The greeting of Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, to the men and women volunteers in formation, who were meeting together in Castelgandolfo on 5th November. She expressed her joy in sharing with them the beautiful letter she had received from Pope Francis. Activate English subtitles https://youtu.be/izLQ6PkQsHA
On 29th October 2022, the Feast Day of Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano, her hometown, Sassello, opened its doors and gathered to remember this young woman whose testimony continues to inspire. On 29th October 2022, Blessed Chiara Badano would have celebrated her 51st birthday. A young girl in love with God, who at the age of 17, discovered that she had a bone tumour yet, even in illness, she never stopped believing in God’s love. Many young people, children and adults came to her hometown, Sassello, in the province of Savona (Italy) which is surrounded by woods and beautiful hills, to remember her on her birthday which coincides with her Liturgical Feast Day. Thirty-two years after her death, her witness continues to spread and the fruits of a life lived in light inspire many to go beyond obstacles, to feel caressed by God’s Love even in difficulties and pain and to give their lives for those in most need. The day began at midday at the chapel of the Badano family in the Cemetery, where many people from various countries gathered around
Chiara’s tomb for the “Time-Out”, a minute of reflection to ask for peace all over the world. It was a simple but profound moment of meditation and prayer, in which Maria Teresa, Chiara’s mother, Daniele Buschiazzo, the Mayor of Sassello, Msgr. Luigi Testore, the Bishop of the Diocese of Acqui and the members of the Chiara Badano Foundation took part. The Mayor said, “29th October is generally a moment that enriches the whole community. And the fact that it is especially young people who recognize Chiara as an important point of reference, makes us even more proud. Every year this is a stimulating event for our Municipality and our community, addressing as it does, important issues. This year, the topic is peace”. In the afternoon, at the Parish of the Most Holy Trinity, in the centre of Sassello, many participated in the Mass, celebrated by Mgr. Testore, assisted by Fr. Enrico Ravera, the Parish Priest of Sassello. The Bishop said “Chiara shows us precisely what it means to welcome the Love of God and constantly discover this Love. So she was able to live her short life above all with this perspective, leaving us a very strong imprint that each of us can take back: discovering the Love of God and letting ourselves be guided by this Love to build our own lives”. 5th “Art Award” Immediately after Mass, the Chiara Badano Foundation announced the names of the winners of the 2022 “Art Award”, which gives young people the opportunity to illustrate with their own talents how much the story of Chiara Badano, her ideal and her lifestyle has fascinated, attracted and inspired them.
This year’s winner in the “Children’s” category (10-16 years) was Manuel Arduini di Cattolica (Italy), with a drawing inspired by Chiara, entitled “The path to light”. Manuel explained, “What inspired me in this design was Chiara’s faith in the Church and in God”. In the “Youth” category (17-35 years), the winners were Guilaine, Darlene, Ashura, Evasta and Erica from Burundi. These 5 girls from the Chiara Luce Centre of the Focolare Movement in Bujumbura, wrote the words for a song (based on traditional music) and prepared a choreography that expresses the joy of getting to know about the life of Chiara “Luce” and how her example helps them in their lives. The Jury also made a special mention of a song by a group from Bujumbura which was entered in the Children’s category. Chiara Cuneo, Counsellor at the International Centre of the Focolare Movement received the award and the certificate and also brought the greetings of President Margaret Karram and Co-President Jesus Morán. Before concluding the award ceremony, Pasquale Capasso and Martina Bolino from Arzano (Italy), winners of the youth category for the year 2020, performed their winning song, “Here for Eternity” as in 2020, due to the pandemic they could not participate in person. Pasquale Capasso explained, “Having reached the last page of the book on Chiara, “From the rooftops down” written by Franz Coriasco, I thought that this is a story which should continue. I know lots of young people, like me, like us, trying to spend their lives serving others with their talents. And so, the experience of this song must surely be a common experience, with others and friends… and this song came out, which is a stimulus to carry on the witness that Chiara left us, because it is a commitment that we all feel we have to take on. Martina Bolino added, “It started a bit like a game… we joined in this game and the result was a kind of crazy joy that is contagious, so we’d like to thank those who invited us to take part”. “Chiara Luce Badano Solidarity” Award At the end of the award ceremony for the winners of the 2022 “Art Awards”, there was also the presentation and launch of the new “Solidarity Award”: an annual initiative to promote solidarity projects in all parts of the world, which will be linked to the artistic award. Cristina Cuneo, a member of the Chiara Badano Foundation, said, “From an early age, Chiara showed a true passion for the most in need, the weakest, the most marginalized in society, the elderly and in particular children. For this reason, inspired and encouraged by Ruggero Badano (Chiara’s father) and Delfina Giribaldi, the Foundation, has decided to establish the ‘Chiara Luce Badano Solidarity Award’, in accordance with its statutory mandate to support and encourage projects for the promotion of positive actions aimed at the weaker sections of the population”. The deadline for submitting projects is 20th January, 2023. The regulations of the competition are on Chiara’s website. For more information on Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano: www.chiarabadano.org
Anita Martinez
On Oct. 4, 2022, the docufilm “The Letter,” created by the Laudato Si’ Movement, was presented at the Vatican. It offers a perspective of how to act for the good of our “common home” and is now available for free on Youtube Originals in 12 languages. Arouna Kandé is a young Senegalese student born in a small village who used to work on a farm with goats and chickens but because of the gradual destruction of the environment the young Muslim was forced to leave the village. The young man explains how rising sea levels in the coastal town of Saint-Louis have already forced thousands of people to leave their homes. “My family in Senegal,” he says, “has done nothing to cause the drought in our village or the flooding in the city. We are being affected by the choices made by other people. However, the future is coming, it is mine, and I will make good use of it.” In the docufilm “The Letter,” presented by the Laudato Si’ Movement, of which the Focolare Movement is a partner, Arouna Kandé’s story is intertwined with the stories of Brazilian indigenous chief Cacique Odair Dadá Borari, 14-year-old Indian activist Ridhima Pandey, the Asners – an American couple, both marine biologists, and Irish woman Lorna Gold, all of whom are extremely active in safeguarding the environment. With a personalised letter leaving the Vatican and being delivered to each of them, a journey begins through their own lives until they return to the Vatican where Pope Francis engages in a dialogue with them in an atmosphere of intimate confidence and deep listening. Finally, the action moves to Assisi, to places made famous by St. Francis. There, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa offers a unique perspective for understanding the Franciscan roots of the message behind the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, dedicated by Pope Francis to care of the common home. The film was presented at the Vatican on 4 October, on the feast of the saint of Assisi, in the presence of its protagonists, director Nicolas Brown and his team along with the producers. In the Synod Hall, Arouna Kandé explained the importance of raising awareness of these issues. He spoke of schools being washed away by the waters and hundreds of boys having nowhere dry to rest, forced to sleep on their feet for days. The boy told of moving to a coastal town where the sea level is rising. He has not given up: he is now a university student and is setting up a new NGO to lead the next era of sustainable development in his country. Arouna is thus witnessing to the thousands of people who have firsthand experience of the climate crisis and have the knowledge to solve it. Ridhima Pandey, a 14-year-old Indian high school student, who has also participated in demonstrations to hold governments accountable for their climate action. She founded an NGO to help young women become climate activists. Ridhima said that future generations of young people will be the ones who suffer from global land abuse and neglect. “Our generation – the young people – is and will be the most vulnerable.” “The Letter” is a film to be watched in families, communities and schools because the message each of the protagonists receives is directed to every person on the planet enabling us to realise that we can all do our small or large part to care for “our common home” as Pope Francis calls it in Laudato Si’. The film will be available on Youtube Originals on 2 November 2022 in 12 different languages.
Carlos Mana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rps9bs85BII
The deep personal encounter with God in prayer redefines our entire existence. Recognising Him as the author of grace gives us the opportunity of loving as children, of losing ourselves in His gaze, until we become living prayer. … As we know, our spirituality is both personal and communitarian. It leads us to extend our love vertically, as people say nowadays, towards God, and horizontally towards our neighbors. And keeping the balance between these two loves is what leads us to holiness. For some of us it’s easier to develop the horizontal dimension of love – and so there is the tendency, at times, to engage in constant activities – rather than developing the vertical dimension. It’s true that we usually direct all that we do to God – we love others for him, we work for him, we suffer for him, we pray to him. But if it is true that by continually “making ourselves one” with our neighbors we have often reached the point of loving them with our hearts too, can we be just as certain that we love God not only with our will, but also with our heart? At the end of our lives, we won’t be able to present ourselves to God together with others, with the community; we’ll be alone. Can we be sure that in that moment all the love stored up in our hearts during our lifetime will spontaneously pour out, as it should do, to the one we ought to have always loved, the one we will meet …and who will judge us? … That moment will come for us too, and keeping it in mind, we should try from now on to improve our relationship with God as much as possible. … In fact, we can love God as servants do, doing all that the master wants, without speaking to him at all. Or we can love him like children, with all our heart, full of the Holy Spirit, filled with love and trust in our Father. This kind of trusting relationship leads us to speak with him often, sharing all our concerns, our resolutions and our plans. We experience the trust and the divine desire that makes us eagerly look forward to the time which is only for him and be in contact with him in a deep way. This is prayer, true prayer! We have to aim at this, to the point that we become living prayers. The theologian, Evdokimov, said something beautiful about prayer. He said: “It’s not enough to say prayers; one must become prayer, be prayer, grow into being a living prayer.”¹ Grow into being a living prayer, be prayer, as Jesus wants, since he said: “Pray always”². I believe that the hearts of many of us contain a real wealth of divine love that can transform our lives into authentic prayer, that can make us grow as a living prayer. We only need to make use of it at the right moment. So, during this period, let’s make the commitment to speak often with God, even in the midst of our activities. Let’s try to improve in this. Saying “for you” before every action already transforms it into prayer. But that’s not enough. Let’s start to have an ongoing dialogue with him, whenever possible. Only in this way, at the end of our life, will our love for God fall from our lips in words similar to those of the saints. …
Chiara Lubich
https://youtu.be/TqJCVMkF2xs