On Wednesday afternoon, I am in the oratory with Maria, Claudia, Maurizio and Rosalba: we are preparing the room to welcome people, mostly elderly and mostly women, who will arrive presently. We aren’t even able to squeeze in the praying of the Angelus, with which we entrust our time together to the Virgin Mary, before the first people arrive, early. They are happy to come. After Covid, little by little, we began to propose meetings one afternoon a week and in the last year, the group grew so large that we needed to move to a bigger room. The word was spread among them, and even persons outside of the parish come: some of them do not even frequent the sacraments.
We begin with singing, then a brief catechism; we play bingo, have a snack and then we pray the Divine Mercy chaplet for all of the intentions that each person carries in their heart and to sustain our mission. The biblical story of Moses who prays on the mountain for those in battle inspires our praying. Some of these people at one time were very active in various roles in the parish: now that they are elderly, they continue to sustain the community with the offering of their prayer.
Why do they come? In whatever weather, cold or hot as it may be?
I asked myself and then I asked directly to them.
Ours is not only a recreational moment, something to pass the time: they have many other occasions to do so.
We aren’t even able to squeeze in the praying of the Angelus before the first people arrive, early.
They come to share in friendship: “I enjoy coming here because it helps us get to know one another better; even if we are no longer young, it is beautiful to be together and to pray,” says Renata, 85 years old.
They come because they feel welcomed and loved, and because they desire to grow in the faith, as Franca, 78 years old, told us: “For me, participating in these meetings has been a growth. Many times, caught up in the thousand things to do, I do not have time to go deeper into matters of the faith. If I have questions, I know that here I can ask them and receive a response.”
We propose these meetings and they participate: both -us and them- desire to encounter Jesus. It is He who calls us and puts us together, who allows the beauty of the communion among us.
The Christian faith “is the free response of man to the initiative of God who reveals Himself,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In every age of life, the Lord knocks on the door of our heart and every day we need to recognize Christ and to experience His merciful love through the companionship of the Church.
It is a continuous adventure; we meet up Wednesday afternoon to help each other along this path.
