20 Aug 2017 | Non categorizzato
The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (September 1) was instituted by the Orthodox Church in 1989. Since then, many other Christian Churches have joined the celebration, including the Catholic Church in the wake of Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ on the care of our common home. The protection and safeguarding of the environment, the care and attention given to all people and to the environment which they inhabit, with particular regard to the poor and marginalized members of society, will be the central theme of the various initiatives and joint prayer meetings that will take place in different countries.
19 Aug 2017 | Non categorizzato
Praying does not consist specifically in dedicating time to meditation during the day, or in reading some passages of the Holy Scriptures or the writings of saints, and in trying to think of God or of ourselves for our own interior renewal. This is not the essence of prayer. Neither is it only the recitation of the rosary or morning and evening prayers. These are certainly expressions that help us to come in contact with God and express this intimate reality, which however never coincides completely with it. At most, a person can do all this during the day and may not have even prayed for an instant. In fact, there’s a substantial difference between prayer and prayers, which I shall try to explain, starting from the prayer that is mostly unconscious, but not less essential because of this. When, at night, we look up to watch the starry sky, we see a universe of unending beauty which enchants and amazes us in its silent obedience to a law: the law of life and harmony which from the beginning created it and sustains it in every moment: This law alone testifies to the Creator. The same goes for the stars in the sky, and the plants and flowers that “know” when it is time to blossom, when to bear fruit and die. A profound rapport thus binds all living creatures to God, a relation that – I dare say – is also a profound prayer because, with their beings and their sole existence, they unconsciously recognise and follow that law, “narrating the glory.” (Psalm 18.2). But this hidden prayer finds its highest expression – because it is free and conscious – also in man. It is that prayer which arises when man, even before entering into a dialogue with God, acknowledges him as the Father who created and sustains his being, on par with the entire universe. The relationship with God therefore stands out in its reality as the vital and together healing fundament all in one. And so, a relationship which man is called to establish daily with him, or to request from him, as some masters of the spirit do, in an original interpretation of the Our Father: “Give us today our daily bread,” is the request. Prayer, in order to be such, firstly demands a relationship with Jesus: to go with him, in spirit beyond our human condition, our worries, our prayers, though beautiful and necessary, and establish this intimate relationship with him. […] Let us now see some other ways through which this relationship can develop. I shall start from a type of prayer which apparently may not seem to such, and this is the prayer of offering. This is experienced by those who, prostrated by physical or spiritual sufferings, are unable to do anything, even to speak, and who offer to God, even if for the span of just an instant, all their existence. This type of prayer may thus be considered as the deepest type, since it embeds the soul in that point where our contact with God is immediate and direct. But also work can assume the type of a prayer of offering. I am thinking particularly of those who, during the day, are overcome by physical fatigue, and are almost unable to gather the necessary energy to dedicate themselves to prayer. Well, also they, if in the morning place an intention to offer their day to God, will feel that they are living in a continual dialogue with him, and in the evening, in the silence of even a brief moment of reflection will find union with him. And in the end, this is what humanity today is particularly sensitive to, the fact that the entire universe and all that it does, can be transformed into an immense, unceasing prayer that lifts up to God. Pasquale Foresi, from “Luce che si incarna” ( “Incarnated Light ”)– Ed.Città Nuova, Rome 2014, p. 31-32-33.
18 Aug 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
Who like me, while wanting to give the best of themselves, has found it a little difficult at times? We wanted to treat the people around us well, but we spoke badly; we wanted to help, but our egoism got in the way. That’s why several of my friends and I came up with a solution. It all began with two of us who were finding it hard to always give the best of themselves, and they realized they needed to find a way to support one another’s efforts, since it’s easier to love and respect others when you know that there’s someone else on your side that’s trying to do the same. A “pact” was beginning to be born that would help each of us to be more constant with the challenge of giving the best of ourselves in our relationships with other people. But that promise didn’t end with us. In fact, they told others about it, and those people found themselves in the same predicament. At that point we took the promise too, and really put our selves into it. We even found a “sign” that would help ut remember the daily “pact” and that would support us: a wristband of white twine. We interiorized the “pact” and made it part of our life. Since it helped us so much, we decided to spread it around the city, telling everyone we knew about our experience with it. This set off a chain reaction and the news about the “pact” began to spread all over Italy. In recent months we’ve received so many pictures and expriences of people who have accepted the challenge; so now we’d like to invite everyone who would be interested to put on a white wristband and take the challenge with us. If you’d like more information, or would like to tell us about yourself , the good things that have happened when you tried to give the best of yourself in every moment, write to us at: ilpattobraccialetto@gmail.com Some of your testimonies will be published in our Teens Magazine. From: Teens online
17 Aug 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
Builders of peace “In a situation of extreme crisis which the country is undergoing, we want to help each other lives as authentic Christians. In Valencia, the city most struck by plunders, we experienced days of confusion and mass hysteria. Many industrial zones were savagely ransacked without the intervention of the police. We even saw the same army incite the plunder of shops, even bringing trucks and equipment. The city is blocked, there are arrests and a tense climate, anger and hunger. In the meantime, in the family and with other friends we are trying to support to one another and convey hope, without judging those who have taken away all sorts of items from the stores, even kitchen appliance and auto components. But we are also witnessing the help of Divine Providence with the arrival of medicine and food for entire families. It is amazing how God’s love watches over us, his children.” (O.T. – Venezuela) Cook “As a cook, I like to imagine life as an exercise to reach the banquet in Heaven, Didn’t Jesus start his public life with a wedding banquet in Cana? Didn’t he take part in many banquets, up to the last supper, and promised a final banquet in which, certainly, many cooks like will find their seats? In my service in the kitchen, the objective is not so much the dish in itself, but the people who will taste the fruit of my work. I try not to work only in view of my career, but to be a good husband and father, but for God.” (V. – Italy) The “trick” «In the apartment I share with other students, cohabitation isn’t always easy t because their habits are very different from mine. One day, discouraged, I was thinking of finding another lodging, when my girlfriend suggested that I take the initiative to do something for my co-boarders. She herself helped me bake a cake. Such a simple gesture! And yet, it helped to ease our relationships, in such a way that a kind of competition to help one another started among us. Now I know the “trick” whenever some difficulties arise: I can start by being the first to love.” (B. C. – Czech Republic) Real poverty “I have a disabled friend who gets a minimum pension and is isolated by his brothers and sisters. One day he told me: “I bought a pair of shoes for G. and every day I offer him breakfast at the bar. Now I am thinking of paying for his denture.” He does such acts daily and yet they say he is antisocial and that he is even short of mind. Instead the goodness of this man, in his conditions, is able to pay attention to others’ needs, always moves me. One day he said “When someone suffers, I feel that he resembles me a lot. And being able to help him makes me feel alive and fulfilled.” (T. – Italy)
15 Aug 2017 | Non categorizzato
“The very thought of talking about Mary makes my soul tremble and my heart patter. This is a topic that lies beyond our faculties and silence would be more appropriate than words. Mary! The most extraordinary among all created beings, exalted to the point of being clothed with the title and reality Mother of God and therefore Immaculate, Assumed into Heaven, Queen and Mother of the Church. Mary is closer to God than to human creatures, and yet she’s a creature just like us, and that’s how she stands in front of the Creator. This is why it’s possible for her to be like an inclined plane for us, which touches heaven and earth. And so, even in her extraordinary state, she can be: a girl, young woman, fiance, mother, spouse, widow… just like us who at any age or in any condition in life can find a connection with her and therefore a model. […] As for having a true devotion to her – while recognizing the many devotions that have blossomed down through the ages to provide the Christian people with the sense of her maternal love, bearing in mind all the large and small woes in life – I would advise a way that brings to life in our hearts a love for Mary that’s like the kind Jesus has for her. While Mary has all those magnificent and extraordinary qualities that you know about, she’s also ‘the perfect Christian’. And, as you can see from the Gospel, she doesn’t live her own life but lets God’s law live in her. She’s the one who can say better than any other: ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ living in me” (Gal 2:20). Mary is the living Word of God. If you really want to love her, ‘imitate her’. You be living Word of God! Imitating her makes you similar to her and leads you to love her because, as the saying goes, ‘Love either finds or makes equals,’ and it’s also true that equals love each other. […] So let’s imitate Mary, let’s become like her and love for her will suddenly blossom in our own hearts.” Chiara Lubich “Dialogo aperto”. Pubblicato in Città Nuova, 1976, n. 9, p. 33. See Centro Chiara Lubich
