News of Faith and Light Around the World
Asia-Pacific Region
Thirty-one communities span Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, India, Mauritius, and the Philippines. It is a region of stark contrasts: desperately poor people living alongside the very wealthy. People of different faiths. Countries separated by thousands of miles of ocean. Faith and Light was born in New Zealand. Four small communities there, each twinned with a community in Australia, carry on the work.Latin America and the Caribbean
Faith and Light thrives with sixty communities in Brazil, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Peru, and the Dominican Republic. Right now these countries are preparing for a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, which will bring together communities from both the Americas. From Peru: «I want to share with you both a sorrow and a hope: our national assistant has left for the Amazon, where he now works as a missionary among the indigenous peoples. His departure was a great loss for us, but also a hope—that perhaps we might see a Faith and Light community born in the depths of the virgin forest!» From Santo Domingo: «Dear friends, hello to all of you! I write to thank you for your help—the clothing and money you sent. Because of your generosity, we were able to spend an unforgettable week at camp. There were thirty-four young volunteers, thirty-one young people and children with disabilities, seven mothers, and four younger siblings. It was the best camp in the history of our Faith and Light community. Everyone was overjoyed, and many said it was the most beautiful week of their lives.»Middle East Region
From Lebanon: Despite ten years of war, the communities continue to meet regularly. This summer saw eighteen vacation camps, and in the fall all the communities gathered for a pilgrimage to Notre Dame du Liban. Seven hundred people attended, including seventeen from Cyprus and some from Syria.Northern Europe Region
Faith and Light is present with eighty-nine communities in Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Ecumenism is a living reality here—a reality that carries the pain of division, yet also reveals the mystery of unity around our brothers and sisters with disabilities. From Ireland: «...We feel the need to go beyond songs, dances, and casual talk. We have now created moments of spiritual reflection for families and friends. It is time to offer the same to people with intellectual disabilities. This is new for us. We must move slowly. We have decided to hold retreats with no more than thirty people. Each person with a disability will have a companion who commits to the retreat with them, and then, we hope, to a lasting friendship.» From Norway: Tonia, who leads the Oslo community, now lives in the far north of the country. She writes: «I have the feeling I am on top of the world, living in a converted barn! The freezing wind blows, snow is ever-present, but light covers everything. It is still daylight at nine in the evening, and the sun rises at three o'clock (in April). In all these small, well-heated houses, there are certainly people with disabilities, parents, friends who are waiting for a community. The land is harsh, distances are enormous, but people here are more open to solidarity and sharing than in the south. I travel by small airplane to visit my patients. (Tonia is a psychologist.) I will soon speak about Faith and Light to a group that is coming to my home.»* * *
After That Meeting
A few days before Christmas in 1985, a small Faith and Light community was born in Marzocca: a handful of young people with their families, a group of volunteers, their enthusiasm and desire to help, and almost no knowledge or experience with the challenges our young people face. I was there at that first meeting—awkward, tense, a little moved. I couldn't sing. I didn't know the games. I didn't know what to say or how to act. I felt utterly useless. But I had grasped the importance and meaning of this different way of being together, this gift of self, and I wanted to change. Little by little, I learned to know the young people, to grow comfortable with their parents, to strengthen bonds with the other friends, and to take an active part in the meetings. Then, at the end of April, even if only for a day, I went on pilgrimage to Assisi. That day, something happened that marked me deeply. A boy who could not see me, could not speak to me, could not hear my voice—he became aware of my presence. I felt small in the face of his great love, and unable to express the affection and gratitude I felt for him, yet he offered me his friendship so gently. In that moment something powerful broke loose inside me. I understood that I could not go on communicating with others almost entirely through words, as I had done until then. That boy, whose name I do not even know, taught me to tear down the barriers of selfishness, indifference, and social formality—things we often call, for convenience, simply good manners. He taught me to sense what goes unsaid, to read the meaning of a glance, a smile, an embrace, and to speak in that language so direct and immediate. After that encounter, I understood that I need not worry anymore about what I can do or how I should behave. All I need is a simple, open heart—one that lets itself be swept up in the love and enthusiasm of these young people. I discovered infinite joy in learning to love and give myself with humility and wholeness, the way the friends of Faith and Light have taught me. Stefania, from Let's Walk Together* * *