The pandemic, with its lockdowns, isolation and 24 hours under the same roof have put a strain on the relationship of many couples and their families. On August 15, 2021 Paths of Light returns to Loppiano, a progoram of accompianament and support of couples in crisis who would like to take more care of their relationship.
«The story of a family is always marked by all kinds of crises which are also part of its dramatic beauty,” writes Pope Francis in the nell’ Apostolic Exhortation “The Joy of Love”.
Beauty that flourishes when the wound or crack is not hidden but brought out into the light as in the ancient art of Kintsugi for the restoration of broken objects, where resin and gold dust are mixed into the cracks, making the object even more precious than before it was broken.
Loppiano’s Paths of Light August 15 – August 22) is for married or cohabiting couples who want to recover or grow their relationship by sharing their difficulties with other couples. The goal is to identify the reasons that led to the state of conflict and implement new ways of relating, using tools that can help improve communication from the spirituality of the Focolare Movement .
The Paths of Light Project began in 2009, right here in Loppiano. Over time it has also developed in Switzerland, Slovakia, Spain and Croatia. It is a residential week in which a limited number of couples, supported by a team, are accompanied in a process of re-reading their relationship. The residential week takes place in Loppiano, FI, Località Montelfi, at the Loreto International School for Families. The local workshops are held on the national territory.
The team of collaborators includes psychotherapists with experience in Couples Therapy, couple tutors, couples who have overcome difficult times and who offer their testimony, and a Catholic priest. Some of the topics include communication between the couple, diversity, discovering the other, strategies for coping with conflict, corporeality, sexuality, forgiveness, tools for improving the well-being of the couple.
As Pope Francis says in The Joy of Love:
«We need to learn that a crisis that has been overcome does not lead to a less intense relationship, but improves, settles and matures the wine. We do not live together to be less and less happy, but to learn how to be happy in a new way, starting from the possibilities that have been offered by the new stage».