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Slovakia: I became an actress to make you happy

Slovakia: I became an actress to make you happy

Oct 27, 2019 | Non categorizzato

The story of Dorotka and her family “An eXtra Something” is a film telling the story of Dorotka, a teen from Bratislava, Slovakia. She has Down syndrome, a genetic anomaly. Despite the difficulties this brings, it soon proves to be an “added value” for those around her. Her mother Viera explains what happens at the heart of a family when they learn they are expecting a child with Down syndrome. “It was a shock! We didn’t expect it that and we had never even seen someone with Down syndrome before. But Dorotka looked just like our other four children. We knew that panicking about an unknown situation doesn’t help, although keeping a cool head does. “Yet secretly, somewhere in my soul, I was afraid we would not be able to love her. In the time that followed, extraordinary things began to happen. Many precious people came into our lives, they helped us a lot, and they still help today. And our relationships in the family have become stronger. Our four older children have become more sensitive, loving, and the whole family is united as never before.” How does feeling surprised change to feeling gifted? The name Dorota means God’s gift. She already had this name during the pregnancy, and we believed that God never gives bad gifts. We just received something we don’t understand yet, and we felt it was a little test of our trust in God. At the time we began to hear many ideas and reflections, in which we sought God’s will in the present moment. It helped us a lot, as we clearly felt that this was God’s will for us. A friend of ours sent us a note that read, “This is true happiness, because it is built on pain”. How did you decide to share your experience with other families? Early on a doctor introduced us to other families who had children with Down syndrome. Together we did different therapies, we shared our experiences and eventually established an association called “Up-Down Syndrome”. We longed for the children to grow together, so that they were not only attached to their own family, and prepare them so that they can continue together on the road to some independence. We then founded the “Dúhadlo“ theatre, which opens new horizons for children through drama therapy. How did the collaboration with the University of Bratislava begin? A friend of ours teaches medical ethics at the Faculty of Medicine. Nine years ago she invited me to tell our story to students and get them more acquainted with the Down syndrome diagnosis. I am very grateful to have had this possibility. We felt that young doctors could still be influenced positively, and over the years we have always had positive feedback from students. “An eXtra Something” is the name of a documentary film that tells the story of Dorotka in her daily life, her joys and struggles. Why this title? Our original intention was to make a short video for World Down Syndrome Day. Pavol Kadlečík had no experience with Down syndrome and was so amazed that he decided to make a longer film. None of us knew that such a beautiful documentary would eventually be produced. Down syndrome is a genetic disorder in which the 21st chromosome does not form a pair, instead it forms a triplet. Therefore, this diagnosis can also be called Trisomy 21. This means that these people have one extra chromosome, and often it is called the chromosome of love. There’s something extra in them, and they have this special ability of unconditional love. There is no fiction in this film. It shows the daily life of the main character and her family, classmates, friends from theatre and music, and includes the struggles, joys, successes and disappointments. It bears witness to the love in this family and their “yes” to life. Dorotka, did you enjoy shooting a movie about you? When I was standing in front of the camera, sometimes I was a little anxious, and I had stage-fright. It was hard not to look directly into the camera. But the cameraman was great, and I enjoyed it. Palko made everyone happy with the idea of this film, and I would like to continue with a new one. What would you say to people reading this interview? I became an actress to make you happy. Try to love others.

Claudia Di Lorenzi

Aiming high, finding God in a way that is both healing and freeing

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

Ecuador: from protests to dialogue

Ecuador: from protests to dialogue

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

The Gospel lived: one with God, available for others

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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Chiara Lubich’s beatification process: the diocesan phase ends

Chiara Lubich’s beatification process: the diocesan phase ends

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

A hymn to joy

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