![Living the Gospel like the first Christians]()
4 Jul 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
«I met Chiara Lubich immediately after the end of the war. I went to Trent to those girls who they said “were living the Gospel like the first Christians”. The words of Chiara sent me into a crisis. I came from a Christian family and I belonged to the Catholic Action, but I realized that my religiosity had very little to do with Christianity, because I practically was not living the Gospel. With our group we often went to Trent and Chiara too would go to Rovereto, our town, to visit us. She spoke to us of the Gospel and she made us fall in love with Jesus. A community was immediately formed in Rovereto which included the manager of the Telephone Company, the mathematics professor, the shoemaker, the watch repairman, a father and a mother, young boys and girls, we were many and we really loved each other. Every time that we met as a community we tried to make a new committment to live the Gospel, to change our lives and to take care of the needy around us.
Violetta Sartori
![Living the Gospel like the first Christians]()
27 Jun 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
At the conclusion of a year-long celebration of the 60th year of the Focolare Movement in France, a symposium on the Movement’s contribution in the Church and in society in France was held on June 4 last at the Catholic Institute of Paris. In front of quite a diverse audience, attempts were made to answer the questions: “Who are the Focolare?” and “What is their involvement in the world today?” Whilst not ignoring some criticisms, such as lack of visibility, the speakers highlighted the positive contribution the Focolare Movement has made to French society. “There are not many movements that have arrived at their sixtieth anniversary in a ‘healthy’ state,” said Jean-Louis Schlegel, a sociologist of religion, in his talk.
Father François-Marie Léthel
Laurent Villemin, a professor of theology at the Catholic Institute of Paris, highlighted Chiara’s passion for dialogue among Christians: “which was very soon translated into practical ecumenism” and that “until the end of her life she did not give up the work for the visible unity the Church. ” Taking the concrete example of the dynamics of “Together for Europe“, Gérard Testard, a member of the International Committee, said that “The Focolare have a real influence and make a decisive contribution to the communion between movements.” 
Mons Teissier, Archbishop Emeritus of Algiers, recalled how in Algeria many Muslims, particularly young people, “found in the Focolare Movement a response to their inner search” whilst remaining “faithful to their identity as Muslims.” The President of the Social Weeks of France, Jérôme Vignon, underlined the “groundbreaking and fruitful character of the Economy of Communion”, defining the Focolare’s contribution to evangelization as a “revolutionary vision”: not so much to “make our brothers Christian” as to “let them taste the joy of mutual love and concern for others.” All areas where the Focolare can enrich French social Christianity provided they do not “hide themselves”. “Do not be afraid – concluded Laurent Villemin – to pursue this quest for a true spirituality for real lay people.”
![Living the Gospel like the first Christians]()
26 Jun 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
«Thanks to my work as a diplomat, with my family we learned to recognize the treasures of an extended humanity, to love the country of the other as our own, to love God in the person whose nationality and culture is different from ours. Mnay ask me if it is possible to live as a Christian in an environment that brings you into contact with the riches, but also with the sufferings of the most varied humanity. This is my daily challenge. In my work I try to draw inspiration from the ideal of fraternity proposed by Chiara Lubich. There is a writing on diplomacy, which I use as a sort of guide. It says among other things: “Make yourself one with the other, in that complete forgetting of onself that possesses – without noticing it and without looking after it – him who calls to mind the other, the neighbour. This is the diplomacy of charity (…). The divine diplomacy (…) is moved by the good of the other and is therefore without any shadow of egoism”. And still more: “If every diplomat in fulfilling his function is guided in all his actions by charity towards the other State as if it were his own country, he will be enlightened by the help of God up to the point of contributing towards the realization of relationships among States just as the relationships among persons shoud be”. I feel that this affrimation is very true and concrete and I was able to experience this on many occasions. For example, while I was watching the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics and the Paraolympics, I thought of sending my corresponding colleague a message through my mobile phone: “Your Country is showing us all its beauty”, I wrote. And he immediately replied: “Thank you”. With that simple gesture I was able to express my appreciation for his country. 
Sometimes work is transformed into a real battle. I remember when it was my Country’s turn to hold the presidency of the European Union, I was given the task of presiding one of the working groups wherein the adoption of “European Diplomatic Programme” was proposed. This meant a program of professional formation offered to young diplomatic officers working in the national diplomatic corps of member Countries. It was strongly supported by some countries and greatly contested by others. The program provides for the inclusion of a language to the detriment of other national languages, which, at that point, should have also been taekn into consideration. In such a situation it was up to me to find a solution. I talked to the representatives of each Country, listening fully to the reasons of each one: as president, I wanted to be at the service of everyone. But I went ahead, trying to convince them that it would be more advantageous for everyone to have a common formation program, and that it would be useful to go ahead with two official languages that would not create any difficulties in the realization of the program. I made my proposal which was approved by all and the European Diplomatic Program is today an established and well-known reality. I carry out my mission in a country that is torn apart. divided, with considerable problems from all points of view. I struggle, in these times, to love the persons concretely, to live the divisions and not to escape from them, to love the men and women without God and to bear witness to Him, there where he does not exist, to be, through my life, a bridge that unites. You don’t necessarily have to be an ambassador to become a “bridge”. When we love the other we can do everything; Saint Augustine reminds us this and the witness of Chiara Lubich and of all of us who want to live her same ideal of unity in the world, are the most tangible proof». Source: New Humanity online
![Living the Gospel like the first Christians]()
24 Jun 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
500 teenagers from every continent will attend the events at Mariapolis Lia, a Focolare town in the state of Buenos Aires, Argentina. But they are only a small portion of the workshop which will be followed by members of the Youth for Unity worldwide. A Facebook page has been documenting the preparation stages of the event: “There is a global mobilization underway, with those of us who have been preparing since July 14-21 at Mariapolis Lia; others who have been awaiting and preparing events to welcome the teens to their cities; and still others who have been organising projects at local levels. They are all like small workshops of a worldwide construction site for the building of universal brotherhood and becoming citizens of the world! Even the preparatory activities have turned out to be opportunities to interact and share with many people – civil authorities, public institutions, associations, friends, the local Church and community – the most beautiful gift we have received: our ideal of a United World.” Why has the camp been given this name? Chiara Lubich explains it in something she wrote to some young people in 1970: “The man of tomorrow will be a man of unity, a citizen of the world. He will be capable of both welcoming in his heart the treasures that the peoples of other lands have to offer and of giving his treasures to all of them. The man of tomorrow will be a man of unity, a world-man.” 
Newsflashes from around the world.Paraguay: “We are getting ready to welcome the teens from Ireland. In the photo you can see me telling Radio Caritas listeners about the activities that will take place during the second week of the camp. We will go to three cities: Asuncion-Lambare, Capiata and Caazapa, which is 230 Km from the capital.” Austria: “Five of us will be attending and, in the second part of the camp, we will move to Bolivia to the Rincon de Luz Social Assistance Centre. Teens from Switzerland will go to Bolivia as well.” “In Salta, Argentina, we’ve been getting ready for some time to welcome the teens from Italy. We are working with public institutions, the local Church and youth organisations to finalize the “Let’s Colour Our Cities” projects that will be taking place. The most worrisome gray areas that have been identified are injustice, corruption, the gap between those who have and those who have nothing. . . Then there is the problem of drugs and the growing violence that has become natural among teens like us. The second stage activities will be held in three communities: Tartagal, General Mosconi and Yacuy. There is an obvious lack of material wealth in these regions, but there is certainly great cultural wealth, as well as a strong desire to build a more united world. There will be many opportunities to deepen our friendship with groups of teens from these communities! These areas are populated by Argentina’s indigenous peoples: the Wichi and Guarani.” On July 19th a “SPECIAL DAY” will be held at Mariapolis Lia during which the young people will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Youth for Unity Movement. There will be a live streaming of the event at 15:00 GMT (11:00 local time). http://vimeo.com/98558320
