ITALY, Federico Bauml. Holy Week 2011. Fifteen missionaries in San Giorgio Lucano for an extraordinary Easter in the ordinary.
The choice
Wednesday, April 21st at 2:00 p.m., at the Tiburtina, Rome station, everyone is ready (more or less punctual) to go once again to San Giorgio Lucano “our” San Giorgio, in southern Italy.
Our everyday tasks are still on our mind: work, study, family with whom we will not spend Easter vacation this year. In the heart, there is a desire to disconnect for a while and to dedicate oneself completely to Holy Week.
We finally departed; we departed because we chose to do it. Choice is the key word. It is difficult to choose to spend Holy Week away from home and away from our loved ones. On the other hand, choosing is very beautiful, choosing is a challenge, a challenge that we accepted and have no intention of missing.
The first days
Wednesday night as soon as we got off the bus, we went directly to the Shrine of the Blessed Mother of Pantano to greet the Virgin Mary, and hoping that those who arrived ahead of us had left something to eat. It was a strange sensation to return there, memories arose as if the trip that was interrupted in August never ended and between the two adventures, there was special connection.
We awoke early Thursday, and we had to go to the city, where Don Gianiuca, hospitable and smiling, was waiting for us just like we remembered him. There were many things to do: visiting homes and participating in Holy Week with the locals, who now consider us ad hoc San Giorginos and who have not forgotten us.
After morning visits to the homes, the afternoon was dedicated to the preparation for the celebration of the Mass in Coena Domini, it was a very beautiful Mass enriched by the Rite of the Foot Washing. To conclude Holy Thursday, we had to repeat what is a little of our “tiny battle horse”, a time for night prayer, which was so successful last year:
Good Friday was a retreat day of introspection, fasting, and silence. It was the day to seek the essence of the Passion of Our Lord, which reaches it climax at the liturgy of the Passion and the Stations of the Cross.
The Easter Vigil
Holy Saturday is a “classic” day of Missions, home visits are made inviting people to the celebration of the Easter Mass, speaking with those who open their door, or simply greeting and smiling at those we meet on the way.
This is how we arrived to the Easter Vigil. The church was full, and the city was celebrating. The readings and the beautiful Psalms, in which we were honored to participate, were read at the altar. The entire city, the entire world is ready to explode with joy: “the King has conquered the darkness.”
There is an atmosphere of celebration that is noticeable everywhere, even on Sunday, in the homes, in the streets, at table. And we too in our smallness did not miss the typical mega-Easter meal as a family, a true family. An atmosphere of celebration that continued even on Monday, which for many of us is only “Little Easter”, but in San Giorgio, it has a special meaning, because the Virgin of Pantano, the protectress of San Giorgio, is celebrated. It was a feast that was celebrated with a very pretty procession in which we gladly participated: as, “when in Rome do as the Romans!”
A special expression of appreciation
It was a “different” mission; it was very intense and very hard, but maybe too short. Perhaps it was a mission that took off slowly, but then it exploded and ended in continuing growth. And if this Mission was a success, a special expression of appreciation for two people who were our guides, friends, and older siblings!
Thanks to Father Cruz for having confidence in us, for your affection, for your love, and your support (and for tolerating us!). And thanks to Sister Julia, the true revelation of this adventure. Thank you for your smile, and your joy typical of Brazil, and above all for teaching us “that he who sings prays twice!”
We returned home ready to begin anew and a bit nostalgic, but confident that we left something and had received much more.
It is true: when you go south, you cry twice, when you arrive and when you leave.
United in the MTA.
