Arrived since yesterday

Almost 50 years have passed, as fast as the water of a river that now flows from its source and tomorrow is already in the sea. 50 years of dreams, hopes, joys, but also of fatigue, errors, misunderstandings. The Lord has given us great gifts and accompanied us. We dreamed. Normal dreams: a family, children, work, maybe what we were prepared for, a social life aimed at building a better world.

We were immersed in a culture, that of the early seventies, marked by both international and local events. The cold war posed many questions about the future, the Vietnam war had shaken consciences, disputes of '68 they had influenced youth culture for better or for worse; it was the moment of the "fantasy in power" but also of the erosion of ideological, moral and religious certainties. The workers' statute had seen the light on May 20, 1970 and this too would have allowed our generation to have a more serene career path, far from the jungle of today. The Second Vatican Council sought to be applied and in particular on young people it had left profound signs: having put "the people of God" in the foreground and giving dignity to the laity had triggered the desire to commit themselves to struggle and build a better world. It is no coincidence that the Sermig founded by a layman was born in the wake of Vatican II. So we moved between lights and shadows, between big dreams and worries.

We had faith in life, we were passionate about the invitation that Raoul Follereau had launched at a meeting in February 1972 organized by Sermig. In a heated and peremptory voice he had said: "bâtissez des cathedrals", build cathedrals. The story of the pilgrim who was going to a place where a cathedral was to be built came to mind. Along the way he had met three stonecutters who he had asked what they were doing. The first replied that he was killing himself to work, the second that he worked from morning to evening to support the family, the third, naturally destroyed by fatigue like the others who did the same job, said proudly "I'm building a cathedral" . As if to say that with what you have and what you are there is the possibility to face life with confidence or to suffer it without enthusiasm.

Even today young people dream, they too live in a situation of lights and shadows, but for them it is certainly more difficult even if they have mobile phones, live on social networks, have the possibility of communicating, unlike we who wrote letters to each other when we were distant and not reachable with landlines. There was an advantage: you had to dig inside yourself to come up with the feelings and words of love to convey. As we approached the end of our studies we found ourselves at a crossroads: to wait a few more years to get married, taking into account the 15 months of military service still to be done and the time to settle down in a job, or accelerate by anticipating the marriage. We chose the second route because we had as a parachute that I, Nietta, was working, I, Guido, who graduated a week before getting married, waiting to leave for the military every now and then I had job opportunities.
We wanted children and so a month after the end of the military, the first child was born and at the same time the job for the father arrived. After a few years the second child was born and then the third. "Unconscious!" some might say. We answer no: we already had some fixed points to lean on and we threw ourselves on them. It was a time when, after years of study and hard work, a job, at least in Northern Italy, it was located. From the most ideal point of view we knew that we would have to face great difficulties, but the love between us, the trust in life, the joy of children, the grace of the Lord given to us with the sacrament of marriage if revived would have given us the strength to face them. day to day.

We were also lucky enough to have close family members and many friends, especially those of Sermig with whom we were in tune. We had not listened to the fashions of the moment that we saw marriage and children as an obstacle to one's freedom, as a source of worry: first you have to have fun and then think about serious things!
We think the choice we made has helped us grow. We threw our hearts over the obstacle and, even if everything was not clear and planned, we trusted or, better, "entrusted". And life has brought us its caresses. Children are a great gift from the Lord, also because we know that they don't always come. It was worth it! Growing up children make you understand that they are not "yours" that is your property but that your task is to accompany them to bring out their potential by helping them to avoid errors the most serious. It is not easy, difficulties are often around the corner, but the family will always be a safe and welcoming haven.

Our children have followed their path and today we are grandparents. So joys and worries chase each other.
Today, young parents are faced with even greater challenges: from the culture of "high" to the use and abuse of social media even among children. The future is confused and prospects are lacking. But there is the hope that, despite everything, we, women and men, each with his life, will succeed in "bâtir des cathedrals", in building a better future.


Guido and Nietta Morganti
NP March 2021