Young People Desire Heroism

20 Aug 2012 | Non categorizzato

Young people always run to a challenge. And if they are not enfeebled by moral entanglements, they are always enamoured by the supreme beauty of God. Then they are prepared to face the most daring battle, the battle of the faith. Then they love the unrewarding risks of purity, of self-denial and dedication. But if they hesitate in front of Christ, perhaps it is because they are only familiar with a deformed image of Him, having been presented a religion which outwardly appears weak, worldly, mediocre, coated in compromise and compressed by so many adjustments, like a secondary, marginal or even half-hidden activity, something senile and boring, panting as it strives to keep up with the pace of the generations. But young people, if they are able to discover the true face of Christ, if they are able to grasp the real essence of the Church, then they are swept away precisely by the risk which the Gospel contains. During the Church’s adolescence the Early Church Fathers had said: “It is a dangerous risk to forget about God.” And young people want to run this dangerous adventure, to jump into the fray of loving God in the midst of the world.

They do not know what to do with a Christianity that has been scaled down to the size of today’s world as if it were some sort of seasonal fashion. They want a Christianity that can be called “great”. They want it immense. And so they are not interested in a Church that is small and reduced, they want a Church that is vast, one into which all humankind can enter in – the  People of God.

If there is a lack of vocations it is also because the sum total of hardship and external courage that is often being asked of them is not enough for them. They desire chastity in a society that is incestuous; they want poverty in the midst of this orgy of Mammon; they want love in a society dismembered by hatred.They grow bored in a community in which one avoids or hesitates to speak about union with God, of the merits of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of penitence and prayer; where the life of the Mystical Body is not lived out in a supernatural communion among brothers and sisters and God, as co-citizens with God among the citizens of the world so as to incarnate in the episodic existence of men the graces of the Life that is Divine. To be Christ among brothers for their brothers. Therefore, a religion  reduced to mere culture, organizing, apostolic techniques,to asthetic or metaphysical or literary dissertation does not satisfy them at all.

Foto © Centro Igino Giordani

Young people love the more daring missions. They come running as soon as they feel called by a Don Orion, a Bishop Canossa, or a Mother Cabrini. They run to anyone who is willing to offer them purity and sacrifice, service and dedication. In other words, they run towards the heroism of the Cross, the luncay of the Cross.

Jesus goes by and the youths follow Him when they see Him, when the vision of Him is not obstructed by the appearance of others, by proud creatures, super-beings, something more than the others because of their wealth, political power or swollen pride.

Jesus is walking by us now. If we follow Him without ever turning back, without asking to be excused because there are horses to be shoed or cows to be bought, because we have to offer “salaams” to this one or that – then, ipso facto we become young. We become the children for whom the Kingdom of Heaven is made. Let us convert, therefore. By converting we see Him and find the way if we realize that we have been wasting time living our dreams and building our houses of straw. At the end of the new horizon shines a Cross, but it is a sign of victory over death. In Him we discover the Eternal Life.

Igino Giordani, in «Fides», Agust 1955, pp.242-245

Permanent Mariapolis “Arco-Íris”

17 Aug 2012 | Non categorizzato

The Focolare president and co-president’s arrival at the Portuguese Mariapolis coincided with the feast day of the Assumption of Mary (August 15, 2012) and the liturgy proclaimed the joy of the babe in Elizabeth’s womb. This little “sign” caused the president to remark: “This will be a visit filled with exultation!” The welcome they received at the airport and in the Mariapolis seemed to confirm it. There was a large group to welcome them, with choreorgraphies par with the “creativity of love.” A portico was covered in bright flowers. There was a pair of campinos (cattle herders in traditional costume), music, families and children.

August 16, 2012 was spent touring Mariapolis Arco-Iris, which is fifteen years old. The land in Abrigada that is located 50 km from Lisbon was purchased through contributions from the Focolare commmunity in 1966.

The tour began at the cemetary where they visited the “living stones” of the Mariapolis. There are now eight people resting in there, witnessing to the deep roots of the Spirituality of Unity in Portugal. They paused before the grave of focolarino Eduardo Guedes who was also the first Portuguese Gen. Maria Voce once again entrusted the youths to him, just as she had already done a few days before he died, but this time she included all those who would attend the Genfest.

The tour continued at the Ciudad Nova Publishing House where twelve people are work; 3,000 magazine subscriptions; and a good production of books. “The offices are simple and attractive,” commented the president, while underscoring the importance of the unity between daily life and  spreading a message that is valid and credible.

Then they visited the Gen boys and girls and there was an explosion of joy among the thirty young people gathered for the occasion. Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti met with them in the two little houses that are the reference points for all the Gen in Portugal, places where they can visit or spend longer periods of time. Many of them study and work in Lisbon or in the neighbouring areas. Monica is a physiotherapist at a clinic in the Mariapolis: “It’s such a great gift that I can stay here. The presence of Jesus among us, here in the Gen house, with the other inhabitants of the Mariapolis, at work. . . urges me to live the ideal of  unity, even when I am relating to other people.” Tiago (twenty-four years old), soon to receive his degree in Medicine: “My main effort is to always try to live in the will of God. In this way I feel that ‘together, we are Jesus’ who is creating this Mariapolis and the life in each one of us.” Maria Voce urged them to offer  a living Gospel life to everyone, “that it might explode” everywhere. Each year on the 1st of May around a thousand young people gather for an annual appointment at the Mariapolis.

Next were the families. There are five families at the Mariapolis. “We’ve been here for ten years. We saw the Mariapolis being born,” recount Jose and Conceicao Maia. They were the first family to move into the Mariapolis along with their six children. “We’ve been here for three years,” say Toni and Idalina Nogueira with five children. “We’re so happy! We’re having a new experience as a family and as a community. Every day a few of us take off for Lisbon, some for work and others for school, then we return together to finish our day with Mass in the Mariapolis.” Maria Voce underscored the great importance of the families not only for the Mariapolis, but also for the Church and the world. She affirmed: “What matters is the never predictable novelty of the Gospel life. So always begin again each day without worry.” And Giancarlo Faletti: “Your houses are beautiful, but more important is the journey you have taken as a family, overcoming many difficulties.”

In the afternoon they visited the “Giosi Guella Business Park” which was inaugurated in 2010 with three Economy of Communion businesses that have ten branches in several other areas of the country.

Next was the visit to the attractive Mariapolis Centre, with its meeting hall for 200 people, 60 beds and an average guest attendance of 5,000 people each year.

Future plans reflect the growth of the Movement in Portugal. They visited a piece of land where a house for the Women Volunteers of God is to be constructed. Maria Voce planted a medal of Our Lady on the spot, in an atmosphere of deep joy and emotion. Then there are some other projects including the construction of a series of small houses.

The busy day concluded with the Mass that was animated by songs in the Fado style, which  is characteristic of the Portuguese spirit. Among her concluding remarks on that day Maria Voce also said: “Our first day in Portugal was lived in an every-increasing joy.” Then commenting on the Portuguese music style, she recalled Chiara Lubich who had once invited everyone to “interpret” Jesus on earth, and she wished that the “Portuguese Jesus” would emerge from the people of this land as a gift to all the other peoples of the world.” Giancarlo Faletti added: “It was a day filled with God… we have good reason to exult!” Then the president went on to say: “Now let us live the joy. Our Lady still sings the Magnifica even now.”  

By Gustavo Clariá

Photos © M. Conceicao / M. Freitas

“Let’s bridge”: A United World, Universal Brotherhood … just buzzwords?

17 Aug 2012 | Non categorizzato

As part of the program of the Genfest, an international youth festival which envisages the participation of young people from all over the world, there will be a session where concrete actions are presented.  Here we publish a few of the initiatives which demonstrate how many of these young people are dealing with problems and challenges they face every day.

One experience among many is that of the young people in Colombia, where the rain hasn’t let up for more than a year, with over 500 people who have died and gone missing and nearly 3 million people who have suffered damages. They started from Soacha, a city on the outskirts of Bogotà and together with the adults they organized a campaign to collect supplies and clothing. They also received 200 pairs of boots and a quantity of food that they distributed to the families most in need. Today the situation has worsened, because of illnesses and problems of living together in the camping grounds. They continue to collect supplies and stay close to the people.

Catania-Bujumbura: The bridge between the young people of these two cities was materialized in a keyboard. From a Skype video-call in which the African band “Gen Sorriso (Smile)” (who will perform also in Budapest) sang in Kirundi, the “Galilei” High School youth of Catania (Sicily) came up with the idea of offering them a keyboard. In order to accomplish this they launched the operation “An ice-cream for Burundi.” In the following link-up, an intercontinental virtual concert with drums and guitar (in Burundi) and the keyboard, that for now is still in Catania, but is destined for Burundi’s band.

The challenge of diversity – Buddhist and Christian youth have held 3 symposiums to share one another’s thoughts and experiences regarding topics like commitment for peace and living and transmitting Faith, thus creating a network of friendship and interreligious, intercultural and international fraternity.

72 Muslims and Christians of 5 countries of the Middle East and North Africa will meet for the first timein Budapest and, in record time, they have to put together the choreography that the groups have learnt in their respective countries, thanks to the virtual lessons passed around from one country to the other via YouTube. The same with the youth of India: Hindus of the Ghandian Shanti Ashram Movement and Christians have worked together for months on their dance, which wants to express the diversity of religions and castes present in their country, in a classical Indian style.

Num, a Buddhist girl from Thailand will speak about it on September 1st at the Genfest, while a Christian from Nazareth and a Muslim from Jerusalem will tell the 12,000 young people present what it means to live for fraternity in the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and of the difficulty of living together for three religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Among them are also young people who don’t have any religious belief, but who share the commitment to live for a united world. But each of them is in the front row, there, where they live, with the problems and challenges they face every day.

The United World Project, conceived and developed by the youth of the Focolare Movement and open to everyone’s collaboration, which will be launched in its first phase in Budapest, aims to highlight and promote fraternity already under way by individuals, groups and nations. It will also start up a permanent international Observatory, recognized by the UN.

Source: Focolare Information Service Press Release

Athenagoras I and Chiara Lubich

4 Jul 2012 | Non categorizzato

The Focolare Movement remembers Patriarch Athenagoras I with special gratitude because of privileged rapport he had with Chiara Lubich, whom he met twenty five times. On the fortieth anniversary of his passing, the Movement held ceremonies in Istanbul to remember him – during which His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew I welcomed a numerous delegation of Focolare members – and in Padua, Italy where the Metropolitan of Italy and Malta, Gennadios, welcomed the participants with a written message. On 13 January 1972 Chiara Lubich had written in the Italian newpaper, Avvenire: “Athenagoras could be called the prototype of the Eastern Church and looking at him as one of the highest current examples of Christian leadership, he could also be seen as a symbol for all Christianity suffering for the centuries of divisions by which it has been transfixed: and he was anxious for its complete unification. He is one of the leading figures of the time, already part of the story of the Church (. . .). It was this common interest that spurred him to call me one day to Istanbul, having come to know that I worked together with the Focolare Movement for ecumenism. It was 13 June 1967. He welcomed me like someone he had always known. ‘’I’ve been waiting for you!’ he exclaimed, and he wanted me to tell him about the Movement’s contacts with Lutherans and Anglicans. ‘It’s such a great thing to know one another,’ he remarked, ‘we’ve lived isolated, without having any brothers, without having any sisters, and for so many centuries, like orphans! The first ten centuries of Christianity were for the dogmas and for the ordering of the Church. In the following centuries we had schisms: the divisions. The third era, the present one, is the era of love.’ He asked me to keep in touch with him. I recall that I wasn’t so struck by his words at that first meeting as I was by his figure and the supernatural atmosphere that surrounded him, which many have noticed. And above all, his heart: such a great heart, so deeply human that it made me ask myself how many other such people I had ever met in my life who were like that (. . .)”

Genfest 2012: Are you ready to go?

3 Jul 2012 | Non categorizzato

Máté

Paola

Leandro

The Genfest 2012 project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.