![Chiara Lubich: A Charism Between History and Culture]()
Mar 15, 2013 | Senza categoria
“In everything you do you have to think in terms of the other” says Micaela Gliozzi, pharmaceutical researcher from Calabria, Italy. “I do preclinical research and not only for the results of the work in itself, but always projected in the meaning it has for the person before me.”
Felipe De Mato Miller, philosopher from Porto Alegre, Brazil: “I’m grateful to Chiara Lubich for having given her charism that has inspired me to develop within my field of epistemology a new path of research based on the relational and social dimension of knowledge.”
Lina O’Bankien who is from India and works in the field of economics, often has dealings with the government. The problem of corruption is not a surprise, but “I’ve discovered that I too can help in bringing about a better world, together with others and not on my own.”
From epistemology to the effects of cardiovascular disease, to the fight against corruption. And what unites these three? They belong to the fields of some researchers who recently attended an international gathering of researchers, graduate students and professors from around the world, the “Chiara Lubich: Charism, History, Culture” conference that was held on March 14 – 15 to commemorate the anniversary of Chiara Lubich’s death in 2008. What they have in common is a spirituality that can animate every profession and school of thought.
The 600-member conference opened with the news of the new Pope. His appeal to brotherhood was recalled, a term familiar to focolarini because of its affinity with their own mission of extending the fraternity contained in the prayer of Jesus: “That all may be one” (Jn. 17:21) which is the inspiration behind the Movement. UNESCO Ambassador, Lucio A. Savoia, gave a talk while the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, and Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi sent written messages.
Chiara had a great love for study and learning. Recall how she left it by “placing her books in the attic” in order to follow God and the nascent Movement. But the charism entrusted to her was destined to blossom in cultural expressions, as is evidenced not only by the numerous honorary degrees that were conferred upon her, but also by the hundreds of scholars who were present at this anniversary event.
Even if we are only at the beginning of this study, the organisers of the Movement’s Centre for Studies insist Scuola Abbà, we are already beginning to notice reflections in contemporary knowledge. Environmental questions, economy at a time of common goods, politics and law are the areas chosen for this turning point.
The roots of the reflections presented during the day, certainly lay in a theological and philosophical dimension and these were widely discussed in a report by Prof. Piero Coda and sociologist Vera Araujo. Coda focused particularly on the “core” of Chiara Lubich’s doctrine: looking to Jesus Abandoned “the plague who during those years [the horror of the Second World War and totalitarianism ed.] secretly drew the longing for truth and justice of men and women (i.e. Bonhoeffer, Stein, Weil) to experience in all its crudity the unfolding of the tragic consequences of that death of God. . .”
Maria Voce spoke with some emotion in her voice, because it was in this universisty that she first came into contact with the ideal of Chiara Lubich, for which she gave her life. Now she was returning as the president of the Focolare, the first to succeed the founder. She spoke of a “culture of resurrection” as Chiara loved to call it, a culture that would be the fruit of modern human searching: “A search that is at times suffered and obscured, similar to a collective epochal night of the spirit, which Chiara herself exprienced in the last months of her earthly life. But at the same time, it is a search in which Chiara was ever able to uncover new paths that allowed her to have a foretaste of a culture pervaded by the light that mysteriously but truly flows from the passage through death towards the Life.”
One personal impression about the day’s events comes from Brendhan Leahy, newly-elected Bishop of Limerick, Ireland and member of the Abba School for Ecclesiology: “We are many here today, to reflect on the life and doctrine of a woman who had a charism whose depth we perhaps only now begin to fathom. Hearing again things that Chiara had said for so many years, you begin to understand the implications and how timely her message on the key to unity: that mystery of Jesus Abandoned who opens God, who opens the human being to us. The negative exists and needs to be recognised, but it doesn’t hold the last word.”
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Mar 14, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
“From Rome she spread her ideal of universal brotherhood all over the world.” These are the words that the municipality wished to have engraved on a plaque in the name of the city of Rome at the Viale Libia subway station which has been dedicated to Chiara Lubich.
The ceremony took place before a small crowd on March 14, 2013 on the fifth anniversary of the Focolare founder’s birth to Heaven. She had lived not far from the station in the early days of the Movement at the Italian capital. Maria Voce remarked on this in her address:
“What a beautiful choice of location (. . .) the quarter where for fifteen years Chiara lived both moments of special light as she watched the main features of a work of God begin to emerge, and moments of great suffering as the Movement was under scrutiny and study by the Church.” Speaking at the “Chiara Lubich: Charism, History, Culture” Conference Mayor Gianni Alemanno highlighted the unity between this event and the election of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires to the papacy: “Today we will perform a gesture that is simple, we will unveil a plaque.” May it be a reminder of Chiara to the countless people who will pass through this train station and be reminded of this journey of faith as a contribution to a sorely needed new humanism. The choice of a pope who comes from the southern hemisphere is a clear sign of the times. We will only emerge from the economic crisis in which we find ourselves by choosing humility and simplicity.” Later on during the unveiling ceremony, the Mayor paused to dwell on Chiara Lubich’s “deep bond with Rome where, in the heart of the Trieste quarter, she laboured, reflected, wrote and sent out her message.”
This relationship with the city of Rome had been affirmed by the conferring of Honorary Citizenship on the Focolare founder on January 22, 2000, her 80th birthday. On that occasion, Maria Voce recalls, Chiara expressed all her “passion for the Eternal City and also the precise commitment of dedicating herself more, so that Rome, a city so unique in the world, symbol of unity and universality might better correspond to its vocation.” This is a commitment as deep as it is practical for the life of every person: “In Chiara Lubich’s message,” Maria Voce continued, “we are offered paths that are drawn from the Gospel: Love is the driving force of history, but we need to know ‘how to love’ according to that demanding art of loving everyone, being the first to love, loving with facts, making yourself one with the other, being capable of forgiving… This begins from the person next to us: at home, in the condominium, in the quarter, on the street, in the places we study, at work, gathering places, even in Parliament, even in the train station that is a continuous crossroad of people but also symbol of anonymity.”
It brings to mind one of the most meaningful pages left to us by Chiara: “This is the great attraction of modern times: to penetrate into the highest contemplation and remain mixed in among the people, a person alongside others, losing oneself in the crowd in order to infuse it with the Divine Life, as you would dunk a piece of bread into wine”, “to mark the crowd with embroideries of light” “sharing with others the shame, the hunger, the beatings of life, the brief joys” “because the great attraction of our time is the same as every other time. It is the most human and divine thing that you can imagine: Jesus and Mary: the Word of God a carpenter’s son; the Seat of Wisdom, the Mother at home.”
In thanking Mayor Alemanno, the Capital Administration and all those who worked on the beautiful project, Maria Voce expressed her hope that from their efforts would emerge “an inspiration to live everywhere the fully human and fully spiritual vocation of the beloved city of Rome, and to ignite small fires of light and hope for the good of all.”
![Chiara Lubich: A Charism Between History and Culture]()
Mar 11, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
In Mumbai, India, there will be several events aiming at understanding more fully the contribution of the charism of unity to dialogue between religions. They will be like a journey that begins with Chiara Lubich’s visits to India in 2001 and 2003 and finishes with the present day. At the same time in Avellaneda, Argentina, the charism will be looked at in terms of its dialogue with contemporary culture. In Tanzania, on the other hand, at the Catholic University of Iringa the leading figures will be young people in commemorating the special relationship that linked them to Chiara. And it would be possible to outline many more events throughout the world that will commemorate Chiara Lubich (22 January 1920 to 14 March 2008) five years after her death.
There will be conferences of a cultural and academic nature, the launching of social initiatives, Eucharistic celebrations, moments of artistic expression. Across the world hundreds of events will be held to look at Chiara’s charismatic impact and to understand more of her thought. Of particular note is the international meeting that will take place in Rome, called Chiara Lubich: Life, Light and Culture. It will take place in the Great Hall of the Sapienza University of Rome on 14 March and in the hall of the Mariapolis Centre in Castel Gandolfo on 15 March.
This year the anniversary of Chiara Lubich’s death takes place in a historic moment of particular significance for the Roman Catholic Church, which is focused upon the important task of choosing a successor to Benedict XVI. The Movement’s members are very aware of it and they will take this opportunity to witness still more to the vitality and effectiveness of the Ideal of Unity in every aspect of human life, in every point of the earth. It is a treasure that can be offered to the whole Church, possibly with greater decisiveness now more than ever, to put into practice what two popes, first John Paul II and later Benedict XVI, have wished for the Movement, namely to make “the Church always more the home and the school of communion.”
There will also be events of a particularly ecumenical character, for instance, in Geneva, Swizterland, where the event has the full backing of the city’s Ecumenical Centre, and in Oslo, Norway, where participants representing the various churches will come together in a spirit of communion. And, to give another example, in San Antonio, Texas (USA), on 23 February there has already been conference looking specifically at the spirituality of communion. Furthermore, in Thailand, Korea, Melbourne in Australia, and in the whole of Europe there will special occasions where it will possible to say ‘thank you’ and speak about a person who is recognized as one of the leading figures of the twentieth century, one who opened previously unexplored ways of dialogue to promote cohesion among individuals and peoples of different religions and cultures, and so promote peace and universal brotherhood.
To find out more about these initiatives across the world, click here: https://www.focolare.org/anniversary
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Mar 4, 2013 | Senza categoria
Lucila is a pretty little resort town overlooking the sea, 350 km from Buenos Aires. It is the place where “School Holidays” has been being held for the past thirteen years. Omar and Susana Zazzerini from the Parish Movement in Buenos Aires are the organizers of the event and tell us: “We began from the words of Jesus ‘Come away by yourselves and rest a while’ (Mk. 6:31). We especially had in mind families that had less opportunity to go away on holiday. We hoped that the days together would not only be restful but also like a course on living a life generated by mutual love and lived in the spiritual presence of Jesus among us. Just as in the early days of the Focolare when people would spend the summer holiday together in the Dolomite Mountains of northern Italy. There many people exprienced this Gospel lifestyle and discovered God as Love.” Most of the people come from parishes in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. The first year we were 23. This time 115 have taken part in the thirteenth edition with 115 staying the whole week. Up until now more than 1200 people have taken part in it. 
“The main thing,” says Omar, “is to love with the power of the present moment, being attentive towards others, seeing each other with new eyes in every moment.” This means forgetting about the defects or misunderstanings with those whom we have known for a long time. “Otherwise,” Omar continues, “it wouldn’t be so nice to stay together for a week in small teams that have to take turns cooking, washing dishes, serving table, and maintaining the surroundings.” “This is like a training course,” Susana adds, “in which we learn to help each other in overcoming painful situations or conflicts. Whenever we feel bothered by others, it is this living together teaches us to accept and accommodate to the discomfort we feel.” Then interpersonal relationships are brought to a new level. Spiritual deepening, sharing what we live, “also the sufferings. . .” Susana continues, “some difficult situations are resovled in this communion. The highest moment is the Mass. The rest of the day is spent on the beach, playing, taking walks, chatting and relaxing.” 
The spiritual growth of the participants and the impact on youths is something that should be mentioned: “The youths are growong in number, but also in quality. You see it in their love for the elderly and for the small children. and in their relationship with each other. Some young adults have already begun families, others have had an experiene at Mariapolis Lia or attended the Genfest in Budapest. One of the girls was able to attend WYD in Spain thanks to the support she received from everyone. Now she’s the contact person for the WYD in Rio de Janeiro. We’ve also been joined by consecrated people, members of other Churches, seminarians and several priests.” As one person put it who was participating for the first time, this is an exprience of brotherhood that continues on throughout the year in the parishes. Compiled by Carlos Mana
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Feb 12, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
Being consistent with the choices involved in living in accordance with the Gospel requires determination. Stories from a recently published book of Gospel experiences of ordinary people from around the world*.
“I’m an hydraulic engineer from southern Italy, and for many years I’ve been in charge of a water purification plant. In the late 1990’s I began working for a multinational company that was handling the management of fifty treatment plants throughout the southern region. Shortly after I began the job, I realized that I was probably the only one who had been hired based on my studies and credentials and not on reccomendations.
Nevertheless, we began the job with a lot of commitment and, contrary to what had occurred during previous years, after thirty or forty days of probation the treatment plants began to work beautifully. It was a worrisome sign, because it clearly showed that before it had not been any technical glitches to render the plants inactive, but rather opposing economic interests.
Everywhere, I realized, strict management of public water, public health, the future of our children, the well-being of a city were all of secondary importance with respect to profit and private interests. I was even explicitly asked to forget the first in order to serve the latter. In order to make a profit in one of the municipalities, sewage was dumped into the stream that flowed into a neighbouring waterway that after a few kilometres flowed directly into the sea. Now, at a distance of ten years from these events the first arrests have been made.
All of this was at odds with my principles. With my wife and many friends I was trying to live the Gospel in all the circumstances of life. My conscience and my ideals were calling me to go against these practices even at the cost of personal sacrifice. I resigned. For a long time it wasn’t easy. However there were also positive experiences while I was involoved in the management of the water treatment plants. One of these was with a community cooperative on the southern coast. There were three of us: me, the engineer; an electrician and a worker with a drug problem. Thanks to this job opportunity he was able to re-enter the work force. The results were so extraordinary that the lab technician told us that it was impossible to have water so pure. Certainly it had been tampered with!
Currently I run a municipal sewage treatment plant and other small private companies. The same lab technician who did not believe in our so pure water, today brings students – future lab technicians – to visit the facilities that we have under management.
The price of being consistent is high. My family’s financial situation is always precarious, making it through to the end of the month is always a major effort. But in order to leave space for God to act, you need to believe in His love even if it means making choices that go against the tide.
This morning I went for a walk along the beach. Standing in front of the sea and seeing the reflections of sunlight on the water, I felt God’s presence reassuring me.”
(Roberto, Italy)
*From Una Buona notizia. Gente che crede gente che muove (Rome: Città Nuova Editrice, 2012).
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Feb 7, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
The course of study he is concluding at Sophia presents various points of interest. What is the reason for your enrollment at the IUS? It was a decision that matured gradually. I already had some knowledge about Sophia and of what it offered, and at a certain point, this idea crossed paths with my studies. On bringing home with me a degree in International Relations, I felt the need to step beyond the confines of political theories and to explore the future of humanism. After more than four and a half years at university, I was finding myself…… with a great thirst: I was seeking where and how to answer my own questions. What some of my friends were telling me about Sophia where they themselves had studied, helped me understand that the IUS could be the right place for me to find answers. Why did you choose to specialize in Trinitarian Ontology since your studies had been in the Political field? What relationship is there between the two? It’s true, I arrived at Sophia thinking of following the same specialization in politics; it was the most natural choice for me. But after a couple of months, two impressions came to my awareness. The first was one of wonderment: the wonder of coming to know who Jesus is, perhaps for the first time in such a personal way, especially during the course on the Gospel of Mark. The second put me before a new understanding of myself, which happened gradually on the occasion of a seminar on theological topics: I felt ‘able’ to get close to Jesus’s thought, to that which Paul calls “our Christ”. Not out of some ambition of knowing the meaning of everything, at arriving to possess the logic of reality, but of a discovery of a place wholly human from which to read the world and its challenges, while respectful of its languages and reasons. And what better place would there be for God Trinity to manifest Himself? 
You are enrolled in the second year: have you started work on your thesis? Yes, I already have the topic for it, the phenomenology of the ‘stranger’, if one could say it this way, a theme of great impact in politics, but which I want to analyze starting from its philosophical foundations. I am finding myself therefore having to deal with politics once again, but my looking will be of a different kind, because I will treat migratory fluxes crossing contemporary societies to help one see the emergence, from a viewpoint of knowledge inspired by reasons of love, of new political and cultural variations. The questions I have are still many, there’s no doubt. Every time I think of having gotten an answer, I realize I have only taken the first steps. You have been at the IUS for two years now: how would you define the time you have been living here? I would like to continue using the metaphor of the ‘place’: 
Sophia is above all a place from which to look…..at the numberless, various human realities starting from fraternity, from a deeply innovative idea of sociality. Furthermore Sophia is giving me the tools to reflect with, but also to act concretely keeping the individual at the centre in the richness of his relationships. I know that there will be many other moments of ‘wonder’ waiting for me, of the philosophical wonder that anticipates and unveils knowledge, and together with the other students and all of the IUS community I feel ever more directed in my journey. Source: Sophia University Institute
