Focolare Movement

Support for our Ukrainian brothers and sisters

The Focolare Movement’s Emergency Coordination continues to raise funds for Ukraine. Father Vyacheslav Hrynevych, executive director of Caritas Spes Ukraine sent us this short video with a thank you directly from one of the distribution centres. https://youtu.be/co7-47VjQ74 For those who would like to contribute Azione per un Mondo Unito ONLUS (AMU) IBAN: IT 58 S 05018 03200 000011204344 presso Banca Popolare Etica Codice SWIFT/BIC: ETICIT22XXX Azione per Famiglie Nuove ONLUS (AFN) IBAN: IT 92 J 05018 03200 000016978561 presso Banca Popolare Etica Codice SWIFT/BIC: ETICIT22XXX Causale: Emergenza Ucraina

Chiara Lubich: the authenticity of the followers of Christ

The word of life for May 2022 suggests that we put into practice the new commandment of Jesus: mutual love. By looking beyond differences- which are so emphasized in the present time- we can give life to real communities that reveal the great novelty of the Gospel You know that Jesus is present, for example, in the sacraments. In the Eucharist, for instance, he becomes truly present. Jesus is also there wherever mutual love is lived. He said: ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name’ (and this is possible through reciprocal love) ‘I am there among them.’[1] And also in a community where life is deeply rooted in mutual love, he can continue to be actively present. And through the community, he can continue to reveal himself to the world and influence the world.  Isn’t this wonderful? Doesn’t it make you want to start right now to live this love with your fellow Christians? According to Saint John,(…) mutual love is the foremost commandment of the Church, whose vocation is, in fact, to be communion, fellowship, to be unity. (…) If, therefore, you want to find the true mark of the authentic disciples of Christ; if you want to know their distinctive characteristic, you will find it in the mutual love they live. Christians are recognized by this sign. If it is missing, the world will no longer be able to find Jesus in the Church. Reciprocal love creates unity. But, what does unity achieve? ‘That they may all be one’ – Jesus continues – ‘so that the world may believe…’[2] Unity, by revealing the presence of Christ, draws the world to follow him. When people see mutual love and unity being lived, they believe in him.

                                                                                                                      Chiara Lubich

Chiara Lubich, in “Parole di Vita”, [Words of Life] Citta Nuova, 2017, pages 171/2 [1]     Mt 18:20. [2]     Jn 17:21.

A vocation at the service of dialogue

On 30th April 1982, 7,000 priests, religious and seminarians from all over the world, united by the spirituality of unity, gathered in Rome for the event “The Priest Today, the Religious Today”. Forty years later we look back at that day. Priests who feel called to be first and foremost witnesses of the Gospel and men of dialogue; religious who have found in the spirituality of the Focolare Movement an incentive to embody more fully the charism of their founders; seminarians who have understood that they want to choose God and to confirm their own calling. These are the experiences of many of the participants at the International Congress entitled “The Priest Today, the Religious Today”, held on 30th April 1982 in the Nervi Hall, in the Vatican. 7,000 people took part in that Congress. Through testimonies from all over the globe, they highlighted the fruits of the encounter of the charism of unity with ministers of the Catholic Church and other Churches and the renewal brought to many religious communities. In her speech that day, Chiara Lubich stressed the two focal points of this experience: Jesus crucified and forsaken as the model of the priest and the religious; mutual love and unity as the style and purpose of their mission. To be men of “dialogue”. This is the mandate that, even then, contained the desire of an outgoing Church, as can be seen from the words of the foundress of the Focolare, more relevant than ever today: “Never as in today’s times, is the Church called to look beyond herself to all Christians, to those who have different beliefs or who do not believe at all. Never before is it so evident that what some call “the missionary mandate of the Fourth Gospel” comes to the fore. John expresses it in these terms: ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another’. (…) Today Christians are called to evangelize in this way too: loving one another and offering the experience of their new life to others. This cannot fail to touch, to amaze and to provoke questions. And hence dialogue flourishes”. On that day the then Holy Father, John Paul II, presided over “the greatest concelebration since the institution of the Eucharist,” as the Roman Observer called it. It was a moment of joy and sharing, an opportunity to take stock, a starting point for new developments. Today, 40 years later, let’s hear the story of some of the participants.

Edited by Maria Grazia Berretta

  https://youtu.be/4Y-PNuJGN4A    

Sophia University Institute: a growing network

Sophia University Institute: a growing network

Expanding horizons of learning. From 27 March to 2 April in Colombia a meeting on “University, knowledge and wisdom: a perspective for Latin America”. A seat in Latin America for Sophia UI. Openness and graduality. These were the guiding principles of the meeting “University, knowledge and wisdom: a perspective for Latin America”, held at Tocancipá, Colombia from March 27 to April 2. It brought together Giuseppe Argiolas, Rector of the Sophia University Institute, with the members of a multi-disciplinary intercultural commission which over the past ten years has been working to build the foundations for a Latin American seat of the university. The General Council of the international Focolare Movement was represented by Francisco Canzani and Renata Simon. At the heart of their considerations were the guidelines from the Congregation for Catholic Education for the development of a project unprecedented in the history of pontifical universitities. Namely, that the individual units of the Sophia University Institute, even if situated in different continents, can be considered part of a single global university, with its headquarters based at Loppiano, near Florence, Italy. If approved, the Sophia ALC (Latin America and Caribbean) project will be the first step in the formation of this “university network”, with three geographical branches. In Argentina a proposed Master in “Integral Ecology and Interculturalism” delivered in hybrid modality (in person and online); in Brazil a degree course in “Education directed towards Integral Human Development”; in Mexico university extension courses, available mainly online. Over the six day meeting, the commission members concentrated on forming strategies for the gradual implementation of this complex project in all its aspects, including conforming to ecclesial norms as well as to local legislation, economic sustainability, fundraising and publicity, infrastructure and curriculum development. The result was a growing certainty that the moment has arrived to extend even further the horizons of  “unity in diversity” experienced by the Sophia ALC team members, who come from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Uruguay, and from academic disciplines as diverse as administration, communications, economics, education, history, law, philosophy, sociology and theology. It is clear that the future of the project will depend on a continuing and deepening dialogue between the rector and academic staff of Sophia, the Focolare Movement leadership team, and above all with the Congregation for Catholic Education to indicate the channels along which this dream of Chiara Lubich can be gradually brought to fruition, in this case in the Latin American continent.

Daniel Fassa

#DARETOCARE: United World Week 2022

#DARETOCARE: United World Week 2022

The “dare to care” theme will once again be the focus of this year’s United World Week on May 1–8, 2022. It’s an opportunity not to be missed throughout the regions. It’s time! We are a few days away from the United World Week 2022, which this year will see thousands of people of all ages, races and creeds involved all over the world. When thinking about this event, typically what comes to mind immediately are young people, large gatherings or events. Yet United World Week is much, much more, because it is not just about young people. Throughout the year there is a wealth of life, with all the different generations of the Focolare Movement and others who work together for universal brotherhood. Almost 27 years ago, the Youth for a United World proposed to dedicate one week a year to engage public opinion more actively in the journey towards a united world. I remember the comments, in those days of May in 1995 during the Genfest, trying to figure out what that idea was, what we could do in the year that followed. The answer came in the following weeks and, as always, it came from life itself. The invitation was, and still is, quite specific. The 25 years of history, from the first United World Week in 1996 to the most recent one in 2021, have confirmed this. The first thing to do is to deepen and keep up all the activities that the Focolare communities carry out with courage, and in some cases even silently, to support the journey towards unity in the most diverse contexts. This includes in neighbourhoods, schools, workplaces – situations of fragility and neglect. The campaign targets cities, institutions and the media to promote unity and peace at every level, together with all people who are inspired by the same principles and objectives. It is not just young people, but together with those who are older, with the involvement of families, professionals, committed adults, politicians… united by the values of universal brotherhood. Together, by being inclusive, with wide-ranging actions that change and improve the social fabric, we can have a greater impact on world opinion. David Sassoli (1956–2022), the recently deceased former president of the European Parliament, had this to say to Youth for a United World at last year’s United World Week: “I believe that this is a work of civil education that in some way should concern us. It concerns us politicians and institutions, but also of course all the important world of European association. I believe that you in particular are in a privileged position, because you have already defined not only that it is important to take care of others, but also to take care in order to improve the living conditions of others.” This is the care that the world needs. Even in this very special year, on every continent, it has not gone lacking. “Caring for others is an act of courage,” says Jomery Nery, a young Brazilian tax lawyer who is also the director of operations for Anpecom (the Portuguese national association of the Economy of Communion). From Anpecom comes an initiative called Supera (a program for overcoming economic vulnerability). Jomery describes it this way: “Throughout the year we receive messages, emails and other communications from people who need help to eat, to build a house because they live in cardboard housing, for rent, to study or to start a business. Supera is a campaign to collect money, which is then used to help people in need.” It’s a “cure” directed towards fragile situations. In Belfast, too, the capital of Northern Ireland, they have taken this on seriously. For close to four years the city has been hosting an initiative that you could say was both ecological and social, which also takes place in the same way in other parts of the world. It’s called the Repair Café, that is, a bar for repairs, where volunteers are available to fix broken objects that people bring. As they do, they spend a nice morning together. The Repair Café is a real experience, both for the volunteers who fix things and for the people who decide to invest their time and bring an object to be fixed rather than throwing it away. Their motivations behind this are the most diverse, from concern about climate change, to the wish to see a fond object work once more. And with that excuse, relationships and ties are woven, and the strength to face daily challenges is found. In Lecce, Italy, a community made up of families, young people, professionals, artists, together with associations and the parish, works to redevelop a neighbourhood that has become marginalised, difficult and colourless from many points of view. “The first idea was to make the wall of the oratory more joyful and colourful,” says Don Gerardo. “That’s where the idea of the first mural came from, and people truly appreciated it.” Slowly, thanks to word of mouth, and to the young writers present in the area, artists from many parts of the world arrived to beautify the buildings of the Stadio district. With them came photographers, tourists and local administrators who were drawn by the true works of art that these murals represent. Everything is the result of a fraternity that has been created between the artists and the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. It has triggered a virtuous change that everyone feels part of – a true project to help those most in need, which has included activities for economic, environmental and social redevelopment. It is stories like these that give a soul to United World Week. These communities of active people who put themselves on the line will find a showcase from May 1–7, 2022 in many events around the world, both virtual and in person, that will do nothing more than collect and show the life that exists in the various regions. The title once again be #Dare to Care – the same “care” that can still make people repeat what Chiara Lubich said about United World Week in 2002: “It is always something a bit special. It is one of the initiatives that is most in keeping with the charism.”

Paolo Balduzzi

Together for a New Africa: it takes courage to be a leader

Together for a New Africa (T4NA) is a training course conceived and implemented by young people from several African countries. It aims to teach responsible and participatory government and to equip students to face the key challenges of their continent by promoting and developing a culture of unity. Adelard Kananira told us about this experience of training, tutoring and networking and gave some examples of the results so far. Playing an active role in society and making choices that contribute to the common good of all, right there, where people live. This is the dream of Together for a New Africa, which, involving many young people, intends to rethink a new African leadership, capable of dealing with the multiple challenges of each individual country. Adelard Kananira, a young Burundian, who has lived in Italy for five years and is one of the organizers of the various T4NA Summer Schools, told us about it. After graduating from Sophia University, he works for the Secretariat of the Political Movement for Unity. Adelard, how did T4NA start? Together for a new Africa is a project that was born at Sophia university. And it came from Sophia university African students who thought from the experience they were having, what can they give back to their continent in the light of the culture of unity. They sat together, then they thought they put ideas together and they come up with this project and the first summer school was in 2018 in one of the little towns of the Focolare Movement, Mariapolis Piero which is in Nairobi (Kenya) and is where subsequent meetings also took place. What is the core of this project? Together for a new Africa is a project that was born at Sophia university. And it came from Sophia university African students who thought from the experience they were having, what can they give back to their continent. Initially we did not have a lot of resources and since Africa is very big and presents thousands of faces, we started with some countries of the Eastern Africa, hoping to eventually reach everyone. I remember that during the first Summer Schools, some participants didn’t even want to talk to each other. There were difficulties that led to saying: “We don’t know each other, how can we go ahead?” But surprisingly after spending time together we noticed how, little by little, all the barriers between cultures and tribes disappeared. We have actually witnessed this personal growth, as a group and as one immense continent. What are the results of this project? We can really testify that after three years of summer schools and training courses, there are a lot of results. We have seen some participants go into politics, become activists and leaders and do a lot of things for their communities. They have received many awards and in some countries they have joined hands with other associations to respond to the many emergencies. This not only gives us hope, but shows that the project is growing. And we are proud of it. What are the next steps? Today we concluded our first cycle of 3 years of training course which was amazing. And now we are going to the second cycle, which is going to start at the end of this year. And it will move from seven countries to 14 countries. It’s a challenge. We recognize that, but our dream was and is the whole of Africa. This step ahead is showing us that we can succeed because the young people have taken it on board as their own project and together we can go ahead.

Maria Grazia Berretta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoNkU2PI5Qo&t=108s