The spiritual legacy of Don Agostino Valente
to). Life intensity
It is one of the prominent aspects of the figure of Don Agostino: the intensity of life as a man of God, as a pastor of souls, as a guide of a religious community, as an educator, as a director of activities... In each of these fields Don Agostino acted as a reference presence: capable, ingenious, with a big heart. Wherever circumstances required action, he never disappointed expectations, even when it was a question of putting his hand to new furrows.
But he wasn't the hyperactive type. Committed, faithful, generous in his work, available in responding to requests for collaboration, but never exaggerated. The agitation did not at all correspond to his character. One point emerged with splendid linearity: prayer. It was immediately clear that the most precious time he had for him was placed in the world of inner life, above all in contemplative meditation.
When in his apostolic vicissitudes he had to put his hand to new projects, he possessed the secret of knowing how to concentrate and make his energies of spirit and experience converge to a high potential on the new mission field, in order to evaluate its needs, understand the paths already completed , research the thoughts of others with attentive listening, before elaborating new goals of good. Only after this pause for observation did he begin to insert, with respect, his action which then, like leaven, in a short space of time revealed itself to be full of thrust, capable of causing growth and novelty.
For example, at least a few references to one of the most interesting components of his character may be valid: artistic sensibility. On this side, a swarm of episodes immediately arise in abundance in the memory, revealing exquisite innate and even cultivated qualities, at least for a certain stretch. He was impressed by the style - sometimes even refined - of his writing and his communication. The elegance and passion with which he prepared plays, academies and musical meetings aroused admiration. Each element was filtered by him with diligent sensitivity. So too he remained proud to participate in the executions of the liturgical choir in the important moments of religious solemnities, which he reached through long periods of concertation. Other angles of art are also the poetry that transpired from his eyes and hands, when with expert taste he cultivated roses, carnations, seedlings, sprouts in the garden.
But the most touching art was that which flowed to him from mysterious supernatural sources when, in the particular moments of deep confidences, he managed to transform himself from time to time into a father, brother and friend, sweet, intuitive, pacifying. All with disarming simplicity. One felt that his soul, vibrant with sincere and affectionate faith, entered into harmony with the hearts of others, so that his gaze, his word managed to bring peace even in the most painful situations or to exalt events in a new light that were already selves bright and happy.
b). Training expert
Don Agostino spent a large part of his existence in the responsibilities of priestly and religious formation: with boys, with young people, with candidates now close to the decisive stages of perpetual profession and priesthood.
The multiplicity of experiences in pastoral ministry had allowed him to acquire in the field a fairly widespread knowledge of the world of youth, starting from the concrete contexts of the family, the parish, the oratory, the school world. His first-hand acquaintance with pastoral environments - not only in villages and small districts, but also in large cities - allowed him to easily establish contact with candidates in need of understanding and guidance.
On the shelves of his studio he left entire departments of notebooks in which he condensed the fruit of his preparation for conferences and homilies. He never repeated himself in exposing arguments; community speeches were all written down; the support on the written base allowed him to be robust in thought, appropriate in expression, well proportioned in the distribution of the parts. We in the community listened to him willingly. There was no shortage of jokes of realism and playful panache.
The most and the best happened in the laboratory of personal interviews: they were fruitful moments of confidences and profound re-readings of each one's living history, with the aim of better discerning the voices of the Spirit and strengthening, motivating, giving leap of truth and joy in the build one's house on the rock... In the face of the existential currents of contemporary culture imbued with atheistic individualism, he was aware of the need today for consistent training, of a dialectical nature, which educates to integrate attitudes and values that are apparently contrary to each other, but equally indispensable, without losing either, building harmonious balances between the double movement of the pendulum: an education that would develop people who are both contemplative and apostolic, sweet and strong, humble and creative, well integrated in the world and yet tenacious in belonging to the realities of faith. A long, chisel-like effort, managed with painstaking patience.
How many "good shepherds" have received courage and an evangelical imprint from Don Agostino and are now exemplary priests who work faithfully in the Lord's vineyard! How many alumni have learned from him to taste the joys of righteousness, doing good everywhere, everyone along the way of life! And of his humble, hidden but very effective action, Don Agostino now clearly sees the fruits, and I imagine him rejoicing in glory with the words of the psalm: «Whoever sows in tears will reap with jubilation. As he goes, he goes away and weeps, carrying the seed to be sown, but when he returns, he comes rejoicing, carrying his sheaves" (Ps 125,5:6-XNUMX).
c). A life for the essentials
Don Agostino has created a beautiful, complex, committed story, placed entirely under the sign of the divine mystery, as fruitful as the branches of a vineyard in the many branches of service to the poor and in the salvation of souls.
His origins have contributed to such a full existence, luxuriant in family vitality, rich in the precious heritage received from his parents, siblings and the country.
The itineraries he followed in giving progressive implementation to the demands of his vocation, in the docile and attentive perception of the impulses of the Spirit, were decisive and profound. The testimonies of the young Don Agostino are unanimous, described as a worthy candidate, who sought God with a sincere and sometimes restless heart, courageous in living seriously the observance of the seminary, devoted to study and open to friendship with each and every one in the community . There was genuine authenticity in the mind, heart and action of this young man.
And then in his priestly life, how much exuberance of virtues: that pietas anchored to the Gospel and to the Spirit which suggested in him a state of mind almost of perennial adoration; that charitas so concrete and inventive, inspired by the scene of the washing of the feet left to us by Jesus as a symbol at the Last Supper; the indomitable faith that transpired from his gaze and that allowed him to envelop the poor in the grandiose mystery proclaimed by the Gospel precisely in its most Guanellian passage: «Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Mt 25,34:XNUMX).
-Among all these lines, authentic and of great value, which shape Don Agostino's personality, it might be useful to ask where is the essence of his spirit, the heart of his world, what he tried to live for, the geminal point and of synthesis, from which everything has taken development and in which everything could be gathered.
Having known Don Agostino quite closely, I seem to grasp the essence of his spirit in two terms linked together by an intimate unity of communion: Jesus and the poor. An inseparable combination, where the fullness of God's love and the supreme reason for our apostolic action are gathered.
Don Agostino lived this mystery with extraordinary elevation of spirit. In prayerful faith and reflection, he had made it the cornerstone of his entire existence as a man, a priest and a religious. He had let himself be educated by grace to be in ardent communion with Jesus. Don Guanella would speak to us about intimacy with our older brother, the firstborn of our family. However, this first bond of interpersonal communion with Jesus refers and demands, by innate dynamism, another communion that launches you towards the poor, what Jesus himself calls "little" of him. Don Agostino always sought this binomial and lived it with all his heart. It is his precious legacy: full of value, timely, saving, all in line with the life and charism of Blessed Luigi Guanella.
The path to holiness of Don Agostino Valente
to). Seminar trainer
Minor seminaries: Anzano, Rome, Alberobello.
In the role of teacher in the middle school classes, Don Agostino found himself in the need to further expand the range of school subjects entrusted to his competences. His attendance at the seminary was daily, with a workload that reached 20 hours of lessons a week, followed naturally by the fatigue of correcting homework and preparing lessons, without ever neglecting other ministry activities.
From the earliest times, his beautiful character, playful and serious at the same time, simple in language, but well versed in the knowledge of his subjects, attracted the sympathy of the students, as well as of the superiors and other teachers of the seminary. Whatever was entrusted to him, not only did he bring it to a happy conclusion with execution "in a workmanlike manner", but he introduced nice traits of accuracy and originality, of active initiative and sincere willingness to collaborate.
With him we worked with gusto, in the joy of familiarity; she aroused in those who were next to him and collaborated with him admiration especially for her way of praying, continuous, absorbed; for the fervor with which he celebrated Holy Mass and looked forward to the days of Quarantore or liturgical solemnities, when he was seen to be attentive in preparing the flowers, the decorations, the candlesticks, the vestments, the programmes, the songs, the pageboys. For the choir we helped each other for several weeks in teaching the parts to the different voices and in concerting the various numbers of the program. In performances he conducted. He was able to transfer into liturgical singing the same spirit of faith and attention that he put into making the church beautiful, tidy and welcoming.
Another field rich in sensitivity and art was the theatre. At almost fixed recurrences, the seminary lived the hour of the performances, skilfully arranged on two main registers: comedy and drama. Each execution marked as a stage in the life of the community. The background music, the footsteps, the rustling of the water, the colors of the scenes were rehearsed for a long time, with a meticulous choice of effects... The actors had to know their part with complete certainty. The rehearsals continued for several weeks, generally performed in the evening, on the stage in the shed located between the courtyard of the theological seminary and the reproduction of the Lourdes grotto. Don Agostino was also the soul of this pleasant but demanding activity: tireless, demanding, masterly and elegant in his indications, it seemed that he had always been a theater director.
His true "art" was in living every circumstance with thoughtful attention to others and with familiar joy.
International Theological Seminary of Rome.
He mainly dedicated himself to the clerics, as a welcoming spiritual father in personal dialogues, affectionate and linear in the testimony of daily life; his homilies-conferences were the "heart" of the weekly day of reflection within the community and Don Agostino knew how to captivate the clerics with his punctual, witty, robust word of thought and form. These meditation and prayer meetings took on the value of a cadenced appointment, punctuated at a regular pace, with a series of themes that Don Agostino prepared with diligent study. His interventions came full of novelty, well connected to each other, articulated with skilful planning, leaving nothing to improvisation. It was clear that the topic, in addition to obeying an overall design, was intended to respond to current needs of the community. His words were spoken in a calm voice, usually sweet, at times tinged with tenderness; other times, more rarely, they took on the strong stamp of authoritative vigor, when it was a question of setting clear values and coherent guidelines.
His words came from a mind trained in study, but they always sounded affectionate, full of heart and wisdom, like a father who loves his children for whom he wants nothing more than their best success. He was amazed by his ability, even literary, with which he was able to express himself, with intelligently chosen terms and always appropriate biblical quotations: simple style, without ever becoming grandiloquent or sloppy. There was a kind of nobility in his language, almost a reflection of an attentive, sensitive spirit, shaped by simplicity and transparency.
b). With our boys and the staff of Via Aurelia Antica
A second ray of activity, very bright and constantly growing, was the gift of his presence among the guests of the Casa: he had carved out suitable moments for each day to give to his "boys" guests of San Giuseppe. He went among them with a passion of faith and fraternal availability; in dealing with the gravest he invented the most imaginative ways to communicate, now with a known little word or a nickname, now with a pat, a singsong or a caress, sometimes taking them bodily in his arms to give them a different position in the cot. One of the most difficult moments, but which became comfortable for him, was to encourage and help each of his "little ones" to eat, just like a mother does with her baby!
From this constant presence of his arose the thousand opportunities to meet the many people who move around the Centre. He paid particular attention to the people who participate most closely in the lives of the boys, follow their developments, guess their moods, solitudes, needs, sufferings. It is easy to understand how necessary it is to find a sure support, who knows how to reconcile suffering with serenity, the worries that normal life already brings every day with those even harder and more mysterious than these innocent creatures, yet mysteriously marked by the mystery of the Cross . We understand, then, the mood swings, the anxieties, perhaps even the anguish that can cross human feeling and challenge faith, in the face of certain dark tunnels of uncertainty, uselessness and even defeats in one's commitment. With delicate sensitivity, Don Agostino guessed immediately, deeply; he always knew how to draw from the treasure of his priestly heart the right word, the gesture, the look, the confidence suitable for the moment, with a style all his own, often tinged with humor, never to the detriment of the truth affirmed as the light and joy of every vital choice .
c). The apostolate in the territory
A third horizon he frequented was the external apostolate in religious communities, in parishes, in petty pastoral care towards people who called him or who came to visit him for spiritual direction, confessions, or simply to listen to him. Every day of him, from sunrise until late at night, was woven by him with this multifaceted work. For over twenty years, every Friday afternoon he would arrive two hours before Mass in the nearby parish of Santa Maria della Perseveranza to hear confessions, and there were always faithful waiting for him.
Only the Lord knows the colours, the exultation, the sacrifice, sometimes the heroisms of this patient ministry of his as a good shepherd and a very sensitive good Samaritan of souls, of this faithful, truly good servant, animated from the roots by the charism of the Founder.