Por José Ramón Díaz-Torremocha
(Conferencia Santa María, Guadalajara)
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Eating while chatting with a friend in the meantime is always very rewarding. Moreover, if with that friend you share faith and work/participation in a common Catholic institution, it is also enriching. A few days ago, I took part in a meal presided over by friendship, faith, joy and Vincentian spirit. As a consequence, I have been enriched and for this I thank Him from whom all Good comes.
I was telling Eduardo, my fellow member and friend, at the end of the meal that we shared with fellow members from two continents, that it should be a common practice among Vincentians: to meet frequently and to break bread whenever we get together. It does us so much good to exchange ideas and ways of sharing the pain with those who suffer from it! To share it in the only appropriate Christian way: in order to redeem it. To learn to overcome it both at the human and spiritual level. We should not see the pain of others with indifference.
I was enriched by Eduardo's anecdotes of how to care for those suffering on his continent. I am sure that because of his dedication and ability to learn, he would also learn from my own anecdotes.
On this occasion, I recalled the paragraph of "Deus Caritas Est" in which the Holy Father Benedict XVI writes: "..... charity, (for the Church) is not a kind of social care activity that could also be left to others, but it belongs to her nature and is an inalienable manifestation of her very essence" (DCE 25a).
Thus, with this vocation of service, of redemption, we must give ourselves to the Conferences. Fortunately, Eduardo and I agree on this. For my part, I wish that I am able to achieve it.
Thank you, my dear friend and fellow member, for your company during the time I had the pleasure to spend with you. I hope to keep on having your example in the future.
May Mary, Mother of God, our Mother, help us to find the grace to follow in the footsteps of her Son by helping the most exhausted and rejoicing in the company of our fellow members.