With the arrival of a new parish priest in a neighbouring village, we have begun living the Word of Life together. This is a phrase from the Bible that the Focolare Movement focuses on each month and about which we share our experiences. One evening, our neighbour’s cows got into my bean field and destroyed everything. It was not the first time this had happened and because of it we had not spoken to each other for months. Wanting to teach him a lesson, my wife, the children and I picked up some branches and set off towards his house.
On the way, I remembered the Word of Life and said, “Hold on! Last week I received a leaflet that said we must forgive our enemies. If I go to the catechesis meeting, how can I explain it if we go and punish our neighbour now?”
We decided to go to his house, but not to speak to him in a threatening way. We simply wanted to explain what had happened and ask him to be more careful with his cows.
That is exactly what we did. Expecting a violent confrontation, he was left speechless. He knelt at my feet and apologised over and over again.
From that day on, we began speaking to each other again and greeting each other normally. In fact, even more than that: we became friends.
A new joy filled our home.

S. W. (Guinea-Bissau)

Nieuwe Stad (Belgio) 2026, numero 2

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