“For me, the meaning of life was and remains a passion for Christ and compassion for people. I have devoted my life to these two things: thoughts, feelings, emotions decisions, energy and time. The reconstruction of the Romita, which had fallen into ruins, is a metaphor. It stands for the reconstruction of difficult and catastrophic situations: healing wounds, mending cracks, repairing fractures, lifting up those who have fallen, and providing stability for the building of life.”
Brother Bernardino
This is a abbreviated version of the letter. The full version is available in Italian and German.
Dear friends of Romita,
In this time of silence and rest, I think of you. I think of how many things
have happened, how many souls have crossed our path, how many projects,
experiences and adventures… and how many more are yet to come in this secluded
hermitage.
This year, Romita has flourished beyond all imagination. Countless people have
visited this place: pilgrims, people seeking silence, families, souls in search
of a resting place or in search of meaning.
Thousands of footsteps have walked these paths, bringing with them their lives and
experiences.
Often there were 40, 50 or even 70 of us. It was an intense and exhausting year, but I
can say with all my heart that it was worth the effort! For every moment and every
encounter.
I would like to thank each and every one of you, new and old friends, for your commitment and the care you bring with you every time. The love for this place and for the idea
transforms into connections and concrete actions, and for that I am infinitely grateful.
A year full of life, full of very special women, men and children who have put their hands
at the service of the community and their hearts at the service of God.
It is a time of tranquillity, a tranquillity that allows us to look back with deep gratitude
on what has been. To remember, to rejoice and to give thanks. It is a time to
take stock of the past year, and to do so, we pause and reflect.
When we look at our surroundings, we understand that every season brings a lesson
and that this is the time to pause.
Pausing is a great art. A modest, silent art. It means sensing when we need to approach ourselves slowly and gently. Listening to the heartbeat of things, hearing the silence and its nuances. And to realise that we are immersed in an immense miracle.
So we slowly go about our activities, learning to enjoy the time, with presence and
gratitude.
And when the calm becomes conscious, it transforms into real inner work: looking back, giving thanks, reflecting. Being grateful for life and somehow giving gratitude back to life itself.
(…)
I feel that the meaning of this Christmas may simply be that we are called upon to return to ourselves, to rediscover what really matters in that little inner place that is this cave. And to let go of the superfluous, to become lighter and make room for what is emerging.
Light is not something to be carried outward, but something to be kept within, with simple gestures, with tenderness and compassion for ourselves and others.
I don’t want to express the usual wishes to you, but rather invite you all to continue moving towards the essential together. And as Bernardino taught us: to recognise life as a gift and allow ourselves to be touched by what is small but authentic.
“Life is a mystery: it cannot be explained or bent to our will.
We can only accept it, live it and tell its story.”
Brother Bernardino
This is how Christmas happens, in this silence, in which we understand that we are part of a
much greater mystery.
With much love and gratitude,
I wish you a Merry Christmas.
Salomè