14 Nov 2000 | Non categorizzato
An important meeting took place on Friday, 10 November, in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the U.S. Capital. It was the ceremony for the conferral of an honorary Degree in Education awarded to Chiara Lubich by the Catholic University of America. Three thousand people filled the basilica. Among those present were Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim African-American delegations.
Cardinal Hickey of Washington spoke of the signs of a new “springtime in the Church”.
In the laudatio he emphasised the prayer of Jesus – “That all may be one” – which lies at the heart of the spirituality of the Focolare Movement and which continues to inspire great numbers of people of every religious tradition to endeavour to reach this goal. In her address, Chiara Lubich traced a new pedagogy: the spirituality of unity, which has its source in the Gospel.
“It is a pedagogy which moves the world away from being a soulless Babel to being an experience of God in our midst, who is capable of embracing the whole of humanity.”
Professor David Schindler, a theologian from Washington, in an interview spoke of a “timely response” in view of the current situation in America, and of the shattered hopes and the cynism that is so widespread today. “It’s enough to see what’s happened in this election,” he commented.
The last leg of the intense schedule in Washington was Chiara Lubich’s meeting with students and academic staff at the Catholic University of America on Tuesday, november 14th.
Before responding to their questions, Chiara wanted to give a strong witness to the action of the Holy Spirit who had brought to life her movement. She said the reason why she has accepted all these awards – this was her 12th honoris causa degree – was for the glory of God, “so that they may see the good works of the Father” not only in the spiritual sense, but also “to demonstrate that God, and his Spirit, had brought about a renewal also in the human field”.
Through the dialogue that ensued, what emerged was truly this renewal in the field of study, of the economy, of pedagogy, of theology in their relationship with other religions.
Professor Schindler highlighted the source underlying everything Chiara had achieved: “No economic, social or political activity can do without the realism of innocence through which love transpires”.
31 Oct 2000 | Non categorizzato, Word of
If there is a word of Scripture which expresses, like others and more than others, the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, this word is mercy.
In the magnificent and divine manifestation of Sinai, the Lord revealed to Moses: “The Lord is a merciful and gracious God… continuing his kindness for a thousand generations” (Ex. 34:6-7).
At the dawning of the messianic day, Mary announced to Elizabeth that the Almighty had remembered his mercy (cf. Lk. 1:54), and he who was conceived in her bore witness to this. Thus in Jesus, son of God and of Mary, the paternal and maternal love of God are joined together. This is clearly expressed in the two Hebrew terms used to describe mercy, that is, a profound attitude of goodness, of kindness which manifests God's faithfulness towards himself and his maternal love towards all.
But what makes mercy so powerful as to triumph over justice (cf. Lk. 1:54)?
And why does Jesus give such importance to this virtue to the point of making it a condition for personal salvation?
«Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.»
As John Paul II clearly explains, mercy is “an indispensable dimension of love; it is, as it were, love's second name”. He looks at the words of the beatitudes as a synthesis of the Good News which is the revelation of God's salvific love and the invitation to everyone to be “merciful just as the Father” (cf. Lk. 6:36) and as Jesus who is the most perfect image of the Father.
The theme of the beatitudes returns in the prayer of the Our Father: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”. We could say that there is a law written in heaven which condones our debts in the measure that we forgive our brothers and sisters.
The theme of mercy and pardon pervade the entire Gospel. Actually, Jesus' goal is what he revealed to us in his final prayer the night before his passion: to unite all men and women, to make all humanity one big family whose model is the Trinity. The whole of his teaching tends to give us, through his love, the tool for achieving this lofty communion among ourselves and with God. And mercy is the final expression of love, of charity, that which completes it, which makes it perfect.
«Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.»
Let us try, then, in all our relationships, to live this love towards others in the form of mercy!
Mercy is a love that welcomes every neighbor, especially the poor and needy. It is a measureless, abundant, universal, and concrete love. It is a love which prompts reciprocity, which is the ultimate end of mercy, without which there would be only justice, which serves to create equality, but not brotherhood.
There is much talk in our day of the pardon denied to those who have committed serious crimes. We ask for revenge more than for justice. But once every attempt has been made to compensate for the damage done, we must leave full range to pardon. Pardon alone is capable of healing the personal and social trauma produced by evil. “Forgive and you will be forgiven” (Lk. 6:37).
Therefore, if we have, in any way, been offended or treated unjustly, let us forgive and we will be forgiven. Let us be first in expressing kindness and compassion!
Even if it seems to be difficult and requiring great courage, let us ask ourselves, face to face with every neighbor: how would his mother act with him? This thought can help us to understand and to live in accordance with the heart of God.
Chiara Lubich
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11 Oct 2000 | Non categorizzato
To the heads of the countries of the world To the civil and religious leaders To those responsible for the mass-media To national and international organizations We are 213 children from 40 nations of the world, gathered together here in Japan to participate at the “Conference of Children for the Future”. One great ideal binds us: to build a world of peace. Belonging to different religions, we want to live the “Golden Rule” which is present in our beliefs: “To do unto others what you would like them to do unto you, to not do unto others what you would not like them to do unto you”. Practically, we want to live this reciprocal respect, the love which is present in each person’s DNA. And this means: to love everyone, forgetting ourselves and thinking about others, without discriminating against those who have ideas that are different from our own or who belong to another race or ethnic group; to be the first to love, without expecting others to take the first step; to love our enemies as well, forgetting past offenses, learning to forgive, telling one another with compassion what we can change and improve in ourselves. In these days we have experienced that love can change every relationship if we look for what unites us rather than what divides us. Why cannot this happen among nations as well? We would reach the point of loving the other country as our own and peace will then be guaranteed. The human person cannot live alone. We have to support one another to live. We believe that to be grateful to those who support us and to become those who can do something for them in return will create our bright future. The future belongs to us. We would like you to hear our voice: let’s make an appointment in our countries so that we children will be able to meet and have a dialogue with you. We would like to become the voices of all the children who suffer in the world because of exploitation, wars, diseases as AIDS. Aware that there are many differences still present between rich countries, where consumerism reigns, and poor countries, we have decided to begin to live and spread a new culture, a culture of giving and of sharing. If we were to live like this among nations, all the resources of the earth would be distributed equally without any differences. We would like the elimination of the foreign debt of poor countries to be the first step towards this goal, so that they may have a better possibility for development and a higher standard of living. In order to put an end to all wars and conflicts, let’s encourage dialogue and collaboration, committing ourselves decisively to disarmament and use money intended for weapons for non-violent goals. We would like sports not to be a means to make money, but an occasion of encounter and of friendship among people, where we learn to work together, to win, to lose and to start again. Drugs destroy the future of children and it is a very serious problem in some countries. If we had better prospects for the future, many would not use drugs. We ask you to firmly fight this evil, with laws which would protect us. Let us not indiscriminately take advantage of the natural resources, but thinking of our future generations, let us do as plants do: take from the earth only what is needed. We know that people are happy if they live in peace with themselves and with the nature that surrounds them. Help us to defend and preserve nature, stopping deforestation and promoting recycling. Create “green” spaces in the cities where we can all get together. Let us give special care to the elderly, because they give a precious contribution to society with their experience and wisdom. Let us use science and technology not as a means to themselves but as a service to humankind, encouraging also the research of alternative sources other than nuclear energy. Peace begins in the heart of every person. We would like values, like knowledge and respect of all cultures and religions, to be implemented into schools and that education for peace may be included in the curriculum. We would like that globalization, which the world is heading toward, not be based only on financial and economic interaction, but on a cultural and religious exchange so that all people may become one family. We ask that the mass-media spread the positive that is in the world; we ask for objectivity and that they inform us about the difficult situations in the various countries in order to be able to live more in solidarity. We ask you to prohibit the broadcasting of violent programs, which do not respect human dignity or the value of the human body. Let us put an end to the production of games and cartoons that encourage violence as well as the Internet sites that can harm us children in any way. We have already started to build peace. We know, however, that in order to reach this goal, we need you. For this reason, we ask for your help, especially for those places we cannot reach. Every day we pray for the achievement of this goal, certain that we will receive help from Heaven to reach a new and more united world, where all people of the earth can live happily and as brothers and sisters. The participants at the Conference of Children for the Future
