0 - 2011 - Movimento dei Focolari

Brazzaville

22 Nov 2011 | Non categorizzato

The Spirituality of Unity: Mary, Mother of God

20 Nov 2011 | Non categorizzato

Ave Cerquetti, 'Mater Christi' - Roma, 1971

Mary, the Mother of God, has been present in the life of the Focolare Movement since its beginnings. Chiara Lubch very often recalled an episode when, during heavy bombing in the Second World War, which could have killed her and her first companions, she understood something about Mary: ‘Covered with dust that completely filled the air, almost miraculously I was able to stand up, and in the midst of the cries of those around me, I said to my companions “ I had felt a deep sorrow in my soul as my life was in danger: it was the sorrow of no longer being able to recite on earth the Hail Mary”. At that time I could not grasp the sense of those thoughts. Perhaps it was to explain that being given life again, through the grace of God, we would be able to give glory to Mary with the Movement that was being born’. The fact that the official name for the Focolare Movement is the’ Work of Mary’ comes as no surprise. Nor is it so strange that we use the title Mariapolis (City of Mary) for many things: the main meetings of the Movement are known as Mariapolis as are the little towns. Each conference centre is known as a Mariapolis Centre. Chiara wrote in 2000: ‘Mary used with our Movement the same manner as the Church: remaining hidden in the background to enable her Son who is God to be clearly seen. But when the moment arrived for, we could say, her official arrival, in our movement, she showed herself, or better, God revealed her to us, as great to the degree that she knew how to disappear. It was in 1949, during a period of special graces an “illuminative period of our history). We saw Mary as a rare and unique creature, who had been drawn into the life of the Holy Trinity, and she was all Word of God, all dressed in the Word of God. ‘And so strong was our impression of this understanding that we could never forget it; it seemed that only angels could utter something of her. Seeing her like this attracted us to her, and we developed a new love for her. Love which was the evangelical answer, shown more clearly in our soul for what she really was: Mother of God. Theotokos (God-bearer). She was not, as we knew her from before, only the young girl from Nazareth, the most beautiful creature in the world, the heart that contains and surpasses the sum total of the love of all earthly mothers put together; she was the Mother of God. In that moment, certainly because of a grace from God, with this new understanding of her, Mary revealed a dimension of herself we had almost completely ignored till then. Before that, to make a comparison, we saw Mary before Christ and the saints just as in the sky the moon (Mary) is before the sun (Christ) and the stars (the saints). Now it was different: we saw the Mother of God as an enormous blue sky that embraces the sun itself, which is God. This new, luminous understanding of Mary, didn’t stay as pure contemplation (…) It became clear for us that Mary was a model for us, she showed what we should be, whilst we saw each one of us as a ‘potential’ Mary.’

Stories of a teacher

18 Nov 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

“I am giving a lesson in my new class, first year elementary, of 26 very lively children. As soon as I have laboriously achieved their attention, I hear a knock at the door: it is the caretaker who notifies me that I have a telephone call. It is the mother of Paul; she is stormily separated from her husband with whom she is in perennial quarrel. In these days, both parents are contesting for the child with questionable actions, and bombard with telephone calls also us, teachers. I had every reason to answer that I cannot go to the telephone, that I am giving a lesson, and that I already imagine what it is about. But in that moment through the legitimate reasoning of a teacher who has been interrupted in her work, a sentence makes its way, from the Word of Life: “Make that I speak always as though this is the last word that I say.” It is an occasion to be vigilant! I smile to the caretaker and entrust the class to her and I go to the telephone with a new heart. I listen to what I had already imagined… but up to the end, without judging, without letting the “disturbance” that has been created weigh on us. At the end, I succeed in telling Paul’s mother that I understand her, that I comprehend the state of her soul, but that I believe that for the good of Paul, we can put aside the hurt pride and the rancour, and act only for the good of the child. When, a couple of hours later I pass through the corridor, the caretaker comes near to me and tells me: “You know, that mother has telephoned again… she told me just to tell you Thanks.” Some days ago, while I am leaving school in a hurry, with a thousand programmes to carry out and the shopping to do, I am stopped by Flora, a caretaker of Brazilian origin who only recently works at our Institute. She has to make a written application to the school management, and does not know how to go about it, also because of her language difficulties. I ask myself why, from so many teachers, she asks me who is so busy. The Word of Life invites me once again to “stay awake”: it is Jesus who is asking this! Do I want perhaps to answer that I am in a hurry and that he should ask someone else? I sit with Flora and help her to write the application. Then I propose that she types it with a computer because the presentation is better, but Flora does not know how to use it. We go together in the classroom for informatics and I write it for her, without looking at the watch. Two mornings later, while I am entering the staffroom, Flora stops me and gives me a very beautiful light blue scarf. “You should not have done it, it is not necessary” I tell her. And she answers: “But also I want to be able to love as you have done with me. “ (B.P.-Italia)

Stories of Entrepreneurs:Unitrat of Bari, Italy

17 Nov 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

Franco Caradonna,

Having been around for 35 years, Unitrat LTD has a story to tell: How it has coped with job losses due to competition; shared technical experience; observed a ‘solidarity contract’ began a social cooperative for the disabled, a community health center and a summer school on Civil Economics. Caradonna takes us into the company dynamics that led to these courageous choices. “I studied and was married in Turin, Italy, where I had moved with my parents from Puglia, where I am originally from. After various experiences as a dependent worker, six friends and I jumped into an even larger venture. We put together our savings, professional skills, ideas and free time. Since some of us were from southern Italy, we decided to establish a company near to Bari, which is called Unitrat Ltd. I’m the administrator of this company which has 25 employees and 600 customers within a 500 km radius. Over the past two years revenues were reduced by 50% due to the crisis in the heavy engineering industry. When Chiara Lubich launched the Economy of Communion (EoC) in 1991, we felt that it was like an affirmation of our experience and this gave us courage to carry on. The difficulties we meet are often linked to poor infrastructure, but also to a socio-cultural poverty that has deep roots and affects participation and responsibility-taking. Despite the difficulties we have tried to build relationships of generosity, trust and reciprocity with the employees, customers, suppliers, competitors and other institutions. One example. A supply owner had a heart attack that caused serious economic problems for him. Instead of turning to other suppliers, which would have been the prudent thing to do, we continued to order supplies from him, even paying him in advance so that he could keep up with his most pressing debts. Then his managing consultant left him, so one of our employees volunteered to keep his records updated. When bankruptcy seemed inevitable, we hired two of his employees and helped a third to start his own business. We came out of this situation without any loss because, at the suggestion of the owner, we decided to purchase his equipment and were able to resell it at a price that more than recuperated our own costs. Convinced that results don’t depend only on investments, but above all on the people, we tried to involve our employees in share ownership and in the distribution of the profits, while another part of the profits would be destined for the EoC. In 2000 we helped to start a social cooperative for the disabled by entering into an agreement among a dozen companies and the Municipality of Bari, that these companies would hire children who were at risk. We arranged internships for high school students in these companies and we created scholarships for graduate students at the Polytechnic. In 2008 the Pugliese Catholic Bishops Conference proposed revitalizing an association owned by entrepreneurs, artisans and professionals (the UCID). I was placed in charge of the new association. We felt it to be the fruit of many relationships that have been built over the years. This year the Puglia UCID contributed to the Summer School on Civil Economics, which involved 50 youths from the region and which will be developed throughout the year in four training courses, the first of which has already taken place on 31 August – 4 September. Source: Economy of Communion Online