“Last September,” says Luigi, trade unionist, who seeks to live the spirituality of unity along with Fr. Peppino and others in the parish, “we had the idea to organize meals for solidarity for those on the margins of society, for the lonely.” The place to do it? “We realized that with a little work the space we use for parish meetings could become a welcoming dining room. It wasn’t even difficult to make the guest list. Their faces are familiar to us: people we see on the street, who live in the same neighbourhoods where we live, who are our next door neighbours, those who are helped by the Caritas, the elderly, foreigners…” “We started by dividing up the tasks to be done,” interjects Grace. “One offered to do the shopping, notifying restaurants and supermarkets; one offered to cook, with close attention to preparing dishes that even our Muslim friends could eat. The strongest offered to fix up the room and the teen girls offered to prepare the entertainment. A well-rounded team: young people, adults, and even children.” The first lunch was held in October 2014. For everyone involved it was a sunny Sunday, as was the radiant face of the elderly man with the cane and the woman who loved to dance and enjoyed herself so much. A few days before Christmas, the second lunch was held. “You can’t imagine the joy of the anticipation,” remembers Vincent, “when the hall was opened there were already a few elderly participants sitting on a bench waiting. As soon as they saw us they came to embrace us and give us the season’s greetings, and then went to find a place to sit. Immediately after wards all the others arrived, including the children and their parents. Between courses there was music and karaoke, and then the Moroccan girls instructed everyone in dances to songs from their country.” The children, meanwhile, played, coloured, and tried to wait patiently for the big surprise…the arrival of Santa Claus, who distributed gifts for everyone. “For us, the organizers, there were no wrapped presents,” says Carla, “but we received a much more precious gift: the scene of all those people, finally smiling and happy.” After the Christmas lunch followed that of Epiphany, and still many others: a tradition which continues, and each time becomes a chance to intertwine oneself in many cultures and religions. Among the guests, who gradually become more and more numerous, there are Arabians, Ukrainians, Catholics, Orthodox, Evangelicals, people of no religious conviction and especially many Muslims. “Is there difficulty? Commitment? Problems? Of course,” admits Luigi, “because it isn’t easy to organize meals like these from nothing. But the joy that moments like these bring us is indescribable, leaving in each of us the desire and the inventiveness to do more. They are truly opportunities to grow as a person and to grow in the sense of community, in us organizers and in the guests, who are no longer guests but truly brothers and sisters.”