Easter Passage in China
I reach you from distant China to exchange Easter blessings and to express my gratitude for your prayers, encouragement, and material support for so many missionaries. (...)
Easter confirms and celebrates the resurrection of Jesus—an event that gives meaning to all of life.
As a young man, I felt called to announce this extraordinary news of salvation. Twenty-five years ago I was ordained a priest, and I had the joy of beginning a life of shared faith and missionary witness that has brought me here to China. I thank the Lord, who has always gone before me and illuminated my path. This Easter night, He will give us a great gift: the general director of Huiling, after a decade of working together, has decided to enter the catechumenate and receive the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, and Reconciliation! This is an "Easter passage"—a moment that marks the life of someone who has loved so much and worked tirelessly for the most disadvantaged. Now the Lord has called her closer to Himself, and she will be able to share in the sacraments that, within the Church's family, sustain and strengthen our faith and our joyful commitment to love one another as brothers and sisters. May the proclamation and celebration of the risen Lord bring confidence, hope, warmth, and charity to your own homes and communities.
Father Fernando from Hong Kong
Haiti—After the Earthquake
Thank you all for the words of encouragement that have reached us from every corner of L'Arche and Faith and Light. After sleeping outside for several days, we now have shelter in tents. But the rainy season begins soon, and we fear new hardships ahead. Please continue to hold L'Arche Haiti in your hearts and prayers. The work of rebuilding will be immense.
Keep writing to us. Your messages remind us that we are part of one human family. This sense of belonging to a shared humanity strengthens our hope for a renewed country.
Eveline Barin Verdier - President, L'Arche Haiti Board
Gathering Around a Table
In the last issue of Ombre e Luci (No. 1/2010), I read a letter in Open Dialogue titled "Do you want to leave us with nothing?" about the strain the editorial team faces in continuing its work. I share those concerns and want to add some thoughts of my own.
In recent years, members of Faith and Light groups have found it harder to maintain regular meetings with the same commitment. We know that new members are few, and longtime friends sometimes struggle to balance family and work obligations with their involvement. Our parents have grown older. Because of all this, we need you more than ever—to stay close to us and to remind us that Faith and Light, despite its difficulties, is very much alive and moving forward.
Your beautiful magazine keeps us united. When we receive it, it's as if we sit down together around a table to find one another again and exchange the kind of support that a close-knit group can give to each of its members.
With warmest regards
Elisa Sturlese Milan
Otherwise...
I work every month, five days a week, Monday through Friday. It's hard to wake up at six when it's still dark, and there aren't many people around. I take the bus if I can, otherwise I walk to Piazza Bologna where there's the metro, which they'd have to replace if it breaks. In the morning I read the horoscope—I see it on TV too—but I don't believe what's written there. I don't let myself be influenced by wrong words that cloud your brain. Then I go to work, where I'm a packing operator. I ship instruments and reagents for lab analysis. I get along with my coworkers. I have to spend the whole day with them anyway, and besides I don't have a choice, and I'm being watched. If I'm not there, the supervisor comes looking for me because I'm someone who gives my best at the practical level. For the rest, I have to overcome my shyness, which is like a shield so I don't suffer from possible heartbreak.
At work everyone does something, and you have to be active. That's how it should be, otherwise you get bored doing nothing and you go crazy. I write to Ombre e Luci because I like to know about different realities, and I like to be looked for. You find the time to see each other if you want to. If I'm annoying to someone, they should just say so. I'm someone who loves to laugh and joke and be in company. I don't like being abandoned and then suddenly being around again after a long time...
Bye from
Giovanni Grossi