Grandfather's Book

The past repeats itself. Old stories are surprisingly similar to what we are experiencing in our time. The old, familiar collapses; the new is unreliable. What, then, is true happiness, joy in life? The Gospel Magdalene loved helped her in a difficult moment of her life.

She is helpless and defenseless—a little girl who has gotten lost in a vast, tangled, and treacherous world. But again and again, the words of the Holy Book console her. More than that: as if a solid wall surrounds Magdalene. It is a loving God—caring for her, protecting her, and leading her through obstacles that seem, for all appearances, insurmountable.

It was a beautiful February day. A gentle air carried into Italy a tender breath of spring; you could feel its approach. The hills surrounding the city of Florence began to turn green under the mighty action of the sun’s rays. At that very moment, the great luminary gradually disappeared beyond the horizon, leaving a long, flaming trail over the ancient church of St. Mark—and even it, in turn, vanished behind the last purple shadows of sunset.

In the poorest and most populated quarter of this city, two women were conversing with one another among flowers. They sat on the doorstep of a shop with handmade ceramics. The younger one rocked a baby in her arms; the older one, still quite nimble, was weaving local straw intended for making hats…