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Buenos Aires, Sunday, June 12, 2005

Father Oscar Pezzarini

Is it possible to be faithful in today's world?

Faithfulness is a value which appears to be “almost missing” in the World, especially when referring to faithfulness as being steadfast in some aspect, such as lifelong commitment, or keeping one's word, etc. These days eveything is relativized, maybe because many talk quite “flippantly” about love and tell the other person “I love you” and even “for ever”, but change their mind at the first inconvenience. Maybe this is a matter of convictions or of priorities in life, or of commitment with a certain cause, or it may also depend on how solid our Faith is. But faithfulness still is a value which can be achieved, even more so, I think that as human beings we are called by our very nature to live this value because this way we will find true Happiness which depends neither on “times”, nor on “fashions”, nor on “trends”, but on man's search for his own achievement deploying the gifts God gave man, trying to deeply live those values which are appurtenant to him.

I mentioned many times the issue of Values in these reflections which I regularly share with you, either in general or focusing on a particular value.

Today I want to refer to Faithfulness , a value which appears to be “almost missing” in the World, especially when referring to faithfulness as being steadfast in some aspect, such as lifelong commitment, or keeping one's word, etc.

Today everything seems to tell us a “lifelong commitment” is impossible. Everything must be just for some time, “nothing is for ever”.

When referring to faithfulness, almost instantly marriage comes to mind, and surely this is one of the fields where faithfulness is either achieved or else it seems that in a “modern” world being faithful to one person the whole life long is impossible.

I believe that thinking this way is quite distant from the reality of the human being, who was freely created by God for love, even more so, God who is Love shared His “being Love” with man, in order for man to share it with his fellow men, thus being love between man and woman a sublime way of expressing God's Love.

But these days eveything is relativized, maybe because many talk quite “flippantly” about love and tell the other person “I love you” and even “for ever”, but change their mind at the first inconvenience.

One of the aspects of faithfulness doubtlessly refers to the relation between a man and a woman in love, and for this I think the preparation at the time of saying “I want to share my life forever with you” is vital. But since everything is just “for a while” as those who say committing for life is impossible today try to make us believe, sometimes the issue of engagement and marriage is probably taken too swiftly, without caring about marriage as an Institution wanted and blessed by God, in order for human beings to achieve full happiness, which actually resides in “devoting oneself” the whole life long.

But today we also encounter difficulties which hinder us in being “faithful” and steadfast in other aspects of our life.

We lack a commitment of faithfulness in friendship. It is difficult for us to identify ourselves with a task.

It seems impossible to accept a commitment based on what we think, on our convictions, without changing them depending on “from where the wind blows”. Mindsets and political “convictions” are changed according to one's own convenience.

Maybe this is a matter of convictions or of priorities in life, or of commitment with a certain cause, or it may also depend on how solid our Faith is. But faithfulness still is a value which can be achieved, even more so, I think that as human beings we are called by our very nature to live this value because this way we will find true Happiness which depends neither on “times”, nor on “fashions”, nor on “trends”, but on man's search for his own achievement deploying the gifts God gave man, trying to deeply live those values which are appurtenant to him.

Father Oscar Pezzarini
General Commissioner of the Work of Don Orione in Argentina

Father Oscar Pezzarini makes us think on Saturdays from 8 to 12 AM (GMT-03:00)with "VENTANA A LA VIDA", the Don Orione radio program he conducts on FM PROVIDENCIA, 106.5 MHz together with some residents of the Claypole Cottolengo (Raúl Romero, Julia Cansinos, Alberto Zoroch, Américo Torres), with the production of Roberto Beluzzo and Ignacio Cavalli as technical operator. You can also listen to FM PROVIDENCIA by clicking here.

Little Cottolengo Don Orione 0800-333-6746 in Argentina, or +54 (11) 4268-7722 from abroad.

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