Jul 13, 2021 | Non categorizzato
He was playing his music in the airport lounge as people walked by with an air of indifference. There was a “game” of glances and smiles happening. These are the mysteries of good relationships, capable of generating reciprocity. Small gestures that make you share something with the other person and feel part of the same humanity. 
I was returning to Paraguay after many years in Europe. I felt moved when I first glimpsed the red earth and green areas that are so typical of the country as the plane began its descent for landing. The international airport, Silvio Pettirossi, had not changed much. The first impression as I stepped out of the aircraft was the suffocating heat that brought back distant and much-loved memories. Instead of feeling asphyxiated, I took it as a warm hug from the many loved ones I would find there. I waited for my luggage in the baggage reclaim area of the arrivals and departures hall and I noticed the duty free shops and a bar but then my ears were invaded by the wonderful notes of a Paraguayan harp. I looked around to see where the music was coming from. And there he was, sitting in front of the bar, as if totally embraced by his large musical instrument, a man with a serene face and indigenous features: the Paraguayan harpist. His music spread through the room, filling it with harmony and the joyful notes of a Paraguayan polka. I was struck by his discretion and the indifference of the people, as if they were so used to the harpist’s music that they were not aware of it. It was as if it were part of the scenery, like the bar, the shops or the area for collecting luggage. The man seemed resigned to producing such beautiful notes, without anyone – apparently – noticing his presence. I instinctively reached into my pockets and remembered that I had set aside five dollars for a tip to give to whoever would offer to carry my suitcase to the car that would pick me up on the way out. (There were usually boys who did this). I approached the harpist discreetly, looked at him gratefully, and left the five dollars in the hat in front of him, fearful of hurting his feelings, knowing that his music was worth much more. It was a simple gesture, but my intention was to thank him and recognise his talent, even on behalf of those who didn’t seem to notice him. Three unforgettable weeks passed by, full of encounters with people who I loved a lot, and then, once again, I found myself in the same area in the airport, but this time waiting to take the plane back to Montevideo, where I was staying. My friends were still waving goodbye to me over the glass barrier when, to my great surprise, my ears could hear the notes of “La Cumparsita”. This was the tango that gained popularity thanks to the incomparable voice of the French-Argentinian singer, Carlos Gardel. But what had happened? We were in Paraguay and it was usual to hear Paraguayan music. But where were the notes of that tango coming from? I looked around and there he was again, in front of the bar. He was sitting with his harp and gave me an almost complicit smile. It was as if he was saying, “Did you like that surprise?” I said, “That I was delightful,” and gave a similar smile back again but with a questioning look. I wondered how he had managed to recognise me – among so many people passing through that room – and again, how he had guessed that I was Argentinian! These are the mysteries of good relationships, capable of generating reciprocity. They are small gestures that make you share something with another person and feel part of the same humanity. Since that time, whenever he saw me in the arrivals and departures hall, with the luggage area and duty free shops…. he stopped his polka and started to play a different tango, dedicated to his Argentinian friend.
Gustavo E. Clariá
Jul 12, 2021 | Non categorizzato
In June 1944, Chiara Lubich found herself alone in Trent after her family had fled to the mountains following the bombing of 13th May that had half destroyed their home. Chiara had stayed in the city to follow the young women who were following her ideal. The letters of that period were the first bond among the emerging community of the Movement. My little Sister in God’s Immense Love! Listen, I beg you, to the voice of this little heart! With me you have been dazzled by the burning light of an ideal that overcomes everything and contains everything: by the Infinite Love of God! Oh, my little Sister, it is your God and mine who has established between us a common bond that is stronger than death and will never pass away. It is one, like the spirit; immense, infinite, gentle, steadfast and immortal as the Love of God! Love has made us sisters! Love has called us to Love! Love has spoken in the depths of our hearts, saying: “Look around you. Everything in the world passes. Each day has its evening and each evening comes quickly. Each life has its sunset and the sunset of your life will also come quickly! Yet don’t despair: Yes, yes, everything passes, for nothing of what you see and love is destined to last forever! Everything passes, leaving only regret and new hope!” Yet don’t despair: Your constant Hope, that goes beyond the limits of life, tells you: “Yes, what you are looking for exists. In your heart there is an infinite and immortal longing; a hope that doesn’t die; a faith that breaks through the darkness of death and is a light to those who believe. Your hope, your believing is not in vain. It’s not in vain!” You hope, you believe — so as to Love. This is your future, your present and your past: everything is summed up in this word: Love! You have always loved. Life is a continuous seeking after loving desires that are born in the depths of your heart! You have always loved! But you have loved badly! You have loved what dies and is vain, and in your heart only vanity has remained. Love what doesn’t die! Love the One who is Love! Love the One who in the evening of your life will look only at your little heart. You will be alone with Him in that moment. The one whose heart is filled with vanity will be terribly unhappy; immensely happy will be the one whose heart is overflowing with the infinite Love of God!
Chiara Lubich
(Cf. Chiara Lubich, What you are searching for exists, June 1944, in Early Letters, New City Press, Hyde Park, New York 2012, p. 18)
Jul 9, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Helping others, expecting nothing in return, doing it with faith. This also allows us to bring salvation, tenderly “touching” those who are suffering, in need, in darkness, in bewilderment. “Give …” Grandma had been particularly generous in giving me a substantial amount for my expenses. I had already worked out how to use that money when a friend told me about problems in his family: his father was unemployed and they could only manage one meal a day. Later, when I left him, carrying his pain with me, I remembered some experiences I had read in a book lying around the house. Some words of the Gospel, to which I had never paid attention, or rather, which I had never taken seriously, were quoted: “Give and it will be given to you”. What strange words, I said to myself, whoever uttered them could only be a madman … or a God! The word “Give” was hammering inside me. The next evening I went to see my friend and gave him everything I had in my wallet. He was surprised and happy. I felt an irrepressible joy. But there’s more. A few days later, I received an unexpected phone call from an important magazine: they agreed to publish some of my writings, for which they offered me a hefty fee. (Vincenzo from Italy) In hospital A very old patient was ranting and raving. Because of her age and health conditions, my colleagues and I decided to try to help her feel our closeness more. One morning, on behalf of all of us, I left a greeting on the bedside table. When I went to her for routine checks, she was serene. She told me: “My son, last night I felt death near and I thought that I would take all my wickedness with me” – and taking my hand – “I ask you and everyone for forgiveness because you have never judged me”. In short, she seemed a different person. That old lady helped us to live our service better. (KV – Hungary) The “Bundle” Project With the raging pandemic, some seasonal workers in a large agricultural centre lost their jobs. When we heard about this, with some friends from Southern California (USA) we started a project called “Bundle”. It consisted of collecting clothes, books, board games, small appliances and other useful items, which could be redistributed to those families in need and so alleviate some of their expenses and mitigate the hardship imposed by the circumstances. This sharing initiative, which was lived with great enthusiasm, has not only engaged our community, but also involved work colleagues and other people who know us. In only three days, we were able to fill a van with what was collected and deliver to communities in central California. In return, we received a box of cherries which we in turn we shared with our friends and neighbors. The experience us galvanized us and made us happy. It was to see the “give and it will be given to you” of the Gospel fulfilled. (GS – USA)
Compiled by Lorenzo Russo
(from The Gospel of the Day, New City, year VII, no.4, July-August 2021)
Jul 7, 2021 | Non categorizzato
The meeting with President Margaret Karram and Co-President Jesús Moran was an opportunity for mutual understanding and deep communion in the common commitment to unity. 
On Saturday June 26th a delegation from the German Lutheran Church visited the International Focolare Centre in Rocca di Papa (Italy). Welcomed by Focolare President Margaret Karram and Co-President Jesús Morán, the members of the delegation also met members of Centre Uno, the movement’s centre for Christian Unity and some members of the General Council of the Movement. The delegation included Bishop Frank-Otfried July, President of the German section of the World Lutheran Federation (DKN/FLM), and Bishops Ralf Meister and Karl-Hinrich Manzke, respectively President and in charge of relations of the Union of German Lutheran Churches (VELKD) with the Catholic Church. It was an opportunity for mutual understanding and deep communion. Listening to each other made everyone feel like brothers and sisters already united in Christ. The meeting with President Karram and Co-President Morán, in particular, was a moment of exchange on how to face the challenges of today’s world. What emerged from the dialogue was a harmony in the “passion for unity in Christ”, which however must be extended to all humanity: evangelical love urges us to seek the sister and brother beside us. The sharing of concrete examples of evangelical life, of reconciliation even in the smallest of ways, of the choice of God in daily life, offered participants hope in the journey of unity that is being pursued also at the theological and institutional level. One of the bishops remarked: “Changing perspective means making more specific what it means to follow the Messiah. Starting with oneself, not asking what do I want to receive? But rather what do I want to give, what can I give? Whoever lives this way is inspired by the Spirit, and whoever is inspired by the Spirit is hope for the world”. The delegation was in Rome on the occasion of the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the excommunication of Martin Luther by Pope Leo X. The excommunication came four years after the beginning of the Reformation (1517) and marked the definitive break within the Western Church. An anniversary celebrated today, however, not to sanction the split, but rather to highlight, deepen and develop the more than “fifty years of constant and fruitful ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans” which, as the document written on the occasion of the 2016 Catholic-Lutheran Joint Commemoration of the Reformation reads, “(years that) have helped us to overcome many differences and have deepened understanding and trust between us”.[1] The day before the visit to the Focolare, Pope Francis, meeting with representatives of the Lutheran World Federation on the anniversary of the Confessio Augustana (June 25th 1530), had said among other things: “Dear brothers and sisters, on the path from conflict to communion, on the day of the commemoration of the Confessio Augustana you have come to Rome so that unity may grow among us. (…) I said ‘on the path from conflict to communion’, and this path is only made in crisis: the crisis that helps us to mature in what we are seeking. From the conflict that we have lived for centuries and centuries, to the communion that we want, and to do this we put ourselves in crisis. A crisis that is a blessing from the Lord”. [2] During their stay in Rome, the delegation of the German Lutheran Church had several meetings in the Vatican, such as the one with Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, during which they also discussed burning pastoral issues such as, for example, the admission of the non-Catholic partner to the Eucharist in mixed marriages. Among the meetings planned, besides the one with the Focolare Movement, there was also one with the Community of Sant’Egidio.
Heike Vesper
[1] Joint Declaration on the occasion of the Joint Catholic – Lutheran Celebrations of the Reformation, Lund (Sweden), October 31st 2016 at https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/events/event.dir.html/content/vaticanevents/en/2016/10/31/joint-declaration.html [2] Talk of Pope Francis to representatives of the World Lutheran Federation, Rome (Italy) June 25th 2021 at https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2021/june/documents/20210625-lutheran-federation.html
Jul 5, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Chiara Lubich explains how if we wish to be faithful to the charism of unity, we need to throw open the doors of our hearts to Jesus Forsaken. We go ahead … to grow in unity on all fronts. Unity is the key word for all of us, the word that sums up the whole of our spirituality, the essential condition for maintaining the life that exists and increasing it. In fact, we cannot think of unity without thinking of suffering, of dying. Because unity is a gift, but it is also the fruit of our living as authentic Christians and there is no true expression of Christian life without the cross. We must always keep this in mind … We must always remember that we have given our life to One person alone, to Jesus forsaken. Therefore, we must not and cannot exchange him for something else and we must never betray him. He teaches us the immense value of suffering precisely for the sake of unity. It was through his cross and his forsakenness that he re-united people to God and to one another. So he is there to tell us that unity has a price, even if, with him, by doing as he did, we can reach it. And so, if we want to be faithful to the charism of unity which the Spirit has given us, let’s throw open once more the doors of our heart to Jesus forsaken and let’s give him the best place. … And so as to emphasise a practical aspect of this love, let’s love him in the difficulties that we come up against in achieving unity among us. … This means we should always be ready to see one another new. It means being patient, putting up with one another, knowing how to overlook things. It means trusting, always hoping, always believing. Above all it means not judging. To judge others in a purely human way, especially those who have responsibility for us, is dreadful. It is the chink through which the devil of disunity enters. If we judge, our spiritual life slowly diminishes, and even our vocation can waver. So let’s improve this love for others, which always has many painful nuances. They are the tangible proof of our being ready to give our lives for one another. They are the obstacles – whether large or small – which we have to overcome through love for Jesus forsaken so that unity will always be complete.
Chiara Lubich
(From a conference call, Rocca di Papa 25th October 1990)
Jul 2, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Politician, writer and journalist, Spartaco Lucarini was one of the first married focolarini. On 3 July 2021, an escalator in the centre of his home town will be named after him and an event will take place in the theatre to recall his civic and political commitment. 
It has been said that Spartaco Lucarini’s soul was open to the whole of humanity but he was also closely linked to his own country and local area. He worked ceaselessly and with great courage and commitment to promote its social and cultural development. He was a journalist and writer, politician and man of culture. He was one of the first married focolarini and he was editor of the “Citta Nuova” magazine for several years, collaborating with the Movement’s international centre near Rome. He had moved there with his family from his home town of Cortona in Tuscany where he was born on 6 May 1924. In this town which is often considered to be a tresure chest of art, many people still remember him, especially for his social, political and civic commitment. Among other things, Spartaco founded the Tourist Board and made sure that Cortona was well known known not only in Italy but also abroad. He used a variety of ways including his literary skills for which he received many awards. From a young age, he had been concerned with the problems of the area, mainly unemployment and precarious working conditions. “In spite of his professional commitments, he always followed events in Cortona with great attention and affection,” Walter Checcarelli, president of the Cortona Christian Association, confirmed to the local newspaper “L’Etruria”. “At the beginning of the 1960s, he realised the great potential in the sale of antiques and founded the Antique Furniture Exhibition which, over time, became one of the most important nationwide. He made his contribution as a town councillor, becoming group leader of the Christian Democrat party with a style of openness and dialogue, unusual for those years of strong ideological opposition. Personally, I remember his holidays with his large family during the Easter period: his presence and prayer on Good Friday have remained indelibly impressed in my mind and heart.” As a sign of gratitude for his political commitment as a town councillor, but also in recognition of his contribution as a builder of the area’s social culture, on 2 March 2021 the Cortona town council unanimously decided to name the escalators leading from the Spirito Santo car park to Piazza Garibaldi after him. The dedication ceremony will be held on 3 July 2021 during the Festival of Sacred Music at 10.30 a.m. (Italian time). Following this, an event in a the Teatro Signorelli in Cortona will commemorate this multifaceted figure and his contribution to the political and cultural scene of the 20th century. The idea of paying homage to Spartaco had already been conceived last year and was to be included in the events marking the centenary of the birth of Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement (1920-2020). Then the world health situation forced the postponement of the event dedicated to Lucarini. It was Chiara Lubich herself who asked Spartaco, his wife Iolanda Castellani (known as Lalla to everyone) and the couple’s five children to move from Cortona to Rome to work at the international headquarters of the Focolare. Lucarini also contributed to the development of the “New Families” and “New Humanity” Movements of the Focolare. He always remained attached to Tuscany, and in addition to having contributed to the birth of the local community of the Movement, he also made an important contribution to the development of the little town of Loppiano near Incisa and Figline in Valdarno, Italy. In particular, his involvement led to the beginning of the agricultural cooperative and the international school for families that are still based in the little town. In April 1974 he was diagnosed with a very serious illness that led to his death at the age of 51. Even in his final days, Spartaco, although ill, returned to Cortona. “He always appeared serene,” recalled his wife Lalla, “but he was no longer what he used to be.” [i] “I found myself completely changed,” wrote Spartaco, “I’m a very active person, I have a very dynamic temperament so I’ve always tried to give it my all; I’ve understood now that it’s not so important what you do, it’s also important to do nothing. I have discovered the value of ‘living inside’ rather than outside, because by ‘living within’ in a close relationship with God, you can reach the most distant people – everyone in fact. By living projected outside, you can only reach the closest, you only reach people around you. I think I have understood what is essential. In this century, Mary has created a Movement to help the Church, and she really wants to do so quickly, she wants to achieve unity not only among us Catholics, not only among the Churches, but among all people. This is a programme that is greater and goes beyond any human programme.”[ii]
Lorenzo Russo
[i] Alfredo Zirondoli “Coraggio!” pub. Citta Nuova’ p 102 [ii] Alfredo Zirondoli “Coraggio!” pub. Citta Nuova’ p 96 – 97
