3 Apr 2018 | Non categorizzato
Noemi Sánches from Paraguay
The Pope invited you all to speak up with courage and “cheekiness”. What are some of the the more difficult topics that you anticipate you will be dealing with? “Some very timely and, perhaps, problematic such as homosexuality. Then there was a request for a more concrete stance on migration, refugees and wars. These topics reach beyond mere dogmatism, the family in the traditional sense and how to live it today when it is not like exactly like that. We never asked for a change in the doctrine, but how to understand it to the end in order to live it it out in today’s society. Perhaps this is already being done, but not in a way that is reaching the young people.” At the Pre-Synodal meeting you were among the representatives of Focolare young people from around the world. What are the young people asking of the Church and what are they proposing? What experiences do they have that they can present as a model to others? “Based on the experience in Rome among young people from so many backgrounds, faiths and cultures, with whom we haven’t only spoken but also lived together, shared meals together and enriched one another, the young people from the Focolare – who have the charism of unity, which means dialogue – have proposed that these kinds of gatherings continue abroad among people of all backgrounds. This experience, in fact, helps us to realize that the other person is another me, and that we have the same questions in our hearts, the same challenges, which we approach in different ways, that are also an enrichment for all of us. So each of us as something to give, and it’s a giving that provides a wider vision, a more complete and enriching experience. Together we can arrive at the point of providing concrete answers to the problems we all experience.” 
That is a valuable witness in times that are so marked by prejudice and indifference, when it’s easier to build walls and fences than bridges, or reaching out to someone who is different. How was this counter-current proposal received? “By the grace of God, within the Focolare Movement we’ve been living this way for many years and have been holding these kinds of meetings. But even in this space provided for us by the Church for the young people, our proposal was listened to with much joy and satisfaction by people who don’t even know of the Movement and live in different ways. When the time came for concrete proposals, in my group, I proposed that we apply this model of relationship even when we confront other topics, always with this dynamic of openness to everyone, in which everyone lives and takes part together, discovers themselves and one another more. All of the young people immediately agreed. It was unanimous. But we had to acknowledge that there were older and bigger people who listened in and made comments, but I could see in them – not a refusal – but a bit of fear, the fear that the tendency to “go out” towards the other would make them to lose their own identities. However, the young people who had had some experience with this dynamic, immediately realized that you don’t lose your identity, but you enrich it. Obviously, your religious identity has to be carefully form and deepened, but you can give that identity and, when you do, you make room for the other. The young people who lived it, understood it and wanted it. In this sense, we lived out what Pope Francis had said to us at the beginning: You young people have to dream the dreams of the old, but also prophecy, that is, go beyond the dream. And I think that what we lived in Rome was a translation of that exhortation into real life. We wanted to be Church and we realized that to do that we had to go beyond the traditional structures. The Church is universal, so we have to be open to all, welcoming all and reaching all, in order to become more fully what we already are.” Read the full document:
2 Apr 2018 | Non categorizzato
Evicted We had been evicted and had to be out of the apartment within a month. Rents in the area were quite high. The only thing left for us to do was to look outside the city, hoping to find something that would match our means. We began to involve our friends and acquaintances in the search, but we didn’t come up with anything. We prayed, as we had had done before, with a lot of trust in God. Right towards the end of the month we heard of a family that was leaving a second-floor apartment. We tracked down the owner who lived in another city and explained our situation to him. He took our word on it and accepted our proposal, saying: “Move in. When I come we’ll draw up the new contract.” It seemed unbelievable to find an apartment in the same building and not having to make a big move. We remembered Jesus’s words: “Everything is possible for one who has faith.” (Italy) Optimism I have a difficult character and that’s why I found myself alone at a certain age, after a few attempts at marriage or living in community. A priest had suggested that I help out taking care of a spastic boy, so that the mother, a widow, could attend to some business. I began to visit and saw that, in spite of their hard circumstances, they were always happy and putting on a feast for anybody that went to visit them. Slowly, a new optimism began to enter in me. I discovered that the root of the serenity in that family was their life that was all based on the Gospel. And their attitude was contagious. (Slovakia) The Shrub All because of a bush that, in my opinion, my husband had planted in the wrong place, there was a little upset between us. As I cooked with my soul in confusion, I tried to entrust myself to God and, little by little, I became calm. I thought that I would suggest to my husband that we plant the shrub in a pot, and look for a better place to plant it. It seemed like a good idea to him. We apologized to each other and went to buy the vase. Then we planted it in a better spot. Now, when we look at our shrub, it reminds us that what matters the most in our relationship is that we love one another, and be disposed to give up our own ideas in order to make the other happy, so that God can shine between us. (Switzerland) Not only my physical health After the bone marrow transplant I was well for a long period until I had a relapse and a second transplant was needed. During moments of anguish, I said to myself that I had to give all my worry to Our Lady. When I did it with my heart, I felt a deep peace. At first I prayed all the time to get well. But then I realized that God wanted to draw me to himself precisely through the illness. So, instead of praying only for my physical health, I began to ask for the grace to be able to draw closer to God. (USA)
1 Apr 2018 | Non categorizzato
Father, we praise you with all your creatures. They came forth from your all-powerful hand; they are yours, filled with your presence and your tender love. Praise be to you! Son of God, Jesus, through you all things were made. You were formed in the womb of Mary our Mother, you became part of this earth, and you gazed upon this world with human eyes. Today you are alive in every creature in your risen glory. Praise be to you! Holy Spirit, by your light you guide this world towards the Father’s love and accompany creation as it groans in travail. You also dwell in our hearts and you inspire us to do what is good. Praise be to you! Source: Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ on the care for the common home (A Christian Prayer for creation, 246)
31 Mar 2018 | Non categorizzato
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| Today more than ever, while new conflicts are starting in various parts of the world, and tragic events of all kinds make our hopes for peace seem vain, we want to affirm our faith in the Man-God, who died and rose again for all people, and to lead the world to its destiny of unity. He is our hope and our joy. I send Easter greetings to all of you, personally and on behalf of the Focolare Movement. I pray that the spirit of the Risen Lord be born and reborn every day in us and amongst us, according to Jesus’ promise, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Mt 18:20). Happy Easter everyone!
Maria Voce
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31 Mar 2018 | Non categorizzato
It’s the triumph of the Risen Jesus whom we know and relive personally, in our own small way, after having embraced him forsaken; or when truly united in his name, we experience the effects of his life, the fruits of his Spirit. The Risen Lord must always be present and living in us. The world is waiting for people who not only believe in and love Him one way or another, but people who are authentic witnesses. The world is waiting for people who can truly say, as Mary Magdalene said to the apostles after seeing Jesus near the tomb, those words that we know but which are always new: “We have seen him!” Yes, we have discovered him in the light with which he enlightened us; we have touched him in the peace with which he filled us; we have heard his voice in the depths of our heart; we have rejoiced in his incomparable joy. Source: Chiara Lubich during a telephone link up. Castel Gandolfo, Rome, 20th April 2000.
30 Mar 2018 | Non categorizzato
“Mary is alone. Alone with her dead son-God. Is it an unspeakable depth of anguish, an infinite agony? Yes, it is, but she remains standing, thus becoming a sublime example and monument of all virtues. She hopes and she believes. During his life, Jesus had spoken of his death but also of his resurrection. Others may have forgotten his words, but she never forgot them. She kept these words in her heart, along with others, and meditated on them (cf. Lk. 2:51). Therefore, she doesn’t give in to suffering: she waits.” Source: Chiara Lubich during a telephone link up. Castel Gandolfo, Romea, 20th April 2000.
