4 May 2001 | Non categorizzato
Engagements at an ecclesial and civic level. Meetings with members of the Focolare Movement in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Ukraine. Prominence given by to this visit by the media in the Czech Republic. The expansion of the Focolare Movement in Eastern Europe during the 1960s . Program – The spread of the Focolare Movement First visit to the Czech Republic On 27 April, a press conference was held with Chiara Lubich. It was attended by journalists from leading national television networks and radio stations, from independent newspapers as well as from the Christian press. On 28 April, Chiara gave a talk on “The New Evangelisation” to the 2nd National Gathering of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities in Prague. On 30 April she spoke to around 2,000 members of the Focolare Movement who had come together for a three-day meeting in Prague from the Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Lucia Fronza e Antoni Baggio, representatives of the international secretariat of the Movement for Unity in Politics, met with a group of about 60 adherents of the Focolare Movement who work in the field of politics. They presented the birth of this new initiative, its developments and current actions. On 3 May, Chiara was invited by the Episcopal Conference of the Czech Republic to speak on “The Charismatic Dimensions of the Church and the New Evangelisation”. Giuseppe Zanghì, editor of the Focolare’s cultural journal “New Humanity”, spoke on the theme “Jesus Crucified and Forsaken, Key to the Spirituality of Communion” drawing parallels between it and the Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II, “Novo Millennio Ineunte”. Fr Silvano Cola, delegate for the Dialogue among Movements and New Communities, spoke on the topic “Dialogue and Communion among the New Charisms”. Chiara Lubich concluded her visit in the Czech Republic with a visit to the newborn little town of the Focolare Movement in Vinor, in the vicinity of the Prague. From the 6th of May, visit to Slovakia 7-8 May – Meeting with the men and women focolarini of the Czech Republic and Slovakia 9 May – Chiara Lubich has been invited to give her personal experience, and the experience of the Focolare Movement, to the Episcopal Conference. 10 May – Chiara has been received by the President of the Parliament, Josef Migas, and by the Vice President, Pavol Hrusovsky. This has been followed by a meeting with a delegation of MPs and representatives of various political groups. Chiara will speak on “Fraternity in Politics”. On 12 May, at the Sports Stadium in Bratislava, more than 5,000 people will gather for a meeting which will include experiences from the beginnings of the Focolare Movement, local experiences and artistic contributions. There will be a presentation on the spirituality of the Movement with its impact on youth, on the family, on the economy, in politics and within the Church. In the afternoon, Chiara Lubich will illustrate one of the cardinal points of the spirituality, “Unity and Jesus Crucified and Abandoned”, with the growth and development of various dialogues, including ecumenism and interreligious dialogue.
30 Apr 2001 | Non categorizzato, Word of
Jesus is giving his powerful, intense farewell address to his apostles, and he has just assured them, among other things, that they will see him again, because he will reveal himself to those who love him.
Then Jude asks him why he intends to reveal himself only to them and not to everyone. The disciple was hoping for a great public manifestation of Jesus, one that could change the course of history, and that would be, in his opinion, more effective for the salvation of the world. In fact, the apostles thought of Jesus as the long-awaited prophet of the last days who would reveal himself to everyone as the King of Israel and, putting himself at the head of the people of God, would definitively establish the Kingdom of the Lord.
Instead, Jesus explains that he will not reveal himself in a spectacular and external way. His will be a simple but extraordinary “coming” of the Trinity into the hearts of the faithful, wherever there is faith and love.
With this answer, Jesus indicates how he will remain in the midst of his own after his death, and he explains how it will be possible to establish a relationship with him.
«If anyone loves me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him.»
Jesus can be present in Christians and in the midst of the community not only after his death, but in a certain sense even now. There is no need to wait for the future. The temple that welcomes him is not so much one of bricks and mortar, but rather it is the very heart of the Christian, which thus becomes the new tabernacle, the living dwelling place of the Trinity.
«If anyone loves me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him» (John 14:23).
But how can Christians achieve this? How can they have God come and dwell in their hearts? How can they enter into this profound communion with him?
Through love for Jesus, a love that is not mere sentimentalism, but a love that is translated into everyday living, and more precisely, into keeping his words.
It is to this love on the part of a Christian, verified by facts, that God responds with his own love: the Trinity comes to dwell in the person's heart.
«If anyone loves me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him» (John 14:23).
“… keep my words”.
What are the words that the Christian is called to keep?
In John's Gospel, “my words” are often synonymous with “my commandments”. Therefore, the Christian is called to keep Jesus' commandments. But these should not be viewed as a list of laws. They should be understood as being summed up in what Jesus illustrated by washing his disciples' feet: the commandment of mutual love. God commands all Christians to love one another to the point of giving themselves completely, as Jesus taught and did.
«If anyone loves me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him» (John 14:23).
How can we live this Word of Life well? How can we reach the point in which the Father himself will love us and the Trinity will come to dwell within us? By loving one another with all our hearts, and doing it with decision and perseverance.
It is principally through loving in this way that we Christians can begin to live that deep-reaching Christian asceticism that the crucified Jesus demands of us. For, the practice of mutual love causes the other virtues to blossom in our hearts and this love is also the surest gauge of Christian holiness.
Chiara Lubich
