Of Souls, Through Words

Orsi Gyarmati, presenter of the “Napindító” radio show has been sitting in the studio of Radio Maria on Sunday mornings. Week by week, she talked to people who were in one way or another connected to the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress Budapest. Her guests were organisers, messengers or testimonies talking about their lives, thoughts and faith. Now Napindító has temporarily stopped due to the coronavirus. Orsi has spent the last show alone in the studio. She had to say goodbye for a while. Her words are sad but optimistic.

I woke up at dawn. The Sun has not risen yet. I arranged my notes, sat into the car and started to Budapest. I like this part of the day: everything is so calm, so quiet. A great chance to have some thinking time all by myself.

During the past two months I’ve always prepared myself for these Sunday mornings with joy and expectation. I’ve seen the first few episodes of Him and Me last December on TV, and I was truly amazed by the way people in the series talked about the most difficult questions of life with simple, pure, straightforward and genuine words on: faith, humanity, low points, fallibility, mistakes, hope and understanding. A few weeks later fate offered me the chance to talk to these very people on the Napindító show of Radio Maria.

I have been preparing myself for these Sunday mornings with happiness, as there was a truly heart some atmosphere in the radio. The old lady at the reception greeted me kindly, wished me luck for the show and always said „God bless you” when it was over.

I love to be on time, but I could not for once arrive earlier than our technician, János Baracskai, who was already sitting there every morning with knitted eyebrows, checking all the monitors, preparing for the show.

We always had time to talk about the details of the coming show with a cup of tea in our hands: who is coming to the studio, who has to be called in over the phone, when and which music should be on and so on. János was breathing together with the show. When I waved him desperately through the window which separates the studio and the technician’s room to pull the time because the talking takes more time than I thought, he immediately wrote to the screen: ’Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.’ If I could not hear the voice of someone through the phone, it took him only a second to find and solve the problem. He kept signing me how much time is left until the next music or the news, and he even found time to take photos about us sitting and talking in the studio, or ran in during the songs or the news to tell us if one of our listeners said something nice about the show. He was a solid background and I’m grateful for him for this.

Week after week, my guests were people who’ve had wonderful, terrible or heart-breaking experiences. Csaba Bíró was a homeless shouting from the steps of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Now he is a leader of a retreat house and has a wonderful family. Ákos Lázár Kovács worked as a labourer in the mornings, than at noon he went to the library to read books on theology. He converted right there, in the reading room and is now an associate professor at a university. Péter Bedekovics and Marci Tóth, two scouts formed a very precise opinion about the importance of giving young people frames and directions through which they can grow into adults recognising real values and merits. It was very touching to hear Lili Varga’s honest confession from a doctor’s point of view about the thin border between life and death and the hardship of accepting that our abilities are limited and it is always God who eventually makes the decisions – even if it is often a very painful one. It was truly overwhelming to listen to Gyöngyi Dani, a Paralympic who at the age of 16 attempted suicide, jumped off the top of a building, and although surviving meant spending her whole life in a wheelchair, she was able to stand up spiritually, stronger than ever. Now she shows us the way with her life model, her inner glow and her gentleness.

There were shows when all of us cried.

After each talk, I stepped out of the studio with the feeling of respect toward these people. I also felt that my faith in the existence of credible and true people is getting stronger.

As weeks went by, the world was filled with news about the coronavirus epidemic. Workplaces, shops and schools have been closed. Step by step, everyone understood that the situation is extremely serious. By the middle of March, we knew that the radio shows should be stopped until the crisis is eased. Our safety became much more important than ever.

The guests of the last show were two kids. Pepe Berei and Anna Greguss. Two 16 years old teenagers. How am I going to talk with them about faith, mission or providence when these topics can be difficult even for an adult – I thought at first. Then I started to prepare myself from their lives. Pepe, who told during the shooting of Him and Me that he was able to thank his passing days every day to God and the people who has already departed, and no matter how good or bad skating went that day, he always glorified God and Jesus. And Anna, whose life has changed forever among people being seriously injured in a fire in Nigeria. She realised that although she was helping them, they were the ones giving her love and faith from.

I’ve always loved to talk about things that really matters, about things hidden under the surface, deep in the souls of people. In this last show, Anna and Pepe showed us their souls. Their depths. There was no proof desire or boasting in their speech. Only the simple, descriptive and straightforward thoughts of two pure-minded kids. They talked about the greatest turning points of their lives with endless naturalness and kindness and it was refreshing to hear their voices over the air, since they were not able to come to the studio because of the virus.

Anna and Pepe turned out to be the best choice ever for this temporarily last show. I am sure that there was no one among the listeners of Radio Maria today who did not have butterflies in the throat by listening to these children. I am very proud of them. They gave me, us strength and faith.

I am at home now. It feels good to think back to the Napindító. I really hope that the crisis ends soon and we can continue where we left. Until then, all that remain are the good memories, patience and trust. The new episodes of Him and Me are launching on TV on Good Friday. They are worth watching, as we can gain strength from them any time, but never as much as nowadays.

Orsolya Gyarmati