E' interessante vedere come sia Alberto che Carlo, oltre a essere amici con tanti, sentivano di essere anche padri spirituali di anime a loro affidate ...

CARLO

Dear Lucio,
God has wanted to give you the greatest ,or one of the greatest  gifts he could give: to become like His Son, Jesus.
And Jesus means everything. It means that an answer exists to every why and that in whatever moment of our life, whoever we are, well, we can do anything (if we do it for Him), even have God inside us. EMMANUEL, the secret really is God with Us, because God is with us: He died in order to stay with us always, and it’s not that He went away after the Resurrection. No! He left us the Holy Spirit.
Who are we but poor men, limited by this body that often wants to do what is comfortable  and not His will. Nevertheless, this body becomes Temple of the Holy Spirit and our eyes discover the infinite; our mind breaks the bars of this earth and our soul manages to transfigure everything around it, thus making it a Heaven.

Lucio, I’m not capable of anything, if I think of myself who is so egotistical, so timid, so lazy, so unwilling, and so on. I feel like I wouldn’t be able to move a step. But our life can change, we can love, because this should be the railroad tracks of our life: LOVING.
And when you feel like you’re in trouble, when you won’t be able to smile, when you’ll suffer – these are things that will happen to you – think of me who perhaps is doing the most mundane thing. I assure you that whatever I’m doing, it’s so that you can always have faith to believe; that is, to believe in His Love. And if even that seems to come up short in you, don’t worry. I’ll stand in for you, but you throw yourself into loving, loving, loving. If you have some problem and don’t know who to talk to, come to me, or telephone me, not because I know so much, but because if you manage it, you can see Jesus in me  who is talking to you, who listens to you, who helps you. And remember: Jesus can do everythin.
United with you especially on this your special day and always,              
Your godfather Carlo.

[Letter to Lucio Bardo on his Confirmation Day]

ALBERTO

Hi Bruno,
So, are you or are not a hero, the fearless Alpinist, or an infantryman that marches in the mud once a week and then keeps himself closed up inside the barracks? Do mules stink or don’t they? The hot shower is there every morning, isn’t it? The menu’s always filled with good variety, or is it the same old vomitable disgusting soup?  [...]
I’m sure that you’ve encountered and continue to encounter great difficulties; that is, not only  because of the environment, but in the life of Christian wintess. I think that there all alone it’s a bit of a hell hole. I’m convinced that Jesus loves you very much. He loves you so much that he wants to see whether in front of a real problem, due to distance and to many factors that could seem negative, you really know how to live, or whether you fall to the ground and slide back. I feel that I can wholeheartedly say that this moment is a gift from God for you so that you will really come out of it grown to full stature (or your pants will fall down). Look, it seems to me that one place is no worse than another  when it comes to loving; no place is worse for loving in, but there there is a real need for your love that slowly transforms your relationships with others. Don’t expect anything from the others. Love everyone, be the first to love, become service, look for the joy and also the sincere friendship from the others. You know that I’m going to the university with Gil who is a real burden for others. I loved him as he is, but in truth, standing firm when one of his blasphemies perhaps brought me down. I just loved him right away, performing the exercize he was requiring of me, in the explanations of thousands of little things. He goes on and on, and I certainly never tried to convert him, but in recompense we’ve become friends. He always looks for me to study with him. He walks me to the bus and I’m discovering very beautiful gifts in him. I’ve said this to let you know what I feel, that charity seems to be such a beautiful reality there in the military, because Jesus wants you to be the mustard seed that smaller than anyone can then provide shade and fruits to the whole forest. Really, Bruno, I say it to you with all my heart: Love everybody, be the first to love; in other words, get back on the ray right away [the ray of God’s will].  Just today I had a meeting with the Gen, in which we felt asked for a total choice of God-Love and of Jesus Forsaken. And really, when you do these things ... all is accomplished.
 I’d also like to share with you an experience of Chiara’s  [Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement]. Thirty years ago in Trent, Chiara and her companions had been living the new spirituality for only a few months. One day, a priest asked them which was the moment when Jesus suffered the most deeply. Chiara answered that it was in the Garden of Gethsemene. But the priest said: “at the moment when Jesus cried out: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” From that day on Chiara began to live that; that is, at every failure she said in herself: “It’s You! I love you like this, in this pain, failure, solitude, sin, “ in this garbage, in other words.... and she immediately entered into communion with Jesus because that was a real presence of Jesus like that of the Eucharist. Every suffering became a springboard.
I think that for everyone – even for you – you either live it or you fall miserably: hence your boredom, your solitude, a burdensome joke from a companion, the realization that you’ve betrayed Him a bit – in other words all of it is to be donated to Him. And the beauty of it is that you feel immediately new, ready to love because you’ve made the Communion with Him; you know, right? “The voice of suffering will always reach the Father more powerfully than all the rest.” If there weren’t Jesus Forsaken what a disaster that would be. The other day, it was two in the afternoon. I was tired and another one of those afternoons and evenings was awaiting me at Saint Sebastian’s [Alberto’s parish where he taught Catholic catechism], out and about until around midnight. I knew that I couldn’t give anymore, I risked ruining everything. I silenced myself, put this suffering in common with Him, gave it away and took off again:What a fantastic day!
Your suffering that you offer also goes towards the show because we’re sliding into the most perfect disunity. Many girls – and perhaps we too – are not expressions of what the songs proclaim; that is, as the priest said to the congregation “we might as well go sell potatoes on the corner!” So let’s give it our all, Bruno, because this show has to be paid for!
I really hope a lot that I get to see you, if it’s God’s Will.
One, in Him Forsaken,
                                      Alberto

[Letter to Bruno Dapino for the Military Oath in Trent, February 1978]