On the occasion of the Beatification of Don Alvaro del Portillo, I said goodbye in San Sebastian last Thursday to the bus of young volunteers who remained in Madrid until last night.

They returned exhausted and happy. They will spend a few days (not many because of their youth) until they can sleep again.
During the previous days, together with thousands of volunteers from about 15 continents, they welcomed with a smile and with manifest professionalism in their services to the more than two hundred thousand pilgrims who arrived at Valdebebas in peaceful streams for the Eucharistic celebrations of the Beatification.

In spite of their tiredness (some could only sleep for an hour), their kindness and closeness was evident, particularly with the disabled, the elderly and many large families who arrived at the designated areas carrying strollers with babies or children of different ages. By the way, among them I saw how fathers shared with mothers the tasks of changing diapers, lulling them to sleep, or the distribution of bottles.

On the same day that Pope Francis celebrated Mass with the elderly at place of St. Peter's, the young volunteers of Valdebebas accompanied the elderly by providing them with the appropriate seats; they offered their "hydration" service by bringing the large boxes with blue bottles of water, or answered their questions to help them find their way around.

The team of volunteers tried to reconcile this constant application towards the pilgrims, with attention to the hymns and prayers of the Mass. This was especially evident during the proclamation of the Word and, undoubtedly, during the Consecration, when they knelt down and collaborated in the impressive silence that did not go unnoticed by those with liturgical sensitivity. Those who kneel before the Lord freely learn to kneel before those who need it most, and will know how to avoid the idolatry of money, hedonism or ambition.

Undoubtedly, the volunteers, along with many other people, have experienced before and during these days in Madrid that first taste of God-Love, as Pope Francis likes to say and which he made reference letter in his message for the Beatification: Alvaro del Portillo was aware of the many gifts that God had granted him, and he thanked God for this manifestation of paternal love. But he did not stop there; the recognition of the Lord's love awakened in his heart a desire to follow him with greater submission and generosity, and to live a life of humble service to others..

Undoubtedly, the new Blessed will have rejoiced in Heaven to see that new generations of university students are following the same steps he took in his student days, serving children, the elderly and the sick until he discovered the call of God's Love that drove him to submission without limits.