Hard Times
These have been difficult years for everyone. End-of-year bonuses go straight to insurance payments and utility bills. I read Ombre e Luci whenever I can, and I'm always happy to pass it along. I especially enjoyed the articles on Mariangela Bertolini—I keep fond memories of her, particularly her interest in our Fede e Luce group here at Abano San Lorenzo, though sadly nothing came of it. We're all stretched thin now. Each of us carries something: elderly parents to care for, disabled children, grandchildren to watch over, or our own health struggles—as I'm facing right now. At Christmas, I had a hard time organizing a Fede e Luce gathering here in Abano. Now some people don't want to pray anymore. Some have made it fashionable to call themselves secular.
My warm regards.
Paola Spadati
Dear Mother
Dear Mother,
I wish I could write to you again. This will be my last letter. I write it now to remember you. You were a profound person—educated but humble, discreet, open, generous, kind and gracious to everyone, full of irony, wonderful to talk with. And you wrote beautifully. Your travel journals were unforgettable.
I wanted to thank you once more for everything you were to me, to each of us—your daughters—and not only for that, but for how you lived with integrity and what you passed on to us: courage, faith, love of life and truth and goodness and beauty, love of learning, common sense, humility. All of this marked us deeply.
Your life was a life for others—a life given away. Your family raised you to care for the well-being of those around you. Even as a girl, growing up with your mother ill and your father and grandfather helping out, you paid attention to those in need. From our grandfather, whom we never knew—a true idealist, an early socialist—you learned a great lesson in love and respect for life, in welcoming difference, and in justice. It was beautiful to hear you remember your childhood, your family.
You studied with passion all the way through university at the Cattolica, then became a teacher. Not many women went to university then. But once you married and became a mother, you gave yourself entirely to us and our home. You were the heart of the household. You chose to leave teaching, though sometimes you struggled with the busy life of a housewife—a role you carried out with tremendous dedication and care, attentive to each of us. You were a wonderful mother.
Now up there, there are many from our family. Three of you are already there: little Mercede, who died only months after birth, Father, and you. When I was small, I remember saying that because I arrived last, I had to catch up with my older sisters for your time and affection—not realizing that being the youngest, I received all the attention in abundance, as the youngest always do. I think now of little Mercede, ready to come meet you with Father, full of joy to embrace you again.
For you, her sudden death was a terrible blow from which you recovered only with great effort. Then came Lia, Anna, Maria, and me. Life tested you many times, but it also surprised you. With Father, you fought hard so that Maria could live, grow, and gain independence, at a time when support for people with disabilities was scarce. Your faith, your love, and your courage won the day.
I think of relatives—being an only child, you had many cousins you loved to play with; friends from childhood and university whose bonds lasted a lifetime; the parish community you and Father attended faithfully, and which you taught us to love; the circle of friends outside the parish who sometimes visited our home; the Fede e Luce friends, so important in solidarity; and so many acquaintances. Many people loved and respected you.
You could advise others with simplicity, distinguish with true wisdom what is precious from what is not, and draw near to your neighbor without making a fuss about it.
You were the only one in our family to reach 100 years. It was a celebration for us all—one I lived through from the monastery, but united with you in joy and prayer. You chose a phrase from Saint Augustine, a saint you studied so much and loved so dearly, and on whom you gave lectures to the parish Catholic Action group. It speaks of you. It says: "Teach me gentleness by inspiring charity in me, teach me discipline by giving me patience, and teach me knowledge by enlightening my mind."
For me it reminds me that a true teacher is someone who remains open, always on a journey, knowing that what she has learned in life and from life is little compared to what she can still learn and share with others until her last day.
That is how you lived, true teacher of life. Thank you, Mother! I give thanks to God for you and for Father, together with all who knew and loved you!
From the depths of my heart
Sister Maria Chiara, the youngest! Pralormo, July 21, 2016
Dear Friends
Dear Friends,
I lived through incredible emotions last weekend, and I want to share what happened. Saturday: we went to La Storta in the diocese of Porto-Santa Rufina for a catechist training event. I helped my beloved Fede e Luce family show people how important it is to reach out to people with disabilities—and that it's not wrong to do so, far from it. For us young people with a disability, a gesture made from the heart matters far more. For instance, being given the chance to show who I am inside, not just what people see on the outside.
That's why I thank Jesus a thousand times for these people—they are like angels sent from heaven for us and for our families.
Sunday brought something special. Four dear friends from my parish, Saints Cyril and Methodius, came to Santa Silvia. Their names are Marco, Alessandra, Arman, and Eleonora. Bringing them was an incredible emotion for me. Spending a day with them, showing them another side of who I am as a person, and seeing them genuinely interested in Fede e Luce—that was a double emotion because I realized that putting yourself out there isn't wrong if it builds your confidence in yourself.
The best part was seeing them so interested in learning how Fede e Luce began, the way I'd been interested in learning about how the Youth group started at Saints Cyril and Methodius. For all of that, I thank Fede e Luce!
Antonietta Pantone