For the last nine years I, Brother Ukaszl,  have belonged to the Fatebenefratelli Order. When I joined, I was already a doctor, anxious to make the most of my professional competence and hoping as a religious to serve the sick in the best possible way. During the period of my postulancy, I came to realize that some of the motivations and perceptions regarding my religious life were not completely authentic. I discovered, for example, that no one was going to be able to give me a foolproof recipe for every situation I would find myself in with patients. Sometimes there is no concrete example to imitate and the obstacles one trips over are not mountains but simply grains of sand, that is, just little things. However, trying to deal with these small difficulties has taught me to persevere and that it is necessary to pursue improvement, gradually. 

“Brothers, Do Good” said Saint John of God. Is this simple suggestion an adequate source of inspiration? Would it not be better to do something else in life, one asks oneself? Is it really possible to be a Brother to one and all? Should we simply do what our Constitutions tell us to do: weeping with those who weep and laughing with those who laugh? Although I have now been a trainer now for years, learning all this is still not easy even for me and clearly will never be truly possible unless I open myself sufficiently to God.

Religious life is an adventure, a journey towards the unknown, as was that of Abraham. In religious life there are unforeseen twists and turns, unexpected surprises. Above all, it is an adventure lived together with a friend whom you will never know through and through, with friendship defined as a genuine encounter with another human being. The religious life is thought to be something that exists outside the world, however inside this world I have made friends and am learning to know many other people, because the vocation of a Fatebenefratelli Brother is a call for openness to new encounters, above all encounters with those who are needy and ill. But then again, who among us is really truly healthy?