ITALY
Voices from the Italian Province

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Paoline.it and social media: around the clock. While waiting to find out how long we will have to “shelter in place,” the world is changing, and our ways of carrying out the apostolate are moving in pace with the times. “We are convinced that in these difficult days, thrown off balance by understandable and natural fears and anxieties, each one of us needs to be taken by the hand and accompanied, not left alone. Each of us must find new ways of living our daily life by reinventing our hours and days, which seem to be almost surreal in this time of forced confinement.”

With these words, our sisters introduce our online presence as Pauline apostles, which has given rise to the FSP initiative #Stop and… read, play, think, listen and pray, by means of which, in response to the appeal of those in charge of our publishing activities, our authors are striving to make the most of their time and talents to reach various FSP online followers by means of videos and articles. Their contributions consist of messages of friendship, moments of sharing, of prayer, of deeper reflection (including on social issues made even more urgent by the obligatory “cloister” everyone is living), of meditations accompanied by music, of concrete suggestions for catechists, the proposal of games and activities for children, ideas for teachers….

Many of our FSP authors have responded enthusiastically to the request for input, even though it might mean struggling “creatively” with inexperience in the technological field or with limited means at their disposal. The initiative will continue throughout April. Input in the form of articles can be found on www.paoline.it in the section paolinamente > focus, and video input is available on the YouTube Paoline channel. In addition, as this content is gradually published, it is posted daily on all our social networks, in particular on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The Paoline.it website continues to receive many messages every day expressing gratitude and support for the commitment it has assumed. Our ways of walking alongside the people of today are changing, but what is important is to be there for them so as to infuse them with hope, trust and faith–all of which are very much needed, especially now.

Moreover, during this time in which all the Province’s book centers are closed, paolinestore.it, by means of the invitation, Stay at home; we’ll serve you, has made itself available 24 hours a day to deliver free of charge any material requested. The slogan that accompanies this service is: Paoline–your online bookstore, which offers people the chance to download some digital products free of charge. The hashtag of the initiative is #solidarietadigitale.