The international exhibition dedicated to the person and charism of Chiara Lubich is being inaugurated on December 7th 2019. This is the first multimedia exhibition ever made about her. Giuseppe Ferrandi, director of the Trentino Historical Museum and Anna Maria Rossi, one of the curators, tell the story of its origins, the process and the innovations. https://vimeo.com/378511637
Chiara Lubich, the Founder of the Focolare Movement was born in Trent on January 22, 1920. President Maria Voce’s words on the 100th anniversary of her birth. In a world where “particularisms and divisions emerge continuously and where new barriers and frontiers are being built ”, Chiara Lubich’s message of unity is “ of great current importance”. This is the focal point of the video message, Maria Voce, President of the Focolare sends today on the 100th anniverary of Chiara Lubich’s birth. https://vimeo.com/385943084 text of the message
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated every year. In the northern hemisphere it is held from 18th-25th January, in the southern hemisphere from the Feast of the Ascension to Pentecost. The motto for 2020, chosen by Christians of various Churches in Malta, is taken from the Acts of the Apostles “They showed us unusual kindness” (Acts 28:2) On this occasion we present an extract from the talk given by Chiara Lubich on the 27th October 2002 in the Protestant Cathedral Church of St Peter, in Geneva, Switzerland. Love! What a great need there is for love in the world! And in us Christians! All together we Christians of various Churches number more than a billion people. Such a large number should be quite visible. But unfortunately we are so divided that many do not see us, nor do they see Jesus through us. He said that the world would recognize us as his own and, through us, would recognize him, by our reciprocal love, by unity: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35). So our uniform, our distinctive characteristic was supposed to be reciprocal love, unity. And this was supposed to be the characteristic of his Church. But we didn’t maintain full visible communion, and we still don’t have it now. Therefore, we are convinced that the Churches as such must also love one another with this love. And we strive to work in this direction. How often do the Churches seem to have forgotten the testament of Jesus, scandalizing the world with their divisions, while they should have been winning it for him! If we look over our 2,000 year history, and in particular at the history of the second millennium, we cannot help but see that it has often been a series of misunderstandings, quarrels and conflicts that in many places have torn the seamless tunic of Christ that is his Church. Certainly, this was caused by circumstances, whether historical, cultural, political, geographical or social…. But it was also caused by the fact that among us there was a lack of this unifying characteristic typical of us: love. That is why today, as we seek to make up for so much wrongdoing, and to draw new strength for a fresh start, we must put all our confidence in this evangelical love. If we spread love and mutual love among the Churches, this love will lead the each of the Churches, different from one another as they are, to become a gift for the others. Dear brothers and sisters, we have understood the point: our present times ask each one of us for love; they call for unity, fellowship and solidarity. And the Churches are called to recompose the unity that has been torn apart for centuries. This is the most important of all reforms, which heaven is asking of us. It is the first step that we need to take towards becoming one family with all people in the world. The world will believe if we are united. Jesus said so: “That they may all be one… so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). God wants this! Believe me! He says it again and again and cries out for it through the present-day circumstances which he permits. May he give us the grace, if not to see all this accomplished, at least to prepare for its coming.
Chiara Lubich
Taken from: Il dialogo è vita (Città Nuova 2007, pp 16-33)
The Focolare Movement alongside the many who have suffered loss and damage: “The life and needs of the person is at the center of our efforts. Listening, welcoming, sharing is what engages us at this time. But a great effort will be needed to plan the reconstruction”. Solidarity continues with the victims of the earthquake that struck Albania on November 26th , 2019, resulting in 52 deaths, over 2,000 injured and considerable damage to structures. Almost two months since the earthquake, fundraising initiatives, commemorative events and aid interventions in the territory are engaging institutions, ecclesial and welfare realities. Once the emergency was over, all efforts are now directed to promoting the coordination of those working on the ground to plan and start the reconstruction. In the midst of current uncertainty, great comfort comes from feeling part of a family an extended network of people that ensures support and proximity. This is what lies at the heart of the Focolare’s active commitment. We heard from Fabio Fiorelli, a focolarino who lives and works in one of the centers of Tirana. Since the night of the earthquake, what initiatives has the Movement been able to carry out in support of the people affected? “Some of us have linked up with the national and diocesan Caritas by collaborating to prepare clothes and blankets for those who are homeless, and by going to the temporary shelters to listen to the people and play with the children. At the suggestion of the families belonging to the Movement, on December 21st we prepared an afternoon of Christmas celebration for the youngest children – and others – with songs, games, a ‘living’ crib and gifts from Santa Claus: a moment of serenity and communion so as to move forward. In addition, in Durazzo, a psychologist from the Movement, whose own house was damaged, collaborates with a team that reaches outlying villages that were very affected by the earthquake, where people live in tents and lack primary necessities. On a very practical level, a list has been compiled of the families of the Movement whose homes have been seriously damaged, our engineers have carried out inspections and cost analyses for repairs. What other activities are you planning? “A “project” has been drawn up with objectives and strategies to be undertaken in synergy with the United World Association (AMU), which is part of the Movement, and we are waiting for it to be implemented. Immediately after the earthquake, during the emergency phase, Marcella Ioele, responsible for one of the Focolare centres in Tirana, together with others, reached Durazzo and the surrounding areas to give out help ,working with Caritas and the local Church and to give support to the victims. We asked her what experiences moved her , and the others with her, as they talked with displaced people: “A young woman told me that when the tremors began, her brother, who was at home with the family, instinctively ran away to get out of the building, but immediately came back to take care of them. This gesture helped her to understand that in these moments she must not think only of herself but of those close to her. Another girl wanted to take action to help those in trouble, but having to assist her elderly mother she couldn’t leave. But – she told us – she could listen to and comfort the many who passed by, and she was happy because she felt she was giving her contribution in this way”. How do people feel today? “On the one hand people have to take responsibility for what collapsed , having authorized the construction of unsafe buildings and it is also clear that there is a lack of preparation for managing emergency situations. On the other hand, the solidarity shown in the initial phase by other countries raises the hope that a better Albania can start again from here. To see peoples working together , who until yesterday were separated by ancient hatreds, was a sign of hope. There is great gratitude especially towards the people of Kosovo came forward in a very significant way, almost as if they wanted to reciprocate the love they had received when they were here during the emergency in Kosovo. Some of them came to take families to their homes. The earthquake,” a young man told me, “brought us closer together than ever before. Others told us they could see the presence of God even in this reality of pain”.
Claudia Di Lorenzi
“Jesus has shown us that love means welcoming the other person as they are, in the same way as He has accepted each one of us. Welcome the other person, with their own style, their own ideas, even their own defects, their diversity. (…) Make space for them within us, removing every prejudice, preconceived judgement and instinctive rejection”. (Chiara Lubich) The “Village of misery” The residents of this slum area situated along swampy river banks, often have no alternative but to leave their children alone at home during the day while they are out struggling to earn a living. A while ago, following torrential rain, the swollen river entered many of the dwellings, and unfortunately a baby, only a few months old, was swept away. We live in a residential area not far from this area. Shocked to hear of this tragedy, we tried to find a way to respond and encouraged friends and relatives of the family to get involved. We found a suitable place, and hired rooms to start a crèche where parents could safely leave their children during the day. Nearby we also launched a nursery school for the older ones, so they didn’t remain out on the streets. This initiative is bearing fruit: new relationships are being forged between those who work there and the families; there is a sharing of goods, time and services. Gradually another dream is also taking shape: to offer better alternative accommodation to those families living in the “Village of misery”. Using a system focused based on self-help, this year we have built and inaugurated the first new houses. (S.J.B. – Argentina) Political convictions In our office it was impossible not to speak about politics. Impossible not to experience the huge divisions between our different points of view. I got so tired of this daily tension which kept increasing every time someone would proclaim “truths” that others could not accept, I decided that rather than trying to change the office, I had better change myself. So I set myself the challenge to try to understand what was pushing one or other of my colleagues to defend a certain position. This attitude of mine provoked a certain curiosity, especially after they had attacked me personally as a “conservative Catholic bigot”! It’s true to say that prayer helped me, but also my parish community encouraged me to have more charity. One day my most virulent “enemy” said to me, “I don’t know where to attack you any more! I see that you’re happy. Your freedom confuses me!” Without too many formal explanations, a constructive friendship has been established which is now helping our other colleagues to engage in a more understanding attitude with one another, even while we retain our own convictions. (F.H.-Hungary) Thieves inside my home I opened the door to them because they looked like nice young men. Instead, they demanded my money, and began opening drawers and cupboards while one of them held my arm tightly behind my back. I was too terrified even to cry out. When they left I collapsed on the floor in shock. They could have shown some pity for my age. Then I managed to go out onto my balcony and cry for help, though the thieves were long gone by then. My neighbours came but all they could do was to help me tidy up as I tried to see what had been taken. What could I do? That day I felt as if all the misery of loneliness and old age had fallen upon me. I couldn’t get to sleep that night. I kept reliving the events of the day. They had seemed such nice young men, they could have been my grandchildren. Why had they acted like this? I managed to find some peace within myself when I decided to pray for them and for their own mothers. And I thanked God that I was still alive. (Z.G.-Italy) Don’t deny life I met a neighbour I hadn’t seen for many years, since we moved away from the area. I almost didn’t recognise her because she looked much older than her years. I could tell she really wanted to talk and open her heart to share what she had lived through since we had last met. “It all began one day,” she told me, “when I decided to have an abortion because I thought it would solve the problems my husband and I were having at the time. Far from it, in fact he blamed me for not giving him a son and then left me for another woman, leaving me to struggle alone to bring up our two teenage daughters. Time passed, and one of my daughters confessed to me that she was pregnant. Her boyfriend had given her an ultimatum: abort the child or he would leave her. I confided in her what I had never told anyone before, and pleaded with her not to deny life, as I had done. Seeing my tears, it was my daughter who comforted me. She later explained that seeing my grief made her decide to keep her baby. And so it was. The father did not leave her. They are together with their beautiful daughter who is also my own consolation”. (S.d.G.-Malta)
collated by Stefania Tanesini (from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, anno VI, n.1, gennaio-febbraio 2020)
News has spread worldwide of the eruption of the Taal volcano, which began on January 12, just a few kilometers away from the Focolare Mariapolis Pace in Tagaytay on the Philippine island of Luzon. Thanks to social media photos of the houses and streets covered with ash and mud have reached everywhere, as well as first-hand accounts of the many who in these days are leaving the tourist region of Tagaytay, about 60 Km from the capital Manila. The Philippine authorities have called for the total evacuation of about 500,000 people following the alert issued by the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Philippines (PHILVOLCS). An explosive eruption is feared. “It’s like walking through a ghost town – comments a girl on Facebook, describing Tagaytay, her city: everything is one colour: grey; there is no electricity or water and earthquake tremors are frequent”. Mariapolis Pace of the Focolare Movement is about 30 km from the Taal volcano ; it was inaugurated in 1982 with a distinct role in dialogue between people of different religions and this morning we reached Ding Dalisay and Chun Boc Tay, responsible for the Focolare Movement in the Philippines, to get news about its inhabitants; they assured us that the evacuation of its inhabitants has almost been completed. “Almost all the focolarine have left; the priests and seminarians have been transferred to the San Carlos Seminary and the 7 Gen – the Focolare youth – are now in Manila. Some of the focolarini are with their families and while others have remained in their respective focolares, our families are quite well and some have moved. We are distributing food and water for the needy and we are making arrangements to house displaced people if necessary. It is difficult to communicate because we cannot recharge our mobile phones and we cannot use computers. Yesterday we celebrated mass and dined together by candlelight. We try to merit the presence of Jesus in our midst”. Ding then recounts the extraordinary resilience of the Filipino people, visible in normal gestures that become heroic in extreme situations like this: “It is incredible the creativity of the poorest people who, even though they have nothing, invent unexpected resources at the service of those who need them more than they do. We have seen a disabled man who has put a table at the side of the road to hand out soot masks for free; or the owner of a small restaurant who has displayed a sign that says: ‘Those who need a meal can enter without paying’; or a gentleman who offers to clean the ashes from every car that’s moving in the area with his water pump”. The Focolare community in and around Tagaytay thanks everyone in the world for their prayers, messages and for the many phone calls. We continue to follow the situation and to give news about it especially through the social networks of the Focolare Movement.
Stefania Tanesini
How does the life of a focolare pan out in daily life? We went to Stockholm, Sweden, where we accompanied the focolarine at home, at work and in various activities with the Focolare community. https://vimeo.com/378511957
The immediate establishment of a high-level trilateral committee between special representatives of the United States, the European Union and Iran, with a mandate to re-establish dialogue between the USA and Iran. The appeal by the Movement for politics and policies for unity and New Humanity of the Focolare Movement. The Movement promoting Politics and Policies for Unity expresses its grave concern at the escalating conflict between Iran and the United States. The institutions of international politics, together with non-governmental organizations, have a special responsibility to act at the service of peace and rights peoples’ rights. Only steadfast international dialogue and diplomacy, in a spirit of hope, can take genuine steps towards peace. We are facing one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. There must be a way to resolve it, shown by human values and willing hearts. “We no longer see people’s faces, those who suffer, are limited, tormented and ultimately slaughtered on battlefields”: these are the words of Hon. Igino Giordani in a heartfelt speech to the Italian Parliament. We are called to see, to rediscover the face of every person, to say no to war, to every act of war. To achieve peace, however, tireless diplomacy and negotiation are needed, because war and terrorism represent complete defeat for humankind. This is why we urgently call for the establishment of a high-level trilateral committee between special representatives of the United States, the European Union and Iran, with a mandate to re-establish meaningful dialogue and ultimately achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict. Mario Bruno Marco Desalvo President – Mppu Movement New Humanity NGO contact: Mario Bruno +39 334 998 0260 Text as pdf
76 years after that December 7th 1943, Paolo Balduzzi takes us to Trent to visit some of the significant places of those early days of Chiara and the Focolare community. Today, the city from which everything began is bringing into its civil and social fabric signs and practices derived from a mentality of fraternity that from that city has reached the ends of the earth. https://vimeo.com/378511451
On 30 August 2019, one of the last sunlit days of summer, Albert Dreston left us. The focolarino, professor and theologian also played a lead role – for generations – with football at Loppiano, the Focolare’s international centre in Italy where he lived for 52 years. Even during his earliest years, life was never simple. He was born in Rhineland in 1939, and at the age of six he lost his father in World War II. Despite the pain and amid the tears, he made his first great discovery of God. “Suddenly,” he recalled, “there was a strength and a voice inside me, as if God were telling me, ‘You are no orphan; I am your father’. From that moment on, I never missed my father, and I never ever felt alone again.” At a young age he had to have a lung removed, and it seemed he would not live for long. As often happens, however, what someone who could lose everything does is to take a step toward a great “treasure” they have discovered. That is exactly what happened in 1957 at Münster when, in a meeting with some focolarini, he was touched by “Jesus in the midst, the fruit of reciprocal love”. His life started upon the path of the Ideal, which would help him live through the tribulations and physical difficulties with a new awareness. The next year Fr. Foresi and Chiara agreed that he would start his life in focolare. A few years later, it would be Fr. Foresi yet again to tell him that, once he had finished his Old Testament studies, he would go to teach at Loppiano, the first permanent Mariapolis. It was in 1967, when Albert was 28 and his physical condition had improved, that sports at Loppiano became an essential way to get to know, share and relate to others. In that framework, a new era started for him – he became the young trainer among young people from all over the world. Throughout his years of service at Loppiano, he never stopped being a resource for others. He taught both in class and on the field, with the dedication of a football enthusiast, the intelligence of a teacher and the love of a focolarino. You could not really say that he was a star player of the beautiful game, a great goal scorer. He was more than that. In recent years, having seen 75 springs, it could happen that he did not feel up to playing. Yet you would find him there, 30 minutes early, to gather the players and set up the same field that in a few months will be named after him. He was truly much more than that, a champion of perfect timing – in a single game he could be groundskeeper, coach, referee, linesman, sweeper and overall sports director. There was always a team to build, and he always managed to select a pair of good defenders, whether they be African, Brazilian or Asian. Albert Dreston was Loppiano football. He was a true captain, a teammate to everyone, even when on the opposing team. He was a genuine legend. To speak his name today is to open the great book of the Focolare Movement, which is rich with wonderful people and precious lives. It is to dwell on a chapter of someone who, in quite different ways, knew how to give of their time to help others. In recent years the question came up of whether he could keep playing, whether it was the time to have a farewell game, hang up his boots and close his story in style. Someone took courage and whispered it to him respectfully. Yet all of us who tried were kidding ourselves. Albert, headstrong with German consistency, responded, “I will go straight from the sports field to potter’s field.” And so it was, kind of. He bid us farewell on a Friday. As usual, this was perfect timing: for the last call at the match vigil, to form teams and continue without delay… on the Elysian fields. Enjoy football heaven, captain… and thank you!
Andrea Cardinali
