Maria José, Spain: "Helping others is a way of giving back what I've received"

I try to say yes to everything. So every day can be something of a puzzle. In prayer, I understand the things that happen to me better and I see how God calls us through them.

I’m a lawyer and I collaborate on a citizens' platform and with several associations. Since 2021, I’ve been helping Afghan women who have applied for international protection in Spain. We’ve formed a network of volunteers and we help many women, who I am now very close to.

They ask me why I help them. I do it because I see them as sisters. And also because others have done the same for me.

My husband supports me in all the messes I get myself into, and he takes care of a lot of things around the house. We have a 9-year-old son, and he also participates in everything we do. We want our son to see that helping others is normal. My vocation to Opus Dei also helps me.

I think Catholics should do more. I think that we who've had such good fortune should give back what we’ve received.

Sometimes the Afghan women ask me why I help them. I do it because I see them as sisters. And also because others have done the same for me.