Hungary- a home for everyone

29 May 2011 | Non categorizzato

“What do you expect from the Focolare community in Hungary?” a Hungarian focolarina asked Chiara Lubich in 1985. The Focolare founder answered: “42 years ago there was nothing, or perhaps only one person who had this Ideal. Now we are spread all around the world. And so what do I expect from you? That the Movement, now present among a certain number of people and with a certain development, may spread through every city and town; that it may contribute to the renewal of the Church and of the whole society with its various instruments and movements in religious and social fields; and that it may, along with Our Lady’s other inventions, render the Immaculate Heart of Mary triumphant”. Who knows what Chiara would say today on seeing the development that has taken place on Hungarian soil since 1985. “We must give thanks to God because you are doing amazing work”, the current President Maria Voce stated at a gathering of the Hungarian Focolare family in Budapest on 28^th May. The meeting was a chance to share experiences about activities in every field. The event took place in a former Russian army barracks and some of the 650 participants remarked that this seemed symbolic of the force within the Charism of Unity to transform society. The programme started with an original reconstruction of Chiara’s trip to Budapest in 1961- her first visit to the then eastern bloc. She was deeply struck by the effect that the regime was having on the country and its people. Whilst this made Chiara suffer, the impression that “Our Lady was at work” was just as strong. The presentation that Hungary’s local communities gave at Saturday’s event demonstrated that this was not a mere impression. Hungarians prove to be a proud population, with a well defined identity. At the same time they are looking for a balance between nationalism and openness on a universal level between a deep desire for freedom and the ability to take on responsibility. Maria Voce’s wish for them was that they may manage to “overcome their mistrust of other populations” which often impedes  reciprocity. “It is right to affirm national identity but it must create a symphony of nations”, the president underlined, “The challenge is to realise Hungary’s talents, offer them as a gift, welcome those of other populations and learn more and more how to collaborate”. Maria Voce went on to underline that every member of the Movement is called to do their part: The Volunteers, for example, have an innate vocation to transform humanity, conscious that, “doing our small part where we are, contributes to bringing ahead the Kingdom of God all around the world”. Those involved in New Humanity are called on to “bear witness to the Gospel in an often heroic way, without letting themselves be crushed by certain situations but transforming them with love. As Chiara said in a mediation, ‘What do we do when we have loved a lot? Love even more’.” The families in the Movement are called on to respond to the many difficulties that undermine solidity with “an ever greater and ever renewed love, with an openness without limits, finding the roots of this love in God”. The children asked the president where they can find God and were happy to hear that one of the places we find Him is in others. The teenagers shared that they risk marginalisation because they don’t conform to the flock and they left the meeting feeling fortified because “Jesus also felt misunderstood by everyone. Don’t worry about this, worry about what God wants. The simple fact that you manage to bring ahead your idea is an example and a provocation to others”, said Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti in encouragement.

Maria Voce's meeting with the Hungarian young people

Trip to Hungary – May 2011

29 May 2011 | Non categorizzato

The essence of the family

28 May 2011 | Non categorizzato

At the opening, in the foreground: Blessed John Paul II whose pontificate gave “priority attention to the family.” Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, pointed out in his speech that “for the Pope of the new evangelization, the family, that small domestic church, was not just a saying. It signified an actual implementation of the real and specific Church. In fact, the spouses – as is written in Familiaris Consortio “not only relive the love of Christ and become a community of the saved, but they are also called to pass on to others the same love of Christ and become a saving community “(FC 49).   In the afternoon, the long-awaited meeting with the president of the Focolare, Maria Voce, who forged with the more than one thousand participants from all over the world, a profound dialogue, expressing her joy at being with families who offer themselves as instruments of unity in the environments in which they live. The testimonies highlighted how faith in Love can transform and illuminate daily life, and be a support and guiding force in difficulties: illness, separation, and widowhood. In collaboration with the youth section of the Focolare Movement, two moments were devoted to bringing up children. Topics related to educating were discussed in work groups: educating for a sober lifestyle, emotional education, and the use of media in relation to different age groups. A significant amount of space was dedicated to young families. Many followed the program via internet from various listening stations around the world, during which time there were discussions about affectivity, communication, and spirituality. Messages of support arrived from: Canada, Venezuela, Israel, El Salvador, Brazil, etc. “Infinite thanks for this concrete love which allowed us to take part in the congress via internet,” they write from Panama, “re-affirming the value of the family and the faith that Jesus helps us to construct it. Society gives the idea that the family is out of style – but today, listening to you, we feel that the family is so modern and relevant.” “You’ve illuminated every aspect of our married life,” they write from Slovenia. “Living the spirituality of the Gospel brings us to the fulfillment of our happiness and freshens the love that we want to bring to as many families as we can.”

Hungary, Cradle of the Volunteers of God

27 May 2011 | Non categorizzato

‘God! God! God! Ring out this ineffable name, source of all rights, justice and freedom, in Parliaments, in town squares, in houses and in offices!’ Wishing to answer this heartfelt plea contained in Pius XII’s radio message on 10 September 1956, which had been provoked by the repression in Hungary, Chiara Lubich wrote a letter that was to become the ‘founding charter’ for a new vocation in the Focolare Movement: the ‘volunteers of God’. Men and women, committed to bringing God, with their own lives, into society, into all the places where they are active. ‘There has come to be,’ Chiara wrote on 15 January 1957, ‘a society capable of excluding the name of God… taking the love of God from human hearts. There must be a society capable of putting Him back in His place. (…) ‘May there be those who hallow Him with all their strength and who gather together with those who feel the very same call to form a bloc under the orders of that Eternal Word which no one can ever cancel from the earth. ‘There need to be people who follow Jesus exactly as he wants to be followed: denying themselves and taking up their cross. People who believe in this weapon: the cross, more powerful than the most powerful of bombs because the cross is a breach in the soul by which God can enter into hearts …  Creating a bloc of people of every age or condition, linked by the strongest bond that exists: that mutual love left to us by the dying God become human as his last will and testament … Mutual love that forges Christians into a divine unity … which alone can oppose the unity that comes from selfish interests, from reasons of this earth, from hatred. ‘Mutual love which means: practical action, giving all our love to our brothers and sisters out of love for God. ‘In summary, there need to be disciples of Jesus, genuine disciples in the world not just in the religious houses. Disciples who voluntarily follow Him, motivated only by an illuminated love towards Him, in this hour of darkness… ‘An army of volunteers, because love is free….‘There needs to be … the building of a new society, renewed by the Good News, where justice and virtue shine out with love….(…)‘A society that bears witness to a single name: God.’

Kenya: A Meeting of the Bishop Friends of the Focolare

26 May 2011 | Non categorizzato

From May 23 to 28 a large meeting of Bishop Friends of the Focolare took place at Mariapolis Piero, the “little city” of witness of the Focolare Movement in Kenya.  The 21 Bishops came from South Africa, Angola, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Kenya.  Their desire was to “Rediscover God’s Plan in the Present Time”. The meeting was rich in its theological reflections and its updatings on the present situation of the Church.  There was a presentation of concrete experiences of Gospel life.  Interspersed throughout the event were times set aside for meditation, celebrations, and prayers in common. For a number of years, in the various geographical areas of the African continent, meetings of Bishops have taken place.  These meetings have taken their inspiration from the “spirituality of communion” proposed by recent Popes and highlighted by the experience of the Focolare Movement.  As a followup to the meeting in Kenya, two additional meetings will take place, one at Moramanga (Madagascar) and the other at Bamenda/Fontem (Cameroon).