von Paul Catipon NYC am 13.12.2020 - 00:18 Uhr | melden
I’m writing to share some of my quick experiences of life with Siegfried. They’re bullet points, but you can imagine the love underneath all of these experiences.
• In 1985-1987(?) Siegfried was the capo-focolare in Los Angeles and I just became an esterno. I would come to the Focolare and would remember Siegfrieds smile and simplicity, like the evangelical child. I knew that he would wake up early to go to work and his work was challenging, but he never gave me the burden of that difficulty.
• In 1992, my first Focolare after Loppiano was in Boston, where Siegfried was the capofocolare.
o This first Focolare that I lived after Loppiano was crucial to give me the foundation to persevere through all these years in the Focolare.
o Siegfried was a great mentor to me, but he was never paternalistic. There was always a joy in the Focolare and we would play Canasta joyfully for hours.
o One thing that remains with me during one of our colloquies is his advice to remain steady and focus on God to maintain our vocation. He would use his big and steady arms to demonstrate to always go forward.
o One morning, coming back from mass, he had an ictus which paralyzed half of his body. That didn’t stop his demeanor of being at peace.
• In 2002, when I came back to NYC and we were renovating the new Focolare house in Manhattan, he would come everyday to help out on the electrical wiring. He would do this job with and joy and simplicity, always finding an excuse for a celebration.
• From then until he left for Germany, he stayed in the Zone Center or Regional Center in a supporting role. It continued to struck me his humility and joyfulness in doing what he can for the Focolare and the community. He remains a model to me of Chiara’s description of “Child-like simplicity.”
Thank you Fonte/Siegfried/Ziggy!
You know that I miss you. Paul
