May 26, 2020 | Non categorizzato
The experience of a community in Bangalore, India, during the covid-19 lockdown. What do you do when you suddenly find that everything is closed for three weeks and you don’t know what the near future will be like? What do you do when the work that has kept you going up until now ends and you don’t know if it will start again? I think this is an experience that is not limited to India at the moment but is being lived by many people in different countries all over the world. The Italians, unfortunately, were the first to experience this sense of bewilderment and now here in India we are in the same situation. However, here, as you may have seen on the news, there are 450 million people who work as day labourers, without any security, and most of them without any savings. Therefore, not being able to go to work means eating less every day and trying to survive. 
The Focolare community in Bangalore asked themselves how they could help people in need and how they could involve others people who were at home during lockdown. It all started with a WhatsApp message that someone in the community sent to Kiran who is a seminarian and lives in a village we visited a while ago. “Are there families in need in your village?” we asked. The village, which is in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, has a population of about 4560 families of which about 450 are Catholic. That same evening, Kiran (which means “ray” in the local language) had been out walking and visited various families who had confided in him and spoken about their fears for the future. They were already eating kanji (boiled rice with lots of water: you eat green chili pepper with it to give it some taste) and did not know what they would do during the 21 days of lockdown. It’s not normal for adults to talk to a young person about their problems and so Kiran had come home feeling worried. When he looked at his phone and saw the message, he realized that God was giving him a solution for those families who needed help. And so, we set to work. Kiran knew how many families were in trouble. We prepared a message to send to all the people we know, with details and information about where to send help. Our target was to help at least 25 families by providing a 25 kg bag of rice and a bag of vegetables – enough food for a family for about two weeks. This would cost about 1500 rupees, about 20 euros. The response was immediate. Many people participated – families and many young people. Some gave a thousand rupees, others three thousand, and others five thousand rupees. Within a few days we reached the target set. But the contributions continued and so we were able to help more than 30 families. There was an average of four people per household and so this support has reached at least 120 people. However, there are many other villages where people we know are in need and so we started to help in other places too. Now there are three villages that we are supporting. We always work in collaboration with local people who know the situation well and know how to help in the most appropriate way. Chiara Lubich taught us to love people one by one and it seems we are doing just this: we are trying to love one village at a time, but without stopping! What we are doing is very small – it’s only a drop in the ocean – but many people have become involved. Here in the diocese of Bangalore, the Archbishop has worked extremely hard to help workers blocked in the area due to the lockdown. We have also collaborated in this initiative. Now Bangalore is asking Mumbai, New Delhi and Goa to take up the challenge and do everything possible to help circulate whatever we have so that no one is in need. We are all realizing that, in the end, everything passes and all that remains is the love we share: this love fills our hearts.
The Focolare community Bangalore, India
May 25, 2020 | Non categorizzato
To cope with the pandemic, individuals and associations, health workers and scientific communities, governments and international organizations are responding in a variety of ways. Creativity and generosity, which are often heroic, are never lacking. To all these efforts should be added the decisive contribution that comes from prayer that is able to move mountains. […] Just as each child in this world trusts his or her own father, believes in him, relies completely on him, lets him take care of every worry and feels secure with him, even in difficult, painful or impossible circumstances, the very same thing is what a “child” of the Gospel does and should do with our heavenly Father. This childlike attitude is very important, always, because we are often overwhelmed by circumstances, by things that happen or trials that we cannot overcome only with our own strength, but which call for help from above. At this very time we are particularly aware of our need to have a great faith in the Father’s love and in his Providence. … We have been worried and we still are; and we have been wondering what we could do. … The first answer that took root in our hearts was to pray: to unite all together and pray so as to avert disaster. And everyone – to a greater or lesser extent – has surely begun to do this. … To pray. But we need to pray in a way that will obtain results. … In the first letter of St John we find a very beautiful and encouraging expression: “… If we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us (1 Jn 4:12). “His love is perfected in us.” But if His love is perfected in us, and as long as his love is perfected in us, we are perfect. Therefore, we have this perfection of love by living mutual love. In the last few days … we have introduced [into the Regulation of the focolarini] a norm which is basic and essential for them. It’s the duty … to make a pact with the other focolarini, to be ready to die for one another, as required by Jesus’ commandment. But this decision, this pact, is certainly not the monopoly of the focolarini who live in community. It is the law for all the members of our Movement. Living out this pact ensures that love in us is perfected and that we are perfect in love. Thus we are pleasing to God and in the best condition to obtain the graces we desire, even the ones needed to move mountains. I think that if we want to work effectively for a united world, then in the next few days we need to renew with one another and with all the people we meet who know our Movement, our readiness to give our lives. Of course, we must first prepare the ground and create the right atmosphere, so that we can courageously say to the other person: “With God’s grace, I want to be ready to die for you” and so that we can hear the other person say: “And I for you.” Then we must act accordingly, stoking up the fire of love with regard to every neighbour. … On this basis, we can pray being sure that our prayers will be answered.
Chiara Lubich
(From a telephone conference call, Mollens, Switzerland, 13th September 1990)
May 24, 2020 | Non categorizzato
A global campaign that involved thousands of faithful through interactive and educational seminars on the care of our common home. Launched by the Pope, it was organized by the Department for the Service of Integral Human Development with the support of a group of Catholic partners. From May 16th to 24th the Laudato Si’ Week was held under the title “Everything is connected”, a global campaign on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the care of the common house. The event engaged Catholic communities worldwide involving dioceses, parishes, movements and associations, schools and institutions to deepen their commitment to safeguarding Creation and promoting an integral ecology. Strongly desired by the Pope, it was organized by the Department for the Service of Integral Human Development with the support of various Catholic partners including the Global Catholic Climate Movement which includes more than 900 Catholic organizations worldwide among which the Focolare Movement. During the Week there were various online initiatives following the indications of Laudato Si. In fact due to the Covid-19 emergency, the event took place entirely online through interactive and formative seminars. On Sunday, May 24th the event concluded with a world day of prayer: at 12 noon (local time in each time zone), everyone was invited to pray for the Earth with this prayer. In March the Pope sent a video message in which he encouraged the faithful to participate in protecting our common home. Together, through action and faith, we can solve the ecological crisis. “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who will come after us, to the children who are growing up? – says the Pope – I renew my urgent appeal to respond to the ecological crisis. The cry of the earth and the cry of the poor can no longer wait. Let us take care of creation, a gift from our good Creator God “. In these 5 years, the Pope’s encyclical has stirred the consciences of many citizens. People have formed communities with the aim of doing something for the environment, driven by the Pope’s words on a more attentive ecological vision of our Common Home. Yet after five years these words resonate very topical in today’s world torn apart by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Vatican Department for the Service of Integral Human Development also stresses how the teachings of the Encyclical are particularly relevant in the current context of Covid-19 that has brought life to a standstill in many parts of the world. “The pandemic has struck everywhere and teaches us how only with the commitment of all can we rise up and defeat even the virus of social selfishness with the antibodies of justice, charity and solidarity. To be builders of a more just and sustainable world, of an integral human development that leaves no one behind”- underlines Don Francesco Soddu, director of Caritas Italiana – During this week we have not only talked about ecology. The organizers asked themselves: what role does the economy play in terms of safeguarding Creation? In fact, on Thursday May 21st an online meeting was held with the English economist Kate Raworth, from Oxford University and Cambridge University, one of the most influential economists internationally. This meeting was also part of the preparation and formation process for “The Economy of Francesco”, the event wanted by the Pope to be held in November in Assisi for which 3000 young entrepreneurs from all over the world have already registered. On the subject of safeguarding Creation, ” the economy is responsible for at least 50% if we consider each individual’s economy, the economy of enterprises and the economy of States and the effects that all this has on the pollution of the Planet . Then there is politics, our lifestyles, etc…. (…) If we also look at what has contributed to the the failures of these decades , global warming, for example, we realize that in short, the capitalist economy really has a great responsibility. So if we want to make a change we have to change the economy”- says the economist Luigino Bruni – Therefore, to live Laudato Si means to show our sensitivity to the theme of safeguarding Creation but it also means we make life choices in the economic sphere. We can contribute to a profound economic and ecological conversion through practical experiences. We also need to understand what political change we need to promote in order to truly listen to the cry of the earth and of the poor.
Lorenzo Russo
May 23, 2020 | Non categorizzato
The testimonies that Card. Désiré Tsarahazana, President of the Madagascar Episcopal Conference and Mgr. Christoph Hegge, Auxiliary Bishop of Munster ( Germany) shared during the internatiional meeting that brought together 7 cardinals and 137 bishops, friends of the Focolare Movement. The meeting was held last February in Trent and at the international small town of Loppiano. https://vimeo.com/415940273
May 20, 2020 | Non categorizzato
When we live the Word we are bound to go out of ourselves and meet our brothers and sisters with love. We start with the ones closest to us: in our cities, our families, wherever we are in everyday life. This friendship becomes a network of positive relationships, that aims at living the commandment of mutual love, which builds fraternity. Finding the right words My two children, seven and five years old respectively, were out playing without any thought of danger. I was not quick enough to reach them, when a grenade exploded and both were bleeding. We picked them up and ran off to hospital. I felt a great turmoil inside me: dismay, fear, pain ….. but I had to take care of the children and instil peace in their hearts. My son had splinters in his head and he had to be operated on immediately; my daughter was not in such a bad state. At night, I watched over their bedside. Every now and then they complained and had nightmares: “Why did they do this to us?” I looked for the right words to explain to them that the one who threw the grenade was someone who had suffered a lot, who might have no parents, and who just wanted to destroy the weapons on our side… When the children dozed off, I began to pray. I entrusted them to God while I prayed that they would be free from any hatred in their hearts. Decades passed since that painful episode, and today my son considers it as an incentive to contribute towards world peace. (R. S. – Lebanon) Change of apartment When we asked the owner of the apartment where we were staying for permission to make some renovations at our expense, she said nothing about her intention of selling the flat. Of course, when we finished the work and came to know about her decision, we felt bad and betrayed. Moreover, the new owner asked for a much higher rent. So, from one day to the next, we found ourselves on the street. But we trusted in providence; we were certain that God would not abandon us. In fact, shortly afterwards, we were offered a possibility that fitted our family needs even better. But the most important thing was to have no hard feelings and maintain a good relationship with the former landlady. We could feel that she was sorry about what happened, even though she did not express it outrightly. We were friends again and forgot all about the past. (E.V. – Turkey) Disorder I am enrolled in the Faculty of Psychology and I live with other colleagues in the students’ quarters. When we do not go to the canteen, we share the use of a common kitchen. One of us, who is quite messy, never bothers to clean the kitchen after making use of it. This morning when I went to the kitchen to make myself a coffee, I found that there was a big mess. He had guests the night before and he did not bother to clear up. I wasn’t the only one to notice the disorder in our kitchen. Someone, who was furious about it, suggested that we should leave everything until our colleague realizes it and does something about it. However, shortly after when I went back to my room to study, I was not at peace with myself; the thought of the mess in the kitchen kept coming back to me… What should I do? Should I teach a lesson or do an act of love? I wasted no time, I went back to the kitchen and started clearing up: I washed glasses and dishes, I took the garbage out ….. When I returned to my room, it seemed that I could understand better what I was reading. Life with others is a form of education that completes the lessons I listen to at university. (G. T. – France)
Edited by Stefania Tanesini
(see Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, anno VI, n.3, April–May 2020)
May 18, 2020 | Non categorizzato
This reflection by Chiara Lubich reverses our usual way of interpreting the joyful or painful events that are woven together in the fabric of our life. She invites to see things in a completely different way, with new eyes, trusting in the fact that nothing escapes God’s love. This deep inner conviction fills us with hope and helps us be more courageous. … If we love God, our life and its many circumstances become a divine adventure in which we are astonished every moment by the newness it brings. This divine adventure is full of treasures to be discovered that enrich us all the time and are like little pieces added to the mosaic of our holiness. In fact, [Scripture] tells us. “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God” (Rom 8:28). All things… for those who love God. All things. Nothing — and we must believe this — happens by chance. No situation, whether joyful or indifferent or sorrowful; no meeting or situation, in the family, at work or at school; no state of physical or moral health, is without meaning. Instead, all things, events, situations, and people, are bearers of a message from God, which we should know how to read and accept with all our heart. All things work together for good for those who love God. God has his own design of love for each one of us. He loves us with a personal love, and—if we believe in this love and respond with our own love (that is the condition!) — He leads all things toward the fulfilment of his plan for us. It is enough to look at Jesus. We know how much he loved the Father. If we think of him even for a moment, we can see how he lived this Word to the full all his life. For Jesus, nothing happened by chance. Everything had a purpose. However, we see this Word personified in him in a unique way during the last days of his life; nothing in his passion and death happened by chance. For Jesus, even the extreme trial of feeling forsaken by the Father worked together for good, because by overcoming it he brought his Work to completion. His passion was caused unknowingly. Those who made him suffer and die did not know what they were doing. They didn’t know who it was they were torturing and crucifying; they did not know that they were conducting a sacrifice, the most perfect sacrifice that would bring about the salvation of humankind. Jesus suffered at the hands of people who did not have this end in mind. But since he loved the Father, he transformed all these things into means of redemption, seeing in those terrible moments the hour he had so long awaited and the fulfilment of his divine, earthly adventure. Jesus’ example enlightens our own life. We should understand that everything that comes to us, all that happens, all that is around us and all that causes us to suffer, is either the will of God who loves us, or has been allowed to happen by God, who loves us still. Then everything will take on new meaning, everything will have a purpose and it will all be extremely useful. Let’s take heart. We are still alive. We are still on the journey. Our life can still be transformed into a divine adventure. The plan of God for us can still be fulfilled. It’s enough to keep on loving and look out for his ever splendid will.
Chiara Lubich
(From a telephone conference call, Rocca di Papa, 2nd August 1984)
