[:it]”Libertà, uguaglianza… che fine ha fatto la fraternità”

21 Jun 2004 | Non categorizzato

Igino Giordani: A Soul on Fire

13 Jun 2004 | Non categorizzato

Igino Giordani. Author, journalist, politician, ecumenist and expert in patristic studies, remains one of the most representative figures of the 1900s, a highly gifted individual who left a profound mark and opened prophetic perspectives on a cultural, political, ecclesial and social level. Born in 1894 in Tivoli, the first of 6 children of Orsolina and Mariano, a bricklayer, Giordani was given the opportunity to study, thanks to the help of a sponsor. In 1915 he entered the army to fight in the First World War. An official in the trenches, he admitted later that he never wanted to shoot at the enemy. Nevertheless, he earned the Silver Medal for Bravery. He also received wounds, the pains of which remained with him for the rest of his life. He went on to get his degree in letters, he began teaching in Rome, and he married Mya Salvati. Theirs is a story of great yet delicate love, from which were born 4 children: Mario, Sergio, Brando and Bonizza. Political commitment beginning in the 1920s Giordani met Don Sturzo, who chose him to be the press officer for the newly-born People’s Party. Piero Gobetti published Giordani’s book entitled Rivolta Cattolica (The Catholic Revolt), defining it as “the synthesis of new Catholic thinking”. He founded the periodical Parte Guelfa, and between the years 1924 and 1925, he worked at spreading ideas on Unione delle Chiese (The Union of the Churches) and Stati Uniti d’Europa (The United States of Europe). For political reasons, he left teaching in the public schools, and in 1927 he was employed at the Vatican Library, where he helped hire Alcide de Gasperi, who had just been released from the Fascist prison. He became the director of Fides, the periodical of the Pontifical Work for the Preservation of the Faith. He also collaborated with others at the review Il Frontispizio (The Frontispiece) by Piero Bargellini, and thus increased his contacts with the vigorous Florentine literary movement. In 1944, he directed Il Quotidiano (The Daily), the new newspaper of the Catholic Action Movement; following that, he succeeded Gonella as director of Il Popolo (The Populace). On June 2, 1946, he was elected to the government and became part of those “founding fathers” who laid down the ideal foundations of the Italian republic. He was re-elected in 1948, and in 1950 he became a member of the Council of Nations of Europe in Strasburg. In brief, Giordani was a militant politician, not because of ambition but out of a spirit of love and service for the community. In the 1920s, he courageously struggled for freedom in the face of dictatorship. The marked ethical tendency of his political commitment brought him to be relegated to the margins of government under the regime: it was to be a period of intelligent, constant, “cultural resistance,” in which his writings raised high the values of freedom and of a new order. The period from 1946 to 1953 remains his most vigorous and creative time. He worked audaciously and prophetically for peace among classes and among peoples, and he acquired a very original characteristic: his famous “candour” which led him to assume uncomfortable positions, such as that of the conscientious objector, a “no” to military expenditures, “no” to the demonizing of communists. A “candour” that quickly marginalized him (he was not re-elected in 1953), but which today helps us discover him to be (and these are the words of historian De Rosa) “an anti-political politician, he was not one who accepted just any political idea, nor was he ready to accept the reasons of power just for the sake of power.” As a writer he published more than 100 works (an average of 2 every year), works translated into the main languages. He also authored countless reviews, commentaries, articles (over 4,000), letters and speeches. An exemplary Christian Out of a situation of suffering in the military hospital, Giordani at 22 years of age, sensed an initial call to holiness of life, a call reinforced by the writings of Catherine of Siena. He became a third order Dominican out of love for her, “the first who ignited the flame of the love of God in me.” As a Christian, he approached his work with an evangelical spirit, seeing in it his vocation. His most significant writings – ever contemporary – came forth from a deep knowledge of the history of Christianity and of the Fathers of the Church. Herein lies the solid spiritual and theological formation which characterized him. He put it to good use through his vigorous activity in fostering the Christian impact on culture, the spiritual formation of the laity and of priests and religious. A forerunner in ecumenical dialogue Giordani, already in the 1930s, marked out elements for the Second Vatican Council. He studied, he translated, he explained the Fathers of early Christianity, at a time when they were almost forgotten. Their works formed the basis of his “Christian Social Message,” one of his better known works. He entered into them in such a way that Italo Alighiero Chiusano defined him as “a sort of ancient Father of the Church to whom God gave the privilege of rising and acting in our midst today.” Along pathways of holiness Yet the event that would most point Giordani’s life in the direction of luminous and demanding pathways of holiness came about in September 1948, when he met Chiara Lubich. This encounter marked for him the beginning of a new experience that was to envelop him completely; his spiritual membership was exceptional for his humility, transparency and unity. He would later say: “All of my studies, my ideals, the events of my life seemed directed towards this goal… Before, I had looked for it, now I had found it.” Captivated by the evangelical radicality of the “spirituality of communion” that Lubich spoke of and lived out, Giordani saw in it the possible accomplishment of the dream of the Fathers of the Church: to open wide the doors of the monastery so that holiness of life would not be the privilege of just a few, but a mass movement among Christians. With all his mind and heart, he entered the Focolare Movement and came to be known as “Foco”, because of his burning love that bore witness and reached out to others. Furthermore, with his “yes”, he became a providential instrument by means of which the Focolare foundress would reach an ever deeper understanding of the charism she had received. Giordani would them almost leave the cultural and political scene he had treaded till then, to assume a supernatural perspective. In making himself “small” before the total gift of love contained in the call to a life of virginity, to him – a married man – precisely in his unconditional love, a way of communion with them was opened up. He was pure of heart and his soul was open to all of humanity; therefore he could open the path to countless married persons all over the world called to this new consecration. They in turn became the backbone of vast movements to strengthen family life and for the evangelical renewal of all areas of human endeavor. Giordani thus became one of Chiara Lubich’s closest collaborators; indeed, she considers him a co-founder of the Focolare Movement. Experiences of mysticism At the crucible of the Focolare, Giordani went a step higher in the soul’s itinerary along the mystical way, where his spiritual trials, the misunderstandings and humiliation he went through due to his progressive social emargination, as well as his physical sufferings were relegated to the background in front of the daily experience of Christ present “where two or more” are united in his name, and before the mystery of a crucified and forsaken God. Giordani was gifted by Heaven with extraordinary experiences of union with God and with Mary, as well as “dark” trials of the soul reserved by Our Lord to whose he loves most. His life’s journey thus became a “flight” to God, which concluded on the evening of April 18, 1980. His mortal remains lie in the cemetery of Rocca di Papa (Rome). How can we describe Giordani in one word? Many people, including exacting intellectuals, call him “a prophet”. For Chiara Lubich, he is “a man of the beatitudes,” and she reveals his extraordinary openness of soul when he calls him “a soul with the dimensions of humanity”. For Tommaso Sorgi, who has attentively studied his life, he is someone “in love with God and with the human person.” Nedo Pozzi __________ The spiritual itinerary of Giordani, as revealed by his writings, especially those of a more autobiographical nature, is traced out in a brief biography entitled “Un’anima di fuoco” (A soul of fire) (Città Nuova publications), written by Tommaso Sorgi, director of Igino Giordani Study Center.

[:it]Riportare Dio nella società, nella cultura e nella politica: l’ideale di Igino Giordani[:es]Devolver a Dios a la sociedad, a la cultura y a la política: el ideal de Igino Giordani[:fr]Faire revenir Dieu dans la société, dans la culture et dans la politique : l’idéal d’Igino Giordani

13 Jun 2004 | Non categorizzato

Chiara Lubich: Igino Giordani christian and co-founder

13 Jun 2004 | Non categorizzato

First of all, I would like to thank His Excellency Giuseppe Matarrese, Bishop of Frascati, also on behalf of the Focolare Movement, for today’s event: the solemn proclamation of the opening of the cause of beatification of Igino Giordani.
My heartfelt greetings to the fortunate sons, daughter and other relatives of the Honorable Igino Giordani, now Servant of God.
We are grateful for the presence of the mayor of Frascati, Dr. Francesco Posa, and the other mayors, as well as all the citizens whose presence here signals their interest in this Christian, so rich with witnesses to give to the “city of man”.
I share the joy of all the members of the Focolare Movement gathered here.

The installation of the ecclesiastical tribunal marks the beginning of the diocesan phase of the canonical proceedings. To each of its members present here I assure my, our prayerful support for your very sensitive work and our active collaboration in any way that could be helpful.

On this very special occasion, I hope that a few words on my part about the Honorable Igino Giordani will be appreciated.

As you know, he was an eminent, versatile Catholic personality who always joined his political commitment to an intense and fruitful cultural activity as journalist, author, apologist, hagiographer and renowned scholar of the Fathers of the Church and Christian social doctrine.
We could and should speak at length about the many different roles which made the Honorable Igino Giordani famous.

But today, in this sacred place and in this particular circumstance, it seems to me that we must speak of him above all as a Christian, as a focolarino and co-founder of the Focolare Movement: roles he diligently carried out for thirty-two years of his life.

Giordani as a Christian

Someone once said that if every Gospel were to disappear from the face of the earth, people should be able to rewrite it by observing how Christians live.
On the day of Igino Giordani’s funeral, the Gospel passage which speaks of the Beatitudes was read. All of those who had known him well, were unanimous in affirming that he had practiced each one of them.
“Blessed are the pure of heart”. It was this purity that allowed him to see and describe one’s earthly life as a divine adventure, because of the intervention of God’s providential love. This purity of heart strengthened his most sacred sentiments and at the same time it potentiated them: towards his wife, towards his most beloved children.
He was “poor in spirit”, completely detached not only from all that he possessed, but above all, from all that he was.
He was full of “mercy”: even the most wretched sinner felt that he had been forgiven when he was with him and the poorest person felt like a king.
He was always a “peacemaker”, as the record of his political career shows.
He was so “meek” as to make one understand why the Gospel says that those who live this virtue will possess the earth. His extraordinary kindness, his way of finding the right word for each person, won over everyone he met.
And… we could go on and on….

Giordani as a focolarino

He was an excellent Christian, a scholar, an apologist, and apostle. Yet when he encountered a genuine spring of pure water flowing out from the Church, he “sold everything” in order to follow Jesus who was calling him.
Giordani was a true Christian, but he was also a Christian with a specific vocation. God called him to be a focolarino.
He personified the name by which he was known within the Movement: “Foco”, which means “fire”. He loved God and neighbor with a love that was both natural and supernatural, the kind of love which is the basis and apex of an authentic Christian life.

He had always hoped to find to fulfill his desire to consecrate himself to God even though he was married. In 1948 he came in contact with the Focolare Movement.
And it was through the spirituality of unity, characteristic of this Movement, that he was able to express the Gospel in his life.

So that Christ would live in him, the way to achieve the full communion with our brothers and sisters that Christ asks of us, he really died to himself as a poetic writing of his from 1951 confirms:

“I have resolved to die
and what happens no longer matters to me;
now I wish to disappear
in the abandoned heart of Jesus.

All this toiling
with avarice and for vanity
disappears in love:
I have recovered my freedom.

I have resolved to die
by this death which dies no more;
now I wish to enjoy with God his eternal youth.”

Giordani was very familiar with Christian asceticism, and he also experienced the joys of contemplation and the mystical life.
St. Louis Maria Grignon di Montfort, speaking of people whom the Virgin Mary loves in a special way, says that the primary gift that such persons acquire here on earth, is the life of Mary in the soul, so that it is no longer that person who lives but Mary living in him or her. In other words, such persons acquire the hearth and soul of Mary.

Giordani wrote in 1957: “On the evening of October 1st, the month dedicated to Mary, after praying, I felt my soul suddenly free from every attachment to persons and things. Mary entered in their place, with the lifeless Jesus in her arms. My entire soul was filled with her presence, a combination of suffering and love. (…)
“She remained there for twenty-four hours, like an altar bearing its victim: ‘Virgo altare Christi’. My soul became her room, a temple. (…) So that I felt like saying: ‘It is no longer I who live, but Mary who lives in me’.
“Her presence had, as it were, virginized my soul, marianized my person. My ego seemed dead, and Mary took its place. I no longer felt the need to search for images of Mary along the road. It was enough to fix the eyes of my soul within to discern, in the place of the usual sordid and grotesque idol of myself, the All Beautiful One, the Mother of the Fair Love. And even this poor, suffering body seemed to me to be a kind of cathedral….
“If I am not the most scoundrel on earth, I must become a saint, in order to be in accord with this reality.”

Giordani co-founder

He was also co-founder of the Focolare Movement. He was the one who opened the doors of the focolare to married people. In this way, something which had at first been only vaguely foreseen, became a reality – single and married people could, insofar as is possible, pursue the same spiritual itinerary.
He was the one who gave an outstanding contribution to the birth of those branches of the Focolare’s mass movements, like the New Families Movement, the Youth for a United World, or the New Humanity Movement, which seeks to animate the worlds of work, art, medicine, education, and politics, to name a few, with a genuine Christian spirit.
He was the one who began with other members of parliament the “St. Catherine Center”, precisely in order to animate politics with the spirit of the Movement.
He was the one who personified one of the most important aims of this Movement: to cooperate towards the unification of the Churches, directing for years the ecumenical center “Centro Uno”.
He was the one, above all, who helped the Movement to be deeply rooted in the Church. During his lifetime, the Movement’s branches extended across the globe bearing much fruit, given its evangelical spirit which emphasizes universal fraternity, unity among all people.

Giordani was one of the greatest gifts that heaven ever gave our Movement.

And now, to conclude, I would like to tell you about one of his last days.
His physical condition had deteriorated. I brought to his bedside a card that had just arrived for him, with a picture of the Holy Father, a heartfelt blessing, and His signature.
It made him very happy. He brightened and said: “Today is a beautiful feast day! This is something I never expected!”
And while Father Antonio Petrilli – one of the first focolarini priests, who was looking after him during his last years, he too in heaven now – was hanging up the framed blessing on the wall, Giordani added: “I feel like I’m in heaven”.
When I asked if it would like him to have Mass said in his room, also so that together we could renew the pact of unity of the focolarino, he exclaimed: “Oh, how beautiful! This is an added gift.”
At one point, he said: “I’m always mindful of God, the Giver”, and he listed some of the gifts he had received from God.
When I asked him if he would like to go to heaven, he nodded with his head, as if to say: “Oh, if only I could…!” Several times, with a particular smile, he added: “This is heaven! What could be more beautiful?”
Referring once again to the Pope’s blessing, he whispered: “I can’t find the words to express what that gift means to me; the more I think about it, the more I find no words …”
After receiving the Eucharist during a special Mass, he solemnly affirmed: “Everything is complete”.
Giordani is present here today with all of us.

[:it]L’inizio del processo di beatificazione di Igino Giordani

13 Jun 2004 | Non categorizzato