RCC World Youth Convention

Interview with our two special correspondents, Maria Grazia and Martina

Upon returning from theWorld Meeting of Young People of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal on the theme“In His Name Shall the People Hope” held July 10-15, 2012 in Foz do Iguaçú, Brazil, here are the first words from the Magnificat Community’s dispatchers.

A more complete account can be found in future issues of the magazine Come and See.

Dear Martina and Maria Grazia, welcome back! So let’s start telling something about this experience you had? Well, in the meantime for those who do not know you, introduce yourselves.

Mary Grace. Hi. My name is Maria Grazia, I am 25 years old and about to graduate with a degree in foreign languages. I am from Perugia, I re-started attending the community with my brother in 2007 (when I was little we used to go there with our parents) and in June I finished my second year of novitiate in the Elce fraternity.

Martina. I am Martina, I am 21 years old and I am studying Modern Literature, I finished my second year. I live in San Romano (Pi) and I am in the Magnificat Community together with my mother. Starting to attend a youth group right after Confirmation, I received the effusion in November 2008 and now I have been in the Friends’ journey for a year in the fraternity of Marti (PI).

How did the proposal of the General Managers to participate on behalf of the whole Community in this event catch you? With what feelings did you set out?

Martina. I did not know about the conference, the proposal of my managers was really a surprise in all respects! In short, I was offered a great opportunity that was further enriched by my stay in São Paulo following the conference. When I was asked if I was available, I had no doubts, I accepted instantly! Only later did I tell my parents about it, who, clearly, were overjoyed. We were representing the Magnificat Community, but also all of Italy, since it was just the two of us! A great honor and so much responsibility! I was, and still am, overjoyed by this experience and this gift given by the community.

Maria Grazia. I had been thinking about taking a trip to Brazil for a few months, also because of my studies, and I had been thinking about attending WYD in Rio next year, and then stopping to do a language course. When there was talk in Perugia about a possible trip to Brazil for this summer, it was not proposed to me right away, but no one could leave so overnight, because of various commitments … I, on the other hand, had no problem at all! So I experienced it as a gift from Providence, ahead of my plans, and I can only thank the Community for materially allowing me to have this wonderful experience, both personal and communal!

The first part of Vs experience was to immerse yourselves in the I World Youth Meeting of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. What were the most significant moments of this meeting?

At first we didn’t understand much where we were, we felt quite bewildered and this feeling increased when we found out that, apart from Oreste, we were the only two Italians present out of 4000 people … but eventually the euphoria and joy of the prayer, the dancing and the Latin American songs infected us! The opening ceremony, with the procession of the Crosses through the city of Foz do Iguaçu, was very impressive. There were then several moments of intense prayer, decidedly charismatic catechesis (Michelle Moran, David ***, Patty Gallagher, Jim ***) and moments of sharing with so many young people! It was great to see Christians from all over the world welcoming and trusting us as true friends and sisters; we learned a lot from their openness and availability.
A new and powerful faith, theirs! A fiery youth!

Not to mention missionaries who bore witness to their lives spent for each other and for evangelization, even at the cost of their own lives.

If you were to personally cherish one image, one memory from the meeting, which one has stayed most in your heart
Martina. One of the most powerful and exciting moments was the prayer over nations, as Maria Grazia related. But always on the first day there was the prayer over each other, in which we were asked to pray two by two with a person of different nationality. Here before the Holy Spirit really language is no longer an obstacle! I didn’t speak a word of Portuguese but in prayer I understood very well what the boy was saying and the same as him, I realized how the Holy Spirit acts overcoming all obstacles, how He speaks to the heart without having to go through a particular culture or language, how He is universal and unites a whole world

Mary Grace. In one week there were several beautiful moments, but the one that touched me the most was the prayer for the continents on the second day: we were called in groups and when it was Europe’s turn we realized there were only 6 of us, just a small remnant. All the other young people from around the world prayed for this land of ours, at this time touched by fatigue and crisis, and we were given a prophetic Word (Isaiah 6:12-13), confirmed by an image of a small seedling that, despite the hardships and challenges, manages to sprout because the Lord gives hope and possibility to be born again.

And after the conference you had another experience–tell us about it.
Martina. The second experience. A week at a missionary community in São Paulo. We left a bit blind, not knowing much about the cominity and the activity that awaited us. As they do every day for anything even important, we lived these days relying on Providence … for me it was one of the most exhausting experiences I have ever had! But perhaps the experience that touched my heart the most.

Maria Grazia. before we left, talking to Orestes, we told him that we would like to stay a little longer, since we don’t know if we will ever have the opportunity to go back to Brazil! He then proposed that we go to São Paulo for a week, hosted by a missionary community founded by two priest friends of his, and we accepted, although we did not know what we would actually do.

What is the life of the community in which you have been “guests”?
It is called “Aliança de Misericórdia” and is a missionary community in which one can be a member with a life or covenant commitment, which is renewed every year. In the first case, one is really doing common life, and can be part of it either as a consecrated person or as a missionary family; in the second case, it is less radical and one participates in the moments and services of the community, living in one’s own home.

They live by Providence and their mission is to take care of all the poor: orphaned children, abandoned, homeless, drug addicts, inhabitants of favelas … first they try to become friends with these people, whom they call “children of Mercy,” then they try to show them that there are possibilities of life other than the street and drugs, they do a great job of educating them about life, respect for themselves and their neighbor. We have known many stories that are true miracles: for example, that of Lívia, a girl who was a cocaine addict from birth due to her mother’s drug addiction while pregnant, who today lives as a missionary and is a young woman full of joy and life; that of a former drug addict and homeless man who, after several years of recovery, is now one of the best managers of a shelter and is soon to be married; finally that of Eros, a young man who is now well and 22 years old, but was taken from the streets at age 8 and lived in the orphanage, only to be adopted by a family in the community…

The most difficult moment and the moment that touched your heart the most?
Martina. The most difficult moment was not a single moment! It was having to adapt to living conditions that I didn’t even think were possible. Not knowing if I would have a bed, blankets, and some hot water to take a shower at night, considering it was winter there. Not knowing if there would be food for everyone the next day…. Apart from the various problems we had with the trip (which made me realize that there is definitely a great plan of God behind this experience), the most difficult experience was the visit in the Favela of Moinho. The favela is a neighborhood that, as the missionary who accompanied us told us, can be called the “kingdom of Beelzebub,” the spirit of filth and noise. People living in cardboard and wooden shacks, without running water, not so much poverty as lifestyle, people ruled by drugs and sexual violence, used as bargaining chips for necessities.

The highlight was lunch at the first homeless shelter, people taken off the streets for maybe a month who now sit at the table with you! Never, ever did I think I would be able to do that … and instead they were the ones who prepared lunch for us, the people who are considered “the worst part of society,” who then sat at the table with us. People who with great effort are walking to be able to live a normal life. After my initial discomfort, putting aside my rejection, doing this gave me immense joy, amplified at the end of lunch, when one of them thanked us for stopping to have lunch with them, because this gave them self-esteem: until recently, no one would have stopped on the street to eat with them bums…

Maria Grazia. We experienced 30 quite tiring hours, which started at the Airport when we had to move from Foz to São Paulo for the second week: first the flight seemed delayed, then they postponed it until the next day because of bad weather, so it took us 24 hours to arrive instead of 5! In those moments we pulled out all our resources and fortunately knowing some Portuguese helped us solve the situation! In São Paulo we were greeted by a thunderstorm and the first impact with the community was not the best, because being very tired we would have liked a few more comforts. However, after a good night’s sleep (albeit a bit cold), with some spirit of adaptation and especially after understanding what kind of community we were in (in fact, they live on providence and sometimes missionaries deprive themselves of their things to give them to the street poor), the next few days things improved and we were more relaxed!

The moment that touched my heart the most, on the other hand, is hard to choose: Lívia’s testimony, which I mentioned above, given during Mass, left us speechless; but it is impossible to forget the affection of the children of Casa Naim (the orphanage) and the gentleness with which they prayed for us, as well as seeing homeless people who now work and praise the Lord for all the experiences of their lives and who thanked us because we devoted time, attention and trust to them.

To conclude our interview, what would you like to tell our internet users who read us about this Vs experience? What did the Lord leave in your heart to bring back to all of us?
Martina. From this experience I certainly take with me a great testimony of true and authentic faith, far removed from my own, which is often really so very poor. Testimonies of offering one’s life into God’s hands, when I have a hard time even asking God’s “opinion” on a particular situation of mine. I carry the example of love for the different, so I am great at words but in deeds I am in great difficulty. The testimony of a faith that overcomes all shame because God’s power is too great not to be sure. The testimony of people who at my age have already hit rock bottom several times, boys and girls who at the age of 21 have had experiences unimaginable even in a lifetime. But the thing that struck me most was the missionaries’ attitude of reliance on Providence! Living peacefully knowing that if I do God’s will and carry out his work, he can never fail me!

Maria Grazia. I don’t think I will forget the generosity and love with which the Aliança community takes care of the poorest of the poor, in every possible way (soup kitchens, shelters for the homeless, orphanages for children, foster homes, nurseries in favelas, …), trusting only in God’s Providence; I then carry in my heart the joy of the young people at the Meeting, who are tireless in proclaiming God’s love, literally shouting it on the streets. Seeing so much life and so much generosity made me question and asked: but what do I do? How am I a witness? Several times I repeated it to myself and told Martina: when you have this kind of experience abroad (for me, it was not the first), you realize how lucky you are in life and you realize that “there is a world out there,” from which we have much to learn and in which wonderful things happen to be discovered.