“With great joy we share with you the beautiful day we had on Sunday, 29th March at the Mariapoli Centre of Maria, Mother of Humanity at Asunción in Paraguay.
We launched the year dedicated to “Chiara Lubich and the family” and also the official beginning of the celebrations for the 50.th anniversary of New Families.
About 247 adults and young people and at least 50 children of different ages were present and while the Gen 2, Gen 3 and Gen 4 had their own programm the adults participated at a meeting with a reflection on the theme of the family.
One of the most significant moments of the day was when Olga and Gerardo gave testimony on their participation at the event Family Highlights at Loppiano (FI) and at the “ Family School” which was at Castelgandolfo about that time.
Chiara’ s speech on the occasion of the Foundation of the New Families Movement in 1967 and the intervention of Emmaus during the event of “Family Highlights” , gave many points for reflection to the families present who became aware of the great task to which they are called, gaining a renewed desire to continue to give living testimony and to operate where families have the greatest need today.
We presented the New Families calendar with the various activities of this year in Paraguay which we intend to carry out with the spirit of an unique family. The programm finished with a High Mass celebrated by Monsignor Adalberto Martinez followed by lunch and a joyful moment of games in the afternoon for all.
Carlos and Silvia tell of a particular fruit of this encounter: they met a couple who had been married for 3 years, the wife had a daughter before being married and she is now 11 years old.
The couple met, fell in love and soon started to live together before deciding to get married.
Slowly the initial enthusiasm gave space to heated discussions which opened deep wounds and as both have strong characters their relationship deteriorated decisively.
Last December he left home leaving his wife with her daughter.
Nevertheless they came to this encounter having being invited by a family who have a daughter , a GEN, who is a classmate of the girl. This couple in crisis accepted this invite as a last opportunity to find a solution to their matrimonial difficulties.
The couple were able to start talking about issues which cost them a lot. They began to be more sincere with each other, and managed to express the suffering and anger accumulated from previous discussions. Above all they expressed the wish to fight to save their marriage.
The couple who invited them asked us to have a talk with them and we shared the crisis which we had years ago in our marriage where we were on the edge of a separation. Today this is all in the past and not only is our family blessed by God in many ways , but we try to sustain other families who are going through the same difficulties. We told them that God loves them and this is just His call and a growth opportunity. We also told them that we believe that they are also called to give testimony to other couples who in the future might go through the same crisis just as we
are doing for them.
They thanked us for the time spent together and they asked us to meet them at least once a week to accompany them on this way they want to take. They seemed like a couple in love when they left with an eye to their future. They know it wont be easy but they want to try.
According to them, the invite to the encounter and the reconciliation , was a “miracle” as a month ago they had started divorce proceedings. Today instead they have begun the proceedings to the court to withdraw the application and to go ahead with the new “I do” as they pronounced on their wedding day.
By the New Families of Paraguay
