Message of the president of the Focolare Movement, Maria Voce
« March 14, the anniversary of Chiara Lubich’s birth to new life in Heaven is approaching. This year we would like to dedicate the celebrations in a special way to the impact of her charism on the new generations: today’s and yesterday’s youth will witness in various regions of the world what meeting Chiara stirred up in them. 
Chiara trusted the young people and each one of us. Together, all one, we would like to look at a future full of hope because God gave us a great Ideal. This will be another occasion to express our gratitude to her who, corresponding fully to the light of the charism that God put in her heart, opened up the way to many to be bearers of a new spirit. 
Let’s make this date a starting point: grateful for such a gift, let’s communicate it in turn to all those around us in order to contribute towards building universal brotherhood: the fulfilment of her dream, Jesus’ longing: “That all may be one.”» Maria Voce, 5 March 2012
Lo spartito scritto in cielo
Burundi, Small Heart of Africa
Burundi is a small country, situated between two giant nations: the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Republic of Tanzania. It is endowed with a landscape of extraordinary richness and beauty, and yet it is one of the poorest countries on the planet. It is home to three peoples: Hutu, Tutsi and Pigmies who share the same language and culture. It’s green hills hide the suffering cries of many how came to know violence and death during long decades of conflict and dictatorship. It was only in 2002 that Burundi emerged from a political and ethnic conflict that displaced a million and brought death to 300 thousand others. 
The Ideal of the Focolare Movement has also reached this place in the heart of Africa, only a few kilometers south of the Equator. Its roots go back to 1968, when a Belgian family moved to Bujumbura to find work and through the witness of their life, shed new light on the Christian message. Almost contemporaneously, another cell was formed around Fr Alberton from the African Missionaries, at the parish church in Mubimbi. 
1979 was an important year in the history of the Focolare in this nation. At the request of the local bishops, a focolare was opened in Gitega, but following the first persecutions, the focolare made an emergency move to Bujumbura. This was the beginning of a particularly difficult period for the Movement and for the entire Church: total prohibition on holding any type of activities; churches closed during the week; the impossibility of spreading the Word of Life. 
In September 1987, with the coup, freedom was returned and it was possible to come out into the open. Little by little, people were contacted again, finding with emotion that some faraway communities, the people continued to meet regularly to share their experiences of the one copy of the Word of Life that they had preserved for years. They carried ahead for years with only one Word of the Gospel. 
Today the Movement is comprised of more than 24 thousand people in 290 groups spread throughout the country. Today the ideal of unity holds genuine hope for the people of Burundi. In a climate of tension following the war, the members of the Movement got involved in contributing along with the local Church in the process of reconciliation. There have been some interesting achievements in the economic field and some innovative things are happening in the fields of health and education. In 1999 a group of volunteers of the Focolare Movement founded the CASOBU Association (Cadre Associatif des Solidaires du Burundi), with the goal of seeking durable solutions to the problems of poverty, through the process of participation and mutual support. 
The “Chiara Luce Badano Social Center” was also begun, which cares for orphan children or children in extreme conditions of poverty in the Kinama quarter (outskirts of bujumbura), an area that was completely destroyed by the war. The words that Chiara Lubich addressed to them on 7 October 1996 remain impressed in the hearts of these Focolare members in Burundi: “Always concentrate on our “Only Treasure.” You’ll be happy and have peace, even amid the difficulties that surround you. Jesus will always be with you in your midst, to touch people’s hearts, to reawaken faith in His love, and to bring unity. I am also with you in this constantly renewed commitment, moment by moment. . .”
Burundi: CASOBU – reconstructive work and fight against poverty
CASOBU (Cadre Associatif des Solidaires du Burundi) was founded by a group of volunteers from the Focolare Movement in Burundi, one of the poorest countries on the planet. The country has emerged from a twelve-year political and ethnic conflict, with the displacement of a million people and 300,000 dead. The purpose of the Association is to seek for lasting solutions to the problems of poverty through solidarity and mutual support. Its activity cannot be assessed only in terms of infrastructure development and improved socio-economic conditions, but in the spreading of certain values: solidarity, unity and fraternity. 
CASOBU’s first focus is in rural contexts. They have taken up several projects, with the support also of AMU, the NGO inspired by the Movement for co-operation in development. For several years CASOBU has been involved with community microcredit projects. These have helped several hundred people, mostly women who are family breadwinners, achieve economy autonomy. In 2008 CASOBU’s social action concentrated upon Ruyigi. The town of Butezi has 6,700 families who live by subsistence farming. During the civil war most of the population fled to refugee camps in Tanzania and now, on returning to their own country, there are numerous problems of readjustment. This initiative takes a three-pronged approach:
- ñ nutrition and agriculture: after an initial distribution of emergency foodstuffs to 800 families, the aim is to develop independent food sources, with the distribution cassava cuttings, cows and goats to displaced people and refugees;
- ñ aid for orphans and widows;
- ñ schemes for the prevention of Aids, run in collaboration with public bodies, and schemes for the prevention malaria, which is responsible for the deaths of numerous children under 5.
The members of CASOBU are trained and skilled people, filled with the gospel spirit of service. Their main aim is to listen attentively to those they meet: ‘We often find ourselves behaving like mothers and fathers of people who more than anything have a burden of pain to share with others.’ In Butezi there is an area where nearly three thousand families live. Only about a hundred of them have clean water, the others draw water from unsafe sources or directly from streams and pools and are exposed to serious illnesses. This means there is need of a new project to bring drinking water to the area, and the first of five has already begun. The strong points of this initiative are: the involvement of local people in the work and in implementation committees to conserve springs and maintain the infrastructure already set in place. The local people accept that they must give the necessary land and accept the difficulties that arise from works being carried out in their fields. All cooperate to rebuild social bonds. The way the members of CASOBU live and how they work strike many people: ‘Often,’ said Innocent from Kayanza, ‘to have a job you have to pay, but here we have noticed a difference. They look in the register of those have already given a voluntarily contribution to the project and they enrol you without any kind of corruption…. Whether you are a simple labourer or a skilled worker, all are on the same level.’ 
Certainly, not everyone understands immediately what is being done, and patient work by CASOBU is fundamental for helping people realize that these projects are aimed at the common good. Three years after the first project, it is possible to note a significant improvement in the health of families and especially of the children. The latest initiative for access to clean water was in Kibingo (in the province of Kayanza), and it benefited 600 families and 1,200 pupils at the local primary school. Anyone who wishes to participate in the work of CASOBU on behalf of people of Burundi, even with just a one-off gift, can use the following bank details: Account name: Associazione Azione per un Mondo Unito Bank: Banca Popolare Etica, Rome branch. IBAN: IT16G0501803200000000120434 SWIFT/BIC: CCRTIT2184D Payments should be marked for: ‘Progetti in Burundi’. Burundi is a small country in Africa with enormous lakes, and it is one of the poorest places on earth. In the 2011 report by the United Nations Development Programme it was ranked in the third last place (185th) in the league table of Human development. The most vulnerable groups in the population are Aids sufferers, widows, teenage mothers, orphans and people with disabilities. There is also a need to achieve national reconciliation and to rebuild the nation’s economy and social fabric.
India: Kindergartens That Form Peacemakers
Vaikalpalayam is a small village with humble homes and asphalt roads punctuated with potholes. At the entrance to the village stands a small brick building that is bursting with the shouts of a dozen happy children. It houses one of the ten kindergartens or Bala Shanti Kendra which the Gandhian institution Shanti Ashram opened over the years in the region of Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu, South India, close to the borders with Kerala. 
This Bala Shanti Kendra is one of the ten kindergartens which are part of a project named Bala Shanti. When it began twenty years ago the kindergarten had a precise goal: to begin an educational process among dalit, the outcaste whom Mahatma Gandhi named Harijans, children of God, in order to give them a chance at a more dignified life. What happened then has been called by some a veritable revolution. In India, the dalit live on the edge of the towns, they may not draw water from the same well as the other villagers and, until only a few decades ago, it was unthinkable that they should enter the same temples. In Vaikalpalayam today, dalit children and those of the superior caste study, eat and pray side by side. Their mothers sit beside those of the other students at meetings for the parents of the 220 children who attend kindergartens founded and run by this Gandhian organization that was begun twenty-five years ago by Dr Aram, a nominated member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament, pacifist and top level Indian educator. The goals of the Bala Shanti project as a whole include:
- Develop a holistic development initiative in the 3-18 age group
- Provide children in the pre-school age with education, nutrition & health services through the Bala Shanti Kendras
- Create a child-centered platform for advancing Peace & Inter-religious cooperation
- Coordinate a monthly Children’s Parliament : ‘Ondru Seruvom’ for rural boys & girls who graduated from the pre-school program
- Ensure the Rights & Responsibilities of Children in partnership with children, families, communities & institutions working for children
The balashanti provide an educational experience that combines early reading and writing skills together with playing, singing, religious and human values, along with daily dietary assistance.
Today nearly 1500 children who graduated from the Bala Shanti Kendras participate in the ‘Ondru Seruvom’ or Monthly Children’s Parliament, contributing their commitment and service for the welfare of their village. A dedicated team of teachers, social workers, and child development experts have worked hard for two decades to realize the vision of the program. The local families can only afford one meal a day with a monthly salary of more or less sixty dollars. In recent years, with the great industrial development that is taking place in Coimbatore, new settlements of temporary workers have arisen. Many of the migrant workers are also economically very vulnerable and belong to all religious traditions, the Muslim, the Hindu and the Christian traditions. Many social problems including alcoholism and domestic violence affect the families, requiring thus not only education of the child, but also of the families. Bala Shanti Program serves the community in three ways, Assistance to Children, Assistance to family and Assistance to Community. A group of mothers have been integrated in a micro-credit project. But also throughout their educational experience, the children participate in lessons aimed at teaching them how to save Last year, four year-old Karuna was able to save three thousand rupees in her piggy bank, the same amount as her father’s monthly salary. In the balashanti they learn the rules of hygiene care, which helps to prevent those illnesses that are often caused by poverty. Dr Aram and his wife Minoti are clear on the fact that in order to build a lasting peace it was necessary to start with the little ones. This is where the idea of the kindergartens came from. “The children are often the ones who are able to break the mechanism of family violence and create peace,” recounts Mrs Murthy who has followed the project for more than twenty years. Recently, Divya, a kindergartner at the balashanti went to sit in her father’s arms during a family quarrel. She said to him: “Daddy, violence is like the devil!”
Moreover, the children are taught respect for each faith. The morning starts with a Hindu, Muslim and Christian prayer and so the children begin to grow without the barriers and prejudices that have separated groups and communities from this part of India for centuries, and created social tension that often erupted into violent and bloody clashes. The Focolare have been working in this project since the late nineties, when Minoti Aram felt the need to ensure food and nutritional supplements to the children of the balashanti. At that time the New Families and the Gandhian Shanti Ashram joined together on this project, and this gave birth to a brotherhood between the two movements that has opened to religious dialogue and to peace education for the new generations. Gandhi had said: “If you want to teach real peace (…) you should begin with the children.” In its 20th year, the program will deepen and expand its service to vulnerable children, train and improved capacities of community workers and document experience and findings for policy change, says Shri. A. Devaraj, the current Head of the Bala Shanti Program. Roberto Catalano (From an insert in Città Nuova (5) – 2012)
South Africa: With the Gospel Everything Becomes Possible
My name is Maria and I work for my country’s government in the health sector. 
Each day I experience that the words of the Gospel help me to serve my neighbor better and even to resolve the problems of society. By putting the Gospel in practice, relationships at the office have radically changed: they’ve become more familiar, open and free. I share this ideal of life with three of my colleagues, and together we try to perform our jobs as a service to people, to our city which faces many great challenges. There are two levels of government in South Africa: one is the traditional, which sees the Kgosi (chief) as the head. Each chief has specific expectations about the territory and a level of government with elected representatives who have others. Our challenge is to compose an agreement between these two levels, so that every decision can truly be for the good of the entire community, and so that it can always be more involved in the projects that are proposed. 
For example, we built six clinics in our district. All the work was done in full agreement with the two levels of government, so that each clinic was fully recognized throughout the territory. Several authorities spoke at the inauguration ceremony, also members from the executive committee of the government. A few days before the event, one of the Kgosi had called us to say that he would not be attending the ceremony because of a supposed disparity between the treatment of officials from the local government and the treatment of the traditional leaders. It was a veritable disaster, from every point of view. There was the danger that the people of the village would also refuse to attend. We tried to resolve the situation by going to visit the chief at his home. We offered him a detailed presentation of each clinic. Thanks to this gesture his attitude changed and he gave his assent to the ceremony, which then turned out to be a great success, an important moment for the entire community. 
Now we continue to perform each task that is entrusted to us as an opportunity for coming together and helping our city to grow. And, slowly, we see the bonds improving between the population and government officials. Faith and trust are growing on both sides. Moreover, traditional leaders and elected councilors are discovering their own roles in full respect of the roles of the other. And so the child care project is now in the hands of the traditional leaders, and the project for youths is in the hands of the municipal councilors. It is no longer necessary to explain our choices to the different authorities, because they trust us, and the union among all grows in service to the community. We experience that if we try to put the Gospel into practice, truly nothing is impossible!
Começam os preparativos do 40º aniversário da Mariápolis Ginetta
Animated Word of Life – March 2012
“Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Produced by Focolare Movement. Montage: Oscar Monteza (Rome). Animation and voicover: Corre Ruse (London)
Kelma tal-Ħajja – Marzu 2012
كلمة حياة آذار 2012
March 2012
‘Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’ Peter had understood that the words of his Teacher were different from those of other teachers. Their words came from the earth and returned to the earth; they belonged to and had the destiny of the earth. Jesus’ words are spirit and life because they come from heaven: a light that comes down from Above and has the power of Above. His words have a quality and a depth that other words do not have, whether they be philosophical, political, or poetic. They are ‘words of eternal life’ (Jn 6:68), because they contain, express, communicate the fullness of the life that never ends since it is the very life of God. Jesus is risen and lives, and his words, although spoken in the past, are not merely a memory, but words he addresses today to all of us and to each person in every time and culture: they are universal, eternal words. The words of Jesus! They must have been his greatest art, as it were. The Word who speaks in human words: what content, what intensity, what expression, what a voice! Basil the Great[1] tells, for example, how ‘once upon a time, like a man roused from deep sleep, I turned my eyes to the marvellous light of the truth of the Gospel, and I perceived the uselessness of “the wisdom of the princes of this world.”’[2] Thérèse of Lisieux in a letter of 9 May 1897 wrote: ‘Sometimes, when I read books in which perfection is put before us … my poor little head is quickly fatigued. I close the learned treatise, which tires my brain and dries up my heart, and I turn to the Sacred Scriptures. Then all becomes clear and light – a single word opens out infinite vistas, perfection appears easy’.[3] Yes, divine words satisfy the spirit which is made for the infinite; they give inner light not only to the mind, but to the whole of our being, because they are light, love and life. They give peace – the kind Jesus calls his own: ‘my peace’ – also in moments of anxiety and anguish. They give complete joy, even in the midst of the pain that at times torments the soul. They give strength, especially in the face of dismay and discouragement. They set us free, because they open the path to Truth. ‘Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’ The Word of Life this month reminds us that the only Teacher we want to follow is Jesus, even when his words may seem hard or too demanding. This means to be honest at work, to forgive, to be at the service of others rather than think selfishly of ourselves, to remain faithful in our family life, to help a terminally ill person without yielding to the idea of euthanasia… There are many ‘teachers’ who invite us to adopt easy solutions, to make compromises. We want to listen to the one Teacher and follow him, who alone speaks the truth and who has ‘words of eternal life’. Like this we too can repeat these words of Peter. In this Lenten season, as we prepare for the great celebration of the resurrection, we must truly join the school of the one Teacher and become his disciples. A passionate love for the word of God must come to life in us too. Let’s be ready to welcome it when it is proclaimed in church, let’s read it, study it, meditate on it… But above all we are called to live it, as scripture itself teaches: ‘Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves’ (Jas 1:22). That is why each month we focus on one word in particular, letting it penetrate us, mould us, ‘live us’. By living one word of Jesus we live the entire Gospel, because in each word of his he gives the whole of himself, he himself comes to live in us. It is like a drop of the divine wisdom that belongs to him, the Risen One, which slowly sinks into the depths of us and replaces our way of thinking, wanting and acting in all the circumstances of life. Chiara Lubich
[1] Basil (330-379), Bishop of Caesaria, one of the Fathers of the Church. [2] Epistle CCXXIII, 2 [3] <http://www.pathsoflove.com/pdf/ThereseLetters.pdf> (trans. revised)
In the Family, Accepting One Another Always
Maria and John have lived in Italy for many years. “Even though we know that we were made for each other, we asked ourselves,” they recount, when they offered their testimony at the anniversary of Renata Borlone, “if we could also be witnesses of unity in our own family – me an American and Maria an Austrian – in immersed in an Italian society.” They are very different from one another. They are from the old European world and the world of America. They do not speak German or English with each other, but Italian. They come from different cultures, different families and different origins, different professional and intellectual formation, and different ages (thirteen years difference). And then, John recounts, “I’m simply a man and she’s a woman, with characters, needs and sensibilities quite diverse.” “One episode involving this diversity, which is emblematic, occured during the honeymoon in Sicily,” he conitinues. Everything beautiful and wonderful . . . we reached Selinunte and Maria enthusiastically exclaimed: “What beautiful temples, they tell of a wonderful past.” And me: “What are these old stones and broken columngs doing here? It would be better to knock them down and build a nice skyscraper.” Where did our common point lie? Certain of God’s plan of love for us, we intuited that it would be found neither in temples (history), nor in skyscrapers (young new lands), but in accepting each other.” 
“And this acceptance was taught to us by Renata with her life. She had an artful talent for listening to people, always giving first place to the other, it was an absolute for her. I felt completely welcomed, understood and loved.” Maria was recounting, touching on a few difficult moments the went through in their marriage. “I didn’t understand my husband. His way of being and of thinking put me in crisis, but we already had four children. One night I couldn’t do it anymore and I ran to Renata. I cast my huge doubt onto her. I had made a mistake in marrying John! As always, Renata welcomed me, taking my suffering upon herself. Then, with unwavering certainty, she reminded me that when I married, I had been certain that John was the right person for me, beyond our differences. That night I gained a new strength. Yes, we’d manage to love one another until the end!” “Still today, after forty years of living together,” John concludes, “we experience how true it is that when we accept each other’s differences in a positive way, as something that can enrich and complete us, then a new harmony is born between us.”
Gioiranno insieme i giovani e i vecchi
Innovation, Market and Society
Professor Bruni, in your an article published in Nuova Umanità you offer a very unique description of the entrepreneur. Can you explain where the figures of the investor, manager and speculator have become confused with that of the entrepreneur innovator? 
Much has to do with the financial revolution that has affected the economy (praxis and theory) over the past twenty years . . . due to globalisation. The West has slowed its growth, but has not wanted to reduce its consumption. With new technical instruments, creative finance then promised a growth phase in consumption without growth in revenue. The result was that many entrepreneurs were transformed into speculators, thinking of making profit through speculation, stepping outside of their traditional sector and calling. A second reason was the standardization of business cultures on the trail of a strong force in Anglo Saxon culture. The European and Italian tradition of business administration were characterized by a strong attention to the communitarian and social dimension, because of the presence of a Catholic-communitarian paradigm. This, along with the primary causes of the financial revolution, caused managers to assume an ever more central role in the big corporations, at the expense of traditional entrepreneurs. Nowadays there is an enormous need to launch a new season of entrepreneurship, if we want to come out of this crisis, and reduce the burden of speculators. Beginning with Schumpter’s theory of economic development, you describe the market as a “righteous relay” between innovation and imitation (. . .) but the profit, for the innovator, is essentially limited to the amount of time that elapses between the innovation and the imitation. What can be done to avoid that such a “righteous relay” will generate reciprocal damage between businesses? 
Here politics plays an important role and, in general, the institutions, which, through appropriate regulations to protect competition and the proper functioning of the markets, see to it that the relay is virtuous and not vicious. But a co-essential role is carried out by civil society, the citizen-consumers who with their buying choices must reward those businesses that have acted ethically, and “punish” (by changing businesses) those with predatory and aggressive attitudes. The market functions and produces fruits for society when it has a proper relationship with the institutions and with civil society. Finally you outline the characteristics of “civil competition” in which competition is not played out, Company A against Company B to avoid Client C, but on the basis of Company A for Client C and Company B for Client C. Could you explain the positive effects that this different way of seeing competition produces? What examples of “civil competition” can you give us? 
In the first place it helps to give a different tone to market trading. Our reading and descriptions of the world are very important for the behaviors. If I read the market to be a battle that must be won, when I go to trade on the market, or also at work, I tend to approach it with a mental and spiritual attitude that very much influences the results that I obtain and the happiness (or unhappiness) that I experience. If instead I see the market as a grand network of cooperative relations, I promotes creation of relational goods even during “economic” moments of my life, and individual and collective happiness grows. Moreover, reading the market as cooperation is closer to the vision of the great classical figures of economic history (Smith, Mill, Einaudi and, nowadays, Sen or Hirschman) and it is closer to what millions of people experience every day, working and exchanging not only in the field of social economy.
USA: A Land Made for the Spirituality of Unity
The Union of fifty states known as the United States of America extends across a vast area from the extreme northwest of Alaska to southeast Florida. 
The first focolarini arrived from Italy in 1961. During those years the first centers of the Movement were opened in Manhattan, Chicago and Boston. Toward the end of the 1970’s focolares were also opened in San Antonio and Los Angeles, followed by Washington D. C., Columbus and Atlanta. Mariapolis Luminosa, located in Hyde Park (New York), was inaugurated in 1986 and is the heart of the Movement in North America. During her first visit to New York city, in 1964, Chiara Lubich wrote the following: “(. . .) It seems particularly adapted for the spirit of the Focolare. There is not an atmosphere of ethnic superiority, but a clear feeling of internationality. There is simplicity. At Mass I prayed for the Movement on this continent and I hope that God listens to my prayer, because I’m praying for the spreading of His reign.” 
Her prayer was heard. In fact, over the years, communities began to appear throughout the country. As the Focolare Movement grew, so did its interreligious dialogue. With Jews who come into contact with the spirituality of unity, this dialogue is expressed in daily living, professional collaboration and theological study. In many parts of the country a fraternal “dialogue of life” has began and grew with Muslim followers of Imam W. D. Mohammed. Chiara visited the United States seven times. In 1990 she stressed that she had “captured various signs of a united world” in this land. In May 1977, as the guest of Imam W. D. Mohammed she spoke about the Spirituality of Unity to nearly 3000 Muslims gathered at the Malcom Shabazz Mosque in Harlem, New York. Then, at the United Nations “Glass Palace,” at a symposium organized in her honor by the WCRP (World Conference of Religions for Peace), she spoke about the unity of all peoples. Lastly, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. 
In 2000, Imam Mohammed invited her to return again to the United States: “America needs your message” he said on 2 November 2000 to a crowd of 5000 Muslims and Christians gathered in Washington D.C. for a meeting entitled: “Faith Communities Together”which had been organized by the two communities. Gatherings of this type multiplied in several other cities with annual events that seemed more like family reunions than meetings for dialogue. In her last visit to the US, in 2000, Chiara received the honoris causa degree in Education from the Catholic University of America, in Washington D.C. 3.000 people gathered there: Jews, Buddhists and lots of Afroamerican Muslims, to underline the specific contribution of Focolare Movement to the interreligious dialogue. Meanwhile, the Economy of Communion project began to spread its roots within nineteen businesses which operate in different fields, such as environmental engineering, the arts, education, agriculture, free time and business consulting. 
The recent visit, in 2011, of the president of the Focolare Movement, Maria Voce and of the Co-President, Giancarlo Faletti, for the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the Movement in North America, gathered together 1,300 people from many communities in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean, including Jews and Muslims. On this occasion, the book “Focolare – Living a Spirituality of Unity in the United States” was released. It responds to the questions people have about the Movement today, through compelling stories of many Americans (children, youths, married couples, elderly, singles, nuns, priests and bishops who belong to the Focolare) whose lives have been transformed by the encounter with Jesus. Readers discover the spiritual values and practices of the Focolare, the various vocational paths of its members and how it helps in supporting the values of American culture, such as freedom, happiness, community and the commitment to the common good in public life.
Mariapolis Luminosa
New York – Youth Meeting
New York – 50th celebrations
Fordham Uni – St Patrick’s Cathedral
St Patrick’s Cathedral
Focolarini
Washington DC
Chicago – Youth Gathering
Chicago – Interreligious Meeting
USA: One City That Cares
In 1979, our family moved to the Village of North Riverside, a suburb of about 6,000 people near Chicago. During this time, we found we had to do an intense physical therapy program for our severely disabled son David. Our neighbors, even the firemen helped us every day for six years, so that David would one day be able to walk and talk. I remember asking God for a way to give back to our town and its people. It was not long after this that our former mayor wrote asking for ideas for a Neighborhood Services program where there would be neighborhood captains for each block. I wrote back sharing my experience in the neighborhood. After some time, he asked me to coordinate the program. There were 72 block captains, each responsible for one block of North Riverside. I thought that the block captains should try to make each block like a family, where no one would feel alone. We adapted Chiara Lubich’s points of the art of loving into four points which I called the ‘Art of Caring’. During each captains meeting, I would take one of the points and illustrate it using an experience shared with me by one of the block captains. At first, I had to use stories based on my own family or quotations from famous persons. After a couple of years, however, some of the block captains themselves starting sharing what they had done to live the points of caring. 
One of the first experiences shared by a captain was about a new resident of the block whose dogs were left outside barking from early morning until late evening. Instead of complaining to the police, the captain and the neighbors tried to “love their enemies” by reaching out to dog owner, baking cookies for her and even helping her catch her dogs when they escaped the yard. Only then did they approach her with their concerns about how the constant barking was affecting the newborn baby on the block. Not only did the mayor encourage these individual acts of caring, but he also tried to make the village itself, through the block captains, an active force for caring. For example, the block captains give welcome bags to new residents. They take interest in people, especially those experiencing personal suffering. They send cards, bring food, listen to people’s troubles. We use our emails to communicate these needs like in a family so we are all aware of who needs help. On a regular basis, some captains even do extra by volunteering to drive people in town to doctors, or shopping for groceries for the homebound. 
Just recently, we published our twenty years of experiences, also ideas for helping anyone live the Golden Rule. It was circulated among doctors, social workers, teachers and politicians as well as individuals who want to make a difference in their corner of the world. The art of caring has even been extended by North Riverside to other towns. At one of the town meetings, the publisher of the newsletter stood up and announced, “When I tell people in my town about North Riverside, they say such a town cannot exist. And I say come and see.” (For more experiences, please go to http://www.northriverside-il.org/departments/recreation/neighborhoodservices.html)
Núcleo de Pesquisa Direito e Fraternidade
No fear of diversity
Christians from a Catholic parish in Basel went to visit the community in an Islamic neighbourhood. After the Muslims had prayed they had lunch together. ‘In the afternoon, there was a football competition: teams of children, young people, grown ups and also “imams versus priests”!’ said imam Mohammed Tas from Kleinbasel. ‘We parish priests lost, but our friendship grew,’ observed the Fr Ruedi Beck with a smile. The imam carried on, ‘We had the joy of meeting together. Many things unite us. We live in the same city, we are human beings, we all have a lot of work and many worries. We pray for one another and help one another where we can.’ This was one of the examples during the day of Muslims and Christians in Dialogue, last 12 February in Baar, that showed how it is possible to build up family-like relations between different religious communities. There were 80 participants, from the three largest linguistic regions of Switzerland, 40 Christians and 40 Muslims, originally from 17 nations, among which were Kosovo, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Macedonia, the Ivory Coast and North Africa. Well-known personalities from Switzerland also participated, such as Dr Taner Hatipoglu, president of the league of Muslim organizations in Zurich and four imams. At the basis of the dialogue was the theme: Hearing and Living the Word of God. Ali Cetin, an imam from Baar, introduced people to the Muslim understanding of who God is and of his word for Muslims: ‘The one who is truly loved and recognizes it reads emails, text messages or letters from his friend word by word and more than once. He values what is written, every word, every sentence. It is like that that the Muslim honours the Koran, as a letter God has sent to humanity. Its verses are cited with love, learnt by heart and put into practice.’ 
In Christian thought the love of God who is one and three is central. The importance of this came into strong relief in a passage from a talk given by Chiara Lubich, at an international congress with Muslim friends in Rome, 1998. She said, ‘We believe that God loves us immensely… and in the Koran it is written: “Believers do not love in a different way from how they love God.” This is the strongest thing that can unite us. Like this we are no longer only Muslims and Christians but brothers and sisters, persons who put God in the first place.’ 
Imam Mustapha Baztami from Teramo in Italy, one of the speakers, who knew Chiara Lubich personally, affirmed, ‘Chiara Lubich is the first Christian, the first woman who spoke in a Mosque in Halem (1997). She managed to build a bridge between religions. She was not afraid to meet the differences between the various religions, because she made her faith in God’s Love a way of living and not an empty slogan.’ A committed Muslim woman echoed his words, saying, ‘Today we have met on the same level, as in a family, and everyone was accepted. We are a building bridge, a ‘neutral zone’ that binds everyone together.’ 
To conclude the meeting, Marianne Rentsch and Franco Galli, co-ordinators of the Movement in Switzerland, recalled the Golden Rule: ‘No one of you is a believer if he does desire for his brother what he desires for himself’ (The Forty Hadith of Al-Nawawi, 13); ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you’ (Luke 6:31). It was printed, in both its Christian and in its Islamic form, in the three main traditional languages of Switzerland, on a card the shape of a credit card, and given to everyone to take away as a reminder. Beatrix Ledergerber-Baumer
Recebemos uma luz que nos faz enxergar e ir além de nós mesmos
Work and the rediscovery of a social awareness
PLAY VIDEO (Italian soundtrack)
[1] John Paul II, Address to the International Labor Organization in Geneva. June 15, 1982, n. 10.
Gen 3 Congress: “The Word is Creative”
Castelgandolfo (Rome) 17-21 February 2012
Forti senza violenza
Congresso gen 3: “La Parola crea”
Puerto Rico
Please note: The geolocalization feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centers 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. Avvertenza: tutte le informazioni geocodificate presenti in questo sito sono puramente indicative. Gli oggetti rappresentati (ad es. luoghi d’incontro e quant’altro) e i servizi di localizzazione o navigazione, possono essere imprecisi o errati nello stabilire indirizzi, posizioni, prossimità, distanze, indicazioni e orientamento. (more…)
Brazil, ‘naturally gigantic’
Brazil has the fifth most powerful economy in the world. It covers 8.5 million square kilometres, and its almost 200 million inhabitants, descendants of white colonists, black slaves and indigenous peoples, as well as other immigrants from every part of the planet, all speak a single language: Portuguese. It is a country the size of a continent, with varied climatic and geographical conditions, enormous natural resources and a powerful potential for growth. It is a country that is also marked by huge social contrasts, which are growing somewhat less, thanks in part to the efforts of the last governments. It faces the challenges of a young democracy, of a nation that has emerged from military dictatorship less than thirty years ago. 
It was here that in 1991, Chiara Lubich, struck by the tremendous social problems, launched the basis for a real revolution in the economic field with the Economy of Communion (EOC), a project now known throughout the world. But the Focolare’s experience in Brazil has not only developed in the area of economics. It has had effects on the whole fabric of society: on education, health, politics, art, human welfare – as witnessed by the experiences of Santa Teresinha and Magnificat in the North East, of Bairro do Carmo e Jardim Margarida in São Paolo – and likewise in a whole range of areas of research. An example of such academic study is the group looking at ‘Law and Faternity’, which began in 2009 in the ‘Center of Juridic Sciences’ in the Federal University of Santa Catarina. 
There have been various activities run by the Focolare in all the States of the Federation: from Civitas, the school for political formation in João Pessoa, to the Young People for a United World’s solidarity project and to the families’ weekend in the State of Alagoas; from the youth Olympics in the State of Rio Grande Do Sul, to the Unicidade Project in the Mariapolis Ginetta, which celebrated its fortieth anniversary this year – to name but a few. But what gives rise to this life? Let’s take a step back in time. It was the year 1958. A ship landed in Recife, carrying three focolarini from Italy: Marco Tecilla, Lia Brunet and Ada Ungaro. They communicated their experiences in schools, universities, parishes, associations, hospitals, families. After a month they were travelling again: Rio de Janeiro, São Paolo, Porto Alegre, and then Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. On returning to Italy, the aeroplane made an emergency stop in Recife because of a serious fault which held them there for four days. They used that time to follow up a whole host of contacts. In this way the community in the North East of Brazil came into being. It was the first of many. 
With the arrival of other focolarini who came to stay, the first centres of the Movement were opened in 1959 in Recife. A rapid spread of the Ideal of unity began in the larger cities and in the villages, among young people and adults, whites and blacks, rich and poor… and all it happened with a characteristic mark: social harmony. Many social activities came in to being as an effect of a life rooted in the gospel. In 1962 a centre was opened in São Paolo. The publishing house Cidade Nova and the magazine Cidade Nova were founded. Other centres were opened: Belém, 1965; Porto Alegre, 1978. Today there are centres in all most all the 27 capitals of the federal states and in many other cities. In 1965 near Recife the Movement’s first little town of witness in Brazil was founded. It was called Santa Maria, a reference to this people’s love for Mary. Two years later there was established São Paolo’s little town, called at the time Araceli and now renamed Ginetta, after one of the first focolarine who had an immensely important role in the spread and growth of the Movement in Brazil. Following that Belém’s little town, Gloria, was set up and in Porto Alegre there was established the Mariapolis Centre Arnold which has particular a focus on ecumenism, and then Brasília’s little town called Mary Mother of the Light was founded. Chiara Lubich always showed a great love for Brazil and its people, ‘a people who seem very like those who listened to Jesus: magnificent, magnanimous, good, poor, who give everything: their hearts and their goods.’ Her first visit was in 1961, to Recife. She returned a further five times. She received various forms of public recognition and honorary degrees. In 1998, on her last visit, she inaugurated the Spartaco Business Park, the first of such parks belonging to the EOC in the world. 
On this occasion, one of the fathers of democratic Brazil, Prof. Franco Montoro, referring to Chiara in a speech given at the State University of São Paolo, recognized in the thought and activity of the Movement – and not only in Brazil – ‘a consistent witness that has drawn behind it millions of people. It has protected human rights during periods of dictatorship and, in the scientific boom, it has demonstrated that we must be guided by ethics. It has promoted love, universal fraternity.’ These are values that today the Movement’s members are committed to living, together with others, in a historic moment that sees Brazil emerge on to the global scene and take a leading role in events such as the World Youth Day 2013 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The Amazon Project
The encounter with Jesus changed our life.” “An encounter with God. I had never had an experience like this before.” “I want to live the art of loving with you. . .” These are some of the impressions that were gathered by youths and families before returning home after ten intense days in the Amazon. Amid local situations of suffering, living among the indigenous people who are scattered throughout this forest, many rediscovered hope for the future. We share some of the fruits of these six years of evangelization:
Amazon Project is the name that was given to this experience that is taking place in a region that covers more than fifty percent of Brazil and includes nine states: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins. In 2011 it was taking place for the sixth time.
Beginnings. There had been a progressive diminishing of faithful and a growth among the sects. This was also due to the scarcity of priests and the difficulty of reaching various centres of the region. The Amazon Project was meant to be an answer to the appeal that the bishops of Brazil made to various groups in the Catholic Church that they would each contribute according to their own charism to a vast and permanent action of evangelization.
Each year ten vacation days are dedicated to this project. Since 2005 people from various sectors of the Focolare Movement (focolarini, families, youths) have joined in. They come from several regions in Brazil and travel for as long as sixty hours in buses or five hours by plane, more than twenty-four hours by boat, all at their own expense.
“We went to give, but what we have received is much more.” This is the common expression. Through their efforts, some 26,000 people have been personally contacted during these years. This year there were 4,700 and half of them were youths, in three cities: Abaetetuba and Bragança (state of Pará) and Barreirinha (state of Amazonas ).
The Cube of Love is a most useful tool. The Cube of Love is a game invented by Chiara Lubich that is meant to help children in living the art of loving, the heart of the Gospel message. A cube was donated to some 1500 children. Fifty-four teachers and principals of five schools in Barreirinha took a course on using this pedagogical tool. One hundred and fifty families from two poor quarters and sixty couples also took part in the course. Very touching was the visit to a prison, where – during the dialogue with the prisoners – they were presented with the Art of Loving. Personal relationships are the first priority, which bring conversions to the Gospel. The appointment for 2012 is 14-22 July.
Focolare Recife
AFAGO
At home in Algeria
‘Having Maria Voce was like rain that refreshes everything, now everything is flowering again,’ said one young Algerian, summing up in a few words the visit of the Focolare President to the people of Algeria who share the Focolare spirit. In the ’90s, when the community was just beginning, Chiara Lubich, answering someone who had asked her to visit, said, ‘It’s necessary to work for this.’ After that there was a journey of dialogue spanning the years that still carries on. The visit of Maria Voce, from 9th to 14th February, was therefore an extremely important event for the Focolare community in Algeria. But not only for them. Dialogue with the Muslims in this country, in fact, is well-developed and recognized by the local Church and further afield too. This was confirmed by a visit from Mgr Ghaleb Bader, the Archbishop of Algeria. 
Algeria is no longer a tourist destination. The image of Islam has been obscured nowadays by many things that have very little to do with religion. Maria Voce’s visit went beyond all this. As Chiara used often to recall, dialogue is a ‘highway’ towards a united world, and this small community of Muslims, which has made Focolare spirituality its own, raises questions. How are these things possible? ‘We have to live in order to understand,’ Maria Voce said at one point. The Siberian cold that had gripped Europe did not spare North Africa. Tlemcen at 900 metres above sea level is used to the cold. But this year has been exceptional. To this city with its rich cultural and religious history (where the first focolare in Algeria was opened in 1966), on the late afternoon of 10 February, arrived the Focolare President. 
She was met by a welcome typical of Tlemcen, with two riders on superb Arabian horses who gave her a guard of honour, children in traditional costumes who offered milk and dates according to the custom of the nearby desert. Maria Voce joined in willingly and embraced everyone. The firing of guns made her jump; feelings ran deep. Indeed, feelings were no less on the following day, when she went to the small hall of the Mariapolis Centre. There were 130 people there, all Muslims expect for the members of the focolare, four African students, two bishops and two Dominican friars from Tlemcen, who had been specially invited. Some people had also come from Morocco and Tunisia. After the telling of a brief history of how the Focolare Ideal had arrived in the Maghreb, there was a conversation that marked the beginning of a ‘spring’: ‘The leading figures in this hour were the young people,’ Maria Voce commented on her return to Italy. They were the first to start, speaking of their experiences and asking questions. Maria Voce answered in French with great clarity. The adults present were deeply moved, feeling the certainty that the future was assured. And the answers were helpful to everyone, ‘even to bishops,’ affirmed Mgr Henri Teissier, the Archbishop Emeritus of Algiers, who is in his retirement lives in the Tlemcen Focolare’s Ulisse Mariapolis Centre. The questions revealed the difficulty of spreading the Ideal in the daily life of young people, in Algiers and in other parts of the world, with the necessary commitment to going against the tide. 
In her answers Maria Voce often spoke of love, the summary of Focolare spirituality: ‘If we are in Love towards the other person, there is nothing any more to separate us.’ She therefore stressed the importance of interpersonal relations: ‘The crisis in the world today, before it is about economics and politics, is about relationships.’ For this reason it is important to have ‘an unconditional love, that expects nothing in return, completely disinterested, totally Love for God through our brother or sister.’ This culminates in joy. Algerian music, in the Andalusian style, is very popular in Tlemcen and traditional dress decorated an afternoon of celebration. The words of many of the songs give praise to God and show the profound religiosity of this people. Following Algerian tradition, everything finished with a dance. 
Tlemcen, the international capital for Islamic culture in the year 2011-12 and host to numerous cultural and religious events, showed itself in all its beauty. The sun shone when, at the end of the visit, the moment came to see it. Fouad, the guide, himself from Tlemcen, is in love with his city. He presented it and pointed out its legacy of Muslim saints, the most famous of whom is Sidi Boumediene, well-known in all the Islamic world. At his tomb Maria Voce prayed that all the Muslims of the community in Algeria would be able to follow the example of these saints. When they left, Fouad chanted some verses of song containing the saint’s teaching: ‘All is from God, we are nothing.’ And Maria Voce rejoined, ‘Yes, but we belong to God.’ Fouad said, ‘That’s it, that’s the word: “to belong”.’ Algeria – Maria Voce visits the Focolare community (9-14 febbraio 2012)
The Gospel gives no guarantee of rest
The Gospel is pleasant to read; but putting it into practice provokes scandal among respectable people. The Gospel will not tolerate immobility, gives no guarantee of rest. He, the One who is the ‘sign of contradiction’, does not offer any sinecures: ‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!’ The history of Christ on earth, in twenty centuries, is a series of gallows, between the galleys and the pillory: we do not always see the the wave of hidden tears. All the same, in the context of that sorrow and darkness, faith is worthwhile. Believing without seeing is worthwhile. It brings to mind His warning: Fear not, O you of little faith, I have overcome the world. For a short while He disappears and we are in pain, left alone, but then he comes back. For mystics these dark nights end in a blazing eruption of sunshine. It is a trial: and whoever undergoes it with strength gains victory. It is a suffering that produces life: of a grain of wheat dying in the clods to bear fruit in the sunlight. ‘For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ.’ (2 Cor. 1:50) Those who welcome Jesus crucified, welcome suffering out of love: and just by doing that they do an act of love, and they find joy. We need training by the Holy Spirit for this. And so existence takes on the appearance of a tough drama, with apparent defeats and appalling disillusionments: but we must resist. Nothing is wasted of what we give in suffering: the fruit of resisting in rationality and faith, with virility and charity, brings benefits both to the civil realm and to the spiritual realm, in which people become, also through this, the Social Body of the Mystical Christ. We sow in tears, when we reap we rejoice.
Marisa Baù: her family’s thanks
‘The huge number of people who in every possible way have expressed how much they share our sorrow at the loss of our beloved Marisa makes it impossible for us to thank everyone personally. ‘We are now taking this opportunity to express our thanks and, in addition, our deep sense of gratitude for the warmth of feeling given to Marisa and to us.’ The Baù family
The Economy of Communion at the United Nations
The battle against poverty and the Economy of Comunionwas presented from several angles at The United Nations. The side event included international speakers that befitted the home of the UN, from: Burundi, Brazil, Philippines and US states such as Massachusetts, Indianapolis, and New York. Fifty people attended the presentation, including representatives from ONGs and UN delegates from several countries of Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and North Americ The event was promoted by the New Humanity, the non-governmental organization that represents the Focolare Movement, with general consultative status to the Economic and Social Council of the UN (ECOSOC) and the Permanente Observer Mission to the Holy See. In his introduction, the Apostolic Nunzio Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt underscored the importance of promoting an integral human development at all levels today.
Enough wasting time, I’m changing direction.
“My sister Maria Assunta was no longer there, swept away by sudden lukemia. I was taken by a sense of powerlessness. ‘What is the sense in living,’ I began to wonder, ‘if death can take away my dreams and achievements?’ Everything lost its meaning. I didn’t want to go on living. Those last moments spent together with Maria Assunta returned to mind. Her strength had abandoned her. Even raising her eyelids was an enormous effort that could have cost her her life. Nevertheless, as we took her home and were removing her from the ambulance on that stretcher, the voices of relatives and friends who had gathered to say their last goodbyes startled her. I saw her face suddenly change. Not only did she open her eyes, but she raised her head and smiled at each one of them. And she didn’t stop smiling until she had greeted each and every one. Then, as soon as the door of the house closed behind us, she allowed her head to fall back on the pillow. . . and went into coma. 
had she done it? As I reflected on the absurdity of it, I seemed to understand why. The love that spurned her on to be concerned for others and not for herself permitted her somehow to conquer death, and her eyes manifested this. They didn’t show fear of dying, but serenity that reached out to console those around her, as if to say: “Don’t worry. I’m happy.” A thought flashed through my mind: “Antò, you’re the one who’s dead. Assunta is alive!” And so I said: “Enough wasting time! Love is the only direction for my life.” I began with small things, loving the people who were near to me, in simple ways. But over time this little flame began to fade, because loving always was demanding and it didn’t always correspond to my way of doing things. On the contrary, at times I was met with derision. During that period, I had the opportunity to watch a video recording in which Chiara Lubich speaks of the suffering of Jesus on the cross when he cries: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” I felt as if I had been set free. In those few brief moments Chiara undid every knot inside me. Even though she didn’t even know me, there she was explaining life to me. She made me realize that no suffering should be despised, but loved becuase is it all contained in the suffering of Jesus. The word that can best describe the state of my soul when my sister died is “absurd.” It’s absurd to die at twenty! Yet, once I accepted this absurdity I found the sense in living again, and I understood, just as my sister had that you can win out over death. Antonio (Teramo, Italy)
Muslims Ask, Christians Answer
“Interreligious dialogue involves the sensitive asking of questions in order to achieve mutual understanding and respect … Father Troll shows himself to be a faithful Catholic practitioner of dialogue and an outstanding scholar of Islam.” Rev. James Massa, Former Executive Director, USCCB Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs “Based on his decades-long experience living and teaching among Muslims, Fr. Troll answers questions asked by Muslims about the beliefs and practices of their Christian neighbors. He places each set of questions within the context of contemporary Muslim perceptions, along with their sources in Islamic scripture and traditions. Fr. Troll answers them following orthodox Roman Catholic and traditional Protestant teachings. Muslims Ask, Christians Answer is a must-read for both experts and casual readers alike.” Sandra Toenies Keating, Associate Professor of Theology at Providence College Orders: http://www.newcitypress.com/muslims-ask-christians-answer.html
From Big Bang to Big Mystery
“Brendan Purcell has given us a study of human origins that is comprehensive, wise, and of startling philosophical clarity. He combines the latest discoveries in paleoanthropology, genetics, neuroscience, linguistics, and other sciences with the insights of thinkers from Xenophanes and Aristotle to Eric Voegelin and Bernard Lonergan to produce a deeply impressive and convincing synthesis.” Stephen M. Barr, Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Delaware and author of Modern Physics and Ancient Faith “Purcell moves easily from the best scientific data on evolutionary genetics to mystical affirmations of God without skipping a beat. This is an astonishing, learned, and profoundly moving book.” David Walsh, Professor of Politics, The Catholic University of America Orders: http://www.newcitypress.com/big-bang.html
The EoC in the United States
In North America, EoC businesses include, among others, an environmental engineering firm, a violin atelier, a language school, a travel agency, a tutoring service, a law office, an organic farm and various consulting businesses. These EoC firms sustain their vision through contact with local Focolare communities and their “business to business” network with other EoC firms throughout the continent and the world. Quarterly conference calls, an annual national convention and occasional international meetings provide opportunities to sustain their commitment to the project and refine their ideas. Clare Marie DuMontier’s Visitation Law Office in Appleton, Wisconsin, provides guardianship services for the elderly. She had considered leaving the profession because of the conflict that suffused the legal environments in which she had worked. A spirituality of unity has given her the tools “to stay calm and persevere, and to love in the most stressful circumstances.” The businesses commit themselves to infusing all their relationships — with employees, customers, suppliers and their neighbors — with values of love and respect. But how do EoC businesses function in a competitive environment? John Mundell is the founder and CEO of Mundell & Associates, an environmental reclamation consulting firm in Indianapolis.
“It’s a twist on the American way, but in an EoC business, we try to see competitors not as the ones to beat, but as people with whom we can build relationships. Since we started, we have tried to follow the principle of never speaking ill of a competitor. It’s tempting when someone calls seeking negative information about them, but we refrain. We compete only by the quality of our product and our service. Once we were involved in a fairly large bid for a sophisticated project in another state. When the attorney for the city stood up to say how our references checked out, he confessed that he had spoken not only with our client referrals, but also with our competitors. ‘I tried to get the dirt on this company, and I have never heard such glowing remarks from competitors. I have no reservations about hiring these people.’” EoC businesses also consider how to foster reciprocal relationships in their local environments. For example, Mundell decided to relocate their offices so as to encourage economic development in a distressed part of the city. “We decided to hire local people to fix the roof and do the landscaping. We have developed close relationships with the local businesses. Our employees volunteer at the food pantry in the nearby Disciples of Christ church, and some helped to fix up a run-down house in our neighborhood. A television crew came by that day, and they featured us on the evening news. Because of that coverage, three years later we obtained a $50,000 contract.” Some of the more developed EoC businesses have been able to offer internship programs so that undergraduate and graduate students can experience from the inside how these firms operate. Elizabeth Garlow, who had done research on the EoC model in college, interned with Mundell & Associates. “I came away,” she affirms, “convinced that you can build a sense of family in a workplace.” From Focolare: Living a Spirituality of Unity in the United States (New City Press, 2011). (more…)
“..We came to know that the island was called Malta.”
The Republic of Malta is composed of three main islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino. Its strategic position in the Mediterranean between Europe and Africa has made it a perfect stronghold for many: Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Aragonese, the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, French and English…the remains of the first human settlements on the island date back to 5200 B.C. With a surface area of 316 sq kms, Malta is one of the smallest and most populated states in the world. The population has reached 400,000 inhabitants. Tourism is a fundamental element in Maltese economy. Malta was one of the first Roman colonies that embraced Christianity, brought around 60 B.C. by Saint Paul, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles. The Maltese are Catholic by overriding majority, and there are more than 360 churches in Malta, Gozo and Comino. Persons d’autres dénominations chrétiennes sont également présentes, dont les anglicans, les orthodoxes, les luthériens, l’Église d’Écosse, les méthodistes, et d’autres religions comme le Judaïsme et l’Islam.. From 2004 onwards, Malta forms part of the European Union. The first seeds of the spirituality of unity were sown in the sixties. In 1975 there were around 70 persons who adhered to it, the first community was formed, the first vocations to the focolare came about, and there was the desire was to have a Focolare on the island and to hold the Mariapoli in Malta. Then finally, in 1979, the first Mariapoli was held, with 1000 participants. And at the beginning of the 80’s two centres for the Focolari were established. 
This life continued to grow and put down roots: the year 1999 was a fundamental stage of this journey. Chiara Lubich came to Malta to receive from the University of Malta the degree Honoris Causa in “Literature (Psychology)”, motivated by the contribution given by her charism in “the cultivation of an integral vision of the human person in the field of psychology.” Within this perspective, “Psychology and Communion” was born on international plane. It is a network of operators with the task of delving into this original psychological approach. Ten years after the conferment of the degree on Chiara, a specialist seminar was held in Malta on the psychological significance of the relational paradigm that emerges from the spirituality of unity. The Focolare community continues to flourish unto today, and several thousand people have been touched by the spirituality: lively relationships have been built with the local Church, and with other Movements and ecclesial communities. The real effects can be seen in the work that is presently being carried out in the journey towards “Together for Europe 2012”. 
Work is carried out in close contact with people of other Christian denominations through the Malta Ecumenical Council, and with the local church in the diocesan ecumenical commission. Frequent and very friendly are the contacts with the Moslem community, particularly in events in which we have collaborated, working together with the children. One of the most recent developments is in the cultural sphere, particularly in the fields of medicine, pedagogy, sports, and also in the political-juridical field: members of the Focolari, who belong to the two main political parties, seek to give their witness to fraternity. Amongst the various Maltese initiatives in adherence to the Economy of Communion, the school of English “the Voice” was born in 1992. It is much appreciated by the Ministry of Education for its cordial and welcoming climate and the professional level of instruction. This welcome was experienced also by Saint Paul, who was shipwrecked on the island (Acts 27, 26) and who remained there for three months. He left –as recorded by Benedict XVI on his travel there in 2010-“an indelible mark on the history of your country”. On that occasion he recorded how, thanks to the presence of Paul amongst the Maltese, the Gospel of Jesus was rooted firmly and has borne “much fruit not only in the life of individuals, the families and the communities, but also in the formation of the national identity of Malta, and also of its vibrant and particular culture.” Link: www.thevoicelanguageschool.com
Focolare in Italy: New Commitment for the Country
Paola Loriga writes: The cold that has gripped the whole of Italy from the end of last week could be a metaphor for the degree and complexity of the crisis gripping Italy. Aware of this crisis, a while ago an appointment was made by leaders of at every level of the Movement in Italy for a meeting in Castel Gandolfo on 3-5 February. Many people attended (about 400). There were two and a half days of analysis, dialogue and discussion, with a precise objective: what can best be done for Italy today?
The results show in the first place a renewed commitment at a community level to the county’s needs. This commitment has considered and shared priorities. Thus, in politics, Focolare members in Italy have decided to take up the Movement for Unity in Politics’ work for electoral reform. 
With regard to economy and work, the existing network of labour supply and demand across the country will be extended and made more effective. Looking to young people and the need of job creation, the Loppiano business park, near Florence, which stimulates enterprise at a regional level, will be given a national profile so that it can offer its services wherever jobs are being created. With regard to the educational emergency and to legality new projects will be started and those already existing will be strengthened and better coordinated with other initiatives, making these two themes central to Focolare activities in various parts of the country. On the front of immigration, integration and interreligious dialogue it is necessary to draw up an up-date-date national map of the various support activities for people arriving in Italy.
A similar map should be made of the current presence of Focolare members in the various projects set up by the Catholic Church. Renewed and greater commitment was manifested with tremendous passion on two significant fronts: the profound relationship with Islamic communities and the schools for young people of the Political Movement for Unity – since last November ten have been opened. These are extremely practical results of working for the future good of the country. Paolo Loriga Source: Città Nuova
A Focolare Logo: How would you like it?
For several years we have seen the yellow four pointed star against a blue background. It was also the basis of the graphics of www.focolare.org up to 22nd January 2011. All of us have seen the yellow four- pointed star on a blue background. But Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement had seen this symbol more as a flag for the Movement’s Mariapolis towns. In 2000 she clarified: “I’ve understood from within, that the logo of the Focolare Movement is not the star. It is that image of Our Lady whom you often see on the walls of medieval churches, with people of all callings gathered beneath her mantle. This is our logo. And so let’s look into it. Let’s find someone with some artistic talent who can design it for us.” Chiara refers to an image of the Mother of God that is sometimes portrayed in sacred art. She is wearing a mantle with a variety of people from various professions gathered beneath it. It is meant to represent Mary who continues to welcomes everyone into her arms. 
Chiara’s guidelines should also inspire the graphics of the official international website of the Focolare. However, we are aware that the task of searching for a logo that identifies the meaning of the Focolare on an international level may take a bit more time. For this reason, a competition has been launched for the realization of a logo for the Focolare Movement. A panel of seven professionals from different continents will judge the submissions. Everyone is invited to send their ideas or designs to: azzurro.co@focolare.org 
For further information:
A blanket of snow to say farewell to Marisa
On Monday, February 6th, in the locality of Cugy, 350 people took part in the funeral rite to give their last farewell to Marisa Baù on Swiss ground. The Holy Mass was celebrated by 8 priests. In their messages, the local bishop, Bishop Charles Morerod and Bishop Jean-Claude Périsset, the Apostolic Nuncio in Berlin, originally from Estavayer-le-Lac, near Montet, expressed their participation, closeness and support to the family members and focolarini of Montet. In a brief speech, Marithé Vuigner, who is co-responsible of the Focolare Centre of Montet, went over the 40 days, from the disappearance on December 20th to the finding of the dead body, and a brief profile of Marisa Baù. After the ceremony the corpse was transported to Italy, accompanied by some relatives who were present in Montet and a group of focolarini. 
The next day, Tuesday, February 7th, a huge crowd was waiting for Marisa at the Church of the Sasso di Asiago village to pay their final respects in the funeral services celebrated by the parish priest of Gallio, Fr. Lauderio Dal Bianco. On behalf of the family members, a niece expressed a farewell greeting to Marisa, highlighting her love for the family and for life. The reports on the autopsy which should verify the cause of death could arrive in a month’s time. “We find ourselves facing a tragic and painful situation, in which we see the Movement more than ever identified with the dramas of today’s humanity,” wrote Maria Voce in these days to the community of the Movement. She continued: “We are comforted by the witness of the generosity with which Marisa gave herself to God, the way she lived all these years, giving of herself completely to the other focolarine and to the work entrusted to her that she carried ahead with responsibility and commitment. Believing more than ever in God’s love for Marisa, we continue to pray for her and her entire family.” Read the whole article on Città Nuova (in Italian) – http://www.cittanuova.it/contenuto.php?TipoContenuto=web&idContenuto=333590 For info: press area – https://www.focolare.org/area-press-focus/en/news/2012/02/01/marisa-bau-1963-2011/
GB & W: Walter Kostner’s Comic Strips Online
They’ve been seen on television, bookshelves, bookstores and especially on notepads, calendars and greeting cards for young and old. Now they have come to the web. GB & W have opened a site on the web where we can all go to find a place to think serene thoughts thanks to the writings of the author, games and songs, letters and experiences of educators, teenagers and children. But the most important thing you will find there are the comic strips, windows into the innocent and humorous world of GB & W that allow us to walk along a wonderful path which is within the reach of all. 
GB & W were born in the mind of a teacher who was looking for a way to reach out to a young teenager who was going through a difficult moment in his life. How could he reach out to him without being paternalistic? Having a gift for drawing, the idea came to him that he could put down on paper a series of conversations and adventures of a pair of clowns. Through these characters he would be able to transmit hope and help the boy to find a meaning in life. The rest is history. 
Because of their educational value, GB & W became the main characters of several projects in Italian schools and in the schools of other countries. Thanks to Honegger Fresco, one of the most expert authors in the field of education, in 2006 GB & W were also published in her “Quaderni Montessori” (Montessori Journal). She states: “They are very effective. . . There is spirituality and entertainment in them, there is the joy of living. . . They are greatly enriching for people.” Just like the best cinematic films betray their age only because they are in black and white, so too these characters who have come out of the pen of Walter Kostner have grown over the years without ever growing up. They carry their years and their stories well, thanks to the wisdom they offer us, but also the healthy laughter that being in their company brings to those who have met them and know them through their comic strips. With a balanced dose of word and silence this pair of clowns can sometimes make us feel uncomfortable. With their blank sincerity and mild irony, GB & W overturn our quite lives and push us to draw close to our neighbor in concrete ways and to find the positive in all of life’s predicaments.
Benedict XVI: the light of Chiara Badano
It was on Sunday 5 February at the Angelus. Before beginning to pray, the Pope reflected upon that Sunday’s Gospel, which spoke about the Jesus healing the sick. He said, ‘Even in the face of death, faith can make possible what is humanly impossible. But faith in what? In the love of God. Here is the true response, the thing that radically overcomes evil.’ And he also said, ‘As Jesus faced evil with the power of love that comes from the Father, so we too can face and overcome the trial of sickness by keeping our hearts immersed in the love of God.’ 
It was at this point that the Pope recalled the example of Chiara Luce Badano, the young girl from Sassello (Italy), a member of the Focolare Movement beatified on 25 September 2010. The Pope spoke of Chiara Luce among those ‘people who have borne up under terrible suffering because God gave them a deep serenity.’ The Pope has a real affection for Blessed Chiara Badano who was ‘struck down in the flower of her youth by an incurable illness. How many people went to see her and received light and encouragement! All the same, in sickness, we all need human warmth. To comfort someone who is sick, what counts more than words is having someone near who is serene and sincere.’ This is not the first time that Benedict XVI has offered the example of Chiara Luce as an example to the Christian community of trust in the love of God. He did it in Palermo where he urged young people to find out more about her. ‘Hers was a short life,’ he said, in which she managed to give ‘an amazing message…. She lived 19 years full of life and faith. Two years of these, the last two, were full of pain lived in faith and the joy that was born from a heart full of God.’ This was the light in the heart of Benedict XVI at the Angelus on 5 February when he recalled that next Saturday 11 February, the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Church will celebrate the World Day of the Sick
India: a country that is a continent
The Indian subcontinent has more than a billion, 170 million inhabitants. Its population could soon exceed China’s. It is a rapidly developing country with one of the biggest economies in the world. At the same time there is tremendous illiteracy, poverty and malnutrition. Its enormous religious variety includes the 80% Hindu majority and a 2.3% Christian minority. It is understandable that among the Focolare dialogues in process in this land, the most developed should be in the interreligious field, especially with Hindus. The Focolare Movement has been in India since 1980. Today there are centres in Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, New Delhi which promote various activities: Mariapolises, monthly meetings for adults, families, and young people. In various cities – Vasai, Pune, Panaji, Margao, Vasco, Trichy – there are groups actively following the Focolare spirit. Various small social projects are flourishing around the Focolare communities. These are engaged in educating children, improving conditions for women, supporting families in difficulty, with support also being given from people in other places. The best know are ‘Ilanthalir’ (Tamil for tender shoots) in the South of India and in Mumbai ‘Udisha’ – the sun ray that announces the new dawn. Set up to ‘offer a practical response to the poverty around us’ they now look after about 2400 children and their families. There is a particular emphasis upon spreading the values of universal fraternity in the world of adolescents, reaching out to young people of all religions with various events, included ones of an international nature. 
The 2009 Supercongress – a meeting run by Youth for Unity – was held in Coimbatore, drawing together teenagers from across the planet. Many small but significant concrete ventures were also spoken of in the recent New Humanity meeting in Mumbai (September 2011). Among the participants was a doctor from Goa who had set up the mobile Prabhu Prasad Clinic offering various medical services for people of all ages. Chiara Lubich visited India two times, especially for dialogue with her Hindu brothers and sisters. This was after she had got to know Dr Aram, the founder of Shanti Ashram, at the World Conference of Religions for Peace. In 2001 in Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) she received the ‘Defender of Peace’ prize from the Shanti Ashram together with the Sarvodaya Movement. She came back in 2003 to the Mumbai’s Somaiya Vidyavihar College. She had been asked to speak about her particular vision of unity and universal fraternity, which she did. After that there have been numerous discussion meetings, conferences, exchange visits and symposia – the last being in December 2011. These were all occasions of dialogue, steps ahead in building relationships of real fraternity with the Hindu world, as witnessed, for instance, by Dr Vijaya Bhatia, a yoga teacher, who spoke at the Fourth Hindu-Chrisian Symposium on the theme: ‘Reading, interpreting and living the Scriptures to being about peace and universal brotherhood’. 
It is an ideal for life made concrete in the day to day, as in the case of one young woman from Mumbai who chose to give someone in greater need than her the money she had struggled to raise to pay a very high medical bill. It was a huge surprise when that very evening she received a phone call from the hospital. They had discovered an error in her favour and they owed her 300 rupees! It is the experience of living the Gospel that has an effect not only in the private and personal sphere, but also in the social. Statistics can be frightening, but striving the be ‘the change you would like to see in the world’, as Gandhi taught, the seeds of fraternity can continue to grow.
India, how I live the Golden Rule
I am Dr. Vijaya Bhatia, a Hindu associated with the Focolare Movement since 1988. Being in contact with Chiara Lubich I could understand my religion better. That has really made me more generous in sharing my thoughts, my material things, my life and whatever I have but to my surprise whenever I give something it comes back to me in a hundredfold. I have experienced this many times. Once I thought of helping somebody by giving her two of my new dresses and to my surprise the next day I got three dresses from my relatives. 
In 2005 my house was submerged in water because of the heavy rains. After I came back, I did not know what to do because I did not have enough money to buy a new house. A few stations away even my cousin’s house was submerged only for a few hours and the damage was not so much. I thought to myself I cannot do anything for my house but at least I can help her. So I rang up a few of my relatives telling them that I would contribute to help my cousin: we collected Rs.50,000. She could not believe her eyes… To my surprise after a few days I got double the amount of money from some unknown source for my house! One night during the winter season I was cozy in my bed ready to go to sleep when I realized that there were many daily wage workers who do up the road sleeping out in the cold. I could no longer get sleep. I thought of the golden rule: ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’. The next day I went to buy blankets for these people. I chose to buy the soft good ones instead of the hard cheap ones. Then I saw that there were many babies and small children among these people. I went to the nearby shop from where they bought things and I asked the shop keeper whether they bought any milk. The owner told me that they did but only for the very little ones and not for the older children and even the adults had tea without milk. I gave the shop owner money so that he could give all these people the milk that they needed and it has been over 3 years that I continue to do this. One day a patient came to me. She was a Hindu lady suffering from depression, with high blood pressure, sleeplessness, swelling of the body, obesity, etc. Going through her detailed story I understood that all her problems started the day her daughter married a Muslim boy. Since then she started rejecting her daughter. I could understand the suffering of this lady. When I was a child we suffered the partition of India and Pakistan. I was born in Lahore and with the partition we lost everything. We had to leave our home and come to India…however we cannot go on with the hate in our heart that we experienced in the past. 
Therefore I explained to this lady that since she had sown the seed of hatred in her soul, the result was a tree of hatred which was the root cause of all her problems. She had to forgive and sow the seed of love in her heart if she truly wanted to be cured. I thought she had understood and gave her some medicine. When she came back she was still with all her problems and I understood that she had done nothing about it. I understood that I had to do her part. So I took the phone, made her speak to her daughter and invite her and her husband to her place for dinner the same evening. After two months, as the relationship with her daughter and with her son-in-law got better her health improved too. One day I had the great joy to see them altogether in my clinic: it was like seeing a living piece in the mosaic of ‘universal brotherhood’. Witness told during the 4th Symposium Hindu-Christian, Mumbai – 10/14 December 2011
Udisha, a new dawn
Mumbai is the economic heart of India and one of the largest and most densely populated cities in the country. But many of its 20 million inhabitants live on the streets or in slums found all over in the city. In one of these, about forty minutes by train from the centre of the city in the north west, live about 400 thousand people in conditions of extreme poverty. It is here that in 1997 several families in the slum decided to set up a social project in collaboration with ‘Support at a Distance’, a project run by New Families. In 2001, during her first visit to India, Chiara Lubich encouraged them to develop what they had begun as ‘a practical response to the poverty around us.’ From then on the project has grown. Today it cares for 115 young people from 4 to 22 years old. Its activities aim at supporting students in their schooling, nutrition and health, in order to raise the standard of life for them and their families. In 2004 the project took the name ‘Udisha’ which means ‘the sun ray that announces the new dawn’. Today Udisha participates in the Schoolmates project, which seeks to build up a network among school classes and groups of young people in various countries and to support projects that promote solidarity. 
Main activities: 
ñ Schooling and education. In India the schools have 70-80 students per class. This makes it difficult to give individual tuition and, to pass their exams, the young people have to attend expensive private support lessons. The poorest among them, since they cannot afford this, are forced to give up their studies. Udisha, therefore, offers free support lessons in several subjects. In addition it tries to raise funds to pay for further schooling, educational equipment and school uniforms. Occasionally extra-curricular cultural and recreational activities are organized. ñ Intercultural awareness. There are various religions present at Udisha: Christian, Hindu and Muslim. One of the project’s objectives is to contribute to creating constructive integration, culturally, religiously, linguistically and also between the generations. It encourages exchanges of experience and activities, working together especially with the Shanti Ashram of Coimbatore. ñ Medical treatment. Many of the young people suffer from malnutrition. They are at risk from the seasonal epidemics that come with the rains or floods. For this reason during the year there are group medical visits involving both doctors in the area and other organizations. Help is also given to improve domestic diet with proteins and vitamins through the distribution of food stuffs and dietary supplements. For some time a counselling service for young people and parents has also been on offer. ñ Training in parenting. Meetings to raise understanding and to share good practice among families are organized periodically for parents. These are occasions for a rich exchange of experiences, advice and points of view. ñ Microcredit. A year ago Udisha began an small venture into microcredit which involves seventy of the young people’s mothers. Split into three groups that meet monthly, these mothers have been trained in microcredit in the kind of atmosphere of mutual trust absolutely necessary for such a venture to work. This year they will start to offer loans.
Genfest: A Work in Progress
“The Genfest’s main message will be: Unity. This is why we chose the title, “Let’s bridge,” recounts 23 year old, Philippino, Ark Tabin. The construction of a bridge is to be used as a metaphor for the construction of authentic relationships which is the main theme of the program that will take place in the Sport Arena of Budapest (with a seating capacity of 12,500) and on the bridges that cross the Danube River, from 31 August to 2 September 2012. Orgainizing the event is already an experience of unity which is based on the constant effort to welcome and listen to the other. This leads to true dialogue and deep relationships. A new phase of this experience will unfold this 11 and 12 February with seventy youths who will gather in Sassone, Italy to prepare the 10th edition of the program. 
“Although we’ve been awaiting them for a long time, we also feel that this shouldn’t be just another event, even if it’s a great event, but that it should mark another step on a journey, a point of arrival and a point of departure in the building of a United World. There is a need for this testimony of unity nowadays. We can’t turn back,” recalls 23 year old Brazilian, Thyrseane Tupinamba who is on the central organizing comittee of the Genfest, together with other youths and adults from a variety of countries – the United States, Hungnray, Argentina, italy, Brazil. . . Youths seventeen years old and older, from more than forty countries have already signed up to attend the event in Hungary. A preview of the program is available on the web page: www.genfest.org You can find the Genfest page on Facebook in English, Portugese, Polish, Spanish and Italian. Follow us there!
Young people with the Gospel in their pockets at the farthest ends of the earth
“Being Jesus 24 hours a day” was the title of the Australian youth congress which was held at the Mariapolis Centre of Melbourne, Australia. 115 teenagers were present, aged between 9 and 17 years. They came from various cities of the country, from New Zealand and New Caledonia. The meeting lasted 5 days, and was made possible through the communion of goods made throughout the past year by the young people together with families and friends. Even the shops and markets participated by donating fruit, vegetables, bread, meat and drinks. 
The programme provided for moments of study of the Gospel and how to put it into practice, space for dialogue and sharing of experiences from life. “The moments of communion were profound-says Madeline – and they helped us to understand that we are not alone in trying to be another Jesus in every moment of our life.” It was a solemn moment when a copy of the Gospel was given to each one. “I felt that Jesus was really present-said one of the youths-as though He in person gave us His Word.” The readings of the day, with the call of the apostles, put in the hearts of each one a purpose: to live the Gospel in their own environment, as today’s apostles, sent by God to evangelise these lands. 
The second event was framed within New Zealand, a marvellous archipelago, with high mountains and crystal clear sea. 60 youths of various ages took part in the “Teens4unity Camp” of Lower Hutt. The theme was: putting the Gospel into practice in our cities. Many of the youths, together with their families were refugees from other countries. Their experiences were strong, often painful, but lived in a “one to one” profound relationship with God. Together they examined the initiative “Colour the city with love” that the Youth for Unity are taking forward on a worldwide level, in order to help those persons in their cities who are alone or deprived. Many ideas emerged on how to take forward this initiative, as for instance those activities involving the youths of the aborigines population. 
The last stage was Perth. Characteristic of the meeting is that it was an itinerant day: the youths accompanied Nadia and Agostino across this magnificent city where natural beauty and very modern buildings trace a very harmonious landscape. Thus, between the banks of the river Swan and those of the Indian Ocean, the youths spoke of the history of the city, of the discord between the colonisers and the aborigines, of its characteristics and today’s problems. Then the dialogue opened up on the commitment of Christian life, and also on the responsibility and beauty of the response of each one to the call of God. While saluting each other, they expressed the desire to continue to meet to delve into the life of the Gospel, involving also their friends. They also bore in mind the world relay race “Run4Unity” of the 12th May when the youths of this region, at the extreme east of the world, will be amongst the first to begin the race.
Focolarina from Uruguay, consultant to PCCS
How did you react to the news?
With surprise and joy. The word that immediately came to mind was ‘service’, in the way Jesus teaches us. Now all I have to do is serve the Church, and through it, society.
What are your first impressions?
In the first place: that I have a chance to give my contribution as an aspect of communication in dialogue. Secondly, looking at the group of consultants, which is made up of priests, a nun, a lay woman and several lay men: that here you see the Church in its various vocations, its charisms and its intercultural dimension.
What is your background and experience in the field of social communication?
My degree was in Social Communication, Social Science and Catholic Social Teaching. My first studies were in the field of education, at Montevideo, my home town. Later on I studied Formation in Popular Communication and Analysis of Social Communication at Buenos Aires. After that I got a degree in Sociology at the Gregorian University, Rome, and a Master’s in Catholic Social Teaching at the Lateran University. Last of all, again at the Gregorian, I obtained a doctorate in Social Sciences, specializing in communication. My work has been in the field of communication, not just as theory but as social practice within the constructive interplay of theory and praxis.
What is your current experience of the Latin American Episcopal Conference?
I have been part of it for 6 years as a communications consultant, and in that role I was present at the Fifth General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate held in Aparecida (Brazil). Experiences like that have touched me deeply, seeing at first hand the social relations that make up Latin American people. The Latin American Episcopal Conference, CELAM, since it began in 1955 has had a real and lasting commitment to dialogue and communion with the universal Church, which comes from its very being as Latin American. In relation to Vatican II, the General Conferences of the Episcopate at Medellín, Puebla, Santo Domingo and Aparecida give witness to this powerful desire. I believe that being a consultant to PCCS while being a member of CELAM, I will be able to be a bridge, even though there is already a high degree of communion between these two parts of the Church.
What influence does the spirituality of Chiara Lubich have on what you do?
The Spirituality of Unity is where my core vocation is rooted: to share Jesus’ dream, ‘May they all be one.’ I got know Focolare spirituality in the 70s when, like all Latin American young people, I was looking for something to change the world. In Chiara’s spirituality I found a Jesus who was alive, and with other young people I learnt how to put the Gospel into action, forming a community open to everyone, and building a little town – the Mariapolis Lia – which proclaimed to society that Jesus’ New Commandment can be put into practice and that the presence of Jesus among people united in his name is a visible reality capable of transforming society. As time went by I carried on living that same experience in the various Focolare communities where I have been. I have done this until now, when I am here in Bogotá with the wonderful Columbian people.
I begin my new service with joy because of the love for the Church that Chiara Lubich, with her own life, communicated to us.
Marisa has left us
In these moments of pain and dismay, we would like to assure our heartfelt closeness to the relatives and all those who, in these years, experienced Marisa’s friendship and the warm welcoming attitude she always had for everyone. Marisa Baù, born on May 12th, 1963 in Asiago (Vicenza/Italy), second-last child of eight siblings, lost her mother at 15 years of age and she did her utmost to look after her siblings who were still at home. She was hard-working and creative and after two years of working in a factory, together with two ex-colleagues, she started up a small garment industry. She met the spirituality of the Focolare Movement in 1980, adhering to it with readiness and generosity. She felt her vocation to consecrate herself to God as a focolarina and left her family in 1991, going first to the focolare of Padua, where she concluded her studies in accounting, and in 1992 to the international little town of Loppiano (Florence/Italy), always maintaining a close bond with all her relatives. After the period of formation Marisa went to the Focolare Centre of Montet (Broye), Switzerland, where she worked in the atelier of children’s clothes. She was in charge of the production section since 1994. In 1998, because of her human and spiritual gifts, she assumed the task of educator of the Focolare Centre. Marisa had a creative and strong personality and was esteemed by everyone for the quality of her relationships, her sense of responsibility and her altruism. During these years, Marisa met and was fond of many people. This is proven by the shower of messages which have arrived from all over the world on the social networks: “She has also left us, she who gave so much to others and will continue to give from Up there!”; “So much sadness… we can only pray for her, her family and all those in Montet… I knew Marisa and what I will always remember is her smile!”; “Marisa is very special to me. She is a part of my story!”. The mother of a focolarina writes: “I anxiously followed the whole story, identifying myself with Marisa’s family… I will always pray for her and for all the focolarine of the world.” And a person who worked with her: “I am with you in this suffering, I pray especially for her family, feel me close to all of you. I worked for three years with her in Montet and I thank God for every minute we spent together”. We want to remember her as «A marvellous person – these are the words of Marithé Vuigner who is co-responsible of the Focolare Centre of Montet –, always ready to welcome the other(s). A person you could always count on, pleasant and delicate. She had very strong ties with her wonderful and numerous family.» For more information: (link to the press section)