An opportunity for conversion
LettersMarta describes the significance the Rimini Meeting has for her and why she decided to sign up as an ambassador for this year’s special edition, all the way from Scotland.
Letters - 2020 - Page 3
"Without forgiveness, Belarus will have no future”
LettersThe country has been in peaceful protest since the elections on August 9. A Catholic priest recounts how he has witnessed "the awakening of a people" which until now has been apathetic to the regime. "We live the dizziness of living the present as it is."
Brazil: "My bond with the infinite"
LettersThe arrival of the life-threatening pandemic. But also the beginning of a journey. With the GS students, with the young mothers, with those who care about society. A novelty that comes from the rediscovery of one's own humanity.
Florida: Where is certainty in a time of uncertainty?
LettersCoronavirus also hit the south east of the US a few months ago. Lockdown and the appeal to stay at home, waiting and fearful. Yet "in that friendship, Christ surprised me once again..."
We Shared Life
LettersDespite the masks and social distancing, Stacey experiences an extraordinary vacation.
Perth: The gift of tenderness
LettersLockdown in Australia. At home with his daughters and grandchildren, an apparently ideal situation. Yet it was not easy: “I was forced to take steps”, until his daughter washed his feet on Holy Thursday.
Latin America: A companionship "on the road"
LettersOnly four of them were able to undertake the annual university students' pilgrimage to Aparecida. But with them, connected via video link, were dozens of friends from nine countries. "Following a "yes" that has made the Ideal that has reached us flesh."
His Faithfulness Defines Me
LettersThe present situation provokes our desires for peace, rest, hope, meaning. But where are they to be found?
Taipei: Angie and Rosalia are back
LettersThey were baptised in the parish of the priests of the Fraternity of St. Charles. Then life took them far away. But, during lockdown, they came across Fr. Emanuele’s videos. And they asked to meet him again. Thus their friendship was ignited again.
Dublin: “Only Christ can fill my life”
LettersThe health crisis has paralyzed his language school. An employee asks him, "How can you wake up in the morning not knowing if it is going to end well?" To answer, Mauro remembers the time when he and Margaret slept on a bench…
Crossing the Divide
LettersSadness, confusion, and fear filled Fr. John's heart after the death of George Floyd. A way forward opened up, unexpectedly, when he crossed to other side of his driveway.
The Gift of Unity
LettersSeeking to understand how to "become a presence," Hannah goes back to charitable work. An answer appears in a look of tenderness.
Venezuela: To live without anesthesia
LettersRafael describes Venezuela’s rationing of water, poverty and pandemic: "I wanted to turn everything off, hide from the world, in the pain of nothingness.” Yet something within him resists. A desire, a flame.
“An experience of grace”
LettersHans speaks of his experience of lockdown, the closure of his school, and his unexpected discovery of the movement. The outcome? A book of reflections upon his experience as a headteacher.
A time for me, with you, O Christ
LettersConfinement, the abrupt halt of work, a marriage that begins 24/7, and the inability to feel "useful". But in a homily by Pope Francis, a question that changes the situation: "My daughter, give me your failings.”
The walls of home and the horizon of life
LettersFrom a phone call with a friend, the birth of an online initiative consisting of international cultural meetings: "É-née", Aeneas. In the midst of the pandemic, "an opportunity to break down borders and find distant friends".
When the heart “thaws”
LettersA literary contest that, beyond all expectations, not even the virus could suspend. And the surprise of "a flower" which, after the prize giving, turned expectations upside down...
Born of a "Yes"
LettersIrene's children are out protesting, but at home, respect is an issue. So, what is the basis of our respect for one other?
"Someone who comes to me and says, “You are not alone”
LettersAfter a year in hospital, the health emergency hit, with all its difficulties and concerns. But also many discoveries, within everyday life. The mother of a disabled child talks about a gift “thought of for me”.
I do not give up my heart's thirst for happiness
LettersIsolation and the adventure of distance learning. The desire to accompany each other and the inability to help friends. And the inexplicable, but real evidence of a "constant backdrop of joy and certainty".
There is No Recipe
LettersStuck at home, struggling with work. There is no "figuring it out." But there is a chance to discover what it is to be "new creature."