Committed to being us
“I remembered a phrase of my friend: ’The idea of God has to grow with us.’ I haven’t tried to understand something about God for a long time now. I really needed to find out from others who knew more than me.” Three years ago, Andrea, a university student left his homeland where he had a reference group in the parish, and moved to a big city. But here he didn’t immediately find a precise reference point for his faith. In the Congress he met many. “I am still searching and am discovering new aspects of this adventure, but I have certainties, strong points. One of these is surely the awareness that the road opened out before me is a community path, to be experienced with others. At times I forget this and so I need to be corrected, but inside me I know that it shall be this,” Nicolas confirmed. “Committed to the ‘We’” was an initiative that was held in Castel Gandolfo (31 August to 2 September) and promoted by the Diocesan and Parish Movements, branches of the Focolare Movement addressing the youths active in the local Church. These movements aim to irradiate the charism of unity in the parishes and dioceses in which they offer their services, and to work together with other ecclesial organisations in the building of a “Church of communion,” as aspired to in the Novo Millennio Ineunte, the Apostolic Letter John Paul II addressed to the priests and all the laity, at the end of the grand jubilee of 2000. For this purpose, it promotes and nurtures an ever deeper unity of the faithful around the parish priests and bishops cooperating in the various dioceses and promoting a new evangelisation in the parishes, according to a community style. 
“We chose this title – the organisers pointed out – to contribute in fulfilling what Pope Francis often invites us to do: pass from the ’I’ to the ’we,’ through a community discernment which helps us to grow and make common decisions. During the days they spent together, the participants discussed their own faith, but above all the mission they feel called to, that of spreading the ’good news’ of the Gospel. The life experience based on the spirituality of Chiara Lubich acted as a background, since every charism of God is for the entire Church and humanity. The methodology was the culture of encounter: taking time to get to know one another and being together, to feel as ’people of God,’ a community in which one can grow, helped by those who are moving on with us.” The experience of the congress is fully part of the path towards the bishops’ Synod on the youths, to be held next October. “The words that Pope Francis said?? to the Italian youths gathered together last 11 August in Rome resounded strongly in us: ‘Do not be content with the cautious steps of those who settle down at the end of the line.’ We need courage to risk a leap ahead, a courageous and fearless leap to dream and fulfil, like Jesus, the kingdom of God, and commit ourselves to a more brotherly humanity. We need brotherhood: take the risk, and move ahead!”
Living the Gospel: Making room for God’s Word
Emigrants We live in a country unwilling to welcome migrants. One day, while talking about this topic in our family where we try to live the words of Jesus, we realized that even the marginalized are emigrants. Not long after, we learned of a boy who came from the world of drugs and had no one to take care of him. So we welcomed him into our home until he got stabilized, overcoming his addiction and finding a job. Even later we stayed in contact with him. Now he’s a happy father, with a happy family. R. H. – Hungary The Granary Old and childless, Marie spent many afternoons with us. One day, alluding to the barn behind our house, she told us that she would be happy to live there. We talked about it with our children and decided to make her happy. After obtaining the necessary permits, we transformed the granary into a little house connected to ours by an internal door. Not only for Marie, but for our whole family a door has opened, a new way of understanding the solitude of so many people. We feel genuinely enriched. C. J. B. – Belgium Shining For many years I have been paralyzed and bed-ridden. Last Thursday two members of the Focolare came to see me, which gave me great joy. Later, they told a friend of mine that they had found me “shining” and their comment surprised me very much. I thanked God, asking him to help me to always be like that. The next day I woke up with severe back pain. It was an opportunity to stay “shining” even in suffering. The same thing happened a few days later. This is the attitude I try to have now, even if I don’t always succeed, at least I try. N. P. – Venezuela The Milk Amidst the difficult economic conditions across the country, everything was being rationed and markets were empty. Due to a severe bone decalcification, Rosa needed to drink a lot of milk, but it was hard to find. One day a neighbour went to her house, asking for some milk for her baby who had not been drinking for days. Rosa immediately offered her what was left in the bottle, despite her own children’s protests. Just before evening, eight litres of milk arrived. With tears in her eyes, Rosa exclaimed: “God never allows himself to be outdone in generosity!” M. C. – Mexico The Mother-in-Law Rosita and I had taken in my mother-in-law who was living in a home for the elderly and had problems walking. My sister-in-law was with us too. Grateful for the beautiful sunny day, we went for a walk and to have breakfast at a restaurant in the square of a neighboring village. There was an atmosphere of joy and harmony among us. When we asked for the bill, we were told that it had already been paid by another customer who admired the way we cared for the elderly. My mother-in-law, Felice, confirmed it. R. Switzerland
Chiarela’s Dream
“The dream of becoming a doctor, which I had always nurtured, became even stronger when, years ago, my father and my brother were involved in a serious accident. The hospital became our home away from home because of a series of surgeries on my father’s legs. During that period I began to understand the difficulties patients had, especially those who didn’t have sufficient funds. “I’ll become a doctor,” I said, “and offer the hope of medical care to everyone.” My family was also in precarious financial conditions. My father, because of a permanent disability caused by the accident, couldn’t work anymore. When school was finished, my dream to study Medicine was shattered when my mother said to me: “We don’t have the money.” I wept bitterly, but then thought: “If Jesus wants this, then I want it too.” We had always been in touch with the Focolare, and they knew my great wish. Several days later, they telephone me to tell me that they had found someone who was willing to help me out financially. I was so happy! It was a sign of God’s love. I began school at the university. It wasn’t all so easy. Every day I needed a good dose of patience and endurance. There were students from different cultures and religions in my class and several of them were bullies towards me whose character was softer and submissive. I tried just the same to be friends with everyone and to stay united to Jesus who gave me strength to face every difficulty. I was also only sleeping for two hours at night because of the tons of pages I had to memorise. I spent all my time studying, but still I was unsuccessful in an exam or missed going out with my friends. And then I was really missing my family. But I was certain that God had plans for me. During the internship we worked 30 to 36 hour shifts on the ward with the patients, and that was really exhausting. We had to do many things at the same time, make sure that the patients were receiving care while studying for exams. The encounter with each patient was an opportunity to love. Even though I was tired and half asleep, I tried to present myself to them with lots of energy, smiling and listening with sincere compassion. In the hospital, the nurses tended to be short with us interns and liked to give us orders. Nevertheless, I tried to silence my pride and build relationships of friendship with them. After a while they changed their attitude. In my group there was one girl who was always contrary to everything and raising her voice against all of us. No one could stand her. I thought: “If I don’t love her, who will?” I learned to understand her difficulty and love her. At first it was hard, I because she always had something she wanted to obtain. I prayed to Jesus for courage and strength to persevere in my understanding attitude. In the en, she also began to understand me better and we became friends. If there’s one thing I learned, it’s that things can go less than well, but you can still grow stronger. I was afraid many times of not managing to “begin again,” which is the secret I’ve learned from Chiara Lubich. Now I’m a doctor and my dream has come true and I have many more opportunities to love God, serving him in my patients as I remember the Gospel sentence: “Whatever you did to the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.”
The Cuba we dream of
“The first Genfest ever in Cuba ended on Sunday, August 12. It was dream that we had kept in our hearts, entrusted to God, and he made it happen!” So write the Youth for a United World in Cuba. A wave of young people from all over the island came to Havana for the Genfest, an event that had “many firsts.” In fact, they write, up until now “we had never been able to put together an event of this size, obtaining the necessary permissions from the Party office in charge of relationships with religious organizations, with whom there was an excellent collaboration. It was achieved with the help of artists and professionals who through their passion, dedication and by not holding anything back – despite enormous challenges – were able to give harmony and beauty to the content that the young people asked for, after months of working together.” The opening event took place in the historic centre of the city, where Pope Francis had invited the Cuban youth in September 2015 to foster “social friendships” with and among everyone, “to build the Cuba you dream of.” On Saturday, August 11, participants explored the theme of “Beyond all borders” in nine workshops about social economics, Economy of Communion, ecumenism, relationships, the skills need to build peace, postmodernism, etc. 
“In the afternoon, at one of the city’s famous cinemas with close to 600 participants, there were testimonies through art and shared experiences on how it is worth living for a united world. There was a profound moment in particular: an actress portrayed Chiara Lubich and her thoughts on how suffering generates life, which is the secret to going ‘beyond all borders.’” “This was the most beautiful experience of my life,” wrote one young woman, “where unity and love are the essence of a lifestyle that builds a more united world. You were able to awaken my faith and hope.” “For those of us who worked on this for almost a year,” says one of the organizers, “it was a long journey that was not without its challenges, due to conditions in the country. However, there was always the help of divine providence, which would arrive just at the right time to give us courage and resources: from South Korea, Colombia, Bulgaria, Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada, the Philippines… “We threw ourselves into doing things we had never done before: singing, dancing, presenting on stage, telling our experiences, overcoming our shyness or being ashamed of anything. We learned to listen to each other more, not impose our opinions, and help ideas emerge together. Practically, we learned to love each other.” 
They add, “Genfest was an explosion of love and unity that revolutionized our city.” One of the participants said, “We are making history, not the kind that stays in books, but in the souls of all of us who think, work and participate in the Genfest. The memory of Old Havana remains, and today it is reborn thanks to the Youth for a United World.” “Collaborating with the other movements, youth outreach, and the Council of Churches in Cuba was really nice and productive,” they write. “Genfest in Cuba honored its objective ‘to go beyond every border,’ overcoming huge challenges during the preparation and because of how big it became. It demonstrates how for God, nothing is impossible. We are bringing this revolution of love to the whole world, and many people who did not know of our dream have now witnessed it. We thank all those who believed in this crazy adventure and were there with us with their support. What a profound joy it is to know that we are part of such a big family!”