The daily manna

It's a rainy day, apparently not ideal for a trip to the lake, but we're not on a trip. We come on pilgrimage as a brotherhood to meet another Christian community. On 18 September 2017 Mother Anna Maria Canopi wrote an official letter to her friend Ernesto Olivero assuring that her Benedictine monastic community on the island of San Giulia d'Orta adopted the Sermig Fraternity in prayer. We know that we are supported by many friends who often invisibly (but very effectively) give us the fuel for everything we do. This time it was really good for us to go and thank those who, by vocation, have chosen to never move from the cloistered monastery.

We arrive in time to pray together and immediately afterwards we have the opportunity to meet Maria Diletta. We know her as Chiara Diletta, her name when she lived in Sermig, before entering the monastery. We meet a simple woman, who shys away from our questions, as if she had nothing to teach and instead teaches us a lot. With his gaze, first of all, he teaches us that, when you find your place in the world, you are a happy person; without fanfare he tells us about the life he led in the monastery of prayer and work. She takes care of the laundry and tells us that she doesn't have time to do as much reading as she would like.

We are surprised, but it is like this: wherever you are, you would always like to do a little more, but, with serenity, he tells us that the Lord always provides your daily manna for you and gives you the food you need, it's up to you satisfy yourself with it, without always looking for who knows what. We also ask her what it's like to live in a community and we are moved to think that even now she remembers and is happy with Ernesto's answer: in a community there is always a need to die to oneself, you start! We have gone far to rediscover that we already have everything we need nearby; we went to a friend we already knew we had, but it was nice to meet her.

NP october 2024
Fraternità del Sermig