Antonio Bello

thumb|Antonio Bello Antonio Bello (18 March 1935 – 20 April 1993) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi from 1982 until his death from cancer in 1993. Bello studied in various colleges and seminaries in places such as Bologna and Rome before being named to several positions in his region where he served as a priest. He was later made a bishop and became known for his eloquent teaching and for his pastoral sensitivities while being noted for his emphasis on greater diocesan participation on the part of the faithful. Bello also was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order and was a vocal critic of international conflicts such as the Gulf War. Quotes The poors are the theological space where God manifests Himself and the burning and unconsumable bush from which He speaks to us. From the homily on occasion of the 7th anniversary of the death of Óscar Romero. Imagine a debate on television and a bishop turning up in an apron! The other evening, I was in the St John Lateran. There was a large missionary vigil. Cardinal Poletti was also there. He was presiding over the liturgy. So it occurred to me to say a few things about service. I took off my amict with the strips and said, 'If we turn it inside out and tie it around our waists, this is an apron. Instead, we put it around our necks. We no longer have it around our waists. We have lost the apron.” That's right: 'amitto', from 'amittere', which means to lose. We lost it as an apron and put it around our necks. However, this is one of the symbolic benchmarks of our commitment. Con Francesco e Chiara: l'Eucaristia gioia della vita, from a speech held in Assisi in 1989;quoted in Gianni Di Santo and Domenico Amato, La messa non è finita: il vangelo scomodo di don Tonino Bello, preface by Andrea Riccardi, Rizzoli, Milano, 2012, pp. 88-89. ISBN 978-88-58-62904-8. I want to thank You, Lord, for the gift of life. I read somewhere that human beings are angels with only one wing: they can only fly if they remain embraced. Sometimes, in moments of intimacy, I dare to think, Lord, that You too have only one wing; You keep the other hidden, perhaps to make me understand that You do not want to fly without me: that is why You gave me life, so that I might be Your flying companion. Teach me, then, to soar with You, for to live is not to drag life along, to snatch life, or to nibble away at life. To live is to surrender, like a seagull, to the exhilaration of the wind; to live is to savour the adventure of freedom; to live is to spread one's wing – one's only wing – with the confidence of someone who knows that, in flight, they have a partner as great as You. From Un'ala di riserva. Fatti per essere felici 'Antonio Bello, Fatti per essere felici, Ed Insieme, Terlizzi, 2006 God is present in everyone's heart, if not as a presence, then at least as a longing. The world is the space in which we play out our identity. It has been said that a person's holiness is measured by the depth of their expectations. Perhaps this is true. Our historic task is to learn how to sit together at the table. It is not enough to eat: peace means eating with others. The longest journey is the one that leads to the house opposite. The most serious journey is the one that leads to an encounter with God. What does it mean to follow Christ? Living the radical nature of the Beatitudes. Mary is a true woman because she is simple and genuine, without any spiritual pretence. We should not be ashamed of our illness. It is not something to keep hidden. It is, so to speak, that part of our identity card that makes us most like Jesus Christ. It is an incredible, extraordinary badge of identity. Above all, to pray means to adhere to God's will, to declare oneself a servant of God: to put the Gospel into practice, to embrace the logic of the Gospel. When you turn to Mary in your prayer, ask her to also give you the ability to dream; don't ask only for mundane things. Let us ask the Virgin to give us the warm utopias that warm the world. Let us remember that we are accountable to men for our words. But for our silences, we must answer to God! Be a liberated person. Not just a free person, who gives free time to others. Be a liberator, who frees others from their anxieties! Being with the least means allowing yourself to be drawn into their lives. Picking up the dust raised by their footsteps. Seeing things from their perspective. I offer you this wish. May you too, as you observe the signs, be able to say: "There is little left of the night, for the sun is already flooding the horizon." Fotografie del futuro Antonio Bello, Fotografie del futuro. Le beatitudini come stile di vita, Paoline, 2003 The poors have a great potential to evangelise you. Therefore, do not be afraid of being discriminated against by the Lord.In His basin, He also has water for your feet, which, if they have become soiled, it is only because of the dust from the road you travelled to come and see Him. The entire period of Lent, the entire period of our conversion, is encompassed by this journey: from head to toe. Obedience without listening and without dialogue is not obedience. Maria donna dei nostri giorni Antonio Bello, Maria donna dei nostri giorni, San Paolo Edizioni, 1996 At times, acceptance is a sign of resignation. Waiting is always a sign of hope. (About Mary, mother of the Lord Jesus) Loosen the bonds of our fears so that, like you, we can experience abandonment to God's will in the mundane unfolding of time and the slow agonies of the hours. To love, a form of the verb to die, means to decentralise oneself. To step out of oneself. To give without asking. To be discreet, verging on silence. To suffer in order to shed the scales of selfishness. To step aside when there is a risk of jeopardising the peace of a home. To wish for the happiness of another. Respect their destiny. And to disappear when you realise you are disrupting their mission. To wait: the infinitive form of the verb 'to love'. Indeed, in Mary's vocabulary, to love indefinitely. Convinced that to succeed in life, you have to know how to speak even when you have nothing to say, we have become long-winded and incontinent. As we stand on the threshold of the third millennium, we unfortunately feel more like children of the twilight than prophets of the dawn. Love is always holy, because its flames arise from the unique fire of God. [God] He does not knock on our door to order us to leave, but to fill our solitude with light. Sent by God for the salvation of the world, the Church is made to walk, not to settle down. Alfabeto della vita Antonio Bello, Alfabeto della vita, Paoline, 2009 In my opinion, a poet is not someone who deserves to be admired because they create. They deserve to be thanked because they set people free. They do not create anything. He [A poet] brings forth what others have conceived. [...] He lays bare creatures that do not belong to him. (from Poesia) Jesus presents himself as Teacher and Shepherd, as one who teaches and as one who guides. When you meet him, you must respond: either turn him away unkindly, or welcome him joyfully into the most secluded room in your home. But you cannot make him wait in the antechamber. (from Maestro'') External links Bello, Antonio Category:1935 births Category:1993 deaths Category:Bishops Category:Catholics from Italy Category:Clergy from Italy