The youth of the Focolare Movement around the world have gathered in the Holy Land: “Be the Bridge” is this year’s slogan, with the confidence to begin building a united world. See video – Franciscan Media Center
In paragraph 87 of his Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa, John Paul II describes the process of inculturation as a “path to holiness” just as he had already done when he pointed the bishops of Kenya in this direction in 1980. In May 1992 Chiara Lubich began a Centre for Inculturation according to the spirituality of unity, in Nairobi, Kenya. There she intuited what “an overpowering weapon” was contained in “making himself one” of St. Paul (see 1Cor. 9:22). Chiara explained: “We can’t enter into the soul of a brother in order to comprehend and understand him. . . if our own spirit is filled with an apprehension, a judgement. (. . .) “Making yourself one means placing yourself in front of everyone in the position of a learner, because we really do have something to learn. It means cutting completely the roots of your own culture and entering into the culture of the other in order to understand it and letting it express itself, until you have finally understood it from within you. Then, once you’ve comprehended it, then, ye, you may begin a respectful dialogue with him and also pass on the evangelical message through the riches that he already possesses.” In sostanza, sintetizza Chiara nel 2000 visitando la cittadella di Fontem (Cameroon), “è l’amore che deve guidarci nell’inculturazione, così che agisca lo Spirito Santo”. Therefore, inculturation as Chiara understands it is an “exchange of gifts”: “Like this, the brother has first given to us; then we follow suit. . . and upon this ‘living’ something that is between us we, in act of pure service, can gently, with love and within the limits of discretion implant those aspects of the evangelical truth that we bring, and that bring fulfillment and completion to what our neighbor already believes, what he or she has been awaiting, coveting, longing for. And these aspects then draw along with them the entire truth.” Several editions of this course on inculturation have taken place over the past 21 years on a bi-annual basis. Each of them has focused on a single cultural or existential aspect of life: privat property and work; the concept of God; the human person and the community; reconciliation; suffering, illness and death; education; communications; the sacred in the traditional religiosity of Sub-Saharan Africa. This year (May 10-13) the focus will be on “the human person in African culture”. This topic will be examined from three perspectives: traditional African culture, Holy Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church in the light of the charism of unity. Source: excerpts from Chiara Lubich in the Presentation of the volume “Il senso del sacro nell’Africa subsahariana” Opus Mariae, Nairobi, Centre for Inculturation, 2012, pp.5-7.
“I’ve known the Focolare movement since childhood, but in the last two years I’ve had the occasion to rediscover my relationship with God through the experience of my parents’ separation. They were tough years in which I saw all my certainties crumble, and on various occasions I questioned my faith in God and His love for me.
Being the eldest girl, I found that the gravity of the situation weighed mostly on me. My parents spoke with me for hours over the telephone narrating their anger for each other. I felt really alone in that period, without any points of reference. I felt God distant from me: I only experienced His silence.
One day, when by then I had thought that the situation could not have worsened further, my mother called saying what her advocate has suggested: to get me and my sister to testify in court against my father, because she felt that it was the only way to quickly conclude the separation case.
My world fell apart! I felt torn within: in fact, my father had treated us badly and then unfortunately I had never been able to establish a strong relationship with him. Besides a few days earlier, he had done something really mean: it was my birthday and he called me not to wish me (he had forgotten about it) but to give vent to his feelings and complain as usual about my mother.
However, in that moment of great desperation, after months of ‘silence” I felt once again God’s voice clear and strong within me. It told me not be overwhelmed by anger and to think only of loving, always and in spite of everything, without expecting anything in return.
I took courage and told my mother that I wouldn’t testify against my father. She reacted badly by getting angry and accusing me of not wanting to help her. We didn’t speak again for many days, during which I suffered a lot, notwithstanding the conviction that my “no” to her was a “yes” to God.
Unexpectedly, from that moment onwards, things began to get better. Little by little all the various issues got resolved and above all my parents realised that they shouldn’t involve us children in their problems. When the crisis was over, my mother understood and accepted my decision, and our relationship was further strengthened. Things improved even with my father because he learned about my decision and was “struck by my courage”.
Now I experience within me a completely new strength, serenity, and faith, stemming from the certainty that I’m not alone, even in moments when I don’t feel His voice, He is always besides me. And if it’s true that God asks one to leave everything to follow Him, what he finally gives in return is much more valuable than anything that’s given up. It is truly the promised hundredfold!”.
(T. – Italy)
Berlin – Among the representatives from the various cultures and religions, there were the Apostolic Nunzio, Mons. Jean-Claude Périsset, the emeritus auxiliary bishop of Berlin, Wolfgang Wieder, the Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Clementina Shakembo Kamanga, and Sona Eypper, president of the International Convent of the Christian communities in Berlin. By means of video clips and some interviews on stage, the organisers of the evening gave a brief vision of the Focolare Movement’s commitment to dialogue on various fronts: between cultures and religions, in the fields of economics and politics, among generations. 
In her address, Maria Voce recalled some important challenges facing today’s society – in Europe and all over the world: material needs aggravated by the financial crisis, reservations in the face of increasing migration, social tensions provoked by cultural diversities and insufficient integration. “We have discovered dialogue as the highway which can be travelled with hope for success for all those who want to contribute to bring about universal brotherhood”, explained the president. “Dialogue is a style of life, a new culture, which the Movement can and wishes to offer to today’s men and women”. If every person allows himself or herself to be guided by the consciousness of being the child of the same Father, and as a consequence of being brothers and sisters among themselves, then there would be the chance to reach a true “dialogue among persons, and not between ideologies or systems of thought”, an exchange characterised by mercy, compassion and love. 
Maria Voce regards the media as the most suited means to promote this kind of dialogue, provided the contacts don’t remain “brief, fleeting, lacking sense, restricted exclusively to the virtual domain”. Instead it’s about “transforming contacts into relationships, i.e. building true networks of fraternity”. 
The speech was followed by a lively and profound dialogue with the audience: What does one do when the other person does not show any interest in building a fraternal relationship? Is it right to condemn social networks as superficial means within personal relationships? Maria Voce replied in a very practical way, giving examples from her own life and inviting all those present to always take the initiative. “For me Berlin is a city that displays the wounds of history. However, out here walls were broken down too. And you, citizens of Berlin, offer these wounds and invite others to share the fruits”. This echoes her first considerations on the German capital. “Maria Voce does not limit herself to theory alone” – affirms Nuncio Périsset, who had received the Focolare president that same morning. “She invites us to break down the walls, to build bridges, and to take the initiative. This is important even in my work as a diplomat. God redeems the world in us and through us. And I have witnessed and lived it this evening”. Andrea Fleming
“Sandro told me one of his experiences. He, his wife, a 14 year-old son, a 12 year-old daughter and their two year-old son went to the market for some groceries. One day they were selling artichokes for 3 Euros and everyone in the family agreed that they should buy some!!!
After buying all that they needed, the family met a poor woman on their way home. She spoke to the Dad: “Would you give some artichokes? I don’t have anything to eat.”
In agreement with the family, his wife Joy gave the woman 5 artichokes.
The daughter of Sandro spoke up to her father: ‘If this woman asks for artichokes from lots of people. . . maybe it wouldn’t be so fair. . .’ Her father responded: “We try to do good to others. Then she’ll have to answer to her own conscience for the way she acts.” With that they returned home happy with their purchases.
The next day while Sandro was in church making a little visit to Our Lady and asking for her help because he had to buy eyeglasses for his son and didn’t have any money, his telephone rang. It was a total surprise: an old acquaintance to whom he had lent some money many years earlier. The friend wanted to return the money to him now!
The amount was exactly the amount need for the eyeglasses. The Gospel says: “Give and it will be given to you.” But the One who exchanges the gift is truly a gentleman, the Lord.” (A.DN – Italy)
“This Word of Life is really true! The other day I was on my way to work. One of the employees asked me for a small amount of money, which I willingly gave. These days we’re working (I’m a teacher) even though the schools are closed. When I went to receive my salary, I was surprised to see that the administration had paid us an amount that we hadn’t expected. It was 5 time more than the amount I had lent to that other employee.” (K. – USA)
Nearly 500 people attended the event that was held at the Sheraton Hilton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. They came from North America, Santo Domingo, Australia and Europe. An additional thousand participants were linked up via internet.
Expo 2013 put on display the creative, industrious and courageous spirit of America, of both individuals and of communities who have put themselves on the line. It was a moment for knowing one other better and sharing in a common purpose. No speeches, reports or roundtable discussions were part of the plenary sessions; only a series of brief expriences as a way of introducing the eight workshops that took place on Saturday afternoon. Workshop topics included: music, work, art, faith, health, education, ecology, media and comunication.
“This is change that begins from the relations, from the relationships that are created among people that construct the social fabric,” declared Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of the city who stopped in to greet the assembly. “And this is the wish that I have for you from here on: that you will continue to build unity at all levels, even if it will be necessary to risk because this is what will most serve today’s society.”
This was the experience of Carol Spale who lives in Chicago. In a difficult family situation, she received free assistance from her neighbours, which provoked a chain reaction that today continues to involve her entire neighbourhood and city administration in an effort iin fovour of the needy in her city. This is also reciprocity.
Marisol Jimenez, who runs the Cafè con Leche School in Santo Domingo that not only provides education and daily meals for more than 500 children, also plays a fundamental role in re-establishing social harmony in the city’s poorest quarters.
The same is taking place in Canada and in the entire North America that came together in Chicago to see each other face to face, take stock of the situation and draw new courage to begin again in bringing ahead a variety of projects in many regions of the land.
