Q & A (Questions and Answers)

IS IT NOT CHAARIA AN INSTITUTION ALREADY TOO BIG? WHAT ABOUT TOMORROW? WHAT ABOUT THE FUNDS?

Those are questions I hear very often; sometimes they are asked by people seriously concerned and really trying to help me avoid a failure. Some other times I may feel in them just a bit of jealousy.

But the answer to the above questions can be found very easily in the life of our founder. Even to him a Minister of the King told that there were concerns in the government about the size and the costs of the new institution founded by him. But the answer given to the Earl of Castagnetto followed a logic which is not the human one: “dear sir – Cottolengo said - the reason why Divine Providence is late in providing, is that I do not have enough faith and I have two free beds. I am going to fill them immediately with new patients and Divine Providence will come abundantly”.

The Earl was completely confused and impressed by the unbounded faith of Cottolengo and wrote to the King: “His Majesty, I have understood from that priest that, in order to cover a debt you must increase the expenses”.

I believe that this is the same idea which must lead us: if we are generous and spend our lives completely in the service of the poor, Divine Providence will give us the money. The money will delay only if we are lazy.

About the second question: AND THE FUTURE?

I believe that the future is in the hands of God. He will decide who will continue the service in Cottolengo Mission Hospital when I am not able any more. And on top of that I reckon to be very wrong to put limitations to the good we can do today, for fear of not being able to do it any more in the future. Thinking again of the life of Cottolengo, it is enough to consider that when epidemics of cholera or typhus were killing brothers, sisters and priests, our founder wanted them to continue serving the poor, not preventing them from doing that for fear of being exposed to the disease. Cottolengo himself died while assisting people affected by typhus.

AND THE MONEY?

Even on this point Cottolengo was very clear. For us the money is simply the means, the instrument we use to help the others. When we keep the money apart in order to cool down our fears for the future, the money becomes a disgrace. So the money is to be used generously and completely for the poor, if we wish Divine Providence to send it again.

Bro Beppe