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13 Jul 2011 | Non categorizzato
A meeting with surprises of the Spirit
Interreligious Symposium in Thailand - 2010
In this time of great upheaval, “the walls in which the various civilizations live with their individual culture are crumbling,” and, “a city-world without walls can be seen on the horizon, full of hope.” This was the vision offered by Chiara Lubich in London in 2004, before an audience of representatives of numerous religions, on the topic of the future for a multicultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society of our time, faced with the risk of a clash of civilizations. In the 1970s, speaking at an international congress of young people, Chiara had asked them to, “not close their eyes at the sight of this torment of humanity but to conscientiously enter into the gestation of the new world.” “You are here,” she added, “to be formed in a “world mentality,” to become “world-man.”
Chiara Lubich with a group of Buddhist monks
In these twenty-five years, the road opened by Blessed John Paul II has made great progress thanks to the action of the Holy Spirit. It is He who guides history in this great design of unity, despite the many shadows which fall across our planet. We are witnesses to it. For our Movement, almost as a surprise, the unexplored page of interreligious dialogue was opened. Chiara Lubich recognized a sign of the Holy Spirit in the interest shown in her spiritual experience by representatives of different religions present at Guildhall in London in 1979.
Since then, numerous developments have occurred in more than thirty years. In 1972, when Chiara invited young people to become protagonists in the gestation of a new world, she gave them what she called a “very powerful weapon of love,” “the model capable of re-creating the unity of the world:” Jesus crucified who calls out to his Father in his abandonment. It is He, the Crucified and Resurrected Lord, who is the key which opens dialogue even in the most difficult situations.
Maria Voce with Buddhist grand master Ajahn Thong - Thailand 2010
Today, dialogue between religions cannot be limited only to leaders, scholars and specialists. It must become a dialogue of the people, a dialogue of life. We meet Christians and Muslims everywhere who are testament to the fact that one can progress from fear of the other to the discovery of the other and contribute to a peaceful living together in their cities.
We begin now to pray for the great meeting in Assisi next October; in the hope and expectation of new surprises from the Holy Spirit.
Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement
July 13, 2011
8 Jul 2011 | Non categorizzato
Contemplating the immensity of the universe, the extraordinary beauty of nature, its power, I was spontaneously turned to the Creator of all things and I seemed to understand something new of God’s immensity. The impression it made on me was so strong and so new that I would have knelt down to worship, praise, and glorify God. I felt the need to do it, as if it were actually my vocation. And, now as my eyes seemed to be opening for the first time, I understood as never before, who it is that we’ve chosen as our Ideal; or rather, who it is who has chosen us. I saw him so great, that it seemed impossible to me that he should think of us. And this impression of his greatness remained in my heart for some days. Now it’s a whole new thing for me when I pray: “Holy be your name” or “Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit”: it has become a necessity of the heart (. . .) We are on the way. And when someone travels, they already think about the place where they will be welcomed when they arrive. We should do the same. Won’t we praise God when we are there? Then let us praise him starting from now. Let us allow our hearts to cry out our love, to proclaim it, together with angels and saints: “Holy, Holy, Holy”. Let us express our praise with our lips and with our hearts. Let us take advantage of this opportunity to revive those daily prayers that have this as their object. And let us also give glory to him with our entire being. (. . . ) Let us praise him beyond nature or in the depths of our hearts. Above all, let us live dead to ourselves and alive to the will of God, to love toward our neighbors. As Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity said, we are also a “praise of his glory”. In this way we’ll anticipate Heaven a bit, and God will be repaid for the indifference of so many hearts who live in today’s world. Chiara Lubich, Rocca di Papa (Rome) 22 January 1987
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5 Jul 2011 | Non categorizzato
The youth at the "Gen School" in Loppiano prepare a choreography
30 Jun 2011 | Non categorizzato, Word of
“Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
In order to understand these words, we should keep in mind the circumstances in which they were said. What Jesus was giving his disciples was more than words of advice. We should see these words as reflecting his state of mind, that is, how he was preparing himself for the trial. Facing his imminent passion, he prayed with all his soul, wrestled with the fear and horror of his death and totally entrusted himself to the love of the Father so that he might be faithful to God’s will to the end and help his apostles to do the same. We see Jesus here as the model for all those who must face trials and, at the same time, the brother who stands by our side in those difficult times.
“Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Jesus often gave exhortations to be vigilant. For him, to be on guard meant not to ever let ourselves be overcome by spiritual “sleepiness.” It meant to be always ready to welcome the will of God, to discern its signs in everyday life and above all to be able to see difficulties and sufferings in the light of God’s love. Vigilance and prayer are inseparable, because prayer is indispensable for overcoming trials. The fragility of human nature (“the flesh is weak”) can be overcome by the power coming from the Spirit.
“Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
How then should we live this month’s passage? We too should ready ourselves to meet trials: the small and big ones of each day. They are the trials which we cannot help but encounter from one day to the next. Now the first condition for overcoming a trial, any trial, Jesus advises, is to be on guard, to “watch.” It is a matter of discerning, of realizing, that God permits them not to discourage us, but so we can grow spiritually as we overcome them. And at the same time we must pray. Prayer is necessary because there are two particular temptations to which we are vulnerable in these moments. One is to think we can go it alone. The other is the opposite feeling, that is, the fear of not making it, as if the trial were greater than our strength. Jesus instead assures us that our heavenly Father will not leave us without the power of the Holy Spirit if we stay on guard and we ask him with faith. Chiara Lubich
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23 Jun 2011 | Non categorizzato
To be “the builders of new cities” was the wish of Maria Voce, President of the Focolare, for the 20th of June encounter, in Naples, commemorating the birth of the Political Movement for Unity (PMU). “In the present context of the general disenchantment of the citizenry concerning public institutions,” stated Maria Voce in her message, the achievements offered by the PMU – small perhaps, but significant – “make us hope in the season of “new politics” made of dialogue and mutual acceptance. The roots: May 2, 1996, in Naples, Italy. A group of politicians posed a question to Chiara Lubich: How is it possible for those who are active in different parties on opposite sides of the aisle, to live out the fraternity which she proposes, in the field of politics?”. In her answer, she called for new determination, for unity around shared core values must come before the legitimate affiliation to a political party, and the common good can only be reached with the contribution of all. The PMU was born from these basic ideas, which were also wholeheartedly supported by the politicians in attendance. Fifteen years later on 20 June 2011, a conference entitled: “Brotherhood: A Challenge for Politics” was held at the public auditorium of the Regional Council for the purpose of acknowledging the entrance of Chiara Lubich’s charism in civil history. More than 150 attended – among them parliamentarians and administrators from other regions as well. The first presentation was given by Eli Folonari who spent fifty years at Chiara’s side and is now director of the Chiara Lubich Centre. She offered her listeners an outline that traced the excursus of this journey: from interpersonal love to a social love for the commonwealth. Today, the PMU operates in every region of Italy, various European nations, Latin America, and Asia. The various experiences that develop over the years converge in the spirituality of unity, beginning with the paradigm offered by Igino Giordani. The basic lines of the PMU were presented by Marco Fatuzzo, president of the International Centre, beginning with the definition offered by Chiara herself: “an international laboratory of common political work, between government officials, scholars, and politicians at various levels, from different party lines, who place fraternity at the basis of their life.” Within this same framework, some significant examples were offered: the laboratory of dialogue and policy design that is animated by the PMU in some of the parliaments of various countries – in Italy, for example, Brazil, Argentina, and South Korea – the international network of political training schools, in which youths can experience a politics of communion. Cities have also joined the network: “To date, more than 100 have joined the “City for Fraternity Association,” said the mayor of Rocca di Papa, Italy, Pasquale Boccia, who is also the association’s current president. And why not the Regions? It was truly emblematic, therefore, that in the context of a more inclusive vision of Italy, just at the conclusion of the conference, the president of the Regional Council of Campania, Italy, Paolo Romano, announced the unanimous membership of the assembly in the City for Fraternity Association, signing the memorandum of understanding. Published by the Movement for Unity in Politics
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22 Jun 2011 | Non categorizzato
A sports coach from Saxony, East Germany describes how a long friendship with a Catholic priest began, in spite of the fact that the coach had no religious faith. “After the revolution of 1989 in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) sport club membership was no longer free due to cuts in subsidies, and many young people went over to neo-Nazi environments. And nobody did anything. In desperation I even approached a Catholic priest with whom I had never had anything to do before, to complain to him: Why doesn’t the Church do something?” Change of scene. An ex-officer in the people’s army and professor at the superior institute of state security – the GDR secret service – attended his 50th high school reunion where he met a classmate who had chosen a different path. His friend was now a priest. But their differing paths were not an obastacle to their being friends; indeed, it helped. During the final years of the German Democratic Republic (DDR) the professor had begun some research and for this reason was removed from his work post. His conception of socialist society was not compatible with the interests of the power system. Like others, these two characters – the coach and the professor from state security – have found a new perspective in the gatherings of the Focolare Movement. So it was that last May they attended meetings between Christians and people without a religious reference, at the Mariapolis Centre in Zwochau near Leipzig (5 – 9 May 2011).
The Mariapolis Centre in Zwochau
