28 Dec 2022 | Non categorizzato
Recalling the emotions of an unforgettable year and the outlook for the New Year 2022 – a year that will be hard to forget. The war in Ukraine that could be compared to a virus for which there is still no vaccine, has affected all of us every day of this year that is drawing to a close. Yet, it has also been an opportunity for lots of artists to bring messages of peace and hope. And this is how the song ‘We Choose Peace‘ was born and recorded by Gen Verde, the international performing arts group, right at the start of the conflict in Ukraine. The video clip, recorded with young people from the little town of Loppiano and released during United World Week, has been particularly relevant throughout 2022, especially at various concerts around Europe. The band also recorded another song called ‘Walk On Holy Ground‘, written especially for followers of St Vincent de Paul but also for all those who feel called to follow Jesus. “To feel that I am looked at and loved by the One who has chosen me just as I am,” said Venezuelan singer Andreína Rivera from Gen Verde, “has given me the strength to go ahead with even more conviction.” This year was also marked by the concerts returning to squares and theatres, with various kinds of workshops, after a break of just over two years due to the pandemic. There have been several Gen Verde concerts in Italy and a special European tour. The strongest experience was the event held in the women’s prison in Vechta, Germany. 
“For the first time I was able to not feel like I was in prison. It was so beautiful,” said one of the inmates at the end of the concert. ‘I didn’t feel any difference. They were just like us. Some of them even had tears in their eyes. They really understood us.” Another one said: “Many songs were so appropriate for our situation, especially the song ‘On the other side’ because it helps not to judge those who are different from you”. Another inmate emphasised how “time went by so quickly and we didn’t want it to end. The stories in the songs are also my past and that is why I do not feel alone with my pain. Now I know that there are other people with the same stories, with the same pain, who have managed to find happiness”. We have been talking about our return after the pandemic. For Gen Verde, it was exciting to resume the Start Now Workshop Project, which is about meeting young people in the performing arts workshops and going on stage with them. “It’s been great to meet young people from different parts of Europe,” confided Raiveth Banfield from Panama who sings with Gen Verde. By sharing our experiences, so much light came back into their eyes. It was like a confirmation that it is worthwhile to live for universal brotherhood”. These words were echoed by two young Slovakian girls: “Before we came we didn’t really know what we were getting into. At first we didn’t even want to come out of ourselves but then in the workshops we discovered that we all had so much in common, even though we did not know each other and could not understand each other because of the different languages. We discovered that each of us has a little light inside us, despite the little obscurities. This experience is unforgettable: we will carry it with us for the rest of our lives.” Gen Verde is beginning to glimpse a 2023 that will be full of surprises and novelties. “We have been preparing for several months because it’s going to be full of trips, tours, concerts and also a few surprises,” says Alessandra Pasquali, an Italian singer and actress. “We can’t give away too much just yet because there are still things being worked out, so much work in progress”. Early on in 2023 Gen Verde will be back in Germany, then Austria and Romania, and in the summer they are going to Portugal for the World Youth Day, as well as various Italian cities including Assisi on 24 February where there will be a concert for peace.
Lorenzo Russo
Info: https://www.genverde.it/
27 Dec 2022 | Non categorizzato
Prayer is not only the best way to seek God but, more than anything else, it is the willingness to be found by Him. It is from this experience of grace that our strength derives and it is precisely in prayer that some young people of Peru, faced with a painful situation, found the answer. How can we live prayer? This is the theme on which the communities of the Focolare Movement are invited to reflect this year and it was the focus on 13th November, 2022, of the Gen2 day, which involved the youth realities of the Focolare Movement, connected in live streaming from many parts of the world. There were many experiences on the importance of prayer. They included one from a group of gen from Arequipa (Peru), told in a video through the words of Verónica, Alejandra, Anel and Katy. “We want to share an experience of love, unity and prayer that we have had recently and that concerns in particular a gen, our great friend, Pierina. A week after her birthday something unexpected happened, that shocked everyone: Pierina was diagnosed with an illness which has very serious consequences. We immediately understood the seriousness of the situation and that it would be a long and delicate process. We were very worried and felt that our hands were tied. What could we do? Suddenly the idea of saying a rosary and a prayer to Blessed Chiara Luce Badano for Pierina’s health came from our heart. Together with the Focolare community of Arequipa, we started to meet over the web every day at 8 or 9 pm. We saw how, slowly, this moment together produced unexpected fruits, in ourselves too. Every night this rosary was our strength. Although the situation continued to be complex, we put everything in the hands of God: Pierina’s health, her healing and also strength for her family. Months have passed and it has been wonderful to see how Pierina got out of intensive care and then started a slow recovery. We felt it was a sign that this prayer should continue. We realized that this precious space that we had carved out had become a moment to experience unity between us, in which each member could entrust not only Pierina’s life to God, but also bring their own pains, efforts, share and discover the beauty of the encounter with God. It was a beautiful experience, which is still a source of strength for all of us.”
Edited by Maria Grazia Berretta
23 Dec 2022 | Non categorizzato
Vinu Aram, director of the Shanti Ashram, visited the International Centre of the Focolare Movement (Rocca di Papa, Rome). It was a chance to reflect on the precious inheritance she received from meeting Chiara Lubich: to live in unity for a better world; a special occasion to wish a joyful Christmas to all those who prepare to live this feast. “I think our journey continues to have great significance. Just think of the first seeds, the work we have done together and our constant desire for a peaceful world. Where are we? Think of a family in which everyone has their own characteristic but where there is also cohesion. We trust each other, with respect and with much love”. These are words of fraternity spoken by Viru Aram, Indian and Hindu, director of the Shanti Ashram International Centre, a long-time friend and collaborator of the Focolare Movement. Her recent visit on 23rd November 2022, to see Margaret Karram, President of Focolare, at the International Centre of the Movement in Rocca di Papa (Italy), was an opportunity to strengthen this bond, reflect together on some issues that afflict this time and discuss common paths to make the world a better place. Vinu, what do you think the world really needs today? I think it needs real, honest listening. Today what is required of us is compassion and the humanization of our lived experience. We have done a lot, in some cases well, but sometimes the cost was high. We are in the middle of what has been called a confluence of crises and the COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated everything. The virus did not discriminate but in an unequal world it prospered. I believe that it is necessary to act strengthened by everything we have done that is good, but also informed about what we can do better: respect for the environment, for human life and its sacredness. The way we live, the way we govern and share resources comes with a responsibility towards our children. They are our present and our tomorrow. It is necessary to do things not only differently, but with everyone’s interests in mind. Today there are many countries and regions of the world affected by violence and conflicts, some of them forgotten. As a teacher, what message do you give your children? I try to foster a mindset of peace in them, so that not only nations and communities can work for peace, but entire peoples. Peace is the fundamental foundation on which prosperity advances. But if you look at the world, the indicators of violence exceed those of peaceful life. Whether it is the social sphere, whether it is the economic sphere or something else. And every conflict in the whole world takes away the essential dignity of human life. What is needed are peace narratives. People have to believe it’s possible. We need experiences which enable young people and children to say: “Ah, if this works, we can do it too”. We need the right structures, sincere sharing and dialogue of the highest quality, that really lead to transformation. Then, as Mahatma Gandhi often said, in a gentle way, we can shake the world.
Maria Grazia Berretta
Activate English subtitles https://youtu.be/Sm3O6PbLE1A?list=PLKhiBjTNojHqtFwgi5TYI3T7zRvAuOZiD
23 Dec 2022 | Non categorizzato
Advent is a time for recollection, a time of waiting. It is a time that wakes us from slumber and surprises us with the incarnation of a God who makes himself “small” to come and dwell among us. The mystery of Christmas brings us back to the essential, and welcoming Baby Jesus into our lives becomes an opportunity for each one of us to convert ourselves again and look at our daily lives with gratitude. A charity that is always new Ever since the conflict broke out in Ukraine, we have been involved in collecting food and clothing and welcoming refugees. A chain of prayers for peace also began in our parish. We took in a Ukrainian mother with two children. Since the Ukrainian language has Slavic roots, there were no problems there, even if English is practically our common language… but how were we going to organise life for these people who were so completely disoriented? There are already five of us in the family, so we asked relatives and friends if they would help with our guests. It was about organising places for them, something we had never done before. After the first few days which were easy in some ways because of the novelty of the situation but difficult in other ways, we noticed how our children, all teenagers, adopted a sense of responsibility that they had not demonstrated before. They began helping with the household chores, shopping, accompanying someone to the doctor, teaching a few Slovakian words, cooking, ironing. The pain our guests were feeling was the sense of suspension, the lack of horizon. We found that embracing this silent pain was not only a good way to help someone else, it also helped us to live our faith better and transform it into a charity which is ever new. (J. and K. – Slovakia) God is paying you a visit As a widower, I no longer had a reference point for the future. My two daughters, who had already moved out of home, had their whole lives ahead of them. Should I remarry? My problem was not just that I didn’t have a partner, but the bigger question on the meaning of life. I started drinking, more and more. One day a Bangladeshi boy appeared at my door selling socks. Seeing me in such a sorry state he offered to clear up the kitchen and started washing up the piles of dishes and crockery until there was some semblance of order. As I was drinking the coffee he had made for me, I asked him about himself. He told me he was looking for work in Austria in order to be able to support his elderly parents and a sick brother. In short, he moved in with me a few days later. Besides helping me with the housework, I found him other little jobs with friends. Whenever he saw me getting restless, this good and simple boy would try to distract me. I can honestly say that he saved me. Through him, I really felt that God had come towards me, had come to visit me. (F.H. – Austria)
Edited by Maria Grazia Berretta
(taken from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, year VIII, no.2, November-December 2022)
22 Dec 2022 | Non categorizzato
Message from Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, on the occasion of Christmas 2022 Activate English subtitles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGt4KlwM9N8 I wish everyone a very happy Christmas, and I’ll do so through a poem I wrote recently. Come Lord Jesus, hurry and come, The whole world can no longer cope! A dark night has come down, The Star has disappeared from the sky. Who will guide us now to Bethlehem, To meet the Prince of Peace? Who will help us rekindle in many hearts the flames of a love that burns and becomes art? It’s Christmas. Come back, come to us Lord Jesus. We want to welcome you like we have never done before. More than ever in the past, we want to recognise you in those who suffer: the poor, the lonely, those in despair, sick or abandoned. Grant that we may hear the cry of those who no longer hope, of those who no longer believe! Grant that we be people of peace. Give us strength. Give us the courage to echo the angels and like them proclaim: joy, hope, peacefulness, fraternity!
Margaret Karram
19 Dec 2022 | Non categorizzato
In a few days it will be Christmas. It’s a celebration when we can meet up as a family and renew relationships, regardless of the lights and the gifts. God became a child and was born in the poverty of a manger. At Christmas 1986, Chiara Lubich invited the communities of the Focolare Movement to go out towards those who are suffering the most. Today too, we have many brothers and sisters who are having to live in situations of suffering and they are waiting for us to share with them and to bring them comfort. Today the warmth of the Christmas spirit makes us all feel more like a family, more united as one, more like brothers and sisters, so that we want to share everything, both joys and sorrows. Above all, we want to share the pain of those who, due to various circumstances, are suffering. … Suffering! Suffering can at times overcome our entire being, or occur suddenly and mix bitterness with the pleasant moments of our day. Suffering caused by an illness, an accident, an ordeal, a painful circumstance. … Suffering! … If we look at suffering from a human standpoint, we are tempted to look for its cause either within us or outside of us, for example, in human malice, or in nature, or in other things. … And all this might be true, but if we think only in these terms, we forget something more important. We lose sight of the fact that underlying the story of our lives is the love of God who wills or permits everything for a higher purpose, which is our own good. … And didn’t Jesus himself, after inviting us to take up our cross and follow him, then affirm, “Those who lose their life” – and this is the apex of suffering – “will find it”?[1] Suffering, therefore, brings hope of salvation. So what can we say today to our friends who are struggling with pain and suffering? … Let’s approach them with the greatest possible respect, because even though they may not think so, in this moment they are being visited by God. Then, inasmuch as we can, let’s share their crosses, which means to truly keep Jesus in the midst with them. Let’s also assure them that we are continually with them, and assure them of our prayers, so that they will be able to take directly from the hand of God whatever makes them suffer, and unite it to the passion of Jesus so that it can produce the greatest possible fruit. … And let’s remind them of that marvelous Christian principle of our spirituality, by which suffering that is loved as a countenance of Jesus crucified and forsaken can be transformed into joy. May this be our … Christmas/OR commitment – to share every suffering with our brothers and sisters who are suffering the most, and offer our own sufferings to Baby Jesus.
Chiara Lubich
(Chiara Lubich, Conversazioni, Città Nuova, Roma 2019, pag.265-268) [1] Mt 10:39.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEz1pZdFb50&list=PL9YsVtizqrYtnID7Mtj616OTSxpbqxvqg
