Focolare Movement
Chiara Luce, it’s her moment!

Chiara Luce, it’s her moment!

Church announces beatification date for Italian teen

Chiara Badano, an Italian who died of bone cancer just before her 19th birthday, will be beatified Sept. 25 at a shrine outside of Rome, said the bishop of the diocese where she lived.

March 24th, 2010

By Joeun Lee

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Chiara Badano, an Italian who died of bone cancer just before her 19th birthday, will be beatified Sept. 25 at a shrine outside of Rome, said the bishop of the diocese where she lived.

The beatification ceremony will be held at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Divine Love and will be presided over by Archbishop Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, said Bishop Pier Giorgio Micchiardi of Acqui.

A member of the Focolare Movement, Badano corresponded for years with Chiara Lubich, founder of the movement.

Born Oct. 29, 1971, in northern Italy, she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone malignancy, when she was 17. According to her biography, the diagnosis came after many painful examinations and operations. When she was given the news, she vowed to accept it as God’s will.

“If you want it, Jesus, so do I,” she was reported to have said during a painful therapy session, adding that “embraced pain makes one free.”

She also reportedly declined to take the morphine doctors offered because, she said, “I want to share as much as possible the pain of Jesus on the cross.”

“I feel that God is asking me for something more, something greater,” she said, according to her official biography. “I could be confined to this bed for years, I don’t know. I’m only interested in God’s will, doing that well in the present moment: playing God’s game,” she said.

Badano, who was nicknamed “Luce” or “Light,” died Oct. 7, 1990, and her funeral was attended by hundreds of young members of the Focolare Movement from throughout northern Italy. Devotion to her has spread, so the rather isolated Diocese of Acqui asked that her beatification ceremony be celebrated in Rome to make it easier for more young people to attend, said Mariagrazia Magrini, the vice-postulator of her cause.

From March 26, 2010 issue of Catholic San Francisco.

Chiara Luce, it’s her moment!

‘The living strength of the charism of Unity’

‘Over the next few days the person and teachings of Chiara Lubich will be remembered in many countries throughout the world. This occasion gives us the opportunity to thank God for the great gift that Chiara is for humanity and to re-focus on the living strength of the charism of unity, which has touched the lives of people of different cultures, traditions and faiths.

Day by day we experience that Chiara hasn’t left us but is still at work, in a special way through the lives of our communities, in every corner of the world, illuminating and renewing today’s society.’ This is what Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement said in a message to everyone who will be attending the celebrations to mark the Second Anniversary.

A wide variety of events are being organised throughout the world, not just in remembrance of Chiara but also to share her legacy with many others in this current moment of global crisis, and of search for something new.

Ecumenical meetings in Moscow and Bucharest, an inter-religious meeting in Hong Kong (on the 40th Anniversary of the beginning of the Movement there). On Mount Sion, in Jerusalem, where tradition holds that Jesus prayed for unity, Christians, Jews and Muslims will participate in a ceremony where 8 olive trees will be planted in honour of Chiara Lubich.

Cultural Events: The City Councils of Rome and Milan are hosting two conferences with Civil and Religious leaders present, entitled respectively: ‘Seeds of fraternity for a more united world’, and ‘Chiara Lubich – a life lived for unity’, ten years after she was conferred with Roman Citizenship at Campidoglio.

The impact Chiara Lubich’s charism has made on the world of Economy will be studied in depth at the University of Reggio Emilia. In Parma the subject will be: ‘Communicating in the era of the New Media: Chiara Lubich’s Way’.

There are also many artistic events planned – concerts and classical ballet.

There are many Masses planned, often celebrated by bishops and followed by meetings with testimonies and explanations of the spirituality of unity and of the re-discovery of God-Love, which was the starting point for everything. At St John Lateran’s Basilica in Rome Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, will celebrate a mass; Card. Dionigi Tettamanzi in Milan; Card. Archbishop Francisco Javier Errazzuriz Ossa in Santiago, Chile; H.E. Mons Pelatre in Istanbul. Also in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) with Card. Lopez Rodriguez and Hong Kong with Card. Zen. To mention just a few other places where masses will be celebrated: Spalato (Croatia), Bucharest (Romania), Melbourne (Australia), Salvador de Bahia and Aracaju (Brazil), Iringa (Tanzania) and Montreal (Canada).

Following the mass celebrated by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer at the UN, at Hyde Park (near New York), USA, there will be a ceremony to award the 2010 Luminosa Prize for Unity.

Events of every type – more than 400 throughout the world – that show how far the spirit of unity has spread, and with what gratitude Chiara Lubich is remembered. ‘What is the best way to express our gratitude?’ – Maria Voce concludes her message – ‘Let’s go ahead together, in her footsteps, living the ideal for which Chiara gave her life: universal fraternity.’

Chiara Luce, it’s her moment!

‘Communicating God-Love’

Over 50 Bishops from 30 countries and 4 continents, who are interested in the Focolare spirituality, met together in Castelgandolfo from 27 February to 5 March. During the programme, rich with talks and a sharing of experiences, they looked at the challenges of the modern world and studied the social, economic and political implications of Benedict XVI’s latest encyclical Caritas in Veritate.

Among the main speakers, as well as Card. Miloslav Vlk, the convenor of these congresses, were Card. G.B. Re, Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops, Card. Claudio Hummes, Prefect of the Congregation of the Clergy, Card. Annio Antonelli, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, and the emeritus Cardinals Adrianus J Simonis, ex-Archbishop of Utrecht, Holland and Giovanni Cheli of the Roman Curia. 

In an atmosphere of fraternal sharing and friendship, this meeting offered a unique occasion for intellectual and spiritual enrichment. A lively dialogue followed the meditations and reflections on the problems of our times, and the witnesses of priests, in the context of the Year for Priests, committed on different fronts in a society that is completely secularised or totally indifferent to religious values.

The recently founded University Institute ‘Sophia’, based at Loppiano (near Florence), gave important contributions on exegesis, the debate between science and faith, evolution and creation, and economy, allowing a 360 degree vision on many human realities in the perspective of interpreting facts and daily news in the light of revelation.

Similar congresses have taken place or are planned in other countries:

Asia: Bangkok from 9-13 February at the same time as the visit by Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement.
Africa: Mid-March in Bangui, Cameroun
Middle-East, Brazil (San Paolo) in April and Columbia (Bogota) also in April.

March 2010 – Find genuine faith

The Word of Life, taken from Scripture, is offered each month as a guide and inspiration for daily living. From the Focolare’s beginnings, Chiara Lubich wrote her commentaries on each Word of Life, and after her death in March 2008, her early writings are now being featured once again. This commentary, addressed to a primarily Christian audience, was originally published in September 1979.

How often in the course of your life have you felt the need for somebody to give you a hand and at the same time realized that no one could solve your problem. Then, inadvertently, you turn to Someone who can make the impossible happen. This Someone has a name: Jesus.
Listen to what he says to you:

“Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Obviously, the expression “to move mountains” is not to be taken literally. Jesus did not promise his disciples the power to do spectacular miracles simply to amaze the crowds. In fact if you look through the whole history of the Church, you will not find one saint, as far as I know, who literally moved mountains by faith. The expression “to move mountains” is hyperbole, that is, a rhetorical exaggeration. It was intended to instill in the minds of the disciples the idea that with faith nothing is impossible.
Indeed, the purpose of every miracle of Jesus, directly or through his followers, has always been for the sake of the kingdom of God, promoting the Gospel or the salvation of humankind. Moving mountains wouldn’t serve this purpose.
The comparison with the “mustard seed” is used to show that what Jesus requires of you is not faith of a particular size, but a genuine faith. The characteristic of genuine faith is that it is rooted solely in God and not in your own strength.
If you are assailed by doubts or reservations about your faith, it means your trust in God is not yet total: your faith is weak and not very effective, and still depends on your own strength and on human ways of reasoning.
On the other hand, one who trusts in God completely lets God himself act and … for God nothing is impossible.
The faith Jesus wants from his disciples is, in fact, that attitude of total trust which allows God himself to manifest his power.
And this faith, which can therefore move mountains, is not reserved for certain exceptional people. It is possible, and it is a requirement, for all believers.
   
“Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

It is thought that Jesus said these words to his disciples when he was about to send them out on a mission.
It is easy to be discouraged and afraid when you know you are a little flock, with no special talents, facing crowds of people to whom you have to give the truth of the Gospel. It is easy to lose heart in front of people interested in anything but the kingdom of God. It seems an impossible task.
It is then that Jesus assures his disciples that by faith they will “move mountains” of indifference and apathy in the world. If they have faith, nothing will be impossible for them.
This expression can be applied, furthermore, to all circumstances in life, as long as they are about the progress of the Gospel and the salvation of people.
At times, when faced with difficulties we cannot overcome, we may even be tempted not to turn to God. Human reasoning tells us, “Give up; it’s no use anyway.” It is then that Jesus urges us not to be discouraged but to turn to God with trust. In one way or another, he will answer us.
Some months had passed since the day when, full of hope, Lella first reported to her new job in the Flemish-speaking area of Belgium. But then a sense of dismay and loneliness took hold of her.
It seemed as though an insurmountable barrier had gone up between her and the other young women she lived and worked with. She felt lonely and like a stranger among people she only wished to serve with love.
It was all because she had to speak a language that was neither hers nor the language of those she spoke to. She had been told that everybody spoke French in Belgium, and she had learned it. But meeting the people, she realized that the Flemish only studied French in school and generally spoke it unwillingly.
Many times she tried to move this mountain of segregation that kept her apart from the others, but in vain. What could she do for them?

One evening she noticed that Godeliève was very sad. She had gone up to her room without touching her supper. Lella tried to follow, but she stopped in front of her door, shy and hesitant. She wanted to knock… but what words could she use to make herself understood? She stood there a few seconds, then gave up and left.
The next morning she went to church and sat at the very back, her face in her hands so that no one would see her tears. It was the only place where there was no need to speak a different language, where no explanations were needed, because there was Someone who understood beyond words. This certainty of being understood gave her courage, and with her soul in anguish, she asked Jesus, “Why can’t I share the crosses of the other girls and tell them what you yourself made me understand when I found you: that every suffering is love?”
She remained in front of the tabernacle as though expecting an answer from the One who had brought light into every darkness of her life.
Then her eyes fell on the Gospel of the day, and she read, “Take courage [that is, have faith], I have conquered the world” (Jn 16:33). These words were like a healing balm on Lella’s soul, and she felt great peace.
When she went back for breakfast, she met Annj, the girl who took care of the housework. She greeted Annj and followed her into the storeroom; then, without a word she started to help her prepare breakfast.
The first to come down was Godeliève. She came to the kitchen for her coffee quickly, to avoid seeing anyone. But there, she stopped; Lella’s peace had touched her soul in a way that was stronger than any words.
That evening, on the way home, Godeliève caught up with Lella on her bicycle and, trying to speak in a way Lella would understand, she whispered: “Your words aren’t necessary. Today your life said, ‘You too should love.’” The mountain had moved!
 

By Chiara Lubich

Bishop’s meeting in Thailand

The new bishop of Islamabad and Rawalpindi in Pakistan has just being ordained. His Diocese reaches as far as the borders of Afghanistan – where pastoral visits are often high risk. Mons Anthony Ruffin participated for the first time at the periodic meeting of Bishops, friends of the Focolare Movement, in the Far East. Last year in was held in Macao and this year it is being held in Bangkok in Thailand. The meeting started on the 9th of February and continued until the 12th. The thirty bishops reflected on the theme ‘To communicate God who is Love – new evangelization today’, and looked at two areas in particular: on one hand the challenge of the encyclical Caritas in Veritate and the need of communication in this age of globalization and on the other Inter-religious dialogue in the light of God who is Love. Paolo Loriga

Chiara Luce, it’s her moment!

Many Roads for a United World

An International Congress will be held in Castelgandolfo 19-21 February called ‘United World Project’. Young people from all over the world will come together to share their ideas and talents to further universal solidarity.

The journey started in 1985, when Chiara Lubich encouraged the young people of the Focolare Movement to widen the invitation to work together to build a more united world to young people of every nationality, culture and religious conviction. The journey has already taken them far and wide, and can be seen in the many activities and projects that have been started in developing countries, in cities, or simply where these young people live.

To give new impulse to this project and to raise awareness with as many young people as possible, ‘Youth for a United World’ are meeting together at the Mariapolis Centre in Castel Gandolfo from 19 to 21 February. This meeting will be a re-launch of the original ‘Many Roads for a United World’ that marked the beginning of the Movement, in order to reinvigorate it today together with today’s young people. In this increasingly globalized world we can reach a bigger variety of young people including people from remote places, or others who don’t have any particular religious belief, but share the commitment to break down those obstacles which still exist between people of different ethnic, cultural or social backgrounds.

The meeting, which includes a half day visit to Rome, is not only open to those who already know ‘Youth for a United World’ but to anybody who might like to get to know it. Reflections, sharing of experiences and meetings will alternate with moments of celebration, friendship and practical work, to put into action the ideas that emerge during the congress.

Bookings are open until 12 February at sgmu@focolare.org, or at the International Centre of GMU tel: ++ 39 06 94792089

www.mondounito.net

‘Youth for a united World’ are also on Facebook

Chiara Luce, it’s her moment!

Giancarlo Faletti

Brief biography

Giancarlo Faletti was Co-President of the Focolare Movement from July 2008 – September 2014. Faletti was born on the 14th of September 1940 in the Municipality of Cerro Tanaro, Province of Asti in the Piedmont Region of Italy, into a family that was sensitive to social issues. Though never receiving a particular religious formation, from an early age he felt a growing desire to become involved in the world of Catholic youth and, later, in the field of Christian volunteers which brought him close to the suffering and the poor. Following a period of personal searching, in 1959 he encountered the spirituality of communion and remained fascinated by Chiara Lubich’s proposal to live for the realization of the unity of the human family that Jesus had asked of the Father: “That all be one!” – which is the goal of the Focolare Movement. At the age of twenty-five he decided to completely give himself to God in community life in a focolare.  After completing his studies in Economics, he was employed at a prestigious bank in Turin, where he held executive level positions. In 1972, after living in various focolare communities in Turin, he was given the responsibility of the Focolare in Genoa, where he showed particular attention towards the youth. It was during these years that the fruits of holiness began to blossom precisely among the youth, as in the case of Chiara Luce Badano who was recently beatified, and Alberto Michelotti and Carlo Grisolia for whom the process of beatification is in progress. Following his appointment as co-director of the Focolare Movement in Lazio, Giancarlo concluded his theology studies at the Pontifical Lateran University and in 1997 was ordained to the priesthood. A few months later Chiara Lubich him appointed him delegate of the Movement in Abruzzo, Sardegna and Rome, where he remained until the Assembly of 2008 in which he was elected co-president of the Movement. He accompanied Maria Voce on her visit to Benedict XVI at the conclusion of the Assembly and, in the end of January 2009, he attended the enthronement of Patricarch Cirillo I in Moscow. During the years, he has accompanied the president Maria voce on several trips in Europe and in the world to visit Focolare communities. During these trips he has had numerous contacts with civil leaders, ecclesiastical leaders, and leaders of institutions.

February 2010 – Find joy

Jesus presents himself as the one who fulfills the divine promises and the expectations of a people whose story is marked by an alliance with God that has never been revoked.
The idea of the gate is similar to and explained quite well by another image used by Jesus: “I am the way… No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). He is truly a passageway, an open door that leads to the Father, to God himself.

“I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture."

Practically speaking, what does this Word of Life mean? Other passages of the Gospel have implications similar to this phrase from John. Let us reflect on the “narrow gate,” through which we must strive to enter (see Mt 7:13) so as to enter into life.
Why did we choose this passage? We feel that perhaps it is the closest to the truth that Jesus reveals about himself, and it helps us see best how to live it.
When did he become this wide open door, completely open to the Trinity? At the moment the door of heaven seemed to be closed for him, he became the gateway to heaven for us all.
Jesus Forsaken (see Mk 15:34 and Mt 27:46) is the door through which a perfect exchange between God and humanity takes place; in his emptying, he united the children to the Father. It is through that emptiness (the opening of the door) that we come in contact with God and God with us.
So he is at the same time a narrow and wide open door, and we ourselves can experience this.

“I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.”

In his abandonment, Jesus himself became our access to the Father. His part is done. But to take advantage of such a huge grace, each one of us must do his or her tiny part, which consists of approaching that door and going through it.
How? When we suffer because of disappointment or something painful, or because of unexpected misfortune or unexplained illness, we can recall the suffering of Jesus, who experienced all these trials and a thousand others.
Yes, he is present in everything that speaks of suffering. Every suffering of ours can bear his name.
Let us try to recognize Jesus in every hardship, in all life’s difficult situations, in every moment of darkness, in our personal trials and those of others, in the sufferings of humanity. All these are him, because he has taken them upon himself.
It would be enough to tell him, with faith, “You, Lord, are my only good” (See Ps 16:2). It would be enough to do something tangible in order to alleviate “his” sufferings in the poor and those who are unhappy, in order to go beyond the door and find a joy on the other side we have never experienced before, a new fullness of life.
 

By Chiara Lubich

The Word of Life, taken from Scripture, is offered each month as a guide and inspiration for daily living. From the Focolare’s beginnings, Chiara Lubich wrote her commentaries on each Word of Life, and after her death in March 2008, her early writings are now being featured once again. This commentary, addressed to a primarily Christian audience, was originally published in April 1999.

Chiara Luce, it’s her moment!

Ninety years ago today, Chiara Lubich was born

Eli, Chiara would have been ninety today. During her lifetime the world changed a lot. You knew her closely. What do you think is her historical importance? «In each period of history, God has sent a charism to meet the particular needs of the world. At this time there is a tension towards unity, in politics, in business …and we can see this from European unity, the UN, and the ecumenical dialogue that happened during this period. The Second Vatican Council opened the Catholic Church to other Christian traditions and other faiths. It seems that everything had been prepared for the charism of unity. Chiara’s gift, which can be summed up in the words of Jesus “May they all be one”, is unity in its maximum expression: “all One”. Her charism is addressed to everyone as children of God-Love, for everyone has been created in order to love. Chiara focused on this aspect of human nature, and created relationships of all kinds. Her inspiration that mutual love brings unity was something new! It was the discovery that you can go to God together in a communion which grows deeper and deeper». Many people, including Church leaders, have suggested that Chiara had a “gift of prophecy”. Could you tell us about any intuitions she had that proved to be true? «In the very early days of the movement, on the feast of Christ the King she invited her companions to ask for what they read in the Readings of the day: “… ask and I will give you as an inheritance all peoples…” While she was still alive, she saw this spirit reach 184 nations, almost all of them. Another new intuition was regarding the presence of Jesus “where two or more are gathered” in his name. His presence among the first group was an answer to all their aspirations and was a totally new experience for them. So too was the communion of goods and unity (a word only used by communists at that time) and living the Words of the Gospel (something emphasised at the time more by Protestants than Catholics). She had an openness that emphasised the positive aspects of other Christian traditions, which began an ecumenical dialogue: similarly an interfaith dialogue began, and a wider dialogue with those with no formal faith. .. These are all elements that were affirmed first by the Council and then successive Popes as part of the life of the Church. The experience she had with the Bangwa people in Africa was an example of “new evangelisation”, and began in the sixties. She also emphasised the role of the laity in paving the way for the institutional Church in many fields of human activity. In all this it is easy to see why God chose a woman to build unity at such a broad level. The Focolare Movement (“Work of Mary”), as written in our Statutes and approved by the Church, desires to be as far as possible a continuation of the presence of Mary on earth. This wish of hers came from a very profound spiritual experience». What was Chiara’s relationship with young people and what did they mean to her? «She had a special relationship with young people because she felt that they had less to lose than adults. She felt they were freer, and was at her ease in their company, especially the youngest ones. She had a belief in their “uncontaminated” nature and had a direct, simple and immediate rapport with them. She was very excited about their ability to follow great ideals, and to believe everything is possible. She had a great “utopian” ideal and young people were drawn to it. She was “revolutionary” just in the simple way she related to them, with her approach, the normality of reaching fulfilment by doing the will of God, holiness within the reach of everyone. She received many letters from young people who wanted to imitate her in following God, in living the Gospel, in giving everything. When she launched the Economy of Communion, she issued a challenge to young students, encouraging them to broaden their knowledge about it and develop it. When she began her adventure, she was young and surrounded by people even younger than her. She always had a great trust in young people». What do you think Chiara would say to us today? «I think she would say, “Love one another, like Jesus loved us”. »

Haiti after the earthquake

Speaking by phone with Wilfrid Joachin (the local focolare leader) on Monday, January 18, he gave us an update on how the situation is in his part of the country.

First of all, he says, almost every family has lost one or more of their members in the earthquake. Many people from the villages in the countryside had left for the capital, either for studies or to find work. One family in Carice has lost 7 of their 8 children.

The good news is that two of our members studying in Port-au-Prince survived the devastating quake.

As a consequence of the destruction of Port-au-Prince, everybody now tries to get out of the city, going to the countryside. He tells us that many people from the capital arrived in Ounaminthe, a city in the North-East at the border with the Dominican Republic. They arrive and don’t know where to go; not having eaten for several days, they beg for food and lodging. Also in Mont-Organisé, Savanette, Carice, these people arrive, having lost all they had in Port-au-Prince. Wilfrid tells us that the whole country is devastated, crushed to the ground by this great disaster.

He continues that they came up with the idea of building a center for poor families. Some years back the Focolare movement in Haiti was given a piece of land.  Wilfrid, after discussing with other members what they could do to help their fellow Haitians, they decided to go ahead with a building plan which will provide housing for twenty families. Their help would also include clothing, food, and medical help, taken from their own meager resources.

But the Focolare group in Haiti will have to rely on help from the outside to be able to do something at this moment and to bring this building proposal to completion.

You can participate immediately. More information: toronto@focolare.ca

Chiara Luce, it’s her moment!

The Year for Priests: ‘Be faithful witnesses of love and unity’

‘I thank you for the effort of translating in an artistic response the extraordinary life of Saint Curé d’Ars’, Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, Secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy, said at the end of the ConcerTheatre ‘Ars Amoris – the Love that comes from Ars’ which had its first performance on Thursday 14 January at the Mariapolis Centre in Castelgandolfo.

Speaking to the 550 priests from 31 countries, meeting together for their annual retreat, the Archbishop reaffirmed the importance of making God’s love visible in today’s society: ‘This is all the lay faithful expect from a priest, as Chiara Lubich affirmed 35 years ago: “Love, the gospel is the real “revolution”.’

The Love that comes from Ars, he continued, is ‘the art of loving, the ability of knowing how to love every person always and everywhere, in every situation and circumstance.’

He recalled how the inspiring spark of Chiara Lubich’s charism had been ‘a renewed revelation of God as Love.’ This charism ‘whilst being part of the life of one specific person, is, in reality, universal, as love, and also unity, are at the heart of the gospel message and of the history and life of the Church itself.’

‘Not just an abstract feeling of love,’ he pointed out, ‘but the Love made visible in Jesus of Nazareth, Lord and Christ, the Love which was nailed to the cross for us and for our sins, the Love of Jesus Forsaken.’

And he concluded: ‘Dearest priests, friends of the Focolare Movement, you are called in a very special way, particularly because of the responsibility implied in having met such a beautiful and fruitful charism, to live this radical measure of love.’ ‘Today I want to leave you with a real “missionary mandate”: be faithful witnesses of love and unity in your dioceses, in your presbyteries, competing with each other in loving your fellow brothers and in faithful obedience to the Church.’

Chiara Luce, it’s her moment!

Haiti emergency

We are trying to keep up with breaking news about the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the poorest country in Central America, where much of the capital Port au Prince has been reduced to rubble. As an act of solidarity, throughout the Movement people are responding to this emergency, and to the need for reconstruction. We would like to assure the supporters of “Sostegno a Distanza” (Adoptions at a Distance) that the children involved in this educational project in the north east of Haiti have not been directly affected. “They are all safe, we felt some tremors, but there was no damage. But everyone has relatives in Port au Prince, and it has been impossible to find out anything about them.” This is what we heard from the Focolare community in Haiti, which was established thirty years ago and whose development has been closely followed by the Movement in Canada, through Adoptions at a Distance and other projects. Anyone who would like to help this action of solidarity can send donations to the following accounts: Giovani per un Mondo Unito (GMU) Current account “PAMOM – Fondo Mondo Unito” Intesa San Paolo, Filiale di Grottaferrata Via delle Sorgenti, 128 – 00046 Grottaferrata (Roma) Italia IBAN code : IT04  M030  6939  1401  0000  0640  100 BIC code: BCITITMM Ref: Terremoto Haiti Associazione “Azione per un Mondo Unito – Onlus” (AMU) -current postal account  n. 81065005 -Banca Etica, Filiale di Roma, Via Parigi, 17 – 00185 Roma, Italia IBAN code : IT16G0501803200000000120434 BIC code : CCRTIT2184D Ref: Solidarietà per Haiti AFN Azione per Famiglie Nuove – Onlus Sostegno a distanza (Adoptions at a Distance) via Isonzo,42 00046 Grottaferrata (Roma) – current postal account n. 48075873 – Current bank account at: BANCA PROSSIMA IBAN code: IT55K0335901600100000001060 Ref: Solidarietà per Haiti

January 2010 -God’s people

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated in many parts of the world from January 18-25; others celebrate it at Pentecost. Chiara Lubich always commented on the Biblical verse chosen for this occasion in the Word of Life of that same month.
This year’s phrase for the Week of Prayer is:
“You are witnesses of these things” (Lk 24:48). To help us put it into practice, we propose the following text of Chiara as an urgent call for Christians to join together and bear witness to the presence of God in the world.

“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will always be with them” (Rev 21:3).

This month’s Word of Life is such earnest encouragement: if we want to be part of his people, we must allow him to live among us.
But how is this possible? What can we do in order to have such a foretaste, while still on earth, of the endless joy we will have in seeing God?
This is exactly what Jesus revealed to us. This is the very meaning of his coming: to communicate his life of love with the Father, so that we too can live it.

We Christians can live this phrase even now and have God among us. To have him among us, however, requires certain conditions that are affirmed by the Fathers of the Church. For Basil, the essential condition is living according to the will of God; for John Chrysostom, it is loving our neighbor as Jesus did; for Theodore the Studite, it is mutual love; and for Origen, it having such accord in thought and in feeling that we arrive at a concord that “unites, and contains the Son of God.”

The key for allowing God to dwell among us is in the teachings of the Gospel: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (Jn 13:34). Mutual love is the key to the presence of God. “If we love one another, God remains in us” (1Jn 4:12). “For where two or three are gathered together in my name,” Jesus says, “there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20).

“God himself will always be with them.”

In this light then, the fulfillment of all the promises of the Old Covenant — “My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Ez 37:27) — is not far off and unattainable.
 
Everything is already accomplished in Jesus because he continues, beyond his historical existence, to be present among those who live according to the new law of mutual love, the norm that makes them a people, the people of God.
 
This Word of Life is therefore an urgent call, especially for us Christians, to witness through love to the presence of God. “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35). Living out the new commandment sets forth the conditions for the presence of Jesus among all people.
We cannot do anything unless this presence is guaranteed, a presence that gives meaning to the supernatural brotherhood that Jesus brought on earth for all humanity.

“God himself will always be with them.”

First of all, it is up to us Christians, even though we belong to different ecclesial communities, to let the world see one people made up of every ethnic group, race and culture, adults and children. One people to whom we can apply the words said of the first Christians, “Look at how they love one another and are ready to give their life for one another.”

This is the miracle humanity is waiting for in order to regain hope. This miracle will also provide an essential contribution to ecumenism, the journey towards full and visible unity among Christians. It is a miracle within our reach, or better, a miracle of the one who dwells among those of us united by love, the one who can change the direction of the world and lead all humanity toward unity.

By Chiara Lubich

The Word of Life, taken from Scripture, is offered each month as a guide and inspiration for daily living. From the Focolare’s beginnings, Chiara Lubich wrote her commentaries on each Word of Life, and after her death in March 2008, her early writings are now being featured once again. This commentary, addressed to a primarily Christian audience, was originally published in January 1999.

A hope for Europe’s future

A very full year in Europe and beyond, in which the ideas of the pedagogy of unity were brought to the attention of university teachers, educators, teachers, young and old people interested in educational matters. In 2009, there were numerous meetings, seminars, conventions, and round table discussions, in Catania, Benevento, Milano, Varese, Tortona, Vienna, Barcelona, London, Cordoba, Buenos Aires, as well as in Slovenia, Macedonia and Croatia, according to the annual report of the Central Commission of the “EdU-EducazioneUnità”. The theoretical presentation of the pedagogy that has developed from the charism of unity was accompanied by the presentation of educational experiences promoted by the Focolare Movement. Among these are the “Raggio di Sole” (Ray of Sun) nursery school in Croatia, “Fantasy” in Serbia, and “Perle” (Pearls) in Macedonia, where through the use of simple and natural educational materials, children are encouraged to exercise their imagination together with their classmates, developing their ability to collaborate and integrate.  The method provides hope for peoples who have suffered years of strife and whose ability to relate to others has been severely affected. On 15 May Michele De Beni, member of the EdU commission, took part in a seminar organised by the Faculty of Education in Skopje, Macedonia.  There were 120 Christian and Muslim teachers from various disciplines and countries. At“Raggio di Sole” the “pegagogy of communion” was presented to a team from Croatian TV, who transmitted a 7 minute report. And on another occasion, forty students from the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb made a study visit. Giuseppe Milan a member of the EdU commission as well as director of the Department of Educational Science at the University of Padova, was invited to take part in the “Europe Week” organised by the commune of Skofja Loka in Slovenia, where he presented the “pedagogy of communion” to academics and civil and religious leaders. On that occasion the idea emerged of a collaborative project between the universities of Padova and Ljubljana. In the photo: a group of 4th year students and teachers from the faculty of Philosophy Zagreb, during their visit to the “Raggio di Sole” school in May 2009.

The conductor’s art

On a winding mountain road, I was driving my elderly friend’s car. He knew every part of the route and with little hand signals was telling me when to slow down, accelerate, and when to proceed with caution. I was following these often barely perceptible signs out of the corner of my eye, and was totally absorbed in the effort to understand him, and to drive the way he would have driven. I imagined him to be the conductor of an orchestra, who was very happy when I managed to perform my part perfectly. That evening Massimiliano, a friar from a long established friary, phoned me. For some time he had been having difficulties with his superior, and he told me that he had no more energy to deal with it, and had decided to leave the friary. I told him my story about the conductor and the orchestra, and realised that he was listening in deep silence. Then he said, “Maybe my mistake was to expect something from my superior. But he cannot play my instrument, he cannot take my place. All he can do is help me to be in harmony with the others! I have to take up my instrument again, accept my responsibilities and show my talent as part of the overall harmony.” He then began to cry. At the end of the call, I realised that an idea that came from an act of love had released a ray of light that someone, somewhere, was waiting for. (T.M, Czech Republic)

Light that shines out

Light that shines out

This light is seen through your good works. It shines through the love radiated by Christians to all other people.

 Perhaps you’ll tell me: but Christians are not the only ones who do good works. There are others who work for progress, establish charitable institutions, promote justice and do many good things.

 You are right. Certainly, Christians do these things too, but this is not a Christian’s specific function. Christians must bring a new spirit into the good works they perform, which means it is no longer they that live in them, but Christ in them.

 In fact, when St. Matthew wrote this, he was not thinking merely of isolated acts of charity such as visiting prisoners, clothing the naked and the many other works of mercy done to meet people’s needs. Rather, he was thinking of a Christian’s total commitment to the will of God, in such a way that his or her entire life becomes a continuous series of good works.

 If Christians do this, they become “transparent,” and the praise given for whatever they had done will not go to them, but to Christ in them, and through them God becomes present in the world. The Christian’s task, therefore, is to let this light that dwells within them radiate out so that it can be a sign of this presence of God among men and women.

“Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

If good works performed by individual believers have this character, then the Christian community in the midst of the world must have a similar specific task. That task is to reveal, through its communal life, the presence of God that is manifested where two or three are united in his name, the presence promised to the Church until the end of time.

 The early Church gave great emphasis to these words of Jesus. Especially in difficult times, when the Christians were facing persecution and being maligned, the Church urged them not to react with violence. Their behavior had to be the best refutation of the evil spoken against them.

 St. Paul’s letter to Titus reads, “Urge the younger men, similarly, to control themselves, showing yourself as a model of good deeds in every respect, with integrity in your teaching, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be criticized, so that the opponent will be put to shame without anything bad to say about us” (Titus 2: 6-8).

“Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

This is an experience of Christian life that even today is a light that shines out and leads men and women to God.

 Let me tell you a story.

 Antoinette was a girl who left Sardinia in order to find work in France, in Grenoble. She found a job in an office, but it was a place where most of the other workers did not want to do the work. Since she was a Christian and saw in every person Jesus to be served, she helped everyone and was always calm and smiling. Oftentimes the others would get angry and take it out on her, saying in loud, mocking voices, “Since you like to work, take this and do my typing also.”

 She remained calm and at peace, and worked on. She knew that they were basically not bad people. They probably all had troubles of their own.

 One day, when the others were not around her, her boss approached and said: “Now you have to tell me. How come you never lose your patience, and why you are always smiling?”

Antoinette tried to evade the question by saying, “I simply try to stay calm and see the positive side of things.”

 The boss banged his fist on the desk and exclaimed, “No, God certainly is involved here! Otherwise it would be impossible! And to think that I never believed in God!”

 A few days later, Antoinette was called in by the director. She was told that she would be transferred to another office, the director explained, “so that you may transform it the same way you did the office you’re in now.”

“Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

The Word of Life, taken from Scripture, is offered each month as a guide and inspiration for daily living. From the Focolare’s beginnings, Chiara Lubich wrote her commentaries on each Word of Life, and after her passing in March 2008, her early writings are now being featured once again. This commentary, addressed to a primarily Christian audience, was originally published in August 1979.

By Chiara Lubich

November 2009

The Eye Of A Needle

Does this sentence make a certain impression on you?
I think you may have reasons to be perplexed and to consider what would be the best thing to do. The words of Jesus are never used loosely. It is therefore necessary to take these words seriously, without trying to water them down.
Let us try to understand the real significance of these words from Jesus himself, from his way of behaving with the rich. He frequented the company even of well-to-do persons. To Zaccheus, who had given away only half of his possessions, he says: “Salvation has entered your house.”
Furthermore, the Acts of the Apostles show us that in the early Church the communion of goods was practiced freely, and hence, the concrete renouncement of one's possessions was not compulsory. Therefore, it is not that Jesus thought of founding only a community of persons who are called to follow him by leaving behind all they possess.
And yet he says:

“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

What does Jesus condemn, then? Certainly not the goods of this earth in themselves, but the attachment to wealth by the rich.
Why? The answer is clear: it is because all things belong to God and the rich behave as if their riches are their own.

The fact is that riches easily take the place of God in the human heart. They blind the vision and make it easier for all sorts of vices to take root. The Apostle Paul wrote: “Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains” (1 Tim 6:9-10).

Even in earlier times, Plato already affirmed: “It is impossible for an extraordinarily good person to be at the same time extraordinarily rich.”
What, then, should be the attitude of people who have possessions?
They must have a heart that is free and totally open to God, so that they feel that they are administrators of their goods, and know that – as Pope John Paul II said – they are mortgaged to society.

Since earthly goods are not bad in themselves, we should not despise them, but we must use them well. We must keep our hearts detached from them, not our hands. Because whoever is rich, is so for the good of others.

“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

But perhaps you'll say: “I am not really rich, so these words are not meant for me.”
Be careful. The question that the dismayed Apostles asked right after this statement of Christ was: “Who then will be saved?” This clearly tells us that Christ's words were somehow addressed to everybody.

Even someone who has left all things to follow Christ may have his or her heart attached to so many things. Even a poor person who curses at anybody who touches his or her belongings may be looked upon by God as a “rich” person attached to earthly treasures.

By Chiara Lubich

The Word of Life, taken from Scripture, is offered each month as a guide and inspiration for daily living. From the Focolare’s beginnings, Chiara Lubich wrote her commentaries on each Word of Life, and after her death last year, her early writings are now being featured once again. This commentary, addressed to a primarily Christian audience, was originally published in July 1979.

 

For an “encounter of cultures”

After her second trip to Fontem (Cameroon) in 1969, Chiara Lubich met with the young focolarini of the international school of formation in Loppiano, on May 15, 1970. On that occasion, she answered a question on the difficulties that the young people encountered in living together, since they came from different environments, cultures and mentalities, and even different continents, in particular the youth of Asia, Africa and America, as compared to the European focolarini. We who come from Western countries are absolutely behind the times and no longer adept at living in today’s world unless we put aside our Western mentality, because it is only a half, a third, a fourth of the mentality of the rest of the world. In Africa, for example, there is such a unique, such a splendid, such a profound culture! We need to reach an encounter of cultures. We are not complete if we are not “humanity.” We are “humanity” if “we have within us” all cultures. How? Chiara Lubich spoke about inculturation a number of years later, in 1992, on the occasion of another one of her trips to the African continent, in Nairobi: First of all, the powerful “weapon” is to “make yourselves one.” Do you know what it means to “make yourselves one”? It means to approach the other person completely empty of ourselves, so as to enter into the other person’s culture and to understand him/her, to allow him/her to express him/herself, to the point of taking him or her within yourself and when you have taken him or her within yourself, then you will be able to begin to dialogue…. In this passage Chiara looks more closely at inculturating the Gospel in other cultures: Then yes, you will be able to begin a dialogue with the other person and also pass on the Gospel message through the riches that he or she already possesses. Making ourselves one, which requires inculturation, means entering into the soul, entering into the culture, entering into the mentality, the tradition, the customs of other peoples in order to understand them and to draw out the seeds of the Word.”

Having hit rock bottom, I decided to come back and begin again.

I was born and grew up in a family that was always committed to instilling within me the Christian values of respect and love for our neighbor, without discrimination. As a child I dedicated myself to live according to these values: with my soccer team, at school, and with my friends, I always tried to swim against the tide, that is to say, to not allow myself to be dragged down by all that a consumer society offers; in fact, in Europe materialism is predominant, what you have and your appearance count more than what you are. But at a certain moment of my life, the pleasures and the things of this world made me lose my way. In reality, I sold myself to the world. I wanted to know all that, until then, I had considered the easy way and, at the same time, more empty. So I began a new phase of my life, where respect for people and for God no longer had value. I began to experience things that would satisfy me for a moment, and immediately afterwards I would feel a great emptiness of soul, an immense loneliness that left me feeling bad. After being knocked to the ground more than once, I decided to start over and return to my beginnings. To find again for myself those values that were always present within me, even if buried under so many useless things. Now, in this community (the little town of O’Higgins in Argentina) where I live with young people from all over the world, I am having a very beautiful experience. I am discovering many things that I didn’t know, thanks to the people who are around me. I discover in my brother a way to grow, a mirror in which I see my reflection. I am searching and finding pure love, without self-interest. A love that gives life to the soul, without prejudices. This love, that has its roots in the lived Gospel, helps me break free from temporal things and it is a path toward true freedom, a path that carries me to God together with my brothers. (J. – Italia) Testimony given at the “Fiesta de los Jovenes”, O’Higgins, Argentina, September 27, 2009

October 2009 – Love, put to the test

“Perseverance.” This is a translation of a Greek word that is pregnant with implications, including patience, constancy, resistence, trust.
Perseverance is necessary and indispensable when we suffer, when we are tempted, when we are inclined to be discouraged, when we are drawn to the seductions of the world, when we suffer persecution.

I think that you too have found yourself in at least one of these situations and have experienced that, without perseverance, you would have given in. Perhaps at times you did give in. Maybe now, at this very moment, you find yourself immersed in one of these painful situations.
What will you do? What should you do? Start again, and… persevere. Otherwise the name “Christian” does not suit you.
You know that whoever wants to follow Christ must take up his cross each day, must love it, at least with his will. The Christian vocation is a call to perseverance.

The apostle Paul demonstrated his perseverance before the Christian community as a sign of Christian authenticity. And he did not hesitate to put it on the same level as miracles.
If you love the cross and persevere to the very end, you will follow Christ, who is in Heaven, and therefore be saved.

“By your perseverance you will secure your lives”

It is possible to distinguish two categories of people: those who hear the invitation to be true Christians, but the invitation lands in their souls like a seed on rocky ground. There is a burst of fleeting enthusiasm, but afterward nothing remains. Then there are those who welcome the invitation, just as good soil receives the seed. And Christian life sprouts, grows, overcomes difficulties, and resists storms.

Christians have perseverance, and… “by your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
Naturally, if you want to persevere, it is not enough to rely only on your own strength. You must have God’s help. Paul calls God “the God of perseverance” (Rm 15:5).
You must ask him for it, and he will give it to you. If you are a Christian, you will never be content with merely being baptized or doing some acts of worship or charity every now and then. You must grow as a Christian, and every growth in spiritual life can only come about in the midst of trials, obstacles, and battles.

Those who really know how to persevere are those who love. Love is never hindered by obstacles. It does not count difficulties or sacrifices. And perseverance is love that has been put to the test.
You should look to Mary, for she is the woman of perseverance.
Ask God to enkindle love for him in your heart, and then perseverance, in all the difficulties of life, will come to you as a consequence, and with it the salvation of your soul.

“By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

And there is more. Perseverance is contagious. The person who perseveres encourages others to do the same.…
Let us set our sights high. We have only one life, and it is brief at that. Let us clench our teeth and stand firm from day to day; let us face one difficulty after another in order to follow Christ… and we shall persevere and our lives will be secure.

By Chiara Lubich

The Word of Life, taken from Scripture, is offered each month as a guide and inspiration for daily living. From the Focolare’s beginnings, Chiara Lubich wrote her commentaries on each Word of Life, and after her death last year, her early writings are now being featured once again. This commentary, addressed to a primarily Christian audience, was originally published in June 1979.

Autumn: Doing

Three hundred and sixty-five texts drawn from the Fathers of the Church, saints, theologians, the Magisterium, and other spiritual authors provide daily nourishment for the year of priests, and an invitation to become rooted in what is essential. The booklets cover four fundamental aspects of priestly life: being, doing, the challenges and the opportunities. The first booklet focuses on “the perennial Source of the sap of life: God, who has looked upon us and loved us, to whom we have given ourselves with a “radical” choice”, while the second looks at the implications of how this way of “being” is translated into action. The editors, Hubertus Blaumeiser and Tonino Gandolfo, have involved a team of experts from many countries in this work. Being and doing is also the subject of the first thought, by Pope  Benedict XVI, taken from his address to the priests of the diocese of Aosta in 2005. It is relevant to all Christians. An expression of what we are “It is not what you do that is so important but what you are in our priestly commitment. Without a doubt, we must do many things and not succumb to laziness, but all our work will only bear fruit if it is an expression of what we are. If what we do shows that we are deeply united to Christ, that we are instruments of Christ, a mouthpiece through which Christ speaks, a hand through which Christ acts: we should be convinced and act with conviction only to the extent that this is truly the result and expression of what we are.” Benedict XVI

I could not betray my conscience

After I graduated in dentistry I wanted to start work straight away. I love my job and I see it as an opportunity to build a better society. I soon got offered a job, but I realised that it involved a compromise that went against the ethics of my profession. The salary was really attractive, and I needed the money, but I was even more certain that I could not go against my conscience. I decided to turn down the offer. At the same time, I was invited to start an educational project, and to work as a teacher in a children’s nursery. My decision caused some consternation. My family and friends thought I was wasting time and energy, and could not understand why I had turned down such a good professional opportunity in order to be a “nappy (diaper) changer”. But I was happy, because it gave me a real opportunity for building fraternity. In fact, the experience was beautiful. There were a few of us, and we were trying to set up a project that seemed like a seed of something great, answering the needs of the district that we trying to serve. To my surprise I was then offered a job as a dentist. The experience of the nursery had given me a new vision of things, and my job was no longer simply a way of fulfilling my personal ambitions, it now became an opportunity to “give” and to love. There were plenty of occasions when the fundamental choices of my life were put to the test. For example, I was offered the chance to earn more money, using some unethical methods. In the world I live in, where the needs are great and there is a lot of corruption, those things even appear “normal”. But once again it was clear to me that I ought not to give in to such a proposal. On another occasion, a poor man came to the surgery that none of my colleagues wanted to treat. I knew that Jesus was in that person, and I could not treat him in a lesser way than I would treat Jesus himself. A short time ago an amazing possibility emerged of setting up a dental clinic with a person who shares the same ideals as me. We could set up our own business, and give everyone a good and proper service, while adhering to the Economy of Communion project! I saw this as the “hundredfold” for having looked for the kingdom of God! I am happy with this new project, where I can give of myself completely in the building of a new society. (E. Venezuela)

The Encyclical «Love in Truth» and the Economy of Communion

Love in Truth Fraternity and economic development are among the central themes of the new encyclical of Benedict XVI Caritas in Veritate published July 7. We report on the matter a thought of Chiara Lubich of the 70s, very timely: “Christians underdeveloped ” and the remarks of Professor Bruni, to the Encyclical. Prof. Bruni is an economist, international coordinator of the project Economy of Communion. press review Indiana firm can claim a papal thumbs-up from new social encyclical – By John L Allen Jr,  National Catholic Reporter, Created Jul 07, 2009 Encyclical breaks new ground on social issues, commentators say – By Nancy Frazier O’Brien, Catholic News Service, Jul 08, 2009 A gut check for American catholicism – By John L Allen Jr,  National Catholic Reporter, on Jul. 17, 2009 in the column All Things Catholic Benedict XVI and the Economy of Communion (Part 1) – Interview with Business Owner John Mundell – By Genevieve Pollock, SEPT. 8, 2009 (Zenit.org) Benedict XVI and the Economy of Communion (Part 2) – Interview with Business Owner John Mundell – By Genevieve Pollock, SEPT. 9, 2009 (Zenit.org)

September 2009

Seek first

The whole Gospel is revolutionary. The words of Christ are not like those of any other person. Listen to this: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things [the necessities of life] will be given you besides” (Mt 6:33).
The major preoccupation people usually have is searching for what will make their lives more secure. Perhaps this applies to you as well. If so, Jesus lays out before you his own way of looking at things and presents you with his plan of action. He requires from you a behavior totally different from what society would expect, and not only once, but always. It is this: “seek first the kingdom of God.”

When you redirect your whole being toward God and do everything for his kingdom within yourself and in others (that is, ordering your whole life with his laws), the Father will give you what you need day after day.
If, on the other hand, you are preoccupied with yourself, you will end up caring mainly for the things of this world and fall victim to them. You will end up seeing the goods of this world as your real business, the goal of all your efforts. And therein arises the serious temptation of relying solely on your own strength and less on God …

Jesus changes the situation. If living for him is your first concern, “these things” will no longer be the main business of your life; rather, they will be given to you “in addition” to other things or as a “surplus.”
Is this utopia? Are his words difficult for you as a modern person living in an industrialized world that is highly competitive and often in economic crises? I wish to remind you that at the time Jesus uttered these words, the concrete difficulties of life among the Galileans were no less serious than our own.
We are not talking about whether it is a utopia or not. Jesus places this fundamental choice before you: to live your life for yourself or to live it for God.
Let us try to understand well these words:

“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.”

Jesus does not propose that you become “passive” or do nothing with regard to your everyday or temporal needs, nor that you be irresponsible or superficial at work. Rather, he wishes you to re-order your priorities in life and, by so doing, rid yourself of anxiety, fear and restlessness.
In fact he says, “Seek first the kingdom.” “First” means “above all else.” The search for God's kingdom should be given priority and does not exclude the concern that a Christian must have for the necessities of life.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” also means living in conformity with God's desires as revealed by Jesus in his Gospel. Only when Christians actively seek the kingdom of God will they experience the wonderful power of the Father working in their favor.
Let me share a story with you. It took place quite some time ago, but I find it relevant to this Word of Life. In fact I am aware of many other young people who now live as this young woman did.

Her name is Elvira, and at that time she was a high school student. She was poor, and she could continue her studies only if she maintained high grades. She had a strong faith. Her philosophy professor was an atheist and he often presented the truths of her faith in a confused and distorted manner. On such occasions, Elvira felt a strong reaction rising up inside her, not for herself but for the love she had for God, for truth and for her classmates.

She knew that if she contradicted the professor she stood a chance of getting a failing grade. In spite of this, however, she would raise her hand and beg to speak, saying, “Professor, that's not true.” At times she did not have all the elements to present her arguments, but her words “that's not true” embodied her entire faith, which was a gift of truth and made people question what the professor was saying.
Her classmates loved her and tried to persuade her to stop contradicting this professor, because they feared the consequences for her, but they did not succeed.

A few months later, when the grade cards were distributed, Elvira was trembling, but then her heart leapt for joy: she got an A in philosophy! The highest grade!
She had sought, first of all, that God and his truth would reign, and then the rest was given to her.
If you seek the kingdom of the Father, you will experience that God is providence for all the needs of your life. You will discover how normal the extraordinary ways of the Gospel can be.

This commentary addressed to a primarily Christian audience, was originally published in May 1979
By Chiara Lubich

august 2009

Do you know the context of this sentence in the Gospel? It is in St. John's account of the Last Supper, when Jesus is about to wash the feet of his disciples and is preparing for the Passion. During the last moments that Jesus spent with “his own,” he revealed the love he had always had for them in the highest and most explicit way.

“He loved his own in the world, and he loved them to the end.”

The words “to the end” mean to the end of his life, to his very last breath. But there is also the idea of perfection. That is, he loved them completely, totally, with the greatest intensity, to the highest degree.
When Jesus would go on to his glory, the disciples would remain in the world. They would feel alone; they would have many trials to face. It is precisely in view of those moments that Jesus wanted to make them feel sure of his love.

“He loved his own in the world, and he loved them to the end.”

In this phrase, can’t you sense Jesus’ entire lifestyle, his way of loving? He washed the feet of his disciples. His love made him stoop to this lowly service, which in those days was done only by slaves. After having his extraordinary words, his miracles, and all the other things he did, Jesus was now preparing for the tragedy of Calvary, in which he would give his very life for “his own” and for all people. He knew of their great need, the greatest need that people can have: the need to be liberated from sin, which means freed from death, and regain the possibility of entering the kingdom of heaven. Only he could give them the peace and joy of everlasting life.
And so Jesus gave himself up to death, crying out in his abandonment by the Father, until he was able at the very end to say, “It is finished” (Jn 19:30), that is, everything is completed.

“He loved his own in the world, and he loved them to the end.”

In these words we see both the tenacious love of a God and the tender affection of a brother. We Christians, since Christ is in us, can also love like this.
Now I am not proposing, however, that you imitate Jesus by actually dying for others as he did when his hour came. Nor do I put before you models like Father Kolbe, who died for a fellow prisoner, or Father Damien, who contracted leprosy from his lepers and died with them and for them.
It may be that in the course of your lifetime you will never be asked to give your physical life for your neighbors. But what God certainly does ask of you is that you love them “to the end,” to the point where you too can say, “It is finished.”

This is what an eleven-year-old Italian girl named Lisa did. She saw that her classmate and friend Georgina was extremely sad. She tried to comfort her, but it did no good. So she decided to find out what made her friend so sad. She learned that Georgina's father had died, and that her mother had left her alone with her grandmother and had gone to live with another man. As soon as she became aware of the tragedy, Lisa decided to do something about it.
Even though Lisa was only a little girl, she asked Georgina if she could talk to her mother, but Georgina begged her to go with her first to visit her father's grave. With great love Lisa went with her. There she overheard Georgina sobbing and imploring her father to take her with him.
Lisa felt heartbroken. The ruins of a little church were nearby, and the two girls went in. The only things left inside the church were a small tabernacle and a crucifix. Lisa said, “Look, in this world everything is going to be destroyed; only the crucifix and the Eucharist will always be with us.” Georgina dried her tears and replied,

“Yes, you’re right!” Then with tender love, Lisa took Georgina by the hand and accompanied her to her mother.
When they got there Lisa boldly addressed the mother with these words: “I know this is none of my business, but I must tell you that you left your daughter without the mother's love that she desperately needs. I must tell you also that you will never have peace until you repent and take your child back to live with you.”
The following day Lisa met Georgina in school and again tried to cheer her up. But something new happened that day: a car came to pick Georgina up after school. In it was her mother. From that day on, the car has kept coming regularly, because Georgina now lives with her mother, who no longer has any relationship with the man she was living with.

Looking at the small, yet great thing Lisa did, we can now say, “It is finished.” She did everything well, “to the end,” and she achieved what she set out to do.
Think about it. How many times have you started to take an interest in someone who needed help and then abandoned them, using all kinds of excuses to silence your conscience? How many things have you started with enthusiasm and then not followed through because of difficulties that you felt were beyond your strength?
The lesson Jesus is giving you today is this:

“He loved his own in the world, and he loved them to the end.”

Love to the very end. And if one day God should literally ask you for your life, you will not hesitate. You will be like the martyrs who went to their deaths singing. And your reward shall be the greatest glory, because Jesus said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:13).

 

Chiara Lubich

You can find a complete version of Chiara’s commentary in Words to Live By (New City Press, 1980).

 

“Just as the Father sent me, I send you”

read the daily thought Just as the Father sent me… Among the divine words Jesus uttered, there is one that makes us dizzy when we think it was pronounced by God, and helps us to understand the privilege of election. It is a paradoxical comparison, while at the same time true and deeply mysterious. Christ directs these words to those who over the centuries were to be his priests: “Just as the Father sent me, I send you.” Who then, is a priest? A person chosen by Christ to continue his presence in time.  Unfortunately priests are often not like this. But if on the other hand, they are not Christ, they are very little indeed. Their sermons are empty words and their churches are deserted. For the word that Christ gave was He himself.  If the priest first of all lives what he preaches and then speaks, his word will be Christ and he too will be another Christ. His talks will attract the crowds and the churches will be full to the brim.What makes a priest is not knowledge, but the charism brought to life with love.  Chiara Lubich, Il celibato sacerdotale, Città Nuova  14 (1970/3),  9   Traslation from: Come il Padre ha amato me… 365 pensieri per l’anno sacerdotale, Città nuova 2009 http://editrice.cittanuova.it/notizia.asp

Beyond profit: aiming higher, for things that last

Two characters tell the story: Tom, who died a few years ago, and his wife Jeanne, who shared the experience with him. “My market sector was shrinking, and I decided it was time to start my own business with the money I had saved. That was when I heard about the economy of communion, and was immediately attracted by the prospect of providing not only for our own family, but for the needs of many throughout the world.” “Preparing and sharing food was a long tradition in the Petrucci family, so we decided to open a restaurant in Camarillo, California, called Petrucci’s.” Jeanne, who worked in the restaurant in recent years, describes how Tom managed the business. “He wanted things so that everyone who worked with him had the opportunity to better themselves. If someone had been hired to wash dishes or to drive, but wanted to improve, Tom always gave them the chance to do so. If anyone became an expert in their new job, and there was nowhere to progress, he made no attempt to keep them. Many of them had families to support and Tom wanted them to better themselves and enjoy success.” Tom wrote: “In our restaurant we try to work as if everything depends on us, while knowing that everything really depends on God. Jeanne and I know that we will never make huge profits, but we feel that by giving work to ten people, and ensuring the income of ten families, while at the same time making a contribution to reducing poverty, we have reached much bigger objectives, which are of an eternal kind.” “In a short moment of morning meditation we choose a key idea to put into practice during the day. At times I am bombarded with thousands of ideas about how to run the restaurant better, how to make more money, and so on, but unity with the others permits me to stay focused on “what really counts.” That moment spent together in the morning strengthens within my soul the decision that Jeanne and I took when we set out on this adventure: to love in the present moment and to try not to do our will, but the will of God. When we began we knew very little about how to run a restaurant. If it has been a success, it is because it is part of His plans.” “From the very first month we opened, we decided to give a monthly sum for the poor, however things went. This was an act of faith that helped us to give top priority to the importance of giving.”  (Tom and Jeanne Petrucci, from L’amore come piatto principale in Economia di Comunione, quarterly, Year X/n.2, novembre 2004)

July 2009

The inexhaustible treasure

The Word of Life, a sentence of Scripture, is offered each month as a guide and inspiration for daily life. From the Focolare’s beginnings, Chiara Lubich wrote her commentaries on each Word of Life, and after her death last year, her early writings are now being featured once again. This commentary, addressed to a primarily Christian audience, was originally published in March 1979.

 

Are you young, aspiring to a life that has an ideal, that is totally committing and calls for a complete change in you? Then listen to Jesus, because no one else in the world will ask as much of you. You are being given an opportunity to prove your faith, your generosity, and your heroism.
Are you an adult, longing for a sound way of life that is serious and committed and will not disappoint you? Or are you an older person who wants to dedicate the golden years of your life to someone who will not deceive you, to live without worries that exhaust you? These words of Jesus are also for you.
They conclude a series of exhortations in which Jesus asks you not to worry over what you will eat or what you will wear but, rather, to act as the birds of the air that do not sow, and the lilies of the field that do not weave. Banish, therefore, from your heart all anxieties over the things of this earth. The Father, who loves you more than the birds and the flowers, will take care of you himself.
This is why Jesus tells you,

“Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.”

In its entirety, and in every word it contains, the Gospel demands everything from you–everything you are and everything you possess.
Prior to Christ's coming into the world, God had never made such radical demands. In the Old Testament, earthly riches were seen as good, as a blessing from God. Giving alms to the needy was demanded, but as a means to obtain the benevolence of the Almighty.
Later on, the idea of a reward in the next life became more commonly accepted among members of the Jewish faith. A king, who had been reprimanded for having given away his possessions, replied, “My ancestors accumulated treasures for this life, but I have accumulated treasures for the next one.”

“Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.” (Lk 12:33)

The words of Jesus are original because he demands a total gift. He asks everything from you. He doesn't want you to be overly concerned about the things of this world. He wants you to rely on him alone.
He knows that earthly wealth is a tremendous obstacle for you because it can occupy your heart, whereas he wants to possess your heart for himself.
This is why he urges you:

“Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. “

If you cannot physically rid yourself of your possessions, because of family ties or other responsibilities, or if your position in life demands that you live in a certain way, still you should detach yourself from them spiritually, being no more than their administrator. In this way, while dealing with wealth you can love others, and by administering it on their behalf, you can accumulate a treasure that moths cannot destroy, nor thieves carry off.
How can you be certain about what you should keep and what you should dispose of? Listen to the voice of God within you; and if you cannot decide on your own, seek someone's advice. Then you will discover how many superfluous things there are among your possessions. Do not keep them. Give them away. Give to those who have not. Put into practice these words of Jesus, “Sell… and give.” If you do this, you will fill up bags that do not wear out.
Since you live in the world, it is only logical that you should be concerned with money and other material things. However, God does not want you to be preoccupied with them. So be concerned with securing only that amount which is indispensable for you to live according to your needs. As for the rest:

“Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.”

Pope Paul VI was truly poor. The way he wanted to be buried (“in a plain coffin in the bare earth”) proved this. Shortly before dying he told his brother, “My suitcases for that all-important trip have been ready for some time.”
This is what you should do, too: prepare your suitcases.
In the time of Jesus they may have been called “money bags” but the meaning is the same. Prepare them day by day. Fill them with things that might be useful to others. For you truly possess what you give away. Think of how much hunger there is in the world, how much suffering, how many needs.
Put every act of love and every deed done for your neighbor into your suitcase as well.

Do everything for God, telling him in your heart, “This is for You.” Perform every action well, perfectly, because it is destined for heaven where it will remain for eternity.

By Chiara Lubich

You can find a complete version of Chiara’s commentary in Words to Live By (New City Press, 1980).

(more…)

Chiara Luce, it’s her moment!

Giordani dreamt, during the 1920’s, of a united Europe

The extracts that follow appeared in “Parte Guelfa” – a journal founded by Giordani during his busy writing career – and in “Il Quotidiano”, while he was its director

There will be no United States of Europe while Europe is permeated by nationalistic movements. The United States of Europe and nationalism are two mutually exclusive concepts.” (Parte Guelfa, 1925)

Unity will be the inevitable effect of economic conditions, when no country will be self sufficient and the life of each one is intimately bound to the others, it will be effect of a universally felt need for peace; it will be made real by the fulfilment of Christianity, whose values emerge when it is clear how much they are needed.” (Parte Guelfa,1925)

The love of one’s own country does not imply hate for that of another: love for one’s family is foolish if it implies hatred for the families that live in the same apartment block” (Parte Guelfa,1925)

Europe will be saved from economic failure and the threat of future wars (…) only if it feels organically one and united as a continent, gathering together all its resources together to face common dangers, instead of being engulfed by internal strife. (Parte Guelfa,1925)

This outpouring of peoples, this manifold expansion beyond national boundaries, responds to a need for freedom. On the positive side, it is an enrichment of life, and where it happens in a rational way, it is an expression of Christianity (…) Right from the start Christianity taught Christians catholicity, universality. The universal society of the Church considers souls, rather than bodily appearance. It promotes a universal fraternity, something not encouraged, and even blocked and often dissected with bloody incisions by territorial, linguistic, national and class boundaries. (Il Quotidiano, 1945)

Chiara Luce, it’s her moment!

“Universal fraternity: a necessity for Europe”

At this time of European elections, we recall a thought from Chiara Lubich about Europe, part of her address to the first “Together for Europe” meeting in May 2004. Ten thousand people gathered in Stuttgart, Germany and more than 100,000 were linked up for simultaneous events in various European capitals. The gathering was supported by over 150 movements and ecclesial communities from various churches, from all over the continent. Chiara’s talk was focused on fraternity, a concept recently called “the perfect emblem of European identity” by the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman. Universal brotherhood was also the project of people who were not motivated by religious motives, but simply by the desire to benefit humanity. The French Revolution’s motto: “liberty, equality, fraternity”, summarizes the great political project of modernity, a project which, in part, has been disregarded. While numerous countries have built democratic systems of government and have succeeded in achieving some degree of liberty and equality, the same cannot be said of fraternity which has been proclaimed more than it has been lived. But the one who brought fraternity as the essential gift to humanity was above all Jesus. In revealing the fatherhood of God, He broke down the walls which separate those who are “the same” from those who are “different”, friends from enemies. He loosened all people from the bonds that imprison them, from all forms of slavery and subordination, from every unjust relationship, thus carrying out an authentic existential, cultural and political revolution. (…) The instrument that Jesus offered to us in order to accomplish this universal fraternity was love, a great love, a new love, different from the one we usually know. In fact, He transplanted the way of loving of heaven here on earth. This love requires first of all that we love everyone, therefore, not only relatives and friends. It asks that we love the pleasant and the unpleasant, our fellow-countryman and the stranger, the European and the immigrant, those of our Church and of another, of our religion and of another. Today it asks the countries of Western Europe to love those of Central and Eastern Europe – and vice versa – and it asks everyone to be open to those of other continents. In the vision of its founders, in fact, Europe is a family of sister nations, not closed in itself, but open to a universal mission: Europe wants its unity to contribute, then, to the unity of the human family. This love asks that we love our enemies as well and that we forgive them if they have offended us. After the wars which stained our continent with blood, many Europeans were exemplary in loving their enemies and promoting reconciliation. Therefore, the love I am speaking of makes no distinctions and takes into consideration all those we meet in any moment, directly or indirectly: those who are next to us physically, but also those about whom we or others are speaking; those who will receive the work we do day by day, those we come to know about through the newspapers or television…. Because this is the way God our Father loves, making the sun rise on the bad and the good, and causing the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike (cf Mt 5:45). (…) Furthermore, the love that Jesus brought is not an idealistic, sentimental love, made up of words. It is a concrete love. It needs to be expressed with deeds. And this is possible if we make ourselves all things to all people: sick with those who are sick; joyful with those who are joyful; worried, insecure, hungry, poor with others, feeling in ourselves what they feel and acting accordingly.

june 2009

Imagine a branch cut off from the vine. It has no future, no hope; it is unproductive and there is nothing for it to do but dry up and be burned.
Think of the spiritual death we are destined for as Christians if we do not stay united to Christ. It is a frightening thought! It is complete sterility–even if we work hard from morning till night, even if we think we are doing good things for humanity, even if our friends applaud us, even if our earthly goods increase, even if we make considerable sacrifices. All this may mean something to us here on earth, but it has no meaning for Christ and for eternity, and that is the life that really matters.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”

How can we remain in Christ and Christ remain in us? How can we be green and vigorous branches that are fully united to the vine? We should, first of all, believe in Christ. But that is not enough. Our faith should influence how we live our lives. We should, in other words, live in conformity with this faith by putting the words of Jesus into practice.
Thus we cannot neglect the divine means (such as the sacraments) that Christ has left us, the means that make it possible for us to reach unity with him, and to regain it if we have lost it.
Moreover, Christ will not feel that we are solidly united to him unless we make the effort to be part of our ecclesial community, our local church.

 

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”

“Whoever remains in me and I in him.”
Do you see how Jesus speaks not only of our unity with him but also of his unity with us? If you are united to him, he is in you. He is present in the innermost part of your heart. And from this comes a rapport, a dialogue of mutual love, a relationship of cooperation between Jesus and you, his disciple. And this is the result: you will bear much fruit, just as the branch that is solidly united to the vine bears grapes in abundance.

“Bears much fruit” means that your life will be a fruitful witness to others. You will be blessed with the ability to open the eyes of many to the unique, revolutionary words of Christ, and to give them the strength to follow these words. It also means that in accordance with the gifts God has given you, you will be able to foster and even initiate projects to alleviate some of the sufferings of humanity.
“Bears much fruit” means fruit in abundance, and this could mean that you will be able to create among those around you an atmosphere of goodness, of mutual love, of true communion.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”

But “bears much fruit” does not only mean the spiritual and material wellbeing of others, but your own as well. Your spiritual growth, as well as your personal sanctification depend on your being united to Christ.
Sanctification? Perhaps, in these times of ours, to speak of sanctification may seem anachronistic, pointless, utopian. But it is not. These present times will pass and, with them, all such short-sighted and erroneous views. What will remain is the truth. Two thousand years ago, Paul the apostle said clearly that sanctification is God's will for all Christians. Teresa of Avila, a doctor of the Church, was certain that everyone can reach the highest contemplation. And the Second Vatican Council declared that all the faithful are called to sanctity.
These are reliable voices. Work then so that you, too, may gather the “fruit” of sanctity which you can do only if you are united to Christ.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”

Have you noticed how Jesus is not concerned with the fruit directly, but looks at it only as a result of our remaining united to him?
It might be that some fall into the error of many Christians who believe only in activism and more activism, projects and more projects for the good of others, without taking the time to ask themselves whether they are fully united to Christ. This is a mistake. They think they are bearing fruit, but it is far less than what Christ in them and with them could bear.
If we want to bear fruit that will last and that will have the mark of something divine, we must remain united to Christ; and the more we remain united to Christ, the more fruit we will bear.
The very verb “remains” used in this sentence gives you an idea that this bearing fruit, is not a momentary but rather a permanent condition.
If you know people who live this way, you will see, in fact, how even a smile, a word, a simple everyday gesture, an attitude in a given situation enables them to touch other people's hearts even to the point of leading them back to God.
This is the way it was with the saints. But even if we are not saints, we should not get discouraged. All Christians are capable of bearing fruit. Let me tell you a story.

You know that students today can be so highly politicized that little room is left for those who would like to be useful to humanity but have other motives.
It happened that way in Portugal. Maria do Socorro had just started college in a very tense environment. Many of the other students were involved in political disputes, each according to his or her own ideology and each trying to win over the students who had not joined any group as yet.
Maria knew what she wanted to do, even though it was not easy to explain her whole strategy to her friends. She wanted to follow Christ and to remain united to him. Her companions, however, who knew nothing of her ideas, labelled her wishy-washy, a girl without ideals. At times she felt awkward when they saw her go to church, but she went just the same because she felt she had to remain united to Jesus.
As Christmas approached, Maria learned that some of the students could not go home because they lived too far away. She suggested that the other students get together and give them presents. To her great surprise all the students agreed right away.
Later there were school elections and another big surprise awaited her: she was elected as representative of her class. Her amazement was even greater, however, when her friends told her that it was only logical that she should have been elected, since she was the only one who followed a precise line of conduct. “You know what you want,” they said, “and how to go about accomplishing it.” Now some of them want to find out more about the ideal of her life and to live it with her.
This is the fruit of Maria do Socorro's perseverance in remaining united with Jesus.

                                                          Chiara Lubich

 

A victory – and not only on the sportsfield!

My country has just emerged from a war that lasted many years. The political situation is now stable, there is great development, and life has returned to normal. But not for everybody. For a while now a group of youngsters, left without any family, have been gathering near the Church to beg. It became a meeting point for them, they slept and lived there. As time went by things became more and more difficult, with robberies, arguments amongst them, and drugs, and it became dangerous to be out in the evening. The priest had spoken to them and tried to find a solution, but some of them were very rebellious and refused any type of relationship. Together with some other young people we asked ourselves what we could do: we decided to try and get to know them. We introduced ourselves, and every time we went to mass we would stop to speak to them. Little by little a relationship was built with some of them and the idea came to do something together. So we organised a football match. We booked a sports field and even managed to receive a present of some fantastic football kit for both teams. On the appointed day we went to the field, taking drinks, sandwiches and cakes for the break. It was a great occasion, and our friendship grew enormously. The greatest celebration was their victory! From then on we started to invite them to our meetings. Their response was greater than any of our expectations. The relationship that was born ignited a new hope in them, the desire to speak to the priest to look for a job (and many of them found one) and to reinsert themselves into normal life. We realised that the most important thing was not to give money, but more our real interest in them. We had to give our time, our care, our friendship, and the fruits of loving in this way were much greater.  (T. P. – Angola)

May 2009

Edith, a young woman from Sardinia who has been blind from birth, lives in an institution for the blind. One day, the chaplain became paralyzed and could no longer celebrate Mass. Because of this, it was decided that the Eucharist could no longer be kept in the chapel. When Edith heard about this, she asked the bishop to let them keep the Eucharist, for it was the only light in their dark world. He granted her request and also gave her permission to distribute communion to the chaplain and the other residents.
In her desire to help others, Edith also took on the responsibility of preparing a radio program that is broadcast a few hours every week. She uses this program to share with those who are suffering the best that she has to offer—advice, sound thinking and the explanation of moral issues—in order to give them strength. And there is much more that could be said about Edith. Although she is blind, her suffering has given her light.

“As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace.”

I could give you other examples as well. There is goodness in the world that often goes unnoticed. Edith lives out her Christianity: she knows that each of us has received gifts from God and she has put hers at the service of others.
Yes, because the word “gift” (which is derived from the Greek word “charism”) does not refer only to those graces that God gives those who govern his Church. Nor does it refer only to those extraordinary gifts that God gives directly to individual Christians for the good of all when they are needed to solve a particular problem in the Church, or in times of serious danger when the existing institutions are not sufficient. Such gifts include wisdom, knowledge, the power to work miracles, the gift of tongues, the charism to generate a new spirituality in the Church, and so on.
These, moreover, are not the only gifts or charisms. There are other, more ordinary ones that many people possess and that are noticeable because of the good they bring about. The Holy Spirit is always at work.
Furthermore, natural talents can also be considered as gifts or charisms. Everyone, therefore, is gifted. You, too.
How should you use your gifts? Try to make them bear fruit. They were not given to you for your own benefit alone but, rather, for the good of all.

“As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace.”

There is a great variety of gifts. Since each person has his or her own gifts, each one also has a specific role to fulfill in the community.
Tell me, what gifts do you have? Do you have a degree? Did you ever think, for instance, of setting aside a few hours each week to teach those who need help, those who cannot afford to pay for their studies?
Are you a generous person? Did you ever think of getting together with other people of good will in order to help the poor and the outcasts of society? By doing. this, you could restore a true sense of human dignity to many hearts ….
Are you able to comfort others? Are you good at housekeeping, cooking, sewing or crafts? Look around to see who might need your help.
It’s painful to see how many people are bored because they don't know what to do with their free time. We Christians do not have free time—not as long as there are on this earth the sick, the hungry, the imprisoned, the ignorant, the uncertain, the unhappy, the addicted, the handicapped, … the orphaned, the widowed.
And think of prayer. It is such a powerful gift that we can use at any time, since in every moment we can turn to God who is present everywhere.…

“As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace.”

Can you imagine what the Church would be like if all Christians, children as well as adults, shared with others the graces they have received? Their mutual love would become so real, so abundant and so striking that… non-Christians would be able to recognize them as true disciples of Christ.…
For an outcome such as that, don't you think you ought to do all you can to bring it about?


By Chiara Lubich

You can find a complete version of Chiara’s commentary in Words to Live By (New City Press, 1980).

The earthquake in Abruzzo and a life-changing experience

 Much more than solidarity “In the dust of Aquila, we saw the best side of human nature”, said Umberto a volunteer and speleologist from the Alpine rescue service, involved in searching through the rubble. “Prejudice, presumption, arrogance disappeared and only the inner purity of human nature remained, innocent as when we were created. There was much more than solidarity: humanity emerged in all its greatness.” A life-changing experience Marta, a nineteen year old civil engineering student at Aquila University, is visibly moved as she tells us: “It is an experience that changes you. Only God remains. I knew it, I believed it, but now I have experienced it. What use was it to plan my life out? Now I live one day at a time, or rather, one moment at a time.” The tremor just before 11 pm on April 5 was accompanied by a huge bang. Marta was extremely frightened. She and her friends had no idea what to do, even though their rented house, built during the nineties, seemed safe. They phoned their parents. All of them seemed to agree that they need not worry, there was no need to overreact, they ought to keep their minds on their studies. How much they must have regretted that advice, even though their daughters survived! Chiara, a twenty-four year old dental student, remembers the tremor at 10.45 pm. She was on the phone with Luisa. They were very scared. Their other colleagues in university accommodation had already left Aquila. They were both alone in different houses, so they decided to stay the night together. “Shall I come there? Or you come here?” Thankfully Chiara went to stay with her friend. Her own house was in a part that was hit the worst. Rebuilding, outside and within Another kind of reconstruction work ought not to be forgotten, that of the enormous number of people traumatised by the earthquake. Panic attacks, anxiety and insecurity, the difficulty of coping with everyday life and making plans, are often accompanied by insomnia and passivity. The symptoms of trauma last for months, and are sometimes permanent. “Learning how to cope with them”, explains Giuseppe Rocco, neurologist and psychiatrist from Teramo Health Service, working with the evacuees, “is quite possible, but psychotherapy and drugs are not enough. A network of relationships is required. With all of these, trauma damage can be reversed.” In this important inner reconstruction, the generosity and warmth of groups, movements and associations can do a lot. We can see this even while the tremors go on. Testimonies published in Città Nuova n 8 on 25/4/2009

A communicator at the service of a great ideal: humanity as a family

Some extracts from a talk by Nedo Pozzi on the figure of “Giordani communicator”, given on 18 April, the 29th anniversary of the death of “Foco”, during the recent congress of NetOne Italia.

Igino Giordani, known as Foco by Chiara and all of us, left this earthly life twenty nine years ago. Giordani was an important twentieth century Italian figure. Just when he was busiest and most well known, an event occurred that changed his life and drew him into a new and totally absorbing spiritual experience

It was his meeting in September 1948 with Chiara Lubich. With her, he established a spiritual bond of unity of exceptional humility and transparency. “All my studies, my ideals, the events of my life seemed to have been pointing towards this… Previously I had searched, and now I had found.”

And from that meeting between Chiara and Giordani in 1948, a radical renewal of life, thought, and social interaction began to flourish in all fields, including politics and the media…

Giordani was a man of multiple talents, but today we will consider him as a communicator at the service of a great ideal: humanity as a family.

His contribution to the media world was impressive. He wrote 4000 articles for 49 different publications, in Italy and abroad, founded various journals, directed two daily papers and ten periodicals, and wrote more than 100 books (almost two per year), which, not including essays, pamphlets, letters and talks amount to 26000 pages, many of them translated into various languages. For thirty years he was active in the cultural and political scene, nationally and internationally, giving prophetic insights into many of the dramas of the twentieth century. He was a gifted writer, but his most effective contribution to the media was with words. He had a talent for beautiful and eloquent conversation that, with subtle irony, conveyed counter cultural ideas of unusual depth.

He was a real artist with words, and a politician who was “naive” and “too Christian”. Here he writes about communication.

“If to be is to think, to live is to communicate”

“The communicator is called to illuminate, not to obscure. ….He ought to renew himself each day, replenish himself with ideas in every moment. …The communicator may have no money in his pocket, but with an idea in his head, and a flame burning in his heart, he is worth more on the market than a financier.”

“Love is everything, without love everything is nothing. Communication can and must nourish this truth, the only lasting cohesive force in society, before fear, the mother of the atomic bomb, gains the upper hand.”

“The communicator is the most direct builder of a new city.”

“Humanity always brings ruin on itself for the same reasons… It says for example, “If you want peace, prepare for war”. For us the truth is different. If you want peace prepare for peace. If you prepare for war, then sooner or later the rifles will shoot by themselves… If we want to achieve peace, we have to begin by building it among us… for peace truly begins from each one of us.”  This is what he said in Parliament on 21 December 1950.

And finally, what would Giordani say if we were to ask him what to do?

“Open up your heart like a shell in order to hear the voice of humanity. Enable love and wealth – the good and the goods – to circulate, breaking down the barricades of race and class, the customs posts of the spirit, the road tolls of happiness… See in every person, whoever it is, a brother or sister…”

He issued this challenge in 1961, but it is extremely relevant today. I have to respond to it each morning, each time I meet someone or I sit at my computer to do my (and his) work.

Nedo Pozzi

April 2009

Have you noticed how often your life just drags on because you are not living it fully but are waiting for “tomorrow,” hoping it will bring something “beautiful”?
There is, indeed, a “beautiful tomorrow” in store for you, but it is not the one you expect.
A God-given instinct leads you to look forward to something or someone that will be able to satisfy you. You look forward to a holiday celebration, a vacation, or some special encounter; but then when everything is over you are not satisfied, or not fully satisfied. And you start the routine of your life again without conviction, always looking forward to something else.
The truth is that among the many elements in human life there is one that no one can escape: the face-to-face meeting with the Lord who is coming. This is the “beautiful tomorrow” you are unconsciously looking for, because you are made for happiness, and only He can give you complete happiness.
Jesus knows how you and I search for happiness blindly; in fact, he warns us:

“Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”

Be vigilant. Be alert. Stay awake. For although there are many things that you can have doubts about on earth, there is one thing that is certain: one day you will die. For a Christian, this means to meet Christ who is coming.
Perhaps, like many others, you intentionally try to forget about death. You fear that moment and live as if it were never going to come. Rooting yourself more and more in this earthly life, you say, “Death frightens me; therefore it doesn't exist.” Yet that moment will come because Christ will certainly come.

“Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”

With these words, Jesus is speaking of his coming on the last day. Just as he was lifted up into heaven from among the apostles, so will he return.
But these words also refer to the coming of the Lord at the end of each person’s life. After all, when a person dies, for him or her it is the end of the world.
Since you don’t know if Christ will come today, tonight, tomorrow, or in a year or more, you have to be vigilant. You have to be like those who keep watch because they know a thief is coming but they don’t know the hour.
If Jesus is coming, then this life is a passing thing. But that does not mean that you should undervalue it. On the contrary, you should give it the highest importance. You should prepare yourself for that encounter with Him by living a worthy life. …

“Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”

You certainly have to be vigilant. Your life is not merely a peaceful chain of events; it is also a struggle. And a wide variety of temptations, such as those regarding sexuality, vanity, attachment to money, and violence, are your main enemies. If you are always vigilant you won't be taken by surprise.
Those who love are always vigilant. Vigilance is a characteristic of love.
When you love someone you are constantly watching and waiting for him or her to come. Every moment away from the one you love is spent with him or her in mind.
For instance, a wife whose husband is away thinks of him as she goes about her work or as she prepares something for him. Everything is done with him in mind. Consequently, when he arrives at the end of the day she is overjoyed to see him.
Similarly, when a mother is caring for a sick child her thoughts are with him even as she rests.
In the same way, a person who loves Jesus does everything with Him in mind, encountering Him in the simple expressions of His will in every moment, and preparing for that solemn encounter with Him on the day when He comes.
Consider what happened on November 3, 1974. At Santa Maria in southern Brazil a religious convention for 250 young people had just ended. Most of them had come from the city of Pelotas.
The first chartered bus left with forty-five people aboard who were joyfully singing, expressing their love for Jesus. As they were travelling, some of the girls started to pray the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary, asking Our Lady to help them to be faithful to God to the end of their lives.
A short time later, the brakes failed and the bus went out of control around a curve, turning over three times as it fell a hundred and fifty feet. Six girls died.
One who survived said, “I saw death but I was not afraid because God was there.”
Another one said, “When I realized I could move, I knelt in the midst of the debris among the bodies of my friends, and I looked at the starry sky and prayed. God was there with us.” The father of Carmen Regina, one of the girls who died, said that she used to say: “Dying is a beautiful thing, Papa, because you go to be with Jesus.”

“Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.”

The girls from Pelotas were watching because they were loving, and when the Lord came, they went to meet Him with joy.

Chiara Lubich

Published in Chiara Lubich, Words to Live By, New City Press, 1987.

The Word of Life, a sentence of Scripture, is offered each month as a guide and inspiration for daily life. From the Focolare’s beginnings, Chiara Lubich wrote her commentaries on each Word of Life, and after her death last March, her early writings are now being featured once again. This commentary, addressed to a primarily Christian audience, was originally published in December 1978.

 

To Ask and How To Ask

The most absurd thing in this world is this: on the one hand, there are so many confused people, endlessly searching for something, crying out for help in the midst of the inevitable trials of life and feeling like orphans. On the other hand, there is God who is everyone’s Father and who would like nothing better than to use his almighty power to grant his children’s wishes and to satisfy their needs.
It is as if emptiness and fullness were crying out for each other. Yet the two do not meet. The freedom humans have been given is able to do such damage.
But for those who acknowledge him, God never ceases to be Love.
Listen to what Jesus says:

“Whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you”

This is one of those statements, full of promise, that we find in the Gospels and that Jesus uses to teach us in various ways how to obtain what we need. […]
Only God can speak in this manner. His power is unlimited and he can bestow all graces, whether they be spiritual or material, possible or impossible.
But pay close attention: Jesus tells you how to present your request to the Father. “In my name,” he says.
If you have even a little faith, these three short words should give you confidence.
Jesus lived here among us and knows our countless needs, and he feels deep concern for us. So when we pray, he wants to be involved. It is as if he were saying to each one of us: “Go to the Father on my behalf and ask him for this and that and the other thing.” He knows that the Father cannot say “no” to him because he is his Son and he is God.
You do not go to the Father on your own behalf, but on behalf of Jesus. You become simply his messenger.
There are many Christians who pray in this way and who could tell you of the countless graces they have received that show that, in his fatherly love, God watches over them every day.

“Whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you”

At this point, perhaps, you may say to me, “I have asked over and over in the name of Christ but with no results.”
That is possible. I mentioned before that there are other passages of the Gospel in which Jesus invites us to ask for what we need. In them he gives further explanations that you have probably overlooked.
He says, for instance, that we obtain what we request if we “remain” in him, and that means to remain in his will. […]
It is possible that you may ask for something that doesn’t coincide with God’s plan for you, something that he doesn’t consider useful to your life here on earth or in heaven, or that he even considers harmful. How could he, your Father, grant your prayer in this case? He would be betraying you, and that he will never do.
Therefore, it might be useful for you to make an agreement with him before praying, and to say: “Father, I would like to ask you this in Jesus’ name–if you think it is in order.”
If the grace you are asking is in harmony with God’s loving plan for you, then you will see the truth of the words:

“Whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you”

It could also be that you ask for graces without any intention of conforming your life to what God demands. Do you think that in this case it would be fair for God to grant what you request? He doesn’t want to give you only a gift; he wants to give you complete happiness, and you can possess it only if you live the commandments of God, and his words. It is not enough to think about them, or even to meditate on them; they must be lived.
If you do this, you will obtain everything.
To summarize, would you like to obtain graces?
Ask for anything you want in the name of Jesus, intending, above all, to do God’s will and to obey his laws.
God is very happy to give us graces. Unfortunately, we don’t very often give him the chance.

An integral version of this commentary has been published in: Chiara Lubich, Words to Live By (New City Press, 1980).

Chiara Luce, it’s her moment!

Events in Mexico

Guadalajara – 14/3 Mass live transmission on TV Maravision Puebla – 26/3 Cultural Event, with the participation of various cultural experts, people of other faiths and from the world of art. Puebla – 28/3 Mass in the Cathedral; presiding celebrant J.Trinidad Medel, vicar of the Archdiocese  of Puebla for the Laity. Netzahualcoyotl – 20/3 Mass in the Cathedral; presiding celebrant Bishop Carlos Garfias Mexico City – 26/3 Tribute to Chiara, at the l’IMDOSOC, Mexican Institute of Social Teaching of the Church, with testimonies from political, religious, and cultural leaders, 7 p.m. Santa Cruz 6-15/3 Traditional rites – 9 days of prayer for Chiara; on the 10th day, Mass in the Náhuatl language for people of the 32 indigenous communities of the area. (Note: Náhuatl is the language spoken by the Aztecs, and used by the Madonna of Guadalupe when speaking to Juan Diego). Little town “El Diamante” – 22/3 An afternoon dedicated to Chiara – 1 pm – the Blessing of the Cross according to local custom – lifted up from the earth, as a symbol of the resurrection; it will be brought in procession, while petals are strewn along the route, to signify the final journey to Paradise. The Cross will be placed in the little town’s cemetery (called “Resurrection”, a name given by Chiara)  

Germany: “The power of the Gospel”

There have been many events throughout the world to remember Chiara Lubich, and to carry on living her legacy. Here we look at what is happening in Germany. “On the first anniversary of the death of Chiara Lubich, we would like to explore once again the power of the Gospel, which changed Chiara’s life and the lives of many others.” This commitment will be affirmed by movements and communities of various Churches in Germany in Munich’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, on March 14. The location is highly significant, for this was where, on December 8 2001, a very important event took place. As we read in the invitation «The contribution of Chiara Lubich and the evangelical Bishop Ulrich Wilckens to the communion among movements and communities of various Churches, was fundamental. Their pact of mutual love was the basis for the growth of the network, Together for Europe». There will be addresses by: Metropolitan Serafim Joanta, of the Romanian Orthodox Church Pastor Thomas Römer, of theYMCA in Munich Fr Michael Marmann, of the Schönstatt Movement (Munich) Renata Simon and Herbert Lauenroth, of the Focolare Movement (Ottmaring) Other events in Germany: Dresden – 14/3 Mass – 11.00; celebrant Bishop Joachim Reinelt Commemoration in the Council Chamber of Saxony, under the patronage of the President, Erich Iltgen Hannover – 14/3 Commemorative programme with the Lutheran Bishop Christian Krause, former President of the World Lutheran Federation. Presentation of the schools project: “Strong without violence” supported by the European Union, with the participation of Gen Rosso Solingen – 14/3 Award of the prize from the city of Solingen to the Mariapolis Centre “Zentrum Frieden” for its contribution to the development of the city Münster – 14/3 Mass – 14.30 – followed by a brief meeting and a presentation of the life of Chiara Lubich Regensburg – 14/3 Mass – followed by a brief meeting and a presentation of the life of Chiara Lubich Mainz – 14/3 Mass – celebrant Bishop Ulrich Neymeyr – followed by a brief meeting and a presentation of the life of Chiara Lubich

February 2009 – God First

What do you think of this? These words make extreme, unheard-of demands! Yet, that Jesus who said that marriage is indissoluble and commanded us to love everyone, and especially our parents, that same Jesus is now asking us to put into second place all the beautiful affections we have here on earth, lest they become obstacles to our direct, immediate love for him. Only God could ask so much.
Jesus wants to tear us away from our natural way of living and wants to bind us to himself above anything else so that he can bring about universal brotherhood on earth.
Therefore, wherever he finds an obstacle to his plan, he “cuts,” and in the Gospel he speaks, in a spiritual sense, of a “sword.”

He calls those who have not known how to love him more than mother, spouse, and life itself, “the dead.” Do you remember the man in the Gospel who asked if he could bury his father before starting to follow Jesus? Jesus answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead” (Lk 9:60).
Perhaps you might be afraid when confronted with such a demand. Perhaps you would like to limit these words of Jesus to his own time, or address them only to those called to follow him in a special way.
You are mistaken. These words hold true in every age, our own as well. They apply to all Christians, including you. In today’s world you will find many opportunities to put this invitation of Christ into practice.

Is someone in your family opposed to Christianity? Jesus wants you to bear witness to him or her with your life and, at the right moment, with words, too, even at the cost of being ridiculed or slandered.
Are you a mother whose husband is asking you to have an abortion? Be obedient to God and not to humans.
Does somebody want you to join in an activity whose goals are suspicious or even wrong? Break off with him or her.
Has a relative offered you money obtained illegally? Maintain your honesty.
Does your whole family encourage you to enjoy the many things that the permissive world has to offer? You need to break with this so that Christ's presence in your life will not withdraw.

“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

Are you from a family of non-believers? Did the fact of your conversion to Christ provoke division? Don’t worry, for this is the result of living the Gospel. Offer God the anguish in your heart for those you love, but don’t give up.
Did Christ call you to himself in a special way, and is now the moment when the total gift of yourself demands that you leave father and mother or even your fiancé?
Make your choice. There is no victory without a struggle.

“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

“… and even his own life.”
Do you live in a place where persecution is a fact and where being a Christian puts your life in danger? Take courage. At times our faith can ask even this of us. For the Church there is never a real end to the age of martyrs.
Each one of us, in the course of his or her life, will sooner or later have to choose between Christ and everything else in order to remain an authentic Christian. So your turn will come too.
Don’t be afraid. Don’t fear for your life. It is better to lose it for God than to lose it forever. Eternal life is a reality.
Don’t be afraid for your family either. God loves them. If you are able to put him first, one day he will come and call them with the powerful words of his love, and you will help them to become, with you, true disciples of Christ.

By Chiara Lubich

An integral version of this commentary has been published in: Chiara Lubich, Words to Live By, New City Press, 1980.

Chiara Luce, it’s her moment!

Remaining faithful to traditional values, but at the same time being up to date…

Remaining faithful to traditional values, but at the same time being up to date… At the conclusion of the World Meeting for Families in Mexico city, which took place on Saturday, 17th of January, there is among others, the Simango family from Malawi, who shared their experience 28/01/2009 The experiences shared by families from five different continents were very moving during the climax of the World Meeting for Families promoted by the Pontifical Council for Families. From Africa, the Simango family, mother, father and their twins, 14 years old,  shared, how even though they  live in an environment permeated by traditional values, consumerism and the media can easily impose other models and even revoke their precious values and traditions. They shared how important it is to educate our children with respect for traditions, but at the same time, remain open… Dennis (father) Just as in many countries in Africa, the cost of living in our country is continually rising, while the salaries remain the same. As a consequence, more and more people are living below the poverty line. Our shops are full of modern, fancy products: toys, the latest fashions in clothes, cell phones etc., and the advertisements entice us to buy them. And so, instead of trying to combat poverty by creating new opportunities for development, people are getting carried away by these things; but they are frustrated because they cannot afford to buy them. As parents we feel that it is our duty to teach our children to distinguish between what is and what is not essential for living, for example all those things which they impulsively would like to have. We try to make them aware that technology cannot be a substitute for respecting the things we have, and that we should acquire something new only when it is necessary. But more than just speaking about it we do this by all of us together drawing on the words of the Gospel. One evening together with the children we spoke about those words of Jesus when He said: “Whatever you did to the least of my brothers, you did it to me”. The following day we spontaneously shared with each other how we tried to put these words into practice, and we saw how each of us was able to share something with the others, with the intention of sharing it with Jesus. During my lunch break I helped a student who was having some difficulties; my wife gave some rice to a neighbour who didn’t have any; one of the children lent her pencil and the other lent his eraser to their school companions. When we spoke among ourselves about what we had done the happiest of all were the children who had understood that we don’t need to be rich in order to be able to share.   Margaret (14 years) In the boarding school we are only provided with basic meals and these are not always sufficient. Last year many of my school companions complained about being hungry and I often gave them what I had brought from home. When I came home for the holidays my mother noticed that I had lost a lot of weight. When she got to know the reason for this she advised me not to give away what I needed, but she gave me something extra so that I could continue to share with the others.   Modesta (mother) In our culture sharing is considered to be a very important value, as an ancient African proverb says: “… unlike a piece of cloth, food is never too little to be shared.” But because of the influence of the media, many have begun to think that it is wiser to keep whatever they have for themselves. Another danger which stems from an uncontrolled use of television are the soap operas and the imported cartoons which propose models which are very far from our own culture, especially regarding consumerism and the relationship between men and women. We have rules in our family, for example no TV during school and only two hours each day during weekends or holidays, being careful about what programmes the children watch. We get a DVD of their choice – making sure that the content is good – which we then share with other families with whom we are linked in our own city and in the rural areas. But above all we speak with the children about what they have seen, so as to awaken a good critical sense in them, “that you may discern – as St. Paul teaches –  what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect”(Rm 12,2).   Mario (14 years) Whenever I was in school I couldn’t wait for the moment to return home so as to be able to spend all the time I wanted in front of the TV. But speaking with my family I understood that this wasn’t true freedom and that sometimes the TV can be a trap. In this way I learned how I could avoid turning on the TV, even for days.   Modesta You, oh Mary, who are Queen of Africa, you know that it is a land rich with resources, but burdened with enormous problems: poverty, malnutrition, AIDS, epidemics, conflicts and wars. Bring forth among us wise leaders and keep us faithful to that culture of life which our fathers taught us. The good news of the Gospel is that compendium of human and Christian values which makes us your children and through which we become new men and women. Help us to live it and to transmit it to our children.