A clear message for Latin America and the world /1

8 Aug 2013 | Non categorizzato

Susana Nuin Nuñez

Dr. Nunez was part of the 2007 Aparecida Communications Staff, which had Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as its president for the Commission’s Final Document. She also took part in the work of Coordination of the Latin American Bishops Conference (CELAM) that was just held in Rio on July 29, 2013 to August 2, 2013.

The Aparaceda Document was mentioned several times during WYD. From your perspective, is there some specific point in the Document that was highlighted in particular?

For the Pope, Aparecida has great value inasmuch as it represents the way to dialogue with the Church, as proposed in the Second Vatican Council beginning from the point of view of the Latin American peoples, from what they feel. He particularly highlighted the proposal of “missionary disciples.” These two things that go together require a change of lifestyle. They demand a pastoral conversion for everyone. What does that mean? It means following Jesus despite the fact that we might feel weak, fragile. . . “on the road” to conversion.

The Pope repeats ideas such as: “culture of encounter,” “dialogue,” “relationships among generations.” Are these based on the Document?  

I believe so, yes. The Pope basis himself on the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council, an ecclesiology of dialogue in all of its dimensions: with the other churches, with the other religions, with persons who do not believe, but also dialogue within the Catholic Church and dialogue with the culture, with politics. A few Presidents from South America also attended World Youth Day. Likewise, I think that the Pope did something that was very interesting: he joined the world of the young to that of the elderly. To me this seemed totally revolutionary: more than looking for differences among the generations, he underscored the potential and the sameness, the reality itself. He was quite clear: the young people in our societies have been excluded, so too the elderly. And so they can share full solidarity with one another and enrich and be very strongly enriched by each other. It seemed quite revolutionary to me for a Pope to talk at a World Youth Day about the value and the dimensions of the aged.

e have read one of your recent interviews in which you speak of “sparks of the Spirit” in reference to the contribution that could be made to the United States by the Aparecida proposal. Could we suppose this to be true also for the rest of the world?

I believe that each continent expresses its own culture. Aparecida expresses the Latin American and Caribbean cultures. I would prefer to say that Aparecida can be a good testimony for stimulating other continents to gather in communion and collegiality, to create their own types of communion. It seems to me that the most important thing is to motivate the continental church – as is already happening in Africa and other places – to unite and understand together what the Gospel means to the people of each continent.

*  Dr. Susana Nuin Núñez, Uruguayan member of the Focolare Movement, Consultant of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Executive Secretary of the CELAM Press and Communications Department.

On the frontier to serve

7 Aug 2013 | Non categorizzato

“From the moment we began planning this trip we were aware of what a powerful experience it was going to be. But we never imagined the welcome we would receive from the people – especially the youth. We arrived after a trip that lasted for more than 12 hours. The school bell was ringing for us as we arrived. A large sign read: “Thanks for coming, thanks for coming here, we love you: WELCOME.” As soon as our bus stopped they began to greet us and unload our luggage. Then we played some games with the children and sang songs with them too.”

This is what 19 youngsters from Teens for Unity wrote in their diary. They were accompanied by 4 adults during their school holidays in the month of July, leaving behind Buenos Aires to go and spend a few days at the “Escuela km. 25” in Santiago del Estero Province, one of the many “existential frontiers” that Pope Francis has recently spoken about.

The location was a thousand kilometres from Buenos Aires, in the midst of a forest. The school has two classrooms, a kitchen, three bathrooms and a play area with a well that provides water for the 22 families of the community, who live in mud dwellings with dirt floors.

The school is attended by 35 children up to the age of 13. A lone teacher arrives every Monday and leaves again every Friday. The men work the fields and are away from home for up to three months out of the year.

“It took 4 months to prepare for the trip. With the help of the adults, youths and young people of the Focolare we held an evening event for gathering funds. We had to meet the cost of the trip, our sojourn and many other logistical problems. We brought school supplies, medicines, shoes and just about anything else that we could fit into our bags.

We all agreed that we weren’t only going there to bring the toys and activities that we had prepared for the children, but we were going there with an attitude of learning and receiving something from them as well: how they live, what their world is like, their values, what they do . . . And it turned out to be a mutually very enriching experience.

We visited their homes, taking breakfast with them. We planned to meet at 10:30, but at 9:30 they were already there waiting for us.

One day their teacher had told the children that to come and play with us, they must wear the best clothing they had. Perhaps it was the only pair of shoes they owned, while they went to school with bare feet. But they saw this encounter with us as a feast, and so they dressed for a feast.

Before we leaving we wanted to give them all the money we had for the school, and so that the children’s dream could come true of going to the city for an ice-cream! When we returned to the big city, we realised what an extraordinary experience it had been: ‘I was able to realize that living in solidarity, serving, it doesn’t matter at all, neither the place you live, nor anything else, because we truly are all equal.’ A new friendship has begun and we don’t want to miss the appointment they wrote about in their farewell message: “Goodbye until next year!”

Children: always at the heart of the Focolare

5 Aug 2013 | Non categorizzato

“Popetti,” that’s what Chiara used to call them. It means “children” in the local dialect spoken in Trent. They were the children and youths who came into contact with the Focolare Movement at its beginnings in 1950. They were part of the community, followed what was happening and shared firsthand in its joys and sufferings. They also attended the summer Mariapolises in the Dolomite Mountains, always gathered around the group of first focolarini.”

Luigi Liberati from Rome met the spirituality of unity back in 1953. “All the people who had the good fortune of being near to Chiara were left with the certainty that she had loved only them. I still carry in my mind and in my soul that strong experience of feeling always loved and given first place,” he says. His story presents an unpublished, lively, deep and intense picture: “In 1954 I attended my first Mariapolis. Since there weren’t too many of us, it was easy to be in constant contact with Chiara.” Luigi recalls one story: “That day at Mass the words of the Gospel were: “. . . whoever welcomes one of these little ones. . . “and leaving the church, Chiara immediately said to us: “popetti, everyone in the car, we’re going up to the pasture to have strawberries and cream.” So, all of us somehow managed to squeeze into that car, a Fiat 103. Chiara held the little ones on her lap, and then there was that nice bellyful of strawberries and cream.”

During those early Mariapolises Chiara entrusted the group of children that was constantly growing in size, to Vicenzo Folonari, better known as Eletto: “That’s where Eletto’s spiritual stature began to show. With him I experienced graces I had never witnessed before. He began a dialogue with us, as the go-between, between us and Chiara. She loved us, guided and taught us, and Eletto helped us to translate everything she said into life.”

As time passed this group of youths continued to grow and Chiara had the idea of keeping in touch by creating a small centre: “Almost every day some of us would meet there after school. We kept in contact with the others who were scattered all over Italy. Chiara came often, gave us advice and encouraged us.” Our relationship with her was direct and filial: “When she had an accident in 1957 and broke her shoulder, Paolo Carta and I went almost every day to the hospital where she was recovering. We would leave on her car parked outside the hospital, a small message that expressed all our love.”

One day we felt the need of organising a national meeting, since we had grown so much in number. On that day we felt a responsibility that made us feel equal to the adults, and we held that meeting a sense of sacredness. This is how the seeds of the spirituality of unity began to be sown among the new generations: “Through all of this,” Luigi concludes, “God was preparing for what would later happen in such an explosive way with the Gen in the following decade.” But that’s another chapter.

Open to others

2 Aug 2013 | Non categorizzato

A caricature One of my classmates had sent a caricature of me around the whole school. I have a small physical defect on one ear, and it makes me feel bad when anyone laughs at me. Instead of beating him, I remembered Jesus’ invitation to forgive and spoke to him calmly. Later I invited him to my house, asked him to help me with a school assignment, then to go to the shopping centre to watch a film. He accepted, although with a bit of mistrust. When he asked me why I hadn’t beaten him, I was able to explain to him that I try to see Jesus in every neighbor, knowing that everyone makes mistakes. Now he is also trying to live the words of the Gospel with me. (Daniel – Brazil) The fifth child A few days ago my Tunisian friend confided to me that she was pregnant. She was ashamed to be expecting her fifth child in a country like ours where there are one or two children per family. We assured her of any possible assistance we could offer, even prepared to take the baby into our family and taking care of it ourselves. A few days later she and her husband decided in favor of the unborn child. That same day they received a large sum of money, and the Helping Life Centre has assured them of a monthly contribution from them. (F.T. – Italy) In the emergency room During holidays abroad I had to take my son to an emergency room because of a bad fall. I was suffering doubly because Leo was crying desperately, and because he kept on repeating that I should have been more attentive. In the hospital, putting aside my own anxiety, I took upon myself the anxiety of a German woman who was there with her boy being cared for close to mine. She only spoke English and I was able to translate between her and the doctor and the nurse. When my husband arrived and I introduced her, she said she was grateful for my being near at such a difficult moment. When I don’t lose time thinking about my own limitations, I’m peaceful enough to build new relationships with those around me. (B.F. – United Kingdom) Source: Il Vangelo del giorno (Rome: Citta Nuova Publishing House, August 2013).

Seminaries: young people, formation and communion

31 Jul 2013 | Non categorizzato

“The space given to the workshops provided an opportunity for a very enriching exchange. . . I was given a general presentation along with many of the practical aspects of priestly formation illumined by the spirituality of unity. It was a wholistic vision of the human person in the light of the Trinitarian mystery. . . The natural setting favoured the days together with a style of living that was communion and dialogue. . . I greatly appreciated the moments of common prayer and meditation. The texts were very beautiful, as was the exchange of experiences and life.”

These were some of the impressions left by those who attended a training course for educators in seminaries, promoted by the Centre of Spirituality for Diocesan Priests and Seminarians of Loppiano in collaboration with Sophia University Institute (SUI), Loppiano and the Focolare Priests Movement.

Twenty formators attended from 11 countries: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Malta, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary and Venezuela, and became more aware of the importance of this service in the formation of future ministers, which is one of the most challenging tasks of the Church.

The course was offered to rectors, spiritual directors and formators working full-time in seminaries, and was initiated in response to the need for finding “pathways and paradigms for the discernment and formation of vocations to priestly ministry that meet the challenges of the socio-cultural changes that have an impact on the lives of young people today.” It is a two-year course – two weeks each year – with presentations by experts, work groups and plenary sessions for sharing, united with the celebration of the Eucharist and daily liturgical prayer.

The first part of the course offers theological, anthropological, ecclesial and pedagogical foundations applied to the various stages of priestly formation. The second part examines through the lens of communion, specific areas of wholistic priestly formation in the light of dimensions found in Pastores dabo vobis (human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral). It explores such things as: the gift of self and communion; corporality and living the life of the Mystical Body; the harmony of the person and building up the community; Wisdom, studies and culture; communication and the communications media in service of communion.

Following the first part of the course that was held last year at the Abbey of Vallombrosa, Italy, the second part was held on July 15, 2013 – July 27, 2013 at the restructured Centre of Spirituality of Communion in Loppiano, Italy.

Credits are offered for the course, which has the approval of the Congregation for Catholic Education, through Sophia University Institute (SUI). Monsignor Piero Coda, Dean of SUI and Monsignor Vincenzo Zani from the Congregation for Catholic Education were on hand for the opening of the course.

Of particular significance was the fact that the course had been held last May and July in Bangkok, Thailand, for 60 formators from the Asian countries

Normal
0
14

false
false
false

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

south of China.