5 Sep 2017 | Non categorizzato
“I’ll be coming as a pilgrim of hope and of peace, to celebrate our faith in the Lord with you, and also to learn from your charity and perseverance in the search for peace and harmony.” This is how addressed the “dear people of Colombia” in a video message just a few hours before his departure for Bogotà. Speaking in Spanish, he cited the motto of his journey, recalling that “we always need to take a first step in any project and activity.” This “urges us also to be the first to love, to build bridges and construct brotherhood. This “urges us to be the first to love, to build bridges, to spread brotherhood. It encourages us to go out to meet the other, to offer our hand and share the sign of peace.” The Pope went on to say that Colombia is a “land rich in history, culture,, faith, men and women that have worked with determination and perseverance to make it a place where brotherhood and harmony reign, a place where the Gospel is known and loved, where saying brother or sister doesn’t sound strange, but a real and proper treasure to protect and defend.” 
The Focolare community is preparing joyfully for the Pope’s arrival. Yolima Martínez reports from Bogotà: “We members of the Focolare will welcome him with great enthusiasm, so that his message may fill our land with hope. Colombia, she explains, is in a transitional phase, a phase of deep social divisions that continue to persist. “But we know, as Chiara Lubich taught us, that all of us are candidates for unity, so we believe that the words of the Holy Father will be a call to peace for everyone, to reconciliation and tolerance, regardless of anyone’s creed or way of thinking.” There great expectation in the air, especially among Christians. “The young people, summoned by the local Church, are preparing for this visit, preparing not only the logistical aspects, but also their own souls in view of this encounter. 
Escuela Sol Naciente in Tocancipà, north of Bogotà where the Mariapolis Centre is located, is geared toward children and teenagers between the ages of 13 and 15, to give them a global formation as individuals that are sensitive to the values of solidarity, peace and ecology. Fifteen of their students and two of their teachers will take part in the Eucharist presided by the Pope. One of them is Milena: “I’m happy to be meeting Pope Francis, because he’s one of the closest persons to the young people. He understands us and invites us to follow God and build a better society.” Laura: “The Pope’s visit inspires us to be better and to help everyone, not only the Christians, but also the people that think differently.” Andrés: “The Pope is an important figure in today’s culture, so it will be an opportunity for us to profit from his wisdom.” Yolima continues: “All the Focolare members will be at the different Eucharistic celebrations, especially in Bogotá e Medellín. Among them, Lucia and her husband, Pedro, who will approach the Pope. They will extend the greetings from the whole Focolare community in Colombia. Lucia: “We’ll have a chance to approach him for a few minutes. Our wish is to go as children of Chiara, to thank him in the name of the Movement and to assure him of our prayers.” It will be a pause in the frenzy of daily life, an invitation to stop. “In the days that Pope Francis will be visiting our country,” Yolima concludes, “we’ll be presented with the possibility of a personal encounter: the encounter with Jesus.”
5 Sep 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
As Harvey’s fury fades and tears are shed for victims whose numbers are growing by the hour, the devastation left behind by the hurricane and the growing concern over contaminated water, especially in Houston, is becoming clearer and clearer within the city which is home to hundreds of large and important chemical and oil plants There is already a mixture of pesticides, waste and solvents that can do further damage to humans and the environment even after Harvey. Last September 1st there was a choral outcry for more attention and care for Creation just as Texas was emerging from the receding flood waters. It is not only the uncontrollable forces of nature that give us pause, but also our responsibility in using the goods of the earth. With regard to the risk of contamination: it has been estimated that the millions of people from Texas’s 38 counties that have been affected by Hurricane Harvey use private water sources that are not subjected to the same controls as public water systems and are at risk of contamination. “
It is time to think about the tremendous power of nature and of human responsibility to be good and wise administrators of the environment,” writes Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, known for his involvement in promoting care for the environment. “We are all called to to take part in the redemption and care of our world, working to stem the destructive force of such hurricanes through better environmental planning, or by being more seriously involved in combatting the serious problem of climate change and the way in which it interferes with our planet; or even to beomc personally involved on the field, with charitable projects that can help and support those whose lives are so drastically changed in the bat of an eye because of changes in the climate. In their joint statement on the Day of Prayer for Creation, Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew stated: We urgently appeal to those in positions of social and economic, as well as political and cultural, responsibility to hear the cry of the earth and to attend to the needs of the marginalized, but above all to respond to the plea of millions and support the consensus of the world for the healing of our wounded creation. We are convinced that there can be no sincere and enduring resolution to the challenge of the ecological crisis and climate change unless the response is concerted and collective, unless the responsibility is shared and accountable, unless we give priority to solidarity and service. Meanwhile, news has arrived from the Focolare community in Houston. Joelma, Carmina and Chiara and Kate write: “Thanks for your prayers, your closeness and your many meassages that have been arriving. Everyone in our community is safe. Some had to evacuate their homes, and others had their homes flooded, but weren’t forced to leave them. The neighbourhood where the focolare house is located was on high enough land to stay dry, but it’s like an island because all the land around it is flooded. It was hard to watch all the flooding from a house that was dry and secure, knowing that the lives of many of the people around us were in danger. Unfortunately, we just learned that the relatives of several people from our community in Corpus Christi, the first Texan city to be hit by the hurricane’s fury, were killed as the six of them tried to escape the flood waters. We’re trying to understand the best way to help right now, also because it’s still very dangerous to be out driving. Two nurses from the local community, Marga and Augie, are working around the clock at their hospital due to the shortage of staff. One young person was able to travel around and reach other volunteers, and a couple with a canoe was able to give a hand rowing through neighbourhoods.
![LoppianoLab 2017]()
4 Sep 2017 | Non categorizzato
Entitled “Neither victims nor brigands. Changing the rules of the game”, the much awaited LoppianoLab event will be held in Loppiano from 30 September to 1 October 2017. The expo, which focuses on the economy, culture, communication, training and innovation, is promoted annually by Città Nuova, Lionello Bonfanti Industrial Park, Sophia University Institute and the international town of Loppiano. Immigration, work, poverty, social integration, fighting corruption, commitment to the common good, family, youth, education and other topics will be discussed during the 8th edition of LoppianoLab.
4 Sep 2017 | Non categorizzato
The Drunken Man I saw a rift between a drunk man and a group of kids who were disturbed by him. They suddenly pounced upon and began to beat him. It all happened so quickly. With a lot of difficulty, he managed to get back on his feet. He was spitting blood, and lost two teeth. He became hostile and threatened revenge. Then, it was just me and that despised, badly reduced and discarded man in whom Jesus was asking to be loved. I overcame a bit of fear. What if he turned on me, infuriated as he was? I provided him with hadkerchief to stop the bleeding. Then, I tried to show some concern for him. He told me about his health problems and other woes. I got him the cigarette he was trying to get; but mostly I tried to steer him away from the idea of taking revenge on those boys. It wasn’t easy to calm him down. I was also worried that those guys might come back and there would be more violence. I sat there and listened to him until he decided to go home. O. (Italy) Sick Sometimes I go through moments of rebellion, but then the desire to believe in the love of God and of my brothers and sisters prevails. I try not to let myself be beaten by the suffering. I try not to stop and focus only on me and be a burden on others. When I lost my hair because of the chemo, my friend Bruna said: “Your hairs are counted. Give them to Jesus like flowers, as a sign of your love.” Even my illness has meaning and for that I thank God. Brigitte (Germany) Peace My father worked in a shipyard. During a strike, in the 1980s, he was clubbed to death. After that, our life changed, although I was too young to realize it. We only bring it up with my Mum when some award arrives or on the anniversary of some historical anniversary. She had instilled in us the value of peace and of never taking revenge. Now, as an adult, I know that the value to be transmitted to the new generations is precisely this treasure that comes from God, but begins in me, from me. S. K. (Poland) Surprising Serenity Perfino la bidella, che aveva cambiato modo di rivolgersi a me, è diventata oggetto di nuova stima. A una collega che mi ha chiesto come facevo a mantenermi serena dopo tutto quello che mi era capitato, ho spiegato che come cristiana trovo nella verità una forza e una fonte di pace che mi dà il coraggio di ricominciare. I giorni successivi ero sorpresa io stessa dall’atmosfera distesa che regnava fra tutti.I had forgotten to inform the school office that I was going away with the children, and when I would return. Therefore, upon our return, a series of rebukes would be awaiting. It was humiliating to admit my mistake in front of my colleagues and director, also because they were all looking on me with hostility, even the ones who had always been so pleasant towards me. But drawing strength from the Gospel, I accepted defeat, trying to tranform it into love for everyone. I imagined how I would feel if I were in their shoes, and I understood their disapproval. Even J.L. – Ungheria
2 Sep 2017 | Non categorizzato
“That all may be one,” Those are amazing words! I believe it is impossible to think of words more beautiful and sublime than these. They make you dream of a world different from the one around us. It stirs your imagination to wonder what society would be like if this great ideal were fulfilled. Imagine a world where people love one another and where everyone shares the same feelings, where prisons have disappeared and the police are no longer needed. Imagine newspapers that do not report bad news – which is now out of fashion – but ‘golden news’ about divinely beautiful and deeply human events. It is a world where people sing, Yes, where they play, study, and work, but everything is done in harmony, where everyone does what they do to please God and their neighbours. I think we shall only see this world in Paradise. Yet Jesus spoke those words for us here, on earth. … I opened the Gospel and found another phrase that seemed uncannily like this one, as though a secret bond exists between it and our motto. It says, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” (Jn 12:32). “When I am lifted up from the earth…”. So Jesus did not make us “all one” through his wonderful words or his extraordinary miracles. The Cross was his secret. It was His suffering that solved the problem of making us all children of God and one amongst us. Could suffering, then, be the way, the key, and the secret to bringing unity among all people? Could it be the way to transform a boring and often wicked world into one that is joyful, shining with love and a foretaste of heaven? Yes, it is. As far as we know, the saints, who were genuinely intelligent, placed great value on suffering and the cross. They attracted huge numbers of followers and often left their mark on history — continuing to do good in future centuries. When I was a small child, a priest told me, “There is an empty place on the cross.” Turning over the crucifix that was on his table, he showed me the back and added, “This place is for you!” Okay then! If this is how it is, we are ready! What are we waiting for? In any case, large or small sufferings, accepted well or badly, will always be part of our life. We do not want to be opportunists! We are Christians! Is Jesus on the cross? I want to be there too. I will accept all the little crosses in my life joyfully. Yes, joyfully, even if I shed some tears. Nevertheless, deep down in my heart, I will tell Him who is listening to me: “I am happy. By suffering with You, I can help you draw all people to Yourself. In this way, we shall draw closer to the day when your great desire, ‘That all may be one,’ shall be fulfilled.”
Chiara Lubich
From “Conversations with the Gen” 1966-1969, Citta’ Nuova, Roma, 1998 pp 35-36
