Sacrament" whose lives were focused on the Eucharist (Cf. Const. 12). This criterion of understanding and coherence with regard to the Eucharist can be applied to all the other mysteries we celebrate liturgically in our communities.

b. Careful execution and dignified participation in the liturgy we celebrate
"Celebrations must be prepared with care and with pastoral sensitivity - without improvisation, especially in the case of the homily" (XCG 62). The Constitutions similarly speak of liturgy "carefully prepared" (58).
We know that the Founder insisted on preparation, exact execution and dignified demeanor in liturgical celebrations. This is borne out by the many references cited above. We could say that Allamano's teaching on "propriety" in liturgical celebration was very demanding. Let us listen once more, in the light of present circumstances, to what he has to say about ceremonies: "This house must always be a model: it brings me so much pleasure when you perform the ceremonies well. Believe me, if you are attached to the ceremonies you will find so many blessings from God […] I wouldn't like it that you performed these ceremonies well while I was alive and then afterwards …" (Conf III, 674). This was April 8, 1923. Now, almost eighty years later we intend to remain faithful to him, because we consider ourselves his "dear sons" - the way in which we celebrate the liturgy bears this out.

c. The willingness and the ability to inculturate the liturgy
"The mystery of Christ should be expressed in a language and signs which are easily understandable, inculturated in the reality and the life of the people. In the celebration of our salvation, the life of the Christian communities should be inserted and mirrored, their joys and their sufferings, their riches and their weaknesses. This way, it will be a truly saving celebration: it will change behavior and relations with others; it will bring about conversion and reconciliation; it will produce consolation and life, and cure sores (…); it will produce commitments to perform charitable actions, apostolate and Mission" (XCG 62). The Constitutions say much the same thing: "We should take an active part in a well understood and carefully prepared celebration of the mysteries of our salvation; we should make it a source of meditation and prayer, and a stimulus for our work of charity and apostolate" (Const. 58).
The problem of liturgical language is not an easy one to solve. It is not just a case of determining which words to use there is the whole question of appropriate symbols and gestures in the liturgy. Our goal is to facilitate a passage from the divine to the human, from mystery to life and vice-versa during and through the liturgy. This ultimate goal requires that we who celebrate display a special sensitivity, openness and ability to become one with the community that is celebrating the liturgy. That community has a right to expect a participation in the liturgy that is conscientious, relevant and to the extent possible, personalized. We must never forget that we are heirs of Allamano's intense liturgical spirit. With this potential at our disposal it should not be difficult to guide our communities into the dynamic of salvation through liturgies that link the Mystery of Christ with every-day life.

- "Love of the sacred liturgy, devout and dignified celebration, participation in and sharing the spirit of the liturgy - this is our inheritance from the Founder": are we faithful to that tradition? Analyze your pastoral ministry and that of the other missionaries in your circumscription before answering; give examples that clarify your answer.
- Consider the two most important liturgical events of your day and comment on what the Constitutions ask of us with regard to these events.
* The Eucharist "should permeate our thoughts, intentions and activities. From the richness and depth of our Eucharistic life, we draw strength for our apostolate and the ability to radiate our faith and to attract people to Christ" (Const. 63).
* The Liturgy of the Hours: "Through the Liturgy of the Hours we become "the voice of Christ, who entreats the Father for the salvation of the world, and carry out the motherly mission of the Church, which is to bring all people to the Lord" (Const. 66).
- What concrete results has this "characteristic" the Founder bequeathed to the Institute produced in your pastoral and missionary work?
- What is the relationship between your community's liturgical celebrations and the other ways you proclaim salvation: proclamation, witness, dialogue, work for human welfare?
- Do you think your missionary work suffers from some sort of hastened "sacramentalization?"

Calling to mind the words of the Holy Father addressed to the whole Church at the conclusion of the Jubilee Year - "Let us go forward in hope! A new millennium is opening before the Church like a vast ocean upon which we shall venture, relying on the help of Christ" (NMI) - we Consolata Missionaries are committed to a new century of evangelization. We will follow decisively in the footsteps of Christ following the example of our many "saintly" confrères.
We feel the presence and protection of Our Lady, the Consolata "who has
deigned to give us her name and take us under her mantle" (Conf III, 387); "who works daily miracles for our Institute" (Conf II, 308); who is "our mother - whose chosen sons we are proud to be" (Conf I, 177); "she is always close to us - even in Africa" (Conf II, 317); she it is who "converts hearts" (Conf II, 273).
We reaffirm our commitment to being authentic "sons of Allamano." While he walked this earth he found ways to be present as both father and teacher in the community and alongside every missionary. He was successful in doing this. We are certain that even today his presence is sure and effective . We have his word for this. We like to recall his words: "Tonight our missionaries will depart […] One of them said to me 'I am going away and will never see you again.' I answered - but you will see me in heaven. When I am up there, I will bless you even more. I will always be at my window looking down" (Conf Sisters II, 482; Cf. Conf III, 234, 691).
We count on Christ - the one and universal Savior; we are under the maternal protection of Our Lady, the Consolata; we have the blessing of our Founder. With joy and hope we reaffirm our will to "venture out upon that vast ocean" the mission. "Duc in altum! Put out into the deep!" (Lk 5,4).
With these fervent wishes, we greet you fraternally,

Father Piero Trabucco, IMC
Father Antonio Bellagamba, IMC
Father Norberto Ribeiro Louro, IMC
Father Aquiléo Fiorentini, IMC
Father Jean André Benedetti, IMC