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May 15, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is a megalopolis with more than 11,000,000 inhabitants. It has been a city of enormous social upheaval, which for years has been fighting for fair and equitable democracy, following decades of dictatorship that has only increased the gap between rich and poor. Parishes are often involved in various social projects in favor of the disadvantaged. They also feel the need of training in civic involvement for people who wish to see the country reconstructed in a way that will make it more equal. The Parish Movement – whose members are animated by the spirituality of the Focolare as they serve in parishes – has been running such a social training program for some time through the pro-motion of solidarity projects, food and housing programs, as well as civic and political training programs that are open to everyone. On the occasion of the election of the Mayor and deputy mayor of Manila, St. Roque’s Parish de-cided to hold an educational training forum on citizenship, politics and democratic participation. 
The forum was held on April 12, 2013 and was designed together with the Vicariate. It involved 48 parishes of the diocese of Manila as well as the Minister of Public Affairs. Preparations began in the interest groups last February. There they were able to draw up a program, invitations and presentations. Two thousand people took part in the forum of which 1400 came from different parishes. And there was also the participation of non-governmental organizations like the Transportation Association, the Sellers Federation, government deputies, ecumenical leaders, teacher groups and members of the business community. The candidates for mayor, deputy mayor and councilors presented their plans for the city of Manila over the next 3 years. This was followed by questions and answers in an atmosphere of re-spect and trust. The style of attacking one’s opponent as an election campaign strategy gave way to an experience of brotherhood from which the many different political affiliations came out satisfied. One of organizer commented: “I was afraid it might be beyond our strength, but it turned out a success.” Among the final impressions one person remarked: “I understood the candidates’ plans and the values that inspire them. Thank you for what you’ve done here.”
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May 14, 2013 | Chiara Lubich, Chiesa, Focolare Worldwide, Focolari nel Mondo, Spiritualità
http://vimeo.com/66238590 http://vimeo.com/66238590 ©Centro S. Chiara Audiovisivi Soc. Coop. a.r.l. All rights reserved
The wide embrace of Bernini’s colonnade is not able to contain the crowd of people who belong to as many as 56 new communities and ecclesial movements; a tiny representation of the approximately 80,000,000 Catholics, for the most part lay people, who make up this immense people. It’s the first time that they are meeting all together with the Pope. An enormous multicolored garden: this is the way someone described St. Peter’s Square on that sunny afternoon of May 30. The presence of members of the various movements, who with their specific charisms contribute towards making the Church beautiful, alive, and credible, constituted a surprising and remarkable display of unity in diversity. A reality witnessed to by founders of four of the most widespread movements: Chiara Lubich, Kiko Arguello, Jean Vanier, Luigi Giussani. Their charisms draw life from the same Spirit; it is a unity in diversity, demonstrating Christian life as a reflection of the Trinitarian mystery. « …numerous charisms are always born in the most important moments of the life of the Church. I’m thinking of the Council of Trent. … Today then, I would say that the Holy Spirit …, blowing in the same direction, puts the accent on different notes, because the life of the Church is like a symphony, a great concert; many instruments are needed, the greatest number of voices are needed». (Msgr. Piero Coda) 
Therefore, a wide variety of charisms are at the basis of the many new ecclesial movements, supported and encouraged by the Pope as the providential answer of the Holy Spirit to the challenges at the end of this millennium. In his address Pope John Paul II does not hesitate to affirm that what happened in the Upper Room in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, is being renewed this evening in St. Peter’s Square. «With the Second Vatican Council, the Comforter recently gave the Church … a renewed Pentecost, instilling a new and unforeseen dynamism. … You, present here, are the tangible proof of this “outpouring” of the Spirit». (Pope John Paul II) In speaking of the journey taken so far by the movements, Pope John Paul II sees them now on their way toward a new stage of ecclesial maturity in which their strong common announcement is a valid alternative to the secularized culture which encourages and promotes models of life without God. «It constitutes a precious capital for the entire mission of the Church. Its founder did not say in vain that the witness of unity is “so that the world may believe.” The missionary fecundity of the movements will be potentiated if this witness of unity in diversity shines forth so that the world may believe».(Gusmán Carriquiri) 
A witness of unity among all the movements in view of the new evangelization: Chiara expressed this need to the Pope.
«
We know that the Church, and you too, desire full communion, unity among the Movements, and this has already begun. We want to assure you, Your Holiness, that, because our specific charism is unity, we will make every effort to contribute, with all our strength, towards fully accomplishing it». (
Chiara Lubich) This commitment assumed by Chiara corresponds to the aspirations of all the leaders of other movements.
«It’s important that we create among ourselves opportunities for dialogue, as we do with people of other Christian confessions or with people of other religions. We all belong to something much greater than the individual movements. Each one must simply find his place and know how to stay with the others». (Jean Vanier) «If each one of us understands that from the contribution of each one, a contribution that springs also, I hope, I think, from a journey that we are taking towards precise goals, like many rivers which then flow together into a sea, we will surely be able to permeate many more areas of culture, many more areas of science, many more areas of human promotion which we have too often delegated to those who might not have convincing proposals to offer people … and to bring them to Christ Jesus». (Salvatore Martinez) «… the Movements must grow in friendship. They should get to know one another, have esteem and love for one another. Of course, all this cannot be accomplished… with politics, through agreements …. My hope is that the understanding among Movements will grow, and it will grow in the measure that the various charisms become increasingly more involved in evangelization. Because it’s not a question of coordination, but of a spirit, of a spirit that must mature, that must penetrate, of a spirit that is grafted onto different stories, persons and Movements.» (Andrea Riccardi) This really seems to be the best attitude for responding to the expectations of the Church and for effectively adhering to the Pope’s invitation at the conclusion of the historical meeting of May 30. « Today, from this Square, Christ says to each of you: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation” (Mk. 16:15). He is counting on each and every one of you!» ( Pope John Paul II) Excerpt from the documentary “ON THE WINGS OF THE SPIRIT. Ecclesial Movements: Springtime of the Church” produced on the occasion of Pentecost 1998 ©Centro S. Chiara Audiovisivi Soc. Coop. a.r.l.. All rights reserved. (more…)
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May 13, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
Klaus Hemmerle, once the bishop of Aquisgrana, was a brilliant theologian and philosopher who left a mark because of his notable contribution and deeper doctrinal understanding of the charism of unity, as well as its spreading among bishops. The visit by Focolare president Maria Voce to Aachen, Germany, on May 11th,,2013, was to pay homage to Bishop Hemmerle and the influence he had on the theology and life of the Church and of society: “Chiara Lubich inspired him and she allowed herself to be inspired by him,” Maria Voce affirmed as she described the relationship between the German theologian and the Focolare Movement. Chiara Lubich considered him to be one of the co-founders of the Movement.
Maria Voce had been invited to visit the current bishop of Aachen in the morning, Bishop Heinrich Mussinghoff. They then travelled together to the Cathedral where they paid a visit to Hemmerle’s tomb. In the afternoon a small group of members of the Central German Catholic Committee, who were Hemmerle’s collaborators, met in what had once been his home.
Among these were Matthias Sellmann, professor of Pastoral Theology at Bochum, and Claudia Lucking-Michael, vice president of the Central Committee and General Secretariat of the Opera di Cusanus – an association that awards scholarships to students of merit. They presented two brief talks on the figure of Bishop Hemmerle. The second part of the program included testimonies by people who knew the bishop personally.
“His theological thought and his influence on our work in the committee of German Laity have produced much fruit that has reached far beyond his earthly life,” declared Claudia Lucking-Michel who met Hemmerle only once, but had studied his thought and was deeply influenced by it. She described him as a bridge-builder at so many levels, someone who had motivated her to reflect on the meaning of life and of death.
A great master at teaching a Christianity that was convincing is the way Matthias Sellmann described Hermmerle in his presentation, underscoring Hemmerle’s plural thinking. According to Sellman he was one of those avant-garde thinkers: “He always placed himself in the position of a learner and was convinced that theology always had more than one source. Hemmerle was able to explain the Trinity to you in a way that made you want to live it!” He was a great sage – Sellmann went on – who was able to explain great theorems in a way that was simple.
“We are thankful for having had him among us. And we’ll manage to understand the scope of his theology perhaps only in the future,” affirmed the current bishop of Aquisgrana Heinrich Mussinghoff. He continued: “We can learn from him how to think in a new way about the faith, how to live and tell it in a new way.”
During a discussion among the participants some interesting ideas highlighted what could be done to help secure that the heredity of Hemmerle would continue to bear fruit in the future: a study of the language that is “both unique and easy to understand” was suggested by Prof. Michael Albus who did his doctorate with Klaus Hemmerle; promoting an award among researchers who study the grand themes of Hemmerle’s work; Claudia Lucking-Michel suggested launching an exchange program for collaborators and leaders in ecclesial environments.
Overall, what emerged was the significance of the figure of Bishop Hemmerle for both theology and the life of the Church not only in the Germany of his time, but for ecclesiastical perspectives of today and the future.
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May 12, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
“As many of you know, our here, especially in Jerusalem, we live separately. The Arabs do not have an occasion to meet the Israelis, and vice versa. We don’t have any real interaction in our daily lives.” This was voiced by Laura, a young Christian who lives in Jerusalem and studies at a Jewish university. Her words give prominence to the event held at the Kehillat Yedidya synagogue on the 30th April. The symposium entitled “Discovering the other’s humanity” was attended by youth from the 3 monotheistic religions. A good part of them belonged to the Youth for a United World, who were participating in the concluding event, “Be the Bridge”, of the Genfest. The others were their fellow youth who live in the Holy Land. Lara continues her narration speaking of “an idea conceived by two young and ambitious women who wanted to better their lives and to give the youth a chance to meet up with each other, breaking away from stereotypes.” It was a challenge undertaken 6 years ago and still continues today. Every year the group is comprised of around twenty odd youth from the three religions: Jews, Christians, and Muslims, aged between 16-18 years.
As a youth, Lara participated in the first project as “an enthusiastic young girl who sees the bright side of the situation and dreams of an approaching united world”. The meetings are held twice a month: “We discover and explore the similarities and the differences among us”. The meetings deal with various topics in order to know one another: the family, values and upbringing in the different religions, etc …
It’s an important project, but the question that remains is: after these meetings, will we continue to see each other. The experience continues and the project has also helped in understanding the other’s point of view. Lara explains further: “In times of conflict and difficulties, we meet up, share our sufferings, and pray. It seems like a dream that’s distant from reality, but it’s a truth that we live together.” Lara is one among 4 youth who shared their testimonies, dreams and hopes: with her there’s also Hani, a Palestine Muslim, who’s studying law; Huda, a Jew born in New York but who moved to Jerusalem while he was little; Nalik, a Christian from Portugal.
The nuncio, Mons Lazzarotto, in his address to the youth, invited them to “be prophets” to “make this land once more the land of dreamers”. Prof. Alberto Lo Presti expressed this appeal as a ‘Social principle”, that of fraternity, which contains within itself “the power to transform our history”. In answer to this, rabbi Raymond Apple (ICCI) underlined the need to learn to trust in each other: “the road to fraternity is to be able to say: I trust you”. Rabbi Kronish, Director of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI), who moderated the event, concluded by encouraging the participating youth to continue to bring this message of hope to all.
We leave Jerusalem with the desire to look up and grow in mutual trust, in order to change history.
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May 11, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
I The Youth for a United World share some of the many signs of universal brotherhood that are taking place in many parts of the world.
New Zealand. “We do a different social project every month. There are many beautiful beaches in our country that are open to all: families, youths, runners and children. Even though the natural environment is generally taken into account and respected, the beach isn’t always clean. We contacted Wellington’s City Council which welcomed our project, supplying us with the tools that would be helpful for the clean-up. A group of youths from Youth for a United World met one afternoon, with rubbish bags and gloves. We chose one of the most crowded beaches. In addition to performing a service for the city, we also built friendships with many young people who got involved in the project.”
France. Following the Tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, we organized an evening of solidarity. During the evening we presented the United World Project and there was an internet link-up with a group of Japanese Youth for a United World. They shared how they had lived through the disaster, trying to help the people around them. We got to know more about the community of the Movement in Japan and their daily life. Some of our friends who were present that night were discovering for the first time the importance of solidarity and the joy that comes from being involved in a project that is geared towards universal brotherhood. The money we raised was sent to Japan to assist the local community.”
Italy. “My mother who is 94 years old, was rushed to the emergency clinic at 11:00 at night. My sister and I were worried and displeased when they asked us to leave the room, and our mother was left alone. A boy was seated beside us who looked like he wanted to talk. We asked him why he was there. His mother had perhaps suffered a heart attack, he told us. When we were allowed to visit our mother we found that she was in the same room as the boy’s mother. Thus we were able to bring the news to him and the husband who was seated in front of us. Then the boy went into the room and, in turn, brought us some news about our mother. The father – who was sitting there silently – began to speak with us of his work and the problems he was facing. Two hours later both our Moms were released. As we said goodbye to each other, the boy said: ‘It was a pleasure talking with you! I hope we can meet again!’ Our own anxiety had disappeared. Our personal pain and worry and we experienced that these can be overcome by loving the people around us.”
Ivory Coast. “The young mothers with children were not able to concentrate to focus on their work in the fields. So they decided to help each other by taking turns watching over the children. Before going to the fields, they now drop off their children with two of the other mothers who stay in their homes that day. They prepare the meals and stay with the children for the entire time. And a great trust has been born among this group of mothers.”
United World Project ¦ Facebook
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May 10, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
An opportunity for experiencing in order to then live and teach in seminaries, a Gospel lifestyle that is centred on communion: this was at the basis of the course for educators, which was held in the capital of Thailand on April 15-May 5.
The small handful of European priests who travelled from Rome found themselves before a young and living Church that is open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Seminaries are still full as they had once been on the old continent, even though the society and the economy are experiencing evolutions.
The 60 priests who attended the course were from several Asian regions: Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, East Timor and Thailand. They brought with them their own cultural diversity, but the challenge of seeing these not as an obstacle but as an opportunity for getting to one another was joyfully accepted by everyone.
Work was preceded by the celebration of the Eucharist, presided over by Francesco Kovithavanij, Archbishop of Bangkok and in charge of seminaries and the formation of the clergy at the local Bishops Conference.
As the days went on and the lessons continued, many noted the testimony of unity by the people who were the animators of the course and were personally committed to living what they were teaching.
Fr Silvestre Marques, the course director, noted: “the growing communion among all, communion of experiences, difficulties and many questions in a very open atmosphere.” For Brendan Purcell, from the diocese of Sydney, Australia, one fruit of this atmosphere was the deep sharing: “Especially by priests from Myanmar and Vietnam, who told of how their human and priestly life had been marked by tragic experiences – executions and the violent deaths of parents – that occurred when the priests were very young.”
The second part of the course focused on how to practice the spirituality of unity in the various areas of formation, through a dynamic workshop of experiences that identified the most urgent challenges, and concluded with a commitment to put it into practice in each one’s seminary. “This is a living course” one priest said, “in the sense that we are learning during these days to put into practice the life of communion, for the benefit of each one of us but also for the benefit of the local Church that we represent.”
After three weeks of living together in such a concrete experience of communion, each and every one of them testified to the “family” that they had become and the desire of continuing to carry on with the challenge and the adventure. Formation means preparing new priests whether in Asia or in any other part of the world.
