Enzersdorf a.d.Fischa
Wr. Neudorf
Mödling
Obersdorf
Leobendorf
Ottmaring – Ecumenical Focolare Little Town
Ottmaring, where dialogue is vital
Today there are 140 inhabitants. 40 years of experience in dialogue, between Lutherans and Catholics of different nationalities, in the Citadel of the Focolare Movement, and the initiatives for the Week of Unity.
When she referred to ecumenical dialogue, Chiara Lubich used to talk of dialogue of life, of the people. Anyway, about something that is not born only from theological reflection, but from rubbing against each other, from visiting each other every day, and that during the trials of life puts into practice the teachings of the Gospel, common to all Christians, regarding the love of our neighbour; a love that knows no ecclesial confines of any type. Referring to the general consent that is born in such a context, Chiara Lubich had said: “We know how in history other ecumenical undertakings have failed, because this consent was missing, it is essential to unity.” When the Focolare Movement began to expand in Germany, the contacts with members other churches were immediate. And later, when it appeared possible to even build a citadel on the model of Loppiano, in Italy, but inhabited by Lutherans and Catholics, the idea seemed the answer to a dream that of living together a life based on Christian love. In 1968 this idea took concrete form at Ottmaring, in the vicinity of Ausburg. The citadel comprises 30 constructions and a centre for spirituality at the service of the many visitors that come to ascertain on the spot this original ecumenical living together. Characteristic of the life in the ecumenical centre is the unity in Christ and the ecclesial diversity of the members living in a spirit of reconciliation. Around 140 inhabitants live at Ottmaring; they belong to the Focolare Movement and the Fraternity of Communitarian Life (Bruderschaft von gemeinsamen Leben) that has its origins in the evangelical world. In both groups there are youths, adults, families and communities. All come from profoundly diverse experiences of faith and ecclesial traditions. There are also numerous nationalities represented, a diversity that is enriching. Msgr Stanislaw Dziwisz: Chiara and John Paul II
14th March 2009 was Chiara Lubich’s first anniversary. With a live event entitled “With Chiara – a dialogue that continues” people around the globe retraced the steps of her life. One of the most significant experiences shared at the event was that of Mons. Dziwisz, who closely accompanied John Paul II. He was ordained priest by Wojtyla in 1963 and was by his side as secretary for 40 years. He is now Cardinal of Krakow, a role once held by his friend Karol. The following is a transcript of what he said in the video-taped interview.
Video: Interview with Msgr Stanislao Dziwis (Italian soundtrack)
Onward to Russia
Liliana Cosi
In the 1960’s Liliana Cosi was a young ballerina at the beginning of her career. This interview retraces the steps of that period in Moscow.
“An Italian swan conquered the USSR”, was how an Italian newspaper headlined after your debut in Moscow back in 1965. What was the story behind this headline?
I was in Moscow for my second year of apprenticeship at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy as part the historical cultural exchange between Milan’s La Scala and Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre. My Ballet Mistress, Irina Tichomirnova, decided to teach me the role of prima ballerina for Swan Lake. It was a very new and very challenging experience for me. Ms. Tichomirnova was very demanding- she literally sculpted each of my movements, each of my gestures – but I was up for it!
As we draw closer to the debut (I think she was more nervous than I) she said to me, “Now forget everything I’ve told you and dance with your Italian soul!” Then in the changing room, a few minutes before going on stage, she took my head in her hands and made three signs of the cross on my forehead… she didn’t know that I was Christian; I didn’t have any outward signs.
Liliana Cosi and Rudolph Nureyev
I had just met Chiara’s Ideal and it had taught me that love of God was something to be lived out, not put on display. The next day the Soviet newspaper Isvietzia reviewed the performance and described my dancing as full of ‘spirituality’, an expression that had never before been used in that newspaper! That debut was the beginning of my career.
Did you go to Moscow alone?
Liliana with Valeria Ronchetti
No. Other than the small group of Italian ballerinas who lived in the Bolscioi School Residence and of whom I was group leader, there was also Vale: Valeria Ronchetti one of Chiara’s first companions who had come to Moscow to accompany me. It’s difficult to describe how important those months were for me: a phase of radical change of mentality that influenced (and continues to influence) my whole professional, spiritual and human life. Something that perhaps sums up that period is one of the things Vale said to me: “You don’t have to dance for Jesus; it has to be Jesus in you who dances”.
Did you go back to Russia afterwards?
I was invited back often by the Soviet government: right up until 1989 I went on tour not only around Russia but also in the various capitals of the Soviet Union. I did over 130 shows there and, as a jury member, I took part in three international ballet competitions in Moscow.
What did you take away from the experience in Russia?
From a strictly professional point of view it gave me a lot. At the time there were many dance masters and artists at a very high level. Right up until today they are models for me when I teach and coach at our dance school and ballet company. As a life experience it taught me that you can live the Gospel anywhere and that this Gospel based lifestyle fascinates even those who don’t know anything about it.
United World Week 2011: weighing up visible change
And yet it was much more than a simple series of events around the globe: the thousands of young people from the most varied of cultures and traditions who took part in the week’s activities and projects were a visible demonstration of that united world that YPUW World (Young People for a United) live for. Even though taking an overview of each of the week’s events would be like going on a fascinating trip around the world, it would be too long to fit into one article! For now we’ll just take a quick glace at some of the activities. We’ll start from the Middle-East, a zone that’s experiencing a historical moment of change initiated by young people. The video that the YPUW from Egypt prepared (using the same title as the Meeting in Rome that kick started United World Week) was full of meaning: “Make visible change”. (link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYr664g4b6g&feature=player_embedded#at=63) 
The YPUW from Lebanon held an ‘interreligious movie night’, a sports day, an ecological project and a social development day. The social arena was also a focus point in Latin America. In Cuba, for example, the YPUW visited children who live in a shantytown in Havana that sprouted up under one of the city’s bridges. 
In Guatemala, a series of events coloured each day of World Unity Week in a different shade: Giving, Being the first to love, Dying for your People, Forgiveness, Ecology, Weaving Relationships were the various titles of the 6 days of events. Our last stop in Latin America brings us to Rosario, Argentina where two groups of 25 young people did a variety of mimes- on the footpaths at traffic lights- about building a united world! In various countries events were held for Japan in the light of the country’s natural disaster last month. In Los Angels a “Hike a thon” was held to raise funds for the population of Fukushima. In Florence there was a dance marathon and the main square of Frascati (Rome) was livened up by an open workshop on Japanese culture. 
In Goa, India, a day was dedicated to Chiara Luce Badano. The local YPUW presented the life of this young member of the Focolare- who was beatified on 25th September last- through songs, choreographies, traditional Indian dance, experiences and videos. In Chiara Luce’s home town of Sassello, with 1200 young people present and others following via internet, United World Week had its official closure. A musical called ‘Living the dream’ was preformed by a group of young people from Genoa: fruit of an exciting workshop with Gen Rosso. The musical was inspired by the life of two boys from Genoa who are also on the road to beatification: Alberto Michelotti and Carlo Grisolia. Then there was a special tour of the Badano house with Chiara Luce’s parents Ruggero and Maria Teresa. The replay of the event is available on: http://media.focolare.org/ClSMU2011.wmv. To top the day off there was an exciting announcement: Genfest 2012 will take place on 1st and 2nd of September in Budapest. Watch this space for further news on this! Detailed articles on World Unity Week can be found in Italian and Spanish on the blog: www.mondounito.net.
United World Youth Meeting 2011
Cardinal Wojtyla and the Focolare Movement in Poland
(from left) Anna Fratta and Barbara Schejbal with Pope John Paul II
Before his election to Pontificate, Karol Wojtyla only knew Chiara through her writings. As soon as he became Pope he wanted to meet her. I was visiting Rome in that period and I received a phone call from the Pope’s secretary Stanislaw Dziwisc who I knew very well. He told me that the Holy Father wanted to invite Chiara and I to his mass the next day at 7. Chiara, Eli Folonari and I left very early in the morning. As you can imagine we were very excited. When we arrived we saw that the platforms for the Conclave were still in place and so we had to take a longer path to get to the Pope’s apartment. That mass in the Pope’s private chapel is still vivid in my soul. There was such a special atmosphere of recollection, a presence of God. Along with the Pope, don Stanislaw and the three of us there were only 2 or 3 Polish sisters. 
After Mass the Holy Father greeted Chiara. I still remember with what high regard and great love he addressed her. He asked if he could have a map showing the different places where the Movement was present: “So that I can know where to lean on!” he said. It was the beginning of a special friendship, of an ever stronger unity between two people called on by God to do great works, two people to whom God gave two gifts for the Church and for all of humanity”. By Anna Fratta
Libreville
Port Gentil
Mouila
Info Focolare – Sweden
Pope Wojtyla: Maria Voce shares testimony
On the eve of Pentecost 1998 John Paul II gathered ecclesial movements and new communities to St. Peter’s Square. The Focolare Movement, represented by its founder Chiara Lubich, was amongst the participants. On that occasion Pope Wojtyla publicly recognised the role of these new realities within the Church; it was the first acknowledgment of its kind. That day Chiara committed herself before the Pope to help foster relationships of communion between movements.
Audio http://212.77.9.15/audio/ra/00259382.RM
He was truly the guardian of ecclesial movements because he recognised that the Spirit generated them for the whole Church. On that occasion, however, he also asked movements to progress from their initial stage of childhood in order to produce mature fruits of communion and commitment.
Pope Wojtyla closely accompanied the Focolare Movement throughout his pontificate…
We very often felt a particular love from him: in his glances, his greetings and also in his concrete gestures. It was his idea, for example, to give us use of the former building for General Audiences in Castel Gandolfo. It is now our Mariapolis Centre, used continuously for meetings all year round. He also visited the Movement’s International Centre where he underlined radical love as a characteristic of the Focolare Movement.
John Paul II had a personal and very deep relationship with Chiara Lubich: what was the basis for this spiritual harmony?
I believe that it was the spirituality of communion that he perceived in Chiara’s charism and witnessed in the life of the Movement. He longed for such communion to be present in the whole Church. I believe that this relationship was also due to the openness towards all men that he found in Chiara and in the whole Focolare Movement; an openness that didn’t know differences between social classes, religions, nationalities and that corresponded to his view of humanity, to his faith in the value of each man above all else.
Maria Voce, from your personal point of view, who was John Paul II and what do you think he wants to remind the Church and the whole of humanity of today?
He was a great figure in every sense and in all aspects. That which seems particularly important to me was this recognition that every man or woman is a Son or Daughter of God. This upmost dignity at a universal level lead him to favour relationships with everyone giving an impetus to all form of dialogue that the Church engages in. I was in Istanbul when he visited Patriarch Demetrius in 1979 and I remember the joy he felt in meeting this ecumenical patriarch.
I think his figure can give the Church and the world hope and trust in the action of the Holy Spirit who, in the darkest moments, takes the Church’s destiny under His wing. This was something he said and witnessed above all to the numerous young people who gathered around him because, with him, they experienced a young Church. He demonstrated this young Church, capable of giving answers to modern day man, to the whole world.
For the full interview in Italian- including the interviews with Kiko Argüello, Marco Impagliazzo, Maria Voce e Andrea Olivero- see the article : “Papa Wojtyla: le testimonianze di Kiko Argüello, Marco Impagliazzo, Maria Voce e Andrea Olivero” at:
http://www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/it1/Articolo.asp?c=483009
Mbuya – Social Project
Pala
Bangui
Yaoundé
Douala
[:it]”أحبب الرب إلهك من كل قلبك، وكل نفسك وكل ذهنك”[:ot]”أحبب الرب إلهك من كل قلبك، وكل نفسك وكل ذهنك”
Sicily
On the subway
It was half past ten when the escalator brought me down to the Central Subway Station. Despite the fact that rush hour was over the place was full. At the bottom of the stairs there was a man waving a piece of paper about. Everybody was in a rush, nobody took notice.
I stopped, beckoned him to follow me and we walked to the platform together. I discovered that we were headed in the same direction. He was with his wife, two daughters and a son. They weren’t used to moving walkways and his wife almost fell over. When I realised that only Sabri, their 10 year old son, spoke Swedish I decided to accompany them to their destination.
It wasn’t as easy as I thought: when we got off the subway at the terminus there were other pieces of paper. The first had had the name of the terminus; now he pulled out another piece of paper with the address of the Immigration Council, it was five stations earlier. We got back on the subway and when we arrived at the stop I asked if they could pay for a bus. Another piece of paper: a letter and an electronic bus ticket- no money. The letter showed that their aim was not to get to the immigration service but to a lawyer’s office in another part of the city.
I was already half an hour late for my meeting. I called the law firm and we decided together that it was best that the family take a taxi. They asked if I could loan them the money because the law firm would surely reimburse me. The taxi was too small to bring us all and so I said goodbye. Five grateful people greeted me.
I was pleasantly surprised by the positive reactions of my friends on telling them the story: “You even paid the taxi…” Of course it wasn’t easy for me to take the whole trip with them, I missed most of the lecture I was headed for and I’m not sure I’ll ever see the money again. But would I not have been happy to be helped in a similar situation? The joy that I felt afterwards and every time I speak about the experience is just an extra bonus.
Patrick – Sweden
Source: www.focolare.se
John Paul II visits the International Centre of the Focolare Movement
ITALIAN SOUNDTRAC K English video script Speaker: Evening had already come when Chiara Lubich expressed everyone’s desire that the Holy Father close the meeting by speaking to us. Speaker: The Holy Father extemporaneously summed up his thoughts of the past hours. Holy Father: I must say thank you, I must thank you for this meeting which has been … extraordinary. I must say it has been something … extraordinary. I came over from Castelgandolfo because I thought: the focolarini are not coming here to Castelgandolfo, so I must go to them! Holy Father: I thank you for this extraordinary meeting – also for its content. I have been able to visit your centre that embraces all the focolares of the world. I’ve been able to talk with Chiara and with those who work closely with her, and to see briefly … Speaker: The Holy Father went on to say that this meeting gave him the opportunity to get a quick glimpse of how the movement lives and is developing throughout the world, how it carries out its mission, its apostolate. It was also an opportunity for him to listen to three very moving experiences. Holy Father: Then there was the artistic testimony which showed how that love which lives within your movement knows how to animate all human values, the values of beauty, of art, which are always destined to express all that is deepest in the human soul, all that is most spiritual, which is human and also divine. With this meeting I’ve been able to get a little closer to what makes up the charism of your movement. In other words, I’ve been able to understand better how love – which is a gift of the Holy Spirit and the expression of the human spirit, its greatest virtue – constitutes your charism and characterizes your movement. It is good that you have found such a way, this vocation of love. It is good. Listening to the testimonies, I have been even more strongly convinced of what, for many years and everyday, I’ve been realising: in the world today, in the life of nations, of societies, of different environments and people, hatred and conflict, are very strong. They are part of a program of action. So we need love, we need a programme of love. It could be said that love is without a programme, but it also creates very beautiful and very rich ones like yours. Love is stronger than everything and this is your faith, the source of inspiration for all that is done in the name of Focolare, all that you are, all that you do in the world. Love is stronger. It’s a revolution. This is also the radicalism of love. In the Church’s history there have been many radicalisms of love, almost all contained in the supreme radicalism of Jesus Christ. There was the radicalism of St. Francis, of St. Ignatius of Loyola, of Charles de Foucauld and many others up to the present day. There is also your radicalism of love, of Chiara, of the focolarini: a radicalism that discovers the depth of love and its simplicity, all the needs of love in the different situations, and tries to make this love conquer always in every situation. We can say that your work of evangelization starts from love to reach God. Often people start from God and maybe they reach love. You have stressed this wonderful formula, like St. John’s formula: God is love. So my wish is that you continue along the same path. Your direction is very clear. Speaker: The Holy Father underlined the importance of giving due value to experiences lived out rather than to abstract programs, and he encouraged the Movement to continue to be that evangelical leaven in the mass of humanity and of the people of God. Holy Father: I see that you mean to follow authentically that vision of the Church, that definition of the Church which it gave to itself at the Second Vatican Council. This is how I see your fruitful contacts in the ecumenical sphere, or with our non-Christian brothers, who have their own religious riches, and then the contacts with the secularized world, with non-believers, with atheists and agnostics. Love opens the road. My wish is that through you- thanks to you – this road may always be more open for the Church. I thank you once again for having received me … for having received me into your home, into your family. I want to extend these wishes to all the focolarini of the world, because you are very closely bound together with one another and you try to form a big Christian, evangelical family, all over the world. I place my confidence in this family and having said all this, I think I shouldn’t say anything more. Holy Father: So, as God the Creator said on the day he created human beings, man and woman, I say to you: “Increase and multiply”. Chiara: We must kneel in adoration to God who has loved us so much; and in this sweetest and most solemn moment we must not forget those who have worked and suffered and passed on to the other life, offering up everything for our Movement. May the Holy Spirit unite all of us here on . earth and in heaven into a single hymn of thanksgiving, in a solemn desire to always aim at doing better.
[:it]Grazie Santo Padre!
Little city “El Diamante”
كلمة حياة شهر أيار 2011
بل أجاب بطريقة مميّزة وفريدة، جامعًا ما بين محبّة الله ومحبّة القريب. فالفصل بين هاتين الوصيّتَيْن بات مستحيلاً على مَن يريد اتّباع يسوع، تمامًا كما يستحيل فصل الشجرة عن جذورها. فكلّما زادت محبّة التلاميذ لله، كبُرََت محبّتهم لإخوتهم. وكلّما أحبّوا إخوتهم وأخواتهم تعمّقت فيهم محبّة الله.
ويسوع هو أكثر مَن يعرف مَن هو الله الذي ينبغي أن نحبّه ويعرف كيف يجب أن نحبّه. هو الآب بالنسبة إليه وإلينا، هو إلهه وإلهنا ( يوحنا 20 / 17 ). هو إله يخصّ بمحبّته كلّ فردٍ منّا: يحبّني ويحبّك. إنّه إلهي وإلهك. (“أحبب الربّ إلهك“)
ونحن نستطيع أن نحبّه لأنّه بادرَ بمحبّتنا. والمحبّة المطلوبة منّا، هي إذًاً جواب على محبّة الله لنا. فلنتوجّه إليه بثقة يسوع نفسها الذي كان يناديه: “أبّا”. نحن أيضًا كما يسوع نستطيع أن نتحدّث غالباً إلى الآب طارحين حاجاتنا وقراراتنا ومشاريعنا أمامه، معبّرين عن حبّنا المطلق له. نحن أيضاً نريد أن ننتظر مثل يسوع بفارغ الصبر الأوقات التي تجمعنا بالآب بشكل عميق، من خلال الصلاة التي هي حوار ومشاركة وعلاقة صداقة عميقة معه. بالصلاة نستطيع أن نعبّر عن محبّتنا ونسجد لله ما وراء الخليقة، ونمجّده هو الحاضر في كلّ الكون، ونعبده ساكنًا في أعماق قلوبنا، أو حيًّا في بيت القربان، ونفكّر به أينما وجِدنا، في البيت أو في المكتب، وحيدين كنّا أو مع آخرين.
” أحبب الربّ إلهك من كلّ قلبك، وكلّ نفسك وكلّ ذهنك “.
يعلّمنا يسوع أيضاً سبيلاً آخر لمحبّة الله. فالمحبّة بالنسبة إليه هي أن نعمل بإرادة الله الآب، ونضع في تصّرفه فكرنا وقلبنا وطاقاتنا وحياتنا بكلّيّتها. لقد بذل يسوع كلّ شيء، حتّى حياته، من أجل أن يتحقّق مخطّط الآب عليه. يظهره لنا الإنجيل متّجهًا دائماً بكليّته نحو الآب ( يوحنا 1/18)، هو دومًا في الآب، معلّمًا إيّانا دائماً ما سمعه منه ومحقّقًا ما طلبه الآب منه، لا غير.
ويطلب منّا نحن أيضًا، الأمر ذاته: أن نحبّ يعني أن نعمل بمشيئة الشخص المحبوب، بالمقياس الكامل وبكلّ كياننا: “بكلّ قلبك، وكلّ روحك، وكلّ ذهنك”. والمحبّة بنظر يسوع لا تقتصر على العاطفة وحسب، فهو يسأل من يحبّ بالكلام فقط: “لماذا تدعونني: يا ربّ، يا ربّ، ولا تعملون بما أقول؟” (لوقا 6، 46)
” أحبب الربّ إلهك من كلّ قلبك، وكلّ نفسك وكلّ ذهنك “.
كيف نعيش وصيّة يسوع هذه؟
بالمحافظة على علاقة بنوّة وصداقة مع الله وبخاصّة بالعمل بمشيئته. وستكون علاقتنا بالله كعلاقة يسوع به، بأن نتوجّه دومًا نحو الآب، نصغي إليه ونطيعه ونتمّم مشيئته من دون سواها.
من أجل ذلك، مطلوب منّا جذريّة قصوى، إذ يستحيل علينا ألاّ نهب الله كلّ شيء. “كلّ قلبك، كلّ روحك، كلّ ذهنك”. معنى ذلك أن نقوم بما يطلبه منّا على أكمل وجه.
كي نعيش إرادة الله ونتطابق معها، لا بدّ غالباً من حرق إرادتنا، و التضحية بكلّ ما يشغل قلوبنا وعقولنا، ولا يتعلّق باللحظة الحاضرة. وقد يكون هذا يعني التضحية بفكرة أو عاطفة أو رغبة، أو ذكرى أو علاقة مع شخص ما..
وها أنّنا جميعنا هنا في ما يُطلب منّا في اللحظة الحاضرة. أن نتكلّم، ونتّصل بالهاتف، أن نصغي، ونساعد، وندرس، ونصلّي، ونأكل، وننام، ونتمّم إرادته من دون أن نتلهّى…. ولتكن أعمالنا كاملة نظيفة، من كلّ قلوبنا وأرواحنا وعقولنا. ولتكن المحبّة دافعنا الأساسيّ في كلّ عمل نقوم به، كي نتمكّن في كلّ دقيقة من نهارنا من القول: “نعم يا ربّ في تلك اللحظة وفي ذلك العمل، أحببتك من كلّ قلبي وكلّ ذاتي”. هكذا فقط يمكننا أن نقول أنّنا نحبّ الله حقًا، ونبادله كونه محبّة لنا.
” أحبب الربّ إلهك من كلّ قلبك، وكلّ نفسك وكلّ ذهنك “.
كي نعيش هذه الكلمة، لا بدّ من فحص ضمير متكرّر بغية التأكد من كون الله حقّاً في المرتبة الأولى في حياتنا.
وفي الختام، ما الذي نستطيع القيام به خلال هذا الشهر؟ أن نعيد اختيار الله مثالاً أوحد وككلّ شيء في حياتنا، ونضعه من جديد في المرتبة الأولى بعيشنا إرادته بشكل كامل، في اللحظة الحاضرة. فيمكننا أن نرددّ، بصدق: “أنت إلهي وكلّ شيء بالنسبة إلي”. “أحبك”، “إنّني لك بكليّتي”. “أنت إلهي، أنت إلهنا، أنتَ المحبّة اللامتناهية”.
كيارا لوبيك ( تشرين الأوّل 2002)
May 2011
More than anyone else, Jesus knows the God we must truly love and knows how we should love him: he is his Father and our Father, his God and our God (see Jn 20:17). He is a God who loves each one personally; he loves me, he loves you: he is my God, your God (“You shall love the Lord, your God”).
And we are able to love him because he loved us first: so the love he commanded us to have is a response to his love, to Love itself. We can turn to him with the same confidence and trust that Jesus had when he called him Abba, Father. We too, like Jesus, can speak with him often; we can tell him all our needs, our resolutions and plans, and we can tell him over and over again of our exclusive love for him.
We too eagerly await the moment in which we can be in profound contact with him through prayer, which is dialogue, communion, a relationship of intense friendship. In those moments we can pour out our love: we can adore him beyond all creation, glorify his presence everywhere in the universe, praise him in the depths of our hearts and alive in our tabernacles, think of him present wherever we are, in our room, at work, in the office, while we are with others …
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
Jesus teaches us another way to love God. For Jesus, loving meant doing the will of the Father, putting mind, heart, energies, life itself at his disposal, for Jesus gave himself completely to the plan that the Father had for him. The Gospel shows him to us as being always and totally turned toward the Father (see Jn 1:18), always in the Father, always intent on saying only what he heard from the Father, on carrying out only what the Father told him to do.
He asks the same of us: loving means doing the will of the beloved, without half measures, with all our being: “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Love is not just a sentiment. “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?” (Lk 6:46), Jesus asks of those who love only with words.
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
How should we live this commandment of Jesus? Certainly by cultivating a filial relationship, a relationship of friendship with God, but above all, by doing what he wants. Our attitude towards God, like that of Jesus, will be that of always being turned toward the Father, listening to him, in obedience, in order to carry out his work — that alone and nothing else.
To accomplish this, we are asked to be radical in our choices and way of life, because we cannot give less than everything to God: all our heart, all our soul, all our mind. And this means doing whatever he asks of us well and completely.
Living his will and conforming ourselves to it will often require burning our own will, sacrificing anything we have in our heart or mind that does not concern the present moment. It could be an idea, a feeling, a thought, a desire, a memory, an object, a person …
In this way, we are all intent on doing whatever is asked of us in the present moment. Speaking, talking on the phone, listening, helping someone, studying, praying, eating, sleeping, living his will without wandering off; carrying out actions that are complete, whole, perfect, with all our heart, soul and mind; having only one motive for everything we do — love — so that we can say, in every moment of the day: “Yes, my God, in this moment, in this action, I love you with all my heart, with all my being.” This is the only way we can say that we love God, that we reciprocate his being love toward us.
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
To live this Word of Life it will be helpful to examine ourselves from time to time to see if God is truly foremost in our lives.
So then, to conclude, what should we do this month? Renew our choice of God as our only ideal, as the all of our life, putting him back in the first place, living with perfection his will in the present moment. We want be able to say with sincerity: “My God and my all,” “I love you,” “I am all yours,” “You are God, you are my God, our God of infinite love!”
Chiara Lubich
Young People for a United World: a new start!
“Only those crazy enough to think they can change the world can actually do it”. This impression left by one of the participants of the 2011 YPUW Meeting gives us a clear idea of the feeling amongst the 500 young people present: Young People for a United World aren’t about utopian dreams but follow an Ideal that’s worth giving your life for!
A general and intense joy was at the base of the meeting’s festive atmosphere. Here are some of the many impressions left by the young people present: “You need a huge heart to believe in this ideal but you’ve helped me believe in it too”, “You need only look at our faces to see that we are people who are now truly happy”, “I can’t wait to radiate this light unto the whole world, I’m going home with this one task in mind”.
The morning before leaving for Rome to continue festivities at the prayer vigil in Circus Maximus and ceremonies in St. Peter’s for Pope Wojtyla’s beatification, the Meeting’s program focused on the true nature of YPUW: a vision enlarged unto the whole world.
Piero Coda, president of the University Institute Sophia (Loppiano, Florence), along with two of the institute’s students, guided a reflection on the importance of dialogue in every situation. The three speakers underlined the importance of this dialogue for today’s civilisations that, after centuries of separate development, are now called to interdependence, exchange and continuous dialogue. Piero Coda’s following comment seemed emblematic: “History is made by some prophetic figures who know how to illuminate man’s actions, constantly guiding him towards new horizons. Those who build bridges daily, teaching the art of dialogue with their lives, are equally as fundamental to this process. You can be these bridge builders”.
A delegation of young people from the Japanese Buddhist movement Rissho Kosei-kai also participated in the Meeting. They presented their association which has had deep ties of friendship and dialogue with the Focolare for years; they spoke about collaboration for the Arms Down project, the activities they carried out last year in favour of nuclear disarmament and the recent activity to help victims of the Japanese earthquake. Their limpid words underlined how ‘building bridges’ between different movements, cultures and experiences brings about the most unexpected results.
At the end of the Meeting the young people from Rissho Kosei-kai said, “After this exchange with YPUW we are more certain than ever that we are all different, but that using these differences to reach unity is an amazing experience!”
World Unity Week can be followed until 8th May 2001 on: www.mondounito.net