31 Aug 2006 | Non categorizzato, Word of
This is a Word that gives life, the life of the Gospel, and, at the same time, it is a Word that needs to be lived out. If God speaks to us, how can we not welcome his Word? The Bible repeats God’s invitation to listen to him a total of 1,153 times. The Father extended the same invitation to the disciples when the Word, his Son, came down to live among us: “Listen to him” (Mt 17:5). The listening that the Bible speaks about, however, is done more with the heart than with the ears. It means to adhere completely, to obey, to make our own what God tells us, with the trust of a child who abandons himself in his mother’s arms and lets her carry him. This is what the apostle James reminds us of in his letter:
«Be doers of the word and not hearers only»
In this Word we hear an echo of Jesus’ teaching. For instance, “blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it” (Lk 11:28), and again, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it” (Lk 8:21). Using an image given by Jesus, James compares the Word to a seed that has been put in our hearts and urges people to “humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you” (Jas 1:21). But to welcome and hear it is not enough. Just as the seed is destined to bear fruit, so the Word of God has to grow into deeds. Jesus had explained this in the parable of the two sons whose father asked each: “Son, go out and work in the vineyard.” One said, “ ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go.” The other, however, said, “‘I will not,’ but afterwards he changed his mind and went” (Mt 21:28-30). The son who later obeyed his father showed with his deeds what it really means to hear the Word. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that a person who lives the Word will set a firm foundation for his or her life: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock” (Mt 7:24).
«Be doers of the word and not hearers only»
Jesus expresses all his love for us in each one of his words. Let us incarnate them, let us make them our own, and if we put them into practice a great life force will be set free in us and all around us. Let us fall in love with the Gospel to the point of allowing it to transform us and to overflow onto others. This is our way of loving Jesus back. It will no longer be us who live, but Christ will begin to live in us. We will experience what it means to be free from ourselves, from our limitations, from all those things that tie us down. Moreover, we will see the revolution of love that Jesus, now free to live within us, will set off in the surrounding social structures.
«Be doers of the word and not hearers only»
We experienced this from the very beginning of the Movement. Because of the frequent bombardments of Trent during World War II, we ran to the air-raid shelters carrying with us only a little book: the Gospels. We would open the book and read it. Thanks to a particular grace of God, I think, those words that we had heard so many times stood out for us with a new light. They were words of life, to be lived out right away. “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Mt 22:39)—even in the midst of the sadness and tragedy of the war, the people that were touched by this love would rediscover how to smile and be serene and find meaning in their lives. “Give and gifts will be given to you” (Lk 6:38)—after making a little act of generosity we were overwhelmed by the abundance of providence that would arrive; goods that we would then freely distribute throughout the city to those in need. We thus witnessed the growth of an active community around us, a community that grew to 500 people in just a few months. All of this was the fruit of our communion with the word, which was constant, and energized us moment by moment. We were inebriated by the word; we could say that the word lived us. It was enough to ask one another: “Are you living the word?” “Are you the word lived out?” to increase our speed in living it. We have to go back to living as we did in those days. The Gospel is always timely. It is up to us to believe in this and to experience it.
Chiara Lubich
30 Aug 2006 | Non categorizzato
“At a time when religion is being manipulated by extremists, the religious leaders gathered in Kyoto are showing the whole world that religious communities can indeed illuminate the path to peace when they work together”, stated Dr. Vendley, General Secretary of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP), during the conclusion of the 8th World Conference, which was attended by over 2,000 participants.
The 800 delegates, from more than 100 countries, were Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Jain, Sikh, Shinto, Zoroastrian and Indigenous leaders. Among the Muslim representatives there were some highly important figures, such as the ex-president of Iran, Khatami and the Prince of Jordan, Hassan Talal. The head of the Jewish delegation was Rabbi David Rosen, president of the International Jewish Commission. The heads of the Catholic delegation were Japanese Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao, together with Bolivian Cardinal Julio Terrezas Sandoval.
Religious leaders from Iraq, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Sudan highlighted the Assembly’s unique capacity to bring together delegates from zones of conflict. Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish religious leaders from Iraq, presently in conflict in their country, stated in a common declaration: “We have dialogued with boldness, courage and trust. We now walk on this path of dialogue. God willing, we will reach a green line of peace for all of Iraq”. The Hindu and Buddhist representatives from Sri Lanka publicly shook hands heartily and demanded a cease-fire and the resumption of peace talks.
At the end of the Assembly the delegates adopted the Declaration’s twenty recommendations which “put religious communities at the centre of all efforts to confront violence in all its forms within our own communities”. The document is addressed not only to religious leaders, but also to governments and international organisations, in order to increase shared security through support, education and collaboration with, and among, religious communities.
The spiritual roots of dialogue amongst religions and their work for peace were at the centre of the message of Chiara Lubich, an honorary president of the WCRP, who was represented by an international delegation of the Focolare Movement. The president of the Movement put great emphasis on “love that unites”, “which each one of us, starting from ourselves, can give rise to in all our relationships”. Up to the point of “highlighting together, with reciprocal love, the presence of Someone who transcends us and who is infinitely greater than us”. “A new presence of God which leads to tolerance, forgiveness, peace, joy and which lights the flame of love which brings men in communion with each other, lights the path of existence and which cannot but penetrate everybody’s heart”.
Two sessions of the World Assembly highlighted the efforts of women and youth of different religions. More than 400 participants from 65 countries concluded the Religions for Peace Women’s Assembly, on August 25 with a Declaration affirming that “women of faith give strength and hope when all seems hopeless”.
The Religions for Peace Youth Assembly, who were gathered in Hiroshima from August 21 to 25, proclaimed in their own Declaration, “We choose hope, because it is the only way forward.”
The WCRP, World Conference of Religions for Peace, is the largest coalition of the world’s religious leaders and communities. Founded in 1970 it is based on the principle of a profound respect of religious diversities. It promotes cooperation to heal conflicts, build peace and advance sustainable development. These major periodical meetings above all favour reciprocal knowledge and dialogue.
20 Aug 2006 | Non categorizzato
“Christ’s demand for Peter’s love is not limited to one group or to the Roman Catholic Church, because all men form part of Christ’s fold. Consequently, all Christians are summoned to love, and first and foremost this love calls for unity, because lack of unity in a family brings suffering. This was the spirit that led me to understand my new task and to carry it out with all my heart and all the spiritual and material abilities that God has given me. I was blessed by the Lord and I thank Him deeply for calling me to serve Him in this field for such a long time during my work in His Church”. These were the words that Cardinal Johannes Willebrands said when he was interviewed by Vatican Radio in 1989. He was then 80 years old, and because of his old age, his task as President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity was coming to its end after a service of 20 years. Benedict XVI: “A pastor who worked indefatigably serving God’s people and promoting the unity of the Church”, one who gave “a new leap forward to the ecumenical dialogue”. These were the words the Pope wrote in his telegram when Cardinal Willebrands passed away on the 2nd of August. The Pope thanked the Lord for the life of the Cardinal, who died at the age of 97. His commitment to serve the ecumenical cause started in 1951, ten years before Vatican Council II. The gratitude of the Focolare Movement is very much alive: Since the 1960’s Cardinal Willebrands accompanied and encouraged the Movement’s ecumenical developments with wise farsightedness. A biographical note Cardinal Willebrands was born in Bovenkarspel, Netherlands, in 1909. A lecturer of philosophy and then a rector of the Major Seminary of Warmond, Holland, he immediately showed keen interest in the cause of Christian Unity, and in 1951 he organised a Catholic conference on the ecumenical question. In 1958, the Dutch bishops appointed him delegate for ecumenical activities. Two years later, Pope John XXIII appointed him secretary of the then recently established Pontifical Council for promoting Christian Unity which, during the Second Vatican Council – under the guidance of Cardinal Bea – made an important contribution to the writing of the documents relating to ecumenism, religious freedom and relations with non-Christian religions. He was consecrated bishop in 1964, and he promoted numerous ecumenical initiatives to intensify the dialogue between the Catholic Church and the other Christian Churches. His contacts were mainly with Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran representatives. In 1969 he succeeded Cardinal Bea: Pope Paul VI appointed him president for the Secretariat for the Unity of Christians (later this was given the name of Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity). After a little while he was made a cardinal. Brothers from various Churches give their witness Among the numerous witnesses given by our brothers and sisters of various Churches, we recall a very meaningful episode, witnessed by the German Evangelical Pastor Dieter Furst. In 1986, Pastor Furst spoke about a meeting that Cardinal Willebrands had at Centro Uno, the Ecumenical Centre of the Focolare Movement in Rome. He said that the Cardinal met a group that came from the Evangelical Church. Before this meeting with Cardinal Willebrands, the group feared that “the great and mighty Catholic Church wanted to crush the small and weak Evangelical Church”. The Pastor added that among the participants there were also representatives from the free Churches, who were really even more afraid of this. But the Cardinal spoke in such a paternal way and his words were so full of the Holy Spirit, that he filled these brothers with enthusiasm: “The Cardinal has revealed the Church and Christianity on a much broader dimension than the one we knew before.”
