A family open to the world

“Like all young people we were searching for happiness. Andrea was a very popular guy, especially with the girls, he didn’t believe that love was forever and he was an atheist. Little by little I adapted to his liberal thinking. After we were engaged for two years he met God through the young people of the Focolare, which turned out to be love also for me. I felt the desire to live the Gospel, to see Jesus in every one. I tried: it was the revolution! It turned my life upside down.”

“Over time, Fiorella had asked me to accompany her to some meetings for families. I was completely won over by their way of living. They wanted to live out the new commandment of Jesus, mutual love. I was especially struck by one couple, the way they loved each other. Once, when Fiorella was away, I went to visit them and we spoke about family life, about the relationship between the two of us, about the faith. I felt I was experiencing something superior to the love – beautiful as it was – between the two of us: I had encountered God.”

“At a New Families convention we listened to the experience of a family that had given God first place in their life. They left with their children to take the Gospel to other parts of the world. It sounded fascinating to us. We wrote to Chiara Lubich that we were also ready to leave everything to go wherever God would send us. A few years later the opportunity arrived. I had a moment of apprehension, In a flash I saw everything I would be leaving, but then my eyes glanced at a crucifix and I thought that in Him I would have the key for embracing this opportunity. Chiara gave us a mandate: ‘You don’t have do anything in particular, just keep Jesus in your midst.” This would mean intensifying our mutual love more and more each day, forgiving one another, never ending the day without first being at peace with one another.”  

Eight years passed with situations of all kinds in a culture quite different from ours, in Honduras. Several young people were added to the small community we found there. This was due solely to the fact that our children simply and willingly mixed in with rich and poor, without any problems, they played among the shacks, making friends everywhere. We had a great experience of inculturation and learned, sometimes with difficulty, to immerge ourselves in the life of the people, in their sufferings and joys, and we met stupendous friends, such generous people from whom we received so much.”

“Poor children were constantly knocking at our door asking for food. One day, I was tired of it and said to the boy who knocked: “Today no!” Our son was there near to me and was listening, and said: “But Mum, Jesus is in him.” We took many trips to visit faraway communities, and we could talk in the car as a family, telling each other how we could grow more in love. Also our Bishop Cardinal Maradiaga encouraged and supported us. He had great esteem for Chiara and a deep relationship with our family. Many times he invited us to work with other movements and associations, trying to bring to fruition what is specific to the charism of unity.”

“Providence always accompanied us. When we arrived we were given a house for a year and a compact car. One time, my ex-colleagues sent us the money for an airplane trip we had to take. Sometimes we were lacking basic things like sugar and milk. Then, someone would often arrive with a carton of milk or a bag of sugar, precisely when we were in need of them. After seeking employment for a while, I was hired by an Italian company given a very good position. Moreover, a man gave us a house, then the money arrived for restructuring it and enlarging it with a hall for 180 people for meetings with the community. We experienced how the words of the Gospel are true.”

“Eight years later we left Central America so that our children could continue their studies. It was a real cut because leaving Italy we had to give up our ‘fields,’ but leaving Honduras we had to detach ourselves from the people especially, from the people with whom we had built such extraordinary friendships of reciprocal love. Now, Andrea and I feel that our love is forever, not only in this life but for eternity.”