5 Apr 2017 | Non categorizzato
Jaime recounts: “Last year, I was given the opportunity to live for a whole year in one of the Focolare’s little towns, Mariapolis Lia, near Buenos Aires in Argentina. It was a very powerful and immersive experience, precisely because the law of that town is the Gospel, beginning with Jesus’s new commandment: ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’” Upon his return to El Salvador, however, Jaime found himself catapulted into a climate of danger and violence: even in broad daylight, the roads are never safe. It’s even dangerous to take the bus or play football at the city park. “The situation had become so risky and dangerous,” Jaime continues, that I thought of leaving the country and moving abroad. At first, everybody at home agreed, but when I thought about it some more, I sensed that God asked me to stay and be bring a little light into the environment I lived in, near to my Gen friends who would have been alone in that situation if I left. What finally convinced me was some news about the young people from the Focolare in the Middle East, many of whom stayed in their country in situations that were certainly far worse than mine. We talked about it at home and all decided to stay in El Salvador and carry on entrusting ourselves to God. When I told the Gen that I was staying, we got the idea of launching a campaign called: “Change your own m2 (square metre)” with the idea that if we were all involved in changing our own m2, the whole country could change.” 
Tuong, a young Vietnamese teacher of 13 children, confided: “they each remind me of Jesus in his abandonment on the cross. Why do I say it like that? Two of them were rejected by the public school after they repeated the same class three times. Another two are handicapped and so the regular school didn’t accept them, and the school for the handicapped was too far away. The others have difficulty learning and their parents are separated and poor. All of them are experiencing a total absence of love, interest, sympathy, decorum; abandoned by their families and society.” Tuong, what motivates you to go on teaching in such a class every day without any institutional assistance? It must not be easy…” “Actually it isn’t easy. One day I was trying to teach a student a certain letter in Vietnamese handwriting. I repeated it two or three times, but he wasn’t getting it and wasn’t able to pronounce it. I kept on trying, repeating it over and over again, but he couldn’t follow. I was about to become angry; I wanted to forget about it and go to another child. Just then his eyes filled with tears and I felt his plea for help. Then I thought: “If Jesus were the one here with this boy who is not understanding, He would never walk away and say: ‘I don’t care about you!’ So, I said: ‘Let’s try it again.’ One day I wasn’t feeling well. Then a girl said to the students: ‘Be good! Be silent! The teacher doesn’t feel well today!’ A little boy of 5 years came up with a cup of water for me, telling me to rest a bit. Wow! Their little gestures made me so happy and confirmed for me that the Gospel art of loving that I tried to live was becoming their lifestyle. Every day they do their best to learn, to live in love and to laugh. We’ve become a little family. Now they fill my days and my life has become colourful and filled with surprises.”
5 Apr 2017 | Non categorizzato
For the day dedicated to the care of our planet an Earth Village was opened yesterday at Villa Borghese in Rome by Earth Day Italy and the Focolare Movement. A series of events have been scheduled for April 21st through 25th including workshops, testimonies, presentations of projects and discussions. Yesterday, some young people met with several witnesses from the early days of the Focolare Movement. On April 24th there was a presentation of Jesús Morán’s new book, Fedeltà creativa. La sfida dell’attualizzazione di un carisma”.
4 Apr 2017 | Non categorizzato
Born with a rare illness that caused lacerations in her flesh and enormous suffering throughout her life, Daniela passed away in 1986 at the young age of twenty-four. She belonged to the Gen group in her hometown of Novara, Italy. Her diary reveals the secret that sustained her in the most difficult moments: the choice of Jesus crucified and abandoned, which transfigured every suffering into love. On March 23, 2017 Pope Francis recognized her heroic virtues and declared her “Venerable”. The Focolare Movement rejoices with her parents, brothers and all who had the privilege of knowing her.
4 Apr 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
The Kalimpong focolare in West Bengal, India, opened September 9 when three focolarini moved to the house offered by Monsignor Stephen Lepcha, bishop of the Darjeeling diocese. At an altitude of 1,250 meters above sea level, Kalimpong is at the center of the diocese. The other major cities (Darjeeling, Kurseong, Siliguri, Sikkim) can all be reached within a couple of hours, as can the countries of Nepal and Bhutan. “Ever since the beginning of June we had been traveling to that region to search for a house that would be good for a focolare centre,” says Vivek from India. “The bishop offered us the one in Kalimpong. “While we were waiting the past few months, there were a number of opportunities to meet groups of young people in schools and parishes, families, priests, men and women religious, as well as others involved in interreligious dialogue. We offered everyone the spirituality of unity that we try to live. “The bishop, in fact, considers the Focolare Movement, along with his own spirituality, a ‘need of the hour’ to renew the Christian community in his diocese and the fabric of relationships in local society.” 
“There was a lot of hospitality as soon as we opened the focolare,” adds Rey, who is from the Philippines. “Both our Focolare community in India and local people filled us to the brim, with goods of every kind for the focolare and food for the first few days. For us it was a sign of God blessing this new project.” The night before inaugurating the new focolare house, the women focolarine of Dehli brought rosaries that had been blessed by Pope Francis. “Having received these presents, one of us thought of giving his to someone else. Another of us did not like that idea, and the situation became a bit tense. What to do? We certainly could not begin the focolare the next day if there was not unity and harmony among us. “So stayed together past midnight in order to clear up the misunderstanding. In this way we reestablished unity and the spiritual presence of Jesus in our midst, which is worth much more than all the various preparations, even if those need to be done well too.” 
During the inauguration, the Apostolic Nuncio said he hoped “that the new focolare house may be an instrument in God’s hands to fulfill the ideals and the spirituality of the Focolare Movement.” The bishop gave his blessing to the close to 50 people present, emphasizing the focolare’s contribution in the field of interfaith dialogue and its witness to the Gospel through life. In January two of the focolarini were invited by Monsignor Vincent Aind, of the nearby diocese of Bagdogra, to present some spiritual points at a retreat for priests. “The theme was around Jesus’ public ministry, particularly his attitude toward foreigners. It was an opportunity to propose our dynamic way of building relationships in society based on the Gospel.” 
“These last few months we have been giving training sessions to students on leadership and developing character in schools that are nearby and in the surrounding hills,” write Vivek, Rey and Jonathan Lara, who is also from the Philippines. “Lately we’ve been asked to give some training sessions for teachers. There are many opportunities to offer our spirituality to youth and children through these sessions. “It is a challenge for us to understand together how best to proceed in bringing the light of the Gospel to these fertile mountain lands.”
3 Apr 2017 | Non categorizzato
Hundreds of thousands of teenagers leading the worldwide sports relay race. Boys and girls from different ethnic groups, cultures and religions race together to bear witness to their
commitment to peace and to promote a way to reach this peace : the
Golden Rule. The race is promoted by the
Teens for Unity of the
Focolare Movement. It takes place every year on
the first Sunday of May from 11:00 am to 12:00 noon (in the different time zones), during the “United World Week” which is part of the
United World Project. It’s an event that in previous years has involved over 100,000 teenagers in various cities of every corner of the globe.
The baton passes from one time zone to the next making it also an opportunity for exchanges between the places involved.
At different latitudes, sporting events, acts of solidarity and experiences of active citizenship get under way, especially in places where solitude, poverty and marginalization prevail. Personalities from the world of sport and culture, and civil and religious authorities take part in some cities. The website
http://www.run4unity.net helps in preparations for the event and in real time collects the contributions from the
social networks . The many messages, photos and videos received show the number and type of ideas in the pipeline in countries around the world.
Organize Run4Unity in your city! Download Run4Unity description:
PDF PPT
