![Assisi 2011: An Interview with Maria Voce]()
2 Nov 2011 | Focolare Worldwide
What are you impressions following the events in Assisi and Rome? 
I have a very positive impression. It especially makes me think of John Paul II and Chiara Lubich and their long sightedness in the field of openness and dialogue. They had understood that it was worthwhile to invest in people and infrastructures to develop the topic of dialogue. I refer particularly to organisms that work specifically for this: the various Pontifical Councils (for the Unity of Christians, for Interreligious Dialogue, for Culture, for Justice and Peace, within the Church) and the Centers that are occupied with the various dialogues within the heart of the Movement. It highlighted how many relationships that have been constructed over the years. To me this seems like a novelty compared to encounters of other years. Each one of us did a lot over the years, even though it could have seemed little compared to the results that have been obtained. In summary, I think we have reached a point in which there are true relationships of mutual love. There are a few significant facts that everyone noticed. When Patriarch Bartholomew’s book fell to the floor, Rowan Williams, the Primate of the Church of England, reached down to get it; the Pope was often smiling as he glanced first at one then at another. They seem to be small things, but they are gestures that everyone notices, and they give a testimony. Then there was the presence of people with no religious convictions. This was truly a substantial and important novelty, especially because of the way the Pope presented them as in search of the common truth. He underscored that the truth transcends everyone and no one can claim to possess it completely. It was beautiful the way he presented it. This was clearly a novelty. Assisi 2011 was not only an encounter in the spirit of fraternity and peace, it was also a moment to elevate our spirits in the search of something that went beyond this. You were invited together with Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio and Father Julian Carrón, who is guiding the Communion and Liberation Movement. It is quite a noteworthy sign of recognition for the new ecclesial Movements and Communities. How do you see the role of the movements and especially the laity in the field of dialogue? Many cardinals and bishops have come to thank me for the delicate and discreet relationships that we build with people of different religions. This was, therefore, an acknowledgement of what our movement and the other movements in general do in the field of dialogue. I found much appreciation also for the way in which lay people are able to understand the diverse contexts and concrete situations and traditions of the religions and of the believers. The laity more easily have daily contact with those of other faiths and, therefore, they are acquainted with vital aspects and traditions of these religions. This can also help the institutional Church to move in its relations with the faithful of the other religions. No one can know everything and everyone. One example: I was having lunch with the Sikh delegation, who were not afraid to tell everyone that they knew the focolare and attended all the events that we promote. And with many others it was the same. The relationships that the movements have established with these religious leaders came out in a very spontaneous way. It seems to me that the hierarchy of the Church is quite happy and grateful. By Roberto Catalano
1 Nov 2011 | Non categorizzato, Word of
“Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” In saying this, Jesus wants to remind us first of all that he will come. Our life on earth will end and a new life will begin, one that will never end. No one wants to talk about death today … At times, we do all we can to distract ourselves, immersing ourselves completely in our daily occupations to the point of forgetting who gave us life and who will ask to have it back in order to introduce us into the fullness of life, into communion with his Father in heaven. Will we be ready to meet him? Will our lamps be lit, like those of the prudent virgins who were waiting for the spouse? In other words, will we be loving? Or will our lamps be extinguished because we are so taken up with the many things to do, the fleeting joys, the possession of material goods, that we forget the one thing necessary: to love? “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” But how can we stay awake? First of all, we know that whoever loves is capable of staying awake, of waiting. For example, a wife waits for her husband who is coming home from work late or returning from a long trip; a mother stays awake worrying about her son who hasn’t come home yet; whoever is in love eagerly awaits the moment to see the one he or she loves … Whoever loves is capable of waiting even when the loved one delays. We wait for Jesus if we love him and ardently desire to meet him. And we wait for him by loving concretely, by serving him, for instance, in our neighbors or by working to build a more just society. Jesus himself invites us to live like this by giving us the parable of the faithful servant who, while waiting for the return of his master, looked after the servants and the affairs of the house. He also gave us the parable of the servants who, while waiting for their master to return home, put the talents they received to good use. “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Precisely because we don’t know the day or the hour of his coming, we can concentrate more easily on living one day at a time, focusing on the troubles of the day and on what Divine Providence offers to us right now. Some time ago I spontaneously voiced this prayer to God:
Jesus, let me speak always as if it were the last word I ever say. Let me act always as if it were the last thing I ever do. Let me suffer always as if it were the last suffering I have to offer you. Let me pray always as if it were my last chance on earth to talk with you.
Chiara Lubich
1 Nov 2011 | Non categorizzato
Launched into infinity
The saints are great men and women
who, having seen their greatness in the Lord,
risk for God, as his children,
everything that is theirs.
They give, demanding nothing.
They give their life, their soul, their joy,
every earthly bond, every richness.
Free and alone,
launched into infinity,
they wait for Love to bring them
into the eternal kingdom; but, already in this life,
they feel their hearts fill with love,
true love, the only love
that satisfies, that consoles,
that love which shatters
the eyelids of the soul and gives
new tears.
Ah, no one knows who a saint is!
He or she has given and now receives,
and an endless flow
passes between heaven and earth,
joins earth to heaven,
and filters from the depths
rare ecstasy, celestial sap
that does not stop at the saint,
but flows over the tired, the mortal,
the blind and paralyzed in soul,
and breaks through and refreshes,
comforts and attracts and saves.
If you want to know about love, ask a saint.
Chiara Lubich, Essential Writings, New City Press, Hyde Park, NY, 2007, p. 116
![Assisi 2011: An Interview with Maria Voce]()
31 Oct 2011 | Focolare Worldwide
More than two months of continuous rain, more by far to what is forseen every year, are beating Thailand and around eight million persons. The worst hit provinces are those of Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, and Nakhon Sawan, where the level of the water has gone beyond four metres high. Some members of the Focolari, who live in Bangkok, write to us: “ The consequences of what has happened are before the eyes of all: whole villages evacuated, industrial zones invaded by the water with the loss of tens of thousands of places of work, schools closed for an undetermined period. Years will be required to recover what we have lost.” But even in the midst of this situation, there are facts taking place that speak of still possible hope, of the desire for new birth stronger than sorrow. Thus, they continue to write from Bangkok: “What nobody expected, at least under these dimensions, is concrete love, the help that very many people are giving to who is suffering. A reporter from CNN has defined as “an incredible social effect” what is happening in Thailand. And it is so. All help each other, all try to do something for for those who have been hit; thousands of volonteers have worked 24 hours on 24 to prepare 1,200,000 sand bags to mend or raise the banks of some important canals in the zones of the floods.Those working are in the majority young people, who wanted to contribute to save what can be saved.” The work of the Focolari to bring material, spiritual, and moral help, forms part of this common work that involves the whole country, encouraging fraternal experiences that make every hope credible. Amongst the many testimonies that are reaching our editorial office, we have chosen that of S.C., university teacher, who thus relates: “I have tried to understand together with my students what to do for the victims of the floods. The youths consulted each other and decided to gather money approaching the people on the street, going up on the trains. It required a bit of courage, and yet…Around twenty of them agreed to meet each other in front of the big shops, equipped with large posters, a box and two guitars. They are all young buddists convinced of the importance of doing good to others. I encouraged them to first of all live in fraternity amongst themselves, offering difficulties and weariness for the good of the country. The collection went beyond what was expected, 17,700 bath, a large sum for our economy. But most of all, it contributed to widening the hearts of the youths on the needs of others. This commitment of theirs continues to give fruit.”
![Assisi 2011: An Interview with Maria Voce]()
30 Oct 2011 | Non categorizzato
A gathering in the Dolomite Mountains in the beginnings of the Focolare.
Some time later, conscious of the divine boldness of such a program, which only God could bring about, we knelt around an altar and asked Jesus to realize that dream of his using even us if he wished, it were in his plans. Often, in the beginning, faced with the immensity of the task, we became dizzy and, seeing the crowds that we should gather in unity, we were taken by shock. But, little by little, gently, the Lord made us understand that our task was like that of a small child who throws a stone into a lake. The tiny stone causes rings to be formed which continue to extend, reaching wider and wider, and they can seem to continue forever. And so we understood that we would have to create unity around us, in our own surroundings, wherever we found ourselves. Then, when we went to Heaven, we would be able to look down and see the circles widening still more, becoming gigantic, until the end of time, when the plan of God would be accomplished. Right from the first moment, it was clear to us that this unity had only one name: Jesus. For us, being one meant being Jesus. In fact, only Christ make two into one, because his love is the emptying of self, it’s non egoism, it makes us enter deeply into the hearts of others. The things I wrote during those times betray our wonder before such a sublime and supernatural reality: ‘Unity! But who could dare to speak of it? It’s ineffable as God! You feel it, you see it, you enjoy it, but. . . it’s ineffable! Everyone rejoices in its presence, everyone suffers in its absence. It’s peace, joy, love, ardor, an atmosphere of heroism, of the highest generosity. It’s Jesus among us!’”
