Info Mauritania
Pope Benedict to the young people preparing for WYD 2011
Thousands of young people from all over the world will converge on Madrid for WYD 2011. There is a lot of joy and enthusiasm among those working for this event. Everything is set to go – one has to only follow the posts on Facebook or Twitter, or keep track of what’s happening on the official website.
The Holy Father has chosen as the theme for WYD 2011 a phrase from the Apostle Paul: “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith.” (Colossians, 2:7). Here are some passages from his message for WYD2011 dated 6 August 2010. But the entire document is worth a read.
Dear Friends,
(…) Now we are looking forward to the next World Youth Day, to be held in Madrid in August 2011. Back in 1989, several months before the historic fall of the Berlin Wall, this pilgrimage of young people halted in Spain, in Santiago de Compostela. (…) i would like all young people – those who share our faith in Jesus Christ, but also those who are wavering or uncertain, or who do not believe in him – to share this experience, which can prove decisive for their lives. It is an experience of the Lord Jesus, risen and alive, and of his love for each of us.
(…) Many young people experience a deep desire for personal relationships marked by truth and solidarity. Many of them yearn to build authentic friendships, to know true love, to start a family that will remain united, to achieve personal fulfilment and real security, all of which are the guarantee of a serene and happy future…. In thinking of my own youth, I realize that stability and security are not the questions that most occupy the minds of young people. True enough, it is important to have a job and thus to have firm ground beneath our feet, yet the years of our youth are also a time when we are seeking to get the most out of life. When I think back on that time, I remember above all that we were not willing to settle for a conventional middle-class life. We wanted something great, something new… Part of being young is desiring something beyond everyday life … Is this simply an empty dream that fades away as we become older? No! Men and women were created for something great, for infinity. Nothing else will ever be enough. Saint Augustine was right when he said “our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you”. The desire for a more meaningful life is a sign that God created us and that we bear his “imprint”. God is life, and that is why every creature reaches out towards life. Because human beings are made in the image of God, we do this in a unique and special way. We reach out for love, joy and peace.
(…) You are the future of society and of the Church! As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians of Colossae, it is vital to have roots, a solid foundation! This is particularly true today. Many people have no stable points of reference on which to build their lives, and so they end up deeply insecure. There is a growing mentality of relativism, which holds that everything is equally valid, that truth and absolute points of reference do not exist. But this way of thinking does not lead to true freedom, but rather to instability, confusion and blind conformity to the fads of the moment. As young people, you are entitled to receive from previous generations solid points of reference to help you to make choices and on which to build your lives: like a young plant which needs solid support until it can sink deep roots and become a sturdy tree capable of bearing fruit.
In order to highlight the importance of faith in the lives of believers, I would like to reflect with you on each of the three terms used by Saint Paul in the expression: “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (cf. Col 2:7). We can distinguish three images: “planted” calls to mind a tree and the roots that feed it; “built up” refers to the construction of a house; “firm” indicates growth in physical or moral strength. These images are very eloquent.
(…) Dear friends, build your own house on rock, just like the person who “dug deeply”. Try each day to follow Christ’s word. Listen to him as a true friend with whom you can share your path in life. With him at your side, you will find courage and hope to face difficulties and problems, and even to overcome disappointments and set-backs.
(…) “Faith is first of all a personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 150). Thus you will acquire a mature and solid faith, one which will not be based simply on religious sentiment or on a vague memory of the catechism you studied as a child. You will come to know God and to live authentically in union with him, like the Apostle Thomas who showed his firm faith in Jesus in the words: “My Lord and my God!”.
(…) “Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 166).
(…) The victory born of faith is that of love. There have been, and still are, many Christians who are living witnesses of the power of faith that is expressed in charity. They have been peacemakers, promoters of justice and workers for a more humane world, a world in accordance with God’s plan. With competence and professionalism, they have been committed in different sectors of the life of society, contributing effectively to the welfare of all. The charity that comes from faith led them to offer concrete witness by their actions and words. Christ is not a treasure meant for us alone; he is the most precious treasure we have, one that is meant to be shared with others. In our age of globalization, be witnesses of Christian hope all over the world.… if you believe, and if you are able to live out your faith and bear witness to it every day, you will become a means of helping other young people like yourselves to find the meaning and joy of life, which is born of an encounter with Christ!
(…) The decision to believe in Jesus Christ and to follow him is not an easy one. It is hindered by our personal failures and by the many voices that point us towards easier paths. Do not be discouraged. Rather, look for the support of the Christian community (…) Dear young people, the Church depends on you!
Benedictus PP. XVI
Vatican, 6 August 2010.
Conclusion of Maria Voce’s visit to Slovenia
Wednesday 3 August. On a limpidly clear day, Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti visited the historical center of Ljubljana and the Parliament Building, and greeted the Vice President Vasja Klavora, remembering the visit of Chiara Lubich in 1999. He welcomed them with exquisite hospitality , visiting with them the Halls of the Senate and of the Chamber. It gave them a glimpse into the past and present future of Slovenia. Then Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti visited with the Evangelical Pastor, Geza Filo. He expressed his gratitude for the contribution of the Focolare to the ecumenical cause in his land and, in the name of his bishop, he described Chiara Lubich as a person “sent by God”. 
A very significant moment was the gathering which took place in the Sports Stadium in Medvode, a few kilometres from the capital, with some 1200 people from different parts of the country, which demonstrates the spread and vitality of the many local communities of the Movement in this land. Many young married couples were there, and swarms of lively children. It was a composed and orderly assembly that welcomed Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti with songs and stories about the Focolare in Slovenia. It was a luminous story, not without its moments of suffering. Nothing was superfluous or overdone in the testimonies that were offered in representation of the different generations, within the warmth of a family feast that’s been long looked forward to. 
Then Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti were given an opportunity to have an open dialogue with those present, through a series of questions which were put to them by teenagers, children, priests, and married couples. Their answers were rich in wisdom and experience. “Courage!” exclaimed Maria Voce, using the Slovenian word. And the answers she offered were all permeated with this encouragement. Perhaps it will be the countries of Eastern Europe, she went on,“that have experienced a type of unity that contains certain values, but crumbled because it was not founded in God. . .” It is precisely these countries of the East, as they are now confronted by the aggressive materialism of the West who should “bring the others of Europe to discover that true unity cannot be constructed unless it rests on God.” Then she added: “You, with your experience, can say that the only positive and frutiful revolution is that of the Gospel.” Herein lies the need to “live and to speak”, “to improve” in witnessing with our life and with our word to the radicalness of the Gospel – without fear. It was a real consignment that Maria Voce was handing over to the people of Slovenia, in this land in which she encountered so much harmony. “This life of communion,” she concluded, “that we felt from the first moment we arrived here, and which has characterized this visit, a fruit of mutual love, must become total for all of us and for each one of us. And let us bring it to the whole world.” On the following day, 4 August, the Focolare president visited Archbishop Anton Stress of Ljublajna, President of the Slovenian Bishops Conference. Then she met with the priests of the Movement and the consecrated religious who live the spirituality of unity. Everything concluded with a Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Brezje, fifty kilometres from the capital. Goodbye Slovenia! This trip has taught us to “live the Gospel message with the radicalness of the early days of our Movement, and to make it known to all.” What an exciting mandate for this small but courageous people! By Mario Dal Bello
Algeria: Learning to live together
Six days, in beautiful Tlemcen, Capital of Islamic Culture 2011, helped to make the discovery that it is possible to live in harmony and unity with a group of believers of different religions. In an atomsphere of unity lived amongst they came from Europe and the Middle East and met from 2nd – 7th June 2011 with the Algerian community of the Focolare Movement who have been living the spirit of unity for more than 45 years. Both the recorded talks of Chiara Lubich shown and the live contributions from the various experts present at the meeting clarified and answered many questions on how to live according to the charism of Chiara Lubich. A variety of experiences followed which enriched group discussions where participants spoke with great freedom and openess and felt even more part of the big Focolare family. The programme also included a visit to the city of Tlemcen and Orano, allowing the possibility of discovering their unique cultural and religious patrimony that they hold. One comment from the many, at the end of the meeting: “This is just the beginning of a new step in our life towards an ever deeper unity.”