Oct 23, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Beating an addiction to gambling is possible, but not alone. Here’s the story of Christian Rigor from the Philippines, who found God at Fazenda da Esperança, as well as his life’s deepest meaning. The idea of “aiming high brings to mind various things: work objectives, personal projects, dreams worth fighting for. They are often all-embracing challenges that we dedicate a good part of our lives to. Yet there are goals and then there are goals; some have a more subjective value than collective. To reach loftier goals you have to follow a path of growth, put yourself in question, develop a sense of responsibility for the collective and open your horizons to faraway worlds. Then there are lesser goals that turn us inwards, that close a person within their own self-interest, isolate them and eventually become destructive. The objectives we choose guide our way of life. Although you can always change which path you’re on. Christian Rigor, a 30-something from the Philippines, knows this well. A peaceful childhood in a well-off family allowed him to study and specialise in Europe. As a teen he had a full social life, but he wanted to make “easy money”, without working for it. His taking things lightly was fatal from the first moment he entered a casino. Thus began his road to gambling addiction, caught in his need to recover his inevitable losses. It was a dark chapter of his life, aiming for misplaced goals. Along the way he lost friends, work, a fiancé, and the trust of his relatives. He also lost his personal wellbeing, which from the edge of the 24th floor of a building, reached its lowest point. The turning point came when, encouraged by his mother, he decided to move to Fazenda da Esperança, a project with houses set up throughout a number of countries around the world. In its DNA is the Focolare’s spirituality of unity., which inspired its founders. The rehab programme there is dedicated to people who suffer from various forms of dependency. “During the programme I learned to look beyond myself, beyond my egotistical and superficial worldly desires, and live for a greater goal. I learned to aim high and found God. That’s how I learned how to love God and those around me, in everything that I do in the present moment, even when it is painful or difficult.” At Fazenda da Esperança, life is organised in three dimensions: spiritual, collective, and work. Each provides an opportunity to grow personally. “As a Catholic, I learned to go deeper in my personal relationship with God, to listen to his word and live it, to look for unity with him at Mass and to pray as if speaking with a friend.” Collective life taught him that to “love God fully, I need to love those around me, to see the presence of Jesus in them.” It trained him to go beyond differences to serve each neighbour – sharing food, listening to friends who were down, taking care of things at home. At work, whether particularly heavy or just normal, Christian learned to give the best of himself. “I didn’t care how difficult, physically taxing, boring, dirty or gross it was.” Along his road to recovery, he was called upon to be a coordinator for his group. “It was difficult for me to be both gentle and firm, especially during arguments. One time I was unjustly accused of stealing, and I did not feel appreciated. I wanted to give up, but then I decided to stay because I wanted to heal my addiction and be a new person. I dove into loving in each moment, despite others’ judgement. I asked God for help and I felt closer to him.” Today Christian takes on the challenge of his life beyond the protected space of the Fazenda, and when faced with the temptation of gambling, he finds refuge in God. In reality he’s discovered that true happiness lies in aiming for other goals. “I realised that I find happiness when I love God, when I feel his presence during prayer, in the people that I meet, in my activities, and when I love in the present moment. To aim high, you don’t need to accomplish who knows what; you just need to do everything with love. Today, this is my lifestyle.”
Claudia Di Lorenzi
Oct 21, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Ana Clara Giovani is a Brazilian journalist who made a video-blog of the event. https://vimeo.com/363569902
Oct 20, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Ten days of protests with hundreds of people arrested and five victims. An appeal for dialogue by the Ecuadorian Bishops’ Conference and the United Nations finally bears fruit. The Focolare Movement’s commitment to contribute towards peace. On October 2 Ecuador’s President, Lenin Moreno announced a package of austerity measures. The decision to end fuel subsidies caused a rise in the price of a number of necessary commodities that triggerred immediate protests, and a state of emergency was declared. Ecuador, a Latin American country with more than 17 million inhabitants (71.9% mestizos, 7.4% montubio population, 7.8% afro-Ecuadorian, 7.1% indigenous Ecuadorians and 7% white Ecuadorians), found itself forced into peaceful protests, that did not need much to become violent and provoke repressive action by law enforcement agencies. “Peace is over” wrote a young Ecuadorian, who also sent me a video showing anti-riot tanks in the square. A friend who wrote to me a few days later, related: “I heard xenophobic expressions and stories about mestizos and indigenous people, who were betrayed and then attacked. It is so painful to hear about women and children who lost their lives. It has been said that five were killed during unexpected bombings at dawn. Despite all this suffering, people are peaceful and the weapons used during their protests were large bucketfuls of water to extinguish the fires caused by bombs, bicarbonate, vinegar, masks against gases and eucalyptus branches. On the front line there were youth, aged between twenty and thirty, who were not afraid to die. At the square, there were no indigenous people in the evening, but there were about 30 thousand others, people of all ages and colours, all feeling let down because the government was not doing anything about the situation. The National Assembly declared to be on vacation leave, and so there is no channel for dialogue”. In this delicate situation, the first to come forward were the bishops who together with the UN/Ecuador proposed dialogue, in particular between the indigenous people and the Government. After meeting the parties, they convened a meeting on Sunday October 13. They wrote: “We rely on everyone’s good will to establish a dialogue in good faith and find a prompt solution for the country’s complex situation”. Even the Focolare Movement expressed its commitment towards peace. “We are living this painful present situation by being generous, overcoming fear and putting aside our convictions, while we try to understand the others and put ourselves in their shoes. We feel a sense of helplessness when we see brothers fighting against one another. We would like our actions to be a compendium of heart, mind and hands, while we ask ourselves: is what I feel, think and do an expression of true love for the other, whoever he may be? Do my actions contribute towards dialogue, towards peace? We believe that every citizen has the right to demonstrate in favour of justice and democracy, while we reject all forms of violence from wherever they may come. We would like to highlight our preference for the less privileged, as the Pope teaches us. We want to be more radical in living the Gospel by our love for Jesus forsaken, who is presently revealing himself in the suffering faces of our indigenous brothers, in injured policemen, in young men’s faces smeared with blood, in those who mourn their loved ones killed unjustly, in journalists who have been assaulted, in those who attack others because of different opinions, in the ones who prefer to ignore what is happening, in those who spread false news and in stigmatized immigrants”. Promoting dialogue among the many different cultures present Ecuador is a primary commitment for the Focolare Movement in this country. Today, this dialogue seems to be compromised. Theysaid: “This difficult situation could lead us to think that all our arduous efforts in favour of intercultural dialogue and unity have been in vain. But no, they aren’t! Maybe God is calling each one of us to intensify our Christian living and act as builders of peace wherever we are”. And they concluded: “Let us ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten us all on how to proceed in these difficult times”. The “time-out” for peace is a daily appointment. As I write (while there have been more than 700 arrests and 5 victims), an agreement has been reached. The directives issued by the Government on October 3 have been revoked and both parties will be involved in drafting new ones. We hope that all protests will stop and that social peace will be restored.
Gustavo E. Clariá
Oct 18, 2019 | Non categorizzato
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]One priceless treasure that Jesus himself left us is his word, the word of God. This gift “involves a great responsibility on our part… God gave us his word so we might bear fruit, and he wants to see it carried out in our lives and actions to bring about that deep transformation in the world that he can do.” Renewed faith Our financial situation had become quite insecure. One Sunday we were disappointed at having to give up going on a trip, not even having enough money for petrol. We walked to church, and during the Mass the readings seemed to be particularly for us, especially the words, “The jar of meal was not spent, neither did the cruse of oil fail”. We returned home full of renewed faith. That afternoon, by chance we met someone who just a few months before we had not been able to sell a plot of land to. Discussing it right then and there, we reached an agreement in just a few minutes. (L. and S. – Italy) It taught me what consistency means After my father died there were some dark years, really negative experiences and serious disappointment at not being accepted to flight school, which was so important to me. Around then I met someone, a true Christian, who was quite committed at home, work, in the union and with neighbours. His example taught me what it means to be consistent with Christian ideals: being one with God and at the same time available for each neighbour. (Ettore – Italy) A gift at every birth When we were married, I was working the night shifts on my own and my wife was a physiotherapist. We lived off a small amount of money, but it didn’t seem to us a good enough reason to not welcome life. Each birth of a child (now we have four) coincided with a new career step, almost like a gift that each newborn brought with them. Still today we experience tangible love from on high each day. It is so abundant that we manage to put some money in common with others. (Michele – Italy) The postman I had ordered an iron and ironing board that were supposed to arrive in the mail. The postman had only delivered the first, saying that the board did not fit in his car, and telling me that I could pick it up directly at the post office. When I went to the office, an employee there became really angry, telling me that the postman was required to deliver the board as well, perhaps by loading it at the end of his route. The day after, the postman told me that he had received a good telling off and apologised. “No need to mention it further,” I told him, “we can stay friends like before!” The next Sunday, during a small party, I received a gift of a paper tree with the Word of Life that month: “Rejoice in the Lord always”. Straight away I thought, what if I give it to the postman? I did just that, and the next day I placed it above the letter slot. When I returned home I found a card with a heart on it and the word “Thanks”. (Monica – Switzerland)
edited by Chiara Favotti
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Oct 17, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Ecuador was hit by a terrible earthquake in 2016. The Esmeraldas Province, which was already fragile, suffered serious damage. The survivors found themselves in a very difficult situation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ykobg_KQys
Oct 15, 2019 | Non categorizzato
On 10 November, the diocesan phase of the process of beatification of the founder of the Focolare Movement will end in Frascati (Italy). It will continue in the Vatican, at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The Diocesan phase of the cause of beatification and canonisation of Chiara Lubich will end at St Peter’s Cathedral, Frascati, at 4.30 pm on Sunday 10th November, with the holding of the last session of the Diocesan Inquiry presided over by the Bishop of Frascati, Most Rev. Raffaello Martinelli. With the definitive closure of this phase, all the documents of the inquiry will be sealed and sent to the Vatican. This follows almost five years of investigations and research into Chiara Lubich’s life, virtues, reputation for holiness and signs thereof. After this stage, the study of the documents will continue at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The process initiating the cause started on 7th December 2013 – five years after Chiara Lubich’s death – with the presentation of the official request to the Bishop of Frascati by the Focolare Movement. On 27th January 2015, Bishop Martinelli responded to the request by solemnly opening the cause. On that occasion Pope Francis sent a message in which he recalled the shining example of life of the founder of the Focolare Movement to those who “preserve her precious spiritual heritage.” He also urged the Focolare “to make known to the people of God the life and works of the one who, by accepting the invitation of the Lord, lit up for the Church a new light on the path to unity.”
Focolare Movement Communications Office
Oct 14, 2019 | Non categorizzato
195 young people from 67 countries, between 17 and 35 year of age, represented all Focolare youth as they met to get to know each other, discuss together and plan for a more united world. https://vimeo.com/363570137
Oct 13, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Don Mario Bodega was a priest from northern Italy and spent thirty years in the diocese of Milan ministering as parish priest, spiritual director of a college and chaplain in the Niguarda Hospital. He also lived at the Focolare Centre in Grottaferrata, Rome, and for the last ten years of his life was parish priest of the parish church of Loppiano, one of the Focolare Movement’s “little towns.” Thinking about Don Mario Bodega makes you recall Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” for a variety of different reasons. Firstly, joy really was a distinctive characteristic of his, secondly, this piece of music was one of his favourites and thirdly, he often played it on his harmonica. He had learned to play in the seminary and music had been important to him during many phases of his life. As a young hospital chaplain, at Christmas time, he used to go from room to room playing his harmonica. As soon as they heard his first notes, people in the hospital used to say, “Now it really is Christmas.” A prisoner in Bollate, near Milan, wrote, “When you played the ‘Ode to Joy’ for me, I realised that not everyone here comes to make judgements about me – some people just come to love. Thank you for helping me to find God again because I thought he had abandoned me.” Mario Delpini, Archbishop of Milan, also spoke of joy when he announced the news of his death, “Let us accompany this man of God, a priest and friend, to the joy of his meeting with God. A beautiful smile, indicative of deep, personal happiness has been his characteristic throughout life – during the days of his youth and in old age and sickness; when he had many pastoral commitments and during the time when lack of health meant that activity was greatly reduced.” Don Mario was born on 15 September 1942, during the Second World War, in Lecco, in northern Italy. After finishing primary school, he entered the seminary and, through the rector, he got to know the spirituality of the Focolare Movement. He was ordained priest in 1968 and carried out many different ministries during the thirty years he spent in the diocese of Milan. Then, when invited by Cardinal Archbishop Martini, he began to work with the Focolare Movement. During the eleven years he spent in Grottaferrata, Rome, he deepened his relationship with Chiara Lubich, the founder of the Movement. In the course of his life, he wrote 135 letters to her. In one of her answers, she indicated a Word of Scripture that he could particularly focus on living. It was, “Following his mercy, they have abandoned the vain and false realities.” (cf Jonah 2:9) “I Believe in Mercy” is the title of the book he produced. It contains many of his experiences. Bishop Meini of Fiesole gave a copy to all the priests of the diocese on Holy Thursday 2018. In 2009, Don Mario came to Loppiano as parish priest. There, in addition to creating a deeper communion among the inhabitants, he was a sure guide on the spiritual journey for many people. He played an important role in the “Paths of Light” programme for couples experiencing difficulties in their marriage. He also contributed to the development of the Sophia University Institute. The dean, Professor Piero Coda, wrote, “His house and the San Vito parish church in Loppiano are a stone’s throw from our Institute. They became our home and Don Mario’s presence and guidance have been a source of light and balm – a school of life. Our Institute also became his home. So much so that , among the most moving reactions to his death, were those those shared by our Muslim friends who are part of the ‘Wings of Unity’ project.” In 2018 he celebrated the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination. Shortly before as Loppiano was preparing for Pope Francis’ visit, Don Mario said that, given his very poor health, he did not think it was appropriate to be introduced to the Holy Father. With great paternal love, the bishop convinced him to change his mind. Don Mario told Pope Francis that he was a parish priest who was sick and walked with difficulty. He said he felt he could no longer work. “If you can’t work standing up, work sitting down” was the Pope’s response. And that is exactly what he continued to do, with great tenacity and joy, for his remaining 365 days of life. In fact, he died exactly one year later, on 10 May 2019.
Anna Lisa Innocenti
Oct 11, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Every Christian has a “mission” in his or her community. It may be to create a united family, to educate young people, to engage in politics and work, to care for vulnerable people, to bring the light and wisdom of the Gospel to culture or to live a life consecrated to God for the service of others. Holidays My husband and I have different ways of relaxing. I like sports and swimming but he likes to visit new places and museums. This year, as the holidays approached, I felt more than ever the need to rest and recover my strength, but a voice inside me kept telling me not to express and impose my preferences, but rather to adapt to what my husband would like. But he also tried to do the same with me. This meant that both of us were detached from our personal projects and this made our holidays more beautiful and restful than ever before. (B.S. – USA) Setting an example A young migrant man who was trying to sell socks knocked on my door. We were talking and I was trying to get to know him a little when a neighbour of mine passed by. I knew this neighbour had a negative attitude towards migrants but, to my surprise, she invited him to come to her house too because she had something for him. The next day I heard that she had given him shoes and medicine, and she had also promised to provide further support. I really wouldn’t have expected that! (C.V. – Italy) Serving others Our son suffered from depression. We couldn’t help him no matter how we tried and eventually he ran away. One summer afternoon he decided to end his own life. I felt a deep sense of guilt and thought I was being punished. However, slowly, with the support of the parish community, I began to pray and I made myself available to people in need. Sometimes, I offered practical help, a word shared or a smile. One day a mother came to me. She had lost a child just as I had. I told her how I was trying to fill that void by putting myself at the service of others. Although she was not a believer, she too found a certain serenity by doing the same. (G.F. – Italy) From enemy to sister One of my nursing colleagues did everything possible to make my life difficult. Her actions made me suffer. One day, I went to work with a bouquet of flowers and offered them to her with a smile. I will never forget her expression of amazement. It was the beginning of a new phase in our relationship. Now we have become like sisters. (Annamaria – Italy)
Edited by Chiara Favotti
Oct 9, 2019 | Non categorizzato
As Peru continues to welcome thousands of refugees, mostly Venezuelan, Gustavo Clarià reflects on the Focolare’s response. I was familiar with the content of Pope Francis’ ‘Message for the 105th Word Day of Migrants and Refugees 2019’. But listening to it being read to a hundred or so migrants, mainly from Venezuela, was something else! The words resonated in a new way, some paragraphs in particular, and it touched me deeply. 
I was meeting many of these people for the first time, as they arrived at the Focolare’s “Fiore Centre” in Lima, Peru, which is active in receiving migrants during the current situation. I listened to them explain why they had left their own country, with what suffering, often going through the anguish of leaving a spouse, children or elderly parents behind, their efforts – often futile – to help those relatives by sending money back. They spoke of their loneliness, their experiences of rejection and discrimination, of being condemned by local people for ‘stealing our jobs’, of continually being regarded with distrust and suspicion. They helped me understand the Pope’s message from a new perspective and to recognise its importance more clearly. I started to see what lies behind the so-called migrant phenomenon. According to statistics, 70.8 million people have been forced to flee their countries around the world, of these nearly 26 million are refugees. It’s a shocking number. Pope Francis concentrates the response to the migrant challenge into four verbs: welcome, protect, promote and integrate. They do not apply only to migrants and refugees. They apply to everyone, as the Pope goes on to explain, “the Church’s mission( is) to all those living in the existential peripheries” including “migrants, especially those who are most vulnerable”. The Pope’s full message was read to our group by Silvano Roggero, who is the Venezuelan son of Italian immigrants and a member of the Focolare’s International Commission for Migrants . Koromoto, from Venezuela, expressed his reaction, “We got here through the Lutheran Church. At first we were so frightened about what would happen to us and what we would find. But they gave us such a generous welcome, we were made to feel like family, like we do today among you here with the Focolare”. I saw such gratitude to the county which has welcomed them in, a sincere desire to integrate themselves, while still keeping strong ties with their roots. I’ve understood their anxiety to help the loved ones they have left behind in their home country and to repay the help they have received. Our day together continued in a family atmosphere with a celebratory lunch, accompanied by some of them singing songs from their homelands. We all got to know each other better and hope to meet up again, Peruvians and Venezuelans (and others) , as we continue to vitalize the four verbs proposed by Pope Francis.
Gustavo E. Clariá
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/messages/migration/documents/papa-francesco_20190527_world-migrants-day-2019.html
