“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these“ (Mark.10:14).
Last November some teachers from the Tattoli - De Gasperi Primary School in Corato accompanied some elementary school classes to visit the Church of Santa Maria Greca to acquaint the pupils with two great Gifts that the Church itself holds: the Icon of the Greek Madonna and the remains of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta.
We initially presented the figure of Luisa as the “little daughter of the Divine Will” saying that Jesus loves little ones because they allow themselves to be led by Him. “Oh! how beautiful the tender age is - full of grace, of beauty and of freshness. Therefore, the greater is the work I want to do in a soul, the littler I choose her” (Vol. 16-November 10, 1923).
The children were fascinated by Luisa, they wanted to know what she did and why she was called “Luisa the Saint” by everyone. Talking about her biographical notes, we were delighted to see the children's interest and participation, in fact they asked questions related to Luisa's age, what life was like during the war period, and were struck by some prodigious events, which happened when Luisa was alive. They were intrigued as they listened about Luisa's always staying in bed and the fact that while staying in bed, she carried out her lace-making work while also teaching some of her disciples. Luisa provided for her livelihood and that of the family with her work. Moreover, the children were attentive to learn how Luisa despite having attended only a few years of elementary school, obeying her confessor, wrote a Diary of about 10,000 pages for almost 40 years.
We concluded with a question. What does Luisa want to say to each of us today?
-Love Jesus, have a continuous dialogue with Him, because He seeks our company. To do everything (even the little everyday things) to please Jesus.
-Recognizing Jesus in the things and people He created for our sake.
-Obeying Him and His Will, obedience that is also manifested through superiors: parents, teachers, catechists, etc.
Then our priest don Vincenzo Bovino went on to tell them about the history of the construction of the church of St. Mary Greca and then took them on a tour of the shrine to tell them the story of the apparition of our patron saint St. Mary Greca.
Welcoming the children and their teachers was exciting for us; we wondered if we would be able to. We found the answer by rereading the title of a small text we gave to each child entitled, “Doing Everything for Jesus.” We understood that we would surely be guided by the Lord; we felt that we were an instrument through which to convey a message of Jesus' love for Luisa and for all of us. We are very happy that these schoolchildren were able to know Luisa, her story and especially her witness of holiness, just as they were able to know the story of our patroness St. Mary Greca; we have sown in their hearts a seed that then the Lord in His time will provide for it to sprout and bear fruit. We thank the promoters of this initiative.
Angela Iurillo-Annamaria Ardito-Antonella Scaringella