ARGENTINA, Lilita and Carlos Ricciardi, Marisa Bulfón •
A few years ago, Cecilia Cornacchia and Marisa Bulfón, of the Family Federation, had lost their spouses and, despite being contained by their families and spiritual and social community groups, thought that accompanying widows was something that the Church and religious movements had not developed in an organic and vital way. —
Therefore, they thought of and scheduled a meeting to deal with this problem and to see the needs that each one of them might have. They got down to work and contacted Father Guillermo Carmona to accompany and guide them in the meeting that was held on Saturday, October 22, in Schoenstatt-Sion, Florencio Varela, Argentina, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., which ended with the celebration of the Eucharist.
More than thirty widows attended, who shared a fruitful meeting in which there were talks by Fr. Carmona and were able to exchange ideas, projects, and desires for future meetings, bearing in mind what Pope Francis said “…those who have lost a loved one still have a mission to fulfill”.
It was Marisa Bulfón who told us all the experiences of this meeting of widows, since Cecilia Cornacchia was hospitalized from mid-September until her death on October 24, two days after the meeting. In Cecilia’s absence, it was Maria Ferrero who actively collaborated in the preparation of the event.
Married love is for a lifetime
Marisa tells us:
Fr. Guillermo Carmona
“The first strong impression of the Widows’ Meeting is to realize all the shared feelings. Those sorrows that we live a little in silence and solitude, in a moment come to the surface and become communal. Then everything is lighter.
Married love is for life. We unite ourselves to the wonderful world of the other in an eternal YES. But in a moment, the bond is transformed, and we find ourselves alone, insecure, dazed and paralyzed by pain, which often manifests itself psychically and physically. We feel the emptiness at our feet.
It takes time to realize that love is not lost. That it is transformed into a divine bond. Only then do we begin to reorder ourselves and gain self-confidence. We experience God’s comfort and special protection. The longing for heaven, for the eternal wedding awakens. We realize that absence must become presence because everything is in God’s plan.
We are confronted with a new order of life and the need to answer ourselves: what does God expect of me at this stage of life?
We discover that our ideals remain intact, we appreciate the divine smile in our daily life. It is then that we really say YES. Because the person to whom we dedicate our life and love deeply is closer to God”.
At the end of the meeting, they all longed for the next one because they had discovered that they have many missions to fulfill and that, on that road, Mary enlightens and accompanies them…, and Cecilia, from the eternal heaven, will do her best to make it happen.
…Those of us who have lost a loved one still have a mission to fulfill.”
Pope Francis
Original: Spanish, 11.11.2022. Translation: Maria Fischer @schoenstatt.org
