The Gen 4, the children of the Focolare Movement have many experiences about “taking care”. As well as putting themselves out there to help people, they appeal to adults to take care of all the children in the world who are in need. All over the world, the “Gen 4”, the children of the Focolare Movement, have many concrete experiences: it’s almost like a contest in every continent, to try to love their neighbours by taking care of those most in need. Here are some examples: let’s start in India, where some Gen 4 decided to take care of the poor who live on the streets, by preparing a hot meal for them. One of the Gen 4 told us: “My mum and I prepared cups of hot noodles, a typical pasta from some Asian countries; my brother and dad distributed them to the poor. There are many poor children living on the streets! We’ve started to do this every Friday.” In Greece, the children of the Focolare decided to get in touch with some Senior citizens who were isolated in their retirement home due to Covid-19. They involved their friends and collected drawings, with which they made a poster that everyone really liked. Let’s go to Korea now, where a Gen 4 decided to donate her hair to children who have cancer. A friend joined her and they both let their hair grow, so that they would be able to donate it. They were happy to help the sick children. From Burundi, we heard that many Gen 4 collected food and brought it to a orphanage. These Gen 4, who don’t have much themselves, were happy to bring gifts to other children! In Australia, some adults were distributing food to the homeless and to students in economic difficulty. The Gen 4 wanted to help. They prepared postcards to go with the packages that were distributed. For about two years, the Gen 4 of the Mariapolis Ginetta in Brazil, South America, have collected milk and juice cartons, collaborating with an NGO that runs a project called “No cracks in Brazil”. The cartons are used to cover the cracks in the walls of houses, insulating them and preventing insects getting in. They can also be used to make thermal blankets for the homeless. Another example, this time from Ireland: the gen 4 took part in an initiative launched by the National Post Office. They involved the local community and sent postcards, small packages and gifts for Senior citizens living alone. Finally we go to Portugal : After seeing a news programme showing images of war, 7 year old João wondered: “What can we Gen 4 do?”. He rang the coordinator of his Gen 4 group. They had the idea of raising awareness in the political world. João and his sister jointly wrote a statement from children to politicians, teachers and all civil and religious authorities. The statement says: “Our laws speak of children’s rights, but they should be more explicit in demanding the duty of care. (…) We know it’s not easy (…), but if you change the life of just one child, it’s already worth sending you this statement! If you take care of us, we will take care of the world!” A delegation of Gen 4 brought the Statement to the place in Porto where the Social Summit of the European Commission was taking place. That same evening, the news was broadcast on the TV news. The Statement of the Gen 4has now been translated into several languages and is spreading to many countries throughout the world.
The will of God is the voice of God that continually speaks to us and invites us; it is God’s way of expressing His love to us, a love that demands a response from us so that He can accomplish His wonders in our lives. The truth that does not pass After 4 years in India and 25 years of life lived totally at the service of others, my ‘batteries’ were completely flat, I returned to Italy to try and regain the health that I feared had been irreparably damaged. During those long months of inactivity and solitude (albeit surrounded by the love of my companions in community), ‘outside’ of the life that had been so dynamic and rich in relationships on which my outgoing temperament has always thrived, something very important happened – on an inner, existential level – which is difficult to put into words: a return to my original choice, and understanding a fundamental truth that everything is a gift, and we need to thank God for everything whilst being ready to lose because it is not the truth. The truth that does not pass is something else. It is our personal relationship with Him, the only ideal of all time: God and nothing else. Contrary to what I had feared, I did regain my health. And so begins a new period in the newfound joy of working at His service, whilst treasuring the new union with God that was born from that trial in the depth of my heart. (Silvio – Italy) I used to be a nurse Struck by the fact that so many doctors and nurses were risking and even giving their lives, I decided to re-register as a reserve nurse in a hospital since I had been a nurse 30 years earlier (but had later changed jobs). Recently I was asked to help out once a week in the intensive care unit. It is a huge challenge for me (so much has changed in the last 30 years with regard to hospital equipment and hospital care), but an enormous joy for me to still be useful. The greatest reward I could have received was when my children that I try not to neglect told me they were proud of me. (Martina – Czech Republic) New essentiality In the care home for the elderly where I work as an animator I grew very fond of the guests. Understanding how best to help a patient with Alzheimer’s disease or patients with other degenerative diseases had made my service a true network of intense and living relationships. Then Covid came into the home and one by one they all became ill. It was heart-breaking for me to feel I was the link between the patient and their relative but could do nothing to fill that void. Then I too contracted the virus – maybe when I was helping a very sick elderly woman talk to her family via her mobile phone. In my loneliness I understood even more what these elderly people were going through and rediscovered the value of prayer. Every time I received news that someone had died my grief increased along with my sense of helplessness but I began to pray more intensely, often not on my own but with those who were still there. The pandemic has brought us to a new ‘essentiality’ beyond that caused by illness and old age. (G.K. – Slovakia)
Edited by Lorenzo Russo
(taken from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, year VII, no.3, May-June 2021)
We are all called to make this conversion within ourselves by continually beginning to love everyone again, if we have stopped; we must experience this kind of re-birth, this fullness of life. We must therefore try, as much as possible, to translate all expressions of our existence into love for our neighbor. There before me was the stupendous page on the last judgment: Jesus will come to judge us and tell us, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me”.[1] It was as if I was reading those words for the first time. I rediscovered that at the last judgment Jesus will not ask me if I did one thing or another, the things I have to do anyway, but He will focus on love of neighbor. Like a person just beginning their ascent to God, I began to love everyone, everyone who in one way or another crossed my path during the day. And believe me, I felt as if I were reborn. I realized that my soul, above all, thirsts for love, thirsts to love, and that it truly finds its rest, its nourishment and its life in love for everyone. It’s true that I had previously tried to do many acts of love, but I now realized that some of them stemmed from an excessively individualistic spirituality, fed by small or larger penances. In spite of our good will, these can become times when we, who are called to love, focus on ourselves instead. Now, in this new effort to love everyone, I could still find opportunities to do many acts of love, but they were all for the sake of my neighbors in whom I saw and loved Jesus. And it was only in this way that I could experience the fullness of joy. Dearest everyone, we are all called to continually work at our own conversion; we must all experience this kind of rebirth, this fullness of life. Therefore, we must try as much as possible to translate all the aspects of our daily existence into charity towards our neighbor. Is it our task to look after the house? Let’s not do so for merely human reasons, but because there is Jesus in the others to be loved by dressing, feeding and serving them. Do we have any other kind of work to do? Jesus is present in the individuals and the communities whom we serve. Must we pray? Let’s always pray for the others as well as ourselves, referring to that “we” that Jesus has taught us to use in the “Our Father.” Are we called to suffer? Let’s offer our suffering for others. Is it the will of God to spend time with someone? Let our intention be to listen to Him, to give advice to Him, to console Him… in short: to love Him. Must we rest, eat, or take time for recreation? In all these actions let’s place the intention of wanting to re-gather our strength in order to serve our neighbor better. In other words, let’s do everything with our neighbor in mind. (…) For this to happen, indeed, so that such a continual conversion may take place in us (…) let’s keep in mind our commitment “to be reborn through love”.
Chiara Lubich
(Taken from a conference call, Rocca di Papa March 20th 1986) [1] Mt 25:35
Jesus is well aware of the fundamental needs of people: to be understood in their innermost depths and to have, in addition to support for their efforts, clear indications on the path to follow. Let us not miss the opportunity to relate to those we meet with the love He suggests in the Gospel. With patience and tenacity My uncle, considered “a man of honour”, had lived for years in Supramonte, a mountainous region of Sardinia. He came down to the village every now and then, and when the carabinieri came to arrest him, he was already far away. My father had tried to keep us out of trouble with the law and with my uncle’s family, from whom we were separated by inheritance issues. As a Christian, however, I was waiting for the right opportunity to make peace with them. The first opportunity came with the arrival of a cousin in the village. Regardless of the people watching us, I went to greet her. When she and her husband greeted me, I breathed a sigh of relief: the first step had been taken. Later, when I heard that my uncle was in hospital, I wanted to visit him. My mother advised against it, saying that I had no uncle. But he was a brother to me. I went and he was very emotional when he greeted me. In time, I got closer to all the other relatives. The last one was my aunt, the one who had made us suffer the most: I had not been in touch with her for 18 years, and it had taken so many years with patient and tenacious love for peace to return to our families.
(Gavina – Italy)
Others’ needs As I am going out in my car, I notice that my neighbour is trying to clean the windscreen and the other windows from ice. I go to help him, putting aside my haste. With a smile, he asks: “Why are you doing this?”. I have no obvious answer, but inside I thank God for pointing out the needs of the other before my own chores. A few hours later the same neighbour phoned me: “I was so happy with your gesture that I said to myself: I too must live by noticing the needs of others. And it didn’t take long: at work, in fact, I found a difficult situation, which I resolved quite easily by putting myself in the other person’s shoes. Thank you!”.
(F.A. – Slovenia)
Adopting a little brother We are students at a technical institute. When our teacher brought Città Nuova for us to read in class, at first certain things seemed a bit delusional… But the idea of helping to build a more united world together seemed good to us. Furthermore; as we went on reading, we realised that they were not words. The newspaper reported news that we could not find in other papers, a different way of seeing events. All in all, what were we missing by trying? We tried. Every morning, together with the teacher, we gave ourselves a little “maxim” to live by. For example: “Love everyone” … who had ever thought of that? Then we happened to read an article about adoptions at a distance. And then the idea came to us to take out one, all together. That small gesture of each one contributing a small monthly sum makes us grow as people. By now Nader, even though he lives far away (he’s a little Lebanese boy), has become very important: we talk about him, about his needs, as if he were our little brother.
(The boys from IIIB – Italy)
Edited by Lorenzo Russo
(taken from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, year VII, n.3, May-June 2021)
Jesus invites us to recognise how God’s love means that he is always close to us and he suggests ways in which we can respond and act accordingly: we can discover the way to reach full communion with the Father by doing his will.The Hurricane The images on the TV showed the places hit by the hurricane and left isolated. Our families lived there and so you can imagine the anxiety that we seminarians felt. The Word of Life of that month seemed very apt because it urged us to have faith. United, we prayed for our loved ones and we were given permission to leave the seminary the following day to go and find them. But that night the capital was also hit hard: flooded roads, collapsed bridges, no electricity…. But our seminary was still standing. We set off anyway: during that journey on foot or by makeshift means, in rafts or tied to ropes to overcome the resistance of the torrents, we were forced to deviate countless times. And finally, we came to our country… it was unrecognisable! Where there used to be countryside, there was now a lake. After embracing our loved ones (they had lost everything, but they were safe!), we offered our services to the parish priest to help with emergency services. The new Word proposed for that month seemed to be addressed precisely to us, to give us courage and to share it with others: “Blessed are the afflicted…”.
(Melvin – Honduras)
The umbrella I believe that Christ is behind every poor and marginalised person and is asking to be loved and so I try not to miss opportunities to do so. For example, in the café near my home I noticed a very poor person who we had nicknamed Pen: he was soaking wet because it was raining that day. I knew that that he had tuberculosis, and so, overcoming some resistance to being seen in his company, I invited him home to find him something dry to put on. My parents were amazed and incredulous. “Dad, we could use some clothes…”. Dad wasn’t very enthusiastic at first, but then he procured a pair of trousers while I found a jacket. But the rain didn’t seem to be stopping… And I said, getting back into the swing of things: “Dad, what if we gave them an umbrella as well?” We found one too. The man was happy, but I was even happier, because we had worked together to help him. But it didn’t end there. A few days later, Pen came back to return the umbrella. Actually, it wasn’t the one we had given him, it was much nicer. What had happened was that our umbrella had been stolen, and someone had given him another one. He wanted to give it back to us.
(Francesco – Italy)
Love cannot be explained with words Shortly after her birth, Mariana was diagnosed with a severe malformation of the brain. She would never be able to speak or walk. But God asked us to love her just as she was and, with trust, we threw ourselves, so to speak, into his Fatherly arms. This child lived with us for just four years; we never heard her say the words “Daddy” or “Mummy”, but in her silence her eyes spoke, with a shining light. We could not teach her to take her first steps, but she taught us to take our first steps in love, in the renunciation of ourselves in order to love. Mariana was a gift from God for our entire family: we could sum it all up in one phrase: love cannot be explained with words.
(Alba – Brazil)
edited by Lorenzo Russo
(Taken from “Il Vangelo del Giorno”, Città Nuova, VII, no.3, May – June 2021) .
The Bala Shanti Program is a project created to help abandoned women, supporting them to provide their children with the necessary care and schooling thus creating a condition of well-being, health and dignity. We are in Coimbatore, a region of south India. In 1991, the Bala Shanti Program was founded, a project that helps and welcomes the most vulnerable and needy children, aged between 3 and 5, and their mothers, who are often alone. The programme is part of the Shanti Ashram which is an international centre for cultural, social and health development serving the needs of the community in the area, inspired by the ideals and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. “My grandmother had to live on her own all the time, which is why my mother stopped studying when she was in secondary school and she had to get married when she was 16. This happened in ’78 but today, after more than 40 years, I still hear stories similar to this one”. These are the words of Deepa, head of the Bala Shanti Program. She explains that, even today, the children of abandoned mothers experience three challenges: poverty, dropping out of school and being forced into early marriage. The Bala Shanti Program therefore aims to help these women raise their children in a state of well-being, health and dignity. According to the United Nations 2019-2020 report, about 4.5% of families in India are composed of single mothers and an estimated 38% of these families live in poverty. Deepa explains: “A woman in India alone and in a vulnerable condition can hardly hope to survive: it is not a personal choice, many of them find themselves in conditions of neglect, insecurity, exploitation”. The ultimate goal of the Bala Shanti Program, therefore, is to fight poverty, malnutrition and diseases that develop in contexts of great hardship, building a society of peace. in addition to financial aid, children and their mothers are also trained in topics such as education, peace, nutrition, hygiene and leadership. Today, there are 9 Bala Shanti Kendra – early childhood development centres – which welcome more than 200 children a year. Since 1991, more than 10,000 children have completed their education, and during the year of the Covid-19 pandemic, aid was provided to 15,000 children and families. Since 1998, the project has been collaborating with AFN Onlus, the non-profit organisation linked to the Focolare Movement, which, through distance support, helps to provide children with scholarships at the Bala Shanti Program. There are many who could testify to the importance of the Bala Shanti Program in their own lives, like Fathima now aged 45. Until a few years ago she was a lone parent in financial difficulty and did not know how to raise and educate her son, little Aarish. Since the Bala Shanti Program started to help, her life has changed. Aarish went through training courses and received a distance scholarship. She explains “I was also helped with food supplies. They put me in touch with competent doctors and invited me to shows and dances through which I could distract myself and think about something beautiful. This was very important for me”. Now Aarish has grown up, is 15 years old and has been a volunteer at Shanti Ashram for three years. Also, thanks to his help, the Bala Shanti Program will offer more and more support to abandoned women and their children. Thus, the hope remains that this chain of aid will become more and more robust and widespread.
