‘Remembering is good for the heart’ and strengthens the journey of faith

Subiaco (Italy). “Remembering is good for the heart” and strengthens the journey of faith, Pope Francis says. This is the meaning of the celebratory moment lived on 20 September 2020 in the Parish of S. Andrea in Subiaco. Remembering Sister Maria Pia Giudici for the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, for the inhabitants of Subiaco, for all those who knew her, was good for the heart and strengthened the journey of faith, stimulating us to walk in her steps, keeping alive the thirst and love for the Word, to witness it with the strength and wisdom of the Holy Spirit who dwells and acts in all of us.

The Community of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of San Biagio House of Prayer, together with the parish priest Fr. Mariano Licorni, and the parish community organized a celebratory moment and the Holy Mass in suffrage for Sister Maria Pia Giudici FMA.

During the memorial, brief sections of Sister Maria Pia’s life linked to the origin of San Biagio House of Prayer were heard and visualized. The centrality of the Word of God proposed through Lectio divina, guided by her over the years for young people, couples, families, scouts, consecrated persons, and different groups was the golden thread of the evening.

The testimonies of some participants related the fruitfulness of the work in its 42 years of existence. Eleonora and Thomas as a couple and family with two children, witnessed how incisive the encounter with the Word was in their lives and how Sr. Maria Pia accompanied them. Today they are the promoters of these encounters for other couples. Fr. Maurizio Lollobrigida, a Salesian, gradually matured his priestly vocation through his encounter with San Biagio House of Prayer. Roberto Proietti, head of the Iconography laboratory in San Biagio, with a very brief expression shared the meaning of what an encounter with this reality means: a house of prayer.

Literature, poetry, painting, love for nature and art, together with assiduous listening to the Word, were companions of Sr. Maria Pia until the last day of her life.

The celebration concluded with the gift of a painting given by the President of the Cultural Association “Ora et labora” Paolo Lozzi, to Sr. Angela Maria Maccione, Provincial of the Province of St. John Bosco (IRO). The picture was an oil painting by a Belarusian painter.

At the entrance to the Church, an exhibition of icons created at San Biagio was set up. Sister Maria Pia supported and promoted this experience of prayer with the Word of God written with colors and images.

In an interview Sister Maria Pia said: “in San Biagio we help people to meet the Lord”.

Young people, adults, couples, families, priests, and consecrated persons are the recipients of the work. The richness of Lectio Divina accompanies, walks, and leads to growth in the faith together.