9 Sep 2017 | Non categorizzato
Mary’s children interpret her in many ways, all of them beautiful, but her most sumptuous beauty can be found in the singular position she holds among women. Hers is a name that we will never finish saying, a name that will continue to fill us with happiness every time we hear it. In the Angelic Salutation that has flown through history as a source of gladness, millions upon millions have greeted her in the same manner. With every Hail Mary all of us go back to that familiar salute, in the hope of obtaining her intercession in this human experiment called life, which culminates in death, the threshold of the everlasting life. “Mary!” Just saying her name makes our heart jump for joy, like the child in Elizabeth’s womb – “and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” “Mary!” This is what shepherds and carpenters said as they came to the door of that semblance of a stall, which was the home of the Holy Family on the Nazareth hillside. “Mary” they called her, as they went on to ask a favour, because she was always willing to serve anyone and full of possibilities for everyone. And if they didn’t have favours to ask, they would show up simply because of the pleasure it gave them to greet her with that name, which was filled with beauty and wonder because it summarized all the mysteries of love. “Mary”, the feminine word for Love… Like Archangel Gabriel, Joseph, the saints, and many sinners, we continue centuries later to call her by that same name, fifty, a hundred, or more times a day. We never pin on to it noble titles, high-sounding appellatives, primacy or rank. We prefer – as she prefers – to draw her closer to us and to never draw far from her, so that we can draw near to the Spouse who shares a singular unity with her. The rush of the crowds, whirlwind of the passions and traces of the Spirit that vein human history are filled with that name, through which love travels from the depths of the earth to heights of Heaven. Humility draws closer, and love unites: this is the great tribute. We feel at home in Christ’s Church, we feel at home in the Communion of Saints in the orbit of the Trinity: because Mary is there. The Mother is there, and so the children can come in. Wherever there is Mary, there is love. Wherever there is love, there is God. Just to say the name of Mary in whatever place or circumstance, is to step into a divine atmosphere in a single breath, to light a star in the middle of the night, to unlock the healing flow of poetry in the midst of a technological plague, to make a swamp blossom with lilies. To say Mary is to restore the warmth of a family to a world that seems to have become a forced labour camp. Mary loves and hides herself in love: Real love is contemplation of the beloved. Also in this, by imitating the young woman from Nazareth, we can be contemplatives in the midst of the world, in the hovel of a country farm house or in the apartment of a city dwelling. The love in Mary was so great that she provided God to us – God who is Love. She all but ripped him from Heaven in order to give him to earth. She made the Holy One one of us, a man at the service of all. Truly, love means making yourself one with the Beloved. Mary became so one with God that he gave himself over to her so that, through her, he would give himself to all people. Ultimately, you are in the world, in a different time and place, but, being there like Mary, you are always and everywhere preparing the place for Jesus to stay. (Igino Giordani, Maria modello perfetto, (Rome: Città Nuova, 2012), 17-20.
8 Sep 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
Mexico has often been struck by seismic movements because it lies in a region where 5 tectonic plaques meet. But the earthquake which hit the nation on September 8 has been so far the most violent earthquake ever recorded (8.2 on the Richter scale). With the epicenter off the west coast, on the border with Guatemala, the earthquake was felt even as far as Mexico City. Much of the capital has remained without electricity and many people abandoned their houses going out into the dark streets. At least 15 have been found dead, although “the toll estimate is set to rise,” said President Enrique Peña Nieto. Oaxaca is the State which has been most hit. The Mexican bishops write: “God strengthens us as brothers and sisters in the faith, mobilising us towards those who have suffered because of this earthquake.” In Guatemala, one victim has been recorded.
8 Sep 2017 | Non categorizzato
Gen Verde’s contribution to the historical celebration.
We were truly delighted to receive an invitation to perform at the Jubilee of the Reformation celebration in Stadthagen. Here we come with our concert On the Other Side!
It also has given us the opportunity to return to Germany after many years. In the month of September we will be in Boppard with our Upfront and Unplugged acoustic concert. And in Dortmund, Duderstadt and Mannheim with our Start Now Project. These are all opportunities to meet many people and to invite them to be protagonists all together in showing how we can look at the world from “the Other Side”: the side of those who believe in and live for unity. And to all the others: follow us at http://www.genverde.it/tours/
8 Sep 2017 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
The national workshop on economy, culture, communication, education and innovation is annually promoted by New City, Polo Lionello Bonfanti, Sophia University Institute, and the town of Loppiano which is hosting the event. In response to Pope Francis’s invitation, the aim of the convention is to offer the occasion for dialogue and proposals on the foremost issues in our country: from immigration to work, poverty to social inclusion, and battles against corruption to commitment for the common good, family, youth, education and many more. The convention will expound receptiveness to counter exclusion and the quest for private interest, promote new civic virtues to find solutions to the contradictions of our time, and act on the unjust structures that produce – precisely – “victims and bandits.” LoppianoLab is thus a cultural laboratory where the seeds of a new mentality will subsequently be sown, in the conviction that the pursuit of profit cannot be the compass for every human activity. The event is open to all those who question themselves on these themes and wish to become “artisans of change.” For information write to: loppianolab.accoglienza@loppiano.it
7 Sep 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
The Park of the Nations in Córdoba, Argentina, is always filled with children and teenagers on the “Día del Niño” (Day of the Child), which is celebrated on the third Sunday of August. The Park is the perfect place to hold games, tournaments and take walks. This year a festive crowd drew the attention of the passers-by, with the unveiling of a particularly meaningful monument: the Cube of Peace. There were games, obstacle courses, music and food just before the official unveiling in the presence of representatives from the Interreligious Commitee For Peace (COMIPAZ), members of the Armenian Church, the Jewish, Muslim and Evangelical communities. Fernanda Otero, Francisco Drab and Amelia Milagros López Loforte represented the Focolare community. The unveiling concluded with some words from Auxiliary Bishop Ricardo Seirutti who blessed the monument. It was to refrain from spinning the Cube. Each side displayed a sentence which, in spite of the rather playful and carefree atmosphere, were expected to be put into practice with seriousness and effort – and perhaps a bit of fatigue. The Cube proposes six actions that can be lived every day, each of them an expression of the Golden Rule,a version of which can be found in all religions: “Do to others what you would have them do to you:” Love everyone. Be the first to love. Love your enemy. Forgive. These are concrete gestures for a life that is counter current and courageous for the building of a more empathetic and supportive society. The unveiling was not an isolated event, but the result of many months of interaction and field work, duing which the Focolare youth took the Cube to several quarters in the city, as an educational tool for teaching peace through play and theatre. In neighbourhoods on the peripheries of Ciudad Evita, San Roque, Cabildo, Müller, Argüello where people live amidst violence, with their civil rights often violated and with the children of the Sierra Dorada Foundation in San Marcos Sierras, they worked side by side with local communities and organisations who are desirous of becoming more aware of local problems and taking direct action in favour of more incisive and effective social training. The project, sustained by the Focolare Movement, the organization for the defense of the rights of children and teenagers from the Province of Córdoba, the Living Peace Programme and the Interreligious Comittee for Peace, along with other organizations and public and private entities, aims to spread peace in all parts of society, beginning with a set of best practices for working with children, but valid for adults and in all environments. Similar activities are spreading in many other countries: Italy, Spain, Egypt, Hungary and Brazil where the now famous Cube has become the protagonist of a vast variety of educational projects and seminars. In Argentina, another Cube of Peace has been placed in a public area in Concepción, in the Province of Tucumán. Still in Córdoba, three days ealier, the Cube project was declared a cultural interest by the City Council. A small monument that continually comes to life.
