Impegnati nella cultura dell’unità

Oct 21, 2010 | Non categorizzato

The 2010-11 academic year began on 18 October for Sophia University Institute (IUS) in Loppiano. An original academic institution which draws its inspiration from the spirituality of Chiara Lubich and combines training and research with a way of life consistent with the ideal of unity in diversity.

The ceremony was attended by numerous personalities from the cultural, political and Italian ecclesial community. Bishop Betori, Chancellor of the IUS, said in his speech that “today more than ever it is necessary to seek the truth with passion, which, to be accepted and communicated not only requires intellectual honesty, but the involvement of the whole the person.”

The words of President Piero Coda underscore how at Loppiano intentions are always followed by action. The 54 students in the Master’s Degree program and the 7 enrolled in the Doctoral program, come from 26 different countries. In confirmatin of its intercultural and interdisciplinary openness, starting this year there will be a student from the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and another of the Buddhist faith.

Many agreements with other universities in Italy and abroad were begun this past year. Also, the first batch of students graduated with the title of Master of Science in Fundamentals and Perspectives of a Culture of Unity, in two areas: philosophical-theological and political-economic. The president of the Focolare Movement, Maria Voce, congratulated the new graduates, highlighting how they were “committed, personally and together to enter into and outline the prospects for a culture of unity in  many fields of knowledge.  Her words stressed another feature of the IUS: everyone – faculty, students and the entire staff contribute to the training project of Sophia, in an intense atmosphere of dialogue, while respecting their respective areas of knowledge and responsibility.

During the inauguration the Sophia Foundation was presented whose aim is to support the growth and development of the institute through the granting of awards, scholarships and funding for cultural and educational projects. Sophia University Institute is also planning to expand its curriculum to include courses in Pedagogy and Musicology. Finally, another challenge concerns IUS publications. This year   Universitas Magazine series and Sophia Magazine will accompanied by For-Courses and the Sophia Library series, the latter dedicated to publication of the classics of the culture of unity.

A charism for the Middle East

Oct 20, 2010 | Non categorizzato

On Sunday, 17 October, in a “family atmosphere”, a meeting was organized for participants of the Synod for the Middle East (10-24 October) whose theme is “The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness”. The goal was to understand more deeply the charism of Chiara Lubich which is expressed in the spirituality of communion and to learn of the 40-year experience of the Focolare in Middle Eastern countries.

Twenty Bishops and other members of the Synod were in attendance at the gathering. They were welcomed by the Rev. Antonio Borges, delegate of the Focolare Movement in the Middle East and His Eminence, Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, who shared a reflection on his experiences regarding “The bishop and communion with the presbyterate”.

The Synod Fathers listened with particular interest to the story of the Movement’s diffusion in the Middle East which was shared by Nadine Chehab (Turkey), the life of the Movement in the local Church which was shared by the Maronite Bishop Simon Atallah (Lebanon), and the ecumenical experience shared by Fadia Haddad. Between the lines, images flowed by of the life and activity of the Movement in these lands.

The meeting concluded with the blessing given by the Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alessandria, His Beatitude Antonios Naguib, Rapporteur to the General Synod. He commented that there was much talk about communion at the Synod, “exactly what you are doing also here”. He pointed out that it is likewise important to underscore the importance of love as the basis of communion, for it is only the communion which is lived out in love, in unity, which can transmit God-Love.

In late afternoon, the particpants of the meeting went to the Basilica of Our Lady’s in Trastevere where the Community of Sant’Egidio held a solemn Service of Prayer for Peace.

Lawyer and Client

Oct 20, 2010 | Non categorizzato

On 14 October 2010 the conference room at the Appeals Tribunal welcomed a conference organized by Communion and Law, which was entitled “Comparing European and North American systems: the client-attorney relationship.”

The initiative, which was inserted among the events of ethics training, has been approved by the Council of the Bar of Rome.

Some 150 legal practitioners, lawyers, judges, and students were in attendance at the three-hour meeting conducted by Lawyer Carlo Fusco, who also shared the mission statement of Communion and law.

n a presentation entitled “The Role of the Lawyer’s Conscience in Client Counseling:  A North American Perspective,” Professor Uelmen reflected:  “Participating for the past several years in discussions about the role of conscience and personal faith in professional life, my sense is that following one’s own conscience, and learning how to express one’s own convictions with sincerity, has made lawyers more, not less, sensitive to the complexities inherent in questions of identity, power dynamics and social context.”

The talk by Attorney Giuseppe Sbarra, on “Mediation” and “civil mediation” was greatly appreciated. It presented mediation as a way of overcoming the culture of conflict by recognizing in it an element of social cohesion.

In the final report presented by Attorney Maria Giovanna Rigatelli from the Central Commission of Communion and Law, he described his experience of many years in an international network of lawyers for the training of practitioners. Lawyer Rigatelli gave voice to the experiences of practitioners from different parts of the world, first steps, accompanied by theoretical insights which show how to implement “fraternity” even in the legal field that can start giving shape to a new culture of law.

Educazione: un atto d’amore

Oct 20, 2010 | Non categorizzato

[:it]’Carismi in comunione’ ad Assisi

Oct 19, 2010 | Non categorizzato

Stories of reconcilliation

Oct 19, 2010 | Non categorizzato

“The Work of Mary (Focolare Movement) has been in the Middle East since 1967. It is rooted in the local culture, in deep communion with the universal Church and with the local churches, under the blessing and care of the Patricarchs and of the local Bishops. There are some 15,000 Catholic members and adherents from various rites.

Striving for continual re-evangelization through living contact with the Word of God, members of the Work of Mary strive to face the suffering and challenges of the Middle East in the light of the Word.  Following the teachings of the Church, its members commit themselves to giving witness to the Gospel in the midst of the society in which they live.

The spirituality of communion that is lived in the Work of Mary leads its members to experience the Risen Lord in the midst of His People, instilling courage within them in front of the numberless challenges they face.

Many families, tempted by emigration, strengthened by the support of the community, have decided to remain in their country and, together with others, help to build a better future.

Jesus, crucified and abandoned, inexhaustible font of love and of new life, is the answer, the way, and indispensible means for spreading the culture of the Resurrection.

Numerous Orthodox brothers and sisters share in the spirituality of the Work of Mary with their Catholic brothers and sisters. Inserted within their own churches and powerfully bound by the charity of Christ, they live and work together for the realization of Jesus’ Testament: “that all be one” (John 17:21).

With a few Muslim and Hebrew freinds there is a profound dialogue of life and of religious experience, living and working together for peace and for universal fraternity.”

Congress for students and professionals in the field of biomedics

Oct 19, 2010 | Non categorizzato

Medicine Congress

“I will preserve the purity of my life and my arts.” (from the Hippocratic Oath)

A congress for students and young professionals in the field of biomedics.

Rome, 23 – 24 October 2010

Venue: Aula Vito – Policlinico A. Gemelli

Official web site: http://www.mdc-youthcongress.org/mdc-youthcongress/Home.html

What the congress aims to achieve:

– Students and young health professionals debating about relational and ethical issues which are part of their everyday study and work.

– Looking for a way of thinking and doing which helps to face these new challenges.

– A dialogue and sharing of experiences, according to a style based on brotherhood

“I will preserve the purity of my life and my arts.” This extract from the Hippocratic Oath is the theme for the congress for students and young professionals in the field of biomedics.

La Resurrezione di Roma

Oct 15, 2010 | Non categorizzato

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[:it]I “Volontari di Dio” per una società nuova

Oct 15, 2010 | Non categorizzato

Apostoli del dialogo

Oct 15, 2010 | Non categorizzato

Che folla di santi!

Oct 15, 2010 | Non categorizzato

Chiara Luce is a Blessed – 25,000 attend celebration

Oct 14, 2010 | Non categorizzato

Chiara Luce Badano proclaimed a Blessed! The Beatification Ceremony for Chiara Luce Badano was held today at the Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love. The profound and joyous celebration was presided by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Monsignor Angelo Amato, representing Pope Benedict XVI. Around 25,000 people participated in the Solemn Mass, mainly young people from 57 countries. Because of large screens put up around the shrine, many were able to follow the proceedings seated on the grass area outside. Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement, gave a message of thanksgiving at the conclusion of the ceremony (reported below): The celebrations, however, didn’t end here because the weekend-long program includes events particularly geared towards young people with the participation also of Chiara’s parents, Ruggero and Maria Teresa Badano, something quite rare and unique, and possible only because of Chiara’s young age and the brief duration of the cause for beatification. On Saturday night, the Vatican hosted a festival of music and personal experiences at Paul VI Audience Hall. Thousands participated, not just inside the audience hall, but also outside in St Peter’s Square where the evening’s program could be followed through large screens. On Sunday morning, at 10.30, the Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone will celebrate a Thanksgiving Mass in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls. At the midday Angelus, the Pope will greet the participants through a linkup from his residence in Castelgandolfo. The entire weekend events have been transmitted  via television and Internet in many countries around the world. Maria Voce’s address at the Solemn Mass, 25 September: “First of all, on behalf of the Focolare Movement, represented here by people from all over the world, I thank Bishop Amato who has presided over this solemn and moving Mass in the Pope’s name. I thank and greet all religious and civil authorities, all the people present in this shrine and the field surrounding it, and also all those who are following this moment through the media. A special thanks to the technicians who made it possible to give this event a planetary dimension. I am deeply moved to see the splendid, luminous plan of God fulfilled by this 18-year-old girl, revealed gradually to her and then to all of us; to see it recognized today by the Church, as the first mature fruit of our Movement.  It is a historical moment, a confirmation by the Church that the spirituality of unity lived out can bring us to holiness. We have such a gratitude to God for the Charism that he sent down on earth through Chiara Lubich, and we have such a joy in our hearts for this gift that the Church is giving us today! They must be celebrating in heaven too! This moment signifies a new commitment. Chiara Luce is urging us to go forward, in fact, to ‘run’ on the road to holiness. May her shining example be of light for as many people as possible, and may it touch many, many others.”

[:it]Carismi in comunione ad Assisi[:es]Carismas en comunión en Asís

Oct 14, 2010 | Non categorizzato

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titolo provvisorio

Oct 14, 2010 | Non categorizzato

[:it]Mass media, vocazione all’unità dei popoli

Oct 13, 2010 | Non categorizzato

[:it]La dottrina spirituale

Oct 11, 2010 | Non categorizzato

La dottrina spirituale di Chiara Lubich viene presentata secondo tre grandi momenti:
il primo concentrato sul cuore del carisma;
il secondo sull’originale modalità di vivere e pensare la fede; il terzo sulla visione del mondo nei suoi aspetti più diversi, dalla politica all’economia, dalla filosofia alle scienze della comunicazione.

Come dimostrano i saggi teologici introduttivi, la figura di Chiara Lubich può essere collocata, senza timore di eccedere nella valutazione, accanto alle più grandi personalità della spiritualità cattolica di tutti i tempi.

Il suo insegnamento ha già mostrato lungo gli anni tutta la propria ricchezza, generando libri, discorsi, lettere, interventi. Di tale variegato e ricco messaggio però mancava un’organica articolazione che ne abbracciasse sia l’estensione cronologica di oltre mezzo secolo, sia l’ampiezza degli argomenti trattati.

Il presente volume, che della figura di Chiara Lubich offre la dottrina spirituale, intende colmare tale vuoto.
Gli scritti che lo compongono vanno dal 1943 (anno di fondazione del Movimento dei Focolari) ai nostri giorni, e racchiudono l’intera varietà dei generi letterari nei quali ha preso vita la spiritualità di Chiara Lubich: lettere personali e manifesti programmatici, pagine a stampa e parole sussurrate all’orecchio, magistrali lezioni accademiche e frasi stringate come aforismi, discorsi pubblici e colloqui intimi e personali. In queste pagine non manca nessuno dei numerosi registri utilizzati da Chiara Lubich per esprimere la sua originale interpretazione del cristianesimo.

Curato da un esperto studioso di Chiara Lubich, questo libro è stato rivisto dall’Autrice parola per parola, non senza nuove integrazioni e una significativa presenza di inediti. Al testo si affiancano due saggi sul valore teologico e spirituale, la bibliografia completa delle opere e una rassegna dei principali scritti sulla sua figura, due dettagliate schede sulla biografia e sul Movimento dei Focolari, un indice dei temi spirituali.
Frutto di una competenza e di un amore rari, questo libro è una vera piccola “summa” che consente di conoscere in profondità una delle più suggestive spiritualità del nostro tempo.

The modern challenge becomes dialogue

Oct 10, 2010 | Non categorizzato

Dialogue will be the key contribution made by the Focolare at the Social Week in Reggio Calabria, Italy. Lucia Fronza Crepaz was involved in drawing up the document that will be presented by the Movement and, in Reggio, she and Luca Antonini will direct the study group on “institutional transition”. Mrs Fronza was deputy in more than one legislature and in the Focolare she is co-responsible for the secretariat of the New Humanity Movement.

What did you experience when the Italian Bishops Conference asked the Focolare to be involved?

Happiness. At having been called together with everyone else. It was a very Catholic approach to call, or rather to go to each of the offices of the various associations, to gather their expectations, their charism, the different languages. We will bring what Chiara Lubich left to us: the culture of the Resurrection. Not so much in answer to bleak times, but as a hope which rests on the certainty of Jesus’ Pasch, which takes on vast horizons and foresees the possibility of a single human family as the goal of history. And so also for Italy, offering it in these 150 years of Unity, there is this new unity that is born from hope in the Risen Jesus.

From Chiara Lubich you inherited the exhortation to dialogue and to unity. She said: “All will be one if we will be one.” Dialogue in this society that seems so crushed and divided?

Dialogue as intended by Chiara is the reflection of the Trinitarian life of God who is one and three. We never ask why we don’t have an identity, but starting from the strong identity founded on the culture of the Resurrection, you can open a dialogue full of hope. If you aim at the novelty that you find in every person, in every culture, in every religion, you can draw out a thread of hope.

All of this takes place within the framework of the city, which you hold as the privileged setting. Is it also a place for dialogue?

We can look at it as the “landfill” as someone called it, or as a place of solitude, or we can look at the vocation of the city, its need to be where people can be identified. You might ask: What about the new people coming in? Their culture? They belong to the futures of our cities. If our horizons are those of a family of the world, then we can understand that what is happening is already part of this.

Your Focolare group suggest a city-wide laboratory, because the parish embraces only a portion of the city and the diocese crosses city borders. What is this city-wide laboratory?

Even the tiniest cities face all the challenges of globalization: different cultures and generations encountering each other. A city is already a laboratory. The grand theme of interreligious relations, for example, can also fall to a single Christian who meets a Muslim. This micro-dialogue shows that you can already begin – on a small scale – to give answers to the great questions that humankind is facing. This new project can initiate from a parish, from a mayor, from a group of citizens or a group of associations. The city, instead of being a place where everything is exasperating, can become the place of beginnings.

Source: article by Giovanni Ruggiero, Avvenire 24 September 2010

[:it]La città, dimora dell’interdipendenza

Oct 9, 2010 | Non categorizzato

Haiti outside the spotlight

Oct 6, 2010 | Non categorizzato

It was last 12th of January when a violent earthquake threw Haiti into confusion, causing nearly half a million deaths. On the pages of Action for a United World News the spotlights still shine on areas where the others have been spent, and they contintinue to show how reconstruction goes on in this country which is perhaps the poorest of the Northern Hemisphere. AMU’s commitment, as that of other NGOs, is precious because it continues on after the initial crisis when the attention of public opinion began to wane and frustrate the initial successes.

Through a local organization – Action contre la Pauvreté (PACNE) – AMU, the New Families and Youth for a United World Movements, support a project for building a welcome center for displaced people. The work is already in an advanced stage and moving along with the installation of the utilities, like water. The selection of beneficiaries for the project is in the care of a committee which includes members of PACNE and representatives of the local community, such as the mayor and local pastor. Priority will be given to the most needy persons among those who, having lost everything, have fled to Mont Organisé, the area in which the welcome center has been built. Once these persons are able to return to the city or to more permanent dwellings, the building will be used to welcome the elderly, the sick, or persons who are alone.  Everything will be managed with absolute transparency by a specially elected commission. Obviously, the need and the difficulties are enormous and it will take years before the infrastructure and the economic system are able to  completely respond to the the needs of the people. For this reason, Amu will continue to evaluate new proposals and projects, which we will continue to report on.

[:it]Il dialogo interreligioso, una esigenza improrogabile

Oct 6, 2010 | Non categorizzato

"La Giornata di Assisi è molto molto importante, molto molto urgente. Se prima il dialogo interreligioso si poteva fare, era segno dei tempi, adesso è un’esigenza improrogabile, proprio per le circostanze. Perché c’ è la minaccia anche di uno scontro di culture, di religioni. Non solo. Come ha detto il Papa ed ho pensato anch’io quando sono cadute le torri, qui non si tratta soltanto di un fattore umano come l’ odio, ma qui c’ è di mezzo „la forza delle tenebre“, ci sono forze del male, per cui non basta l’elemento politico, civile, umano, per contrapporsi. Anche quello sarà stato necessario, ma è necessario che si arruolino anche le religioni, che le religioni si mobilitino, perché contro il Male – con la M grande – ci vuole Dio, ci vuole l’aiuto di Dio, l’aiuto soprannaturale. E’ essenzialissimo l’aspetto religioso oggi nel mondo".

Delegates from the Focolare worldwide gather in Rome

Oct 5, 2010 | Non categorizzato

The yearly meeting of delegates from the Focolare around the world began in Rome following the beatification of Chiara Luce Badano, the first Focolare member to reach the altars on 25th September 2010. There couldn’t have been a better way for the Focolare delegates to begin their three-day retreat at the opening of the meeting. They came from 78 nations representing the 182 nations where the Focolare can be found. In all, 345 people took part in the gathering.

Maria Voce, president of the Movement, welcomed everyone saying: “Let us retire with Jesus, together, so that we may take a new step toward holiness.” Her opening remarks were a reflection on the Will of God, the second point of the spirituality of unity, which will be considered and lived more deeply by the entire Movement during the coming year.  

The two main guidelines that have been given to the Movement for the coming year are: the growth in holiness, which was underscored by Benedict XVI in a greeting to the members of the Movement when he received Maria Voce in audience; and Unity, in order to “contribute to the realization of Jesus’ prayer to the Father: ‘that all be one’ (cf Jn 17:21), which points to universal fraternity.”

Amid the various formal presentations, interspersed with many moments of joyful communion in  small discussion groups, there was the  presentation given by the philosopher and theologian, Jesus Moran who emphasized “that the human person by his very structure is made to say yes to God, a  yes that makes him a total person.”

The Brazilian sociologist, Vera Araujo discussed the social implications of the same theme. Araujo discussed “places where the will of God is manifested: in daily and professional life and in the signs of the times” among others. She highlighted the importance of enlivening with evangelical love every institution, “for through it, it is possible to expand a network of relationships that are truly human.”

The meeting will be underway until 17 October 2010 with a rich and diverse program, with more reflection on the topic of formation, and with updating about the life of the Movement in the world. A special look will be given to the Asian continent, following the recent visit of Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti to Korea, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, and Pakistan.

(http://www.focolareasiatour.it/)

[:it]Da Benedetto XVI i genitori di Chiara Badano [:es]Los padres de Chiara Badano en audiencia con Benedicto XVI

Sep 29, 2010 | Non categorizzato

Una felicità misteriosa

Sep 27, 2010 | Non categorizzato

[:it]Dalla Sardegna, un invito all’unità e al perdono

Sep 27, 2010 | Non categorizzato

“For You!”

Sep 26, 2010 | Non categorizzato

Audio mp3 – Discorso Maria Voce all’Aula Nervi (Vaticano) 25 settembre 2010

The parents of Chiara Luce were greeted by a standing ovation as they came on stage at Paul VI Hall on the evening of September 25, as the hall was packed with people and connected to giant television screens outside in St Peter’s Square. The words of Chiara’s father, Ruggero, were particularly striking: “These were very special days, but what I’d like to say now is that we lived exceptional moments being with Chiara. We lived in an atmosphere that you cannot explain. These two years have been the most beautiful of our lives, the most blessed by God, because Jesus made us live in a supernatural dimension that raised us from the ground. Like when you are on a plane, and from the window you see the earth, the clouds far below you. All of our pain and those of Chiara that were even greater, we saw them there, below us, not touching us. This was the fruit of the love of many people who prayed and supported us.”

“I want to greet everyone, but particularly the young. This experience is valid for all, but Chiara Luce offered her life for you, she gave it for you!” Also these words from Blessed Chiara Luce’s mother were welcomed with a long applause.  In the first section of the program, which was entitled Life: 130 youths with the help of 70 technicians, portrayed, in music, dance, experiences and film, the birth and early childhood of Chiara Luce who encountered the Gospel at the age of nine and chose it as the alphabet of life.

The second section, Love: her growth, adolescence and encounter with Jesus Crucified and Forsaken, the greatest love. The show on stage was enriched by the witnesses of teenagers from today who highligted the universality of the experience of Chiara Luce who was of their same age. Marlisa shared the painful experience of her parents’ separation and of her reconciliation with her father after seven years of silence and hostility. Testimonies also arrived from afar, like the one of the young Jordanian boy who was involved in dialogue with his Muslim peers, and that of a young Pakistan boy.

The final and most touching part of the evening, Light, was dedicated to the illness and the adventure of becoming saints together. “Chiara took 25 minutes to say yes. Then she turned to me with her usual smile, radiating, with her gaze truly full of light. Then she never turned back.” With these words Chiara’s mother made everyone relive the moment when Chiara received news of the seriousness of her illness.

In a 1989 film clip Chiara Lubich was shown inviting everyone to choose unity as the Ideal and Jesus Forsaken as the key for constructing it.  This was the life program of Chiara Luce. The words of her letter to Chiara Lubich resounded in Paul VI Hall: “I’ve discovered that Jesus Forsaken is the key to unity with God, I want to choose him as my spouse and prepare myself for when he comes. I want to prefer him!”.

Towards the conclusion of the evening, Maria Voce, president of the Focolare Movement took the stage. Her words expressed the common feeling among the youth in the hall: “Now we leave here enriched and desirous of new things, of great things.  We’ve lived strong, very powerful moments. We’ve discovered something beautiful together: that everything can change, our relationships, the way we face joys and sufferings, even when they come without warning, with tragic faces – and that we can give birth to a revolution. It has a name: love. Let’s leave now with this new force in our heart.”

Love with a capital “L”

Sep 25, 2010 | Non categorizzato

Audio mp3 – Discorso Maria Voce nella Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura.

Returning from the visit in Great Britain with the Holy Father, as I sat beside him on the plane, we spoke of Chiara Luce Badano. He said that “we shall have to value our Blessed as a valuable example for youths.” This is what Cardinal Bertone, Secretary of State of the Holy See confided to the young people who filled the great Roman Basilica in the presence of 3 cardinals, 15 bishops, and 200 priests who were concelebrating with him. The cardinal recalled the challenge that Chiara Luce had handed over to young people: “I can no longer run – she said – but I want to pass on the baton, like at the Olympics.” The cardinal added: “Your presence here is a sign that you’ve accepted this challenge.” Then he recalled the invitation of John Paul II at the World Youth Day of August 1989: “Young people, don’t be afraid to become saints! Fly high!”

In his homily, the Secretary of State reviewed some of the highlights of Chiara Luce’s life: A firm and constant faith in the love of God which was reflected in love of neighbor; a joyful life, filled with many interests and healthy friendships; a precocious Christian maturity which demonstrated itself in the way she faced sickness and death in a heroic way. He spoke of the factors that contributed to her formation: First, her family, which “carried out its educational duty perfectly” as did the ecclesial community and the social environment of Sassello. Then he added: “The Focolare Movement played a determining role in the formation of Chiara Badano. In fact, at the age of nine she met the Movement in which she had a strong and progressive communitarian experience of Christian life” and “deepened her personal relationship with God” to the point of living that last extraordinary stage in her life and concluded her ascent to holiness.”

Chiara Badano, the Secretary of State concluded, was and is an example which gives concreteness to the recent message of the Pope to Young People for the World Youth Day in Madrid: “Often the Cross frightens us because it seems to negate life. In reality, the opposite is true! Suffering is God’s “yes” to man, the maximum expression of his love and the fountain from which the eternal life flows.

In her final words of thanks, Maria Voce, President of the Focolare, remembered with deep emotion that the Basilica of Saint Paul was also the site for the final farewell to Chiara Lubich on the 18th of March 2008. “These two celebrations – she added – melt into one. From this place the witness that Chiara Luce gave to us is launched to all. Now it’s our turn.” Maria Voce’s words were then expressed symbolically by two young people who were handed on a baton, that they might continue the race with Chiara Luce.

Then Cardinal Bertone surprised Chiara Luce’s parents by extending to them a special blessing from Pope Benedict for their upcoming 50th wedding anniversary. The basilica exploded with applause for the couple who are also a witness and example for everyone.

At the Angelus, Pope Benedict’s XVI’s words were received by the youths with much joy and emotion.

Dear Friends,

(…) only Love with the capital “L” can give us true happiness! This has been demonstrated by another witness, a young girl who, yesterday, was proclaimed Blessed here in Rome.

I speak of Chiara Badano, an Italian girl, born in 1971, who was led to her death by an illness just shortly before she would have turned nineteen. But she was a ray of light as her nickname reminds us: Chiara ‘Luce’ (‘Light’).

Her parish and the diocese of Acqui Terme and the Focolare Movement, to which she belonged, are in celebration today – and it’s a feast for all young people who can find example of Christian integrity in her. Her last words of full adherence to God’s will were: “Bye, Mamma. Be happy because I am.”

We give praise to God, because his love is stronger than evil and death; and we thank the Virgin Mary who guides the young, even through difficulty and sufferings, to fall in love with Jesus and to rediscover the beauty of life.”

The Light on the Lamp Stand

Sep 22, 2010 | Non categorizzato

The visit which was surrounded in controversy during the time of its preparation, concluded in great joy. It turned out to be a great feast for an event which made such an indelible mark. There were protests, but they were small compared to the thousands of people – both Catholic and non – who surprised everyone by pouring out into the streets to welcome Benedict XVI. Even the Catholic bishops were overcome with joyful emotion. No one was expecting anything like it, such a success, a true miracle in answer to many prayers.

In 4 days the Pope spoke to the laity, religious, children, youths, politicians, bishops and seminarians, the Catholic faithful, members of other Churches and of other religions. He instilled hope in everyone and placed Christianity and its values at the heart of the society, encouraging everyone not to marginalize them. His words were an answer to the challenge of secularism, which is so strongly felt in this country, and they provoked a positive and generous response in those who heard him speak.

He completely dispelled the vision which some people had of him as a cold and distant man. The visible testimony of his union with God, his concentration in prayer, and his personal love for every person won over the hearts of many! Each word that he spoke seemed to throw light on specific topics.

The ecumenical ceremony in Westminster Abbey was an intensely spiritual moment where a new vision of ecumenism emerged, the churches joined together in response to the “aggressive secularism”. This was underscored by Archbishop Rowan Williams when he addressed the Pope with these words:

“ . . . (We) pray that your time with us in Britain may help us all towards a renewal of the hope and energy we need as Christians to witness to our conviction that in their relation to God men and women may grow into the fullest freedom and beauty of spirit.” And speaking to Catholic and Anglican Bishops who were joined together, the Archbishop said: “The obstacles which still exist do not prevent us from finding new ways to build each other up in holiness”.

A remarkable number of people followed his visit on television. BBC and Sky transmitted all the events live. It was like living with the Pope for four days.

As he said goodbye to the Pope at the airport, Prime Minister David Cameron remarked: “He spoke to a nation of 6 million Catholics, but more than 60 million citizens listened to him. He offered a message not only to the Catholic Church but to each of us, persons with faith and those without faith. His words challenged the entire nation to ‘wake up’ and think . . . because I think that all of us can share his message to work for the common good and that each of us has a social obligation towards the other, towards our family and our community and, obviously, this caring should extend beyond our shores . . . His presence among us was a great honor for our land.”

The Pope thanked everyone for the warm hospitality which he received. He confirmed that the diversity of English society offers opportunities to deepen ecumenical, interreligious, and intercultural dialogues and that it is, for this very reason, greatly enriching for the entire community.

In his concluding remarks to the Catholic bishops, the Pope encouraged them to “explore appropriate and efficacious ways” of “involving in the Church’s mission” “the new ecclesial movements that have a particular charism for evangelization.”

When at Mass we heard the words of Jesus to “put the lamp on a lamp stand”, it seemed to be confirming what the Pope had done in the heart of each person who heard him speak.

[:it]Silvana Veronesi in Sardegna

Sep 17, 2010 | Non categorizzato

[:it] Il perdono di Don Marco

Sep 15, 2010 | Non categorizzato

[:it]Più efficace di una tazza di caffè

Sep 14, 2010 | Non categorizzato

Credible Witnesses

Sep 9, 2010 | Non categorizzato

The will of God in the life of Christians. This is the central theme of the 29th Ecumenical Meeting of Bishops, friends of the Focolare Movement, which is taking place between the 9th to13th of September at the Mariapolis Centre in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. There are 35 bishops from 17 countries participating, from Australia to Hong Kong, from India to Brazil. They include bishops from the Syrian-Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Methodist, Lutheran-Evangelical churches, and the Roman Catholic Church. On Sunday 12th of September, the bishops will attend the Angelus with the Pope at Castelgandolfo. A visit from Cardinal Walter Kasper, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, is foreseen, in which he will give a review of the present situation of ecumenism.

The witness of Christians. “Sermons have no value today. Faced with the inflation of the spoken word, which the media has so accustomed us to, what is needed now is witnessing; this is the most promising prospective for evangelization”. These were words spoken by Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, Archbishop Emeritus of Prague, as he presented the Ecumenical Meeting of Bishops to some journalists. The focus of this year’s meeting will be to reflect on: “The will of God in the life of Christians”.

“This topic,” Cardinal Vlk went on to explain “is not uniquely religious, because in a secularized world in which you feel the absence of God, the human person tends to close himself in his own will, making it difficult, then, to accept or to confront it with the will of an other”. According to Vlk, “the answer to the crises that Europe is passing, would be to show by our witness that God is near to every person in history”. But this is a witness – the Cardinal immediately added – that necessarily requires “the unity of the churches, because it is only if we are united that our witness will be efficacious”. This is the great novelty and message that you derive from important meetings like these.

With regard to the state of ecumenism today and the crisis in dialogue, the cardinal reiterated: “What unites us is much more than what divides us. In a sense, there are many things that allow us already now to live as if we were a united church. The experience of these 29 years of uninterrupted meetings between bishops of different churches,” the cardinal concluded“confirms our confidence that “unity is possible”. Bishop Christian Krause, from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany was of the same opinion, while noting that there is an “institutional crisis taking place in Europe at all levels”. He did not share the recent idea of an “ecumenical winter”, often heard of in ecumenical circles, because there are many initiatives that are testifying to the contrary. He offered two examples: the experience of Kirchentag in Monaco, Germany; and “Together for Europe”, which is an ongoing joint initiative between 160 European Christian movements. When the Anglican Bishop Robin Smith from the diocese of St Alban’s in England took the floor, he stated that he has been participating in these meetings, sponsored by the Focolare Movement, for twenty years. “You don’t come to these meetings to debate about our differences, but to live a concrete experience of unity, taking for ourselves the prayer of Jesus to the Father, ‘that all be one’. This is an experience that allows us to experience the presence of the Risen Lord among us.”

The Pact of Unity. The bishop’s meetings include a “pact of unity”. Bishop Armando Bortolaso, one time Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo in Syria, now living in Lebanon, explained it in these words: “We declare that we are prepared to give our lives each for the other, to love the other’s diocese as we love our own. Then we put our signature to it and exchange the sign of peace”. It’s always a powerful and moving moment that gives – as the Catholic bishop says – “the temperature of this ecumenism of life and of the heart. These are meetings between brothers more than between friends, because each is ready to give his life for the other”.

[:it]La crisi di coppia non è sempre irreversibile[:es]La crisis de pareja no es siempre irreversible[:fr]Les crises du couple ne sont pas toujours irréversibles[:pt]A crise do casal nem sempre é irreversível

Aug 22, 2010 | Non categorizzato

[:it]I diciotto anni di Chiara Luce Badano[:pt]Os 18 anos de Chiara Luce Badano – segunda parte

Aug 17, 2010 | Non categorizzato

[:it]Casetta “Primi tempi”

Aug 14, 2010 | Non categorizzato

Nuove iniziative economiche: la chiave per il futuro

Aug 13, 2010 | Non categorizzato