A River of Peace – North
"…Let us give thanks to God and hold fast to the memory of these moments, marveling at them…" So writes don Mauro Santoro, spiritual assistant to A River of Peace, inviting us to reflect on the rich period of intense communion and prayer just past. Four pilgrimages took place across the region: in Lombardy, Galilee, the Veneto, Piedmont, and the Aosta Valley.
All the communities participated, with many parents, young people, and friends responding to the call. We contemplated Faith and Light as a place of resurrection and immersed ourselves in the heart of God. Such communion seems impossible, and when it happens, we struggle to believe it. Speaking the same language means giving each person the ability to recognize that God is accomplishing great things in their small world. To recognize that God is present in our lives. God continues to work great deeds in us. A mystery of communion, unexpected and unearned.
Prayer focused especially on support for the International Assembly in Lebanon this coming July. So the Region opened itself to all of Faith and Light. A concrete sign came through an extraordinary collection for Syria, now mobilizing communities and their members throughout the Region.
Meanwhile, ordinary community life continues: electing new leaders, celebrating feasts, running small group homes, preparing for summer camps. All while we wait for Beirut… OL
Liliana Ghiringhelli
Kimata – Center
2016: all the Roman communities are guests of President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. 2017: our most vulnerable members receive the sacrament of the anointing of the sick at the Sanctuary of Divine Love, among and with people outside Faith and Light.
On both occasions we manage to share joy, laughter, friendship, and bonds of brotherhood.
2018: what should we do for the next Spring Festival? During a summer camp I talk with Luisa, the leader of the team that organizes the festival each year. Why not keep opening ourselves outward—this time into the city? At a villa, a plaza, a famous church… The team takes up the challenge: we'll hold a marathon!
Our "war machine" springs into action, and on May 20th, the Faith and Light Marathon at Caffarella Park becomes reality. A multitude of people running together, each at their own pace and rhythm—some holding hands, some fast, some very slow, all smiling and happy.
At the end, awards are presented by Paola Salvatori, Italy's first woman to complete the Rome Marathon, who is thrilled to share the day with us. People watch in amazement and delight. Some draw near; one city councilor even asks why we didn't inform him!
Special thanks go to the organizing team—Luisa, Fabio, Antonio, and all those who "poured their hearts into it." Thank you truly for this beautiful day… who knows what next spring's festival will bring!
Fabio Bronzini
Sea and Volcanoes – South
Summer is here. It's the time when ties within and among Faith and Light families typically loosen—phone calls and visits become less frequent, and we open that chapter in everyone's life that we surely hope will be joyful and carefree. Yet it's also the time when summer camps and outings spark many connections between communities and among individual members who join other groups. Take Franco, who starting three months before summer camp calls around his region nearly every other day to ask whether he can attend camp even without his own community, and exactly how many pairs of shoes he needs and what kind of towels. Franco is a dynamic person (I'd say the challenge is stopping him!), and during the winter he takes a forty-minute train ride each way to attend music school for students with special needs, organized with young people from a different community than the one he joins for summer camp. I have the sense that Franco is showing us the way toward more frequent exchanges among communities, toward doing things together, toward breaking down walls and borders. Perhaps when we notice that community "routine" threatens to suffocate us and breed discontent, we too could take the train like Franco.
Vito Giannulo