31 Aug 2002 | Non categorizzato, Word of
This Word of Life is taken from one of the books of the Hebrew Testament written between 180 and 170 B.C. by Ben Sira, a sage and scribe who carried out his office as teacher in Jerusalem. He taught a subject which was dear to the whole tradition of biblical wisdom: God is merciful toward sinners and we should imitate his way of acting. The Lord forgives all our faults because “he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness” (Ps 103:3,8). He overlooks our sins (see Wis 11:23), he forgets them, casting them behind his back (see Is 38:17). In fact, Ben Sira goes on to say that aware of how small and poor we are, he “increases his forgiveness”. God forgives because, like any father or mother, he loves his children and so he always and untiringly excuses them, covers their mistakes, instills confidence and encourages them.
Because God is mother and father, he is not satisfied with just loving and forgiving his sons and daughters. He ardently desires that they treat one another as brothers and sisters, that they get along with one another, that they love one another. This is God’s great plan for humanity: universal brotherhood. A brotherhood that is stronger than the inevitable divisions, tensions, hard feelings that so easily creep into relationships due to misunderstandings and mistakes.
Often families break up because people don’t know how to forgive. Past hatreds are handed down only to perpetuate divisions between relatives, social groups, peoples. At times people even teach others not to forget the wrongs suffered, to cultivate sentiments of revenge…. And deaf resentment can only poison the soul and corrupt the heart.
Someone might think that forgiveness is a sign of weakness. No, it’s an expression of great courage, it’s authentic love, the most genuine, because the most selfless. If you love those who love you, what recompense will you have – says Jesus – everyone knows how to do that. Love your enemies (See Mt 5:42-47).
We are asked to learn from him and to have the love of a father, of a mother, a merciful love towards all those who come our way, especially towards those who do something wrong. Moreover, to those who are called to live a spirituality of communion, that is, the Christian spirituality, the New Testament asks for something more: “Forgive one another” (Col 3:13). We could almost say that mutual love requires that we make a pact with one another: to be ready to forgive one another always. This is the only way we can contribute towards universal brotherhood.
«Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven»
These words not only invite us to forgive, but they remind us that forgiving others is the necessary condition for receiving forgiveness. God listens to us and forgives us in the measure in which we forgive others. Jesus himself warns us: “The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you” (Mt 7:2) “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Mt 5:7). Actually, a heart hardened by hatred is not even capable of recognizing and accepting the merciful love of God.
How can we live this Word of Life? First of all, by immediately forgiving anyone with whom we have not yet been reconciled. But this is not enough. We need to search the innermost recesses of our heart and eliminate even a feeling of indifference, a lack of kindness, an attitude of superiority, of negligence towards anyone we meet.
Furthermore, we need to take some precautionary measures. So every morning I look at the people around me, at home, at school, at work, in the store, ready to overlook anything that I don’t like about their way of doing things, not judging them, but trusting them, always hoping, always believing. I approach every person with this total amnesty in my heart, with this universal pardon. I do not remember their faults at all, I cover everything with love. And throughout the day I try to make up for having been unkind, for a fit of impatience, by apologizing or by some gesture of friendship. I replace an instinctive rejection towards someone with an attitude of total acceptance, of boundless mercy, of complete forgiveness, of sharing, of being attentive to his or her needs.
Then when I pray to the Father, especially when I ask him to forgive my mistakes, I am confident that my prayer will be granted. I’ll be able to say with total trust: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Mt 6:12).
Chiara Lubich
10 Aug 2002 | Non categorizzato
Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Clare of Assisi 2002, which has always been commemorated from the beginning of our Movement, not only at the Center, but wherever the Movement is present around the world. Today, as in other years, we remember St. Clare and we’ll compare a detail of her journey towards God with our journey.
To look at Jesus as in a mirror in order to imitate him
One concept that regards this saint, and that we have not yet emphasized, is one we could express in this manner: “The mirror, the mirrors.” It is the image of the mirror which calls to mind precisely what St. Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians: “All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory” (2 Cor 3:18).
In her letters to Agnes of Prague, which are part of several writings in which she speaks of her own need to be radically faithful to the Gospel, Clare invites the sisters to look at Jesus as if they were looking in a mirror, a mirror that in its humanity reflects back divinity. She wrote: “Fix your eyes on the mirror of eternity, (Jesus) … and be totally transformed in the image of his divinity.” (FF 2888) “And since this vision of him is … a spotless mirror, bring your soul to this mirror every day and constantly search out your own face there so that you may be adorned … with all the virtues as it should be for you as daughter and beloved spouse of the high King.” (FF2902) Saint Clare was inviting Agnes to look to the Spouse and also to imitate him, making the same choices he made, his same actions, his same gestures. “If you suffer with him,” she continues, “with him you will reign; if you weep with him, with him you will rejoice; if you die on the cross of tribulation in his company, with him you will possess … for all eternity, the glory of the heavenly kingdom …; you will participate in the eternal goods … and you will live for all ages to come.” (FF2880) By imitating him Agnes becomes that Jesus in the mirror. But then, having become such, she can in turn be a mirror for the sisters.
An uninterrupted chain of mirrors from Jesus to the world: the Franciscan Movement
St. Clare says that this is how one creates an uninterrupted chain of mirrors from Jesus to the world. Jesus is the mirror of Francis. Jesus and Francis are the mirror of Clare. Jesus, Francis and Clare are the mirror of Agnes. Jesus, Francis, Clare and Agnes are the mirror for the first sisters who, in turn, become mirrors for the future ones. The future sisters, looking at the first sisters, become the mirrors for those who live in the world. Those who live in the world become mirrors of Jesus for everyone.
Thus by perfectly reflecting Christ, Francis and Clare, the first friars and the first sisters, have given birth to the Franciscan Movement: one of those ecclesial realities that from time to time bring back into the Church the Gospel in its radicality, to give it new life, to renew it, to reform it.
The demands of the charism of unity: to live unity in order to live Jesus
For us too, even though we are small and unworthy, we too have been invested with a similar task: to give life, to develop, to spread in the world a charismatic reality. It has happened to us too to perform a duty which is to live and help others to integrally and radically live the Gospel, looking at Jesus as if in a mirror. The very first notes we have about our Ideal of life at its onset, affirm: “We need to be another Jesus.” Therefore we are asked to mirror ourselves in him. To achieve this we see that Saint Francis and Saint Clare were given a charism, that of poverty by the Holy Spirit. We have been given the charism of unity. And it is precisely through unity that we can be another Jesus, be Jesus. Remember the definition of unity given in a letter written back in 1947: “Oh, unity, unity, what divine beauty! We have no words to describe it: it is Jesus.” Yes, it is Jesus. So then we began to understand that by loving one another, we would accomplish unity and Jesus would be in our midst… and in each one of us. To live unity was and is synonymous with living Jesus, and in this way the whole Gospel.
Unity: soul and aim of the Gospel
One day a small but significant light along our journey clarified this new aspect for us. The words of the Gospel seemed like newly sprouted plants on a large plot of land. We realized that each plant’s little root was set deeply in Jesus’ last will and testament, in the unity which lay beneath the whole plot of land. And the root received life from it. It was a 3D image of how we should consider Jesus’ last will and testament and its relationship with the other words of the Gospel, and how to live one word, unity, and all the others. We better understood that unity is not a particular virtue. In fact, it’s not listed among the virtues. It is not only Jesus’ highest word. It’s not just the fundamental theme of his testament. Unity is the soul of the whole Gospel, of the whole Scripture. It is aim that the whole Gospel tends toward. And, because it is the effect of charity, we could also say that it’s the summary, the synthesis of the Gospel.
We saw that we needed to live the words in view of unity. Yes, because it is not evangelically correct to live poverty for the sake of poverty, but for the love that leads to unity, or obedience for the sake of obedience, but everything needs to be in view of unity. The same could be said for every beatitude, as well as for the ten commandments, and for that which the first Testament requires, the Testament Jesus said he had come not to abolish but to complete. And now we understand why the Holy Spirit urged us to put into practice each month a different sentence of the Gospel so that in time we would make it to live them all. They open up unity like a fan. And we can mirror ourselves in them so as to become like Jesus, another Jesus, and in this way reflect him to others. We could ask ourselves today: are we in some way a mirror of Jesus? Do we mirror Jesus for the others?
To mirror ourselves in the Gospel in order to become a mirror of Jesus
In this regard I’d like to mention one of our dreams from the early days. We used to say: “If, for some absurd hypothesis, all the Gospels were destroyed, we would like to live in such a way that people, seeing our actions, seeing Jesus in us, could re-write the Gospel: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Mt 19:19); ‘Give and gifts will be given to you’ (Lk 6:38); “Do not judge’ (Mt 7:1); ‘Love your enemies’ (Mt 5:44); ‘Love one another’ (Jn 15:12); ‘For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Mt 18:20).”
Well lately we realized, with gratitude to God, that if we haven’t yet reached this goal at least we are on our way. I could tell this was true, when we were working on collecting the so-called fioretti for the book the St. Pauls Press asked us to prepare, to present some evangelical episodes of the life of the Movement. They reveal the effort we have made to align ourselves, to look at ourselves, we could say, in the mirror of the Gospel, and how the Lord consequently intervened just as he promised. Now, since we’re celebrating, let’s read some of them so as to give praise to God and thank those who, by living them, used the Gospel, Jesus, as their mirror and now, through the fioretti, can become a reflection of him for many. May Jesus make us all mirrors of him and of the Gospel so as to be a mirror for many others.
10 Aug 2002 | Non categorizzato
We are in Innsbruck, in the middle of winter. It’s 10:00p.m. and it’s freezing cold outside. I put on my warm windbreaker and set out quickly for home. A young man stops me and asks me to buy his heater for 300 shillings. He explains to me that if he doesn’t pay up his boarding expenses by the end of the day, the landlady is going to put him out on the street. My first reaction is: “I’m sorry, but I can’t.” I have in my wallet exactly 323 shillings, enough money to cover my expenses for the second half of February. Every shilling is already accounted for to buy what I need like bread, butter, and so on. My friends are away for a winter holiday and I can’t ask anyone else for a loan. While I continue walking, it occurs to me that I have at least a warm room, whereas that man has nothing at all. I remember the words of the Gospel: “Give and gifts will be given to you”. I turn around and call out to him; I give him the 300 shillings; he can keep the heater for himself. While I’m on my way home, a sense of anxiety begins to come over me: I really don’t know how I am going to reach the end of the month. But as soon as I arrived, what do I find? A large travelling bag hanging on the door of my room. Surprise! It contains bread, smoked ham, eggs, cheese, honey, butter: all things that a hungry student dreams of. To this day I don’t know who hung that travelling bag on the door of my room.
31 Jul 2002 | Non categorizzato
At the WYD in Toronto, inter-religious dialogue played an important role in opening horizons in the consciousness of the young people at a time in history when the encounter between faiths and cultures appears to be the only antidote to the tensions threatening the world.
For three days St Patrick’s Church set the stage for songs, dances, sketches, video’s and a fireworks of testimonials of young members of different religions who shared the Focolari spirit of unity. In fact, the Canadian Church had asked the Movement to organize the event. North American media was surprised to discover Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist youth participating at WYD in Toronto.
Personal stories told how the ’art of loving’ transforms one’s life, heals wounds, opens new avenues, unites youth of different cultures and creeds, and still respects everyone’s own identity.
They described how the art of loving is rooted in the golden rule, that is “do onto others as you would have them do onto you”, which is common to all religions: Metta, a Thai Buddhist once accused of being brain washed by Christians, later convinced the Buddhist school of his ideas. The Hindu, Avinash, described how his encounter with “Teens for a United World” in Bombay led to the discovery of a life rich with values.
A Jewish journalist and a Muslim Imam from the United States also spoke. One of the Christian witnesses was Alice from Burundi. She told the story of how she forgave those who killed part of her family.
Together with members of the other tribe, she has become a point of reference at the University for youth from the two ethnic groups in conflict. The youth welcomed with great joy the President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, Cardinal Francis Arinze, who said, “At this point, dialogue is an irreversible component of the Catholic Church.”
31 Jul 2002 | Non categorizzato, Word of
Lake Tiberias, also known as the “Sea of Galilee”, is 21 kilometers in length and 12 in width. But when the wind comes down violently from the Bekáa Valley even the fishermen who are used to navigating in it are afraid. And that night the disciples of Jesus were really afraid: the waves were high and the wind was against them. They could barely control the boat.
And then an unexpected event took place. Jesus, who had remained on land, alone, to pray, suddenly appeared walking on the sea. Already upset by the weather conditions, the Twelve began to cry out, terrified, believing that they were seeing a ghost. It couldn’t possibly be Jesus they were seeing in front of them. Only God, it is written in the book of Job, walks on the sea (See Job 9:8). And then the words of Jesus: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” He got into the boat and the sea became calm. The disciples not only regained peace, but for the first time they recognized him as the “Son of God”: “Truly, you are the Son of God!” (Mt 14:33).
«Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid»
That boat being tossed by the wind and beaten by the waves has become for all times the symbol of the Church. Sooner or later the moment of fear arrives for every Christian traveling through life. Perhaps you too have sometimes found your heart in the midst of a storm; perhaps you felt thrown by an adverse wind in the opposite direction from where you wanted to go; you were afraid that your life or that of your family would be shipwrecked.
Is there anyone who doesn’t go through trials? They can be experiences of failure, poverty, depression, doubt, temptation…. At times, what hurts the most is the suffering of someone close to us: a son dependent on drugs or unable to find his way in life, a husband who is an alcoholic or unemployed, the separation or divorce of people dear to us, elderly or sick parents…. We are also frightened by the materialistic and individualistic society around us, by wars, violence, injustice…. In the face of these situations a doubt can creep in: what ever happened to the love of God? Was it all an illusion? A figment of our imagination?
There is nothing worse than feeling alone in the moment of trial. When there is no one with whom we can share the suffering, no one capable of helping us resolve difficult situations, every suffering seems to be unbearable. Jesus knows it, and that is why he appears on the stormy sea of our life. He comes up to us and once again repeats:
«Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid»
It is I, he seems to say, in this fear of yours: when I was on the cross, when I cried out my abandonment, I, too, was taken by the fear that the Father had abandoned me. It is I in this discouragement you feel: there on the cross, I, too, had the impression that I no longer had the comfort of the Father. Are you confused? So was I, to the point of crying out “why?” Like you, and more than you, I felt alone, doubtful, wounded…. I felt burdened with the suffering of human wickedness…
Jesus really entered into every suffering. He took all our trials on himself, he identified with each one of us. He is beneath all that hurts us, that frightens us. Every pain, every frightening circumstance is a countenance of his. He is Love and love chases away all fear.
Whenever we are assailed by fear, suffocated by suffering, we can recognize the true reality hidden there: it is Jesus who becomes present in our life. It is one of the many faces with which he manifests himself. Let us call him by name: it is You, Jesus forsaken-doubt; it is You, Jesus forsaken-betrayed; it is You, Jesus forsaken-sick. Let’s allow him to get into our “boat”, let’s welcome him, let him enter into our life. And then, let’s continue to live whatever God wants from us, plunging ourselves into loving our neighbor. We will discover that Jesus is always Love. Then we will be able to say, like the disciples: “Truly, you are the Son of God!”
If we embrace him, he will become our peace, our comfort, courage, equilibrium, health, victory. He will be the explanation and solution to everything.
Chiara Lubich
1 Jul 2002 | Non categorizzato
“Brotherhood as a political category is the most innovative answer to the tensions and conflicts in the world today, both in individual states as well as local administrations,” a key passage from the message Chiara Lubich launched from Rimini where she was invited by Mayor Alberto Ravioli. The city and provincial administrators desired that this message take off from their city, which is a capitol of tourism and hospitality, cosmopolitan by tradition.
Rimini’s congress building was filled with more than 5000 people, including many youths, on June 22. Present were around 40 politicians: mayors and members of parliament as well as Bishop Mariano De Nicolò. Introducing Chiara Lubich, Sergio Zavoli highlighted how the wealth of her interior charisma has incarnated into a system of values for everyday reality as well as for the political sphere. He called her a “witness and protagonist of a new, reasoned out, hope”. Hope was well expressed by the Founder of the Focolari in her message which centered on “Brotherhood and peace for the unity of people”. Three words she defined as “tremendously pertinent today after they paradoxically emerged in many people’s minds as an absolute necessity in the aftermath of the Sept. 11th tragedy.” She recalled the “many networks which are already working to connect peoples, cultures and diversities” thanks to the ecclesial communities growing not only in Europe, but all over the world.
Chiara called the “Movement of Unity”, comprised of politicians who take on brotherhood as a political category, a concrete example. Emanating from the Focolari in 1996, the “Movement of Unity”, she said, is “not a new party, but a vehicle for a new political praxis and culture.” Members of the majority are enabled to dialogue with the opposition, for example. “Those in government recognize the positive contributions of the opposition which helps them exercise their governmental control. Opposition is channeled through a criticism that is constructive and tends to correct and improve the functioning of government instead of obstructing it. This favors the search for the best solutions for the community, the well-being of which can only be fully guaranteed if both the government and the opposition are allowed to exercise their proper role.” She noted such striking political results as those seen in the opposing factions of Northern Ireland”. She cited the imbalance between the rich and poor nations as a fundamental cause for terrorism, “an imbalance that cries out for a greater sharing of wealth. But such a response is impossible until humanity is overtaken by an ardent desire for, and commitment to, universal brotherhood”. Prof. Stefano Zamagni then presented the ’Economy of communion’ project, calling it a new economic paradigm. Launched by Chiara Lubich over ten years ago, today it inspires more than 750 companies throughout the world. A presentation of the business park soon to be realized near the Loppiano Citadel followed. Jorge Braga De Macedo, President of the United Nations Economic Cooperation and Development Organization called it an “important proposal for economists working for development in the world’s poorest nations”. In an interview with Città Nuova, Mayor Ravioli said, “Today Chiara showed us – and Rimini is proud to have launched this message – that new instruments are necessary. The Economy of Communion together with brotherhood and unity among peoples are new instruments. They are concrete steps towards peace and unity.”
