Attention, Children at Play

One of my favorite things here in Italy is the presence of kids playing on the streets. Now when I was a kid we would play in the street, but it was way different, it was not a bustling street with cars and people intermixed, it was a quiet side street. Here, the kids really play in the street, on the main road through town, right in front of the Commune Building, ie.; town hall. Heck, the side of the stairs is the best slide in town.

Something that makes this possible is that the kids are not the only ones out there, there are also parents or grandparents and other adults looking out after the bunch, and the kids range in age from 1 to teenagers. The older ones will shout when a car is coming, scold the children who get mean, and comfort those who have fallen, all are in each other’s care.

Another great feature is how these kids find various creative things to do, from drawing to team sports, but always in groups, it simply would not be fun to engage in this stuff alone! The laughter rings out, the joy is present, and the world just seems right. Some of the basic ingredients for this are: group dynamics, firm safety rules, multi-generational presence but mostly love for one another. Now not all these folks are best friends, some patently don’t like specific others, but the group dynamics hold firmer than any personal discord, we are in the care of one another.

I can imagine St. Francis saying this is a perfect example of preaching the gospel, without using words. When in Assisi there was a teenager showing his friend with great joy the mountain where St. Francis spent time in prayer and he simply shone when he recounted those words of St. Francis, “You should always preach the gospel, and sometimes even use words.”

The words of care used as the children play are precious, they establish that this place of joy comes within the bounds of love for those present. There are so many ways to spread the Gospel, it is a gift to experience it in the sound of children’s laughter, and nonna’s guidance.

Where have you experienced the gospel proclaimed without words? How do you best like to share the gospel?