"Every day he says to me, "Do not be afraid""
LettersSeven hundred employees at home because of the Covid emergency. Life changes. And yet, amid the worry, "the opportunity to live the real intensely” reappears every morning.
Letters - 2020 - Page 6
Waiting for good news
LettersAfter the eight o'clock applause of gratitude from the balconies, a group of friends begin to sing from their balcony. Neighbours begin to send them messages and gifts... In the midst of the drama, the announcement of an unyielding hope.
"The eyes of God upon my people"
LettersForty-five coffins instead of pews in a parish in Bergamo. The story of a journalist called to recount the drama of his people: "You are not alone, you are not abandoned...".
"What am I missing by staying home?"
LettersRestrictive measures in Uganda too. The university is shut and exams “avoided”, now internet and relaxation. "An almost perfect situation in some ways, except not being able to go out," Marvin thought, "until my heart started crying out..."
"One who changes the instant”
LettersCoronavirus in Perù, in the cancer wards. And then at home, among family members, thinking about friends and relatives in Spain and Venezuela. Silvia recounts "the path of holiness to which we are all called".
"That is why I can love the sea"
LettersThe year did not start well for Davide. Illness that shook him and his family. Then, Coronavirus and a foggy future, wrecking schemes and plans. "Yet, I did not drown”.
Enrico's discoveries
LettersWork in a hospice in Florida, life at home, away from Italy. And the lockdown, between anxiety caused by the news and the discovery of a certainty without which everything is just "a burden in my heart".
"The yes that saves the world”
LettersHe is a doctor who deals with cancer patients, fighting every day to protect them from the virus. And a smile towards the relatives who wait, "not out of politeness, but out of gratitude." Another letter from the "front line".
How can Christ prevail in my life?
LettersFaced with the fact that the virus has redefined every aspect of life, a question arises: how can the presence of Christ prevail so that it is Him who defines every moment?
"More at risk, but happier”
LettersShe has a rare disease that leads to severe immunodepression. The indications are clear: stay locked indoors. But precautions are not enough to overcome fear. And yet...
"I surrendered to gratitude"
LettersGabriele, from Bergamo, managed to accompany his mother to the cemetery. Almost clandestinely. He thinks about her, about what she left him. But also about our elderly, and why we take care of them. They are our true richness.
"What gives my heart peace”
LettersA young doctor with his questions and fears. Amazement that tears you away from distraction. The desire to be silent. And the need to be "seized" every time...
"If Christ were not here, I would run away”
LettersShe's a nurse at the Polyclinic of Milan. Within a few hours, young and inexperienced, she found herself working with intensive care patients. Fear and complaint dominate. Then, after her first shift, something changes...
"A gesture that tells me, again, who I am”
LettersA call, at this time of emergency, to the value of the Common Fund. An opportunity to re-ask ourselves what it is. And how it helps us to live faith.
"Our own step of self-awareness”
LettersThey got married, privately, on February 29. Months of planning and preparations went up in smoke. A great sense of injustice. But also the question: "What does the Lord ask of us?"
"Friends are far away. But I am not alone"
LettersThe desire for something to overcome loneliness and thoughts. A message that gets you going again. The desire to be open to things that happen. And the discovery that even in a family, "walls" can fall.
"The value, today, of my ‘yes’ to this companionship"
LettersTo look at what is happening to us during this emergency within a broader horizon. Like Pope Francis does. A deacon, awaiting ordination, talks about what he is discovering in these days.
The symptom of an underlying anxiety
LettersElena, in the first few days after schools closed, was busy with a thousand things. Then she realized that in her never stopping, something did not sit right. So she starts a work…
The cry to the only One who can answer
LettersHe works in the E.R., in the infectious emergencies area. Sometimes it is tempting to scream and run away. Sometimes there is the surprise of being picked up by a simple message from a colleague.
You can offer all sorts of things, as well as prayers
LettersHer husband is busy in the Coronavirus ward. She is at home with her children, busy with the "usual things": cleaning, washing, cooking. And she asks herself, "How can I be useful right now?”
"If you do not see Jesus here, it is because you do not want to”
LettersHe has been hospitalized for coronavirus. He is having trouble breathing, but he is keeping his eyes open. To discover the many signs of His presence. "I am not glad that I got sick, but I am grateful for what I am discovering."