Who are the Volunteers of God?
As a child, I loved to tune in to Vatican Radio in the evenings, which would broadcast news in various foreign languages. Naturally, I didn’t know any of those languages, but listening fascinated me. It seemed like my heart was expanding to all humanity, its people and their everyday lives. It was during one of these evenings that I happened to hear Pope Pius XII invoke the name of God three times: “God, God, God!” That cry was imprinted on my conscience, even if, with the passing of time, it dimmed and was lost to memory. This was 1956. Nine years later, in January 1963, I found myself in Turin, in the military. A bunkmate invited me to a conference, which, strangely enough, I didn’t ask anything about beforehand. As I requested permission from my superiors, I found myself asking as if my whole life depended on it. When they unexpectedly agreed, I left for Ala di Stura, a small mountain village in a marvelous corner of nature. After having been welcomed by those present as if we had always known one another, it was there that I met Chiara Lubich – the founder of Focolare – and Igino Giordani, a co-founder. It made a strong impression on me to meet people from different cultures and religions. I also was able to meet during that time, since she was also hosted by Focolare, Assunta Roncalli, who was Pope John XXIII’s sister. He died that same year on June 3, 1963. One morning Chiara spoke about a new calling that had started in the movement. It was only when she explained the year and circumstances of how it had begun that something urgently returned to mind: “God, God, God! God will help you, God will be your strength. May this indescribable name resound, the source of every right, justice and freedom, in parliaments, squares, houses and offices…” That was what the pope said in his radio message on November 10, 1956, when the revolution in Hungary was crushed. “There was a society that erased the name of God, the reality of God, the providence of God, and the love of God from people’s hearts,” Chiara commented. “So there must be a society that is able to return him to his rightful place. Is it possible that the devil has his faithful followers, totalitarians, pseudo-martyrs for his cause, and God not have a small army of Christians that give everything to take back the world for him? Chiara responded to that call of the pope with her intuition to gather women and men of all ages, nationalities, conditions, bound by a single link: that of universal fraternity. They would form an army of volunteers, the Volunteers of God, part of the Focolare Movement that today is present in 182 countries. It is a modern, radical calling. Chiara Lubich gives it an additional fascinating touch when she describes it as the “attraction of modern times”: “To achieve the highest contemplation while remaining mixed in the crowd, side by side with people… to shine embellishing light on everyone, and at the same time, share with our neighbors their shame, fame, bruises and brief joys.” Igino Giordani compares it to “sanctity in worker’s clothing, spurred to bring God in parliament, in local councils, in hospitals, schools, offices, shops, studios, home, on the bocce field, but also in the world of art, communication, science, economics…” Because, he adds, “to bring God to these places means transforming them into abbeys, changing them into holy places where each day a special mass is celebrated!” Fifty-four years have passed since that day I heard the call to enroll with the Volunteers of God, who were born from a charism that, because it is genuine, can be measured by its tangible results in culture, society, economics, politics… so that the various areas of life do not remain mediocre, hopeless, divided and callous, but open to welcome the deep presence of God. Gennaro Piccolo, “A way for unity,” Centro Igino Giordani, Andria, Italy
Francesco was a rugged sportsman, especially on his bike. Every day he would ride several kilometres over the tortuous and picturesque paths of the Roman hills, to help keep in shape. He looks young, but it’s already been quite a few years since he decided to give his life to loving God in the neighbours he meets each day – but also in the hard times in his own life as well as in the lives of others. A few days ago, during one of his usual workouts, his bike hit a rock and the steering wheel broke, catapulting him into the air. The landing wasn’t gentle . . . and the first to hit the hard asphalt was his neck, resulting in damage to the C2 vertebrae. In a single second the whole panorama changed: from intense physical training to immobility on a hospital bed, inside an iron “cage” from the neck up, kept in place with screws pressing against the skull. . . That’s also why it was important to him to stay in shape. The apparatus is meant to impede movement and hopefully lead to the soldering of the injured vertebrae. He sends a phone message from his hospital bed: “C2 Vertebrae, you barged in on my day and changed everything. I didn’t even know you were there and, if you were, where? Then came that abrupt landing on the asphalt and amidst all the broken parts you were the one everybody was worried about. You had the power to cause my death, or to render me immobile in a wheelchair. It was enough for you to allow the axis vertebrae to break … that piece of bone which makes it possible for me to move my head. Let’s hope that after this blow, I won’t have to change my vision of the world and that with the help of this futuristic device you will be able to go back to being the fulcrum of all that moves. Big C2, I’m trying to rebuild my relationship with you, not only out of self interest, but to know the amazing things of which we are made. Every little piece matters! May these moments help me to discover how valuable everything is in me, all of it the fruit of Your love.” Francesco (Italy)
