This is Jesus’ clear invitation in April 2019’s Word of life. He was the first to wash his disciple’s feet so that everyone would understand and live like this in every situation and in every social and cultural context The Missing Component I work in a company that makes computers. I’d been looking for a particular electronic component for months which would hugely reduce the cost of a product but not a single supplier had found it for me. So, I decided that I would design it myself and at the next weekly meeting, being aware of the long hours of work ahead of me, I asked that the order be postponed for another week. However, during that meeting, one of my colleagues who was going through a bit of a difficult time in his family, told us that he hadn’t managed to finish a piece of work which had been entrusted to him. The boss started to shout at him so I offered to finish his work for him. Immediately afterwards, thinking about it, I knew that I wasn’t going to have time to finish my own project and that I was going to be late home for the rest of the week. But on getting back to my office, I found a supplier waiting for me, without appointment, who had come to give me the very component I had been looking for. (M.A.Italy) The Courtyard Many young people from the area play in the courtyard of the apartment building where we live. One of these is Robert, a young guy with problems, who passes the time roaming the streets, often getting into arguments with others. We knew that his parents didn’t have time for him and that he was under the care of a psychiatrist. One day, while he was arguing again, my wife and I went down to the courtyard and invited Robert to come up to our house, where he stayed for the rest of the afternoon, playing with our two children, who were younger than him. In the days that followed, every time things became difficult for him, they brought him to us. We soon learned that Robert had told his psychiatrist how he was spending his afternoons. From the time he started coming to our house his behaviour improved, so much so that he was able to stop his medication. (D.H. USA) The Easter Egg Following a visit to my friend, who was ill, as I was leaving, his wife gave me an Easter egg for my son, Cesare. When I got home I found him playing with my young nephew who was often with us due to the difficult atmosphere in his family. With a wink to my son the egg went into the hands of his younger cousin, who was so happy. Cesare kept playing and when we were on our own I explained to him that when we give a gift we feel closer to Jesus. That afternoon his grandmother arrived with an even bigger Easter egg. Cesare was delighted and said, ‘Dad, why don’t you tell everyone this secret?’ (Z.C Italy) One Big Family After many attempts, an African immigrant which we had welcomed into our parish had managed to get his wife and children to join him from Africa but they didn’t have any of the things they needed. Their accommodation was a building site, with no electricity. So, I offered to do their laundry and others offered food and other necessities. This family, our brothers and sisters, experienced the joy of having found the large family they had thought they’d lost forever having left their own country. (F.F Belgium)

edited by Chiara Favotti