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6. BearinG Witness 31 55

The Renaissance climate that was everywhere had led even
grandparents and great-grandparents to worship the “I” that opposed,
in the name of freedom, the teachings of the Church. Seeing the young
couple fall in love with Christ, attend Church, and frequently go to
confession and communion, made the two elderly couples reflect and
gradually come to embrace the faith in a mature and conscious way.
Luigi was also able to bear witness to his faith in his work
environment, where he never failed to respond with love to the
injustices he suffered.
«We must not conceal our religious feelings, we must profess
them publicly, but, first and foremost, we must do so through our
works. It is through honesty and the Christian spirit that permeate
our behavior in human relations, through disinterestedness, love of
neighbor, charity lived and put into practice that we make profession
of men who have religious convictions». (Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi)
When Luigi died, a friend of his, a non-believer, would confess
to one of his sons, «You see, during these years when we worked
together, your father never bothered me with sermons. But I want to
tell you that it was through his life that I discovered God and that I
loved the Gospel. Pray for me!». EVERYDAY LIFE OF THE BELTRAME QUATTROCCHI FAMILY
A friend of Luigi’s recalled: «An eminent figure in the State’s
legal system, he should have been the first of everyone else to assume
the supreme office. A devious campaign conducted by some members
of this same advocacy, with secular and anticlerical tendencies,
put up a barrier against him. The servant of God, though deeply
wounded in his heart by the injustice he had just suffered, had no
apparent reaction».
In 1948, he would be offered the possibility to present his
candidacy for a seat in the Senate. Not sharing the orientations of
his supporters and in agreement with Maria, Luigi refused the offer.

ideas For reFlection

• Let’s reflect on how our living out our faith in our everyday
environment can be a valuable witness to the people around us and
those we encounter throughout the day.

30 Quotations available in Beati Luigi e Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi, op. cit.