 |
 |
13/04/2008 |
|
By C.B. Hanif, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer - Sunday, March 23, 2008 |
|
Small lady, worldwide reach |
|
There are more sophisticated ways of saying it, but quite simply: She walked the talk. Hers was the universal message of love some hear and roll their eyes, if they aren't hardening their hearts. Yet millions of us around the world paid homage to the light she helped keep burning in us. She is Chiara Lubich, founder of the international Focolare Movement (focolare.org). And when she passed from this life last week, yours truly, an American, of African descent, and a Muslim, wanted nothing more than to be present at the Vatican for this white, Italian, Catholic woman's funeral Mass. Failing that, the best place was with some of her other admirers, students and followers here in America. So my wife and I converged with them on Tuesday at the home of Margarita and Marcello Ficarra west of Boca Raton. We all watched via satellite as hundreds of thousands of people, of all denominations and ethnicities, cheered the simple wooden casket bearing the woman we call the Blessed Lady Chiara, being taken into St. Paul's Cathedral Outside the Walls. We listened along with the 140,000 gathered inside St. Paul's to the words of Pope Benedict XVI, delivered by Cardinal Tarcisco Bertone, his secretary of state, as he presided over her funeral: "There are many reasons to give thanks to the Lord," said the pontiff in his condolences, "for the gift he has given the Church in this woman of intrepid faith, a meek messenger of hope and peace, founder of a great spiritual family that extends across multiple fields of evangelization." "The life of Chiara Lubich is a song to the love of God, to God Who is love," added Cardinal Bertone in his homily. He noted the "courageous ecumenical openness and the search for dialogue with religions" promoted by members of the Focolare, whom Pope John Paul II in one of his letters defined as "apostles of dialogue." I have written before of the Focolare, the lay Catholic movement of more than 2 million in 182 countries, founded in the depths of WWII and dedicated to "the spirituality of unity." Chiara's friend Imam W.D. Mohammed, the leader of our American Muslim community, once said: "She is trying to lead all people to come back to their original love for family, for parents, for brothers and sisters, and to love the whole human family as our family. And this is the preaching of Christ's love in her understanding." Her constant refrain, "May they all be one," has echoed with me since I first heard it. Chiara established worldwide connections with Muslims - and Jews and Buddhists and Christians of other denominations. That's one reason we saw so many of them present, during the worldwide telecast we watched, to pay their respects. The varied ethnicities and dress brought to mind the broad quilt of humanity one experiences during the Muslim's hajj, or pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. I'm proud to say that our community was represented by Imam Izak-El Pasha of the historic Malcolm Shabazz Mosque in Harlem. Imam Pasha was among many religious leaders who spoke during the huge Yankee Stadium gathering days after 9/11 to denounce that crime against humanity, against our faith, indeed all faith. And it was to the nearby mosque that Imam Mohammed a decade ago brought a courageous little white-haired lady to speak. Her historic address touched the hearts of Muslims in our community. In contrast, I suspect that most Americans never set foot in another faith's house of worship. Thanks to Imam Mohammed, our community was exchanging such visits long before he became aware of the Focolare during international conferences of religious leaders of like mind, such as the Dalai Lama. It would be good for America if more of us got out to the local predominantly black or white church, Buddhist or Hindu temple, or mosque. Our own annual Islamic convention would be incomplete without the presence of family and other guests of other faiths, most notably the Focolare, who themselves host annual meetings with diverse groups of Muslims, and with people of other faiths, in Rome. (...) Find this article at:
|
|
