Day 32: Prayer of May

Preghiera del Mese di Maggio

Signore della Gioia

Signore Gesù, gioia di chi ti incontra e si mette in cammino con te, donaci un cuore capace di ascoltare e vedere, capace di scoprire che la gioia, la tua purissima gioia, splende ogni giorno davanti a noi nell’oscuro grigiore del nostro quotidiano.

Fa che sappiamo riconoscerla e lasciare riempire, per effonderia intorno a noi, come in un continuo giorno di festa, fino a quando saremo tutti uniti nella gioia piena del cielo.

Amen

Prayer of May

Lord of joy

Lord Jesus, joy of who you encounter, and sets off with you, give us a heart to hear and see, able to find that joy, your pure joy, shines every day in front of us in the dark grayness of everyday life.

We know about it, recognize it, and allow it to fill the foundry around us, as in a continuous feast day, until we are all united in the full joy of heaven.

Amen

Tonight we looked out the window and gathered in our community courtyard was the entire neighborhood. From what we could tell, every year, in the month of May, the Pianezze church does neighborhood mass in each area of our village. Tonight it was the gathering of Via Grancare Basse, the street we are living off of.

Only about thirty people, from the housing areas in our immediate vicinity, we gathered for worship about 8pm. The priest from the church came down, and held mass for everyone who desired to participate. Our neighbors Neri and Alberto are super involved with the local parish and organized the event, and of course were thrilled to have us participate in what became a true international gathering. Alicia sang us out with Ave Maria.

Following the service was a time of fellowship. Alberto brought out the local wine, and Neri cakes and refreshments. The wine was VERY local, from the vineyard just 10 meters from our driveway! We talked about our plans for Uzbekistan, and our last month in Italy. We also look forward to hosting all our neighbours one more time before our departure, and of course the sagra of bigoli in Pianezze just prior to our flight out.

Again, we were blown away by the hospitality of our neighbors. The sense of community we’ve experienced here, more than any other from anywhere I’ve ever lived. The fact that our neighbors gather together for christian worship and community is a real testament to why we feel so at home here in Pianezze, and how hard it will be to leave.