TWELFTH SCENE
True Holiness
In front of the fire and his listener, the person sitting in the armchair recalls Saint Gabriel’s profound search for holiness and true perfection. The images of Gabriel and next to him Padre Norberto, his father Sante and his brother Michele, are evoked.
Voice
He confessed to me several times that if he had delayed leaving by a single day, first for Loreto and then for the novitiate at Morrovalle near Macerata in the Marche region, the world and the devil in conversation were preparing such a trap for him, that maybe he would have once again put aside his vocation. Furthermore, our servant of God had a deep conviction that God wouldn’t have called him again. I often asked him, “are you sure you want to become a Passionist?” He was determined.
Gabriel … Almighty God has been waiting for me for a long time, and I, ungrateful one, have played deaf …
Sante Possenti … Michele, say something to your brother …
Michele Possenti … Dad, we’ll never dissuade him …
Voice
… The young man was brought to me; I showed him his cell and the novitiate. From that moment on nothing separated us, only death divided us … it was as if he was always cut out for such a life and this lifestyle seemed to suit him perfectly; it seemed as though he had already been a religious for a long time. One day the Rector took me aside and asked: “how is this young man getting on …?”
I replied “Very well, at first he didn’t seem very serious but he’s a purposeful young man, as fervent and virtuous as you could wish, and if he continues this way, as there is every reason to hope then he will become really holy …”
Gabriel
… Our perfection doesn’t consist
in doing great and extraordinary
things, but in doing ordinary
things well. This is what you
have taught me, and this is
what I think.
Conduci la mia vita a te (Lead my life to You)
S. Natale - C. Tedeschi
Gabriel
Holiness is not
Perfection
Perfection is to fall and then
Lift oneself up
Don’t ever let the world
Colour heaven
The colour of your heaven is
Inside you
Lead my life to you Lord
To that perfection which
I can’t find
Even if I fall
With you I will rise again
Voice (recited)
True holiness and true perfection do not
mean never making a mistake but, on
the contrary, if you do, continue on your
way with the same determination, reinforcing
your humility by bowing to God. On the
other hand, obstinately sticking to
pre-conceived ideas of holiness or perfection
in order to appear and show others
and as well as oneself
that one is right, can lead to formality,
hypocrisy, and finally, falsehood. This
means giving in to evil in order to avoid
the sacrifices and risks of struggle.
Gabriel
Don’t ever let the world
Colour heaven
The colour of your heaven is
Inside you
Lead my life to you Lord
To that perfection which
I can’t find
Even if I fall
With you I will rise again
Voice (recited)
Peace reigns after the events. The events
are the struggle to get up again after
imperfection by recognising that only
the end, which is Him, God, is perfect.
True peace is to feel God’s presence
within us. True peace is to know that every
time you fall you will pick yourself up, and
that He will always be true to himself. We
should do everything out of love; love for
Him who is everything, including all
his creatures.
Gabriel
Holiness is not
Perfection
Perfection is to fall and then
Lift oneself up
I offer my life to You Lord
Father of love you are infinite
It is only thanks to You, my God
Lead my life to you my God
To that perfection which
I can’t find
Even if I fall
With you I will rise again