23 Dec 2017 | Non categorizzato
A child who gets lost winds up in a place that’s not home. Yes, at Christmas time God got lost – not only like a boy child, but as a child – in a place where he was no longer at home. He didn’t remain within the enclosed happiness of Heaven, or within the confines of our devotional space. He got lost for the little ones and the poor, for those who are sick and in mourning, for sinners, for those we consider far from God, those we think have nothing to do with God. God got lost right where the prodigal son got lost – far from his father’s home – so he could return to the Father in him and with him. God got lost as a child not by mistake, but by the most divine gesture God could make. God is the God of all, or else he isn’t God. God is the God of the little ones and the ones far off, or else he isn’t God. “Let yourself be found where you, God, were lost as a child. Yes, let us become a child in whom you lose yourself for others, for everybody!” Klaus Hemmerle. La luce dentro le cose (Rome: Città Nuova, 1998) 395.
22 Dec 2017 | Non categorizzato
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| “Rejoice, highly favoured one! The Lord is with you” (Lk 1:28) Humankind is galvanised by joyful news: God has become a child in Mary’s womb. God has become man and chosen to stay with us, forever! He comes into history and gives us his Mother, Mary, as a star to guide our path. It is a mystery of infinite love! May the joy of that night fill our hearts and make us bearers of this great message of love to humanity. Merry Christmas! |
20 Dec 2017 | Non categorizzato
Instituted by the United Nations in 2005, and proclaimed on 20 December 2002, the world Solidarity Fund was created with the aim of promoting human and social development in the developing countries. Solidarity Day calls attention to respect for diversity and the importance of solidarity between people. If united and solid, humankind can more effectively oppose social injustice. Solidarity conceived as an understanding of the fundamental and universal values of human existence has to become the basis of the search for global solutions, and may carry out a decisive role in solving the world’s problems. Solidarity is indicated as the protagonist in the Millennium Declaration signed in September 2000 by all the member states of the UN, to counter economic, social, cultural and humanitarian injustice. The declaration elects such values as the pillar of international relationships in the 21st century.
19 Dec 2017 | Non categorizzato
It no longer seems paradoxical to have to reinsert Jesus into Christmas. During this season, especially in affluent countries, consumerism and a certain sentimentalism blur or even exclude the centrality of Jesus. It wasn’t very different two thousand years ago: On their way to Bethlehem, they couldn’t find a place to stay. Mary and Joseph had to make do with a makeshift shelter where the Child could be born. All over the world the Gen4 are saying:“They’ve evicted Jesus.” “At least in our homes, let’s celebrate as loud as we can the One who is born!” Chiara Lubich invited them to “let Jesus be born in their midst, through love.” This led to the idea in 1996 of making small statues of the Baby Jesus and giving them away to people rushing by on the streets, perhaps mindless of the fact that Christmas was primarily a celebration of Jesus. “We tell the people: ‘Do you want to take Him home to your house?’ Some say no, some move on without even stopping. But others stop and we give them these small statues, or the mangers we made. In the squares of big cities, in the commercial centres, in the homes for the elderly – our booths draw people’s attention . . . or the parties we organize for children. It’s like a wave of happiness that overcomes everybody and places, Jesus, the One we’re really celebrating, at the centre of Christmas.” Before trying to give Jesus to other people, the children try to know him better. A two-day meeting for Gen4 was held recently in the Focolare town, in Tagaytay, Philippines. At the end everyone wrote a letter to Jesus. Sam wrote: “Jesus is my hero. Whenever I’m afraid, he protects me. When I’m good to other people, I’m like him.” Kenneth: “I pray to you that my family will not separate.” Gioia writes about having learned how to love everyone, “even my enemies, to be the first to love, sharing the joys and sorrows of others.” April: “Thank you for giving me parents and a good sister.” In many parts of the world they are challenging the cold, the problems and indifference with a disarming smile, candour and warmth that is typical of their age. The Gen4 present an unedited view onto Christmas, returning the attention to its real meaning. In Central America Christmas the Gen4 from El Salvador the Dominican Republic celebrated with the Posadas that recall the difficulty Mary and Joseph had in finding a place to stay. Eight-year-old Walter Francisco is an active member of the Gen4: “Offering our Jesus to all the people who came by us, was really very nice!” Adriana and Juan Pablo are nine and six year old brothers. “First we went to a home for orphan children and share a meal with them. Then we went to give away our Baby Jesus, and the money that some people gave to us we gave to the poor.” «Li abbiamo portati anche ai bambini che puliscono i vetri delle macchine ai semafori». The local Focolare community of Santa Tecla held a food and toy drive for the occasion. More than forty children worked on making 270 statues of the Niñito, which they made with much love and care and offered to shoppers on the street, in several parishes and in a kindergarten: “Jesus can be born again today in everyone’s hearts,” they told us. The money donated, was sent to the children of Puerto Rico.
18 Dec 2017 | Non categorizzato
In the year 2000 the General Assembly of the United Nations declared December 18th International Migrants Day. Ten years before, on the same day, it had approved an international convention on the protection of the rights of migrant workers, following a serious road accident in which twenty eight migrant workers had lost their lives beneath the tunnel of Monte Bianco while they were travelling to France in search of work, hidden in a truck. Migrants Day deals with a topic that is not new to the story of the human race, but in recent years it has taken on a global relevance, especially in the West. Last 30th September, addressing an Association that brings together Italian Communes, Pope Bergoglio remarked: “We need a politics that doesn’t leave the people who arrive in our region to be left on the margins,” but for this to happen “there have to be spaces for personal encounter and mutual understanding.”
