Feelings
Flavia is 25 years old. Through her poetry and her thoughts, she enriches the gatherings of her community in Rome, Il girasole.
I love being in your company because you show not only so much joy but also such wonderful love for us. Even though I cannot express my feelings with my voice, I can do it through writing. I'm very fond of you all...
Joy arrives unexpectedly, allowing us to deeply honor the Lord who extraordinarily gives us his eternal love... I cannot find adequate words to express my gratitude for the beautiful weekend we spent together.
Dear Norina, you carry sunshine and joy in your smile, remaining unshaken even when unexpected things happen, like the bus breaking down and the suitcases getting mixed up... Since I started attending Fede e Luce meetings, your smile helps me accept my disability better...
I like to remember the words of our incomparable Master, when he calls us the "little ones" or the "last," incapable as we are of being instruments for foolish men to gain wealth, honors, and prestige.
I wanted to write you the motto that my heart suggested to me: "Together we can go out into the world, freed from our fears, freed from the oppression that wounds our fragile way of being".
Sweetness, come nourish my bitter existence,
Silence, still my soul tormented by anguish,
Night, cover me with your cloak when I feel defenseless,
Light, always illuminate my dark path,
Skies, open up when someone caresses my face,
Accept me as I am, and I too will be happy.
Flavia Castoldi, Rome - Kimata
Seeing the Sun Again
In 1981, I had the good fortune to encounter this beautiful and great family called Fede e Luce. From that day on, I can truly say that my life and that of my son Pino changed forever. I was in a deeply sad period of my life, struggling with severe depression. I came to Fede e Luce out of mere curiosity, but soon I realized that God had orchestrated this for me, as he so often does.
I was losing faith in everything and everyone. I had three children—Pino with Down syndrome and another with a physical disability—and I thought God had truly abandoned me, even though both were wonderful and capable boys. But families facing such challenges go through ups and downs.
That time was terrible for me. I couldn't even hope for anything good anymore. Thankfully, I met this family called Fede e Luce, this great community that immediately changed how I thought and saw things. Surrounded by all these friends—mine and Pino's—with their gentle smiles and their care, I saw the sun again. Pino too became happier whenever Fede e Luce came up, and when we actually met? I can't even describe it. He was so happy that everyone could see it. We used to get the monthly program in the mail, and almost every evening Pino would check it to see if and when we had something planned together.
He worked on Corso Sempione, and by chance several Fede e Luce families lived nearby. Many evenings, before taking the bus home, he would stop by their houses and ring the doorbell just to say "Hi, I'm Pino, see you soon"—or he'd show up faithfully each month to help Geppo put together the program.
I want to tell you something else. In 1985 Pino became very ill and was hospitalized. Our friends who were still studying medicine took turns visiting him, and when they arrived at the ward, they'd put on white coats as if they worked there, to reassure him and let him know they were near. Those moments stayed in my heart. The same thing happened later when Pino was hospitalized at the end of his life.
Pino left us on March 30th, two years ago. As long as I have strength, I will continue doing what he would have loved—being part of Fede e Luce. I am grateful to Fede e Luce, especially to all those who were around him in his final days, and I bless the people who created this great family.
Olga Rocca, Milan - Un Fiume di Pace
Bolts from the Blue
It was January 2nd:
— What's your name?
— Maria.
— Can I wish you a happy new year?
— No. Go away.
First bolt from the blue.
Your priest brings you to a party with strangers and abandons you with a promise to come back for you. You watch a show with dancers in costume and beach sandals, a scarecrow, and the Wizard of Oz.
Second bolt from the blue.
A buffet that could have fed an entire city's celebration.
Third bolt from the blue.
From that January 2nd, Maria has been part of my life. That party became my Fede e Luce community, and that buffet is the same one that every August at camp makes me gain a kilo a day.
I wish these words of mine held that "mix of peace and chaos" that exists in Fede e Luce. It's one of the loveliest descriptions I know of our communities, written by our friend Bruno Brundisini.
Maria had an extraordinary talent for hurling just the right insult at each person—a true sniper of insults! We miss her very much.
But her most beautiful image is in the community that was born around her and that has gone on living.
We are a community in formation. The name we chose, or perhaps that chose us, is 'Hand in Hand'.
Marcella Potenza, Fasano - Mari e Vulcani