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Holland: With the Communities of Northern Europe

Holland: With the Communities of Northern Europe

5 Nov 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

4 November: The first day of Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti in the little town of Marienkroon began at a meeting with some Catholic bishops from Holland and Iceland. They had a frank and open discussion how to give testimony to the faith in today’s secularized society. In the years following the Second Vatican Council, in the Netherlands, a so-called “polarization” entered the field, increasing incomprehension between “conservative” and “progressive” Catholics. The situation only began to improve in the 1990’s, thanks also to the collaboration between young people from different movements and youth directors in the diocese. With regard to ecumenism the situation has changed for the better compared to the 1960’s when Catholics and Protestants had almost no contact at all. Now a process of reconciliation is underway that will hopefully soon lead to a day of reconciliation. Together for Europe is partnering in this endeavor. In spite of this, due to the sexual abuse scandals, there has been an increase in apathy and indifference toward religion. “This challenges us to work together, because no one movement is able to change things on its own,” affirmed Maria Voce. “Each Movement responds with the particular gift it has received. For us, it is unity, which we should help to bring among the movements.” According to Bishop De Jong, the Focolare town could include a school run by the Focolare, which is founded on love of neighbor and open to all, which could help form the youths of today’s Netherlands who are only given the atmosphere of a secularized culture to breathe. Maria Voce responded by saying that more than only one school, there would be need for teachers in every school who incarnate the Gospel in their own lives. But the feasibility of such a proposal will have to be examined by the Movement in the Netherlands.   In the afternoon there was a meeting with representatives from different sections of the Movement and its communities in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Holland, which gave Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti an up-to-date picture of the situation in these countries. Cultures and peoples who are different from each other, yet “each rejoices for what the others are doing as if it were its own. Each time I reach a new country and the airplane begins its descent,” the president continued, “I get a lump in my throat as I think of the brothers and sisters who are there waiting to celebrate our arrival. We are such lucky people to be able to experience this gift of God which is the family of the Movement in every country of the world.” Finally, after dinner, there was a face-to-face discussion with 25 Gen concerning the upcoming “Catholic Youth Day,” which is being promoted by the Bishops Conference in cooperation with the youths of the Focolare and other Movements. The future of the Focolare lies here among these youths who are being summoned all over the Netherlands to tell the story of Chiara Luce Badano, the first young person of the Movement to reach the glory of the altars.   By Giulio Meazzini

Holland: With the Communities of Northern Europe

The Spirituality of Unity – Jesus Forsaken

5 Nov 2011 | Non categorizzato

Ave Cerquetti, ‘Crocifissione’ – Lienz (Austria) 1975

During a meeting in 2000, Chiara recalled her first “discovery” of Jesus Forsaken: “We understood something new about Him through an event that happened in January 1944. Through a particular circumstance, we came to realize that the greatest pain Jesus had suffered – and therefore the moment of His greatest love for us – was when He experienced the abandonment of the Father: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Mt 18:20). It touched us deeply. Being so young, so enthusiastic, but especially because of the grace of God, we felt urged to choose Him precisely in His abandonment, as the way to achieve our ideal of love. From that moment on we saw His face everywhere.” Another key moment in the understanding of this “mystery of suffering-love” was in the summer of 1949. Igino Giordani went to visit Chiara Lubich who had gone for a period of rest in the Valle di Primiero in the mountains of Trent, Italy. This small group of first followers that accompanied her was living with intensity the Gospel passage about the abandonment of Jesus. And those days in the mountains turned out to be days of such intense light that when it came time for them to leave their “little Tabor” and return to the city, Chiara quickly penned a text that has now become famous “I have only one spouse on earth, Jesus Forsaken. . . I will go through the world searching for him in every moment of my life.” Many years later she would explain: “Right from the start we knew that there was another side to it all, that the tree had its roots. The Gospel covers you in love, but it demands everything from you as well. ‘If the grain of wheat, which falls to the ground, does not die,’ we read in John, ‘it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit’ (cf Jn 12:24). This is personified in Jesus Forsaken, and the fruit that he bore was humankind’s Redemption. Jesus Forsaken! Who had experienced within himself the separation of humankind from God and from each other, and had experienced the Father far from him, was seen by us not only in all of our personal sufferings, which were never lacking, or in the sufferings of our neighbors who often were all alone, abandoned and forgotten, but also in all the divisions, the traumas, the splits, the mutual indifference whether large or small: within families, among generations, between rich and poor, at times in the Church itself; later, among the different Churches; and then, among religions and between believers and those who have no religious faith at all.” “But all of these lacerations,” Chiara continued, “never frightened us. Rather, for love of Jesus Forsaken, they attracted us. And he is the one who taught us how to confront them, how to live them, how to overcome them when, after the abandonment, he placed his spirit in the Father’s hands: ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit’ (Lk 23:46). And this is how he offered humankind the possibility of being recomposed within itself and with God, and he us showed how. He was the one who recomposed unity among us each time it was cracked. He became our only Spouse. And our life together with such a Spouse was so rich and fruitful that it pushed me to write a book, as a love letter, a song, a joyful thanksgiving song to Him.”

Holland: With the Communities of Northern Europe

The Fruit of Redemption

4 Nov 2011 | Non categorizzato

Rising from the dead, Jesus appeared to the women who went to the tomb: “Do not be afraid,” he says to them “go and announce to my brothers (…)”. In this conclusive moment he calls his disciples “brothers”. It’s how he continues to come to us today, as a brother: the firstborn. By rising he had conquered death and restored fraternity. Jesus had come into the world in order to re-establish the paternity of the Father. He descended into hell in order to conquer humanity’s enemy; now he announces that God’s children have been reinstated as brothers and sisters in the family of God.

Today’s world is dominated by fear and by egoism. And what is the result? (…) Humankind suffers because life doesn’t circulate among peoples, among the rich and the poor, among individuals, or else it circulates erratically. What promotes life is religion, science, technology, the arts and philosophy… But philosophy, art, technology, science, material goods do not circulate if they are not impelled by love; it is love which opens ways and overcomes divisions. But religion itself must be freed, it must redeem itself in every moment from the incrustations, limitations and rifts which are caused by the faults of the redeemed.

The circulation of goods does not happen as much, or as well as it should, because men and women no longer recognize each other as brothers and sisters and so they don’t love one another.

That person who annoys us on the train; the one who passes us by arrogantly or distractedly or who is alienated from us; the person we exploit in the factory or in the fields; the person we treat unfairly in the law courts or at the bank, is someone we don’t consider as a brother or sister. The persons we discriminate against because of their socio-economic status or because of their faith, don’t appear as children of our Father: at most they appear as illegitimate children worthy only of sympathy. The person bearing a firearm during the war doesn’t appear as a brother but more as a bombing device. Victims of prostitution are not considered sisters but rather as worthless merchandise. Seen in this way, society seems like a colony of lepers.

Every division, every discord, is a barrier to love flowing out. Love is God, and God is Life. And if life doesn’t flow, the waters are stagnated by death.

(…) If God’s attributes were only Strength, Honor and Fear, he would have remained alone, never generating a Son, nor bringing about creation. He would have been closed within himself, never open to others. But love is Trinitarian: it is circular: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. (…) The Trinity is Three and One: the Three love each other, and they are One; One distinguishes itself in Three persons in order to love; it is an Eternal game of Love. Made in the image and likeness of the Trinity, rational creatures discover in love an impulse to generate new life. (…) Love is the expression of God towards creation; and I return to God through my brothers and sisters.

The movement is circular, as in a river which departs from the source and flows out into the sea.

You go to God through your brothers and sisters; you go to them through God. This is how I can be truly myself; without them there would be no reason for me to exist since the reason for my being is to love.

Christ has put back into circulation all the treasures of life in the riverbed of love, with which he transmits the warmth, the light, the intelligence for reopening ourselves to the way that will lead us to unity where God is to be found.

He obtained this for us by coming among us, dwelling among us, making himself ours until, by dying, he redeemed us. Just as the Redemption freed us from divisions, it also reunited us to God. Christ has placed God in us and us in God. For this reason he commanded that we love one another, for where there is love there is God: “God is love, whoever is in love is in God, and God is in him” (cf Jn 4:16).

Il Fratello, Città Nuova, 2011, pp.29-30, 34, 36, 37-38.

Holland: With the Communities of Northern Europe

A Focolare Town for Holland

4 Nov 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

The Focolare town in Holland is located a half hour’s drive away from Eindhoven Airport and is called Marienkroon (The Crowning of Mary). The journey was nice and easy. The cars transporting Focolare President, Maria Voce, and co-President, Giancarlo Faletti ,were literally swarmed by ringing bicycles decorated with small bike lights and balloons. This cortege accompanied them to the entrance of the center, and darkness soon began to fall. The heavy gate was locked and Maria Voce was the one to open it, symbolically, with an over-sized key. Beyond the gate is a lush green lawn, encircled by the buildings of this ex-Cistercian monastery, which has taken ten years to renovate and to adapt as a center of spirituality for modern times. As the trumpet sounds, the flag of the Movement with its golden four-pointed star on a blue background was hoisted on the flagpole. It was a simple gesture, an intimate moment charged with meaning. Each of the small town’s inhabitants wanted to give a personal welcome to the president and co-president. They toured the complex which often welcomes groups of school children and associations who are interested in the place and the life that dwells within these walls. The cultural events that regularly take place on the grounds are deeply appreciated by the people of the area. Each year a large book fair is held, a week-long vacation for teenagers from the region, a plant auction and various spiritual gatherings. Marienkroon draws people of all kinds: young people and adults, Christians, people belonging to other religions or without any religious affiliation. After searching for ten years, in 2001 the Focolare Movement purchased the property from the Cistercians at the symbolic cost of 1 euro. Two Cistercian fathers still live here, together with Cardinal Simonis. All three are close friends of the Movement. Many projects are foreseen for the coming years in order to modernize this Focolare town, to make it functional and corresponding to the prophetic words of Chiara Lubich who, when she visited Holland in 1982 had this to say: “Firstly we must show the life of a community, the place in which you strive to live the Gospel together. This will draw attention and evangelization will happen as a consequence.” By our correspondent Giulio Meazzini

Holland: With the Communities of Northern Europe

Unity at the dawn of the Focolare Movement

3 Nov 2011 | Non categorizzato

Video of Chiara Lubich in Amsterdam. Italian soundtrack.

“What is unity? It is something marvellous! Because it’s that unity which Jesus had in mind when he exhorted strongly us to ‘love one another’, even to be ready to die for one another. The unity intended by Jesus when he said, “Where two or more are united, I am there in their midst,” is not a combination of persons or merely a group of people. He is present because unity truly manifests and brings about the presence of Jesus. I remember how surprising it was for me to read the correspondence from the early days when we first began to live like this and started to experience the presence of Christ in our midst. We hadn’t experienced it before because our Christianity was very individualistic. For example, one letter says: Oh unity, unity, what divine beauty! Who would dare speak of it? It is ineffable! You feel it, see it, enjoy it, but it’s indescribable. Everyone rejoices in its presence, everyone suffers from its absence. It is peace, joy, love, ardour, the atmosphere of heroism, of the highest generosity. It is Jesus among us! How can we explain this reality? Well, the Risen Jesus said something fantastic: ‘I will be with you always, until the end of the world’ (Mt 28:20). He said that he would be with us everyday, always. But where is he? Undoubtedly he is present in the Church because the Church is the Body of Christ; in a special way he is with those who proclaim the Gospel because Jesus told them so. We know that Jesus is particularly present in the Eucharist, He is there. Jesus is in his Church and also in his Word. The words of Jesus are not like ours; they are a presence of Jesus and in nourishing ourselves with them we nourish ourselves with Jesus. Jesus is with the successors of the Apostles, with our Bishops. He is in them and he speaks through them. Jesus is in the poor. He said that he is in the poor – that he is hidden behind all those who suffer. But Jesus also said, ‘Where two or more are united,’ so he is also present in the community. I have realized that today that section of the world which does not believe in God, which has other beliefs, is particularly touched by this presence of Jesus. ‘By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another’ (John 13:35). This is a way of bearing witness to Christ which is deeply felt today because, you see, what does unity do? Paul VI said in a parish of Rome that unity generates Christ in our midst, unity expresses Christ, it manifests and reveals him. Jesus is not a reality of 20 centuries ago; He is in his Church today and he repeats his words to us. Jesus is present – here and now – and this is what is so beautiful about unity. It shows this presence of Jesus. In fact, Jesus said: ‘May they be one so that the world may believe’. This is true. The Movement has tried throughout these years to keep faith in this presence of Jesus, of the risen Lord in our midst. And we attribute the worldwide spreading of the Movement to his presence. He paved the way and he gave witness to Christianity. Then what should we do? What conclusion should we draw? During these days I have had the opportunity to come into contact with many Dutch people and I have admired one thing which I have not found in other countries: in every heart of these Dutch people there is love for the Netherlands and a great love for the Church in the Netherlands. So what should we do? This love must become concrete. Let’s try to bring the presence of the risen Jesus in our families, in the parishes, everywhere, through this mutual love which was the secret of the early Christians. And what consequences will the risen Lord bring? A new springtime, and everything will come back to life. This is my wish for you. And the fruits? What fruits will this presence of Jesus bear? The same that we noticed when we began the Movement: a great joy, peace, the fruits of the Spirit. So my wish is that when you leave here, you may have in your hearts this desire: I will do everything possible so that the risen Lord may be in our midst!”