The dream of mission

Before taking flight, Don Lolli was dealing with a certainty – that of the choice of priesthood at the service of the “last” (as the Gospel has it). How could he fulfil this longing for charity? How could priesthood be made a tangible gift to those who suffer, who are hungry, who cannot study and lead a decent life?
To go abroad as a missionary, leaving behind Ravenna and facing the unknown in order to take the Gospel to places it had not yet reached – this seemed to him the natural fulfilment of his vocation. He seemed resolved, determined. He told his superiors and his family of his decision. Ah, but the flight plan he had in mind was not yet what God had in mind for him. The prophet Isaiah tells us: “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (55:8)

I will be the friend of the wretched. It is only with them that I have a true understanding, they and I understand each other. Only the instrument of suffering plays in tune with my soul.
Lord, I ask this grace of you: let my being be the consolation, the comfort, the hope, the life of those who suffer.”
Angelo Lolli, Meditations (11 April 1906)