Mar 19, 2019 | Non categorizzato
We are God’s children and can be like Him by loving, welcoming and knowing how to wait for the other as He does In the bank I work in a bank and have always tried to be someone who builds and maintains unity between my colleagues, so it really hurt me one day to discover that one of my colleagues was using me to make his boss look bad. In church that evening I promised myself I would chase away every negative thought towards this colleague and welcome him as I always had. Later on, he announced his resignation having found another job. As he said goodbye he thanked me for having always been a friend to him. I really hadn’t expected this but was happy to know that my efforts had not been wasted. (F.S – Switzerland) A mature faith My husband’s memory is getting worse every day and he is finding it more and more difficult to do things. I too am finding it difficult to bend over and pick things up. There must be more to life than this I thought. When I heard Pope Francis talking to young people about the elderly, my hope was restored and had a new strength to deal with the difficulties of ageing and illness. I had always rejected faith as a remedy for every difficulty. It has taken me a lifetime to arrive at a more mature faith. (F.Z. – Poland) Two precious hours It was my turn to volunteer in the hospital today, but it was raining, and I was tired. Basically, I’m 62 years old and suffer from arthritis but thinking of all the sick people in hospital I decided to go anyway. When I arrived at the hospital, I met a patient who was depressed, undressed, paralyzed with no one to look after him. I spent two hours with him and really tried to give my life for him. And to think how useless I was feeling yesterday when I looked back on my day! (M – Italy) Alone When my husband died after just 4 years of marriage, I asked myself – how will manage to bring up my children alone? I found the answer in the Word of God, the Father of all. I just needed to live it. I experienced it so often, especially as the children got older and the problems started to become more complicated – deciding which school to go to, friends, leisure activities … There are moments when I feel the same desolation as so many other people who like me are bringing up a family on their own but as I continue to believe in the love of God, I feel great peace again which enables me to start a new dialogue with my children and discuss even the most delicate subjects. (I.C. – Italy)
Mar 15, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Exploring six themes in six years, starting with the field of “economy, work and communion” The idea of a united world is a most challenging goal, but not an impossible one if approached from many different angles. This is the mindset of the new generations of the Focolare Movement. Chiara Lubich encouraged them to embark upon the many “pathways” which could lead to a more united world, deepening their knowledge along the way in order to achieve this ambitious objective. Taking inspiration from her, they have launched what has become known as “Pathways for a United World”: a six-year rolling program exploring and acting on six big issues, one each year. Over the coming months, this platform will share life experiences on the first of these themes: economy, work and communion. 
Giving away what we don’t need – When we got married, we decided as a couple every year to share with others anything we owned that we were not using. In fact, we started doing this even when preparing our wedding and we received many gifts, including financial help. Together, we decided to make a donation to support children in need in East Timor, through an organization run by the priest who married us. We were astonished to see how, once having given this money away, afterwards we received exactly ten times the amount we had given! Also we have made a commitment every year to give a part of our income to contribute to the “communion of goods” lived by the members of the Focolare Movement. This time, the very same morning that I transferred the money, I received a gift of a beautiful coat. It’s stylish, exactly to my taste … and my measure! (S. & C. Italy) A child’s empty pocket – G. is five years old and lives in Aleppo, Syria. When she heard that a group of Focolare young people were going to visit and take food to a convent which cares for old people, she wanted to be part of it. However, the day before the visit, she fell ill and had to go to the doctor. During the appointment, she told the doctor all about the plan and asked her: “Doctor, tomorrow with my family, I want to go and visit the home for old people. I’ve already shared all the pocket money I had saved. Can I go?” The doctor replied, “Yes, you are well enough to go. But I will also give you back your medical fee, because I too want to take part in your initiative!” (G. Syria) Mobilizing a community – Many people I know are struggling to manage even the basic necessities. I felt I had to respond in some way. But how? I started talking about this problem with my colleagues at work, and spontaneously many of them began sharing. They gave me lots of items which I then distributed to families in need. As word spread, more things were given to me, so I needed more space and some help! One couple offered me the use of a shop. Another colleague – actually someone with very different ideas and beliefs to my own – joined with two more friends to offer their time to the initiative. One month later, the “Community Bazaar” was launched, in the presence of the Head of Social Services and several Regional Councillors. We soon found ourselves forming a network with the city’s social institutions, and were able to draw up a mailing list to link up people who have something to give with people who have a specific need. Since then, we find ourselves welcoming collaborators and contributions of all kinds, both from individuals and businesses. The Bazaar has also turned into a hub for people looking to find a way to be useful in society. One day I asked one of my colleagues to accompany me because I needed to go and find a washing machine urgently for a social laundry project. Afterwards she told me, “This is the first time I end the year doing something for others. And I feel so happy. Thank you for letting me know about this initiative!” (M.D.A.R. – Portugal)
Mar 10, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Mercy is a love that fills the heart. It can then be poured out for others in society around us, whether neighbours or strangers. Traveling companion I was in prison for 19 months, guilty of having added elements to the wines I was marketing. Inside, however, with the help of a priest and some people who would come and volunteer, I was able to reflect and discover a different God than the one I had been taught about. I faced this trial with a renewed soul and began to experience true freedom, which is within and comes from loving our neighbour. The relationship with my wife changed and I was even reconciled with my in-laws. Not just that: I felt ready to forgive my partner, who was also responsible for perpetuating the fraud. Now that I have served my time, even if the future looks full of uncertainty, I know that God the Father is my traveling companion. (Javier, Argentina) Words of light My wife and I were alternating between outbursts and endless silences, with both of us hurting, as well as our children. Even though some friends tried to help, each of us remained firm in our position, and it seemed the marriage was ending. Blinded by anger, I had gotten to the point of thinking that it would be better to leave or even end it for good. Luckily, in that hell, some of the words that had once enlightened me came to mind: words of forgiveness, of love. As a Christian I was truly off track! During a good half of a sleepless night spent fighting back my pride, I woke my wife to ask her to help me humbly remember the happy moments that we had shared. We embraced and asked each other for forgiveness. (A husband in Africa) Rain One evening I felt quite tired and I would have liked to say to the kids to go to their rooms to say their prayers on their own, since I wanted to go to bed right away. But John, our oldest son, proposed that we say the rosary together to ask for rain – it had not rained for some time and our corn and potato crops were at risk. So we prayed together. To my surprise, that same night it started to rain and continued through the afternoon the following day. (B. M., Uganda) In the hospital An extremely poor woman, a mother who had been in the hospital for many months, needed help to eat, but the staff could not do this as well as all their other work. We let all our parish friends know, and one at a time we went to help her. Despite the situation seeming endless, she improved a bit, began responding to medicines and smiled. When the person she shared a room with died, in their will they left her a small sum to help her family. Love is contagious… (C. C., Spain)
Mar 8, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Peace can be built in a thousand different ways. Sometimes you also need places in which to meet – a place for dialogue, spirituality, study and formation. The Focolare’s project for Jerusalem. https://vimeo.com/319521770
Mar 7, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Located on the border between the Jewish and Arab sections of Jerusalem, it will be a place of spirituality, study, dialogue and formation for the Holy City and for the whole world. A French historian once wrote that Jerusalem does not belong to Jerusalem, because it is a city of the world, a city where people of the whole world meet, again and again, face to face, to confront each other and to challenge each other. It is a place where some seek to practise peaceful cohabitation – while others seek war, where some strive to spread a sense of common belonging – while others try to spread hatred. In fact, it is easy to give in to the temptation to see only what the almost daily news reports tell us about the Holy City – about the violence between the Jews and the Palestinians and the unending struggle of the Christians… But is this all there is to Jerusalem? Is there still room for hope and for the prophetic role this city has for the entire world? Chiara Lubich was always convinced that there is room for hope. She went to the Holy Land for the first time in 1956 and among the holy places she visited, there was one in particular that moved her. It’s called the “Scaletta,” and it refers to the ancient Roman white stone steps, just outside the walls of the old city, next to the church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu. According to tradition, Jesus walked along those steps in the evening after the Last Supper, on his way to the garden of Gethsemane. Also according to tradition, it was on those very stones that he uttered his prayer for unity: “Father that all may be one…” Here is how Chiara Lubich described the strong impression this place had on her. In her diary she wrote: “It was here that their Teacher, whose hour of death was drawing near, prayed to the Father. His heart was full of tenderness for his disciples, who had, yes, been chosen by Heaven, but who were still weak and without understanding. Jesus prayed to the Father in his own name and in the name of all those for whom he had come and for whom he was ready to die: “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one” (Jn 17:11 NRSV). There he called upon the Father to make us his children, even though we were far from him through our own fault, and to make us brothers and sisters, in the strongest unity, that which is divine.”[1] From that moment, it was Chiara’s desire that a centre for dialogue and unity could one day be born on this tiny piece of land. In the 1980’s there came an important turn of events. A plot of land adjacent to the Roman steps became available. Slowly the project advanced and approval was granted in 2016. Recently the excavations for the building works have been carried out. The future “Centre for Unity and Peace” received a precise mandate from Chiara: it is to be a place of spirituality, study, dialogue and formation. It is to be a place open to people of different ages, cultures, beliefs and backgrounds. It must foster encounters and opportunities to learn about others and so promote authentic relationships. Another decisive moment came in February 2019, when Maria Voce, president of the Focolare Movement, placed a small medal of Our Lady into the soil as an important initial sign for the construction of this centre. The project is to be a multi-purpose structure, suitable for hosting events and initiatives of various kinds at both local and international levels. It is now possible to contribute in various ways to support the construction of the centre. Click here for all the necessary information.
Stefania Tanesini
[1] Chiara Lubich, Scritti Spirituali/1: L’attrattiva del tempo moderno, Citta Nuova Editrice, p.172-179
