Automatic translation from Italian, under review.
Yes, let us again tell of something beautiful that is happening in these days, when we are worried, of course, but also very focused on what truly matters. The new measures adopted by the Government are quite demanding, but life is giving us a real lesson in the “common good”: before the safeguarding of the gift of life, our categories are quickly reorganized and agreement comes easily, even though this entails sacrifices that are not simply the impossibility of having a party or taking a trip but also uncertainty about the economic and work situation. This time, however, we are together, millions of Italians, together to rediscover the value of solidarity, ready to live it as citizens of the world, realizing that around us there is an “inhabited” space.
And Christians? “For Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor by language, nor by the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. The doctrine which they profess is not based on the fancy of some men, nor do they adhere to a human philosophy, as some do. They dwell in Greek and barbarian cities, as each one’s lot has determined, and follow the local customs in dress, food and the rest of life, and yet they display a wonderful and admittedly paradoxical way of life. They dwell in their own countries, but only as sojourners; they share in all things as citizens, and endure all things as foreigners. Every foreign land is their fatherland, and every fatherland is a foreign land” (Letter to Diognetus, V, 1-5).
And, precisely in these days, we cannot fail to remember that each of our actions is related to others, and that in every situation we can “look around.” This, for example, is the experience of a friend, an entrepreneur, who telephoned yesterday: acknowledging the situation and welcoming the government’s provisions, he has to close his business, but he has large food supplies and knows that, in times like these perhaps more than at others, someone might lack the necessities. “I will give you the goods from my warehouses so that you can share them!” Sr. Nunziella immediately had an idea. A few hours later Sr. Antonella Luce, with the Ducato van ready for the trip, reached the company for the appointment with these “two friends” and together with them (in separate vehicles) headed to the Mission of Hope and Charity. There is always need there, and they comply with the hygiene measures so that no one is left to die of hunger, for poverty, indeed, does not go into quarantine. The brothers and sisters of the Mission are many; this is a small help. Before reaching the Mission, however, there had been a brief stop at a cloistered monastery, where the nuns ceaselessly present their prayer to God for all of us; in these days it is beautiful to remember to reach out to them. Then, a brother who perhaps did not have a home to stay in but did have a bit of hunger, yes, and something to eat finally reached him too!
Before leaving the Mission, Sr. Antonella asked a young African man for a prayer. Folding his hands, after a moment of silence, he answered her: “God has heard it (editor’s note: the prayer)!”
Little buds, shoots, silent and sturdy saplings of… a forest that is growing!
“See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the wilderness I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers” (Isaiah 43:19)
Sr. Daniela – from the community of the Motherhouse