The Wrinkles of Disenchantment “After years of marriage I realized that the man living beside me was no longer the one I had gone head over heals for when I was young. But there were the children and life went on. One day a friend said to me: ‘I see you aging badly. Instead of growing in love, the wrinkles of disenchantment have grown.’ It was true, in place of loving and giving, I had insisted on being just and fair. I tried to change my attitude towards my husband and I discovered that he needed me more than ever. Things are different now. There’s a greater love flowing among all of us. (M.F. – Polond) The Pharmacy “The employees of the pharmacy I worked at before, were fired. All of them, except me. The new owners, however, were motivated more by self interest than the good of the customers. The atmosphere also changed quickly. For several months I did what I could to improve the relationships among employees and with customers. It was time well spent, during which I learned to be more merciful. Then, dismissal was also proposed for me. In spite of that, I trusted in providence, which didn’t disappoint: Unexpectedly another pharmacy offered me the position of another employee who had retired.”  (C.T. – Hungary) My “Difficult” Patients “For several years now I’ve been working in an institute specializing in patients who are in a vegetable state, usually as a result of an accident. The process of recuperating from a coma is very complex and not even sure to happen. To the relatives who ask if their loved one will wake up, I usually answer that we can’t foresee what will happen, and that only God knows the future. We workers are only the instruments in His hands. It’s impossible to stay indifferent in front of such tragedies. At times my Christian faith has wavered. But I think that these “difficult” patients play an important social role: they gather people together and bring out the capacity of giving in them.” (Elio – Italy) Resurrection “Drugs and prostitution… For two years I stood by my friend, Mario, through his Calvary. He had drifted away from God, but respected the way I lived the faith. When he wound up in the hospital, I visited him faithfully. He asked: ‘Why do you do it? I come from a completely different world from yours!’ During his stay he had time to reflect, and one day he said: ‘I tried to convince myself that God didn’t exist, because it would have forced me to change the way I was living. But now I can’t go on like this anymore. You’re the only person I’m truly happy to have ever met. I would so much like to live like you.’ I suggested that he try to put the Gospel into practice one sentence at a time. I tried to do the same and it worked! Since he trusted me, he agreed to give it a try. It was hard for him to change the meaning of “love” in his mind, which for him meant to prostitute himself for money. It was a difficult journey, filled with failures and new beginnings. One day he went to the Sacrament of Confession. Afterwards he was radiant. Then there was the accident in which he lost his life. God was waiting for him there. But he was already prepared..”  (S.V. – Switzerland)