In 1976, during the first Gen School, Chiara Lubich answered questions from many young Focolare members from all over the world. Referring to what she was living in those days she said the following I read … a writing of mine which you too may have read its short and says: “Jesus forsaken, embraced, held tightly to oneself, consumed in one with us, we consumed in one with Him, made suffering with Him… suffering: this is how you become God, Love.” Those words touched me in a special way because I wrote them during a time of great light, so I wrote things greater than I could actually live, or if I did live them, it was as a young person. The more I go ahead the more I discover their value and depth. … I liked it very much and the Holy Spirit made me focus on this point of not being two of us: me and Jesus forsaken, that is, me and the suffering I experience, me and the doubt I have, I discovering Him and little by little embracing Him, saying to Jesus… taking time., no, at once! Made suffering with Him suffering, wanting that alone, this is how you become God, how you become God! Love, Love. Then, … I had just received a card from Loppiano in which Father Mario Strada had sent me, besides his letter, a few photos of his new little church at Cappiano, I think, photos of some beautiful frescoes. One of them had this sentence written beneath it: “Nox mea (my night) obscurum non habet” (my night has no darkness). I was very happy about this, as though the Lord had sent it to me, because – as I said – this is what I want to live. As soon as a suffering arrives, I must embrace it so quickly, I must hold it tightly to myself, consume it in one, made suffering with Him suffering. This is how you become, not suffering, but Love, God.     … I have seen, gen, that living this all day long, is like a tonic of the Ideal that you can’t imagine… unimaginable! Because you start in the morning. You might be a little tired, you didn’t sleep well perhaps. So, tiredness, amazing, “My night has no darkness”, this suffering does not exist because I love it. I get up, and I might hear about some problems at once. Someone says: “Chiara, I need to tell you something.” And I say within: fantastic, Jesus, here we are, I embrace you, hold you tightly, made suffering with you, at once… “My night has no darkness.” And this all day long. I believe that we can progress spiritually more in a week by living this one thing than in months and months living in other ways. And this applies to all suffering; you’re suffering because your feet hurt; you’re feeling the cold; someone spoke a bit unkindly; you suffer about something you have to do; you suffer and …at once… – This is the way! … so that we can always proclaim, when we go to bed at night: Jesus, my night had no darkness. Truly, you feel that you can say (now, God must confirm this), that it is no longer we who live, but it is Love that lives within; it is God who lives within

Chiara Lubich

(Grottaferrata, 2 June 1976, at the Gen School) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34K64nLUofk