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God who is Beauty – Arts Congress

Apr 22, 1999 | Non categorizzato

 Introduction The beginning of this convention on beauty and art coincides, date and hour (April 23, 1999, 11:00 a.m.) with the official announcement, given by His Eminence Cardinal Poupard, of John Paul II’s letter to artists. It is a wonderful coincidence. It is not difficult to discern in this the hand of God, the Lord of history, who is guiding, too, the small history of our Movement. This letter is dedicated “To those who with impassioned dedication seek new ‘epiphanies’ of beauty so as to give it to the world through artistic creation.” Therefore, it is addressed to you too. And now we come to the theme. Last February some seventy Bishops, friends of the Focolare Movement, visited Loppiano. When they returned to the Mariapolis Center of Castel Gandolfo and continued their program, which also included a customary question and answer session, they asked me: “During our visit to Loppiano, we experienced in an overwhelming way the ‘beauty’ that springs forth with great transparency and purity in the Focolare Movement. How do you account for this crescendo of uplifting artistic expressions?” The question did not surprise me. Rather it was a confirmation for me that this little town of ours demonstrates, through its artists, that art is at home in our Movement. It is really true.And this explains the title of my talk, a title which focuses my attention on one specific topic. I do not intend, nor would I be capable, of speaking of art in general, of the various schools of expression down through the centuries, and so forth. This talk of mine on art will be limited to its relationship with the ecclesial and social reality we live in, which embraces not only the religious aspect but all human aspects of life, including art. Work of art as incarnation Without doubt, for us too, absolute Beauty is God, God who is eternal. And in some way authentic artists share in this quality of God through their works. True works of art outlive the earthly life of artists because they possess something that is eternal. This is an evident sign that they are in relationship with Supreme and eternal Beauty, with God, or with the human soul created immortal by Him. In this perspective then, a work of art, whether it be with brushes, chisels, notes, verses… cannot help but be viewed as a sort of incarnation, a renewed incarnation, as Simone Weil writes in her book Gravity and Grace: “(In true art) there is almost a kind of incarnation of God in the world, the sign of which is beauty. This beauty is the experiential proof that the incarnation is possible.” But if this is true, art cannot but elevate, cannot but raise one Above, into that Heaven from where it descended. Plato speaks of this effect in Symposium, if it is true that, in some way, beauty and art have the same destiny. He defines beauty as “a ray which, from the face of God, as from a beautiful sun, is handed down and shared with created nature; having thus rendered nature beautiful and gracious with its colors, it returns to the same fount from where it came.” Recently, I too had a small personal experience of this sublime, uplifting capacity, which is characteristic of art. I do not think it is out of place to speak of it here as an act of love. This experience also clarified for me the role of beauty, so deeply felt in our times. Travelling by car one day, I was listening to Gounod’s Ave Maria. Masterly performed, it called to mind a very fine veil, interlaced here and there with delicately embroidered designs. Listening to that piece of music uplifted my spirit and opened me to union with God and in him to Mary, sublimely exalted by Gounod. It was the feast day of her divine maternity and I admired her as being “beautiful beyond words”. I thought to myself: if God planned that she be his mother in Jesus, the Incarnate Word, the splendor of the Father, what degree of beauty must Mary have attained? It’s beyond all imagining! I spoke to her about the day I would be coming to her, perhaps not far in the distant future. And I sensed that her presence made everything else in me and around me, everything that I might still be linked to on this earth, all that is beautiful and good, decisively disappear. In fact, the thought of her and of her beauty was enough to imprint on my heart, like a seal: “You, Lord, are my only good.” I realized that she was giving me those virtues I ask her to teach me each day, the virtues needed to make the words – “You, Lord, are my only good” – become a reality. But she gave them not by listing them, not by explaining them, not by giving me an ardent desire to live them, but by showing herself to me. Yes, it is beauty that will save the world, that beauty of which Mary is a divine model. And I understood all this because a piece of music I listened to was a work of art. Beauty and our Movement When and how did beauty find a home in our Movement? From the beginning, at once. The reaction of people to what we were communicating, enlightened by the first glimmerings of the charism which was beginning to disclose a specific plan of God for the Church and humanity, was not: “How true!” “How good!” No! It was “How beautiful!” “Beautiful” certainly because what was being said related to God who is Beauty. Could we say that it was wisdom? And often the very persons who spoke of our great Ideal appeared as beautiful, truly more beautiful. This was a common impression. Beauty became an integral part of our Movement also because the one word which our charism was beginning to say to the world was unity. And unity is synonymous with the utmost harmony. This vocation to harmony characterized, even in practical details, the new culture that was emerging from the charism. So we felt, for example, that we also had to dress with harmony and good taste; that our houses, centers and little towns had to be beautiful, harmonious, and welcoming. It was as if the Son of Man, the Incarnate Word, was repeating to us: “Learn from the way the wild flowers grow…” (Mt. 6:28). Beauty and our consideration of beauty also emerged from time to time when we were enraptured by some writing, painting, or sculpture, and could not but express fascination and deep admiration. To give only one example that underscores the concept we have been expressing, I would like to quote from a page which is familiar to many of you, entitled: “Michelangelo’s Beautiful Madonna,” the Pietà that welcomes whoever enters St. Peter’s Basilica: “Artists transfuse the human soul, which is a reflection of heaven, into their work, and in this ‘creation’, the fruit of their genius, artists find a second immortality. They find their first immortality in themselves (in their souls), like any other man or woman on this earth, and the second they find in their works, through which they give themselves throughout the ages, to humankind. “Artists perhaps are the persons who most resemble the saints – because if the saints perform the miracle of giving God to the world, artists give, in a way, the most beautiful creature of the earth to humankind: they give the human soul.” Then, because I was aware of the great value of art, I concluded: “And since to you I have spoken, beautiful Madonna, to you I ask a gift: satiate the world’s thirst for beauty. Send great artists, but shape with them great souls, who with their splendor may direct men and women towards the most beautiful of the sons of men – your sweet Jesus.” You all know, more or less, the more than fifty-year story of our Movement, its aims, its spirituality, the universality of the callings, its consistency, its outreach, its all-embracing dialogues, its concrete works…. Among its concrete achievements are the more or less valuable works of art produced here and there by our artists. While expressing themselves in art in Italy, as well as in other nations of Europe and also in Asia, South America and Australia, without clamor, they have firmly maintained their position, their specific vocation in the Work of Mary. Hence the ardent words of encouragement they received from time to time: “Thank you… because through your effort, you contribute to telling the world that God is beautiful! God is Beauty and not only Truth and Goodness. It has always been our passion, one of our passions, from the beginnings of the Movement, to express this with our lives, our words, and with the arts. Also in this regard, the Movement was born as a peaceful form of protest against the prevalent way of thinking at that time. Three periods of time Our Movement has a long, rich history. This history is marked by three stages. We know, in fact, that God is not only beautiful. He is also good and true. And there is no beauty, authentic beauty, unless there is also truth and goodness. The interconnection between beauty, truth and goodness has always been emphasized in our Movement, and we were able to deepen our understanding of this in an original way. In the first stage, which lasted decades, the Holy Spirit urged us to imitate God in his being good, in his being love. In fact, from the very beginning our Ideal could be summed up in the words God-Love. We were called to re-live, in a sense, God who is infinite goodness, each becoming like a tiny sun beside the Sun. In the second period of time, after this lifestyle of ours had become precise and clear-cut, the Spirit called us to another task: to seek to draw out from our way of life, from our personal and communitarian spirituality, the underlying doctrine: its truth. In Franciscan terms, “Paris,” the city of studies, was being added to “Assisi,” the city of life. However, we never feared that the reality of “Paris” would destroy “Assisi”, as the saying goes. On the contrary, the almost ten-year experience of our Abba School, which is dedicated to studies, confirms that the light of truth is an immense support for life, a life based on love. In the third period of time, which is the one we are living now, we perceive that the Holy Spirit is urging us to express with our lives not only the goodness of God, not only truth, but also beauty. And we named this period after another city: “Hollywood”. It is a “Hollywood” which does not annul “Assisi” and “Paris”, but rather, it presupposes their existence, and it is not fully itself unless it is the other two as well. In fact, Jesus in us wants to be Life (Assisi), Truth (Paris) and the Way (Hollywood). Many signs indicate that we have reached this latest stage and this Conference is one of them. It could not have been held earlier. In fact, our artists are not truly artists unless they have already matured in experiences of goodness and truth. There is another sign, among many, which is not out of place to mention here. Recently, and it was not for the first time, a group of approximately seventy actors and actresses, directors, producers, writers and technicians of the city of Hollywood, met with some people of our Movement in a villa of Los Angeles, in a festive atmosphere of enthusiasm, in the desire to learn more about our spirit and to bring it to Hollywood. A Jewish film writer who was present concluded the meeting by saying: “Let’s be courageous and live what we heard today: let’s give priority to God in Hollywood, on the set, in our productions.” Now they are looking forward to meeting with us again. There, artists who find God; here, people who love and know God and who aspire to be true artists. Ultimately, there is no difference: in one way and in the other, our third stage moves forward. Who is an artist But who is a true artist? Salvatore Fiume, contemporary artist, exaggerates when, confounding artistic inspiration with the Spirit of God, he affirms that an artist is like one who writes under dictation: God dictates and the artist paints, sculptors, creates music, poems, architecture, Romance literature and philosophical concepts. When the work is complete, with naive audacity, he or she signs it. And yet, he is not far from the truth if the Second Vatican Council advised artists: “Do not close your spirit to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.” Undoubtedly, there can be no artists where there is no genuine talent. There can be no artists where there is no artistic inspiration. Nor can the Holy Spirit be far from them. John Paul II affirmed: “When we turn over certain wonderful pages of literature and philosophy, justly admire some masterpiece of art, or listen to passages of sublime music, we spontaneously recognize in these expressions of human genius a radiant reflection of God’s Spirit.” Our artists and modern art What are our artists like? What is our art like? What is art in view of the culture of our “people”? We know that Vatican II affirms: “Let the Church also acknowledge new forms of art which are adapted to our age.” This is a valid principle for us too. And our artists seek to conform themselves to it. Today, as you know, there is modern art. It has its own new and interesting demands, its own viewpoints and considerations which are not without fascination. I hope that it will be a topic of your discussions during these days. Nonetheless, as happened for all kinds of art down through the centuries, there are those who do not interpret it in the right way and who can even use art for evil purposes. We said before that God is beauty but also goodness and truth. A true artist cannot consider beauty detached from goodness and truth. Beauty, in fact, which does not contain truth and goodness is a nothing, an emptiness. “Beauty” affirms Vladimir Soloviev, “without truth and goodness is only an idol.” But if beauty contains goodness, it means that nothing sinful, scandalous, or evil can be justified as a privilege of art, not even as a means, not even with the intention of making beauty triumph in the end. Here too, the end does not justify the means. Certainly, art can represent what is ugly, suffering, anguish, drama, tragedy. All this can be expressed in a work of art and it always has been. Indeed, a group of expressionist artists, the Blue Rider, affirms that the joys and sufferings of men and women and nations are behind the inscriptions, paintings, and temples, behind the cathedrals and masks, behind the works of music, theatre and dance. If these do not form the foundation, if shapes are empty, without meaning, there is no true art. Certainly, Jesus forsaken on the cross was not beautiful. He, the Word of God, the highest Artist, in becoming man, assumed all of our human nature to the point of making himself sin, but never a sinner. Isaiah says: “There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him” (Is. 53:2). And yet, faith tells us that the glory of the resurrection was already present in him. Jesus crucified and forsaken is the model of artists and especially of our artists who will always, like him, offer a ray of hope even in the saddest situations. The Holy Father said to artists: “All great artists have come face to face, some their whole life through, with the problem of suffering and desperation. Nevertheless, many allowed something of the hope which is greater than suffering and decadence to shine through their art. By expressing themselves in literature or in music, by shaping matter or by painting, they evoked the mystery of a new salvation, of a renewed world. This must be the message of authentic artists also in our times, of artists who sincerely live all that is human and even tragic, but who are able to unveil with precision the hope that is given to us even in what is tragic.” In addition, our artists will have to remember that because art can be compared to a new incarnation, it is mysterious; it could not be otherwise. For this reason it is modest, it doesn’t reveal everything. In seeing certain deviations in art, one would go back with nostalgia to the great artists of the past, who have been gone perhaps for years, but whose works survive. This is the case of the drama of the nun of Monza in The Betrothed, for whom Manzoni spent only these words: “and the unfortunate woman replied.” A new art in a new culture The Movement, as we said, brings a new culture, one that is characterized in its various ambits by new paradigms derived from the trinitarian vision of man and of the world. This has been noted, in recent years, in the fields of theology, philosophy, sociology, economy, politics, and recently, in psychology. It cannot, therefore, be missing in the field of art. This novel concept of human living in its various expressions is possible because men and women of the Movement constantly strive to assume a lifestyle that is both personal and communitarian, as required by our collective spirituality.This applies also to those who are dedicated to art: “before all else mutual love among you.” As with all the cultures that have appeared on earth, the specific characteristics of our culture too will be expressed by art. Thus we look forward to a new art.What qualities will it have? They will necessarily be an expression of its personal aspect and of its collective aspect. What I stated last summer is true, and I reaffirm it now: it is not always necessary that a new work of art be the fruit of a collectivity with the presence of Christ in the midst of artists. It is necessary that he be in the midst of individuals at one point, that they become one soul, so that then, distinctly, all may be in each one. But what I affirm now is also possible. Camus says: “Those who choose to be artists because they feel different will soon learn that they will not bring to fruition their art nor their diversity unless they seek similarities, common ground with others. Artists are forged in this everlasting coming and going between themselves and others, half way between beauty (from which they cannot separate themselves) and society (from which they cannot withdraw).” In this light then, because interaction with others takes nothing away from the artist, on the contrary, it enriches him or her, we can envision an art which is the fruit of a group of artists who, united in the name of Jesus, are devoted to the same artistic expression which is expressed in the works of one or of the other. Indeed, we must ask ourselves: if this attitude and mode of working is possible in other fields, why couldn’t it be used also in that of art? And couldn’t this mode of working usher in unexpected and new works of art? We see this in the experience of the Abba School: each field of knowledge gains so much when we are ready to serve it in this way! The promptings of the Holy Spirit, already present in the individual can become gigantic! In the Abba School, in fact, there is something more, a something more that is human and divine. The atmosphere there is sacred. Without exaggeration, we often feel that we are in heaven. But there is a price to pay: the total death of every “self” so that another Self, with a capital S, may triumph in all and in each one. We learned this in 1949 when we were dazzled by a blinding light. Several persons of the Abba School have commented these intuitions or inspirations. One of them said: “Those who love Jesus forsaken are asked to be detached from their way of thinking, from thinking itself: this is the non-being of the mind. And this holds true also for the will, the memory and the imagination (synonymous with artistic inspiration). We attain these deaths “by losing” (putting aside also what we think might be an inspiration).” Another affirmed: “We speak of imagination because unlike other spiritualities perhaps, we highlight ‘beauty’… However, imagination must be lost in unity, in order to have a sort of new ‘inspiration’ which enables us to see heaven, in some way, and also all the things of earth in a new way.” A third commented: “One of the effects of our spirituality will be a new art. With regard to this new art, many times people in the Movement who are devoted to art have worked freely on their own, given that, generally speaking, it is very difficult for artists to understand one another. Instead, if there were unity among them, we would see works of art never seen before.” A final comment: “Losing everything and finding everything is a classic principle of the spiritual life…. But not many authors of spiritual writings speak of losing one’s imagination in order to acquire a new one. Usually, they only say that we must lose, put aside, one’s imagination. Here, instead, a new imagination is found. We can understand this better today, in the wake of Vatican II, which affirms that all that is human is rendered Christian. Imagination is no longer considered as something that should be distanced from the ascetic life required by sanctity. We have been forerunners in these positions.” And then he adds: “Also present here are the roots of a renewed and great Christian art.” Therefore, a new art is coming to life among us. Or perhaps it has already begun. You will understand this from the experiences the artists will narrate. At this point, what I wrote about the “Resurrection of Rome” comes to mind: “We need to bring God back to life in us, then keep him alive, and overflow him onto others with bursts of Life that revive the dead. And we need to keep him alive among us by loving one another (…). Then everything changes, politics and art, education and religion, private life and recreation. Everything.” Mary The Focolare Movement has something to do with beauty also because it must in some way, reflect Mary, in its individuals and as a whole. Mary is the tota pulchra, the all beautiful. In fact, Mary is the fullest expression of the redemption accomplished by Christ. She is the creature in whom the image of the Creator shines forth in a unique way. For this reason, she is the object of the attention and admiration of artists who are particularly sensitive to beauty and to the attraction of the supernatural; she is therefore an inspiration for painting and sculpture, for music and literature… In his “Paradise,” Dante says of her: “Look now upon the face which is most likened unto Christ”. Boccaccio sings to her: “You adorn heaven with your happy features.” And Petrarch: “Clothed with the sun, / crowned with the stars, so pleasing were you to the highest sun / that he hid his light in you.” Tasso sees her as the: “Star from which serene light is born, / light of the non created and highest Sun.” May Mary, the all beautiful, envelop our artists with her splendor. Let us conclude. Every religious based Movement, like ours, that has made a mark on history, has expressed new forms of religious art. We truly hope that it will be so for ours as well, if it is true that it is a Work of God. And it is true. Recently the Pope inscribed the following words on my mind and heart: “Work of Mary?”, he said, “Work of God”. Yours then is the honor and onus of being its artistic expression.

April 1999

Mar 31, 1999 | Non categorizzato, Word of

Those who were listening to Jesus were familiar with the image of the door, through the dream of Jacob and also through the ancient portals of Jerusalem that God particularly loved. But these words are from Psalm 118:20: “This door is the Lord’s; the just shall enter it”, words which Jesus took as His own, rendering them new and rich with meaning. He is the door to salvation, who leads us to pastures where divine goods are freely given. He is the one and only mediator and through him men and women can go to the Father. “He is the door to the Father -says Ignatius of Antioch -through whom have entered Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the prophets, the apostles and the Church”.

«I am the door. Whoever enters through me will be safe. He will go in and out, and find pasture.» (Jn 10:9)

Yes, the image of the door surely touched the hearts of the Jews; passing through the gates of the Holy City and the Temple, they had experienced a feeling of peace and unity, and the prophets had made them dream of a new Jerusalem whose doors were open to all nations.
Jesus presents himself as the one who fulfills the divine promises and the expectations of a people whose story is marked by an alliance it has never revoked with its God.
The idea of the door is similar to and is very well explained by another image used by Jesus: “I am the way, no one goes to the Father except through me”. Therefore He is truly a way and an open door that leads to the Father, to God Himself.

«I am the door. Whoever enters through me will be safe. He will go in and out, and find pasture.» (Jn 10:9)

Practically speaking, what does this Word of Life mean?
Other passages of the Gospel have implications similar to this phrase of John. But from among them, we will choose that of the “narrow door” through which we must strive to enter so as to enter into life.
Why did we choose this? Because we feel that perhaps it is the closest to the truth that Jesus says of himself; and it best enlighten us on how to live it.
When does he become the wide open door, completely open to the Trinity? In that moment in which the door of Heaven seemed to close for him, he became the door of heaven for us all.
Jesus Forsaken is the door through which a perfect exchange between God and humanity takes place: having made himself nothing, he united us children to the Father. It is through that emptiness (the opening of the door) that man comes in contact with God and God with man.
So he is at the same time the narrow door and the wide open door, and we ourselves can experience this.

«I am the door. Whoever enters through me will be safe. He will go in and out, and find pasture.» (Jn 10:9)

In the abandonment Jesus himself became our access to the Father.
He did his part. But to take advantage of such a big grace, each one of us must do his or her small part, which consists in approaching that door and going beyond it. How?
When we are disappointed or wounded by a trauma, an unexpected misfortune or an absurd illness, we can recall the suffering of Jesus who impersonated all these, and a thousand other difficulties as well.
Yes, he is present in everything that speaks of suffering. Every suffering of ours can be named after him.
So let us try to recognize Jesus in every anguish, in all the difficult situations of our life, in every darkness, in our personal misfortunes and that of others, in the sufferings of humanity which surrounds us. All these are him because he has taken them upon himself. It would be enough to tell him, with faith, “You, Lord, are my only good”. It would be enough to do something concrete so as to alleviate “his” sufferings in the poor and in those who are unhappy, so as to go beyond the door and to find on the other side a joy we had never experienced before, a new fullness of life.

Chiara Lubich

March 1999

Feb 28, 1999 | Non categorizzato, Word of

Jesus said these words in reference to the death of Lazarus of Bethany, whom he raised from the dead on the fourth day.
Lazarus had two sisters, Martha and Mary. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she immediately ran to meet him and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would never have died.” “Your brother will rise again,” Jesus answered. She replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Then Jesus declared: “I am the resurrection and the life: whoever believes in me, though he should die, will come to life; and whoever is alive and believes in me will never die.”

«I am the resurrection and the life.»

Jesus wants to clarify who he is in relationship to us. He possesses the most precious thing that anyone could desire: Life, the Life that will never die.
If you have read John’s Gospel, you have certainly noticed that Jesus also said, “Just as the Father possesses Life in himself, so has he granted it to the Son to have Life in himself” (Jn. 5:26).
And since Jesus has Life, he can give it to others.

«I am the resurrection and the life.»

Also Martha believed in the “resurrection on the last day.”
But with his wonderful affirmation, “I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus tells her that she does not have to wait, hoping for the future resurrection of the dead. Right now, in the present moment, for all those who believe in him, he is already Life – the divine, ineffable, eternal Life that will never die.
If Jesus is in those who believe, if he is in you, you will not die. This Life in all who believe is a participation in the Life of the risen Jesus, and is, therefore, quite different from our ordinary human condition.
This extraordinary Life which you, too, already possess, will become fully manifest on the last day. Then, with your whole being, you will take part in the resurrection that is to come.

«I am the resurrection and the life.»

With these words Jesus is certainly not denying that physical death exists, but he is telling us that physical death does not mean the loss of true Life. For all of us, death will remain a unique, intense, perhaps even feared experience. But it will never again mean that existence is pointless, never will it be absurd anymore, the failure of one’s life. It will no longer be the end of everything. For you, death will not mean that you have truly died.

«I am the resurrection and the life.»

And when were you born into this Life that will never die?
At the moment of your baptism. Then and there – even though, as a human being you were destined to die – you received immortal Life from Christ. At baptism, in fact, you received the Holy Spirit who is the one who raised Jesus from the dead.
The prerequisite for receiving this sacrament was the faith which you professed, or which was professed for you by your godparents. In fact, on the occasion of Lazarus’ resurrection, Jesus stated clearly to Martha: “Whoever believes in me, though he should die, will come to life.” (…) “Do you believe this?” (Jn. 11:26).
In this context “believing” is something very serious and important. It does not mean simply accepting the truths Jesus has proclaimed; it means adhering to them with our whole being.
In order to have this Life, therefore, we must say our “yes” to Christ. And this means adhering to his words, to his commands – living according to them. For Jesus promised, “If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death” (Jn. 8:51). And the teachings of Christ are summed up in love.
You cannot be anything but happy then. You possess Life!

«I am the resurrection and the life.»

During this period in which we are preparing for the celebration of Easter, let us help one another to renew our decision and constant effort to die to ourselves so that Christ, the risen Lord, may live in us even now.

Chiara Lubich

“A silent anthropological revolution”

Feb 25, 1999 | Non categorizzato

“Chiara Lubich has started a silent revolution which I do not hesitate to define as ‘anthropological’, given the personal and social consequences it has brought about.” So said Professor Mark Borg when conferring the honorary degree in Literature and Psychology on Chiara Lubich at the University of Malta. The great hall of the university was filled to capacity and there was also an overflow hall linked by closed circuit TV. Among the audience of 1,500 there were many civic and religious dignitaries including 6 ministers of state, 17 MPs from the two main political parties, the President of the Court, judges, the secretary of the Nationalist Party, the ambassadors of Italy, China and Tunisia, the bishop and the papal nuncio. The island’s press, television and radio were also present. The Citation recognises “the significant contribution made by Chiara Lubich in the field of human thought” for two reasons: “she has translated the nucleus of the Christian message into both a practice and a research method and she has offered to humanistic disciplines, in particular, an original key for interpreting the essence of humanity. She has proposed a model for the spiritual life which respects the individuality of the person and the reciprocity of relationships with a positive valuation of suffering and of all that is negative in both personal and collective history. In this way she has helped cultivate an integral vision of the human person in the field of psychology.” Rector of the University, Professor. Peter Serracino Inglott, defined Chiara Lubich’s teaching as “The way of psychological development towards full humanity”, which for the first time had examined the contribution of the spirituality of unity to psychology. She had traced its origins back to “that first spark which shot out at the height of the war: the discovery of God-Love” and then point by point, she drew out the connections with psychology. For example, having noted that “in psychology it is known that the fundamental need of a person is to be recognised for their own unique and unrepeatable identity,” Chiara Lubich told her experience of the discovery that God loves us: “The discovery and the acquired certainty that God wanted us to exist and loves us, and therefore that we are not an object of pure chance or blind fate, is the basis for that psychological certainty which gives meaning to our life …Only the certainty that God is love, also for you, gives you the strength to continually go out of yourself in order to live and love and create a social communion.” “A great turning point: a psychology open to the Transcendent,” is how 70 professionals from the psychological sciences from various European countries expressed their feelings in a message to Chiara Lubich. And in order to cultivate the growth of the new seeds broadcast in this difficult field of psychological sciences, they held a convention the very next day. There were psychiatrists, psychologists and psychotherapists from various schools of thought (Freudian, Jungian, Adlerian, cognitive-behaviourist, systematic etc). Through sharing their personal reflections on Chiara Lubich’s talk and their own experiences in the field, they could see the seeds of a new psychology. The impression of Herman Schweers, a German psychiatrist and psychotherapist, sums up the mood of the meeting: “I can see here a psycho-anthropological approach which could bear fruit not only in the various schools of psychology, but which could also enrich them, in the sense that they could be fully developed in order to serve the needs of men and women today: to live an interior unity with others, with society and with the Divine which each person carries within themselves.

February 1999

Jan 31, 1999 | Non categorizzato, Word of

If you are a believer you have a task to fulfill in relationship to others, toward those who do not know God.
Christians, in fact, cannot shun the world, hide from it, or regard religion as a private matter. Rather Christians must live in the world because of a responsibility, a mission before al people: that of being the light that shines.
You, too, are given this task, and if you do not fulfill it, you will be like salt that has lost its flavor or light that has gone out in the darkness, no longer useful.

«In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and give praise to your Father in heaven.»

This light is made visible through “good works.” It shines through the good works of Christians.
You may say: “But not only Christians do good works. There are others who work toward progress, who promote social justice…”
You are right. But while Christians also do and must do these things, their specific task is not this alone. Christians must do good works with a new spirit, that spirit by which it is no longer they who live, but Christ who lives in them.
St. Matthew does not, in fact, refer only to isolated works of charity (such as visiting prisoners, clothing the naked, or any of the other works of mercy dictated by the needs of today) but to the Christians’ complete adherence to the will of God in such a way that his or her whole life becomes a “good work.”
If Christians act this way, then the praise for what they do will not be addressed to their persons but to Christ in them. Thus, through them, God will be present in the world. This, then, is the task of Christians: to let the light that is in them shine through, and to be the “sign” of this presence of God among his people.

«In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and give praise to your Father in heaven.»

If this is the characteristic of one believer’s good works, then the Christian community in the midst of the world must also have the same specific function: to reveal by its life, the presence of God that manifests itself wherever two or more are united in his name, and whose presence has been promised to his Church until the very end of time.
The early Church gave great importance to these words of Jesus. Especially in difficult times when Christians were subjected to slander, they were urged to refrain from violence. Their behavior was to be the best refutation of the lies spoken against them.
In St. Paul’s second letter to Titus we read: “Urge the young men to be self-controlled. You yourself, in all things, must be an example in good works. Be sincere and serious in your teaching. Use sound words that cannot be criticized, so that your enemies may be put to shame by not having anything bad to say about us” Ttitus 2:6-8).

«In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and give praise to your Father in heaven.»

Also today, the light which leads people to God is the Christian life lived well.
I’ll tell you a story.
Antoinette was an Italian girl who, because of her work, moved to France. She had a job in an office where many of the other employees didn’t take their work very seriously. Being a Christian she therefore tried to treat each person as she would Jesus. She helped everybody and was always calm and smiling. Often someone would get angry and shout at her, or make fun of her attitude, saying: “Since you like to work so much, you can do my typing too.”
Antoinette would remain silent and do the work. She knew that they weren’t really mean at heart, that they probably had their troubles.
One day the office manager came to talk to her while the others were away. “Now you must tell me how you manage never to lose your patience and to smile all the time.” She answered, a little embarrassed, “Well, I just try to keep calm, and to look for the positive side to everything.”
The manager banged his fist on the desk saying, “No, God must have something to do with it, I’m sure! Otherwise it would be impossible. And to think that I didn’t believe in God!”
A few days later Antoinette was called to the manager’s office. He told her he wanted to transfer her to another department, so that she could “transform ” it in the same way that she had transformed the present office.

“In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and give praise to your Father in heaven.”

Chiara Lubich

Seventy times seven

Jan 1, 1999 | Non categorizzato

  A youth from Ivory Coast narrates how she succeeded, during her teens, in not giving way to grudge and hatred. I was born in Man, a little city built on green hills in the most picturesque area of the Ivory Coast. From my house, I have a clear view of Mount Toukoui, the highest peak in my country. I grew up here with my parents and nine brothers. I had a very serene childhood… at least until my father sought a relationship with another woman and began to neglect the family. From that moment, the atmosphere at home became intolerable, full of tension and ill feeling which often exploded in violent quarrels. My mother often cried. We children were disoriented in the face of this situation which was so unexpected and, for us, unacceptable. We all lived under the strain of a growing oppression. In this troubled period, when I was about thirteen years old, I made some new friends. They were my age and they wanted to put the Gospel into practice. They wanted to do this with simplicity, more with actions than with words. They tried to look at the events of their daily lives, and the people around them, in the light of the love of God. When I was with them, I really felt at home, valued, loved, and the load of bitterness that weighed on my heart became easier to carry. The situation in my family, however, worsened because my mother, exasperated by the difficult relationship with my father, decided to leave home. This was a traumatic moment in my life. I felt so alone and discouraged and I asked myself how I could possibly see God’s love in what was happening and how I could continue to love my father and help my mother. I knew that Jesus loved me and was close to me, but I wasn’t able to think a single thought that didn’t end up as a giant question mark. Something within me was crushed. The only word which hammered away in my head and in my heart was ‘Why?’. My father’s new wife came to live with us but neither myself nor my brothers were able, or willing, to build a relationship with her or accept her. The older ones among us, especially, rejected her and quarrelled constantly with her and with our father. In this situation of conflict, my father became more and more unhappy. He started to drink, neglecting little by little to look after himself and the rest of the family. He cut himself off from everyone. Sometimes we felt as though we were living in a nightmare. In order to give a bit of relief to our family, and allow us to continue with our schooling, some of our uncles invited us to take turns to stay with them. As the years passed, two separate clans were formed within my family. On the one hand there was my father, his wife and their children, and on the other, my brothers. I tried very hard not to take sides with either of these groups or to be involved in their arguments. The only thing I really wanted was to have a family and to live in an atmosphere of real affection. Instead, I was always alone, powerless, asking myself over and over again, the same question, ‘Why?’ In the very darkest moments, it was my relationship with my friends with whom I tried to live the Gospel which gave me the strength to keep on loving both of these clans. Whenever we met together, and shared the steps we made in living the words of the Gospel, that atmosphere of unity gave new light and strength to all of us. One evening, when I felt really at rock bottom, completely blocked by the suffering caused by my family problems, I rediscovered with the help of my friends, how close Jesus was to me when, on the cross, he cried out to the Father, “My God, why have you abandoned me?” That was the moment of his greatest suffering. Through this new understanding, every ‘why’ I uttered, acquired a much deeper meaning for me, since I too felt torn within. United to the cry of Jesus, my ‘why’ became a precious pearl to be transformed into love for others, through a greater and more practical love. During the year I lived with my uncles and I worked as hard as possible at school. Every holidays I went back home and I tried to do all I could to help, starting from the humblest domestic jobs. Often in the evenings, I found my father drunk, asleep on the doorstep of our house. It used to break my heart to see him in this condition, so I used to take him to his room, put him to bed and do everything possible for him so that he might feel loved, even in those moments in which he himself wasn’t loving. When I finished secondary school, I enrolled in the University of Abidjan situated on the coast, a modern city almost 500 kilometres from Man. The relationship with my father deteriorated. I no longer managed to find an opening to talk to him or to rebuild our communication and affection. I blamed him and his wife for all the suffering of my adolescence. I felt hurt and betrayed, robbed of the affection of a family, forced to grow up alone in those years when I most needed the support of my parents. Finally, I decided that I never wanted to see my father again. The next time I met with my friends, I couldn’t contain myself any longer and all my anger flared up: “I want to take revenge for all the pain that he and his wife have caused me. I’m going to go home and destroy everything she owns, because she’s the one who broke up my family and forced my mother out “. I was out of my mind with the pain I had endured for so long in silence. I had lost the truest part of myself, my relationship with Jesus who in so many moments had given me the joy and strength to react with love to the difficulties and misunderstandings I encountered. My friends listened to my outburst with profound attention. While participating in what I was saying, they did not judge me in any way. This was a very strong moment for me. I suddenly discovered that the weight, previously unbearable, was now being carried together with them. The fire of love which had gone out in my heart was lit up again in me more strongly than before. I thought again of that phrase of Jesus to “forgive seventy times seven”. It was much more difficult to live these words than to take revenge, but I wanted with all my strength to truly forgive my father. It wasn’t easy. I made many efforts and had many failures, but it was all worthwhile. When I got my degree I couldn’t bring myself to tell my father. I still lacked the courage to face him. I found a good job in a business. That was when my mother, with whom I had a beautiful relationship, urged me to call my father to let him know. I hesitated, but then I understood that the moment had finally come to take a real step towards him. I rang him up. He was happy to hear my voice and proud of my exam results. He sent me a jar of honey and from that moment on he began to give me a weekly update of himself and his life. I felt very moved by the experience of finally gathering the unexpected fruits of my suffering, through my small gesture of true forgiveness. When I finally set aside the yoke of bitterness, everything, even the smallest things became full of light, more beautiful and easier. I understood that when Jesus comes into our life, he transforms it and never leaves us on our own. Then my father came to visit me. We spoke at length and he confided his problems and his efforts to free himself from the slavery of alcohol. He entrusted to me a large sum of money to support my brothers during their studies. By the time he left I couldn’t say which of us was more uplifted, my father or myself; we had re-established our relationship and our hearts were filled with warmth. With the excuse of the money I was administering, I was able to reunite my brothers. Together, we decided to bury the past. We planned a big surprise for my father and all of us went to visit him at his home. From that moment we all started to look at him with new eyes so that through us he could find the strength and the affection that he lacked. Now I am truly peaceful and I have rediscovered the will to live. S. F. (Ivory Coast)

January 1999

Dec 31, 1998 | Non categorizzato, Word of

During the month of January, Christians throughout the world join together in prayer and special meetings to celebrate their common faith. The theme chosen for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is taken from the book of Revelation. Let’s read the entire passage:

“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his people,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away” (Rev. 21:1-7).

This month’s Word of Life is an exhortation: if we want to be part of his people, we must allow him to live among us.
But how is this possible, and what can we do in order to foretaste something, while still on earth, of the endless joy we will have in seeing God?
This is exactly what Jesus revealed to us, this is the very meaning of his coming: to communicate his life of love with the Father, so that we too can live it.
We Christians can live this phrase even now and have God among us. To have him among us requires certain conditions, as affirmed by the Fathers of the Church. For Basil, the essential condition is living according to the will of God; for John Chrysostom, it is to love our neighbor as Jesus did; for Theodore the Studite, it is mutual love; and for Origen, it is accord in thought and in feeling, so as to arrive at that concord which “unites, and contains the Son of God.”
The key for allowing God to dwell among us is found in Jesus’ teachings: “Love one another as I have loved you” (cf. Jn. 13:34). Mutual love is the key to the presence of God. “God remains in us,” (1Jn. 4:12) “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20), says Jesus.

«God will dwell with them; they will be his people.»

In this light then, the fulfillment of all the promises of the Old Covenant – “My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Ez. 37:27) – is not far off and unattainable.
Everything is already accomplished in Jesus who continues, beyond his historical existence, to be present among those who live according to the new law of mutual love, that is, the norm which makes them a people, the people of God.
This Word of Life is therefore a pressing call, especially for us Christians, to witness through love to the presence of God. “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:35). Living out the new commandment sets forth the conditions for the presence of Jesus among all people.
We cannot do anything unless this presence is guaranteed, a presence which gives meaning to the supernatural brotherhood that Jesus brought on earth for all humanity.

«God will dwell with them; they will be his people.»

First of all, it is up to us, Christians, even though we belong to different ecclesial communities, to let the world see “one people” made up of every ethnic group, race, and culture, adults and children, unwell and well. One people to which we can apply the words said of the first Christians: “Look at how they love one another and are ready to give their life for one another.”
This is the “miracle” humanity is waiting for in order to regain hope. It will also give an essential contribution to progress in ecumenism, the journey towards full and visible unity among Christians. It’s a “miracle” within our reach, or better, of the one who, dwelling among his own united by love, can change the destiny of the world and lead all humanity towards unity.

Chiara Lubich

December 1998

Nov 30, 1998 | Non categorizzato, Word of

This is the great news that Jesus announced to humanity: that we have the possibility of becoming children of God through grace.
But how and to whom is this grace given? “To those who did accept him” and to those who will accept him in the course of centuries. We must accept Jesus in faith and in love, believing in him as our Savior.
But let’s try to understand more deeply what it means to be children of God.
It is enough to look at Jesus, the Son of God, and at his rapport with the Father: Jesus prayed to his Father as in the “Our Father.” For him the Father was “Abba”; which means Dad, a Person he turned to with infinite trust and limitless love.

However, since he came on earth for us, it was not enough for him to be the only one in this privileged position. By dying for us, redeeming us, he made us children of God, his own brothers and sisters. And through the Holy Spirit he also gave us the possibility of being introduced into the bosom of the Trinity, so that we too have the possibility of repeating the same divine invocation: “Abba, Father!” (Mk. 14:36; Rm. 8:15). “Dad, my!, our Dad.” This invocation implies the certainty of his protection, confidence, trustful surrender to his love, divine consolation, strength, ardor, the ardor you experience when you are certain of being loved.

«But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God.»

What makes us one with Christ and, with him, sons and daughters in the Son, is baptism and the life of grace that comes from it.
Moreover, this passage from the Gospel also reveals to us the profound dynamism of being children of God, which we need to live out day after day. In fact, it is necessary “to become children of God.”
We become, we grow as children of God, by corresponding to his gift, by living his will which is all summed up in the commandment of love: love towards God and love towards neighbors.
To accept Jesus means to recognize him in all our neighbors. And they too will have the possibility of recognizing Jesus and of believing in him if they are able to discern in our love for them, a glimmering, a spark of the boundless love of the Father.

«But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God.»

During this month in which we celebrate Jesus’ birth on earth, let’s try to accept one another by seeing and serving him in one another.
A reciprocity of love, knowledge, and life like that which links the Son to the Father in the Spirit, will be established also between us and the Father, and Jesus’ invocation: “Abba, Father,” will ever be on our lips.

Chiara Lubich

November 1998

Oct 31, 1998 | Non categorizzato, Word of

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” This sentence, as you probably recall, is from the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus revolutionized our human way of thinking by calling “blessed” and “happy” those who, at first glance, could seem anything but happy: the poor, the persecuted, the meek, those who spend their lives bringing peace to others….
With this particular statement, he even seems to be affirming the absurd: declaring “happy” those who are in tears, “blessed” those who are afflicted with suffering. How can such an affirmation be justified?

«Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.»

The Messiah came to fulfill the words of Isaiah who had prophesied that a time would come when all who suffer would be consoled and all who mourn would be comforted (cf. Is. 61:1-3).
He knows that those who suffer are really fortunate and blessed because they are more disposed to welcome his words and, therefore, to enter his kingdom. He knows that through him the world’s many afflictions can be transformed into a life of joy.
In speaking of those who “mourn,” Jesus intends not a particular category of people, but all who suffer – regardless of age, sex, race or nationality – for whatever reason: a misfortune, a natural disaster, an illness, the death of a loved one, or the loss of possessions or reputation. He is also referring to the pain of those who are disillusioned, and of those whose unspoken suffering is deep within their hearts. He is speaking of these, and of you too, if you are suffering at this moment.

«Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.»

“They shall be comforted.” By using the future tense, Jesus is certainly referring to the times to come when God himself will reward all those who have borne their suffering well, and “he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more” (Rev. 21:4). Knowing that all this will come about when Christ’s kingdom is established, fills our hearts with hope, and hope mitigates suffering.
However, Jesus is not merely trying to lead those who are unhappy to resign themselves to their condition with the promise of a future reward. He is thinking of the present as well.

His kingdom, in fact, is already here, even though it is not yet in its final form. It is present in Jesus himself, who, after undergoing a death accompanied by great suffering and sorrow, arose and thus conquered death.
As Christians we also have the kingdom present in our hearts, because God lives within us. The Trinity itself dwells in our hearts. And so the blessed happiness Jesus proclaims can already be ours.

«Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.»

In the kingdom brought by Jesus we can experience this consolation every day. Of course, there is a prerequisite: that we live as citizens of this kingdom, conforming our lives to its laws and to what Jesus asks of us.

He has said that we must accept the sufferings that come upon us, in the same way that he accepted his own.
He wants you to “take up” your cross; he does not want you to hate it, to reject it, to push it away, or to simply drag it along. You must love it! Jesus wants you to set it squarely on your shoulders. And even more – he wants you to brandish it like a torch, like a banner.
Then you will experience the miracle of the kingdom; God will make your cross seem lighter, and you will be able to carry it. You will even be able to smile amidst the tears. You will have a strength that is not yours, a strength that comes from him. And you will understand why he says, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mt. 11:30).
The sufferings may remain, but we will experience a new vigor that will help us to bear the trials of life and that will enable us to help others who are suffering to overcome their pain and to view their suffering as Jesus viewed and accepted his: as a means of redemption.

Chiara Lubich

October 1998

Sep 30, 1998 | Non categorizzato, Word of

How often in life have you felt the need for somebody to give you a hand, and at the same time realized that no person is able to remedy your situation! It is then that you unconsciously turn to Someone who can make the impossible possible. This Someone has a name: He is Jesus.
Listen to what he tells you:

«Were your faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.»

Obviously, this image is not to be taken literally. Jesus did not promise his disciples the power to perform spectacular miracles simply to amaze the crowds. To uproot and plant in the sea is a hyperbole, that is a rhetorical exaggeration, intended to instill into the minds of the disciples the fact that with faith nothing is impossible.
The purpose of every miracle that Jesus worked, directly or through his followers, was always to further the kingdom of God or the Gospel, or the salvation of humanity. Uprooting the mulberry tree would not serve this purpose.
The comparison with the “mustard seed” is used to show that what Jesus requires of you is not a great amount of faith, but an authentic faith. The characteristic of an authentic faith is that it is rooted solely in God and not on one’s own strength. If you are assailed by doubts or reservations about your faith, then that means that your faith in God is not yet authentic. It means that you have a faith which is feeble and somewhat ineffective, which is still anchored upon human strength and human logic.
The one who trusts entirely in God lets God himself act and… to him nothing is impossible.
The faith that Jesus wants from his disciples is a totally trusting attitude which enables God to manifest his power. And this faith is not reserved for certain exceptional people. It is possible and dutiful for all believers.

«Were your faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.»

It is traditionally held that Jesus said these words to his disciples when he was about to send them out on their mission.
It is easy to get discouraged and frightened when you know that you are a small, unprepared flock, with no particular talents, faced with a great crowd of people to whom you must carry the truth of the Gospel. It is easy to lose heart because you realize that you are facing people whose interests are entirely different from the kingdom of God.
It seems an impossible task.
It is then that Jesus assures his disciples that by faith they will “uproot” the indifference and apathy of the world. If they have faith nothing will be impossible for them.
Furthermore, this expression can be applied to all circumstances of life, as long as these serve the progress of the Gospel and the salvation of people.
At times, when we are confronted with insurmountable difficulties, we might even be tempted not to turn to God. Human logic says to us, ‘Give up; it’s no use anyway.’
It is then that Jesus exhorts us not to be discouraged, but to turn to God with trust. In one way or another he will answer us.
That was what happened to Lella. Some months had passed since the day when, full of hope, she first reported to her new job in another country. But now a sense of dismay and loneliness have taken hold of her heart. It seemed as though between her and the girls with whom she lived and worked there was an insurmountable barrier. She felt isolated and estranged among those people whom she wanted only to serve with love. It was all because she had to speak a language which was neither hers nor those to whom she was speaking with.
They had told her that everybody spoke French and she learned it. But coming in direct contact with those people she realized that they studied French only in school and generally spoke it unwillingly.
Many times she tried to “uproot” this segregation that kept her apart from the others, but in vain. What could she do for them?
She could still see in front of her the face of her companion Marie, full of sadness. That evening Marie went up to her room without touching her supper. Lella tried to follow her, but she stopped in front of her door, timid and scared. She would have wanted to knock… but what words should she use to make herself understood? She remained there for a few seconds, then she gave up.
Next morning she went to church and stayed at the back behind the last pews, her face in her hands so that no one would notice her tears. It was the only place where no other language needed to be spoken, where no explanations were required, because there, was Someone who understood beyond words. It was the certainty of being understood that gave her courage and, her soul in anguish, she asked Jesus: “Why can I not share the cross of the other girls and tell them what you yourself had made me understand when I found you: that every suffering is love?”
There she was in front of the tabernacle, almost expecting an answer from him who had brought light into every darkness of her life. She turned her eyes to the Gospel of the day and read: “Trust – have faith – I have conquered the world” (cf. Jn. 16:33). These words were like balsam on Lella’s soul, and she felt a great peace.
When she went back for breakfast, she met Agnes, the girl who took care of the house-cleaning. She greeted Agnes and followed her into the storeroom; then, without a word she started to help her prepare breakfast.
The first one to come down from the rooms was Marie. She came to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, quite in a hurry to avoid seeing anyone. But there, she stopped; Lella’s peace had touched her soul in a manner which was stronger than any word.
That evening, on the way home, Marie pedaled her bicycle beside Lella’s, and trying to speak in a way Lella would understand, she whispered, “Your words are not necessary; today your life said to me: “Start loving, you too!”
Faith had won.

«Were your faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.»

Chiara Lubich

EUROPEAN PRIZE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS 1998 awarded by the Council of Europe to CHIARA LUBICH

Sep 21, 1998 | Non categorizzato

Press Conference – September 22nd at 14:30 at the Palais de l’Europe with the participation of the prize winners. This year in which we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the conferring of the 7th European Prize takes on particular importance. This award is given every three years to an individual or an organization which have distinguished itself in the promotion or defense of human rights, in accord with the principles of individual and political freedom and the respect for human rights. On Tuesday, 15 September, at 7 p.m. Chiara Lubich will also speak to a group of members of parliament at the European parliament. The gathering is organized by the European People’s Party but is open to members of other political groups. On that occasion Ms. Lubich will speak about the Focolare Movement’s experience in the areas of politics and economic solidarity. For the first time the Prize is being awarded to a woman. It was instituted in 1980 and it is honorific. Among others it has been awarded to the Medical Section of Amnesty International (1983), to former Presidents Raul Alfonsin of Argentina (1983), Lech Walesa of Poland and the International Federation of Human Rights (1989), to Médecins sans Frontières (1992). The Council of Europe official communiqué, announcing the assignment of the price, reads: Born on January 22, 1920 in the city of Trent in Northern Italy, Chiara Lubich has given life to the Focolare Movement in 1943. Working for unity among peoples through dialogue and concrete actions in favour of peace without frontiers, the Movement is now present in 180 countries and inspires the life and the action of millions of men and women of different religions and convictions. The defence of individual and social rights is at the heart of the Movement’s action in Europe and throughout the world. Young and adults, civil and religious authorities are involved in the action promoted by Chiara Lubich fostering the cause of Human Rights, peace and unity among individuals and peoples”. After the announcement many sent congratulatory messages: Daniel Tarshhys, Secretary General of the Council of Europe; Msgr Courtney, Special Envoy of the Holy See to the Council of Europe; The Hon. Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, President of the Italian Republic; The Hon. Romano Prodi, Italy’s Prime Minister. The Fondation des droits de l’homme de Turquie, an N.G.O. founded in 1990, has played an exceptional role in the defence of Human Rights in Turkey in the last seven years. Its purpose and its task are fostering and practising the universal values recognised by the international conventions and contributing to the abolishment of torture and other violations of Human Rights. Two are the main objectives of the organization: a project for a Centre of Documentation and Centres for treatment and rehabilitation. Recently several activities in the field of Education to Human Rights have been promoted by the Foundation. The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) was created in 1981. It is an intercommunitarian group dedicated to the defence of the highest judiciary norms in Northern Ireland. The CAJ checks that the Government respects its obligation to comply with international law. It has unceasingly and impartially worked towards the implementation of Human Rights throughout Northern Ireland. According to CAJ problems of justice and equity lye at the heart of the conflict in Northern Ireland; it deems solving such conflict intrinsically important and essential believing that it should be done by appealing to Human Rights violations in view of putting an end to them. The Council of Europe was founded in 1949. It works to strengthen democracy and Human Rights on a planetary level. It elaborates common answers to social, cultural and juridical challenges existing in its 40 member states.