6 Dec 2003 | Non categorizzato
Dec. 7, 2003 marks 60 years since the Focolare Movement began in Trent. On that famous day, December 7, 1943, Chiara – then in her early 20’s – was all alone as she said her “yes forever” to God. Never could she have imagined the fruits that would bear. Today there are thousands of people of all ages, backgrounds, languages, races and creeds, in 182 nations worldwide who live to create portions of brotherhood, as a way of contributing to the unity of the human family, that today more than ever yearns for peace.
Chiara writes for the newspaper “Vita Trentina”:
“What do I feel? What is in the depths of my heart on this particular occasion?
A wave of emotion, even just at the thought of what I see in front of me – a new people born from the Gospel, spread all over the world; an immense work which no human force could have made. It is, in fact, “a work of God,” for which I was chosen as the first instrument, “useless and unfaithful” though I may be.
Then a hymn of thanksgiving to God for all that I – with all my brothers and sisters – was able to see, experience, build and lead onwards, with God’s help, up to this point.
A deep, heartfelt gratitude for everything, my God!
Thank you, first of all, for letting me be born in your Church, making me a child of God;
for having nourished me day after day with the Eucharist;
for having lit up my life, since childhood, with signs of the divine charism you would have put within me for the good of so many others;
for having made me experience the truths of the Gospel and its ever-faithful promises;
for having given me the joy of the “hundredfold” in all senses;
for having revealed to me the secret of unity in your Son, Crucified and Forsaken;
for having permitted sufferings which always led to a deeper union with you;
for having gifted me with an entirely new spirituality, which is both personal and communitarian;
for having broadened my view, and that of all those who stand with me, onto the whole of humanity, including Christians of other traditions, faithful of other religions, people who are not yet your own and yet are full of good will;
for the fatherly love of your Vicars on earth, especially Paul VI and John Paul II, and for their blessings on the Work of Mary over the years;
for having blessed me with a long life;
for having forgiven my sins.
Thank you for allowing me – through my specific mission – to work with the Church for the fulfilment of your Son’s priestly prayer: ‘That all may be one,’ and to prepare for you large groups of people intent on living universal brotherhood.
Thank you, thank you. To you be praise and glory.”
This is how Chiara recalled some years ago that December 7, 1943:
“I woke up that morning at around 5. I put on my best dress, plain though it might be, and I crossed the whole city on foot to reach a small college. A storm was raging, and I had to push my way ahead with my umbrella. This fact was not without meaning. It seemed to tell me that the step I was about to take would comport obstacles.
When I got to the College, there was a sudden change of scene. The huge doors opened wide by themselves it seemed, giving me a sense of relief and welcome, almost as if they were the open arms of God who was awaiting me. The church was decorated beautifully. In the background stood a statue of the Blessed Virgin. Beyond the railing, in front of the altar, a kneeler had been prepared.
Just before the moment of Communion, I realized in a flash what I was about to do: I had crossed a bridge, and with this total gift of myself to God, that bridge would have collapsed behind me. I would never be able to go back to the world. This realization struck me with such an impact that a tear fell on my missal. Then I felt profound joy. I was getting married. I was marrying God.
I went back home running, I think. I only stopped to buy three red carnations to put in front of the Crucifix in my room. They were the signs of our celebration – His and mine. I had married God. From Him, I could expect just anything.”
30 Nov 2003 | Non categorizzato, Word of
During this period of Advent, our preparation time for Christmas, the figure of John the Baptist is put forward again. He had been sent by God to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. To those who crowded around to hear him, he urged them strongly to change their way of life: “Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance” (Lk 3:8). And to those who asked: “What then should we do?” (Lk 3:10), he replied:
«Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise»
Why should I give what is mine to another person? Since we were both created by God, the other person is my brother, or my sister; therefore, he or she is part of me. “I cannot hurt you without harming myself,” Gandhi once said. We were created as a gift for one another, in the image of God who is Love. We have the divine law of love in our blood. When he came among us, Jesus explained it very clearly in his new commandment: “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (Jn 13:34). It is the “law of heaven,” the life of the Holy Trinity brought down on earth, the heart of the Gospel. As the Father, Son and Holy Spirit live in full communion in heaven, to the point of being one (see Jn 17:11), we on earth are truly ourselves to the degree that we live the reciprocity of love. And just as the Son says to the Father: “Everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine” (Jn 17:10), so too our love reaches fulfillment when we share with one another not only spiritual goods, but also material goods.
The needs of our neighbor are the needs of all of us. Is someone unemployed? I am unemployed. Is someone’s mother sick? I help her as if she were my mother. Are there others who are hungry? It’s as if I were hungry and I try to find food for them as I would for myself.
This is the experience of the first Christians of Jerusalem: “The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common” (Acts 4:32). A sharing or communion of goods was not obligatory, and yet they practiced it intensely. As the apostle Paul explained, it is “not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but [it is] a matter of equality” (2 Cor 8:13).
St. Basil the Great says: “The bread you set aside belongs to the hungry; the coat you store in your trunk, belongs to the naked; the money you keep hidden, belongs to the needy.”
And St. Augustine says: “The surplus of the rich belongs to the poor.”
“Even the poor can help one another: one can offer his legs to the other who is lame, someone else his eyes to guide the blind; still another can visit the sick.”
«Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise»
Today too we can live like the early Christians. The Gospel is not a utopia. This is demonstrated, for example, by the new ecclesial Movements that the Holy Spirit has brought about in the Church to help revive, in all its freshness, the passionate evangelical drive of the early Christians, and to respond to the great challenges of a world burdened by many injustices and oppressive poverty.
I remember that in the early days of the Focolare Movement the new charism filled our hearts with a very special love for the poor. Whenever we encountered poor people on the street, we wrote down their addresses in a notebook so that we could later go and visit them and help them. They were Jesus: “You did it to me” (Mt 25:40). After we visited them in their humble homes, we invited them to dinner. We set the table using our best tablecloth, the best dishes and cutlery, the most delicious food. In that first focolare, a focolarina was seated beside a poor person, a focolarina and then a poor person, all around the table.
At one point we felt the Lord was asking us to truly live poverty in order to serve the poor and everyone else. There, in the living room of that first focolare house, each one put in a pile on the floor whatever she felt was extra: an overcoat, a pair of gloves, a hat, someone even offered a fur coat. And today, in order to give to the poor, we have business enterprises that provide employment and distribute a share of their profits!
But there is still a great deal to do to help “the poor.”
«Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise»
We might not realize it, but we have many riches that we can share. We need to sharpen our sensitivity and learn more about how to help concretely, in order to discover the way to live real brotherhood. We have love in our hearts to give, gestures of friendship to offer, and joy to share. We can give our time, we can pray, we can share inner riches through the written or spoken word. At times we have things that we can put at the disposal of others, like purses, pens, books, money, homes, cars. We might accumulate many things, thinking that one day they might be useful. In the meantime there are people nearby who have urgent need of them.
Just as a plant absorbs from the soil only the amount of water it needs, so we should try to have only what we need. Actually it’s good every now and then to experience that something is lacking; it’s better to be a little poor than to be a little rich.
“If we would all be content with what’s necessary and we would give our surplus to those in need,” St. Basil said, “there would no longer be the rich and the poor.”
Let’s try, let’s begin to live in this way. Jesus will not fail to send us the hundredfold, and then we will be able to continue to give. In the end, he will tell us that what we have given, to whomever it might be, we have given it to him.
Chiara Lubich
17 Nov 2003 | Non categorizzato
Like one great song of praise to God and with one’s soul rejoicing – this was how the International Convention of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement began and ended. It was convened with the aim of “questioning ourselves about the challenges posed by maturity and how to be a blessing one for the other”. The Convention was held at the Mariapolis Center of Castelgandolfo, from September 18-30.
The participants – over 1,000 – came from 72 different countries all over the world, carrying with them their typical charismatic enthusiasm.
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa who guided the retreat, spoke about the demanding challenge of sanctity faced by the Charismatic Renewal Movement, in the light of John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter “Novo Millenio Ineunte”. The Pontifical House preacher also answered a series of questions regarding faithfulness to the Spirit and institutionalization, highlighting the profound change which Charismatic Renewal continues to operate in the lives of many people:
“I see the same effects in a large number of people, a radical change which – naturally – needs to be nurtured by the Sacraments and the Magisterium so that it may reach the perfection of Christian life. I have seen changed persons; right here we listened to the experience of a couple who were coming from a desperate, broken and lost life and who now live a saintly married life which shines forth in such a fascinating way.
“The same thing can be said of our priests and married people. There is no denying that all this is the work of the Holy Spirit. My wish is that this grace may be shared by all, that the Church may not see Charismatic Renewal as an island of some people who are particularly inclined to emotionalism, but who see that this is a norm for Christian life. Jesus wanted his life, that life which he gave up on the Cross for us, to be lived in the Spirit.”
“Twelve days of blessings”was the promising theme of the meeting, which took place in a climate of deep spiritual communion, such that one could almost touch what the convention wished to express: that in Christ Our Lord and Savior, Love took form in our midst. The greatest blessing is that which is put into life in the “spirituality of communion” which the Pope encourages so much, as well as Chiara Lubich, one of the guest speakers of the Convention.
Prof. Andrea Riccardi, founder of St. Egidio Community shared the experience of love which is translated into aid for the poor.
15 Nov 2003 | Non categorizzato
15 Nov 2003 | Non categorizzato
Every year, the Italian Christian Laborers Associations, a union of Italian Catholic associations operating in the social sector, organizes a national convention with the objective of tackling the cultural, economic, and political challenges of the present world, and providing Catholics with answers to specific issues. This year’s appointment was entitled: “Living with hope in a risky global society.” Held in Orvieto, Italy, from September 5-7, the convention gathered 400 representatives of the world of culture and international politics. Stating his motives for inviting Chiara Lubich, Luigi Bobba, ACLI president remarked: “When it comes to hope it’s impossible not to think of Chiara, a woman who personifies the virtue of hope.” In her message Chiara said among other things, “The paradigm of unity, when put into action, proves to be an enormous resource for the ongoing trend of globalization, since it contains the seed which can make all forms of integration among peoples possible and offers the method for achieving it, namely mutual love.(…) “As a consequence the need will be felt to put the goods of creation—God’s gift to all—at the service of all peoples. The underdevelopment of some nations and the overdevelopment of others will find its proper balance. This would be the idea of ‘communon,’ of universal brotherhood in action.”
14 Nov 2003 | Non categorizzato
The Extraordinary National Assembly of Catholic Action (Italian Chapter), attended by 837 delegates representing 214 dioceses, marked a turning point towards greater communion and a renewed missionary thrust within the framework of the diocesan character of its activity and structure. These are the very points highlighted in the new Statute approved by the Assembly. In his message to the Assembly, Pope John Paul II stressed that “the Church needs you. It needs lay people who have found in Catholic Action a school of holiness where they learn to live the radicality of the Gospel in the normality of daily life.” National president Paola Bignardi stated in her interview with Città Nuova magazine that there is a need for renewal in relationships among Catholic Movements and ecclesial communities which should lead them not only “to live in peace with one another but also to find the way of living one for the other and one with the other.” This was one of the reasons why Paola Bignardi and general assistant Bishop Francesco Lambiasi invited Focolare founder Chiara Lubich and Andrea Riccardi, founder of St. Egidio Community, to offer remarks to the Assembly. “I am very familiar with Catholic Action,” said Chiara, “because I spent a good part of my youth among its ranks. They were special years for the Association, when Armida Barelli and her companions were still active in it. They were joyful years for me, since I took part in many of Catholic Action’s meetings held in my city, Trent, and in its conventions for young students, where I received a solid Christian foundation.” Chiara then noted the progress made in the spirit of exchange among Movements and New Communities ever since the Feast of Pentecost 1998. In her conclusion Chiara posed this question: “Might this be the moment to begin to actualize what the Holy Father wants from Catholic Action, the Focolare Movement and other Movements as well? On behalf of the Focolare Movement which I represent, let me assure you that we are at your disposal. May the Holy Spirit suggest to you, dear brothers and sisters, when and in what way this might come about.” The expression of acceptance offered by the president and the applause from the Assembly embodied the positive response to Chiara’s offer. Andrea Riccardi then spoke of “the debt which we owe to this great Christian laboratory known as Catholic Action,” and expressed his wish for “a deeper communion, lived in the awareness of our mission today.” “Thank you both for offering your friendship in this new season of exchange and dialogue, which does not mean suffocating our differences but rather enriching the spiritual wealth we all possess,” Paola Bignardi remarked in closing.
