For many years now, he has been setting aside his (important) duties for a few days and traveling to Cavallino, in the province of Venice, to lead the diocesan spiritual exercises through his preaching—on average, once each season. He is, therefore, a familiar voice and a much-appreciated figure among the many who have so far taken part in this experience: the spiritual exercises of the Diocese of Venice.
Bishop Franco Manenti, who recently turned 75, has been the bishop of Senigallia, in the Marche region, since 2015, but he is originally from the Diocese of Crema, where, as a boy and while in seminary, he had as his rector and came to know the future Patriarch of Venice, Marco Cè, with whom he would later maintain a very strong bond.
“The first thought that comes to mind regarding diocesan spiritual exercises,” the bishop says, “is that, thanks to Patriarch Marco, what were once occasions reserved—not exclusively, but predominantly—for consecrated persons or those called to ministry have now become a treasure for the entire People of God; a resource for lay Christians who live out their baptism in the context of daily life. The retreats are indeed a time of detachment from daily life, but not for the sake of distraction. Rather, they are a special time to encounter the Lord and be with Him, together with others—brothers and sisters in the faith—in a beautiful ecclesial setting.”
Bishop Manenti recalls how Cardinal Cè consistently emphasized the fundamental aspect—the “heart” of the exercises—of the encounter with the Lord, mediated by Scripture, by listening to His Word, and by the liturgy: “Here, then, is the ample space given to listening to the Word of God and to moments of communal prayer, always well-prepared and carried out with care. I am thinking primarily of the Eucharist, but also of the penitential service and the Liturgy of the Hours. All of this is meant to nourish our encounter with the Lord.”
What strikes him every time is the atmosphere of great serenity and brotherhood that permeates the diocesan spiritual exercises in Venice: “I see people who are happy to come to the exercises and who have been looking forward to this moment. Of course, they have their sufferings and problems, but they are within a serene context. And I don’t mean serene in the sense that it numbs you or makes you forget. Quite the opposite: it is the serenity that helps you face your own life experience—often marked by the cross—with the gaze of faith that comes precisely from the encounter with the Lord.” What are Bishop Manenti’s usual priorities when preaching? “I am a disciple of Patriarch Marco, so I always try to place the Word at the center and let it speak for itself. Throughout my formation and life journey, ever since I was a seminarian, the Lord—and I thank him for this—has led me to encounter many people. Among them, first and foremost, Patriarch Marco, who helped me understand what a precious gift the Word of God is. They taught me what it means to listen attentively and become hearers of the Word so that I may then pass it on and offer it as bread and nourishment to others. For me, it is one of the most precious resources on my journey as a believer and also on my journey as a pastor.”
In every course of exercises, then, the “miracle” repeats itself—that is, this Word truly speaks, stirs, and touches our lives: “Listening, in fact, sets you in motion.” It is not merely the recording of news and messages; it is an encounter in which, before the Lord, we bring our humanity and our questions—questions that are sometimes born of desolation and even somewhat contentious doubts. And as we listen to the Word, we allow Him to shed light on our humanity. A light that does not necessarily explain everything, but which offers a perspective from a higher and different vantage point. Thus, the Word helps us to live even what appears incomprehensible or even unacceptable to our eyes. And here the response Peter gave to Jesus comes to mind when Jesus invited him to go back out fishing during the day—an inopportune time—after the night’s fishing, usually the right time, had yielded nothing: “At your word, I will cast the nets.” In the spiritual exercises, we experience that the Lord’s word is a friendly word, a word that listens and enlightens, a word that also shows us the way.”
Iscriviti a CRUX e non perderti nessun aggiornamento, ti invieremo 1 volta a settimana i nuovi articoli!
