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9 Feb 2014 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
Relationships with the Buddhist faithful have comprised a significant portion of the Focolare Movement’s history in dialogue. Although Focolare founder Chiara Lubich intuited as early as the 1960’s that it would be possible to construct genuine fraternal relationships with persons of different religions and cultures, it was not until 1979 that she personally met a leader from another religion, the Rev. Nikkyo Niwano founder of the Rissho Kosei kai. The friendship that developed between them was based on deep mutual respect. In 1981 Niwano invited Chiara to talk about her Christian experience to 12 thousand Buddhists in Tokyo, Japan. This marked the historical beginnings of an experience of genuine fraternity. The relationship continued for many years and was recently reaffirmed by Maria Voce’s visit to Tokyo in 2010. Paths of cooperation and understanding opened with other Mahayana traditions in Japan and Taiwan. Meetings with Venerable Etai Yamada from the Tendai School were unforgettable moments. Venerable Etai Yamada was fond of quoting the motto of the great Master Saicho: “Forgetting yourself and serving others is the apex of compassion-love”. These words were also cited by John Paul II during the meeting with representatives of other religions in Tokyo, 1981. Yamada added: “You can say that the Focolare puts into practice the words of the master 1,200 years later.” 
Currently there are very fruitful relationships with the Nichiren School. And there have been contacts with the Chinese Buddhist Monastary of Fo Guan Shan and with the Monastery of Dharma Drum Mountain. There are also contacts with Chinese Buddhists from the Fo Guang Shan Monastery and the Dharma Drum Mountain Monastery. Over the years, paths of knowledge and understanding have also opened with the world of Therevada Buddhism. During an extended visit to the international town of Loppiano two Thai monks – Grand Master Ajhan Thong and Phramaha Thongratana – came into living contact with Christianity. When they returned to their land, they shared their discovery and invited Chiara Lubich to present her Christian experience at a Buddhist university and in a temple in Chiang Mai. The Great Master Ajhan Thong presented the founder of the Focolare saying: “The sage is neither man nor woman. When a light is lit in the darkness no one asks whether it was a man or a woman who lit it. Chiara is here to give us her light.” From 2004 until the present several symposiums have been held. The fifth was held on 28-31 May 2012, following those held in 2004 and 2008 at the Mariapolis Centre in Castelgandolfo, Italy; in 2006 and 2010 in Osaka, Japan and Chiang Mai, Thailand, which was attended by people from Thailand, Sri Lanka, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, England, USA, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. The variety was not only geographical, but also the traditions that were represented. Among the Buddhists there were representatives – both monks and laity – from the Theravada and Mahayana traditions; and, among the Christians, representatives from the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion and Lutheran Church. 
Over the years deep mutual trust has developed among the participants in these gatherings, which has allowed for open discussion on the Scriptures without any misunderstanding. The Castelgandolfo meeting was attended by His Eminence Cardinal Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and by the president of the Focolare Movement, Maria Voce. An event is scheduled for March 20, 2014 at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, dedicated to “Chiara Lubich and the Religions: Together on the Road to the Unity of the Human Family”. Six years after her death, the event will highlight her commitment to interreligious dialogue. The event also coincides with the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on the relation of the Church to non-Christian religions. It will also be also be attended by religious leaders from Buddhism. 
Interview to Chiara Lubich about interreligious dialogue (1998)
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8 Feb 2014 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
“They land on the Italian beaches in search of peace, a future, a life that is worthy to be called as such: in these past months they are above all the victims of the war in Syria, protagonists of a new “biblical exodus” as it is called by many”. Marigen, shares how she and the other focolarinas of Catania (Sicily-Italy) felt directly called by the faces of the refugees and the always more insistent disembarkations: “What can I, we do about it?”, they asked themselves.
From Valeria, a youth of the Movement,they came to know that everyday at the train station of Catania there is a crowd of Syrians who begin their journey towards the countries of Northern Europe. “They need everything – Valeria shared: clothes, shoes, big bags, luggages, food, medicines”.
The focolarinas immediately go into action: “We opened our cabinets and we brought out all those things that have accumulated there and that could be of use to others – Paola added. Some of us started to sew on missing buttons, to iron a shirt, others prepared bags of clothes sorted according to type. The experience of Chiara Lubich and of the first focolare in Trent during war time was very much present in our mind”.
The next day, they went to the train station and gave all that they had gathered to a young Moroccan girl who was coordinating the distribution. They discovered that a place to store all the donations received was needed. That very same evening a family offered their garage for this purpose.
They also had the opportunity to help and to get to know the migrants who were staying in the mosque, which had been transformed into a dormitory for the Muslim and Christian refugees. Lina, a focolarina from Jordan, translates their stories that is full of suffering and hope.
In the meantime, the community of the Focolare Movement of Syracuse shared with the entire city the suffering of the loss of Izdihar Mahm Abdulla, the 22-year old Syrian girl who died at sea because she could not bring with her the medicines she needed. Marigen continued: “We gathered around the refugees trying to bring them comfort and the material things they needed. We participated in the Muslim funeral rites held in the churchyard of the Cathedral. We prayed together beside the Imam of Catania, the Mayor,and the Archbishop of Syracuse. There was a sacred atmosphere. We gather around the coffin united by this great suffering. The imam gave the bishop a Koran as a gesture of friendship and communion”.
Also in the island of Lampedusa, with the tragedy of the deaths at sea of so many, the community of the Movement, together with many others, faced this emergency by offering: hospitality, food, their homes, sharing with the migrants not just their surplus but even what was indispensable.
In the nearby island nation of Malta, the Focolare community also felt they wanted to do something upon the arrival of the refugees along the coastline of their Island. “Here the challenges of migration and integration are quite strong,” Vanessa related. “For two years now, we have started to be aware of the steps we could take and so we asked for permission to enter the detention centers where many refugees are gathered”.
They organize groups to take action on various fronts. “I am part of the group which visits the detention centre,” Vanessa continued, “We have met around fifty Somalian women from 16 to 50 years old, the majority of whom are Muslim and some Christians. We gave them English lessons, teach them working skills, dance, but the most important things is the relationship with each one: to listen to them and to share their frustrations, their life stories… We came to know of very delicate situations that have even led to thoughts of suicide… We realized that our willingness to listen to them is a very important resource, and we have seen with joy how much our visits bring them comfort and hope. This attitude of welcome is what we try to live and to share with them so as to promote a culture of integration”.
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7 Feb 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
“Since I felt the call to give myself to God in the Focolare, it seemed that the world of art and many years of studying music, no longer had a place in my life. But, paradoxically, various encounters and relationships that came about were pushing me to listen to my artistic side and to follow its stimulus. I always had a great trust in my friends of the Focolare, who never tried to give me answers but instead stood by me, sharing my doubts and questions. In the meantime I was also doing other jobs, and so it seemed to me that the artistic world was like a train that had already left the station which I was not able to ride. In the meantime I disovered that what God gives us never corresponds exactly to our thoughts. For example, I looked for a job in the field of music in some of the most difficult areas in my city, among the migrants and the poorest, so as to place myself at their service. But in many years of intense searching I came up with nothing. It was one of my colleagues, instead, who told me that the school where I anm working now, was offering me a completely different challenge but just as fascinating: young people full of material wealth, but often impoverished spiritually, complete satisfaction in everything but experiencing profound dissatisfaction. So now it has been two and a half years that I have been working at the Christianeum in Hamburg High School specializing in humanities, a school of vast musical activities with choirs, brass bands and orchestras that involve about a hundred teens. I direct the two symphony orchestras of the school: one with teens from 10 to 12 years of age (at present it has 65 membrs) and that of the youth from 13 to 18 (52 members). 
This job requires above all the ability to create relationships with the teens, and also with the parents and with my colleagues. Many times it meant to learn to forgive (myself and the others), starting again each time, believing in the others over and beyond any sort of disillusionment, to commit myself without vested interests, paying attention to each single person and not just to the group. And all these with the premise of the continuous search to acquire an always greater professional competence, striving to involve as many colleagues as possible; in fact, we are three who take care of the orchestra. Before deciding on anything, we try to understand what the others are thinking, listening to each other with attention. Thus we experience the reciprocity of love with the teens and the adults. I was surprised when they noted that in the musical activities of the school “there is always more the breath of the good spirit that creates an atmosphere of friendly collegiality that takes in everyone”. I can sense that my life is unified inasmuch as I remain consistent with my life’s choices and I experience the same freshness and novelty of the times when I started to live the Gospel convinced then up to now, that only in this way, together with many others, can the world be changed”. Profile Christian Kewitsch
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4 Feb 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
A “living dead” I was in the waiting room of the commissioner, it was hot and I was very tired when a poorly dressed lame man arrived. After he greeted me in a feeble voice, having realized that I was concerned about him, he shared with me his story: he was a homeless refugee, without friends and family, without documents; he was a “living dead”, as the policemen who had stopped him called him. As I greeted him I told him where I lived: if he would come, we would welcome him and give him something to eat and a place to sleep. In fact, a few days later, he came to see us, and so we were able to help him concretely before he went on his way to Yaounde. For our family, he was the image of of the suffering Christ, a gift for us. P. B.-Ivory Coast Effects of a robbery After a beautiful day in the aquatic park with our children, in the parking lot we noticed that the documents, keys … were stolen from our car. After we reported the robbery, we prepared to go to bed putting some furniture against all the main entrances of the house. Our children thought it was quite adventurous. The next day, when we went to buy new locks for the house, I realized that the cost of our purchase was exactly the same as the amount my wife received the day before. This fact helped us to reflect together for a moment and we decided not to harbor any bad feelings towards the robbers. A few days later, as we were saying our prayers together, one of our little girls reminded us that they (the robbers) had also given us a chance to learn how to forgive. S. G. – Genoa (Italy) On the street On the street I encountered a prostitute; I stopped to greet her, I gave her the Word of Life with the comments of Chiara Lubich, explaining to her that it is a thought taken from the Gospel. “Why are you doing this?”, I asked her. “I have three daughters to raise”, was her answer. Then she told me to bring the Word of Life also to one of her companions, who was a fews steps away seated in a car. So I went to greet her too, and while I was offering her the Word of Life, I said: “It is a writing about Jesus”. She thanked me and added that she had just finished saying the Rosary; then she showed me her small book of prayers to Mary. I asked her the same question. She answered: “I am divorced and I have four children to feed everyday”. Together we recite a Hail Mary praying that she may find a more dignified way of earning a living. M. R. – Segni (Italy) Taken from : The Gospel of today, Città Nuova Publishing House.
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28 Jan 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
Free from prejudice
We decided to join together with a lively community of Evangelical Methodists in our city, in helping out the many North African immigrants who live in our area: Tunisians who work as labourers in silk production; Senegalese and Moroccans who work as travelling sellers. . . . Many of them do not find a hot meal during the week. So we planned on setting up a canteen where they could be served hot meals when they come for the public market each week. We take turns buying the food, cooking, serving and eating with them. So many prejudices and stereotypes crumble between one dish and the next. S. F. (Italy)
A seed of unity
While in hospital for a small surgery I read a book given to me by my fiancé. It contained factual experiences of Gospel life. They were beautiful but I said to myself: “It’s impossible to really live this way.” Then my fiancé introduced me to some of these people and, speaking with them, I saw instead that it could be done. This opened a new path for us. We married with the intention of keeping our family open to others. At first I wasn’t religious even though I belonged to the Evangelical Church and Anna was Catholic. As we began to live the Gospel I began to realize that I should first go and give witness in my Church. So I did. I made contacts and now belong to the parish council. Through our lives we’d like to show our children and everyone we meet how beautiful Christianity is, making our family a small seed of unity. D. J. K. (Germany)
Peace
The many more violent clashes inside my country had produced a strong sense of anger and revolt within me. I suffered because of my helplessness in front of so much injustice and suffering. Innocents murdered, families chased from their homes and villages in ruin. I felt like I was drifting away from God, as if I were dying within myself. That night, describing to my wife the way I was feeling, she proposed that I make one more effort to leave at dawn and go to welcome some refugee families who had fled their devastated village. We went and one of the families with three boys came to stay with us. Then peace returned to my heart. J.P. (Lebanon)
Source: Il Vangelo del giorno, Città Nuova Editrice.
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25 Jan 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
Elaine from the Central African Republic writes: “I’m a teacher in a Catholic primary school. Ever since I became acquainted with the spirituality of unity I’ve felt it my duty to put the Gospel into practice even when it means going against the tide, against the common or popular ways of doing things. 
When our country was threatened by guerrilla warfare, I presented the Time Out for Peace to my students. This is a moment of prayer during which people around the world pause to ask for the gift of peace in war torn areas and in the hearts of all people. So now we pause each day and pray for peace.” The school children commonly purchase chalk from their teachers, which they then use for writing on wooden boards. Eliane gives the chalk to her students freely, while another teacher charges them 25 francs, which she uses to buy her lunch each day. Noticing Eliane’s approach, this colleague asked her the reason for her generosity: “I tried to make her understand that it wasn’t correct to force the children to pay for chalk, because children deserve justice, and also because Jesus says: “Insofar as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). 
The studies prefect learned of Elaine’s lifestyle and asked her about it. “A short time later” Elaine recounts, “he and his wife asked me to be godmother of their youngest daughter. I joyfully accepted and now I feel truly part of their family.” Elaine’s colleagues later proposed her as a candidate for personnel representative under the supervision of the Labour Inspector. She now carries out this role of both mediation and supervision of the smooth running of the school and respecting of rights and duties. The women involved in this group also decided to pray the Time Out. Elaine concludes: “Now, many voices are raised in asking for peace not only in Central Africa, but in the whole world.”
