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23 Jun 2012 | Non categorizzato
Chiara Lubich described the Gen4 as “tiny buds” on the great tree of the Focolare Movement. She gave the go-ahead to the first international Gen4 congress in 1988. This year more than 400 Gen4 arrived, unafraid of flying in an airplane and in spite of their young age (4-9 years old). They came from Argentina, Panama, Venezuela and several European countries. It was a real congress. Two entrepreneurs from the Loppiano Prima Cooperative explained how they are living for a “new economy” and answered some questions from the Gen4. They studied the life of the early Christians, through games and quizzes. Then there was the grand “A City Invaded By Love” Game, with clowns, challenges, quizzes, bankers, mayors and everything else, all of them brought together by a single law, trying to “see Jesus in their neighbor” and understanding what the needs of such a unique city would be. The slogans of the day were being chanted in two songs that had been written for the occasion: “The person next to me is Jesus: and “You did it for me”. They sang it, acted it out in small plays and put together a musical which they presented on Friday morning to the president of the Focolare, Maria Voce. They also posed some questions to her and were anxious to hear what she would say. “Hi Emmaus, what is Heaven like, and what is Hell like?” “Why did God create the world?” “We learned about the early Christian martyrs. Should we, today, also be martyrs for Jesus?” “How did Chiara realize that Jesus is among us?” “Could you explain to me what the Focolare is?” On the first day, one of the Gen4 had this to say: “I’m so happy inside, becuase I dreamt that Jesus came to this congress, that He was here with us, in the midst of us.” It was a dream that came true over the following days. Despite the different languages and cultures, they understood one another, they talked to one another, invented games that they could play together and exchanged gifts. During the Mass on the last day, they offered their acts of love to Jesus: a hundred colourful small papers, folded inside a small basket on the stage. There were also baskets filled with the things they had brought to put in common with the poor – the Gospel come to life.
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5 Jun 2012 | Focolare Worldwide
“My name is Jay. I’m Jamaican and work as an accountant. This is my wife, Anna and she’s a special education teacher. And these are our six children, ranging in age from two to twelve.”
This is how the Rerrie family introduced itself to Pope Benedict XVI during the Festival of Testimonies that was broadcast over live TV from Milan on 2 June 2012.
For Jay and Anna Rerrie the spirituality of unity has helped them to maintain a solid relationship with each other, and it has united their family in times of difficulty.
In early 2006, when the labour market had entered into a severe crisis, Jay had to find a new job. In spite of the many obstacles, they agreed that they wanted to keep their mutual love alive, facing the moment with courage, even though Anna was expecting their fourth child and wondering how they would support the family when Jay was jobless.
They decided together that even though she was pregnant, she could return to teaching, and they moved to another city where a school was prepared to hire her.
Jay also found a job there, in an office where he spent many hours trying to finish the four months of work that was left undone when no one was working there. His efforts gained him the esteem of his new boss.
But it wasn’t the same at home. “My wife and small children in school: a recipe for disaster!,” Jay explained. “There wasn’t enough time to be together.” Anna found it difficult to accept, having grown up in a home where the family was always together for supper. Now Jay would often return home when the children were already in bed sleeping.
Meanwhile, the company he was now working for began to have problems and, once again, he found himself jobless. Anna’s overall reaction to this sorrowful news was comforting for Jay. It resulted in a deeper experience of unity with each other. “The next two months,” Anna recalls, “were enjoyable and unnerving at the same time. But it was fantastic to have Jay at home!”
In a few months their savings began to dwindle, but they never stopped believing. Then there was a telephone call. It was an offer of a better job, one closer to home, with hours that were compatible with the family schedule.
“I think I understand this dilemma, “ the Holy Father told them, “So I would like to invite employers to think of the family, so that the two priorities can be reconciled. It seems to me that you naturally must be creative but, at least each day, bring some joy into the family, some attention, some giving up of your own will in order to be family together. And then there is Sunday, the feast day, the Lord’s Day, also the “human person’s day” because we are free. This comes from the Creation story, the original intention of the Creator that one day, everyone would be free. In this liberty of being one for the other, for yourselves, you are free for God. I think that this is the way for us to defend human freedom, by defending Sunday and other feast days as days of the Lord God and therefore days for the human person. Good luck to you! Thank you!”
See THE HOLY FATHER CELEBRATES WITH THE FAMILIES OF THE WORLD
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2 Jun 2012 | Non categorizzato
Saturday morning, 2 June 2012. Sesto San Giovanni in Milan welcomes 4,000 people from Lombardy and the neighbouring areas, family members who are actively involved in the Focolare Movement. Among the presentations as well as that of president Maria Voce and co-president Giancarlo Faletti.
“Over the next few days in which you will be focusing on the family,” Maria Voce began, “the question will arise: What is God’s design on the family?” She answers by quoting Chiara Lubich at the Familyfest in Rome 1981: “God created the family, he formed a family. When he was incarnated, he wanted to be surrounded by a family. When Jesus began his mission and manifested his glory, he was celebrating at a marriage feast, he was celebrating a family.”
Referring to the theme of he event: The Family: Work and Celebration, Maria Voce underscored the importance of work for its foundation and sustenance.
“In turn,” the president affirmed, “the family is important to work. As it educates us to be laborious and to absorb values that are typically instilled by the family, the spirit of cooperation and solidarity which are so proper to the family, the importance given to free giving, reciprocity and being a gift for each other – it helps in giving a solid base to society,” she affirmed stongly. “The human person is not only designed for work.
And so work should be arranged and carried out in such as way as to takes into account not only the economic needs of the people, but their total wellbeing. And so it is important that the time at work be harmonized with time in the family”.
At this point the president of the Focolare recalled that even Jesus worked (as did Mary and Joseph) and, that “besides being perfect workers, they were also a perfect example of celebration.” She mentioned their pilgrimage to Jerusalem. . . the wedding feast at Cana “where, with Mary his Mother, they went to celebrate the marriage of two newlyweds. (. . . ) In the Holy Family there was both work and celebration, which means to say a time for rest, for relating to others.”
Referring once more to Chiara Lubich, Maria Voce concluded by underscoring that “In a certain sense (Chiara) had anticipated this topic: Work and Celebration. That is, if we live the values found in the family, then even work and celebration will be imbued with such values. And we will become true witnesses and builders of a society according to the heart of God.”
Full text of Maria Voce’s talk
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17 May 2012 | Non categorizzato
Alfonso Di Nicola coordinates the “Always a Person” project that takes care of the prison inmates and their families. This is his story:
“Last Wednesday I was reflecting on the Word of Life, when I felt I had received a message. I read it. It was George who told me that on Friday they would remove the electricity supply if he did not pay the bill for 450 euros. It was the balance of payments, and had to be paid.
He had asked for help from his employer but the latter did not trust him. He also sought his friends, but none of them came forward… as we are very good friends, he did not want to bother me. Finally, however, as all doors we closed, he came to me.
In these cases, we draw money from the “Always a Person” project. In those days, the few resources available were earmarked for the purchase of oil, sugar, and basic food for the ex-prisoners. Moreover, I thought, “how will he repay the 450 euros, if he earns 800 a month and has three children to maintain?”
George assured me that at the end of the month he would repay the debt, and to tell the truth I found this rather incredible, and thought that Jesus would be my surety. I thought often of His words: “I was thirsty and you gave me to drink… to eat…. you helped me… because every time you did this to one of the smallest of my brothers, you did it to Me…” (Cf Matthew 25, 31).
And you know what happened? I gave George the 450 euros!
It was Thursday. On Friday evening, when I returned from the prison, having talked with several of the inmates, I opened my computer to see the post. To my great surprise, I see an email that invited me to go and withdraw a donation of 1720 euros, offered by a lady who had heard one of our experiences in a church, and desired to contribute to the Project.
My surety did not let me wait for a month to repay the loan, but only for a day, repaying the sum by four times as much, thus allowing us to help others.
Alfonso Di Nicola
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4 May 2012 | Focolare Worldwide
«When, about four years ago, Fernando was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) a shiver went down my spine.- Maria said – I was overwhelmed and full of fear. He guessed what I was feeling and whispered to me: “I’m up for it. You’ll see God’ll give us the grace for this really important moment.” I felt myself reborn. I too wanted to stick to God’s plan of love for us. Like this we began the adventure we’re on.
‘After a while Fernando was taken into intensive care because of a respiratory problem, but our calm way of facing the illness and Fernando’s attitude of love for the doctors and nurses changed all the rigidly professional attitudes into something more warm and friendly.
‘The whole Focolare family and the people we’ve met throughout our lives stood by us. We found a real competition of love going on around us: I never had to use public transport, people it take in turns to get me to the hospital and to help with filling in the forms needed to access home care.
‘When we returned home I had to face the problems of daily life caring for Fernando day and night, and I learnt to use the various kinds of life-saving equipment. At night I always have an ear open and often my sleep is broken. But, although I may be a bit tense sometimes, the look of love on Fernando’s face always keeps me going.
‘In the last four years I’ve always felt God as a Father and he touches my life everyday in the most unexpected ways above all through other people. One morning a visiting doctor found me ill in bed and so, after she’d done what she’d come to do, she cooked some soup, put on a wash and fed Fernando.
‘Little things like that happen all the time. One Sunday I ran out of medical gloves and, in that very moment, a neighbour who knew nothing about it turned up with a box of a hundred. The little daily chores get done too, because things happen like someone turns up at the door and says something like: ‘Do you need any bills paying?’
‘Fernando never plays the sick person. He is 87 and what you see in him is joy and openness to everyone. He keeps himself informed and is especially interested in politics and above all in the school of the Political Movement for Unity. He was the mayor of Ghilarza (Oristano) for three terms, the director of the Sardinian Regional Statistical Study Centre, and he is concerned in a special way about young people who he encourages to get involved with politics, saying: “We need to purify our way of thinking.”
‘The illness progresses and takes away the most simple and basic abilities, but he lives this out in a heavenly way, trying to do God’s will with simplicity, just as he did when he was well, and his faith supports all of us around him. If anyone calls to see him and commiserates with him, he says to me later: “They speak about death, but I feel I’m overflowing with life!” and he doesn’t hesitate to tell believers and non-believers alike of his experience and philosophy of life: “I hand myself over completely to God as Jesus did. When I’m scared, I’m not afraid. Fear destroys life”».
