Nov 30, 2020 | Non categorizzato
When Chiara Lubich spoke of suffering and pain, she did not limit herself to a philosophical, psychological or spiritual concept. She always looked towards the person she called the “spouse of her soul”, Jesus, at the moment when on the cross he experienced being forsaken by the Father and cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46). In her deep and mysterious relationship with Him she found the strength to accept every suffering and transform it into love. We would die if we did not look at you, who transformed, as if by magic, every bitterness into sweetness; at you, crying out on the cross, in the greatest suspense, in total inactivity, in a living death, when, sunk in the cold, you hurled your fire upon the earth, and reduced to infinite stillness, you cast your infinite life to us, who now live it in rapture. It is enough for us to see that we are like you, at least a little, and unite our suffering to yours and offer it to the Father. So that we might have Light, you ceased to see. So that we might have union, you experienced separation from the Father. So that we might possess wisdom, you became “ignorance.” So that we might be clothed with innocence, you made yourself “sin.” So that God might be in us, you felt him far from you.
Chiara Lubich
Essential Writings, New City Press, 2007 p. 9
Nov 28, 2020 | Non categorizzato
In two cities on the Syrian coast, a group of volunteers from the Focolare Movement is promoting a project that provides nutritious meals for elderly or disadvantaged people and families in need. 
“Working in a team made me feel that God is close to us; in addition, this collective commitment has made us one family.” This is what Hazem said about her experience of being involved in the “Lokmat Mahaba” project. In Arabic this means “a morsel of love”. The initiative, promoted by the Focolare Movement and supported with funds from AMU (Action for a United World) Syria Emergency provides support for families in need who are living in the cities of al-Kafroun and Mashta al-Helou, in north-west Syria. Christians of different denominations work together for this project. “Lokmat Mahaba” operates in a context marked by economic crisis, a very high level of tension and conflict, severe restrictions imposed by the EU and the United States, the depreciation of the Syrian lira and a decrease in life expectancy for the inhabitants in the area. Furthermore, the covid pandemic has exacerbated the already difficult situation. Nonetheless, the small group of volunteers offers help to about twenty families made up of displaced persons and residents who are facing many economic and health challenges. The volunteers offer their time and energy. Some even offer the fruits of their land. Others make a small but significant economic contribution. They are not the only people who sustain his project. People living in other nearby villages, university lecturers and people who give small donations all play their role. This means that it is possible to prepare and deliver one meal a week to each family. The volunteers take the food to the house just before lunchtime. Referring to these visits, Micheline said, “Those few minutes in which we stand with each family while they share the food help us to enter into their world. The prayers that we listen to and the relationships we are building are the real treasure of the project.” And what a joy it is to participate in the enthusiasm of the children – and of those who have not been children for a long time – who anxiously await that “morsel of love”: “Sharing everyday concerns and being with them as one” keep the enthusiasm and commitment alive in everyone. The volunteers have said that the strength to carry on this work comes from receiving the Eucharist and from sharing moments of prayer. One year after the start of the project, in September 2019, the group of volunteers and collaborators has grown and Father Gandhi Muhanna, pastor of the Maronite Church, has offered the use of the kitchen in his home for the preparation of meals. It is difficult to prepare healthy and nutritious meals, from good quality ingredients that are often difficult to find, while food prices continue to rise. However, none of the volunteers are backing down from this challenge: the aim is to develop the project, expand the network of co-workers, increase the quality and frequency of meals, but above all reach a growing number of families and people in need and to “use all means possible to share the gifts that each one has received from God.”
Claudia Di Lorenzi
If you want to make your contribution to help those suffering from the effects of the global Covid crisis, go to this link
Nov 26, 2020 | Non categorizzato
The Focolare Movement received the “I do my part” international award from the Kronos Academy for its commitment in favour of our planet through its ecological initiative by EcoOne. Pope Francis and Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian explorer and anthropologist are also among the winners of the 2020 edition. The latter received the award posthumously. 
An old African tale relates that during a forest fire a hummingbird, the smallest of birds, flew towards the fire while all other animals fled away from it. When the lion asked the hummingbird about its behaviour, the bird with a drop of water on its beak, replied: “I’m doing my part!”. The international award, assigned by the Kronos Academy takes its name from this story. It has now reached its fourth edition, and it is rewarded annually to people, entities and nations that “do their part” in favour of the environment and the earth’s climate. Among the eight winners of this edition, there is also EcoOne, the Focolare international initiative promoted by a network of lecturers, academics, researchers and professionals who perform in environmental sciences and strive to enrich their scientific knowledge through a profound humanistic reading of contemporary ecological problems (www.ecoone.org). 
Due to the pandemic, the award ceremony could not be held, as scheduled, at the Protomoteca Hall of the Campidoglio in Rome. The Focolare Movement received its reward on Thursday, 26 November 2020, at its international headquarters in Rocca di Papa, Rome from Vincenzo Avalle, member of the National Board of the Kronos Academy, who was accompanied by Armando Bruni, the Coordinator for the Academy in Central Italy and three environmental officers. Prof. Luca Fiorani, President of EcoOne received the award on behalf of the Focolare Movement. He was presented with a sculpture of a hummingbird, made of recycled metal by the artist Renato Mancini, and an award certificate. “This award is meant to stimulate, to motivate all those who are committed to protect the environment”, explained Vincenzo Avalle, while he continued: “I was struck by the complex Focolare activity in favour of the environment as expressed by EcoOne, supported by science and interaction with politics”. When Fioriani received the award, he said: “I can see a great synergy between the Kronos Academy and the Focolare/EcoOne, because we are complementary: Kronos originates from action, EcoOne from reflection. We need one another. The Focolare Movement can contribute to different areas of cultural depth, especially economy and politics, both decisive for the environment. We can also offer our international experience”. He added: “I see a possibility of collaboration, of very strong synergy. There are so many entities that work for the environment. I think it’s time that all these organizations pool their work together”. The Kronos Academy (www.accademiakronos.it) continues with the work and spirit of “Kronos 1991”, one of the first environmental organisations that was set up. With about 10,000 members in Italy and international offices and references, it is committed to protect the environment and quality of life. In collaboration with Scientific Institutes and Universities, Kronos offers a degree course for “Environmental Educator and Disseminator” and two masters degree courses in “Health and Environment”, and it supports a supervisory body for environmental prevention and information. But above all it invites people the world over to “do their part” to safeguard the environment.
Joachim Schwind
Nov 26, 2020 | Non categorizzato
At the school of Jesus, we can learn to be witnesses and instruments of the Father’s tender and creative love for each other. It is the birth of a new world, which heals human coexistence from the root and attracts God’s presence among men, an inexhaustible source of consolation to dry every tear. An unusual idea My husband and I were traveling on the highway when I noticed a couple in the car behind us. The man behind the wheel seemed very agitated, and his driving was dangerous. When we got to a toll booth, I had an idea: why not pay the toll for them too? While my husband was paying ours, I gave the clerk the amount for those behind us, with the following message: “Good day and happy vacation from the couple in the Massachusetts car”. And I explained to my husband, who didn’t understand, that perhaps this small gesture would have reminded the man that someone loved him. Who knows, it could give a different tone to their trip! Looking back, I saw that the tollbooth employee was talking to that couple, pointing in our direction. After a while, resuming the route, their car approached ours. The man was smiling, while she showed off a piece of paper with big letters: “Your kindness worked! Thank you, Massachusetts!” A., U.S.A. Peace in the family For years our relationship with our daughter Grazia and son-in-law has been painful. He became jealous of us to the point that Grazia could no longer visit us. For my part, I could not forgive her such passivity. Then there was a phone call with my son-in-law: an hour and a half of accusing each other. That night I was unable to sleep. I decided to write them both a letter, in which I apologized and assured them that they always had a place in our hearts. I did not expect anything from that letter, but he called me, evidently moved, and said that Grazia would come over the next day. Not long after there was a phone call from our son-in-law’s parents, whom we hadn’t heard from for years. They confirmed that the situation had completely changed: in fact they invited us to spend a few days with them. Never had there been so much affection shown to us, and we spent peaceful days together that we will not easily forget. Returning home, my husband and I thanked God, because with a simple letter he had given us the immense gift of peace in the family. R., Italy The missing amount It seemed to my wife and me that the time had come to buy a house. Having gone through our accounts, committed all our savings and the advance from a sale, we were still missing an amount to be able to make a 10-year mortgage. During that time, at work we made a big purchase. The supplier took me aside and informed me that when I wanted to, I would get “mine” if I stopped by. I understood what he meant by “mine”: a certain amount that I could pocket. In other words, if not a form of corruption, it was certainly unethical, which frequently happens in buying and selling. On the one hand, that amount would have been convenient, and the temptation to accept it was no small thing. But the freedom to be “pure of heart”, as the Gospel says, is priceless. The certainty that God will provide, as he has abundantly provided so far, made us reject the offer and, in addition, gave us the urge to donate our second car to a person who surely needs it more than we do. A., Italy
compiled by Stefania Tanesini
(from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, year VI, n.6, November–December 2020)
Nov 24, 2020 | Non categorizzato
On the 50th anniversary of Religions for Peace, we take a look at what progress has been made and visions for the future with Azza Karram, recently elected Secretary General. Azza Karram was elected Secretary General of Religions for Peace in August 2019. Born in Egypt, a Dutch citizen, professor of religious studies and diplomacy, former UN official, her soul has a universal dimension, and she now leads a movement made up of more than 900 religious leaders from 90 different countries, committed with her to making peace a place of encounter and a journey to be travelled together as a community. Religions for Peace held its first assembly in 1970 between 16 and 21 August. It was led by the great Japanese visionary Nikkyo Niwano, founder of the Rissho Kosei-kai. In the 1990s he also involved Chiara Lubich in this world assembly. He saw in her a unique spiritual and pragmatic consonance. This year Religions for Peace celebrates its 50th anniversary. We got in touch with Azza Karram in New York to ask her what progress has been made and to share her vision for the future. It’s been 50 years since Religions for Peace was founded, what do you see as the movement’s mission and what message is the movement giving today? After 50 years of life, we have seen how necessary it is for religions to work together, regardless of institutional, geographical or doctrinal differences. This is the message we give even if we have not yet realized it perfectly because we know that there is a process of continuous learning and the fatigue of working together. Covid has further emphasized the need to work together. Religious communities and NGOs inspired by religious values are already doing so because they were the first to respond to this humanitarian crisis. It is true that health institutions have also intervened but they would not have been able to do so properly without the religious institutions which have not only offered a medical, financial and psychological response to the crisis but have also been able to see the spiritual needs of a community and are responding fully on all fronts. And yet, how many of these religious institutions, while responding to the needs of the one same community, are working together? Very few and not for lack of exigencies, expertise or knowledge. Sometimes I suspect that we are really trying to save our institutions, and working together in this complex time requires even more effort and commitment because it is easier to be concerned about the sanctity and cohesion of our groups than be open to a universal commitment. Instead, Covid is forcing us to act differently. We wanted to launch a multi-religious humanitarian fund precisely to show that responding to a need together means having the intention and will to build a common future which does and will bring about abundant fruits: we know this from our history and we want to continue to show how fruitful inter-religious collaboration is. What challenges does Religions for Peace face? I think the challenges Religions for Peace faces are the same as those faced by all institutions, not just religious, but political, institutional, judicial and financial in terms of trust, efficiency, legitimacy and competences. In my opinion religious institutions have been suffering from these crises for a long time and will continue to suffer from them longer than civil institutions. Back again to the pandemic. Blocks and closures have created an institutional breakdown in our communities. We all understand what it is like not to be able to meet together anymore which is one of the basic and fundamental functions of our experiences. Instead, these functions are under threat for churches, temples, mosques and synagogues that used to welcome hundreds or thousands of people but are now restricted to 50 or a few dozen. Not being able to meet together in person has meant having to restructure our religious services which we have done but how much is this affecting religious practice? Not only the members of these communities but also those who lead them are having to redefine their role and how they carry it out in the world. So, if I am already struggling to survive as an institution, how can I work with others who are experiencing the same difficulties in other parts of the world? All of us are challenged to think differently – the United Nations, governments and we too as religions. And then the very existence of faiths is threatened in countries and societies where authoritarianism does not allow the practice of faith and where the regimes feel their intrinsic fragility to be threatened by the voices that speak out for human rights, justice and multilateralism. To respond to these challenges we need to work together more closely, we need financial resources and dare I say we also need greater political awareness of the social role that multi-religious collaborations play which should also be supported economically because they provide spaces of service, meeting and unique resources for the growth of a society. Instead, I see that faiths are often on the margins and if they do work together they are generally the last to be considered in governments’ plans. You cited collaboration as a fundamental pillar of inter-religious experience. We know that Religions for Peace has been collaborating with the Focolare movement for a long time. How do you see this work continuing and how can it be implemented? It has been a long-standing collaboration that began in 1982 and saw Chiara Lubich elected as one of the honorary presidents of Religions for Peace in 1994 and now Maria Voce has been one of our co-presidents since 2013. When I started my term of office, I promised myself that I would honor all those who have gone before me and who have allowed Religions for Peace to be what it is and so this also includes Chiara. I really need to find a space, also on our website, to talk about this friendship. The thing that strikes me most about our bond, both in the past and now, is that it has always been a vital, living collaboration formed by the people. The fact that someone from the Focolare is still responsible for communications at Religions for Peace is a fruit of this inheritance, and over the years, members of the focolare have served our movement in the most varied ways as has the Rissho Kosei-kai. These inter-religious collaborations where human resources are shared, images of the living divine that honor the sacred space of dialogue with their presence, are for me a sign of reciprocity towards God because through working together in inter-religious dialogue we are serving Him and showing everyone the beauty of having created us of so many religions. How do you see the future for Religions for Peace? I imagine it under the banner of multilateralism. Just as the United Nations is the multilateralism of governments, I see our movement as the multilateralism of religions. We are, after all, committed as human beings at a micro and macro level to preserving the diversity willed by the Creator and saving it for all, including the institutions. I imagine the benefits that institutions might derive from this vision and from our work, and if we work together we will all flourish. If political institutions are only interested in saving themselves and if religious bodies are only interested in saving themselves, this will not only lead to the destruction of our groups but of the whole planet. Instead, the Pope himself, first with the Laudate Si and now with his new encyclical, which was the result of a document he wrote with the highest Sunni leader, is calling us, is a call to all of us to safeguard the earth, but above all a call for the inclusive, human fraternity of all religions. We support this encyclical and this call to fraternity excludes no one, not even those without faith, and we will fight to really make it the patrimony of all religions.
Edited by Maddalena Maltese
Nov 23, 2020 | Non categorizzato
Suffering teaches wisdom. This is the belief expressed by Chiara Lubich in the following reflection. We should approach those who suffer not only with compassion, but with an attitude of reverence and listening. Why is that some people, although unlettered, even in religious fields, have become saints by reading only one book, that of the crucified Christ? It is because they did not stop at contemplating him, or at venerating him or at kissing his wounds, but they wanted to relive him in themselves. And those who suffer, and are in darkness, see farther than those who do not suffer, precisely because the sun must set before we can see the stars. Suffering teaches what you cannot learn by any other means. It teaches with the greatest authority. It is the teacher of wisdom, and blessed is the one who has found wisdom (see Proverbs 3:13). “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Mt 5:4). Blessed not only with the reward of heaven, but also with the contemplation of heavenly things while here on earth. We have to approach with reverence those who suffer, reverence like that once accorded the elderly when their wisdom was sought.
Chiara Lubich
Taken from “The sun must set” in Chiara Lubich: Essential Writings, New City Press, Hyde Park, New York 2007, p 92.
