31 Jul 2012 | Non categorizzato, Word of
He reminds us of the reward or the punishment that awaits us after this life because he loves us. He knows, as one Father of the Church put it, that at times fear of punishment is more effective than a beautiful promise.
His aim is that we may live forever with God. This is all that matters. It is the goal for which we have been called into existence. Only with him, in fact, will we reach our complete self-fulfilment, the full realization of all our aspirations.
If we disown him now, when we reach the next life we will find ourselves cut off from him forever. By referring to the final judgment, he emphasizes the tremendous importance and seriousness of the decision we make here. Our eternity is at stake
“Whoever acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Whoever rejects me before others I will reject before my Father in heaven.”
How can we best take advantage of this warning and live Jesus’ word? Let us decide to declare ourselves for him before others with simplicity and openness, overcoming our need for mere human respect. Let’s get out of a state of mediocrity and compromise that empties our lives.
We have been called to bear witness to Christ: through us he wants to reach all people with his message of peace, justice and love.
We can bear witness to him wherever we are, whether in our family, at work, among friends, at school or in the many different circumstances of our lives. We can do it first of all through our behavior, through the integrity of our lives, through our purity, through our detachment from money, through our participation in the joys and sufferings of others.
We can express it through our mutual love, our unity, so that the peace and joy promised by Jesus to those united to him will fill our soul even now and overflow onto others.
Perhaps someone will ask us why we act the way we do, why we are so serene in a world that is so fraught with tension. We will then answer with humility and sincerity using those words that the Holy Spirit will suggest to us. In this way we will bear witness to Christ with our words, too, on the level of ideas. Then perhaps many of those who are searching for him will find him.
At other times we may be misunderstood, contradicted, made the object of derision, hatred and persecution. Jesus alerted us to this possibility: “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (Jn. 15:20).
We are still on the right path, however, so let’s go ahead to bear witness to him with courage even in the midst of trials, even at the cost of our lives. The reward that awaits us is well worth it; it is heaven, where Jesus whom we love will declare himself for us in front of his Father for all eternity.
Chiara Lubich
Originally published in July 1984
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29 Jul 2012 | Non categorizzato
The Genfest enters your home: an explosion of colours, music and life going against the current will overwhelm every corner of the Earth, invading the internet with Twitter, mail, photos, extending the Arena in real time! Participate in the Genfest by launching yourself in the Budapest Arena through live streaming!
Here is the programme!
7:30 pm Hungarian welcome and an international concert in the arena (transmitted via internet)
10:30 am – 12:30 pm programme in the arena (transmitted via internet)
3:30 – 5:00 pm programme in the arena (transmitted via internet)
9:00 – 10:00 pm (approximately) flashmob on the Chain bridge (we’ll communicate via cell phones/mobiles, twitter, facebook, and maybe there will also be live streaming!!!!)
10:30 am:
In the square of the Basilica of Saint Stephen, in the city centre, a Catholic Mass will be celebrated by Cardinal Péter Erdő, archbishop of Budapest.
At the same time, in the various Christian churches present in the city, there will be liturgical celebrations for members of the respective churches.
For the participants of other faiths and of non-religious convictions, there will be moments of sharing for them, which will take place in a place near the basilica.
12 noon: final greeting and time-out for peace
(from 10:00 am to 12.30 pm, it will be transmitted by the Hungarian TV via satellite)
The Genfest throughout the world: organize yourself with your friends and bring the Genfest to your city! Join in the flashmob on the Chain bridge and send us your photos, pictures and mail from the bridge in your city! It will be a worldwide flashmob that will cry out to the world that universal brotherhood is already underway and begins from your home!
For further information write to: communication@genfest.org
www.genfest.org
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The Genfest 2012 project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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28 Jul 2012 | Non categorizzato
A series of images giving an idea of the 5 unforgettable days that 250 teens from Italy, Greece, Turky, Spain, Bulgaria, Hungary, Bolivia and Australia spent together in Loppiano (9-13 July 2012).
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27 Jul 2012 | Non categorizzato
Like many families they were having economic problems. Back wages and finally layoffs at work. With three young children the future seemed threatening. What were they to do? Measuring their own needs against those of others could seem foolish, but in this case it turned out to be successful. The facts recounted by a mother prove it.
“The children’s baptisms. A simple feast. No wasting money. No candy favours or restaurant. We welcomed relatives and friends back to the house. We’ve been given much and we wanted to share it with those who are less fortunate, giving away a part of the money we received in gifts to a project for newborns in Africa.” But the recent baptism coincided with her husband being laid off at work. They could really have used that 250 € that was given. But they decided to send it to the project anyway.
“Later we learned that the people caring for those newborns had been praying and asking God for precisely that amount of money at a time when there was no money for milk, and that it would cover the cost for up to three months. Not only were we not lacking anything, but I was in need of a coat and a suit and was given a coat and quite an elegant suit, jacket and two dressees, as well as three times as much money as we had given away.”
“There is a constant exchange of clothing going on among several families, especially children’s clothing, a sort of barter operation. When these big packages arrive, we have a little rite: We open the packages together and then we organize the “fashion show”. Nice clothes, very new shoes; my children never had such a filled closet. One day my oldest told her friend about this “fashion show”, and the friend a bit disgusted replied to her: “But how can you be so happy about putting on clothes that other people have already worn? Are you poor?”
Naturally my daughter arrived home disillusioned and sad. We sat down and talked, and we agreed that when she needed something in particular we would buy it, but that it is also beautiful to give and then to recieve what you have, not because we don’t have the money to buy it but because it is good to spend on the poor children, like the ones we adopted in Africa. Not only was my daughter more serene, but she went to bring her piggy-bank and gave me all the money she had inside so that I could send it to her little brother in Pakistan. Then she asked me: “Mamma, are we poor?” I explained to her that actually, during that period we were having some economic difficulties because her father was out of work and because of some back payments I was owed. It turned into an opportunity for explaining to her that we may have been lacking in some things, but still had a house, a car, good food, and especially our love for each other, our many friends – and we were happy. And then she exclaimed: “Then we’re rich, Mamma!”
(F. & M. – Italy)
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22 Jul 2012 | Non categorizzato
How the game is played
Throw a pebble on the page:
- if it touches a lifesaver you earn the number of points shown above the life vest, following the directions written inside the buoy
- if it touches the large colourful fish 100 points are given to the player with the least number of points
- the player whose pebble lands closest to the lighthouse earns 1000 points
Every time we give, we will find happiness again, it will be like having a lifesaver that makes us float with joy!
Download pdf with the game 
Let us know how it went with your Gensaver! Leave a message here.
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18 Jul 2012 | Non categorizzato
Project Logo
What future awaits us? This is the question being asked by millions of youths from Asia to theMiddle East who do not wish to just sit back and watch. The Genfest will be an opportunity for many of them to broaden their horizon beyond the civil wars and failed revolutions, global crises and a culture of fear – to make more daring proposals. One such proposal involves the formation of a research group that would examine whether fraternity, that “forgotten principle” of modern history would be able to influence both our individual and collective choices and decisions.
United World Project (UWP)is the name of a project that was created by the Focolare’s Youth For A United World (www.y4uw.org) and it is open to collaboration with all youth groups and international networks from other religions and cultures with whom it has cooperated on other topics in the past. According to the inspiring words of Chiara Lubich: “Fraternity can bring about freedom and equality in the city, and this consists in creating the conditions so that every person, every citizen, family, association, business and school can express its own personality and offer the best of itself.” It is up to the youth to translate this idea into concrete decisions. With the help of experts and other young professionals the project has already begun to take shape and will be carried out in three phases: Network, Watch (the observatory) and Workshop.
United World NETWORK: To form a worldwide network of youths who are asked to personally commit themselves by putting their signature to it. The goal will be to study the requirements for a culture of universal fraternity and for commitment to living the Golden Rule: Do to unto others as you would have them do unto you. This first phase of the project would begin during the Genfest, with the first gathering of signatures. It would continue until the launching of the next World Unity Week, 1 May 2013, when the Observatory will be formally established.- United World WATCH:The establishment of a permanent international Observatory to examine activities and projects that were capable of producing an “increase in the level of fraternity” in the social, economic, cultural and political fabric of the world. It will evaluate indicators of social cohesion, peace, acceptance and dialogue among people of different religions and culture, interdependence, recognition of rights, forgiveness and reconciliation, inclusion and integration, reduction in inequalities, respect for and awareness of the environment. . . The Observatory would also promote specific cultural activities.
- United World WORKSHOP: The request to the UN that it recognize the international interests of the World Unity Week by confirming and expanding even more the annual event that for fifteen years it has seen the youths of the Focolare and others being committed to in spreading the word about universal fraternity. The process of recognition by the UN is already underway.
The United World Project is for all countries, but the continent ofAfrica holds a special place, since it has been welcoming the Youth For A United World’s ‘spaces of fraternity’ since the 1960’s. Through this common path and sharing in the suffering of others, they have acquired a strong sense of community, discovered new models for involvement and real change.
Ark Tabin from the Philippines belongs to a UWP work group. He is particularly involved with mapping out the various projects already underway in several countries which will serve as the basis for the observatory. In his city, for example, there is a nutrition programme for the poorest children and a clothing drive for hospital patients from distant villages. For him, his signature “does not only mean espousing an idea, but committing to living a better life, to looking around, to intervening. When you’ve signed our name, it means you want to get involved in changing the world beginning from your own corner of the world.”
The appointment is for 1 September 2012 where the gathering of signatures is to be part of the large Genfest event entitled Let’s Bridge,
www.genfest.org
More info at: https://www.focolare.org/area-press-focus/en/
The logo made by a young Italian graphic artist, is composed of two circles. The interior circle – outlined in pencil – represents the world. The external circle – coloured in blue to signify the universality of Heaven – represents a protective mantle. Other religious or political meanings have been excluded.
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The Genfest 2012 project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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