Every human life is made up of small and great encounters. Some pass by unnoticed and seem of little importance, while others mark a life forever. That was the case with my first encounter with Faith and Light. I was 18 years old and worked as a catechist with children in a parish in my city, Valladolid, called Santo Tomás de Aquino. One day our parish priest, Father Vitorio, called all the catechists to a meeting: he had received a letter from the diocese informing him that the following Sunday some communities with people with intellectual disabilities would be arriving in Valladolid from Madrid, and each parish was invited to send two people to take part in the gathering.
So Father Vitorio gathered us all and said: “Well, is there any volunteer who would like to take part?” No one answered—there was only silence. Father Vitorio stood up and said: “Since there are no volunteers, I’ll decide who will go on behalf of the parish…” (he looked at us one by one…) “Right—Raúl and Roberto will go.”
“Great, it’s my turn!” I said to myself, rather annoyed and angry, as my friend Roberto and I left the meeting. Weren’t there any other people available? Did it really have to be us?
But Roberto and I obeyed the parish priest, and that afternoon we went to that curious meeting with the communities arriving from Madrid. I had never had contact with people with intellectual disabilities, so for me everything was new. When we arrived, we saw a lot of people. And at that very moment, a young woman with a disability took me by the hand and led me into the gathering. That afternoon we took part in a Eucharist unlike any I had ever experienced, in an atmosphere of joy and celebration… I listened to parents’ testimonies, and I experienced a celebration with a capital “C”…
At the end of the meeting, a mother named Piedad, who had a daughter with a very profound disability, said to us: “We want to start a Fede e Luce community in Valladolid. If anyone is interested, wait for us outside so we can organize ourselves.” Roberto and I looked at each other and decided to stay. “Come and see,” just as Jesus said to the first apostles when they asked Him where He lived. That afternoon something touched my heart and pushed me to make the decision to stay and give it a try.
As the years went by, my commitment to Fede e Luce grew in depth and understanding. I discovered that God wanted me in Fede e Luce precisely because of my fragilities and my wounds. I was the one who needed healing—and it would be people with intellectual disabilities who would do it.
Over these years I have discovered a God close to the little ones, immersed in the mud of our humanity. A faith rooted in community, with others, where the human person is at the center. I have also discovered the value of forgiveness, of welcome, and of an authentic, deep joy that is born from encountering others.
I have discovered the value of forgiveness, welcome, and authentic joy.
I met Laura, my wife, in Fede e Luce. Our children Adrián, Alonso, and Jimena were born within Fede e Luce and take part in the life of our community in :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}. Many of my closest friends are from Fede e Luce. In fact, there has never been a family celebration without my Fede e Luce community and friends from other communities. Fede e Luce has given me a second family. It has helped me grow in simplicity and to keep a childlike heart that always hopes. It has made me more humble and aware of my fragilities, but also of my abilities.
It helps me live an encounter with a God who is close, who cares deeply about what is human, who suffers with those who suffer, and who every day invites us to a celebration starting from what is smallest. The Eucharist—beyond ritual and liturgy—becomes a living encounter with brothers and sisters, from the very heart of God. God has used, and continues to use, Fede e Luce to remind me that He loves people beyond their merits and abilities—and that I, like every other human being, am loved radically, in a unique way. That I need others, and that faith is lived in community. Life is made of encounters; some of the most radical arrive unexpectedly, without agenda or appointment. May we remain open to the encounters of life. God continues to come to meet us. Be attentive and available to these encounters in your own story, until the day you live the definitive encounter with Him, forever.
