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Aug 29, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
«My company, Tecnodoor, designs and manufactures automatic and manual doors for industrial and civil use in Isera, Italy. I have belonged to the Economy of Communion (EoC) since 1994, basing the company on this new way of doing business: renewing relationships, maximizing collaboration at all levels, both internally among staff and members and outside with clientele. The current economic crisis affected us precisely at the point which is the life and stability of the company: loans. After a careful evaluation of defaults, we decided on countermeasures to bring things back into balance, trying out new strategies to recover our debts. Over the years we had done honest work, but mostly we had built faith with our customers. What were we to do now in order not to ruin these relationships, by asking them to settle their debts? One night I just couldn’t sleep, so many thoughts were running through my mind. The basic question was: how should an entrepreneur like me act who wants to remain consistent with the EoC Project, when it comes to recovering legitimate claims? I thought about what the key points were that I should never let go of. Little by little a mode of operation began to become clear to my mind: a) manage “credit recovery” not as if it were my own thing, but as an assignment I’ve been given; b) don’t break relationships, but try to strengthen them; c) listen fully to the suffering that the other company or the customer is experiencing; d) objectively explain the “suffering” of our own company and the possible consequences. 
After that sleepless night I wanted to give my reflections a try. With a heart as much as possible detached from the not so easy task, and believing that every neighbour – whether creditor, employer or supplier – was a brother or sister, I began. I listened deeply on the phone or during personal meetings. The result was that we began to receive payments in whole or by instalments. But the most important thing is that we never severed or even damaged any relationships, but strengthened everyone’s personal confidence and trust in us». By Pietro Comper Source: EoC Insert Città Nuova n.13/14 – 2013
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Aug 28, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
The encounter with other charisms is fascinating to me, and doing it in the place where Chiara Luce Badano had radically lived the Gospel, has given it a sense of newness and youthfulness.” So writes Alessandro, a young religious from the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He is one of 22 young people who met in Sassello, Italy, the birthplace of the young Blessed, between August 19, 2013 and August 23, 2013. The meeting “From Light to Light – Chiara Luce for Young Consecrated Religious” was an opportunity for young men and women religious from different charisms to take part in a workshop in which they uncovered what they share in common and asked about their young calling to consecrated life. They were from 7 congregations: Friars Minor, Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, Missionaries of St. Paola Frassinetti, Franciscan Missionary Brothers and Sisters, Little Brothers of the Risen Jesus of the New Horizons and the Missionaries of Joy. “It was a powerful experience,” writes Friar Andrea. “We let ourselves be ‘swept away’ by the Spirit who was pushing us to create communion among our charisms to make the face of the Church shine with its beautiful new young face.” “It was a splendid opportunity to share as a young consecrated religious who is close to the spirituality of the Focolare,” commented Sr. Cinzia from the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor. “A very enriching experience of communion and a fine training, an occasion for reflecting on holiness in daily life to which we are all invited. I truly experienced that if we live in a relationship of love and mutual knowledge among different charisms, we draw close to God.” The workshop was structured according to the three-word slogan from the Beatification ceremony of Chiara Luce: “Life, love, light.” 
On the day dedicated to “life” Fr. Theo Jansen showed how the life of Christ, which enlivens the Church, has blossomed in the various charisms and how it now pushes for communion and mutual love. In the work sessions we explored how the charisms respond to Jesus’ mission: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn. 10:10). In front of the disadvantages and problems of youth, and the economic crisis, two illuminating experiences were offered: Matteo Zini from New Horizons showed how the charism of joy, as abundant life, leads to Resurrection and to the underworld of the streets (drugs, alcohol, prostitution, and criminality. . . ); and Livio Bertola, a businessman from the EoC showed how the Gospel also renews the world of economy. In the evening everyone vented their talents: a cute talent show, with games, comedy and song. On the day dedicated to “love” Fr. Andrea Patane spoke of the discovery of love and it implications, as it was intuited and lived by Chiara Lubich and her companions; Fr. Jacopo Papi related the experience of Chiara Luce to that of young consecrated religious; and Fr. Donato Cauzzo, Secretary of the Prefect of the Congregation for Religious, highlighted the power of the Spirit which pushes the charisms to live in communion so that the face of Christ shine even more. 
On the day dedicated to “light” there was the testimony of Silvia who had lived the Gen experience together with Chiara Luce: the experience of Lorenza from the New Families group; the experience of Giuliano, the bar man at the coffee bar and great friend of Chiara Luce; and a moment of intense prayer at the tomb of the young Blessed. Friar Andrea, from the Franciscan Missionary Brothers, offered a summary of the 5 days together: “It was a moment of Heaven that was much more than expected. How the Lord and Chiara Luce have transformed us during these days! And lively was the communion among us, in spite of the diversity of our callings!” They left with this desire for communion, to carry to many the “torch” that Chiara Luce wanted to hand on to the youth. Their next appointment is for Loppiano 2014.
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Aug 25, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
“We are pleased and grateful for this honour,” commented Gerhard Pross, spokesperson of the German project committee. “For us this provides a further boost that the spirit of “Together for Europe” – communion and Christian values – might shine more in society and in the Churches.” Past award winners have included ex-German Chancellor Helmut Kohl; Polish Archbishop Emeritus Alfons Nossol; and the Community of St. Egidio. 
“Together for Europe” began in Ottmaring, Germany on the day of the signing of the historic “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification” (October 31, 1999). On that same day several Catholic and Evangelical Movements and New Communities were gathered at the Ecumenical Centre of Ottmaring to begin living the Gospel together. Gradually, “Together for Europe” emerged as “a free encounter between Christian movements – Catholics, Evangelicals, members of the Reformed Church, Anglicans and Orthodox. While remaining autonomous they act together on set occasions, offering the contribution of their particular charism and spirituality.” Their principle objective is to work together at “incrementing Europe’s Christian soul”. The St Ulrich Award was instituted in 1993 by the European St. Ulrich Foundation in Dillingen, the birthplace of the saint, on the thousandth anniversary of his beatification. There is a strong push in this city and the surrounding region to work for peace and for the building of a Europe founded on Christian values. The award is conferred every two years on individuals, projects or institutions involved in the political, religious, cultural, scientific, economic or social sphere for the unity of Europe in accordance with the spirit of St Ulrich. In the reasons set out for the 2014 Award it is stated that: “the Together for Europe network is committed to the promotion of a culture of communion and to a supportive community in Europe founded upon Christian values. It favours the development of freedom and humanitarian efforts which have been undermined by the financial and economic crises in Europe”. Endowed with 10,000 Euro, the Award will be given to the “Together for Europe” International Guidance Committee in May 2014 in Dillingen.
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Aug 19, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
I come from a small city near El Paso, Texas, where there is not much recreational fun. It offered me, though, something more valuable. The educational principles of the day-care center I attended as a child were based on the Art of Loving. So I have been trying to put them into practice for more than 70% of my life. Later we started our own youth group in our city called “
Teens for Unity” following the same principles. This small group has remained small, but our impact on the city can be seen. We decided to name our first project “
Colouring our city”. Like many other teens around the world, we didn’t literally color the city with crayons and colored pencils, but in order to color the city, we brought joy and fresh energy to it. One project was planting trees at local bus stations. These trees not only provide more oxygen for the environment, but also shade for local citizens who wait for the bus to arrive. Other projects have been: gathering school supplies for children in Mexico, sending support letters to victims of the Haiti earthquake, and most recently visiting the senior citizens center to provide them with companionship. Luckily, we received support from our mayor who gave us permission for our projects showing how he too wants to see a positive change in the city. A huge activity our youth group got into was the broadcast from a local radio station called
Chicos Por la Unidad (Young for Unity), 1110 AM Radio Guadalupana. Even though El Paso has been named the safest city in America for the last three years, because of its location on the border people are continually exposed to violence, injustice and poverty. We wanted to find some way to give the values of peace, brotherhood and love to the young people of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, our “sister city” right across the border and one of the most dangerous towns in Mexico. It took three months to get the approval, but in the end we created an hour-long program called “Teens for Unity — where only love can change the world.” For more than a year, we crossed the border into Mexico each week to go on air. We shared our initiatives and our personal experiences on how we tried to practice the Art of Loving in our daily lives. At first the program was dedicated to teens, but as the months went by, we decided to open our message to everyone. We would get feedback from listeners who called in or sent messages on the radio station website. Once we actually hosted a live event. Our youth group went to a restaurant in El Paso, where the radio station was broadcasting live. They gave us an hour of the program. The night consisted of fun games, sharing the word of God and sharing our experiences on how we loved our neighbors. All of these activities may seem like a lot of fun and you might think, “Wow, I would certainly take my family members or friends”. But it wasn’t always that easy. There was a time when there were basically two friends and my siblings in the group. It was disappointing because we did not get members quickly, but we would not stop. Even though our group became smaller, we still kept the principle of loving one another alive. Eventually, after about half a year we received more members and our events began to grow again! Our most recent project is called “Teens Got Talent Show”. We thought, why not host a local event, not for monetary gain, but for promoting love, unity and service? We invite young people to share their God-given talents with the community. We have hosted the event three times, twice at a local library, and once in a day care center for the elderly. The young people who perform have amazing talents. We continue to host these events where the performers expect no money, only the applause from the happy crowd.
By Jose Castro Source:
www.livingcitymagazine.com
Related video on YouTube: “Colour My City”
Making our cities a better place to live. Based on a talk given by Chiara Lubich in 1970.
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Aug 16, 2013 | Senza categoria
The guava tree A guava tree has been growing in front of my house for a long time but I’ve never been able to taste any of its fruit, because as soon as a guava appears, someone shakes the tree and it falls without maturing. This really disturbs me! Another situation that annoyed me quite a bit: For several years I’ve been providing food to the street children who come to my door asking for something to eat. I offer them the food on disposable paper plates, which they inevitably discard with leftover food on the sidewalk in front of my house, on my car or on my neighbour’s property. One day, after having offered supper to them, I recalled the words of the Gospel: “for the whole law is contained in this one word: Love your neighbour as you love yourself (Gal. 5:14) Then I thought, ‘How can it be that so many years have gone by that I have been feeding these boys and I don’t even know their names?’ And so I went out in search of them and began to converse with them. I asked them their names and became interested in their worries and concerns. They shared the serious problems in their families, which they have to face each day. I felt better after listening to them and I believe they sensed that I was genuinely interested in them. Now the boys no longer throw the trash on the street, but in the trash bin. And going back to my beloved guava tree, nobody shakes it anymore and there are so many mature fruits that I’m even able to share some with neighbours and friends. The miracle of reciprocal love truly envelopes everyone and can be a blessing for every human being!” (S. D. – Honduras) He was an illegal immigrant * 
I had hired Dominic from Morocco, who had been living illegally in Italy for four years. This job would have enabled him to obtain legal residence in the country. While waiting for him to obtain his papers, in agreement with our children, he came to live temporarily with us. His presence in our home opened us to new horizons. He told us about his people, of his traditions, his home the open meadows and his horses. . . He also spoke to us of Allah and of the goodness and justice shared by all human beings. It’s so true. Knowing someone more deeply and offering sincere hospitality can bring down century-old walls of suspicion and fear. (C.A. – Italy) 
The birthday * We had invited some of my daughter’s friends for her birthday. Given our economic situation, we couldn’t offer them any gifts, so we filled a basket with sweets and chocolates. I had baked two cakes and her brothers prepared balloons and colourful garlands. When the feast was over, there was still one cake left, the more beautiful one. As we went to bed for the night, Mabelen was a bit sad. The day before was the birthday of a girl her own age, who didn’t have a birthday feast. I suggested we send the girl, the cake that had remained. She lit up: “Not only the cake! All the garlands and balloons as well!” I was overjoyed, because Consuelo would have also had a birthday feast. (D.Y. – Argentina) (*) The Gospel of the day, (Rome: Città Nuova Ed., August, 2013).
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Aug 15, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
The doors of LoppianoLab will be open from September 20, 2013 until September 22, 2013 at Loppiano, near Florence, Italy. Then, the workshop will continue which began in 2009 in the north of the country and involved more than ten thousand Italian citizens in promoting projects and round table discussions on civil society, the world of economics and work, young people, culture and training. Throughout the year proposals that emerge have become civil work sites where, with the input of local citizens projects and proposals have been developed in response to emergencies being faced by the country: legality, work, interreligious dialogue the educational crisis. Paolo Loriga, editor of Citta Nuova magazine, explains: “It is inevitable that some burning issues will be at the central in this year’s programme. The four promoters of the event: Lionello Bonfanti Business Park, Citta Nuova Press Group, Sophia University Institute and the International Focolare Centre of Loppiano will offer their own unique contributions. They will also be involved in coming up with a map of new paths and new trails that will be proposed for Italy’s hopeful future. Results of the many projects that have been developed over the past year by young people, trainers and entrepreneurs will also be collected and assembled. Two training courses of Civil Economy and Communion will attend the workshop, a network of companies that have generated jobs and innovation and a workshop on social information. Several projects on legality will be presented, which were carried out by networking with many citizens and local associations in Milan, Naples and Sicily.” The title of the event “Safeguarding Italy and building the future together” expresses an urgency to care for the country while remaining open to Europe and the Mediterranean regions, highlighting instead the networks of interdependence that connect the revival of a region and an industry to the people and communities that live and work there. The Lionello Bonfanti Business Park will once again host the Expo of businesses connected with the Economy of Communion, providing exhibition areas and meeting rooms also for private enterprises and non-profit businesses that work in the area of sustainability and responsible economy. This year’s annual convention will focus on the topic: “The Economy of Communion at a time of crisis: hoping and beginning again with new experience and new ideas.”
