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15 Mar 2011 | Focolare Worldwide
What significance did Maria Voce’s visit have for the Focolare Movement present in the Holy Land? It gave us all great encouragement. New possibilities were opened and new contacts were made, especially in civic and academic fields. It was like a moment of harvest; we could see the fruit of the work done in these past 33 years of the Focolare Movement’s presence here. The most important aspect, however, was the hope that Maria Voce gave to all those she met: a hope strengthened by the spirit of love and unity typical of the Focolare Movement. Her words are engraved on each of our hearts: “You are here not only for the local community but also for the whole Focolare Movement. You have a task, a mission to carry out. I believe you are one of the most precious pieces of the Movement’s ‘big mosaic’.. Nobody can substitute you and this good fortune is yours, this grace is yours”. Were there developments with regards to the Movement’s future perspectives in such a multifaceted contest? 
Without a doubt there is a clear dedication to all areas of dialogue. This involves, first and foremost, the fostering of an ever closer unity between the ecclesial movements present in the Holy Land. What’s more, various bishops encouraged our involvement in pastoral work for families and young people. We also felt the need to respond to the request of many interreligious organizations to create a more hands-on collaboration; there is a true desire to spread the spirit of universal brotherhood and to work together for the common good and for peace between members of different religions. We cannot forget the contacts made with the city council in Jerusalem and with other local councils in the Palestinian Authority. All in all, guidelines for building bridges at every level have come to the fore. Maria Voce met with representatives not only of the Catholic church but also of other churches and religions. How meaningful were these meetings? These visits were very much appreciated by the patriarchs and bishops of other churches. They underlined the importance of the Charism of Unity and the need for a solid and deep spirituality in the ecumenical field. As a result these church leaders asked for our involvement in various projects within their churches and in interreligious organisations. Did a specific priority emerge after the Focolare President’s visit to the Holy Land? It’s difficult to narrow down one specific priority because everything was so important. 
Maria Voce felt the need to strengthen the Focolare’s presence in the Holy Land after the requests of many local figures. She also emphasised the importance of the project “In the Footsteps of Jesus”– a project that organises hospitality and cultural activities for groups of pilgrims- encouraging it to go ahead with the input of the whole Focolare community in the Holy Land. Finally, a quick mention about the piece of land beside the church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu: a plot adjacent to the steps where, according to tradition, Jesus prayed to the Father for unity among all men and where Chiara Lubich dreamt of one day setting up a focolare. Maria Voce confided, “Notwithstanding the difficulties we won’t give up, we won’t give up because it is part of out spirituality, in a certain sense it’s part of the charism”. For now there is the possibility to develop a large park that could be used for open air meetings or other activities. By Roberto Catalano
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13 Mar 2011 | Non categorizzato
More than a thousand people were in attendance at the Civic Theatre in Trent for the international ecumenical day dedicated to Chiara Lubich on this third anniversary of her death. The gathering held on March 12, included representatives from twenty churches: cardinals, bishops, metropolitans, and pastors. There were also politicians and people from the world of culture and the arts.
In theater boxes, audience and on stage were faces of Greek and Russian Orthodoxy mingled with the testimony of Anglicans, Syrian Orthodox, Catholic, Reformed. The music intertwined with the chants from the Arab world of the Far East without any traces of syncretism. Indeed, the unique identities of each group of persons were preserved and undiminished, but the passion proposed by Chiara Lubich, for over fifty years, “that all be one” was strongly shared beyond every differences.
Many of the messages that arrived from religious authorities of the various churches had quite a very familiar tone, like the one from Bartholemew I, Patriarch of Constantinople. His greeting was filled with the affection which has characterized the long friendship that has linked the Patriarch to the Focolare: “Chiara has taught us a method for recomposing fraternity, relationships of genuine sharing that are capable of dispelling indifference.”
“The day-to-day relationships and the widespread diffusion of dialogue were a fundamental contribution to the ecumenical movement,” underscored Cardinal Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for the Unity of Christians, as he expressed a personal concern: “counterpositioning that at times is manifested between an ecumenism from above and an ecumenism from below.” Maria Voce echoed the cardinal’s criticism: “ecumism from below and from above, they must walk together. If theological breakthroughs are not accompanied by true reciprocal relations from below, then these breakthroughs will not be greatly efficacious; whereas, if there is an ecumenism from below they will be important and longlasting.
Starting today, at the Mariapolis Center in Cadine (Trent), an ecumenical school will begin with 400 persons who will delve into the life of the Word and the themes of the day. There will be a celebration for Centro Uno which is celebrating its 50th anniversary of ecumenical action, which will offer an occasion to strengthen the dialogue of life.
Still in Trent, the journalist Franco de Battaglia presented his new book, A Trento con Chiara Lubich, which is dedicated to the sites of the Focolare Movement’s birth. It is a type of guide book for apparantly insignificant corners of the city which actually served as the cradle of the spirituality of unity.
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11 Mar 2011 | Non categorizzato
Chiara: I often talk about love but really it was a charism of light. Right from the start I could see that this spirit would spread all over the world. Even at the beginning we prayed for this. It was the feast of Christ the King and the reading in the Mass said: “Ask and I will give you all the nations as your inheritance”. I told my companions that we would reach the whole world. And we have. We prayed that we might be instruments to carry this spirit of love and light throughout the world.
I was continuously under the action of this light which guided me on what to do, on how to act, on our way of working, of praying, of studying, of communicating, on how our homes should be, our way of dressing. And then later, on the expansion of the Movement in the continents, on how to organize the Movement and become a people. I foresaw all of this. I would say to my companions in our first focolare: “There will be a new art, a new form of politics, everything will be renewed”. That’s probably why I didn’t even realize that the war had ended. I was so absorbed by this charisma which was flowing out into the Movement.
The light which came was from another source although I saw my own thought within it. Everything happened gently. The light which came was from another source although I saw my own thought within it. Its touch was gentle. God doesn’t crush you because grace refines our nature, it doesn’t destroy it. All my earlier formation was useful because grace raises up our humanity. I wasn’t in the slightest frightened. no! Sometimes people say: Imagine all that responsibility….I don’t feel any responsibility. If God wanted to create this Opera, let Him do it!
But you know it’s still like that with this light. God guides me. I am guided by this charism which is a gift of the Holy Spirit. I see, I speak and I communicate it and then it comes about. But it’s not me. It’s God using me. He chooses.
We had to fulfil the prayer of Jesus: “May they all be one”, that is, one family and it’s happening. Of course when I am in the next life, others will continue to carry everything even further ahead.
If I were to leave an inheritance, it would be Jesus in the Midst. Love one another as Jesus has loved us. Be ready to die for one another. Be a family. That’s what I’d say. That’s what it’s all about.
Source:
“Face to Face” – Video interview with Chiara Lubich by Sandra Hogget, Charisma Productions 2002. Copyright: Centro Santa Chiara Audiovisuals
