This year’s United World Week has peace at heart
United World Week (May 1–7) has never been such a local and global event at the same time. More than 400 micro and macro events are being held in 65 countries, all strictly online. Live streaming of the #InTimeforPeace event will be Saturday 2 May at 12 noon (UTC +2). This United World Week sees us spoilt for choice: you can start by participating in Run4Unity in Australia or Texas, then join a prayer for peace in Cuba, before checking out the “political café” in Argentina. There’s an interesting webinar series promoted by the United World Project, and for lovers of World Music, there are concerts in various African countries. The great thing is, you don’t even have to choose: you can participate in everything from the comfort of your own home. Covid-19 could have driven this year’s United World Week, and instead it isn’t just about that. The title and motto for the more than 400 events in close to 65 countries around the world is #InTimeforPeace. This means that for at least one week, peace, human rights and legality will be the topic for reflection and action, for 24 hours a day at the different latitudes. It also means that an increasing number of people believe that building a world governed by rules, economies, and cultures inspired by peace in all its forms can no longer be put off. It all starts on May 1 and goes until May 7. As the young people say, peace is for everyone. The United World Project’s homepage shows a wide choice, which says that there is no single way to support peace, to fight for human rights, to practice legality. Whether we make masks, distribute food, keep company with those who are alone or simply do our part by staying at home, every neighbourly gesture of solidarity and support at a distance falls under the great umbrella of peace. Among the key activities this United World Week is a petition calling for an end to the embargo against Syria, promoted by the NGO New Humanity and signed by many celebrities. The appeal will be sent to the UN Secretary General and to the President of the European Parliament. It has the force of a global call to save a country that is already on its knees after 10 years of war and now risks falling into an abyss because of the Covid threat. HOW, WHERE AND WHEN TO FOLLOW UNITED WORLD WEEK EVENTS The place for the #InTimeforPeace multimedia marathon remains unitedworldproject.org, where you can also see a calendar of local events. The main events On Saturday 2 May at 12 noon (UTC +2), the #InTimeForPeace web event will be live streamed and connect a number of cities across the planet. There will be sharing of stories and actions, as well as hosting debates and artistic performances. On Sunday 3 May from 11am–12 noon in each time zone, there will be a virtual Run4unity, a non-stop sports relay that will embrace the globe, with games, challenges, experiences and commitments to symbolically spread a rainbow of peace on Earth.
Stefania Tanesini
Gospel lived: the other, my fortune
It all depends on how we view “the other”, brother or sister: situations can completely change if we choose to love. Hard times Krystyna told me about hard times in Poland in a state of war: “There was a shortage of food and toiletries. We were getting stuff from friends in what was then East Germany while our neighbours were often having parties with an abundance of alcohol. One day, however, we noticed how it was unusually quiet in their apartment, and we discovered from the little girl who was on her own that the mother was in hospital. I went to see her, bringing soap and toothpaste with me, items that were hard to find at that time. When she saw me, she was amazed: “I can’t believe that you, whom I have always given so much grief, have come to see me? None of the friends who hang out with us has come.” As soon as she was discharged from hospital, she invited me to her house. She welcomed me warmly. Then she started telling me about her sad childhood, the meaninglessness of her life and how she needed to get out of a certain situation. I listened to her with love and assured her of my prayers. Not long afterwards, the man who had been living with her left and the noisy company stopped coming to the house. The mum was now able to offer her little girl a “normal” life.” B.V. – Poland Young couple from the South The young couple from Southern Italy had moved to the North to get out of a small village which was dominated by the Mafia. They needed to find a home and work for both of them. My financial situation was rather precarious but with faith I started to help them look for somewhere to live. Unfortunately, a lot of people closed their door on me when I said they were from the South. I cried with them and it made me realize once again that only a poor person can really understand another poor person. I shared so much humiliation with that young couple and, when we finally found a house and a job, I felt I had been enriched by what we had shared together. V.M. – Italy The stolen tablecloths I work as a cashier in a restaurant and I have no qualms about asking for leftovers from the kitchen to take to the children who live on the street. I always meet so many on my way home every day. One day, as I was getting off the bus, someone snatched my bag from my hands and ran off! I was stunned: the bag contained ten tablecloths from the restaurant which I had just picked up from the launderette. What was I to do? How was I going to tell my employer? Buying fabric to make new ones was out of the question because I couldn’t afford it. I didn’t know how I was going to tell my mother or the restaurant manager, but I was sure the Eternal Father would help me. The following day I told my employer what happened to me and, without getting upset, he tells me he wants new tablecloths as soon as possible. Just at that moment, a customer who had overheard our conversation approached us and said he was willing to buy the fabric needed to make new ones. I couldn’t believe it! I was so happy and immediately thought of the children I would still be able to help with the food. D.F. – Philippines Trust I met Alvaro in a trattoria. He was 35 years old, scruffy and unkempt. When he asked me to help him fill in some job application forms, I offered him an appointment in my office the following day. He arrived as night was falling and told me he was really just looking for friendship. I felt sorry for him and, trying to overcome the disgust I felt because of the smell he was giving off, I offered him a brandy. He understood that I didn’t judge him and started to tell me his problems, from when he was abandoned by his mother as a child and his father had ended up in prison. The hours went by and, as if in confession, he continued to tell me about himself. He eventually got up when he realized it was daytime and, apologizing, he said goodbye to me. I met him again on other occasions and introduced him to my friends who welcomed him with equal warmth. He reciprocated by doing various jobs in the house: a real jack-of-all-trades. He eventually managed to find a stable job, built a career for himself, got married and became the father of two children. When he told me all this, years later, he was a completely different person. He had regained his dignity thanks to the trust we had shown him. B.C. – Italy
by Stefania Tanesini
(taken from The Gospel of the Day, Città Nuova, year VI, no. 2, March-April 2020)
It is also love to ask
In his homily on Good Friday 2020 in St Peter’s Basilica (Rome) the Capuchin Father, Raniero Cantalamessa, said that “there are things that God has decided to grant us as the fruit both of his grace and of our prayer”. The following writing by Chiara Lubich is an invitation to collaborate with God by asking for graces and putting ourselves in the best situation to obtain them. “So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift” (Mt 5:23-24). With this Word of Life, Jesus has told us clearly that there can be no union with God, real worship or authentic prayer unless we are reconciled with our brothers and sisters. So let’s hope that his message has entered deeply into our hearts. It is with this hope that I would like to speak to you about prayer, which, if we live this way, is certainly acceptable to God. I would like to speak, in particular, about the prayer of petition: that is, our asking for help and for favours. I have the impression that some of us may not stress it enough, and perhaps this is for very noble reasons: now that we have become more deeply involved in our faith and have begun to practice our religion much more, we have understood that religion is not simply a matter of going to church and repeatedly asking for things, but of loving God and, therefore, of giving. And to do our part, as we say, we have committed ourselves to living out all those principles of the Gospel that our spirituality emphasises. Certainly this is all well and good. Nonetheless, we must realise that loving God means many things. It implies keeping all his commands. And one command that Jesus repeats insistently is to ask: “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” (Mt 7:7). So what should we do, then? We should ask more and ask in a better way because this is what Jesus wants. It’s another way to show him our love. … Certainly we pray and that means we don’t rely only on our own strength. Nonetheless, we can improve in two directions: first of all, not by multiplying the number of our prayers, but by becoming more fully aware of what we are already asking for. If we reflect for a moment, we’ll see how many graces we ask for in the prayers [we already say]. … Secondly, we can improve, as the saints point out, by praying in such a way that we receive what we ask for. Our prayers are heard if we ask with humility, aware that we can do nothing on our own; with trust, confident that with God we can do anything; and with perseverance, lovingly insistent, as Jesus wants us to be. In short, we must focus on the requests we already make, giving them greater attention, and expressing them better each time, praying with the same effort that we put into living our Ideal. In this way, everything we do will be more fruitful. And let’s pray while we still have time! I always remember the advice given us by the mother of one of the first focolarine just before she died: “Pray during your life, because at the end you won’t have time”.
Chiara Lubich
(From a telephone conference call, Rocca di Papa, 16th February 1984)
Living the Gospel: faith wins
Chiara Lubich wrote “Faith is a new way “to see”; it is, so to say, the way Jesus sees” [1]. Faith helps us meet Jesus in every neighbour and understand deeply even his inner feelings. Never lacked anything One day, the owner of the company where I work called a meeting for all the employees. After enumerating the problems that the company was facing, he proposed reduced ours of work with a 30% decrease in salary to avoid redundancies. What did this mean to me ? I was faced with a very difficult decision , because I have a large family and a lot of expenses…. but since this meant that many of us would still be working, I accepted the proposal. My wife and I were determined to trust in God’s providence. We also involved our children, asking them to pray not only for the needs of our family, but also for other families who were facing difficulties. We soon found out that God was listening to our prayers; I received a sum of money that I lent to a friend of mine. I gave this money to him quite a long time ago, and I thought that I would never get it back. Now, that so many months have passed, we realize that we never lacked anything, and our children have acquired a greater sense of responsibility. S.d.O. – Brazil Teleshopping Most of the time I find myself in the awkward position of having to say no to a telemarketer. These unwanted phone calls often arrive at the least appropriate time of the day. Over the years, I’ve adopted a variety of answers that range from faking foreign accent and pretending not to understand to the usual “I don’t have time” while hanging up quickly. However, every time I use these or other similar tactics I feel uncomfortable because I know that I am causing more unpleasantness to someone who has no other choice but to work in teleshopping. What can I do? Reject gently but firmly before any proposal is made to avoid wasting time ? When I remember that the person doing this work is always a neighbour to love, the more I listen, the more miserable I become when I finally declare my refusal. I’m trying to say at least a quick “Good day!” before I hang up. C.C. -USE Perceiving love A 52 year old man who shot himself in the head because of family problems was admitted to my ward. Fortunately, his brain was not damaged, but his eyes were, and he had to undergo very complicated surgery. In the visits that followed, he kept on saying that he wanted to die. After a period of intensive care, he was brought to my ward, where I took every opportunity to stop and greet him. One day I asked him, “Do you know who is next to you?” He answered: “I can’t see, but I think it’s the doctor who operated on me. During the operation, I felt so much love”. I promised him I would do my best to save at least one eye. One morning he told me that he was beginning to see a glimmer of light. His eyesight improved daily. A few months after he was discharged from hospital, he came to see me. He was a totally different person: he started a new life, even a new married life. But above all, he told me that he discovered faith. Jokingly I said to him that the loss of an eye gave him better sigħt ! F.K. – Slovakia
Edited by Stefania Tanesini
(from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, year VI, n.2, March-April 2020) [1] C. Lubich, Word of Life, April 1980, in Parole di Vita, compiled and edited by Fabio Ciardi (Works of ChiaraLubich 5; Città Nuova, Rome 2017), pp. 169-170.
Let’s be well rooted in the present moment
An unexpected way of living Chiara Lubich’s centenary. Maria Voce’s talk in the Osservatore Romano . 2nd April 2020 
“Celebrate to meet” is the motto that we in the Focolare Movement have chosen to commemorate in 2020, all over the world, one hundred years since the birth of our foundress Chiara Lubich. Until a few weeks ago, this motto seemed a fitting choice through which to celebrate, in the most varied ways, the person of our foundress and the charism that God gave her, which she generously communicated. In fact, we would like people to meet her alive today and not think of her as a nostalgic memory; We would like people to find her in her spirituality, in her works and above all in her “people”, in all those who are now living her spirit of family, fellowship and unity. And beginning with 7th December 2019 we have rejoiced in the many events that have taken place throughout the world. We would have liked these celebrations to continue. But in a very short time the scenario has changed and the motto “celebrate to meet” might even seem anachronistic. We too have put all kinds of celebrations or events on hold. The pandemic caused by the coronavirus is forcing more and more countries all over the world to take drastic measures to slow down contagion. For now, isolation and physical distance are the most effective ways. This is shown by the information coming to us from China, which we accompanied with trepidation for weeks. But here in Italy and in a number of other countries around the world the situation is still very serious.
© Horacio Conde – CSC Audiovisivi
By Maria Voce
Source Osservatore Romano – https://www.vaticannews.va/it/osservatoreromano/news/2020-04/radicarci-bene-nel-presente.html
Regina’s race came to its end Regina Betz (January 3, 1921 – March 17, 2020)
Regina Betz, a German focolarina, professor of sociology, pioneer of the Focolare Movement in Germany and Russia, who was passionate about ecumenism and fully commited to the Christian renewal of society, passed away on March 17, at the age of 99 years. Ever since I met her, I have always known her to be a very busy person, yet she never made you feel that she had no time for you. She rather gave one the impression that she had a goal to reach and was reluctant to waste time. When she stopped to have a word with you, she was fully present; her smart lively look and her broad mischievous smile brightened your day. Regina led a very full life. The elder of two children born into a Catholic family, who lived in Göttingen (Germany), she grew up in area where the majority of the people were Lutherans; so she practised natural ecumenism, strengthened further by the common resistance to Hitler’s nationalism. Having spent a few years in Italy during the Second World War, after finishing her studies in Social Economy, she settled in Rome where she worked at the Pontifical Council for the Laity for three years (1955-1958). During this time she met the Focolare Movement, and when speaking about this encounter in a book (1) she wrote later on, she revealed that she was struck by “a light and a force”. Being eager to discover the secret behind all this, she decided to participate in the Mariapolis of 1958. There she met “Christians, who freely chose to live unity” and the model of a “new and human society” and she remarked: “After a long time, I found what I have been looking for and my heart sang a song of great joy”. When Regina returned to Germany, where the Focolare Movement was not yet present, she continued to work for the Church and made important trips to Asia and South America. In 1966 she was among the volunteers of the Focolare Movement, and she was invited to teach sociology at the formation school in Loppiano (Italy). There, at the age of 46 she felt the call to be a consecrated member of the Focolare. From ’68 to ’90, Regina was a professor of sociology in Regensburg (Germany) and a collaborator of the “Institute for Eastern Churches”. She had the opportunity to meet Christians from Eastern Europe and to travel to various countries in the Balkans, to Bulgaria and Romania. She was particularly impressed by the enthusiastic behaviour of young communists and their concern for the lower class. In 1989 she was offered academic work in Moscow, and thus the first Focolare was opened there. She related: “Life in Moscow turned out to be a life of togetherness: together in the focolare, together with so many Russians who came to know our way of life. I discovered the great generosity and cordiality of the Russian people, and experienced great hospitality and sharing. No structures, but many friends”. Life around the Focolare flourished; however this happened at a price. Confiding to me personally, Regina expressed her wish that the “dark” part of her life would also be communicated after her death. In a diary of that period she wrote: “I have nothing more to give, but it is consoling to know that He is with me in this emptiness … I feel exhausted all the time, I am afraid and I feel that I cannot manage to conclude anything anymore”. When Regina returned to Germany in 2008, she went to the small Ecumenical town of Ottmaring. The years she spent there were marked by the relationships she established with so many different people; she kept these relationships alive through visits and through thousands of handwritten letters, full of wisdom. She followed the events of the Church and society with attention and participation. In spite of her fragility, she remained faithful to the personal Word of Life she recived from Chiara Lubich, which said: “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Mt 16:25). “Many times I had to leave everything and go to start all over again somewhere else! But what a lot I have gained from this: so many experiences, so much knowledge about the life and culture of people in different countries, so many relationships with a countless number people!”. On March 17, Regina Betz ended her race; she definitely left everything. I’m sure she discovered an unimaginable life.
Joachim Schwind
1) Regina Betz, Immer im Aufbruch, immer getragen, Verlag Neue Stadt, München 2014.
Being alongside those who suffer
The following text by Chiara Lubich touches on a subject that the current pandemic has brought much into evidence: suffering. It helps us to perceive a mysterious presence of God in suffering, since nothing escapes his love. This genuinely Christian approach instils hope and encourages us to make every suffering our own, those that affect us directly or that of the people around us. … Suffering! The suffering which at times affects our whole being and the suffering which crops up and blends bitterness with sweetness in daily life. Suffering: an illness, a misfortune, a trial, a painful circumstance… Suffering! How should we … consider the suffering which is always ready to appear in all our lives? How can we define it, how identify it? What name can we give it? Whose voice is it? If we consider suffering from a human point of view, we are tempted to look for its cause either within us or outside of us, in human wickedness for example, or in nature or other things. And all this might actually be true. But if we think only in these terms, we forget what matters most. We forget that behind the story of our lives there is the love of God who wills or permits everything for a higher purpose, which is our own good. That is why the saints take every painful circumstance they encounter directly from the hands of God. It is impressive how they never go wrong in this regard. For them, suffering is the voice of God and nothing else. Immersed as they are in the Scripture, they understand what suffering is and must be for a Christian; they grasp the transformation that Jesus worked in suffering, seeing how he changed it from a negative factor into a positive one. Jesus himself is the explanation of their suffering: Jesus crucified. For this reason it even becomes lovable, it even becomes something good. That is why they do not curse suffering, but bear it, accept and embrace it. If we too open the New Testament, we will find this attitude confirmed. Didn’t St James say in his letter, “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy” (Jas 1:2)? So suffering can even be a cause for joy. After having invited us to take up our cross and follow Him, doesn’t Jesus then affirm, “Those who lose their life” (and this is the height of suffering) “will find it” (Mt 10:39)? Suffering therefore is hope of salvation. For St Paul, suffering is even something to boast of, indeed the only thing to boast of: “May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal 6:14). Yes, for those who consider it from a Christian viewpoint, suffering is something great: it even makes it possible for us to complete in ourselves the passion of Christ, for our own purification and for the redemption of many. So then, what can we say to those who are struggling with suffering? What can we wish for them? How can we relate to them? First of all, let’s approach them with the greatest respect. Even though they may not think so, at this time they are being visited by God. … Let’s assure them of our continual thoughts and prayers, so that they may be able to take all that distresses and causes them suffering directly from the hands of God, and unite it to Jesus’ passion so that it can bear the greatest fruit. Let’s help them to always have the value of suffering present before them. And let’s remind them of that marvellous Christian principle of our spirituality, in which suffering, when loved as a countenance of Jesus crucified and forsaken, can be changed into joy.
Chiara Lubich
Taken from a telephone conference call, Rocca di Papa, 25th December 1986) Published in C. Lubich, On the Holy Journey, New City Press, New York 1988, pp. 162-164
Earth Day goes Digital
In Italy the “Villaggio per la Terra” (Village for the Earth) event is transformed into a multimedia marathon. 
Everything is connected. The 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, celebrated on 22 April, cannot be viewed in isolation from the coronavirus pandemic challenging humanity. At the time of this year’s Earth Day, the current health emergency is giving rise to a global community demanding different economic and social models which are fairer than before. This Earth Day coincides with the 5th anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si on the theme of integral ecology. Events in 193 countries will be hosted online. In Italy, the Villaggio per la Terra, traditionally held at Villa Borghese in Rome, is being transformed into a multimedia marathon live on Rai Play and reports on other broadcast platforms. We spoke with President of Earth Day Italy, Pierluigi Sassi. The 50th anniversary of Earth Day is taking place as humanity faces the coronavirus challenge which is forcing us to review our priorities, values and objectives … Today, more than ever, we feel the urgent need to change the economic and social model which has governed development for decades. We want to give a message of hope, to offer a perspective which focuses on the person and the need to respect the planet. We’ve raised awareness about these subjects in the world, reinforced by Pope Francis’ Encyclical Laudato Si expounding the principle of integral ecology. There is a new sensitivity to this topic in the world, but it has to transfer into action. The coronavirus makes the need for this change even stronger.
VILLAGGIO PER LA TERRA, Earth Day Italia, Villa Borghese, Roma 21 April 2018
© Lorenzo Gobbi/Smile Vision Srls
Claudia Di Lorenzi
Chiara’s centenary: her dream of a global university
How the idea of creating the Sophia University Institute came about, and how it has developed to date, showing the cultural scope of Chiara Lubich’s charism of unity The Sophia University Institute was born from a Christian spiritual heritage that is in constant dialogue with the principles upon which various civilizations flourished and developed. It is located in Loppiano, Italy, a Focolare little city that since its founding in 1964 has trained families, young people and adults in a Gospel-based lifestyle. 
Professor Piero Coda, Dean of Sophia from its birth until last February, explains how the project has developed over the years. How did Chiara Lubich come up with the idea of creating a university? The idea has been there since the beginning. This was confirmed in 2008 at Sophia, when Fr. Casimiro Bonetti, the Capuchin who was with Chiara in the early 1940s, inaugurated the university. It is in the DNA of the charism of unity, because it is a charism that unleashes a culture: a tangible vision of the human person and the world. In concrete terms, its start came after the Abbà School’s breakthrough in the 1990s, when together with Chiara they began to study the cultural scope of the charism by drawing from the heritage of light from Paradise ’49. When did Sophia start? How did it develop? The initial stage of the university was the Superior Institute of Culture, which was aimed at the youth of the Focolare Movement (Gen). It was inaugurated on 15 August 2001 by Chiara with a speech that constitutes its Magna Carta. In 2005, given the success of the experiment and at the urging of cultural critics such as Stefano Zamagni, President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the planning of a true and proper university institute began. It was true to original form, according to the concept that sprang from the charism, and completed by the Holy See on 7 December 2007. What is the link with the Holy See? It was Chiara’s premeditated choice to build a university that was not formally recognized by a country, but rather by the universality of the Catholic Church. This also meant, for Chiara, recognising the fact that the charism of unity, like the great charisms of Christian history (from Benedict to Dominic and Francis, to Ignatius of Loyola and Don Bosco), is a charism in which the Church recognizes a project in action of human and social formation that expresses the Gospel. With the extension of the Bologna Process (the bilateral recognition of degrees at the European level and beyond, in which the Church participates), we could see viable scenarios for the institution that was being born. How has it changed over the years? Sophia began and developed on three pillars: academic-level teaching and research; formative experiences shared in community life between teachers and students of various cultures; and a relationship with the tangible expressions that embody the values inherent in the charism of unity in the various areas of social, political and economic life. In all these respects, great strides have been taken forward. Suffice it to say, for example, that we started with a single degree course and now there are four. The original program in the “culture of unity” blossomed into the theological and philosophical, economic and political fields, as well as education, dialogue and communication. What is Sophia today? It is an important confirmation, a certain hope, a strategic investment. It is a confirmation of the value and relevance of Chiara’s intuition. It is a hope that the search for the new cultural paradigm that our change of era asks of us is not a utopia. Finally, it is an investment to promote with seriousness and vision the development (not only cultural) of the charism of unity and its historical impact. In the past there has always been a dean, but today there is a rector; what does this mean for the university? The fact that the Vatican department for studies and the university wanted this change underscores the validity of the path taken. It is also recognition of the institute rising to the status of university. One can also see an echo of what Pope Francis told us in our audience with him last 14 November: “I am happy with the journey you have made in these 12 years of life. Forward! The journey has just begun.”
Lorenzo Russo