Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
«If I should have to leave this world today and you were to ask me for a single word, one last word that sums up our Ideal, I would say – certain of being perfectly understood – ‘Be a family’. Are there among you those who are suffering spiritual or moral trials? Understand them as a mother and more than a mother would, enlighten them with your words or example. Do not leave them alone; indeed, surround them with the warmth of a family. Are there among you those who are suffering physically? They should be your preference. Suffer with them. Seek to understand their sufferings in depth. Share with them the fruits of your apostolic endeavors so that they may realize that they, more than others, contributed to its success. Are there those who are dying? Imagine yourself in their place and do all that you would want others to do to you, to the very last instant. Are there those who are happy because of a particular achievement or for any other reason? Share in their happiness, so that their consolation may not be saddened and their heart closed, but that the joy may be of all.
Play this video in the original language (italian)
“Christmas wishes to all whose lives contribute to making humanity a true family.May the life of the Word be the star which announces Jesus’ arrival and which beckons to an encounter with Him among us, in a never-ending Christmas.”Maria Voce (Emmaus) |
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Pag-asa Social Center is a social expression of the Focolare Movement in the Philippines. It is an NGO duly recognized by the Department of Social Welfare and Development. “Pag-asa” is the Tagalog word for “Hope”. Total no. of beneficiaries: 473 Current total no. of students in daycare: 32 Total no. of scholars: 424
Now it’s up to us.” “It will be a great feast and an historic event as well.” “An important step in the formation of the new generations in Africa.” This is how some youths of the Focolare Movement describe the upcoming Pan-African Gen Congress which is scheduled to take place in a Focolare town in Kenya, known as Mariapolis Piero (27-31 December 2011.) At The Roots. “Pope Benedict XVI’s recent Apostolic Letter ‘Porta Fidei’ and the upcoming Synod of bishops on the New Evangelization,” the youths continue to explain, “were a strong call for us. We feel it vitally important to respond to the challenge already offered to us by John Paul II in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation ‘Ecclesia in Africa,’ that is, the need for inculturation and the priority he gave to this for a real rooting of the Gospel in Africa.” It is the first time that the Gen Movement promotes such an event on the African continent with youths arriving from 15 Sub-Saharan African countries, who are very involved in the Focolare as Gen. Some 200 youths between the ages of 19 and 30, will find themselves in a festive but also reflective climate in which they will enter more deeply into the heritage of Chiara Lubich, her spirituality of unity, the life of the Gospel. “Over here where we are, ask the Gen from Africa, “where the youths are more and more quickly being absorbed by the materialistic mentality, is it still possible to make powerful and radical choices?” The Objective.The over-all project, which includes the Pan-African Congress, will last for a year and include an on-site formation process and day meetings for proclaiming the Gospel life involving the greates number of youths. Then there will be a concluding seminar at the international headquarters of the Focolare, which will culminate at an audience with the Holy Father, a visit to the sites of the first Christian martyrs in Rome and an immersion into the heart of Catholicism. Finally there will be an on-site evaluation and local congresses for the enrichment of local the Christian communities with experiences of life and proposals for new projects. The Challenge. Gathering 200 youths from countries so far away from each other could seem like an impossible task. As James says: “Most of us are students and those who work have low pay jobs.” The Gen have been working since last year, gathering the monies necessary for travel expenses so that – through a great communion of goods – every geographic region can be represented at the Congress. 
Africae munus, which the Pope personally delivered to the peoples of Africa during his recent visit to Benin. There he invited the youths not to be discouraged and not to give up their ideals. “The future is in the hands of those who are able to find strong reasons to live and hope (. . .) it’s in your hands” (Benedict XVI, n.63 Apostolic Exhortation Africae munus). Focolare president Maria Voce also sent a message to the Gen in Africa: “If you always keep the presence of Jesus among you during the days of your congress, then you will see an explosion of new joy and new life among the Gen who will attend. Forward then, with courage and enthusiasm! Have love as the basis of all that you do, and then every small thing that you do will have profound meaning and will become another stone for the building and growth of the Gen Movement in Africa.” [nggallery id=80]
Those who wish to participate, even with a “one off” contribution can use the current account at: Associazione Azione per un Mondo Unito, presso Banca Popolare Etica, filiale di Roma. Code IBAN: IT16GO501803200000000120434 Code SWIFT/BIC CCRTIT2184D Cause: “Micro credit projects in Burundi”. Further information can be accessed in project form.
Radicalità, comunione e spiritualità.Radicalism, communion, and spirituality. This is what the young religious desire for their future consecrated life. This emerged from a survey carried out on the eve of the V Meeting on Consecrated Life held in Rome, on the 3rd December, on the initiative of the male and female consecrated religious of the Focolare Movement, in collaboration with the Institute of Theology Claretianum. Two points constituted the core of the survey: one positive and the other negative on Consecrated Life: “I would like the consecrated life I live to be more… I would like the consecrated life I live to be less…” Regarding the negative dimension, it emerged that they reject formality and denounce activism. Based on the results of the survey, the title of the meeting was-“Saints together”-and it proposed the spirituality of communion as the way to common sanctity. The interventions in the hall were various: the archbishop Joao Braz of Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for the Institutes of consecrated life and Societies on Apostolic Life, the Rector of the Pontifical University Urbaniana, Father Fabio Ciardi of the Missionaries Oblates of Mary Immaculate who was entrusted with the theme: “ The spirituality of communion, way to sanctity.” This was followed by a series of lived experiences related by male and female religious. And at the end Lucia Abignente from the Chiara Lubich Centre, presented a short historical “excursus” of the thoughts of Chiara Lubich on the sanctity of the people and she introduced two short films. 
The second part of the meeting was introduced by an exceptional witness, Chiara Luce Badano, proclaimed blessed on the 25th September, of the past year. She was presented by the Gen, the youths of the Focolare Movement. Born in 1971 Chiara Luce is a contemporary person: “ through her life- explains Tiziana Longhitano sfp– she told us that sanctity is possible even today, that it is possible also for us. Chiara Luce seems to us to be the expression of a shared way. She did not become a saint alone; her parents accompanied her. Other friends also took part in her way, and they became involved in the reciprocity of Trinitarian Love.” “You are a true sign of God to the world and to us consecrated persons- said one of the participants at the end of the meeting-. Your witness infects youths and all those that have the opportunity to know you.”
«Since Christmas is regarded by so many as one great celebration among many, more sumptuous than sacred, it is good to look back on some of the authentic sides of the event. There is an abysmal difference between the birth of a mighty earthly potentate of which the ancient world dreamt and the hidden and unnoticed birth of Jesus. And it is this contrast that marks with infinite and unforeseen originality the birth of Christ the King, born of a poor maiden in a stable cold and bare. He really didn’t look like a God. The start of his revolution in this way provides no prideful aspect, but only humility, for drawing the sons of God to Heaven, beginning with those who slept in the dirt – the slaves, the unemployed, the outsiders: the scum. With this tiny infant, love and freedom were born. This is the endless discovery. The universal love which he teaches will annihilate the system of co-existence largely comprised of political arrogance, abuse of authority, idle usury, contempt for work, degradation of women, corrosive envy as the basis of a system which is imposed on millions of slaves, people without rights, truly the living dead. Of course, for those who are grafted into this system, proclaiming such a tiny infant, is total madness, inconceivable and it could cost you your head: “You will be hated by all nations because of me.” Blessed are the poor. And blessed are those who become poor in order to help the poor. Blessed are you who are now hungry. . . but woe to you rich.” Imagine the rage, the scandal of those for whom money was the supreme good and a blessing from God. They went on killing each other only to possess a few more acres than the ones they already owned. They unleashed riots and created demagogic uprisings and were taken by swollen livers and heart attacks in order to puff up their profits. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. . . To those who strike you on the right cheek, offer the other as well. . . Give to those who ask, and ask nothing in return. . . Your ancient ancestors said: Do not murder: whoever murders will be brought before the judge. . . But I say to you: whoever grows angry with his brother will be brought before the judge. . .” The greatness of this tiny infant appeared threatening to the honor of the soldiers and the war industries; whereas not hating your brother is equivalent to putting an end to fighting, faction and violence. This greatness would turn society – poor us! – into a peaceful coexistence. Living in peace would allow us to make every day Christmas. And this is the revolution of Christ: opposed to the curse of death; continually making us to be reborn. And so the greatest commandment – he said – is to love the human person, and it is the way to love God. Love others to the point of giving our lives for them, not to the point of killing them. This, briefly, is the meaning of Christmas for humankind, granted to us in order to raise us to divinity. It changes our past way of life with the end of wars, ugly passions and greed. It is the beginning of universal love, which makes “all one” and allows for no division of caste, class, or politic. With his life and death Jesus preaches and teaches life. But evildoers don’t want life; they want death. And so they have been working with united effort today, with atomic weapons, the poisoning of the environment, anarchy in the fields of the distribution of oil and food supplies, a fitting end for humankind. Many delude themselves playing with mythologies. They love peace and come up with war treaties; they seek economic equality, as with class hatred they enliven conflict and trigger disorder and unnecessary strikes that bring harm to ordinary citizens. They awaken (. . .) the desire for a supposedly “strong” regime, believing that this will enable them to live in peace. In keeping with Christmas we celebrate with cake if it helps to inspire love; but above all we celebrate reconciliation, which puts an end to diseases of the spirit and brings you more health. We celebrate in gratitude to the Lord and to Mary who have suffered in order to teach us and help us to put an end to our suffering». In: «Città Nuova», 1974, n.24.
A two week-long United Nations conference on climate change. What is your assesment? 
A modest last minute compromise was reached in Durban. The conference lasted a day longer than was foreseen and didn’t produce a new binding agreement, but postponed its drafting to 2015 and its enforcement to 2020. This confirms the general tendency of recent international negotiations on climate change: deadlock. We are witnessing on a global scale, a typical scene of sibling fighting. Everyone is waiting for the other sibling to take the first step to resolve their differences. The Kyoto protocol for reducing greenhouse gases that was extended until 2015, is insufficient because of its limited objectives and because highly-polluting countries do not adhere to it. Some of the big “historic” polluters would like the so-called emerging countries to be the ones to reduce emissions. 
Neverthelss I remain optimistic. I believe that humankind will find a solution. Some countries have already understood the strategic importance of renewable energies. The European Union fits into this context with its ‘20 20 20’ (reduction of greenhouse gas by 20%; reduction in energy consumption by 20% through the use of renewable energy.) Isn’t there a risk of these decisions being to the disadvantage of emerging countries? The risk is there. In fact, some rightly oppose the reduction of greenhouse gases while remaining to stand on the side of emerging countries where a large portion of the population is still without water and electricity. It would involve supporting renewable clean energy. It makes you wonder why the rich countries do not surrender their patents. Why do they export polluting industries? Among those who hold this position there is also the Catholic Church. In Durban there were representatives of a 190 countries who seek large accords among States. But on the micro level, can’t something also be done? Yes, of course. Personal involvement, consumer and voting choice and simpler lifestyle are all important actions that can be taken. Moreover, EcoOne is trying to also develop a debate on the level of the relationship between human beings and nature. . . Could you explain that a bit more? What are EcoOne’s proposals for a more sustainable life? EcoOne’s proposal stems from the thought of Chiara Lubich. What has Chiara taught us? Not so much the latest techniques for saving energy, but an outlook toward nature that is new. She made us gather the presence of God beneath things. She made us understand universal brotherhood, which means brotherhood with other peoples within our generation and among generations as a response to questions such as: ‘What kind of planet will we leave to our children? What kind of air will they breathe?’ By reflecting on a man-nature relationship in this renewed way, we find a possibility for overcoming an excessive anthropocentrism; that is, of considering man as absolute dominator and destroyer of nature in order to make money, of no longer thinking of nature as the center, up to the point that human beings become a “disturbance” in the cosmos. We believe that the answer lies rather in the gift of ourselves, in the human person as a gift along with our fellow men and women and with nature, of which we are not the masters but the custodians, the administrators, because God has entrusted it to us. Luca Fiorani, researcher at the ENEA and professor of Ecology and Environment at LUMSA, is the international coordinator of EcoOne, a cultural project promoted by teachers, researchers and professionals working in the field of Environmental Science, who are united by the desire to enrich their scientific knowledge with a humanistic and sapiential understanding of environmental problems. In 2010, together with Antonello Pasini, he published for Città Nuova, Il pianeta che scotta, capire il dibattito sui camgiamenti climatici (The hot planet, understanding the climate change debate.)
Lonavla is famous for its pleasant climate on the Deccan Plateau, two hours from Mumbai. Sixty scholars have gathered there for the Fourth Christian-Hindu Symposium, which was first held in 2002 at Castelgandolfo, Italy a year after the visit of Chiara Lubich to India where she encountered members of the Ghandian academic community of this Asian nation. It was an absolute first. The Focolare Movement, already active in the field of interreligious dialogue for ten years, had never had the opportunity of addressing academic and theological topics among followers of different religions and traditions. Since 2002 academic projects with Buddhists, Jews and Muslims have taken place in Rome, Italy and other parts of the world. The discovery and growing appreciation for the value of dialogue in the academic field between followers of different faiths, although it should never become the main or exclusive priority, has become increasingly important for a true knowledge of the spirituality, rituals and ethics of the other. The title of the event offers a vital insight into what will be explored intellectually. Among the Christians – in addition to representatives from the Focolare Movement in India – there will also be members of the Focolare’s Abba School (a Focolare center for studies) and from the Focolare’s Center for Interreligious Dialogue. On the Hindu side, the attendees will include Gandhians who are involved in social and practical issues, as well as university professors who are affiliated with various prestigious universities.
It all began at Christmas 1985 when Chiara Lubich was passing through the downtown area of a big city. She was baffled and shocked by the illuminated windows, “filled with dwarfs, fairies, and Father Christmases.” But where was Jesus? The one we are meant to celebrate at Christmas was totally absent, eclipsed by the thousands of colorful lights, sleds and expensive Christmas gifts that filled decorated store windows. This is where the writing “They have dislodged Jesus!” came from: “My heart was overcome with disbelief, then rebellion: This rich world has appropriated Christmas and all that goes with it, and it has dislodged Jesus!” The Gen4 boys and girls – children of the Focolare Movement – were among the first to respond to Chiara’s appeal to bring Jesus into the world. Each year in hundreds of cities across the world, Gen4 involve friends in making small statues of the Baby Jesus, which they give away everywhere. In squares, schools, and markets – they try to find a home for Him and to warm the hearts of many on the day when He came among us. There would be many stories to tell. . . In Cordoba, Argentina, the father of one Gen4, who belongs to the Charismatic Renewal, was so touched by Chiara’s writing, “They’ve dislodged Jesus” that he said: “This was a great inspiration that this woman had, and we should not let this opportunity to give Jesus escape us. This is what today’s society needs.” He immediately set out to work in his parish, getting the NavidadSolidaria group and other people involved in the project. And so, several people from the Charismatic Renewal made 150 statues of the Baby Jesus. The Scouts made 300; the Catholic school made 300; and the Gen 4 boys and girls made 450. The total came to 1200 Baby Jesus to be given away. In Scafati, near Naples, Italy, the Gen4 wrote a letter to the Mayor, requesting permission to hand them out in front of City Hall. The Mayor met with the Gen4, listened to them and happily gave his permission, offering a donation for the first little statue himself. Many people are deeply touched by the love of the children. The Gen4 in one Tuscan region go street-by-street, door-to-door, offering Baby Jesus to families. One rather serious-looking man opened his door and when he heard the children telling him that they were Gen4 and that they were there to offer the Baby Jesus to him, he responded dryly: “Not interested, I’m an atheist!” Little Lorenzo asked him, “What does atheist mean?” And the man asked back: “And what does Gen4 mean?” “The Gen4 are people who do acts of love,” Lorenzo explained. The man was moved: “I don’t believe the same things that you do, but I also want to do an act of love!” And he quickly accepted a statue of Baby Jesus. Many people who receive a little statue of the Holy Child offer a donation to help support the Gen4 project. This year all the funds that are collected will be sent to Africa. As the poster prepared by the Gen4 states: “We Gen4 want to bring happiness into the world.” and “Jesus, living in the poor, You won’t have to suffer any longer, not as long as we are here!” Enjoy the video and have a Happy Christmas!
“The notice gives me joy and I feel honoured by the trust shown by the Pope and the Pontifical Council. This nomination commits me to ensure that my life and that of all those linked to me in the Focolare Movement is evangelised and therefore evangelising. I am aware that many will never have the opportunity to read the Gospel if not through our life.” This is what Maria Voce declared on the announcement of her nomination, which arrived on the 7th December, anniversary of the date that historically indicates the birth of the Focolare Movement in 1943. The purpose of the council is to “promote a renewed evangelisation in the countries where the first announcement of the faith has already been heard, and there are present churches of ancient foundation, but they are living in progressive secularisation of their society and a sort of “eclipse of the sense of God”, that constitute a challenge to find adequate means to reannounce the everlasting truth of the Gospel of Christ.”
On 7 December 1943, Chiara Lubich consecrated her life to God. She personally told of that day while responding to Sandra Hoggett, an English journalist. (We thank Charisma Productions UK for kindly allowing us to use this video clip. Note that you may request the four interviews of “Face to face – Chiara Lubich and Sandra Hoggett” on DVD, in Italian and English, from Charisma Productions UK by writing to: charismauk@blueyonder.co.uk)
Callan, what is Claritas? 
“Claritas is an online English language journal that seeks to explore a culture of unity in an in-depth and academic fashion. The articles will be peer-reviewed to assure their quality, but above all, as in the Italian Nuova Umanità, they will seek to explore every field in light of that unity which can generate a new world. It does not seek to serve any particular cultural area in the world, but offers anyone who uses English the possibility of expressing their ideas in that language. In order to allow everyone to participate, particularly those who, in different parts of the world, have fewer economic advantages, it is free, although, in order to cover expenses we ask those who can to contribute as they would with any other professional journal they use.” How does peer review function? Why is that useful? “It’s really quite simple! Once the editor accepts an article for possible publication, it is sent to be reviewed by someone competent in the subject being treated. For the most part, these reviewers are members of the editorial board. This evaluation can be a real service to the author, as an article might have value, but might need some modifications before it can be published, so specifics improvements will be suggested. I should add that the editorial staff includes academics from institutions all over the world.” Claritas is a “trans-disciplinary” journal. Why does it take this approach? “Basically because one aspect of what we see as genuine unity is to respect, even to emphasize, the diversity of disciplines, and to recognize that one can enrich the other. Every discipline is autonomous, but none can stand completely on its own. Claritas addresses all those who wish to join in the conversation about what unity means and how it works. It aims to provide an intellectually respectable forum for promoting and spreading the culture that is born from the charism of unity.” How is it connected with the Focolare Movement? “The culture of unity that Claritas seeks to express is born from the charism within the Focolare Movement. Claritas, therefore, is a cultural expression of the Movement, but one does not necessarily have to be a member of the Movement to publish there or to find something useful or even enlightening in reading it.” Where did the idea of this journal originate? “Simply from the need to express the culture of unity in English. In practice behind this there were two parallel conversations. One was in Nuova Umanità which recognized the need to publish online in various languages, including, of course, in English. The other came about in the USA, where scholars connected with the Movement felt the necessity to express their ideas in a language that many in the world-wide academic community use. Fortunately, they also found the resources to bring this about. We shall see how things develop but the editorial line of the new journal is based on Nuova Umanità. Certainly it should be distinctive because of its rigorous nature, even as it strives, as much as possible, to be open to everyone.” On 12 March 2012 the first issue will be published. Can we have a preview? “We will publish a 1961 talk by Chiara Lubich, where she gives a summary of her experience of ‘Paradise.’ It is a highly significant text, full of cultural consequences or implications. There will be at least one article to contextualize it, and one that will examine the ideas of what it is to be human implicit in Chiara’s experience. In addition, there will be two articles on politics, one dealing with the limitations of political power and the other examining international relations. There will also be articles related to interreligious dialogue, particularly with Jews and Buddhists. Finally, demonstrating the breadth of interests in the journal, there will be reviews of various types of books–including some that go beyond the cultural contexts usually connected with the English language, such as a review examining the concept of ‘fraternity’ from a South American perspective.” Our best wishes to the journal Claritas!
“I come from a small town in the countryside and I just moved to Rome. My arrival in such a big city has also made me meet things that are very different from what I have been accustomed to. 
It was difficult for me to see children begging for some money or people immersed in dumpsters searching for something to eat. Not that this is anything new. These things can be seen on many streets and on the TV. But when you come face to face with it, something changes and you find yourself presented with your own personal measure for living the Gospel. Returning home a few nights ago, I stopped to talk with a guy. He was 23 years old, more or less my own age. He told me about his children, one of whom was about to have surgery and there wasn’t enough money. He told me about the 150 euro he had to pay each month so that he and his wife wouldn’t have to sleep in the back seat of a car. Then there were the difficulties finding employment. Just the same old stories, just the same old excuses to scrape up a few pennies, I thought. But something pushed me to continue. Therefore I told him that I’d help him to find a job, that he could come to supper with me, and that I’d put him up at my house if his landlord threw him out of his home. I hardly knew what I was saying, but the words were flowing from my heart. I said to myself: What can someone like me do? I’ve just arrived in Rome! When I returned home I prayed for help from the Father. Two days later I received an email that told of a meeting for foreign students who were seeking employment. Here was an answer, a clear sign! I immediately sent a message to the guy, informing him of this opportunity. More than once it happened that I got home late due of similar delays. And I would be interrogated by my housemates: ‘But why do you stop to talk with these people? What do you care? It doesn’t do any good anyway…’. Perhaps my answer to them was a superficial one, but what I gathered from it all was revolutionary. I changed my way of acting because ‘everything is for Jesus.’ If you allow Jesus to work on you and change you, if you choose Him as the basis for your life, especially the Jesus who suffered on the Cross for all of us, then it’s Jesus Himself who makes you another Jesus in the dark corners and sufferings of society.” (E.P. – Italy)
One day in the 1940s, at the dawn of the Movement, a bishop sent for the young girls from Trent (Northern Italy). Unaware of the reason for the invitation Chiara Lubich was pensive. The girls prayed at length before arriving at the bishop’s residence, in Piazza Fiore. They described the real revolution that was happening in their city as a result of their actions almost without being aware. They explained frankly that they were ready to destroy everything that had been built over the months if the bishop asked them to. Their thought was ‘God speaks in the bishop’. The only thing that interested them was God. Bishop Carlo De Ferrari, who belonged to the Order of the Stigmatines, listened to Chiara and her companions and smiled at them pronouncing a simple phrase which remains to this day, ‘Here is the finger of God’. His approval for and benediction of the Movement accompanied them up to his death; an example of his support was shown when the numbers of young men and women wishing to enter the Focolare leaving their homes and possessions was growing, the bishop said that this could only happen if they had the approval of their parents. This act silenced many rumours. For Chiara and her first companions the existence and importance of the Church was the only certain reality. In time the spirituality of unity saw the Church essentially and fundamentally as communion. Chiara wrote in 2000: ‘There is a phrase that Jesus says in the gospel which moves me deeply “Whoever listens to you (the apostles), listens to me” (Lk 10,16) (…) The charism brought us in a completely new way into the mystery of the Church, we were living as a little Church. Anticipating by many years the definition from the council of Church as Communion, the spirituality of unity made us experience and understand what being Church meant and how to live with greater awareness. We understood it was logical for this to happen, through the presence of Christ among us. ‘If we stay with the fire we become fire, and if we have Jesus in our midst we become other Jesus. St Bonaventure said “Where two or three are united in Christ’s name, there is the Church”, and Tertullian: “Where three (are gathered), even if they are lay people, there is the Church”. Through Christ in our midst, we are made Church, and so a real passion for it is born within us. From love a new understanding of the Church was born where we all found life: we understood the sacraments in a new way. The dogmas of the Church were illuminated for us. We felt in our element being Church, through the strength of communion of love that united us and grafted us onto the institutional reality, and we experienced Her maternal love even in the most difficult moments.’
The Political Movement for Unity (MPPU) has been active for several years in Argentina in order to disseminate the fraternity dimension in the heart of the life of political parties, as is done in other countries where the movement is present. Juan José Pfeifauf (of the “Frente Para la Victoria” Party) and Pilar Goldmann (of the “GEN/Generacion para un Encuentro Nacional” Party), are two youths who arrived on a visit to Rio Grande (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina), the most southern capital in the world. Militant in two different political parties, they wanted to put on record that to inspire oneself by fraternity means “putting this idea in concrete action amongst the different political sides, by exercising empathy towards the other, with humility, knowing that nobody possesses the absolute truth about any project, and starting to recognise in the other a valid and necessary interlocutor.” Their visit forms part of the follow up of the local School of political formation that holds its lessons regularly every Saturday. They themselves have followed the MPPU training at La Plata (Buenos Aires). Now Pilar is a tutor at a centre at San Miguel del Monte, in the province of Buenos Aires, where she has been encouraged to contest as candidate for the commune council in the last political elections. About participation in active politics by youths, Pilar’s impression is that “from the years in the nineties up to today, in Argentina, we have seen a growth in political commitment, even if we cannot yet say that 100% of youths are interested in it.” But youths should not be considered only as subjects to whom to refer some occasional projects: “youths must become the main actors in the public realm. The renewal of politics passes through here.” The Mppu/Argentina, that draws its inspiration from the principles of fraternity inherent in the proposal of the spirituality of Chiara Lubich, is 10 years old in 2011. It was formed on the occasion of the grave economic crisis that gripped the region in that unforgettable year, causing an increase in poverty in society. It was a moment which saw a real divorce between the people and the political class, a divorce that only recently seems to be recomposing. Pilar relates that, on the premise of that crisis, some persons animated with the spirituality of unity, took on the commitment to give birth to the Centres of social and political formation, “to seek to give an answer, to imprint a reversal of route, aware of the necessity to reconstruct the basis of the rapport between society and the institutions; not only, but also to diffuse seeds of dialogue and trace a common way.” Today we can say that we have come a long way and hundreds of young Argentinians have been to these centres. A “capital” now mature, ready to contribute to the development of the South American country: the commitment which they feel to bring about fraternity in politics, understood as service. Presented by Daniela Ropelato (from extracts published in the Diario El Sureno, 16th November 2011- our translation)
Oran, Algeria’s second city, overlooks the Mediterranean. It is also one of the major commercial and cultural centers of North Africa. One group of mostly Muslims are engaged in living out the values of brotherhood as they are presented by the Focolare Movement. Scheherezad has been part of it since 1990. They have been involved in an ongoing experience with the blind: “In 1977,”she recounts, “I met a Catholic nun who was looking for someone who could teach French to a group of blind people from the city. I didn’t feel equipped for such a task, I’m a housewife and it seemed beyond my abilities. But in agreement with my husband, I decided to accept the work, thinking that there might be a plan of God in this.” 
“As time went by we began to see that our attitude of openness towards the other gave a special quality to our teaching: it turned into an opportunity to offer support to the people. Some needed to find employment, others needed some simple help or a comforting word.” To better meet the needs of their students, Fouzia and Sheherezad learned Braille. This did not go unnoticed: “One of our friends, seeing how we were giving out time so freely, decided to help us and join with us in this effort.” They tried to help some of the young men and women to begin jobs. One girl, for example, looked for work as a switchboard operator. They found a company: “We noticed the director’s willingness to help us in finding a way. And he was struck by our effort and decided to hire the young woman indefinitely.” All the community of Orano shares in the projects and in reaching the goals. We have organized open houses to acquaint people with the rich life that can be found in this world of the blind. “The theme of the open house is always “the other” and, in the end, there are no longer those who are blind and those who see; the Muslim and the Christian: we are all brothers and sisters sharing the same situation.” The national press became interested in these activities, recognizing the right of the blind to live like everyone else. It is also a work of sensitizing that has involved many people in the efforts of Sheherazad and Fouzia. Overcoming administrative and legal difficulties, an association has been formed for professional integration of the blind, which is very active and is working for the construction of a school. City institutions have also become involved and this training project has now been officially recognized by the department for professional training of Orano. “There is still a lot to do,” Sheherazad concludes, “but doing things for others, notwithstanding our limitations, is beautiful and thrilling! It gives everyone that strength to carry on which throws us open to new surprises.” Compiled by the Community of Orano – Algeria
The situation following the worst flooding that Thailand has experienced in the past fifty years is slowly improving. Here are some of the latest figures:
It all began – Elena and Chun write – in the month of June. The rains were a month late this year, but they made up for lost time by doubling the amount of rain that fell in 2010. In September things looked bad, but in October it became dangerously serious. Bangkok is called the “Venice of the East” because of its nearly 2000 km of canals, which make it one of the world’s most equipped cities against flood rains, but not of such volume. Many people fled from Bangkok. It was like watching a film. We decided to stay together with some others, in order to stand by the people who remained behind. Then people began to help each other even those they didn’t know because of their previous indifference. Who was it that saved the country from a disaster of such large proportions? It was the people who loved and went beyond themselves to offer help; the people with houses flooded to the north of the old airport, who sacrificed themselves so that at least some of Bangkok’s other neighborhoods could be salvaged; the people who were able to have a heart for others, and there were many. Also the wealthy, actors and television journalists went around on boats distributing foodstuffs. Lives in the city were saved by the ordinary people who showed that “together we can do it.” The military also contributed, along with many government workers who worked over 15 hours each day bringing help. Even the elderly were involved cooking in the kitchens at the shelters. Buddhist monks welcomed thousands of elderly, infirm, mothers and children into their monasteries. Priests opened their parish school buildings and went out by boat to bring the people who were left stranded on the rooftops of their homes. This was the real Thailand that teaches to live, rejoice and suffer with those who suffer. It is the miracle of life and of love that overcomes death. Those of us from the Focolare also did what we could. Many of our families were hit by the flooding, some have had water in their homes for weeks. Some of us went to ask for help at the bus stops, or went to the welcoming centers to offer assistance. We opened our homes to any who were asking for help; telephoned people every day so that they would feel loved, offering encouragement and consolidating the unity among us. In this tragic moment, we witnessed the most beautiful side of the Thai people emerging. It went beyond the political differences that a year ago had divided the country, it prevailed in the form of a great love for neighbor who was suffering. One CNN reporter described this wave of solidarity that seemed to invest Thai society as “an extraordinary social phenomenon.” We also lived the saying that is going around these days: “Don’t give up”. Love made us all Thai, even if we were born in different parts of the world. No one knows when things will be normal again. But we carry on, overcoming many difficulties. Elena Oum and Chun Boc Tay _______________________________________________ THAILAND EMERGENCY FUND BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS OF YOUTH FOR A UNITED WORLD SECRETARIAT Please indicate that donation is for Thailand Emergency Fund. Bank Account Name: PIA ASSOCIAZIONE MASCHILE OPERA DI MARIA Via Frascati 306, Rocca di Papa, 00040 Roma, Italia. Bank Name: INTESA SAN PAOLO Bank Address: FILIALE DI GROTTAFERRATA VIA DELLE SORGENTI, 128 00046 GROTTAFERRATA (ROMA) ITALIA IBAN CODE FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IBAN: IT04 M030 6939 1401 0000 0640 100 BIC: BCITITMM
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths” While this Word of Life is an expression of joy, it is also an invitation to a complete and radical change of direction in our life. John the Baptist invites us to prepare the way of the Lord — but what can be the way? Jesus’ coming was proclaimed by John the Baptist, but before entering public life to begin his ministry Jesus spent some time in the desert. That was his way. In the desert he found profound union with God, but he also encountered temptation, and by experiencing that he made himself one with all of us. He came out victorious. We see Jesus follow this way again in his death and resurrection. Since Jesus followed his way to the end, he himself has become “the way” for us who are still on the road. He is the way we must follow in order to fulfill our calling as human beings to enter into full communion with God. Each of us is called to prepare the way of the Lord who wants to enter into our life; and we must make the paths of our life straight so that he can come in. We have to prepare the way for him, removing every obstacle one by one, such as those arising from our limited way of seeing things, from our weak will. We need courage to choose between our way and his way for us, between our will and his will, between a program we have thought of (which may or may not turn out) and the one created by his all-powerful love. Once we have made the decision, we have to work at conforming our own stubborn will to his. How? Those who have become fulfilled Christians, the saints, teach us a good, practical, intelligent method: do it right now. Moment by moment, let us try to remove the obstacles that keep us from doing his will so that it will be no longer our will living in us, but his. In this way we will have lived the Word of Life: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths”
Chiara Lubich
Maria Voce greets the Holy Father. Photo: Vatican Photographic Service
The World Youth Day in Madrid was also discussed during the Assembly. “An extraordinary cascade of light, joy and hope,” said Pope Benedict XVI when he met with the participants, “has illuminated Madrid, but also old Europe and the entire world, clearly reproposing the relevancy of the search for God today. No one was able to remain indifferent, no one was able to think that the question of God was irrelevant to the person of today.” The president of the Focolare Movement personally greeted Benedict XVI, who said to her: “The focolarini cannot be missing.” And Maria Voce: “Holy Father, this year the entire Movement is committed to living the Word of God, and so we are preparing for the Synod.” And the Holy Father replied: “Thank you.” .
Now, thanks to the work of the young Brazilian, Guilherme Moura, the daily password can arrive directly to your pocket through a new App that can be downloaded for free at: http://itunes.apple.com/it/app/passa-parola/id478614030?mt=8 Live the present moment without haste; Begin again to live the present moment; Don’t let the present moment slip away… or Take the will of God to heart in the present moment; Identify yourself with the will of God in the present moment; Let yourself be purified by the Word; Make an effort to live the Word… These are some examples of the Password that we have been sharing for ten years. It was 2001 when Chiara Lubich was in Austria that she shared an experience with us, the fruit of her discovery of the importance of living the “present moment,” the only moment that we hold in our hands: “the past no longer exists, and the future has yet to arrive.” And from this discovery came the daily motto, a spiritual micro-thought which encapsulated and called our attention back to the present moment and especially to concrete love for the neighbor near to us. Twitter, a social network that allows you to send brief messages – tweets – of no more than 140 characters, is characterized by brevity and – Spadaro recalls – “it has been the wisdom of religious reflection that for centuries has accompanied Western man in this need for wisdom that is essential and concise.” He mentions a few examples in his article, from Japanese haiku, to the antiphons of the psalms, all the way to the “Word of Life, thought up by Chiara Lubich and all other similar initiatives that draw periodically on a sentence of the Gospel to concentrate the attention of Christians to the entire Gospel, but beginning with a precise point.” Is the Password a tweet ahead of its time? Perhaps, but it is certainly an approach that goes well with the new technologies. This worldwide password – it is translated into at least 14 languages – already travels via SMS, email. Thousands of people follow it each day. The new App it is now available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod. The daily password is now available through a simple download, in all the languages of the world. Let’s pass on the word!
Foto © CSC
Perhaps there is better way to explain the experience the focolarine had at the beginning – living, as they soon learnt to say, ‘with Jesus in their midst’ – than the words of His disciples after they had met the Risen Lord at Emmaus: “Didn’t our hearts burn within in us, when he talked with as we walked along the road?” (Lk 24,32). Jesus is always Jesus, and we know from Scripture that when He is present, even only spiritually, He is still Jesus and, Christ’s love burns within our hearts: life. When He is recognised we are moved to say: “Stay with us Lord, evening falls” (Lk 24,29). 
The experience of the disciples at Emmaus is essential for all those involved in the spirituality of unity. Nothing has value within the Movement if the promised presence of Jesus in their midst is not constantly sought – “Where two or three are united in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18,20), this presence enlivens, widens horizons, consoles and draws charity and truth. Chiara wrote: ‘Having put mutual love into action, we felt a new certainty in our life, greater determination, a fullness of life. How come? It was immediately obvious: through this love we had fulfilled the words of Jesus: “Where two or three are united in my name (that is, in my love) there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18,20). Jesus, silently, came into our group as our invisible brother. So we then had the fount of love and light present among us. We didn’t want to lose Him again. We understood better what His presence was when, due to our shortcomings, His presence faded. “It’s not that in those moments we tried return to the world we had left; the presence of “Jesus in our midst” was too strong, for us to be attracted to the vanities of the world, the divine presence had lessened them. Rather, as a person who is shipwrecked grabs onto anything in order to save himself, so we too tried through whatever way the Gospel suggested, to repair the unity that had been broken. And as two pieces of wood crossed over one another consume one another in the flames, so, if we wanted to always live with Jesus present in our midst, we needed to live virtues in each present moment (patience, prudence, meekness, poverty, purity..) they are necessary so that spiritual unity with others will not lessen. We understood that Jesus in our midst is not gained once and for all, because Jesus is life, is dynamic (…). “Where two or more”: these divine and mysterious words, very often, when being acted on, appear wonderful. Where two or more… and Jesus doesn’t specify who. He leaves it anonymous. Where two or more … regardless of who they are: two or three repentant sinners who meet in His name; two or more young people as we were; two: an old person and a child. Where two or more… In living those words, we have seen barriers fall on every front. Where two or more… people of different countries: the barrier of nationalism fell. Where two or more… of different racial backgrounds: the barrier of racism fell. Where two or more… also between people who have been opposites through culture, social background, age… All could be – had to be – united in the name of Christ (…). “The presence of Jesus in our midst was a formidable experience. His presence was abundant reward for every sacrifice made, justified every step taken in this journey, closer to Him and for Him, gave sense to things, circumstances, comforted sufferings, tempered excessive joy. And whoever among us, without cynicism and reasoning, believed in His words with the enchantment of a child and put them into practice, enjoyed this foretaste of heaven, which is the kingdom of God in the midst of people united in His name”.
Orgosolo is a town in the heart of Sardinia renowned for its murals which illustrate the problems, the hopes of a people living mainly through farming and agriculture, a people often terrorised by roving bandit gangs widespread in this area. It was precisely in this town that on 24 December 1998, Fr Graziano Muntoni, assistant parish priest, was shot in the chest at dawn break leaving the whole community in shock and disbelief. Despite the understandable anger and dismay, the parish community immediately sensed that they couldn’t just condemn the violence; they felt they wanted to do something positive. But what? The community began to reflect on the words of the Gospel which invite us to ask anything of God united in his name. The idea was born of establishing a daily appointment, in different places, to invoke God for peace for their land by reciting the prayer “It’s time for peace”. It was by no means simple as peace is something one has to generate and safeguard; it requires a firm commitment to live love for neighbour each and every day. With this awareness a number of initiatives were set in motion to make Time for Peace known to as many people as possible, even to children in schools and to students through various conferences. Members of the community also spoke on the main television networks. Time for Peace brought new hope to the town; many people became reconciled with one other after years of tensions, like G., a woman who confided to us: “I need to find the strength to forgive those who killed two of my sons and who sent my other two children in jail.” In a subsequent meeting, G. shared with everyone: “I have been able to forgive. The prayer for peace has removed hatred from my heart. During Mass, I went up to my enemy and I shook his hand.” Since then, others are finding the strength to forgive actions that were just as serious, and they are steps taken that are by no means insignificant: like Anna, whose son was kidnapped and killed in 2008 and who despite the tragedy is managing to rebuild her life serenely. Even when she learned that a suspect was found for the murder of her son, rather than ask for punishment, she prayed that for him it may be an encounter with God. Our choice of solidarity prompts us to embrace the abyss of grief which has engulfed our people and we openly try to sensitize institutions about the initiative through the actions we promote. Inspired by our efforts, one of the schools has developed a project for a culture of peace and forgiveness among the students, and the results of this project will be published and brought to the attention of the United Nations. Our efforts to build peace, even where it seems almost impossible, are leading to concrete results giving a new face to our town. Compiled by the Focolare community of Orgosolo, Sardinia, Italy.
“Dearest all, The 1986-87 year is an important one for the Catholic world. In fact, preparations are being made to celebrate the Synod of Bishops which will be held in the fall, concerning the ‘Vocation and mission of the laity in the Church and in the world twenty years after the Second Vatican Council.’ It is an important year for the Catholic laity, but also – I think – for other Christians in whose Churches the role of the laity is often stressed. We too, who desire to be committed Christians, are preparing for this Synod through prayer, which must never be lacking, and through the work which is asked of us. But, ‘who is the layperson?’ This is a recurring question in the Church today. How can the layperson be identified or defined? Many people are trying to give the answer. In fact, no one would really want to define the layperson in terms that show what the lay person is not: a person who is neither a priest, nor a religious. Instead, one would want to establish who the layperson is. For this reason we would like to offer a contribution to the study of this topic, by affirming what someone might call Columbus’s egg: the layperson is a Christian. As such, laypersons are followers of Christ and His Gospel. For this reason they must fully live what Jesus wants from them, and to work first of all toward enhancing the Kingdom of God, toward building the Church. Given that they have the possibility of being in the midst of the world, it is there where they will bring the light of the Gospel, passing its effect onto all things. This is who the layperson is for us. A well formed follower of Christ, who has the two-fold task of building the Church and to Christianize the world. We laypersons of the Focolare find ourselves reflected very well in this image of a layperson. In fact, the Focolare has on one side a spiritual aspect, if we can use the expression, where we work in order that Christ might grow in us and among us, and therefore build the Church; and then an aspect that is more human and concrete, where we work toward permeating the various sectors of society with the spirit of Christ. We strongly identify ourselves with this type of layperson, and because of this we feel we are finely tuned to what the Second Vatican Council has defined in this regard. We identify ourselves with this definition and we would like this year to always improve in living our specific vocation as laypersons so that we too can give our contribution to the Synod. Let’s try to be true laypersons of the Church, meaning authentic followers of Christ, who live His words and what the rest of Sacred Scripture proposes. We have a splendid Word of Life for this month which underlines what we lived last month on reciprocal love. It tells us: “Accept one another, then, as Christ accepted you, for the glory of God” (Rm 15:7). In putting into practice this Word of Life among us, we will maintain firm the basis upon which the Work of Mary, which is Church, is built. In putting this Word into practice with other Christians, in places where we can still find ourselves working within ecclesial structures, we will give our specific contribution to the development of the Church. Living these words in the world of the family and in the various sectors of society, we will place the most important basis for being able to attain the Christian renewal of laws and structures. The Word of Life is for everyone: laypersons, priests and religious. Let’s put it into practice in all our respective fields of service. Let’s accept each neighbour as Christ has accepted us. He has accepted us, and accepts us each day and each hour we call upon Him. Whoever we are, sinners or saints, young or old, beautiful or ugly, healthy or sickly, He always accepts all of us. And we are so sure of His acceptance, of His forgiveness, and of His hospitality, that it doesn’t even pass our minds for a moment that it could be otherwise. Let’s act accordingly in regard to our neighbours. That they may always find us with open hearts, always available for them, always ready to receive them. Let’s live in this way. And may it be for the glory of God.” Chiara Lubich, Rocca di Papa, 11 December 1986 Published in “On the Holy Journey”, New City Press, 1988
The one thousand participants at the annual meeting of the adherents of the Focolari came from all over Italy, Slovenia, with representatives from Argentina, Germany, Holland, Portugal, and South Africa. They reflected and shared experiences on the Word of God, the central theme that is being delved into this year. Amongst the experiences there was also the experience of a group on evangelisation in Benin, the country that hosted the visit of Benedict XVI between the past 18th and 20th November. He was on his second apostolic visit to the continent, and he also delivered the post synodal exhortation on the church in Africa, at the service of reconciliation, justice and peace. In Benin, for several years, a group of the Focolari organises meetings with inmates to bring to them the light of the word of God. Often the prisoners are rejected both by society and by their families. Reading the Word of God opens in persons unexpected gates, and gives rise to profound reports not only about faith but also about the experiences of suffering that the inmates rarely manage to relate, for example the reasons for their detention. This allows the volunteers to intervene for them before the Tribunal so that the cases of some of them are taken into consideration: in fact there are persons who have been in prison for ten, fifteen years without ever having been heard by a judge. Many cases have been solved, and the prisoners who were detained unjustly have been released. Amongst the many stories, that of Paula stands out. She was detained unjustly in prison because of her husband without having any news of her children. Paula opens up in a profound relationship with one of the volunteers who go to see her in prison for the meetings of the word of life. Slowly she finds within herself the power of forgiveness and the tribunal eventually summons her to communicate her liberation. Paula however knows that she is returning home with her heart free of the weight of hatred and vengeance.
See Vatican News: Holy Father’s Visit to Benin
Ave Cerquetti, 'Mater Christi' - Roma, 1971
“I am giving a lesson in my new class, first year elementary, of 26 very lively children. As soon as I have laboriously achieved their attention, I hear a knock at the door: it is the caretaker who notifies me that I have a telephone call. It is the mother of Paul; she is stormily separated from her husband with whom she is in perennial quarrel. In these days, both parents are contesting for the child with questionable actions, and bombard with telephone calls also us, teachers. I had every reason to answer that I cannot go to the telephone, that I am giving a lesson, and that I already imagine what it is about. But in that moment through the legitimate reasoning of a teacher who has been interrupted in her work, a sentence makes its way, from the Word of Life: “Make that I speak always as though this is the last word that I say.” It is an occasion to be vigilant! I smile to the caretaker and entrust the class to her and I go to the telephone with a new heart. I listen to what I had already imagined… but up to the end, without judging, without letting the “disturbance” that has been created weigh on us. At the end, I succeed in telling Paul’s mother that I understand her, that I comprehend the state of her soul, but that I believe that for the good of Paul, we can put aside the hurt pride and the rancour, and act only for the good of the child. When, a couple of hours later I pass through the corridor, the caretaker comes near to me and tells me: “You know, that mother has telephoned again… she told me just to tell you Thanks.” Some days ago, while I am leaving school in a hurry, with a thousand programmes to carry out and the shopping to do, I am stopped by Flora, a caretaker of Brazilian origin who only recently works at our Institute. She has to make a written application to the school management, and does not know how to go about it, also because of her language difficulties. I ask myself why, from so many teachers, she asks me who is so busy. The Word of Life invites me once again to “stay awake”: it is Jesus who is asking this! Do I want perhaps to answer that I am in a hurry and that he should ask someone else? I sit with Flora and help her to write the application. Then I propose that she types it with a computer because the presentation is better, but Flora does not know how to use it. We go together in the classroom for informatics and I write it for her, without looking at the watch. Two mornings later, while I am entering the staffroom, Flora stops me and gives me a very beautiful light blue scarf. “You should not have done it, it is not necessary” I tell her. And she answers: “But also I want to be able to love as you have done with me. “ (B.P.-Italia)
Franco Caradonna,
La Guardia is the name of the small town where Reina and Jorge Gutierrez live with their family, twenty kilometres away from Santa Cruz, the emerging Bolivian city. Reina was orphaned, without a mother at the age of six, and was placed in an institute together with her little brother. She relates: “There was nothing but we were in the best condition to believe in the providence of God. Being able to show that the ideal of unity radically changes persons seems to me a specific Bolivian contribution to evangelisation.” “Good will is not enough, competence is also required. So I enrolled in a course for psychopedagology at the moment that we understood that we were able to put up a children’s shelter.” So she graduated within four years, during which she projected and then built the shelter, which was completed in 2008 and then inaugurated in the presence of many persons of authority, and her neighbours. As they needed bread for the 120 children of the shelter, Reina also invented a bakery, modest but very efficient, taken care of by a small equip, composed of lady Esperanca, Carlito, a child of nine years, and her son Daniel, who is 18, and a young girl of 15 years, who works at the bakery and studies in the evening. From the shelter, one can hear the echo of the children and the games. The rooms appear very clean and well laid out. The teachers occupy the children, of various ages, from two to ten years, with ingenious activity and a little anarchy that does not ruin them. They invent games with coloured balloons, and distribute the lunch as though it is an exploration adventure. Each child has his own story of poverty and emargination, of alcoholism, and infidelity among parents, and egoism. Stories that are unbelievable. In one place, two women concentrated on sewing. Reina has also invented a tailoring unit! There is Rita who has seven children, who is a teacher, and comes here during the rest periods. And Elisa, who has been abandoned by her husband and here, has been helped out of depression. Reina is like that: when she sees single cases in difficulty, she invents adequate solutions. The office of Reina is piled with books. Here the lady also carries out therapy with children who have learning difficulty. The shelter is supported by communal contributions and collaboration with NGO’s, above all by the support from afar of the Action For New Families; without forgetting the contribution of the State for the food, and the quota of 1,20 bolivar every day (10 euro cents) asked from the parents of the children, a matter of maintaining dignity and participation. Those who work at the shelter or in the related activities do their utmost to “provoke providence”. Under a photo of Chiara Lubich, stands a sentence: “Be always a family.” “I have made this sentence mine-concludes Reina-. I work every day so that the children here can always find a space of family.” Almost as though to soothe a wound that comes from afar, in her heart. (Source: “Family space”, insert attached to no. 21 of Citta Nuova 2011, pag. 12 and 13)
“The Amazon State Inspector General of Justice, Judge Maria Guedes Moura, called the second congress on law and fraternity for the North and Northwest Brazil “An instrument for the building of a more just society and a better future, beginning from the law.” The congress, which was organized by Communion and Law, took place on 3-4 November 2011 at the Division for Internal Affairs of the State Court of Justice. The Congress was opened by the president of the Court, João Simões. As he welcomed attendees and presenters from different international settings, the judge stated that he felt honored to host such an important gathering. Among those present was also the director of the School of Magistracy, Flávio Pascarelli, and this seemed to underline the importance of the project for the formation of future judges. Over 300 law workers took part in the congress from different areas of the legal profession: judges, public ministers, lawyers, court officials, members of the police, deputies, some State Secretaries and students from ten Law faculties in Manaus. Cury Munir, Magistrate and member of the Drafting Committee of the Statute of the Child and Adolescent, laid the foundations for the work, which dealt with society and law in the construction of justice. Judge Carlos Augusto Machado from the Public Prosecution of Sergipe (the smallest State in Brazil) stressed the importance of fraternity as a true juridical and constitutional category. On the second day the presentation by Olga Boschi (director of the Center for Legal Sciences at the Federal University of Santa Catarina) was very much appreciated. She presented the value of possessing an understanding of fraternity as an academic topic in a curriculum of study. The lesson of Adalberto Carim, judge on the Tribunal for the Environment and Agricultural Affairs of the River of the Amazons, on Environmental Justice in the 21st century was also very well received. 
The idea of fraternity in law took on new meaning within the socio-cultural context of the State of Amazonas with its pressing ecological issues and the need to protect the environmental heritage as an expression of fraternity for future generations. Carlos Aurélio Motta, professor at the University of Ibirapuera and an expert on ethics and human rights, opened new avenues for academic research. In the opinion of the organizers of the conference, the ideas developed during these discussions will bear many benefits for Brazil. In fact, representatives from different States attended and the event was transmitted via internet on the School of Magistracy (ESMAM) website, whose page can be found on the official website of the State Court of Justice: http://www.tjam.jus.br/esmam
Chiara wrote: ‘Right from the start of our new life, we benefitted from his actions, day after day, sometimes gentle, sometimes strong and occasionally violent; and we never realised it was him. Throughout, from the first choice of God-Love, to the light that illuminated the words of the Gospel, the revelation of Jesus Forsaken, to joy, peace and light that we felt rise up in our hearts, living the new commandment, it was none other than the Holy Spirit at work. It could be said that the whole story of the Movement could be rewritten and be attributed to the Holy Spirit. Only now we can see that he was the real protagonist of our adventure, it was he who moved everything. ‘Now that he and what he has been for us has been is revealed to us we can retrace the luminous steps, countless signs of his constant and unpredictable actions. The inner voice which led us in our new way, the special atmosphere which gave joy to our meetings, the powerful release of hidden energy, that which purifies and renews, the divine alchemy which changes suffering into love, the experiences of death and resurrection: all these, and many other surprising phenomena which accompanied us through life, have only one name, which we have learnt to recognise, to be infinitely grateful to and feel pushed to ask his intervention in all we do each day, from the simplest task to the most demanding. He has given us the courage to face the crowds, leave our country, suffer discomforts, opposition, often with joy. But the deepest effect, the most radical, the most typical is the bond of unity between us. ‘Our mysticism needs at least two people made God through participation, between whom the Holy Spirit really moves, that is the third, God, who consumes all into one, one God: “As I in you”, Jesus said to the Father. The Holy Spirit is the gift that Jesus gave us so that we could be like him and the Father. Without doubt the Holy Spirit was in us before, as we were Christians; but here there was a new enlightenment, a new manifestation within us, which made us sharers and actors in a new Pentecost, together with those other ecclesial movements who make the new face of the Church.’
In September and October the international musical group Gen Rosso made stops in Italy and in the Czech Republic. This tour was part of a European project for secondary schools that involves students from half of Europe in a unique and fascinating adventure. In Udine, Italy, thanks to the “Arts & Culture Reshaping Urban Life” project, 16 youths worked together with Gen Rosso for three days as they performed their musical “Streetlight.” As one of the participants explained: “Each one of us has a role. If you know how to play an instrument, you shouldn’t be afraid to play and, if anyone doesn’t know how to play well, he or she shouldn’t be afraid of not being at their best. . . everyone has a place here.” Turning personal talents into a common resource for everyone is one of the results that Gen Rosso is often able to obtain during these events. The youths from Bohemia know this firsthand, after having participated in the “Silni Bez Nasili – Strong Without Violence” project in the cities of Jihlava, České Budějovice and Plzen. More than 850 teens from different institutions have participated in various types of laboratories – theater, music, dance, and voice – and then performed in shows before thousands of people. The teens experience for themselves the gift that they are, not only for their own personal fulfillment, but also for the prevention of marginalization, violence, and feelings of awkwardness that sometimes accompany the teenage years. And so they are able to contribute in proactive ways toward the building of a more united world. Both the local and national press has focused on the dynamic of working “together with” and the great answer that these young people have been able to offer their own peers. Honza Musil, a popular television presenter in the Czech Republic, was always on hand to open the events in the various cities beginning with the first project in Brno (May 2011): “Where you are, is where I also want to be.” The last stop is Belgium where there will be the launching of “Together4Peace,” an initiative focused on developing creativity in youth by offering them an experience of unity in diversity. The project will conclude with a performance of Gen Rosso’s musical “Streetlight,” involving some 120 youths within the framework of “Together for Europe” on the 12th and 13th of May 2011.
Given the situation of great emergency in some zones in the world, particularly in Thailand, following the great floods, in Turkey owing to the violent earthquake, and in the North and Centre of Italy because of the inundations, we made contact as soon as possible with the members of the Focolari in the respective zones. From Bangkok: “We are living in a situation of suspension. Many parts of the city are already inundated. Many have already gone out of the city also because drinking water and food are scarce and there is no electricity. We know that many of our families have their house inundated. In the north, where they have been under water for more than a month, we know catholic schools that need help to repair the structures, once the flood is over. The youths of the Movement have undertaken several initiatives to collect money for the basic necessities. They went to distribute it in the largest camp for those hit by the floods.” From Istanbul: “The zone that has been hit is amongst the most (if not the most) poor in Turkey, and it is already an effort also to just send the children to school that is obligatory, besides providing the books and various materials, and the school uniform. Without mentioning the basic necessities that the people need in ordinary life; imagine after an earthquake!” From Piedmont, Liguria, and Tuscany: many from the Focolari have given aid together with all the volonteers. The Consorzio Tassano, a firm of the Economy of Communion, went to the place, owners and workers together, to unite themselves to the wave of solidarity and the enormous efforts to reduce the damages. Now, after the first aids that have already arrived, a worldwide action has been initiated to gather funds by all the youths of the Movement and whoever wishes to participate, to confront the necessities of the persons who live in these zones. It is possible to send the sum that is collected by bank draft, to these accounts: Current Account of the central secretariat of Youths for a united world (GMU) Specify the cause of the transaction. The Account name: PIA ASSOCIAZIONE MASCHILE OPERA DI MARIA Via Frascati 306, Rocca di Papa, 00040 Roma, Italia Address of the bank: INTESA SAN PAOLO FILIALE DI GROTTAFERRATA VIA DELLE SORGENTI, 128 00046 GROTTAFERRATA (ROMA) ITALY IBAN CODE FOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IBAN IT04 M030 6939 1401 0000 0640 100 BIC BCITITMM For information: www.mondounito.net
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Monday, November 7, 2011
With Catholic Dutch, Nordic Focolare communities, citizens of the Focolare town of Marienkroon: the third day for Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti in Netherlands. Joy among brothers and sisters.
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Happy Birthday, Holland! Monday, November 7, 2011 The Focolare in the Netherlands celebrates its 50th anniversary. |
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Holland: With the Communities of Northern Europe Sunday, November 6, 2011 The president of the Focolare meets the communities of the Movement in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Holland. Discussions with some Catholic bishops. Conversation with the young people. |
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A Focolare Town for Holland 4 Novembre 2011 The directors of the Focolare Movement are currently on a visit to Holland and their first stop was “Marienkroon”, center of Cistercian spirituality and now a little town of the Focolare. |
Thousands attended the annual Gathering of Catholic Dutch Youth, which is held every 6 November by the Catholic Bishops Conference in collaboration with various Movements. It had the style of a rock concert with its fast rhythm, loud music, enjoyment, but also serious reflection. The Catholic identity, which is a minority in Holland, was powerfully emphasized. Between one religious song and another, a priest was interviewed and then it was Maria Voce’s turn. A small group of Gen went on stage with her and asked her some questions. Their questions were concerned more with unity than diversity: “Before belonging to this Church or to that Church, what comes first is that we are all children of God, and therefore brothers and sisters.” Maria Voce recalled when she first met the Movement and how it struck her: “This isn’t an organization, but a life: If you live the Gospel, you belong to the group.” More songs were followed by an interview with the bishop who has been serving the Dutch youth for twelve years and is now handing this post over to one of his auxiliary bishops (who also interviewed). Then there was a video about World Youth Day and a half-hour of Radio Maria, which has begun transmitting in Holland. This was followed by Mass, workshops, and visiting stands. Many expressed emotion, but there were also many who are seriously engaged in offering a living testimony of that “fire” that was day’s theme, which today was being rekindled or lit for the first time. The presenter would repeat it: “Let’s make fire!” That afternoon Maria Voce met at Marienkroon with Focolare members from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland. “We had always dreamed that Chiara Lubich would visit our lands, but she didn’t manage it. Now this is an historical moment for us.” With these words they offered their warm welcome to Maria Voce (and the Nordic people are said to be cold!). They told of their difficulties and conquests especially in the field of ecumenism. Maria Voce thanked them for their fidelity and encouraged them saying: “We must arrive at becoming a universal family. But let us always remember that we don’t make dialogue between religions but between people. For example, at the recent meeting among religions in Assisi, I experienced a great joy, because nearly everyone there, from different religions, knew the Movement and offered me their testimonies and their appreciation. Certainly we will always run into differences that will never be overcome, but we can always accept each other completely, loving one another as we are. And I must testify to the fact that in 2011 I was surprised to find people from other religions no longer standing on the outside, in dialogue with us, but standing together with us giving witness to the ideal of unity.” Everything ended with songs, photos, greetings and a promise to meet again soon, perhaps in one of the Nordic countries! The final moment of the day, was the encounter with the inhabitants of Marienkroon, especially the pioneers of the little town whose willingness to leave everything made Marienkroon possible. People who never held a microphone in their hand were now standing on stage and sharing very personal things: “I work in this little town for the people who come here and say: ‘How beautiful it is here.’ And so that they can find God, because God is beautiful.” Marienkroon: a unique little town, a town built with hearts. By Giulio Meazzini
The prefabricated structure set up on a lawn at the Focolare town of Marienkroon was filled to capacity. It was a noteworthy gathering of 800 people – young and old, Danish and Dutch, Fins and Icelanders, Swedes and Norwegians – coming from miles to celebrate the arrival of the Movement in Netherlands.
You have to wonder: Why does it always work? What is there beneath this tangible joy that makes everyone brothers and sisters, people of different ages, races and religious convictions? The lyrics being sung by the young people on stage are in Dutch, but they engage everyone, even those who do not speak this language, because the smiles matter more than the words. Perhaps the secret is that it begins with life, with concrete love and then, only after we have become friends are we able to contrast cultures. Or perhaps it depends on the fact that Chiara Lubich had taught us not to stop problems and misunderstandings, but to go ahead, beginning again, seeing each other new in every moment.
The orchestra is formed by three trumpets, one violin, two flutes, a set of drums and a piano. Highlights of this ongoing adventure are told in review: the arrival of the focolarini in Holland in 1961, the Genfest with 4 thousand youths in 1976, Chiara’s visit in 1982, the opening of the focolares in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo in the 1980’s, the first visits to Iceland in 1989, the focolare family coming from Poland in 2010, and the inauguration of the new Mariapolis Centre in the Focolare’s little town.
Each country presented itself with much creativity and imagination. Sweden, where the ecumenism of the people is lived almost without realizing it, since every meeting is comprised of people from different Churches. Norway, with an emotional moment of silence in rememberance of the tragedy of 22 July. Finland, with its lively community. These were moments of great unity, along with the ecumenical celebration with the Lord’s Prayer recited at the same time in seven languages.
Bishop Jan van Burgsteden, who is responsible for ecumenism at the Bishops Conference, testified that “for 50 years the Movement in Holland has been helping people to live the Gospel. And from this new involvement in the Church was born, even in an era of secularism, which helped overcome the polarization. I saw also how the Movement was able to create an “ecumenism of the heart.” I’m convinced that one day we’ll see the Church shining like a morning star, because in all of its parts the Word has become life.”
Maria Voce responded to a few questions. One general question: “What do you remember most from 2011? “In the Holy Land, when I was at the Holy Sepulcher I felt crushed by the evil of the world which seemed to have flattened Jesus as well. But later, as I stood before the empty tomb, I felt the sudden certainty that Jesus is alive, and that we can carry Him alive, among us, into the world, and that we are fortunate in being able to do this. Another (memory) is the trip to North America: with those endless landscapes and people everywhere, the focolarini seemed so few. What could they ever accomplish on their own? The people who came to the celebrations in New York were only 2 thousand – a drop in the ocean. And yet, I felt a certainty within: Now, let’s not start worrying about numbers, they don’t matter, only the growing presence of Jesus among us matters, then the rest will come.”
“This has been a busy day with many official events – concluded Giancarlo Faletti, “but is was above all a family day that has given us all much hope. I carry your multi-ethnic and multicultural presence in my heart, this blossoming of life. And every flower needs love, tenacity and industriousness, which are your very characteristics. Then again, the flower is the symbol of Holland.”
By Giulio Meazzini
4 November: The first day of Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti in the little town of Marienkroon began at a meeting with some Catholic bishops from Holland and Iceland. They had a frank and open discussion how to give testimony to the faith in today’s secularized society. In the years following the Second Vatican Council, in the Netherlands, a so-called “polarization” entered the field, increasing incomprehension between “conservative” and “progressive” Catholics. The situation only began to improve in the 1990’s, thanks also to the collaboration between young people from different movements and youth directors in the diocese. With regard to ecumenism the situation has changed for the better compared to the 1960’s when Catholics and Protestants had almost no contact at all. Now a process of reconciliation is underway that will hopefully soon lead to a day of reconciliation. Together for Europe is partnering in this endeavor. In spite of this, due to the sexual abuse scandals, there has been an increase in apathy and indifference toward religion. “This challenges us to work together, because no one movement is able to change things on its own,” affirmed Maria Voce. “Each Movement responds with the particular gift it has received. For us, it is unity, which we should help to bring among the movements.” According to Bishop De Jong, the Focolare town could include a school run by the Focolare, which is founded on love of neighbor and open to all, which could help form the youths of today’s Netherlands who are only given the atmosphere of a secularized culture to breathe. Maria Voce responded by saying that more than only one school, there would be need for teachers in every school who incarnate the Gospel in their own lives. But the feasibility of such a proposal will have to be examined by the Movement in the Netherlands. In the afternoon there was a meeting with representatives from different sections of the Movement and its communities in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Holland, which gave Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti an up-to-date picture of the situation in these countries. Cultures and peoples who are different from each other, yet “each rejoices for what the others are doing as if it were its own. Each time I reach a new country and the airplane begins its descent,” the president continued, “I get a lump in my throat as I think of the brothers and sisters who are there waiting to celebrate our arrival. We are such lucky people to be able to experience this gift of God which is the family of the Movement in every country of the world.” Finally, after dinner, there was a face-to-face discussion with 25 Gen concerning the upcoming “Catholic Youth Day,” which is being promoted by the Bishops Conference in cooperation with the youths of the Focolare and other Movements. The future of the Focolare lies here among these youths who are being summoned all over the Netherlands to tell the story of Chiara Luce Badano, the first young person of the Movement to reach the glory of the altars. By Giulio Meazzini
Ave Cerquetti, ‘Crocifissione’ – Lienz (Austria) 1975
Rising from the dead, Jesus appeared to the women who went to the tomb: “Do not be afraid,” he says to them “go and announce to my brothers (…)”. In this conclusive moment he calls his disciples “brothers”. It’s how he continues to come to us today, as a brother: the firstborn. By rising he had conquered death and restored fraternity. Jesus had come into the world in order to re-establish the paternity of the Father. He descended into hell in order to conquer humanity’s enemy; now he announces that God’s children have been reinstated as brothers and sisters in the family of God.
Today’s world is dominated by fear and by egoism. And what is the result? (…) Humankind suffers because life doesn’t circulate among peoples, among the rich and the poor, among individuals, or else it circulates erratically. What promotes life is religion, science, technology, the arts and philosophy… But philosophy, art, technology, science, material goods do not circulate if they are not impelled by love; it is love which opens ways and overcomes divisions. But religion itself must be freed, it must redeem itself in every moment from the incrustations, limitations and rifts which are caused by the faults of the redeemed.
The circulation of goods does not happen as much, or as well as it should, because men and women no longer recognize each other as brothers and sisters and so they don’t love one another.
That person who annoys us on the train; the one who passes us by arrogantly or distractedly or who is alienated from us; the person we exploit in the factory or in the fields; the person we treat unfairly in the law courts or at the bank, is someone we don’t consider as a brother or sister. The persons we discriminate against because of their socio-economic status or because of their faith, don’t appear as children of our Father: at most they appear as illegitimate children worthy only of sympathy. The person bearing a firearm during the war doesn’t appear as a brother but more as a bombing device. Victims of prostitution are not considered sisters but rather as worthless merchandise. Seen in this way, society seems like a colony of lepers.
Every division, every discord, is a barrier to love flowing out. Love is God, and God is Life. And if life doesn’t flow, the waters are stagnated by death.
(…) If God’s attributes were only Strength, Honor and Fear, he would have remained alone, never generating a Son, nor bringing about creation. He would have been closed within himself, never open to others. But love is Trinitarian: it is circular: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. (…) The Trinity is Three and One: the Three love each other, and they are One; One distinguishes itself in Three persons in order to love; it is an Eternal game of Love. Made in the image and likeness of the Trinity, rational creatures discover in love an impulse to generate new life. (…) Love is the expression of God towards creation; and I return to God through my brothers and sisters.
The movement is circular, as in a river which departs from the source and flows out into the sea.
You go to God through your brothers and sisters; you go to them through God. This is how I can be truly myself; without them there would be no reason for me to exist since the reason for my being is to love.
Christ has put back into circulation all the treasures of life in the riverbed of love, with which he transmits the warmth, the light, the intelligence for reopening ourselves to the way that will lead us to unity where God is to be found.
He obtained this for us by coming among us, dwelling among us, making himself ours until, by dying, he redeemed us. Just as the Redemption freed us from divisions, it also reunited us to God. Christ has placed God in us and us in God. For this reason he commanded that we love one another, for where there is love there is God: “God is love, whoever is in love is in God, and God is in him” (cf Jn 4:16).
Il Fratello, Città Nuova, 2011, pp.29-30, 34, 36, 37-38.
