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Mary for all Christians

Mary for all Christians

27 Feb 2018 | Focolare Worldwide

WelwynGardenCity

Welwyn Garden City

“If Mary, or perhaps better said, Marian theology and devotion have at times constituted an obstacle to the re-unification of Christianity, in the present climate of dialogue and desire for mutual understanding, along with a renewed attention to the biblical discourse on Mary, there is emerging in some Christian circles a realization that Mary, along with being a fellow disciple, walking together with us in the journey of faith, is a mother and as such can be seen as having a special role in conserving the unity of the Church: “Mother of the unity of Christians.” Judith Povilus, an American from Chicago, is a mathematician and a theologian and is quick to point out that mathematics and theology have a lot in common. She is currently Professor of Logic and Foundations in Mathematics at the University Institute of Sophia, Loppiano, Italy. Central to her talk was Chiara Lubich’s experience of Mary during a period of particular illumination over the summer of 1949. At a gathering in Welwyn Garden City – the “garden-city” built in the 1920’s around 30 miles from London – she addressed fourteen bishops, six Anglicans, six Roman Catholics, a Lutheran and a Coptic Orthodox, as well as leaders representing the United Reformed Church, a Methodist theologian, the Convenor of Action of Churches Together in Scotland and the General Secretary of Churches Together in England. Church leaders 6Povilus explained how, during that period, “a new and vast horizon opened up an unimaginable vision of Mary” for the founder of the Focolare Movement. She was discovered “almost as if for the first time” as a human being, “one of us”, but at the same time “imbued with the Word of God.” “Mary revealed herself as the Mother of God, Theotokos, Mary was not just, as we had thought, the young girl of Nazareth, the most beautiful creature in the world, whose love surpasses the love of all the mothers in the world. She was the Mother of God in a dimension that was completely new to us. To explain it, Chiara used an image, that of the sky enveloping the sun.” “It was a new intuition of the significance of the event that took place at the foot of the cross, of the sword that must have passed through Mary’s heart, being asked to renounce her maternity towards her divine son to take as a substitute child John. And yet Jesus in his death was giving his life to all humankind, making us all God’s children. As Mary’s role in the Annunciation was to say “yes” to something beyond herself that God was bringing about, here again, on Golgotha, what was asked of her was, as theologians have said, a “second yes.” There is a wealth of implications for our own lives that Chiara derived from this understanding of Mary Desolate. First and foremost is that of recognising Mary to be a model that can be imitated: “by loving one another we generate the presence of Jesus in our midst. Like Mary, we can offer Christ to the world spiritually.” Church leaders 4Another point that comes to new light in Chiara’s mystical experience of 1949 has to do with Mary’s place in the Church. “We know from the Acts of the Apostles that she was present at Pentecost which is often marked out as the birth of the Church. Chiara, describing her intuition of Mary’s place in the Church, from that early moment of the descent of the Spirit, used the metaphor of her being a heart: If Christ is the head of his mystical body, the Church, Mary is at its heart. Mary plays an essential role in helping the Church to respond fully to God’s project for it, which is to be a presence of Christ.” Great interest was shown in this Spirituality of Communion of Chiara Lubich’s, which aims “to increase the typical contribution of vitality, beauty and holiness that the Church, following Mary’s example, is called to bring to the world.”

Generation Zero Hunger

Generation Zero Hunger

26 Feb 2018 | Focolare Worldwide

2017HM-Albania_2Seventeen sustainable development goals have been identified to be achieved by 2030. They are contained in the UN Agenda approved by the 193 UN member states. “Zero Hunger,” which is at the centre of an agreement signed in 2012 during a United Nations Conference in Rio de Janeiro, aims to free the world from hunger. In response to a request for collaboration sent by the United Nation’s agency, the young people and teenagers of the Focolare Movement decided to step onto the field alongside the FAO, in raising awareness among the generation that we hope will see world hunger defeated. World hunger has been on the rise again for more than a decade. It was recently reported on by the Annual United Nations Report of food safety and nutrition in the world (2017). In 2016, around 815 million people (38 million more than the year before), that is, 11% of the world population, was not sufficiently nourished. Around 155 million children under the age of five are underdeveloped (too short for their age), while 52 million suffer from chronic hunger, which means that their weight is not adequate to their height. 2017HM_Serbia (152)At the same time, because of a lack of healthy nourishment, 600 million people (including 41 million children) suffer from obesity, which is another face of malnutrition. The Report identified armed conflicts as the main cause of the migrations and of the shocks linked to climate change, as several of the key factors of the re-escalation of hunger and the many forms of malnutrition. Freeing the world of hunger will require urgent measures and decisions in favour of more sustainable lifestyles – from the consumer society to a change of course in international politics. But first it requires a stronger awareness and change in personal relationships. This is the message that the Focolare’s Teens for Unity and Youth for a United World have been spreading since last year along with several of their global-level projects: the need for study and becoming aware of the root causes of the problem; observing and monitoring the situation at the local level and involving as many young people, teenagers and associations as possible in: communicating and sharing experiences of working for the poor in their own local environments, for a more sober lifestyle, for dialogue, peace, the environment, welcoming immigrants, and, finally, their proposal to hold world-wide celebrations on the day chosen by the United Nations to be dedicated to the topic of nutrition (October 16). TEENS_COVER_2018_02#ZeroHunger is now a regular feature of the Teens Magazine, published by Città Nuova in collaboration with the New Families Association, United World Association and the New Humanity Movement. The 2018 March-April edition will be dedicate to this topic. “What a thrill for our delegation,” write the teenagers on the editorial board, “to go into the headquarters of the FAO in Rome. Let’s get started right now so that our generation will truly be the first #GenerationZeroHunger. Teens Magazine will continue to follow this fascinating worldwide project.” The calendar shows April as the month for the publication of the Commitment Statement of the Teens for Unity, which was drawn up by teenagers from eleven countries. In May, the annual events for “United World Week” and “Run4Unity” will be entirely devoted to the topic. In June, a group of 600 children and teenagers (ages 9-12), attending an international congress of the Focolare Movement, will be the guests of the FAO for a morning of discussion and sharing on the topic. Finally, in the month of July, as part of the “United World Project” at Genfest 2018, a forum will be held on the theme #GenerationZeroHunger with the participation of the FAO. Chiara Favotti

600th Anniversary of the Virgin of Africa

600th Anniversary of the Virgin of Africa

25 Feb 2018 | Non categorizzato

vergine_africa_600anniFacing the Mediterranean, to the southeast of the Strait of Gibraltar – a bridge between the two continents and one time end of the world – the city of Ceuta rises, which, along with the nearby Melilla, represents Spanish colonial remnants on the continent of Africa. Because of its strategic location on a piece of privileged coastland, the two cities have for decades have been considered possible entry ways into Europe, in spite of the dividing wall. Every day, men, women and children from the most diverse collection of African countries, escaping wars, poverty and persecutions of every kind, cross entire countries in an attempt to find a shore near the city on which to disembark. Right on this strip of land which, since 1851 has been under the Diocese of Cadice, which is in the midst of getting ready for the 600th anniversary of the arrival of the one who has been called the “Virgin of Africa,” a single block of wood representing the Blessed Virgin seated with the body of the dead Christ between her arms. In 1949, Pope Pius XII wanted her to be named the patroness of the city.

Chiara Lubich: Imitating Mary

Chiara Lubich: Imitating Mary

24 Feb 2018 | Non categorizzato

07.921-Madonna-della-Accoglienza_© Centro Ave Ceramica

“Madonna della bella-accoglienza” © Centro Ave Ceramica

In a year dedicated to Mary, we would like to do all we can to honour the mother of God in the best possible way. There are many ways of doing this. We can talk about her, praise her and ask her help; we can visit churches dedicated to her, paint pictures and sculpt statues; we can sing hymns and bring flowers… There are many ways of imitating Mary, but one is better than all the others, which is to imitate her, to do as she would do on earth. I believe this is what she prefers, because in some ways it allows her to come and live on earth once more. Therefore, without neglecting the other ways of honouring her, we must focus on this: imitating her. How can we do this? What characteristic should we imitate? Let’s imitate her in what is essential. She is a mother, Jesus’ mother and spiritually our mother. On the cross, Jesus gave her to us as a mother in the person of John. We have to be other Marys as a mother. Practically speaking, we should state this intention: during the Marian Year, I will behave towards every neighbour I meet, or for whom I work, as though I were their mother. If we do that, we will notice a conversion happening in us, a revolution, not only because we will find our¬selves acting as a mother even to our own mother or father from time to time, but because we will have adopted a particular, specific attitude. A mother is always welcoming, always helpful, always hopeful, and covers over everything. She forgives everything in her children, even if they are delinquents or terrorists. The fact is that a mother’s love is very similar to the charity of Christ of which St Paul speaks. If we have a mother’s heart or, to be exact, if we decide to make Mary’s heart our own, as she is the most perfect model of motherhood, then we shall always be ready to love others in all circumstances, and keep the Risen Lord living in us. Moreover, we will do all we can to keep Jesus, the Risen Lord, present in our midst. If we have the heart of this Mother, we will love everybody, not only the members of our own Church, but also those of other Churches. Not only Christians, but also Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and so on. We will love all people of goodwill and everyone who lives on this earth, because Mary’s motherhood is universal, just as Redemption was universal. Even when she is not loved in return, she always loves, and loves everyone. This then is our intention: to live like Mary, as if we were everyone’s mother.