15 Jan 2016 | Non categorizzato
Maria Voce, the president of the Focolare Movement and Jesús Morán, Co-president, will be in India from January 15 to February 10, 2016. Following the trail left by Chiara Lubich in 2001 and 2003, they will visit the Focolare communities in various parts of the country. They are expected to visit New Delhi, Bangalore, Trichy, Coimbatore and Mumbai. The dimension of interreligious dialogue, started by the founder of the Focolare Movement, will be the highlight of their program during these weeks.
10 Jan 2016 | Non categorizzato
The first Focolare had an actual experience which was an application of this “being the first to love”. It was not always easy for a group of girls to live love radically, especially at the beginning. We were like other people, even though we were sustained by a special gift from God. Dust could settle on us as well, on our rapport with one another, and our unity could wilt. That happened for example upon discovering others’ faults and imperfections. When there was judgment, the flow of reciprocal love got cold. One day, we thought of making a pact among us to counter this situation. We called it the “pact of mercy”. We decided to see our neighbor in a very new way when we met him or her each morning (in the Focolare, at school, at work…), really forgetting their imperfections, their defects, covering everything with love. This meant approaching everyone with this complete amnesty in our heart, with this universal forgiveness. Everyone took this strong commitment together. It helped us to always be the first to love, imitating our merciful God who forgives and forgets. We are now sure that the Movement would not even have made it from Trent to Rovereto if it were not for this daily pact of forgiveness. Practically, the Movement would not have had the energy needed to spread. Chiara Lubich, Love of neighbor, to the Muslim friends of the Focolare Movement, Castel Gandolfo, 1st November 2002 (excerpt).
8 Jan 2016 | Non categorizzato
The traditional date for the celebration of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in the northern hemisphere is from January 18th to 25th. In the southern hemisphere, where January is during the summer holidays, the churches celebrate the Week of Prayer on other dates, for example during the time of Pentecost. Here you can find the texts prepared by a mixed working group from Latvia, nominated by the Catholic Church and by the Ecumenical Council of Churches. The Christian churches invite all to “find opportunities throughout the year in which to express the level of communion already accomplished and to pray together for the full unity which is the desire of Christ himself,” according to Jesus’ prayer to the Father: “so that all may be one” (Jn 17). The Focolare Movement throughout the world is committed to fostering and supporting the various local events planned for the celebration of the week of prayer, through direct testimonies of ecumenical life among its members. The phrase chosen for the Week of Prayer 2016 also inspired the Word of Life for the month of January: “Called to proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord” (cfr 1 Pt 2:9).
7 Jan 2016 | Non categorizzato
Salvator noster natus est! Our best wishes for a Holy Christmas to all the Christians celebrating the birth of the Saviour on 7 January. MERRY CHRISTMAS BUON NATALE РОЖДЕСТВО ХРИСТОВO ΚΑΛΆ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΎΓΕΝΝΑ عيد ميلاد سعيد!
30 Dec 2015 | Non categorizzato
In his introduction to Bruni’s new book entitled, “Creative Destruction,” Marco Tarquinio, Director of the Catholic newspaper wrote: «Bruni was well aware that this line of thought would lead him to the confines separating the human and the inhuman and regrettably, also beyond, to the complex organisations prevalently driven by material objectives. He perfectly knew that in writing about these issues, i.e., about “production” and “marketing” organisations and thus, of the creativity of relationships and employment, he would eventually have to focus on the organisations driven by ideals and other aspirations of the human spirit,» bringing both fields «to face the same challenge of renewal without losing their roots and driving spirit.» Published by New City Press, the book is a collection of selected articles published in 2015 on Avvenire, taken from the series, “The midwives of Egypt,” and “Regenerations.” In the book’s last chapter entitled, “The periphery is where we learn to resurrect,” Bruni comes to the conclusion of his work and the challenges resulting from his reflection which took him some months to delineate. He introduces his proposals with a phrase of the German poet, Friedrich Hölderlin: “God created man the way the sea created the continents: through withdrawal.” Here are some passages which in a way introduce us to the book proper: «A movement that with time has turned into an organisation can undergo a charismatic renewal, if in some marginal zone of the “Kingdom” some creative minorities start reconstituting the conditions needed to revive the same miracle of the charism’s first foundation: the same enthusiasm, joy, and the same fruits. The true process that brings this very same minority to become the majority is called reform. […] It is a decisive process that has to be undertaken unhurriedly, and should involve and activate the dynamic settings of creativity, going out to them “at the confines of the empire.” All this is certainly and firstly, a gift (charis), but also signifies wise organisation, and deep, spiritual, prophetic, and transformative intelligence. […] Many new “evangelisations” come about upon recounting the good news, and we are able to feel it come alive in us, in a new and diverse manner. This is how a new-ancient love story is reborn – a new eros, new desires, new generativity, and new children. […] The charism may thus flourish again and resume its encounter with people in the streets, forgetting its own organisations so as to tend to the wounds and sufferings of the men and woman today, especially of the poorer ones, […] creatively interpreting their own mission in the present time.»
