Loving each other in marriage is a great challenge. It means getting lost in each other’s paths, sharing life, sowing patiently and reaping the fruits; it means choosing each other every day even when we do not recognize each other, if necessary, learning to slow down to keep up with each other. On the day of lovers, we share the story told at the November 2017 “Collegamento” by Giulio and Pina Ciarrocchi. 22 years earlier, in May 1995, following the arrival of a stroke that changed their lives, they found the courage to let God guide them, experiencing a new way to fall in love again every day, seeing Jesus in each other. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM6vJUrUqX8&list=PL9YsVtizqrYt2S6qrtBBS1Xu_B3p-juwd&index=1
The mission of the “Chiara Lubich” Hogarcito, the Centre for the Elderly in the Peruvian Amazon forest, is to accompany the elderly and the ill. A place where service is motivated by love, where there are people who do good, able to put everything in God’s hands. Halfway through last year a woman came to the Hogarcito to ask for help. She urgently needed support for her elderly brother who lived alone, far from the capital where she lived. She asked us to welcome him into the “Hogarcito” and, after asking her to give us some time to explore the situation and our own possibilities, we put ourselves in the shoes of her brother and did not hesitate to welcome him. This is how Feliciano, 74, became a new guest of the Hogarcito. We welcomed him with great affection and with a welcome party. We discovered that he had lost the sight of one eye, that he had speech problems, you could barely understand what he was saying, as well as severe deafness.
Feliciano during rehabilitation
He went around alone, using a stick, but one day, when he went back to his bedroom, he didn’t come out again. The staff found him lying on the floor, unable to get up. They called for help from the Emergency Health Centre. Feliciano had suffered a stroke and half of his body was paralyzed. The situation was very difficult. He was very reduced and looked very sad. He needed a nurse by his side and constant heart monitoring. Unfortunately, the staff of the “Hogarcito” is not prepared for such specialized care and so Feliciano had to be admitted to the hospital. We calculated that the hospitalization would have cost us about 2,500 Soles (620 Euros), including the treatments and therapies. We tried to get in touch with his sister but, having received no answer, we did not think twice: trusting in God’s providence we immediately hired a nurse to take care of him and a physiotherapist for the rehabilitation sessions. When we asked her how much she would charge, she told us: “Don’t worry about the payment, it will be my way of helping the “Hogarcito”.It was very difficult and risky to move Feliciano. We asked God to give us the strength to continue to support him and bring the situation forward.In the end, everyone’s love helped him get better every day. Suddenly, sometime later, he surprised us by getting up, taking up his stick and taking a few steps. What a thrill, we were all happy to see him walking!It was a moment of full happiness. An experience, that of accompanying those who are ill, which allows us not only to meet people who do everything to lend a hand, but gives us the joy of entrusting ourselves together and putting everything and everyone in the hands of God.
On 6th February, powerful earthquakes strucksouthern and central Turkey and Syria. A disaster that has caused the destruction of entire cities. Many people are missing and thousands have died. Here are two eye witness accounts. Umberta Fabris, from the focolare of Istanbul, emotionally described the situation in which Turkey finds itself with this unprecedented disaster which struck Turkey and Syria during the night between 5th-6th February: “On the evening of Sunday 5th February, the authorities announced that the schools would be closed the next day as a violent storm was forecast. Temperatures are near zero and it is the coldest time of the year in Turkey.” The magnitude of this earthquake is unimaginable. Ten provinces of Turkey are affected, 13 million people are involved and violent tremors continue. To date, there are over 14,000 victims, but the numbers continue to increase as the rescue proceeds. Umberta Fabris told us, “Istanbul is about 1,000 kms away from the affected areas but we are surrounded by people who have relatives and friends, who are awaiting news that arrives drop by drop. Mobile phones have run out, there is no electricity and there is enormous damage to all the infrastructures including the communications networks. We receive just a few text messages or manage to exchange a few words with a very disturbed line. We keep trying to get news about people, including our friends in Antioch, Mersin, Adana and Iskenderun”. In the catastrophe of the ruins and the cold, suffering brings people together to respond. Umberta heard about the collapse of the Basilica of the Annunciation in Iskenderum and how many houses of the Archdiocese have been declared uninhabitable. Catholics, Orthodox, and Muslims came together to share what they have and to offer accommodation. She said, “It is incredible to see the thousands of young people who have crowded into the airport, ready to go to help with the rescue. There is an endless queue of people to donate blood and secondary school students are getting involved in many projects of assistance. We continue to trust in God and in his Providence and to remember our beloved Syria.” Bassel, a young member of the Focolare in Syria sent us this account, “These are devastating days also in my city, Aleppo. On 6th February we woke up terrified and ran towards the stairs, we couldn’t see anything, due to the power failure. We stopped at the front door, where there is an image of the Guardian Angel and said a prayer. Then we found a mobile phone and switched on the light. I didn’t recognize the room: everything on the floor was broken, the walls and tiles were cracked, the neighbours coming down the stairs screaming. We took only what we could carry in our pyjama pockets, put on our coats and went out in the rain and freezing cold.” Bassel spent that endless night on the street, watching churches and mosques collapse. The moonlight illuminated the destruction. As the aftershocks became lighter, there were reports of friends trapped under the rubble and whole buildings collapsing. “Our country is not equipped for this kind of disaster. The 7 floor building of the Archdiocese of the Greek-Catholic Melkite Church was one of those that collapsed. Mons. Jean-Clément Jeanbart, emeritus Archbishop of Aleppo, was saved while Father Imad, my personal friend and our teacher at school since I was a child, was trapped under the rubble”. People talk about their homes using the past tense. The cold makes everything more difficult. The Red Crescent and the Red Cross tried to assess how many were saved. Bassel said, “I worked with the volunteers and young scouts to prepare and distribute food and blankets for children and youth, I couldn’t sleep because of the terrifying scenes I had witnessed”. As the aftershocks continue to destroy buildings, Bassel reflected: “When we hear the news, we see the big countries sending experts, aid and relief teams to the affected countries. It is awful for us to see that they cannot send anything to Syria because of the embargo, as if we were not human beings. We have been able to go back home now, where the Internet is better but we are waiting for the next quake. Pray that we will survive, pray for those who have died, pray for those who are missing”. Anna Lisa Innocenti and Maria Grazia Berretta To help or make a donation click here
Call from the Politics for Unity Movement – Focolare
“A heartfelt and strong call for an immediate end to the embargo in Syria that makes it difficult even to get aid through at this terrible time”. This is addressed by the International Center of the Politics for Unity Movement, an expression of the Focolare Movement, to the international community, governments and the European Union. “At least temporarily suspend the financial embargo in order to promptly allow the humanitarian organizations already active on the ground to provide the necessary aid”. Dramatic news is also arriving from communities and families in the earthquake-hit areas. The Focolare Movement, which has already been working in Syria for years with humanitarian aid and projects, has taken action with a special worldwide fundraiser. However, the difficulty of getting aid to Syria remains due to the measures introduced with the financial embargo. The Politics for Unity Movement is also activating all possible channels of contact with other Movements and Associations and with those who have decision-making power and political persuasion, “but let’s do it quickly, to save as many people as possible”.
The donations, collected through the NGOs Azione per un Mondo Unito (AMU) and Azione per Famiglie Nuove (AFN), will be used to provide with basic necessities the people of Turkey and Syria affected by the strong earthquake on 6 February 2023, also in collaboration with the local Churches.
The Emergency Coordination of the Focolare Movement has launched an extraordinary fundraising campaign in support of the people of Turkey and Syria, through the non-profit organisations Action for a United World (AMU) and Action for New Families (AFN). The donations will be jointly managed by AMU and AFN to bring basic necessities for food, medical care, housing, heating and shelter to the people affected by the earthquake of the 6th February 2023 in various cities in the two countries, also in cooperation with local churches. You can donate online at: AMU: www.amu-it.eu/dona-online-3/ AFN: www.afnonlus.org/dona/
or by bank transfer to the following accounts:
Action for a United World ONLUS (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: Middle East Earthquake Emergency T
ax benefits are available for such donations in many EU countries and in other countries around the world, according to different local regulations. Italian taxpayers will be able to obtain deductions and deductions from their income, according to the regulations for non-profit organisations
In the catastrophe of the ruins and the cold, suffering brings people together to respond. Umberta heard about the collapse of the Basilica of the Annunciation in Iskenderum and how many houses of the Archdiocese have been declared uninhabitable. Catholics, Orthodox, and Muslims came together to share what they have and to offer accommodation. She said, “It is incredible to see the thousands of young people who have crowded into the airport, ready to go to help with the rescue. There is an endless queue of people to donate blood and secondary school students are getting involved in many projects of assistance. We continue to trust in God and in his Providence and to remember our beloved Syria.” Bassel, a young member of the Focolare in Syria sent us this account, “These are devastating days also in my city, Aleppo. On 6th February we woke up terrified and ran towards the stairs, we couldn’t see anything, due to the power failure. We stopped at the front door, where there is an image of the Guardian Angel and said a prayer. Then we found a mobile phone and switched on the light. I didn’t recognize the room: everything on the floor was broken, the walls and tiles were cracked, the neighbours coming down the stairs screaming. We took only what we could carry in our pyjama pockets, put on our coats and went out in the rain and freezing cold.” 
