Neocatechumenal Way: Itinerant catechist who had 19 children dies

“The children spend the day asking and asking. And I have a kind of enormous ear”

In a interview published in 1995, when they were expecting the sixteenth of their children, Rafael explained how he faces the question of openness to life in marriage: “We start from a base. That’s what I tell my wife, Paloma. What is marriage if not donation? It is not selfishly pleasing oneself, but giving oneself to the other. The fruit of this dedication is children. It is not a question of figures, ‘we are going to have X children’, but of seeing each case specifically, because each child is unique, it is a different story, with its own and unrepeatable circumstances. It is very simple. . . To me it is as clear as Bohemian crystal. . . “We are here to do the Will of God.”

Asked about his work as a father, he explained: “Paloma rules the house, I direct the traffic. It’s not a joke. Directing them is being on top of them, gathering them in groups to give them instructions, and listening to them, above all listening to them. Children spend the day asking and asking. And I’m kind of a huge ear. It’s not just about maintaining or educating them. It’s something more. Having children is giving them life and giving your life, because each child eats you up.”