THE IDEA OF THE MONTH – MAY 2023

A large human family

Love should abound in the family – love that is  gratuitous and knows no limits, love that we receive and, in turn, give to others.

Let us focus especially on fraternity and reciprocity that develop from the love that we experience in everyday life.  We all understand  what these words describe because our lives are so closely intertwined with those of others.

By living together an ideal of fraternity in reciprocity, we bear joint witness to what love can accomplish. Such a love is strong and practical and reaches the point of laying down our lives for one another. It is  characterised by the thousands of expressions of care for other people and their happiness, and it makes us appreciate each other's qualities.

Moreover, this love looks to the needs of each person, and does all that is possible to avoid leaving anyone behind. It draws us to be responsible and active in society, culture and  political engagement.

It is only by living in this way that a community of shared values is created because  it is based upon relationships of deep communion and understanding.  Furthermore, such a community responds to the needs of everyone,  especially of young people.

A distinguishing characteristic of these communities living mutual love is that the members  do not close in on themselves but are ready to face the real challenges that arise within the context in which they exist.

They are open, big-hearted and willing to love everyone.

J.K., a Serbian, Hungarian national and father of three children could finally afford to buy a home but due to an accident did not have the financial and physical resources to renovate it himself. He was part of a community in his town that included many young people and all the members shared the ideal of a  united and fraternal world. The young people understood the difficulties that prevented J.K. from renovating the house and decided to help him concretely. They  involved their friends who lived close by and  others further away in the Czech republic, who decided to contribute financially to the project because they could not help practically. A real contest of fraternal solidarity developed in helping J.K and after a few days there was a new roof on the house and the renovations were completed.

J.K was moved when he shared this experience: he is  convinced that it is a tangible sign of what fraternal love can accomplish when it lies at the heart of a community. There are no longer barriers or distances that can hinder mutual help. He has immense gratitude for those who helped him and especially for these young people whose actions bore witness that it is possible to contribute to a world united in fraternity.

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THE IDEA OF THE MONTH, based on the Word of Life of the Focolare Movement, was born in Uruguay as part of the dialogue between people of different convictions, whose motto is "building dialogue". The purpose of this publication is to help promote the ideal of universal fraternity.  The IDEA OF THE MONTH is currently translated into 12 languages and distributed in more than 25 countries