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Jun 21, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
The Verona, Italian city, had been struck with bad weather, placing waterways in danger of overflowing and flooding. On May 17th while in the basement of his home, Giuseppe was swept away by a mass of mud and water that had built up in the Mezzane Stream, causing it to burst its banks. Along with local civil volunteers and law enforcement workers, many members of the Focolare Movement were also among the first to respond in saving Giuseppe and his wife, Maria Grazia. They had both belonged to the Movement for many years.
This immediate and spontaneous response, shoveling and clearing, was also an expression of gratitude towards Giuseppe, who had given himself out of love for his wife and two daughters, for other families, at work and in the parish.
“His was a life (. . .) given in love. We would like to live this moment in the company of God who is a Mystery of Trinitarian Love. We would allow ourselves to be comforted by His Word of truth.” These words were spoken by Bishop of Verona, Giuseppe Zenti during the funeral Mass at the cathedral on May 21st.
On that day the entire region of Lavagno gathered around Giuseppe and his relatives. Bishop Zenti purposely returned from Rome where he had been working for the Bishops Conference, in order to preside at the Mass that was concelebrated by 14 priests, in the presence of the Prefect of Verona, the President of the Province, the Mayor and numerous representatives from Law Enforcement.
Giuseppe was a generous man, full of love,” Bishop Zenti said in his homily, “his family can testify to this, the parish where he helped out especially as a catechist with his wife and in civil society as well. All of you who have come here in such great number can testify to this. The inspiration behind his life given in love was the Focolare family to which he belonged, whose charism is precisely the concrete actualization, in the ordinariness of life, the Lord’s own command: ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ I’m here with you,” the bishop continued, I am also enveloped in the dark silence of the soul, like the one that enveloped Jesus on the Cross: The earth grew dark. . . My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Upon this silence let us allow the Word of God to resound, as a lamp that illuminates our steps before this great mystery for man, especially before the great mystery of death.”
In a letter read by the Prefect, President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano expressed his “nearness and affection to the Maschi family who have been hit with such a great loss. With them, also all the citizens of Lavagno who have suffered loss and damage because of the flood that struck the region.” The same sentiments were expressed in the telegram from the President of the Council of Italian Ministers, Enrico Letta.
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Jun 20, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
On the heels of Pope Francis’ continuing invitation to allow ourselves to be surprised by the love of God that is always new, thirty-two bishop friends of the Focolare from Korea, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Japan, Taiwan and Sri Lanka, gathered to meet in Seoul, Korea on May 22 – 25 in order to immerse themselves in a living experience of the “Church-communion.”
The nations of the Asian continent vary in language, ethnicity, religion and traditions, and the situations being lived by the Church also vary widely. The bishops saw in this variety of forms and situations an opportunity for mutual enrichment: “We gave much time for spiritual communion and getting to know each other,” they write. “It revealed a great wealth of life that is producing many concrete experiences that arise from living the Gospel in many different settings: seminaries, parishes, among the marginalized, the disabled and the poor. Love for Jesus in our brothers and sisters was the motivation that urged us to draw near to our neighbours, seeking to soothe their wounds.”
They also reflected on the New Evangelization. This asks us for a personal conversion and a new proclamation of God’s love to the Asian people through dialogue with the wide range of religious traditions. It also calls for radical openness to those who suffer.
The final Mass concluded with a solemn pact of mutual love and the commitment to love the other’s diocese as one’s own truly seemed to crown the sharing they had experienced. Many of the bishops promised to make better use of the rapid means of communication such as Skype and video-conferences.
Moderator of these gatherings of Bishop Friends of the Focolare, Archbishop of Bangkok, Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij, described how the experiences made in the daily conquests of life created brotherly relationships of deep communion among the participants, allowing them to experience the presence of the Risen Christ among all. This presence gave new joy and strength for taking up the ministry of service in each one’s diocese, with the love of pastors who are near to their flock, following the example shown to us by Pope Francis.
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Jun 18, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
Stefano Comazzi is responsible for the projects section of the Action for a United World. Recently he visited some of the main localities of Burundi that have been reached by the projects that are being brought ahead in the provinces of Ruyigi, Kayanza and Bujumburu. he was accompanied by the local counterpart of Action for a United Worldt, CASOBU. He recounts:
“In the rural areas of Bujumbura, in the Commune of Mutimbuzi, there is a camp for displaced people called ‘Maramvya’ where one of our projects is underway that provides assistance to families. The displaced families have been forced to move two times in the course of a month, settling first in an area on the outskirts of Bujumbura – a swamp – then on land near to the airport in the Commune of Butirere. The new settlement, however, is farther from the city and more difficult to reach.
For around four months families have been assigned lots upon which they can build their houses. I was able to see that some have already begun to put up a few simple little houses made of mud and straw. But many are lacking the necessary means and the land will be sold at a low price to speculators who are interested in building large Real Estate.
At the time of my arrival a session was being held beneath a large tent, the collection of personal information by a young woman from CASOBU so that families and children could be registered in the Commune and have access to health and educational services.
This registration process is rather complicated because the people passed under the administration of two previous communes. So each individual has to be checked again in order to see if they had been registered previously or not, and the eventual changes made to their documents. This is all done manually and is therefore very tedious and time-consuming.
The water situation, there is only one public distribution point, with only one fountain about half a kilometer from the settlement, I saw a small crowd of women and children there. From what they say, it seems that the queues begin early in the morning at around three o’clock and go on for many hours. We spoke with the mayor and learned that there is a study underway on a project for the entire north region of the city, with adequate pipe diameter and flow rate, and a tank for collecting water right next to the field. Nevertheless, while awaiting the project to be realized, CASOBU will examine other possible short-term solutions that will alleviate at least some of the difficulty of the local population to provide water for itself.
Source: Action for a United World online
Project overview
How to help: Burundi, Campo sfollati Maramvya
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Jun 15, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
One well-known rabbi who took part in the meeting promoted by the Focolare and held at the Mariapolis Centre in Castelgandolfo, Rome, explained that the history of mutual understanding between the two religions developed along three levels of interaction.
Level zero in which the members of both religions meet and come to know one another. Level one is a further step in which there is mutual respect and understanding. Fear of being interpolated by the “other” no longer exists.
Dialogue at the second level proposes that the persons involved are disposed that the other – Christian or Jew – has a genuine influence with their own religious convictions and is prepared to allow them* to be positively transformed.
This, of course, does not mean to question the religious identity of each person and even less “syncretism.” This proposal consists in allowing each party to use a spiritual language that allows everyone to come together.
“I must say that I have attended many such interreligious events over the years, but never have I taken part in one like this. It has been rare in my life to see together (as I have seen here) 4 rabbis from different currents of Judaism and a large group of lay experts discussing common themes of dialogue (30 from Argentina, USA, Italy and Uruguay), working with a totally unique methodology.
Usually each participant speaks of one’s own religion, comments on one’s own texts, and cites one’s own authors. Here the Christians commented on Hebrew texts and Hebrews commented on Christian texts. They did not draw on the wealth of ideas of philosophers or theologians who are famous in their fields, but they were rather examinations that focused on the impact these documents had produced on the readers themselves, a spiritual impact, in particular, and of deep substance.
The texts of Hebrew spirituality and texts of the spiritual patrimony that have been left to us by founder of the Focolare Movement, Chiara Lubich, were examined through a different lens than usual.
I use a metaphor from the world of cybernetics. It is now known that the web 2.0 will soon open new forms of communication through internet. Dialogue 2.0 is also a step forward. This will mean giving up the securities we’ve acquired until now in order to integrate the same elements as always, but in a new way. This will be more adapted to the building up of newer and deeper forms of interreligious encounter and, ultimately, a more fraternal society. We’ve experienced it during these days.
By Francisco Canzani
Jun 14, 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
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Jun 13, 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 4th 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 1st : “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.”
