Scalabrini’s dream is still possible. Alan’s testimony
My name is Alán Sainz Sánchez,I was born in a small town called Aculco, Mexico. I have been living in Stuttgart, Germany for five years now, and I am pursuing a PhD in Agricultural and Animal Sciences at the University of Hohenheim; I am a veterinary doctor and my specialty is animal nutrition.
In 2018, at the end of the Eucharistic celebration at St. Anthony’s Church, where a Sunday Mass is celebrated in English, I met two
Scalabrinian Secular Missionaries, one of Italian origin, Lorella, and one from Mexico, Claudia. After introducing themselves and briefly telling me who they were, they invited me to participate in the “Prayer of the Continents” at the Spirituality Center with Father Gabriele Bortolamai as guide. I have very good memories of my first visit to the Center, because I was received with great kindness and contagious joy.
Getting to know Scalabrini’s face
It was through this first prayer meeting at the Spirituality Center that I came to know the face of J.B. Scalabrini. I participated willingly because I was very attracted by the joy, the openness, the patience and the great willingness to help that was experienced in those moments. I see in it a reflection of Scalabrini’s spirituality and I am sure that he was a man of inexhaustible patience, of a heart ready to listen and to help without prejudice people as needy of Christ as the emigrants. His love of service is one of his qualities that I admire the most. It is moving to see how he committed himself to the migrants.
Recovering the dignity of human beings in Christ
I am a migrant, but among migrants I consider myself very fortunate; despite the difficulties I have faced, I cannot compare myself with those who have had to emigrate or flee their homes because of war, political and religious persecution. We migrants each live a different reality; some suffer more than others, but we all move towards the same goals: to find the possibility of “being”, to recover our dignity as human beings and the desire to live. Blessed Scalabrini understood these goals very well and knew that the only one who can fully guarantee them is Christ.
Only Christ gives us the opportunity to live with dignity and to “be”, nourishing the spirit with his word and through love. I learned from Scalabrini that God gave man the opportunity to live in the world and, therefore, we are all citizens of the world. It was man who created borders, but we should all be free to walk the world that God has given us.
Beloved children of one Father
I believe that a single homeland constituted by the love of Christ is possible, because we are all brothers and sisters; and even if we have different skin colors, speak different languages, have different religions, we are all united by the love of God. Although it is not easy to understand that we belong to a single homeland, I believe that human beings must see others as our brothers, as creatures of God. We should not look at each other with the eyes of the world, but cultivate the unconditional love that Christ gives us and that Scalabrini always carried forward in his mission.
What I believe and what motivates me every day is that God is always here, like a good father, to listen to our needs and help us. We are never alone, God is present through our brothers and sisters, and there will always be someone to help us move forward. At the same time, we too must be a help to our brothers and sisters. In this Scalabrinian Year, I ask God that the message of Blessed Scalabrini may spread more and more and, above all, that the Spirit of God may give us the simplicity and sensitivity to understand the migrants, to turn towards them and not remain spectators, but “get down to work” and serve. For me, Blessed Scalabrini is a great example of holiness, so I am sure that God will show great wonders through him.
