Focolare Movement

The Suffering Holy Land

Oct 15, 2015

In the face of the recent escalation of violence in the Holy Land Pope Francis invites us to pray: “Hope and progress flow only from peaceful choices. So, let us join together in one intense and faith-filled prayer to the Lord.”

20151015-b“We are painfully wounded and follow with deep concern what is taking place in Syria, Iraq, Jerusalem and the West Bank where we are witnessing an escalation in the violence that involves innocent civilians and continues to increase a humanitarian crisis of enormous proportions. War only brings destruction and multiplies the sufferings of entire populations,” stated Pope Francis during the works of the Synod on the Family. “Thank you for your prayers, for this situation we are going through in the Holy Land,” writes the local Focolare Community there. “The hatred leads to violence, and the violence to more hatred . . . a vicious circle is spinning out of control. You can see the situation here transmitted on the media every day. All of us, from both sides, like many other people are deeply saddened and feel helpless in front of this evil. We try to move carefully; we pray more; we try to sow love with a smile or an act of kindness. . .” “We continue to pray and to build peace,” they conclude, “hoping that the longing for reconciliation prevails.”

___

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to Newsletter

Thought of the day

Related post

Thank you Emmaus!

Thank you Emmaus!

Letter from Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, on the occasion of the departure of Maria Voce – Emmaus.

What is the point of war?

What is the point of war?

At this time when the world is torn apart by brutal conflicts, we share an excerpt from the famous book written by Igino Giordani in 1953 and republished in 2003: The uselessness of war. “If you want peace, prepare peace”: the political teaching that Giordani offers us in this volume can be summarized in this aphorism. Peace is the result of a plan: a plan of fraternity between peoples, of solidarity with the weakest, of mutual respect. Thus a more just world is built, this is how war is set aside as a barbaric practice belonging to the dark phase of the history of mankind.

Don Foresi: the years of work for the incarnation of the charism

Don Foresi: the years of work for the incarnation of the charism

Ten years ago, on 14th June 2015, the theologian Don Pasquale Foresi (1929-2015), whom Chiara Lubich considered a co-founder of the Movement, died. He was the first focolarino priest and the first Co-President of the Focolare. A few months ago, the second volume of Foresi’s biography, written by Michele Zanzucchi, was published. We spoke about it with Prof. Marco Luppi, researcher in Contemporary History at the Sophia University Institute in Loppiano (Italy).