Ricardo:
Liliana and I feel that our way of responding to God’s love is to be living stones in the construction of the Citadel Loppiano.
We are from Argentina and have lived in Loppiano for more than a year and a half now, we have been married for 45 years and as you can imagine, it is not easy to leave our four children, our five grandchildren, or to organise our medical equipment company so that it continues to function well.

Liliana:
We got to know the Ideal in 1979 at a Mariapolis (meeting for 3/4 days), when we were already married with 2 children. I was personally fascinated by the discovery that, throughout the day, I could live in relationship with God through love for my brothers and sisters and, in my case, every gesture of love for my husband and children acquired such a new value.

Ricardo:
I discovered the importance of rekindling the love between us, and not to take it for granted, this also meant saying it in words to Liliana. This love grows to the point when we are willing to give our lives for each other, and in a marriage, because we know each other so well, this can sometimes mean loving each other’s faults as if they were my own.

Liliana:
I remember that on one occasion we had to take a car to a garage that I did not know (one of my characteristics is the lack of local geography). Ricardo was driving ahead in one car and I was following him in another so we could get back together. At a traffic light I was forced to stop while Ricardo continued (at that time there were no cell phones, much less GPS): you can imagine my anxiety when I realized I was lost.  A little further on I saw that Ricardo had stopped to wait for me thus showing his love and understanding of me.

Ricardo:
These small gestures, built on everyday life, in simplicity and tenderness prepare us to face difficult or painful situations.
On one occasion, due to a lumbar hernia that was not discovered due to a poorly done medical examination, I suffered very severe pain without being able to walk and was hospitalized for ten days. At some point I came to think that this could be a terminal illness, but what helped me to go on was seeing the delicate love with which Liliana took care of me, and how she treated the doctors and nurses. Her care for the children, who were worried (indeed one was very upset), how she managed the house, etc.
Once everything was cleared up and I was signed off by the doctor, I felt very emotional about having been loved so deeply, that, even if I had died, nothing would have been missing in our relationship as a couple and as a family.

Liliana:
However, it is always important to start over.  On one occasion a big argument led us to be very distant without speaking to each other for two days. For my part, I felt infinite sadness…

Ricardo:
And I came to understand what hell could be like, that is, the absence of love. When we made up, we realized that it didn’t matter who was right and that we could go beyond the hurt we had suffered. The relationship of mutual love is more valuable than any misunderstanding or personal position.

Liliana:
To build this mutual love we try to be detached from ourselves, it means making space inside to be open to the other`s idea, but at the same time giving ourselves totally to one another by communicating our soul and our relationship with God. When we want to express something and it’s not an opportune moment, we say, “I have something to tell you”, and look for an opportunity to talk about it.