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25 Mar 2014 | Non categorizzato
The blood
The car in front of me skidded, hit a wall and overturned. I was able to brake in time. There were people helping the wounded: an elderly lady, a little boy and a youth. But no one wanted to bring them to the hospital for fear of being accused of causing the accident. So in my case, even if the sight of blood would often cause me to faint, I took courage and loaded them into my car. Before the hospital would accept them they asked for a deposit, but they had no money. So I signed a cheque and made sure that the wounded were well cared for, happy that I was able to overcome my emotions, but above all because I was able to do something for my brothers in need.
M. S.-Argentina
Beyond tiredness
Many times, when I arrive home, I feel the emptiness that the death of my wife has left and I would prefer just to remain alone, peaceful; but I felt that I had to forget myself and increase the relationship with my children. It is difficult to be both father and mother. The other evening, coming home from work, I realized that everyone was still awake: I would have wanted to rest, but instead I started to play with them, forgetting my tiredness. To my surprise, one of them, with whom the relationship has always been difficult, came to me and with affection sat on my lap. He never did this before.
S. R.-Usa
Chocolates
I brought as box of chocolates for some of my very dear friends. In return they wanted to give me an even bigger box: “For your daughters”. On the bus, while I was on my way home, a gypsy couple came in with a child who was maybe five years old. The little girl was looking at my box of chocolates longingly. In the beginning I pretended not to look at her. But I was not peaceful. “Jesus help me to understand what I should do”. Precisely in that moment the litle girl came to me and held out her hand towards the chocolate. I couldn’t refuse and so I gave them to her. But as I went down from the bus I was a little disappointed that I was going home empty-handed. But as soon as I arrived home, my wife told me that a friend passed by to greet her and left a big basket of sweets. I was speechless and very happy.
W.U. – Rome
Taken from: Il Vangelo del giorno (The Gospel of the Day) , Città Nuova Publishing House
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23 Mar 2014 | Non categorizzato
Stages of the journey 
Brazil has the fifth most powerful economy in the world. It covers 8.5 million square kilometers, and its nearly 200 million inhabitants, descendants of European and Asian immigration and indigenous peoples, as well as other immigrants from every part of the planet, all speak a single language: Portuguese. It is a country the size of a continent, with varied climatic and geographical conditions, enormous natural resources and a powerful potential for growth. It is a country that is also marked by huge social contrasts, which are growing somewhat less, thanks in part to the efforts of the last governments. It faces the challenges of a young democracy, of a nation that has emerged from military dictatorship less than thirty years ago.
Mariapoli Ginetta
There have been various activities run by the Focolare in all the States of the Federation: from Civitas, the school for political formation in João Pessoa, to the Young People for a United World’s solidarity project and to the families’ weekend in the State of Alagoas; from the youth Olympics in the State of Rio Grande Do Sul, to the Unicidade Project in the Mariapolis Ginetta, which celebrated its fortieth anniversary this year – to name but a few. 
But what gives rise to this life? Let’s take a step back in time. It was the year 1958. A ship landed in Recife, carrying three focolarini from Italy: Marco Tecilla, Lia Brunet and Ada Ungaro. They communicated their experiences in schools, universities, parishes, associations, hospitals, families. After a month they were travelling again: Rio de Janeiro, São Paolo, Porto Alegre, and then Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. On returning to Italy, the aeroplane made an emergency stop in Recife because of a serious fault which held them there for four days. They used that time to follow up a whole host of contacts. In this way the community in the North East of Brazil came into being. It was the first of many. With the arrival of other focolarini who came to stay, the first centres of the Movement were opened in 1959 in Recife. A rapid spread of the Ideal of unity began in the larger cities and in the villages, among young people and adults, whites and blacks, rich and poor… and all it happened with a characteristic mark: social harmony. Many social activities came in to being as an effect of a life rooted in the gospel. In 1962 a centre was opened in São Paolo. The publishing house Cidade Nova and the magazine Cidade Nova were founded. Other centres were opened: Belém, 1965; Porto Alegre, 1978. Today there are centres in all most all the 27 capitals of the federal states and in many other cities. In 1965 near Recife the Movement’s first little town of witness in Brazil was founded. It was called Santa Maria, a reference to this people’s love for Mary. Two years later there was established São Paolo’s little town, called at the time Araceli and now renamed Ginetta, after one of the first focolarine who had an immensely important role in the spread and growth of the Movement in Brazil. Following that Belém’s little town, Gloria, was set up and in Porto Alegre there was established the Mariapolis Centre Arnold which has particular a focus on ecumenism, and then Brasília’s little town called Mary Mother of the Light was founded. 
Chiara Lubich always showed a great love for Brazil and its people, ‘a people who seem very like those who listened to Jesus: magnificent, magnanimous, good, poor, who give everything: their hearts and their goods.’ Her first visit was in 1961, to Recife. She returned a further five times. She received various forms of public recognition and honorary degrees. In 1998, on her last visit, she inaugurated the Spartaco Business Park, the first of such parks belonging to the EOC in the world. On this occasion, one of the fathers of democratic Brazil, Prof. Franco Montoro, referring to Chiara in a speech given at the State University of São Paolo, recognized in the thought and activity of the Movement – and not only in Brazil – ‘a consistent witness that has drawn behind it millions of people. It has protected human rights during periods of dictatorship and, in the scientific boom, it has demonstrated that we must be guided by ethics. It has promoted love, universal fraternity.’ These are values that today the Movement’s members are committed to living, together with others, in a historic moment that sees Brazil emerge on to the global scene and take a leading role in events such as the World Youth Day 2013 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Website:www.focolares.org.br/sitenacional Insights on Mariapolis Journal – login required
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20 Mar 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
February 22, 2014. An idea that is growing day by day: “if, with the passing of weeks, the study experience we are living at the Sophia University Institute, increasingly corresponds to the questions we are asking about our future, about the future of our people, why can we not imagine that this experience could find a home on the African continent as well?” Today’s date marks a step. Today, students who come from the sub-Saharan area of Africa, enrolled in degree and doctoral programs at the IUS, have given themselves an appointment to not only share reflections, but to share a project as well. Martine Ndaya from the Congo thus describes the road taken: “To come and study at Sophia was not an easy choice to make… And yet, just a few months since entering the classroom, I can say that this interdisciplinary experience and the multicultural co-habitation is meeting with and answering my deepest expectations.” Pulcherie Prao from the Ivory Coast adds: “We are often confronting one another, exchanging impressions and difficulties, and we often meet again together to talk about the challenges we all face ahead. For this reason, someone asked the question: Is there a way for Sophia to come to Africa?” There have been numerous higher formation initiatives taken in recent years in the various regions of the continent, but they are not all able to give a response to the actual problems dictated by demands for peace, development, and participation in the various areas. In Africa, as well as all other places on this planet, society is not spared from violent processes in which consumerism and materialism lacerate the moral and cultural fabric. A program of formation inspired by Sophia’s experience could represent, both on the level of research, and as a cultural and ethical commitment, not only a space of communion between African peoples, with all of their diversities and beauties, but also a place open to young people of other cultures to be enriched by the sense of community of which Africa is a testimony, by its models of widespread participation, its courageous paths of redemption. 
“We put ourselves on the line first… – continues Melchior Nsavyimana from Burundi -. Sure, we are talking about a project that does not materialize from one day to the next, but as many leaders such as Nelson Mandela, have said, education is the most powerful motor for development, it is the most useful instrument to answer the suffering that is devastating the lives of many people.” Sophia in Africa: a dream, yet at the same time, a process that is beginning. While dialoguing, various opportunities have come to the fore that could be used to open the way without under-estimating difficulties and objective obstacles. An all out exploration of the different possibilities is needed, and it would be useful to engage many in gathering willingness, availability, means, and resources so as to weave synergy. For now, the promoting group at the IUS has decided to meet periodically to keep interest alive and to bring the program forward. Other steps should follow this first one: “We will let the providence of God guide us, as we have full trust in Him”; for this reason too, at the end of the evening, the celebration of the Mass was one of the most meaningfully charged, moments. A festive dinner followed, coloured by numerous ethnic platters, and immersed in a joyful, communicative atmosphere. The African continent, under many aspects, has been defined as a prophecy for the third millennium. “If here at Sophia – concludes Pierre Kabeza from the Congo – today, it is us who live such an experience as this, of discovery and of sharing, it is up to us then to take the initiative to give it to many others.”
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14 Mar 2014 | Non categorizzato
In the current extensive public discussion concerning the contribution of women to the life of the Church the name Chiara Lubich often comes up because of her spiritual, intellectual, and practical legacy. On March 14, the sixth anniversary of her passing, that challenging legacy still inspires those who remember her. 
In Pretoria, South Africa, Dr Kobus Gerber, General Secretary of the Dutch Reformed Church, will reflect on her contributions to ecumenical dialogue. Similar events will take place in Perth and Melbourne, Australia. In view of the upcoming Synod on the Family, Chiara’s passion for the family will be the central focus of events in Luxembourg and Spain. In Perugia, Italy, Mayor Waldimiro Boccali will name a street after a teenager inspired by Lubich, Blessed Chiara Luce Badano. A similar ceremony will take place in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where an exhibit, “Chiara Lubich, Protagonist of New Times” will be mounted in the Hall of the Municipal Council.. There will be book presentations, concerts, and other cultural events throughout Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, and Africa. In small communities and in large metropolises many will pause to thank God for the gift of Chiara Lubich to the human family. In Sydney, Australia Cardinal George Pell will lead the community celebration, as will Archbishop John Dew in Wellington, New Zealand, and Archbishop Jan Graubner in Olomuc, the Czech Republic. The Muslim Noor Center in Toronto, Canada, will host a discussion of her contribution to interreligious dialogue. 
On March 20, at Rome’s Pontifical Urbaniana University, several prominent representatives from a range of world religions who knew Chiara will share their impressions at a conference entitled “Chiara and Religions, Moving Together Towards the Unity of the Human Family.” The event will conclude in Castel Gandolfo with an interreligious symposium among Christians and faithful of other religious traditions, including Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Shintoists, and Sikhs. On this, her sixth anniversary, the preliminary phase of the Cause of Beatification of Chiara Lubich will begin. On December 7, 2013 Focolare President Maria Voce made the formal request to open the process to Raffaello Martinelli, Bishop of Frascati. Voce commented, “This invites all of us to greater holiness, to build it up each day in our daily lives, in order to allow a ‘holiness of the people’ to emerge, which is what Chiara always sought to promote.”
![Living the Gospel: Being generous with each other]()
13 Mar 2014 | Non categorizzato
I love you
not because I learned to tell you so,
not because my heart suggests these words to me,
not so much because faith
makes me believe that you are love,
not even for the sole reason that
you died for me.
I love you
because you entered into my life
more than the air in my lungs,
more than the blood in my veins.
You entered
where no one could enter
when no one could help me
every single time no one
could console me.
Each day I have spoken to you.
Each hour I have looked to you
and in your face
I read the answer,
in your words
the explanation,
in your love
the solution.
I love you
because for so many years
you have lived with me
and I
have lived of You.
I drank from your law
and I did not realize it.
I nourished myself on it,
gathered strength,
I was restored,
but I was unaware
like a child suckling at its mother’s breast
but not yet knowing how to call her
with that sweet name.
Let me be grateful
— at least a little —
in the time that is left to me
for the love
you have poured upon me
and that has compelled me
to tell you:
I love you.
Chiara Lubich
“Essential Writings”, New City Press, New York 2007, pp132-133.
