"Mom! Finally it's Friday! We have to go to San Gioacchino. Who will be there? What will we do?"
This is what Carla says to me.
We've come to call it the day of welcome, and it couldn't be a better name.
These weekly gatherings started from a shared longing among Fede e Luce friends to spend more time together. We're not a large group, not like our monthly meetings, but that's precisely why we get to know each other better and become ever closer friends.
We arrive at 5:30, and Sandra and Francesca have already tidied the rooms beautifully to make them welcoming. Then Maria Grazia arrives, a bit breathless from just leaving the office, carrying packages and bottles for our snack.
An exclamation! There's Roberto. There's Mirella. Then Daniela, Luciana, Elisabetta, and all the others who manage to free themselves from their duties each Friday to be with us.
The tables overflow with boxes of every color, full of games suited to our young people, along with paper, notebooks, and plenty of markers.
Carla, who is sturdy, jumps rope for long stretches while Carlo or Angelo count how many jumps she's done. The more she does, the happier she is!
Friday, February 6th, was special because it was Father Gilberto's feast day. As always, Guendalina arrived with her inseparable guitar, and singing together—"Happy Birthday!"—we gave him small gifts. That same afternoon, one of Roberto's friends came too, a tall and sturdy young man who lifted Roberto and then Elisabetta off the ground and spun them around, much to their delight.
Nearly every Friday a new friend joins us, and this brings us great joy because it means the flock keeps growing and there will be no more lost sheep. How could it be otherwise? There's Valeria's grace, Marina's seriousness, Guenda's liveliness, Maria Grazia's thoughtfulness, Maria Laura's sweet voice, the protection that Sandra and Francesca—the elders of our group—offer us, and the warmth and friendship of everyone else.
It's around seven o'clock now, and Sandra apologizes: she has to go because she needs to do something for her grandson, who (she says) is the most beautiful boy in the world. We laugh! Guendalina has to leave to make dinner for her brothers—eggs, since she says that's all she knows how to cook. Roberto's father, who is an excellent cook, and I suggest various ways to prepare eggs better (fingers crossed!). One Friday, Francesca left early to see the dentist (poor thing!).
In this pleasant atmosphere, two hours pass. They give me and the others the chance to breathe, to know that at last we're not alone. For this, we give thanks to God.
- Fausta Guglielmi, 1976
Together
A single flower is always something wonderful
but a bouquet is always lovelier and more welcome.
A hand reached out can be salvation,
many hands clasped together are a sign of brotherhood and joy.
A single word can be decisive in a moment of despair,
but being there to listen to someone who needs
to tell you they are alone with their pain and need to talk... talk... talk...
and you barely have time to answer.
And when this happens on the phone... by the end the receiver has practically stuck to your ear.
Then you find yourself thinking of that one word:
"Together"—
which I find so fitting as the title of our magazine.
Together means never facing joy or sorrow alone. And
Together with God's help, and with a bit of goodwill—
or better, with real availability—
we can do little and much.
The important thing is to do it.
- Mariolina Parisi, 1976