Ombre e Luci no. 5 - 1984
No One Is Excluded
«...The testimonies gathered in this issue press Christian communities to deepen—both in theory and practice—their welcome of the handicapped. Above all, they call for a change of heart. We imagine these brothers and sisters in difficulty coming to knock on our doors asking for help, a smile, support. Then we discover that they come to offer us a gift...»
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini
Why So Far from God
«...So here is the effort we can all make together. Some have already begun this journey and know well how easy it is to come to know one another, to share, to hold hands, and then to celebrate together. Because if we need them to meet the Lord again, how much more do they need to meet the gaze of our handicapped children in order to rediscover the gaze of God...»
Mariangela Bertolini
She Will Not Enter
A mother's testimony.
«...Together with the pastor, a French priest—one of the first of Fede e Luce—celebrated Mass. At the exchange of peace, he came down from the altar, chose Sabina among all those present, and embraced her...». «...When the priest arrived at the small church, we approached him, and he, glancing at Sabina, said: "She will not enter."
«...How can one explain the complete difference in behavior between two priests?...
Olga Gammarelli
Like Every Other Sunday
Anna, a girl with Down syndrome, has attended Sunday Mass with her parents at the parish church for years. Her father's testimony—praying beside her, participating with her, reflecting—speaks for itself.
Anna - J.F.
What More Can I Say to You
«...I was asked: You have great experience with the sacrament of Penance, and now you work with adults with mental handicaps. What do you think about confession for them? Do you believe they can receive this sacrament "in truth"?...»
Stephane Desmazières
Ombre e Luci no. 13 - 1986
Turn Darkness into Serenity
Excerpts from the homily of Cardinal Martini at Fede e Luce communities in the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi on April 25, 1986. Commentary on the last words of Jesus before ascending to heaven: "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to every creature..." (Mk. 16, 15-20).
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini
That the Works of God Might Be Revealed in Him
Cardinal Martini speaks to parents and comments on "the new answer Jesus gave to an anguished and ancient question,... an answer capable of reversing the very terms of the problem: 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him.' (Jn. 9,3).
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini
Rise and Find Hope
The words of Jean Vanier to Fede e Luce communities in the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi on the day of reconciliation.
«...Jesus says to each of us: rise and walk in love! Be men and women of hope in a world ruled by hatred and fear, where there is so much oppression of the small and the poor...».
Jean Vanier
A Great Prophecy
Testimony of a young seminarian at the Assisi pilgrimage in 1986.
Marco Bove
Ombre e Luci no. 14 - 1986
Awakening Faith in the Severely Handicapped
«To administer the sacraments of Christian initiation and Penance to a severely handicapped person is a matter of utmost importance. It is his essential right...»
Fr. Henri Bissonier
Ombre e Luci no. 24 - 1988
And He Waited for Us to Notice Him
A pastor's testimony on how the parish community welcomed a young adult with mental handicap. «... His integration can be likened to a plant that has bloomed in the warmth of welcome and love, which he returned through meaningful moments...»
Fr. Vito Palmisano
My Daughter's Place in the Church
A mother's testimony.
«...Then came friends who welcomed and accepted her for who she was, and who gently but firmly brought us to Assisi with other families and other suffering people. There, for the first time, we understood that Monica too had her own rightful place in the Church...»
Monica Varoli
Teaching Faith to Our Children with Mental Handicap
«We all have, as Christians, the imperative duty to ensure that our handicapped children can live the Christian life in all it entails: religious education and religious practice within the limits of their ability...»
Fr. Henri Bissonier
How to Teach Faith
The foundations, key points, and concrete methods for religious formation of a child with mental handicap.
Fr. Henri Bissonier
Preparing Children with Mental Handicap for the Eucharist and Confirmation
«I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the wise and the intelligent and revealing them to infants.» (Lk. 10, 21-22).
Sr. Anna Maria Conte F.M.M.
A Catechist's Testimony
What the Parish Community Can Do for People with Handicap
Ombre e Luci no. 31 - 1990
Fede e Luce Communities
This issue of Ombre e Luci is dedicated entirely to the Fede e Luce movement: the needs from which it arose, its journey, its calling, its gifts. Testimonies from mothers, fathers, priests, and friends across Italy and the world. And from Jean Vanier, who concludes: «...then we discover with greater force the prophetic mission of the fragile person. She teaches us to accept each person as he is, to be attentive to the most fragile, to those who have no voice, to see in each one the presence of God. It is truly a transformation. Living with the poor, living in Fede e Luce community, requires that we change, that we grow in love. We are no longer focused on our own interests and pleasures, but on those of others. And this will happen only if our hearts are gradually transformed by the heart of Jesus».
Ombre e Luci no. 37 - 1992
Mary of Solitude
These are the words Fr. Lowery spoke to Italian parents at the international pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1991. In this meditation, he brings Mary, Virgin of Solitude, near to the parent of a handicapped child.
Fr. Brian Lowery
Ombre e Luci no. 39 - 1992
So That No One Is Forgotten
Religious education for children with mental handicap: what is done, what has been done, what can be done in practice. These children, «too often forgotten,» must be able to join the community of all Christians, which is theirs and must welcome them all.
Fr. Henri Bissonier
Flaminia's First Communion
Preparing a girl with autism for first communion and confirmation.
«...Accompanying Flaminia to her encounter with the Lord was a powerful moment in the faith journey of all those who participated in it directly or indirectly...».
Anna Aluffi
Marco's Confirmation
1) A Window Has Opened in Our Life - Pietro and Maria Grazia Coralli
2) Truly the Spirit of the Lord Is Upon Marco - Salvatore Boccaccio, Bishop
These are the moved accounts and reflections on Marco's confirmation, a young man with severe disability, during a Fede e Luce camp at Magliano in Sabina. The first is written by his parents; the second by the bishop who conferred the sacrament.
Maria, My Goddaughter
Anna is forty years old. She has motor and intellectual difficulties and severe visual impairment. She was chosen to be godmother to a niece. A friend supports her in this commitment. Anna speaks of it simply and with a sense of responsibility.
Anna
Being a Godparent Changed Her Life
Her sister's testimony.
«...Choosing a handicapped or ill person of true faith and sense of responsibility as godparent is a source of unimaginable grace for that person, for the parents, siblings, and every family member...».
C.C.
I Feared I Wouldn't Be Accepted as a Catechist
Can a physical handicap prevent a healthy relationship between a disabled catechist and children preparing for first communion? This firsthand account shows the opposite is true.
Gaia Valmarin
Making the Mass Come Alive
«...Making Mass come alive means creating a genuine gathering, where listening to and sharing God's word are real...». Essential elements and a guide to preparing, celebrating, and reflecting on a Eucharistic liturgy.
Fr. Noel Simard
Ombre e Luci no. 43 - 1993
Faith Is Lived: That Is How It Is Learned
An account of an extraordinary experience of religious education and spiritual growth at Nostra Famiglia's residence in Conegliano. Each year it culminates in two sacred performances, at Christmas and Easter: «and naturally the performance becomes a great prayer that engages the entire institute and all who will witness it...».
Sergio Sciascia
He No Longer Wants to Attend Mass
What should parents and educators do in these circumstances? Fr. Bissonier's answer.
Fr. Henri Bissonier
Religious Education and Disability: Confession
Two examples of celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation in the "Emanuele" community of Fede e Luce in Acerra.
For some of the young people (ages 18-30), it is their first time approaching the sacrament of forgiveness.
Sr. Tana Pelagallo
Why Have You Abandoned Us?
«...Parents of a disabled child can rarely face such a difficult trial alone; they need help. They must find on their difficult path people able to share their fears, their bewilderment, their anger, their frustration and despair. Only by finding «companions on the way» can they regain strength and courage...».
Mariangela Bettolini
I Felt Betrayed
A mother's testimony and her encounter with the Lord.
«...I remained shut away at home for years, dragging through life without hope. Then the Lord made himself felt through small connections: mothers who asked me to tell my story and who cared about us. Young people who offered their time to be with my child and with us. I thought I alone loved this son and felt as if I had to fight against the whole world continuously. But I was not alone: God was revealing himself through the people he was bringing into my life...».
A Mother
But Where Was He? - Giacomo Cosmai
A father's testimony
«...Even now, despite my resignation, I cannot bear to see Michela suffer—I feel helpless—and it is only my trust in a God who, out of love, sent his only Son... that makes me naturally turn to prayer when I face my daughter's pain...».
Faith Is an Encounter
1942. A grenade explodes in the hands of Jacques Lebreton, a twenty-year-old soldier in the Libyan desert. From that moment forward, he must live without eyes and without hands. After a lifetime of commitment, professional work, and spiritual struggle, he now describes with the wisdom of age the stages of coming to terms with his handicap.
Jacques Lebreton
Ombre e Luci no. 50 - 1995
Bring Fraternity, Joy, and Understanding of Faith
On the occasion of the Assisi pilgrimage for the twentieth anniversary of Fede e Luce in Italy, Cardinal Martini speaks to the gathered communities at Mass in Santa Maria degli Angeli.
Commentary on these verses from the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of Luke.
«With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus» (Acts 4,33).
«There was not a needy person among them» (Acts 4,34). «For joy they still could not believe it and were wondering what it meant» (Lk. 24,41). «Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures» (Lk. 24,45).
Free Us from Evil - Vigil at Assisi in San Francesco
During the reconciliation vigil held in the Upper Basilica of San Francesco at the Assisi pilgrimage, a form of meditation and sacred drama took shape. Through word, images, light, sound, and symbols, the vigil's message—Free Us from Evil—reached everyone clearly and powerfully. Marta De Rino describes how it was prepared, its content, and how it unfolded.
Marta De Rino
He Loves Me as I Am
Partial text of Jean Vanier's conference at Assisi «Free Us from Evil». His words to the disabled and his reflection on the verse from Isaiah «You are precious in my eyes».
Jean Vanier