26 Jun 2017 | Non categorizzato
On the island of Santa Teresina “When you live in a state of extreme poverty, or you fall into inertia, or else the only alternative is violence. From the charism of unity I’ve learned that I could become an agent of social transformation in my local environment: trying to work for the local residents, helping to rebuild a mocambo, finding potable water for families. Two years later I was elected president of the St Teresina Citizens Association. I continued the work begun by my predecessors, made sure there was transparency in the public administration, making it clear that if each of us helped the other, God would help us all.” (J. – Brazil) The tax agent I’m a tax agent. It’s a difficult job that I’ve always tried to carry out as a service to the country. I tried to see and serve Jesus in every person, trying to create a relationship with each person. Several years back I was assigned to the Investigative and Executive Department. In practice, I had to convince people who were outside the law, to pay the taxes so that they wouldn’t be sanctioned. It’s quite difficult and requires a good dose of patience. Little by little I gained the respect of the people with whom I was in contact, many of whom because aware of the need and benefit of staying within the rules.” (A.N. – Kenya) Contagious solidarity “Years ago, a social worker friend had asked us to host a seventeen-year-old for a week, who was nearly blind. For various reasons he wasn’t able to stay at the Institute nor to return home with his parents. After talking it over with our boys, who were already teenagers, we decided together to say yes, even though the decision would involve a bit of sacrifice for each one of us. The house was already small for our four children, who were students and in need of space. Miriam came to stay with us and, with the help of everyone, inserted herself so well that she helped out at one of our children’s birthdays that was happening in those days. It turned out to be not only one week, but three. We remember it as one of the powerful experiences of our family. That experience of offering hospitality was still helpful many years later. Our married daughter and mother of two boys, hosted a maladjusted boy who, for Easter, would have been left alone at the Institute. Another one of our sons, now married with three boys, welcomed him for Christmas dinner, along with his mother-in-law, who was sick in the mind. Solidarity is contageous.” (H.G. Austria)
25 Jun 2017 | Non categorizzato
In the light of the Christian faith, humankind is shown to be the image of God. The Old Testament teaches that God made humankind in his own image and likeness. This origin in God confers upon humankind’s raggedness, woundedness and spirit a beauty that is above human. This beauty becomes even greater in Christianity, because humankind is seen not only as the image of God, but also as God’s creation and worthy of the Creator, the artwork is worthy of the artist. The Omnipotent could not but create beings worthy of Him. In humankind, He created a masterpiece that makes one dizzy to behold, bestowing upon him an admirable form to last and to generate, an intelligence to enlighten, a heart with which it could project itself on its fellow beings, a soul to evade the limits of time and space, with the angels in Eternity. Humankind fell, it’s true, abusing its freedom; but it’s also true that the most exalted prodigy of Divine Love came attached to that Fall: Redemption through the Blood of Christ. Seen in this way, humankind – albeit a poor wretch you zoom by on the sidewalk, or a native who lives miles and miles away – is such a grand being, such a noble being, such a divine being that you should want to kneel down whenever you were in its presence, to tremble and be overwhelmed, as you recognized in it the majesty of the One who imagined it and made it the prodigy of Creation, the object of the supernatural life in the life of nature. It immediately becomes clear what such a vision does in you. It makes it impossible and absurd for you to exploit human beings, to degrade them, to tamper with them, to supress them, without violating the work of God, without affecting the very patrimony of the Creator. Humankind is Son of God, and any offence against the son is an outrage to the Father: murder becomes an attempted God-killing, tantamount to killing God in effigy. Humankind barters its dignity when it bends to evil. And among the sins is the pride that is put in place of humankind’s humble gratitude at realizing it is God’s masterpiece. From pride comes exploitation, which is an antisocial impetus; whereas, Christian humility creates service and, also in this, humankind is a copy of that other Son of Man who came not to be served, but to serve. And herein comes the welding of the individual to society: its integration, its expansion. Humankind does not exist in the abstract: fathers exist, citizens exist, believers, and so on…the social animal exists. Only that human beings enters into society boosted by. Because human beings love, they come out of the shell of their egos, they expand, they integrate – in the life of the others. By the mere fact that human beings love, he and she already reveal that they are naturally Christian. Christianity then lifts up and supports this love, saying that love takes the person into society, saying that the vital principle of society is love: without which society, rather than protection, compliment and joy of the human person, becomes a constriction and a mutilation of a person. It can become a threat to human dignity. Social exploitation begins when you no longer love humanity; when you no longer respect its dignity; because you see the muscles and you don’t see the spirit. Igino Giordani, La società cristiana, (Rome: Città Nuova, 1942), 32-36.
24 Jun 2017 | Non categorizzato
Today, 24 June, marks the end of the Ramadan, the period of 29 or 30 days during which the Muslims recall «the month in which the Koran was revealed as a guide for humanity and which is a clear proof of the right way and salvation» (Koran, Sura II, verse185). During this period, fasting from dawn to sunset constitutes the fourth of the five pillars of Islam. The spiritual meaning of fasting accompanied by prayer and meditation, sexual abstinence and renunciation in general, according to many theologians, refers to the capacity of man to self-discipline himself, exercising patience and humility and remembering to help the more needy and those who are less fortunate. Ramadan is, therefore, a sort of exercise in purity against all worldly passions, the benefits of which will fall on the faithful all year round.
24 Jun 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
We reached Dharma Drum last night at dusk, where we were welcomed with exquisite kindness by young volunteers who helped us to get settled in our rooms. Then there was dinner and greetings. The symposium began the next morning. The conference hall and the entire building that holds the College of Liberal Arts is modern, built by a Japanese architect with elevated gardens to ensure a pleasant climate even during the hot rainy season, despite the humidity seeming to dominate all year long. The food they offer us is completely vegetarian and at a high culinary level, the expression of a delicate and attentive welcome that helps us feel at home. 
The opening ceremony begins at 10am. One of the members of the teaching faculty, Guohuei Shih, presents the professors there. Father Giuseppe Silvestrini, the official representative of the Vatican, greets the group, followed by Rita Moussalem and Roberto Catalano, co-directors of the Focolare’s Center for Interreligious Dialogue. There are about 70 of us from the U.S. Europe, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Philippines, China and Taiwan – both Buddhists from different traditions and Catholics. There are Theravada monks and laypeople from Thailand, Mahayana Buddhists from Japan who represent ancient schools such as Nichiren-Shu, Tendai-Shu and more recent movements such as the Rissho Kosei-kai. There is a lot of warmth between everyone present, including those who have brought their young followers. These are relationships that have been established through the years. After the opening ceremony, there was a visit to the huge complex, which brought the various groups to different parts of Dharma Drum Mountain. Visiting the museum of Master Sheng Yen, the founder of Dharma Drum and reformer of Chan Buddhism, was particularly meaningful. In the afternoon we continued by touring the various halls, where images of the Buddha are venerated. There was an especially interesting lesson on how to venerate the Enlightened One. The Theravada monks humbly learned from the same tradition that the young monks do there at that university. 
The most beautiful moment of the day is called “blessing time”: a long moment of prayer where each person prays according to their tradition – a moment of solemnness, respect and silence. In the hall dedicated to Buddha, where Christians that morning had celebrated mass, we spend an hour-and-a-half in a string of prayers. The Theravada monks begin and the Christians follow. Following them, there are the members of the Rissho Kosei-kai and Tendai-Shu, finishing with the Fo Gu Shan monks. Time seems to stop, and we feel greatly enriched in our hearts. It feels as if we are touching humanity’s infinite yearning and need to reach the absolute, especially faced with the immense problems of suffering and war. As we leave we feel closer to each other, despite having had the part of the program where our differences surfaced the most. There is a spirit of communion and mutual respect that brings us closer during every part of the program. In the days that follow, work continues so that we continually grow to know each other better with a rapport of friendship and true fraternity. We speak about suffering, with speeches on the personal and social dimension of suffering, presented by Christians, Theravada Buddhists from Thailand, Mahayana Buddhists, the Rissho Kosei-kai, Tendai-Shu and Won Buddhism from Korea. There are also workshops in parallel where the presenters discuss religion and psychology, dialogue and social action, experiences of dialogue in a variety of contexts, and mediation and dialogue, with a particular emphasis on Vipassana mediation. Three experts conclude the program with some reflections on the content that emerged during this work. 
Beyond all this, what counts most is the atmosphere that was created. The head of the Dharma Institute of Liberal Arts, Rev. Huimin Bikshu, confides that this is the first meeting of its kind at the university. Besides those signed up as participants, there are also monks and nuns from the Dharma Drum Monastery and students of the college. The day is marked by a great spiritual and existential commitment. The dialogue allows us to emphasize what we have in common, despite there being great differences between the traditions. There are experiences that put up bridges of dialogue that bring hope, as Rev. Nisyoka from the Japanese Tendai-Shu affirms. The conclusion of the work happens in the afternoon, organized by Providence University, an academic institution located at Thien Chu. There we talk about economics, the environment and interreligious dialogue. The results from this week of common experience, reflection and spiritual friendship are difficult to convey. They are part of each of the participants’ souls. Perhaps what was said by a young Japanese monk, the abbot of a temple in his country, explains the depth of the experience best. “Rarely in life have I perceived the intimate presence of God-Buddha as I have in these days at our symposium in Taiwan… I have studied in Christian schools and I always thought that Christianity was a religion that happens in church (rites and religious services). During the symposium in Taiwan I understood that Christianity, instead, is the religion of the presence of God among people.” By Roberto Catalano Read Part I
23 Jun 2017 | Non categorizzato
115 parliamentarians of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (I.A.O.) are expected to attend the 24th General Assembly, hosted on 26 and 27 June 2017 by the Italian Parliament in Montecitorio. They are representative of parliaments in 46 countries across 5 continents. The delegations include participants from Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Syria and Hungary. The assembly will start with a visit on Sunday, 25 June to the Byzantine monastery of San Nilo in Grottaferrata (Rome), followed by a meeting of the IAO International Bureau with Maria Voce, President of the Focolare, at the International Centre in Rocca di Papa (Rome). See press release
