Shards of light

In the small church of the Hermitage everything was in ruins, the original frescoes were recovered and we added everything else, in particular the small cross made of fragments: there is not a single structure , but many pieces that together make up the cross. Jesus took upon himself all the fragments of evil, the small ones and the enormous ones, they are all present, recomposed together and golden. The cross of the Hermitage is not the color of wood, it is resurrection gold, a calm, non-triumphant gold, it is a small cross that discreetly takes upon itself the splinters of evil and covers them with soft light.

One year after that day we were talking about, the Hermitage has opened up much more to greater collaboration with the local day centers and disabled children are involved in the management of the entire house which is always more inhabited: now not only in the pastry shop, but in every room there are various activities that the kids carry out. They move around the cellar, the garage, go to the laundry, clean the tower, go around with the trolley carrying things. Everyone has their own task, but is also ready to change based on the needs of the moment.

The house fills with scents according to the seasons: oranges and lemons need to be grated for the biscuits, lavender needs to be grated, chocolates need to be wrapped, chocolates need to be wetted flowers and pick tomatoes, to fill the vials with aromatic tea, even the color we give to the wooden boxes has its own smell. Every fragment of the cross that could be a lament for something missing is transformed into a hymn to life and joy. The use of a leg or an arm is missing, but the smile, the desire to do and be together is not missing.

A subtle light envelops those splinters of the cross: it is loving each other, we know, that comes from God. A flower has sprung up where we had not planted it, it reminds us of the mothers who a year ago they are bent on the earth to place the flowers. One of these is a mother who no longer has a daughter: she is neither a widow nor an orphan, there isn't even a word to say it, in the depths of our language we rebel against the idea, but in the garden of the Hermitage a flower has sprung up and a small cross assures us that all the fragments of evil have been taken and covered with subtle light.


Maria Claudia Brunello
NP April 2024