Lamezia Terme (Italy). From 19 June to 21 July 2023 at the parish of St. Raphael Archangel in Lamezia Terme in the province of Catanzaro, where since the end of January 2023, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians are present from the Southern Province of Our Lady of Good Counsel (IMR), the first edition of “Summer Children” took place, followed by the colony to the sea.
The theme of the Little Prince, the famous story by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry accompanied the entire experience, making every moment of the journey a continuous search for the essential; a search that required the courage to set out, trust in the journey, and the need to continually ask questions.
The summer oratory, made up of afternoons in the parish and mornings at the beach, involved all the realities present within the parish – young people, adults, and families – and was a crossroads of activities, authentic educational relationships, a real and proper “universe of planets”, different, but necessary.
Welcome and joy characterized the days, where all the children and young people were the most precious treasure, and in which there was an air of “home”, of family, of co-responsibility, and of collaboration.
Through the creative, culinary, sports, theatrical, and musical workshops, each boy and girl had the opportunity to discover and make use of their talents. There was no shortage of formation time for the group of animators and referees and space for personal relationship with God through moments of daily prayer, adoration, participation in the Eucharistic celebration.
The experience was a real challenge on the part of the organizers, the Salesian Sisters and the priests, which aroused the educational passion and creativity of many people, producing unexpected results.
In fact, entire families did their utmost to put themselves at service and, on their part, more than mere help, it was a real spontaneous involvement, as beautiful as what was happening around them.
In addition to the children, all the people who animated and donated their time were protagonists, collaborating together for the success of this “journey”, as some of them underlined by leaving written impressions and thoughts:
“The trust that the children have acquired is something that particularly fills our hearts; being told that they “feel at home” with us is the best thanks they can give us. We can truly consider ourselves lucky, grateful for all that we have created together. I am of the opinion that the joy and the service given freely for the children can be one of the most beautiful experiences that can be had. A simple thank you is not enough, but the desire to see each other soon comes into our hearts because after all… the journey continues.”
As in the Little Prince’s last encounter with the snake, may all of this suggest not an end, but a sweet goodbye, an experience that ends only to make a new one begin. A journey that, accompanied by the Father’s Love, can always continue!
