4 May 2018 | Non categorizzato
The unity of the world. My dear young people, is our attention so distracted by the events we are immersed in day after day, that we do not see how our age is characterized by tension, by wars, by guerrilla warfare, even by the threat of nuclear destruction, by disunity of all kinds, by acts of terrorism, kidnappings, by all kinds of evil, all generated by the lack of love and mutual understanding among people? Do we not see that to speak of unity today is almost like speaking of a utopia? … But, thank God, these are not the only characteristics of our times. There is something more we have to consider. […] The world is undoubtedly moving towards unity. Unity is its destiny or, better still, it is God’s plan for the world. […] We will answer your questions not only with words but, after this Genfest, with life. We will walk with determination along the various roads that offer solutions to the divided world by uniting it. The various roads, to give a few examples, are the roads to unity among generations, among ethnic groups and nations, between east and west, between north and south; the road to unity among Christians of various denominations, among the faithful of different religions; the road to unity between rich and poor through a communion of goods; between nations at war in order to reach peace; the road to unity also between humankind and nature; the road to unity with those who are indifferent, with the lonely, with those who suffer in any way at all; the road to development, to progress; the road to unity among various spiritual movements, among lay associations; among persons of different ideologies and cultures and so on. As you can see, some of these are roads that young people have already taken because they feel naturally inclined to do so. They want to walk along these various ways, by first situating themselves squarely in the Way par excellence. […] the way that is Christ. He said of himself, “I am the Way”.[1] What must we do to be grafted onto this Way which will enable us to bear fruit as we go along the other ways? We must be Jesus, another Jesus. […] By living the word, all the Christian life sowed in us at baptism will fully blossom. Young people of all Churches and Christian communities will be able to join us in living this word. The word in many of its expressions (this has been our experience) is accepted also by young people of other religions and by those in good faith who consider themselves atheists. The word will shape all of you into one block, making you strong and unbreakable. […] If you are faithful, if you spread throughout the world as many other Jesus, so to say, then the program, “That all may be one”, will not be a dream; it will be a reality. And your contribution will bring us closer and closer to this reality. A springtime will blossom in the world. We will see miracles. Christ’s words will be fulfilled in you, “Whoever believes in me will do the works I do and greater works than these”.[2] Extracts from Chiara Lubich’s talk at the Genfest in Rome 30th March 1985 [1]. John 14:6. [2]. John 14:12.
3 May 2018 | Non categorizzato
On May 5, at Tor Vergata (Rome), Pope Francis will meet the members of the Neocatechumenal Way gathered for their international meeting. The occasion will mark 50 years of the presence of the Way in Rome. 150 thousand participants from 134 nations are expected to attend. The Pope will send out 36 new “missio ad gentes” groups that will take the Gospel into secularized areas or in regions with Christian minorities. Francis will also bless the 20 communities, that are part of parishes of Rome, which have already concluded this form of Christian initiation. The meeting, which will end with the singing of the “Te Deum”, will be led by the international core group of the Neocatechumenal Way, composed of Kiko Argüello, Fr Mario Pezzi and Ascensión Romero.
1 May 2018 | Non categorizzato
Chocolate Factory During the summer I travelled with a friend to Germany, to work in a well-known chocolate factory but we were given a very cold welcome by the 400 employees. One woman in particular was particularly grumpy towards me. One day, she made a big mistake that could have been very costly for her. When the section manager arrived, without even hesitating, I took the blame for the mistake. I was severely reprimanded and told that it could cost me my job if it happened again. But I was happy: I had done it to Jesus in my colleague. That gesture impressed my co-workers. From then on the atmosphere changed; we began to treat each other more cordially and, when the time came to leave, it felt like leaving a real family behind. Krisztina – Romania The Great Novelty During a meeting at the parish I remained quite struck by the joy and simplicity of one group of guys who were more or less the same age as me. For someone like me who only ran to God in times of trouble, hearing people talk about God as Love was a novelty. Without reasoning it out too much, I decided to do as they were doing. First, I started helping around the house and keeping an eye on my little sister. One Sunday, I even skipped football match in order to help my Dad put up a roof. At school, instead of studying alone as I usually did, I helped some friends with their studies. Daniel – Argentina At the Supermarket I went to the usual supermarket to pick up some things for a supper with thirty boys at our house and, since I would be busy at a meeting for a few days, I thought I would do one big shopping that I could leave at home. As I was placing the groceries onto the check-out counter, I noticed the woman behind me with only a few items. Behind her was an elderly woman with ten tissue boxes. I asked her if she wanted to go ahead of me. She told me that her husband had gone to get a case of water. When her husband came, I let him go ahead of me as well. Then, I began filling up my many shopping bags. In the end, the cashier pulled out the receipt and said to me: “Today you don’t have to pay anything!” I thought it was a joke. The cashier asked me my name. “Chiu”, I said. I heard over the loud-speaker: “Today, Miss Chiu has won 107 Euros!” I never imaged this would happen to me when I loved my neighbour behind me in the queue ! Chiu – Hong Kong Grocery Stores I run a grocery store and so I’m used to the commercial world where profit comes first – not the customer. I met several Christians who try to put Jesus’s commandment of love into practice. I thought: if they can do it, why can’t I? The next morning I thought: I don’t want to go on weighing the goods with two heavy pieces of cardboard; from now on, I’ll only use light piece of paper. I felt such a great sense of joy and freedom, I discovered that loving opened new horizons to me. Beppino – Italy
30 Apr 2018 | Non categorizzato
Labour Day was instituted on May 1st to commemorate the struggle of workers, which took place across all geographical and social barriers in order to safeguard their rights and improve their work conditions. “Eight hours of work, eight hours of leisure, eight hours of sleep” was the slogan coined in Australia in 1855, and shared by most of the early twentieth century trade union movements. It was above all the workers’ movements in the United States that fought the cause for the eight-hour day. The State of Illinois, in 1866, passed a law that introduced this time limit. The law came into force on 1 May 1867, and on that day a huge demonstration was organized in Chicago, with the participation of ten thousand workers, the largest protest ever seen on the streets of the American city. The manifestation was violently repressed. Much has changed since then, but still today, in many parts of the world, workers do not enjoy the same rights and dignity. For Christians, there is a profound connection between work and the identity of the human person. Jesus himself spent most of his life working as a carpenter in his father’s workshop.
28 Apr 2018 | Non categorizzato
How did this adventure of unity begin? My dear friends, it began when not I, but Someone else, wanted it to begin. You may know that certain gifts are given to the world from time to time: they are called charisms. They come from the One who guides history, who leads it toward a very precise goal: the common good, by channeling towards the goal even the sad things that we men and women bring about in the world. It is God, God who is Love, in whom many of us firmly believe. One day, many years ago, one of these charisms came here too. Through it, we, who were young people at the time, understood that there was a wonderful design, a task, almost a mission entrusted to us: to work during our lives so that all may be one by putting love into action, in our own hearts and in that of others. Was it imagination? Utopia? No, certainly not, since Jesus prayed to his Father in heaven using these very words: “May they all be one”. Could God, the Father, not listen to the voice of God, the Son, with whom he is one God? We set out confidently toward this goal and now there are millions and millions of us – children, young people and adults – from almost every nation in the world. It is not possible to count how many we are. Of course, some of these people do not share our same faith, they might have another, or perhaps no religious faith at all. Nevertheless, they act with kindness and good will, sentiments which must be present in every human heart. So we journey together, with them too, towards the goal of a universal family, towards the building up of a united world. And, if God is with us, who can be against us? … Now it is up to you to carry the banner of our ideal. On one side is written unity, loving one another to the point of being ready to die for one another. On the other side, the means to reach this goal: effort, hard work, being ready even to suffer so that the world may become one family. You are young. You don’t lack courage. If we were able to do it, why not you? Chiara Lubich (From the archives of the Chiara Lubich Centre)
27 Apr 2018 | Non categorizzato
Tommaso Sorgi with Igino Giordani
