Maria Voce Emmaus and Jesús Morán respectively President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement will travel to Belgium for the 60th anniversary of the arrival of the Focolare in that country. Official Focolare website https://www.focolare.org/belgium/news/60-ans-du-mouvement-des-focolari-en-belgique/
It’s called “TST” (tempi senza tensioni, “Time Without Tensions”), a program aimed at balancing work and family life. It was produced by the Il Sentiero di Arianna social cooperative (“Arianna’s way”), which is part of the Economy of Communion, and received first prize in the fourth edition of Family Friendly Businesses that is put on by a forum of family associations in Lazio, Italy. The cooperative, which is part of the Consorzio Tassano Servizi Territoriali network, primarily works in the field of home assistance, education, school services and career support. The TST program produces a series of specific services for employees (dispute resolution, family help, counseling services, working remotely, telecommuting, flexible banking hours, informative actions for management, being a Jack of all trades, and pathways that help employees returning to work after a period of reconciliation). These have shown themselves to be highly effective in creating a positive workplace culture that is based on authentic relationships of collaboration and cooperation. Started in 1996 by nine young women, who for a year pooled the resources that they had earned and reinvested them in training and development, today Il Sentiero di Arianna counts more than 130 members, 85% of whom are women. The tightly knit initial group and the pioneers of the local coop, inspired by the values of the Economy of Communion project that Chiara Lubich launched in 1991, became the foundations upon which the business was developed. Since its constitution, the Sentiero di Arianna cooperative has promoted a family friendly business culture, which in turn positively influenced other businesses it is connected to. It is an organization where the news of a pregnancy is always good news, where someone can become a mother and return to work without worry. Yet it is also a company where the women who are not mothers are the innovators, knowing how to fuse positive organizational improvement processes that harmonize work with caring for those closest to them. The needs of people and families are many. “If you go back to the origins of the word ‘economy,’ you find the word ‘house’. Those of us in business cannot feel separate from everyone else. You cannot be a worker and then, when you go home, be a parent. Each person is unique, and as such they have their work experience,” said the firm’s president, Simona Rizzi, as she received the prize on October 9 in the Chamber of Deputies in Rome. Among other things, the prize states: “This is an entity endowed with a vision that is particularly attentive to people. Starting with the needs of its employees, they developed an innovative organizational flexibility that set up tangible support both internally and throughout its territory, weaving a network of social and economic relationships to find appropriate solutions that meet the need of harmonizing work and family life.” “This award is the result of a long journey the cooperative has been on since its origins up to today. It is a journey that has developed through many important experiences these past years,” Rizzi added. “It is the women themselves who have won, with their ability to build a business that is fit for people and to build an economy that is fit for a community.” “Businesses that adopt best practices of reconciliation also demonstrate increases in productivity among other things. The women who work there reach management and high-profile leadership positions sooner,” was a comment from the Minister for Family and Disability, who was interviewed at the awards. Source: www.edc-online.org
“It is often to the youngest that the Lord reveals better solutions.” These are words from Saint Benedict in his “Rule.” These were also the words chosen by Pope Francis when he announced the 15th Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops, on October 3-28 , which has just concluded. Preceded by a Preparatory Document (January 2017), a Questionnaire in several languges and by a Pre-Synodal Reunion (March 2018) with the participation of around three-hundred young people and several thousand others through social media, the Synod was the final step on a long and well organised walk. It was a walk of mutual listening, attentiveness, sharp and open dialogue ‘with’ and ‘about’ the new generations. Sixteen thousand responses arrived from Uganda alone. In line with previous Assemblies, the Synod had a common thread: renewal of the Church and society starting from their very foundations: the family and the youth who guarantee the future generations,” as Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri , Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, explained during his inaugural press conference. “Youth doesn’t last a lifetime,” remarked Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. The period of youth comes to an end at a certain point. But what remains is having lived it intensely. The most important thing is to give meaning to the great gift of life that has been placed in our hands.” On Sunday, a solemn celebration and the publication of a Final Document concluded the Assembly. More than 150 bishops attended the Synod, two of whom came for the first time from continental China. There were 40 young people under the age of 30 attending as auditors. They were a significant presence, exuberant and at times noisy, always active on the digital channels with the publication of posts and selfies with the Pope and the other bishops, whom they met informally in the corridors, moments of recreation or in more official settings like the small discussion groups. They were always ready for a conversation or for offering their contribution of positive criticisms and concrete proposals. Without any fear of the high-sounding titles or silver hair, they took to heart the Pope’s invitation to: “cling to the bark of the Church which, even through impestuous storms in the world, continues to offer refuge and hospitality to all.” It’s worth the trouble, he had said, “to place ourselves in a position of listening towards each other.” “A Synod of very particular significance,” affirmed Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Muchen und Freising, president of the German Bishops Conference, during one of the many briefings with journalists, “a place of learning about the youth,” whom the Synod of bishops wanted to know in depth, thanks to the input of the ones they were directly interested in knowing about. The relationship between the virtual world and the real world, immigration, the role of school and universities, parish life and the formation of catechists, friendships and relationships, were just a few of the topics they dealt with. “They also talked about digital pastoral ministry, how the Church can find its place in the world of social communications,” explained Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication. “We have the same problems,” insisted Bishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya, Bishop of Mamfe, Cameroon, “but we face them from different points of view.” The churches in Cameroon are filled to the brim, but the youth are unhappy because of the many problems that spread across Africa. How are we to help them? We’re all in search of the same solution.” “A Synod on the youth with the youth,’ said Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Archbishop of Minsk-Mohilev and president of the Bishops Conference of Bielorussia, “which makes it particularly dynamic, because the young are never static.” “Vibrant was the surprise over the closeness of the topics that were faced, in the challenges of today’s Church even in the diversity of circumstances,” said Pastor Marco Fornerone from the Evangelical Church in Rome, who was attending as one of the 8 fraternal representatives. In the course of the Assembly, on October 6, a special meeting was held between the young people, the Pope and other bishops, against the backdrop of Paul VI Hall, titled “WE FOR – Unique, Supportive, Creative” There were three main topics: the search for identity, relationships and life as service and giving. There were also many life testimonies , studies, work and the difficulty of making decisions for the future. The program was interspersed with music and artistic pieces. In conclusion, at the end of the Synod, there was still one last gift from the Pope to the young auditors: a copy of Docat, a source of the church’s social teaching, Leo XIII’s “Rerum Novarum”, and all the writings of Pope Francis, including the most recent. The handbook has a question and answer format and focuses on the role of the human being in the Church and in the society. Chiara Favotti
Letter from the Synod Fathers to Young People https://www.facebook.com/vaticannews/videos/298336587473577/
53 years have passed since, Pope Paul VI, 28 October 1965, signed the first historical “Declaration on the Relation of the Church to non-Christian religions,” known as Nostra Aetate (in our time). The Declaration affirms that “The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions. She has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and doctrines, which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men.” But it also underlines that the Church “is duty bound to announce without fail that Christ is the “way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14,6), in him whom God reconciled all things to himself, men find the fullness of their religious life.” The Declaration urges all Christians “to enter with prudence and charity into discussion and collaboration with the members of other religions, while witnessing to their own faith and way of life, and acknowledge, preserve and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-Christians and also their social life and culture.” Read the entire text
Archival photo: Pasquale Foresi with the young people of the Focolare Movement.
The joy of service When our son died after the treatment he received was ineffective, my wife began to suffer from depression. She found visits from other children unbearable and, gradually, we became very isolated to the extent that life didn’t have meaning anymore. One day we got to know a community that tried to put the words of the Gospel into practice. There was one Gospel sentence that made a big impact on her and changed her life. It was, “There is more joy in giving than receiving.” After reflecting for a while, she went back to work as an assistant in a centre for children suffering from cancer. From then onwards, she recovered very quickly. One day she told me about the joy she had found in serving other children. R.A. France The shoe rack Poor health forced me to stay at home for a few weeks. I wanted to do something and so I decided to make a shoe rack but I made such a bad job of – it had so many defects – that I was quite depressed with the result. My wife and children, however, kept saying that it was wonderful and praising me. That made me think that maybe it wasn’t as terrible as it seemed to me and so I began to make other things that would be useful around the house. When I returned to work, I was really happy to see my colleagues again. I think love made me well. S.V. Czech Republic The new car Our old car wasn’t worth repairing but we couldn’t afford another one. We have a daughter who suffers from autism and can’t use public transport or walk very far. With great faith we prayed for a solution believing that God had already answered us. Soon afterwards, some friends in the parish told us about a car they had found: it was second hand but in perfect condition. Once again, God helped us. R.C. Great Britain No keys On account of poverty and unemployment, many people on our island resort to stealing and burglary. One evening, Nanou wanted to go to a meeting in the parish while her parents were out. She didn’t have keys to lock the door and so she pushed it shut with a brick and asked Jesus to keep the house safe. When she was coming back she met her parents who were also making their way home. Her father was furious when he found the door unlocked but he couldn’t match her faith and trust in Jesus. What’s more, nothing had happened. D.R. Madagascar I am free to love I didn’t take much notice of the early symptoms. My voice sounded lower, I had backache, difficulty in swallowing, I had poor balance and fell over, I had problems with my nose. Then, on June 13 2016, in Bologna, I received the diagnosis: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – ALS. There were just the initials written on a tiny piece of paper. For several days, the words of Saint Paul kept coming into my mind; “We are afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair.” I kept looking at that piece of paper. The initials reminded me of the Italian words which say “I am free to love.” When my muscles won’t work, when I can’t smell anything, when my senses of touch and taste have disappeared, I can still love. If you can transform suffering into a gift of love, then life smiles back at you. We are not made for defeat. F.S. Italy