The essence of the World Youth Day (WYD)

4 Aug 2023 | Non categorizzato

The young people who have been getting ready for the WYD for some time are excited to meet Pope Francis. In these first few days in Lisbon (Portugal), they took part in the “Rise Up” meetings.

As the time of writing, the XXXVIII World Youth Day has just reached its halfway point. The first 4, very intense days, have permeated the life of over half a million young people who welcomed Pope Francis on 3^rd August 2023 in the heart of Lisbon (Portugal). They gathered at Parque Eduardo VII, which was renamed “Hill of Encounter”, as a sign of the profound significance of this WYD, which underlines: relationship with God, with oneself and then with others, to build a peaceful, sustainable and fraternal world.

With the cry of “God loves everyone”, in a Church where there is room for everyone, Francis officially inaugurated the Portuguese World Youth Day which the media is amply covering every day.

However, what risks being overlooked is the important work of updating that the Church, in the most universal sense of the term, has carried out, so that this World Day could be a place where young people “find themselves” in their questions, in their conscious or unconscious search for God to have him as a partner in their lives; in the creation of spaces for sharing, inspiration and mutual listening. This process has involved young people, their teachers, priests and bishops, and many ecclesial realities.

“Rise Up” Meetings: spaces to think, share and be inspired

Undoubtedly one of the biggest novelties of this WYD are the “Rise Up” meetings, the new model of catechesis which invites the young people to reflect on the major themes addressed during the pontificate of Pope Francis: integral ecology, social friendship and universal brotherhood, mercy.

There are 270 meetings held in 30 languages which are all linked to the general theme of the WYD: “”Mary arose and went with haste” (Lk 1:39).

The Focolare Movement has been involved in the Rise Up meetings, offering 3 half-day appointments for English-speaking pilgrims, attended by an average of 5,000 young people a day. Eunice, a member of the organizing team told us, “I immediately felt responsible. The theme of this WYD inspires me a lot: I too feel driven to get up and go quickly, like Mary; I feel a strong motivation to give more, to overcome limits, tiredness and difficulties, as she did when she went to visit Elisabeth. She didn’t stop, but she loved”. Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, President and Co-President of the Focolare, shared the stage with Card. Patrick O’Malley from Boston (USA), Archbishop Anthony Fisher from Sydney (Australia) and Bishop Robert Barron from Winona- Rochester in Minnesota (USA).

Teenagers at the WYD in Lisbon

Experiencing God’s love and taking it wherever you are or feel called to be, was the thread running through the meetings enlivened by music, prayer and a lot of sharing. Pete, from the United States, at his first WYD, said, “I felt that after a year and a half of ‘isolation’, after Covid, something in me had changed. I decided to get involved and come with my diocese. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, meet young people from other countries, see how they deal with problems. I still have many questions, I have found some answers here”.

For the young people from Slovakia it was a big decision to come and open up to people of other cultures and ways of doing things. They are greatly looking forward to what the Pope will say in the coming days. “We are sure that his words will remain in our hearts forever and will help us in the different situations of life”.

This meeting one another, recognizing each other as brothers and sisters is perhaps the most characteristic feature of this event. This is why personal stories are central to the Rise Up meetings.

Real life at the Centre of it all

For example, Lucas, who lives in the Brazilian Amazon. At the WYD in Panama he was captivated by the person of Jesus. When he went home, with about twenty young people he got involved in a project to help the indigenous communities of his country. They spent a fortnight with a team of doctors, nurses and psychologists who bring aid, treatment and support to many people who live far from treatment centres. Lucas said, “It was an incredible experience: giving myself from morning to night, without stopping. The Amazon Project has made me grow a lot as a person. The first result of all this is me: I have changed, I am no longer the same”.

Sofia, from Argentina, talked about her existential journey of searching for meaning. At one point she heard about Blessed Chiara Luce Badano whose yes to God, even in her pain, gave her the strength to dedicate her life to God, following the spirituality of the Focolare Movement.

And we could go on and on because we heard many testimonies and also the responses of the bishops and leaders to the questions of the young people.

Pat, aged 19, from Sydney, said, “I came to this WYD with a group of friends and this is important to me because I believe that we need others in order to be able to make a difference in the world and even to make personal decisions. Loneliness is a challenge for many young people of my age and I want to do something about it by starting with loving my friends. I understood here that this is the right path”.

These young people have many questions and also fears, but there’s more: they want to open up, to learn; they come from very different backgrounds and experiences, yet they are all here to meet Pope Francis, to discover God in their lives and to meet friends with whom to share this discovery. This is the essence of the WYD in Lisbon.

Stefania Tanesini

To read the full speeches:

Margaret Karram, Catechesis of 2^nd August 2023, Rise up meeting, WYD Lisbon (Portugal)

Jesús Morán, Catechesis of 2^nd August 2023, Rise up meeting, WYD Lisbon (Portugal)

Margaret Karram, Catechesis of 3^rd August 2023, Rise up meeting, WYD Lisbon (Portugal)

Jesús Morán, Catechesis of 3^rd August 2023, Rise up meeting, WYD Lisbon (Portugal)

Connecting with the Focolare family in Australia

19 May 2023 | Non categorizzato

We have come to the Australian stage of THE journey BY Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement. IT IS a continent with extraordinary cultural riches and a diverse and multicultural Focolare family.

Suva to Sydney

Margaret and Jesús have certainly taken radical leaps throughout this trip. (Just think of their jump from Japan to Fiji.) The flight from Suva to Sydney 9 May was certainly similar, as the sudden shift from seeing the handful of fishing villages on the south coast of Fiji’s main island to the bright shiny jewel of a city in Australia is nothing short of extreme.

The shimmering lights of iconic Sydney harbour were on full display as our plane circled closely, almost as if to proudly show off this ‘beaut’ of a city.

Stepping into this multicultural metropolis, our diverse local community is there to welcome them in their many languages. They hail from South Korea, Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Bangladesh, Brazil, and of course Anglo-Celtic Australia. They are Catholics, Melkites, Chaldeans, Anglicans; the local Focolare region of Sydney includes Brisbane, Australian capital Canberra and their surrounding areas.

Meeting the Archbishop of Canberra

Connecting with the local Church remains top priority. During a profound yet light-hearted meeting with Archbishop Christopher Prowse, currently the archbishop of Canberra, he spotlighted the life of Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first saint.

“If Mary McKillop were alive today, she would be very comfortable with Focolare,” the archbishop said, pointing to her interfaith works.

He took us to her tomb and prayed that like her, the charism of unity would bloom like a rose, spreading its scent throughout Australia.

In through the art door

A clear window into an indigenous culture is through its art, but to know what you are looking at, having a guide is essential.

Enter Alexandra Gaffikin, an English Volunteer in Sydney with extensive experience in the museum and heritage sector. Her roles have included ‘head of interpretation’ at a museum, which certainly was handy as the group visited the Art Gallery of New South Wales for an exhibition on contemporary Aboriginal art.

Iconic bark paintings, for instance, were shown to be so much more: they are at once histories, maps, title deeds, and rulebooks even. They can be three dimensional, with underpainting showing underground water sources, for example.

In Aboriginal culture, these artworks are alive as people (and could even be painted on someone’s body). These are living collections displaying knowledge passed down through millennia.

Moments to enjoy Sydney

Amid a day full of meetings, Margaret and Jesús were able to fit in some time to take in Sydney, hopping on one of the many ferries and heading towards Circular Quay and the iconic Sydney Opera House. The views are spectacular! Happy to get behind the camera for a bit, Margaret ended up snapping quite a few pictures herself.

The upside of merging across the globe

This visit was an opportunity for focolarini from across the region – including from as far as Perth, Wellington and Fiji – to come together for some meaningful sessions. It is a time where the movement’s organisation has been merging, and now as a result exceedingly different cultures (think Korea, Japan and Chinese speaking areas, for instance) now need to adjust and collaborate directly.

“I think up until now we didn’t understand all the consequences and all the positive things, even though it has been very difficult all this process.

“But we will see the consequences, I think, in a few years. Because what it is helping us is to really break down all the barriers… first of all in our hearts, and the barriers between nations…

“If we want to have peace, we have to have peace among us focolarini and among communities. We have to look at other countries… as our own countries and discover that we can be this ‘connecting family’…

“We don’t have to give other people our richness, we have to help them to discover theirs.”

Margaret Karram

A special presence despite medical challenges

There was a particularly meaningful moment when three married focolarine who are seriously ill were able to greet everyone remotely.

“I just want to assure you of my unity. Much as I would’ve wanted, I was fully booked, but I had to change because of what God had in store for me,” said one.

“It’s been good because I feel where I’m where God wanted me to be, but it’s not where I wanted to be,” another told the group.

“Physically I can’t run, but inside I really want to run, I’m so excited,” said the third. “Enthusiasm does not have any age.”

Welcome to country

Aboriginal culture in Australia is the oldest continuous culture known, dating back at least 60,000 years. The proper protocol when beginning meetings in Australia is to have a ‘welcome to country’ from an Aboriginal elder, or a formal acknowledgement of the traditional custodians of the land.

As the Focolare community gathered from throughout Australia, we were privileged to have ‘Aunty Ali’ Golding, a Biripi elder, to welcome us all.

She grew up on an Aboriginal mission and later lived in a suburb of Sydney for over 20 years. In the 1980s, Ali was one of the first Aboriginal education assistants, and in 2004, she gained her diploma in theology.

She has contributed to various local, national and international forums, including the New South Wales Reconciliation Council and Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation. This has helped deepen public understanding of indigenous culture and history for the public.

Aunty Ali’s presence at our Focolare event with Margaret and Jesús certainly deepened our appreciation for this national treasure and her rich heritage. “It has been one of the most heartfelt welcomes that I have ever experienced,” she said. “Here I felt the Creator’s spirit.”

The best meeting of the whole trip (so far)

Margaret and Jesús had a dynamic, insightful meeting with close to 30 young people. When asked about their challenges, they did not hold back, but spoke candidly of the indifference they encounter with their peers daily. Their numbers are small; the distances are huge.

Margaret shared her early Gen life in Haifa with her sister, and how they started small, receiving the Gen magazine by mail. She was proud of how they had begun, and said she was just as proud of those present for moving forward with their Gen life.

Jesús encouraged the young people as well, making the effort to reassure them that sharing their difficulties was not negative at all. “This was the best meeting of this entire trip,” he said at the end. “I liked it a lot.”

Drawing on rich experience

Rita and Antonio, who look after the Focolare Oceania region from Rome, have also been travelling with the group. When asked how they live dialogue and fraternity in conflict situations, they reached into their own vast backgrounds.

“My experience in interreligious dialogue has been discovering that we are walking together towards God,” said Antonio.

“Dialogue is an encounter,” Rita added. “What is really important is to meet the other and discover that love drives fear away.”

How to bodysurf (spiritually)

The surf was certainly ‘up’ on the beaches around Sydney, with young and old donning their wetsuits and grabbing their boards to catch a few waves. ‘Bodysurfing’ is also popular – people ride the ocean waves without a board as well. It’s truly exhilarating.

But to get out to where the best waves are to ride, first you have to deal with the powerful ones rolling in towards you — the ones you don’t want to ride, the ones you aren’t ready for.

“Someone explained to me the dynamics of this sport, and right away what came to my mind was our love for Jesus Forsaken,” Margaret said.

Bodysurfers essentially dive deep below those incoming waves they don’t want to ride, so low that they can touch the sand at the bottom. Doing so, they avoid getting swept away by the power of the ocean. Once the wave rolls over, they come back to the surface to find a wave worth riding.

“Like those who bodysurf, you don’t fight the waves, you don’t ‘fight the trials’, but you go to the bottom of your heart, recognising Jesus in every pain, and continuing to love him, you come up again, finding the light through love.”

T. M. Hartmann

The Focolare in the Pacific, one family

12 May 2023 | Non categorizzato

The third stage of Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán’s journey to Asia and Oceania was to Fiji. The spirituality of unity began to spread in this part of the Pacific at the end of the 1960s. The Focolare in the Pacific, one family Although Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán arrived in Fiji on 3^rd May, the official start of the stage of their journey in Oceania took place two days later, with the “Sevusevu” ceremony. Over 200 people attended, including representatives of the local Church. The ceremony sealed their entry, and the delegation from the Centre accompanying them, into the Fijian community, both ecclesial and social. Sevusevu: the gift of welcome Those arriving in the archipelago are welcomed with the ceremony of ‘Sevusevu’ – meaning ‘gift’. And from that moment on they are no longer visitors, but part of the community and members, with all the rights and privileges of being on Fijian soil. The President and Co-President of the Focolare received precious garlands and the Kava root, derived from the pepper plant, which has ancestral significance. The two ‘candidates’ were presented to the community by ‘heralds’, who spoke on their behalf. They then drank the drink made from Kava in one go and received the ‘Tabua’, a whale tooth which has sacred meaning: it is the most precious object in Fijian culture, and it was offered to them as a sign of the highest esteem and honour. Traditions in the Pacific: where the present and future of peoples are rooted Right from the start, we realised that, in the Pacific, traditions feature in a significant and living way, which is relevant for today They are not relegated to a past that has nothing to do with people’s daily lives but form the foundation of their way of life.  Among the values that traditions continue to hand on are respect, welcome, reciprocity, social solidarity, and a very deep and longstanding bond with nature. “Margaret Karram, Jesús Morán and the Focolare delegation have arrived at a particular time in the life of the Fiji Islands,” explained Peter Emberson, a Fijian, engaged in multilateral consultancy and a political analyst for the government of Fiji and the United Nations, who has known the movement since he was a child. “The present government is more open and democratic, and I see Margaret and Jesús’ visit as part of this process of social and political renewal. There are two questions that here in the Pacific we always ask an official delegation that lands on the shores of our islands: ‘Where are you from?’ and ‘Why have you come?’ At the ‘Sevusevu’ Margaret stood before the Fijian people and offered her commitment and that of the Focolare Movement to build unity here too. It is an identity-making response, which says a lot about the contribution that the Movement can make to our country. And this builds trust”. A region that is still too little known Oceania is a little-known continent and although, in a territorial sense, it is the largest on the globe, in terms of land mass it is the smallest. In addition to Australia and New Zealand, it includes the Pacific region, consisting of 26 nation states and territories. The main ethnic groups are Melanesians, Micronesians, and Polynesians. In total, the Pacific region has a population of 16 million people and in the last 100 years, the Fiji Islands (almost one million inhabitants), have become the political and economic heart of the region. There is a diverse religious landscape in which Christianity is the most practised faith, followed by Hinduism and Islam. Catholicism arrived in the 19th century and today Catholics number just over 82,000. Father Soane Fotutata, secretary of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific (CEPAC), during a dinner in the focolare, spoke about the challenges facing society and the Church in this vast territory, where the Catholic Church has 14 dioceses. He explained that the ecological crisis threatens the very existence of people and communities. It is seen in rising sea levels, acidifying oceans, droughts, floods, and extreme weather events that have become more frequent. Then there are social wounds such as economic and climate migration from many islands; prostitution, alcoholism, and poverty, to which the local Church is trying to respond. 2022: the arrival of the focolares in Suva It was in this ecclesial context that the women’s and men’s focolares opened a year ago in Suva, the capital of Fiji. Their presence, in fact, is also linked to a project supported by Missio Scotland and Missio Australia, to collaborate in the diocesan pastoral care for young people preparing for confirmation and post confirmation with a programme that focuses on supporting the handing on of cultural riches between generations. Lourdes Rank, from Brazil, and Stephen Hall, from New Zealand explained: “On our arrival, the Archbishop asked us to be first of all at the service of the Church and to be part of its activities and projects. We got involved in catechesis, with young people and in the life of our parishes. This approach has been very positive: we are now truly part of the life of the Church and we have begun to build relationships with a number of priests, religious and lay people’. In this regard, the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Suva, Mgr Sulio Turagakacivi, expressed his gratitude for the service that the focolares give in the local Church. Thanking him, Margaret said: “We can learn from the Church here how to live the synodal process and how to maintain the freshness of the encounter between the Gospel and the local society and culture“. In Futuna the first seed of the spirituality of unity The first seed of the spirituality of unity in the Pacific was planted in the island of Futuna in the late 1960s by Sr. Anna Scarpone, a Marist missionary. The first Pacific focolare was then based in Numea (New Caledonia) from 1992 to 2008, accompanying the growth of a vibrant local community. Today, the two focolares in Fiji are ‘home’ for all the Movement’s communities in the Pacific region, which, besides New Caledonia and Fiji, are in Kiribati, Wallis and Futuna, with some people who already know about the spirituality in Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Vanuatu. Together for the first time On the occasion of Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán’ visit, the communities met in Suva for a few days. It was their first meeting in one of the Pacific Islands. Many events and customs, such as welcoming and appreciating each other, showed the extent to which everyone realised how precious those days were. For these peoples, coming together as a Focolare family does not only mean having a spiritual communion, but means contributing to daily life. This involves cooking, preparing the liturgy of the Mass, the songs and the dances – each one offering their specific human and cultural “gift” that is shared with that of the others. Margaret and Jesús met with the men and women focolarini for a morning of deep sharing and were able to spend a lot of time experiencing different aspects of the life of the community, such as meals, Mass, with many opportunities just to talk together. The sharing of experiences gave them an insight into the challenges and commitment of the Movement in the Pacific. In New Caledonia, the community is engaged at the service of the Church and, on a social level, in creating opportunities to build up unity between the different ethnic groups on the island. In Futuna and Kiribati, the Word of Life is central, generating experiences of forgiveness and reconciliation in families and also establishing social projects at the service of women and the needy. In Fiji the community is growing and shares a commitment serving the Church together with the focolarini. Run4Unity in Fiji: journeying together The 6^th of May was Run4Unity day, and Margaret Karram started the worldwide relay from the Pacific, where we see the world’s first sunrise. With the Teens for Unity, she and Jesús planted two trees typical of the Fiji Islands: “the native sandalwood tree and the citrus tree, which need each other to grow,” she explained. “The sandalwood has the fragrance and the citrus, provides it with all the nutrients it needs. It is a wonderful example of mutual care found in nature. This is what the Pacific Islanders want to say to all of us: the only way to give our precious gift, unity, is to journey together, taking care of each other. In this way we can transform our world’. It is a message that highlights what is perhaps the main characteristic of these islands: living as a community. This emerged clearly in the afternoon and evening of 7^th May at the meeting Margaret and Jesús Morán had with the community. “I have come here to be close to you and to share your life at least for a few days,” Margaret Karram told everyone. “What I have found here is very close to my heart and to the culture I come from, which encourages respect for other people and their language, and a sense of family. There are just a few of you, but do not worry: what matters is living the Gospel and bringing unity to those we meet. What you have shared with us during these days has impressed me greatly. Through your love, hospitality and welcome, you have given Jesus to us. But listening to you, I realised that the most precious pearl we possess is Jesus forsaken for whom we have left everything and who is the secret to loving everyone“. Jesús Morán added: “The experiences of forgiveness that you have told us have touched me deeply, and they show that you are living the Gospel, because forgiveness is the greatest newness that the Gospel contains.  Forgiveness is not something merely human, only Jesus in us can forgive, and you have shown us this with a unique clarity“. When Margaret Karram was asked her hopes are for the future of the Movement in Oceania, she answered by saying what her hopes are for the whole Movement in the world: that it may become ever more a family, which is not closed in on itself, but is open to dialogue with all so as  to fulfil the prayer of Jesus to the Father, which was Chiara Lubich’s dream. At the end she added: “I would like to say that in order to contribute to achieving unity, each country, culture or continent must not lose its own identity. We must remain ourselves. This would be a great gift for the whole Movement and also for the world: to be ourselves, with our riches and our challenges, and to live the charism of unity without leaving aside what we are‘. The applause that followed showed everyone’s gratitude at feeling they were understood. Having begun with the ‘Sevusevu’ ceremony, the visit could not but end with equal solemnity. The farewell ceremony, ‘I-Tatau’, seemed to close a circle. Heralds, speaking in Fijian on behalf of Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, thanked the community and asked, on their behalf, permission to take their leave. The speaker representing the Fijian community granted them permission to leave and wished them a safe journey in the hope of seeing each other again. The concert that the Pacific communities had prepared for that evening was an extraordinary ‘expo’ of the artistic talents of the peoples present, where dances and songs spoke of their deep connection with the earth and with nature, their pride in their traditions and the desire to share them. But what will remain in everyone’s minds, we believe, were the greetings exchanged between the communities of New Caledonia and Fiji. Sitting opposite each other, they each sang their own farewell song, they waved goodbye to each other looking into each other’s eyes, as if they were leaving their own brothers and sisters. The said to Margaret Karram: “We assure you that we will be one family and, even with our weaknesses, we will do all we can to keep Jesus in the midst in Oceania.

Stefania Tanesini