How did the idea of ​​a united world come about? How did this adventure of unity begin? On the occasion of the United World Week 1999,  Chiara Lubich  answered these questions for the young people of the Focolare. United World Week is  a worldwide workshop which showcases stories, actions and initiatives that contribute to creating fraternity, unity and peace. How did this adventure of unity begin? Dear young people, I was not the one who started it. It was God who wanted it to happen. I don’t know if you have heard about the special gifts God sends on earth from time to time: they are called charisms. God, who sustains the course of history, sends these gifts for a very specific purpose: to bring about something good. To reach this goal, he even uses what we, men and women, have done that is not good. God, God who is Love, is the one who sends them. And many of us here firmly believe in him. One day, many years ago, he sent one of his charisms to us, too. Through it, we understood that he had a wonderful plan for us, young people of that time. He had a task for us, almost a mission. He wanted us to work throughout our lives so that all would be one. To achieve this, he stimulated love in our hearts and in the hearts of many other people. Is this an impossible dream? A utopia? Certainly not, because Jesus asked his Father in Heaven precisely for this. He prayed to him: “that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21). And how could God the Father not listen to God the Son? They are Father and Son, one God. And so, we set out confidently towards that goal and now all over the world, there are millions of people, including adults, young people and children, in almost every country in the world. It’s impossible to count how many of us there are! Among all these people, there are of course those who have a different religion from ours, or who don’t believe in God. They too have that innate kindness in their hearts, which is present in every human being. Therefore, we journey with them, too, towards the goal of a universal family, towards achieving a united world. And, if God is with us, who can be against us? […] if I were one of you, I would above all, take as my own the heritage which already exists. I would live in solidarity with all those millions of people who are already on the journey. Then I would try to contribute to the cause in two ways. While remaining faithful to the vision of those who began this Movement, and in solidarity with all those who have gone ahead of us, I would propose to love with even greater passion, if that is possible, and to work to reinforce the network of our Movement, which now covers the whole world. In other words, I would try to increase our strength and number.  Then I would also try to be attentive to the urgent needs of humanity and see what can be done to respond to them.

Chiara Lubich

Rocca di Papa, 26^th  April 1999, Message to the Youth for a United World and for the 1^st  May event in Loppiano (Italy) Source: Chiara Lubich Centre