I went to see Lucia - the name is imaginary - at her house. It was a nice experience! No photo to share, nevertheless. Even in the degradation of the urban suburbs, at any latitude, the human shines always of irrepressible light, yet is to be surrounded by much care and respect: it is not an event to make a show off but is the trace of God in the creation where we see the sign of his glory.

In every "soul to soul" encounter, whether in a personal dialogue or in the classroom with my students, everyone grows to be more human. But in the struggle and tenacity of life that challenge even the resignation and despair, the beauty emerges in a way that is surprising and always new.

We, Lucia and I, met each other during a brief hospitalization, it was something very causal yet marking God's initiative. She and her friends carry on lightly the difficult path of bureaucracy, the often misguiding directions, unwanted delays, omissions and even injustice which we all encounter in our day to day life; but the so called "unfortunate ones" affected by sickness, poverty or exclusion have to deal with these mechanisms even for the very elementary social assistance.

Yet Lucia and her friends are able to enjoy the small and big joys of life: a good dish to relish, a song or a poem, even a trip to the sea-shore (which apparently seems impossible for a person confined to bed, yet did take place!) and all that is shared in friendship.

The initiative of a friend nurse who after completing his night shift, brought Lucia by surprise even to Vatican, for a lunch with Pope Francis on November 19, 2017.

She likes Pope but has many questions about religion: "There are things about God that I do not understand, I have to think about it". We talk about many things. At the discovery of something about God, she brightens up: a re-discovery of something that has always been hers. Because His daughter she is!

The parish is not far away, and the sound of the bells could be heard quiet strongly. Then I said, «do you know what I saw (written in Latin), while passing in front of the church? “You Christian, recognize your dignity”. It is a famous phrase of Leo the Great». She liked it.

The cabin where she lives is on the ground floor; the only window with railings, is too high to see anything but a portion of the sky; to open it, someone must climb on the bed which she is unable to do. Expressing my displeasure I said, «I'm sorry you cannot see anything» - there isn't much to see though except the concrete walls - and added thoughtlessly, «it's like in a prison». She smiled at it and said : «You don't remember, perhaps, that I was in the jail [in fact she was remunerated as it was an unjust detention, n. d. r.]; there was a window at the eye level and we could see a bit through the bars. But there are prisons worse than that». It was a ward for women who had agreed to detoxify themselves through methadone; and there she took care of another detainee's child: she entertained him as his mother was in a worse state than her.

She spoke to me also about a friend who passed away recently; years ago he and his wife had come to see her when she was hospitalized and he had continued to help her. He was an ex-priest, having grown-up children.

As I was leaving, I remembered the last words of the curate in Bernanos’s novel: «Everything is grace».