6th December

You are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2, 20 - 22

A small stone

When Guido was young he was a farmer in Italy. After he came to France to work there. He became a bricklayer and was appointed for the maintenance of a factory. Guido had a deep respect for God. He could neither support jokes concerning religion on the fields nor on the building sites.

One day, when he was a little bit older than 30, somebody gave him a Bible. He reads it and gradually his spiritual life lights up. He passes from an anxious respect of the Lord to a positive knowledge of his love. From then on he frequents believers and he discovers: he understands what the true Church is. In spite of it's visible scattering it is a spiritual edifice which is composed by spiritual material, the believers themselves.

Guido, the bricklayer, is a man of convictions and since then he has experienced his discovery. He said: "I am a small stone in the house of the Lord." In fact, in his original country most of the houses are made with stones which are glued together with lime. For façades and angles big stones are needed. However, to wedge the first ones small stones are needed. Each stone is used.

It is the same for us in Church. Each one of us has a particular part. This part only finds it's signification in working together. Faith mainly is enriched in the life of the Church.