May 24, 2003 | Non categorizzato
No Burundi national will ever forget the year 1993. The assassination of the newly-elected President had unleashed tribal hatred, anger, and thirst for revenge, much greater than that which already gnawed the hearts of the youth. Like everybody else – men, women and children – I too had to learn how to handle a gun. And yet a question kept surfacing in my mind: how can I change this situation? One day, a conflict occurred right in my village between the rebels and the government forces. Fifty people were killed. These were my friends, people I used to see everyday on the street. I could not swallow this, so I decided to take up arms and defend my people. One Sunday, I took refuge in a church during a heavy rainfall. I found myself in a hall where a “Word of Life” meeting was going on. Since I was invited to stay, while waiting I started observing the people around me. They were sharing stories of their life interwoven with the Gospel. They talked of unity and brotherhood, but more than anything else, I saw it being lived among them. I was overwhelmed. I wanted to give it a try, to take up the challenge of love. I chose the university as my training ground. In those rooms which I entered everyday, there was an even more acute feeling of division because of the presence of youth from different tribes. Many of them have lost relatives in war, and they still had hatred and revenge in their hearts. It was certainly not easy to study in these conditions … In spite of all this, I entered class each morning greeting everybody, even if some of my classmates considered me a fool. I withstood accusations and criticisms from people of my own tribe. I knew I was walking on quicksand, but I did not change my behaviour. I wanted to prove that dialogue was more powerful than arms, that the solution to our problems was love. Jesus, too, had passed through these same things, and like him, I wanted to give my life for a more united world. Outside the university, my new friends and I certainly did not waste time. We did everything to love, to spread the idea of a culture of peace. We collected food and clothing for the poor; we organised meetings parties, and sportsfests, all to encourage dialogue and to show that it is possible for us to live as brothers and sisters. It was only after two years that one of my schoolmates found the courage to confess to me that he had put my name on the list of enemies to be eliminated. It was my way of acting that made him change his mind. He threw away the gun which he always used to carry with him because now he has decided to live a new life. Jovin from Burundi
May 13, 2003 | Non categorizzato
May 4, 2003 | Non categorizzato
It was an unpublished account revealing Mary’s strength of peace, in action in the history of peoples, in moments of grave suffering, that Prof. Tommaso Sorgi, Director of the Igino Giordani Centre in Rome, presented to the Marian Congress. He showed that the “Rosary is an effective weapon even in the political arena”. To give an example, he spoke of what happened just a few years ago. Half way through the 1980s, the bishops in the Philippines launched a prayer campaign for their own conversion, that seemed necessary to obtain from heaven the liberation from the Marcos’ dictatorship. Five million Filipinos adhered to the campaign and the world saw a complete turnaround of events: “The dictator fled into exile and the revolution of the Rosary liberated the people without bloodshed”. It was the Magnificat in action: Mary magnified the Lord who “scattered the proud and brought down the powerful from their thrones…”. The Magnificat, therefore, “can be assumed as the model for political action”. This was the perspective opened up by prof. Sorgi in these times when there is an urgency to “bring down the fundamental categories of power”. He proposed “the Magnificat as the social ‘magna charta’” But the regality of Mary, he underlined, is a “regality of love”, a “maternal regality”. Politics can therefore assume “the warmth of a service of love … the soul it so badly needs”. Following the talk given by prof. Sorgi, prof. Adam Biela, an academic and politician, shared in his testimony how prayer is a source of inspiration and strength in his political commitment to go against the current in favour of a true development of his country
“The great civilised and democratic countries have opted for war as the means for resolving conflict.” This was the strong message given by prof. Andrea Riccardi, founder of the St Egidio Community, in his address on the second day of the International Marian Congress. In his talk he poses a question which “makes everyone uneasy”: “Will war once again be the future of the world?” And here, prof. Riccardi highlights the strength of peace emanating from femininity, illustrating that Mary, at the foot of the cross, is the one who, though “overcome” by the violence of the death of her Son, “conceals in her tears the strength of life and hope” and is “unbending in the face of the logic of conquered and conqueror, friend and foe.” “The mystery of faith that we see in Mary,” prof. Riccardi continues, “is that strength can be found in weakness, lowliness can be found in greatness, life can be present in a body destined to die.” Today, “Mary represents the strength of peace in the midst of war”. “A mother’s concern” for the needs of others, “even though unspoken”, as shown by Mary at the “Marriage Feast of Cana”, was the focus of a talk given by Anna Pelli. It was a reflection on this Gospel episode, one of the Mysteries of Light that was deepened during the Marian Congress. This Gospel episode was reflected in an experience recounted by Carmen and her daughter, Maricel, from the Philippines. Their family had undergone many sufferings: financial difficulties, alcohol, drugs, constant arguments and the repercussions all this had on each of the eight children. They lived in a shack on the outskirts of Manila. Theirs was a story of resurrection starting from the discovery of God’s love and of Mary as a model to imitate. Carmen, the mother, shared how her life changed when she came into contact with the Bukas Palad Social Centre, run by the Focolare Movement. She was able to start again with her husband, who for years had been drinking and gambling. Maricel shared her experience of giving up the life of drugs she had led for seven years, finding the strength to forgive her father who, during their estrangement, had changed so dramatically. Maricel looked after him in the last days of his life. It was a miracle of love which flowed on to other poor families in their district through the Bukas Palad centre where Carmen and Maricel now dedicate their time as social workers.
The artistic contribution of today’s program was truly extraordinary. It was focussed on this Mystery of Light, the “Marriage Feast of Cana”, leading everyone into the very heart of the Gospel. The choreography “Do Whatever He Tells You” by Marinel Stefanescu illustrated not so much the wedding feast but rather the profound meaning of the miracle of the water changing into wine, symbol of the blood which Jesus himself would shed in order to work the greatest miracle of all: the Resurrection. Another moment in the intense program of the Marian Congress was the contribution given by the new charisms on the vital understanding of Mary and the Rosary. There was a round table session composed of representatives of various movements and ecclesial communities including: Catholic Charismatic Renewal, St Egidio Community, Cursillos, Schoenstatt and the Legionaires of Christ. “I enjoyed the sharing of testimonies by representatives of the different charisms; it was as if we could see Mary alive and present in each one in the heart of the Church,” wrote a person from Paraguay who had followed the congress through the Internet. And a participant from Argentina commented: “The series of testimonies shared by exponents of various movements was a witness to the variety of gifts which make the Church beautiful.”
A particularly profound testimony was that shared by Fr Pasquale Foresi, co-founder of the Focolare Movement and the first focolarino to be ordained a priest. What emerged through his talk was a renewed priesthood, a Marian priesthood, and the fruitfulness of a life lived in the development of the Focolare Movement.
May 2, 2003 | Non categorizzato
“I don’t agree with suicide bombers.” “And I don’t agree with the bombardments over your cities.” This conversation, between a young Palestinian girl and an Israeli soldier, took place at a check-point in an occupied Palestine territory. Comments like these are the opposite to what you hear elsewhere, but they reflect the type of experiences that are being shared on the stage at the Mariapolis Centre in Castelgandolfo, where the International Marian Congress is being held to promote the Year of the Rosary nominated by Pope John Paul II. His intention was to relaunch this Marian prayer, defined by him as a “compendium of the Gospel”, in order to encourage today’s men and women to search for peace and a new dimension of the Spirit, to “contemplate Christ with the eyes of Mary” and to be like him “builders of peace and of a world more in accordance with the plans of God”. The experiences shared during the congress demonstrate the power of the Gospel which is capable of crushing hatred through love for one’s enemies. It is a way we’re obliged to undertake “following the 11th of September which placed us at a crossroad. It’s up to us to follow the right road”, as Mgr. Piero Coda said in his talk. Dieudonné from Burundi shared his experience: 12 members of his family were massacred during bombardments in his city, but this isn’t what made him change his way of life. He decided to put into practice the art of evangelical love even in his encounters with the military who, though often quite merciless, were in need of assistance. He recounted, for example, the episode when he saved the life of a drunken soldier who was about to fall off a bridge. This is just a glimpse of the many testimonies inserted in the sections of the program dedicated to the five “Mysteries of Light” which, together with theological reflections, penetrated in depth the various stages of the life of Jesus and Mary. The first mystery, the Baptism of Jesus, was presented by Fr Fabio Ciardi who commented, “It is an invitation to recognise Jesus as the Son of God so as to submerge our old self in the waters of baptism and so be reborn to new life in order to find ourselves brothers and sisters in the heart of the one Father.” As Mgr Domenico Sorrentino, Archbishop of Pompei, underlined in tracing the history of the Rosary, the Holy Father invites us to take a step further, “He does not limit himself to entrusting peace to the intercession of Mary, but he presents it as the fruit of this prayer, which is a ‘prayer for peace’, since it consists in the contemplation of Christ.” “It has a peaceful effect.” The participants of the Congress at Castelgandolfo have been living an experience of contemplation, and this hasn’t been limited to the 1500 participants from 70 countries present in the hall. The proceedings have also been followed through 11 satellite linkups generously donated by ESA, Telepace, EWTN and the CRC (Canada) which have made it possible for local and national television channels to transmit the entire event. On the first day of the conference there were 7000 live Internet connection points with an audience of 20,000. Messages were received from all over the world, and here is an example of some of the feedback: “It’s amazing to see how sublime spirituality and down-to-earth living can go together,” wrote someone from Amersfoot in Holland. “We’re watching the transmission. It’s full of light and we feel part of the event,” a message from Edinburgh said.
The profound spiritual dimension of the Marian conference was announced right from the beginning: “We will be focussing on the Rosary which is a constant song of love to Mary,” said Professor Giuseppe Zanghi, Director of the New Humanity theological journal, “It will be above all an opening of the eyes of our soul on the mysteries of the life of the Son of Mary. And while we will be opening our minds and hearts to Jesus, Jesus himself will speak of Mary to our hearts and minds – in the way that He speaks, a way which does not end in poor words but in a new creation.” One of the many novel aspects of this event was the charismatic dimension in the understanding of Mary and the Rosary. The Marian Congress offered this contribution in response to letter that Pope John Paul II consigned to Chiara Lubich on 16 October 2002, the same day on which he had relaunched the prayer of the Rosary. The culminating moment of the day was the talk given by Chiara Lubich who communicated the gifts of light from the origins of the Focolare Movement, which is recognised by the Church as the “Work of Mary”. Chiara recounted a dramatic moment of the beginnings of the Movement: “One day, beneath an atrocious bombing, face-down on the ground and covered with the thick dust that filled the air, I picked myself up almost as if miraculously preserved. Calm and filled with peace in the midst of the cries of the people around me, I realised that in those moments I had experienced a deep suffering: that of never again being able to say the ‘Hail Mary’”. Later on she understood that this “‘Hail Mary’ had to be made up of living words, of people who, almost like other little Marys, would give Love to the world.” It has to be that Love which is Jesus himself, that Jesus who, as Chiara added, “we can spiritually generate today as the Gospel promises when it says: ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name (in my love, as the Fathers of the Church explain), I am in their midst” (Mt 18:20). This is a task which, as Cardinal Vlk, Archbishop of Prague, said during his homily, has been defined as the “primary task awaiting today’s secularised society”. Chiara Lubich, the founder of the Focolare Movement, spoke of her discovery of the new countenance of Mary who is of “an incomparable beauty. She is all Word of God, all clothed in the Word of God”. She also spoke of “the call of every Christian to repeat, like Mary, Christ, the Truth, the Word, expressed in the personality that God has given to each one”. This is a vision “rich in consequences, for example, in the ecumenical field”. On Wednesday there will be testimonies shared by members of the Lutheran Church, the Evangelical Reformed Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church and Coptic Orthodox Church. An ulterior novelty which will permeate the whole conference is the ample space given to artistic items: songs, music, dances from various cultures and literary works (Dante, Sartre), because, as the words of Chiara Lubich’s meditation sung by Gen Verde say, “of Mary we cannot speak, but sing. Love flourishes in poetry”.
Apr 30, 2003 | Non categorizzato, Word of
Jesus is about to return to the Father. In his death and resurrection, now imminent, the parable of the grain of wheat falling to the ground and producing much fruit is being fulfilled. Jesus carries out his work: on the cross he gives himself completely (the grain of wheat that dies) and with his resurrection he gives life to a new humanity (the ear of wheat with many grains). But Jesus wants his work to continue in his disciples: they too will have to love to the point of giving their life and, in this way, generate the community. For this reason, when he spoke to them at the Last Supper, he compared them to vine-shoots called to bear fruit.
Practically speaking, how can we be grafted onto the vine? Jesus explains that to remain in him means to remain in his love (see Jn 15:9), to allow his words to live in us (see Jn 15:7), to keep his commandments (see Jn 15:10), above all “his” commandment: mutual love (see Jn 15:12,17). During that Last Supper, he also gave us his body and blood. In us and among us, he will continue to bear fruit and carry out his work. But if we refuse this relationship of love, we are cut off:
«He [my Father] takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit.»
This drastic action on the part of the Father cannot help but reawaken in us the fear of God. We cannot abuse his love. Precisely because God is Love, he is also justice. If he cuts it away it is because he sees that the branch is already dead; it condemned itself: it refused the sap and no longer bears fruit. We could fall into the error of believing that bearing fruit means activism, organizing activities, efficiency… forgetting what really counts: to be united to Jesus, to live in his grace, or at least in conformity to our conscience. So the Father cuts off the branch because, in spite of appearances, it has no life.
Does this mean that there is no hope? The vineyard of the Lord is mysterious, and he knows how to re-engraft the branch that was cut off: we can always convert, we can always begin again.
«… and everyone that does [bear fruit] he [my Father] prunes so that it bears more fruit.»
How will I know that I bear fruit?
To whoever behaves well, trials will necessarily arrive: they are expressions of God’s love which purify our actions in such a way that we bear more fruit, exactly as what happens in nature through pruning. And so there are physical and spiritual sufferings, illnesses, temptations, doubts, a sense of abandonment on the part of God, the most diverse situations which speak to us more of death than of life. Why? Could it be that God wants death? No, on the contrary, God loves life, but a life so full and so fruitful that – for all our striving towards what is good, positive, and peaceful – we will never be able to imagine it. He prunes for this very reason.
«I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.»
This Word of Life assures us that the trials and difficulties are never an end in themselves. They come so that we can bear “more fruit”. And the fruit is not only apostolic fecundity, that is, the capacity to kindle faith in others and to build the Christian community. Jesus indicates other fruits to us. He promises us that if we remain in his love and his words remain in us, we will be able to ask whatever we want and it will be given to us (see Jn 15:7,16), we will give glory to the Father (see Jn 15:8), and we will have the fullness of joy (see Jn 15:11).
It makes sense then to entrust ourselves completely to the expert hands of the Father and to allow him to work in us.
Chiara Lubich
Apr 23, 2003 | Focolare Worldwide
Apr 22, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Apr 10, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Could you explain the meaning of the title of this Congress: Contemplate Christ through the eyes of Mary? No person has known, or will ever know Jesus as Mary did, because she is the Immaculate One, she is his Mother; she is a living Gospel, and therefore “another Jesus”. In order to see, know and contemplate Jesus through her eyes, we have to try as much as we can to imitate her in her “constant yes” to the will of God. And in a certain sense, to re-live her life in us. What relevance do Mary, the Rosary and prayer have in today’s world? Mary and prayer have an enormous value in our times. There is now a new type of terrorism in the world – the most terrible – which could be an effect, as many think, of the presence of Evil with a capital E. The normal means aren’t enough to combat this evil. We have to turn to Good with a capital G, therefore to God and to everything that He represents. This is why prayer is so important; the Day of Prayer for Peace held in Assisi is one example of this and so is reciting the Rosary. Today’s world is divided between rich and poor and this is one of the main causes which gives rise to terrorism. We’re called to work as never before to bring about solidarity, the sharing of goods, universal brotherhood, in order to make humanity one family. Because Mary is the universal Mother, She can give us a hand as no one else can. What would you say to those who don’t believe in prayer and in its effectiveness in everyday life? Usually those who don’t believe in prayer have little faith in God. We need to help them rekindle this faith. There are many means at our disposal. One of the most effective means is the witness that we Christians can give when we love one another. In fact, Christ promised the conversion of the world to those who are united in love. He said, “That all may be one so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). What is the relationship between Mary, with the spiritual life she represents, and the creative work of artists? Artists are predisposed towards creating beautiful things. In fact, I’ve seen that for them, if they are believers, the greatest attribute they can give to God is beauty. It’s true that God is Truth, that God is Love, but God is also Beauty. And Mary is the one who is “all beautiful”; you could say she is the incarnation of beauty. That’s the reason of her relationship with artists and of their relationship with her. They are truly attracted by Mary: they have painted her, sculpted her, sung songs in her honour in all ages and in every imaginable way. What was the idea behind the Marian Congress, which is starting next Monday? It all started on 16 October 2002 at the end of the Wednesday audience with the Holy Father after he signed the Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae. I was among the 600 or so people of our Movement present in St Peter’s Square. On that day he handed me a long letter which, among other things, said, “On this occasion I would like to entrust to the focolarini the Rosary (…) I am certain that your devotion to the Holy Virgin will help you give prominence to the initiative of dedicating the coming year to the Rosary.” From that moment on, all over the world, there has been an abundance of ideas to promote the Rosary as widely as possible. The Marian Congress is one of these activities. Can you tell us, in a few words, what the three-day program of the congress will consist of? There will be reflections on the Apostolic Letter of the Holy Father on the Rosary and on the new “Mysteries of Light” with testimonies given by families, politicians, consecrated men and women, priests and young people. There will be two round table discussions: one dedicated to the various ecclesial movements, on the subject of the Rosary, and the other dedicated to Christians of other denominations who will comment on the Pope’s letter. The talks will be interspersed with artistic performances and exhibits worthy of honouring Mary, the “all beautiful”. Mass will be celebrated by Cardinals and Archbishops, among whom Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State, Vatican City, Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, Archbishop of Prague, Monsignor Rylko, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and others.
Apr 10, 2003 | Non categorizzato
The Focolare Movement has promoted, from 28 to 30 April 2003, at the Mariapoli Centre of Castelgandolfo (Rome), the International Marian Congress Contemplating Christ through Mary’s eyes in the Year of the Rosary proclaimed by Pope John Paul II in October 2002 in “this year fraught with great concern for the future of humanity” so that “in contemplating Christ through the eyes of Mary,” we may become “builders of peace, of a world more in accordance with the plan of God.” LIVE TELEVISION AND INTERNET TRANSMISSION with additions of various interviews and film clips www.focolare.org/live The Gospel perspective of the Pope’s Apostolic Letter on the Rosary and the new “Mysteries of Light” will be the main focus of the entire convention and the program will include brief theological reflections and testimonies. The aim is to reveal the riches and potential for renewal through the Gospel that is proposed by the Rosary. The Bishop of Pompei, Mgr Domenico Sorrentino, will trace the story of the Rosary throughout the centuries. Program Highlights – The contribution of the new charisms to the essential understanding of Mary and of the Rosary: Monday afternoon: Chiara Lubich, founder and President of the Focolare Movement Tuesday morning: Fr Pasquale Foresi, co-founder of the Focolare Movement and the first focolarino to be ordained a priest; Tuesday afternoon: Andrea Riccardi, founder of the St Egidio Community and presentations by other representatives of lay movements and ecclesial communities. – Testimonies from the Middle East, the United States of America, Burundi, the Philippines and Eastern Europe: Youth, families, politicians, priests and religious show how the seeds of unity have flourished even in the most difficult situations. – The intervention of Mary in history: Tuesday afternoon: Professor Tommaso Sorgi will present a previously unpublished account of many historical and contemporary events including the overthrow of the Marcos Regime in the Philippines and the war in Angola. This will be followed by the testimony of Professor Adam Biela, a Polish academic and politician. – Ecumenical dimension: The Pope’s letter and the vision of Mary in the different Churches: Wednesday morning: discussion panel with representatives of the Rumanian- Orthodox Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church (Egypt), the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Reform Church (Switzerland) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Germany). – Interreligious dimension: a Song to the Father in the language of Mary; her place in Islam: Wednesday afternoon: Song by Jewish singer Miriam Meghnagi; talk by an Iranian Muslim academic Sharzad Houshmand. – The contribution of art: expressing in the language of art, Mary, as Masterpiece of Beauty, model of the fulfillment of a new humanity: The program will include numerous musical items: songs, dances and artistic presentations from different cultures, some of which have been prepared especially for the occasion, e.g. the first performance of The Miracle of the Wedding Feast by the Classical Ballet Company Cosi-Stefanescu. – Live television coverage of the entire convention: This live television event will be enriched by additional material which will be aired during program intervals. These will include numerous interviews and 27 film clips. The live telecast has been made possible through the generosity of ESA and MEDIA SPACE Alliance, TELEPACE with 4 satellites, EWTN and CANCAO NOVA of Brazil. Numerous local and national television stations will be linked up. � 1400 people are expected to participate with the presence of over 20 cardinals and bishops from more than 80 countries from all continents – from Russia to the United States, from Columbia and from the Congo to Pakistan and Australia. � The Eucharistic liturgies will be celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican Secretary of State; Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, Archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Silvano Piovanelli, Archbishop Emeritus of Florence; Bishop Stanislaw Rylko, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and Bishop Vincenzo Paglia, Bishop of Terni. � Where did the idea for this initiative originate? It was in response to the Pope’s message to Chiara Lubich on 16th October last year in St Peter’s Square, the very day on which he relaunched the Marian prayer of the Rosary throughout the Church. In his message to Chiara, he wrote, “I would like to entrust to the Focolare Movement the prayer of the Holy Rosary which I have proposed to the whole Church”. He asked us “to offer our contribution so that these months might become for every Christian community the opportunity for an inner renewal.”
Apr 8, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Just lately, I fell ill. As in other moments of my life, here too, I found God’s super-abundant and generous love. As a result of chemotherapy, I lost my hair. Jesus’ words are true: “I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me to drink”. In these days, I can say that I also experienced: “I was hairless and you gave me your hair”. In fact, three young girls cut their hair to make me a wig which was exactly the same colour as mine. On top of my sickness, there were the economic difficulties as well, not only due to the expensive treatments I had to undergo, but also because I could no longer continue giving the extra private lessons I was getting paid for. At first, I was terribly worried, so I tried to entrust everything to Mary; Jesus within me was asking me to trust. Yes, trust that this sorrowful physical trial, my doubts and temptations, were nothing but manifestations of God’s purifying love. In a few days, his response came: my sick-leave compensation was higher than my regular salary; moreover, they gave me an added allowance for the lessons I was not able to give! This proved to me that if I remain in his love and put his words into practice, I can ask for what is needed and it will be given to me. I felt like a branch that was engrafted in the true vine. From my heart surged the song: “It’s impossible not to believe in you; it’s impossible not to make of you the Ideal of my life.” G. – Brazil from I Fioretti di Chiara e dei Focolari – St. Paul Publications, p. 27
Apr 2, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Apr 2, 2003 | Non categorizzato
The time dedicated to political reflection last March 22 in Martigny (Switzerland) took on particular importance in view of the world situation, and in particular in view of the war in Iraq. This point was underlined by the Mayor of Mollens, Stéphane Pont, moderator of the convention which was entitled: “The challenge of authentic politics.” Promoted by a group of mayors, the Convention aroused the interest of a surprising number of politicians; in fact, there were 300 participants, among whom were politicians working on the national, regional and municipal levels from all over Switzerland. There were also participants from France and Austria, as well as a delegation from the World Council of Churches in Geneve (WCC). “In our days, politics is extremely demanding. Today we were presented with a political vision which may be a bit idealistic – commented Kipa Christophe Darbellay, member of the administration of the Federal Office of Agriculture – but I believe that it is important to have idealistic goals and perspectives also in political life. The best propeller of political commitment is a solid relationship with other people and with God. This was what we have seen today.” Chiara Lubich was invited as the keynote speaker. In her talk, she proposed that brotherhood be assumed as a political category, since this is ever more urgent now, with the present dramatic international scene. “In its essence, politics is love – she stated – and it renders as necessary the development of mental categories which take into account the fundamental unity among human beings, while conserving full respect for their differences.” She concluded by launching a challenge to Switzerland: “Being a small country, it could become for Europe a model of unity in the diversity of cultures and languages.”
Lucia Fronza Crepaz, former Italian Congresswoman, spoke about the developments in the Movement for Unity in Politics, which began in 1996 with the aim of encouraging political commitment and democratic debate in the perspective of serving the common good; the Movement also underscores those aspects of political action which contribute to successfully working for the common good and for universal brotherhood.” This new political culture was demonstrated by the concrete examples shared by numerous politicians. The report presented by Marco Fatuzzo, former Mayor of Syracuse (Sicily) was particularly significant. He related how majority and opposition forces were able to collaborate to the benefit of the citizens, during a particularly difficult situation.
Apr 2, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Mar 31, 2003 | Non categorizzato, Word of
Jesus is in the garden of olives, a piece of land called Gethsemane. The long-awaited hour has arrived. It is the crucial moment of his existence. He falls to the ground, and with confident tenderness implores God calling him “Father”. He asks to be spared from “drinking the cup”, an expression which refers to his passion and death. Jesus prays that that hour may pass. But in the end he submits completely to the Father’s will:
«Not what I will but what you will»
Jesus knows that his passion is not a chance event, nor simply a decision taken by men, but rather, a design of God. He will be taken to trial and rejected by men, but the “cup” comes from the hands of God.
Jesus teaches us that the Father has a design of love for each one of us, that he loves us personally and, if we believe in this love and reciprocate with our love – this is the condition – he directs all things toward good. For Jesus nothing happened by chance, not even his passion and death.
And this was followed by the resurrection, whose solemn feast we are celebrating this month.
The example of the risen Jesus should be a light for our life. We should interpret all that happens to us, all that takes place, all that is around us and even all that makes us suffer as something that God wills or that he permits, because he loves us. So then everything will have meaning in life, everything will be extremely useful, even what might seem in that moment to be incomprehensible and absurd, even what might plunge us into mortal anguish, as happened to Jesus. With him we need only to repeat, with an act of total trust in the Father’s love:
«Not what I will but what you will»
His will is that we live, that we joyfully thank him for the gifts of our life. His will is not, as we might sometimes think, an objective to which we must resign ourselves, especially when we encounter suffering; nor is it a sequence of monotonous acts that we carry out in our lifetime.
It is his voice which continues to make itself heard within, inviting us. It is the way in which he expresses his love and brings us to the fullness of his life.
We could depict it with the image of the sun whose rays are like his will for each one of us. Each one walks along a ray, distinct from the ray of the person next to us, but always along a ray of the sun, that is, the will of God. So we all do only one will, that of God, but it is different for each one of us. Furthermore, the closer the rays come to the sun, the closer they come to one another. For us too, the closer we come to God, by carrying out the divine will more and more perfectly, the closer we draw to one another… until we are one.
By living in this way, everything changes in our life. Instead of associating only with people we like and loving them alone, we seek the company of whomever God wills us to be with. Instead of preferring the things that please us the most, we look after those that the will of God suggests to us and we give preference to them. Being completely intent on doing the divine will in each moment (“what you will”) will lead to our being detached from everything else, and from ourselves as well (“not what I will”). This detachment is not something deliberately sought after – we seek God alone – but in actual fact it is attained. Then our joy will be full. We need only to immerse ourselves entirely in each fleeting moment and in that instant carry out the will of God, repeating:
«Not what I will but what you will»
The past no longer exists; the future is not yet here. Just as someone traveling by train would never think of walking up and down the aisle to reach his destination sooner, but remains seated, so we should remain in the present. The train of time moves ahead on its own. We can love God only in the present moment given to us by saying our own “yes” – a vigorous, total, very active “yes” to his will.
So let us be happy to give that smile, to carry out that job, to drive that car, to prepare that meal, to organize that activity. Let us love all those who are suffering around us.
Not even trials or sufferings should frighten us if, with Jesus, we recognize God’s will in them, that is, his love for each one of us. Indeed, we could pray in this way:
“Lord, help me not to fear anything, because all that will happen will be nothing other than your will! Lord, help me not to desire anything, because nothing is more desirable than your will.
What matters in life? Doing your will matters.
Grant that nothing may anguish me or exalt me, because in everything I find your will.
Chiara Lubich
Mar 27, 2003 | Non categorizzato
The unstable world situation particularly in the Middle East and in parts of Africa are a call for a counter action or actions that aim at building peace, or better, at establishing a culture of peace.
Last October Pope John Paul II re-launched the practice of saying the rosary for world peace and in support of the family, another targeted area in our society.
On October 16, 2002 asked the members of the Focolare Movement to be among the first ones to take up this instrument of peace, entrusting Chiara Lubich with a significant mandate: “I would like to ideally hand over to the focolarini the prayer of the Holy Rosary as a preferential way of contemplating and assimilating the mystery of Christ.”
As a result, many families and young people are praying the rosary for peace. And many other peace-building initiatives are underway.
Ecumenical and Interreligious Initiatives
Norway – March 23 – A vigil for reflection on peace in the Mosque in Oslo – 600 attended: adults and children, Catholics, Lutherans and Muslims. The event received coverage in the media. Sample headlines: “No religion urges aggression.” A Christian-Muslim committee was created to follow up on further developments.
An e-mail message entitled “The Snow-Ball Effect” read: “Instead of war we want to build peace and spread the idea of reconciliation. We intend to carry out concrete actions for peace in our daily lives. For example: to welcome those being discriminated against; to forgive; not to let the sun go down without having resolved misunderstandings, between husband and wife, for example; to apologize; to avoid speaking badly about someone, and instead to highlight the positive; to collaborate better with one’s co-workers and avoid introducing elements of disharmony; to raise awareness that love is more powerful than bombs. Will you join us?”
Philippines – The decision to hold an interfaith gathering for peace with friends of different religions, Christians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists, was warmly welcomed, especially by members of the Muslim community.
Belgium – “Drums for Peace.” This year 60,000 children were involved in an annual march for peace promoted by the Focolare and supported by UNESCO, the Minister of Education, and various local administrations. The event received widespread media coverage.
Bulgaria – Catholics and Orthodox made a pilgrimage together to an Orthodox monastery dedicated to Mary, close to the capital city, Sophia.
United States – In Chicago a benefit dinner attended also by Muslims friends of the Focolare, concluded with a moment of silence and the reading of the prayer of St. Francis for peace. At Mariapolis Luminosa, the little city of the Focolare for North America, in Hyde Park, NY, every evening the community gathers to pray together a rosary for peace.
In New York City, the Youth for a United World worked together with their friends to organize a vigil, “Seeds of Hope: Experiences of Unity in a Divided World.” In an atmosphere of hope, they reflected on the serious consequences of the war in Iraq, prayed for all who suffer from violence and war, and highlighted positive and concrete ways of building relationships of peace and unity.
Ireland – Many schools took part in the Drums for Peace initiative. In Belfast, the principal of a Catholic school invited the neighboring Protestant school to collaborate on the project. In County Cork in the south of Ireland, at the suggestion of a teenage boy, many gathered to pray the rosary at the local “Holy Well,” a traditional place to gather for prayer in times of crisis.
Italy – Of the thousands of peace marches that took place around the world, the one organized in Milan on March 22 by members of the Focolare and St. Egidio Community proposed peace as a lifestyle. The march included a rally where personal witnesses were shared by a young Muslim from Algeria, a young woman from Israel, and a Buddhist from Sri Lanka. Youth from different movements and associations in the diocese began a prayer chain.
Slovak Republic – After having prayed the rosary for peace, a group of children came up with the idea of sending a letter to the national Catholic newspaper, addressed to children everywhere. Julia, 5, wrote the title: “Let’s pray that there will not be another world war.” “Dear friends,” they wrote, “the Holy Father suffered very much when he heard that the war had begun in Iraq, and he started to pray right away. We started to pray, too, saying a part of the rosary every day, at least ten Hail Marys. We are praying that there will be no more wars. We are asking everyone not to fight: at school, at home, on the playground, on our buses, streets, and in places of government. Come and let’s pray together, as many children as possible. Hopefully our prayers will bring the war to an end quickly. Invite other children and adults to do the same, too. Thank you! Bye!”
Brazil – In Sao Paulo fliers were handed out to passersby, inviting the public to transform their daily commute into a pilgrimage for peace by reciting a simple prayer or two as they walked down the street.
Argentina – The local Catholic Church, joined by other Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities, set up a tent in the popular Plaza de Mayo where people can gather 24 hours a day to pray for peace.
Mar 23, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Act for peace “That which, together with the Pope, we hoped would never happen has happened: the war in Iraq.” With these words Chiara began her message to the people of the Focolare Movement inviting everyone to take action for peace: “When he was informed of the attack on Iraq the Holy Father, after having the week before explored every possible avenue to save peace, he retreated in prayer, anguished. Our knowledge of the facts and the Pope’s example urge us now in every nation where the Movement is present, to foster initiatives in favor of peace, and not just in Christian circles.” Chiara suggested in particular that the Movement’s members and supporters in particular increase the initiatives of prayer for peace “because we call on God’s help in a matter -war – where the prince of Evil is at work: prayer, therefore, pilgrimages, liturgical events, coming together to pray the rosary.” A passionate call “at all costs” for universal brotherhood In a message sent to the participants at a gathering for Muslim families of the Focolare Movement which began on March 26 in Algeria, Chiara wrote: “It is a difficult time for international relations. Such times require an extra measure of faith in the merciful love of the One God, a passionate effort at living for universal brotherhood, no matter what the cost, a more generous and more complete concentration of our life in the values of our Ideal of unity: an Ideal of mutual love, acceptance and solidarity that prepare the dawn of a united world. I know that many voices around us push us in the opposite direction, but we know and believe that justice can really live only where there is mutual love, that love that comes from God. My wish for you is that your time together may be the source of an enriching spiritual experience that will help you grow both in your love for one another and in the example of faith that you offer to your communities. A family that lives in accordance with God’s will is like a beacon of light that illuminates the pathways of humanity and its interactions. I am there with you with my whole heart.”
Mar 21, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Mar 11, 2003 | Non categorizzato
I live in Rio de Janeiro: one of most beautiful cities in the world. For some time now I have been living the Word of Life and taking it to various people with Chiara’s commentaries. One evening, I left work later that usual, yet I didn’t want to go home without consigning the last copy of the Word to a family I visit every month. So I called my mother to let her know I would be late. But in order not to be too late, I took a taxi. In the rearview mirror I saw the face of the driver who said, “You got in the wrong car, this is a stolen taxi and now you’re coming with me.” I shuddered: “A kidnapper, where will he take me?” The taxi left the city. We pulled up in front of a Motel, a house of prostitution. He made me get down and pushed me into a room. He remained in the hall and I sat on the bed and thought “what will happen to me?” It could have been the moment of my life … Then I remembered I still had the Word of Life and so I began reading it slowly. That person came in and shut the door. Sitting down beside me, with his arm over my shoulder he asked, “What are you dooing?” I told him it was a commentary on a phrase spoken by Jesus’ in the Gospel which I tried to put into practice. “Read it to me out loud!”, he said aggressively. I think I lived that moment in solemnity, reading each word with love. I hadn’t finished reading when he wripped the page out of my hand and said, “Go on go, get out, you’re too good!”. The Word saved my life. M.A.C. – Rio de Janeiro (From “I Fioretti di Chiara e dei Focolari” – San Paolo Editrice)
Mar 7, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Mar 7, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Mar 7, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Mar 7, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Mar 3, 2003 | Non categorizzato
GIAMPAOLO MATTEI It’s like being hit below the belt. That’s the impression you get when you read the book The Futility of War. It sweeps you away with such powerful eloquence that you find yourself with your back against the wall. The experience is even more dramatic when you think that these pages were written exactly 50 years ago. Their author is Igino Giordani (1894-1980), politician, journalist, writer and eminent Italian figure in the Catholic Church and in his country.
Citta’ Nuova publications has reprinted Giordani’s book (Rome 2003, 116 pages) at a moment in time when people are in need of words that ring true, clear and essential. The preface affirms that certain works manage to be constantly timely. Even if their roots lie in specific problems, their teachings cut across existing historical conditions, serving people of every age and in all places. It was based on this very observation that Citta’ Nuova decided to reprint Giordani’s book, originally written in 1953 when geopolitical positions were beginning to freeze, and the division of consciences was crystallizing as a result of the Cold War. Today, this text allows you the benefit of hindsight, as if you were holding in hand, once it’s all over, a piece of the Berlin Wall. It is an experience of enormous historical and political importance. Moreover, in these very difficult times the book hits you hard in the stomach because it demonstrates the futility of war as well as its intrinsic and evident stupidity. Make no mistake: Giordani knows exactly what he’s talking about. He was on the battle front and was awarded a medal for his valor in the catastrophe we know as World War I. He does not speak unwarily, nor out of cowardice, a trait people are usually and ridiculously accused of when they take the side of peace. Come to think of it, the truly courageous are the peacemakers, not those who protect themselves with missiles, cannons, guns and the like. Undergirding his arguments, Giordani clearly affirms that peace is the result of a work knit together with patience and earnestness. It takes much more than a kind word, and it is more than a shield held up to protect hidden interests. Reading these 100 pages is overwhelming precisely because it seems they were written this morning, not 50 years ago. History is a “teacher of life” they say. It’s a pity human beings are such bad students. Giordani’s first sentence is riveting. You immediately reach for a pencil to underline it: “War is wide-scale murder”. And Giordani points his finger at the rhetoric, lies and interests which accompany all conflicts wherever they are fought: “Just as the plague spreads the plague, and hunger can lead to starvation, so does war serve to kill.” Period. You look up from the pages with a sense of pride. Yes, my dear young Catholic, you feel proud to belong to a culture formed by people of such stature. Giordani was no loner. He was neither foolhardy nor a counter-culturalist. He was one of the protagonists of the Catholic world who – though they may have been forgotten today – contributed decisively to promoting the Italian nation with initiatives that gave life and hope. It is fascinating to know the thinking of men who are so close to us and are so spiritually rich that their words are never outdated.
Based on his experience on the battle front, he confirms the futility of war Giordani’s book is so fascinating it’s hard to put it down. After a few pages you have to sharpen your pencil because you’ve worn it out underlining every other sentence. The author is controversial, a born controversialist, and yet he is also a brother to every person, even to those whose thinking is diametrically opposed to his. He does not offend the human person, but having fought on the battle front, he hurls himself against war, anxious to show how futile it is. He is unflinching in this. Giordani has a very personal way of expressing himself, convincing and passionate. Evidently, his style is born out of his desire to communicate ideas. He seems to be on a permanent mission. You find him at the very heart of the Church. He is not simply a writer; he is much much more. He knows the right words to use and, when needed, he invents tantalizing expressions. His language is typical of the mystics and his words echo the Fathers of the Church. His book is a book of history, of life, of prayer. It is a book that refuses attitudes of resignation in the face of decisions made by men of power. Giordani sustains that every person must be on the front lines for peace. “If you want peace, prepare for it”. This is his noble message meant for people of every category. “Only crazy people, or the incurable wish for death”, he writes, “and war is death.” It is not the people’s wanting. It’s the wanting of the minority for whom physical violence grants them the assurance of economic gains or appeals to their baser instincts. Today, more than ever, with its cost, death and disaster, war proves to be “useless slaughter”. “Slaughter, and – worse – a useless one.” These last words are of Pope Benedict XV. Giordani drinks fully of the Church’s magisterium, and throughout the whole book he never loses sight of the accomplishments of Peter’s successors. Giordani affirms that war is always a defeat, even for the victors. The money invested in war could be used to solve such dramatic problems as hunger and poverty, and to find cures for illnesses that plague humanity. It’s a matter of justice. Thus none of the thousand pretexts (they are always the same, anyway) used to justify war are valid. Neither is the promised “swiftness” of military operations a good “excuse”. At this point, Giordani becomes scornful as he recalls how, in Hitler’s opinion, World War II would have been merely a blitzkrieg, and, as Salandra stated, World War I should have been “a walk”. Giordani continues impetuously: “I believe no head of State has ever admitted he was waging war for motives of plunder; everyone held that it was being fought for the most noble of reasons, for altruistic and idealistic purposes, of course. And – just to show how childish hatred can get – greed is a characteristic of the enemy while a friend shows idealism. Overturning the macabre prospective of historiography Logic holds that those who wage war are in the wrong; it solves nothing and – in the end – they are the losers. The people do not want it, and it is a grave mistake to indulge in the biographies of those who have unleashed unspeakable massacres, like Hitler and Stalin, while ignoring the true leaders of humanity such as Cottolengo or Don Orione, Giordani writes. It is our cultural duty to overturn this macabre perspective of historiography. Giordani points to the way of dialogue – at all times and in any situation – as the way to find solutions. He affirms that misery and greed are the principal causes of war, whose roots are in fear. But there does exist a hope and an alternative: it’s called charity, which Christ incarnated, He who also redeemed politics in order to make it function in favor of peace and life. “Enemies are to be loved,” Giordani writes. “If only the politics of charity were to take root. We would discover that it coincides with the most enlightened rationality and, in the economic and social sense, it would prove to be a real bargain.” Giordani defines any war as a crime, be it an act of aggression or prevention. In actuality it is an act against justice because true justice brings forth true peace. He goes on to raise us to sublime spiritual heights with his references to St. Francis and Dante. “For Christians to be worthy of being called ‘children of God’ they have to work for peace”, he states. And this must be done without trepidation, by living out the ministry of reconciliation, breaking down walls of separation, forgiving all those who do us harm, leading those who are far back to the fold of unity. Giordani also cites Max Josef Metzger who was killed by the Nazis in 1944: “We must organize peace as others have organized war”. It is neither serious nor credible to speak of peace while preparing for war. Giordani concludes, “The work of building peace starts from you and from me”. To do away with war it is not enough to eliminate arms; we need to rebuild a consciousness, a culture of peace. It is a most urgent task which people of faith should accompany with a strategy of prayer. This is the mission of Christians today: to bring about the Gospel of Peace.
![“War is wide-scale murder”]()
Mar 3, 2003 | Non categorizzato
It’s like being hit below the belt. That’s the impression you get when you read the book The Futility of War. It sweeps you away with such powerful eloquence that you find yourself with your back against the wall. The experience is even more dramatic when you think that these pages were written exactly 50 years ago. Their author is Igino Giordani (1894-1980), politician, journalist, writer and eminent Italian figure in the Catholic Church and in his country.
Citta’ Nuova publications has reprinted Giordani’s book (Rome 2003, 116 pages) at a moment in time when people are in need of words that ring true, clear and essential.
The preface affirms that certain works manage to be constantly timely. Even if their roots lie in specific problems, their teachings cut across existing historical conditions, serving people of every age and in all places. It was based on this very observation that Citta’ Nuova decided to reprint Giordani’s book, originally written in 1953 when geopolitical positions were beginning to freeze, and the division of consciences was crystallizing as a result of the Cold War.
Today, this text allows you the benefit of hindsight, as if you were holding in hand, once it’s all over, a piece of the Berlin Wall. It is an experience of enormous historical and political importance. Moreover, in these very difficult times the book hits you hard in the stomach because it demonstrates the futility of war as well as its intrinsic and evident stupidity. Make no mistake: Giordani knows exactly what he’s talking about. He was on the battle front and was awarded a medal for his valor in the catastrophe we know as World War I. He does not speak unwarily, nor out of cowardice, a trait people are usually and ridiculously accused of when they take the side of peace. Come to think of it, the truly courageous are the peacemakers, not those who protect themselves with missiles, cannons, guns and the like. Undergirding his arguments, Giordani clearly affirms that peace is the result of a work knit together with patience and earnestness. It takes much more than a kind word, and it is more than a shield held up to protect hidden interests.
Reading these 100 pages is overwhelming precisely because it seems they were written this morning, not 50 years ago. History is a “teacher of life” they say. It’s a pity human beings are such bad students. Giordani’s first sentence is riveting. You immediately reach for a pencil to underline it: “War is wide-scale murder”. And Giordani points his finger at the rhetoric, lies and interests which accompany all conflicts wherever they are fought: “Just as the plague spreads the plague, and hunger can lead to starvation, so does war serve to kill.” Period.
You look up from the pages with a sense of pride. Yes, my dear young Catholic, you feel proud to belong to a culture formed by people of such stature. Giordani was no loner. He was neither foolhardy nor a counter-culturalist. He was one of the protagonists of the Catholic world who – though they may have been forgotten today – contributed decisively to promoting the Italian nation with initiatives that gave life and hope. It is fascinating to know the thinking of men who are so close to us and are so spiritually rich that their words are never outdated.
Based on his experience on the battle front, he confirms the futility of war
Giordani’s book is so fascinating it’s hard to put it down. After a few pages you have to sharpen your pencil because you’ve worn it out underlining every other sentence. The author is controversial, a born controversialist, and yet he is also a brother to every person, even to those whose thinking is diametrically opposed to his. He does not offend the human person, but having fought on the battle front, he hurls himself against war, anxious to show how futile it is. He is unflinching in this.
Giordani has a very personal way of expressing himself, convincing and passionate. Evidently, his style is born out of his desire to communicate ideas. He seems to be on a permanent mission. You find him at the very heart of the Church. He is not simply a writer; he is much much more. He knows the right words to use and, when needed, he invents tantalizing expressions. His language is typical of the mystics and his words echo the Fathers of the Church. His book is a book of history, of life, of prayer.
It is a book that refuses attitudes of resignation in the face of decisions made by men of power. Giordani sustains that every person must be on the front lines for peace. “If you want peace, prepare for it”. This is his noble message meant for people of every category. “Only crazy people, or the incurable wish for death”, he writes, “and war is death.” It is not the people’s wanting. It’s the wanting of the minority for whom physical violence grants them the assurance of economic gains or appeals to their baser instincts. Today, more than ever, with its cost, death and disaster, war proves to be “useless slaughter”. “Slaughter, and – worse – a useless one.” These last words are of Pope Benedict XV. Giordani drinks fully of the Church’s magisterium, and throughout the whole book he never loses sight of the accomplishments of Peter’s successors.
Giordani affirms that war is always a defeat, even for the victors. The money invested in war could be used to solve such dramatic problems as hunger and poverty, and to find cures for illnesses that plague humanity. It’s a matter of justice. Thus none of the thousand pretexts (they are always the same, anyway) used to justify war are valid. Neither is the promised “swiftness” of military operations a good “excuse”. At this point, Giordani becomes scornful as he recalls how, in Hitler’s opinion, World War II would have been merely a blitzkrieg, and, as Salandra stated, World War I should have been “a walk”. Giordani continues impetuously: “I believe no head of State has ever admitted he was waging war for motives of plunder; everyone held that it was being fought for the most noble of reasons, for altruistic and idealistic purposes, of course. And – just to show how childish hatred can get – greed is a characteristic of the enemy while a friend shows idealism.
Overturning the macabre prospective of historiography
Logic holds that those who wage war are in the wrong; it solves nothing and – in the end – they are the losers. The people do not want it, and it is a grave mistake to indulge in the biographies of those who have unleashed unspeakable massacres, like Hitler and Stalin, while ignoring the true leaders of humanity such as Cottolengo or Don Orione, Giordani writes. It is our cultural duty to overturn this macabre perspective of historiography.
Giordani points to the way of dialogue – at all times and in any situation – as the way to find solutions. He affirms that misery and greed are the principal causes of war, whose roots are in fear. But there does exist a hope and an alternative: it’s called charity, which Christ incarnated, He who also redeemed politics in order to make it function in favor of peace and life. “Enemies are to be loved,” Giordani writes. “If only the politics of charity were to take root. We would discover that it coincides with the most enlightened rationality and, in the economic and social sense, it would prove to be a real bargain.”
Giordani defines any war as a crime, be it an act of aggression or prevention. In actuality it is an act against justice because true justice brings forth true peace. He goes on to raise us to sublime spiritual heights with his references to St. Francis and Dante. “For Christians to be worthy of being called ‘children of God’ they have to work for peace”, he states. And this must be done without trepidation, by living out the ministry of reconciliation, breaking down walls of separation, forgiving all those who do us harm, leading those who are far back to the fold of unity. Giordani also cites Max Josef Metzger who was killed by the Nazis in 1944: “We must organize peace as others have organized war”. It is neither serious nor credible to speak of peace while preparing for war.
Giordani concludes, “The work of building peace starts from you and from me”. To do away with war it is not enough to eliminate arms; we need to rebuild a consciousness, a culture of peace. It is a most urgent task which people of faith should accompany with a strategy of prayer. This is the mission of Christians today: to bring about the Gospel of Peace.
GIAMPAOLO MATTEI
Feb 28, 2003 | Non categorizzato, Word of
To the crowds who followed him, Jesus spoke of the reign of God . He used simple words, parables taken from every day life, and yet his words had a special fascination. The crowds were spellbound at his teaching because he taught with authority and not like their scribes. Likewise when the temple guards who came to arrest him were asked by the chief priest and pharisees why they did not follow orders to bring him in, they replied: “No man ever spoke like that before”.
The Gospel of John also speaks about the light-filled conversations he had with some people, like Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. Jesus goes even more in depth with his apostles. He speaks openly of the Father and of the things of Heaven, and with them he no longer speaks in veiled language. His words convince them and they do not draw back even when they do not fully understand them or when they seem to be too demanding.
“This sort of talk is hard to endure” , some of his disciples remarked, when they heard him say that he would give them his body to eat and his blood to drink.
Seeing that many of his disciples were breaking away and did not remain in his company any longer, Jesus said to the Twelve Apostles: “Do you want to leave me too?”
Peter, now bound to him forever, and fascinated by the words he spoke on the day he met him, answered on behalf of everyone:
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.»
Peter had understood that the words his Teacher spoke were different from those of other teachers. Words that go from the earth to the earth, belong to and are destined to the earth. Jesus’ words are spirit and life because they come from Heaven: they are like a light that descends from Above and contains a power that comes from Above. His words have a wealth and depth which other words -whether philosophical, political, or poetic – do not have. They are “words of eternal life” because they contain, express and comunicate the fullness of that life that never ends since it is the very life of God.
Jesus is risen and lives, and his words, although said in the past, are not mere memories, but they are words addressed to all of us today and to every person of every epoch and culture: they are universal, eternal words.
The words of Jesus! They must have been his greatest art, so to say. The Word who speaks in human terms: what content, what intensity, what accent, what a voice!
“One day – recounts Basil the Great, for example – almost like waking up from a long sleep, I saw the marvelous light of the truth contained in the Gospel and discovered the vanity in the wisdom of earthly principles.”
In a letter of May 9, 1897 Therese of Lisiuex writes: “At times, when I read certain spiritual treatises… my poor humble spirit tires easily. I close the scholarly book which breaks my head to pieces and dries up my heart, and take hold of the Sacred Scriptures. Then everything lights up, just one word reveals to my soul infinite horizons and reaching perfection appears to be an easy task”
Yes, divine words fill the spirit, which is made for the infinite; they illuminate interiorly not only the mind, but all of one’s being, because they are light, love and life. They give peace – that which Jesus calls his: “my peace” – also in moments of bewilderment and anguish. They give full joy even in the midst of suffering which at times torments the soul. They give strength, especially in the face of dismay and discouragement. They give a sense of freedom because they open the path to Truth.
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.»
The Word of Life this month reminds us that the only Teacher we want to follow is Jesus, even when his words might seem to be hard and too demanding. This means: to be honest at work, to forgive, to put ourselves at the service of the other rather than to think only of ourselves, to remain faithful to our family, to assist a terminally ill person without yielding to the idea of euthanasia…
Many teachers invite us to come up with easy solutions, to make compromises. We want to listen to our Teacher and to follow him, the only one who speaks the truth and who has “words of eternal life”. In this way we too can repeat these words of Peter.
In this Lenten Season in which we are preparing for the big celebration of the Resurrection, we must truly put ourselves at the school of the only Teacher and become his disciples. Also in us an ardent love for the word of God must come to life. Let us be ready to welcome it when it is proclaimed in church, let us read it, study it, meditate on it…
But above all we are called to live it, as Scripture itself teaches: “Act on this word. If all you do is to listen to it, you are deceiving yourselves”. That is why each month we take into consideration one word in particular, allowing it to penetrate into us, to mould us, “to live us”. By living one word of Jesus we live all the Gospel, because in each word of his he gives all of himself, he himself comes to live in us. It is like a divine drop of his wisdom, the wisdom of the Risen One, which slowly penetrates into the depths of our hearts and replaces our way of thinking, wanting, and acting in every circumstance of our life.
Chiara Lubich
Feb 26, 2003 | Non categorizzato
I am a law student and work in a Ministry in Paraguay. In order to defend my principles until their ultimate consequences, I often find myself going against the mainstream of a mentality that is the opposite of God’s design. An important person at work, who enjoyed certain privileges, was clearly behaving dishonestly. In order to justify himself he argued: “If you have decided to be a lawyer and not break any laws, you are wasting your time and will surely die of hunger.” I felt that it wasn’t true. I had the examples of many people who live according to their principles and I told him so. Though it was risky I had to do speak up, and I spoke with kindness. That inner voice won which told me it is an act of love to tell another that which is wrong. Just as I had feared, I lost my job for having expressed my convictions. Though I suffered terribly, I knew that I had acted in the right way, so I was serene at the same time. The knowledge that I have a Father for whom all is possible and who loves me beyond all measure is too strong. Doesn’t the Gospel say that the Father who cares for the birds of the sky cares all the more for us? Humanly speaking, the economic and employment situation in Paraguay left no hope. Yet that same evening, I received two job propositions. I had an interview the next day. What’s more the new job is more in line with my studies and therefore more interesting and formative. The thanks I hold in my heart for the Father is infinite. A new challenge opens before me and offers me thousands of opportunities to love and serve. P.C. – Paraguay From “The Little Flowers of Chiara and the Focolari” – St Paul Publishers
Feb 11, 2003 | Non categorizzato
“The difficulties hanging upon the world’s horizons lead us to think that only an intervention from on High, capable of orienting the hearts of those who live in conflict situations and of those who hold the destinies of Nations, can bring hope for a future with less darkness.” Quoting from the Apostolic Letter, the Pope launched another appeal to make use of the ancient Marian prayer, the Rosary during the Angelus on Feb. 9.
Youth response: the Planetary Rosary for Peace. An enthusiastic participation: every minute of the 24-hour day (thanks to the different time zones) youth are reciting the Rosary with the special intention for peace for areas where it is threatened or where conflict has broken out as in the Holy Land, the Ivory Coast, the Congo etc. Here are the times for those who want to join the Youth for a United World initiative. Italy/ local time / places 1 —-> 18 Mexico, Central America 2 —-> 20 Chile, Perù, Colombia 3 —-> 22 Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela 4 —-> 8 India 5 —-> 8,10 Pakistan, Thailand 6 —-> 12 Singapore, Vietnam 7 —-> 14 Philippines, Hong Kong, Australia (Perth) 8 —-> 8 Germany 8 —-> 16 Korea, Japan 9 —-> 9 Belgium, Holland 9 —-> 8 Great Britain, Ireland, Ivory Coast 9 —-> 18 Australia 10 —> 10 Italy: Emilia Romagna, Lazio, Sicilia, Toscana 11 —> 11 Italy: Lombardia, Campania, Roma; Middle East 12 —> 12 Austria, Switzerland 12 —> 11 Portugal 13 —> 13 France 14 —> 14,15 Poland, Russia 15 —> 15 Czeck Rep., Slovakia 15 —> 17 Kenya 16 —> 16,15 Croatia 16 —> 18 Madagascar 17 —> 17 Slovenia 18 —> 18 Congo 18 —> 14 Brazil 19 —> 19 Cameroun 20 —> 20 South Africa; Italy: Abruzzo 21 —> 21 Hungary; Italy: Sardegna 22 —> 22 Madrid; Barcellona; Italy: Triveneto, Piemonte 23 —> 14 USA: San Antonio, Los Angeles; Western Canada 24 —> 16 USA: New York, Chicago; Canada: Toronto
Feb 11, 2003 | Non categorizzato
The grave challenges confronting the world at the start of this new Millennium lead us to think that only an intervention from on high, capable of guiding the hearts of those living in situations of conflict and those governing the destinies of nations, can give reason to hope for a brighter future.
The Rosary is by its nature a prayer for peace, since it consists in the contemplation of Christ, the Prince of Peace, the one who is “our peace” (Eph 2:14). Anyone who assimilates the mystery of Christ – and this is clearly the goal of the Rosary – learns the secret of peace and makes it his life’s project. Moreover, by virtue of its meditative character, with the tranquil succession of Hail Marys, the Rosary has a peaceful effect on those who pray it, disposing them to receive and experience in their innermost depths, and to spread around them, that true peace which is the special gift of the Risen Lord (cf. Jn 14:27; 20.21).
The Rosary is also a prayer for peace because of the fruits of charity which it produces. When prayed well in a truly meditative way, the Rosary leads to an encounter with Christ in his mysteries and so cannot fail to draw attention to the face of Christ in others, especially in the most afflicted. How could one possibly contemplate the mystery of the Child of Bethlehem, in the joyful mysteries, without experiencing the desire to welcome, defend and promote life, and to shoulder the burdens of suffering children all over the world? How could one possibly follow in the footsteps of Christ the Revealer, in the mysteries of light, without resolving to bear witness to his “Beatitudes” in daily life? And how could one contemplate Christ carrying the Cross and Christ Crucified, without feeling the need to act as a “Simon of Cyrene” for our brothers and sisters weighed down by grief or crushed by despair? Finally, how could one possibly gaze upon the glory of the Risen Christ or of Mary Queen of Heaven, without yearning to make this world more beautiful, more just, more closely conformed to God’s plan?
In a word, by focusing our eyes on Christ, the Rosary also makes us peacemakers in the world. By its nature as an insistent choral petition in harmony with Christ’s invitation to “pray ceaselessly” (Lk 18:1), the Rosary allows us to hope that, even today, the difficult “battle” for peace can be won. Far from offering an escape from the problems of the world, the Rosary obliges us to see them with responsible and generous eyes, and obtains for us the strength to face them with the certainty of God’s help and the firm intention of bearing witness in every situation to “love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col 3:14).
(Paragraph n. 40)
Feb 7, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Jan 31, 2003 | Non categorizzato, Word of
The psalm, from which the Word of Life is taken, reminds us that we are the people of God and that he wants to guide us, as a shepherd guides his flock, in order to lead us into the promised land. He who has thought of us from all eternity knows how we need to walk in order to live in fullness, to reach our true being. He lovingly suggests what we should do, what we should not do and he indicates the path to follow.
God speaks to us as friends because he wants to introduce us into communion with himself. If someone listens to his voice, the psalm concludes, he will enter into God’s rest, that is, into the promised land, into the joy of heaven.
Also Jesus compares himself to a shepherd who leads each one of us to the fullness of life. He speaks and his disciples, who know him, hear his voice and follow him. He promises them eternal life.
God’s voice reaches everyone. The Second Vatican Council reminds us of this: “Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, tells him inwardly at the right moment: do this, shun that. For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God.”
What should we do when God speaks to our heart? We should simply listen to his word, knowing that in biblical language, listening means adhering completely, obeying, complying with what is said to us. It’s like letting ourselves be taken by the hand and guided by God. We can trust him, like a child who abandons himself in the arms of his mother and allows himself to be carried by her. A Christian is a person who is guided by the Holy Spirit.
«Oh, that today you would hear his voice.»
Right after these words, the psalm continues: “Do not harden your hearts”. Jesus often spoke of the hardness of hearts. We can stand up against God, we can close ourselves to him and refuse to listen to his voice. A hard heart doesn’t allow itself to be shaped.
At times, it’s not even a matter of bad will. It’s because it’s hard to distinguish “that voice” in the midst of many other voices that resound within us. Our heart is often polluted by too many deafening noises: they are the disorderly inclinations that lead to sin, the mentality of this world which is contrary to the plan of God, fashions, lifestyles, advertising slogans…. We know how easy it is to confuse our own opinions and desires with the inner voice of the Spirit, how easy it is, therefore, to fall into arbitrariness and subjectivity.
I must never forget that the Reality is within me. I must silence everything within in order to discover the voice of God there. And I need to draw it out as if I were extracting a diamond from the mud: polish it up, highlight it and allow it to guide me. Then I can be a guide for others as well, because this subtle voice of God which urges on and enlightens, this lymph which rises up from the depths of the soul, is wisdom, it is love, and love is meant to be given.
«Oh, that today you would hear his voice.»
How can we sharpen our supernatural sensitivity and evangelical intuition in order to perceive the suggestions of that voice?
First of all we need to constantly re-evangelize ourselves by becoming more and more familiar with the word of God, reading, meditating, living the Gospel, so that we increasingly acquire a Gospel mentality. We will learn to recognize God’s voice within ourselves in the measure that we get to know it from the lips of Jesus, Word of God become man. And we can ask for this in prayer.
Then we’ll have to allow the risen Lord to live in us, denying ourselves, waging war on our selfishness, on our “old self”, always lying in wait. This means that we must always be ready to say “no” to all that goes against God’s will and to say “yes” to all that he wants; “no” to ourselves in the moment of temptation, cutting short with its suggestions, and “yes” to carrying out what God has entrusted to us; “yes” to loving every neighbor; “yes” to the trials and difficulties we encounter.
Finally, it will be easier to discern the voice of God if we have the risen Lord in our midst, that is, if we love one another, creating oases of communion, of brotherhood around us. Jesus in our midst is like the loudspeaker that amplifies the voice of God within each one of us so that we can hear it more clearly. The apostle Paul also teaches that Christian love lived in the community enriches us more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception to discern what is of value.
Our life will then be lived as if between two fires: God in us and God in our midst. In this divine furnace we will be formed and trained in listening to and following Jesus.
A life guided as much as possible by the Holy Spirit is indeed beautiful: it has spice, zest, drive, it is authentic and filled with light.
Chiara Lubich
Jan 23, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Jan 23, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Jan 21, 2003 | Non categorizzato
Jan 19, 2003 | Non categorizzato
In meeting Ignatius in Manresa, Theresa in Avila, John of the Cross in Segovia, I found “giants” of sanctity who gloriously reached the goal by walking along personal, individual spiritual ways.
The extraordinary episodes in the lives of these elected souls, the holy words they said, the divine words they heard, the various environments in which they expressed one attitude or another, still fragrant with the burning love of God in their souls, had a strong, noteworthy impact on me. They unearth an insatiable desire: that of deepening, of developing to the utmost our personal relationship with God.
I felt the urgency, the need to consider once again the sacred moments that God’s will for us has reserved for this purpose, and the beauty of carrying out with increased commitment the appointments of prayers in the different moments of our daily life.
They are for us the “clothes” we put on, the premise for being able to go out then to love our brothers and sisters.
Yes, our clothes! But what clothes are we speaking of here?
They are the golden “clothes” of our union with God. They are and must be gold, gold, gold. And they can become a gold mine if we grow by going out to love our brothers and sisters for God.
I’ve begun to live in this way, trying to perfect, almost to refine or polish those moments. Do you know what the first result was?
Perhaps because “to everyone who has, more will be given” (Mt. 25:29), the effect was the impetus to do even better the next day, always better, almost as if we never do things well enough.
But the strongest effect, I would say the most extraordinary effect of this commitment has been, paradoxically, to see with greater clarity and precision and to feel attracted towards those words of Scripture, in the New Testament, which are most suited to the characteristic aspect of our spirituality, which is above all communitarian, and which enable us to live it out. Like “May they all be one” (Jn 17:21) – we need brothers or sisters to live this; like “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12) – we need brothers or sisters; like “Above all, let your love for one another be intense” (1 Pt 4:8). They are words which concern not only me but also my brothers and sisters, and while they must be lived out after having put on the above-mentioned “clothes”, they must also be lived beforehand – in a sense, but undoubtedly – due to a divine interlacing, so that our lives as Christians may be completely fulfilled.
Is it not necessary to leave our gift at the altar – one of our practices – in order to be reconciled with our brother or sister if this is necessary?
But there is more. I also felt attracted towards other words of Scripture which are important for us and which undoubtedly help us to reach that necessary Christian self-denial, self-annihilation, so admired in the Spanish saints. For us, though, this annihilation is not pursued directly, but by giving visibility to our works for the glory of God. Words like “You are the light of the world; (…) your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Mt 5:14-16). “Glory to your heavenly Father”, not to us; once again self-denial.
I felt attracted by still others words which ask that we show the world not so much the renouncements that the Gospel asks of all Christians, but the wealth and beauty of the gifts that God gives to us because he is our Father, like the words concerning the “hundredfold” which the Gospel speaks of, in relation to those who leave everything (this is the basic poverty, detachment); or the words: “Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you” (Mt 6:28-30). Only if we have faith in Him, only if we renounce thinking about it too much ourselves: this is annihilation.
It would seem that these aspects can show a new countenance of the Church, that of the risen Lord.
Later we’ll have chance of going deep into these aspects of Christian life. But we need a spiritual rebirth that is summed up in this formula: “Gold plus gold equals a gold mine.” That is: gold in union with God, in our prayers, in going in depth with this; plus gold: loving, loving the others, loving from morning till night, loving always. If we collect love in union with God and we collect love by loving our neighbors, our heart will become a gold mine, so that we can pour this gold on the world.
Jan 19, 2003 | Non categorizzato
On the 24th of January 2002, Pope John Paul II convened the World Day of Peace in Assisi with leaders of the world’s great religions. Barely a year later, rumblings of war prevail over the voices for peace. The eruption of festering violence in India amongst Christians, Hindus and Moslems, as reported in regular news items, is an example of this. In this context, Chiara Lubich’s trip in India, which began in Mumbai on the 4th of January, focussed on dialogue with cultural and social Hindu institutions. From this emerged the mysticism which pervades the Indian culture and the universal brotherhood embedded in its roots.
The meeting with the Swadhyaya Family organisation highlighted, to everyone’s surprise, the many elements shared by our two movements. The Swadhyaya Family is a vast Hindu movement with more than 8 million adherents, founded by Shri Pandurang Shastri Athavale, known as Dada-ji (teacher-older brother). His movement teaches that God resides in every human being and that the fulfilment of spiritual unity holds within it the solutions of all world problems. The first contact with this movement came about at the World Day of Peace in Assisi at which only two women spoke: Didi Talwakar, daughter and spiritual heir of the founder of the Swadhyaya Family, and Chiara Lubich. This was followed by a meeting between them in Rocca di Papa, Rome, in which both made the discovery of the extraordinary parallels between the spirit of the Swadhyaya Family and the Focolare Movement. From this a profound spiritual friendship was born. In Mumbai, there were two further important meetingswhich led to an intensification of the dialogue initiated two years ago when Chiara Lubich visited India for the first time. The first of these meetings was at Somaiya College, a tertiary institute with 25,000 students and over 30 faculties and departments – one of the Hindu institutions most committed to inter-religious dialogue. The second important meeting was at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, a university level cultural centre which has one hundred centres in India and 15 abroad, founded to study the roots of Hindu culture and the means for developing it. This organisation numbers amongst its members Hindus, Moslems, Christians, Zoroastrians and Buddhists. Chiara arrived in India on the 4th of January this year. Her first meeting was with Cardinal Dias, Archbishop of Mumbai, and with his predecessor, Cardinal Simon Pimenta, to begin her trip in full communion with the local Church. Then, upon the invitation of Cardinal Dias, on the 9th of January, Chiara had a meeting with the clergy, seminarians, men and women religious of the diocese, to share with them the charism of unity. On the 12th of January she spoke at the third gathering of ecclesial movements with the participation of 3,500 people representing sixteen movements and associations. Following her meetings in Mumbai, Chiara Lubich returned to Rome, while those who had accompanied her on her trip continued on to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and to Delhi. A busy schedule of meetings was prepared in these cities with the Hindu world and with the local Church.
Dec 31, 2002 | Non categorizzato, Word of
The Christians of Corinth used to compare the apostle Paul with other contemporary preachers who spoke with greater eloquence and scholarship. They liked to hear nice talks, philosophical speculations, whereas Paul, physically weak and tested, presented himself with simplicity, without using the big words suggested by human wisdom . And yet Jesus had fully revealed himself to Paul on the way to Damascus, and ever since then God had continued to inundate his heart with the light of his Son and had invited him to bring that light to everyone. However, Paul was the first to realize the disproportion between the inestimable preciousness of the mission entrusted to him and the inadequacy of his person: a treasure in a poor clay jar.
How often we too are aware of our poverty, our limitations and inadequacy before the tasks entrusted to us, our incapacity to respond fully to the demands of our vocation, the sense of powerlessness in the face of situations that surpass our strength. Moreover, we feel inclined and attracted more easily towards evil rather than good, and we find it difficult to resist due to the weakness of our will. We too, like Paul, feel like vases of clay.
And it’s not hard to find the same weakness and fragility in the people around us, in our families, communities or groups.
How can we not be mindful of these words of Paul during this month in which we celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity? In spite of the treasure God has given us, we Christians have not been able to live in unity.
«We hold this treasure in earthen vessels»
If we were to look only at the earthen vessels that we are, we would really become discouraged. Instead, what matters, and what we must focus on, is the treasure that we bear within us! Paul knew that his earthen vessel was inhabited by the light of Christ: it was Christ himself who lived in him and this gave him the courage to venture everything for the spreading of God’s Kingdom.
As Christians, we too can experience the infinite treasure that we bear within us: it is the Most Holy Trinity. I look within myself and I discover depths of love, an abyss, an immensity, like a divine sun dwelling within me.
I look around me and learn to discern this indwelling treasure also in the others. Their vases of clay might be evident, but I don’t stop at outward appearances. John Paul II reminds us that we must see the light of the Trinity dwelling in us also “on the face of the brothers and sisters around us”.
«We hold this treasure in earthen vessels»
How should we live this Word of Life?
It is addressed to us. An us that doesn’t exclude anyone. “Christians must make known together this treasure that shines in glory on the face of the resurrected one.” However, in order to become fully aware of the treasure we have, we will need to enter into communion with it. Yes, we can learn to live with the Most Holy Trinity to the point of losing ourselves in it. We can have a personal relationship with each of the three divine Persons, with the Father and with the Son and with the Holy Spirit, so that God himself lives and acts in us.
We have the Father. In our vases of clay the Father is present. We can cast our worries upon him, all our concerns, as the apostle Peter suggests. Because this is what you do with a father: you entrust yourself to him, in everything and for everything, with total confidence. A father gives support and security, and the child, carefree and trusting, throws himself into his father’s arms.
«We hold this treasure in earthen vessels»
Also the Son dwells within us: the Word Incarnate, Jesus. Jesus is within us. We have learned to love him deeply wherever he is present: in the Eucharist, in his word, when we are united in his name, in the poor, in the authority that represents him… in the depths of our heart. We can even learn to love him in our shortcomings, weaknesses, failures, because he took upon himself our weaknesses and fragility even though he was not a sinner. Having shared all that we are, Jesus, the Incarnate Word, can support us in every trial of life. He can help us to overcome it and give back to us light, peace and strength.
And the Holy Spirit, that Spirit in whom we trustingly confide as though to other ourselves, who always answers when we invoke him and suggests words of wisdom, who comforts and sustains us, who loves us as a true friend and gives us light.
What more do we want? Only one Love has taken up residence in our heart: it is our treasure. The earthen vessel, ours and that of others, will no longer be an obstacle, it will no longer discourage us. It will simply remind us that the light and life that God wants to release within us and around us is not so much the fruit of our human capacities, but the effect of him at work in us, of his presence acknowledged and loved. Then, like Paul, we will be able to risk everything for the Kingdom of God and with greater strength strive towards the full and visible communion among Christians. Like him we can repeat: “But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us” (2 Cor 4:7).
Chiara Lubich
Nov 30, 2002 | Non categorizzato, Word of
These words mark the beginning of Mary’s divine adventure. The angel had just revealed God’s plans for her: to be the mother of the Messiah. Before consenting she wanted to make sure that this was truly the will of God, and once she understood that this is what he wanted she did not hesitate a moment to adhere to it wholeheartedly. From then on, Mary abandoned herself completely to God’s will, even during the most painful and tragic moments.
Because she carried out not her own will but the will of God, because she trusted unconditionally in what God was asking of her, all generations call her blessed (see Lk 1:48). She fulfilled herself completely, to the point of becoming the Woman par excellence.
This is the fruit of doing God’s will: we attain self-fulfillment, we acquire total freedom, and we reach our true being. God has always thought of us, he has loved us from all eternity; we have always had a place in his heart. God wants to reveal to each one of us, as he did to Mary, our true identity. “Would you like me to make a masterpiece of you and your life?”, he seems to ask us. “Then follow the way I indicate and you will become who you always are in my heart. I have thought of you and loved you from all eternity; I called you by name. By telling you my will I am revealing your true self.”
So then his will is not an imposition forced on us, but the expression of his love for us, of his project for us; and it is sublime as God himself, deeply fascinating and beautiful as is his face: it is God giving himself to us. The will of God is like a golden thread, a divine theme that runs through the whole of our earthly life and beyond; it goes from eternity to eternity: first in the mind of God, then on this earth, and finally, in heaven.
But for God’s design to be fulfilled completely, he asks for my consent, for your consent, as he asked it of Mary. This is the only way that the word he pronounced for me and for you can be fulfilled. So then we too, like Mary, are called to say:
«Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word»
Of course God’s will is not always clear to us. Like Mary we too will have to ask for the light to understand what he wants. We need to listen attentively and sincerely to his voice within us, seeking advice if needed from someone who can help us. But once we have understood his will, we want to say “yes” at once. Actually, if we have understood that his will is the greatest, most beautiful reality in our life, we won’t be resigned to “having” to do the will of God, but we will be happy to “be able” to do the will of God, to be able to follow his plans, so that what he wants for us will be fulfilled. It’s the best thing we can do, the most intelligent thing we can do.
The words of Mary, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord”, are therefore our response of love to the love of God. They keep us turned toward him, always listening and obeying, with only one desire in our heart, that of carrying out his will in order to be as he wants us to be.
Nevertheless, at times what he asks of us can seem to be absurd. We would do things differently, we would like to decide for ourselves. We would almost want to give advice to God, to tell him what to do and what not to do. But if I believe that God is Love and I trust him, I know that whatever he plans for me and for those close to me is for my good, for their good. So I entrust myself to him, I abandon myself with total trust in his will and I want it with all my heart, to the point of being one with it, knowing that accepting his will is accepting him, embracing him, nourishing myself with him.
We must believe that nothing happens by chance. No event, whether it be joyful, indifferent or painful, no encounter, no situation in the family, at work, or at school, no condition of physical or moral health is without meaning. On the contrary, every event, situation and person bears a message from God, everything contributes towards the fulfillment of God’s design which we will discover little by little, day by day, doing the will of God as Mary did.
«Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word»
How should we live this Word of Life? Practically speaking, our “yes” to the word of God means doing well and completely all that he asks us to do in every present moment. We should devote ourselves wholeheartedly to whatever we are doing, putting aside everything else, letting go of any other thought, desire, memory or action.
As we carry out each will of God, whether it be painful, joyful or indifferent, we can repeat: “May it be done to me according to your word”, or, as Jesus taught us in the “Our Father”, “Your will be done”. Let’s say it before every action: “May it be done” “Your will be done”. By doing so, we will accomplish one moment at a time, one piece at a time the wonderful, unique and unrepeatable mosaic of our life which the Lord has always had in mind for each one of us.
Chiara Lubich
Nov 2, 2002 | Non categorizzato
Oct 31, 2002 | Non categorizzato, Word of
Jesus has just come out of the temple. The disciples proudly point out to him the grandeur and beauty of the buildings. He says to them in reply: “You see all these things, do you not? Amen, I say to you, there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down” (Mt 24:2). Then he goes up to the Mount of Olives, he sits down and, looking over Jerusalem, he begins to speak of the destruction of the city and of the end of the world.
How will the end of the world come about? – the disciples ask him – and when will it be? It’s a question that subsequent generations of Christians have continued to ask, a question that every human being asks. The future is indeed mysterious and it often frightens us. Today too people ask fortune tellers and look up their horoscopes to know what will happen in the future….
Jesus’ answer is very clear: the end of time coincides with his coming. He, the Lord of history, will return. He is the luminous point of our future.
And when will this encounter take place? No one knows. It can come at any moment. Our life is in his hands. He gave it to us; He can take it back, even suddenly, without any warning. In any case, he warns us: you can be ready for this event if you stay awake, if you are vigilant.
«Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour»
In saying this Jesus wants to remind us first of all that he will come. Our life on earth will end and a new life will begin, one that will never end. No one wants to talk about death today…. At times, we do all we can to distract ourselves, immerging ourselves completely in our daily occupations to the point of forgetting about the One who gave us life and who will ask to have it back in order to introduce us into the fullness of life, into communion with his Father in heaven.
Will we be ready to meet him? Will our lamps be lit, like those of the prudent virgins who were waiting for the Spouse? In other words, will we be loving? Or will our lamps be extinguished because we are so taken up with the many things to do, the fleeting joys, the possession of material goods, that we forget the one thing necessary: to love?
«Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour»
But how can we stay awake? First of all, we know that whoever loves is capable of staying awake, of waiting. For example, a wife waits for her husband who is coming home from work late or who is returning from a long trip; a mother stays awake worrying about her son who hasn’t come home yet; whoever is in love eagerly awaits the moment to see the one he or she loves…. Whoever loves is capable of waiting even when the loved one delays.
We wait for Jesus if we love him and we ardently desire to meet him.
And we wait for him by loving concretely, by serving him, for instance, in those around us or by working to build up a more just society. Jesus himself invites us to live like this by telling us the parable of the faithful servant who, waiting for the return of his master, looked after the servants and the affairs of the house; or the parable of the servants who, always waiting for their master to return home, put to good use the talents they received.
«Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour»
Precisely because we don’t know the day or the hour of his coming, we can concentrate more easily on living one day at a time, on the troubles of the day, on what Providence offers to us now.
Some time ago I spontaneously said this prayer to God. I’d like to recall it now.
Jesus,
make me speak always
as if it were the last word I say.
Make me act always
as if it were the last
action I take.
Make me suffer always
as if it were the last
suffering I have to offer you.
Make me pray always
as if it were the last opportunity
I have here on earth
to converse with you.”
Chiara Lubich
Oct 27, 2002 | Focolare Worldwide
The mystery of Jesus crucified and forsaken key to unity among the Churches
Ecumenism – Switzerland
28/10/2002
“The spirit that animates the Focolare Movement is, in a certain sense, the same spirit that animates our Council which was created for the purpose of forming a fraternity of Churches.” This, according to Lutheran pastor Konrad Raiser, Secretary General of the World Council of Churches (WCC), explains why Focolare Movement founder Chiara Lubich was invited to address the Plenary Assembly of the members of the Council. “Chiara Lubich and her collaborators,” he continued, “are committed to finding ways to translate the spirituality of unity into new forms of harmonious living that connect us together particularly in this moment when the Council is searching for new ways to express itself.” The meeting took place in the auditorium of the modern Council building in Geneva that houses this 50-year-old organisation, the largest of its kind, bringing together persons of 342 Churches in 157 countries. Chiara Lubich had been asked to speak from the heart of her charism about the “key” to unity: Jesus crucified and forsaken. Her words helped the audience penetrate the mystery of love of a God who suffers the abandonment on the part of the Father in order to unite humanity to God and human beings with one another. Jesus forsaken, who assumes all the countenances of suffering and the pain of divisions so as to “give sight to the blind, hope to the desperate, victory to the fallen, unity to those who are separated.” Chiara explains that “in Jesus forsaken one finds the light to recompose the full visible communion of the one Church of Christ.” “We can see him,” she continues, “as ‘the ecumenical crucified one.’” Dr. Raiser commented immediately after Chiara’s address, “I sensed in her words the echo back to the intuition that was at the basis of the search for unity and that has been its program since 1925: ‘the closer we get to the cross of Christ the closer we get to one another. Beneath the cross we can reach out our arms towards the other.’” Catholic Bishop Kurt Koch of Basel, Switzerland, vice president of the Swiss bishops conference, gave a positive interpretation of the crisis being felt in the ecumenical movement. “We can use the word crisis in the sense that it’s time now to find new pathways. Only if we recognise Jesus forsaken in this lacerated body of Christ and we head right in to this suffering we can find new ways to reach unity.” Vatican Radio News Service “The spirit that animates the Focolare Movement is, in a certain sense, the same spirit that animates our Council which was created for the purpose of forming a fraternity of Churches.” This, according to Lutheran pastor Konrad Raiser, Secretary General of the World Council of Churches (WCC), explains why Focolare Movement founder Chiara Lubich was invited to address the Plenary Assembly of the members of the Council. “Chiara Lubich and her collaborators,” he continued, “are committed to finding ways to translate the spirituality of unity into new forms of harmonious living that connect us together particularly in this moment when the Council is searching for new ways to express itself.” The meeting took place in the auditorium of the modern Council building in Geneva that houses this 50-year-old organisation, the largest of its kind, bringing together persons of 342 Churches in 157 countries. Chiara Lubich had been asked to speak from the heart of her charism about the “key” to unity: Jesus crucified and forsaken. Her words helped the audience penetrate the mystery of love of a God who suffers the abandonment on the part of the Father in order to unite humanity to God and human beings with one another. Jesus forsaken, who assumes all the countenances of suffering and the pain of divisions so as to “give sight to the blind, hope to the desperate, victory to the fallen, unity to those who are separated.” Chiara explains that “in Jesus forsaken one finds the light to recompose the full visible communion of the one Church of Christ.” “We can see him,” she continues, “as ‘the ecumenical crucified one.’” Dr. Raiser commented immediately after Chiara’s address, “I sensed in her words the echo back to the intuition that was at the basis of the search for unity and that has been its program since 1925: ‘the closer we get to the cross of Christ the closer we get to one another. Beneath the cross we can reach out our arms towards the other.’” Catholic Bishop Kurt Koch of Basel, Switzerland, vice president of the Swiss bishops conference, gave a positive interpretation of the crisis being felt in the ecumenical movement. “We can use the word crisis in the sense that it’s time now to find new pathways. Only if we recognise Jesus forsaken in this lacerated body of Christ and we head right in to this suffering we can find new ways to reach unity.” Vatican Radio News Service
Oct 27, 2002 | Focolare Worldwide
Dr Chiara Lubich, the founder and president of the Focolare movement for spiritual and social renewal, visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) on October 28 for worship and discussions on the “spirituality for unity” in all areas of life and humanity.
After a rich exchange, Dr Lubich and Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, WCC general secretary, issued a joint reflection on the theme to emphasize the “renewed hope for our common ecumenical journey”.
The full text of the joint message issued on October 28, 2002 follows:
We write with deep gratitude for the new confidence that has sprung up in our hearts today at the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva, whose task it is to work towards Christian unity. Our meetings and conversations here have opened new horizons for us, and allow us to look to the future with greater serenity. The conference at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, the worship service at St Peter’s Cathedral in Geneva, and today’s meeting together constitute an important event in which the participants – bishops of various churches attending an ecumenical meeting near Geneva, representatives of the Focolare movement and staff of the World Council of Churches – shared prayers, thoughts and experiences that inspire us and our churches to live more deeply our common calling and goal. We are very aware of how, for decades, WCC member churches have untiringly dedicated themselves to a strenuous search for unity, and we value their achievements. We are also conscious of recent difficulties which have led people to speak of stagnation, or a winter period, in ecumenism. Both of these realities were present in our hearts throughout the day. We believe that, with the Lord’s help and through a spirituality to be lived that we can call a “spirituality of unity” leading to conversion of the heart, we have found renewed hope for our common ecumenical journey. As churches come together to manifest a sincerely sought unity, attitudes towards God and to each other must be changed. They are called to metanoia and kenosis as the way to practise genuine penitence and to live authentic humility. The importance of prayer should not be underestimated. As we strip ourselves of false securities, finding in God our true and only identity, daring to be open and vulnerable to each other, we will begin to live as pilgrims on a journey. We will discover the God of surprises, who leads us along roads that are new to us. In one another, we will find true companions on the way. This spirituality requires us to empty ourselves as Christ did (Philippians ch 2:7). It leads to the conversion of the heart of individual Christians so that they stand alongside, learn from and are influenced by the spirituality, theology and traditions of others who seek to be faithful to Christ. It is He who helps us to love each others’ church as our own – a requisite for visible unity. It is this spirituality that must pervade our churches as they seek to manifest the prayer of our Lord “that all may be one”. Such a spirituality is possible through the Holy Spirit who, in our baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus, empowers us to live beyond ourselves into the reality of the other. With these thoughts, hopes and proposals, and through the presence of the Risen One among us, we – lay people, pastors, priests, bishops, church leaders – have experienced in some small measure what it means to be a single Christian People (“Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst” Matt. 18 :20). We have lived a “new dialogue” – a dialogue of life, of the people – that needs to be widely promoted. It is a dialogue that complements the theological one and the traditional dialogue of individual churches, and thus contributes to and accelerates the complete fulfilment of Christ’s last testament: “that they all may be one so that the world may believe” (see John 17:21). With the desire to continue this journey with you, we assure you of our prayers and trust in yours, to the One who can do all things. Konrad Raiser General Secretary World Council of Churches Chiara Lubich President & Founder Focolari Movement
Oct 26, 2002 | Focolare Worldwide
“A surprising ecumenical and hope-filled witness of life offered today in Calvin’s city.” Geneva’s most important daily newspaper used these very headlines to introduce its article on the ecumenical celebration that took place in the solemn and austere atmosphere of the ancient cathedral of St. Peter’s in Geneva, the centre of the expansion of the Protestant Reform. And that’s what it was. One thousand five hundred people crowded into the cathedral to be part of this event. At the centre of the Holy Supper table, next to the president of the Protestant Church in Geneva stood a Catholic woman: Chiara Lubich. “Today,” said Protestant pastor Joel Stroudinsky to the bishops of various Churches coming from different countries and representing ecumenical organisations, including Roman Catholic Cardinal Miloslav Vlk of Prague, “we need to be witnesses of the passion of the Gospel, of the power of the Word that transforms the world in all its varied aspects: social, economic and political.” And here, introducing Chiara Lubich, he spoke of her vigorous witness of life, of the action of the Spirit of God in today’s world. “We welcome her today,” he continued, “in this particular communion that is born from our common passion for the Gospel.” Chiara’s address was part of the Sunday worship service and was given in an atmosphere of deep prayer. The ministry of love, the characteristic vocation of womanhood, came out dynamically. Chiara made reference to an important occasion marked by this Church which falls on November 3rd and celebrates the Reformation. “It is a reminder to all the Churches,” she said, “that there is urgent need for that continual reform called for by the Second Vatican Council.” She spoke of the action of the Spirit who, throughout history, and today too through the flowering of new charisms, has brought to life new spiritual currents intended to spark a radical, Gospel-based lifestyle. She touched on such burning current issues as the oppression of peoples, poverty, and terrorism, and she appealed for a return to the fundamentals of a love that is ready to lay down its life for the other and is capable of making this love mutual. “This alone is the witness among the Churches that makes us visible,” she said. “Only this makes us carriers of that love that the world needs. And this,” she concluded emphatically, “is the reform of all reforms that heaven asks of us. Heaven repeats it and it cries for it in the present circumstances that have been permitted.”
Oct 25, 2002 | Focolare Worldwide
The need for spirituality is emerging forcefully in ecumenical environments. Rumanian Orthodox theologian Ioan Sauca, director of the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, made mention of this fact as he introduced Focolare foundress Chiara Lubich to her audience of professors and students, future theologians and ministers who are sent there by their Churches all over the world to pursue their respective specialties in what has come to be called “an ecumenical laboratory.” “Without an ecumenical spirituality,” continued Professor Sauca, “our ecumenism risks being reduced to a series of nice slogans. If we do not put love into practice, ecumenism will not grow.” When her turn came to speak, Chiara bore witness to the action of the Holy Spirit who, through the gift of the charism of unity, gave life to a new spirituality. The heart of this charism which, at the onset of the Movement brought about a “qualitative leap forward in our life,” is the vital presence of Jesus who comes with his gifts of joy, peace and abundance of light, promised to those “two or more gathered in his name” – that is, in his love- a demanding love the measure of which is to be ready even to give one’s life.
“The fact is,” continued Chiara, “that the Holy Spirit, during this time of transition, offers to every level of ecumenical dialogue, the chance to be more ‘one’ even now in Jesus, to experience being one Christian family because Christ is our bond.” It is an experience of that “dialogue of the people” that activates “a new life, thanks to the full, visible communion that we want to contribute to building.” Together in the hall of the Institute were bishops of different Churches, friends of the Focolare Movement, who were also holding their annual convention in Geneva, promoted by Cardinal Miloslav Vlk of Prague. Their presence was a visible witness to her words. The ecumenical experience of the Focolare Movement began in 1960 when some Lutheran pastors in Germany remained impressed by just such a testimony of evangelical life. And this witness of life offered last year at an ecumenical encounter in the German part of Switzerland paved the way for the events of these days in Geneva.
Oct 25, 2002 | Focolare Worldwide
Dear brothers and sisters, May Jesus be in our midst! And he can be. He himself promised: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name – which for some Fathers of the Church means united in my love – I am in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20). And there are more than two or three of us here… November 3rd is the celebration of the anniversary of the Reform here in Geneva, a religious occasion which I hope will bestow the best spiritual gifts on all the Christians of the Reformed Churches, my beloved brothers and sisters. On that day, one word will powerfully resound: “reform”. Reform, a word which expresses the desire for renewal, change, almost rebirth. A word which is special, attractive, which means life, more life. A word which might also prompt a question: does the noun “reform”, the adjective “reformed” apply only to the Church whose center is located in Geneva? Or are these words applicable in some way to all the Churches? Indeed, were they not always characteristics of the Church? The decree on ecumenism of the Second Vatican Council says: “Christ summons the Church, as she goes her pilgrim way, to that continual reformation of which she always has need, insofar as she is a human institution here on earth.” And if we look carefully at the history of the Church, and in particular at the years in which we Christians were still united, we will see that Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, always intended, willed and oriented his Bride towards a continual reform, encouraging constant renewal. This is why from time to time the Lord sent on earth gifts, charisms of the Holy Spirit which gave rise to new spiritual currents or religious Families. Through them he offered once again, in men and women, the life of the Gospel lived in a total and radical way. This is the way it is in our times too, dear brothers and sisters. There are dozens and dozens of charisms spread in the Churches which are capable of renewing them. By way of example, I will tell you about the one called the “charism of unity” which gave life to the Focolare Movement. This ecclesial reality, in fact, although born in one Church, the Catholic Church, is now made up of people who belong to more than 350 Churches and ecclesial Communities. Its abundant fruits, its expansion around the world in 182 nations and its consistency of seven million people with 91 different languages tell us that so far, thanks be to God, it has been successful. Its aim is precisely that of collaborating towards unity among all Christians and towards universal brotherhood among all men and women on earth. Furthermore, this Movement is extraordinarily timely, as we will see by analyzing together something of the present-day situation of our planet. We are all familiar with the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development which was recently held in Johannesburg and which was described as “an ecological conversion” . It set before the eyes of the world the terrible figures on poverty in which a large portion of humanity finds itself. Clearly, it is no longer possible to remain inert. We must learn and the world must learn to bear in mind the plan that God has for humanity and to live accordingly: we are all sisters and brothers, we are one family. Another real danger of enormous gravity today, alive as never before, is widespread terrorism. Therefore, not only the 34 wars, fruit of hatred fomented by a wide variety of motives which continue to afflict and taint with bloodshed dozens of nations, but something much more serious if eminent people even see this event as an implication of “the forces of Evil” with a capital “E”. Consequently, they believe that it is not enough to respond humanly in order to re-establish equilibrium and justice, but that the forces of Good with the capital “G” must be mobilized, the forces of a higher world, religious forces. First and foremost, we need to usher in a new era supported by a shared prayer for peace and unity. But this is not enough. We know the deeper reason for so much evil. It is the resentment, the compressed hatred and rancor, the desire for revenge which peoples have been harboring for years on end because of this division of our planet into two parts: the rich part and the part that is racked by poverty, at times, dire poverty. Therefore, we need to treat one another as brothers and sisters; we need communion, solidarity, sharing. Goods must be shared out, but we know that they do not move on their own. We need to move hearts. Therefore, we need to see a great brotherhood rise up in the world and – given that the problem is universal – a universal brotherhood. This vision is not an absolutely new one. Witnesses of recent history like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa of Calcutta, the Dalai Lama and John Paul II have thought of it and deeply longed for it. But more than anyone else, Jesus wants universal brotherhood if he prayed: “Father, may all be one” (see Jn 17:21). In speaking of unity, he speaks of brotherhood; as Christians, we can and must find the model of brotherhood in the Trinity itself in whose life we can participate through our common baptism. Unity. Unity and brotherhood. Unity and brotherhood which, because of the charism of unity, the Focolare Movement is particularly committed to achieving. It witnesses and teaches that to live unity, one must start out from the love announced in the Gospel, that radical love which is so typically Christian. That love which, if it is accepted with attention and diligence, and put into practice, can offer great hope for this moment in history. Indeed, it can become a further expression, together with prayer, of that Good we invoked, Good with a capital “G”. It is not a limited love, like human love which is often directed only towards relatives and friends. It is directed to everyone: to the pleasant and the unpleasant, to the attractive and the unattractive, to fellow citizens and foreigners, to someone who belongs to my religion and to another, to my culture and to another, friend and enemy. Therefore, it is a love that imitates that of the heavenly Father who sends the sun and the rain on the just and on the unjust. Furthermore, it is a love that urges us to be the first to love, always to take the initiative, without waiting – as human love would – to be loved. It is a love like that of Jesus who when we were still sinners, and therefore not loving, loved us by giving his life for us. It is a love that makes us consider the other person as ourselves, that makes us see in the other person our very own selves. It is a love that is not made up only of words or sentiments; it is a concrete love, like that demonstrated by Jesus when he washed the feet of his disciples and worked many miracles. And although this love is directed to a man or to a woman, it leads you to loving Jesus himself in the person loved. That Jesus who considers done to himself whatever good or evil is done to our neighbors. He said this in speaking of the universal judgement: “You did it to me” (see Mt 25:40) or “You did not do it to me” (see Mt 25:45). Finally, it is a love that, if lived by more than one person, becomes reciprocal, that mutual love which is the pearl of the Gospel and whose measure is life: “This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:12-13). Those who have practiced this in the Focolare Movement, for instance, have experienced that love is the greatest power on earth: it unleashes the peaceful Christian revolution around those who live it so that Christians today can repeat what the early Christians said centuries ago: “We were born only yesterday and we have already spread all over the world.” This Christian revolution touches not only the spiritual realm, but it also renews all expressions of human endeavors: cultural, philosophical, political, economical, educational, scientific, etc. Love! What a great need there is for love in the world! And in us, Christians! All together we Christians of various Churches number more than a billion people. Such a multitude should be quite visible. But we are so divided that many do not see us, nor do they see Jesus through us. He said that the world would recognize us as his own and, through us, would recognize him, by our reciprocal love, by unity: “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35). So our uniform, our distinctive characteristic was supposed to be reciprocal love, unity. Also the characteristic of his Church. But we didn’t maintain full visible communion, nor do we have it now. Therefore, it is our conviction that also the Churches as such must love one another with this love. And we strive to work in this direction. How often the Churches would seem to have forgotten the testament of Jesus, scandalizing the world with their divisions, while they should have been winning it for him! If we look over our 2,000 year history, and in particular at the history of the second millennium, we cannot help but see that it has often been a series of misunderstandings, of quarrels, of conflicts which in many places have torn the seamless tunic of Christ which is his Church. Certainly, this was caused by circumstances: historical, cultural, political, geographical, social…. But it was also caused by the fact that among us there was a lack of this unifying characteristic typical of us: love. And so today, as we seek to make up for so much evil, to draw new strength for a fresh start, we must put all our confidence in this evangelical love. If we must spread love and mutual love among the Churches, this love will lead the Churches, each one different from the other, to becoming a gift for the others, as John Paul II hopes for in his book Crossing the Threshold of Hope: “It is necessary,” he writes, “for humanity to achieve unity through plurality, to learn to come together in the one Church, even while presenting a plurality of ways of thinking and acting, of cultures and civilizations.” My dear brothers and sisters, we have understood the point: our world today asks each one of us for love; it asks for unity, communion, solidarity. And it also calls upon the Churches to recompose the unity that has been lacerated for centuries. This is the reform of all reforms which heaven is asking of us. It is the first and necessary step towards universal brotherhood with all men and women of the world. The world will believe if we are united. Jesus said so: “May all be one… that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). God wants this! Believe me! And he repeats it and cries it out through the present-day circumstances which he permits. May he give us the grace, if not to see all this accomplished, at least to prepare for its coming. Chiara Lubich
Oct 17, 2002 | Non categorizzato
The theme of “spirituality for unity” affecting all domains of life and humanity is central to Chiara Lubich’s message and is of great interest as well as to the organisations hosting her visit in Geneva: “the World Council of Churches, the Protestant Church of Geneva and the Bossey Ecumenical Institute. Rev. Dr. Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, in extending the invitation to Chiara Lubich for the visit, noted her “vital contribution to the ecumenical movement”. He stated, “our numerous initiatives in the spiritual and religious area, but also in the political, economic and social sphere, demonstrate the potential of common witness and the need for efforts to restore communion. This is evidence of the importance of spirituality in today’s context, and of its extremely precious and decisive contribution not only to the unity of the churches but to that of humanity as a whole”. Her program includes a seminar for students and faculty of the Bossey Ecumenical Institute on Saturday, 26 October and worship at St. Peter’s Cathedral at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, 27 October. The program with the World Council of Churches on Monday, 28 October, will include public discussion on the theme “Spirituality and communion” as well as smaller exchanges on spirituality and socio-economic and political processes. The visit coincides, with an ecumenical gathering of bishops who are friends of the focolare Movement in Morges, convened by Cardinal Miroslav Vlk, Archbishop of Prague. Participants in the gathering will join Chiara Lubich during her visit to Geneva. This is the third visit of Chiara Lubich to the World Council of Churches. The previous visit took place in 1967 and 1982. For more information or to schedule interviews, contact WCC Media Relations, +41-22-791-6421. Schedule of Events open to the Press and the Public during Chiara Lubich’s visit to Geneva, 25-29 October 2002. The protestant Church in Geneva welcomes Chiara Lubich A noted moment during her visit to the city of Calvin will be the religious service scheduled to take place in St. Pierre Cathedral in Geneva on October 27 at 10:00 a.m. with present representatives of various Christian communities. After Grossmuenster last year (historical church of Zurich, cradle of Reformed Church), St. Pierre Cathedral ranks second in importance among the Churches of Reformation Chiara Lubich has been invited to offer her experience of unity. In November 2001, numerous ecumenical encounters took place with Chiara Lubich, bishops and church leaders from different nations present. Following this, Konrad Raiser, pastor and secretary general of the WCC; pastor Joel Stroudinski, president of the protestant Church in Geneva; and Professor Ioan Sauca, director of the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, invited Chiara Lubich to Geneva for a new phase in ecumenism.
Oct 16, 2002 | Non categorizzato
Q. – This morning at St. Peter’s Square there was a sizeable group of focolarini, of people who adhere to the Movement founded by Chiara Lubich. The Pope gave them a letter and there is no doubt that this Movement, more than any other… is founded on a precisely Marian charism. So we interviewed Chiara Lubich. Let’s listen to what she told us about the rosary and her personal experience with regard to praying to Mary. A. – I really think that the Holy Spirit present in the Pope moves at the same rate as the Holy Spirit who works in the world. One thing quite popular nowadays is the Marian profile of the Church, that is, that profile von Balthazar spoke about, which encompasses also the petrine and other profiles. And, precisely in consonance with this, the Pope launches anew this wonderful prayer which has now become a real splendour. Q. – The Pope adds five new mysteries to the rosary, the “mysteries of light”. What is the significance of this? A. – I think it’s something very important, because after the tradition we had of reciting the rosary in that particular way, now other five mysteries have emerged. But they are indeed necessary! They truly complete the other mysteries. In the rosary there was something about the period before the baptism of Jesus, but there was nothing from then on up to the beginning of his passion.The public life of Jesus was lacking, which is full of light, and in which he manifests himself as the son of God. I was really very happy. The rosary is truly a synthesis of the entire Gospel, so it is indeed – as the Pope says – a contemplative prayer. Reciting it, and thinking of each mystery, one can re-live all the life of Jesus, naturally accompanied by Mary. And this is important, because it is not just any kind of prayer, in which you say one Hail Mary after another. It is a contemplation. It is a synthesis of the truths of Christianity. And really, after that tragic attempt of 11 September, in which the Pope himself spoke of having seen also the forces of Evil with a capital E, it was necessary to go against it with the forces of Good with the capital G. Therefore not so much wars, but prayer! And also, we strongly feel the urgent need for the world’s goods to be shared in order to silence terrorism. Therefore the rosary – which is now emrging as something new – is what we truly need in this moment. Q. – Chiara, today the Pope gave you a letter in which he entrusts to the Focolare Movement the prayer of the rosary. A. – Our Movement is actually called “Work of Mary”, although it is better known as the Focolare Movement. Our norm is this: to strive to repeat Mary and to be a continuation of hers as much as it is possible. Now, this having entrusted to us … first of all, it’s a great honour, and also a commitment, it is a great joy, because – I’d like to say – it is our vocation to highlight Mary. Q. – Mary, also as someone who helps us to bring Christ into our life, who helps us to understand Christ, she is a like a way, a go-between. A. – Absolutely, absolutely! She is the white background on which He, Jesus, shines. I think that we cannot reach Christ without Mary. She is the way which the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, found to bring Christ on earth. Q. – Who is Mary for you? A. – For me, Mary is something magnificent. She is the concentrate of all the charisms, especially the charism of charisms, which is love, charity. For me, Mary is the figure of the Christian, and in a particular way, of the woman. Now that there is the tendency, I don’t know, to make woman imitate, to put her as an equal of man, perhaps looking for means we do not agree with, like making her become a priest. I think instead that the vocation of the woman is that of imitating Mary. She brings love, which is the only thing that will remain in the next life; because in the next life many things here on earth, like the heirarchy and the sacraments, will no longer exist, only love will remain. Now she is the witness of what will remain. Q. – What can you say to those people who see the rosary instead as a simple repititive prayer, people who cannot grasp the great spirituality it contains? How is it possible to really encounter Mary in the rosary? A. – I remember one time I was at Assisi. I was accompanying a group of evangelicals, and there, on a wall, we found a rosary. A pastor took this rosary and said: “But, what’s the use of it? Why do you always repeat Hail Mary, Hail Mary…?” When you love a person – I said – you would like to tell him or her a thousand times: I love you, I love you, I love you. It is not a repetition, it is a craving of the heart. So, as she is our mother, our model, she is the one who gave us the most precious thing, which is Jesus, we’ve got to tell her this a thousand times. And this is the meaning of those 150 times in which we repeat the Hail Mary every day.
Oct 16, 2002 | Non categorizzato
To Miss CHIARA LUBICH President of the Work of Mary (Focolare Movement) 1. With joy and affection I extend my cordial greetings to you and to the participants of the General Assembly of the Work of Mary, now being held at Castel Gandolfo. Thank you for the best wishes you sent me on this anniversary which marks the beginning of the 25th year of my ministry in the Apostolic See of Peter. I have always felt the spiritual presence of the adherents of the Focolare Movement and admired their effective apostolic activity in the Church and in the world. I particularly appreciate the Work of Mary for the valid contribution it offers in the quest of its specific aim, that is, the promotion of communion through the dialogue it pursues and carries out within the Catholic Church, with other Churches and ecclesial communities, as well as with various religions and with people who do not have any religious affiliation. 2. As you are verifying and planning during these days the life and activities of the Movement, I am pleased to express once again my esteem and appreciation for the apostolic activity you carry out and for the multiple initiatives you promote, so that the Church may become ever more “the home and the school of communion” (Novo millennio ineunte, 43). You know quite well – and you constantly take this into consideration in all your endeavours – that concrete activities must be preceded and animated by a robust spirituality of communion, as the guiding principle of education wherever individuals and Christians are formed (cfr ibid). I am thinking, in this regard, of the numerous branches of the Focolare Movement: the children and young people, the families, the priests and religious; I am think of your presence in the parish and diocesan communities, in the various ambits of society and culture. I thank you dearest (focolarini) and I encourage you to go ahead everywhere in bearing witness to God Love, the One and Triune God, who shines forth in Christ and in his Church. 3. Furthermore, deepen evermore that characteristic spiritual bond which unites you to Mary Most Holy: in fact, your Work is named after Her. Nurture a faithful devotion towards the Virgin, Mother of the one and holy Church, the Mother of unity in love. On this special occasion, I would like to ideally hand over to the focolarini the prayer of the Holy Rosary, which I re-proposed to all the Church as a preferential way of contemplating and assimilating the mystery of Christ. I am certain that your devotion to the Holy Virgin will help you to highlight this initiative of a year dedicated to the Rosary. Offer your contribution so that these months may become an occasion for interior renewal for every Christian community. 4. The Year of the Rosary will be, also for you, a stimulus to intensify the contemplation of Christ through the eyes of Mary, in order to conform yourselves to Him and to radiate His salutary presence in your environments. I know that I can especially entrust to your prayers the mystery of Jesus crucified and forsaken as the way to contributing towards the realization of his utmost desire to bring unity among his disciples. Certain that you will always remember the Successor of Peter, I assure you of my prayers and, wishing every success for your Assembly, I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing on each one of you and on the entire Movement. From the Vatican, 16 October 2002 IOANNES PAULUS II
Oct 15, 2002 | Non categorizzato
INTRODUCTION 1. The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, which gradually took form in the second millennium under the guidance of the Spirit of God, is a prayer loved by countless Saints and encouraged by the Magisterium. Simple yet profound, it still remains, at the dawn of this third millennium, a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness. It blends easily into the spiritual journey of the Christian life, which, after two thousand years, has lost none of the freshness of its beginnings and feels drawn by the Spirit of God to “set out into the deep” (duc in altum!) in order once more to proclaim, and even cry out, before the world that Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour, “the way, and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6), “the goal of human history and the point on which the desires of history and civilization turn”.1 The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium.2 It is an echo of the prayerof Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb. With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer. The Popes and the Rosary 2. Numerous predecessors of mine attributed great importance to this prayer. Worthy of special note in this regard is Pope Leo XIII who on 1 September 1883 promulgated the Encyclical Supremi Apostolatus Officio,3 a document of great worth, the first of his many statements about this prayer, in which he proposed the Rosary as an effective spiritual weapon against the evils afflicting society. Among the more recent Popes who, from the time of the Second Vatican Council, have distinguished themselves in promoting the Rosary I would mention Blessed John XXIII4 and above all Pope Paul VI, who in his Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus emphasized, in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, the Rosary’s evangelical character and its Christocentric inspiration. I myself have often encouraged the frequent recitation of the Rosary. From my youthful years this prayer has held an important place in my spiritual life. I was powerfully reminded of this during my recent visit to Poland, and in particular at the Shrine of Kalwaria. The Rosary has accompanied me in moments of joy and in moments of difficulty. To it I have entrusted any number of concerns; in it I have always found comfort. Twenty-four years ago, on 29 October 1978, scarcely two weeks after my election to the See of Peter, I frankly admitted: “The Rosary is my favourite prayer. A marvellous prayer! Marvellous in its simplicity and its depth. […]. It can be said that the Rosary is, in some sense, a prayer-commentary on the final chapter of the Vatican II Constitution Lumen Gentium, a chapter which discusses the wondrous presence of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and the Church. Against the background of the words Ave Maria the principal events of the life of Jesus Christ pass before the eyes of the soul. They take shape in the complete series of the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries, and they put us in living communion with Jesus through – we might say – the heart of his Mother. At the same time our heart can embrace in the decades of the Rosary all the events that make up the lives of individuals, families, nations, the Church, and all mankind. Our personal concerns and those of our neighbour, especially those who are closest to us, who are dearest to us. Thus the simple prayer of the Rosary marks the rhythm of human life”.5 With these words, dear brothers and sisters, I set the first year of my Pontificate within the daily rhythm of the Rosary. Today, as I begin the twenty-fifth year of my service as the Successor of Peter, I wish to do the same. How many graces have I received in these years from the Blessed Virgin through the Rosary: Magnificat anima mea Dominum! I wish to lift up my thanks to the Lord in the words of his Most Holy Mother, under whose protection I have placed my Petrine ministry: Totus Tuus! October 2002 – October 2003: The Year of the Rosary 3. Therefore, in continuity with my reflection in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, in which, after the experience of the Jubilee, I invited the people of God to “start afresh from Christ”,6 I have felt drawn to offer a reflection on the Rosary, as a kind of Marian complement to that Letter and an exhortation to contemplate the face of Christ in union with, and at the school of, his Most Holy Mother. To recite the Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ. As a way of highlighting this invitation, prompted by the forthcoming 120th anniversary of the aforementioned Encyclical of Leo XIII, I desire that during the course of this year the Rosary should be especially emphasized and promoted in the various Christian communities. I therefore proclaim the year from October 2002 to October 2003 the Year of the Rosary. I leave this pastoral proposal to the initiative of each ecclesial community. It is not my intention to encumber but rather to complete and consolidate pastoral programmes of the Particular Churches. I am confident that the proposal will find a ready and generous reception. The Rosary, reclaimed in its full meaning, goes to the very heart of Christian life; it offers a familiar yet fruitful spiritual and educational opportunity for personal contemplation, the formation of the People of God, and the new evangelization. I am pleased to reaffirm this also in the joyful remembrance of another anniversary: the fortieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council on October 11, 1962, the “great grace” disposed by the Spirit of God for the Church in our time.7 Objections to the Rosary 4. The timeliness of this proposal is evident from a number of considerations. First, the urgent need to counter a certain crisis of the Rosary, which in the present historical and theological context can risk being wrongly devalued, and therefore no longer taught to the younger generation. There are some who think that the centrality of the Liturgy, rightly stressed by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, necessarily entails giving lesser importance to the Rosary. Yet, as Pope Paul VI made clear, not only does this prayer not conflict with the Liturgy, it sustains it, since it serves as an excellent introduction and a faithful echo of the Liturgy, enabling people to participate fully and interiorly in it and to reap its fruits in their daily lives. Perhaps too, there are some who fear that the Rosary is somehow unecumenical because of its distinctly Marian character. Yet the Rosary clearly belongs to the kind of veneration of the Mother of God described by the Council: a devotion directed to the Christological centre of the Christian faith, in such a way that “when the Mother is honoured, the Son … is duly known, loved and glorified”.8 If properly revitalized, the Rosary is an aid and certainly not a hindrance to ecumenism! A path of contemplation 5. But the most important reason for strongly encouraging the practice of the Rosary is that it represents a most effective means of fostering among the faithful that commitment to the contemplation of the Christian mystery which I have proposed in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte as a genuine “training in holiness”: “What is needed is a Christian life distinguished above all in the art of prayer”.9 Inasmuch as contemporary culture, even amid so many indications to the contrary, has witnessed the flowering of a new call for spirituality, due also to the influence of other religions, it is more urgent than ever that our Christian communities should become “genuine schools of prayer”.10 The Rosary belongs among the finest and most praiseworthy traditions of Christian contemplation. Developed in the West, it is a typically meditative prayer, corresponding in some way to the “prayer of the heart” or “Jesus prayer” which took root in the soil of the Christian East. Prayer for peace and for the family 6. A number of historical circumstances also make a revival of the Rosary quite timely. First of all, the need to implore from God the gift of peace. The Rosary has many times been proposed by my predecessors and myself as a prayer for peace. At the start of a millennium which began with the terrifying attacks of 11 September 2001, a millennium which witnesses every day innumerous parts of the world fresh scenes of bloodshed and violence, to rediscover the Rosary means to immerse oneself in contemplation of the mystery of Christ who “is our peace”, since he made “the two of us one, and broke down the dividing wall of hostility” (Eph 2:14). Consequently, one cannot recite the Rosary without feeling caught up in a clear commitment to advancing peace, especially in the land of Jesus, still so sorely afflicted and so close to the heart of every Christian. A similar need for commitment and prayer arises in relation to another critical contemporary issue: the family, the primary cell of society, increasingly menaced by forces of disintegration on both the ideological and practical planes, so as to make us fear for the future of this fundamental and indispensable institution and, with it, for the future of society as a whole. The revival of the Rosary in Christian families, within the context of a broader pastoral ministry to the family, will be an effective aid to countering the devastating effects of this crisis typical of our age. “Behold, your Mother!” (Jn 19:27) 7. Many signs indicate that still today the Blessed Virgin desires to exercise through this same prayer that maternal concern to which the dying Redeemer entrusted, in the person of the beloved disciple, all the sons and daughters of the Church: “Woman, behold your son!” (Jn19:26). Well-known are the occasions in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries on which the Mother of Christ made her presence felt and her voice heard, in order to exhort the People of God to this form of contemplative prayer. I would mention in particular, on account of their great influence on the lives of Christians and the authoritative recognition they have received from the Church, the apparitions of Lourdes and of Fatima;11 these shrines continue to be visited by great numbers of pilgrims seeking comfort and hope. Following the witnesses 8. It would be impossible to name all the many Saints who discovered in the Rosary a genuine path to growth in holiness. We need but mention Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, the author of an excellent work on the Rosary,12 and, closer to ourselves, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, whom I recently had the joy of canonizing. As a true apostle of the Rosary, Blessed Bartolo Longo had a special charism. His path to holiness rested on an inspiration heard in the depths of his heart: “Whoever spreads the Rosary is saved!”.13 As a result, he felt called to build a Church dedicated to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Pompei, against the background of the ruins of the ancient city, which scarcely heard the proclamation of Christ before being buried in 79 A.D. during an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, only to emerge centuries later from its ashes as a witness to the lights and shadows of classical civilization. By his whole life’s work and especially by the practice of the “Fifteen Saturdays”, Bartolo Longo promoted the Christocentric and contemplative heart of the Rosary, and received great encouragement and support from Leo XIII, the “Pope of the Rosary”. CHAPTER I CONTEMPLATING CHRIST WITH MARY A face radiant as the sun 9. “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun” (Mt 17:2). The Gospel scene of Christ’s transfiguration, in which the three Apostles Peter, James and John appear entranced by the beauty of the Redeemer, can be seen as an icon of Christian contemplation. To look upon the face of Christ, to recognize its mystery amid the daily events and the sufferings of his human life, and then to grasp the divine splendour definitively revealed in the Risen Lord, seated in glory at the right hand of the Father: this is the task of every follower of Christ and therefore the task of each one of us. In contemplating Christ’s face we become open to receiving the mystery of Trinitarian life, experiencing ever anew the love of the Father and delighting in the joy of the Holy Spirit. Saint Paul’s words can then be applied to us: “Beholding the glory of the Lord, we are being changed into his likeness, from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2Cor 3:18). Mary, model of contemplation 10. The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In a unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness. No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary. The eyes of her heart already turned to him at the Annunciation, when she conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the months that followed she began to sense his presence and to picture his features. When at last she gave birth to him in Bethlehem, her eyes were able to gaze tenderly on the face of her Son, as she “wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger” (Lk2:7). Thereafter Mary’s gaze, ever filled with adoration and wonder, would never leave him. At times it would be a questioning look, as in the episode of the finding in the Temple: “Son, why have you treated us so?” (Lk 2:48); it would always be a penetrating gaze, one capable of deeply understanding Jesus, even to the point of perceiving his hidden feelings and anticipating his decisions, as at Cana (cf. Jn 2:5). At other times it would be a look of sorrow, especially beneath the Cross, where her vision would still be that of a mother giving birth, for Mary not only shared the passion and death of her Son, she also received the new son given to her in the beloved disciple (cf. Jn 19:26-27). On the morning of Easter hers would be a gaze radiant with the joy of the Resurrection, and finally, on the day of Pentecost, a gaze afire with the outpouring of the Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14). Mary’s memories 11. Mary lived with her eyes fixed on Christ, treasuring his every word: “She kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19; cf. 2:51). The memories of Jesus, impressed upon her heart, were always with her, leading her to reflect on the various moments of her life at her Son’s side. In a way those memories were to be the “rosary” which she recited uninterruptedly throughout her earthly life. Even now, amid the joyful songs of the heavenly Jerusalem, the reasons for her thanksgiving and praise remain unchanged. They inspire her maternal concern for the pilgrim Church, in which she continues to relate her personal account of the Gospel. Mary constantly sets before the faithful the “mysteries” of her Son, with the desire that the contemplation of those mysteries will release all their saving power. In the recitation of the Rosary, the Christian community enters into contact with the memories and the contemplative gaze of Mary. The Rosary, a contemplative prayer 12. The Rosary, precisely because it starts with Mary’s own experience, is an exquisitely contemplative prayer. Without this contemplative dimension, it would lose its meaning, as Pope Paul VI clearly pointed out: “Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation runs the risk of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas, in violation of the admonition of Christ: ’In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words’ (Mt 6:7). By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord’s life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord. In this way the unfathomable riches of these mysteries are disclosed”.14 It is worth pausing to consider this profound insight of Paul VI, in order to bring out certain aspects of the Rosary which show that it is really a form of Christocentric contemplation. Remembering Christ with Mary 13. Mary’s contemplation is above all a remembering. We need to understand this word in the biblical sense of remembrance (zakar) as a making present of the works brought about by God in the history of salvation. The Bible is an account of saving events culminating in Christ himself. These events not only belong to “yesterday”; they are also part of the “today” of salvation. This making present comes about above all in the Liturgy: what God accomplished centuries ago did not only affect the direct witnesses of those events; it continues to affect people in every age with its gift of grace. To some extent this is also true of every other devout approach to those events: to “remember” them in a spirit of faith and love is to be open to the grace which Christ won for us by the mysteries of his life, death and resurrection. Consequently, while it must be reaffirmed with the Second Vatican Council that the Liturgy, as the exercise of the priestly office of Christ and an act of public worship, is “the summit to which the activity of the Church is directed and the font from which all its power flows”,15 it is also necessary to recall that the spiritual life “is not limited solely to participation in the liturgy. Christians, while they are called to prayer in common, must also go to their own rooms to pray to their Father in secret (cf. Mt 6:6); indeed, according to the teaching of the Apostle, they must pray without ceasing (cf.1Thes 5:17)”.16 The Rosary, in its own particular way, is part of this varied panorama of “ceaseless” prayer. If the Liturgy, as the activity of Christ and the Church, is a saving action par excellence, the Rosary too, as a “meditation” with Mary on Christ, is a salutary contemplation. By immersing us in the mysteries of the Redeemer’s life, it ensures that what he has done and what the liturgy makes present is profoundly assimilated and shapes our existence. Learning Christ from Mary 14. Christ is the supreme Teacher, the revealer and the one revealed. It is not just a question of learning what he taught but of “learning him”. In this regard could we have any better teacher than Mary? From the divine standpoint, the Spirit is the interior teacher who leads us to the full truth of Christ (cf. Jn 14:26; 15:26; 16:13). But among creatures no one knows Christ better than Mary; no one can introduce us to a profound knowledge of his mystery better than his Mother. The first of the “signs” worked by Jesus – the changing of water into wine at the marriage in Cana – clearly presents Mary in the guise of a teacher, as she urges the servants to do what Jesus commands (cf. Jn 2:5). We can imagine that she would have done likewise for the disciples after Jesus’ Ascension, when she joined them in awaiting the Holy Spirit and supported them in their first mission. Contemplating the scenes of the Rosary in union with Mary is a means of learning from her to “read” Christ, to discover his secrets and to understand his message. This school of Mary is all the more effective if we consider that she teaches by obtaining for us in abundance the gifts of the Holy Spirit, even as she offers us the incomparable example of her own “pilgrimage of faith”.17 As we contemplate each mystery of her Son’s life, she invites us to do as she did at the Annunciation: to ask humbly the questions which open us to the light, in order to end with the obedience of faith: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). Being conformed to Christ with Mary 15. Christian spirituality is distinguished by the disciple’s commitment to become conformed ever more fully to his Master (cf. Rom 8:29; Phil 3:10,12). The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Baptism grafts the believer like a branch onto the vine which is Christ (cf. Jn 15:5) and makes him a member of Christ’s mystical Body (cf.1Cor 12:12; Rom 12:5). This initial unity, however, calls for a growing assimilation which will increasingly shape the conduct of the disciple in accordance with the “mind” of Christ: “Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5). In the words of the Apostle, we are called “to put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. Rom 13:14; Gal 3:27). In the spiritual journey of the Rosary, based on the constant contemplation – in Mary’s company – of the face of Christ, this demanding ideal of being conformed to him is pursued through an association which could be described in terms of friendship. We are thereby enabled to enter naturally into Christ’s life and as it were to share his deepest feelings. In this regard Blessed Bartolo Longo has written: “Just as two friends, frequently in each other’s company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddenness, patience and perfection”.18 In this process of being conformed to Christ in the Rosary, we entrust ourselves in a special way to the maternal care of the Blessed Virgin. She who is both the Mother of Christ and a member of the Church, indeed her “pre-eminent and altogether singular member”,19 is at the same time the “Mother of the Church”. As such, she continually brings to birth children for the mystical Body of her Son. She does so through her intercession, imploring upon them the inexhaustible outpouring of the Spirit. Mary is the perfect icon of the motherhood of the Church. The Rosary mystically transports us to Mary’s side as she is busy watching over the human growth of Christ in the home of Nazareth. This enables her to train us and to mold us with the same care, until Christ is “fully formed” in us (cf. Gal 4:19). This role of Mary, totally grounded in that of Christ and radically subordinated to it, “in no way obscures or diminishes the unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power”.20 This is the luminous principle expressed by the Second Vatican Council which I have so powerfully experienced in my own life and have made the basis of my episcopal motto: Totus Tuus.21 The motto is of course inspired by the teaching of Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, who explained in the following words Mary’s role in the process of our configuration to Christ: “Our entire perfection consists in being conformed, united and consecrated to Jesus Christ. Hence the most perfect of all devotions is undoubtedly that which conforms, unites and consecrates us most perfectly to Jesus Christ. Now, since Mary is of all creatures the one most conformed to Jesus Christ, it follows that among all devotions that which most consecrates and conforms a soul to our Lord is devotion to Mary, his Holy Mother, and that the more a soul is consecrated to her the more will it be consecrated to Jesus Christ”.22 Never as in the Rosary do the life of Jesus and that of Mary appear so deeply joined. Mary lives only in Christ and for Christ! Praying to Christ with Mary 16. Jesus invited us to turn to God with insistence and the confidence that we will be heard: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Mt 7:7). The basis for this power of prayer is the goodness of the Father, but also the mediation of Christ himself (cf. 1Jn 2:1) and the working of the Holy Spirit who “intercedes for us” according to the will of God (cf. Rom 8:26-27). For “we do not know how to pray as we ought” (Rom 8:26), and at times we are not heard “because we ask wrongly” (cf. Jas 4:2-3). In support of the prayer which Christ and the Spirit cause to rise in our hearts, Mary intervenes with her maternal intercession. “The prayer of the Church is sustained by the prayer of Mary”.23 If Jesus, the one Mediator, is the Way of our prayer, then Mary, his purest and most transparent reflection, shows us the Way. “Beginning with Mary’s unique cooperation with the working of the Holy Spirit, the Churches developed their prayer to the Holy Mother of God, centering it on the person of Christ manifested in his mysteries”.24 At the wedding of Cana the Gospel clearly shows the power of Mary’s intercession as she makes known to Jesus the needs of others: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). The Rosary is both meditation and supplication. Insistent prayer to the Mother of God is based on confidence that her maternal intercession can obtain all things from the heart of her Son. She is “all-powerful by grace”, to use the bold expression, which needs to be properly understood, of Blessed Bartolo Longo in his Supplication to Our Lady.25 This is a conviction which, beginning with the Gospel, has grown ever more firm in the experience of the Christian people. The supreme poet Dante expresses it marvellously in the lines sung by Saint Bernard: “Lady, thou art so great and so powerful, that whoever desires grace yet does not turn to thee, would have his desire fly without wings”.26 When in the Rosary we plead with Mary, the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:35), she intercedes for us before the Father who filled her with grace and before the Son born of her womb, praying with us and for us. Proclaiming Christ with Mary 17. The Rosary is also a path of proclamation and increasing knowledge, in which the mystery of Christ is presented again and again at different levels of the Christian experience. Its form is that of a prayerful and contemplative presentation, capable of forming Christians according to the heart of Christ. When the recitation of the Rosary combines all the elements needed for an effective meditation, especially in its communal celebration in parishes and shrines, it can present a significant catechetical opportunity which pastors should use to advantage. In this way too Our Lady of the Rosary continues her work of proclaiming Christ. The history of the Rosary shows how this prayer was used in particular by the Dominicans at a difficult time for the Church due to the spread of heresy. Today we are facing new challenges. Why should we not once more have recourse to the Rosary, with the same faith as those who have gone before us? The Rosary retains all its power and continues to be a valuable pastoral resource for every good evangelizer. CHAPTER II MYSTERIES OF CHRIST – MYSTERIES OF HIS MOTHER The Rosary, “a compendium of the Gospel” 18. The only way to approach the contemplation of Christ’s face is by listening in the Spirit to the Father’s voice, since “no one knows the Son except the Father” (Mt 11:27). In the region of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus responded to Peter’s confession of faith by indicating the source of that clear intuition of his identity: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 16:17). What is needed, then, is a revelation from above. In order to receive that revelation, attentive listening is indispensable: “Only the experience of silence and prayer offers the proper setting for the growth and development of a true, faithful and consistent knowledge of that mystery”.27 The Rosary is one of the traditional paths of Christian prayer directed to the contemplation of Christ’s face. Pope Paul VI described it in these words: “As a Gospel prayer, centred on the mystery of the redemptive Incarnation, the Rosary is a prayer with a clearly Christological orientation. Its most characteristic element, in fact, the litany- like succession of Hail Marys, becomes in itself an unceasing praise of Christ, who is the ultimate object both of the Angel’s announcement and of the greeting of the Mother of John the Baptist: ’Blessed is the fruit of your womb’ (Lk 1:42). We would go further and say that the succession of Hail Marys constitutes the warp on which is woven the contemplation of the mysteries. The Jesus that each Hail Mary recalls is the same Jesus whom the succession of mysteries proposes to us now as the Son of God, now as the Son of the Virgin”.28 A proposed addition to the traditional pattern 19. Of the many mysteries of Christ’s life, only a few are indicated by the Rosary in the form that has become generally established with the seal of the Church’s approval. The selection was determined by the origin of the prayer, which was based on the number 150, the number of the Psalms in the Psalter. I believe, however, that to bring out fully the Christological depth of the Rosary it would be suitable to make an addition to the traditional pattern which, while left to the freedom of individuals and communities, could broaden it to include the mysteries of Christ’s public ministry between his Baptism and his Passion. In the course of those mysteries we contemplate important aspects of the person of Christ as the definitive revelation of God. Declared the beloved Son of the Father at the Baptism in the Jordan, Christ is the one who announces the coming of the Kingdom, bears witness to it in his works and proclaims its demands. It is during the years of his public ministry that the mystery of Christ is most evidently a mystery of light: “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (Jn 9:5). Consequently, for the Rosary to become more fully a “compendium of the Gospel”, it is fitting to add, following reflection on the Incarnation and the hidden life of Christ (the joyful mysteries) and before focusing on the sufferings of his Passion (the sorrowful mysteries) and the triumph of his Resurrection (the glorious mysteries), a meditation on certain particularly significant moments in his public ministry (the mysteries of light). This addition of these new mysteries, without prejudice to any essential aspect of the prayer’s traditional format, is meant to give it fresh life and to enkindle renewed interest in the Rosary’s place within Christian spirituality as a true doorway to the depths of the Heart of Christ, ocean of joy and of light, of suffering and of glory. The Joyful Mysteries 20. The first five decades, the “joyful mysteries”, are marked by the joy radiating from the event of the Incarnation. This is clear from the very first mystery, the Annunciation, where Gabriel’s greeting to the Virgin of Nazareth is linked to an invitation to messianic joy: “Rejoice, Mary”. The whole of salvation history, in some sense the entire history of the world, has led up to this greeting. If it is the Father’s plan to unite all things in Christ (cf. Eph 1:10), then the whole of the universe is in some way touched by the divine favour with which the Father looks upon Mary and makes her the Mother of his Son. The whole of humanity, in turn, is embraced by the fiat with which she readily agrees to the will of God. Exultation is the keynote of the encounter with Elizabeth, where the sound of Mary’s voice and the presence of Christ in her womb cause John to “leap for joy” (cf. Lk 1:44). Gladness also fills the scene in Bethlehem, when the birth of the divine Child, the Saviour of the world, is announced by the song of the angels and proclaimed to the shepherds as “news of great joy” (Lk 2:10). The final two mysteries, while preserving this climate of joy, already point to the drama yet to come. The Presentation in the Temple not only expresses the joy of the Child’s consecration and the ecstasy of the aged Simeon; it also records the prophecy that Christ will be a “sign of contradiction” for Israel and that a sword will pierce his mother’s heart (cf Lk 2:34-35). Joy mixed with drama marks the fifth mystery, the finding of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple. Here he appears in his divine wisdom as he listens and raises questions, already in effect one who “teaches”. The revelation of his mystery as the Son wholly dedicated to his Father’s affairs proclaims the radical nature of the Gospel, in which even the closest of human relationships are challenged by the absolute demands of the Kingdom. Mary and Joseph, fearful and anxious, “did not understand” his words (Lk 2:50). To meditate upon the “joyful” mysteries, then, is to enter into the ultimate causes and the deepest meaning of Christian joy. It is to focus on the realism of the mystery of the Incarnation and on the obscure foreshadowing of the mystery of the saving Passion. Mary leads us to discover the secret of Christian joy, reminding us that Christianity is, first and foremost, euangelion, “good news”, which has as its heart and its whole content the person of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, the one Saviour of the world. The Mysteries of Light 21. Moving on from the infancy and the hidden life in Nazareth to the public life of Jesus, our contemplation brings us to those mysteries which may be called in a special way “mysteries of light”. Certainly the whole mystery of Christ is a mystery of light. He is the “light of the world” (Jn 8:12). Yet this truth emerges in a special way during the years of his public life, when he proclaims the Gospel of the Kingdom. In proposing to the Christian community five significant moments – “luminous” mysteries – during this phase of Christ’s life, I think that the following can be fittingly singled out: (1) his Baptism in the Jordan, (2) his self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana, (3) his proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with his call to conversion, (4) his Transfiguration, and finally, (5) his institution of the Eucharist, as the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery. Each of these mysteries is a revelation of the Kingdom now present in the very person of Jesus. The Baptism in the Jordan is first of all a mystery of light. Here, as Christ descends into the waters, the innocent one who became “sin” for our sake (cf. 2Cor 5:21), the heavens open wide and the voice of the Father declares him the beloved Son (cf. Mt 3:17 and parallels), while the Spirit descends on him to invest him with the mission which he is to carry out. Another mystery of light is the first of the signs, given at Cana (cf. Jn 2:1- 12), when Christ changes water into wine and opens the hearts of the disciples to faith, thanks to the intervention of Mary, the first among believers. Another mystery of light is the preaching by which Jesus proclaims the coming of the Kingdom of God, calls to conversion (cf. Mk 1:15) and forgives the sins of all who draw near to him in humble trust (cf. Mk 2:3-13; Lk 7:47- 48): the inauguration of that ministry of mercy which he continues to exercise until the end of the world, particularly through the Sacrament of Reconciliation which he has entrusted to his Church (cf. Jn 20:22-23). The mystery of light par excellence is the Transfiguration, traditionally believed to have taken place on Mount Tabor. The glory of the Godhead shines forth from the face of Christ as the Father commands the astonished Apostles to “listen to him” (cf. Lk 9:35 and parallels) and to prepare to experience with him the agony of the Passion, so as to come with him to the joy of the Resurrection and a life transfigured by the Holy Spirit. A final mystery of light is the institution of the Eucharist, in which Christ offers his body and blood as food under the signs of bread and wine, and testifies “to the end” his love for humanity (Jn 13:1), for whose salvation he will offer himself in sacrifice. In these mysteries, apart from the miracle at Cana, the presence of Mary remains in the background. The Gospels make only the briefest reference to her occasional presence at one moment or other during the preaching of Jesus (cf. Mk 3:31-5; Jn 2:12), and they give no indication that she was present at the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist. Yet the role she assumed at Cana in some way accompanies Christ throughout his ministry. The revelation made directly by the Father at the Baptism in the Jordan and echoed by John the Baptist is placed upon Mary’s lips at Cana, and it becomes the great maternal counsel which Mary addresses to the Church of every age: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). This counsel is a fitting introduction to the words and signs of Christ’s public ministry and it forms the Marian foundation of all the “mysteries of light”. The Sorrowful Mysteries 22. The Gospels give great prominence to the sorrowful mysteries of Christ. From the beginning Christian piety, especially during the Lenten devotion of the Way of the Cross, has focused on the individual moments of the Passion, realizing that here is found the culmination of the revelation of God’s love and the source of our salvation. The Rosary selects certain moments from the Passion, inviting the faithful to contemplate them in their hearts and to relive them. The sequence of meditations begins with Gethsemane, where Christ experiences a moment of great anguish before the will of the Father, against which the weakness of the flesh would be tempted to rebel. There Jesus encounters all the temptations and confronts all the sins of humanity, in order to say to the Father: “Not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22:42 and parallels). This “Yes” of Christ reverses the “No” of our first parents in the Garden of Eden. And the cost of this faithfulness to the Father’s will is made clear in the following mysteries; by his scourging, his crowning with thorns, his carrying the Cross and his death on the Cross, the Lord is cast into the most abject suffering: Ecce homo! This abject suffering reveals not only the love of God but also the meaning of man himself. Ecce homo: the meaning, origin and fulfilment of man is to be found in Christ, the God who humbles himself out of love “even unto death, death on a cross” (Phil 2:8). The sorrowful mysteries help the believer to relive the death of Jesus, to stand at the foot of the Cross beside Mary, to enter with her into the depths of God’s love for man and to experience all its life-giving power. The Glorious Mysteries 23. “The contemplation of Christ’s face cannot stop at the image of the Crucified One. He is the Risen One!”29 The Rosary has always expressed this knowledge born of faith and invited the believer to pass beyond the darkness of the Passion in order to gaze upon Christ’s glory in the Resurrection and Ascension. Contemplating the Risen One, Christians rediscover the reasons for their own faith (cf. 1Cor 15:14) and relive the joy not only of those to whom Christ appeared – the Apostles, Mary Magdalene and the disciples on the road to Emmaus – but also the joy of Mary, who must have had an equally intense experience of the new life of her glorified Son. In the Ascension, Christ was raised in glory to the right hand of the Father, while Mary herself would be raised to that same glory in the Assumption, enjoying beforehand, by a unique privilege, the destiny reserved for all the just at the resurrection of the dead. Crowned in glory – as she appears in the last glorious mystery – Mary shines forth as Queen of the Angels and Saints, the anticipation and the supreme realization of the eschatological state of the Church. At the centre of this unfolding sequence of the glory of the Son and the Mother, the Rosary sets before us the third glorious mystery, Pentecost, which reveals the face of the Church as a family gathered together with Mary, enlivened by the powerful outpouring of the Spirit and ready for the mission of evangelization. The contemplation of this scene, like that of the other glorious mysteries, ought to lead the faithful to an ever greater appreciation of their new life in Christ, lived in the heart of the Church, a life of which the scene of Pentecost itself is the great “icon”. The glorious mysteries thus lead the faithful to greater hope for the eschatological goal towards which they journey as members of the pilgrim People of God in history. This can only impel them to bear courageous witness to that “good news” which gives meaning to their entire existence. From “mysteries” to the “Mystery”: Mary’s way 24. The cycles of meditation proposed by the Holy Rosary are by no means exhaustive, but they do bring to mind what is essential and they awaken in the soul a thirst for a knowledge of Christ continually nourished by the pure source of the Gospel. Every individual event in the life of Christ, as narrated by the Evangelists, is resplendent with the Mystery that surpasses all understanding (cf. Eph 3:19): the Mystery of the Word made flesh, in whom “all the fullness of God dwells bodily” (Col 2:9). For this reason the Catechism of the Catholic Church places great emphasis on the mysteries of Christ, pointing out that “everything in the life of Jesus is a sign of his Mystery”.30 The “duc in altum” of the Church of the third millennium will be determined by the ability of Christians to enter into the “perfect knowledge of God’s mystery, of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:2-3). The Letter to the Ephesians makes this heartfelt prayer for all the baptized: “May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, so that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power… to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (3:17-19). The Rosary is at the service of this ideal; it offers the “secret” which leads easily to a profound and inward knowledge of Christ. We might call it Mary’s way. It is the way of the example of the Virgin of Nazareth, a woman of faith, of silence, of attentive listening. It is also the way of a Marian devotion inspired by knowledge of the inseparable bond between Christ and his Blessed Mother: the mysteries of Christ are also in some sense the mysteries of his Mother, even when they do not involve her directly, for she lives from him and through him. By making our own the words of the Angel Gabriel and Saint Elizabeth contained in the Hail Mary, we find ourselves constantly drawn to seek out afresh in Mary, in her arms and in her heart, the “blessed fruit of her womb” (cf Lk 1:42). Mystery of Christ, mystery of man 25. In my testimony of 1978 mentioned above, where I described the Rosary as my favourite prayer, I used an idea to which I would like to return. I said then that “the simple prayer of the Rosary marks the rhythm of human life”.31 In the light of what has been said so far on the mysteries of Christ, it is not difficult to go deeper into this anthropological significance of the Rosary, which is far deeper than may appear at first sight. Anyone who contemplates Christ through the various stages of his life cannot fail to perceive in him the truth about man. This is the great affirmation of the Second Vatican Council which I have so often discussed in my own teaching since the Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis: “it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man is seen in its true light”.32 The Rosary helps to open up the way to this light. Following in the path of Christ, in whom man’s path is “recapitulated”,33 revealed and redeemed, believers come face to face with the image of the true man. Contemplating Christ’s birth, they learn of the sanctity of life; seeing the household of Nazareth, they learn the original truth of the family according to God’s plan; listening to the Master in the mysteries of his public ministry, they find the light which leads them to enter the Kingdom of God; and following him on the way to Calvary, they learn the meaning of salvific suffering. Finally, contemplating Christ and his Blessed Mother in glory, they see the goal towards which each of us is called, if we allow ourselves to be healed and transformed by the Holy Spirit. It could be said that each mystery of the Rosary, carefully meditated, sheds light on the mystery of man. At the same time, it becomes natural to bring to this encounter with the sacred humanity of the Redeemer all the problems, anxieties, labours and endeavours which go to make up our lives. “Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you” (Ps 55:23). To pray the Rosary is to hand over our burdens to the merciful hearts of Christ and his Mother. Twenty-five years later, thinking back over the difficulties which have also been part of my exercise of the Petrine ministry, I feel the need to say once more, as a warm invitation to everyone to experience it personally: the Rosary does indeed “mark the rhythm of human life”, bringing it into harmony with the “rhythm” of God’s own life, in the joyful communion of the Holy Trinity, our life’s destiny and deepest longing. CHAPTER III “FOR ME, TO LIVE IS CHRIST” The Rosary, a way of assimilating the mystery 26. Meditation on the mysteries of Christ is proposed in the Rosary by means of a method designed to assist in their assimilation. It is a method based on repetition. This applies above all to the Hail Mary, repeated ten times in each mystery. If this repetition is considered superficially, there could be a temptation to see the Rosary as a dry and boring exercise. It is quite another thing, however, when the Rosary is thought of as an outpouring of that love which tirelessly returns to the person loved with expressions similar in their content but ever fresh in terms of the feeling pervading them. In Christ, God has truly assumed a “heart of flesh”. Not only does God have a divine heart, rich in mercy and in forgiveness, but also a human heart, capable of all the stirrings of affection. If we needed evidence for this from the Gospel, we could easily find it in the touching dialogue between Christ and Peter after the Resurrection: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Three times this question is put to Peter, and three times he gives the reply: “Lord, you know that I love you” (cf. Jn 21:15-17). Over and above the specific meaning of this passage, so important for Peter’s mission, none can fail to recognize the beauty of this triple repetition, in which the insistent request and the corresponding reply are expressed in terms familiar from the universal experience of human love. To understand the Rosary, one has to enter into the psychological dynamic proper to love. One thing is clear: although the repeated Hail Mary is addressed directly to Mary, it is to Jesus that the act of love is ultimately directed, with her and through her. The repetition is nourished by the desire to be conformed ever more completely to Christ, the true programme of the Christian life. Saint Paul expressed this project with words of fire: “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). And again: “It is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). The Rosary helps us to be conformed ever more closely to Christ until we attain true holiness. A valid method… 27. We should not be surprised that our relationship with Christ makes use of a method. God communicates himself to us respecting our human nature and its vital rhythms. Hence, while Christian spirituality is familiar with the most sublime forms of mystical silence in which images, words and gestures are all, so to speak, superseded by an intense and ineffable union with God, it normally engages the whole person in all his complex psychological, physical and relational reality. This becomes apparent in the Liturgy. Sacraments and sacramentals are structured as a series of rites which bring into play all the dimensions of the person. The same applies to non-liturgical prayer. This is confirmed by the fact that, in the East, the most characteristic prayer of Christological meditation, centred on the words “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”34 is traditionally linked to the rhythm of breathing; while this practice favours perseverance in the prayer, it also in some way embodies the desire for Christ to become the breath, the soul and the “all” of one’s life. … which can nevertheless be improved 28. I mentioned in my Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte that the West is now experiencing a renewed demand for meditation, which at times leads to a keen interest in aspects of other religions.35 Some Christians, limited in their knowledge of the Christian contemplative tradition, are attracted by those forms of prayer. While the latter contain many elements which are positive and at times compatible with Christian experience, they are often based on ultimately unacceptable premises. Much in vogue among these approaches are methods aimed at attaining a high level of spiritual concentration by using techniques of a psychophysical, repetitive and symbolic nature. The Rosary is situated within this broad gamut of religious phenomena, but it is distinguished by characteristics of its own which correspond to specifically Christian requirements. In effect, the Rosary is simply a method of contemplation. As a method, it serves as a means to an end and cannot become an end in itself. All the same, as the fruit of centuries of experience, this method should not be undervalued. In its favour one could cite the experience of countless Saints. This is not to say, however, that the method cannot be improved. Such is the intent of the addition of the new series of mysteria lucis to the overall cycle of mysteries and of the few suggestions which I am proposing in this Letter regarding its manner of recitation. These suggestions, while respecting the well-established structure of this prayer, are intended to help the faithful to understand it in the richness of its symbolism and in harmony with the demands of daily life. Otherwise there is a risk that the Rosary would not only fail to produce the intended spiritual effects, but even that the beads, with which it is usually said, could come to be regarded as some kind of amulet or magic object, thereby radically distorting their meaning and function. Announcing each mystery 29. Announcing each mystery, and perhaps even using a suitable icon to portray it, is as it were to open up a scenario on which to focus our attention. The words direct the imagination and the mind towards a particular episode or moment in the life of Christ. In the Church’s traditional spirituality, the veneration of icons and the many devotions appealing to the senses, as well as the method of prayer proposed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola in the Spiritual Exercises, make use of visual and imaginative elements (the compositio loci), judged to be of great help in concentrating the mind on the particular mystery. This is a methodology, moreover, which corresponds to the inner logic of the Incarnation: in Jesus, God wanted to take on human features. It is through his bodily reality that we are led into contact with the mystery of his divinity. This need for concreteness finds further expression in the announcement of the various mysteries of the Rosary. Obviously these mysteries neither replace the Gospel nor exhaust its content. The Rosary, therefore, is no substitute for lectio divina; on the contrary, it presupposes and promotes it. Yet, even though the mysteries contemplated in the Rosary, even with the addition of the mysteria lucis, do no more than outline the fundamental elements of the life of Christ, they easily draw the mind to a more expansive reflection on the rest of the Gospel, especially when the Rosary is prayed in a setting of prolonged recollection. Listening to the word of God 30. In order to supply a Biblical foundation and greater depth to our meditation, it is helpful to follow the announcement of the mystery with the proclamation of a related Biblical passage, long or short, depending on the circumstances. No other words can ever match the efficacy of the inspired word. As we listen, we are certain that this is the word of God, spoken for today and spoken “for me”. If received in this way, the word of God can become part of the Rosary’s methodology of repetition without giving rise to the ennui derived from the simple recollection of something already well known. It is not a matter of recalling information but of allowing God to speak. In certain solemn communal celebrations, this word can be appropriately illustrated by a brief commentary. Silence 31. Listening and meditation are nourished by silence. After the announcement of the mystery and the proclamation of the word, it is fitting to pause and focus one’s attention for a suitable period of time on the mystery concerned, before moving into vocal prayer. A discovery of the importance of silence is one of the secrets of practicing contemplation and meditation. One drawback of a society dominated by technology and the mass media is the fact that silence becomes increasingly difficult to achieve. Just as moments of silence are recommended in the Liturgy, so too in the recitation of the Rosary it is fitting to pause briefly after listening to the word of God, while the mind focuses on the content of a particular mystery. The “Our Father” 32. After listening to the word and focusing on the mystery, it is natural for the mind to be lifted up towards the Father. In each of his mysteries, Jesus always leads us to the Father, for as he rests in the Father’s bosom (cf. Jn 1:18) he is continually turned towards him. He wants us to share in his intimacy with the Father, so that we can say with him: “Abba, Father” (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6). By virtue of his relationship to the Father he makes us brothers and sisters of himself and of one another, communicating to us the Spirit which is both his and the Father’s. Acting as a kind of foundation for the Christological and Marian meditation which unfolds in the repetition of the Hail Mary, the Our Father makes meditation upon the mystery, even when carried out in solitude, an ecclesial experience. The ten “Hail Marys” 33. This is the most substantial element in the Rosary and also the one which makes it a Marian prayer par excellence. Yet when the Hail Mary is properly understood, we come to see clearly that its Marian character is not opposed to its Christological character, but that it actually emphasizes and increases it. The first part of the Hail Mary, drawn from the words spoken to Mary by the Angel Gabriel and by Saint Elizabeth, is a contemplation in adoration of the mystery accomplished in the Virgin of Nazareth. These words express, so to speak, the wonder of heaven and earth; they could be said to give us a glimpse of God’s own wonderment as he contemplates his “masterpiece” – the Incarnation of the Son in the womb of the Virgin Mary. If we recall how, in the Book of Genesis, God “saw all that he had made” (Gen 1:31), we can find here an echo of that “pathos with which God, at the dawn of creation, looked upon the work of his hands”.36The repetition of the Hail Mary in the Rosary gives us a share in God’s own wonder and pleasure: in jubilant amazement we acknowledge the greatest miracle of history. Mary’s prophecy here finds its fulfilment: “Henceforth all generations will call me blessed” (Lk 1:48). The centre of gravity in the Hail Mary, the hinge as it were which joins its two parts, is the name of Jesus. Sometimes, in hurried recitation, this centre of gravity can be overlooked, and with it the connection to the mystery of Christ being contemplated. Yet it is precisely the emphasis given to the name of Jesus and to his mystery that is the sign of a meaningful and fruitful recitation of the Rosary. Pope Paul VI drew attention, in his Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus, to the custom in certain regions of highlighting the name of Christ by the addition of a clause referring to the mystery being contemplated.37 This is a praiseworthy custom, especially during public recitation. It gives forceful expression to our faith in Christ, directed to the different moments of the Redeemer’s life. It is at once a profession of faith and an aid in concentrating our meditation, since it facilitates the process of assimilation to the mystery of Christ inherent in the repetition of the Hail Mary. When we repeat the name of Jesus – the only name given to us by which we may hope for salvation (cf. Acts 4:12) – in close association with the name of his Blessed Mother, almost as if it were done at her suggestion, we set out on a path of assimilation meant to help us enter more deeply into the life of Christ. From Mary’s uniquely privileged relationship with Christ, which makes her the Mother of God, Theotókos, derives the forcefulness of the appeal we make to her in the second half of the prayer, as we entrust to her maternal intercession our lives and the hour of our death. The “Gloria” 34. Trinitarian doxology is the goal of all Christian contemplation. For Christ is the way that leads us to the Father in the Spirit. If we travel this way to the end, we repeatedly encounter the mystery of the three divine Persons, to whom all praise, worship and thanksgiving are due. It is important that the Gloria, the high-point of contemplation, be given due prominence in the Rosary. In public recitation it could be sung, as a way of giving proper emphasis to the essentially Trinitarian structure of all Christian prayer. To the extent that meditation on the mystery is attentive and profound, and to the extent that it is enlivened – from one Hail Mary to another – by love for Christ and for Mary, the glorification of the Trinity at the end of each decade, far from being a perfunctory conclusion, takes on its proper contemplative tone, raising the mind as it were to the heights of heaven and enabling us in some way to relive the experience of Tabor, a foretaste of the contemplation yet to come: “It is good for us to be here!” (Lk 9:33). The concluding short prayer 35. In current practice, the Trinitarian doxology is followed by a brief concluding prayer which varies according to local custom. Without in any way diminishing the value of such invocations, it is worthwhile to note that the contemplation of the mysteries could better express their full spiritual fruitfulness if an effort were made to conclude each mystery with a prayer for the fruits specific to that particular mystery. In this way the Rosary would better express its connection with the Christian life. One fine liturgical prayer suggests as much, inviting us to pray that, by meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary, we may come to “imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise”.38 Such a final prayer could take on a legitimate variety of forms, as indeed it already does. In this way the Rosary can be better adapted to different spiritual traditions and different Christian communities. It is to be hoped, then, that appropriate formulas will be widely circulated, after due pastoral discernment and possibly after experimental use in centres and shrines particularly devoted to the Rosary, so that the People of God may benefit from an abundance of authentic spiritual riches and find nourishment for their personal contemplation. The Rosary beads 36. The traditional aid used for the recitation of the Rosary is the set of beads. At the most superficial level, the beads often become a simple counting mechanism to mark the succession of Hail Marys. Yet they can also take on a symbolism which can give added depth to contemplation. Here the first thing to note is the way the beads converge upon the Crucifix, which both opens and closes the unfolding sequence of prayer. The life and prayer of believers is centred upon Christ. Everything begins from him, everything leads towards him, everything, through him, in the Holy Spirit, attains to the Father. As a counting mechanism, marking the progress of the prayer, the beads evoke the unending path of contemplation and of Christian perfection. Blessed Bartolo Longo saw them also as a “chain” which links us to God. A chain, yes, but a sweet chain; for sweet indeed is the bond to God who is also our Father. A “filial” chain which puts us in tune with Mary, the “handmaid of the Lord” (Lk 1:38) and, most of all, with Christ himself, who, though he was in the form of God, made himself a “servant” out of love for us (Phil 2:7). A fine way to expand the symbolism of the beads is to let them remind us of our many relationships, of the bond of communion and fraternity which unites us all in Christ. The opening and closing 37.At present, in different parts of the Church, there are many ways to introduce the Rosary. In some places, it is customary to begin with the opening words of Psalm 70: “O God, come to my aid; O Lord, make haste to help me”, as if to nourish in those who are praying a humble awareness of their own insufficiency. In other places, the Rosary begins with the recitation of the Creed, as if to make the profession of faith the basis of the contemplative journey about to be undertaken. These and similar customs, to the extent that they prepare the mind for contemplation, are all equally legitimate. The Rosary is then ended with a prayer for the intentions of the Pope, as if to expand the vision of the one praying to embrace all the needs of the Church. It is precisely in order to encourage this ecclesial dimension of the Rosary that the Church has seen fit to grant indulgences to those who recite it with the required dispositions. If prayed in this way, the Rosary truly becomes a spiritual itinerary in which Mary acts as Mother, Teacher and Guide, sustaining the faithful by her powerful intercession. Is it any wonder, then, that the soul feels the need, after saying this prayer and experiencing so profoundly the motherhood of Mary, to burst forth in praise of the Blessed Virgin, either in that splendid prayer the Salve Regina or in the Litany of Loreto? This is the crowning moment of an inner journey which has brought the faithful into living contact with the mystery of Christ and his Blessed Mother. Distribution over time 38. The Rosary can be recited in full every day, and there are those who most laudably do so. In this way it fills with prayer the days of many a contemplative, or keeps company with the sick and the elderly who have abundant time at their disposal. Yet it is clear – and this applies all the more if the new series of mysteria lucis is included – that many people will not be able to recite more than a part of the Rosary, according to a certain weekly pattern. This weekly distribution has the effect of giving the different days of the week a certain spiritual “colour”, by analogy with the way in which the Liturgy colours the different seasons of the liturgical year. According to current practice, Monday and Thursday are dedicated to the “joyful mysteries”, Tuesday and Friday to the “sorrowful mysteries”, and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday to the “glorious mysteries”. Where might the “mysteries of light” be inserted? If we consider that the “glorious mysteries” are said on both Saturday and Sunday, and that Saturday has always had a special Marian flavour, the second weekly meditation on the “joyful mysteries”, mysteries in which Mary’s presence is especially pronounced, could be moved to Saturday. Thursday would then be free for meditating on the “mysteries of light”. This indication is not intended to limit a rightful freedom in personal and community prayer, where account needs to be taken of spiritual and pastoral needs and of the occurrence of particular liturgical celebrations which might call for suitable adaptations. What is really important is that the Rosary should always be seen and experienced as a path of contemplation. In the Rosary, in a way similar to what takes place in the Liturgy, the Christian week, centred on Sunday, the day of Resurrection, becomes a journey through the mysteries of the life of Christ, and he is revealed in the lives of his disciples as the Lord of time and of history. CONCLUSION “Blessed Rosary of Mary, sweet chain linking us to God” 39. What has been said so far makes abundantly clear the richness of this traditional prayer, which has the simplicity of a popular devotion but also the theological depth of a prayer suited to those who feel the need for deeper contemplation. The Church has always attributed particular efficacy to this prayer, entrusting to the Rosary, to its choral recitation and to its constant practice, the most difficult problems. At times when Christianity itself seemed under threat, its deliverance was attributed to the power of this prayer, and Our Lady of the Rosary was acclaimed as the one whose intercession brought salvation. Today I willingly entrust to the power of this prayer – as I mentioned at the beginning – the cause of peace in the world and the cause of the family. Peace 40. The grave challenges confronting the world at the start of this new Millennium lead us to think that only an intervention from on high, capable of guiding the hearts of those living in situations of conflict and those governing the destinies of nations, can give reason to hope for a brighter future. The Rosary is by its nature a prayer for peace, since it consists in the contemplation of Christ, the Prince of Peace, the one who is “our peace” (Eph 2:14). Anyone who assimilates the mystery of Christ – and this is clearly the goal of the Rosary – learns the secret of peace and makes it his life’s project. Moreover, by virtue of its meditative character, with the tranquil succession of Hail Marys, the Rosary has a peaceful effect on those who pray it, disposing them to receive and experience in their innermost depths, and to spread around them, that true peace which is the special gift of the Risen Lord (cf. Jn 14:27; 20.21). The Rosary is also a prayer for peace because of the fruits of charity which it produces. When prayed well in a truly meditative way, the Rosary leads to an encounter with Christ in his mysteries and so cannot fail to draw attention to the face of Christ in others, especially in the most afflicted. How could one possibly contemplate the mystery of the Child of Bethlehem, in the joyful mysteries, without experiencing the desire to welcome, defend and promote life, and to shoulder the burdens of suffering children all over the world? How could one possibly follow in the footsteps of Christ the Revealer, in the mysteries of light, without resolving to bear witness to his “Beatitudes” in daily life? And how could one contemplate Christ carrying the Cross and Christ Crucified, without feeling the need to act as a “Simon of Cyrene” for our brothers and sisters weighed down by grief or crushed by despair? Finally, how could one possibly gaze upon the glory of the Risen Christ or of Mary Queen of Heaven, without yearning to make this world more beautiful, more just, more closely conformed to God’s plan? In a word, by focusing our eyes on Christ, the Rosary also makes us peacemakers in the world. By its nature as an insistent choral petition in harmony with Christ’s invitation to “pray ceaselessly” (Lk 18:1), the Rosary allows us to hope that, even today, the difficult “battle” for peace can be won. Far from offering an escape from the problems of the world, the Rosary obliges us to see them with responsible and generous eyes, and obtains for us the strength to face them with the certainty of God’s help and the firm intention of bearing witness in every situation to “love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col 3:14). The family: parents… 41. As a prayer for peace, the Rosary is also, and always has been, a prayer of and for the family. At one time this prayer was particularly dear to Christian families, and it certainly brought them closer together. It is important not to lose this precious inheritance. We need to return to the practice of family prayer and prayer for families, continuing to use the Rosary. In my Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte I encouraged the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours by the lay faithful in the ordinary life of parish communities and Christian groups;39 I now wish to do the same for the Rosary. These two paths of Christian contemplation are not mutually exclusive; they complement one another. I would therefore ask those who devote themselves to the pastoral care of families to recommend heartily the recitation of the Rosary. The family that prays together stays together. The Holy Rosary, by age-old tradition, has shown itself particularly effective as a prayer which brings the family together. Individual family members, in turning their eyes towards Jesus, also regain the ability to look one another in the eye, to communicate, to show solidarity, to forgive one another and to see their covenant of love renewed in the Spirit of God. Many of the problems facing contemporary families, especially in economically developed societies, result from their increasing difficulty in communicating. Families seldom manage to come together, and the rare occasions when they do are often taken up with watching television. To return to the recitation of the family Rosary means filling daily life with very different images, images of the mystery of salvation: the image of the Redeemer, the image of his most Blessed Mother. The family that recites the Rosary together reproduces something of the atmosphere of the household of Nazareth: its members place Jesus at the centre, they share his joys and sorrows, they place their needs and their plans in his hands, they draw from him the hope and the strength to go on. … and children 42. It is also beautiful and fruitful to entrust to this prayer the growth and development of children. Does the Rosary not follow the life of Christ, from his conception to his death, and then to his Resurrection and his glory? Parents are finding it ever more difficult to follow the lives of their children as they grow to maturity. In a society of advanced technology, of mass communications and globalization, everything has become hurried, and the cultural distance between generations is growing ever greater. The most diverse messages and the most unpredictable experiences rapidly make their way into the lives of children and adolescents, and parents can become quite anxious about the dangers their children face. At times parents suffer acute disappointment at the failure of their children to resist the seductions of the drug culture, the lure of an unbridled hedonism, the temptation to violence, and the manifold expressions of meaninglessness and despair. To pray the Rosary for children, and even more, with children, training them from their earliest years to experience this daily “pause for prayer” with the family, is admittedly not the solution to every problem, but it is a spiritual aid which should not be underestimated. It could be objected that the Rosary seems hardly suited to the taste of children and young people of today. But perhaps the objection is directed to an impoverished method of praying it. Furthermore, without prejudice to the Rosary’s basic structure, there is nothing to stop children and young people from praying it – either within the family or in groups – with appropriate symbolic and practical aids to understanding and appreciation. Why not try it? With God’s help, a pastoral approach to youth which is positive, impassioned and creative – as shown by the World Youth Days! – is capable of achieving quite remarkable results. If the Rosary is well presented, I am sure that young people will once more surprise adults by the way they make this prayer their own and recite it with the enthusiasm typical of their age group. The Rosary, a treasure to be rediscovered 43. Dear brothers and sisters! A prayer so easy and yet so rich truly deserves to be rediscovered by the Christian community. Let us do so, especially this year, as a means of confirming the direction outlined in my Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, from which the pastoral plans of so many particular Churches have drawn inspiration as they look to the immediate future. I turn particularly to you, my dear Brother Bishops, priests and deacons, and to you, pastoral agents in your different ministries: through your own personal experience of the beauty of the Rosary, may you come to promote it with conviction. I also place my trust in you, theologians: by your sage and rigorous reflection, rooted in the word of God and sensitive to the lived experience of the Christian people, may you help them to discover the Biblical foundations, the spiritual riches and the pastoral value of this traditional prayer. I count on you, consecrated men and women, called in a particular way to contemplate the face of Christ at the school of Mary. I look to all of you, brothers and sisters of every state of life, to you, Christian families, to you, the sick and elderly, and to you, young people: confidently take up the Rosary once again. Rediscover the Rosary in the light of Scripture, in harmony with the Liturgy, and in the context of your daily lives. May this appeal of mine not go unheard! At the start of the twenty-fifth year of my Pontificate, I entrust this Apostolic Letter to the loving hands of the Virgin Mary, prostrating myself in spirit before her image in the splendid Shrine built for her by Blessed Bartolo Longo, the apostle of the Rosary. I willingly make my own the touching words with which he concluded his well-known Supplication to the Queen of the Holy Rosary: “O Blessed Rosary of Mary, sweet chain which unites us to God, bond of love which unites us to the angels, tower of salvation against the assaults of Hell, safe port in our universal shipwreck, we will never abandon you. You will be our comfort in the hour of death: yours our final kiss as life ebbs away. And the last word from our lips will be your sweet name, O Queen of the Rosary of Pompei, O dearest Mother, O Refuge of Sinners, O Sovereign Consoler of the Afflicted. May you be everywhere blessed, today and always, on earth and in heaven”. From the Vatican, on the 16th day of October in the year 2002, the beginning of the twenty- fifth year of my Pontificate. JOHN PAUL II 1 Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 45. 2 Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus (2 February 1974), 42: AAS 66 (1974), 153. 3 Cf. Acta Leonis XIII, 3 (1884), 280-289. 4 Particularly worthy of note is his Apostolic Epistle on the Rosary Il religioso convegno (29 September 1961): AAS 53 (1961), 641-647. 5 Angelus: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, I (1978): 75-76. 6 AAS 93 (2001), 285. 7 During the years of preparation for the Council, Pope John XXIII did not fail to encourage the Christian community to recite the Rosary for the success of this ecclesial event: cf. Letter to the Cardinal Vicar (28 September 1960): AAS 52 (1960), 814-816. 8 Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 66. 9 No. 32: AAS 93 (2001), 288. 10 Ibid., 33: loc. cit., 289. 11 It is well-known and bears repeating that private revelations are not the same as public revelation, which is binding on the whole Church. It is the task of the Magisterium to discern and recognize the authenticity and value of private revelations for the piety of the faithful. 12 The Secret of the Rosary. 13 Blessed Bartolo Longo, Storia del Santuario di Pompei, Pompei, 1990, 59. 14 Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus (2 February 1974), 47: AAS (1974), 156. 15 Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10. 16 Ibid., 12. 17 Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 58. 18 I Quindici Sabati del Santissimo Rosario, 27th ed., Pompei, 1916, 27. 19 Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 53. 20 Ibid., 60. 21 Cf. First Radio Address Urbi et Orbi (17 October 1978): AAS 70 (1978), 927. 22 Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. 23 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2679. 24 Ibid., 2675. 25 The Supplication to the Queen of the Holy Rosary was composed by Blessed Bartolo Longo in 1883 in response to the appeal of Pope Leo XIII, made in his first Encyclical on the Rosary, for the spiritual commitment of all Catholics in combating social ills. It is solemnly recited twice yearly, in May and October. 26 Divina Commedia, Paradiso XXXIII, 13-15. 27 John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte (6 January 2001), 20: AAS 93 (2001), 279. 28 Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus (2 February 1974), 46: AAS 6 (1974), 155. 29 John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte (6 January 2001), 28: AAS 93 (2001), 284. 30 No. 515. 31 Angelus Message of 29 October 1978 : Insegnamenti, I (1978), 76. 32 Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 22. 33 Cf. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Adversus Haereses, III, 18, 1: PG 7, 932. 34 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2616. 35 Cf. No. 33: AAS 93 (2001), 289. 36 John Paul II, Letter to Artists (4 April 1999), 1: AAS 91 (1999), 1155. 37 Cf. No. 46: AAS 66 (1974), 155. This custom has also been recently praised by the Congregation for Divine Worship and for the Discipline of the Sacraments in its Direttorio su pietà popolare e liturgia. Principi e orientamenti (17 December 2001), 201, Vatican City, 2002, 165. 38 “…concede, quaesumus, ut haec mysteria sacratissimo beatae Mariae Virginis Rosario recolentes, et imitemur quod continent, et quod promittunt assequamur”. Missale Romanum 1960, in festo B.M. Virginis a Rosario. 39 Cf. No. 34: AAS 93 (2001), 290.
Oct 14, 2002 | Non categorizzato
The first phase of the Assembly was dedicated to deepening the development of the Movement (now present in 182 nations) especially on the fronts of communion among new and old charisms within the Catholic Church, Christians of 350 churches and ecclesiastic communities, fraternal relations established with persons and Movements of other religions among which Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists and also with persons of other non-religious convictions, all involved in one objective, that of the Focolare Movement, to contribute to recompose the human family in unity and brotherhood. The second phase of the Assembly was dedicated to a few days of retreat and voting. Culminating moment, audience with the Pope who delivered to Chiara Lubich an awaited message. Together with Chiara there were two representatives of the General Council during the hand-kissing of the Pope. At the Assembly where present 10 men and women focolarini, observers of the Assemby, belonging to the Romanian Orthodox Church of Antioch, the Anglican Church, the Evangelic-Lutheran Church and the Reformed Church of Holland and of Switzerland. The Focolare Movement, established December 7th, 1943, begins it’s 60th year of life. Every six years the General Assembly of the Focolare Movement re-unites its directors at the central level with its 22 branches – including the world of youth and teens, families, priest and religious orders, bishops, parish and diocesan communities and of various sections of society (economy, politics, culture, communications, education, art, health) – together with the directors of 72 territorial zones of the 5 continents in which the Movement exists. The Assembly is summoned for the election of the president, of the vice co-president and of the general advisers.
Sep 30, 2002 | Non categorizzato, Word of
Which of the many commandments of the Scriptures is the first? This was one of the classic themes discussed by the rabbinical schools during the times of Jesus. And Jesus, who is considered to be a teacher, does not evade the question he is asked in this regard: “Which is the greatest commandment of the Law?” He answers in an original way, joining love of God and love of neighbor. His disciples are never to separate these two loves, just as they cannot separate the roots of a tree from its foliage. In other words, the more they love God, the more they intensify their love for their brothers and sisters; the more they love their brothers and sisters, the more they deepen their love for God.
More than anyone else, Jesus knows the God we must truly love and he knows how we should love him: he is his Father and our Father, his God and our God (see Jn 20:17). He is a God who loves each one personally; he loves me, he loves you: he is my God, your God (“You shall love the Lord, your God”).
And we can love him because he loved us first: so the love he commanded us to have is a response to his love, to Love itself. We can turn to him with the same confidence and trust that Jesus had when he called him Abba, Father. We too, like Jesus, can speak with him often, we can tell him all our needs, our resolutions and plans, we can tell him over and over again of our exclusive love for him.
We too eagerly await the moment in which we can be in profound contact with him through prayer, which is dialogue, communion, a relationship of intense friendship. In those moments we can pour out our love: we can adore him beyond all creation, glorify him present everywhere in the universe, praise him in the depths of our heart or alive in the tabernacles, think of him present wherever we are, in our room, at work, in the office, while we are with others…
«You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind»
Jesus teaches us another way to love God. For Jesus, loving meant doing the will of the Father, putting at his disposal mind, heart, energies, life itself: he gave himself completely to the plan that the Father had for him. The Gospel shows him to us as being always and totally turned toward the Father (see Jn 1:18), always in the Father, always intent on saying solely what he heard from the Father, on carrying out only what the Father told him to do.
He asks the same of us: loving means doing the will of the Beloved, without half measures, with all our being: “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind”. Because love is not just a sentiment. “Why do you call me, ’Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?” (Lk 6:46), Jesus asks of those who love only with words.
«You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind»
How should we live this commandment of Jesus? Certainly by cultivating a filial relationship, a relationship of friendship with God, but above all, by doing what he wants. Our attitude towards God, like that of Jesus, will be that of always being turned towards the Father, listening to him, in obedience, in order to carry out his work, that alone and nothing else.
To accomplish this, we are asked to be radical in our choices and way of life, because we cannot give less than everything to God: all our heart, all our soul, all our mind. And this means doing well, entirely whatever he asks of us.
Living his will and conforming ourselves to it will often require burning our own will, sacrificing anything we have in our heart or mind that does not concern the present moment. It could be an idea, a feeling, a thought, a desire, a memory, an object, a person….
In this way, we are all intent on doing whatever is asked of us in the present moment. Speaking, talking on the phone, listening, helping someone, studying, praying, eating, sleeping, living his will without wandering off; carrying out actions that are complete, whole, perfect, with all our heart, soul and mind; having only one motive for everything we do, love, so that we can say, in every moment of the day: “Yes, my God, in this moment, in this action, I love you with all my heart, with all my being”. This is the only way we can say that we love God, that we reciprocate his being Love towards us.
«You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind»
To live this Word of Life it will be helpful to examine ourselves from time to time to see if God is truly in the first place in our lives.
So then, to conclude, what should we do this month? Renew our choice of God as our only ideal, as the all of our life, putting him back in the first place, living with perfection his will in the present moment. We want be able to say with sincerity: “My God and my all”, “I love you”, “I am all yours”, “You are God, you are my God, our God of infinite love!”.
Chiara Lubich
