The risen Jesus opened a way for us, but now the Resurrection happens every time I rise up in myself, overcoming my selfishness. This “coming to consciousness,” which is charity put into action, is changing my life little by little. I hear this not only from my husband, but it is something that my children, my friends, also notice. Driven to learn more, I read the lives of saints I previously avoided, and I find confirmation of this secret that is key to a true life. One evening our son came home lightheaded, almost absent-minded. He did not respond to questions. At night he was sick. He had used some hard drugs. Being perhaps one of the first times, the reaction was strong. In the following days I tried to get past all the questions in me, the search for culprits, to investigate his friendships. At some point, however, I was “resurrected” to be only love to him. One afternoon I was sitting beside him without saying anything. In that full silence he said to me, “Thank you, Mom, for how you welcome me. If I am a father someday, I want to be a parent like you, with a heart that has no horizons.”.
(M.S. – Netherlands)
Where there is no love…
In the post office where I usually go to pick up my mail or for other reasons, until recently I often found some employees nervous and rude to me, and most of all the manager, who one day even started yelling about my being late to pick up a certain amount. I, however, being guided by the phrase of St. John of the Cross, “Where there is no love, put love and you will find love,” endured, continuing to greet everyone with kindness. With this way of doing things out of love for Jesus, little by little I was able to establish more humane relationships in that office. A confirmation of this was when, having suggested to one of the employees a ticket for a charity raffle, the other colleagues also became interested and wanted one, including the janitor. Even the manager came to get a ticket, indeed shortly afterwards he asked me for another one. To which I said, “I hope at least one prize goes to one of you.” He said, “Who cares? Even if we don’t win, we did something good together!”.
(M.F. – Italy)
An opportunity to love
About 15 years ago, I was volunteering at a Diocesan Caritas listening center. One day a young woman came to visit us, and she asked me if I could put her in touch with a gynecologist because she wanted to have an abortion; she had no financial possibility to bear the expenses of growing the new life in her. At that moment I felt a pinch in my heart, but also the great opportunity to love that young mother and her baby. I told her about the wonderful gift that is life and that financial difficulties should not be an obstacle, that we were there to help her. The young woman was moved and told me that she wished to be helped. Some time later the young mother came to greet me; she was with a wonderful newborn in her arms. She told me with a big smile, “This is my baby and I wished to introduce her to you! Thank you for listening and helping me that day. Thank you from her too!” I was deeply moved and grateful to God, grateful for that very special encounter; grateful for giving me the opportunity to love.
(M.M- Italy)
Edited by Maria Grazia Berretta (taken from The Gospel of the Day, Città Nuova, year X- no.1 May-June 2024)
The heavy rains that have been lashing the south of Brazil since early May 2024 have caused heavy flooding and landslides in 425 municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, directly affecting 1.5 million people and, so far, causing 108 deaths and almost 130 missing.According to the latest official report, 232,675 people are still displaced from their homes, of whom 65,573 are taken in shelters.The most worrying situation is in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, where entire cities and neighbourhoods have been under water since Friday 2 May, with water supply problems and power outages. According to weather forecasts, heavy rains are expected in the coming days, which will further worsen the situation of this natural disaster.
The Emergency Coordination of the Focolare Movement has launched an extraordinary fundraising campaign in support of the population of the State of Rio Grande del Sud, Brazil, through Action for a United World ETS (AMU) and Action for New Families ONLUS (AFN). The contributions transferred will be jointly managed by AMU and AFN in coordination with the Focolare Movement in Brazil in order to provide the people affected by the heavy flooding with basic necessities for food, medical care, and housing. In Brazil you can donate to the following account: Banco do Brasil Agência: 2665-4 Conta Corrente: 39.322-3 Pix: acaoemergencial@anpecom.com.br Associação Nacional por uma Economia de Comunhão CNPJ: 07.638.735/0001-94 From other countries you can donate online AMU: https://www.amu-it.eu/campagne/emergenza-inondazioni-in-brasile/ AFN: https://afnonlus.org/#donaora
or by bank transfer to the following accounts: Action for a United World ETS (AMU) IBAN: IT 58 S 05018 03200 000011204344 at Banca Popolare Etica Codice SWIFT/BIC: ETICIT22XXX Action for New Families ONLUS (AFN) IBAN: IT 92 J 05018 03200 000016978561 at Banca Popolare Etica Codice SWIFT/BIC: ETICIT22XXX Reason for payment: Flooding emergency in Brazil
Tax benefits are available for such donations in many EU countries and in other countries around the world, according to different local regulations.Italian contributors will be able to obtain deductions and allowances from income, according to the rules for non-profit organisations(more…)
In an environment which is as fragmented and divided as the one we live in, we are often called to go towards the unknown, towards the peripheries. We are called to go out, sometimes even outside of ourselves, to enter the wounds of humanity. This is the testimony that comes to us from the neighbourhood of Yungay in Santiago, Chile.
“Dare to be one” is the title of the Conference of Bishops from various Churches, friends of the Focolare Movement, which took place from 27 February to 1 March in Augsburg. The meeting also commemorated an important anniversary in the journey of reconciliation: precisely in Augsburg 25 years ago, the signing of the historic Joint Declaration on Justification. https://youtu.be/8kBoqmRmHP4
Città Nuova publishing house, in collaboration with the Chiara Lubich Centre, recently published “Diario 1964 – 1980” by Chiara Lubich, edited by Fr. Fabio Ciardi, OMI. Fr. Fabio Ciardi introduced the content of the new book of Chiara Lubich’s Diaries saying, “The Diary is an extremely valuable resource, which allows you to cross the threshold of external events (the ‘external life’) and to penetrate the way in which they are lived (the ‘intimate life’)”. The book is part of the “Works of Chiara Lubich” series. Fr. Fabio told us that even though 5 volumes of this series have already been published and fifteen are in the pipeline, “It is not the complete works because that would require an immense amount of work. Future books include Chiara’s main written works ranging from an introductory first volume that will be a historical biography, followed by her letters, public speeches, what we call founding speeches and then her more informal talks or conversations.” Fr. Fabio added, “The letters and diaries are perhaps the most intimate part of Chiara, the aspect that reveals most about her. When you give speech, it is an elaborate, prepared and revised text. When I access her correspondence or her Diary, there are no filters there. It is a direct grafting with Chiara’s soul. Her Diary and letters are those pages that allow us to have an immediate, direct, unfiltered relationship with her.” Fr. Fabio continued, “Chiara Lubich’s diary is quite special because it didn’t start as a personal diary, but as a way to involve all the members of the Movement in her travels. (…) . At first it started with a description of what happened, so it is a descriptive diary but it soon became an intimate diary. Because what she wanted to communicate was not simply the facts she was experiencing but how she was experiencing them”. The Diaries cover sixteen years and, to help the reader better place and understand Chiara’s texts, Fr. Ciardi made a deliberate editorial choice: “First I gave a general introduction to the entire Diary, year by year. Then I offered an introduction to that year, placing and contextualizing it in the life of the Church, in the life of the world, so that we can grasp what Chiara Lubich was experiencing but with the broader horizon of the life of the Movement, of the Church and of humanity.” For those who want to know how best to read this book and where to start, Fr. Fabio replied: “The first thing I would recommend is to open it at random and read a page. It’s sure to be addictive so then it’s like an invitation to read another page and another. Don’t worry about reading it continuously. You can open randomly and read one day, then another or one year then another. And then maybe this will make you want to follow the thread. So then start again from the beginning and slowly follow this path, which is a journey… Chiara’s path is not easy. It is a troubled journey, there are moments of trial and moments of illness. These are moments when she didn’t write in her diary which begs the question – why not? Maybe because she was living in a moment of darkness. So retracing the whole path chronologically helps to understand this world. But for starters, maybe you can open it randomly and read here and there. Then you’ll want to read it continuously and completely”. Fr. Fabio concluded, “The diary is hers, it is personal, it is her life and this can be deduced above all from the constant conversations with God, with Jesus, with Mary and with the saints that exists in the Diary (…) She reveals her soul to us, she shows us what she has inside. And this resonated with me because it is like an invitation to go on a similar journey, to experience that same intimacy; so in the end by reading Chiara I also reflect myself not in what I am, unfortunately, but in what I feel I should be”.
Carlos Mana
Video: In dialogue with Fr. Fabio Ciardi (subtitles in English)
