May 18, 2021 | Non categorizzato
The campaign promoting access for all to Covid-19 vaccines will be launched on 20th May along with a symbolic action to bring healthcare to the native populations of the Amazon. It is sponsored by an international network of organizations from different cultures and religions. A global problem can only be overcome by a global common good: vaccination against Covid-19 should be accessible to all, giving priority to the most vulnerable and needy in the world, regardless of their individual and national income. A decision by the international community is urgently needed: the suspension of patents for pharmaceutical companies or contracts with more generous quantities and lower prices for poor or emerging countries. While calling for fair and urgent solutions, we are mobilising for a health campaign in the Amazonian region of Pará (Brazil) with the “Barco Hospital Papa Francisco” project for river-dweller populations of the Amazon, who cannot reach health centres and thus have the right to social and health care. This is the essence of the Manifesto that explains the commitment of the worldwide campaign “A vaccine for all” which will be launched on 20th May, on the eve of the G20 Global Health Summit, under Italian presidency. It is promoted by an international and transversal partnership of movements, organisations and research centres that is currently being expanded. Internationalizing vaccines – The Covid-19 pandemic is confirming yet again how interconnected the peoples of the earth are and how every local choice also has global repercussions. The “A Vaccine for all” campaign promotes proactive action on behalf of nations left out of various forms of treatment; it encourages governments to practice vaccine internationalism, which is the exact opposite of closed nationalism that can never defeat the virus. The goal is for every person on the planet to have access to vaccines in a universal, fair, free and fast way. The Manifesto states: “We want the development of the capacity to produce and distribute vaccines also in the poor countries of the world.” Prevention, vaccine and treatment for the river-dweller populations of the Amazon – The “Barco Hospital Papa Francisco” – The Covid-19 pandemic has made communities and populations, that were already excluded from public health care and living in isolated areas, even more vulnerable. In the city of Óbidos, (in the Amazonian region of Pará – Brazil), the “Barco Hospital Papa Francisco” has been operating since August 2019, serving more than 1,000 communities along the Amazon River. The hospital ship provides health care to around 700,000 people who do not have access to other forms of treatment and cannot reach hospitals. Only a worldwide campaign for donations can enable the “Barco Hospital Papa Francisco” to reach the most isolated communities bringing vaccines, Covid kits for hygiene and virus prevention, products for protection and treatment during and after illness, and basic food aid. Promoters of the campaign: the Focolare Movement; AMU (Action for a United World Onlus); Associação Lar São Francisco de Assis in Providencia de Deus (Brazil); New Humanity International NGO; the Economy of Francesco; UCOII (Union of Islamic Communities of Italy); Retinopera (Italy); Programa Latinoamericano de Tierras, hacia una fraternidad posible – Red Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Tierras; Cátedra “Sociedad, Política, Fraternidad” – Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina); New Horizons (Italy); Focsiv (Italy); ASCES-UNITA University Centre Tabosa de Almeida-Caruarú Pernambuco (Brazil); RUEF (University Network for the Study of Fraternity) – Promoción Integral de la Persona para una Sociedad Fraterna (Mexico); #FareRete Grottaferrata (Italy); ASD Sunrise 1 (Italy); the “G. Lazzati Centre for Development Education” (Italy); CLAdeES-Centro Latinoamericano de Evangelización Social (Argentina) – Action for New Families onlus (Italy) – Fundacion Igino Giordani (Spain) – ACLF – Aljucer (Spain) – Asociación Humanidad Nueva – España – Asociación por una Economía de Comunión – España; Gen Verde-International performing arts group; Community of Sant’Egidio (Italy); FOCSIV (Italy); Academy Kronos (Italia); Asociación “Unidad y Fraternidad” Caravaca de la Cruz (Spain); Asociación “Levántate y Anda” (Spain); Religion for peace – Italy; Acciones de Familias Nuevas (Spain); Ciudades por la Fraternidad (Spain); CONSULUS (Global Innovation Consultancy); Sophia University Institute (Italy); Association Città per la Fraternità (Italy); Suore Missionarie di San Carlo Borromeo – Scalabriniane “Provincia Europea” (Italy); Association Vivamazzonia O.D.V. (Italy); Gen Rosso-International performing arts group (Italy); SHANTI ASHRAM – Gandhian center for development, learning and collaboration – International Center for Child and Public Health – Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu – India); Sermig – Fraternità della speranza (Italy); Consorzio Il Picchio (Italy). (more support is coming in all the time) PRESS CONFERENCE Online press conference for the launch, Thursday 20 May 2021, at 13.00. Speakers: Alessandra Smerilli – Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, who coordinates the Economics task force of the Vatican COVID-19 Commission; Yassine Lafram – President of the Union of Islamic Communities of Italy (UCOII); Mario Bruno (Italy) – President of the Politics for Unity Movement; Conleth Burns (Ireland) and Klara Piedade (Brazil) – Youth for a United World of the Focolare Movement; Gianfranco Cattai – Coordinator, Retinopera (Italy); Stefano Comazzi – President of the Action for a United World NGO (Italy); Edson Galego from Brazil, healthcare worker in the Barco Hospital Papa Francisco. Moderator: Lourdes Hèrcules (Guatemala). To follow the live stream: https://www.youtube.com/c/FocolareMovement_official IT – Conferenza Stampa: Vaccino per Tutti – https://youtu.be/Ts13kYFpqfw EN – Press Conference: A Vaccine for All – https://youtu.be/rZzHFqJHhvY ES – Rueda de Prensa: Vacuna para Todos – https://youtu.be/tpSzwt6hVtU PT – Conferência de Imprensa: Vacina para Todos – https://youtu.be/LLfCHVFl0Ow FR – Conférence de Presse: Vaccin pour Tous – https://youtu.be/4FlvJlYTJeQ
May 17, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Chiara Lubich speaks of the present moment: by living each moment well, we can develop very good habits. Our charity, mutual love and union with God grow, and our soul is filled with calmness, peace and joy all day long. We have all been living the present moment, applying it in various ways according to the password. … Furthermore, we’ve noticed that one of the results of living in this way, if we do so faithfully and diligently, is that we acquire very good habits that we didn’t have before. For example, we frequently offer Jesus our actions, saying “for You”, which transforms our day into an uninterrupted prayer, because by living the present moment, we have actual grace which reminds us to say “for You” before every action. Another example is that by living in this way, we feel able to defend ourselves against temptations more quickly than before. … We also give the actions we must carry out their rightful place, without bringing them forward because we like them or postponing them because they are burdensome, because this is what often happens. Furthermore, words of encouragement, esteem and praise spontaneously flow from our heart towards the people we live with, or those we meet or are in contact with by phone, for example, or by writing to them, preparing talks or lessons for them and so on. We see Jesus in them ever more frequently, so that while our charity grows and gradually becomes more refined, our union with God grows deeper. We don’t forget to greet and adore Jesus living in the tabernacle, each time we pass by, or when we are reminded of him by a cross or an image. … We realize that it is easier for us to maintain mutual love throughout the day, which for us Christians, is very important. In fact, Scripture says that living out the new commandment makes us perfect: “If we love one another,” St John says, “God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us” (1 Jn 4:12). Before this – we must admit – even with great good will, reciprocal charity had its ups and downs. Of course we always started over again, but there were breaks. Having become more perfect in little things, we are better equipped to deal also with bigger ones and all day long our soul is filled with calmness, peace and joy. These are some of the habits acquired which build up virtues in our soul. It is a truly wonderful gathering of virtues. Now, if we can notice all this and more in ourselves when we live the present moment consistently, we must conclude that we are on the right track. …
Chiara Lubich
(Taken from a telephone conference call, Castel Gandolfo 23rd October 2003)
May 16, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Running from 16 to 25 May 2021 more than 1 billion people worldwide will participate in the event to show how it is still possible to do something for the planet. 
On 9 May, the last day of United World Week, the Focolare’s Youth for a United World launched a new campaign for the coming year 2021-2022: #daretocare for people and planet, which proposes “ecological conversion” through initiatives that involve associations, organizations, institutions but also through our simple everyday actions, to break the cycle of violence, exploitation and selfishness so typical of the culture of waste. The Focolare Movement is a partner of the Global Catholic Climate Movement and collaborates with associations, organizations, institutions, movements of different Churches and various religions and cultures for the care of the planet. A global network of people who are passionate about caring for the planet. Last year on the 5th anniversary of the encyclical on the environment Pope Francis launched Laudato Si’ Week. At the end of the week, Francis proclaimed a Special Year Laudato Si’ to develop the encyclical on ecology, and declaring the next “Laudato Si’ Week” from 16 to 25 May 2021 which coincides with the sixth anniversary (24 May) of the encyclical. The event is organised by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development together with Renova, CIDSE, Caritas Internationalis, Jesuits – Society of Jesus, International Union of Superiors General, GPIC – General Curia of Franciscans OFM, the Union of Superiors General (USG) and facilitated by the Global Catholic Climate Movement in collaboration with about 150 Catholic organisations including the Focolare. The aim is to bring about ecological conversion through dialogue and an event is being planned which will present testimonies from religious leaders from countries around the world, including those devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as India, the United States and the Philippines. Laudato Si’ Week will also serve as a platform to plan further action for the next decade, ahead of the UN Conference on Biodiversity (COP15), the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). “Laudato Si’ Week” will have a rich programme of actions, webinars and testimonies to encourage dialogue, the exchange of views and to propose concrete actions for the planet. The theme is “for we know that things can change” (Laudato Si’ 13) to shine light on the hope around the world that something can still be done to turn things around. The Week will also showcase the transformative impact of ‘Laudato Si’ on global education and will include the ‘Songs for Creation’ festival, the global day of action and the launch of the ‘Laudato Si’ Platform of Initiatives. Every global event will be simultaneously translated into English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish and French. Leaders of various religions from around the world, world-renowned speakers and authors, and more than a billion people will come together to celebrate the conclusion of the Special Year Laudato Si’ at the end of this month. “At a time when the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor are becoming increasingly intense, ‘Laudato Si’ Week’ offers the perfect opportunity to take care of our common home,” says Tomás Insua, Executive Director of the Global Catholic Climate Movement. “The clock is ticking. Everyone is invited and enthusiastic about participating in celebration and action, through local activities, online events and much more”.
Lorenzo Russo
May 14, 2021 | Non categorizzato
For Oscar, whose passion is singing and music, it was hard to accept the news that he might become deaf. But with the help of Focolare young people in Bolivia, a new adventure began that helped him overcome his challenges. In 2014 I went through a difficult time, to the point of thinking about suicide. It all started one morning when I woke up with a strong buzzing in my head. As the days went by, the buzzing became unbearable. Was I going crazy? One day when I couldn’t stand the noise anymore, and I went to the emergency room. The doctor explained that the buzzing would remain forever – in fact, that I would become deaf. This was very hard for me to take! I tried to deal with the situation decisively, but, at times, my despair seemed to win out. I asked the Focolare community for help, and I believe it was their prayers that saved me. One afternoon, I was able to accept this situation and found the strength to move forward. Continuing to fight for my wife Carminia and our six children became a worthy goal. I began to get used to the buzzing, and as I thought of the forsaken Jesus, I saw myself as similar to him, close to him. Every morning I would greet him with a “Hi, Jesus.” It was a beautiful time. It may sound strange, but it was precisely in that pain that I felt God’s presence closest! After many medical consultations and medications, my condition stabilized. The buzzing continues, however. One evening I thought, the time will come when I will no longer be able to sing or play music. It was difficult to accept, but I said another “yes” to God. I did put some conditions on it though: “I accept that I will no longer sing on this earth, but I ask to be part of your choir in heaven.” We were living in El Alto, in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, at an altitude of 4,150 meters. The doctors advised me to move to a city that wasn’t as high. In 2015, we moved to Cochabamba (2,500 meters). The local Focolare community welcomed us with open arms. It was an opportunity to get to know the Gen – the young people in the Focolare – better. With them, a musical adventure began that I never imagined. Despite already having given up my dream of continuing to sing, I found myself amid the energy and life of the Gen, and it became music. One young man suggested that I organize a music group. I was happy, but worried about my hearing, which by then was not working as well as before. But the energy of Gen, my experience with youth music groups, as well as the instruments we had in our family (four of our children are musicians) convinced me. One day we got a drum set as a gift, and it was a big party. The young people had a lot of talent. Some sang well, others played instruments with passion, and some were computer and sound geniuses. So we played at six events organized by the Focolare. How wonderful to see the young people so happy, and the adults catching their liveliness! God, in the end, did not let himself be outdone in goodness, because I was able to keep singing. I continue to do so.
Óscar Condori, Bolivia
May 12, 2021 | Non categorizzato
From the sharing of material goods to offering spiritual and emotional support, all efforts seem a drop in the ocean of the Covid-19 tragedy in India. Yet local communities continue to go ahead with faith in God and mutual trust. 
“It has been exactly one week since we tested positive. We are not looking up any information on the Internet and we are not allowing ourselves to watch the news or complain about anything. We are taking it one day at a time. Getting better. Your prayers, messages, good wishes and food full of warmth have continued to give us strength and we can feel the closeness and support of each and every one of you. We continue to offer thanks for the smallest blessings we have been given.” This WhatsApp message shared by a family from the Focolare community in Mumbai has been a ray of hope and courage in these dark times. Not a day goes by without receiving news of the death of colleagues, friends and sometimes even family members. This is in addition to the constant reminders through all the media of collapsing systems and families unable to assure dignity for their sick or deceased loved ones. With a population of 1.3 billion people, a high rate of cases was expected in India. For a whole year, until last April, the country managed to curb the spread through various measures, from strict lockdowns to contact tracing and mass vaccinations. But now the situation is worsening daily, as the virus mutates in various parts of the country and the public health system struggles to keep up with an unprecedented demand for medicines, oxygen and ventilators. During the pandemic, the Focolare community has worked tirelessly and relaunched a nationwide communion of goods to show solidarity and offer financial help to those who have lost their jobs or need funds for daily provisions. The Focolare’s Udisha project in India has been able to reach out to nearly 80 families in some of Mumbai’s low-income communities, providing them with food, medicine, school fees, books, house rent, electricity bills, etc. Amidst the raging second wave, some young people continue their work for the #DaretoCare project by serving home-cooked meals to the homeless once a fortnight. With the aim of saving lives, much of the effort and energy of the Focolare communities is now focused on health care. When an urgent request came from the Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai for oxygen concentrators for their 160-bed Covid ward, the community quickly found sponsors for two machines and is now looking for more. As the second wave continues to hammer home its full force, the Focolare families have felt the need to support each other more closely and have begun to connect daily to pray together for half an hour, finding much needed support in the pain, helplessness and even loneliness of some. As in the early days of the Movement, when the community in Trent (Italy) discovered that God is Love even in the raging of the Second World War, online prayer with the Indian community is becoming a powerful way of expressing their being one family, all equal and united in God’s love.
Annabel Dsouza from Mumbai, India
May 11, 2021 | Non categorizzato
If the United World Week 2021 has closed its doors, however, the commitment does not stop. The young people of the Focolare Movement, together with all the other promoters and partners of the #daretocare campaign, renew for the years 2021-2022 their commitment to “dare to care”, focusing on caring for the planet and for people, encouraging a true ecological conversion, taking responsibility for changing lifestyles, making them more sustainable, and trying to involve as many people as possible in this revolution. Over 800 events, more than 400 “Run4unity” races around the world, about 2,016 hours of streaming with insights on politics, migration, justice, rights, economics, health, ecology, dialogue, art. Not just theory. Not only experts. But many ongoing best practices, actions of sensitization and solidarity that have involved groups of young people, parishes, associations, families, the religious, entire communities, and even newspapers. All generations represented, with a special protagonism of children, who participated with actions of active citizenship. It was precisely on Europe Day that the United World Week 2021 concluded in Brussels, entitled “#daretocare”, this festival of fraternity that for 9 days engaged thousands and thousands of people from all over the planet, who witnessed and promoted the urgency of “dare to care”, that is, the need to make “care” the common denominator that can guide our actions as citizens and those of politicians. If the heart of the event, the main event, was in Brussels, there were many events organized in the rest of the world, in which everyone could participate, thanks to an interactive calendar: from France to Korea, from Bolivia to Sierra Leone, from the Philippines to the Holy Land. “#daretocare, people, the planet and our ecological conversion” And now, one would wonder, is it all over? Whatever happened to so much mobilization? The effort certainly doesn’t stop with the end of United World Week! In fact, the young people of the Focolare Movement, together with all the promoters and partners of the #daretocare campaign, renew for the years 2021-2022, their commitment to “dare to care”, focusing on people and the Planet, proposing an “ecological conversion”. That is, promoting and implementing integral ecology, through initiatives that can involve associations, organizations, institutions but also through our simple daily gestures, to break the logic of violence, exploitation, selfishness, typical of the culture of waste. Planet Pledge Separating waste, not buying fast fashion, taking part in solidarity initiatives for the disadvantaged of your city, avoiding the use of plastic items, cooking only as much as you can eat, treating other living beings with care, using public transport, turning off unnecessary lights… With the new campaign #daretocare we are all invited to make a commitment for the people and the Planet and to endorse it “publicly” through the website: http://www.unitedworldproject.org/daretocare2021/. Small actions can help generate big changes! Internationalization of vaccines And then, great scope for health. Strong was the call, the urgency, throughout the United World Week, to make the Covid-19 vaccine a common good for all, shared across borders. The young people, in fact, have reiterated their commitment to stimulate the governments of their respective countries to practice the internationalism of vaccines: “We call on EU leaders here in Brussels and all leaders around the world to seriously make Covid-19 vaccines accessible to everyone, no matter where they are. We pledge to continue to push for vaccine access for all”. Alongside this, as part of the new #daretocare campaign, the desire to “get our hands dirty” was born, reaching those peripheries of the world that have difficulty accessing care and assistance, especially in this time of pandemic. The appointment, for the development of this initiative, is set for May 20, on the eve of the Global Health Summit, at 13:00 (UTC+2), always on platform: www.unitedworldproject.org.
Tamara Pastorelli
Source: www.unitedworldproject.org
May 10, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Our love needs to be continuously revived by acts of love which are always more perfect, always more sincere. Chiara Lubich compares love for neighbour to a fire that is fuelled by love, to show our commitment to God and to our neighbour. Undoubtedly, we want to focus with greater conviction on our Ideal, which is all there, in mutual love. We want to strengthen our unity and do all in our power to spread it as far as possible. … Because fire—and it is a matter of fire—does not burn unless it is continually fed with wood or straw and so on. Similarly, our love needs to be continually revived by acts of love that are ever more perfect and sincere. And this is necessary not only for people who are at the beginning of the spiritual life or half way through it. Even people who have strived to practice charity for years and years can fall into a type of “routine” charity which loses the splendour and warmth of the flames, and slowly diminishes, becoming more and more hidden beneath the ashes. This is the case, for example, when in our daily lives, we no longer spontaneously declare unity with our brothers and sisters. This is the case when we notice that our charity loses its impact, its power to irradiate decreases, we are of little use to the Kingdom of God, there are fewer fruits: we have become lukewarm. For this reason, therefore, we must remind ourselves to enkindle the fire continually, to return again and again to being alive to love. Yes, because God doesn’t like those who are lukewarm, not at all: “… You are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Rev 3:15-16). This is terrible. It shows the urgency of always returning to being “hot”, to having a truly fervent charity. Let’s go ahead then: let’s ask ourselves often: have we thrown wood on the fire? Is our love shallow or ardent? Have we used every opportunity to express our fervour to God and to our neighbour? Let’s … remember only these words: not lukewarm but ardent.
Chiara Lubich
(Taken from a telephone conference call, Rocca di Papa, February 28th 1991)
May 8, 2021 | Non categorizzato
David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament, spoke on 7 May 2021 at the opening of the International Forum “DareToCare”, the central event of United World Week 2021. The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, spoke to a group of young people at the opening of the International Forum “DareToCare-Osare prendersi cura” in Brussels, Belgium. “Caring is a beautiful concept – a beautiful image – it is the goal of politics. Politics can have no other goal than to care for people, to care for communities and to care for cities. I believe that this project is a real sign of hope for the future.” The young people who spoke to the President are following courses in international relations, politics, peace studies and communication in Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium, Colombia, Hungary and Rwanda. Their questions to the President focused on issues such as democracy, Europe’s accession to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, reception, integration and humanitarian corridors and the climate crisis. “We know that politics can do many things,” Sassoli said, “but it certainly cannot achieve much without active citizens and, especially, young people. Therefore, at this very difficult time, if we want to think about and prepare for the challenges of the future, the participation of young people is decisive and important.” The International Forum that opened in Brussels is part of the United World Week 2021, the event promoted in the first week of May by the Youth for a United World of the Focolare Movement. Each year, a continent is chosen to host and prepare the central event. This time it was Europe’s turn. And Brussels, capital of the European Union, is at the heart of the events broadcast via the web. The Forum began at the Atomium, the monument which is the symbol of Brussels and was erected for the Universal Exhibition held in the Belgian capital in 1958. Prophetically, the theme of that Expo was ‘For a more humane world’. It was here, at the heart of Europe, the young promoters of the “DareToCare” campaign spoke of their commitment to ensure that in the world there is more care, more inclusion and more fraternity. They also launched their appeal for a world that respects the dignity of all human beings and respects the identity of each people and community. Rita, Febe and Johnny, young people of different ethnicities from Belgium and Luxemburg presented a brief history of the development of the “DaretoCare” campaign since its launch in June 2020: this included testimonies and details of various actions and initiatives that have taken place in all five continents. Burundi, El Salvador, Myanmar, Italy and Colombia featured in this virtual tour of the world: in these places, people have found the most diverse ways to care for their communities and countries, to live out political commitment and active citizenship. Then, the young people of Porto, Portugal, involved in the “Daretocare” campaign were able to inform European leaders, gathered in their city for a Social Summit, about the “Appeal to Care”. The text includes the following: “On behalf of all those involved in the #daretocare campaign, we ask EU leaders gathered in our country this weekend – and leaders from around the world – to answer our call and ‘dare to care’. […] To strengthen social rights across Europe, […] that the Conference on the Future of Europe should have the goal of uniting the peoples of Europe, putting care at the heart of this European project and ensuring that the Covid-19 vaccine becomes a vaccine for all, a global common good shared by all across all borders.”
Tamara Pastorelli
For further information: www.unitedworldproject.org/uww2021
May 7, 2021 | Non categorizzato
For the past twenty-two years “Together for Europe” has been bringing together more than 300 Christian Communities and Movements of different Churches – including the Focolare Movement – spread throughout the continent. There will also be many initiatives this year from 7 to 9 May. 
Sunday 9 May is Europe Day, an event that aims to highlight how peace and unity are indispensable for Europe. The date marks the anniversary of the historic Schuman declaration made public in 1950 on the occasion of the speech by the French parliamentarian, one of the founding fathers of the European Union. This is the context for the “Together for Europe” initiative, a reality that for twenty-two years has been bringing together more than 300 Christian Communities and Movements of different Churches, including the Focolare Movement. “Together for Europe” aims to respond to the need for a “culture of reciprocity” where different individuals and people can welcome, get to know and reconcile with one another, and learn to value and support each other. Major European events have been staged over the years – taking place in Stuttgart (Germany) in 2004 and 2007, then simultaneously in 152 cities around the continent in 2012 with a focus on Brussels (Belgium) and in 2016 in a central square in Munich/Bavaria (Germany). From 7 to 9 May 2021, ‘Together for Europe’ will be presented as a series of events taking place in Austria, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, France, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Italy. Among the various initiatives is the European prayer on 9 May entitled “My Europe: 45 minutes for Europe” where young people will meet online and animate an event with music, short reflections and prayer groups (in English). Young people and adults are also coming together from different European countries to make short video clips explaining their vision of a united Europe. In the Chapel for Europe in Brussels, Belgium several Movements of “Together for Europe” are preparing for an event which will be broadcast online on 8 May 2021 from 16:00 to 17:30 on the theme of “unity and reconciliation”. Also on 8 May, the young people of the Focolare Movement, as part of United World Week, whose theme this year is “dare to care”, will hold a webinar exploring the Christian roots of “care” with Canon John McLuckie, Rector of the Scottish Episcopal Church and 14 young people from 4 different Communities and 7 European countries. In Italy there will be a rich online symposium “For the Earth and People” exploring the link between integral ecology and a fair economy in contributing to building the “common home”. Starting with Graz, the Austrian group will network with Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and Italy to get to know each other better and deepen a conversation that unites us all. At the conference in France, Jean-Dominique Giuliani, President of the Robert Schuman Foundation, will speak on the theme of “Europe: what reasons for hope? ” How did the idea of a Europe Day come about? Where is the soul of Europe? What is Europe telling us today? These are some of the questions and topics that will be discussed in a video session in the Netherlands on 9 May. Germany, the Czech Republic and Switzerland will also be joining other events celebrating Europe. The aim is to take up the important challenges facing the continent of Europe, putting to good use the charisms of the Communities and Movements for the good of humanity, through multiple initiatives in favour of reconciliation and peace, the protection of life and creation, a fair economy, solidarity with the poor and the marginalised, the family, the good of our cities and fraternity within Europe.
Lorenzo Russo
May 6, 2021 | Non categorizzato
An international training course on human rights, sustainability and fraternity, consisting of lessons, practical activities, interaction and opportunities to discuss experience. Education in Global Citizenship – Solidarity of Service has already made a very positive debut and has involved 91 teachers and educators: it will be repeated this year. This course is aimed at all those who work in education and who want to learn about civic activity with a particular focus on practical solidarity of service. One of the course objectives, therefore, is to train participants to become promoters of active and global citizenship, to encourage critical thinking and to enable young people to promote learning based on solidarity. The course is organised by AMU, Action for a United World, in partnership with CLAYSS, the Latin American Centre for Service Learning and in collaboration with the Focolare’s Youth for a United World. On line lessons will begin on 8 September 2021 and finish in January 2022. Ther will be a total of 80 hours of teaching and interactive methods will be used throughout. 60 hours will be dedicated to lessons on a variety of topics (which will not be streamed but live); the other 20 hours will be used to help prepare for the final assignment. Each module will be presented using videos, texts and in-depth analysis of the subject matter. During the course, each participant will be supported by a specialist tutor who will be available for personal consultation and periodical video calls. Each module includes activities that enable students to gain skills in understanding how the contents can be applied within their own educational context. The on line platform will also include opportunities for participants to dialogue and compare experiences. The internationality of the course makes these sessions extremely helpful and interesting. Students who complete the 80 hours of teaching will be awarded a certificate by AMU at the end of the course. The feedback from those who followed the course in past has been very positive. Participants were particularly appreciative of the teaching style which succeeds in enabling both teachers and students to become active citizens. They felt the on line facility worked very well and that tutors were professional and very supportive; they were also readily available and worked with dedication and imagination. Past students also said that the internationality of their group was culturally enriching. In conclusion, this is a course, rich in content, which will enable teachers and educators to deepen their knowledge and broaden their skills in citizenship and help others to become active citizens. Further information
- AMU is an accredited body of MIUR – Italian Ministry of Education – (DM 170/2016) for the training of educational workers. It recognises Teachers’ Cards.
- – The course is already on the SOPHIA University Institute website – identification code no. 55400 for those who wish to enrol throught the Institute. However, we remind you that you must enrol also through the following link.
- – Discounts are available for those who enrol before 20 June 2021 and for groups bookings and university students. Students from developing countries may apply for grants.
To find out more, visit the AMU website at the following link.
Laura Salerno
May 5, 2021 | Non categorizzato
On 2 May, as part of United World Week 2021, a streaming event was held to mark the 25th anniversary of the Politics for Unity Movement (MPPU). A close link between generations to imprint the coefficient of universal fraternity on political relations and institutions. An “Call Towards a Politics of Quality” launched. At the Angelus, Pope Francis greeted the anniversary. Experienced politicians together with young people at their first political experience were the promoters of a streaming event on Sunday 2 May. The event, the result of months of shared work and part of the programme of the United World Week 2021, to celebrate 25 years since the founding of the Politics for Unity Movement (MPPU). Eight simultaneous languages, more than 500 listening points from all over the world and 4000 live views. In addition to the richness of the topics at the centre of the convention, there was also the unexpected and joyfully welcomed encouragement of Pope Francis, who during the Sunday Angelus addressed all the adherents of the MPU “founded by Chiara Lubich”, wishing them “good work in the service of good politics”. The live programme first of all reviewed some witnesses of the birth of the Political Movement for Unity, the moment when the founder of the Focolare Chiara Lubich founded it on 2 May 1996, meeting in Naples (Italy) with a group of politicians of different affiliations. This was followed by a number of stages in the journey of the MPPs around the world, up to the initiative that has reached its conclusion on this occasion: the Call Towards a Politics of Quality. Citizens, administrators, legislators, officials and diplomats, scholars and members of civil organisations in 25 countries of the world have cooperated in the drafting of this text: an interesting international deliberative process has resulted in a “call for action”, an appeal for action addressed to politicians in cities, parliaments, international organisations and all those involved in political action, to support the irreversible path of peoples towards unity and peace. A “politics of quality” – for the authors of the appeal – is a policy that is “better every day”, a policy that is “gentle” and “strong” at the same time, entrusted to women and men who know how to look at the deepest and most shared values of humanity, competent politicians who know how to plan for the long term and who are accountable for their mandate, who do not use people for electoral calculations, who activate processes by recognising the self-organising capacity of communities, who are on the side of the victims but do not abandon the guilty. Of course, there are thousands and thousands of emergencies to deal with,” said Adelard Kananira, from Burundi, also on behalf of the young politicians interviewed on the programme, “but we know that today the emergency that challenges us all is that of the vaccine as a common good. No time was wasted, therefore, and under the direction of the Mppu team and the young promoters of the United World Week, a strong international initiative was launched in the days immediately preceding the event: for universal access to vaccines and their widespread production, also in view of the WTO meeting and the G20 meeting on global health. “This is the response we want to propose, touching established systems with an action-sign for those in the world who do not have access to health care, because we believe that the good of others, even those we do not know, is our own good,” says Klara Costa, from Brazil, from the Focolare’s Youth for a United World Movement. “Taking care of each other: this is the concrete sign of a politics of quality. We have tried to witness this in the places where the pandemic is most serious,” said Mario Bruno, president of the International Centre of Mppu. “We met the operators of a hospital ship, the ‘barco papa Francisco’, which is bringing health care to those populations in Parà, Brazil. It is them that we want to reach as soon as possible with the vaccine’. Closing the appeal – and the streaming – was therefore the drawing of a high politics, anchored to reality and full of ideal strength at the same time, a politics that knows how to act “to love and heal the world”. We start again from here.
Edited by the Mppu International Centre
To review the event in the various languages click here
May 3, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Thank God you exist!” These are the heartfelt words Chiara Lubich addressed to young people on the occasion of World Youth Day 2,000. The following excerpt from her talk highlights the courage, freedom and hope that characterise young people and the specific contribution this generation can make to bring about “a new world, a better, happier world, one that is more worthy of the human person and more united”. … I know from experience that young people have something special, which represents a great hope for the world. Although you may be immersed, like everyone else, in the evils of our times, you, young people often have hearts and minds with antennas that can detect special wavelengths which others are not able to perceive. Your very age makes you free to entertain noble aspirations such as peace, justice, freedom, and unity, to dream of achievements which would appear utopian to others, to foresee in the third millennium the dawning of a new world, a better, happier world, one that is more worthy of the human person and more united. We thank God that you exist! But what do I want to say to you now? My words are an echo of the words of Jesus which the Pope repeated to young people in 1995: “As the Father sent me, so I send you” (Jn. 20:21). It’s an invitation to bring the light of truth into today’s society; to take up the challenge of what the Pope called a “new evangelization”. A “new evangelization”!! Why is it “new”? And what does “new” mean? It has a number of meanings and I will tell you about one of them. You know that nowadays words are no longer enough. Young people, in particular’ don’t want to listen so much to teachers as to witnesses; they want to see facts. Well then, evangelization will be “new” if those who proclaim the Gospel are first of all genuine, authentic Christians, if they are the first to live what the Gospel teaches, so that people can say of them what was said of the first Christians: “See how they love one another and how they are ready to die for one another.” Furthermore, evangelization will also be “new” if they love all other people, without distinction. And it will be “new” furthermore if these Christians love in practical ways by engaging in works that help give food, clothes, and shelter to those in need. And finally, it will be new – and this is important – if they speak and announce the Gospel only after doing all this. Christians of this kind, I assure you, make the life of Jesus attractive to people today, who grow in love for him, and so the kingdom of God spreads beyond all expectations and the Church is strengthened and grows. It grows so much that these Christians can look far into the future, as Jesus did when he called everyone to universal fraternity, praying to the Father: “That they may all be one”. It might seem a wild dream, but it’s possible because it is the dream of a God. And they believe in it. There are thousands, indeed millions of young people from all nations who are moving towards this very goal. It is to them that John Paul II said: “People who look to the future are the ones who make history: the others are just in tow…[1] Dear young people, today the Pope’s words are addressed to all of you. Don’t disappoint him, don’t disappoint us. I wish you this with all my heart.
Chiara Lubich
[1]. John Paul II, Homily during Mass at the conclusion of the Genfest 1980, in L’Osservatore Romano” May 19-20, p. 1.
Apr 30, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Orthodox Christians are celebrating Easter this year on Sunday 2 May. Delia Surdu, a focolarina belonging to the Romanian-Orthodox Church describes her preparation for this feast. The Orthodox Church celebrated Palm Sunday on 25 April, leading into Holy Week culminating on 2 May with the feast of the resurrection of the Lord. Delia Surdu is an Orthodox focolarina, living in the focolare community house at Velletri, near Rome, Italy. We asked her how she is living Holy Week in these pandemic times: “I must say this is a rather unusual Holy Week because of the world situation. But it’s far better than last year, when we were in total lockdown here in Italy, so we could only follow our services via internet. Today, we thank God we’re able to take part, even if they will be much shorter than usual! In these times, when we meet so much suffering caused by the pandemic and many other factors, so much lonelines … I feel we’re closer to Jesus Christ Crucified and Abbandoned. And by looking at Him, without turning our gaze away, looking at the patience with which he accepted suffering, the love with which He gave His life for us, we’ll receive strength and rise up together with Him!” In your focolare community, you’re the only one belonging to the Orthodox Church. The others are Catholic. How are you all living the preparations for this Easter “Together! We’re ready to declare to one another once more: Christ is risen! We celebrated Catholic Easter together on 4 April, and now we’re living another Pascal Triduum together, according to the Romanian Orthodox Church tradition. They’ll even be helping me make our traditional Easter food, because they’ve all learnt really well how to do it! Since I came to this focolare community, one of the greatest joys has been preparing our ‘sarmale’ (cabbage and mince rolls) together with a Korean focolarina, and exchange all the Easter greetings we have in my Church’s tradition! We’re one family, so one person’s celebration is everyone’s celebration!” What originally drew you to the spirituality of unity of Chiara Lubich? And today what inspires you to build universal fraternity? “I got to know the Focolare Movement when I was 14 years old. What struck me first was the discovery that the words of Sacred Scripture could be lived by anyone, even a girl like me, simply in every day life. In particular I was strongly drawn by the words: “That all may be one” (John 17:21) and I decided to live to contribute towards its realisation! Chiara’s ideal of unity inspires everything I do every day: in my job working with disabled children, in my free time, at home in my focolare community, in my Church etc. I try to see in everyone a brother or sister to love, with whom I can walk together towards universal fraternity”. Can you tell us something of your own experience of dialogue, in your daily life with people from other Churches? “Living with people who belong to a different Church to my own is a personal enrichment. Rather than dialogue, I’d say it’s a life lived together, with everyone striving to love the others and so drawing out the best of ourselves and the beauty of our own traditions, discovering the best and the beauty of each other’s Church. For example, I’m so impressed by the commitment of the Catholic focolarine to many social actions they support in society. And they in turn are touched by the sense of Mystery they find in our way of living our faith as Orthodox Christians”.
Lorenzo Russo
Apr 28, 2021 | Non categorizzato
The 25th edition of the United World Week (1-9 May 2021) promoted by the young people of the Focolare Movement gets underway. Central event in Brussels (Belgium). David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament, will speak. Covid -19 Vaccine as a global common good, the UN treaty for the prohibition of nuclear weapons, global strategies to welcome migrants, legality, civil economy and integral ecology will be focal points during the 25th edition of United World Week (1-9 May 2021), an international event promoted by the Youth of the Focolare Movement and streamed on the multilingual platform www.unitedworldproject.org. The main item on the programme of this international event will take place in Brussels from 7th to 9th May. David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament, will participate in the International Forum. Care as political action and response to ecological challenges The “culture of care”, expressed by the slogan #DARETOCARE, is at the heart of this project. It consists of a campaign of awareness and action, in which young people have realized that the road to build a better future lies in the ability and courage to care, also as a political paradigm, understood as a service to every person and in very social sphere. The first phase of the campaign promoted “care” in our behaviour as citizens and in our political actions; the second phase, which will start with United World Week 2021, will focus on the “care” of the planet and the challenges of integral ecology. This year’s programme: May 2: The Politics for Unity Movement, which celebrates its 25th anniversay, proposes an online event during which it will launch “An appeal for a new quality of politics”. May 7-9: An international Convention streamed from Brussels (Belgium); citizens and politicians will be able to share ideas, discuss and work together in an online agora. May 7: In a face-to-face meeting with youth, David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament, will be the main speaker. Peace, politics, welcoming migrants and ecology will be discussed. Others scheduled to take part in the United World Week events are: the economists Jeffrey Sachs, Sir Partha Dasgupta and Luigino Bruni; Simone Borg, Professor of Environmental and Resources Law at the University of Malta; Lorna Gold, Professor of Environment, Sustainability and Social Justice, at the National Maynooth University, Ireland; Catherine Belzung, Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Tours, France; Pasquale Ferrara, diplomat and ambassador; Giuseppe Gatti, magistrate of the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate; Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement; Fr. Luigi Ciotti, founder of Libera. United World Week is an international event promoted by the Focolare youth. Since 1996, it has involved young people and adults, institutions and associations to raise world-wide awareness on the issues of peace and brotherhood and to promote concrete actions and commitments. Info and contacts: Tamara Pastorelli (+39) 347 0064403 Focolari Communications Office – Stefania Tanesini – (+39) 338 5658244 ————————————————————————————
PROGRAMME
May 1 15.00: “May Day at Loppiano“, live from this small town of the Focolare Movement. This is a regular event in which thousands of young people from all over Italy and also from other parts of the world participate. 21.00: Concert by the Gen Verde international performing arts group. May 2 From 11.00 to 12.00, in every time zone there will be a virtual “Run4unity”, a non-stop sports relay race with games, challenges, testimonies and commitments, to symbolise a rainbow of unity and peace on earth. 14.00: The Politics for Unity Movement, which celebrates its 25th anniversay, proposes an online event during which it will launch “An appeal for a new quality of politics”. May 4 17.00: “Female sport experiences”, with Lucia Castelli, Maddalena Musumeci, Dona Neide, Patricia Furtado, organised by Sportmeet Association. May 5 16.00: “The Economy of Francesco”, young people in dialogue with Indian economist Sir Partha Sarathi Dasgupta. May 6 19.00: Città Nuova (New City) presents “La legalità del Noi al tempo del COVID 19” (The ‘Us’ lawfulness at the time of COVID 19). Giuseppe Gatti, magistrate of the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate, the economist Luigino Bruni, the journalist Gianni Bianco and Fr. Luigi Ciotti, founder of the Libera Association will take part. May 7 13.00: Youth in dialogue with David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament.
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May 7-9 World Forum #daretocare at Brussels (Belgium)
May 7 12.00 (UTC+1): “Dare To Care International Convention” from Brussels. In this opening show, set up with collaboration of the Sylvester TV Productions Company, there will be stories, best practices, ideas, inspirations “to dare to care” from all over the world. 13.00: Youth in dialogue with David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament; 14.00: The Economy of Francesco, Policies & Happiness and Care’s proposals May 8 14.00: “A vaccine for all, a Common Good the whole world needs”, with Jeffrey Sachs, economist and essayist (USA), and Catherine Belzung, psychologist and professor of neuroscience at the University of Tours (France). 21.00: Concert by the Gen Rosso international performing arts group. May 9 12.00 (UTC+1): “#daretocare for People and the Planet”, presented from Brussels in collaboration with the Sylvester TV Productions Company, will launch the second phase of the #daretocare campaign. It will focus on the challenges of integral ecology, with inspiring experiences and actions from different parts of the world. 15.00: “Care and COP26” with Simone Borg, Professor of Environmental and Resources Law at the University of Malta; Lorna Gold, Professor of Environment, Sustainability and Social Justice at the National University of Maynooth (Ireland); Pasquale Ferrara, Diplomat and Ambassador.
Apr 28, 2021 | Non categorizzato
The first academic contribution from the Latin American affiliate of Sophia University Institute is a diploma course dedicated to leadership which is participative, inclusive, team-oriented and environmental: community leadership. What topics and needs does it want to address? Interview with Lucas Cerviño, professor of theology, and Candela Fraccaro, Argentinean student In today’s world, marked by major economic and social challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, the Sophia University Institute in Latin America and the Caribbean is responding to these needs with a new Diploma course in Community Leadership. We spoke about this with Lucas Cerviño, professor of theology and co-responsible for the youth school in the Focolare’s little town El Diamante (Mexico) and a member of the team coordinating the course. Cerviño explains: “We are living through a change of epoch, in which Pope Francis (as we read in Evangelii Gaudium) sees a crisis of community commitment. We thought that in order to overcome this condition in a positive way it is necessary to promote a new style of leadership, no longer personalistic, centred on management and decision-making. At the same time, we have seen that in many places in Latin America, research is being carried out, there are experiences and proposals for community commitment. The course was created to bring together the need for renewed leadership with these seeds of new life”. Today’s world is grappling with the pandemic challenge. In this context, what needs do you want to respond to? Lucas Cerviño: “We believe that in order to overcome the pandemic we need to work together going beyond diversity, to promote an awareness that we have a common origin, an interdependence in the present and we are moving towards a common horizon. Our course wants to offer its contribution to this process”. What are the topics and training objectives of the course? Lucas Cerviño: “The course is aimed at all those who have, or are candidates for, a leadership role in the economic, political, religious or third sector, and it offers them the opportunity to practically rethink or structure their leadership. To this end, we offer knowledge, resources, strategies and skills to build a leadership that knows how to generate, preserve and enhance relational assets; facilitate synergetic, relational and cooperative practices and tools to generate more sustainable processes in different social spheres. In terms of content, the relationship between the person and the community is investigated, and we talk about sustainable development, fraternity and citizenship, social cohesion in diversity, community learning, economic management and communion, synodality and religious experience”. The teaching method is also innovative… Lucas Cerviño: “It would be a contradiction to offer a course on community leadership and then run it in a unilateral way. We need to go beyond the traditional concept of teaching to open up to community and creative learning that focuses on interpersonal relationships. The course is therefore both theoretical and practical. It is structured according to learning communities: in addition to following the lessons, participants join in groups of six or seven people and, accompanied by a tutor, create a space for reflection and community knowledge. Each participant is then supported by a tutor to develop a concrete intervention project that applies the course content. The characteristics of the course mean that the participants, who come from nine countries, including young people in their twenties and others almost at the point of retirement; students and professionals. All motivated to learn together”. Candela Fraccaro is one of the youngest students. We asked her: what made you decide to undertake a course in community leadership? Candela Fraccaro: “I am urged on by the commitment that I have been carrying out for some years with other young people in the Piedras Blancas suburb, in the city of Godoy Cruz, near Mendoza (Argentina). Here we run a toy library to educate children through play, we run workshops for teenagers, we help provide meals for children in need and together with the Youth for a United World of the Focolare Movement, we support a school. I lead some of these activities and so I feel that the course can give me tools to set up a project to help us channel our efforts”. The dialogical method is an integral part of the course. What positive elements do you see? Candela Fraccaro: “This method invites us to value diversity, to turn it into an enrichment, and proposes dialogue as a tool for building together. It is based on respect, listening and openness, and offers the opportunity to express oneself freely without imposing one’s own idea. In this way, the teaching-learning process is more enriching and everyone feels an active part of the process”.
Claudia Di Lorenzi
Apr 26, 2021 | Non categorizzato
How did the idea of a united world come about? How did this adventure of unity begin? On the occasion of the United World Week 1999, Chiara Lubich answered these questions for the young people of the Focolare. United World Week is a worldwide workshop which showcases stories, actions and initiatives that contribute to creating fraternity, unity and peace. How did this adventure of unity begin? Dear young people, I was not the one who started it. It was God who wanted it to happen. I don’t know if you have heard about the special gifts God sends on earth from time to time: they are called charisms. God, who sustains the course of history, sends these gifts for a very specific purpose: to bring about something good. To reach this goal, he even uses what we, men and women, have done that is not good. God, God who is Love, is the one who sends them. And many of us here firmly believe in him. One day, many years ago, he sent one of his charisms to us, too. Through it, we understood that he had a wonderful plan for us, young people of that time. He had a task for us, almost a mission. He wanted us to work throughout our lives so that all would be one. To achieve this, he stimulated love in our hearts and in the hearts of many other people. Is this an impossible dream? A utopia? Certainly not, because Jesus asked his Father in Heaven precisely for this. He prayed to him: “that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21). And how could God the Father not listen to God the Son? They are Father and Son, one God. And so, we set out confidently towards that goal and now all over the world, there are millions of people, including adults, young people and children, in almost every country in the world. It’s impossible to count how many of us there are! Among all these people, there are of course those who have a different religion from ours, or who don’t believe in God. They too have that innate kindness in their hearts, which is present in every human being. Therefore, we journey with them, too, towards the goal of a universal family, towards achieving a united world. And, if God is with us, who can be against us? […] if I were one of you, I would above all, take as my own the heritage which already exists. I would live in solidarity with all those millions of people who are already on the journey. Then I would try to contribute to the cause in two ways. While remaining faithful to the vision of those who began this Movement, and in solidarity with all those who have gone ahead of us, I would propose to love with even greater passion, if that is possible, and to work to reinforce the network of our Movement, which now covers the whole world. In other words, I would try to increase our strength and number. Then I would also try to be attentive to the urgent needs of humanity and see what can be done to respond to them.
Chiara Lubich
Rocca di Papa, 26th April 1999, Message to the Youth for a United World and for the 1st May event in Loppiano (Italy) Source: Chiara Lubich Centre
Apr 21, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Earth Day 2021: all set for the 51st United Nations World Earth Day. Live for the whole world to view on 22 April on www.raiplay.it 13 hours of direct livestreaming for the protection of creation. The 22 April 2021 marks the second episode of #OnePeopleOnePlanet – the multimedia marathon to celebrate the 51st Anniversary of World Earth Day, with 13 hours of live streaming – from 7.30 a.m. Italian time – on www.raiplay.it which can be viewed all over the world. #OnePeopleOnePlanet is the result of the efforts of two organisations – Earth Day Italy and the Focolare Movement – that gave life to the Village for the Earth at the Villa Borghese (Rome) which was unexpectedly inaugurated by Pope Francis in 2016 following the historic Paris climate agreement. Here are the words of Pierluigi Sassi, president of Earth Day Italy, interviewed by Lorena Locascio. Pierluigi, what can we expect this year for the second episode of #OnePeopleOnePlanet? “For the 2021 version we are putting young people first, because for the first time ever the United Nations are inviting young people to be present at the Climate Conference. So we are involving young people who have finally raised their heads and finally begun to make their voices heard, not only as the generation that will inherit this planet but also as the people who can bring about change because it is something they feel strongly about. (…) Our other commitment is to vigorously pursue the 17 goals of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We think that by building bridges towards 2030 and then trying to create international links we can accelerate the process. What we would like to do is create lots of points of contact with the five continents, telling wonderful stories of people who are committed to the cause in every corner of the earth. (…) The third point is innovation for sustainable development. It’s the moment when the entrepreneur is faced with a blank sheet of paper and prepares to describe not only his business model but also the rules of the game, and is much more sensitive to the issue of sustainability. So innovation is the great challenge of the future”. What are the new or special features this year as compared to last year? “This year we wanted to include a module called VIP – Very Important Planet, where the VIPs are not the people we chase for autographs, but the planet that needs help from those people. So we’re asking a lot of people from the worlds of entertainment, sport, culture and art to help us with awareness-raising messages. This will help make our marathon much more fun because when we talk about important things there’s a risk that some may find it boring so there will be lots of music, lots of fun with the aim of mobilising and touching the heartstrings of our listeners to try to produce a little more change through this game”. This year part of the programme will also be dedicated to talking about #Daretocare; what can you tell us about this… without giving too much away? “First of all, we have to say that the meeting with the United World Project (UWP) of the Focolare Movement, and therefore the meeting with such an important mobilisation, which is so widespread at an international level, gives us great reason for hope. Seeing so many young people in hundreds of countries committed to unity, which is also one of our themes: #One PeopleOnePlanet says a lot about the fact that we are talking about one single human family, the unity of people with one sole planet, hence the importance of safeguarding our earth: it has certainly been a wonderful moment to find the UWP soul. This network of people already supported us last year with communications. It is a network that has been extraordinarily committed to this #Daretocare campaign on the theme of COVID and on the theme of the solidarity emerging from it. We want to talk about these bridges for the common good on an international level, about the importance of coming together to achieve common goals and protect the common good. Putting man back at the centre and telling stories of courage and pride in doing good has been a very beautiful experience. I can’t wait to see the final product but I can already sense something very beautiful.” So the appointment is for 22 April 2021 from 7.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. (Italian time) on the www.raiplay.it website which is visible to the world and on the OnePeopleOnePlanet website to celebrate this important day together with the One People One Planet marathon.
Lorenzo Russo
https://www.youtube.com/embed/VQE-ezBeAT8
Apr 19, 2021 | Non categorizzato
This is the question we asked Prof. Alberto Lo Presti and Dr. Elena Merli, members of the Igino Giordani Centre, editors of “Igino Giordani: an unarmed hero” (Città Nuova Publications). So many biographies have been written about Why another one? Elena Merli: The previous biographies cover a limited time span of Giordani’s life. The first biography was written in 1936; then there was the one written by Tommaso Sorgi, a friend of Giordani who studied him in great depth. Sorgi wrote an inspired and detailed biography that deals with Giordani’s life from birth to 1948. Other biographies analysed Giordani’s life from a particular perspective: historical, spiritual, political…. They are all valuable; they are a great richness, but this biography deals with a holistic perspective of his life. It speaks about aspects that were very little explored until now, namely: his family life, his deep relationship with Chiara, the particular period of intense illumination that was “Paradise ’49”. Even his experience as a member of the Dominican Third Order had not yet been explored in depth. Some of the political background of his life had not yet emerged, nor were some of his intimate choices and delicate passages of his personal life. I would like to point out particularly the novelty of a chapter dedicated to what he jokingly called “Giordania”, that is, his family. I think many will enjoy reading about the secrets of Igino’s lively family situation. The first thing that strikes you in this book is its prestigious preface signed by Sergio Mattarella, the President of the Italian Republic. Why him? Alberto Lo Presti: It is good to know a few things from behind-the-scenes. First of all, Sergio Mattarella knew Igino Giordani personally, and he says something about this in the preface. Then, one must remember that his father, Bernardo Mattarella was the author of the first biography written in 1936. So, all this helped to ask him write the preface. Then, we think that Sergio Mattarella is interpreting the role of President of the Republic as a source of unity in Italy and in the international field. During this health crisis, he has been a figure of stability and high morality. Giordani gave witness to unity in politics and harmony among people. The parts of the book dedicated to his political commitment describe his behaviour during the war and in the post-war period, under bombings and fascism, amidst the rubble of reconstruction and social distress. Those times were not any calmer or more peaceful than the ones of today. Giordani’s steadfastness can still help us to understand where to go today. This volume is the result of intense archival research work. Do we know everything about Giordani now? Elena Merli: We have an impressive amount of material, documents, correspondence, and also audio and video recordings of many of Giordani’s talks, public and confidential ones, transcribed and sorted out. All these proved extremely useful to discover details about his personal life. Who knows how many more new and interesting discoveries we can still make by exploring the archive! Many are already in this book. I’ll mention just one: details about Giordani’s last years, when he lived in this building, the International Centre of the Focolare Movement. At that time, the Focolare community of Antonio Petrilli occupied the first floor of this building, and in 1974, after the death of his wife Mya, Giordani moved to live with this community. These unpublished details reveal Igino’s faithfulness to community life and the depth of his humanity. To whom is this book addressed? Alberto Lo Presti: It addresses all those who want to solve the mystery of mysteries, that is, of how to be totally donated to God while immersed in the ordinary things of the world. Giordani managed to do this and he traced the way for us. He always questioned himself about it ….. but when he met Chiara Lubich he also found the answers. For Igino, Chiara was the answer to all his existential questions. He studied early Christian writers, medieval theologians, modern theologians, great spiritual figures, yet he found the answers in Chiara and in the spirituality of communion. I would like to recount one of the many anecdotes, which many do not know; one can find it in the book. Giordani had such a great desire to donate himself to God that at the end of the 1920’s he joined the Dominican Third Order. But he was not satisfied … the rule for members was at least one Mass a month, a sermon by one of the monks and nothing more. He wanted to be more involved in religious life. So he submitted his idea to the monks: rent a flat where they could all meet: “you in your cassock (the monks’ cassock) and we, (the lay members) in our trousers. Thus, we can have some community life together”. He was told that this was not in the norms of the Dominican order and it stopped at that. What Giordani yearned for at the end of the 1920’s became a realty through Chiara; it was the focolare. Yes, in 1928 when such episodes happened, he was dreaming of the focolare. Incredible, isn’t it?
Edited by Lorenzo Russo
. If you would like to buy the book, please visit the web page of Città Nuova Publications
Apr 19, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Referring to a sentence from Scripture, Chiara Lubich reflected on the Holy Journey of life inviting us to check up every now and then, in front of God, on how far we have reached on the journey. Uppermost in my mind today is a desire for to take a closer look at how we are doing in terms of our commitment to reach holiness. A few days ago a focolarina brought to my attention a beautiful sentence from the Psalms, that proclaims a beatitude I’d never heard of: “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage” (Ps. 84: 5 NIV). “Pilgrimage?” What pilgrimage is Scripture speaking about? It is of course our journey towards heaven and God; and thus, our journey toward holiness, which will lead us to heaven. … So then, have we really set out on this holy journey? In this present moment, are we moving onward? … Let’s each pause a moment and put ourselves before God; and for his glory alone, let’s take stock of the situation. Have there been any results? Have we improved, for instance, in doing God’s will? Are we any better at loving? What about our mutual love? … If the answer is yes, then let’s give thanks to God and keep going. If the answer is no, let’s thank God that we still have time to start afresh. Then, onward! We really want to experience together the happiness of the Holy Journey!
Chiara Lubich
(From a telephone conference call, Rocca di Papa, 3rd September 1981)
Apr 18, 2021 | Non categorizzato
An afternoon dedicated to Igino Giordani (1894-1980) politician, writer, journalist, co-founder of the Focolare Movement. On Sunday, 18 April 2021, at the International Centre of the Focolare Movement in Rocca di Papa, Rome, Italy an event took place remembering Igino Giordani 41 years after his death. Giordani was a rich and multifaceted figure – a politician, a member of the Constituent Assembly and then of the Italian Parliament, a journalist, a writer, and, with Chiara Lubich, co-founder of the Focolare Movement. The event included a presentation of the sculpture by the artist Peter Kostner which is dedicated to Giordani and of the new biography “Igino Giordani: an unarmed hero” edited by Alberto Lo Presti and with a preface by the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella,. It is published by Citta Nuova’. The programme was live streamed and was enriched by personal testimonies recalling Giordani. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezq3Sak8Pbg
Apr 14, 2021 | Non categorizzato
On Sunday, April 18th, Igino Giordani, a politician who inspired the social commitment and ideal choices of many, a writer and journalist, and co-founder of the Focolare Movement, will be remembered through live streaming. The latest biographical book will be presented and a sculpture dedicated to him will be inaugurated. A man of dialogue and deep faith, a supporter of universal fraternity, a builder of peace, a politician, a journalist: Igino Giordani (1894-1980) is all this and much more. April 18th, 2021 will mark the 41st anniversary of his death, and the Igino Giordani Centre has organised an event to commemorate his life. A personality who continues over time to arouse interest in people of different ages, geographical, political and cultural backgrounds calling for commitment to build a better society. The event will be broadcast in live streaming ( https://live.focolare.org/ ) from the International Centre of the Focolare Movement (Rocca di Papa, Italy) on Sunday, April 18th, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. (Italian time) with the possibility of following it in Italian, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Giordani was a journalist and writer, but he played a very important role in Italian politics. In fact, after World War II, he made a valuable contribution to laying the foundations for the nascent Italian Republic in a period that was not easy for the country, i.e., close to the world wars. He was also a member of the Constituent Assembly, a witness to politics as a service to peace and to a more just society. With this in mind, there will be some testimonies from those who have translated Giordani’s wisdom into bills or political initiatives in favour of dialogue and the common good, or those who have understood what choices are right to make in order to oppose policies that threaten peace among peoples. During the event, the latest biography by Alberto Lo Presti (ed. Città Nuova Italia), entitled “Igino Giordani. Un eroe disarmato” (Igino Giordani. Igino Giordani, an unarmed hero), with a preface by the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella. This biography helps to rediscover the sense of an authentic political and social commitment. The biography is as gripping as a novel. Mattarella writes about Giordani: “His lively faith, his evangelical consistency, the fervour with which he fought for social equity, freedom and peace shook many consciences and promoted action and thought, both in the dark times of Fascism and in the years of democratic reconstruction. He became a builder of peace in the dialogue between people, between religious confessions, between peoples and States … He thought of Europe as a continent of peace, after having been the scene of devastating wars. He wanted his country to be a bridge. And he himself tried to become a bridge to bring people closer, connect them, recompose them”. A sculpture dedicated to him by the artist Peter Kostner will also be inaugurated. The work, which will be placed in the garden of the International Focolare Centre, depicts Giordani sitting on a bench. In the last years of his life, in fact, he often sat on a bench in the park. During the international meetings held at the Centre, many young people and adults would come up to greet him and talk to him. And the bench became a place of encounter and dialogue. During the event some testimonies will recall those conversations in which Giordani listened with humility and patience, not sparing advice drawn from his fruitful life experience and enriched by the charism of unity.
Lorenzo Russo
Apr 12, 2021 | Non categorizzato
When the efforts we make to overcome our selfishness are done out of love for Jesus crucified in the present moment and we do what God wants of us immediately afterwards, we can experience the fullness of life of the Risen Lord in us. We might ask: is it possible to experience the presence of the Risen Lord and the consequent outpouring of the gifts of his Spirit – life, light, peace, love, consolation, ardour, and so on – not only when there are two or more people united in Jesus’ name, but even when we are alone? How? At what price? By embracing Jesus Forsaken in each present moment. This extraordinary experience prompted us to look deeper into the Scriptures and the Church’s teachings. And they confirmed that it was true. But which Jesus Forsaken – as we would say – should we embrace in each present moment? The one our Christian life requires of us in denying ourselves and taking up our cross, if we want to follow Jesus. Therefore, we need to say yes and quickly embrace every suffering that comes our way – our own cross. But we also need to embrace the suffering that comes from our efforts to deny ourselves and in the struggle against our selfishness and the so-called desires of the flesh (overeating, impurity, quarrelling, jealousy, and so on) so that love triumphs in our hearts. When we love these efforts out of love for Jesus crucified in the present moment and we do what God wants of us immediately afterwards, we can experience the fullness of life of the Risen Lord in us, even on our own. His light comes into each of our hearts. His peace fills us. His love is enkindled in us, and with it, consolation, calmness, a taste of Heaven. In other words, everything changes. Our soul is clothed anew. … This is what we want to do: to love Jesus Forsaken always, immediately, and joyfully; not only in our daily sufferings, but also in the effort involved in overcoming our selfishness. This is exactly what Igino Giordani meant when he wrote the following poem, shortly after he had embraced our spirituality: “Mi son messo a morire e quel che accade non mi importa più, mi sono messo a gioire nel cuore desolato di Gesù”, [I have set about dying, and what happens is of no matter anymore, I have set about rejoicing in the desolate heart of Jesus]. To die to ourselves so as to rejoice with Jesus; to die with Him forsaken, so as to live with Him risen from the dead. So let’s remember these words: “I have set about dying” and let’s welcome the death of our selfishness ten or even a hundred times a day, so as to give the people we meet the joy of encountering the Risen Lord.
Chiara Lubich
Taken from a telephone conference call, Rocca di Papa, 3rd November 1983
Apr 10, 2021 | Non categorizzato
After the General Assembly of the Focolare Movement, Assemblies of a number of its branches were held: those of the men and women focolarini, that of the diocesan priests who belong to the Movement and those of the men and women Volunteers of God. The theme that each of the assemblies had in common was the focus on dialogue on all levels. The General Assembly of the Focolare Movement took place from 24 January to 7 February 2021. The roles of President, Co-President and of the governing bodies were renewed and the guidelines and action for the next six years were defined. The Assemblies of the focolarini and focolarine, the focolarini priests and the Volunteers of God were subsequently held, all online. Focolarini and focolarine. The Assembly for the men focolarini held from 9-13 February was composed of 121 members spread across 5 continents including an Anglican focolarino from London, a Coptic Orthodox focolarino from Cairo and a Muslim focolarino from Algeria. In its report of the last six years, the International Centre for the Focolarini shared with great honesty the challenges, painful aspects as well as the very promising developments regarding the life of the Focolarini all over the world. The final document characterises the focolarino as a man of God constantly listening to the cry of humanity today. Flavio Roveré from Brazil was reconfirmed as the person responsible for the men focolarini. At the same time 136 women focolarine met. From a question posed by Agnes van Zeeland, who was previously responsible for this branch as to whether the time has not come to “go out” more to the world and its wounds, a passionate dialogue ensued. The new person responsible, Noreen Lockhart (Great Britain), was described by the Co-President, Jesús Morán, as “someone who has dialogue running through her blood, someone who is used to resolving conflicts”. Focolarini priests. The Assembly of focolarini priests was held from 1 to 5 March with 74 participants, including some invited guests, such as a minister from the Swedish-Lutheran Church. Reviewing the key words of the 2014 General Assembly, “Go out – Together – Well-prepared”, the person responsible Fr Antonio Bacelar presented in his report the steps taken, the processes initiated, the prospects to be developed, such as the need to act more and more together with all the vocations of the People of God. In the final document which is intended to be “a road map”, dialogue based on listening to the Holy Spirit emerges as a priority. Fr Antonio Bacelar (Portugal) was re-elected for a second term as the person responsible for the focolarini priests. Volunteers of God. The two Assemblies of the men and women Volunteers of God were held from 17th to 21st March with a total of 356 participants present online. The words “courage and forward” addressed by the new President of the Focolare, Margaret Karram, to the two Assemblies, highlight the particular vocation of the Volunteers to face future challenges of humanity in order to change the world according to “the law” of Gospel-based love. The starting point for the two final documents was Pope Francis’ invitation to the General Assembly to “be a living expression of the founding charism and to remain faithful to the original source by striving to rethink and express it in dialogue with the new social and cultural situations”. Juan Ignacio Larrañaga, a volunteer from Spain, and Fanny Bava from Italy were elected as the new persons responsible.
Lorenzo Russo
Apr 8, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Arthur George Baum left for heaven on February 4th 2021 at the age of 92, in Augsburg, Germany. He was born on May 18th 1928 in Hinckley, a town in the county of Leicestershire, in the heart of England. Single, a Volunteer of God and a member of the International Volunteers of the Focolare, he worked for many years at Vatican Radio, people there have beautiful memories of him. In the last month of his earthly life, he was in a nursing home as he underwent surgery on his femur, fractured after a fall. He was one of the first Volunteers of God and formed the first nucleus at the International Volunteer Centre. He was renowned for his humour, which was obviously English, but he was also very tidy, one might say German, and as precise as someone Swiss, but above all he managed to overcome obstacles with Italian genius. Hèctor Lorenzo (God’s Volunteer and Arthur’s friend) tells us that, even in tragic physical situations Arthur could add humour. One evening after 11 p.m., he received a phone call: ‘It’s Arthur, I have a haemorrhage in my leg’. Hector, with his wife and son, rushed to Arthur’s flat and, after initial assistance, immediately called an ambulance. Before getting into the ambulance, Arthur uncovered his mouth from the blankets that had sheltered him from the cold and confided to Hèctor: “You know, I’m missing something”. Hector asks him what? And he said: “My hat!”. For the last ten years he was happily settled in Germany. Those who know Arthur know that he loved the strong winds of Ireland and the north of England, was moved by a flower, sang Tyrolean songs and some Elvis Presley themes. He rejoiced in the silence of Gothic churches or Gregorian chant, appreciated warm wine in winter and made a small amount of the drink ‘mead’ which he could not help but share with his friends. He also shared hot goulash and some oriental cuisine. He was very demanding in building a strong unity in the nucleus of Volunteers: he always started by loving everyone first in order to generate mutual love, always finding an intimate dialogue of mercy. Hèctor recounts: “Having been a companion in the same nucleus at the Volunteers’ Centre and living with my family next door to Arthur’s flat, we were enriched by his unique personality and evangelical witness. Our son, Julián, says: “Arthur is his name, but you could call him Humility, Generosity, Welcoming”. Arthur was a man of distinction, of essential words, of intimate religiosity. He knew how to move from serious reflections to healthy irony; to distinguish constructive attitudes from useless or harmful ones. His eloquent smile will always express gratitude.
Lorenzo Russo
Apr 7, 2021 | Non categorizzato
As announced in the press release of 23 December 2020, the Focolare Movement has commissioned GCPS Consulting to conduct the investigation into the abuse cases against J.M.M., a former member of the Focolare in France. Although J.M.M. has been prosecuted in relation to one victim, it is understood there is a large number of other victims who may wish to speak about their experiences within the Focolare Movement. GCPS Consulting is an independent body that specialises in helping organisations to ensure the safety of children as well as vulnerable or ‘at risk’ groups and to improve their abuse prevention and reporting systems. It also conducts independent investigations and case reviews on behalf of organisations. The Inquiry began in January 2021 and will close at the end of the year, when its results will be made public. Work has already begun listening to victims and gathering witness testimony. To find out in detail the terms of the investigation GCPS Consulting has made public the relevant section of the contract, published on a dedicated Inquiry website As stated in the document, there are the four main elements of the Inquiry: – To investigate the sexual abuse crimes committed by J.M.M., reviewing the details and assessing the context; – To establish the degree of knowledge of these events on the part of Focolare’s persons in charge at the time and/or subsequently; – To provide recommendations on the current arrangements put in place by the Focolare in France and elsewhere for the protection of minors; and – To produce a public report outlining the findings of the investigation and the recommendations that stemmed from it. In order to ensure that the Inquiry process is as victim-centred as possible, GCPS Consulting has shared and evaluated the proposed process with some victims to ensure it meets their expectations. It has also provided a contact page on the Inquiry website dedicated to receiving testimonies, requests, or suggestions from the victims and anyone wishing to get in touch with the Independent Inquiry. The Focolare Movement encourages anyone with information relating to J.M.M to make contact with the Inquiry via this webpage . It is possible to contact the GCPS Inquiry team confidentially by phone, email or using the site’s contact form. In order to guarantee the full independent nature of the investigation, the Focolare Movement has accepted GCPS Consulting’s invitation to maintain a “press silence” on matters related to J.M.M.’s case until the final report is published. Therefore, from now on the decision to make statements or respond to media enquiries relating to this abuse case will be solely at the discretion of GCPS Consulting.
Stefania Tanesini
For the Media: contact GCPS Consulting for this case: info@gcps.consulting
Apr 6, 2021 | Non categorizzato
After the audience of the Focolare General Assembly with Pope Francis what lies ahead for the Focolare Movement. In this Link up we take stock with Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare and Jesús Morán, co-president. https://vimeo.com/529523835 This is the link to Patrick Gilger’s reading of Pope Francis’ address to the members of the General Assembly of the Focolare Movement. Fr Patrick Gilger is a Jesuit, doctoral candidate at the New School for Social Research in New York. He is currently studying various Ecclesial Movements.
Apr 5, 2021 | Non categorizzato
To love Jesus in his abandonment on the cross means to love him in the pains and sacrifices that being attentive to our neighbor entails. This is a true way to perfection in Christian life as Chiara Lubich communicates to us through her experience. […] To encourage us on the way of our collective sanctification […] I think you would like to get to know a very recent spiritual experience of mine. A small one but one which seems to me to be valid. As perhaps you know, I am dedicating some days during the month […] to considering in depth a cardinal point of our spirituality […] Jesus forsaken, the key to unity. This theme has touched me so deeply, it seemed to me to be so interesting and attractive that I felt compelled to live it straightaway in the present moment. Almost forgetting the commitment to the tension towards holiness as such, I started loving Jesus forsaken, embracing him under his various aspects. However, exactly in those days during morning meditation, what St. John of the Cross called the twelve stars of perfection, came to my attention again. Love of God, love of neighbour, chastity, poverty, obedience, peace, silence, humility, mortification, penitence, choir and prayer. I knew them well; in fact, by meditating on them, I had learnt them by heart. However, in these days, I was not thinking about them at all, taken up as I was by loving only Jesus Forsaken, because I was so touched by this theme. And then the surprise, the joyous surprise like a luminous rediscovery. Re-reading these twelve stars during meditation, I realized that in loving Jesus forsaken, I had made these twelve stars shine a bit more in my soul. I had loved God a little more because I had loved out of love for Jesus forsaken, who is God. I had loved my neighbour more, because out of love for Jesus forsaken I had made the effort to make myself one with everyone. I had improved the third star – chastity- because love for Jesus Forsaken leads us to mortify ourselves. In the same way poverty, because for Him I had made the effort to extinguish every attachment. And obedience – the fifth star – because for Him I had made the effort to silence myself in order to listen better to “that voice”. Then living Jesus forsaken in sufferings I was able to keep peace better, another star. Loving Jesus forsaken, again I was able to observe silence better, in the sense that I mortified better useless words. Humility, I think, profited with the death of myself, which love for Jesus forsaken provokes. And in the same way mortification and penitence – other stars. I took better care of the choir, which for us means prayer together of all our focolare. And so personal prayer was truly fuller. Everything better! Everything better, solely though love for Jesus Forsaken. I knew that Jesus Forsaken was, as we say, a monument of holiness but I had not yet experienced with such evidence and such breadth how living Him truly means tending fruitfully towards holiness. […] I can wish you nothing better than to have this same experience. Try it! Love Jesus forsaken in sufferings, in renunciations, in dying to ourselves so as to make ourselves one with every neighbour. […] May Jesus forsaken become everything for us, and our collective sanctification will be assured.
Chiara Lubich
(from a telephonic conference call, Rocca di Papa, 16 June 1982)
Apr 1, 2021 | Non categorizzato
In spite of the continuing coronavirus emergency, Easter is still a time to pass from death to life and darkness to light through love for our neighbour. The strength that comes from solidarity and universal fraternity help us to keep alive hope for a united world. Easter greetings from Focolare President, Margaret Karram, and many others all over the world. Watch the video with subtitles in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese. https://youtu.be/2BVukpY5b5s
Mar 29, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Dearest all, Easter will soon be here. It’s the greatest feast of the year and with it comes Holy Week, which abounds in the most precious mysteries of Jesus’ life. We are reminded of these especially on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and on Easter Sunday, the day of the Resurrection. For us, too, they represent central aspects of our spirituality. … So what can we live as Holy Week draws near, and during these blessed days? I think the best way to live all of them is to live Easter, to let the Risen Lord live in us. For the Risen Lord to shine out in us, we must love Jesus Forsaken and always be – as we say – “beyond his wound”, where charity reigns. Charity, then, urges us to be the new commandment in action; charity urges us to approach the Eucharist; charity leads us to live in unity with God and with our brothers and sisters. It is through charity that each of us can, in a certain way, be another Mary. … By doing so, all of us together will truly be that Easter People which some people have said they recognize in our Movement.
Chiara Lubich
https://vimeo.com/529414892 Link up, Sierre, March 24, 1994
Mar 24, 2021 | Non categorizzato
This is the journey towards the next World Youth Day in 2023. The story of a young woman from the Focolare who is collaborating in planning the event. The next World Youth Day will take place in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, in 2023 with the theme “Mary got up and went in haste” (Lk 1:39). The pandemic leaves open questions regarding the event, but the preparatory work has been underway for some time. Mariana Vaz Pato, a young woman from the Focolare Movement, is part of the local team working to organise the event.
the WYD cross
Mar 23, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Despite the violent clashes in Myanmar, through the work of the “Drop after Drop” (Goccia dopo Goccia) association, the Focolare community continues to bear witness to universal fraternity during a time of pandemic and revolution. Here is the account of the journey undertaken by the focolarini in that area at the beginning of March. (All activities were carried out in accordance with the Covid regulations in the country) Myanmar is still living through a revolution that began last February on the 22nd of the month: it is called ‘22222’. This country, made up of different ethnic groups and rich in natural beauty and raw materials, experienced the longest civil war in human history from 1947 to 2010. Among the various revolutions that have occured in the past, there was the one that took place on 8 August 1988 called ‘8888’, resulting in thousands of deaths and another in 2007, known as the ‘saffron-coloured’ revolution because of the large number of Buddhist monks who began the protest and lost their lives. During the clashes in 1988, thousands of people began to migrate towards the border with Thailand, to the province of Tak, to the town of Mae Sot, then in Mae Hong Song, and even further south, towards Kanchanaburi. Today, 32 years later, nine refugee camps are still active: millions of Burmese people who are working in Thailand are living in them. 
The focolarini who have been in the area since 1988 have begun to help many young people who they first met a few years ago in Rangoon and Bassein. “Our contact with them,” says Luigi Butori, a focolarino who lives in Ho Chi Min in Vietnam and who has been travelling in those areas for years, “went on until Father Justine Lewin, a priest linked to the Focolare Movement, arrived in Mae Sot. He helped these people who lived not only in the refugee camps, like the most famous one in Mae La with 50,000 people, but also scattered across the countryside, often close to the factories where they worked, or in the cornfields close to the town of Mae Sot. About twenty years ago we started small projects in the Mae La camp and gradually in the town of Mae Sot. The goal was to feed and clothe the people.” Beginning in 2011, a bridge of solidarity has gradually been built between Italy and Mae Sot. The Focolare community in Latina in central Italy and some students taught by Maria Grazia Fabietti, began to help the children and adults living on the border between Thailand and Myanmar. Luigi explains, “One of our Italian friends, Paolo Magli was celebrating his 50th birthday and rather than receive lots of presents, he asked for money to help these Karen ethnic groups (a population that fled Burma during the conflicts and has been forced to live as refugees on the border between Myanmar and Thailand for years, some in the Mae La refugee camp and even more in the area outside it.) This was the beginning of “Drop after Drop”. Today, this project helps more than 3300 people in three countries in South East Asia and also collaborates with the Charis association in Singapore to bring help to those affected by poverty, loneliness, disease and even the pandemic. Areas of Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar give us the ‘possibility to love concretely’: there are people there who know the spirit of universal fraternity and today do everything to help those who are excluded, marginalized, rejected, sick and alone.” “Drop after Drop” helps everyone, people from many different ethnic groups – Karen, Bama, Kachin, Thai Yai, and Xtieng and Hmong people in Vietnam. The project also assists Muslims in need who are in contact with the focolare in Bangkok. At the beginning of March, the focolarini went to Mae Sot with a van loaded with food, clothes, toys and much more, as shown in the video you can see below. (The intiative was carried out in accordance with the covid rules in the country). Donations came from Muslims, Buddhists, Christians and many people in contact with the Focolare Movement. Luigi said, “Everyone is our brother or sister. We want to live out in our own situation one of the most beautiful reflections written many years ago by Chiara Lubich, the founder of the Focolare: ‘Lord, give me everyone who is lonely: I have felt in my heart the passion for all of the forsakeness in which the whole world is drifting.’* The latest project born helps six abandoned mothers and their fifteen children in Mae Sot. We have sent two sewing machines and 15 kg of cotton fabric which can be cut and sewn to make shirts, skirts and trousers for whoever needs them. It is a joy and a celebration to see how people help each other. Universal fraternity is a reality that takes hold, day after day, and “Drop after Drop” represents just that.”
Lorenzo Russo
https://youtu.be/xv5W3hxZInc * Reflection: “Lord give me everyone who is lonely” by Chiara Lubich – September 1949
Mar 22, 2021 | Non categorizzato
It is fairly easy to Love God and our neighbours when we are well. However, when we are sick, even physically, it can become a huge challenge. Chiara Lubich tells us how we can prepare for those moments in a way that also includes the possibility of failure. As we all know our Ideal can be defined with just one word: Love. Love is the whole of our life, love is the soul of our prayer, the soul of our apostolate, of all the expressions of our existence. Love is also the “health” of our individual spiritual life, just as reciprocal love is our “health” as a community, as the “mystical body of Christ”. When we love, everything is right with us; we are before God whole and entire, whether we are enjoying physical wholeness or whether we are ill. However, when one is healthy, it is easy to love; it is easy to love God and our brothers and sisters. It is more difficult to love when you are ill. […] [I would like] to ask you and me a question. Is it really right that someone who finds themselves in such difficult moments of their earthly life should live with such commitment the marriage of their soul with Jesus forsaken, and that we who perhaps have greater physical health, live our tension to holiness in a mediocre way? Must we always allow God to permit special trials to happen to us – trials that seem to take our breath away, in order to make us decide to love Him in a total way? […] Therefore, […] we cannot waste any time. We all have the Holy Spirit in our heart, and we know what his requests and suggestions are. He tells us that here we should love Jesus Forsaken in a suffering for example, or in an effort we have to make; here we should prefer Jesus Forsaken in a virtue, in brotherly love for example. Here, again, we should choose him in an aspect of the Movement or of the Church or of humanity… We must make a resolution to love Jesus Forsaken day by day, always, […] with 100% commitment. And. […] repeat before each action we take “For You”. If such a committed life frightens us, […] let’s remind ourselves of the words of Jesus, “Let the burden of each day be sufficient for that day” (Mt 6, 34). Let’s concern ourselves with the face of Jesus Forsaken of today, the face of Jesus Forsaken of each moment. For tomorrow, we will have other graces. In this way, we will store away full days, all completely consecrated to Jesus Forsaken. It is with these days that we will build our holiness. If then it happens that we fail, that we betray Him, that we became blocked, we know that also beyond all these circumstances His face is there. May we be able to answer to ourselves each evening, or rather answer to Jesus who questions us in the depth of our heart about how the day went: “it went well, 100%”.. With our embracing Jesus Forsaken 100% – the Risen One shines out in us and gives witness. […]
Chiara Lubich
(from a telephonic conference call, Rocca di Papa, 16 January 1986)
Mar 19, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Every day, on the eastern outskirts of Lima, Peru, the Focolare community supports people living in situations of extreme poverty by sharing many things – food, material aid, literacy skills and Gospel experiences. Huaycán is located in the eastern suburbs of Lima, Peru. It has a population of approximately 200,000 and 90% are immigrants from the Andes, people who arrived to escape from poverty. They preserve their traditions and their language, Quechua, the ancient language of the Incas. The people living high up in the hills are often experiencing situations of extreme poverty. Their houses have dirt floors and consist of just one room (beds are in the kitchen), they do not have a clean water supply, electricity or a sewage system… Many of the people are street vendors. Some women do house cleaning and some men are construction workers or scrap collectors. The community in Lima has seen that these people are living in a situation that is like the “wound of Christ” and has chosen to love them in a special way. “We first visited Huaycán in 1998,” Elsa recalls, “when Tata, Carmen, Maria and Milagros and I brought the Word of Life to a community close to the ‘Fe y Alegría School’ run by the Franciscan Sisters. Then Elba, Mario, Lula, Yeri, Fernando, Cristina and Eury… joined us. We went higher up in the hills and shared Gospel experiences with the poorest of the poor. Many of the people had poor health and were suffering from a variety of different illnesses and family life was very difficult: violence, promiscuity, unemployment, drugs and hunger were part of their everyday experience.” “At first, we would sit on the ground,” Elba says, “but then as the people began to feel more secure, they would pull out their chairs and offer them to us. In the winter, they would invite us into their humble houses. There we met Olinda, the school cook, who opened her home to meet us. She is a beautiful person – the “heart” of the community for us . We suffered together when her eldest son died suddenly.” The community in Lima community has begun several initiatives to support the many needs of these people: these include material aid, educational support for children, training and literacy for adults, psychological support, follow-up and health care and the sale of second-hand clothes. “Every year we celebrate Christmas and Mother’s Day together. We also organize trips and some of the people take part in the annual Mariapolis,” Mario recalls. “One couple followed a preparation course and then got married during the Mariapolis, in the presence of their five children and other relatives. It was a turning point in their lives, just as it is for many others when they meet the God of Love.” “With the pandemic,” Cristina continues, “many people have lost their jobs and do not have enough to feed their children. Working with some families we managed to procure food and distribute it to those most in need. One woman installed an oven, which had previously been disused, to produce bread. From March to June, we distributed 140 baskets of food and 12,720 loaves of bread. We met with the poorest community, Granja Verde, because we needed a kitchen and dining area to prepare and serve food. We began to organise what we could do: they offered a piece of land and laid a concrete floor. We provided essential utensils for the kitchen and a 2,500-litre tank for drinking water. The dining room was inaugurated on 15 November 15 2020, and started working the following day. Today we produce 100 meals a day. We know, as Pope Francis reminds us, that if we forget about the poor, God will forget about us. Huaycán, Christ’s “sore spot” is our favourite place and where we most clearly experience God’s blessing.”
Gustavo E. Clariá
Mar 18, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Considering “fratelli tutti” – as Pope Francis says – helps us broaden our horizons. “Give and it will be given to you” Father David from Kenya wrote, “I was helping a poor refugee boy I had got to know during the mission in Kakuma refugee camp in northwest Kenya by paying for his schooling but after a while I ran out of money and was no longer able to support him. I explained this difficulty to him and we said goodbye to one another. After some time, this boy sent me a message via social media asking me for help again. It was a great suffering for me not to be able to help him so I decided to sell a cow I had at my parents’ house to pay for his schooling. He was so happy to be able to go back to school again. In the new parish where I have been living for almost a year, the parishioners decided to visit me one day because they had heard that my father was not well. Among the gifts they brought were three cows. I could not believe it. It really seemed as if God wanted to say to me “a good measure, pressed down, full and overflowing will be poured into your lap”. Father David, Kenya “For my brothers and sisters in Lebanon” After the disaster of 4 August 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon, I asked myself what I could do to help this country which had already suffered so much. A few days later it would be my birthday: 40 years old. My family and friends wanted to celebrate with me, even if it was just a meal. This could be the perfect opportunity to help the people of Lebanon, I thought. So I asked all those coming to the dinner not to give me any presents but to make a donation to my project to help Beirut. At the end of the evening, I was amazed by the amount of money raised: a good 600 euros! I never imagined it would be so much, especially since there were very few guests at the dinner because of Covid restrictions. This gesture then caused a chain reaction among my friends. Emilia gave the proceeds from her graduation to another project, Francesco decided to sponsor a child in a developing country for his birthday, and then the children in the neighbourhood, when they heard about our birthday initiative, gave the proceeds of the sale of products made with recycled materials they had organised, again for Lebanon! Freely you have received, freely give… This is what we strongly believe in, always, when we receive and when we give. L., Ischia (Italy) “From a sandwich to a hundredfold for the poor”. One day I was in a sandwich shop, waiting to buy a sandwich, and I had just enough money for one. As I was coming out of the shop, I saw a lady looking at everyone who was eating. I realised she was hungry and was waiting for someone to offer her something to eat. I took out my sandwich and gave it to her. I can always eat something later, I said to myself. She was overjoyed. Then I took her to the fruit shop and asked the greengrocer if he could give her some fruit which I would pay for the next day since I had no money at that moment. The greengrocer gladly gave the lady not just one piece of fruit, but a whole bag of fruit, free of charge. I was so happy to see how a small sandwich could become a chain of the hundredfold. Mumbai (India)
Lorenzo Russo
Mar 17, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Joint Statement of SIGNIS, Pax Christi International and the Focolare Movement in Solidarity with the People of Myanmar Signis, the World Catholic Association for Communication, hears the cry of the courageous Burmese people as they nonviolently resist the Myanmar military coup overturning a legitimate and democratic election. We are joined by Pax Christi International and its members in the Asia-Pacific region who in their statement of February on the “State of Emergency” in Myanmar already expressed grave concerns about the situation in the country. Likewise, the international Focolare movement unites with us in solidarity with the Burmese people. Daily, courageous people return to the streets to protest peacefully even as soldiers beat them and shoot them, of which many young people. As a symbol of their protest, conforming to Burmese custom, a sign of the righteous anger of the people towards the military can be heard in the clatter of pots and pans banged together to protect against evil spirits, We witness the arbitrary detention on fabricated charges of members of the democratically elected government, as well as of civilian and religious leaders who have taken part in the long struggle for democracy. As truthful information is important in a democracy, we reject the disinformation campaign by Myanmar’s military justifying their actions. We call for the protection of journalists who are arrested and harassed for sharing news and information on what is happening on the ground with the rest of the world; instead they should enjoy press freedom. We deplore the extreme authoritarianism that saw fit to trample on the nation’s constitution, which in fact permitted limited democracy while maintaining much of the armed forces’ power. Despite the challenges, Myanmar was taking its first steps towards democracy, giving people hope for a new future. This hope should be restored. Above all, we listen to the message of the people of Myanmar: this coup is essentially about overthrowing them, their will. It is ultimately not about removing political opponents or supposed public order. It undoes years of patient work for the fundamental rights of citizens and crushes tenuous dreams of a free, democratic country. As Catholic organizations, we join Pope Francis and civil and religious leaders across the globe who have condemned the coup and call for “meaningful dialogue” to restore democracy. Also, we join other organizations in calling for:
- the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained officials and leaders;
- the military to stop using violence and arbitrarily detention of peaceful protestors and journalists;
- justice and accountability for the atrocities committed by the army against the Rohingya people and other ethnic minorities, as well as prevention of such crimes and abuses in the future;
- members of the international community, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, to pressure the regime to step down and reestablish democracy, and not to exploit the situation for their own geopolitical interests.
We call upon the members of SIGNIS, Pax Christi International, and Focolare around the world to give voice to the cry of the Burmese people by reaching out to local and national media to report the situation, and by urging their governments to take strong diplomatic actions to oppose the coup and return democracy to Myanmar. Our mission as organizations is to promote peace. We therefore stand with the Archbishop of Yangoon, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, President of the Asian Bishops Conferences, when he says, “Peace is possible. Peace is the only way. Democracy is the only light to that path.” Download the statement.
Mar 15, 2021 | Non categorizzato
The choice to love Jesus in his abandonment on the cross and to prefer him to every other love had become like a compass for Chiara Lubich that gave direction to her life and freed her from many worries. […] We had noticed that the calling to follow Jesus Forsaken in a radical way did not happen only once, that is, only at the beginning of the Movement. In fact, from time to time, during these past years, the Lord has underlined that calling with episodes or special considerations. This happened to me in 1954. […] For the first time, a focolarino was becoming a priest, and I was going to Trent because the Archbishop there was ordaining Father Foresi. I wasn’t too well and it seemed to be wise to travel part of the way by plane. As soon as I stepped on board, a very kind flight attendant, wanting to make the trip easier for me, invited me into the cockpit. From there I was deeply struck by the beautiful panorama that could be observed, completely open in front of me because of the large windows. It was not the panorama, however, which struck me the most, but rather the brief explanation that the pilot gave me as to what is important in flying an airplane. He told me that if you want to have a good trip, you need, first of all, to set the needle of your compass in the direction of the point of arrival. Then all along the way, you must keep an eye on it to make sure that the plane does not go off course. As I was listening to this explanation, I made a comparison between an airplane trip in this world and the journey of our lives, which today I would call the Holy Journey. I had the impression of understanding that also in this instance it was necessary to decide our course at the moment of departure, that is, the pathway of our soul which is Jesus Forsaken. Then all along the journey, we need to do only one thing: to remain faithful to Him. Yes, the way to which God calls us all is this: to love Jesus Forsaken always. This means embracing all the sufferings of our lives; this means to live love by adhering always to His Will, doing away with ours. […] To love Jesus Forsaken always means to live all the virtues, which he lived very clearly in that moment in a heroic way. […] I think I can say that if we have set the needle of the compass of our souls – to use the same image – in the direction of Jesus Forsaken, we have done the best that we could do to continue and finish our Holy Journey and to do so with a certain ease. On that trip, I noticed that the pilot was very free in his movements because he had no reins, as you would need with a horse, nor steering wheel as you would need in a car. If we set the needle of our spiritual compass in the direction of Jesus Forsaken, we too will not need anything else in order to reach the goal safely. On an airplane trip, curves do not take you by surprise because the flight is in a straight line, neither do you encounter mountains because you have already reached a good altitude. In the same way, we too, on our journey, place ourselves at a certain altitude through love of Jesus Forsaken; thus, we are not frightened by unforeseen events, nor do we feel the effort of climbing. This is true because for Jesus Forsaken, surprises, efforts, and sufferings have already been foreseen and awaited. Let us set the needle of our compass in the direction of Jesus Forsaken and then let us remain faithful to Him. How? In the morning as soon as we wake up, let us direct the needle of the compass in the direction of Jesus Forsaken with our “Eccomi!” (“Here I am!”) During the day from time to time, let us glance at it; let us see if we are always on course with Jesus Forsaken. If we find that we are not, then with another “Eccomi!” (“Here I am!”) let us go back on the right course, and we will be able to continue the journey. […] If we proceed on the journey of life in the company of Jesus Forsaken, we too will be able to repeat that famous sentence of St. Clare, “Go safely, my soul, because you have a good companion for your journey. Go, because the one who has created you has always watched over you and has sanctified you. […]
Chiara Lubich
(From a telephone conference call, 5 January 1984)
Mar 14, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Today, 14 March, marks the thirteenth anniversary of the death of Chiara Lubich, the founder of the Focolare Movement. Since that same date, 14 March 2008, the Focolare communities scattered across all the continents have been meeting to remember her and to pray together, remembering the legacy she entrusted to the Movement: ‘Be a family’. «If I should have to leave this world today and you were to ask me for a single word, one last word that sums up our Ideal, I would say – certain of being perfectly understood – ‘Be a family’». https://youtu.be/QKwgvxsUU2E
Mar 13, 2021 | Non categorizzato
From the commitment of a small Focolare community to the most vulnerable, a Centre for the elderly has been opened in a village in the Peruvian jungle, named after the Movement’s founder. 
Four years ago I, Jenny, my husband, Javier, and our three daughters travelled here from Argentina to live in deepest Peru, bringing the Ideal of Unity with us. Shortly after we arrived in Lámud, a town in the middle of Amazonia, hearing that the Bishop of the Diocese was passing through, we ran to greet him and introduced ourselves as members of the Focolare Movement. “How wonderful that the focolare has arrived in Amazonia!”, he said and gave us his blessing, with his wish that we go ahead. Then we made an agreement with the parish priest who asked us to be responsible for Pastoral Care and Family Catechesis in the villages forming part of the parish. We went to the outskirts of town to understand the social reality in the area, sometimes accompanied by our daughters and discovered a hidden Lámud, one that was full of suffering. We decided to start with the least and realised that they were the elderly. Some of them did not even have a decent bed to die in. Keeping Chiara Lubich’s meditation entitled “One city is not enough” in mind, we went around the suburbs of the country looking for those who were alone, abandoned, to caress them, bring them a word of hope, food, clothes, and we asked them to pray for us as we were just beginning our adventure in these areas which were completely new to us. After a while, we began to dream of being able to give the elderly a decent home, a hot meal and, most importantly, that they would feel accompanied and no longer alone. A dream which, on the one hand seemed far away, but on the other seemed almost within reach so much so that we said to ourselves: “Yes, we can! We must do something more concrete than a simple visit. 
Together we drew up a plan: just a few lines but each sentence encouraged us to go ahead. We also thought about what we would call the house. We looked into each other’s eyes and decided to call it: “Hogar y Centro de Día para Adultos Mayores, Chiara Lubich” (“The Chiara Lubich Home and Day Centre for Elderly People”). Gradually, our dream started to take shape. We organised a number of events and made contact with a few people who were really enthusiastic about the project. I, Jenny, already had some experience of volunteering for different projects in Argentina and an opportunity arose for her to be employed by the Lámud District Municipality to work for the elderly! Lastly, we felt encouraged by the words of the Pope who invited us lay people to work in favour of the most vulnerable, especially during this time of pandemic. In short, there were so many beautiful coincidences that made us think that Jesus would be happy to see the birth of a Work for the least in the Peruvian wilderness, namely a dignified home for the elderly of the third age in this Amazonian province. In the meantime, we saw how everything was going ahead at a dizzying pace. So, trusting fully in God’s Providence and the power of prayer, we became increasingly aware that Jesus would not leave us on our own, and we were certain that, with our small community, we would never be alone. During that time, we signed the lease for the house and went through the legal process of setting ourselves up as a non-profit association. A group of people from the community had already joined the project on a voluntary basis. They had responded with a very strong “Yes” to committing to work for the benefit of the most vulnerable people in the village of Lámud and the Province of Luya (Dipartimento Amazonas). We started preparing the place straight away so that we could start offering the elderly one hot meal a day, provided by the municipality. And now, little by little, we are assessing each step to be taken to reach our goal of offering the elderly, who are at risk of loneliness and abandonment, food but also the possibility of permanent residence in the Centre. But more than titles, names and statutes, our desire is that the atmosphere of unity, harmony and family that Chiara Lubich left us as her legacy should reign in the house which is why the Centre bears her name. Jenny and Javier, with the community of Lámud (Dipartimento Amazonas, Peru)
Experience received and translated by Gustavo E. Clariá
Mar 12, 2021 | Non categorizzato
In recent days, many people have tried to take stock of Pope Francis’ trip to Iraq. I think it is difficult, if not impossible, to attempt an exhaustive one. There are too many issues involved and, above all, we are too close to this global event made up of so many other details that can only be read in the course of time. Obviously some elements more than others struck the imagination of those who followed the various events in a context that, in some ways, in its stark reality risked appearing surreal. In fact, if we think of the model of papal journeys, inaugurated with Pope John Paul II from 1979 onwards, we were accustomed to quite different scenarios and backgrounds: oceanic crowds, choreographic preparation that often bordered on perfection and, above all, events that left the image, especially in the early years of the Polish pope’s era, of a strong faith, at the centre of history, in contrast to the atheistic world from which the Polish pope came. Pope Francis, who at the beginning of his pontificate had introduced the idea of another Church, the ‘accidental’ and ‘field hospital’ Church, in recent years has been committed to transmitting this image of the Church and has done so practically everywhere he has gone. He has done so practically everywhere he has gone. From his first official trip to Lampedusa, the port and cemetery of migrants, to Bangui, where he opened the door that inaugurated his unexpected and extraordinary Jubilee, to Mosul, where the stage had only rubble and walls still perforated by bullets of various calibers as a backdrop. And we cannot forget Tacloban where he braved an impending typhoon to stand by the survivors of another catastrophic event, Lesbos where he spent unhurriedly precious time listening to the unspeakable stories of refugees of various origins. The lesson of Francis is not just about showing that the most precious face of the Church is the ‘accidental’ one. Rather, it is the way in which he shows the ‘proximity’, the warmth that needs to be felt by those who suffer in the Christian community. Above all, he is committed to projecting these communities onto the world stage to say that this is the true Church, which we should all cherish and which bears real witness to Christ. As he said on his return flight, Bergoglio is breathing at these junctures, because this is his Petrine call, the one for which the conclave elected him, without knowing and imagining where he would lead Peter’s boat. We are all seeing and experiencing this in recent years. And the voyages are probably the truest reflection of this, leaving no room for misunderstandings. On the other hand, this is nothing new. Like his predecessors, the Argentine pope has shown that he is able to read and decode the ‘signs of the times’ and offers credible testimony to the fact that the Church is a witness to its time and intercepts its problems and key issues, offering answers that are almost always against the current with respect to those that the political, international and, today, financial world impose. Faced with the reality that Francis found himself living, including the unprecedented one (at least in these terms) of the pandemic, the essential category of the pontificate, confirmed also in Iraq, is fraternity. Bergoglio’s personal and ecclesial testimony, his Magisterium and his relations, especially but not only with the Muslim world, now make fraternity a geopolitical element. This was also demonstrated by his meeting with the Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani. The implications of those forty-five minutes are fundamental. We all know, in fact, that the great knot that Islam must untie today is internal to its own world: the tension, never appeased but now dangerously acute, between the Sunni and Shiite spheres. It is here that the roots of many of the problems that Muslims experience and for which many also die must be sought. Bergoglio has shown great ‘political’ tact in wanting to meet al-Sistani, the most significant representative of Shiism, well distanced from the Iranian theocracy that since the Khomeinist revolution of the 1980s has pushed the Iranian world to be a champion of this fringe of the Muslim kaleidoscope. Al-Sistani has always distanced himself from the theocratic choice of the Iranian ayatollahs, and has been an acknowledged spiritual and religious leader for decades. Among other things, he was born in Iran. The meeting between the two leaders took place behind closed doors, but as Pope Francis described it on the return flight, it was a moment of spirituality, “a universal message. I felt the duty, […] to go and see a great, a wise man, a man of God. And only by listening to him do you perceive this. […] And he is a person who has that wisdom … and also prudence. […] And he was very respectful, very respectful in the meeting, and I felt honoured. Even in the greeting: he never gets up, and he got up, to greet me, twice. He is a humble and wise man. This meeting had a great positive impact on my soul”. Bergoglio ventured an appreciation that perhaps no pope had had the courage to say in the past: “And these wise men are everywhere, because God’s wisdom has been spread throughout the world. It is the same with the saints, who are not only those on the altars. They are the everyday saints, the ones I call ‘next door’, the saints – men and women – who live their faith, whatever it may be, with consistency, who live human values with consistency, fraternity with consistency”. All this did not go unnoticed. Positive comments poured down from many quarters, starting with the Muslim world itself. Sayyed Jawad Mohammed Taqi Al-Khoei, secretary general of the Al-Khoei Institute in Najaf, a prominent member of the Iraqi Shiite world and director of the Al-Khoei Institute which is part of the Hawza of Najaf, a religious seminary founded 1,000 years ago for Shiite Muslim scholars, was very clear in his appreciation. “Although this is the first meeting in history between the head of the Shia Islamic establishment and the head of the Catholic Church, this visit is the fruit of many years of exchanges between Najaf and the Vatican and will undoubtedly strengthen our interreligious relations. It was also a historic moment for Ira”. Al-Khoei affirmed the commitment to “continue strengthening our relations as institutions and individuals. We will soon travel to the Vatican to ensure that this dialogue continues, develops and does not stop here. The world faces common challenges and these challenges cannot be solved by any state, institution or person alone”.The AsiaNews agency also reports some of the positive comments that appeared in the Iranian press, which gave wide coverage and celebrated the historic meeting as an “opportunity for peace”. The news was the opening headline in the Islamic Republic’s newspapers and media outlets. Sazandegi, who is close to the reformist wing, emphasised that the two religious leaders are today “the standard-bearers of world peace”. He called their face-to-face meeting in the home of the Shiite spiritual leader ‘the most effective event [in the history of] dialogue between religions’.
Roberto Catalano
Source: Blog Whydontwedialogue
Mar 11, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Community microcredit and microfinance to support the growth of expanding projects. Rose’s testimony on the importance of the initiative supported by Amu. BIRASHOBOKA means “IT CAN BE DONE” in Kirundi. It is from this conviction that the Community Microcredit and Microfinance project was born in Burundi (Africa). In spite of the great difficulties in which the country still finds itself – it is the second most densely populated country in Africa and one of the five countries with the highest poverty index in the world – Amu, Azione per un Mondo Unito-Onlus, a non-governmental development organisation inspired by the spirituality of the Focolare Movement, has been supporting the capacities of local communities for some time. Since 2007, in fact, in full synergy with the non-profit organisation CASOBU (Cadre Associatif des Solidaires du Burundi), it has been helping local families in a process of training and of improving their living conditions. 
With the “It can be done!” project, it aims to create community microcredit groups whose members can support themselves to create jobs and, in a second phase, create a community microfinance group to support the growth of the expanding projects. Rose tells us: “We started our group 13 years ago. With the first loan I got, I remember very well that I didn’t do anything in particular, I bought clothes and goods that I needed, but the rest I wasted. At the beginning, I didn’t know how to start a business and what often happened was that I had difficulty paying back the loan I had received. Then I realised that I couldn’t keep taking out loans without a concrete project and I finally decided to start the restaurant project with the first 300,000 Fbu (150 €). I started buying pots and pans, dishes and gradually opened the restaurant. It was 2009, I didn’t have any workers yet. At that time, my children helped me in the kitchen and I went by bus to take the food to the city where I had my customers. As I became known, the number of customers increased and I was able to hire workers. I am proud that through the salary they receive I also participate in the fulfilment of their dreams.” Rose, who is happy to have embarked on this path, today manages to provide a salary for five other families besides her own. Now she would like to improve and expand her business, for example by renting a bigger premises, where she could cook and reduce the running costs of the restaurant and travel expenses. It is a very brave decision because there is a big investment involved and Rose does not have the collateral or the guarantees needed to access a loan from any bank. And it is for Rose and many other people who, like her, would like to expand their businesses that the AMU and CASOBU project was set up, supporting the start-up of a community microfinance institution to offer savings and credit services to people with big dreams but who still today cannot access banks. To support the project, click here
Lorenzo Russo
Mar 9, 2021 | Non categorizzato
The Focolare Movement in Germany, together with other Catholic organisations, organised an online conference on the search for God in a world where He seems increasingly absent. This contributed also to the Catholic Church’s synodal process in Germany. “God disappears – and maybe, could this be necessary? God disappears – is it He perhaps who wants it this way?” These were the provocative questions that guided the programme of an online conference that was held in Germany on February 26-27. It was organized by the Focolare Movement in Germany together with the “Herder-Korrespondenz”, a monthly Catholic magazine, and the Catholic Academy of the Dresden-Meissen Diocese in the former GDR. It was meant to address one of the most urgent questions many Christians ask today: “What do we have to do and how do we have to move in a world where God seems to be no longer present?” 350 participants from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other European countries were ready to discuss in depth the causes of an ever-increasing absence of God in society and in the lives of individuals. As Heinrich Timmerevers, the Bishop of Dresden said in his opening speech, they were even ready to ask the shocking question, “Is it perhaps the Church itself that is driving people away from God because of the crisis caused by abuse?” In a message sent to the participants, Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement said that the theme of God’s absence touches the core of the Movement’s spirituality, that springs from the figure of Jesus crucified and forsaken by men and God, “the hardest moment for Jesus and at the same time the most divine, the key to contribute towards fraternity wherever it is lacking […] and to reach out to those who suffer most because of this darkness”. During these two days, there were moments of critical and stimulating reflection on all that motivates a firm faith in God, despite a growing tendency towards secularism, and also on new forms of interest – especially in young people – in something transcendent that is passed on through authentic stories, experiences of deep attractiveness and a curiosity to explore new reflections on the meaning of life. During this conference, the awareness that Churches are often no longer able to meet the new religious needs of today’s men and women, was also present. The talk delivered by the German theologian Julia Knop was very strong; it was almost shocking. She started from the debate on the abuse of power and sexual violence by clerics and consecrated persons, and then continued to show that an erosion of trust in the Church is also being felt among its most faithful members. The professor of dogmatics claimed that the Church’s crisis is closely linked to the faith crisis. Stefan Tobler, the Reformed theologian stated that the absence of God could also prove to be an opportunity. While presenting traces of the mysticism in Madeleine Delbrêl, Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Chiara Lubich, he pointed out that the experience of God that vanishes could become precisely the place where God reveals himself. “God is found precisely where he seems furthest away. It is therefore not a question of bringing him to the world, but of discovering him in the world”.
Joachim Schwind
Mar 8, 2021 | Non categorizzato
On Saturday 6 March 2021, during Pope Francis’ apostolic journey to Iraq, an interreligious meeting was held in the Plain of Ur of the Chaldees. At the end of the meeting, an oration was intoned inspired by the figure of the patriarch Abraham, a common father in the faith for Christians, Jews and Muslims. Here is the text. Almighty God, our Creator, you love our human family and every work of your hands: As children of Abraham, Jews, Christians and Muslims, together with other believers and all persons of good will, we thank you for having given us Abraham, a distinguished son of this noble and beloved country, to be our common father in faith. We thank you for his example as a man of faith, who obeyed you completely, left behind his family, his tribe and his native land, and set out for a land that he knew not. We thank you too, for the example of courage, resilience, strength of spirit, generosity and hospitality set for us by our common father in faith. We thank you in a special way for his heroic faith, shown by his readiness even to sacrifice his son in obedience to your command. We know that this was an extreme test, yet one from which he emerged victorious, since he trusted unreservedly in you, who are merciful and always offer the possibility of beginning anew. We thank you because, in blessing our father Abraham, you made him a blessing for all peoples. We ask you, the God of our father Abraham and our God, to grant us a strong faith, a faith that abounds in good works, a faith that opens our hearts to you and to all our brothers and sisters; and a boundless hope capable of discerning in every situation your fidelity to your promises. Make each of us a witness of your loving care for all, particularly refugees and the displaced, widows and orphans, the poor and the infirm. Open our hearts to mutual forgiveness and in this way make us instruments of reconciliation, builders of a more just and fraternal society. Welcome into your abode of peace and light all those who have died, particularly the victims of violence and war. Assist the authorities in the effort to seek and find the victims of kidnapping and in a special way to protect women and children. Help us to care for the earth, our common home, which in your goodness and generosity you have given to all of us. Guide our hands in the work of rebuilding this country, and grant us the strength needed to help those forced to leave behind their homes and lands, enabling them to return in security and dignity, and to embark upon a new, serene and prosperous life. Amen.
Mar 8, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Love for God and neighbour gains substance, depth and authenticity only if it passes through pain, if it is purified by the cross that Jesus invites us to welcome. But what cross are we talking about? Chiara Lubich’s answer in the following reflection is very precise: each of us has his or her own very particular and personal cross. […] “All things God works for good [but] for those who love Him.” (cf. Rom 8,28). To love God! We certainly do want to love Him. But, when are we sure that we are loving Him? It is not only when we give our hearts to Him in a moment when everything is going well, because that would be easy, and beautiful, but could also be just an enthusiastic reaction or one mixed with personal interest or love for ourselves, and not for Him. We can be certain we love Him if we do so also in adverse situations; furthermore, to guarantee true love for Him, we have decided to prefer Him, above all, in everything that hurts us. To love God in our obstacles and in our pains is always true, sure love. We express this kind of love with the words: to love Jesus crucified and forsaken. […] But which cross, which Jesus Forsaken, must we desire to love? Certainly not a vague cross, as if to say: I want to make my own, […] the sufferings of humanity. Not the cross which can be a product of our imagination; for example, dreams of a martyrdom that may never come about. To be His follower, Jesus said, “Whoever wants to come after me must take up his cross” (cf. Lk 9:23). His personal cross! Therefore, everyone must love their own cross, their own Jesus Forsaken. If, in fact, at a certain moment of our lives, Jesus had appeared before us and because of his great love for us had asked us to follow Him, to choose Him, to — as if to say— to take Him as our spouse, He didn’t intend to manifest Himself to us in just a vague way, but instead in a very precise way. He asked us to embrace Him in all those pains, worries, sicknesses, temptations, in those situations, persons and responsibilities that touch our very person, to the point of being able to say: “This is my cross,” or even better, “This is my Spouse!” All of us have our own personal Jesus Forsaken, which is not the one of our neighbour, nor of anyone else; but really our own. Therefore, if we learn to read beyond the trauma of our various personal sufferings, and see the love of God for each of us, life becomes magnificent, and draws us ever closer to our Jesus Forsaken, to embrace Him, as the saints have done, and to yearn to see Him transformed in us in our own personal resurrection. […] In order not to lose any time, each of us can make a brief examination of his or her own present situation, and then decide, with the help of God, to say yes to all those things to which we want to say no, but know are the will of God. […] Let’s get up in the morning with this proposal in our heart: “I will live today for the sole purpose of loving my Jesus Forsaken.” Everything else will fall into place. The Risen Lord will live in each of us and among us. […]
Chiara Lubich
(From a telephonic conference call, 16 August 1984)
Mar 5, 2021 | Non categorizzato
The story of an “extended” family that is opening up to a love that is not taken for granted Bringing a child, a young person or an adult into the family is always a challenge. Complex, not obvious in any way, both in its development and in its outcome which is never concluded. Looking at these “extended families” from the outside, one feels a mixture of esteem and amazement, almost as if the serenity they show is the result of an indecipherable alchemy of love – an almost romantic vision. It is hard to imagine how complex it is to bring together different sensitivities, cultures and habits, as well as the practical considerations of needs, schedules and languages, in an alliance where the many ‘I’s’ merge into a ‘fluid We’ without friction or, better still, with well-oiled gears. To then feel like one single family is an achievement that is not without hardship, doubts and disappointments. “Welcoming Therese into our family,” said Sergio and Susanna from the focolare community in Vinovo, near Turin, Italy, “has not been easy”. Their story is straightforward, in no way sugar-coated which makes it all the more authentic. What kept them going in this decision was the desire to live their family life as a gift for others and feel the spiritual presence of Jesus as the fruit of mutual love. The decision to open their doors and hearts to a young African mother who arrived in Italy as a refugee was taken with the agreement of their daughters, Aurora and Beatrice, aged 20 and 17. The first difficulties arose when they tried to combine their various needs. “Beatrice likes to plan everything,” says Susanna. “In the mornings every minute is accounted for but sometimes Therese would get up earlier and use the bathroom. This was a problem for her, but gradually she learned to ‘create family’ with her, simply asking her to agree on the use of the bathroom. Aurora, on the other hand, immediately decided to share her wardrobe with Therese and helped her with her studies.” The main challenge is to overcome the silent, corrosive opposition between ‘us’ and ‘the other’ and welcome the other into the intimate dimension of our lives, enlarging the ‘we’. In “creating a family” there is the will to strive to “be family”: in fact, love is first and foremost a choice and this is no less demanding for adults. “In my desire to be welcoming to Therese, I often found myself talking to her until late into the night,” Susanna recalls, “but then I started to suffer from the situation. I found it difficult to explain that I had to get up early in the morning, I was afraid of hurting her. Sergio helped me to deal with it gently but firmly.” For Sergio, the difficulties arose when, rather than coming straight home from work in the evening, he had to go and pick up Therese who was studying in a neighbouring town. “Her classes finished late, and Therese didn’t know how to use public transport, so I often found myself having dinner after 9 p.m”. Here too, choosing to love meant accommodating Therese’s needs, but also looking after the family’s well-being: “We tried to teach her to be independent, as we do with our daughters, so that being available didn’t become too much of a burden for us or an obstacle to her growth. Little by little she has learned to use public transport”. They have discovered that being a family also defines the way we present ourselves to the outside world: “In the first few months that Therese was with us,” Sergio explained, “I put a photo of myself with Susanna and our daughters on my Whatsapp profile. Therese told me it wasn’t a family photo because she was missing! And this is what we discover every day: we are one family because we are children of the same Father, we care for each other and we rejoice in each other’s achievements. It is the ‘we’ which is extended and enriched by love.
Claudia Di Lorenzi
Mar 4, 2021 | Non categorizzato
A conference on the charismatic figure of Chiara Lubich, who knew how to look to the new millennium with all its epoch-making changes, proposing the ideal of universal fraternity. 
An international conference “Beyond the 20th Century. Chiara Lubich in dialogue with our time” marked the official closure of the wide-ranging series of events dedicated to the centenary of the birth of the Focolare Movement’s founder. As the title suggests, the conference studied the charismatic figure of Chiara Lubich from a dynamic perspective on one of the protagonists of the 20th Century who knew how to look to the new millennium with all its momentous changes by proposing the ideal of universal fraternity, never losing the conviction that “unity is a sign of the times”. The 2-day symposium on 18-19 February at the National Central Library of Rome, Italy, considered the figure of the Focolare Movement’s founder from different points of view. Jointly promoted by the Chiara Lubich Center at Rocca di Papa, Italy and the Central National Library of Rome, the event welcomed the collaboration of Sophia University Institute, the international New Humanity NGO and the Trentino Historic Museum Foundation. The Comune of Rome and the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development offered their patronage. The President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella conferred the prestigious Medaglia di Rappresentanza on the event, in recognition of its cultural value. 
The program had four sections: historical, literary, socio-political and the fourth dedicated to other major 20th Century figures in order to analyze possible similarities and convergence with Chiara Lubich’s thought. Such a variety of perspectives, with contributions from academics of various disciplines, each with their own cultural approach, has permitted a deeper, more mature reflection and understanding of the historic experience itself and of Chiara Lubich’s thought, as well as a greater appreciation of her intellectual, spiritual and existential legacy. A comparison with other leading figures of the 20th century proved equally illuminating, covering contemporary protogonists such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Simone Weil, Mahatma Gandhi, Giorgio La Pira, Martin Luther King, Michail Gorbaciov. Chiara Lubich may not have met them directly, but she engaged with their writings and thought at a distance, with a shared passion for humanity and its future, revealing ideals and intuitions with evident features in common. The academic papers prepared by academics from around the world, were introduced by keynote speeches from Michel Angel Moratinos (High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations) and historian Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio. Theologian and spiritual son of Chiara, Piero Coda brought the convention to a close. Donato Falmi, member of the event’s scientific committee, described their motivations. “The biography of Chiara Lubich in its temporal, spiritual and intellectual dimensions, is notably characterized by some themes which belong at the heart of contemporary life, beyond any ethnic, social or religious difference. Among the most relevant we identify are: a constant attention and openness to what is new, the capacity and disposition to dwell in situations of conflict, searching for what unites, an attitude of measuring events with the metre of the unity of opposites. Such profoundly human dimensions, which can be considered essential parts of the new era we are entering, open up possibilities of referring to others, of encounter and dialogue, which animate the whole project”. The convention, streamed live online in four languages and now available on Youtube, was also the stage for the launch of the first critical edition of Chiara Lubich’s book Meditazioni, edited by Maria Caterina Atzori. This book was first published in 1959, translated into 28 languages, with over a million copies printed. It indicates to contemporary readers the way of unity towards fulfilling the last testament of Jesus on earth “That all may be one”. As a fitting finale to the convention, on Monday 22 February the closing ceremony took place of a national educational event “One city is not enough. Chiara Lubich citizen of the world”, dedicated to the world of education, involving many secondary schools across Italy. (The winning schools).
Maurizio Gentilini
Photos by Thomas Klann
Mar 3, 2021 | Non categorizzato
The Mariapolis Center in Paraguay during the pandemic, helping the needy in their neighbourhood The “Mother of Humanity” Mariapolis Centre is in Paraguay, just 20 kilometres from the capital city of Asunción, in a neighbourhood where close 200 families live in favourable economic conditions. Three focolarine live permanently at the Mariapolis Centre, along with three other married women. When the quarantine for Covid-19 began, “we didn’t want to be closed inside the Mariapolis Centre,” they say, “so we began to look at the needs of the families in our area.” In the neighbourhood, “pots of solidarity” were set up – that is, when everyone brings what they have and all together make a big pot to share with all the families. It was a good opportunity to make the big kitchen at the Mariapolis Centre available. “We wrote letters to get all of the Mariapolis Centre’s clients and vendors involved. A lot of help came immediately, so we cooked a good Bolognese sauce with pasta and rice, which was distributed to about 4,000 people in the neighbourhood. “We uncovered a lot of vulnerability: children who didn’t have a home, or had health problems, or houses without a bathroom or windows. So we started to take care of their needs.” At the same time, a WhatsApp group was created in the neighbourhood to share experiences of helping the poor and requests of all kinds. “In a short time, neighbours helped us by bringing milk, oil, clothing and cell phones, so that children could attend classes at school, as well as a refrigerator and construction materials, so we could build five bathrooms for families that did not have any.” The pandemic lingered, and with it came the problems of managing and paying expenses at the Mariapolis Centre. “Our strength was to have a well-organized kitchen, so we started offering a menu for takeaway food for sale. The main orders came from our neighbours, and this gave us the opportunity to get to know some of them better. “One day, for example, a neighbour asked us for help to confess: it had been 32 years since he had received the sacrament of reconciliation. Another neighbour, a professional cyclist, wanted to organize a race through the three main cities of Paraguay. With the proceeds we helped two ethnic groups of indigenous peoples bring electricity and drinking water to their homes.” Providence is never at a loss. “A member of the Focolare community donated a sum of money to cover four months of salaries. Then came an industrial fryer, lots of vegetables, fruit and many other things. What surprised us most was that even a car arrived so we could distribute the food. “But the gift, the greatest gift that the pandemic has given us focolarine has been the possibility to be close to our poor and to live our charism of unity to the full. We are here in this rift, where we can generate this communion between rich and poor and bring this culture of fraternity.”
Lorenzo Russo
Mar 2, 2021 | Non categorizzato
The President of the Focolare Movement entrusted the new general councillors with their areas of responsibility and urged them to form a governing body characterized by a deep spirit of fraternal service born of mutual evangelical love. On Thursday 11 February, one of the central governing bodies of the Movement- the so-called “Centre of the Movement” – was completed when Noreen Lockhart (Great Britain) and Flavio Roveré (Brazil) were elected by their respective sections as responsible for the women and men focolarini. This governing body consists of the president and co-president, 22 general councillors and the two people responsible for the men’s and women’s sections. The councillors come from 17 countries and 4 continents, are are aged between 52 and 70 years: they represent the multiculturalism that distinguishes the Focolare. Many of them have lived not only in their country of origin but also in other geographical contexts: this is important in order to understand the characteristics, needs and challenges of the countries in which those who recognize themselves in the Focolare’s message of unity live. The composition, the “Centre of the Movement” should, in a certain way, be representative of the entire Movement and manifest its unity. According to the Focolare Movement’s General Statutes, the task of this body is “to ensure and increase unity throughout the Movement, directing it towards the fulfilment of its aims and taking care of coordination among its various parts.” In her second session today, Tuesday 2 March, President Margaret Karram gave the elected councillors the new areas of responsibility to follow in the life of the Movement both in its different aspects and in its different geographical areas. On this occasion she reiterated her desire that the “Centre of the Movement”, like all its governing bodies, be characterized by a profound spirit of fraternal service born of mutual evangelical love.
Communication Office
Councillors Cuneo, Chiara (Italy) Spirituality and life of prayer Escandell, Silvia (Argentina) Central delegate Gomez, Margarita (Spain) Nature and physical life Kempt, Donna Lynn (USA) Europe Kobayashi, Renata (Japan) Unity and means of communication Koller, Friederike (Germany) Witness and diffusion, Africa and Middle East Lockhart, Noreen (United Kingdom) Women focolarine Moussallem, Rita (Lebanon) Asia and Oceania Ngabo, Bernadette (RDC Congo) Americas Sanze, Geneviève (Central African Rep.) Communion of goods, economy and work Simon, Renata (Germany) Wisdom and study Zanolini, Clara (Italy) Harmony and environment Consiglieri Asprer, Ray (Philippines) Central delegate Bartol, Angel (Spain) Americas Battiston, Ruperto (Italy) Communion of goods, economy and work Brüschke, Klaus (Brazil) Witness and diffusion, Africa and Middle East Canzani, Francisco (Uruguay) Wisdom and study Dijkema, Enno (Netherlands) Harmony and environment Kenfack, Etienne (Cameroon) Nature and physical life Roveré, Flavio (Brazil) Men focolarine Salimbeni, Antonio (Italy) Asia and Oceania Schwind, Joachim (Germany) Unity and means of communication St-Hilaire, Marc (Canada) Spirituality and life of prayer Valtr, Vit (Czech Republic) Europe
Mar 1, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Seeking love and fleeing from pain: this is an almost natural mechanism of human existence. With the message of the cross, however, Christianity teaches that true and deep love passes through pain. Whoever understands the cross well – says Chiara Lubich in the following text – finds in it a key to the fullness of life. “Let them take up their cross . . .” (Mt 16:24). So strange and unique are these words. Like all the words said by Jesus, they have something in them of a light that this world does not know. They are so bright that the dull eyes of human beings, including those of apathetic Christians, are dazzled and therefore made blind. … And perhaps the whole mistake lies here: in the world, love is not understood. Love is the finest of words, but it is also the most deformed and debased. … Perhaps maternal love can give us an inkling of it. For the love of a mother is not only hugs and kisses; it is above all sacrifice. Thus it is with Jesus: love impelled him to the cross, considered foolishness by many. But only this foolishness has saved humanity and has formed the saints. Saints, in fact, are people who are able to understand the cross. They are men and women who, following Jesus, the God-Man, have taken up their daily cross as the most precious thing on earth. At times they have brandished it like a weapon, as soldiers of God. They have loved it all their lives, and they have known and experienced that the cross is the key, the only key to a treasure, the treasure. The cross gradually opens souls to union with God. Then, through human beings, God once more reappears on the scene of this earth. He repeats—although in a way that is infinitely lesser, yet similar — the actions that he himself once performed when, as one human being among others, he blessed those who cursed him, forgave those who insulted him, saved, healed, preached the words of heaven, fed the hungry, founded a new society based on the law of love, and revealed the power of the One who sent him. In short, the cross is the necessary instrument by which the divine penetrates the human, and a human being participates more fully in the life of God, and is raised up from the kingdom of this world to the kingdom of heaven. But we must “take up our cross…,” wake up in the morning expecting it, and knowing that only by means of it can we receive those gifts which the world does not know: that peace, that joy, that knowledge of the things of heaven, unknown to most. … The cross, the badge of the Christian, is unwanted by the world because it believes that by fleeing it, suffering can be escaped. The world does not know that the cross opens wide the soul of the person who has understood it to the kingdom of Light and of Love: that Love which the world seeks so much, but does not have.
Chiara Lubich
Chiara Lubich, Essential Writings, New city Press, Hyde Park, New York, 2007, pp. 189.
Feb 27, 2021 | Non categorizzato
“We have learned to love each other without asking for anything in return, just as God loves us.” “Little by little, we have fallen in love with each other’s souls. We find ourselves in a fullness of love that we have never experienced before, not even when we were engaged, and this is possible because now we love each other in a totally free way, without asking anything in return, as God loves us.” Nacho and Fili are from Mexico, they have been married for 30 years and have two children. They say that their love only really began after they discovered that God is Love and that he loved all human beings to the point of giving his life for them. In comprehending this great gift, they understood that they could overcome their respective limitations and heal the wounds that had torn their relationship apart. It was a discovery that gave meaning to the journey of each of their lives and made them capable of loving and freely giving to one another. Their story, up to a certain point, is similar to that of many couples. Two people feel they are in love and decide to get married: in each one there is an inner void that undermines the foundations of any project. They hope that by sharing the wounds each one feels within they will be able to fill up that emptiness but this is the premise of an abyss that leads to further disintegration. “My father had another wife and other children,” says Fili, “and that made me suffer. I wanted to get married and live a more stable family life. When I was a child, I also suffered because of my father’s absence from home and my mother’s lack of attention towards me.” Nacho continues. “Fili and I combined the loneliness that we experienced in life but we were wanting to fill up the emptiness there was within us without having known real love. We quickly realised this love between us was missing.” Problems soon began. On account of Fili’s jealousy, Nacho was forced to change jobs often and the resentment this caused created tension. The children also suffered: “We loved them a lot but we didn’t know how to teach them to love, nor how to make them love God.” Fifteen years into their marriage, the two separated: Nacho was disappointed and felt the relationship was ended; Fili could not forgive her husband. “It seemed as if nothing united us any more,” they remember, “that there was no more love.” Then something happened that changed the direction of their lives. One evening, while watching TV, Nacho was struck by a woman, Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement, who spoke of fraternal love. He saw images of the Movement’s little town in Mexico, called El Diamante. One Sunday they went to Mass there and were invited to the Mariapolis, a meeting organised by the Focolare Movement. They do not imagine that the invitation to follow the Gospel could be revolutionary for them and bring about such a radical change: “I tell you, forgive not seven times, but seventy-seven times. ‘ (Matt. 18:21-22) is the phrase they felt called to live out in their daily lives. “They told us about Jesus forsaken on the cross,” says Fili, “how he forgave and gave his life for us. I realised that in comparison with what he had done, my sorrows were small. God had already forgiven my husband, and his will for me was that I should forgive too. I did it and experienced that it is possible to be born anew.” “We are imperfect and different,” Nacho concludes, “but I have learned to trust the God who makes everything possible.”
Claudia Di Lorenzi
Feb 23, 2021 | Non categorizzato
A social centre in Bolivia offers support to 220 children and families in need. Silvio’s story: today he works for the same institution that saved him and cared for him when he was a child. Silvio lives in Cochabamba; he has 10 siblings. His father, who was a miner, died when Silvio was 10 years old. Since then, his mother brought up a family of 11 children all by herself. They lived in a 4 x 5 metre room in a neighbourhood where drugs and robbery were the main activities for children. Now, Silvio works for the Unisol Foundation, the same charitable institution that one day saved him and his brothers from the life of sreet children. This foundation is also supported by AFN Onlus (an association set up by the Focolare New Families Movement) through specific Distance Support programmes, that offer services to help with the education, nutrition and good health of children, while also seeing to their families and communities to ensure as much as possible that the children’s development takes place in a healthy environment. The implementation of these programmes is coordinated at a distance with competent local staff. But what does the foundation actually do? We put this question to Silvio, whose life story is entwined with that of Unisol, a foundation which today supports 220 children and families in need. Can you tell us something about your family and your childhood? “We are a very large family, 11 children in all. At first, we lived in Quillacollo, one of the most dangerous areas in Cochabamba (one of the most populated cities in Bolivia). My father used to work in a mine. He died of tumour when I was 10 years old, and from then on, my mother had to shoulder the full responsibility of all the family. It was the first time she had to look for a job, and she was employed as a cleaner in a school, in another town. To make life a bit easier for her, she was given the chance to live on the school premises, in the porter’s lodge: a small room of 4×5 metres, which became the living quarters for 8 of us. Although this new neighbourhood is better than our previous one, yet it is still a very dangerous one. Very often, families cannot give the care needed by their children because they work all day, and children easily get into drugs; they deal in drugs or steal to pay for their doses. Many of my schoolmates ended up in gangs, but I still tried to keep some contact with them, even with the most dangerous ones, out of fear that they might take revenge on me or my family! Some of my friends were hooked on drugs. They offered drugs to me too, but I have always refused their offer, mainly out of respect for my mother, who sacrificed all her life for us children, and I always admired her a lot. But one day something changed….. “Yes. One day some members of the Focolare Movement came to our school and they offered help to my mother. They gave us snacks and sweets, they played with us, they listened to us, they gave us what we needed. And we felt very happy. As time went by, numbers increased and this led to the idea of finding a place, rather than the street, where we could play, study and be together. Thus, the Rincón de Luz (Corner of Light) Centre in Cochabamba came into being and later, the Clara Luz (Clear Light) Centre in Santa Cruz was also set up. This changed our lives; for example, it was impossible to find a job for one of my sisters who is deaf and dumb, and we could not afford to make her study. But thanks to the help we received from the Foundation, she was able to get some training, and now she too has a profession”. In reality, what does the Unisol Foundation do? “It helps the most needy, especially families. It provides them with food, medicine and school things. It also offers educational support through after-school activities for children;. It organises recreational activities, lunches, snacks and workshops to teach practical and manual work; it promotes recycling and environmental awareness, personal training, sharing experiences,… After having experienced the care offered by the Foundation, now, you are taking care of children and families in need. What motivates you to keep on doing this? “First of all, I need to explain a bit more about our situation. In October 2019 there was the presidential election in Bolivia, and immediately afterwards a political crisis followed. This led to a substantial decrease in funds distributed to public organizations. Then, the country had to face the pandemic and the situation became worse. As many doctors and health assistants stopped working because they were afraid of the contagious virus, those who were ready to work in hospitals were offered high wages. Even I was offered a very good job and I was tempted to accept it: who wouldn’t like to have a few extra comforts? But then I realised that money would not make me happy , but living for others would. I felt I had to continue my work at Rincón de Luz…”. How has helping families changed with the pandemic? And is there anything in particular you would like to share with those who are getting to know about the Unisol Foundation? “Families are being very hardly hit by the pandemic. Many used to sell goods or food items on the streets; now they cannot do it anymore and so they stopped earning money. Many are losing hope of recovery from this situation. In addition to this, there have been quite a number of divorce cases, and the effects of this on the children we care for are many. At the moment, even my mum is taking care of a child, the son of a couple who have just separated and have practically nothing left. This is our work; we are there to answer for all the needs of these families. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough resources to cater for a larger number of people, even though this is what we would like to do. We also continue to help the families who previously were under our care. Besides other things, we also try to offer them a place where they can relax a bit, because the situation is really difficult. But there are many more people who need support, so I invite all those who are getting to know about the Unisol Foundation to offer help, starting with people who are near and maybe we do not know them, but they are the ones who need our time, our attention and our love.
Edited by Laura Salerno
Laura Salerno’s interview with Silvio (choose English subtitles): https://youtu.be/UVTztN2UoUE Contact details: www.fundacionunisol.org Facebook: @Fundaciónunisol https://www.afnonlus.org/ Facebook: @afnonlus Instagram: @afn.onlus
