Page 108 – Movimento dei Focolari

Holy Russia

May 16, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti are given the official welcome

Fragrant bread and salt are Russia’s gifts to those who arrive in its immense territory that reaches out from Europe to Asia, from the glacial Arctic Ocean to the Pacific. Alla and Valodia, dressed in traditional red and blue costumes, represented the local Focolare community in officially welcoming their president Maria Voce and co-president Giancarlo Faletti with this Russian dish. Members of the movement arrived in Moscow from all over Russia: from Saint Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk and many cities in between. Some even undertook a 42-hour train journey from Celjabinsk, crossing 3,500 km of Steppes and forest land to meet their guests. The Catholic Cathedral dedicated to the Immaculate Conception- that was used as a factory for vodka packaging during communism- hosted this historical event. Scars left by Soviet history still sting: Anatolij, one of the first Russian Orthodox to know the Spirituality of Unity has vivid memories of the socialist period and its attempts to cancel God; his younger sister in faith, Alla, recalls the blood spilt because of Orthodox Christians’ fidelity to their religious beliefs.

Regina Betz (right) was a pioneer of the Focolare Movement in Russia

And yet, within this seemingly impenetrable and dark curtain, touristic visits by some focolarini, the arrival of a Hungarian family and encounters in the West with some priests, helped Chiara Lubich’s spirituality silently spread in communism’s Motherland. Not all 200 participants at the event knew the story of these pioneers – it was the first time that the members of the movement spread across this large territory all met together. There were fascinating details to be learnt about the secret rendezvous’ as well as solemn memories about the persecutions told by Oleg a follower of Father Alexander Men`. Men`- who was assassinated by the regime in 1990- had founded a small ecumenical Bible study community. Many of its members came in contact with the Focolare experience. At the meeting with Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti others shared about their discovery of a Gospel based spirituality that goes beyond difference and diffidence between churches. Father Vladimir, a Russian Orthodox priest from Saint Petersburg, recalls how “his prejudices about Catholicism were cancelled by the beauty he found in the spiritual life of the Focolare that knows no denominational boundaries and that incarnates Christianity and reciprocal love in daily life”. “In modern-day Russia where, on the one hand, freedom rules and churches begin to repopulate whilst, on the other hand, materialism and economic power-seeking conquer ground day by day, what special characteristic can Russia offer? What contribution can it give to the West?” This was one of the questions that members of the local Focolare Community asked during a moment of dialogue with Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti. “Russia tried to achieve unity without God, it tried to have a population of equals, but it didn’t achieve this goal”, Maria Voce answered, “This nation can say to the world that without God it’s impossible to reach this goal. The tragic martyrdom of those who resisted this oppression demonstrates this. The resistance was at times blatant and at times silent but it was always martyrdom”.

The president of the Focolare Movement then confided, “When I arrived in Russia I found myself immerged in a deeper union with God and I remembered the expression ‘Holy Russia’- that I perhaps heard when studying Russian literature. I felt carried along by this life of holiness that is in the air here in Russia as well as in its history of Christianity. And I understood that Russia’s gift to me and to the whole of humanity can be this holiness- thanks also to its martyrs of all denominations”. Giancarlo Faletti, using the image of the golden domes in many of the Russian Orthodox churches, underlined, “God is the gold of our cities, He is the gold of the Russian Orthodox and Catholic Churches and He guarantees the journey of communion that this country witnesses in many important ways”. Many participants were openly moved, experiencing the possibility to give new meaning to those dark years and at the same time they felt the challenge to give witness to the ever old and ever new Gospel “revolution”. Eduardo Guedes – a Portuguese focolarino who passed away last January- was remembered by many as a companion in this journey; someone who, without sermon, gave humble witness to a God who does not forsake, who does not forget, but who always knows how to welcome both the disadvantaged and the powerful and to expand the desire for a more modern sainthood, open to everyone in this “Holy Russia”. by our correspondent Maddalena Maltese [nggallery id=39]

S. Petersburg

May 15, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

“Dobro Pozhalovat” – Welcome to Moscow

May 15, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

13 May is a day of celebration for the Catholic world, the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima. And 13 May is also a symbolic date for the Movement, recalling the night of the “stars and tears” when, because of the bombing of Trent, Chiara Lubich had to evacuate her home and take refuge in Goccia d’oro forest. As she wept for hours, she observed the movement of the constellations and she realized that only love could overcome such a horrible tragedy. On this 13 May 2011 Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti landed in Moscow for a visit to the Focolare communities in Russia. This is a trip that Chiara Lubich was looking forward to since the 1960’s, as she mentions in a speech from those years. In fact, she was never able to accomplish her desire, although many of her first companions did spread the spirituality of unity in this land up until the 1970’s. Landing at the Sheremet’evo airport, there was a tiny ray of sunshine trying to challenge the uncertain sky, which became rainy at times. The airport, modern and bright, easily be mistaken for a western city: the brands that fill shops and restaurants are the same. After passing through the regular checkpoints, which were bit tighter following the latest attacks, they were able to exclaim that they were in Moscow. A small group of focolarini with flowers and smiles stepped forward to welcome the visitors with a three-fold embrace. On the highway going to Moscow there were large construction projects, a sign of a growing city in both commerce and residents More and more Russians are moving there, and the population already stands at 15 million. “On this special day, we entrust to Mary our visit to Moscow, all the people we meet, and all those who are praying for this event.” This was the prayer chorally expressed by Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti before an icon of Our Lady, during a Mass dedicated to the Mother of God. There was much expectation for the meeting of 14 May with Focolare members from all over Russia. It is the first time since the beginning of the movement in these lands that Catholics and Orthodox Christians from Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, and St. Petersburg will gather to witness their living, cheerful, and active presence that has been able to win over mistrust, diversity and the long distances that challenge the eight time zones of the country. But some wanted to anticipate the first “face-to-face” meeting with the president. The little children, painted like colorful Matryoshka dolls, made the welcome festive and traditional, a reflection of the many souls of the people who live in the city, a mixture of modernity and history of national pride and unavoidable globality. From our correspondent Maddalena Maltese

Croatia: a New Humanity school

May 13, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

“Lighthouse” is the prophetic name of the Croatian Little Town, a formation center for people of different countries, churches, religions, and for men of goodwill. This is how Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement, envisioned it, when in the ’80s, a few-hectare piece of land with some buildings no longer in use was put at disposal of the Movement in Križevci, about 60 km far from Zagreb. Nowadays Lighthouse is known as a privileged meeting place for persons coming from all over the Balkans, in particular after the reconciliation effort among all the ethnic groups during the ’90s war. In this Little Town, in April a formation school organized by the New Humanity Movement took place, addressed to participants coming from 12 different counties of Eastern Europe. Some of these countries were at war with one another in a recent past, others were characterized by enormous economical problems and a difficult transition to democracy. These are delicate situations, not always easy to reconcile, and this is why from April 15 to April 17 the focus was on the knowledge of all the values that characterize the commitment of New Humanity, the social branch of the Focolare Movement. The aim was to provide a concrete expertise, in order to apply these values in the different challenges, which professionals have to face in all the social fields: from medical doctors, to youth workers, politicians, economists, judges. Everybody has his own specific job, but all together they are fraternity witnesses. Indeed this is mainly what came out of the intense dialogue among participants and members of the central New Humanity Secretariat, arrived from Rome and other regions of Italy. Delia from Split writes: “I think that for each of us this school was a new opportunity to feel like being a protagonist in living for fraternity in his or her environment, and to roll up one’s sleeves in order to improve the place where he or she lives. Indeed nothing of what we do for love is too small”. Sanja Jurić echoes her; she tells us: “Coming home, I told everybody what I had experienced: in my family, with my colleagues at work, and I started to live more intensely, trying to do as best as I can my share where I am“. These are just few validations to the message which Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement, had sent the first day of the meeting: “I wish you can draw on the strong and enlightnening presence of Jesus in your midst. His way of thinking and acting for the common good, knowing that – as Chiara has often reminded us : “The world belongs to all those who love it most, and can best prove it“.

Twenty years of the Economy of Communion

May 12, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

Special Section on Brasil

The events of 20 years of EoC in Brazil are just around the corner. The final preparations are in full swing. People have been passionately working for several months in preparation for these 5 days which are important to all those who have EoC in their DNA. The preparations are being made on two fronts: one fof the EoC Assembly at the Mariapoli Ginetta of Vargem Grande Paulista and the Open day in Sao Paulo, where some 1600 people are expected at the Memorial of Latin America. The organizers inform us that for the Assembly, we have reached the threshold of 630 participants: a truly ambitious goal, especially for the diverse countries of origin of the people. Some 37 countries, coming from 4 continents, are expected to be represented. If the majority are obviously the Brazilians, with over 240 participants, Italy comes in second with 85 participants followed by Argentina with 62 participants. There is also a significant representation from Korea with almost 30 people! Following by order of numerical representation, are Spain, Chile, USA, France, Uruguay, Switzerland, Bolivia, Germany, Venezuela, Slovenia, Paraguay, Mexico, Portugal, Belgium, Ireland, Canada, Serbia, Panama, Philippines, Cameroon, Poland, Croatia, Costa Rica, Peru, Kenya, Slovakia, Hungary, Ecuador, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Congo and Romania. With our suitcases almost ready, we are now preparing a staff that will work actively to maintain the site as updated as possible — providing daily news, photos, documents and echoes of what’s happening in real time. The young people present will create a blog and will do their part through the social networks … Those who cannot be present in Brazil can still participate in events in real time through live streaming that is being prepared. The link to access will be published on the website once available. Live broadcasts will be made during the days of the Assembly at the Mariapoli Ginetta (25-28 May) on the final day in Sao Paulo on Sunday May 29. There will be an opportunity to organize listening points, especially for the final day, creating opportunities to get together in celebration of this important anniversary. We have already been informed of a listening point at the Business Park Lionello in Loppiano, the Business Park Giosi of Abrigada (Portugal), in Vienna, in Lugano, and perhaps in Madrid. The list may become longer in the following days. The live streaming during the days of the Assembly will be in the morning to allow everyone to take part in the themes of the Assembly. The language of the live transmission will be in Italian. On May 29 the live streaming will be on-going throughout the day. Further details will be published as soon as they are available. In the meantime, see you all in Brazil! by Antonella Ferrucci – www.edc-online.org

God loves me – God is calling me

May 11, 2011 | Non categorizzato

“God loves me – God is calling me”, was the slogan printed on cards that identified the young people present at Loppiano (Italy), between 14 and 19 March 2011. This slogan expressed the goal of the days: to delve deeply into the vocation of a focolarino, someone who is called by God to become an “apostle of unity” – a beautiful expression used by John Paul II – and to follow Jesus by pursuing his prayer to the Father: “May they all be one” (Jn: 17: 21).

The thirty-three young people came from different parts of the world. There were students, labourers and entrepreneurs among them. But they were all united in the single desire to put aside everything for God, to renounce starting a family, in order to dedicate themselves to the building of the unity of the human family that Jesus prayed for. Many impressions were shared during those days, like Andrew and Jonas from Brazil. Andrew who just finished his master’s degree in history, said: “I left behind some nice things, some very nice things, only to find more beautiful things here.” Jonas, who is an airline pilot, remarked: “I’m left with the certainty of God’s call, because of the strong spiritual experience I had here.” Indeed, it is often the presence of the Risen Christ in the midst of the community who amplifies the voice of God and allows it to be heard in one’s heart. Stephen, an engineer from Rome, talks about the intensity of those days: “I will take home with me the relationships that I built with each one of you. I understood that Jesus Forsaken is the essence of our vocation.” He was referring to a central point of Focolare spirituality: Jesus dying on the cross for everyone and experiencing the abandonment of the Father, taking upon himself all the abandonment and suffering of humankind. The focolarini choose Jesus forsaken as a model of self-giving and the basis of their choice in life. Renzo, who is also Italian from Bari, added, with his face beaming, “I take with me the extraordinary beauty of life in a focolare”. Jay is a journalist from the Philippines. He says he learned in Loppiano “to recognize in pains and difficulties the face of Jesus forsaken.” Not only: the real discovery for him was that he had tried “to love Jesus forsaken with joy, not merely to get through the difficulties.” Anthony a young Kenyan student summarizes the challenge: “To aim high. This is the vocation of the focolarino, it’s mine, it’s ours.” At the end of those days that they will never forget, they wrote the following to Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement: “It was Jesus guiding us deeper into our vocation, in order to take us to a new level of intimacy with Him. We asked him to help us to be always faithful to Him.” And they affirmed their decision to live this “divine adventure, trying to imitate the transparency of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who never thought about herself but only of God, the most perfect model for a Christian of today and always.” Here are some images of some of the highlights of these days, which speak louder than words. [nggallery id=38]