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7. respectinG liBerty 19

«My parents have always had great respect for our liberty.
They never pushed us to make a specific decision. For example, at
home they prayed the Rosary every day, but they never forced us
to pray it with them. Even if they invited us to join them, they never
imposed it on us or insisted that we participate» (Rafael Alvira).

«When I was considering which direction my life should take,
I could truly think about it with the most absolute liberty» (María
Isabel Alvira).

«Another wonderful point that all of us brothers and sisters
agree upon is that they had incredible respect for our liberty» (Rafael
Alvira).

«They had the great ability to teach us how to love and they
made sure that everything was imbued with an atmosphere of love,
trust and unity that you could truly touch and feel with your hands.
They inspired so much trust, they did things so naturally, that
from the very first moment you felt free» (their son, Tomás, priest).

«When I met them, I had very young children and naturally
I thought that they would be stick to me all their lives, after all, for EVERYDAY LIFE OF THE ALVIRA FAMILY
me children have always been the most wonderful thing in my life.
Tomás and Paquita, on the other hand, already had grown children,
and I was struck by the joy with which they had left them free to
follow their own paths» (The Arenillas, a couple of friends).

ideas For reFlection

• What does it mean, concretely, to leave our children free to
realize themselves, to discover their vocation a little at a time?
• What does it mean, for me, to allow my spouse to be him/
herself?

19 Ibidem.