"We Have No More Tears, Only Faith," Says Father in Madrid

MADRID, Spain, MARCH 26, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Fausto Marín Sánchez, a permanent deacon of the Archdiocese of Madrid, lost one of his four sons, Vicente, 37, in the March 11 terrorist attacks.

“We have broken hearts,” Marín said. “We no longer have any tears. But as we are believers, we have faith that, despite the physical absence of my son, on the day of the Resurrection we will be reunited.”

“There is a part of my heart, that of my son, which is now empty, and my son’s place will not be filled by anyone,” he said.

“I would like to say to people that we Christians are courageous,” Marín added. “We mourn for our loved ones, but we also feel — and without this we could not be able to bear the sorrow — that as Christ resurrected, so we will resurrect with him. “I am very Marian, I have a great love for the Virgin, but now it is even greater, because we have seen the Virgin at the cross, living step by step the death of her Son … and now I am more Marian, because I understand the Virgin better, because it is a bit like what has happened to me.”

The father recalled the fateful hours the victims’ families spent in the IFEMA exhibition fair, where the morgue was set up.

“There, one saw sorrow everywhere,” he said. “There was a very good service of volunteers, psychologists, doctors. Those of us who are believers, suffered as much as every one else, but I think we bore it with greater calm. And for this, we must thank the Lord.

“A psychiatrist approached me and asked me if I needed any sort of medication or service. I thanked him very much. I thanked him as if I had received the medication, but the medicine he was suggesting, I had already had that morning, with the Body and Blood of Christ.”

Speaking about his deceased son, Marín said: “Vicente was fabulous. He was full of life. He was the happiest and most affectionate of my four children. With his brother Antonio, who is only one year and one day apart, they were brothers and true friends. The other day, Antonio told me he had lost 75% of himself.”

Another of Vicente’s brothers, Fausto, added: “I am a very nervous person and, since my brother died, the certainty that he is in heaven has given me great peace. Even my fiancée has noticed it. I see the certainty that my brother is in heaven in details, for example, the fortitude that I see in my father and mother.”

Of the terrorist attacks, Vicente’s father said: “The evil of the century we have begun is terrorism. I pray to God and the Virgin that this will end.”

Asked what his family most needed, he replied: “The best thing people can do to help us is to pray — that we pray together.”