“What is the liturgy? It is the actualization of the Bible…if Bible reading is missing there is no comprehension of the meaning nor of the fruits of the liturgy…. Liturgy is the sacramentality of the Bible. Here lies the necessity of the Bible for the people: if this is not the case the liturgy means nothing to them; furthermore, they will give less praise to God and their prayer will not be complete.”
**LITURGY, SOURCE OF LIFE IN CHRIST
**From the liturgy we receive the nourishment to grow in the life of Jesus Christ until we are identified with him. There are innumerable meditations of Fr. Alberione to his spiritual children following the liturgical year as an “itinerary of faith”: “The liturgical year with its various celebrations draws all to know Jesus, to imitate Jesus, and to live Jesus.”
Normally, for Fr Alberione, the Gospel reading for the current day, feast or liturgical season was the theme for his meditation which, keeping in mind the group to which it was directed, would become a relevant word pronounced by God for the present day and for the specific persons or Institute being addressed. Here we see the genius of this man of God who was able to read historical events in the light of the Word of God. He knew how to convert liturgy into life and life into liturgy, that is, to respond to God the Father in the Church through Jesus Christ, with the power of the Holy Spirit which, in the liturgy, raises all to the fullness of salvation.
In his later years he repeated this call ever more frequently: “work for the glory for God until we are able to say ‘for me to live is Christ’ (Phil 1:21; Gal 2:20) by living the liturgical year. Each year the Lord enables us to reach a higher and deeper perfection: ‘Christ lives in me.’ Jesus Christ lives in us his thoughts are our thoughts, his desires our desires, and our desires and intentions are those of Jesus.”