May 31, 2004 | Non categorizzato, Word of
Jesus has just decided to begin the long trip to Jerusalem where he will have to fulfil his mission (see Lk 9:51). Others want to follow him, but he warns them that to go with him involves a serious choice. It will be a difficult journey, one that demands his same courage and determination to carry out the Father’s will to the very end.
He knows that their initial enthusiasm might be followed by discouragement. He had just told them the parable of the sower: the seeds that fell “on rocky ground” represent those people “who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial” (Lk 8:13).
Jesus wants people to follow him in a complete and determined way and not just up to a certain point, sometimes saying “yes,” sometimes saying “no.” Once we have set out to live for God and his Kingdom, we cannot go back and take up where we left off, living as we did before, thinking only of our own narrow interests:
«No one who sets a hand to the plough and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God»
When Jesus calls us to follow him – and everyone, in different ways, is called – he opens up to us such a new world that it’s worth it to break with the past. At times, however, we are overcome by sentimental afterthoughts, or we are influenced and pressured by popular lifestyles that are often in conflict with the Gospel.
And this creates problems. On the one hand, we want to love Jesus; on the other, we feel like giving in to our weaknesses, to indulging ourselves, to taking up again our mediocre way of living. We would like to follow him, but we are often tempted to turn back, to retrace our steps, or else, to take one step forward and two steps back.
This Word of Life highlights the need to be consistent, to persevere and be faithful. If we have experienced the freshness and beauty of living according to the Gospel, we will see that nothing is more contrary to it than indecision, spiritual laziness, compromise, half measures, and a lack of generosity. Let’s decide to follow Jesus and to enter into the wonderful world he opens up to us. He promised that “whoever endures to the end will be saved” (Mt 10:22).
«No one who sets a hand to the plough and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God»
What should we do, then, so that we don’t give in to the temptation to look back?
First of all, we shouldn’t give in to self-centeredness (let’s leave it in our past) when we do not want to work as we should, or study with commitment, or pray well, or accept a difficult and painful situation with love, or when we feel like making negative comments about someone, being impatient with someone else, or taking revenge. We must say “no” to these temptations, even up to ten or twenty times a day.
And still that’s not enough. We won’t go very far only saying, “No.” We need, above all, to say, “Yes”—yes to what God wants and to what our brothers and sisters expect from us. And great surprises will be in store for us.
I remember one experience I had during World War II. On May 13,1944, a bombardment had damaged my house so badly that we couldn’t live there any longer. My family and I had to take refuge in the woods nearby. That night I cried because I realized that I would not be able to move away from Trent with my family whom I loved deeply. By this time I had already met my first companions and I knew that the Movement was coming to life. I couldn’t abandon them.
Would the love of God be able to resolve even this situation? Would I have to leave my relatives on their own – I, who was their only financial support? I did it with the blessing of my father.
Many years later I learned that as the rest of my family left the city and headed off in the direction of the mountains, they experienced a sense of great peace, and before long they found a very suitable living arrangement.
I went looking for my friends among houses and streets reduced to rubble. They were, thank God, all alive. We were offered a small apartment. Was it to be the first focolare? We didn’t know it then, but in fact it was.
«No one who sets a hand to the plough and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God»
Let us always go forward towards the goal before us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus (see Heb 12:1-2). The more we are in love with him and experience the beauty of the new world he gave life to, the more we will lose interest in the things we left behind.
Let’s repeat every morning when we begin a new day: “Today I want to live better than yesterday!” Something else might also be helpful: let’s try counting our acts of love for God and for our brothers and sisters. Then in the evening we will find our hearts full of happiness.
Chiara Lubich
May 27, 2004 | Non categorizzato
“When the Holy Year 2000 ended and the second Intifada began, the pilgrims disappeared. Christians here feel abandoned. Most of them make their living on the services provided to pilgrims. Pilgrimages not only give them material help, but spiritual support as well.” These are remarks from the Apostolic Nuncio in Jerusalem, Bishop Pietro Sambi.
“We were a mixed group of youth from Europe and Asia and right from the start, the unity among us ‘pilgrims’ and our local friends was natural and concrete. Our heart told us we had to go and visit them right in their own land to be able to understand how much they need to feel our support. But contact with these people is useful for us, most of all, who come from different parts of the world: we have a lot to learn from them and much to thank them for, for what they are living through and offering up for everyone.
“As we walked through the ancient city and looked around, we were filled with sensations we could hardly put into words. Faces, houses, colors and odors, words and silences, panoramas and stones. The very stones the God-made-man walked on and His presence is more than ever alive and resounding right here and now. It was deeply moving to see that there are still people who go on building peace, starting first of all from themselves. This was the greatest lesson we learned on this trip. “We were witnesses of touching experiences of life: of a woman who had lost husband, brothers or children; of people who live day by day with the fear of check-points; of one who saw her loved ones being dragged away, or another his house collapsing. Experiences of people who have lost all certainty except the certainty that ‘It is in giving Love to whoever comes our way that we get the strength to smile again.’ Which means ‘loving that soldier, smiling over a misunderstanding, going beyond injustice to offer something positive to someone one could rightly call ‘enemy’.’ The initiatives of solidarity are in the thousands; and just to cite an example, a typing office was set up in a village of the Palestinian Territories to offer new job opportunities. “During the days we spent in the Holy Land, such an unconditional love reached us, too. Our friends there really gave us so much of their life, their deeds, sweets, dinners, visits, celebrations – everything was part of a continuous act of Love for us.” P.B.
May 26, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Like St. Martin did
I am a young widow, with 3 children to raise and a shaky financial situation. My salary as a domestic helper was low. One day, as I was entering a church, I noticed a man who looked in distress. His trousers had patches. “Dear Lord, does this man need my help?” I prayed. As I raised my eyes, I noticed a painting of St. Martin, and I knew that I did not have to wait for further signs: St. Martin never used half-measures in putting the commandment of evangelical love into practice. I approached the man. “I’ve just come out of the hospital and I am no longer fit to work,” he told me. “I find myself here, but to tell you the truth, I’d rather step in front of a train and end it all.” I tried to encourage him, saying, “Of course you’ve come to the right place. And you must keep coming back here. God will surely help you.” I gave him what I had earned that day: 80 Swiss francs. The next day my uncle, whom I had not seen for 10 years, paid me an unexpected visit. It was a great joy for us to see each other again. When he was about to go, he handed me an envelope. It contained the sum of 8,000 Swiss francs!
(M.M. – Switzerland)
At the public laundry
Two days ago, I went to the public laundry with my washing. It was a sunny day and there were many women doing their laundry though the wash-house was quite small. We were chattering away when an elderly man who was half-blind arrived. He had a pair of bedsheets, a shirt and his turban to wash, and he asked us to move over a little to give him room. Nobody wanted to do it. Then I thought: “Jesus considers as done to him whatever we do or refuse to do for our brothers.” So I said to the man: “Baba (term of respect used to address the elderly), give me your laundry; I can do it for you!” The other women started to laugh. “Are you serious? With your big family and the mountain of washing you have?” I repeated my offer to the man and started to wash his bedsheet. He was very happy; he gave me a fatherly blessing and before going, he left me a piece of soap which he had held onto for himself. This time nobody laughed. In the silence, something new had happened at the public laundry. One woman lent her basin to another, while another offered a pail of water to someone else who was farther off. A chain of love had begun!
(F.V. – Pakistan)
May 20, 2004 | Non categorizzato
May 20, 2004 | Non categorizzato
– The golden thread
– Rome in the 1940s during the bombings
– The discovery
– No one came her way in vain
– The departure
The golden thread
“Only in Paradise shall we read our complete story. There we shall see in its entirety the golden thread which, hopefully, will bring us to where we should arrive.” With these words, Renata once began narrating her life story, which she discovered to be wholly interwoven with the love of God.
She was born on May 30, 1930 in Aurelia, a small city of the Latium region. Later, she and her family moved to Rome.
The members of her family were not churchgoers. They were upright people, sincere and rich in human values. “I shall never stop thanking God,” Renata used to say, “for letting me experience what a true family is, and this is due most of all to the love my parents had for each other.”
Renata was 10 years old when World War II broke out. A sensitive person by nature, she was far from indifferent to what was happening around her, and some incisive moments remained particularly imprinted in her memory.
Rome in the 1940s during the bombings
On July 13, 1943, as she saw the bombs falling, she decided to give her life another direction. She wrote: “I realized that death could come anytime, and as if in a flash, I understood the vanity of games, money, of the future. It was a moment of grace… When I went back home, I felt different. I had decided to become a better person.”
All of a sudden, one of her schoolmates, a very bright girl, disappeared. She was Jewish. “Why are they killing the Jews? Are they not just like us?” she asked herself, insistently demanding an explanation from her father.
On September 8, 1943, a decisive date in Italian history, from the balcony of her house she saw a German soldier closely clinging to the wall as he slowly tried slip away unseen, like someone who was cringing with fear. Renata was filled with compassion for him and his people…
Images buried by time, yet they already tell us that love without measure – for the human person, for all human beings – would later be a dominant factor in her life. As she grew up, her need for a challenging faith life also grew, and the “question” of God made itself felt. She began frequenting the church, she joined a Marian association, and her favorite teachers were those she considered morally upright.
At 14 years of age, she felt some kind of “a first calling”: an interior push to offer her life so that her family would find the faith.
From age 15 to 19, in her thirst for the truth, she threw herself into her studies, desirous of penetrating the deepest truths as she searched for God. She enrolled in the Faculty of Chemistry, because she hoped to discover Him by penetrating the secrets of the universe. “Mathematics became my passion because of its logic. I was thrilled each time I discovered something new. I hoped to gain a kind of knowledge that would somehow allow me to embrace the universal. I searched for God wherever his reflection could be found. I did not yet know that only in the Creator who is Love could I discover and love all created life.”
The discovery
On May 8, 1949, a day which Renata would later describe as “extraordinary”, while somewhat hesitant about taking time away from her studies, she attended a meeting where Graziella De Luca, one of the first companions of Chiara Lubich, spoke of the re-discovery of God as Love, of a new evangelical lifestyle which had started in Trent a few years back, while the war was raging.
“I do not remember exactly what she said. I do remember that when I came out of that meeting, I knew I had found it. (…) I had the intuition that God is Love. That experience penetrated the innermost depths of my being. I lost the image of God as a harsh judge who punishes the bad and rewards the good, and I saw him as a God who is close to us.”
Convinced that she had a calling from God, she gave another decisive turn to her life. Soon afterwards, she met Chiara personally and immediately sensed a strong bond with her, a vital link as that of a child with her mother. She also felt a clear confirmation that she was called to give her life to God in the Focolare Movement. She said her yes to God forever.
A long experience of faithfulness to this ’yes’ began on August 15, 1950. She had just turned 20. Her young age, her capacity to love, her selfless giving and her peace did not go unnoticed. Renata spent 40 years at the service of the Focolare Movement, first at different focolare centers in Italy, then in Grenoble, France.
In 1967, at 37 years of age, Renata was asked to assume the position of co-director of the little town of the Movement at Loppiano, in particular of the women’s school of formation, where she spent 23 years. Here, her self-giving blossomed in full force. From her, over a thousand young women received wisdom and the inner strength necessary for their spiritual growth.
No one came her way in vain
Her life was a wonderful interweaving of love and suffering, as she strove to die to herself to let Jesus live in her. And indeed what others found in her presence was Jesus.
Because of her measureless love, no one came her way in vain, as numerous persons of all ages and backgrounds testify. Anyone who came in contact with her experienced her love. A love which made them feel God’s personal love.
The root of her deep love for every person lay in her unconditional love for Jesus on the cross who cried out when he felt abandoned by the Father, and in her looking up to Mary as her model who, before her dying Son, continued to believe, hope and love. This was the impelling force of her continual ascent, lived in the guidance of the Gospel words which became her life program, almost like a sketch of her spiritual features: “Mary kept all these things, meditating on them, in her heart” (Lk 2,19). From her intelligent and constant self-denial blossomed her constant thrust towards holiness of life, her growth in virtue, her faithful adherence to her founder’s charism, “May they all be one” (Jn 17,21).
The departure
When she was 59, she was diagnosed with an illness which soon proved to be extremely serious. She had only a few months to live. From that moment on, her life took off in its flight to God. Meanwhile she remained always happy, just as she had promised Jesus many years before.
Her sickbed became a pulpit. In Christ, there is no death, there is life, she often said, and she kept repeating it up to her last moment: “I want to bear witness that death is life.”
Renata never complained about her sufferings, and refused pain-killers. She wanted her head to be clear, in order to be ever ready to say her full yes to the God who had fascinated her since her youth and was now asking her for the gift of her life. In her final days, even when in pain, she radiated fullness of joy. “I am in a sort of abyss of love. I am too happy,” she said. With paradise in her heart, she went to meet her Spouse on February 27, 1990.
(Renata Borlone’s complete biography is entitled “Un silenzio che si fa vita” by G. Marchesi and A. Zirondoli – Città Nuova Publications)
May 20, 2004 | Non categorizzato
I want to bear witness that death is Life !
The lives of the saints always offer a precious nourishment for the Christian community. Why choose Renata? Because she had discovered that God is Love and from that moment on, her life would have been inflamed by love until her death.” It was with these words that Bishop Luciano Giovannetti of Fiesole illustrated the motivations which had urged him to request that the cause of beatification be started for Renata Borlone (1930-1990), the focolarina who was co-director of Loppiano from 1967 to 1990. Her life, dedicated to God and neighbor, lived in the light of the spirituality of unity, continues to trace a luminous trail.
The San Benedetto Hall in Loppiano, the little town situated on the hills of Incisa Valdarno (Florence), was crowded with friends as Bishop Giovannetti officially inaugurated the process of Renata’s canonization on December 18, 2003.
Who was Renata
Renata Borlone was born on May 30, 1930 in Aurelia, in the suburbs of Rome. She grew up in a non-practicing Catholic family, and at around 14 years of age, the question of God’s existence surfaced in her mind and she started to frequent the church. She sought the truth, she chose fields of study that aided her search of God. When she was 19, she was struck by the lifestyle of a group of focolarine who had moved to Rome, and with them she experienced a joy and fullness she had never felt before. A certainty dawned: God exists and God is love! It was a dazzling discovery which trasformed her whole life. An extraordinary adventure had begun. For 40 years she contributed to building up a work of God in the Church. She was assigned to positions of responsibility both in Italy and abroad. In 1967 she moved to Loppiano to become co-director of the Movement’s little town there, and direct the spiritual formation of the women focolarine.
She died on February 7, 1990, leaving an example of life which continues to draw our attention.
May 15, 2004 | Non categorizzato
May 5, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Not a mosaic of congresses, but a gathering with a continental dimension in order to give hope to Europe.
In a moment in which Europe and the world are swept by the winds of violence and terrorism,
winds of fraternity will blow from Stuttgart and the 163 European cities linked to it.
This is its contribution towards “giving a soul” to the process of unification, so that Europe may
realize the project of its founding fathers: a family of united peoples and reconciled nations,
committed to building peace and the unity of the entire human family.
Significant date: 8 MAY 2004
Anniversary of the end of the second world war, which led to the dream of a new Europe
Eve of Europe day which recalls the historic declaration of Robert Schuman on May 9, 1950, origin of the European Union.
During the week of the extension of the European Union to 25 countries with the entrance of the first countries of Eastern Europe, Cyprus and Malta.
The protagonists
175 MOVEMENTS AND COMMUNITIES
Catholics, Evangelicals, Orthodox and Anglicans
This is not a well-known phenomenon. As in other crucial moments of European history, also
in our times new spiritual currents have emerged from the Gospel, spiritual currents which gave
rise to communities and movements of spiritual renewal and social commitment.
United by an increasing communion, for the first time in history, they weave a network of fraternal relationships among the various peoples and cultures of Europe, making visibile, albeit on a small scale, the unity already in act, of Europe in its multiplicity, from which can emerge new impulses to social, political and cultural life.
Jews, Muslims and members of other religions will be present as observers.
Where: STUTTGART, city of reconciliation
In this city, for the first time, in October 1945, representatives of the Evangelical Church officially recognized its share in the shortcoming towards nazism. The German people began to admit their fault.
Some statistics
10,000 people will partecipate in the “Together for Europe”day at the Hans Martin Schleyer of Stuttgart
100,000 people will be gathered together in sports stadiums, theatres, cultural centres, and universities and linked via satellite with Stuttgart in
163 cities of 30 European countries
34 cities of 15 countries of 4 continents, for a Europe open to all the world
100 political personalities belonging to different parties from 14 countries
16 satellites will transmit in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North, Central and South America, Australia, with audio in 8 languages (French, English, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Spanish, German and International).
Among the 175 Movements and communities: about 80 Catholics from different countries and over 80 Evangelicals of Germany. Representatives of Syndesmus, which gathers together 126 Orthodox movements, associations and theological faculties from all over the world and 4 other Orthodox movements; Alpha Courses, born in the Anglican Church and now spread to all the world in various Churches, various ecumenical communities and associations, among which the Taizè community and Initiatives e Changements, the former Moral Rearmament Foundation.
Personalities
High level representatives of European institutions: the European Commission, with the intervention of President Romano Prodi, the European Council, by the Secretary General, W. Schwimmer. Video message of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Irish Prime Minister, Ahern.
About 100 political personalities belonging to different parties from 14 countries, members of 10 Parliaments, and various mayors.
Quite significant is the adhesion of personalities representing the leaders of different Churches: Catholic, Orthodox of Constantinople, Moscow, Greece, Albania, Romania, Anglican, Evangelical, and important Church organizations of Europe (CCEE, KEK) and the world (WCC). We are expecting messages from Pope John Paul II and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Costantinopole Bartolomew I.
Program
prepared for television with brief talks and artistic numbers
Interventions, among others, by founders and directors of Movements, Communities and groups, among whom: Chiara Lubich, Andrea Riccardi; the Evangelical pastors Friedrich Aschoff, Ulrich Parzany; Fr. Heikki Huttunen, Orthodox
Young people will say how they want Europe to be
A final message will be launched
Information service:
www.europ2004.org
The event will be transmitted via internet in Italian and English: www.europ2004.info
On the website:
program, photos, texts in 15 languages, music, news, press release, forum with e-mail messages
from various gatherings linked up with the event
Signal of the transmission from Stuttgart
thanks to TELESPAZIO, CRC/Canada and MEDIA SPACE Alliance
will be offered free to TV and radio stations, with audio in French, English, Italian, Dutch,
Polish, Spanish, German and International.
To obtain the signal contact: ianua.co@focolare.org cell. 39.338.394.8600
Apr 30, 2004 | Non categorizzato, Word of
During the last supper, before leaving his friends and returning to the Father, Jesus wants to unite them closely to himself and among themselves with the most solid and lasting bond: love. He “loved them to the end” (Jn 13:1), with the greatest love, that is, “to lay down one’s life” (Jn 15:13). In return, he asks to be loved with the same love.
The love that Jesus asks for is not simply a feeling; it is doing his will as it is described in his commandments; above all, it is loving our brothers and sisters, and achieving reciprocal love. It is such an important truth for Jesus that in this last discourse to his disciples he forcefully repeats it three more times: “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me” (Jn 14:21); “Whoever loves me will keep my word” (Jn 14:23); “Whoever does not love me does not keep my words” (Jn 14:24).
«If you love me, you will keep my commandments»
Why must we keep his commandments?
Since we human beings are created in his “image and likeness,” we stand before God as his “you,” capable of a direct, personal relationship with him, a relationship of knowledge, of love, of friendship and of communion.
I “am” to the degree that I say “yes” to the plan of love that God has for me.
The relationship with him is essential to human nature. The more it is actively pursued, deepened and enriched, the more men and women fully develop their true personalities.
Look at Abraham. Each time God asks him to do something, even when it seems to be absolutely absurd, like leaving his country to go off to an unknown land or like sacrificing his only son, he immediately holds fast to his trust in God, and a future he could never have imagined opens up for him.
The same is true for Moses. On Mount Sinai the Lord reveals his will to him in the Ten Commandments and the adherence to them gives birth to the people of God.
It is true for Jesus as well. His “yes” to the Father is the most complete: “Not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22:42).
To follow Jesus means to carry out the Father’s will in the best way possible, as Jesus taught us and as he was the first to do.
The commandments that Jesus left us help us to live according to our nature as sons and daughters of a God who is Love. They are not, therefore, arbitrary impositions or an artificial superstructure – much less something to alienate us. Nor are they like the commands that a master gives to his servants. Rather, they are the expression of his love and of his concern for the life of each one of us.
«If you love me, you will keep my commandments»
How can we live this Word of Life?
Let’s try to listen attentively to what Jesus tells us in the Gospel – his commandments – and let’s allow the Holy Spirit, throughout the day, to remind us of his words. He teaches us, for example, that it is not enough not to kill; we must avoid being angry with our brothers and sisters. We not only cannot commit adultery, but cannot even desire the wife of others. “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also” (Mt 5:39). “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Mt 5:44).
Above all, let’s live what Jesus called “his” commandment, the one that sums up all the others: mutual love. “Love is the fulfillment of the law“ (Rm 13:10); it is the “more excellent way” (1 Cor 12:31), the way we are called to follow.
Someone who understood this very well was Father Dario Porta, a priest from Parma, Italy, who died on Holy Thursday, 1996. Even though he had a close relationship with God from the early years of his priesthood, he grew to understand ever more clearly that he needed to see Jesus in every neighbor, and then evangelical love became his passion. To remain faithful to this commitment, he tried to be more and more attentive to others, putting aside his own plans, to the point of writing in his diary one day: “Now I see that in the end the only thing we would like to have accomplished is to have loved every neighbor1.”
We can do the same: each night we can ask ourselves, “Did I always love every neighbor today?”
Chiara Lubich
1) Dario Porta,Testimone dell’Amore gratuito, a cura di Piero Viola, Parma 1996, p. 33.
Apr 28, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Apr 27, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Apr 27, 2004 | Focolare Worldwide
It is not the first time that the Gniezno forum has posed the question about Europe’s future. This year’s conference, however, was particularly important because of the imminent membership of Poland in the European Union. It was significant that Gniezno was the chosen venue. In the year 1000, Gniezno was the cradle not only of the Polish Church but of the Polish nation as well. St. Adalbert is buried in this city. Martyred in his attempt to christianize the Prussians, he is considered as one of the Fathers of the united Europe. “Europa Ducha,” Europe of the Spirit, was the title of the important conference organized by St. Adalbert’s Forum, which is composed of several Polish associations and movements. The conference brought together over 500 participants from all parts of the Old Continent. Fifteen different countries and 25 public organizations were represented. There were also about a hundred journalists. Leading figures were present, such as Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko, President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Laity; Card. Lehmann, President of the German Bishops’ Conference; Polish Primate Card. Jozef Glemp; founders of ecclesial movements such as Chiara Lubich and Andrea Riccardi. Also a large number of politicians, civic leaders and intellectuals participated. Zofia Dietl, the conference organizer, explained: “We invited the Movements because the title ‘Europe of the Spirit’ wants to put into light the European spirituality and those who are building it. Currently, I believe, the most important elements of European spirituality are the Movements, the New Communities. That is why we asked Chiara Lubich and Andrea Riccardi to open this conference.”
The circular hall was filled to capacity last March 12. After the preliminary remarks, the word was passed to Chiara who addressed the theme “Charism of Unity, Charism of Europe”. Piotr Cywinski, moderator of the morning session, commented: “This conference began in a strong and convincing way thanks to this contribution which is a true theological study on unity.” Chiara was followed by Prof. Andrea Riccardi who presented a vast historical fresco on Europe. He began by saying: “Wherever I go in the world I see that Europe is badly needed.” In the dialogue with the participants afterwards, Andrea and Chiara helped delineate this Europe of the spirit, completing one another’s ideas with great hope in a Europe which is on its feet and functioning well… In the afternoon, there was a discussion on “Christians and Money” with Michel Camdessus, Prof. Gronkiewicz-Waltz, and Leo Andringa, a Dutch married focolarino. The proposal of the Economy of Communion was well-received by the public who saw it not as a utopia but as a prophetic reality. Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, former president of the Bank of Poland, currently president of the Bank of Europe for Reconstruction and Development, affirmed: “The Economy of Communion is possible. (…) It could be the solution on the national, regional and personal levels.” And Michel Camdessus, former general director of the International Monetary Fund, commented: “Economy and Communion can be interrelated, yes. A principle which evidently we have all forgotten is the principle of brotherhood; the world must be built first and foremost on this foundation. Furthermore, we Christians go a step further by passing from brotherhood to communion. We must do this and suggest it to others, because we are all brothers and sisters.” The Gniezno conference concluded with speeches given by authoritative persons in European politics. In particular, the President of Poland Aleksandr Kwasniewski, who began his talk with warm words of recognition on the importance of Christian Movements in the life of Europe. An interesting discussion followed on the role of politicians in this historical moment, with Rocco Buttiglione, Italian Minister of European Affairs, and the former Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki. The fact that Gniezno was an important step for Europe along the way to Stuttgart, was confirmed by Cardinal Lehmann, President of the German Bishops’ Conference and Archbishop of Mainz: “In May we will see one another in Stuttgart and it will be a good continuation of this conference. I believe that many efforts, many opinions, many associations are needed… But the Movements have a strong spirit, a constant commitment, and I feel that this is very important. A fleeting enthusiasm, a sudden outburst is not enough; we need to work with continuity, as the Movements do.”
Apr 27, 2004 | Focolare Worldwide
Danuta Heubner, Polish Minister of European Affairs “The movements and Christian communities have a role to play: they are closer to the people, so their responsibility in the process of integration particularly consists in establishing a dialogue with regular citizens. They have to help people bring the content of an elevated philosophical level to the level of daily life. In this way the human and Christian values which bind Europe together can become subjects of dialogue and reflection, and we can join the European Union with a greater awareness of the step we are taking.” Rocco Buttiglione, Italian Minister of European Affairs “God’s Spirit always arouses something new. Where the Old Europe seems to have forgotten its Christian heritage, there the Spirit of God has spoken anew, through the movements. This is not the first time: it had already happened through St. Francis, Dominic, Ignatius, Benedict… the new movements bear witness to the vitality of Europe’s roots, which are not only Christian but are also the product of people who – through their sincere search for the truth, for God – have contributed to Europe’s creation.” Tadeusz Mazowiecki, former prime minister of Poland, the first after the fall of the Communist regime If Europe is to become a political community, it should plant its roots in that culture which we call “Europe of the Spirit”. For this to develop we need new ideas, people with new ideas. I believe that many of the movements present here were born from the need for new ideas and this is precisely their role. The Church is 2000 years old and yet it is constantly renewing itself, as it is doing today thanks to the new movements. I believe all this is useful not only for the Church but also for Europe. The need for deeper values is felt not only by those who put Christianity into practice, but also by people who do not profess any particular faith. There is great need for moral authorities. People need solid principles. The movements play a significant role in this. Michel Camdessus, former General Director of the International Monetary Fund “I believe we are assisting at a magnificent event which proves the vitality of Polish Christianity, as well as its ecumenical ties and the seriousness with which Poland is moving into the European adventure. Certainly, the movements of spirituality have something to say to Europe, as all Christians do. What we are bringing to Europe in particular is Christian social thinking, a treasure we can share with the whole world. I believe there is no system of thought capable of responding to the restlessness of contemporary men and women as Christianity does.” Adam Schulz, Jesuit, Director of the Polish Consultancy on Movements “The Europe of tomorrow needs sanctity, most of all. This is the most important contribution of the movements. A kind of holiness which expresses itself in different ways. Holiness is different for the politician, for the man of culture, for the student… Today Europe is truly in need of people who live the Gospel in an uncompromising way. The movements provide one of those few environments wherein one can grow in this kind of holiness of life, and as I look at Europe, I can see that such persons do exist.
Apr 27, 2004 | Focolare Worldwide
Poznan is one of Poland’s most ancient cities. It is fifty kilometers from Gniezno where the conference entitled “Europe of the Spirit” was held. Although it is steeped in tradition, Poznan is a youthful city due to the presence of nineteen universities in its territory, making it one of the most vibrant academic centers of Poland. Bishop Stanislaw Gadecki, archbishop of Poznan, affirmed: “When I heard that Chiara Lubich was coming to Gniezno, I immediately asked the Focolare if it would be possible to have a meeting in Poznan, especially for the students. I really didn’t think it would be possible, but in the end we succeeded. And, as we saw today, the atmosphere was so special that the participants were captivated by the spirituality of unity, by the spirituality of the focolarini.” On March 13, Chiara was invited to speak in the “Adam Makiewicz” University Auditorium. Before Chiara’s talk, a small group of the “Polish people” of the Movement were introduced onstage in front of the monumental organ. They are the Focolare people formed at a time when it was impossible to do anything other than live the Gospel. It was an emotional moment for all during the viewing of the brief documentary on the meetings between the Polish Pope and the Focolare. In her address Chiara proposed the evangelical radicalness of love which appeared to be the one and only solution that could instill new fervor in the life of the Christian community. It emerged as a source of joy and fervor and as the antidote to consumerism, to a lukewarm religious life. In conclusion, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, on behalf of the diocese, gave Chiara a medal of honor for her visit. Cardinal Jozef Glemp, archbishop of Warsaw, commented: “In the university hall of Poznan we not only listened to an address by Chiara Lubich – I know her very well – but we witnessed the creation of what I would call the environment of faith. The young people were able to experience, not only from the clarity and content of her talk, but also from being in this environment which allows you to turn directly to people in an informal and familiar way. I think that Chiara’s great charism consists in this.”
Apr 26, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Apr 26, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Apr 26, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Apr 21, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Apr 6, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Apr 5, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Mar 31, 2004 | Non categorizzato, Word of
On more than one occasion Luke speaks about the disciples discussing who is the greatest among them (see Lk 9:46). This time it is during the last supper. Jesus had just instituted the Eucharist, the greatest sign of his love, of his unconditional gift of self, anticipating what he would go through just a few hours later on the cross. He is there with his followers “as the one who serves” (Lk 22:27). In fact, John’s Gospel reports his concrete gesture of washing the feet of his disciples. During this month when Christians celebrate Easter, Jesus’ resurrection, it is important to keep in mind this teaching.
The disciples do not understand because they are conditioned by the common human mentality that favors prestige and honor, the highest place on the social ladder, becoming “somebody.” Jesus, however, came on earth precisely in order to create a new society, a new community, based on a different kind of logic: love.
If he who is the Lord and Master washed the feet of others (a task performed by slaves), we who want to follow him, especially if we are in positions of responsibility, are called to serve our neighbors with just as much concreteness and dedication.
«Let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant»
This is one of the paradoxes of Jesus’ life. We can understand it only if we reason that the typical attitude of Christians is love, a love that leads them to put themselves in the last place, to become smaller than the other, as a father does when he plays with his child or when he helps his older son with his homework.
Vincent de Paul called the poor his “masters” and as such he loved them and served them because in them he recognized Jesus. Camillus de Lellis bent over the sick, washing their wounds and making their beds “with the same affection,” he wrote, “that a loving mother has for her only child who is ill.”
And closer to our times how can we not remember Blessed Teresa of Calcutta bending over thousands of dying people, making herself “nothing” in front of each one of them, the poorest of the poor?
“Making ourselves small” in front of others means trying to enter as deeply as possible into their minds and hearts to the point of sharing their sufferings and interests, even when these things might seem to be of little importance, even insignificant to us but for them they are their whole lives.
“Making ourselves small” before the other not because we are somehow above and the other is below us, but because our ego, if it is not held in check, is like a balloon ever ready to float up to a position of superiority over others.
«Let the greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as the servant»
“To live the other,” therefore, means that we cannot lead lives focused on ourselves, on our own worries, our own concerns, our own ideas, and whatever belongs to us.
We need to forget ourselves, to put ourselves aside in order to notice the other person, to make ourselves one with all our neighbors to the point of reaching them where they are at and lifting them up, to help them overcome their fears and worries, sufferings, complexes and disabilities, or simply in order to help them come out of themselves and go towards God and reach out to their brothers and sisters. By doing so we will find together the fullness of life and true happiness.
“The leader” also refers to people in government and public officials of all kinds who can choose to fulfill their responsibilities as a service of love, so as to create and safeguard the conditions that allow love to blossom: the love of a young couple who want to get married and who need a house and job; the love of those who want to study and who need schools and books; the love of those who have their own businesses and who need roads and railways, clear and reliable rules, and so on.
From the moment we get up in the morning until we go to bed at night, at home, in the office, at school and in our neighborhoods, we can always find opportunities to serve and to be grateful when we are served by others.
Let’s do everything for Jesus in our brothers and sisters, without neglecting anyone, but always taking the initiative in loving.
Let’s serve everyone! It’s only then that we are “great.”
Chiara Lubich
Mar 31, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Mar 16, 2004 | Focolare Worldwide
Chiara Lubich’s first visit to the Emerald Isle was characterized by meetings with top-level figures in Ireland’s political, economic and ecclesial circles. Such meetings received coverage by the nation’s two most important national dailies (Irish Times and Irish Independent).
In this semester when Ireland will occupy the presidency of the European Union, Europe’s situation was the theme that came into particular relief in Chiara Lubich’s conversations with Ireland’s President, Mary McAleese and the Prime Minister Bertie Aherne.
After the economic boom enjoyed by the country in recent years, the search for a profound ethical dimension comes to the fore. This fact was highlighted during the meeting held at the University of Dublin’s Faculty of Economics, where the Economy of Communion was offered as a way to give globalization a human face. The Governor of the Bank of Ireland, in his opening remarks, stated that “The Economy of Communion system arises from a spiritual culture which I consider to be most important. Economics is in need of a profound ethical dimension which the Economy of Communion can give to Ireland as well.”
Ireland, historically a profoundly Catholic nation, is now seeking an answer to the wave of de-Christianization which is crossing the entire Western world. The Irish Bishops’ Conference President, Bishop Seran Brady, invited Chiara Lubich to speak to a group of bishops on the topic of the Church as Communion and about her experience of evangelization. Also present in the meeting were the Apostolic Nunzio, Msgr. Lazzarotto; the Archbishop of Dublin, Cardinal Connell; and the Auxiliary Archbishop, Diarmuid Martin.
The search for the light was the recurring motif that wove together the journey across Ireland’s history, represented through artistic numbers during the Focolare family celebration in Dublin. Close to 1,000 people participated in the meeting with Chiara Lubich, including numerous representatives from Northern Ireland. The Focolare foundress encouraged everyone to bring everywhere the light of the Ideal of unity and the spirit of brotherhood rooted in the life of the Gospel put into practice.
To mark the conclusion of Chiara Lubich’s trip to Ireland, the little town of the Movement, “Mariapolis Lieta”, was inaugurated as a “laboratory of unity.” The commemoration of the deceased members of the Movement who were instrumental in the birth and development of the Ideal of unity in Ireland was a particularly moving moment.
Mar 16, 2004 | Focolare Worldwide
Ireland, a country of 5 million inhabitants, is playing an important role as sitting President of the European Union, right at a time when the Eastern European countries start being included among the Union members. The European situation was the main topic of conversation between Chiara Lubich and the summit leaders of the Irish republic. Audience with the President of the Republic of Ireland President Mary McAleese received Chiara at the presidential palace. Born in Northern Ireland, she has experienced the impact of division and violence. A deeply Christian woman, the program of her mandate is: “Building bridges.” The fruitful 50-minute dialogue with Chiara touched on varied subjects, including the European situation and the issue of recognizing Europe’s deeply Christian roots. Chiara remarked later on the many points in common that surfaced. Prime Minister Bertie Aherne commented after his meeting with Chiara: “The message she offered today is very important for a divided island – as Ireland is – whose society is still struggling and is facing, among other issues, religious problems as well. We also spoke about the difficulties that lie ahead for the European Union at the imminent prospect of coexistence among diverse cultures and States. I think that what I have heard today and read in the past bears witness to the work being done by the Movement: that of putting people together, even if they have different points of view.” To politicians: Brotherhood as a political category The group consisted of 19 politicians, including 10 congressmen and senators belonging to different political parties. Northern Ireland was well-represented with the presence of the president of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), Mark Durkan. Antonio Maria Baggio, who came from Rome, presented the Politics for Unity Movement, which proposes fraternity as a political category to people with the most diverse party affiliations. His proposal was well accepted and there was a spirit of new hope. Follow-up gatherings were immediately planned.
Mar 16, 2004 | Focolare Worldwide
The Governor of the Bank of Ireland, Laurence Crowley, opened the meeting sponsored by the Faculty of Economics of the University of Dublin. The meeting, was entitled “Humanizing global economy – towards an Economy of Communion”. It is the innovative economic proposal, born in the terrain of the Focolare spirituality of unity, which has aroused much interest in the Irish academic community. Indeed Chiara Lubich’s message was warmly received by the qualified audience of scholars, entrepreneurs, and students – 200 in all. A group of experts demonstrated that the Economy of Communion is a wellspring of new ideas and the herald of an innovative economic culture. The experiences of several businessmen and women, starting with the pioneers of the Spartaco Business Park in Brazil and others, added credibility to the project. Governor Crowley affirmed: “I’m interested in the Economy of Communion, certainly because of its underlying aspects regarding economic and business theory. But, from what I understood, the project emerges from a spiritual culture which I deem to be very important. Economics needs a profound ethical dimension which the Economy of Communion can give in Ireland, too, where the current economic dynamism demands a supplement of ethical values.”
Mar 16, 2004 | Focolare Worldwide
Ireland is characterized by a profound age-old Christian tradition, yet in recent decades, partially due to the country’s recent economic boom, a wave of de-Christianization has produced marked effects on the people. The president of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Sean Brady, invited Chiara Lubich to speak to a group of bishops on the topic of the Church as Communion and about her experience on evangelization. During the dialogue, the bishops expressed their grave concern about the difficult moment Ireland is experiencing, particularly with respect to younger generations. Chiara highlighted the need to provide young people with credible role models. The dialogue also addressed relations with other religions, politics, collegiality and the family. Searching for the light: recurring motif of Ireland’s age-old history The re-discovery of the age-old roots of Ireland’s 5,000-year history; the beginning of evangelization with St. Patrick in the 5th century; the missionary era; the current crisis which demonstrates the search for that light woven throughout Irish history; the arrival of persons introducing the charism of unity 30 years ago, and its development – these were the highlights represented through the artistic and musical presentations offered during the Focolare family celebration of about 1000 members with Chiara Lubich, held at the University of Dublin. There were numerous representatives from Northern Ireland and other counties. Chiara encouraged everyone to put the spirit of brotherhood into action in relations between Catholics and Protestants and with people of other religions, particularly Muslims, now that for the first time Ireland is becoming a land of immigrants. The experiences shared by the Irish community made a strong impression. For example, a young girl spoke about her search for God in the midst of the turbulent lifestyle of the youth. A couple from Northern Ireland shared how they withstood the temptation to hate, even amidst bombings and threats, so as to make that love which builds bridges between the Protestant and Catholic communities of Ulster triumph. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Coadjutor Bishop of Dublin, present at the meeting, encouraged everyone to practice and help spread the charism of unity. He said that it “reinforces unity among Christians and helps create an ecumenism of hearts, where love is alive in each person and helps us to understand one another better and overcome the tensions caused by division.”
Inauguration of the little town “Mariapolis Lieta”, a “laboratory of unity” As a conclusion to Chiara’s visit, the inauguration of the little town of the Movement, “Mariapolis Lieta”, was particularly significant. In the context of Irish political and Church life, it aims to be an example of a world renewed by the Gospel. A number of civic and religious dignitaries were present at the inauguration.
Those who sowed and developed the Ideal of unity in Ireland More than once during this visit to Ireland, those who had sowed and developed the Ideal of unity in Ireland were remembered, for example, those who were the first to hear about it, adopt its lifestyle and foster its growth, persons such as Margaret Neylon and her son Eddie who was the first gen, a young man who, confined to a wheel chair, offered a luminous example of love. Particularly touching was the moment when the picture of Lieta, an Argentinian focolarina, was unveiled during the inauguration of the little town that bears her name. From the early 70’s until her death in 2002, Lieta devoted herself to the growth of the Focolare spirit in Ireland. Also very much alive in the hearts of all was Joe McNamara, one of the first married focolarini and the focolarino Stephen Lukong from Cameroon, who lived in the focolare house in Ireland and who died quite suddenly just a few days before Chiara’s planned visit. His last days were particularly characterized by a deep spiritual experience. The names of these precious friends are now immortalized also in the names of the streets and the squares of the little town.
Mar 9, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Mar 9, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Feb 29, 2004 | Non categorizzato, Word of
The Israelites are in exile in Babylon. They look back on their past with nostalgia, remembering the glorious times when God intervened with his power and freed their ancestors from their slavery in Egypt. They are tempted to think: God will not send us another Moses, he will never again work the great wonders of the past, and we will have to stay in this foreign land forever.
In 539 B.C., however, the king of Persia, Cyrus, freed the chosen people whose return to the promised land was even more extraordinary than the exodus from Egypt.
God never repeats himself! His love is capable of working ever greater things, things beyond our imagination. This is why he puts this invitation on the lips of the prophet Isaiah:
«Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not. See, I am doing something new!»
At the end of his book, Isaiah announces a future more luminous than ever before: the creation of new heavens and a new earth. God will do something so great that “the things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind” (Is 65:17).
With the words of Isaiah in mind, the Apostle Paul also announces the unimaginable intervention of God in our history. God makes human beings new through the death and resurrection of Jesus; he recreates them, in his son, for a new life (see 2 Cor 5:17). Then, in the Book of Revelation, God announces the re-creation of the whole universe at the end of history: “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev 21:5).
The words of Isaiah stream through the entire Bible and they still have something to say to us today:
«Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not. See, I am doing something new!»
We are that “something new,” the “new creation” that God generated. He renewed our being and our actions through his Son when we received him in his words and in all his gifts. Now it is Jesus himself who lives and works in us. It is he who renews our relationships with others in the family, at school, at work… It is he who, through us, regenerates our social life, our culture, entertainment, health care, economy, politics, in other words, every kind of human activity that we are involved in.
We no longer think of the past longing for the beautiful things that once took place, or crying over the mistakes we made, for we strongly believe God’s action can continue to work “new things.”
God always offers us the opportunity to begin again. He frees us from all the burdens of the past which need no longer condition us. Life is simplified; it becomes lighter, purer, fresher. Like Paul, we, too, will forget the past and be free to run towards Christ, towards the fullness of life and joy. (see Phil 3: 13-14).
«Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not. See, I am doing something new!»
How shall we live this Word of Life? Let us try to carry out with love what God wants from us in every moment of the day – when we are studying, working, taking care of the children, praying and playing. This means setting aside whatever is not God’s will for us in that moment. This will prepare us to be open to whatever he wants to bring about within us and around us, and it will open us up to receive the particular grace he provides us with moment by moment.
By living in this way, offering each action to God and telling him explicitly, “It’s for you,” Jesus living in us will carry out works that will last.
Chiara Lubich
Feb 25, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Feb 25, 2004 | Non categorizzato
From all over the world
Ongoing protests and rebellion in Haiti, ethnic conflicts in Burundi and Congo, devastating floods in northeastern Brazil, the tense situation of Christian minorities in the Islamic states from North Africa to Kazakhstan: these are some of the contexts from which the 105 Bishops, friends of the Focolare Movement came, invited by Card. Miloslav Vlk, to attend their 28th international meeting, held February 14 to 20, at the Mariapolis Center of Castelgandolfo (Rome).
The bishops gathered around the Pope
The culminating point of their meeting was the participation in the General Audience on Wednesday, February 18. To the onlooker, the occasion offered a singular picture of the Pope with the Bishops seated around him just a few steps away, almost like an icon of effective and affective collegiality. In the message he sent them, Pope John Paul II expressed his heartfelt appreciation for the theme of the meeting. After extending special greetings to Chiara Lubich who was also present, he stated that, “Only a Christian community that shines out for its sanctity is capable of effectively carrying out the mission entrusted to it by Christ – that is, to spread the Gospel to the farthest ends of the earth.” The Holy Father further underscored the need for the baptized to learn “how to live the Gospel coherently in daily life … It is precisely in the ordinary that we have to live out the extraordinary.”
Brotherhood put into practice
The bishops’ desire to create a strong spirit of brotherhood in which they could share their sufferings, joys, cares and challenges inspired them to gather from all over the world. “I arrived here burdened by suffering, but your presence, care and love have relieved me,” confided a bishop from a country torn by civil war. His North African confrere remarked: “This is a time of grace, precisely because we meet, get to know each other, and live as one body.”
Starting again with the Gospel
Brotherhood was not the only mark of the meeting but spirituality as well, as the theme itself, “All God’s people are called to holiness: living and re-proposing the high standard of ordinary christian living”, indicated. Far from being a theoretical appeal, it is not only possible but extremely up-to-date, as proven by the experiences of life shared by the Bishops, families, youth, priests, committed parishioners and social workers. Starting off from the Gospel and the Gospel-derived “art of loving,” families are formed into vanguards capable of carrying out the new evangelization through their lifestyle which is strikingly “against the current”. Christian communities acquire a new fascination able to attract even those who are unfamiliar with the Church.
Our neighbor, privileged way to union with God
Chiara Lubich shared her experience on “Union with God” at the Meeting, with particular emphasis on “our neighbor as the way to union”. “For us,” she said, “the typical, undisputed, indispensable, and successfully proven way is this one: we achieve union with God by loving our neighbor.” She recalled the concise trinomial which Igino Giordani, co-founder of the Movement, used to describe this way: “I, my neighbor, God”. “If we take this road,” the Focolare foundress explained, “God manifests himself within us. We feel his presence. We are no longer by ourselves, but two: he and us.” And this is true, whatever situation we find ourselves in, she added. “We must all become mystics if we want to live out Christianity in today’s world,” commented a bishop from Hungary, citing the theologian Karl Rahner who said that “The Christians of the future either they are mystics, or they are not Christians.”
Words from Cardinals Kasper and Re
The constant point of reference for reflection both during the plenary session and group meetings was the post-Synodal Exhortation of Pope John Paul II, Pastores gregis, particularly the second part which is dedicated to the bishop’s spiritual life. Card. Walter Kasper referred to it to when he addressed the bishops during the concelebrated Mass where he presided, describing the bishop as a man of the beatitudes.
Also Card. Giovanni Battista Re, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, presided over one of the concelebrations. He expressed his joy for this Convention, which offered a favorable occasion “not only to deepen one’s relationship with Christ but also to build brotherhood among bishops,” – a very important aspect in these extremely difficult times, he noted.
Spirituality of communion: its influence in the social field
The catalyst of this experience is the spirituality of communion, which is being developed in the Focolare Movement and is bearing fruit not only in the ecclesial sphere but also in the sphere of dialogue among different cultures and religions. “Here we are not only dealing with a purely spiritual experience but of a driving force with a universal impact, even in economics, politics, and social development,” observed a bishop from Switzerland after seeing the videos which effectively relayed the Movement’s 60 years of life since its birth in 1943. The bishops were able to go through each of the 6 decades of the Focolare’s history, very rich with hope especially because – as the bishops themselves commented – it testifies to the fact that right in these times when icy winds are smothering the light of faith, God is intensely at work to prepare a new flowering of evangelical life.
Apostles of dialogue
The Meeting – which brought to light the strong convergence existing between the current directives of the Church and the effects brought about by the charism of unity – concluded with a conversation between the Bishops and Chiara Lubich. The session was a deepening on the novel expression with which Pope John Paul II described the people of the Focolare in the message he sent on the occasion of the Movement’s 60th anniversary: “apostles of dialogue” in the heart of the Church, among the different Christian denominations, with followers of other religions, and with people who do not profess any specific religious belief. And apostles of dialogue is what they want to be, the bishops said, as they departed for their respective nations.
Feb 23, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Feb 19, 2004 | Non categorizzato
“Prof. Ehrlich is one of the great figures of Jewish-Christian dialogue, not only in Germany but also in Europe and beyond.” This was how Hans Hermann Henrix, director of the Aquisgrana Catholic Academy introduced the awardee. “Profoundly marked by his own painful experience as a Jew during the Nazist regime, he could have had every reason to counterattack rather than courageously tred new roads,” Henrix added. Prof. Ehrlich, he said, is a man of dialogue as are few others, a man “not intent upon erasing differences and divisions but rather open to appreciating the other person.”
The Klaus Hemmerle Award was instituted during a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of his death. The award – which is given to persons who are committed to building unity and dialogue among Churches and religions – was conferred for the first time, following a formal liturgical service celebrated in the Aquisgrana Cathedral by Miloslav Cardinal Vlk of Prague and Bishop Heinrich Mussinghoff of Aquisgrana. 
Bishop Mussinghoff, in his opening remarks, extended his congratulations for the excellent choice of the first awardee. He recalled that Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich had contributed to forming the first Jewish-Christian group at the heart of the German Catholics’ Central Committee. It was in this context that a very close friendship between Bishop Hemmerle and the awardee began. Prof. Ehrlich: my friendship with Bishop Hemmerle In his thanksgiving remarks, Prof. Ehrlich recalled his early meetings with Bishop Hemmerle, his close friend and colleague. He said that he was deeply impressed by Bishop Hemmerle’s understanding of Judaism “from within”; more than writing about Christian-Jewish relations, he lived them out with unprecedented depth, dignity and spirit of brotherhood. This is something he had in common with Pope John Paul II, who had successfully created signs of friendship and brotherhood in a number of profound and highly symbolic encounters with representatives of Judaism. Cardinal Vlk: Bishop Klaus Hemmerle’s was a life spent for unity In his homily, Card. Vlk put into light the deep bond that existed between Bishop Klaus Hemmerle and the Focolare Movement. He said that Hemmerle was a man of unity, who succeeded in finding links between the Church and the world, believers and non-believers, intellectuals and laborers. Hemmerle attributed his personal ability to embody unity, to “expand his soul to embrace God and every human being”, to his meeting with Chiara Lubich and the spirituality of the Focolare Movement which deeply affected his life. Chiara Lubich: Be apostles of dialogue and communion Chiara Lubich sent a message for the occasion, in which she remembered Bishop Hemmerle as a co-founder of the spiritual and international community of the Focolare and invited all those present to be “apostles of dialogue and communion …” as Hemmerle was.
Feb 10, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Feb 9, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Jan 31, 2004 | Non categorizzato, Word of
It is the 8th century B.C. and the people of Israel are at a critical time. God, called YHWH in the Hebrew tradition, needs a prophet to speak in his name to all the people, to announce the coming liberation by Emmanuel, “God is with us.” And so God appears, in all his majesty, to Isaiah, who is praying in the temple.
There, before the grandeur of God, the prophet, deeply aware of his own nothingness and sinfulness, cries out, “I am a man of unclean lips!” (Is 6:5). But an angel, holding a burning coal taken from the altar with a pair of tongs, purifies his lips. To God’s question: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” (Is 6:8), Isaiah, now completely renewed by this heavenly action, can now respond: “Here am I; send me!”
Is the prophet’s offer of himself to God and act of presumption? No, because it was God who took the initiative. Isaiah is responding to a call.
«Here I am, send me!»
God called the prophet, and down through the history of salvation God continues to call men and women and entrust them with a particular mission. He looks on them with love: no one is insignificant in God’s eyes. One might think at times that his or her life is useless or meaningless. It is fully revived and redeemed, however, by God’s call addressed precisely to him and to her, as it is to me and to you: God invites us to take part in a plan of love for humanity and for all creation.
God turns to me and to you just as he did to Isaiah, to Mary, and to Peter, and each time he asks: “Whom shall I send?” God has confidence in us and invites us to be his collaborators. By saying “yes,” by repeating the “yes” of Isaiah, of Mary, and of a multitude of Christians who came before us, we can put ourselves at his disposal.
By saying “yes” to what God wants – to what he helps me understand day by day – my every action, even those seemingly insignificant, acquires value, it becomes important, because it contributes to the coming of the Kingdom of God, to the accomplishment of universal brotherhood.
In our case, too, it is not presumptuous to answer “yes.” The initiative is always God’s. God is always the first to love. Our “yes” is only a response of love to his love. He loved us first. Yes, thanks to his call, I am ready to fulfill his every desire, to work for him, and to say over and over again:
«Here I am, send me!»
We might not feel up to the task entrusted to us. We might feel that we have neither the ability nor the strength to carry it out.
If Isaiah had stopped to ponder his unworthiness or his own limitations, he would have kept on saying: “I am a man of unclean lips!” It seemed impossible to Mary that she could become the Mother of God when she received such an extraordinary announcement. When the apostle Peter felt called by Jesus, he spontaneously exclaimed: “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Lk 5:8).
When God calls he also gives us the capability to fulfill the mission entrusted to us, ”for nothing will be impossible for God” (Lk 1:37). Isaiah’s lips are purified so that he can speak in the name of God. Mary is filled by the presence of the Holy Spirit and by “the power of the Most High” (Lk 1:35). Peter is sustained in his mission to be “rock” by the prayer of Jesus himself (see Lk 22:32).
Each “yes” we say will be followed by the grace we need to carry out whatever task is required by the will of God.
«Here I am, send me!»
In our own small way we have experienced the truth of this. In 1943, at the beginning of this experience of ours, we had understood that God loved us immensely, and we felt urged to communicate this great news to everyone: “God loves you immensely, God loves us immensely.”
Some months later, on the feast of Christ the King, we were deeply struck by the words of the liturgy for that day: “Only ask it of me, and I will make your inheritance the nations, your possession the ends of the earth” (Ps 2:8). We saw this as an appeal for unity and universal brotherhood.
As we knelt around the altar, prompted perhaps by the Holy Spirit, we said to Jesus: “You know how unity can be achieved. Here we are. If you want, use us.” It was our: “Here am I; send me!” We were still a small group then, seven or eight girls, but we had already given our answer to Jesus.
Now, sixty years later, this spirit has reached 182 nations through the life of thousands of people of the Movement. It is an experience that confirms the great things God can do if he finds people ready to respond to his invitation.
Chiara Lubich
Jan 25, 2004 | Non categorizzato
European unity is in the making; Eastern and Southern European nations are being included. And now, for the first time in history, Movements, communities and groups of various Christian denominations, have embarked on a unified journey towards fellowship and collaboration. Together they want to contribute to the continent’s spiritual unity, to building a kind of Europe which lives up to its universal vocation of peace and unity among peoples.
Movements, Communities and groups would like to render visible existing realities such as: – a network of brotherhood which has already been extended throughout the continent and is breaking down false nationalism and historical barriers; – spiritual renewal which is growing out of putting the Gospel into practice and is manifesting itself in different sectors of social life; – the contribution of the nations towards building a Europe that belongs to its citizens.
The venue of this grand assembly will be Stuttgart (Germany), at the Hanns Martin Schleyer Sports Palace, and will be linked up by satellite with meetings to be held at the same time in over 100 cities of Europe. The program includes presentations by founders and leaders of different Movements, Communities and groups, among which are: Chiara Lubich, Andrea Riccardi; Evangelical – Lutheran Pastors Friedrich Aschoff, Ulrich Parzany, Orthodox Fr. Heikki Huttunen. The audience can also look forward to hearing Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, and Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, as well as Johannes Friedrich, Bishop of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Baviera. Many experiences of life will be shared by members of various Movements, Communities and groups as to how they respond to the basic questions of today: namely, questions about peace, about a new lifestyle which puts Europeans in dialogue with one another, how to integrate different cultures and peoples; family values, solidarity with Europe’s and the world’s disadvantaged. The youth, too, will have a word to say about their commitment and their “vision” of Europe. The program will also include artistic pieces to express Europe’s cultural riches. Among the participating artists are: Judy Bailey, Albert Frey, Beatbetrieb, Gen Rosso, Gen Verde, as well as the Ballet Company of Liliana Cosi and Marinel Stefanescu. Bishops of different Churches, a large number of political representatives of different European countries, and personalities of the cultural sphere are also expected to attend.
Jan 25, 2004 | Non categorizzato
During a meeting in Rome in May 2002 of founders and leaders of different Catholic and Evangelical Movements and Communities, the idea came up to promote a large-scale assembly in Germany, as a contribution to giving Europe a soul. Present at this meeting were representatives of the: St. Egidio Community, Convention of Evangelical Leaders, Cursillos de Cristiandad, Focolare Movement, Schoenstatt Movement, the Italian section of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, the Evangelical Charismatic Renewal Movement, and the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association)
The assembly entitled ‘Together for Europe’ is the result of an itinerary which had its beginnings among the Evangelical-Lutherans in 1969, and has been taken up by over 120 Movements, Communities and groups in Germany. Also Catholic groups have begun to meet together since the Vigil of Pentecost 1998 with Pope John Paul II, and the effort now involves over 240 Catholic Movements and Communities all over the world.
Since October 31, 1999 – date of the historic signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification by the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation – on the occasion of a meeting of leaders of Catholic and Evangelical-Lutheran Movements, Communities and groups at the Ecumenical Center of Ottmaring, near Augsburg, a new experience of fellowship and collaboration has been flourishing and is spreading among Orthodox, Anglicans and other Christians as well. About the Christian Movements, communities and groups that will participate in Stuttgart: � They have originated in different European countries before and after World War II, and most of them have spread all over Europe and in other parts of the world; � They differ in nature, expansion, areas of commitment; they are predominantly lay, and involve people of all ages and categories; � They are widely open to dialogue at various levels; � What they have in common is the aspiration to return to an authentic life of the Gospel and the awareness that they are not a product of a human project but of a gift of the Spirit as a response to the challenges of today. 
The Stuttgart event takes place within the framework of a week that is very important for Europe � May 1: extension of the European Union with the inclusion of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta and Cyprus. � May 8: anniversary of the end of World War II (May 8, 1945) � May 9: celebration for Europe, on the occasion of the anniversary of Robert Schuman’s historic declaration of 1950, which proposed the formation of a community at the service of peace, herald of the European Union.
Jan 24, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Schoolmates offers two alternatives KNOWING an internet site for schools so that young people from different countries will be able to meet and form a worldwide net to share cultures, languages and traditions. HELPING a solidarity fund will be used for scholarships for young people from disadvantaged countries who otherwise could not attend school.
Jan 19, 2004 | Non categorizzato
Some time ago, some young men and women from Poland moved into an apartment close to my house. They all lived in one room, and when they weren’t out looking for a job, they were drinking. One of them, a shy young girl, sought help from the nuns who also lived in our neighborhood. In her broken Italian, she confided that she no longer wanted to stay with her friends because she was afraid of what might happen to them all in the future. The Sisters gave her room and board while they worked at obtaining the proper documents for her stay in Italy. After many months, the official who had been asked to work on her papers had not succeeded in obtaining a permit for her. The Sisters asked me to help them find a solution. Even if I knew nothing of the existing laws, I thought this was the chance for me to give a hand to a foreigner. I went to the employment office to find out about the procedures: the request had to be posted there for 15 days, after which it had to be posted at their office in Rome for another 15 days. Because it was holiday season, the office was often closed or the employee concerned was not present. In brief, I had to take 2 afternoons off work to go to the embassy, the police headquarters, the messenger service to send to Poland the required documents for her visa, and then to the bureau of income tax to get her taxpayer’s code number… What a tough job! One day the girl asked me, “But why are you helping me?” I replied that as a Christian, I want to do things out of love and that I was not expecting anything in return. I truly felt that by assuming the problems of the person next to me, a stranger though he or she might be, I was actually helping to lay down the foundations of a spirit of brotherhood among all. After a month, the girl was employed and her situation legalized. In these times when there’s a lot of talk about immigration, I can’t help but think of the endless difficulties faced by foreigners due to bureaucratic red tape, and how they might easily be led to discouragement. I understood how love, instead, is a key which opens every door. L. – Italy The regime which my country, Albania, has lived under for 50 years left deep scars in the life of all Albanians, leading them to economic, and above all, spiritual ruin. In spite of such dark trials, the deep-rooted values of my people have remained alive and my family transmitted them to me, together with their faith in God. The fall of the Communist wall in 1989 provoked a socio-political upheaval here, too. We young people were confused and disoriented. We did not know in whom to believe nor in what truth to hold on to. We were scarred by passivity, pessimism and hopelessness. Deep within me, I believed that the past should not have enslaved our dreams. Actually, I felt that the hope for a new life was my soul’s strongest desire. It was right during this period that I met some young people. Through them I discovered a new aspect of Christianity: believing in God’s love for each one of us and living accordingly. In God I found the answer to all my aspirations and I began to live the “art of loving” which the Gospel teaches. However, in spite of my yearning for peace and unity, I still had a large knot inside. The mere thought of the people who led my country to ruin aroused within me a fierce sense of rebellion. How can I forgive them? But the love of God which has penetrated the depths of my soul, helped me learn to respect and even understand them. Little by little I stopped seeing them as my “enemy”, as I decided to love other people without expecting any return and without differentiating. I believe that it was my first step in acquiring a peace-building mindset I can spread to those I meet. R. – Albania
Dec 31, 2003 | Non categorizzato, Word of
There are approximately thirty armed conflicts being waged on our planet today. Some everyone can see, others have been forgotten, but this does not mean they are any less cruel. Violence, hatred, bitter disputes are present even in those countries that live “in peace.”
All people feel a deep longing for peace, for harmony, for unity. And yet, in spite of all the efforts and good will, after millennia of history, we find ourselves incapable of achieving a stable and lasting peace.
Jesus came to bring us peace, a peace that is “not” – he says – like that which the world gives (see Jn 14:27), for it is not merely the absence of war, of fighting, of division, and of tragedy. “His” peace is this too, but it is also much more: it is fullness of life and joy. It is the salvation of the whole person, it is freedom, it is brotherhood born from the love among all peoples. He himself is our peace (see Eph 2:14), and this is why he can say:
«My peace I give to you»
What did Jesus do in order to give us “his” peace? He paid for it in person. Precisely while he was promising us peace, he was being betrayed by one of his friends, and then he was put into enemy hands and condemned to a cruel and humiliating death. He put himself between the opposing parties, he burdened himself with the hatred and the separations, and he brought down the walls that separated the nations (see Eph 2: 14-18). By dying on the cross – after having experienced the abandonment of the Father out of love for us – he reunited humankind to God and people to one another, thus bringing universal brotherhood on earth.
Building peace requires the same of us: it calls for a fervent love, a love that enables us to love even those who do not love us back, a love that knows how to forgive, how to see beyond the category of enemy, how to love the other person’s country as one’s own. This requires a transformation in people from being faint-hearted and self-centered, into being unassuming heroes who, day after day, not only serve their brothers and sisters but are ready to give even their lives for them. Furthermore, building peace requires having a new heart with which to love everyone and new eyes with which to see each and every person as candidates for universal brotherhood.
We could ask ourselves: “Even those quarreling neighbors in my condominium? Even those colleagues at work who stand in the way of my career? Even those members of an opposing political party or of a rival soccer team? Even those people of a different religion or nationality?
Yes, each person is my brother or sister. Peace is born right there, from the relationship I establish with each one of my neighbors. “Evil begins in the human heart,” wrote the Italian statesman and historian Igino Giordani, and “to remove the danger of war, we need to remove the spirit of aggression, exploitation and egoism from which war arises: we need to re-construct a conscience.”
«My peace I give to you»
How can Jesus give us peace today? Through our reciprocal love, through our unity, he can be present in our midst (see Mt 18:20). This will enable us to experience his light, his strength, his own Spirit, the fruits of which are love, joy, and peace (see Gal 5:22). Peace and unity run parallel.
During this month in which we pray especially for the full and visible communion among Churches, we are even more aware of the connection between unity and peace. In past years we have seen how much the Churches and individual Christians have worked together for peace.
How can we be witnesses of the profound peace brought by Jesus if we Christians do not have the fullness of love among ourselves, if we are not one heart and one soul as was the first community in Jerusalem (see Acts 4:32)?
The world will change if we change. We definitely have to work as much as we can to resolve the conflicts and to develop laws that urge individuals and nations to live together in peace. Above all, by emphasizing what unites us, we will do our part to create a mentality of peace, and in this way we will work together for the good of humanity.
If we bear witness to and help to spread authentic values such as tolerance, respect, patience, forgiveness, and understanding, other attitudes that are in conflict with peace will automatically disappear.
This was our experience during World War II when we young women decided to live only to love. We were young and afraid, but as soon as we made the effort to live for one another, to help others, beginning with those most in need, and to serve them at the risk of our own lives, everything changed. We experienced a new inner strength and we saw the people around us begin to change: a small Christian community rose up that became the seed of a “civilization of love.” Ultimately, love wins out because it is stronger than anything else.
Let’s try to live in this way during this month so as to be the leaven of a new culture of peace and justice, and we will see a new humanity come to life in us and around us.
Chiara Lubich
Dec 25, 2003 | Non categorizzato
An experience of unity
“Bombs and missiles continue to sow suffering and hatred. Together with my co-Bishop brothers, I want to hear other voices, bombs and missiles – the spiritual ones, which are stronger and which sow love, concord, understanding and unity.” These are the words of Iraqi Bishop Shlemon Warduni, auxiliary patriarch of Baghdad. Gathered together were 34 Bishops from the Orthodox, Syro-Orthodox, Anglican, and Evangelical-Lutheran Churches as well as from various rites of the Catholic Church. They came from different countries of Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. Their annual meeting, held at the international center of the Focolare Movement in Rocca di Papa (Rome), ended on December 1.
The Meeting was transferred from Istanbul to Rome due to the tragic attacks
Originally, the Meeting was scheduled to take place in Istanbul, and important meetings had been scheduled with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Armenian Apostolic Patriarch Mesrob II, and other religious leaders. However, due to the terrorist attacks, the latest of which took place just three days before the scheduled opening, the Meeting was moved to Rome. “We have been preparing to go to Istanbul for some time now,” says the Evangelical-Lutheran Bishop emeritus of Stockholm, Henrik Svenunggson, “and the Orthodox Churches there had prepared a warm welcome for us. Then all of a sudden everything changed. But we’ve already decided that the venue of the next meeting will certainly be Istanbul.” “Hatred destroys programs and closes roads, but love creates new programs and opens new roads,” remarked the Meeting’s main organizer, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk. “Born out of a great suffering, this meeting has borne abundant fruits,” he said.
Message of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Bartholomew I sent a heartfelt, much-anticipated message, in which he quoted the Pope, reiterating that “humanity needs bridges, not walls.” He went on to say, “We would have wanted to be among you and speak ‘face to face’ with you, for our joy to be full… Unfortunately this chance was denied us all of a sudden, and violently.” He underlined the particular context in which the Meeting was taking place, saying, “During these times which are characterized by lack of stability and security (…) it is a very promising and joyful fact that there are individuals, organizations or movements, such as our beloved Focolare Movement, which have come to the awareness that unity among them and of the world in Christ is the basic element of truth and life. But it is an even more promising fact that they have made the fulfilment of this unity the principal motive of their activity.”
Chiara Lubich’s theme, “The presence of Jesus in the midst and the ‘dialogue of life’” was the central point of the Meeting
Day by day, the Bishops lived the “dialogue of life” and experienced how this could strengthen the various aspects of ecumenism, in particular the “common prayer” during the liturgical celebrations of the different Churches, which disclosed the respective spiritual treasures of the various Christian traditions. There was also the dialogue of charity and of “mutual acceptance.”
The theme of the Meeting was for the bishops an encounter with “Jesus spiritually present in the community where two or more are united in his name, that is, in his love.” Chiara Lubich spoke in-depth about this reality, with her programmatic address, “The presence of Christ in our midst and the ‘dialogue of life’.”
Running through the 60 years of the Movement’s history, the Focolare foundress put into light that since the beginning, the people who had lived through this adventure tended to give rise to living cells of the Mystical Body everywhere. “In this way, blocks of Christians united in the name of Jesus were formed and are being formed in the Catholic Church and in the other Churches, as well as among the different Churches, as we await the possibility, when God wills it, of drawing from the ulterior bond of unity which is the Eucharist.” It is an experience of the “dialogue of life,” “the ‘’people’s’ dialogue,” “for we feel that we are building ‘just one Christian people’ which includes the laity, as well as the men and women religious, deacons, priests, pastors and bishops.”
Jesus in the midst of his own was indeed the great experience of this Meeting.
The promise of Jesus’ presence among his own, contained in Matthew 18,20 also appeared to be the way by which to see our times through the eyes of hope, the key to bringing the Gospel spirit to mankind today – to families and youth, into the fields of politics, mass media, economics, academic and cultural circles – as was proven by the significant number of experiences shared.
To cite one of the comments, Evangelical-Lutheran Bishop Helge Klassohn remarked, “Here I met the Focolare Movement for the first time. I consider this ecumenical environment very important. It is not only a confirmation of our service as bishops, but also a sign that indicates the way the Church should go.”
Dec 25, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Since the appointment at Istanbul had to be postponed for another year due to the danger of further terrorist attacks, the Bishops friends of the Focolare Movement wanted nevertheless to show a visible sign of solidarity to the Christian community of Constantinople by sending a small delegation. For this reason Cardinal Miloslav Vlk and Lutheran Bishop Henrik Svenungsson left Rome on November 28 to partecipate on behalf of all the Bishops friends of the Focolare, at the ceremony marking the Feastday of St. Andrew the Apostle, considered founder and patron of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
They were received by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
They also had meetings with Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II, with the Vicar of the Syro-Orthodox Patriarchate, Cetin, and with the Apostolic Nuncio, His Excellency Edmund Farhat. They spent hours of warm ecumenical exchange against the background of a city which, unfortunately, bears the deep scars of recent events. The delegation coincided with the official Vatican delegation led by Cardinal Kasper, as well as that of the World Council of Churches Geneva-based, represented by Dr. Konrad Raiser.
Dec 25, 2003 | Non categorizzato
The Meeting opens at the Greek Byzantine Abbey of St. Nilo 60 Bishops had been booked for the meeting originally scheduled to take place in Istanbul. Of these, 34 were able to make the last-minute change needed when the meeting was moved to the Castelli Romani in the suburbs of Rome where a special welcome awaited them, with the solemn and joyful opening celebration at Grottaferrata’s historic St. Nilo Abbey, of Catholic Byzantine rite, founded in the year 1004.
The Pope’s message and dialogue with Cardinal Kasper Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, received the Bishops at his Vatican headquarters. He immediately read the message addressed by the Pope to the assembly, which states among other things: “… it is with great affection … that the Church of Peter and Paul in Rome welcomes you and offers you the hospitality reserved for our brothers in Christ.” With reference to the theme of the Convention, he said: “You are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3,24), adding: “It is a theme which is more up to date than ever; it can give a valid answer to the grave divisions afflicting today’s world.” Cardinal Kasper and the Bishops enjoyed a profound and very open exchange, which brought to light an interesting over-all view of the Catholic Church’s ecumenical relationships. These relationships appeared to be founded not only on theological dialogue, but also upon a strong spirit of sharing in the joys and sufferings of the other Churches. Cardinal Kasper emphasized that, notwithstanding difficulties, what comes into relief are the countless ecumenical efforts being made and the contribution given by the Focolare Movement in this sense. Cardinal Kasper then encouraged the Bishops to bring ahead the “dialogue of life,” which characterizes the Focolare Movement and its spirituality. He also said that theological dialogue should always go hand in hand with an intense ecumenical spirituality. “This dialogue of life is essential for us,” he affirmed, “because we are not only divided by doctrine, but we do not even know each other. We must live together to get to know one another and become friends. I am most grateful to the focolarini for offering a model of this kind of ecumenism of life and friendship.” Message of the Archbishop of Canterbury and visit to the Anglican Center in Rome Another significant appointment was the visit to the Anglican Center at Doria Pamphili Palace in Rome. The new director of the Center, Bishop John Flack, also a participant of the Meeting, welcomed the Bishops saying that his link with the Focolare is essential for him especially in his present assignment. He read a message sent by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, to the Bishops. The message affirmed, among other things: “Needless to say, it is more necessary than ever to feel God’s love expressed in a tangible way, in a world that is so disturbed and divided.” He then gave the assurance of his prayers “for your collective reflection on the continuing relevance of Chiara Lubich’s inspiring ideals.” Vespers on St. Andrew’s feastday at the Greek Orthodox Church in Rome and visit to the center of the Swedish Lutheran community. There were still other occasions for getting to know one another better, such as participating in the Vespers that commemorated the feast of St. Andrew, founder and patron of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The ceremony took place at the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Andrew in Rome. Successively the Bishops visited St. Brigid’s House, where the saint had lived during the 12th century and that is now the site of the Swedish Lutheran community Church. Visit to the Catacombs of St. Domitilla and Pact of reciprocal love Another significant moment of the Bishops’ Meeting was the visit to the Catacombs of St. Domitilla, site of our common roots with the Church of the early Christians. It was a very touching moment when the Bishops made the Pact of reciprocal love in a solemn atmosphere of deep recollection. In this very place they promised to love each other in the same measure that Jesus did, such that the cross of one be the cross of the other, the joy of one be the joy of the other, to the point of loving the other’s Church as one’s own. One could say that in this moment, what was written about the first Christians of Antioch was being relived: “the multitude of believers were of one heart and one soul” (cf Acts 4, 32).
Dec 25, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Venerable Brothers,
1. I joyfully extend my cordial greeting to each of you, Bishop-Friends of the Focolare Movement, who are taking part in the 22nd Ecumenical Congress which, in light of the tragic events of the past days, has been transferred from Istanbul to Rocca di Papa.
Although you were unable to visit the venerable Church of St Andrew in Constantinople, the Church of Sts Peter and Paul in Rome welcomes you with great affection and offers you the hospitality reserved for brothers in Christ.
2. The programme of your annual meeting is centred on the Sacred Scripture phrase: “You are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3: 28). You are dealing with a theme more current than ever: it can provide a legitimate response to the serious rifts that plague today’s world.
Your Congress can strengthen you in the ecumenical duty to hasten on the road towards that full unity for which Jesus prayed to the Father and for which he offered his very life!
You know well that Christian unity is dear to my heart, and that from the beginning of my Pontificate it has received my constant attention.
3. I repeat to you, dear Brothers in the Episcopate, what I recently wrote to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity: “The force of love impels us towards one another and prepares us for listening, dialogue, conversion and renewal (cf. Unitatis Redintegratio, n. 1)”. And again: “Only an intense ecumenical spirituality, lived in docility to Christ and fully open to the promptings of the Spirit, will help us live with the necessary dynamism this interim period in which we must sum up our progress and our defeats, with the lights and the shadows on our journey of reconciliation” (Message, 3 November 2003; L’Osservatore Romano English edition, 3 December, p. 6).
4. With fraternal affection I encourage you in the apostolic work you have undertaken and, while I assure you of my prayers for your pastoral activities, I impart a special Apostolic Blessing to you all, which I gladly extend to Miss Chiara Lubich, who has welcomed you, and to those who are part of the Focolare Movement Centre.
From the Vatican, 25 November 2003
JOHN PAUL II
Dec 25, 2003 | Focolare Worldwide
Message of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I Your Eminences, Your Excellencies, Beloved Brothers in the Lord, Dear Chiara, We embrace you warmly and greet you with the apostolic greeting: Grace and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. It is with mixed feelings that we address your blessed gathering. We wish that we could stand in your midst and “speak face to face, that our joy would be fulI” (2 John 1:12). Unfortunately, this opportunity was taken from us suddenly and violently, due to the recent terrorist attacks, which spread death, sorrow and chaos throughout our City. These awful attacks became the unfortunate reason for your not coming here, and for having your meeting in Rome, instead of Constantinople, New Rome, as it was originally scheduled. Our prayer is that peace and order will very soon reign again in this City and throughout the entire globe, and that we will have the pleasure of your presence here in the coming year, 2004. In our times that can be described by a lack of stability and safety, and in our world that has not yet seen ‘peace on earth and good will towards men” (Luke 2:14), it is very promising and joyful that there are individuals, organisations or movements, like the beloved Focolari movement, who have realized that their and the world’s unity in Christ is the fundamental element of truth and life. It is even more promising as they have made the realization of this unity the main purpose of their activities in their devoted lives. It is this unity, the unity in Christ, that our beloved brother His Holiness Pope John Paul II was talking about when, saddened by the incomprehensible persistence of people to separate their hearts, he said, “what humanity needs is bridges, and not walls”. He spoke these words like a true Pontifex. It is this unity which is the theme of your discussions for this year’s meeting as well; “for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (GaI. 3:28). The promise of God to Abraham that in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed came true through the incarnation of our Lord. This blessing was real because in the spiritual life there is no difference between Jew and Greek, slave and free man, man and woman. They are all one, all equal in the eyes of God, equally invited to the sacred banquet of His Kingdom and have equal opportunities for salvation. This new reality, which at that time was a scandal to all, abolishes racism and social and sexual discrimination. It unites us under the same purpose: that God’s peace and justice may prevail on the earth and the salvation of humankind. However, the unity between individuals and societies is not enough. Couples are easily divorced, friendships change and terminate and conditions are easily retracted. We cannot only attempt to be one with each other as humans but we also must be united with Christ. This is the real meaning of the phrase “in Christ Jesus”. It means to be together with Him, to be one with Him. This is the unity of the spirit that is the strongest bond between humans as well, and brings together people that do not even know one another. This is because in Christ, all differences are resolved. The way to achieve this spiritual unity is given to us in the Gospels. “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3). Thus, the knowledge of God does not come only through studying about Him, but from the keeping His commandments. If someone knows everything about Christ but does not keep His commandments and does not live according to His holy will, then he is far from the Spirit of God, and therefore far from his fellow human beings. What is required for this type of unity is love. “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). So it is with love that we keep the commandments of our Lord. This is the message that Christ brought to the world and the apostles spread to all nations. We believe this is the message that the Focolari movement has come together to proclaim to the world. Only if we truly love our Lord God will we keep His commandments and be united to Him and to one another. Only then we will be able to repeat the words of St. Paul, “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Gal. 2:20), who was united with the world. Once again we are sorry that we could not be together for these discussions but we pray that our Lord God will bless all of you and all of your deliberations. And although we are not together, we are united through our love for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Message of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams to H.E.Cardinal Miloslav Vlk 25 November 2003 Your Eminence, It gives me great pleasure to send my greetings for the 2003 Ecumenical Meeting of Bishops – Friends of the Focolare Movement. I understand the meeting has been relocated from Istanbul to Rome, following the latest terrorist atrocities which took place in the same week as my own visit there. I am sure that your prayers will be with those in the city who have been so devastated by this violence. In such circumstances, none of us requires any reminder that the love of God, tangibly expressed, is needed as much as ever in our troubled and divided world. Please be assured of my prayers as you reflect together on the continuing relevance of Chiara Lubich’s inspirational ideals and as you consider how the work of the Focolare Movement can best be encouraged. Yours very sincerely in Christ, + Rowan, Archbishop of Canterbury
Dec 23, 2003 | Non categorizzato
A proposal for inventing Peace
For humanity to carry on we need to have the courage to “invent peace”.
Of course we’ve asked ourselves: Where do the kamikazes get the radicality such a terrible choice as theirs requires? Shouldn’t we be ready to give even our life for the great ideal of love of God and love of neighbor. Every person can love because brotherly love is written in our DNA. The brotherhood that Jesus brought on earth would then flower everywhere. He became our brother, and made us all brothers and sisters to one another. Perhaps Divine Providence makes use of destructive situations to spark an unexpected moral jumpstart and unleash unimagined energy with which to build a whole new peace and allow humanity to breath again. Chiara Lubich
A Christmas in giving
Dec 12, 2003 | Non categorizzato
An experience of union with God – December 7, 2003 commemorates the beginning of the Focolare Movement in the city of Trent 60 years ago when Chiara Lubich, then in her early twenties, pronounced her “yes forever” to God. On a number of occasions she has said that just the thought that a Movement would then come to life would have spoiled her choice of “God alone”.
Now, after 60 years, she spoke of union with God to the 1500 women focolarine gathered from around the world for their annual meeting at Castelgandolfo from Dec. 5-8. Chiara’s talk was interspersed with moments of personal reflection.
“When there is union with God, you feel wholly imbued with the divine: it is something new, which you see, not with your physical eyes, but with the eyes of your soul. A light enters your mind, the light of the Holy Spirit which is more than the intelligence and uplifts it. Love enters your heart. While before, there was only human love, limited to your relatives and friends, now God’s very own love enters, and expands your heart to embrace the whole world. Together with supernatural life comes a new strength. Your physical strength, too, is upheld by God’s grace.”
The Pope’s greetings for the 60th Anniversary of the Focolare Movement were brought not only by a message to Chiara Lubich read by His Excellency Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, during the meeting at Castelgandolfo. To add to the joy of receiving this message was the unexpected phone call to Chiara the following day (December 7th) from the Holy Father.
Archbishop Rylko, during his visit, spoke of the “precious gift of the charism”. Being a gift of the Holy Spirit, a charism gives rise to continual surprises, he said.
Among the other highlights of the meeting were Chiara’s recollections of December 7, 1943; the testimonies of 5 of her first companions; as well as the “yes forever” pronounced by over 100 women focolarine from all over the world.
During this 60th anniversary it was also announced that the conditions for the building of a Center for Spirituality and Studies in Jerusalem, near the place where – according to tradition – Jesus pronounced the “priestly prayer for unity” were very favorable. This important Center will be in addition to the already existing Focolare centers in Jerusalem and Haifa in the Holy Land, this troubled region where the Movement is committed to help in bringing peace and unity.
Dec 12, 2003 | Non categorizzato
First Archbishop Rylko read the Holy Father’s message to Chiara Lubich for the 60th anniversary of the Focolare Movement. This was followed by a long applause. Then the President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity developed some of John Paul II’s ideas, in particular, the reason why he was giving thanks to God “for this enormous gift called a ‘charism’.” He defined charism as “the most precious thing ever entrusted to you [Focolare members] through the foundress of the Movement, Chiara.” “To the Lord,” therefore, our gratitude “for all that he has done with you during these 60 years, for God’s wondrous deeds,” together with a sense of responsibility which the gift demands: faithfulness and total acceptance, “with complete openness to God by allowing ourselves to be guided by the grace of the charism, by continually deepening this gift in order to make it bear fruit in our personal lives, in the life of the Church and of the world.” Archbishop Rylko noted that “a charism is already complete from the beginning, but the founder does not know the details. If you ask Chiara whether or not she wanted to found a Movement on that 7th of December 1943, she would answer: absolutely not!” That date – Archbishop Rylko recalled – “was the beginning of an adventure which was wholly planned by Someone Else. It is the same Holy Spirit who, little by little, reveals the immense richness that a charism contains.” “The guarantee of a charism’s youthfulness and perennial freshness,” he specified, “ lies in the fact that it always amazes us by the new things it unveils before our eyes,” for “when the Holy Spirit intervenes, he always stupefies.” Archbishop Rylko went on to underscore the importance of remembering “the initial events” from which the Movement arose. He concluded by saying that “in this kind of memory you will find the strength and light to move forward, certain that the Lord is with us.” Archbishop Rylko wished Chiara “much strength to last for many years.”
Dec 12, 2003 | Non categorizzato
During the Focolare Movement’s 60th anniversary, plans for the building of a Center for Spirituality and Studies in Jerusalem are moving ahead. It aims to be a sign of unity, as it will rise beside the stone stairway where – according to tradition – Jesus invoked the Father for unity on the First Holy Thursday of history. For this anniversary celebration, the members of the Movement all over the world contributed to a fund for the realization of said project. The contract was signed in November with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem who thereby conceded to the Focolare Movement the permanent use of a piece of land adjacent to this “stairway”. It marks the fulfilment of a dream of almost 50 years ago, when in 1956 Chiara Lubich visited the Holy Land for the first time. In that very page of the Gospel of Jesus’ prayer for unity, read in a bomb shelter during World War II, Chiara and her first companions discovered their reason for being. The Focolare Movement has been present in the Holy Land for 25 years, with focolare centers in Jerusalem and Haifa, committed to promoting peace.
