Spanish initiatives for “Brotherhood with Africa”

14 Jun 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

A group of Focolare volunteers from the Spanish communities recounts: “It seems only yesterday that we began to work with the “Brotherhood with Africa” project. It was in April 2009. To help the project grow we had organized several activities in the region of Murcia, which concluded with a benefit dinner. Now we are holding the fifth edition.”

The project began in Budapest in 2006 during the Volunteersfest, an international event that gathered thousands at the Hungarian capital. The title of the event was “The world is but one country. We are waves upon the same sea, leaves of the same tree, flowers of the same garden.” There a project was launched for promoting academic scholarships for African students from different areas, along with an idea of making one’s own city a place in which the culture of brotherhood shines. One group of volunteers that attended from Aljucer decided to act on the proposal.

“We felt called upon, and in 2007 began to obtain legal status for an association that would help achieve our goal: making Aljucer a place that promotes a culture of brotherhood. Many activities followed, even with other associations, but our main project continues to be the “Brotherhood with Africa” project.” Every year we put up posters. Local businesses help to spread the project by donating products that can be raffled off at the benefit dinner. The monies collected are added to the scholarship fund.    

“The benefit dinner is a yearly event that everyone looks forward to. We are joined by new people every year. We never had more than 90 dinner guests before, but this year we had 125 – quite a number for a country like ours which has been hit by so many crises.” During the evening there was a presentation of the project: the number of scholarships thus far, the amount of money that has been collected, the academic areas in which the scholarships have been applied and the experiences of students. Following the presentation there was the gift drawing and conclusion with some local performing artists. Among the artists, for the first time, was Carlos Pinana di Cartagena, a ‘flamenco’ guitarist and professor at the Conservatory of Murcia. Together with four of his students he offered us a fine concert of ‘flamenco’ guitar music.”

“We were happy,” the animators of the event say, “because we believe that these events served a bit in promoting a culture of brotherhood. A culture that makes us equals, that makes us feel that we are brothers and sisters, which is a sufficient reason to work for each other, with each other.”

Source: www.amu-it.eu

Philippines: youth activities build solidarity

13 Jun 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

“As United World Week was being celebrated in Jerusalem, we also held a few activities here in Manila” say the Youth for a United World in the Philippines. The internet link-up with the Holy Land was the launching point for a week filled with events. Ten projects, called ‘fragments of universal brotherhood’ were presented. This took place on May 4^th and involved Manila, Baguio and other Philippine cities. The week began with a celebration of unity, called “Bridge”. Everyone, linked up with Jerusalem and with the Youth for a United World from other Philippine cities, then set out for the various projects around the city: from nutrition programs to environmental projects, from hospital visits to projects in favor of the less fortunate. 379 young people signed up from Manila alone.   They went to Sulyap ng Pag-asa, a residential center served by the Focolare in the crowded and deprived areas of Quezon City. The Youth for a United World carry out regular activities in favor of nutritional assistance. At the Sinag Hospital, which desires to respond to the invitation of Jesus to love the poorest, they have experienced that by spending their time with the patients, their own problems seemed small. Another activity took place at Boys Town, a home for hundreds of street children, run by the Department of Welfare. There they met children between the ages of 8 and 17. They spent time together, caring, singing and dancing. The Youth for a United World were also invited to share their secret, “the art of loving.” The children in turn offered some of their own songs and dances. The Munting tahanan ng Nazareth is a centre for the physically and mentally handicapped. One Youth for a United World explained: “With our visit, we wanted to share God’s love that is present in all of our hearts, no matter who we are.” Young women who have been victims of abuse live at Marillacc Hills where, for some time, young women of the Focolare have been going to visit them. Because of the trust that has been built, the centre also allowed the young men to take part in the activity. Then there were the ongoing projects in the Bukas Palad (open hands) centres, social projects of the Focolare that were begun to respond to the widespread poverty. With their motto, ‘Freely you have been given, freely must you give,’ they are providing services in the fields of health, education and community building. The young people went to both the Social Centre in Tramo, Pasay and Tambo, Paranaque, and in La Union in the north. In the first centre they took part in an ecological project to clean up a creek, which involved many of the local youths who were also happy to make their quarter a more clean and livable place to live. In the second center in the north of the Philippines they created six workshops, from kitchens to basketball matches involving 55 children. Other activities in the north included an ecological project for cleaning Pagudpud, a popular tourist destination. There was also Fazenda U-Day in Masbate, where people were invited to come with their friends for a few hours of music and experiences on how to live and promote brotherhood.     At the conclusion of the week, the young people met again for a day entitled, “Bridge 2.0, a project for unity.” It was the moment, now that the activities were over, to make a commitment for the future. By adding their signatures to a large bulletin board, each one could commit him or herself to be a bridge for a united world. The Philippine Youth for a United world underscored it, borrowing some words from Focolare president, Maria Voce when she spoke to some youths gathered in Loppiano, Italy, on May 1^st : “Once you’ve built a bridge, if no one walks over it, it’s useless. The purpose of a bridge is to unite. It’s there inviting you to cross it and meet. Don’t become weary. The bridge is there for this reason. Taking the first step means turning toward the young people around you, those next to you, saying or showing that you are truly disposed to do something for them and with them.”

Ecuador: Living in a Mariapolis

11 Jun 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

«The first feast, the first trip, the first appointment, the first dance … one never forget them! We are moved when we remember the first-time events, bringing either a smile to our face, or a tear. This is what I feel when I recollect my first Mariapolis that just ended.

I had received the invitation from a dear friend and despite doubts and uncertainties, I decided to participate. When I reached Esmeraldas – a city inhabited mainly by Afro-Americans, with a special tradition, cuisine, and rhythm – I knew perhaps 10 people of the 350 who were attending the Mariapolis. Therefore I felt a “total outsider”.

I had to share a room with two strangers, praying that they didn’t snore, and then I attended meetings, round tables, moments of interaction with people I’d never seen before… but listening to their experiences, their dreams, the way in which they sought their happiness and that of their neighbours, I too got the necessary confidence to step out of myself and speak about me.

Among the various meditations, the one that impressed me most was a letter that John Paul II had written to Chiara where he invited the members of the Movement to be “apostles of dialogue”. How could we do it? By listening to and opening ourselves up to our neighbour. I remembered my father, who will soon turn 85 and is now without friends because many are already in heaven. I understood that I could be his friend, listening to the things that interested him: I can’t speak with him about the iPad or the Internet, but all the same I can love him and spend more time with him».

The title of Mariapolis read: “The other from me, another me”. A strong experience related to this was the visit to the inmates at the women’s prison, which led to the falling of many prejudices and indifferences, and to the discovery that we always have something to gift: love.

But the Mariapolis was not only about commitment and meditations. I enjoyed, as only on a few occasions in the past, the talent night where everyone displayed their artistic talents. Besides, the Afro mass was wonderful: the exact representation of the joy that exists in our hearts when we participate in a meeting with God.

When I returned to my home town, although I came back with an empty stomach for not having eaten the famous traditional fish-based dishes such as the corviches or the encocado, my heart was completely filled with love. We were told that the Mariapolis really begins when we get back home to our everyday routine. And so I have tried to put into practice what I had learned, particularly trying to see the face of Jesus in the many brothers with whom I interact during the day.

I can confidently say that Esmeraldas was my first Mariapolis, but it will certainly not be the last.

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Mariápolis Esmeraldas Flickr photostream

For information on the Mariapolis in the world, visit: www.focolare.org/Mariapoliss

Jews and Christians, a brotherly relationship

10 Jun 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

After having spoken in Buddhist temples and at the Harlem mosque, Chiara Lubich was happy to be able to address the Jewish brothers and sisters. She said, “It’s a great joy for me to meet with you today, you who are part of one of the largest Jewish communities in the world. A great joy, because [ …] I’ve never had the lucky chance of meeting in such large numbers those whom I consider, along with the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, to be my elder brothers and sisters and to honour and love them as such”. The 150 people present sang Shalom, the song of peace. Everything was done in an atmosphere of ceremonial sacredness, punctuated by the Words of God from the Old Testament and from the awareness of assisting at an event that – as it was said – signified the “closing of an era and the opening of another: that of unity”. In the front, a large chandelier with 7 arms (the menorah) with the candles solemnly lit one by one: the first represented light, the second justice, the third peace, the fourth benevolence, the fifth brotherly love, the sixth harmony. Chiara and the President [of the B’nai B’rith, Dr. Jaime Kopec, editor’s note] were invited to light the seventh one placed at the centre: This is the candle of truth, the seal of God, the heart of life. As soon as it was lit, Chiara turned towards the president and proposed to make a pact of unity in that moment. And he replied: “This is a pact”. Then, in his speech, in which he addressed Chiara as “sister”, the president explained it to everyone as “a pact of loving one another, of faith in looking ahead to the future, of burying centuries of intolerance. It’s not easy, but only the brave undertake difficult ventures”. “Unity is achieved in respecting the diversity”, added Mario Burman [responsible for the B’nai B’rith’s interreligious dialogue, editor’s note]. “A new era begins”. And then directing his gaze towards Chiara, “Chiara, Argentina needs your message”. “I am here”, affirmed Chiara, “with brothers and sisters with whom we share a genuine faith in the one God and we have in common the priceless heritage of the Bible in what we call: the Old Testament. What can we do? What can we consider? If a simple Golden Rule (do unto others what you want done unto yourself) is able to gather us together with the followers of other religions in brotherly love, if not always in God, at least in the faith of a superior Being, what could happen if the Lord began to clarify that it is His will to establish even among us, Jews and Christians, a brotherly relationship? ( …) I was enlightened by many divine truths that fill your Jewish tradition and which we share. Truths that can become the bonding agent between our and your spiritual life. (…) I dreamt in this way to be able to live together these truths and to give a new hope to the world with our deep communion, with our collaboration”. Taken from “The menorah lights – with Chiara Lubich in Argentina and Brazil”, Città Nuova Ed., Roma, 1998, pp. 132,34.

Priests spend 4 months in Loppiano

8 Jun 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

After a pastoral experience as an assistant parish priest that lasted for eleven years, my bishop, before entrusting me with the parish, gave me the opportunity to spend four months in the little town of Loppiano, at the Formation Centre for us diocesan priests. Here I found myself with around twenty priests and seminarians coming from various parts of the world to live an evangelical experience of communion, based on the spirituality of unity. In the beginning, it was not easy among us priests to communicate due to the language barrier. For example, when Yvon from Madagascar arrived, he only spoke French. In order to communicate with him, I had to translate from Italian to English, and then Peter from the US translated from English to French. It was rather laborious, but we did it in a brothers spirit and we understood each other very well. At this school of life, everything is done in harmony: praying, meditating, enriching lessons of theological, biblical, and pastoral care insights in various fields; but also work in the garden, in the kitchen, mopping the floors, translating into various languages, teaching the Italian language, playing football … This opening up to activities other than those typical to priests, and even doing many jobs involving manual labour, as Jesus had done for thirty years in Nazareth, makes this course a true integral school. For example, serving in the canteen on Sundays, together with the religious and the laity who also live this experience, welcoming the numerous visitors to Loppiano with a good lunch, setting the tables and then washing the pots, dishes, etc… a great number of things that one is able to do only together with the others, and with gusto. It’s only a detail of the activities that take place out here, but for me it was all new and it was a beautiful teaching. The fact of working in the carpentry section from Mondays to Fridays, made me appreciate Saturdays and Sundays in a different way, as my people did in the parish. To work in the handicrafts section (painting, smoothing, wood processing), it was necessary to learn to use well one’s senses of sight, hearing and touch; and to proportion muscular strength, otherwise you risk ruining the pieces or the machinery. Handicrafts is a school of attention and delicacy, fundamental characteristics in life, especially in that of a priest. Even daily Mass acquired a different flavour altogether. For example, to offer one’s work at the time of the Offertory is much more concrete when your back hurts from spending the morning bending to hoe the ground or to sandpaper a piece of wood… Besides, dealing with the house work all together has helped me to overcome doing things half-heartedly. There were certain things that I had always done but discussing it with the others and asking their opinions helped me discover that there was a better way to do them. It means that it is not just enough to do good, you need to do it well! I feel very enriched by these few months lived in an “integral school” of life. The manual work made me understand more the life of my people, and what it means to witness one’s faith at the workplace. And I rediscovered the royal priesthood of every Christian that must lie at the basis of my ministerial priesthood. (Article taken from Gen’s – the magazine of ecclesial life)