Jan 4, 2018 | Non categorizzato
The Wrinkles of Disenchantment “After years of marriage I realized that the man living beside me was no longer the one I had gone head over heals for when I was young. But there were the children and life went on. One day a friend said to me: ‘I see you aging badly. Instead of growing in love, the wrinkles of disenchantment have grown.’ It was true, in place of loving and giving, I had insisted on being just and fair. I tried to change my attitude towards my husband and I discovered that he needed me more than ever. Things are different now. There’s a greater love flowing among all of us. (M.F. – Polond) The Pharmacy “The employees of the pharmacy I worked at before, were fired. All of them, except me. The new owners, however, were motivated more by self interest than the good of the customers. The atmosphere also changed quickly. For several months I did what I could to improve the relationships among employees and with customers. It was time well spent, during which I learned to be more merciful. Then, dismissal was also proposed for me. In spite of that, I trusted in providence, which didn’t disappoint: Unexpectedly another pharmacy offered me the position of another employee who had retired.” (C.T. – Hungary) My “Difficult” Patients “For several years now I’ve been working in an institute specializing in patients who are in a vegetable state, usually as a result of an accident. The process of recuperating from a coma is very complex and not even sure to happen. To the relatives who ask if their loved one will wake up, I usually answer that we can’t foresee what will happen, and that only God knows the future. We workers are only the instruments in His hands. It’s impossible to stay indifferent in front of such tragedies. At times my Christian faith has wavered. But I think that these “difficult” patients play an important social role: they gather people together and bring out the capacity of giving in them.” (Elio – Italy) Resurrection “Drugs and prostitution… For two years I stood by my friend, Mario, through his Calvary. He had drifted away from God, but respected the way I lived the faith. When he wound up in the hospital, I visited him faithfully. He asked: ‘Why do you do it? I come from a completely different world from yours!’ During his stay he had time to reflect, and one day he said: ‘I tried to convince myself that God didn’t exist, because it would have forced me to change the way I was living. But now I can’t go on like this anymore. You’re the only person I’m truly happy to have ever met. I would so much like to live like you.’ I suggested that he try to put the Gospel into practice one sentence at a time. I tried to do the same and it worked! Since he trusted me, he agreed to give it a try. It was hard for him to change the meaning of “love” in his mind, which for him meant to prostitute himself for money. It was a difficult journey, filled with failures and new beginnings. One day he went to the Sacrament of Confession. Afterwards he was radiant. Then there was the accident in which he lost his life. God was waiting for him there. But he was already prepared..” (S.V. – Switzerland)
Jan 2, 2018 | Non categorizzato
Pisa is known all over the world for its Square of Miracles, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, where the Leaning Tower of Pizza is located. Every year since 2003 the Pisa Book Festival is held in that Tuscan city at the national book show which gathers publishers, writers, translators, illustrators, Italian and foreign artists. It is an ideal setting for sharing ideas, innovative proposals, quality books and magazines, but also writing workshops, seminars, readings and shows. Città Nuova was there again this year with the support of the local Focolare community. “This is fifth year that we have taken part in Pisabook, a truly special edition because of the variety of presentations and the people involved,” explain Rita and Francesco. “For the first time we got to run the workshop in the Junior section where we worked and played with ‘BIG’ and ‘feelings’.” 
BIG is an Italian monthly children magazine published by Città Nuova. Among the new offerings was a kit that would help teachers discuss the topic of feelings, such as fear, disgust, anger, sadness and happines with children up to ten years old. “During the festival we visited a school on the outskirts of the city where it would be possible to accompany the children in Pisabook’s main office. They were all invited to help promote BIG and now the teachers want to subscribe to the magazine.” Among Città Nuova’s offerings in the Hall was an autobiography of Salvatore Striano, a story of redemption and transformation – from a drug dealer in a suburban criminal district of southern Italy to a writer and actor. In between, ten years of jail time in Madrid and Rome. It is story of salvation through books and the theatre, but mostly through meeting the right people at the right time. In his autobiographic novel, Giù le maschere, (Città Nuova, 2017), a group of disadvantaged and rebellious teenagers from a halfway home discovers a love for theatre and finds on the stage, a road to salvation and redemption. It is a deep story that teaches to look at life, every life, especially the lives of vulnerable youth, with eyes of hope. “During the three presentations of the book and the breaks,” Rita and Francesco explain, “a feeling was created among everyone: Striano opened up and talked about his troubled life. He was particularly impressed by the young people who were there, whom he invited as personal guests to his show in Naples. At the end he remarked: If my friends in prison could see your eyes, your smiles … they would change their lives.” The author had a deep discussion with the teens from the school who had prepared for the event by reading his book. The discussion seemed to have “removed the distances, making everyone feel like they were at home in their living-room.” Now the students are involved in a school project inside several prisons. “Seeing so many people moving to the booth and not going away made Salvatore say that he had never had a similar experience before and that he wants to write more books with Città Nuova. “Lucia Della Porta, creator and director of Pisabook, couldn’t stop thanking us for our contribution to the success of the event! But we thanked her for putting so much trust in us. Many people passed by our booth, we made many contacts and tried to give our testimony. It was also a financial success.” The local Focolare community concluded: Città Nuova is even more ours.
Jan 1, 2018 | Non categorizzato
The title BEYOND ALL BORDERS intends to highlight the boundaries that need to be overcome at personal and social levels. It was chosen with the purpose of opening the minds and hearts of the participants in the Genfest. This eleventh edition aims to inspire participants to feel capable of building a happier and a united world. To breathe, love, work and live with concern for everyone. This is why the Genfest values artistic manifestations, music, dances, expositions, forums, etc., to enable everyone to think differently and to transform life into something more beautiful.
Jan 1, 2018 | Non categorizzato
“Men and women, children, young people and the elderly seek a place where they can live in peace. To find it, many of them are willing to risk their lives on a journey that in most cases is long and dangerous, to undergo suffering and hardship, to come face to face with barbed wire and walls that are raised to keep them far from their goal.” On the first day of the New Year, Pope Francis’s greetings are extended especially to the 250 million immigrants, 22 and a half million of whom are refugees. His message is filled with proposals, which are offered to the international community for its analysis and study. Why are there so many refugees and immigrants in the world? Francis recalls: “Saint John Paul II pointed to the growing number of refugees among the consequences of the interminable and horrendous series of conflicts, genocide and “ethnic cleansing” that marked the twentieth century. The new century wasn’t a real turning point. Armed conflicts and other forms of organized violence continue to provoke movements of populations within national confines and beyond. But people migrate for other reasons as well; primarily for a better life.” Those who foment fear in the face of global migrations – perhaps for political reasons rather than building peace – sow violence. “Instead,” the Pope says, “I invite you to see them as opportunities for building a future of peace.” Migrants and refugees never come empty-handed. They “come loaded with courage, abilities, energy and aspirations besides the treasures of their own cultures. In this way they enrich the life of the nations that receive them.” In his usual style, Francis doesn’t limit himself to a list of generic “guidelines,” but presents a complex strategy, comprised of four actions: receive, protect, promote and integrate. Accept primarily means “expand ways of legal entry, do not turn them back to places where persecution and violence awaits them, and balance concern for national security with the protection of basic human fundamental rights.” Regarding protection, Francis recommends that, in respect for the dignity of the person, migrants and refugees should be allowed freedom of movement, opportunities for employment and, in particular, the prevention of exploitation of women and children, “the ones who are most exposed to the risks and abuses.” Promotion stands for the promotion and support of “integral human development.” Among the many tools, he underscores “the importance of ensuring access to education for children and young people at every level of instruction. In that way they will not only cultivate and bring to fruition their own skills, but will also be better able to reach out to others and cultivate a spirit of dialogue instead of evasiveness or confrontation.” Integration is not synonymous with assimilation, the complete sacrifice of one roots and loss of identity; on the contrary, it represents “allowing the refugee and immigrant to take full share in the life of the society that receives them, in a dynamic of mutual enrichment and fruitful collaboration in the promotion of the integral human development of the local communities.” The message contains a clear call to the leaders of States of the whole world. Pope Francis looks forward in 2018, to the global double accord in favour of secure, orderly and lawful migrations that ensure the protection of refugees, inspired “by compassion, long=sightedness and courage, in order to seize every opportunity to advance the construction of peace. Only in this way will the necessary realism of international politics not become surrender to cynicism and global indifference.” Recalling the words of St John Paul II, Pope Francis intends to entrust a message of new hope to the world, even in difficult times: “If the ‘dream’ of a world at peace is shared by many, and the contribution of migrants and refugees is acknowledged, the human race can more and more become a common home.” Read message
Dec 30, 2017 | Non categorizzato
It seems to me that in order to give back to the family its true countenance, in order to restore its splendour, instead of focusing on discussions and directives (…) it’s worth pondering on that luminous and universal example that Eternal Wisdom devised: the family of Nazareth. All present and future families the world over can look to it as a model. And not just families: the individual components of this model can inspire us to know what behaviours and attitudes we should adopt, the relationships and virtues we should cultivate. Every man on earth who is husband and father can always find in Joseph, the Spouse of Mary, the considered father of Jesus, a light, an encouragement, a source of inspiration. In him, one can emulate the same faithfulness in all trials, heroic chastity, strength, silent activity, respect, veneration, protection for the mother of his children, participation in family concerns … And every woman, who is wife and mother, can discover in Mary her own potential, equality with man and her own identity. She can see fulfilled in the Bride of Joseph the desire to also be a protagonist; she can understand how to go beyond the family circle to spread, for the good of many, the riches that are her own: self-sacrifice, the inner strength that gives her confidence, the religious life that distinguishes her from others, the innate need to rise above her situation and to elevate others, radiating light, purity and beauty. Similarly the children will find in Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph, who together compose a marvellous unity, the two troubling challenges: the need to establish themselves as a generation which can launch a new chapter in history, and the desire to find refuge in their loved ones through love and in obedience. Yes, may the Holy Family, the jewel of humanity it is associated with, which reflects the life of the Trinity, where love generates one God, be before us today, may it stay with us all (…) for the good of the family in the world, of the family in the Church and for the glory of God. From: Chiara Lubich – Messagge to FamilyFest 1981
Dec 28, 2017 | Non categorizzato, Word of
The word of life for this month comes from a verse in the Song of Moses, part of the Old Testament in which the Israelites exalt God’s intervention in their history. The song proclaims God’s decisive action for the salvation of this people, on the long journey from their liberation from slavery in Egypt to their arrival in the Promised Land. Although the Israelites encountered difficulties and sufferings on the way, this all happened under the steadfast guidance of God and through the collaboration of men like Moses and Joshua, who put themselves at the service of God’s plan of salvation. “Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power.” When we think of power, we can easily associate it with the power of might that is often the cause of oppression and conflict among people and nations. Instead, God’s word reveals to us that true power is love, as was manifested in Jesus. He went through all human experience, until death, to open for us the path to freedom and to our encounter with the Father. Thanks to him, God’s powerful love for humankind was revealed. “Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power.” If we look at ourselves, we have to admit frankly that we are limited. Human fragility, in all its aspects — physical, moral, psychological and social — is a reality we cannot deny. However, it is actually there, in our limitations, that we can experience God’s love. In fact, he wants happiness for all people, who are his children. He is always ready to help those who put themselves humbly in his hands for the sake of the common good, peace and fraternity. This text is a wise choice for this month’s celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, considering how much suffering we have inflicted on one another down through the centuries, creating divisions and sowing suspicion, dividing communities and families. “Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power.” Through prayer, we need to ask the grace of unity, as a gift from God. At the same time, we can build bridges by offering ourselves as instruments of God’s love. During an event held at the World Council of Churches in Geneva in 2002, Chiara Lubich was invited to share her thoughts and experience. “Dialogue is carried out first by putting ourselves on the same level as our partner, whoever he or she may be,” she said. “Then we listen to our dialogue partner, being completely empty of ourselves … This enables us to receive the other person within ourselves and to understand him or her … Because they have been listened to with love, they are ready to listen to what we have to say.” This month, let us take advantage of our day-to-day contacts, to deepen or reestablish relationships of esteem and friendship with individuals, families or groups who belong to other Christian churches. Moreover, why not extend our prayer and action to the divisions within our own ecclesial community, or to those in politics, in civil society or in families? We too can witness with joy to “your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power.” Letizia Magri
