Focolare Movement

Living the Gospel: You Are All Brothers and Sisters

Aug 10, 2016

This month’s Word of Life reminds us that we are all brothers and sisters. Here are some testimonies from people around the world who have tried to live accordingly.

“I’m sorry …” “One of my older medical colleagues had taken me to task in front of the patients, for a mistake he thought I had made. I was struck to the quick and left the room slamming the door behind me. When I got home, I wasn’t able to regain my calm. I had to do something to re-establish the relationship. After several attempts, I decided to telephone him at his office. “I’m sorry,” I told him, “for what happened this morning.” It took him totally by surprise and made him very happy. Our relationship has continued to grow since then. I discovered that even amidst all the difficulties, it is possible to bring a human dimension to our work.” R. S. – Canada What should we do with the money? “We had received a large sum of money from a relative. We were surprised by the generous gesture and wondered what we should do with the money. There are nine people in our family and each one was saying what he or she wanted. . . As for me, I would have liked to use at least part of the money for a social cause. But would our children agree? Just then my wife and I recalled that we also had a son in Heaven. If he were still with us, he would certainly want his share of the money. So, nobody objected to donating his share to a charitable cause. Just sharing the idea with the kids was enough for them to cheerfully agree.” C. M. – Argentina 20160810-01Loving Without Expectations “Our daughter, Anna, was a girl full of life and ideals that she wanted to fulfil: finishing her degree, doing archaeology and starting a family. . . Unfortunately things didn’t work out that way. After graduation she went through a period of serious stress because her boyfriend had just left her. My wife and I were quite disturbed. We felt helpless and began to wonder if we had done something wrong in her upbringing. She had even attempted suicide. This hard experience led us into a deeper relationship with God. We and our other children tried to love Anna without expecting anything in return and, little by little, following appropriate treatment, she was able to come out of the tunnel. One day she confided to me that the love she had received from the family had healed her.” E. P. – Austria

___

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to Newsletter

Thought of the day

Related post

Christians protagonists of dialogue

Christians protagonists of dialogue

29th June is the feast of Saints Peter and Paul and is a significant day in the ecumenical sphere. On this date we publish some interviews with Christians from various Churches

This curse of war

This curse of war

Igino Giordani, when writing his memoirs, reflected on the terrible period of the First World War, in which he himself had to enlist, saying, “I saw the absurdity, the stupidity and above all the sin of war…”, as Benedict XV called it, the ‘useless massacre’. His words challenge us to think about how history could teach us to work for peace today, by opposing the new, absurd, useless massacres of our century.

Jubilee of youth: pilgrims of journey, hope, reconciliation

Jubilee of youth: pilgrims of journey, hope, reconciliation

A pilgrimage in Rome during the event that will see the participation of young people from all over the world. It will follow the historical itinerary of the Seven Churches with catechesis, prayer, testimonies, spiritual insights inspired by the charism of unity, music and sharing.