Living Gospel: rediscovering gratitude through the mystery of Christmas

23 Dec 2022 | Non categorizzato

Advent is a time for recollection, a time of waiting.  It is a time that wakes us from slumber and surprises us with the incarnation of a God who makes himself “small” to come and dwell among us. The mystery of Christmas brings us back to the essential, and welcoming Baby Jesus into our lives becomes an opportunity for each one of us to convert ourselves again and look at our daily lives with gratitude. A charity that is always new Ever since the conflict broke out in Ukraine, we have been involved in collecting food and clothing and welcoming refugees. A chain of prayers for peace also began in our parish. We took in a Ukrainian mother with two children. Since the Ukrainian language has Slavic roots, there were no problems there, even if English is practically our common language… but how were we going to organise life for these people who were so completely disoriented? There are already five of us in the family, so we asked relatives and friends if they would help with our guests. It was about organising places for them, something we had never done before. After the first few days which were easy in some ways because of the novelty of the situation but difficult in other ways, we noticed how our children, all teenagers, adopted a sense of responsibility that they had not demonstrated before.  They began helping with the household chores, shopping, accompanying someone to the doctor, teaching a few Slovakian words, cooking, ironing. The pain our guests were feeling was the sense of suspension, the lack of horizon.  We found that embracing this silent pain was not only a good way to help someone else, it also helped us to live our faith better and transform it into a charity which is ever new. (J. and K. – Slovakia) God is paying you a visit As a widower, I no longer had a reference point for the future.  My two daughters, who had already moved out of home, had their whole lives ahead of them. Should I remarry? My problem was not just that I didn’t have a partner, but the bigger question on the meaning of life. I started drinking, more and more. One day a Bangladeshi boy appeared at my door selling socks. Seeing me in such a sorry state he offered to clear up the kitchen and started washing up the piles of dishes and crockery until there was some semblance of order. As I was drinking the coffee he had made for me, I asked him about himself. He told me he was looking for work in Austria in order to be able to support his elderly parents and a sick brother. In short, he moved in with me a few days later. Besides helping me with the housework, I found him other little jobs with friends. Whenever he saw me getting restless, this good and simple boy would try to distract me. I can honestly say that he saved me. Through him, I really felt that God had come towards me, had come to visit me. (F.H. – Austria)

Edited by Maria Grazia Berretta

(taken from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, year VIII, no.2, November-December 2022)

Gospel lived: “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is an everlasting rock” (Is 26:4)

14 Dec 2022 | Non categorizzato

God’s faithfulness is unshakable, like a rock, and this is the revelation of salvation not only for the people of Israel after the exile, as Isaiah announces, but for each one of us. Trusting in the Lord therefore means building our existence by going right to the root, because the deeper the foundations, the higher we will be able to build; the more we trust in Him, the more solid our actions will be. Family tensions When my brother D. who was angry at how he had been treated by R. (another brother) decided he no longer wanted to see him, I felt that at our age – we are all over 70 – we ought to be more merciful.  That is when I had the idea of bringing the family together for a picnic in Jells Park, on neutral ground. But R. did not show up on the date agreed. All I could do was pray that his stubborn heart would mellow. A few days later I called him.  I discovered he had not been well and had not eaten for some time. I replied that I would bring him a good soup. When I arrived at his place, he was grateful above all because I had not judged him. Later that day when I got home I called D. to let him know and he said he was prepared to visit his brother if I arranged it. The following Sunday, when the two of them met, there was some initial awkwardness but after a while they started talking quite normally.  In the end R. invited us for dinner. I am really happy with the result and hope that my small contribution might heal certain tensions in the family. (Gill – Australia) Tipping Before the recent increase in salaries for doctors and medical staff, it was common practice in Hungary for doctors to be given a tip for their services, like a predetermined fee. As a chief surgeon, as a matter of principle I did not want this to happen, not least because I knew that lots of people of limited financial means were having to borrow the forints for the doctors. That is why I refused to accept, even though everyone else was, until a colleague pointed out that not accepting a tip could be taken by the patients as a sign that I had not done the operation well. One day, seeing an elderly lady pull out the usual envelope for me, I said to her: “I as a doctor am at your service and I’m paid for it, but if you would be more comfortable to accept my offer, I suggest you give it to a family in need”. She thought about it for a while, then taking my hand said: “Doctor, what you’ve just said to me proves to me that you really care about people. I thank you and, if you agree, I would be happy to help someone in need with you”. (P.M. – Hungary)

Edited by Maria Grazia Berretta

(taken from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, year VIII, no.2, November-December 2022)      

Ecclesial Reality: People of God, Crossroads of Diversity

3 Dec 2022 | Non categorizzato

On 21^st November, 2022, at the International Centre of the Focolare Movement (Rocca di Papa- Italy), a meeting entitled “People of God, Crossroads of Diversity. Many nodes, one network” took place. It brought together the different ecclesial realities linked to the charism of unity. “We are a portion of the Church with different colours, with different shades of colour, as many colours as there are charisms, ministries, places of birth and peoples. Our task is to build unity in this diversity, above all to give rise to communities in which the Gospel is lived in a full way”. These are the words of Sister Tiziana Longhitano, of the Franciscan Congregation of the Poor, Coordinator of the Centre for consecrated members of the Focolare Movement, who was one of the participants at the meeting, which brought together people from many countries and vocations. There were about forty present in person and about 600 connected via zoom. It was an opportunity to share and to discern what the next steps on the beautiful journey which began in April 1982, in the Nervi Hall, in the Vatican, with the Congress “The Priest today, the Religious today”. About 7,000 Priests and Religious participated in that event in which, through testimonies from all over the globe, they highlighted the fruits of meeting the charism of unity and the renewal it brought to many religious communities and parishes. Today many realities continue to reap those fruits, a symptom of an ongoing process, not only within the Focolare Movement, but throughout the Church; realities illuminated by a “prophecy”, as Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, defined it, in her intervention: “a prophecy that has made its way and continues to mature to increasingly become a reality which is shared (we hope) and practiced throughout the Church”. Throughout these 40 years, dioceses, parishes, priests and various charismatic communities have shared experiences and generated communities in the light of the charism of unity, presenting themselves no longer as individual pieces of the Church but as a single body, a people that lives the culture of communion, listens to each other and walks together. Suffice it to mention the important development of the Parish Movement and the Diocesan Movement in recent years and the commitment of priests, religious, consecrated persons and lay people in the Synodal Journey. There were many experiences shared during this event. From Brazil, Desi, a married Focolarina and Matheus, a seminarian, told how the call to synodality and to work in synergy with all the realities of the Focolare Movement led to the birth of some pastoral Congresses that focused on listening, knowledge and formation. Desi said, “Our hearts are expanding towards our aim, ‘May they all may be ONE’.  From Ecuador we heard the testimony of the Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr. Andrés Carrascosa and of some priests of the Archdiocese of Quito who, following a retreat, decided to start a group to meditate on the Word of Life: Father Ramiro Ramirez said, “I have had a deeper experience of the Word. It has become more alive in me, I have learned to understand the Gospel better (…) and also my brother priests (…). Father Charles Serrano added: “I heard that there would be a meeting of about 15 priests and that the Nuncio would be there. When I arrived I met priests in need of healing, fragile, suffering and broken-hearted. I felt like that too (…).The first time I attended, I thought I would be mad to go back, now I think I am mad, because on the second Tuesday of each month I cannot wait for the meeting (…). The Church today needs to live fraternity in order to strengthen itself, as Sister Maria Inês Vieira Ribeiro, connected from Aparecida (Brazil), said, “to form a people at the service of the Kingdom of God, protecting life, especially in the places where there is most suffering”. This is why the diversity of each reality becomes the true wealth of the Church which, despite the difficulties of this time, regards her children as the possible saints of tomorrow. This is the experience of the young people of the “Charisms for Unity” Movement, who, from getting to know the Ideal of Chiara Lubich, wanted to put their charisms in contact. From this idea, during the pandemic they had a series of Zoom meetings, a kind of workshop, to share experiences, put the Gospel into practice and encourage each other to live out their consecration with enthusiasm. They called it, “Saints together, on Earth as in Heaven”.

Maria Grazia Berretta

To see the full meeting click on: (3) PEOPLE OF GOD, CROSSROADS OF DIVERSITY – YouTube

From Bethlehem lessons for the future

25 Nov 2022 | Non categorizzato

This is one of the pages from the diary of Irene, a young editor of Teens, a magazine of the Città Nuova publishing group, which is made by teenagers for teenagers. Through her eyes and her words we learn of a journey in a country marked by divisions and we get to know the project “Harmony among peoples”, which, thanks to art and dance is spreading beauty and hope to the new generations in Bethlehem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6rF91sFMdo

Pakistan: our response to the emergency

24 Nov 2022 | Non categorizzato

In recent months, Pakistan has been hit by floods that have claimed many lives and destroyed much infrastructure. The Emergency Coordination of the Focolare Movement, through AMU (Action for a United World) and AFN (Action New Families), took immediate action to ensure initial assistance and basic needs were met. The floods’ destructive force caused extensive damage to communities in Pakistan affected, which began to be unleashed on this territory as early as mid-June 2022, bringing a third of the country to its knees. Many consequences still affect the population today. For this reason, the Emergency Coordination of the Focolare Movement, with AMU and AFN, upon learning of the emergency, launched a fundraiser to support the provision of food parcels, clothing and sanitary products to about 500 families in the localities of Nowshera in northern Pakistan; Tando-Alla-Yar and Kotri in Sindh; Sangar in southern Pakistan; and other localities still being assessed. Many have mobilised to respond to initial requests for help and to assess the most urgent needs on the ground. In the face of the ever-increasing number of displaced people, aid shipments were organised in the first few weeks and continue to this day. Despite precarious transportation, most of these families have already been reached. In addition, some members of the Focolare Movement on the ground are directly involved not only in the preparation and distribution of parcels, but also in providing medical care for those who need treatment and medicine to fight primarily typhoid, dengue, cholera and malaria. “On October 16, 2022, we went to a village in Haji Hafiz Shah Goth, about an hour’s drive from the city of Kotri, and set up a medical camp there,” says Fabian Clive, a member of the Focolare community in Karachi. “The doctors there examined 200 people including children, women and men. Most people do not have the opportunity to have regular medical check-ups, either because they are quite expensive or because they do not have access to the city. “Our goal is to set up medical camps in the different areas of Sindh that have not yet had this kind of assistance. There is a widespread call to responsibility and a great willingness to make a contribution.” The situation remains alarming even some weeks later. As water levels drop, the enormous severity of the devastation, compounded by malnutrition and disease, has emerged. The needs of the communities are increasing, changing every day. So carrying out response actions, continuing to embrace this country, is a shared goal. If you too would like to contribute to the Focolare Movement’s Emergency Coordination for Pakistan fundraiser, you can donate at the following:

Maria Grazia Berretta