![Vincenzo “Eletto” Folonari, a gratitude that is 50 years long]()
12 Jul 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
A trail in heaven. This is the title of the docu-fiction that tells the exciting story of Vincenzo “Eletto” Folonari, a young heir of a rich Italian family, who left everything to follow Jesus “I chose God and nothing else” was one of his famous phrases. http://vimeo.com/100491503 Presentation: 
«He was young. Rich. Handsome. He had everything that someone his age could ever want. But Vincenzo looked beyond, he wanted something more in his life. He came to know the spirit of the Focolare, he left everything for an ideal: universal brotherhood. He disappeared one summer day, amidst the waves of Lake Bacciano. But his death was not in vain. It was the push that gave life to the Gen Movement. Youth, teens, children present today in 182 Countries of the world. That was his dream. He was named Vincenzo. But for everyone he was Eletto». To acquire the dvd (available in various languages): http://editrice.cittanuova.it/s/38125/Una_scia_nel_cielo.html
![Vincenzo “Eletto” Folonari, a gratitude that is 50 years long]()
11 Jul 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
It was not easy to start the production. Financial difficulties did not allow her to have a stable income, until the right moment came, and Donatella Paolini Baldi was able to go ahead: «The number of families of bees and the amount of honey produced increased – she shared – so much so that I was able to ask for the v.a.t, to do various registrations, to constitute a real and true enterprise, to leave my other job and to have a small income as an apiculturist». “Beach honey” fragrant and aromatic is the best-selling product of the small enterprise, that she was able to build up through the help of the Corporation of a regional Tuscan natural park: a special quality that has already received some awards. Inserted in some purchasing groups as a supplier of honey, she is also a member of the “district of economic solidarity”: a pact made among organizations, purchasers, producers and citizens (consumers) who aim at making production and consumption sustainable. This is a network of enterprises with similar goals, who aim at local production with few middlemen, reusable energy, biological cultivation, and who propose a series of services and products that are highly social and ethical. 
The style of the Economy of Communion has entered into all the activities of this small enterprise that produces honey: taxing itself when – in spite of the good production – it was not possible to pay both salaries (her own and that of Peter, a young collaborator). Or in resisting the “siren’s call” when, applying for a regional subsidy for apiculturists, she is offered a loophole to gain more advantages. «I suffered a lot thinking of the materials that I could have had for free – Donatella shared – or better still, paid for by the community and even if I imagined the ridicule of my colleagues, I said a difficult “No”, but it was a “No”! To speak of fair play is easy, but to go against the current is a bit difficult. In the end, my enterprise was considered as qualified for the subsidy and was entirely financed by it; and I was happy that my choice, without their knowing it, allowed other financed apiculturists to be inserted in the list after me». In the “honey plant” which is availed of for the extraction of the honey, Donatella met G., a labourer who is serving his jail sentence by working there. «Even if I was reassured by the person responsible for the plant, by the social worker and by his lawyer, I still found it difficult to accept the fact that I had to spend a lot of my working hours alone with him. In fact, before knowing him they already gave me a detailed description of the multiple homicides he committed… When I found myself in front of him, tall and robust, courteous and helpful, this wall continued to be present between me and him». Until one day G. heard a conversation of mine on the telephone. «I was talking to a friend who was sharing her feelings with me in search of understanding and help. I was trying to encourage her to maintain certain actions such as: seeing each other new every morning, seeing the positive in each other. G. understood well the meaning of my words so much so that he thanked me afterwards. His gratitude enlightened me… ». And still more, punctual providential interventions, seen as actions of the “hidden partner”, God, to whom Donatella and her collaborator Pietro entrust themselves continually. «It was a particularly difficult year due to the cold and the intense rain which compromised the blossoming of the flowers and therefore the production of honey. Among the apiculturists there was a drum beat of telephone calls. In this atmosphere, S. an apiculturist who supports his family through his work, called me up crying. He didn’t know what to do, he was desperate. I told him to calm down and to have faith. I overcame my reluctance and I went to look for and then found some fields that are next to 10 hectares of sunflowers. We can put the houses of the bees on his land and the bees can then fly to the sunflowers in the neighbouring field, whose owner was happy to collaborate. I don’t know if we will have an abundant production of honey, but I understood that asking and giving have truly the same value».
9 Jul 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
http://vimeo.com/98416187 An entrepreneur is someone who pursues a productive idea. That of John Mundell, of Indianapolis (USA), is quite original. The enterprise of this civil engineer, where19 collaborators work, adheres to the project of the Economy of Communion (EoC). There are around a thousand companies in the world that adhere to this evangelical way of working in the economic field, with a strong presence in Europe and with a notable growth in the regions of Latin America and Africa. The simple but winning idea launched by Mundell is called “The Company Cube” (Dice for the companies). This is a nice instrument that helps to live in a practical way the life style precisely of the Economy of Communion. The Company Cube, is a practical way of remembering the values that create a work environment grounded in mutual respect, concern, and shared responsibility. Not only this, it also aims high, and proposes itself as a daily “modus operandi” to bring about social change through decisions made centered on the person. How does it work? “Take the Cube and… throw it – John Mundell explains. Read the side that faces up and try to live it in your place of work. At the end of the day think about how your way of acting changed and share your experience: Roll it, Read it, Live it, Share it. You will experience surprising results!”. But what is written on the faces of the dice? Build (relationships everyday!), Support (with actions, not just words!), Share (expertise, time, yourself!), Value (every person,every idea!), First (to help others!), Competitors (can be friends too!). Regarding “Competitors”, a colleague shares: “When I found out my competitor had won a project we both had written proposals for, I called to congratulate her. She was surprised to hear from me. She shared her approach and it gave me an idea for our next project.” In August of 2013, during an international congress of th EoC held in Mexico City, entitled “The person and comunione, towards a refoundation of the Economy”, John Mundell launched the Spanish version of “The Company Cube”: “El dado empresarial”. For more information: The Company Cube ( http://www.thecompanycube.org/it/ )
![Vincenzo “Eletto” Folonari, a gratitude that is 50 years long]()
8 Jul 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
«Solitude, silence, do not frighten: they are made to protect, not to cause fear. Nevertheless, one can take advantage of such a suffering. The greatness of Christ is the cross. He was never so close to the Father and so close to the brothers as when naked, wounded, he cried out from the gallows: «My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?. With that suffering he redeemed: in that fracture he reunited all men with God. Therefore we should not think that sufferings, which are never lacking even in this moment of rest, are a hindrance: they are a stimulus. And so […] listen to that Voice, so as to start to converse: a Voice that arises from the depths of your soul and falls from the heights of the heavens. You are not accustomed to listen to it and so, in the first encounters, it may seem that it escapes you, almost as if there is a thick wall between you or a cosmic distance. It is because it comes from the most intimate part of you and you are used to the clanging that comes from the world outside. It comes from the planets, from the sun, from nature […] and brings with it a profound voice: that of the author of the sky and of the earth.[…] Listen to it. Contemplate it, within the silence wherein God speaks. This is, in the day of life, the hour of dusk of contemplation, when the creatures gather together to assess the work that has been done and to prepare the actions of tomorrow: a tomorrow immersed in eternity. […] Detachment from the world, therefore, and attachment to God: thus not a separation from people, inasmuch as they are brothers, members of the same divine and human family. The wealth of experience of those who have passed the exam of life is useful to them: but above all what is useful is that wisdom, which in religion is called sanctity. The mystic introduces into the arteries of the Mystical Body the virtues of contemplation: seeds of the divine, that expand into the social fabric. This needs it as never before. […] So then one (…) detaches from creatures so as to find oneself in God, where they will never be separated anymore. Since the Lord – the Trinity – has placed himself to live in you, then with his love, you love all creatures: and to love them means to unite yourself to them. […] And since God is in tranquility, one can achieve this more easily in the relaxation of the spirit and possibly of the body during this period, striving to relax by establishing peace with all creatures, forgiving and forgetting, up to the point in which no thoughts regarding the others remain to disturb us, but all gather in the house of the Lord sharing with one another. […] In this station we meet with spirited companions on the journey, who, placed in front of the dilemma: the Eternal or the world?, choose the Eternal, to the amazement of relatives and the scandal of friends. They make of the task assigned to them in time, a march of coming closer – almost an attack – on the Eternal and they tear off pieces of heaven: thus they give to the generations an idea of the Infinite. Paul, Augustine, Bernard, Francis. Thomas, Dante, Catherine… And the John of the Cross and Teresa and Pascal and Newman and Manzoni…[…] The meditation of their writings – up to the point of assimilation – sends the soul on the way to divinity. One scales the heights with them, who know the way and provide the instruments necessary. And the peak is the home of peace and also of joy, because it touches paradise. (Excerpts taken from “Città Nuova” XXIII/13 10 July, 1979, pp.32-33)
![Vincenzo “Eletto” Folonari, a gratitude that is 50 years long]()
7 Jul 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
“The bible the world reads the most is the one they see in us.” With these words, the recipient of the Luminosa Award for Unity 2014, John Armstrong, challenged the audience at a panel discussion at Mariapolis Luminosa, Hyde Park, NY on June 21. How can the world read the bible lived out, if Christians are deeply divided and judging one another’s traditions, beliefs and forms of worship? If people can read in us Christians at least the core phrases of the Gospel’s message, such as “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34), they would get the essence of it. Rev. John Armstrong is the founder of the ACT3network, an acronym for Advancing the Christian Tradition in the 3rd Millennium. It is a ministry that began with a focus on spiritual renewal but then embraced the vision that he calls “missional ecumenism,” opening the door to ecumenical dialogue especially among evangelical Christians. In his acceptance speech for the Luminosa award, he quoted Focolare founder Chiara Lubich with her statement, “In Christianity, love is everything.” If Christians really believe that, they would believe in this pure love that is both the reason and the consequence of the presence of Jesus in their midst. In this vision, we can believe in the renewal not only of theology and ecumenism, but all the fields of human endeavor. Armstrong said, “Our business is to live the Gospel in community; it is to be the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” In the panel discussion, “How can we bear witness to the New Commandment?” the four speakers shared their personal ecumenism stories. Fr. John Crossin, director of the secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, invited everybody to focus on the mission that we have in common rather than looking at things where someone may think of lines that one cannot cross while being a Christian. “We need to call everyone away from fighting and to Christian love,” he said. Rev. Elizabeth Nordbeck, minister of the United Church of Christ and faculty member of Andover Newton Theological School in Massachusetts, shared four stories where she experienced ecumenism. What they all had in common: friendship and trust precede ecumenical dialogue; non-cognitive and non-verbal sharing matters; and very often it helps to “do some stuff together first.” Nordbeck encouraged everyone to have an open mind: “We all tend to engrave in stone the opposite of the things that we most fear. Instead, we need one another to learn from one another.” Rev. Bud Heckman, director of the El Hibri Foundation and former executive director of Religions for Peace USA, widened the view of the participants from ecumenism to interfaith relations and highlighting the need for Christians to know how to connect with those who do not identify with a particular church. Times have changed: “When I grew up in a small town in Ohio, we were all Christians,” he remembered. One boy from the other side of the street didn’t go to their church: “Are you a Christian?” he asked him. “No, I’m Catholic,” was the answer of the boy. Having a Catholic as a friend was already an exception. Later, he was dating a Jewish girl, “and only when I asked her the third time what she was doing for Christmas, she told me: ‘Look, here is the Menorah, we are Jews, we don’t celebrate Christmas.’” In 1990, 86% of the U.S. population identified themselves as Christians, in 2001, this number went down to 76%. By 2050, less than half of the population may be Christian. “The group of ‘none’s and none’s’, who might be spiritual, but not affiliated with a particular religion, is growing.” There is the need of the witness of mutual love even among religions. It should be bore with deeds, not words. He said, “We don’t remember facts, but experiences, we remember how we felt.” He cited the 2004 gathering of the Parliament of Religions for Peace in Spain, when the Sikh community fed all the members there present with vegetarian dishes. Everybody remembered the hospitality. “It was building relationships instead of talking,” he said. It was clear that there are still different opinions and convictions, but this isn’t a problem for dialogue: “I don’t want the other to agree with me — if so, it isn’t dialogue.” Dialogue cannot be argumentative, by nature, said Armstrong: “If they don’t want to hear what you want to say, there’s not much dialogue.” The other panelists agreed, because there are differences, but they don’t have to divide up. This commitment is about keeping the doors open to one another — and to the Spirit. With the Luminosa Award for Unity, the Focolare recognizes since 1988 persons or associations who have given a significant contribution to building bridges of mutual understanding and concern among the various Christian churches, major faith traditions and people of good will, in all aspects of social life. Past Luminosa Award recipients include Cardinal John O’Connor, Archbishop of New York, Norma Levitt, former president of WCRP and honorary president of Women of Reform Judaism, Rev. Nichiko Niwano, President of the Japanese lay Buddhist organization, Rissho Kosei-kai , His Royal Highness Lukas Njifua Fontem, King of the Bangwa People of Cameroon and Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, American Muslim leader. By Susanne Janssen – Living City Magazine
![Vincenzo “Eletto” Folonari, a gratitude that is 50 years long]()
5 Jul 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
«I would like to tell you what the priesthood is for me, what it means for me to be a priest today. It is to be simultaneously, as much as it is possible for a human creature,Jesus of the cenacle and Jesus of calvary, Jesus of the crowds and Jesus of Gethsemani, Jesus of the hosannas and Jesus of “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, Jesus of death and Jesus of the resurrection. It is to be always more, everyday a little bit more, Jesus, just as the eternal Father desires and arranges in his loving will. […] Let Him use me as he wants. I dn’t have anything except the present. In it, to be able to do anything or not, both humanly and as a priest, doesn’t matter; what matters is to be that will of God on me». 
This is what Fr. Cosimino wrote to his parishioners on the 25° anniversary of his priestly ordination, in 1988, when he was already tried by the illness that will bring him to the end of his earthly experience on July 5, 1989. «Jesus died at thrity three years old – he wrote – so why do I have to die at 49 or 50? Jesus was able to say: “Everything is done” while everything was revolving around him, nevertheless he says it. Why do I think of many big and small projects? For me too everything will be “Done” (brought perfectly to its conclusion) if I remain like Jesus in the design of the Father». Fr. Cosimino, was born in Gaeta (Italy) on September 5, 1939 and he entered the seminary in 1950. In this period of formation he was exemplary, both in his spiritual journey, lived with great committment, and also in his studies. A great desire was always strong in him: to understand how to live in order to become a saint. He was ordained a priest in Gaeta on July 14, 1963. A year after his ordination he participated in a meeting of the Focolare Movement at Ala di Stura (Northern Italy). Here, as he himself would often repeat, he found the answer to his desire for sanctity, he found the “IDEAL”, as it was called then. And so he immediately treasured, with committment, all that he received, striving not to lose even a single word and his committment was in understanding, but above all in living the spirituality of unity. 
In 1967 he was named the parish priest of St. Paul, in his native city. Here, with his typical style full of love and attention towards everyone, in a special way towards the least (teenage mothers, ex-prisoners, drug addicts, rthe homeless and the drifters), he organized his community by focusing simply, but with strength and decisiveness, on living the Gospel in all the situations and in the most diverse realities. Occasions were not lacking wherein he had to take a stand also with regards to social realities that were drifting far away from a truly human and Christian dimension. He worked a lot for the Priest Movement and for the Parish Movement, two branches of the Focolare Movement. In this way many, also on an international level, were able to get to know him, as was evident by the great participation of many during the entire period of his illness. 
A significant aspect in order to understand his life is his relationship of unity with other priests, in a passage from an individualistic mentality to a life of communion. His only goal, to grow in charity, putting aside the talks on new techniques of the apostolate, of catechesis and on modern and attractive expressions of the liturgy, as was fashionable then, to give space to sharing, like in a family: goods, salary, friends, light or trials, health, clothes, ideas. He made his own with radicalness and conviction, the symbol of the priest movement of the Focolare: the washing of the feet. He wrote: «The consideration of the washing of the feet was fundamental for me. Because He did it, so too must I repeat it for the people of this generation. Sublime dignity! But Christ in his divine dignity lays down his clothes and washes the feet. I, a priest, will repeat Christ, by stripping away my false good reputation which I am attached to and I will come closer to the others to bring them the washing of the feet, the redemption. I will wash the feet in the confessional, in the hospital, while saying Mass, taking care of the poor, the elderly. But I must strip myself of everything. This is essential».
