31 Jul 2006 | Non categorizzato, Word of
This program of life is concrete and essential. It alone could create a different society, one richer in brotherly love and solidarity. This program was part of a mandate given to Christians in Asia Minor. These communities had succeeded in establishing peace between Jews and Gentiles, the two peoples that up to then represented a divided humanity.
Unity, brought by Christ, needs to always be revived and translated into concrete social actions that are inspired entirely by mutual love. In this word of life we find specific pointers on how our relationships should be:
«Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ»
Kindness means to want what is good for others. It means “making ourselves one” with them, drawing close to them completely setting aside our own interests, ideas and the many preconceived notions that often cloud our vision. We do this so that we can take on the others’ burdens, their needs and their sufferings, and also as to share in their joys.
It means entering into the hearts of the people we meet in order to understand their mentality, culture and traditions and make them, in a certain sense, our own. In this way we can truly understand what they need and we can discern those values that God has placed in each person’s heart. In a word, kindness means to live for others.
Mercy means to welcome others as they are, not as we would like them to be, with a different personality, with political views that match our own, with religious convictions like ours, and without those defects and habits that irritate us. No, we need to expand our hearts so that they are capable of welcoming all people with all their differences, limitations and problems.
Forgiveness means to see the other person always with new eyes. Even in the most beautiful and peaceful environments in the family, at school and at work, there are inevitably moments of friction, differences and arguments. Sometimes we avoid each other, or we are not on speaking terms or, not to mention when we nourish sentiments of hatred towards those who do not think the way we do. We need instead to make a determined choice to try to see each brother and sister as if for the first time, a completely new person, without remembering how he or she offended us, but covering everything over with love, with absolute amnesty in our hearts, in imitation of God, who forgives and forgets.
True peace and unity can be attained when kindness, mercy and forgiveness are lived not only by people individually, but by people together, in reciprocity.
Just as the embers in a fireplace have to be stirred to prevent them from being smothered by the ashes, it is necessary from time to time to take steps to revive our mutual love and give fresh life to our relationships with everyone, so that they will not be smothered by the ashes of indifference, apathy and selfishness.
«Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ»
These attitudes need to be translated into life, into concrete actions.
Jesus showed us what love is when he healed the sick and fed the crowds, when he brought the dead back to life, and when he washed the feet of his disciples. Deeds, concrete deeds: this is what it means to love.
I remember a mother in an African family whose daughter Rosangela had lost an eye after a young boy poked her with a stick and even afterwards continued to make fun of her. Neither parent of the boy had come to say that they were sorry. There was only silence. Rosangela’s mother felt bitter towards this family. Rosangela, on the other hand, had forgiven the boy, and said to her mother, “You should take comfort in the fact that luckily I still have one good eye.”
“One morning,” Rosangela’s mother later shared, “the boy’s mother asked me to go and visit her because she was sick. My reaction was: ‘Why is she asking me to help? She has many other neighbors who live near her. After what her son did to us, how dare she come to me for help?’
“But right away I remembered that love knows no limits. I hurried over to her house. She came to open the door and then fainted in my arms. I took her to the hospital and waited there with her until the doctors could take care of her. A week later she was discharged from the hospital and she came to my house to thank me. I welcomed her warmly, I had made it finally to forgive her and we are on very good terms now.”
We too can fill our days with concrete, humble, intelligent acts of service that express our love toward others. And brotherhood and peace will spread around us.
Chiara Lubich
21 Jul 2006 | Non categorizzato
30 Jun 2006 | Non categorizzato, Word of
God’s love is universal. It embraces the whole universe and watches over the smallest of creatures. The poem that contains this Word of Life is a hymn to God who is “abounding in love,” who reaches out to every living being, drawn by the needs of each of us.
Here the person is portrayed in an attitude of prayerful request expressing a need for food and all the other necessities of life. God generously opens his hands to this gesture. God takes care of everyone, sustains those who are weak, and “lifts up all who are falling” (Ps 145:14). God leads those who are lost back to the right path.
«The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth» (Ps 145:18).
This is not a God who is absent, distant, or indifferent to the destiny of humanity and to the destiny of each one of us, and many times we experience this closeness. But at other times the distance seems enormous; we feel alone, insecure and lost in the face of situations that overwhelm us.
A sense of rebellion might overtake us, or feelings of aversion—if not hate—towards one of our brothers or sisters. Our hearts are heavy perhaps because of situations that have drawn on for years at home or at work—great or small disappointments, a trust betrayed, feelings of jealousy, envy or even oppression. Or we see ourselves being smothered by a world that seems hardened by unrestrained drive and ambition, and emptied of ideals, justice and hope.
“Lord, where are you?” our hearts cry out. “Do you really love me? Do you really love us? Why are you putting us through all this?”
And then the Word of Life reassures us: we are never alone on our journey through life.
«The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth»
These words are an invitation to revive our faith—God exists and loves me. I can and must reaffirm this with every action, in every situation: God loves me. Is there a person before me? I have to believe that through him or her God has something to tell me. Am I busy with a job? In that moment, I can continue to have faith in his love. Some suffering comes, yet I still believe that God loves me. Does a moment of joy arrive? God loves me.
God is here with me, always. God knows everything about me and shares my every thought, every joy, every desire, bearing together with me every worry and every difficult moment in my life.
«The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth»
How can we renew this conviction within us? Here are some suggestions.
God tells us how: by calling out to him! The Lord was already on Peter’s boat when a storm came up, but the disciples felt alone and helpless because he was sleeping. They called out to him: “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” (Mt 8:25) and he calmed the wind and the sea.
Jesus himself, on the cross, no longer felt close to his Father. He cried out to him with a most agonizing prayer: “”My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46). Then, believing in his Father’s love, Jesus abandoned himself to him, and the Father raised him from the dead.
How else can we revive our faith in his presence?
By seeking him in our midst. He promised to be present “where two or three are gathered” in his name (Mt 18:20). Let us then meet in the mutual love of the Gospel with all those who live the Word of Life. Let’s share how we have put it into practice and we will experience the fruits of his presence: joy, peace, light, and courage.
The Lord will dwell within each of us, and we will continue to feel him close by and working in our lives every day.
Chiara Lubich
11 Jun 2006 | Non categorizzato
31 May 2006 | Non categorizzato, Word of
“For you were called for freedom” (Gal 5:13). This is the message that Paul of Tarsus proclaimed to Christians in the various communities of Galatia. This message echoes Jesus’ words that when he “frees you, then you will truly be free” (Jn 8:36). Free from what? Christians from Galatia were set free from the legal precepts of the Mosaic law, a freedom that was then extended to all Christians. Furthermore, we were set free from sin and its consequences: our fears, our frenzied pursuit of our own interests, cultural conditioning and social stratification. This is why we are free when we observe Christianity’s norms for social and religious conduct, because we do not see them as obligations imposed on us from the outside. For us there is a new law: the “law of Christ” (Gal 6:2), as Paul calls it. It is written in our hearts and it is born within every person made new by the love of Christ: it is “the law of freedom” (Js 2:12). It is a law that also provides us with the strength to live it out. We are free because we are guided by the Spirit of Jesus who lives in us. Thus we are given this invitation:
«Live by the Spirit… if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law»
In this period of Pentecost, we relive the event of the descent of the Spirit on Mary and the disciples gathered in the Cenacle. The Spirit’s tongues of fire pour into our hearts this gift: “the love of God” (Rom 5:5). This then is the “new law:” love. The Holy Spirit is the Love of God that comes into us and transforms our hearts. He puts his own love in us and teaches us to act in love and for love. It is love that guides, that suggests to us how to respond to various situations and to the choices that we are asked to make. It is love that teaches us how to distinguish and say: “This is a good thing, I will do it.” “This is a bad thing, I will not do it.” And it is love that urges us to act in ways that seek what is good for others. We are not guided by external pressures but by that principle of new life that the Spirit has placed within us. Our hearts, our minds, our strength – all our abilities – are able to live by the Spirit because they have been unified by love and are at the complete disposal of God’s plan for us and for our society. We are free to love.
«Live by the Spirit… if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law»
“If you are guided.…” There is always the danger that something may prevent the Spirit from fully penetrating our minds and hearts. We can resist his voice and his guidance to the point of “grieving” him, even “quenching” his presence in us (see Eph 4:30; 1 Thes 5:19). Many times, we prefer to follow our own desires rather than adhere to his. How then should we let ourselves be guided by that voice that speaks inside of us? Where is it leading us? Paul himself reminds us, a few verses earlier, that the new law of freedom is summed up in one precept: love of neighbor. Paul suggests that to be free really means to make ourselves slaves of others, to be at the service of one another (see Gal 5:13-14). That voice within, which is the voice of love, urges us to be attentive to the persons next to us, to listen to them and to give of ourselves to them. It may seem strange how, in the end, every Word of Life leads us to love. This is not something forced; it is simply the logic of the Gospel. We are authentic Christians only if we love.
«Live by the Spirit… if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law»
Let us allow the Spirit the freedom to lead us on the way of love. We could pray to him in this way: You are light, joy, and beauty. You attract people’s souls, you inflame their hearts, and you inspire them to formulate profound and decisive resolutions and to choose holiness of life with surprising personal commitments. You sanctify. Above all, Holy Spirit, you who are so discreet, even though impetuous and overpowering, you who blow like a gentle breeze that few know how to listen to and to feel, look at how raw and rough we are and shape us into your followers. May we let no day pass without praying to you, without thanking you, without adoring you, without loving you, without living as your devoted disciples.
We ask you for this grace.
Chiara Lubich
30 May 2006 | Non categorizzato
