Mar 22, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Focolare communities are among those struck by cyclone and floods in South East Africa Last week Cyclone Idai hit South East Africa bringing devastating floods to central Mozambique, as well as neighbouring countries. We are in contact with Focolare members living around Beira and Chimoio, including a team who run a mission for around 500 people. It comprises a hospital, a school, two colleges and the Fazenda da Esperança rehabilitation centre. At the moment, the entire mission compound is completely under water, cut off without drinking water, light or access to food. Fortunately none of the residents were killed by the cyclone, but many in the surrounding areas have died. Caritas and the local authorities are working to reach such isolated areas to supply food and other essentials. But an even greater challenge is about to emerge once the waters subside. According to Beira’s Bishop Dalla Zuanna: “We’ll have to start rebuilding when the emergency lights have been switched off.” The Focolare Movement’s international Emergency Coordination team has mobilized to gather funds and to support the local population as it struggles to recover. Contributions can be made through one of the following: Azione per un Mondo Unito ONLUS (AMU) IBAN: IT58 S050 1803 2000 0001 1204 344 Banca Popolare Etica BIC: CCRTIT2T Emergenza Mozambico Or: Azione per Famiglie Nuove ONLUS (AFN) IBAN: IT55 K033 5901 6001 0000 0001 060 presso Banca Prossima Codice SWIFT/BIC: BCITITMX Emergenza Mozambico
Mar 20, 2019 | Non categorizzato
That your child has a behavioural disorder is not what any parent wants to hear. But, as this family has discovered, it can be a catalyst to deeper listening and to accompany your child with perseverance and self-giving. ‘Growth through living our child’s difficulties together as a family.’ This is the approach taken by Natalija and Damijan Obadic from Slovenia, married for 14 years with four children. Their youngest, Lovro, now aged six, was diagnosed three years ago with Attention Deficit Disorder. He was offered drugs and the standard treatments as the only options. However his parents are experiencing the effective contribution which relationships can make to his care, enabling his treatment to be more effective. This approach sometimes throws up surprising solutions. But there is no quick-fix. Every day is a fresh challenge. The unity of the family members and their union with God is what sustains their daily efforts. Natalija, how did you react to the news that your child suffers from Attention Deficiency? I’m a teacher, so I immediately thought of the children I’ve worked with who had this disorder and the many problems they faced. Immediately, that same day, Damijan and I understood that the best way of loving Lovro in his condition was for one of us to leave our job. We had a mortgage to repay and only modest salaries, so it was going to be a sacrifice. But we knew that helping to meet Lovro’s needs would require a lot of love, time and energy. It was hard, and risky for our family situation, but at the same time we were sure that God’s love for us would sustain us. What is this experience with Lovro teaching you? We’ve learned how to listen to him very attentively. When you ask him to do something, you have to check if he has really understood what you’ve said, then follow him as he does it and keep directing him back to what he’s meant to be doing. If not, he will constantly revert to playing. For him to complete a task is equivalent to climbing a high mountain. It appears too steep to him, so he rebels and refuses to do it. Sometimes, it will lead to a crisis, with uncontrollable shouting, throwing things around, kicking and punching. In these moments, calmly and gently you need to find the way to redirect him to what he’s supposed to be doing. We’ve learnt that our love for one another gives us the capacity to help him, and that our love for Lovro guides us to understand what to do for him. How do you deal with the difficulties of daily life? We pray with him every day, asking for the strength for him to overcome his difficulties. He’s aware he has this disorder, so that is a big step towards dealing with it. We rely on the love among us to help us follow the specialist’s directives well. Most of all, we’ve understood that Lovro must feel our unconditional love for him at all times. Your other children are involved in taking “special care” of Lovro. What is their relationship like? We’ve spoken with our other children about Lovro’s needs, what we can expect from him and how to keep on helping him in the right way. Because it’s such an all-consuming commitment, we decided to take turns on different days of the week. We encourage the children not to “take pity” when they ask Lovro to complete a task, because they have to help him learn that he has duties which must be finished. They really are helping him. We began to see a difference after just three months. One evening we told him to put on his pyjamas and then come to sit down at the table. For the first time ever, he actually did so without getting distracted at all. That called for a real celebration!
Interview by Claudia Di Lorenzi
Mar 19, 2019 | Non categorizzato
We are God’s children and can be like Him by loving, welcoming and knowing how to wait for the other as He does In the bank I work in a bank and have always tried to be someone who builds and maintains unity between my colleagues, so it really hurt me one day to discover that one of my colleagues was using me to make his boss look bad. In church that evening I promised myself I would chase away every negative thought towards this colleague and welcome him as I always had. Later on, he announced his resignation having found another job. As he said goodbye he thanked me for having always been a friend to him. I really hadn’t expected this but was happy to know that my efforts had not been wasted. (F.S – Switzerland) A mature faith My husband’s memory is getting worse every day and he is finding it more and more difficult to do things. I too am finding it difficult to bend over and pick things up. There must be more to life than this I thought. When I heard Pope Francis talking to young people about the elderly, my hope was restored and had a new strength to deal with the difficulties of ageing and illness. I had always rejected faith as a remedy for every difficulty. It has taken me a lifetime to arrive at a more mature faith. (F.Z. – Poland) Two precious hours It was my turn to volunteer in the hospital today, but it was raining, and I was tired. Basically, I’m 62 years old and suffer from arthritis but thinking of all the sick people in hospital I decided to go anyway. When I arrived at the hospital, I met a patient who was depressed, undressed, paralyzed with no one to look after him. I spent two hours with him and really tried to give my life for him. And to think how useless I was feeling yesterday when I looked back on my day! (M – Italy) Alone When my husband died after just 4 years of marriage, I asked myself – how will manage to bring up my children alone? I found the answer in the Word of God, the Father of all. I just needed to live it. I experienced it so often, especially as the children got older and the problems started to become more complicated – deciding which school to go to, friends, leisure activities … There are moments when I feel the same desolation as so many other people who like me are bringing up a family on their own but as I continue to believe in the love of God, I feel great peace again which enables me to start a new dialogue with my children and discuss even the most delicate subjects. (I.C. – Italy)
Mar 17, 2019 | Non categorizzato
The story of Marco Bertolini, a social and health educator in the province of Rome. “Even teachers have something to learn from students. It is possible to convert difficulties into opportunities.” Diagnosed when he was still young, polio did not turn out to be Marco Bertolini’s prison from which to scream out his anger at the world. Instead it became an opportunity to reflect on the richness of life and the potential within his “condition” to help many “problem” children discover their beauty and human dignity. Meeting young people from the Focolare came at a decisive moment for him. Today Marco, 59, husband and father of two, works as a social and health educator in a small hamlet in a suburb of Rome. We met with him at the recent EduxEdu education conference at the Mariapolis Center in Castelgandolfo (Italy). Marco, your story is about a difficulty transformed into an opportunity. What brought on this development? Ever since a child, I was all too aware of how different I was physically. While my sisters and friends lived at home with their families, I boarded at school. This made me angry at those who I felt were luckier than I was. I sought out conflict and tested my parents to see if they truly loved me. Then there was a turning point when I was 20. I was searching for some meaning to give to my life when I met young people from Focolare who lived the Gospel, were united and respected each other. In my small hamlet in the suburbs of Rome I had been up to all sorts of things and did not have a good reputation, yet they accepted me as I was. This made me feel like a person, and they did not look at my defects. They explained to me that they tried to love their neighbour, like the Gospel says. I was sceptical at first, thinking that the Gospel may be a good thing, but in life you need to fight for what you want. And yet, little by little, they showed me that living the Gospel is possible and can change your life. How did you become a teacher? At first I studied theology. I discovered a relationship with God and wondered whether I was called to be a priest. I entered the seminary and got involved in a number of services they offered. In Rome I collaborated with Caritas, and at the centre I mostly took care of the homeless. There I understood that my path in life was social work. I felt particularly strongly about the kids. I wanted to share with them the gift that I had received with I met the Focolare young people, so that they too could discover the deep value of life. I left the seminary and started my studies in social work and education. The approach to “problem children” seems to always be to “contain” them. Yet it’s challenging to understand the hurt that they carry – how do you take it on? Children should not be contained but listened to and understood. The approach I use is the same that God did with me: he accepted me just as I was. And so before anything else, I take them in as they are, with their language, without wanting to change anything about them, but understanding that it’s an opportunity to care for them. I begin from my experience with God and from what they’re feeling. The kids can be helped when they buy in to an idea to live differently. It’s a bit like establishing an “educative pact” with them. Can you tell us a related experience of yours? For years I’ve been part of a team that organises a working camp called “Stop’n’Go”, where teens are given an opportunity to train in the spirituality of unity. I remember a teen mother aged 19 who had a painful story. Her attitude alternated between that of an adult and a child. We asked ourselves if her presence there would be productive for her and the others. We decided to make a deal with her: she could take a turn going out with one of us adults if she respected the rules of the camp and participated in the activities. She accepted, and there was some competition among the team as to who could make her feel most welcome and not judged. I experienced how even teachers have something to learn from students. It is possible to convert difficulties into opportunities.
Claudia Di Lorenzi
Mar 15, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Exploring six themes in six years, starting with the field of “economy, work and communion” The idea of a united world is a most challenging goal, but not an impossible one if approached from many different angles. This is the mindset of the new generations of the Focolare Movement. Chiara Lubich encouraged them to embark upon the many “pathways” which could lead to a more united world, deepening their knowledge along the way in order to achieve this ambitious objective. Taking inspiration from her, they have launched what has become known as “Pathways for a United World”: a six-year rolling program exploring and acting on six big issues, one each year. Over the coming months, this platform will share life experiences on the first of these themes: economy, work and communion. 
Giving away what we don’t need – When we got married, we decided as a couple every year to share with others anything we owned that we were not using. In fact, we started doing this even when preparing our wedding and we received many gifts, including financial help. Together, we decided to make a donation to support children in need in East Timor, through an organization run by the priest who married us. We were astonished to see how, once having given this money away, afterwards we received exactly ten times the amount we had given! Also we have made a commitment every year to give a part of our income to contribute to the “communion of goods” lived by the members of the Focolare Movement. This time, the very same morning that I transferred the money, I received a gift of a beautiful coat. It’s stylish, exactly to my taste … and my measure! (S. & C. Italy) A child’s empty pocket – G. is five years old and lives in Aleppo, Syria. When she heard that a group of Focolare young people were going to visit and take food to a convent which cares for old people, she wanted to be part of it. However, the day before the visit, she fell ill and had to go to the doctor. During the appointment, she told the doctor all about the plan and asked her: “Doctor, tomorrow with my family, I want to go and visit the home for old people. I’ve already shared all the pocket money I had saved. Can I go?” The doctor replied, “Yes, you are well enough to go. But I will also give you back your medical fee, because I too want to take part in your initiative!” (G. Syria) Mobilizing a community – Many people I know are struggling to manage even the basic necessities. I felt I had to respond in some way. But how? I started talking about this problem with my colleagues at work, and spontaneously many of them began sharing. They gave me lots of items which I then distributed to families in need. As word spread, more things were given to me, so I needed more space and some help! One couple offered me the use of a shop. Another colleague – actually someone with very different ideas and beliefs to my own – joined with two more friends to offer their time to the initiative. One month later, the “Community Bazaar” was launched, in the presence of the Head of Social Services and several Regional Councillors. We soon found ourselves forming a network with the city’s social institutions, and were able to draw up a mailing list to link up people who have something to give with people who have a specific need. Since then, we find ourselves welcoming collaborators and contributions of all kinds, both from individuals and businesses. The Bazaar has also turned into a hub for people looking to find a way to be useful in society. One day I asked one of my colleagues to accompany me because I needed to go and find a washing machine urgently for a social laundry project. Afterwards she told me, “This is the first time I end the year doing something for others. And I feel so happy. Thank you for letting me know about this initiative!” (M.D.A.R. – Portugal)
Mar 15, 2019 | Non categorizzato
The teens for unity of the Focolare Movement and the members of Prophetic Economy support «FridaysForFuture», the global initiative for environmental protection promoted by Greta Thunberg This morning in the garden of the international headquarters of the Focolare Movement in Rocca di Papa (Italy), Focolare President Maria Voce and co president Jesús Morán planted a tree (live facebook of the event) in support of the international initiative #FridaysForFuture promoted by Greta Thunberg. Greta is a sixteen year old from Sweden who has recently become a symbol of environmental activism. The world first began to notice Greta when she decided to go on strike from attending school every Friday morning at the beginning of the Northern Hemisphere’s school year last September. Her strategy was to sit in front of the Stockholm Parliament with her home made sign that said “School Strike for Climate.” She went there to protest against the failure of political leaders to take a position on what is happening to the environment. Then in late January, in the town of Davos in Switzerland, Greta became the focus of the world’s media when she spoke in front of the world’s business leaders, political leaders, economists, celebrities and journalists at the World Economic Forum. “You are destroying my future! I don’t want you to hope, I want to see you in panic,” she told them. The Teens for the Unity of the Focolare Movement, together with the groups involved in Prophetic Economy, have decided to join the international initiative scheduled for today, Friday March 15th 2019. Their goal is to demand that international conventions to safeguard the planet are respected, and that world leaders stop just talking and start acting decisively. “The positions taken by many politicians show that the top-down approach is not enough,” explains Luca Fiorani, the coordinator of EcoOne, the international Focolare network for those who work in the fields of ecology and sustainability. The UN’s major international climate conferences demonstrate how difficult it is to make decisions together about how to combat global warming. So this is where the bottom-up approaches come into play – where the people put pressure on those in power to make effective decisions to avoid climate change. These initiatives of the young people are vitally important because they are the ones who will suffer the most from the effects of climate change in the future. That’s why it’s important that these young people act globally – so they can stir up the consciences of everyone around the world. If we don’t act now, within 20 or 30 years it may be too late. Pope Francis often reminds us of this. His 2019 message for Lent is focused on ecological conversion. He encourages us to pray, fast and give alms, but always with care for creation in mind. So, too, the commitment of the Focolare children and young people to reach the “Zero Hunger” goal heads in the same direction as Greta Thunberg’s initiative.
Lorenzo Russo
Mar 14, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Eleven years after the death of the foundress of the Focolare Movement events are taking place all over the world to remember her. In Rome, Cardinal Rylko celebrated a Mass in the presence of Maria Voce and Jesús Morán attended by many of Chiara’s “people” as well as many civil and religious authorities and friends of the Focolare. She was the initiator of new ways of living the Christian life, a woman with a profound “Marian” identity who had consecrated herself totally to God which is why God entrusted her with a gift for the Church and the world: the charism of unity. These, in brief, are the cornerstones of the life of Chiara and the Focolare Movement which Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko – former Secretary and President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity – highlighted at the Mass which was celebrated on 14 March in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome’s oldest Marian shrine, on the occasion of the eleventh anniversary of Chiara Lubich’s death. 
As well as the President of the Focolare Maria Voce, the Co-President Jesús Morán and a large group of “Chiara’s people “, civil and religious representatives from the diplomatic world and various Christian movements were present. It was a varied assembly which seemed to embrace humanity just as Chiara did. “How often did you hear Chiara say these words”, recalled Cardinal Rylko, “what counts is love. It is love that makes the world move forward, so if someone also has a mission to carry out it is all the more fruitful the more it is imbued with love”. “The challenges we face today collectively and as individuals are no less significant than those Chiara had to face when she started out”, said a girl who has just got to know the Focolare. Nothing is more relevant than her message of unity today and her vision of a world which with its diversity and its contradictions can go ahead united even in the midst of polarizations that seem to be tearing our relationships apart. In the words of Cardinal Rylko, one could sense the fraternal friendship he shared for many years 
with the foundress of the Focolare – “We travelled a long stretch of road together” – and his deep awareness of the gift that God had given her. “In the life of a Movement, it is very important to remember its origins,” he stressed. “Just as water is always clearer at the source, the beginning of a charism always presents itself in all of its fascinating beauty and newness. This is how the Movement can better discover its identity. Your most profound identity is contained in the very name of your Movement: the Work of Mary. A special presence of Mary has accompanied you right from the start. This Marian dimension characterizes the whole of your missionary commitment in the world. Pope Francis often speaks of a ‘Marian style of evangelization’ as the one best suited to our times”. He then defined the Focolare people as a “new generation” of men and women, young people and new families who are all in love with the love of God and the ideal of unity. At the end of the celebration, as she thanked all those present, Maria Voce announced that the year dedicated to the centenary of the birth of Chiara Lubich would begin on 7 December. In fact, 2020 will be marked by numerous initiatives and events of various kinds aimed at “celebrating and encountering” Chiara, as the motto of the centenary goes. As the President of the Focolare said, “We would like to celebrate the wave of new and universal life that the charism of unity has brought to our own personal stories and those of many peoples and cultures. We want to do this by giving as many people as possible all over the world the opportunity to ‘meet’ Chiara today so as to get to know her as a person and rediscover the relevance of her charism and the vision she had of the world as a family of brothers and sisters. It is a vision which goes against the current in this age of resurgent individualism and sovereignty. I am sure that a personal and collective encounter with Chiara will continue to inspire people, ideas and projects animated by the spirit of unity.” Celebrations will begin in Chiara’s hometown of Trent, on 7 December this year with the inauguration of a large multimedia exhibition dedicated to Chiara which will also be replicated in various capitals around the world. Groups of people will be visiting Trent throughout the year to learn more about Chiara and her spiritual heritage. During the year, in and around Rome there will be various events giving people the chance to discover the life and work of Chiara in everyday life from the house where she lived to the chapel at the Centre of the Movement where she was laid to rest.
Stefania Tanesini
Mar 13, 2019 | Non categorizzato
We have to admit that eleven years after her death, and as we approach the centenary of her birth in 2020, Chiara Lubich is someone yet to be fully discovered. The best way to reach into the depths of her soul and understand the abundance of light, joy, and fruits that characterised her life, is to see her as she herself wished to be remembered: “the spouse of Jesus forsaken”, the spouse of Jesus on the cross who felt forsaken even by God. Chiara herself said this in one of the monthly conference calls in which she gathered together the focolare communities around the world as one global family. “I would like to be remembered solely as the spouse of Jesus forsaken” . She added: “The fact that it might be possible to define my life in this way (may God help me!) seemed wonderful to me, even though it is so high and even though it is still ‘what I must become’. Yet I perceived it as my vocation”. History and the Church will decide whether Chiara was right and if she reached this goal, but many signs tell us that her “marriage with Jesus forsaken” was the golden thread woven through her entire life and that gave it meaning.
Watercolor by Annemarie Baumgarten
Michel Vandeleene
Mar 11, 2019 | Non categorizzato
A whole town and its Mayor responded to the tragedy of a mother killed by her husband by mobilizing to take care of the children and inventing “Citizens’ Adoption”. It was an act that made the Italian town a winner of the 2019 Chiara Lubich Prize for Fraternity. Alghero is a small town in Sardinia with historical Catalan roots. Here the tragic news of the murder of Michela Fiori, a forty-year-old mother of two children who was killed by her husband, set in motion the generosity and solidarity of an entire community, together with its Mayor, Mario Bruno. In the aftermath of Michela’s death, the Mayor’s phone never stopped ringing. Everyone wanted to do something for her children: from the school bus driver who said he would accompany them to school to the manager of a club that offered to organize their birthday parties. “On Christmas Day I saw the city embrace the children – the Mayor explained. About four thousand people went in procession to Michela’s house. There I felt I had to make a promise: ‘I will take care of your children’. Then it became, ‘We will take care of your children’.” Generosity on the part of so many people led to the idea whereby the Mayor established a “Citizens’ Adoption”. It was an administrative act that, besides expressing solidarity, put the tragic phenomenon of femicide in the spotlight. The “Citizens’ Adoption” means that the 44,000 inhabitants of the town will take care of the two children through a support fund. It will be possible to make donations until the boys are twenty years old, or twenty-six if they decide to go to university. The first donation was from the town council, followed by over 300 citizens. The boys, who now live with their grandmother in Genoa, as decided by the Juvenile Court, appreciate this beautiful gesture. They thanked the Mayor with the simplicity that only children have: they drew a picture of a heart with the name of the Mayor written on it and words that deeply touched the community: “Thank you for everything.” A story of this kind could not go unnoticed by the Jury of the Chiara Lubich Prize for Fraternity. The award is given to local councils that develop effective and concrete projects or community initiatives promoting solidarity. And this is why Alghero won the tenth annual prize. But … the story continues. On 7 April 2019, the Mayor of Alghero will be in Turin, in northern Italy, to keep a promise he made. A few days after the tragedy the elder boy [aged 12] said to the Mayor: “Mum promised to take me to the football match at the stadium on my birthday, April 7th. Now that she’s gone, who will take me?” Mario Bruno’s immediate answer was “I will”. And so it will be. In fact, Giovanni Malagò, president of the Italian National Olympic Committee, has already phoned the Mayor assuring him that he will provide tickets for the Juventus-Milan match. The boys will also be able to see their favourite player, Ronaldo, who has said he will be available to meet them. Of course, for the children, the Mayor is just their friend Mario. Once a shop assistant asked for their documents when he was making a payment and they exclaimed, “But doesn’t she know you’re the Mayor”?
Paolo De Maina
Mar 10, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Mercy is a love that fills the heart. It can then be poured out for others in society around us, whether neighbours or strangers. Traveling companion I was in prison for 19 months, guilty of having added elements to the wines I was marketing. Inside, however, with the help of a priest and some people who would come and volunteer, I was able to reflect and discover a different God than the one I had been taught about. I faced this trial with a renewed soul and began to experience true freedom, which is within and comes from loving our neighbour. The relationship with my wife changed and I was even reconciled with my in-laws. Not just that: I felt ready to forgive my partner, who was also responsible for perpetuating the fraud. Now that I have served my time, even if the future looks full of uncertainty, I know that God the Father is my traveling companion. (Javier, Argentina) Words of light My wife and I were alternating between outbursts and endless silences, with both of us hurting, as well as our children. Even though some friends tried to help, each of us remained firm in our position, and it seemed the marriage was ending. Blinded by anger, I had gotten to the point of thinking that it would be better to leave or even end it for good. Luckily, in that hell, some of the words that had once enlightened me came to mind: words of forgiveness, of love. As a Christian I was truly off track! During a good half of a sleepless night spent fighting back my pride, I woke my wife to ask her to help me humbly remember the happy moments that we had shared. We embraced and asked each other for forgiveness. (A husband in Africa) Rain One evening I felt quite tired and I would have liked to say to the kids to go to their rooms to say their prayers on their own, since I wanted to go to bed right away. But John, our oldest son, proposed that we say the rosary together to ask for rain – it had not rained for some time and our corn and potato crops were at risk. So we prayed together. To my surprise, that same night it started to rain and continued through the afternoon the following day. (B. M., Uganda) In the hospital An extremely poor woman, a mother who had been in the hospital for many months, needed help to eat, but the staff could not do this as well as all their other work. We let all our parish friends know, and one at a time we went to help her. Despite the situation seeming endless, she improved a bit, began responding to medicines and smiled. When the person she shared a room with died, in their will they left her a small sum to help her family. Love is contagious… (C. C., Spain)
