Father Davide Costalunga, 44 years old, was recently ordained a priest on October 8 in Caravaten, northern Italy, sharing about his life, from his dissolute youth to his vocation to the priesthood thanks to his patient love. mother lasts for 10 years.
Davide's youth was marked by loose play and vices, such as alcohol, frequent unemployment, late-night parties and bad friendships. It was this scandalous life that caused Davide to spend years alone and miserable, empty, feeling meaningless and seemingly dead inside. Like other young people living in this condition, Davide was lost and alcohol became his closest friend.
Father Davide said: “I started working when I was 14 years old and was thrown into the world of adults. At that stage, I went through the only way I knew: alcohol, discotheque. I didn't know I had lost the meaning of life. I threw my life to the wind. For 20 years I have not been to church to attend Mass.”
Then, on February 7, 2012, God through the mother marked Davide's rebirth. Davide's mother was very ill, she wanted to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Medjugorje to ask for healing. There was still some love left for her mother, Davide couldn't let her go alone, and she had no one but Davide, so Davide went on a pilgrimage with her mother.
Father Davide recalls: “I couldn't let my mother go alone, she was the only one who loved me. Only my mother shed tears for me."
Father added that at first he thought he was only going for his mother and to know a new place. Dad was skeptical, and at times didn't understand why he was going there. But then something happened. At first, I was just hanging around drinking, but then I felt something urge me to go to confession. And that was the moment everything changed. “During that confession, I felt loved for the first time, I did not feel judged, but discovered that there is a Father who loves me as I am, with limits and my weakness. My tears flowed like a river, a new life began that day, a new Davide was born.
This is true as Pope Francis said: “It is the tears that prepare us to meet Jesus”. Confession in Medjugorje marked the beginning of a new life.
Davide considers himself unworthy of God's loving gaze, for having done many bad things, and living a life of purposelessness. But through the sacrament of Reconciliation, Davide feels that God is the Father who is waiting for us with open arms before we ask his forgiveness. Davide's life after the encounter with Christ was once again full of flavor, light and hope.
Father Davide said: “Now I am happy with everything. Some people doubt my change. They are the ones who don't understand the beauty and brilliance of what I'm doing and so they think it's a joke. On the contrary, since I accepted the faith, I have discovered Jesus, who has come to bring me out of my inner hell. My sinful past makes me appreciate life so much. Before, when I woke up, I used to wonder why I had to live another day. I want to disappear. But now I see life as full of meaning.”
Father Davide feels the Lord calling him to help young people who are enslaved to addictions, as he has been. In my journey to help young people, there are times when I meet them tired and confused, closed in heart, and when I ask “Why do you smoke?” they replied, “Because I was stressed.” They have no goals. Mobile phones and amusement spots are their horizon. So I try to wake them up to help them wake up.
Father Davide always expressed his deep gratitude to those who supported him and helped him transform, especially his mother. Father said, “My mother is my rock. She never gave up. I can't forget my mother's tears. My mother did miracles. I was once a wolf, but now I am a lamb in the loving arms of God.”
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catholic