Christmas '77 at Santa Silvia
I'm Lorenza from the Santa Silvia group, and I want to tell you about the Christmas celebration we held at the parish hall.
I'll say it straight: this year I rediscovered the joy of Christmas when, along with Georges, Santina, Guendalina, Matteo, Francesca, Nanni, and Antonio, we built the nativity scene. We had difficult moments—the stable kept falling apart, we couldn't find enough outlets for lights, and we were always short on time.
Fortunately everything worked out, and "our" Jesus (a sweet little girl named Maria) was born!
Beside him were Joseph and Mary, countless angels and shepherds, and even a two-day-old lamb bleating away, poor thing, completely out of place.
After Mass, celebrated by Louis, we celebrated with sweets that vanished in an instant.
Then came dancing and games; each child received a small gift.
Families from the parish joined us too, and it was wonderful to have new friends with us.
The party didn't last long, but I think the memory of the nativity scenes stayed alive in everyone's heart—scenes that, even after many years, still make us think.
I close by wishing a happy new year to all our friends at Faith and Light.
Lorenza, 1978
Christmas '77 at San Gioacchino
We gathered at the Jesuit Curia on Borgo Santo Spirito on December 18 for the Faith and Light group of San Gioacchino.
Our Christmas celebration centered on the Eucharistic liturgy, as shown in the drawing.
We felt bound together in community when we saw on the altar and around it everything we had made with our own hands. The chalice, the paten, the cloth, the candlesticks, the candle—we had prepared each thing for this occasion; the wine itself came from a father's homemade vintage!
The nativity figures were born from the work of our group during Sunday meetings.
Our participation in the Eucharistic mystery became extraordinarily alive and united: we all felt involved.
The celebration of love showed us what our daily life should look like: to live together in work, joy, and sorrow in the light of the Eucharist.
In this same festive spirit we watched the birth of Jesus unfold and enjoyed dances performed by children from many nations.
It was a Christmas gathering of wishes, joy, and gratitude—because as we headed home, our hearts felt light, so very light!
Christmas '77 at Villa Patrizi
At Villa Patrizi, Christmas began early. A small group of us spent several afternoons preparing the trees, setting up the nativity corner, making decorations, painting signs.
The party was held on the 17th and it was "fabulous." In this atmosphere of peace, joy, and color, many friends, acquaintances, and parents gathered. Everyone brought a small gift and put it with the others; then they were all distributed by drawing, like a raffle.
But the real heart of the day was the Mass, introduced by a meaningful silent play about the joy of sharing. After Mass came singing, plenty of laughter, and a pleasant ending.
One last event on the 26th: a fun bingo game brought together many of those still in Rome.
At San Paolo
The HANDS OUT Faith and Light group at San Paolo restarted its activities in early October. We spent some "peaceful" preliminary meetings working out our plans, and little by little we moved into action.
We divided responsibilities among group members so everyone carried some weight and the work felt manageable. Settimio handles the treasury—making sure all those numerous income and expense entries balance out, no small feat with an annual budget of about ten million (the numbers started making him dizzy after a while!).
Speaking of numbers: Leo had his hands full cataloging, numbering, and shelving all the books in our well-stocked library—the last part was the hardest because the shelves are only 1.10 meters high!
Sergio and Emanuela handle relations with the other groups in our Oratory, which is tiring because—no offense to the others—we're pretty controversial in our center.
Then there's Clara and Cinzia, who keep connections with other Faith and Light centers; Cecilia, our group secretary; and yours truly, Enrico, who wrote this article and fires off words—for better or worse—to praise or criticize everyone who has anything to do with the group.
Oh! I forgot about our new members, Robertino and Maria, both lovely and eager to help.
Now for our activities. In our last article we outlined the program through year's end, and we've stuck to it pretty well. We held three parties with the young people, including the Christmas vigil; two parent meetings; and every Sunday morning we met with the young people to prepare things for the Christmas sale, which went brilliantly (we had turnout and earnings higher than a Lazio-Roma match!). Jokes aside, it all went great—much better than we expected.
The Christmas vigil deserves special mention. We threw all our energy into it—we posted flyers and signs all over the Oratory and sent invitations to many people—and I mean MANY people—including representatives from other Faith and Light groups, whose attendance we were counting on heavily, and who showed up (hard to believe) in the number of four or five.
When the big night came, we had a great crowd: about thirty people. Great emotion but no fear: everything went perfectly, even Emanuela, made up as the witch, who was, shall we say, QUITE UGLY!
We presented two fairy tales, there was singing and prayer, and above all, moments of reflection we all did together.
I want to take this chance to heartily thank everyone who, willingly or not, did not attend—hoping they'll be less reluctant next time.
Regarding activities from January 1st onward, an article will come out soon.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE, even if a bit late!
EDITOR'S NOTE: We regret that we cannot publish reports from Milan, Parma, and Cuneo, which have not yet reached us.