In a scene from the musical The Invisible Song , performed all over Italy by the Servants of Nazareth with the theater band 1diNOI, tells a true story:
Sister Liliana wept, she knelt down and began to say the Our Father. Around her, the whole prison was rioting. This was the scene of countless other uprisings occurring in Brazil, where prisons were overcrowded and prisoners were angry because they did not have even basic rights. The inmates recognized the gesture of this woman, who spent most of her life inside Serrinha prison listening, admonishing and accompanying the inmates. And so, slowly, slowly, they stopped. The Our Father is said by more voices, slowly, over the screams. Within minutes, the prisoners were on their knees, and the guards were kneeling with them. No bloodshed.
Life behind the curtain
Sister Enza Frignani, a member of the theater committee, said: “It all started in 1999, when we decided to put on a play for the beatification of Father Arcangelo Tadini, our founder. Knowing how to form a team makes a difference. Each person shares the talent they have: one directs, the other the perspective, the other takes care of the choreography."
Pray in life and pray in life
ChaTadini was a true priest who opened a spinning mill and a boarding house for young female workers. Next, he founded a religious order to educate young girls by working alongside them. He wanted his children nuns, in every setting, to present the presence of Jesus, as we read in the Constitution Joy and Hope, “He worked with human hands, lovingly with a human heart, acting with a human will". Today, the mission of these sisters stretches across countries: Italy, England, Brazil, Burundi, Rwanda and Mali. They participate in social life and enter the working environment. They simply pray in life and pray by life.
The ministry on the stage
The theater division 1diNOI was formed with 35 people, but it increased the number of people on each tour, as it included family and friends and combined entertainment (including a visit to the city's culture). they come). Drama shows that we can do pastoral work on a stage. Sister Enza shared: “As a consecrated woman, I have learned that the Church is beautiful when it comes to collaboration. When people asked us to talk to them, we nuns were helped to tell about life in a capital letter. We carry in our hearts the many faces we've met, the struggle to write the script (we needed about a year) and the sense of friendship born and strengthened during difficult times."
She said that the proceeds from the performances supported various projects of the Congregation: a kindergarten was built in the city of San Paolo, an adult literacy project was launched. in Burundi and a social training center has been established, while micro-projects for educational and social activities will be carried out in Mali. After the first musical by the theater group 1diNOI, inspired by Father Tadini, the theater group put on stage the play East of the Garden , which recounts the efforts of the working nuns to become leaven in the dough, when among people and bring the Gospel to homes and on the streets. Then comes the play More Than Sand , sharing about why we believe and spread the Good News that changes lives.
A musical that's all about women
Speaking of the musical The Invisible Song, Sister Enza said: “We linked life and faith in recounting the events of five women with their frailty. Moreover, our founder said that under any circumstances, if one wants, one can become a saint.”
There was a young girl who didn't know her biological father, but through her encounter with God, she was able to overcome her anger and feel loved. There was a young woman who, despite having a spina bifida, recognized herself while playing sports and became a mother. There was a mother who survived domestic violence who persevered in pursuing a life worthy of dignity. There is the tragedy of a bride Elena, who has lost her husband, Marco, to cancer. Elena has promised her husband that she will continue to engage in theater activities to deliver a message of hope.
Finally, it was Sister Liliana, who, while in Brazil, “became small in violence,” but in the end, she succeeded in making a change. Sister Enza concludes: “In all these testimonies marked by these dramatic and complex situations, we see the promise of God.”
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