Going to Mass with My Daughter
The churches in my city are wheelchair-accessible, and the priests are always welcoming. Yet three times out of four, I attend Mass without Maria—my seventeen-year-old daughter with multiple disabilities—while my other children come with me. The reason is simple: spending that hour in peace is hard. I have to be completely present to Maria to keep her calm, ready at any moment to leave with her if she starts to cry out. What patience and self-control it takes to manage all of this and still pray!
Even though the glances of others—ranging from pity to admiration—can be heavy, what weighs on me most is my own stress. And yet I believe it matters for Maria to be there. I believe she has the right to know God's love, and that happens through her presence at Mass.
Fortunately, we have our monthly Faith and Light gatherings, which end with Mass at the parish. The parishioners accept our community's presence with varying degrees of enthusiasm, but we are carried along by friendship and prayer.
Once a year we invite all the parishioners to a festive Mass that we in Faith and Light lead. I'm always deeply moved by it, and I feel genuinely welcomed by the people who give us their presence.
d.F. (Ombres et Lumière n. 165)
A Proud Uncle
On behalf of the San Lorenzo community in Abano Terme, I thank you for the good you do with our magazine and for all the work behind it. I wanted to congratulate you on issue 100 for showing so many young people and parents on their long journey within the Faith and Light family.
I wanted to share with you the joy we're living through these days. Our son Sandro and his wife Francesca have made us grandparents to a beautiful little girl named Sofia, long awaited and desired after nine years of marriage. She's our first grandchild. Gianni is over the moon, proud to be an uncle now, feeling important. When he can, he cuddles her and feels such overwhelming emotion. I thank the Lord for all the goodness he gives us.
Adriana
Deeply United
I'm grateful that you're able to continue publishing this beautiful magazine for the Christian families of our more vulnerable young people.
My Giorgio has been in Heaven for three years, but I feel deeply united with everyone I meet. The love for them can never go out. In Heaven they're all waiting for us!
I will never forget the wonderful days on the various pilgrimages throughout Italy and abroad. We remain always united in prayer with Don Francesco.
Franca Cremonesi
Vacation Returns
The working days are getting fewer. Part of me is sorry, because I'm used to waking up at 6:00 in the morning while it's still dark outside, and then vacation starts. I don't know what to do. Time doesn't pass. I can't wait for the day to end so another one can begin. I don't like Christmas, except for that one moment. When people ask what do you do, what don't you do, for me every day is the same. Christmas has nothing except the gifts. In the churches they put up nativity scenes to look at and pray to. But I'm a Christian who doesn't practice, because sometimes I want to say everything I hide inside, and few people understand me. They don't have the patience to listen, to laugh, to joke, always without reason. I am alone and don't know what to do! How nice it was to be together on vacation. Time went by so fast. The bad part is that there are too many days. And when the last day comes, I think how much I'd like to go and not come back, with no obligations of any kind. Without everything starting again, doing the same things over, things done from memory.
Goodbye from
Giovanni Grossi