Romana

On April 13 the fourth Excellence in the home seminar was held in the Haus Hardtberg Conference Center in Euskirchen-Kreuzweingarten, under the title “Creating a home.” Almost a hundred specialists and people interested in domestic sciences attended: professionals, teachers in schools of professional formation, and young married couples.

The Peruvian philosopher Maria Pia Chirinos, Vice-rector of the University of Piura, was the principal speaker. In her address she used the example of the return home of Ulysses in The Odyssey. Through Homer’s classic work, the anthropological value of the home and its influence on human development was highlighted. Chirinos emphasized an aspect of the human person that at times is forgotten: our weakness and need to be taken care of. She pointed out how recent studies show that families in which members are concerned about spending time together have a much lower danger of failure in school or of alcoholism. A home in which each member feels him or herself recognized and loved, confers on the human being the strength needed to confront life’s challenges.