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19 Feb 2012 | Focolare Worldwide
The encounter with Jesus changed our life.” “An encounter with God. I had never had an experience like this before.” “I want to live the art of loving with you. . .” These are some of the impressions that were gathered by youths and families before returning home after ten intense days in the Amazon. Amid local situations of suffering, living among the indigenous people who are scattered throughout this forest, many rediscovered hope for the future. We share some of the fruits of these six years of evangelization:
Amazon Project is the name that was given to this experience that is taking place in a region that covers more than fifty percent of Brazil and includes nine states: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins. In 2011 it was taking place for the sixth time.
Beginnings. There had been a progressive diminishing of faithful and a growth among the sects. This was also due to the scarcity of priests and the difficulty of reaching various centres of the region. The Amazon Project was meant to be an answer to the appeal that the bishops of Brazil made to various groups in the Catholic Church that they would each contribute according to their own charism to a vast and permanent action of evangelization.
Each year ten vacation days are dedicated to this project. Since 2005 people from various sectors of the Focolare Movement (focolarini, families, youths) have joined in. They come from several regions in Brazil and travel for as long as sixty hours in buses or five hours by plane, more than twenty-four hours by boat, all at their own expense.
“We went to give, but what we have received is much more.” This is the common expression. Through their efforts, some 26,000 people have been personally contacted during these years. This year there were 4,700 and half of them were youths, in three cities: Abaetetuba and Bragança (state of Pará) and Barreirinha (state of Amazonas ).
The Cube of Love is a most useful tool. The Cube of Love is a game invented by Chiara Lubich that is meant to help children in living the art of loving, the heart of the Gospel message. A cube was donated to some 1500 children. Fifty-four teachers and principals of five schools in Barreirinha took a course on using this pedagogical tool. One hundred and fifty families from two poor quarters and sixty couples also took part in the course. Very touching was the visit to a prison, where – during the dialogue with the prisoners – they were presented with the Art of Loving. Personal relationships are the first priority, which bring conversions to the Gospel. The appointment for 2012 is 14-22 July.
Link: http://projetoamazoniafocolare.blogspot.com
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16 Feb 2012 | Focolare Worldwide
‘The huge number of people who in every possible way have expressed how much they share our sorrow at the loss of our beloved Marisa makes it impossible for us to thank everyone personally. ‘We are now taking this opportunity to express our thanks and, in addition, our deep sense of gratitude for the warmth of feeling given to Marisa and to us.’ The Baù family
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15 Feb 2012 | Focolare Worldwide
The battle against poverty and the Economy of Comunionwas presented from several angles at The United Nations. The side event included international speakers that befitted the home of the UN, from: Burundi, Brazil, Philippines and US states such as Massachusetts, Indianapolis, and New York. Fifty people attended the presentation, including representatives from ONGs and UN delegates from several countries of Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and North Americ The event was promoted by the New Humanity, the non-governmental organization that represents the Focolare Movement, with general consultative status to the Economic and Social Council of the UN (ECOSOC) and the Permanente Observer Mission to the Holy See. In his introduction, the Apostolic Nunzio Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt underscored the importance of promoting an integral human development at all levels today.
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13 Feb 2012 | Focolare Worldwide
“My sister Maria Assunta was no longer there, swept away by sudden lukemia. I was taken by a sense of powerlessness. ‘What is the sense in living,’ I began to wonder, ‘if death can take away my dreams and achievements?’ Everything lost its meaning. I didn’t want to go on living. Those last moments spent together with Maria Assunta returned to mind. Her strength had abandoned her. Even raising her eyelids was an enormous effort that could have cost her her life. Nevertheless, as we took her home and were removing her from the ambulance on that stretcher, the voices of relatives and friends who had gathered to say their last goodbyes startled her. I saw her face suddenly change. Not only did she open her eyes, but she raised her head and smiled at each one of them. And she didn’t stop smiling until she had greeted each and every one. Then, as soon as the door of the house closed behind us, she allowed her head to fall back on the pillow. . . and went into coma. 
had she done it? As I reflected on the absurdity of it, I seemed to understand why. The love that spurned her on to be concerned for others and not for herself permitted her somehow to conquer death, and her eyes manifested this. They didn’t show fear of dying, but serenity that reached out to console those around her, as if to say: “Don’t worry. I’m happy.” A thought flashed through my mind: “Antò, you’re the one who’s dead. Assunta is alive!” And so I said: “Enough wasting time! Love is the only direction for my life.” I began with small things, loving the people who were near to me, in simple ways. But over time this little flame began to fade, because loving always was demanding and it didn’t always correspond to my way of doing things. On the contrary, at times I was met with derision. During that period, I had the opportunity to watch a video recording in which Chiara Lubich speaks of the suffering of Jesus on the cross when he cries: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” I felt as if I had been set free. In those few brief moments Chiara undid every knot inside me. Even though she didn’t even know me, there she was explaining life to me. She made me realize that no suffering should be despised, but loved becuase is it all contained in the suffering of Jesus. The word that can best describe the state of my soul when my sister died is “absurd.” It’s absurd to die at twenty! Yet, once I accepted this absurdity I found the sense in living again, and I understood, just as my sister had that you can win out over death. Antonio (Teramo, Italy)
