6 May 2020 | Non categorizzato
He was one of the first members of a religious order to adhere to the spirituality of the Focolare Movement. A contemplative in full action; a man of God immersed in humanity. What does “contemplation” mean and what is the point of contemplation today? And how does one contemplate in the 21st century? In times like these, closed in for Covid and pressed by concerns about the future, taking time to get in touch with the Absolute may not seem a priority. A few days ago, however, I had to think again: I encountered the extraordinary character of Father Ermanno Rossi, an Italian Dominican, a pioneer of the Focolare Movement in the ’50s who left for heaven last Easter Monday. His existential parable says that only an intimate relationship with God could make it possible. This is confirmed by one of his writing, on the occasion of his 90th birthday: “The events of my life have been many! I only remember an inner conviction that guided me in all my choices: ‘Ask for nothing and refuse nothing’. This meant for me: evaluating well the task entrusted to me, putting all my strength into it with the certainty that God would take care of the rest. For this reason, I never asked for anything or refused anything, whatever task was asked of me, even though it was almost always contrary to my feelings. At this age, however, I can assure you that it was worth trusting God. (…) Along with the difficulties I have had some extraordinary graces. Among these, the meeting with Chiara Lubich and her Movement has a very important place. This meeting was the beacon of my life“. And his life was intense to say the least: from 1950 to 1955 he was in charge of the young aspirants to the Dominican Order; he wrote that his cell was his car: “I was always travelling around central Italy”. It was in those years that Father Ermanno came to one of the first Roman communities of the Focolare Movement and met Graziella De Luca: “I asked only one question: ‘Now while you are alive, everything is all right; but when the first generation has passed, won’t there inevitably be decline, as happened to all the foundations?’. Graziella answered me: ‘No! As long as Jesus is in the midst, this will not happen’ “. From that moment his life intensified even more, if that’s possible: he was rector and bursar of a seminary; he taught Moral Theology at Loppiano; he travelled around Europe to make the spirit of the Focolare known to many members of religious orders. He was responsible for the Missionary Centre of his Order’s province, then parish priest in Rome and superior of a small community. With what spirit did Father Ermanno live all this? He himself explains: “In all these events one thing was constant: every time I had to start over; I had to “recycle “myself. It was as if they had entrusted me with a new job every time. Another constant: at the first impact, the new situation always turned out to be painful, then I saw it as providential. Now I have the certainty that what Providence arranges for me is the best that can happen to me”. In the spirituality of Unity Father Ermanno found the way to a new relationship with God. Until then, God had been sought in solitude. From Chiara Lubich he discovered that the brother is the direct way to go to God; a way that does not necessarily require solitude: it can also be achieved in the midst of people.
Stefania Tanesini
4 May 2020 | Non categorizzato
The following writing by Chiara Lubich leads us to the heart of the Christian faith. “We have come to believe in God’s love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his or her life” [1] It is a choice that proves to be very daring in these times, but no less true for that. This time we want to speak about prayer once again. It’s the life of our soul, the oxygen of the whole of our spiritual life, the expression of our love for God, the fuel for every activity we do. But what kind of prayer will we speak about this time? We will speak about the prayer that – with its infinite and divine riches – is completely contained in one word, in just one word which Jesus taught us and the Holy Spirit put on our lips. But let us go to its origins. Jesus prayed. He prayed to his Father. For him, the Father was “Abba” and that means “Daddy”, his “Dad”, to whom Jesus spoke with words of infinite trust and boundless love. He prayed to the Father from within the Trinity where he is the second divine person. It was precisely because of this special prayer that he revealed to the world who he really was – the Son of God. But since he came on earth for us, the fact that only he could pray in this privileged way wasn’t enough for him. When he died for us and redeemed us, he made us children of God, his brothers and sisters. Through the Holy Spirit he also gave us the possibility of being taken into the heart of the Trinity, in him, together with him, through him. So we too can make the divine invocation “Abba, Father” (Mk 14.36 and Rm 8:15) – “Daddy”, “my Dad”, “our Dad” with all that this entails. We are certain of his protection, we feel secure, we are able to abandon ourselves blindly to his love, we have divine consolations, strength and ardour – an ardour that is born in the heart of those who are certain that they are loved. This is Christian prayer, an extraordinary prayer. It cannot be found anywhere else, or in any other religion. At the most, if people believe in a divine being that can be venerated, adored and beseeched, they do this from outside the divine being, so to speak. For us it is different: we enter into the heart of God. And so? Let’s remind ourselves, first and foremost, of the dizzy heights to which we are called as children of God, and, as a consequence of this, of the exceptional possibility we have of praying. Naturally, we can say “Abba, Father”; with all the depth of meaning of this word only if it is the Holy Spirit who pronounces this word in us. For this to happen, we have to be Jesus, nothing other than Jesus. How? We know how. He is already living in us through grace but we have to do our part. This means to love, to be in an attitude of love towards God and our neighbour. The Holy Spirit will put this word on our lips with a greater fullness if we are in perfect unity with our brothers and sisters wherever Jesus is among us. Let’s make “Abba, Father” our prayer. … In this way, we will fully correspond to our calling to believe in love, our calling to have faith in the love which lies at the root of our charism. Yes, Love, the Father, loves us. He is our dad: what should we fear? In the plan of love he has for each one of us, a plan which opens up for us day by day, we cannot fail to see the most extraordinary adventure to which we could be called. “Abba” is the most characteristic prayer of the Christian and, in a special way, of us in the Focolare Movement. So, if we are sure that we are living our Ideal, that is, if we are living love, let’s speak to the Father in the same way as Jesus did. What will the effects be? We will experience them in our hearts.
Chiara Lubich
(Taken from a telephone conference call, Rocca di Papa, 9th March 1989) [1] Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas est, 1.
2 May 2020 | Non categorizzato
30 Apr 2020 | Non categorizzato
United World Week (May 1–7) has never been such a local and global event at the same time. More than 400 micro and macro events are being held in 65 countries, all strictly online. Live streaming of the #InTimeforPeace event will be Saturday 2 May at 12 noon (UTC +2). This United World Week sees us spoilt for choice: you can start by participating in Run4Unity in Australia or Texas, then join a prayer for peace in Cuba, before checking out the “political café” in Argentina. There’s an interesting webinar series promoted by the United World Project, and for lovers of World Music, there are concerts in various African countries. The great thing is, you don’t even have to choose: you can participate in everything from the comfort of your own home. Covid-19 could have driven this year’s United World Week, and instead it isn’t just about that. The title and motto for the more than 400 events in close to 65 countries around the world is #InTimeforPeace. This means that for at least one week, peace, human rights and legality will be the topic for reflection and action, for 24 hours a day at the different latitudes. It also means that an increasing number of people believe that building a world governed by rules, economies, and cultures inspired by peace in all its forms can no longer be put off. It all starts on May 1 and goes until May 7. As the young people say, peace is for everyone. The United World Project’s homepage shows a wide choice, which says that there is no single way to support peace, to fight for human rights, to practice legality. Whether we make masks, distribute food, keep company with those who are alone or simply do our part by staying at home, every neighbourly gesture of solidarity and support at a distance falls under the great umbrella of peace. Among the key activities this United World Week is a petition calling for an end to the embargo against Syria, promoted by the NGO New Humanity and signed by many celebrities. The appeal will be sent to the UN Secretary General and to the President of the European Parliament. It has the force of a global call to save a country that is already on its knees after 10 years of war and now risks falling into an abyss because of the Covid threat. HOW, WHERE AND WHEN TO FOLLOW UNITED WORLD WEEK EVENTS The place for the #InTimeforPeace multimedia marathon remains unitedworldproject.org, where you can also see a calendar of local events. The main events On Saturday 2 May at 12 noon (UTC +2), the #InTimeForPeace web event will be live streamed and connect a number of cities across the planet. There will be sharing of stories and actions, as well as hosting debates and artistic performances. On Sunday 3 May from 11am–12 noon in each time zone, there will be a virtual Run4unity, a non-stop sports relay that will embrace the globe, with games, challenges, experiences and commitments to symbolically spread a rainbow of peace on Earth.
Stefania Tanesini
unitedworldproject.org
29 Apr 2020 | Non categorizzato
It all depends on how we view “the other”, brother or sister: situations can completely change if we choose to love. Hard times Krystyna told me about hard times in Poland in a state of war: “There was a shortage of food and toiletries. We were getting stuff from friends in what was then East Germany while our neighbours were often having parties with an abundance of alcohol. One day, however, we noticed how it was unusually quiet in their apartment, and we discovered from the little girl who was on her own that the mother was in hospital. I went to see her, bringing soap and toothpaste with me, items that were hard to find at that time. When she saw me, she was amazed: “I can’t believe that you, whom I have always given so much grief, have come to see me? None of the friends who hang out with us has come.” As soon as she was discharged from hospital, she invited me to her house. She welcomed me warmly. Then she started telling me about her sad childhood, the meaninglessness of her life and how she needed to get out of a certain situation. I listened to her with love and assured her of my prayers. Not long afterwards, the man who had been living with her left and the noisy company stopped coming to the house. The mum was now able to offer her little girl a “normal” life.” B.V. – Poland Young couple from the South The young couple from Southern Italy had moved to the North to get out of a small village which was dominated by the Mafia. They needed to find a home and work for both of them. My financial situation was rather precarious but with faith I started to help them look for somewhere to live. Unfortunately, a lot of people closed their door on me when I said they were from the South. I cried with them and it made me realize once again that only a poor person can really understand another poor person. I shared so much humiliation with that young couple and, when we finally found a house and a job, I felt I had been enriched by what we had shared together. V.M. – Italy The stolen tablecloths I work as a cashier in a restaurant and I have no qualms about asking for leftovers from the kitchen to take to the children who live on the street. I always meet so many on my way home every day. One day, as I was getting off the bus, someone snatched my bag from my hands and ran off! I was stunned: the bag contained ten tablecloths from the restaurant which I had just picked up from the launderette. What was I to do? How was I going to tell my employer? Buying fabric to make new ones was out of the question because I couldn’t afford it. I didn’t know how I was going to tell my mother or the restaurant manager, but I was sure the Eternal Father would help me. The following day I told my employer what happened to me and, without getting upset, he tells me he wants new tablecloths as soon as possible. Just at that moment, a customer who had overheard our conversation approached us and said he was willing to buy the fabric needed to make new ones. I couldn’t believe it! I was so happy and immediately thought of the children I would still be able to help with the food. D.F. – Philippines Trust I met Alvaro in a trattoria. He was 35 years old, scruffy and unkempt. When he asked me to help him fill in some job application forms, I offered him an appointment in my office the following day. He arrived as night was falling and told me he was really just looking for friendship. I felt sorry for him and, trying to overcome the disgust I felt because of the smell he was giving off, I offered him a brandy. He understood that I didn’t judge him and started to tell me his problems, from when he was abandoned by his mother as a child and his father had ended up in prison. The hours went by and, as if in confession, he continued to tell me about himself. He eventually got up when he realized it was daytime and, apologizing, he said goodbye to me. I met him again on other occasions and introduced him to my friends who welcomed him with equal warmth. He reciprocated by doing various jobs in the house: a real jack-of-all-trades. He eventually managed to find a stable job, built a career for himself, got married and became the father of two children. When he told me all this, years later, he was a completely different person. He had regained his dignity thanks to the trust we had shown him. B.C. – Italy
by Stefania Tanesini
(taken from The Gospel of the Day, Città Nuova, year VI, no. 2, March-April 2020)
27 Apr 2020 | Non categorizzato
In his homily on Good Friday 2020 in St Peter’s Basilica (Rome) the Capuchin Father, Raniero Cantalamessa, said that “there are things that God has decided to grant us as the fruit both of his grace and of our prayer”. The following writing by Chiara Lubich is an invitation to collaborate with God by asking for graces and putting ourselves in the best situation to obtain them. “So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift” (Mt 5:23-24). With this Word of Life, Jesus has told us clearly that there can be no union with God, real worship or authentic prayer unless we are reconciled with our brothers and sisters. So let’s hope that his message has entered deeply into our hearts. It is with this hope that I would like to speak to you about prayer, which, if we live this way, is certainly acceptable to God. I would like to speak, in particular, about the prayer of petition: that is, our asking for help and for favours. I have the impression that some of us may not stress it enough, and perhaps this is for very noble reasons: now that we have become more deeply involved in our faith and have begun to practice our religion much more, we have understood that religion is not simply a matter of going to church and repeatedly asking for things, but of loving God and, therefore, of giving. And to do our part, as we say, we have committed ourselves to living out all those principles of the Gospel that our spirituality emphasises. Certainly this is all well and good. Nonetheless, we must realise that loving God means many things. It implies keeping all his commands. And one command that Jesus repeats insistently is to ask: “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” (Mt 7:7). So what should we do, then? We should ask more and ask in a better way because this is what Jesus wants. It’s another way to show him our love. … Certainly we pray and that means we don’t rely only on our own strength. Nonetheless, we can improve in two directions: first of all, not by multiplying the number of our prayers, but by becoming more fully aware of what we are already asking for. If we reflect for a moment, we’ll see how many graces we ask for in the prayers [we already say]. … Secondly, we can improve, as the saints point out, by praying in such a way that we receive what we ask for. Our prayers are heard if we ask with humility, aware that we can do nothing on our own; with trust, confident that with God we can do anything; and with perseverance, lovingly insistent, as Jesus wants us to be. In short, we must focus on the requests we already make, giving them greater attention, and expressing them better each time, praying with the same effort that we put into living our Ideal. In this way, everything we do will be more fruitful. And let’s pray while we still have time! I always remember the advice given us by the mother of one of the first focolarine just before she died: “Pray during your life, because at the end you won’t have time”.
Chiara Lubich
(From a telephone conference call, Rocca di Papa, 16th February 1984)
