Audio of the Word of Life


These words are one of those expressions often used by Paul where he both wishes for and asks the Lord for special graces for his communities (cf. Eph. 3:18; Phil. 1:9).

Here he asks for the Thessalonians to have the grace of an ever-greater, overflowing mutual love. It is not meant as a veiled criticism, as if mutual love didn’t already exist in the community. Rather, it’s a reminder of a law present in the nature of love itself: the law of its constant growth.

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.

Since love is the core of Christian life, if it doesn’t grow, the whole life of a Christian is affected, grows feeble and may even die.

It’s not enough to have had the light to understand the commandment to love our neighbour or to have experienced with enthusiasm its drive and zeal at the beginning of our conversion to the Gospel. We need to make love grow by keeping it always alive, active, at work. This will happen if we know how to grasp, with ever-increasing readiness and generosity, the various chances life offers us each day.

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.

Paul believes that Christian communities should have the freshness and warmth of a real family.

It’s easy to understand, therefore, the reason why he warns against the dangers that most threaten them: individualism, superficiality, mediocrity.

But he also wants them to avoid another grave danger, one closely connected to those just mentioned. It’s the danger of settling into a way of life that is orderly and peaceful, but closed in on itself.

He wants open communities, because it is the nature of charity both to love the members of the community of faith and to go out towards everyone, to be sensitive to the problems and needs of all. It’s charity’s nature to find the way to welcome anyone whoever that person may be, to build bridges, recognizing the positive and uniting its own desires and efforts to do good with all who show good will.

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.

How should we live this month’s Word of Life? We, too, can try to increase mutual love in our families, in our work places, in our communities or church societies, in our parishes, and so on.

This Word of Life asks us to have an overflowing charity, a love capable of going beyond the mediocre measure and the barriers of our subtle selfishness. It’s enough to think of just some of the aspects of charity (tolerance, understanding, mutual acceptance, patience, readiness to serve, mercy towards the true or presumed shortcomings of our neighbour, sharing material goods, etc.) to spot our many chances to put it into practice.

Clearly then, if such an atmosphere of mutual love exists in our community, its warmth cannot fail to spread to everyone. Even those who do not yet know the Christian life will feel its attraction and, very easily, almost without realizing it, they will become involved to the point of feeling part of the same family.

Chiara Lubich

(First published as the Word of Life for November 1994)

15 Comments

  • La palabra de vida y la comunicación entre la familia son una arma para poder enfrentar los cambio de una sociedad que dia a dia es cambiante y que en ocaciones nos arrastra por ello hay que contar con el apoyo de la oracion en Famila y asi saber que ofertar a la vida de cada uno de nosotros.

  • Mucha alegría siento al contactar nuevamente las alocuciones dadas por la Querida Chiara Lubich, depues de varios años de ausencia del movimiento, siento ganas de volver a las Mariápolis, estas son verdaderas palabras de vida, espero seguir en contacto, me gustaría recibir la hoja mensualmente, saludos desde el estado Amazonas Venezuela, Hasta pronto

  • muito obrigado meus irmãos pela seguir CHIARA Lubich…
    hoje si tenho este vocação missionário graças em este movimento dos focolares. que me dei este vocação; deste meu enfãncio na minha paroquia em Republica de mocratica do Congo em província de bandundu em mesmo cidade.

  • only a great thanks to all people who are living around this wonderful testimony of love, our word of life of December,.. for ever.
    Merry Christmas and happy new year 2014!!!

  • Thank you once again the Newsletter team. For me it is good reminder to live the Mutual Love better.

    Merry Christmas in advance.

    Kenneth

  • Gran reflexion para vivir este tiempo de Adviento, en donde la venida de nuestro Dios que es Amor infinito. Y donde cada momento que vivo es para cada dia crecer como ser humano pero no en egoismo es para crecer dnetro de mi espiritualmente y me lleva a ser un buen discipulo de Jesus, como ser honesto, tolerante, sereno y valentia para no caer en la tentaciones del mal.. Gracias por este mensaje de Amor desde Venezuela Barquisimeto.

    • En estos momentos en los que la familia tambalea por los cambios de la modernidad hay que estar en comunicación con los hijos y asi poder enfrentar junntos estos años por venir, dando un si a Dios.

  • This word of life is the theme of the year! Let’s live it together so Jesus may live among us and we can give Him to everyone around us especially to those who need Him most.

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