Name?
Roberto
Age?
Fifty in a few days.
Education?
I got my middle school diploma last year. Evening classes.
What made you decide to do that?
To find work. I need to help my mother—she's getting old now. And I need to save money so everyone in the Faith and Light community can go to Lourdes in 2011.
What's your role in the community?
I'm an altar server at Mass. I set up, and I welcome the new people who come.
How do you welcome them?
Well, one time I bought these wooden clothespins at the market near my house—they have little painted figures on top—to give to two new young friends who were coming back for their second time in the community. But that's a long story.
Can you tell it?
So here's what happened. At the last gathering, two new girls came—sixteen years old, very nice, but a little lost because everyone else was older. But they promised they'd come back the next time. So on the day of the next meeting, I bought two clothespins to give them. I wanted them to feel important.
We started the gathering, and people began arriving little by little. But those two? Not a sign of them. Then a new family showed up instead: a mother, a boy who seemed restless and right away grabbed everyone's attention, and a younger sister who looked pretty annoyed about having to be there with us. She sat by herself on a bench, pulling a book of fairy tales out of her backpack. She looked sad and very confused, because more people from the community kept arriving, and for her they were all new faces. Then I had an idea. I pulled out the wooden clothespin with the little bear wearing a red hat—the same red as her jacket—sat down next to her, and gave it to her. She was so happy! We became friends, and she came and sat with the others in the circle while we practiced the songs for Mass.
And the other clothespin?
That one was for the new girl, the one who was taking her time getting there. But then a family from the community showed up—we hadn't seen them in a couple of months. The mother was carrying a tiny, soft bundle: Emanuele, only two months old! What a joy to see him! He was wearing a little green outfit, just like the bow on the figure of the clothespin I still had in my pocket. It was clear—that clothespin was for him. So I clipped it onto the carrier where his mother was holding him.
So what happened with those two new girls?
Here's the best part: the clothespins were all used up, but a little while later the new girls finally arrived. What was I going to do? How could I make them feel special? How could I welcome them? I thought for a second, and then I said to myself: a kiss is enough. I went to meet them, hugged them with a smile, and we spent the whole morning together, hand in hand, singing.
A happy ending.
Yes. And then everyone had lunch!
Roberto and Valeria M., 2006