31 Dec 2008 | Non categorizzato, Word of
Have you ever visited a community that is alive because it is made up of authentic Christians? Have you ever attended some of their gatherings? Have you tried to understand their way of life? If you did, then you must have noticed that the people who make up this community have different roles: some have a gift for speaking and can communicate spiritual truths that touch your soul. Others have a gift for helping, caring for the sick, or providing aid, and it is amazing how much they can do to benefit those who suffer. Some teach with such wisdom that they add new strength to the faith you already had. There are those who know the art of organizing or leadership, while others have a gift for understanding those around them and offering consolation to those in need.
Yes, you may have noticed all of these things, but what strikes you above all in such a vibrant community like this is that all the members have the same spirit, something that you seem to feel in the air and that makes this particular community into a single body.
“There are many members, yet one body.”
Paul too, in a special way, found himself before vibrant Christian communities, communities that had actually come into being through the power of his extraordinary preaching.
One was the young community of Corinth, to whom the Holy Spirit had very generously conferred gifts, or charisms, as they are called. In those days extraordinary charisms were given for the special vocation of the early Church.
Even after the uplifting experience of receiving numerous gifts from the Holy Spirit, however, this community fell into rivalries and confusion, even among those who received such gifts. Therefore it was necessary to ask for help from Paul, who was at Ephesus.
Paul was quick to reply through one of his remarkable letters, explaining how those special graces should be used.
He explained that there is a variety of charisms and ministries, such as apostles, prophets, and teachers, but there is only one Lord who bestows them all. He said that in the community there are those who work miracles and those who heal, while others have special gifts for serving or for leadership. There are those who can speak in tongues, and those who can interpret them. But, he added, there is only one God from whom all these gifts have come.
Since these various gifts are expressions of the same Holy Spirit, who gives them freely to each person, these gifts will always be in harmony with one another, always complementing one another. They are not given for one’s personal satisfaction, nor should they be a cause of vanity or of pride, but they are given for a common purpose: to build up the community. Their goal is service. Thus, they cannot cause rivalries or confusion.
Although Paul was thinking of the particular gifts that concerned the life of the community as a whole, he saw that each member possessed an individual talent, a special ability, that should be utilized for the good of all. Each person should be happy with what he or she has been given.
He envisioned the community as a body and asked, “If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be?” (I Cor 12:17-19). As it is,
“There are many members, yet one body.”
If each of us is different, each is able to be a gift for the others. In this way, we all can be ourselves and fulfill the plan that God has for us in relation to the others.
In a community in which this variety of gifts work together, Paul saw such a reality that he gave it the splendid name, Christ. The fact is that this original body, made up of members of the community, was truly the body of Christ. Christ truly continues to live in his Church and the Church is his body. Through baptism, in fact, the Holy Spirit incorporates the believer into Christ, and he or she becomes a part of the community. There, all are Christ, every division is eliminated, and every discrimination is overcome.
“There are many members, yet one body.”
Since the body is one, then the members of the Christian community can bring to fulfillment their new way of life by accomplishing unity among themselves, a unity that presupposes diversity and pluralism. The community does not resemble a block of lifeless matter, but a living organism with different members.
To provoke division is, for Christians, to do the opposite of what they should do.
“There are many members, yet one body.”
How then can you live this new word that Scripture proposes?
You should have great respect for the different functions, gifts and talents present in the Christian community.
You need to be open to the entire Church in all its aspects, not only to the particular community that you know or you belong to, like the parish community or the religious organization or movement you are a member of. You need to be open to the universal Church in all her manifold expressions.
You should feel that everything is your own because you are part of this one body.
As a result, just as you consider and protect every part of your physical body, you should do the same with every member of the spiritual body…
You should value all of them and do your part so that they may be useful to the Church in the best possible way…
Do not be scornful of what God is asking of you right where you are. Even though your daily work may seem monotonous and lacking in significance, we all belong to the same body. As members, each one of us participates in the activities of the entire body, even though we remain in the place that God has chosen for us.
What is essential, then, is that you possess that charism that, as Paul proclaims, surpasses all others; and that is love, love for each person you meet, love for all people on earth.
It is through love, through mutual love, that the many members are able to be one body.
Chiara Lubich
An integral version of this commentary has been published in Words to Live By (New City Press, 1983).
The Word of Life, a sentence of Scripture, is offered each month as a guide and inspiration for daily life. From the Focolare’s beginnings, Chiara Lubich wrote her commentaries on the Word of Life, and after her death last March, her early writings are now being featured once again. This commentary, addressed to a primarily Christian audience, was originally published in January 1981.
6 Dec 2008 | Non categorizzato
It was December 7 1943. This is how she remembers the moment, early in the morning, when she went alone to the Collegio Serafico of the Capuchins. In the chapel a priest was waiting for her. During Holy Communion, she said her “yes, for ever” to God, the rock on which everything began: Imagine a young girl who is in love, in love with a love which is the first love, the purest one, as yet undeclared but which is already burning in her soul. There is one difference. A young girl who is in love like this here on earth has before her the image of her loved one. This girl does not see him, does not hear or touch her loved one, or sense his fragrance with the senses of the body but rather with the senses of her soul, through which love has entered and taken complete possession of her. So she feels a special joy, one which is difficult to experience again in life, a joy which is secret, serene, jubilant. The church was beautifully decorated. On the back wall was a painting of Mary Immaculate. Before Communion I saw in an instant what I was about to do. Through my consecration to God, I was crossing a bridge. The bride was collapsing behind me. I would never be able to go back into the world. I was getting married. I was marrying God. And it was that God who later would show himself as the Abandoned One. Opening my eyes to what I was doing in that moment was, I remember, something immediate and brief, but so strong that I shed a tear which fell on my missal. I think I ran all the way home, stopping only once, near the bishop’s house, to buy three red carnations for the crucifix awaiting me in my room. They would be a sign of the feast day celebrated by everyone.
5 Dec 2008 | Non categorizzato
These are some fruits of the Word. All the fruits listed here, however, have their origin in the same truth. The Word of life, as we know, is unlike other words. It can not only be heard, it has the power to accomplish what it says. The Word, a presence of Christ, generates Christ in our soul and in the souls of others. It is true: if we are Christians, then even before living the Word with commitment, Christ’s life is within us and with it we undoubtedly have the light of God, and love too. Regrettably they are often hidden, as if in a chrysalis. By living the Gospel, love radiates light and with the light, love grows: the chrysalis begins to move, and finally the butterfly emerges. The butterfly is the tiny Christ who begins to dwell in us and grow more and more… so that we are increasingly filled with him. There is a marvellous description by Paul VI of what the Word produces: “How is Christ present in a person’s soul? Through the vehicle and the communication of the Word (…) the divine thought passes, the Word passes, the Son of God made Man. We could say that the Lord becomes incarnate within us, when we allow His Word (…) to live within us.” From: Vivere. La Parola che rinnova – Città Nuova Editrice, Roma 2008
30 Nov 2008 | Non categorizzato, Word of
WORD OF LIFE December 2008
By Chiara Lubich
Do you remember these words? Jesus addressed these words to the Father in the garden of Gethsemane. These words give meaning to his passion, which was followed by his resurrection. They express the drama unfolding within Jesus in all its intensity. It is the inner laceration provoked by his human nature’s deep revulsion facing a death willed by his Father.
Christ, however, did not wait until that day to conform his will to that of God. He had done it all his life.
If this was how Christ behaved, then it ought to be the attitude of every Christian. You too should repeat in your life:
“Not my will but yours be done.”
Perhaps you never thought of it, even if you were baptized and are a son or daughter of the Church.
Perhaps you might have used this sentence as an expression of resignation—something one does when he or she has no choice. This, however, is not its real meaning.
Listen: in life you can go in one of two directions. You can do your own will, or you can freely choose to do God’s will. In the former, you will soon experience disappointment by attempting to climb the mountain of life using your limited ideas, your resources, your dreams and your own strength. All this, sooner or later, will transform your life into an experience of boredom, inconclusiveness, dullness and, at times, despair.
Your existence will be colorless in spite of your efforts to make it interesting; despite everything, the deepest part of you will not be at peace. You should admit it, for you cannot deny it.
Furthermore, at the end of your life, you will depart without leaving a trace—only a few tears and then inexorable, total oblivion.
If, instead, you do the will of God, you will re-live Jesus’ words:
“Not my will but yours be done.”
Let us imagine that God is like the sun. A ray from the sun falls on each one of us. Each ray is the divine will for me, for you, for everyone.
Christians and all people of good will are called to move towards the sun, keeping to their own ray of light which is unique and distinct from all the others. By doing so, they will fulfill the wonderful and particular plan that God has for them.
If you do the same, you will find yourself involved in a divine adventure you never even dreamed of.
You will be, at the same time, both actor in and spectator of something great that God is accomplishing in you and through you in humanity.
All that will happen to you—joys and sufferings, graces and disgraces, significant events (success and good fortune, accidents and the loss of those dear to you) as well as seemingly insignificant events (routine work at home, in the office or at school)—everything will acquire new meaning since all have been offered to you by God who is love.
Everything that he wills or permits is for your own good. At first, you will accept it in faith and later you will actually experience that there is a golden thread connecting all the events of your life and forming a beautiful embroidery—it is the plan of God for you.
Maybe this prospect is attractive to you. Maybe you sincerely want to give a deeper meaning to your life. Then you should consider this first: when to do the will of God. Just think for a moment: the past is gone and you cannot run after it; you can only leave it to God’s mercy. The future is not here yet – you will live it when it becomes the present. Only the present is in your hands. In the present, you have to live the words:
“Not my will but yours be done.”
When traveling by train—and life is also a journey—you usually remain in your seat. You wouldn’t think of walking back and forth to get there faster. But this is what we do if we live our life dreaming of a future which is not yet here, or thinking of a past which will never return.
No, time moves forward on its own. We must remain rooted in the present and then we will reach the fulfillment of our lives here.
You will now ask me: how do I distinguish God’s will from mine? It is not difficult to distinguish God’s will from our own if we remain in the present. I will tell you one way to do it. God speaks within you. Perhaps in the past, his voice has too often been smothered by you and is now barely audible. But try to listen, God speaks to you (see Jn 18:37 and Rev. 3:20). He tells you when it is the moment to study, when it is the moment to help someone in need, when to work, when to overcome a temptation or to fulfill one of your duties as a Christian or as a citizen. The voice of God within you urges you to listen to those who speak to you in his name; it helps you face difficult situations courageously….
Don’t silence this voice—it’s the most precious treasure you possess. Follow it. You will then build, moment by moment, the story of your life, a story that is both human and divine because it is made by you in collaboration with God. And you will see wonders. You will see what God can work in people who say with their whole lives:
“Not my will but yours be done.”
Chiara Lubich
The Word of Life, a sentence of Scripture, is offered each month as a guide and inspiration for daily life. From the Focolare’s beginnings, Chiara Lubich wrote her commentaries on the Word of Life, and after her death March 14, her early writings are now being featured once again. This commentary was originally published in August 1978 addressing a Christian audience.
Published in Words to Live By, New City Press, 1980.
