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5 May 2011 | Focolare Worldwide
(from left) Anna Fratta and Barbara Schejbal with Pope John Paul II
Before his election to Pontificate, Karol Wojtyla only knew Chiara through her writings. As soon as he became Pope he wanted to meet her. I was visiting Rome in that period and I received a phone call from the Pope’s secretary Stanislaw Dziwisc who I knew very well. He told me that the Holy Father wanted to invite Chiara and I to his mass the next day at 7. Chiara, Eli Folonari and I left very early in the morning. As you can imagine we were very excited. When we arrived we saw that the platforms for the Conclave were still in place and so we had to take a longer path to get to the Pope’s apartment. That mass in the Pope’s private chapel is still vivid in my soul. There was such a special atmosphere of recollection, a presence of God. Along with the Pope, don Stanislaw and the three of us there were only 2 or 3 Polish sisters. 
After Mass the Holy Father greeted Chiara. I still remember with what high regard and great love he addressed her. He asked if he could have a map showing the different places where the Movement was present: “So that I can know where to lean on!” he said. It was the beginning of a special friendship, of an ever stronger unity between two people called on by God to do great works, two people to whom God gave two gifts for the Church and for all of humanity”. By Anna Fratta
3 May 2011 | Focolare Worldwide
It was half past ten when the escalator brought me down to the Central Subway Station. Despite the fact that rush hour was over the place was full. At the bottom of the stairs there was a man waving a piece of paper about. Everybody was in a rush, nobody took notice.
I stopped, beckoned him to follow me and we walked to the platform together. I discovered that we were headed in the same direction. He was with his wife, two daughters and a son. They weren’t used to moving walkways and his wife almost fell over. When I realised that only Sabri, their 10 year old son, spoke Swedish I decided to accompany them to their destination.
It wasn’t as easy as I thought: when we got off the subway at the terminus there were other pieces of paper. The first had had the name of the terminus; now he pulled out another piece of paper with the address of the Immigration Council, it was five stations earlier. We got back on the subway and when we arrived at the stop I asked if they could pay for a bus. Another piece of paper: a letter and an electronic bus ticket- no money. The letter showed that their aim was not to get to the immigration service but to a lawyer’s office in another part of the city.
I was already half an hour late for my meeting. I called the law firm and we decided together that it was best that the family take a taxi. They asked if I could loan them the money because the law firm would surely reimburse me. The taxi was too small to bring us all and so I said goodbye. Five grateful people greeted me.
I was pleasantly surprised by the positive reactions of my friends on telling them the story: “You even paid the taxi…” Of course it wasn’t easy for me to take the whole trip with them, I missed most of the lecture I was headed for and I’m not sure I’ll ever see the money again. But would I not have been happy to be helped in a similar situation? The joy that I felt afterwards and every time I speak about the experience is just an extra bonus.
Patrick – Sweden
Source: www.focolare.se
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20 Apr 2011 | Focolare Worldwide
Buenos Aires, 9 April 1998
Televised message by Chiara Lubich - Italian Soundtrack
Dearest people of Argentina,
Here is my wish for this splendid nation of Argentina.
I will not wish something of my own, but something which is in the air of current history.
As we know, beyond our way of seeing things there is another: the one of He who guides history, God.
Now and again He gives signs which indicate His will: the signs of the times. One of these for the present is unity.
Despite the wars which exist in the world, despite the disasters and the inequalities, many things tell us that the world is tending towards unity.
The States in the civil and political world say it, like the European, African, Asian or American countries, which are striving to unite even if in different ways and for different goals. International bodies and organizations, like the UN, say it. The religious world says it. This is the reason we speak of ecumenism and interreligious and intercultural dialogue.
It is also unity I wish for this nation. It already exists, but we can go in depth. How? With fraternal love among everyone, between families, generations, cities and provinces, respecting every identity, in order to transform this society into one big family.
If we do this, the Risen One, which Easter celebrates, will be in the midst of everyone, because He said so.
He will improve everything in every field of human endeavour. He will be Argentina’s fortune, the country’s big chance, its secure future.
Best wishes to all, great and small! My heartfelt greetings especially to those who may be suffering in any way.
Chiara Lubich
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17 Apr 2011 | Focolare Worldwide
It was a special Saturday for the large Focolare family in the Domincan Republic. Seven-hundred people met in the Church’s Casa San Paolo, a small country with a dozen provinces, two-hundred by three-hundred kilometers, but rich in local beauty and “campanalism” with both its positive and negative implications.
This was brought out during the meeting between Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti with 150 young people who are close to the Movement in the Domican Republic. Priscilla, for example, shared how she had moved from her province, Santiago Rodriguez, which is rural and famous for its large banana cultivations, nearer to the capital, in order to study psychology. The adjustment to the new environment, the people, and the way of living wasn’t easy. But being close to the youths of the Focolare helped her to insert herself into her new surroundings, and even to become a leader among her friends.
The young audience sat in silence. It seemed strange, given the exuberant vitality of Dominican youths, who are also capable of great depth and generosity. The questions showed their desire to be radical. And so Maria Voce insisted on speaking about “vocation” and aspiring for great things: «At your age there is a love for taking risks, the spirit of adventure, doing something different. It’s precisely at your age that you have the grace to do something crazy! You can have a lunacy for God, following his call, even if you aren’t sure of it. It’s worth it. » Giancarlo Faletti undscored how «It is in the nature of young people to search, in school they do research, they search for work, sport, love, involvement. It is in these things that each person’s potential is brought into evidence, and also the capacity to listen. Not only to listen to exterior voices, but above all, to the interior voice that asks me why I’m doing what I do. I can’t hide myself in front of so many things, in front of such a busy life: I must listen to the voice that asks me where my life is going. »
The influence of egotistical urges and a lack of clarity also emerged during this meeting, the noise of the city, of temptation and sin: «Our amplifier,» Maria Voce replied, «is the presence of Jesus in our midst, who makes his voice heard, and he makes it heard loudly, even more loudly than all the other noises.» Chiara Luce Badano, the young woman of the Movement who was recently beatified, is an example for their lives, who helps them to face their difficulities even when, what is accepted as normal becomes a cause of judgement against them because of their involvement in a Christian lifestyle that goes against the current. «Well, is it more important to be concerned that your companion is happy with you, or whether God is?» asked Maria Voce. Then «But these young people should be able to feel the joy that there is among you.» It’s not a matter of becoming isolated, but of advancing the beauty of life “with Jesus” in order to share with others the beauty of doing this “together”.
One young woman named Marguerita commented on what Maria Voce said: «When Maria voce spoke to us of Jesus who cried out his abandonment on the cross, I realized that it’s not only suffering, living it doesn’t doesn’t leave us with our suffering, but it brings us the joy of living with Him and for Him.» Pablo from Santo Domingo underscored that «the simple joy that I experienced today is like a virus that I have to spread to my friends.» «You’re generous, » Maria Voce concluded, «you’ve shown me that you are. And so you’re capable of great things. Let’s carry on without any fear to give even more. »
By Michele Zanzucchi
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16 Apr 2011 | Focolare Worldwide
We know that the Dominican Republic is the “Switzerland of the Caribbean”. The central districts of the capital, Santo Domingo, resemble Miami or Houston, but they remain unable to conceal the serious social inequalities that affect Dominican society as a whole. It is nothing like the plight of their Haitian neighbors who are struggling to survive, even though a million Haitians live in the Dominican Republic, doing the toughest jobs as construction workers, longshoremen, and banana plantation workers. And you cannot talk about “pockets” of poverty, because here there are entire neighborhoods where it is difficult to lead a decent life.
One such place is Herrera in the El Café area, where Maria Voce went to visit one of the social projects being developed by the Focolare Movement, a school named “Café con leche” – “Coffee with milk – which calls to mind the mulattoes – neither coffee nor milk – the majority of the population in the Dominican Republic. The school has over 500 students who attend morning and afternoon classes in a building that has gradually been growing larger and larger since 1990 when the project was begun.
Everything began with Marisol Jiménez. Seeing the state of extreme poverty in the district and the children in their state of semi-abandonment, she began by organizing a choir in the local parish. Then she organized a summer camp for children, which was repeated for two years and involved 500 children. It soon became clear to her that something had to be done to raise the educational level of the children, many of whom were unable to read or write. Gradually, she was able to engage her friends in the project until, in 1995, the school was opened with three teachers and around ten students.
In an atmosphere of joyful anticipation, with children sitting everywhere, and neighboring families coming to join in the festivities, Maria Voce was able to appreciate the progress that the project has shown, how it has gone ahead with the help of the “adoption at a distance” program of the New Families Movement and the generosity of the Igino Giordani-Foco Foundation, which is now directed by Margarita Rodriguez de Cano.
An incredible series of heroic acts, miracles, spiritual and material growth of the students, have permitted the school to equip hundreds of children to be earning members of the work force. The school is an example of a “holistic education” which is able to involve, support, and appreciate the family, offering hope for human development. The school is also supported by the wood crafts produced by the boys, the clothes and dresses produced by the girls, and other handcrafts that are sold locally and in the United States. The Domincan government and the President of the Republic himself have contributed to the project.
“Even if it all seems small,” said Maria Voce as she stood in the school’s courtyard, “you can feel that love has built something great here. And this remains; love always remains”.
By Michele Zanzucchi
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14 Apr 2011 | Focolare Worldwide
From the 1st- 3rd April the School for Oriental Religions (SOR) organised a course in the Focolare’s little-town called ‘Peace’ in Tagaytay (Philippines). There were 250 participants from all around Asia: Pakistan, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. The majority of those who took part were from various islands in the Philippines especially Manila and Cebu.
SOR was founded in 1982 by Chiara Lubich on her first trip to Asia when dialogue between members of the Focolare Movement and the mahayana Buddhists from the Rissho Kosei kai began. SOR runs biennial courses that aim at giving formation to Christians from around Asia for dialogue with members of the continent’s religious traditions. Both in 2009 and in this year’s course, opportunities for an exchange of experiences accompanied the formation.
Visiting SOR one can not help but think of the Ancient Greece’s ‘Agora’: a place to openly discus challenges and problems that arise in the various cultural contexts such as Pakistan. It also provides an occasion to share prophetic experiences such as the dialogue that takes place with the monastic Theravada Buddhism in Thailand. We can’t leave out the recent events in Japan: following the earthquake and nuclear crisis members of the Focolare and of the Rissho Kosei kai managed to face the tragedy together in a true spirit of friendship and reciprocal support thanks to the relationships already built. Dialogue at an academic and social level in India with various Gandhian organisations and academic institutes also shows great promise.
Despite many common spiritual characteristics that can be seen throughout Asia, each country and cultural area has its specific traditions. Differences can also be seen in the relationships between Christians and members of Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and cultures such as Confucianism and Taoism. The Focolare Movement experiences the challenges that the Catholic Church faces in these worlds at first hand.
During the presentations given by the working groups at SOR’s course, dialogue and evangelisation clearly emerged as two different aspects of the Church’s sole mission; a mission that must place personal and, above all, communitarian witness at top importance so as to guarantee a constructive and credible presence for announcing Jesus Christ. On the other hand Asian cultures often gather and intuit aspects of faith that Western Christianity have not yet valued nor deeply understood.
This year the School for Oriental Religions focused on the aspect of love in the different cultural and faith traditions. The presence of Archbishop Mons. Francis Xavier Kriegesak, the school’s dean was much appreciated as well as the contributions given by the monk prof. Phramaha Sanga Chaiwong, abbot of an important temple near Chang Mai in the North of Thailand, and by Julkipli Wadi, a Muslim professor of Islamic Studies at the University of the Philippines.
Three days of dialogue and exchange that will produce “suitable antidotes for fundamentalism and intemperance”, not only in the long run but straight away.
Roberto Catalano
Source: Città Nuova
Before his election to Pontificate, Karol Wojtyla only knew Chiara through her writings. As soon as he became Pope he wanted to meet her. I was visiting Rome in that period and I received a phone call from the Pope’s secretary Stanislaw Dziwisc who I knew very well. He told me that the Holy Father wanted to invite Chiara and I to his mass the next day at 7. Chiara, Eli Folonari and I left very early in the morning. As you can imagine we were very excited. When we arrived we saw that the platforms for the Conclave were still in place and so we had to take a longer path to get to the Pope’s apartment. That mass in the Pope’s private chapel is still vivid in my soul. There was such a special atmosphere of recollection, a presence of God. Along with the Pope, don Stanislaw and the three of us there were only 2 or 3 Polish sisters. 
After Mass the Holy Father greeted Chiara. I still remember with what high regard and great love he addressed her. He asked if he could have a map showing the different places where the Movement was present: “So that I can know where to lean on!” he said. It was the beginning of a special friendship, of an ever stronger unity between two people called on by God to do great works, two people to whom God gave two gifts for the Church and for all of humanity”. By Anna Fratta
