Who knows whether Don Dolindo ever asked himself this question, he who even had suffering inscribed in his name, almost outlining his luminous and painful life story: «I was called Dolindo, which means suffering», he writes.
Sooner or later, we all encounter suffering, because it is a reality of life that can affect us directly or touch our loved ones, and yet each time it challenges us, because no one wants suffering, because in the face of every suffering it is human and understandable to ask «Why me?».
Through his life, Don Dolindo teaches us a new response to suffering: a response of trusting surrender and certain hope, because in the end - let us never forget it - we were made for Heaven, for endless joy!
A martyr in spirit, not in blood
Don Dolindo, a Neapolitan priest, was born in the city of Naples on October 6, 1882, and experienced suffering very early: at just 11 months old, he underwent surgery on the backs of his hands, followed by another operation for a tumor beneath his cheek. His family suffered hunger and poverty. When his parents separated, Dolindo was enrolled in the Apostolic School of the Priests of the Mission on Via Vergini. In 1903, he applied to become a missionary in China, but the Order’s Visitor replied: «God gives you this desire to prepare you for suffering and for the Apostolate. You will be a martyr, but in spirit, not in blood».
And so it was: ordained a priest in 1905, he faced a life filled with painful episodes, but drew from his deep faith the strength to endure everything without rebelling; he saw every event in the light of God and His providential love, and understood that the Lord was shaping him to prepare him for all the obstacles he would have to overcome.
It was on September 3, 1907, in fact, that Father Volpe called him to give his opinion on a young woman named Serafina, who appeared to have the gift of clairvoyance. His report on the case was misrepresented by the Visitor, and he was suspended from celebrating Mass. From then on came years of humiliation, torment, and renewed misunderstandings, until, on July 17, 1937, Father Dolindo was finally rehabilitated and continued his work in Naples at the Church of San Giuseppe dei Nudi, passing away on November 19, 1970. Throughout his life, he was a martyr of the heart.
Jesus, take care of it
How do you accept the burden of all this humiliation, of such profound injustice? How do you endure everything that one would naturally rebel against? Father Dolindo might answer with a single phrase, his phrase, simple and immense: “Jesus, take care of it!”.
It is a revolutionary statement, one that contains immense courage: the courage of meekness and surrender; the courage of a faith that overcomes everything and gives us the strength to overcome everything.
Let us then learn from Father Dolindo, an expert in suffering, the meaning of pain, and learn to respond to this unwelcome traveling companion as he did: “Jesus, take care of it,” knowing that - as he wrote - misunderstanding “is the means of keeping us from becoming attached to creatures... and finding the Creator.”
