Feb 24, 2020 | Non categorizzato
Maria Voce was one of the speakers at the International Conference of pastoral care of the elderly, “The Richness of Many Years of Life” To cultivate dialogue between generations and establish a relationship of mutual love between youths and adults, we need to realize that the other person, in all his diversity, is a gift for me. And we also need to build fraternal relationships based on authentic listening, that puts aside stereotypes and prejudices and opens new pathways. This was the core of the message offered by Maria Voce, the Focolare president, when she was invited to be one of the speakers who addressed the first International Conference of pastoral care for the elderly. This conference, that took place at the Augustinianum in Rome from 29 to 31 January, was promoted by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. In the presence of an audience of about 550 experts and pastoral workers from 60 countries, Maria Voce proposed a reflection on dialogue between generations. She said that in today’s current situation, one can notice that there is “an atmosphere of new understanding between generations” that reigns on a global level. She quoted the example of peaceful demonstrations that recently mobilized both young and old who joined forces to express their ideas and ask for a renewed commitment towards “common good, human rights, solidarity and peace”. The young people have been the promoters of a message of rebirth, while the more mature, driven by the enthusiasm of the younger ones, have chosen to share its challenges and commitment. When speaking about the outcome of this allegiance between generations, Maria Voce quoted Chiara Lubich, the Focolare founder. Lubich related: “I would not hesitate to define as Trinitarian the relationship we had with young people from the very start. In our generation of adults we perceived all the weight, the value of incarnation and concreteness, while in the young generation we saw ideality, authenticity, revolutionary power and certainty of victory. The first generation seemed to us to be like the Father, while in the second generation there seemed to be the beauty and splendour of the Son, the Word of the Father. And between the two there was a relationship of mutual love, almost a current of the Holy Spirit that gives a great witness to the world”. The Focolare President traced out various pathways that lead to this allegiance between generations. First of all, she underlined the need for deep listening, which means having “minds and hearts free from prejudices and stereotypes”. Then she spoke about the necessity of abandoning fixed concepts that depict the adult as boring and stuck to the past, and underestimate and judge the young person negatively. Finally, she highlighted the great importance of being open to new schemes to be able to overcome difficulties together. Maria Voce concluded by re-proposing the image of the Church offered by a young man during the Synod dedicated to them: “The Church is like a canoe, in which the elderly help to keep its course by interpreting the position of the stars and the youth row hard while imagining what awaits them further ahead”.
Claudia Di Lorenzi
Feb 22, 2020 | Non categorizzato
The Focolare Movement recommends adopting scrupulously the precautionary and safety measures stipulated by the health authorities of each country Following the detection of cases of Coronavirus infection (COVID-19) also in Italy, the International Centre of the Focolare Movement, having its headquarters in Italy and being the organizer and venue of events attended by people from many countries, invites the great Focolare family around the world to handle this health emergency with the required caution and with a great sense of responsibility in view both of personal health and the common good. In particular, the Focolare Movement recommends adopting scrupulously the precautionary and safety measures stipulated by the health authorities of each country and carefully following the relevant communications. With regard to events organized at the International Centre, the Centre itself is in close contact with the local health and civil authorities to follow developments and take the necessary measures. The International Centre recommends doing the same with regard to large events in other countries. However, what remains valid is the invitation made by Maria Voce (Emmaus) on 1st February, to have – precisely as a worldwide Focolare family – an unconditional love for everyone, a love “that makes no differences between people, and is fearless. Because even a person who can give you the infection is still your brother or sister and you must take care of him or her”.
Feb 22, 2020 | Non categorizzato
With a statement of March 1, the Organizing Committee of “The Economy of Francesco” has postponed the event to November. The Side Event, scheduled in Perugia for the end of March, will be postponed from 20 to 22 November. Why a parallel event? When dealing with “appointments with history”, the mission in question needs to be supported in some way! Behind the CVs of the young people who responded enthusiastically to the Pope’s invitation there are not only brilliant profiles, innovative research and projects, but also the clear aim to redesign theory and practice of the economic system, working to reverse world trends, together. And this represents a global challenge much too serious and important for us to remain mere passive spectators. Hence, the parallel meeting that will take place in Perugia from 20 to 20 November 2020 is an opportunity for all those who cannot participate directly in “The Economy of Francesco” (due to issues of age and logistics) but still wish to be part of this new process, closely following and supporting the work carried out by the under-35 gathered in Assisi. We will maintain the same structure scheduled for March, reprogramming the meeting, in support of the work of young people, from Friday, November 20 to Sunday, November 22, 2020 (from the night of Thursday, November 19 to lunch on Sunday, November 22): registrations are open again, to proceed in the best possible way with the organization of the work and continue on our path with the energy and responsibility placed so far. Promoted by the Economy of Communion, the Side Event is essentially a space open to anyone who believes in the need for a different economy: an inclusive place, functioning as a spokesperson for multiple realities. In the awareness that the current economy often fails, since it can work well for some, but clearly does not work at all for (many) others, while also threatening the social and environmental ecosystem, we will dialogue between young and old, between different cultures and backgrounds, experiencing the event through 3 generative dimensions: feeling-conceiving-acting. By alternating plenary moments with parallel / group sessions, we want to testify how important it is to let networks flourish, while learning from past failures and converting ideas into action. Under the guidance of a group of facilitators (similarly to what will happen in Assisi) and with the contribution of some important keynote speakers, which the young people in the Franciscan city will work simultaneously on 12 macro-themes, focusing on some contrasting key concepts, such as wealth / poverty and more. As in the case with Assisi, the wish is that these days spent in Perugia will serve to bring together visions, desires, skills and commitment: both on an individual as well as a collective scale. Yes, because, more than profit, the economy is really about vocation and if you believe in something alternative, you need to make your voice heard, empowering it, by putting it in relation to the ideas of others. In order for it to turn into actual collaboration, thereby creating a spirit of community. A community capable of creating real impact, by starting a necessary process: this is the aim of the Economy of Francesco in Assisi, and this is the cause that the event in Perugia aims to sustain. But in order to achieve this objective, it is not enough to merely make words like ethics and sustainability become fashionable, taking a real step of discontinuity, while breaking away from what is currently the dominant line of thought, will also be required. The Economy of Francesco will leave its mark thanks to its youthful nature, but it will be surrounded by a heterogeneous chorus of voices strengthening its opening of the passage, fertilizing this terrain of change together.
By Francesca Giglio
source www.edc-online.org Download flyer (1.06 MB) For further information: edcperugia2020@gmail.com For registration requests: https://www.umbriasi.it/pacchetto/side/
Feb 21, 2020 | Non categorizzato
Kevin and Trish Bourke live in Myrtleford, a small rural town of 3,500 in the state of Victoria. He is a volunteer firefighter. They tell of the damage caused by the disastrous fires that still continue, but of many episodes of courage and solidarity as well. The recent fires have been devastating. Our small district has lost over 102,000 hectares of national park, pine plantation forests and fertile farmlands to fire. We have also lost livestock and stock feed, but we are fortunate as we have only lost one house and no human lives. The fires have impacted every state and territory within Australia. They started in August 2019 and are still burning. The height of the flames has reached 40 metres, fanned by winds up to 100 kilometres per hour. As I write this account on 30 January 2020, large fires are still threatening a number of areas, including the southern borders of Canberra, Australia’s capital city. So far, the fires have burned in excess of 19 million hectares (nearly two-thirds the total area of Italy). The current number of lives lost is 35, thousands of houses, businesses, stock and native wildlife have perished. Yet the human spirit endures. People demonstrated an endless desire to help those impacted in any way they could. Many, especially those based in major cities, often stated that they felt somewhat helpless, as they couldn’t work out what they could do from a distance, as most of the fires were burning in rural locations. But people did help. Sometimes it was just by offering support through social media. Some made donations, and there was an extensive range in between. We were fortunate to be able to witness the good from the fire front. We saw people consoling others, sometimes when they just needed someone to listen to their story. Emergency services came to the fire effected areas, often from a distance, in some cases thousands of kilometres away, to help fight the fires. Most were volunteers, often incurring financial losses to assist us. Some firefighters came from across the seas. Canada, the U.S. and New Zealand were represented. The Army, Navy and Airforce have all provided troops and equipment, some fighting fires, and others ensuring water, food, health facilities and emergency accommodation were supplied and of a high standard. Relief agencies, including St. Vincent de Paul, Red Cross and Salvation Army, received donations from international musicians, actors, sports people and regular Australian citizens. To date this fund is AUD$500 million. Some farmers from areas that were not impacted provided stock feed to others who had lost their supply. In one instance a large group of farmers drove over 3,000 kilometres to deliver 140 semi-trailer loads of hay to fire-affected farmers. All of the hay was donated. The value of the hay was in excess of AUD$1 million. Neighbours checked on each other to ensure they were safe and well. Elderly and those with young families were offered additional support to make sure they were able to evacuate if the need arose. In some instances, the elderly needed to evacuate just to escape the smoke that drifted over the valley. They had respiratory difficulties and eyes that stung due to excessive exposure to hazardous smoke. People showed genuine concern for each other in so many ways. We loaned our trailer to a property owner who wanted to re-locate stock. As we were located in a zone that was blocked from traffic, the rubbish collection ceased – and our trailer was being used. So the neighbours collected ours, and many bins from the neighbourhood, and took them to the transfer station. Families donated food and clothing to those who had to evacuate without time to pack; others accommodated those who required shelter. Horse transport operators from outside the region provided free cartage of horses to safer locations. Businesses in nearby towns provided free emergency accommodation. On one of the days that I was fighting fires, a volunteer went to buy food for everyone’s midday meal. A couple waiting to be served in the shop realized that the food was for the firefighters and paid the entire amount: AUD$600. We didn’t even know who they were. Grandparents have appeared at the station advising that their grandchildren had asked them to provide their Christmas money to the firefighters to help them ‘stop the fires’. We sent the children a card and photo saying thanks. We have some new friends. This country has witnessed so much suffering through natural disaster. In most cases the fires were ignited by lightning reaching a parched landscape. No one was to blame, yet the memories will stay with many for a lifetime. It is often said that it is how you react to situation that defines us. We are happy to report that people reacted with love and compassion, and that too will be remembered for a lifetime.
Kevin and Trish Bourke
Feb 19, 2020 | Non categorizzato
President Mattarella took part in the “Trent meets Chiara” event at the Mariapolis Centre in Cadine. https://vimeo.com/389431100
Feb 17, 2020 | Non categorizzato
The international conference entitled “A Charism at the Service of the Church and Humanity” showed interesting perspectives for the Church. The participants, 7 Cardinals and 137 Bishops, friends of the Focolare Movement from 50 countries, gathered first at Trento and then at Loppiano It was a symbolic and solemn scene on the sanctuary of the Theotokós of Loppiano, that is, in a church dedicated to Mary, Mother of God. Surrounded by the inhabitants of this little town of the Focolare Movement who represented the people of God, a large assembly of Cardinals and Bishops declared to each other that they lived fraternal love according to the commandment of Jesus, ready to share each other’s joys and sorrows, to love the community of the other as their own, in short, to love each other to the point of giving their lives for one another. This solemn “pact”, formulated on Tuesday, February 11th, was the culmination of an international conference entitled “A Charism at the Service of the Church and Humanity” which gathered 7 Cardinals and 137 Bishops, friends of the Focolare Movement, representing 50 countries, first at Trento and then at Loppiano. 
Never before has participation in this annual conference been so numerous, due also to the fact that the meeting took place in the year of the Centenary of Chiara Lubich’s birth. The programme reflected the motto chosen for the Centenary: “Celebrate to meet”. The first part of the conference, which took place in Trento, the birthplace of the founder of the Focolare Movement, was in fact dedicated primarily to the celebration of this event: the visit to the exhibition “Chiara Lubich City World” at the Galleries of Trento; the greeting of the authorities at the headquarters of the Autonomous Province of Trento; the Eucharistic celebration in the Cathedral of the city and the artistic re-enactment “From the Tridentine Council to Tridentine Chiara ” held in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, where the Council was held and in which Chiara Lubich received her baptism. Celebratory moments that were not characterized by the simple nostalgic memory of a historical figure, but opened our eyes to the relevance of Chiara’s charism, such as its global, ecclesial and ecumenical dimension. This was strongly underlined by a long message from Pope Francis, who warmly welcomed this conference expressing “gratitude to God for the gift of the charism of unity through the witness and teaching (…) of Chiara Lubich”. The Pope’s invitation to the Bishops, to “always put themselves back in the school of the Holy Spirit” and to live the main points of Chiara Lubich’s spirituality, was achieved in the second part of the programme held in the International Focolare Little Town in Loppiano near Florence. The context of a small community of 800 inhabitants, who see in Jesus’ commandment of mutual love the law of their living together, stimulated the prelates to do the same. The scenes of communion and sharing were moving, beginning with the small things: mutual help, deep listening, attentive reception of the requests, needs and ideas of each one. True “ministers” at the service of one another. 
Against the background of a profound and rich analysis of the historical context in which Chiara Lubich lived and worked, presented by Andrea Riccardi of the Sant’Egidio Community, the ecclesial dimensions that flow from Chiara’s charism were deepened: a Church that becomes dialogue; the ‘mysticism of us’ that is achieved in a Church-communion; the ecumenical dimension; the different formation paths offered by the Focolare Movement to deepen and spread these dimensions. The lived experiences of Bishops from all over the world illustrated the possibility of achieving this in their personal life and in their service to the Church. “It was not a matter of looking back,” an African bishop emphasised at the conclusion of the conference, “but an overture, that is, a beginning and an opening to the future. The “pact” that the Bishops made in Loppiano, in the Church of the Mother of God, had been signed, in the very same place, by Pope Francis together with the inhabitants of the Little Town during his visit to Loppiano. It is a pact, signed with the support of the People of God who implement it and continually draw strength from it, which can also be for the Bishops a beginning, a starting point, an overture which makes one glimpse the playing of new notes on the path of dialogue, of new harmonies on the path of communion of the Church of the future.
Joachim Schwind – Anna Lisa Innocenti
Feb 14, 2020 | Non categorizzato
Jesus taught us with his life the reason for service and for choosing the last place. It is the best way to transform apparent defeat into a victory which is neither selfish nor short-lived, but shared and lasting. Alcoholic Having both experienced the tragic effects of alcohol in our families, my boyfriend and I decided to make a pact. He promised me his commitment. Everything went well for a few years. However, suspicions surfaced from time to time: money missing from our account, a delay that couldn’t be justified… The real tragedy was not discovering that he had always been an alcoholic but that we, his wife and children, had not been able to get him out of that situation. I felt humiliated. I spoke to my parish priest about it. He recognized the seriousness of a deception that had been going on for years but he asked me if, for the children’s sake, I was ready to start again, but not alone. The community would support me. With what at times demanded heroic strength, I stayed with my husband. I was able to convince him to agree to seek help and supported him in his alcohol withdrawal crises. Two years have passed. The family has suffered a lot from these tumultuous times, but my children and I have gained new strength. Everyday life has become a wonderful gift. (J.K. – Romania) Refugees We lost everything in the Rwandan war: our home and several relations. From Kigali we moved back to my native town but later had to leave there and go to a refugee camp. We took just a few things with us, including clothes for the baby I was expecting. There were thousands of desperate, destitute people in the camp. After a number of nuns arrived in the camp, I volunteered to help with first aid. I was entrusted with providing social care but we had no money, nothing to give to the refugees. Among a group of orphans there was a seven-year-old boy who was separated from his family. His mother eventually found him after many days’ walk but was totally exhausted when she arrived at the camp. All I had was 300 francs, the equivalent of about a dollar: it was a fortune. I really needed it myself but she needed it more than me. I gave it to her convinced that God would think of my family too. With the money she was able to buy food and a small hut. Shortly afterwards, I met my elder sister, who had spent three days looking for us in the camp: she brought me 1,000 francs. (C.E. – Rwanda) Scars It wasn’t easy knowing how to treat Martha, our fourth daughter, who had been entrusted to us by the juvenile court. She totally rejected the suffering she had experienced following an incident that had left scars on her body, which she hid from everyone as marks of disgrace. Only with the patient love, dialogue and collaboration by everyone in the family was she able to overcome that trauma and discover and appreciate her talents. So, little by little, this difficult child was reconciled with her own body and the environment around her. We were so relieved to see the love of life growing in her. Gradually, with time, we were also able to share with her the value of pain. One day, as soon as she arrived home, Marta told us about a companion who looked shocked when she noticed her scars; but, instead of feeling hurt, she rolled up her sleeve to show the marks more clearly, and explained how she got them. At that point her companion apologized and since then they became good friends. (O.N. – ltaly)
Edited by Stefania Tanesini (taken from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, anno VI, n.1, gennaio-febbraio 2020)
Feb 12, 2020 | Non categorizzato
Few weeks before the global event that will bring together thousands of young economists with Pope Francis, we met the team organising the event. What are they hoping for? That the world will change direction. https://vimeo.com/389431214
Feb 10, 2020 | Non categorizzato
An evening in the Italian capital was dedicated to Focolare’s founder and her close relationship with Rome, where she 20 years ago became an honorary citizen. The book Conversations: via telephone link-up was also released. January 22 is an important day for Rome, not only because it is Chiara Lubich’s birthday – she was born in 1920, and her centenary is being celebrated this year – but also because on January 22, 2000, in the midst of the Jubilee Year, the then Mayor of Rome Francesco Rutelli decided to give her honorary citizenship. On that occasion Chiara pointed out that the name of Rome (“Roma”), read in reverse, is “amor” or “love”. Since then her vision of a capital invaded by evangelical love, through what was later called “Roma-Amor”, launched a new phase for the Focolare community in Rome, with greater witness and commitment to the city. Twenty years later, this year on January 22 an evening was dedicated to Chiara in her memory. “In my opinion there is an element of Chiara’s experience that connects with the experience of St. Paul, with both of them becoming citizens of Rome,” said Rutelli. “Chiara mentioned St. Paul several times, and this link between the two has an extraordinary strength and symbolism. “And Chiara, since January 22, 2000, committed to dedicating herself to Rome in a better and more complete way, embodying mutual love everywhere. What could be more beautiful than to make these words ours, today?” During the course of the evening there was also an in-depth look at the book Conversations: via telephone link-up by Michel Vandeleene, which contains 300 spiritual thoughts from Chiara. These were texts that she communicated, connecting regularly by conference call initially from Switzerland (which is why it is called the “CH” link-up) with the most important centres of the Focolare Movement scattered throughout the five continents. It was also an opportunity to hear news and about events in the life of the movement throughout the world. “We find ourselves at the source of a sort of personal and collective diary, in which Chiara’s experience is linked to the life of the members of the movement,” said Professor Maria Intrieri, professor of ancient history at the University of Calabria in Italy. “There are two types: the great story of Chiara and her work in the Church, and with the Church in the streets of the world, but there is also the micro-history, the small experiences, the meetings she has at the Focolare’s international headquarters, her travels, or a letter that comes to her from a child. Chiara did it to be more and more a single family.” “We realize that these two terms – conversation and connection – share deep roots: to be in the same place and to be linked together,” said Professor Cristiana Freni, professor of the philosophy of language at Salesian University. “This is what Chiara wanted to do back in 1980: to make people feel members of the same family and establish profound ontological ties through the link-up.” Michel Vandeleene stressed the importance of the language used in Chiara’s spiritual thoughts. “A person’s vocabulary reflects her soul, and when you see Chiara’s vocabulary you see an open, joyful, evangelical, determined person. Even how someone’s words are used helps us understand so much about her. She uses the word “sweetness” to refer to union with God, or the loving presence of God in our midst. Editing this compilation, I was struck by Chiara’s vision of Christianity: a positive, fascinating spirituality that cannot but be attractive.” Director Marco Aleotti explained what the link-up is today. “Since Chiara’s death, we asked ourselves: what will happen to the link-up? We continue to produce it every two months, and anyone can connect with it through the web. The feedback afterwards from the live broadcast,” he concludes, “shows that many people continue to have the same experience of being one family, just like the link-ups with Chiara.”
Lorenzo Russo
Feb 8, 2020 | Non categorizzato
A message from Pope Francis and a greeting from Focolare President, Maria Voce opened a conference of 7 Cardinals and 137 Catholic Bishops, friends of the Focolare from 50 different countries. The meeting in Trento, Northern Italy is entitled “A Charism at the service of the Church and humanity”. “It’s good for Bishops too always to go back to the school of the Holy Spirit”. This encouragement from Pope Francis on 8 February opened the international conference “A Charism at the service of the Church and humanity” in Trento. Taking part are 7 Cardinals and 137 Catholic bishops, friends of the Focolare Movement, representing 50 countries. In this centenary year of Chiara Lubich’s birth, the meeting explores the significance and contribution of the Focolare charism of unity at the service of the Church and of humanity. On 6 February a delegation of conference participants had an audience with Pope Francis, who exclaimed, “You’ve brought me joy, go ahead!” The Pope’s full message to the conference was read by Cardinal Francis X. Kriengsak Kovithavanij, Archbishop of Bangkok. Pope Francis affirmed charismatic gifts like that of the Focolare spirituality are “co-essential, together with hierarchical gifts, in the mission of the Church”. He continued, “the charism of unity is one of these graces for our time, which is experiencing a change of epoch and calls for a simple, radical, spiritual and pastoral reform that brings the Church back to the ever new and relevant source that is the Gospel of Jesus”. Pope Francis went on to encourage the Bishops present to live the cardinal points of Chiara Lubich’s spirituality: commitment to unity, preferential choice of the crucified Jesus as their existential compass, making yourself one “starting from the least, from the excluded, from the discarded, to bring them light, joy and peace”, openness “to a dialogue of charity and truth with every man and every woman, of all cultures, religious traditions, and ideal convictions, to build up, in meeting with them, the new civilization of love.”, to listen like Mary from whom “we learn that what matters and what remains is love” and who teaches us how to bring Christ to the world today, Christ “who lives Risen among those who are one in his Name (cf. Mt 18:20)”. Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement, sent a video message in which she underlined the fact that this spirituality aims to be, as proposed by the conference title, “at the service of the Church and of humanity”. In an era in which “We know that there are challenges for the Church all over the world, we are called to a new inculturation of the Gospel of Jesus,” affirmed the Focolare President. “An inculturation which treasures the experience of the past but knows how to express it anew, prophetically, in our times. For this reason we must also open up and discover the power for renewal inherent in many of the new charisms present in the Church today.” Maria Voce continued, “ the reality of Bishops, friends of the Focolare Movement ” – affirmed the Focolare President – wants to promote “ a lifestyle of fellowship and communion with Jesus in the midst among Catholic bishops from all over the world – and then also among bishops of various Churches. Such a lifestyle contributes to making collegiality ever more effective and affective”. The program continued with an afternoon visit to the “Chiara Lubich city world” exhibition in the Galleria Bianca of Piedicastello, in Trento. The bishops then attended a performance of “From the Tridentine Council to Tridentine Chiara”, a special artistic event at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. From there, the bishops proceeded to Cadine Mariapolis Center for the celebration of Mass, presided by the Archbishop of Trento, Mons. Lauro Tisi. On Sunday 9 February they were welcomed by the Archbishop of Trento to the city’s Cathedral to celebrate the 10am Mass, presided by Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij. This was streamed live on TV2000 and via the website www.centenariolubichtrento.it . It was followed by an official reception hosted by the Presidents of the Provincial Council Walter Kaswalder, of the Provincial Administration Maurizio Fugatti, and the Mayor of Trento Alessandro Andreatta. From 10-12 February, the conference moves to Loppiano, near Florence, Italy, the little town of the Focolare Movement. In collaboration with the “Evangelii Gaudium Center” of Sophia University Institute based in Loppiano, there will be sessions on a range of current issues facing the Church and society today, involving reports, round-table discussions and dialogue. Topics include: “The Church and its currrent challenges” with historian and founder of the Sant’Egidio community Andrea Riccardi, “The Church becomes dialogue” focussing on the four dimensions of the life of the Church (kerygma, communion, dialogue e prophecy). With Cardinals and Bishops from so many different parts of the world, the input promises to be wide-ranging and dynamic. Here is the text of the message of Pope Francis Here is the text of the video message of Maria Voce
For more information contact: Focolare Communication Office: ufficio.comunicazione@focolare.org Anna Lisa Innocenti – +39 338 3944209
Feb 7, 2020 | Non categorizzato
For thousands of people, although the emergency is not over, life is slowly returning to normal after the eruption of the Taal volcano in the Philippines on January 12th 2020, which caused serious damage to the surrounding areas. According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), the alert level 4 has been lowered to level 3 and the danger zone has been reduced from 14 to 7 km from the crater. The Focolare community is using all possible means to provide for the needs of those displaced by the disaster: more than 300,000 people were forced to evacuate. 
Purisa Plaras, focolarina and co-director of “Mariapolis Pace”, the Focolare’s little town in Tagaytay, says: “A few days after the eruption of the Taal volcano, we returned to Tagaytay to check on the situation of our community and share everything with the different families living around our Centre, which is located within the danger zone, within 14 kilometres of the volcano. Concerned about their basic needs, we distributed food and water to the families. One of our young Focolare members shares: “It is not easy to deal with this situation. It is heartbreaking and I couldn’t help crying. I cannot explain how I feel right now, but deep down I know that God loves us immensely, embracing together the face of Jesus Crucified and Abandoned in this situation. I will be strong here, to serve Jesus also in others”. Randy Debarbo, the focolarino responsible for the territory around Mariapolis Pace, says: “On Sunday, January 12th , as we were returning home from a meeting, we noticed the bad smell of sulphur in the air. It started raining but there was something strange. The rainwater was staining our umbrellas and clothes. Then we realized it was volcanic ash mixed with rain coming down like mud! When we woke up the next morning, we no longer recognized what was around us. Everything was grey as if we were colour blind. We saw the massive devastation caused by the eruption of the Taal volcano. The public school near the centre of the Focolare became a temporary shelter and transit centre for about 500 people coming from the lakeside villages close to the volcano. Faced with such devastation, a voice inside me spoke aloud: “I was hungry and you gave me to eat…”. This concern for Jesus in those who are in need led him to remain in Tagaytay together with other focolarini. Randy continued, “Together with the other focolarini, we travelled by truck for about 20 kilometers from Tagaytay to buy water to distribute to some families who were still in Tagaytay. It was very moving to see the families momentarily relieved of their worries, the children were happy to receive even a bucket of water. With a doctor from Tagaytay, we decided to visit the families around us to try to meet their medical needs. Arriving at one place, the people from that neighborhood were all along the street, waiting and asking for food. Instead of just visiting one home, we were able to offer a free medical checkup to those who were waiting for food. We put together the small amounts of money we had in our pockets and personally bought medicines for those in urgent need of medical care”. In addition to the generous help from the families of the Movement in the Philippines, the Movement around the world is supporting, with prayers and financial contributions , Mariapolis Pace which is at the service of the work of the Focolare Movement in Asia.
Jonas Lardizabal
Feb 5, 2020 | Senza categoria
- Date of Death: 06/02/2020
- Branch of belonging: Bishop
- Nation: Italy
Feb 5, 2020 | Non categorizzato
An ongoing collaboration between young performers from Montecatini (Florence) and Bethelehem. In places torn apart by armed conflict propelled by economic and military pressures, the peoples afflicted can be victims of mutual prejudice as much as everything else. These prejudices foster hostilities among the civil populations, but they can also be dissolved by meeting on “neutral territory”, on a cultural and social, as well as geographic level. There is territory where the human spirit can open up to authentic connections to experience freedom from hatred and fears, and find new approaches to reconciliation. This is the space occupied by the “Harmony among Peoples” project promoted by the Armonia Dancelab Cultural Association (*), using dance as a meeting place for peace. It is the social outreach of the Laboratorio Accademico Danza, based in Montecatini Terme, near Florence, Italy, founded by its artistic director, Antonella Lombardo. We asked her how the Association came about. 
“After teaching dance for 20 years, I realised that young people seem to approach this discipline solely as a means to obtain personal success. I wanted to allow them to experience how dance can give meaning to life, independent of how “successful” or not their careers may be, how dance can contribute to improving other people’s lives and can actually sow seeds of peace. This desire led to the idea of international “campus” events first at at Montecatini, then in Bethlehem in the Holy Land.” Tell us how it happened. “We began by inviting young dance students from different parts of the world to stay with us in Italy, in order to share with them a vision of art which embraces the capacity to unite people from different social, political, ethnic and religious backgrounds, because it speaks a universal language. Inviting Palestinian and Israeli youngsters, we came into contact with the Custodia Terrae Sanctae and the John Paul II Foundation, who six years ago invited us to Bethlehem and Jerusalem to run an ‘arts campus’ for children living in refugee camps in the Palestinian territories.” What happens in a “campus”? “In our campus the young people have to work hard! They start at 9:00 in the morning right through to 18:00 in the evening, experiencing various styles of dance. Sharing a house together with the Italian students, they prepare the evening meals together and enjoy celebrating together. They all work on a choreography called Peace Dance which shows how, for example, Israeli and Palestinian youth, who live in a daily context of conflict, are able to create a climate of harmony in their personal relationships and onstage. This is true for participants from all countries, who bring their own artistic sensitivities and culture to the campus.” How was your experience in Bethlehem? “When we arrived, we found children with almost no knowledge of art. Some of them had never even seen a felt-tipped pen before. Our two week campus represented for them – prisoners in the open air – a space of freedom, a way to travel in their minds beyond the terrible wall separating them from the Israelis. Our teachers are Palestinian and Israeli young people who have attended our campus in Italy. The experience of the past six years has proved so fruitful that the Custodia Terrae Sanctae has asked us to open a permanent school in Bethlehem, which we hope will be possible next year.” When is the next Italian campus and how can someone take part? “It will take place in Montecatini from 27 August to 5 September 2020. Young people will attend from different parts of the world, including Jordan, Egypt, Palestine and Israel. It’s designed for young people who are hoping to become professional artists and who share the idea that art can be a universal instrument of harmony among peoples. In that way, we hope each one of them can promote this change of mentality wherever they go on to work, in theatres, schools, art centres etc. Those interested can contact info@dancelab.it.” These campus events are part of a broader project, the Festival of Harmony among Peoples, promoted by the Association … “The Festival has been running for 15 years. This year it takes place in Tuscany, supported by the entire Val di Nievole region and cities including Florence, Assisi and Palermo. It involves a series of linked events, launching on 14 March in the imposing “Salone dei 500” in Florence’s famous Palazzo Vecchio. The date marks the anniversary of the death of Focolare foundress Chiara Lubich and the program will acknowledge her contribution to bringing harmony in the world. It also commemorates 20 years since she was awarded honorary citizenship of Florence, and the 100th anniversary of her birth.” Other forthcoming events? “Throughout the year we’re running programs in schools to develop a piece of work on the theme of disarmament. Our hope is to enable the voice of young people to reach the heads of state of countries involved in the production and trade of arms, to try to put a dent in them. Another program which is proving very popular with youth uses music as a moment of reflection the theme of ‘encounter’. Other cultural gatherings and inter-cultural meals are planned for Montecatini and Palermo.” The Festival and the campus are all offered free to participants. This is surely a big challenge… “From the start I wanted to keep this experience distinct from the usual dance programs delivered by schools for profit. The children come to us not only to study dance but because they have chosen to live for peace and to be bridge-builders of peace.”
Claudia Di Lorenzi
(*)https://www.festivalarmonia.org/
Feb 3, 2020 | Non categorizzato
We are often immersed in a culture than regards aggression as the key to success. This aggression can be expressed in a variety of ways. In contrast, the Gospel presents us with a paradox. We can look on our weaknesses, our limits and our fragility as the starting point in relating to God and in participating with him in the greatest of challenges – the unity of the entire human family. Recession Because of the economic crisis in our country, work was decreasing and our income was growing smaller and smaller. Our customers were no longer sending orders. At home, we reduced our expenses and tried to live on less. I began to spend more time with the children so that the situation would not affect them too much and I even learned to fall asleep at night in spite of knowing we were in debt. I began to pray again and to believe very firmly in the words of the Gospel that say, “Give and it will be given to you.” We experienced the truth of this almost every day. We did everything we could to increase our income – we collected newspapers, cartons, cans and glass bottles to sell. Even the children went to sell bags of sweets. Many people came to us to ask for food and we often gave away the only thing we had left. One day my wife gave a kilo of rice to someone and the very same evening, we received two kilos of lentils. A neighbour of ours left a car outside the front door and said, “Use it for now and pay me for it when you can.” This meant that we could take our third daughter who has Down’s syndrome for the treatment she needed. (M.T. – Chile) Growing as parents We had noticed that our son was changing and behaving in a different way. One day, I very delicately asked him if anything was wrong. He confided in me that he was using drugs. I told my husband and neither of us slept a wink that night. We felt helpless and thought we had failed as parents. Joao sometimes brought friends home and their behaviour made us suffer too. My husband and I realised that we had to make a choice and we decided to love and serve those boys. To support our son, we cancelled our holiday so that he would not be alone. At the same time, the certainty that love would win began to grow in us. One day Joao told us that he wanted to continue living in our family home and asked if we could help his friends too. A new life began. Although we had no formation or training other than living the Gospel, we founded a support group in our city for the families of drug addicts. It is called Families Anonymous. This group has helped many young people recover from drug addiction. (O.P. – Portugal) Refugees We heard that a young Albanian refugee was looking for accommodation and so we helped him in his search and, temporarily, let him stay in our house. Our relatives did not agree with what we were doing and created lots of problems. They even said that we were being naïve. Maybe because the relationship with them was so strained, we found a very deep unity and strength as a couple and this helped us to persevere. After a short time, we found a suitable flat to rent and a local craftsman we know decided to hire an Albanian worker. We went to the refugee detention centre together to fill out the necessary documentation. The centre made a big impact on us all – hundreds of people were waiting for accommodation. We felt powerless but eventually our craftsman friend decided to hire not one but three Albanians. One of them was a minor so he personally provided foster care. It only took a few months for the three young people to find permanent work and become integrated into the community where we have tried to involve as many people as possible to make them feel part of a big family. (H.E. – Italy) Confirmation My fiancée, Giorgia, wants to get married in a church. To do so, we both need a confirmation certificate. I don’t have one so I have joined a confirmation preparation class. At first, it all seemed simple but when I found myself listening to catechism lessons with boys a lot younger than me, it seemed too much and I wanted to give up. Giorgia, however, didn’t change her mind, she’s convinced of the value of the sacrament of marriage. There seemed to be a block in our relationship and we postponed the date of the wedding. There were months of hard work and questions to face. I’m trained to see the Church as an outdated institution and there I was, begging for a certificate. What made me angry was that for Giorgia this was not a formality but a way of setting up the family. Our relationship began to break down but, just at that point, my mother was involved in an accident and was left paralyzed. Giorgia went to visit her every day and my mother found that she was not only a friend but that her presence helped her to calmly face her situation. I understood that Giorgia has deep motives to make her act that way. Every doubt in me disappeared: no matter what it costs, she is the woman with whom I want to share my life. (M.A. – Italy)
Edited by Stefania Tanesini (taken from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, anno VI, n.1, gennaio-febbraio 2020)
Jan 29, 2020 | Non categorizzato
Since 2014, there has been a community of focolarini living in the “Morro della Croce”. They share the simple and poor life of this teeming favela in Florianópolis. Vilson Groh, who has been living there for over 30 years, says: “This is an expression of Chiara’s desire to have focolares also on the peripheries of the world. https://vimeo.com/378511750
Jan 27, 2020 | Non categorizzato
“We give no greater glory to God than when we make an effort to accept our neighbour, because it is then that we lay the foundations for communion, and nothing gives so much glory to God as true unity between people. Unity attracts the presence of Jesus in our midst, and his presence transforms everything.” (Chiara Lubich) At boarding school At the boarding school where I lived at Prague, I would often see the cleaning lady. Having been polite with her, I noticed that she cleaned the room I was sharing with a Bulgarian more often and frequently waxed the floor. I didn’t know how to thank her and, having a expresso machine, one time I thought of offering a good coffee to her. She didn’t say a thing, but later she confessed that for her, being used to Turkish coffee, it was too strong. We began a dialogue about the habits of different cultures, and we ended up talking about faith as well. She told me that as a child she had gone to church, but then, during the Communist period, she had stayed away. In the days that followed, if I was at school, she stopped by after she finished cleaning, usually with a lot of questions about Christian life. One day she confided, “This work has always been humiliating for me, but since I got to know about this other perspective, I feel like I’ve found my lost childhood and understood the meaning of life.” T. M., Slovakia With new eyes My wife and I had come to a crossroads: I only saw her defects and she only saw mine. The arguments had become more intense, and it seemed that anything that happened, even things with the kids, kept feeding this war. One day, as I brought my youngest daughter to school, I heard: “You know Daddy, the religion teacher explained to us that forgiveness is like a pair of eyeglasses that lets us see with new eyes.” This phrase from a child left me uneasy. I thought about it all day. In the evening, coming back home, I had the idea to go to the florist and buy as many roses as years we had been married. My wife initially reacted badly (yet another blunder?), but then seeing how happy our children were, especially the youngest, she changed her attitude. That evening, after long silences, something changed. It was the beginning of a new way. It really seemed to me that I had new eyes, and I saw my wife and our children as I never had before. J. B., Spain Business temptation We found ourselves in great need of a huge sum of money to cover a certain debt. That morning a client came by, aiming to buy six machines. After our business was done, he proposed that we glue a famous brand sticker on the product. Taken by surprise, although we knew that this was common practice in our market, we were caught between a rock and a hard place: we risked losing that huge deal, but I didn’t feel like we should accept the offer. After talking to my husband about it, we understood clearly that we could not give in and betray our conscience as Christians. The client looked at us, surprised. When he asked if we were Catholic, we said yes. His face relaxed. “Today I learned what it means to be loyal to one’s faith. Don’t worry, I’ll still buy from you. You have taught me something really important. I was Christian too, but seeing how everyone else does in business, I let myself be taken by temptation. From now on, I’ll never do it again.” G. A., Nigeria Work for two During a course for vendors of sandwiches and drinks on trains, I asked if the unsold goods could be distributed to the homeless. This did not fit with the image of the company, so I was not hired. Disappointed, but certain that God would meet me halfway, I found work in a restaurant kitchen. I got to know about dramatic situations of hunger, misery, loneliness. One day the boss announced that the kitchen only needed one labourer. There was only me and a Muslim man who I was friends with. When I answered that I wanted him to stay, because he had a family, the boss replied that he had chosen me. Although I was grateful, I repeated what I thought. He said: “For the first time, I feel urged by a young man like you to review my decision.” The next day, looking again at the business’s finances, he decided that we could both keep working. D., England Not just guests For an entire year we had a girl from Brazil in our home who had come to Italy as part of a cultural exchange. Julia, however, was not able to settle in our family, and we, thinking she was just a guest, did not do much to help. When we realised and started treating her as one of our daughters, things changed: she felt loved, and little by little she bonded with us like a daughter with her sisters. Julia became one of us, to the point that, feeling the need to go deeper into the beauty of the Christian family, she asked us to prepare for the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and communion, which she hadn’t received in her country, despite being 17 years old. Her parents came from Brazil for the occasion, and we had a great party that included the entire community. Today the connection with Julia continues. We continue to be “Mom” and “Dad” every time we see each other online or we write. A., Italy
Edited by Stefania Tanesini (taken from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, anno VI, n.1, gennaio-febbraio 2020)
Jan 25, 2020 | Non categorizzato
“One can be very strong even though one is meek and open to others’ good reasons “, or rather, “only in this way can one be truly strong”: this is the teaching of Chiara Lubich in the words of Mattarella, who takes up Maria Voce’s invitation to “dialogue to the extreme”.
© Domenico Salmaso – CSC Audiovisivi
© Domenico Salmaso – CSC Audiovisivi
© Domenico Salmaso – CSC Audiovisivi
Jan 24, 2020 | Non categorizzato
Directed by Giacomo Campiotti, shooting will begin next spring and will take place in Rome and in Trento, her hometown. “The strength of a someone like Chiara today is to make us look at the other person as a possibility, a gift, a bearer of a seed of truth to be valued and loved, however distant the other person may be. Universal fraternity as a premise for dialogue and peace”. We read in the press release in which Luca Barbareschi, producer for Eliseo Fiction, and Rai Fiction say they are “proud” to announce that a TV movie about Chiara Lubich will be made for Italian television. Directed by Giacomo Campiotti, shooting will start next spring and will take place in Rome and in Trento, her hometown. The press release goes on to explain that “Chiara is very young when, in the years of the Second World War, she feels called to build a better world, a more united world. From that time on she set sherself the goal of building bridges between people , whatever their race, nation or religious faith. The strength of a someone like Chiara today is to make us look at the other person as a possibility, a gift, a bearer of a seed of truth to be valued and loved, however distant the other person may be. Universal fraternity as a premise for dialogue and peace. Chiara’s message does not belong only to the Catholic world, she has contributed to raising the profile of women and their role even , and above all , outside the ecclesiastical institution.
By the editorial staff of focolare.org
Jan 24, 2020 | Non categorizzato
The international exhibition dedicated to the person and charism of Chiara Lubich is being inaugurated on December 7th 2019. This is the first multimedia exhibition ever made about her. Giuseppe Ferrandi, director of the Trentino Historical Museum and Anna Maria Rossi, one of the curators, tell the story of its origins, the process and the innovations. https://vimeo.com/378511637
Jan 21, 2020 | Non categorizzato
Chiara Lubich, the Founder of the Focolare Movement was born in Trent on January 22, 1920. President Maria Voce’s words on the 100th anniversary of her birth. In a world where “particularisms and divisions emerge continuously and where new barriers and frontiers are being built ”, Chiara Lubich’s message of unity is “ of great current importance”. This is the focal point of the video message, Maria Voce, President of the Focolare sends today on the 100th anniverary of Chiara Lubich’s birth. https://vimeo.com/385943084 text of the message
Jan 20, 2020 | Non categorizzato
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated every year. In the northern hemisphere it is held from 18th-25th January, in the southern hemisphere from the Feast of the Ascension to Pentecost. The motto for 2020, chosen by Christians of various Churches in Malta, is taken from the Acts of the Apostles “They showed us unusual kindness” (Acts 28:2) On this occasion we present an extract from the talk given by Chiara Lubich on the 27th October 2002 in the Protestant Cathedral Church of St Peter, in Geneva, Switzerland. Love! What a great need there is for love in the world! And in us Christians! All together we Christians of various Churches number more than a billion people. Such a large number should be quite visible. But unfortunately we are so divided that many do not see us, nor do they see Jesus through us. He said that the world would recognize us as his own and, through us, would recognize him, by our reciprocal love, by unity: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35). So our uniform, our distinctive characteristic was supposed to be reciprocal love, unity. And this was supposed to be the characteristic of his Church. But we didn’t maintain full visible communion, and we still don’t have it now. Therefore, we are convinced that the Churches as such must also love one another with this love. And we strive to work in this direction. How often do the Churches seem to have forgotten the testament of Jesus, scandalizing the world with their divisions, while they should have been winning it for him! If we look over our 2,000 year history, and in particular at the history of the second millennium, we cannot help but see that it has often been a series of misunderstandings, quarrels and conflicts that in many places have torn the seamless tunic of Christ that is his Church. Certainly, this was caused by circumstances, whether historical, cultural, political, geographical or social…. But it was also caused by the fact that among us there was a lack of this unifying characteristic typical of us: love. That is why today, as we seek to make up for so much wrongdoing, and to draw new strength for a fresh start, we must put all our confidence in this evangelical love. If we spread love and mutual love among the Churches, this love will lead the each of the Churches, different from one another as they are, to become a gift for the others. Dear brothers and sisters, we have understood the point: our present times ask each one of us for love; they call for unity, fellowship and solidarity. And the Churches are called to recompose the unity that has been torn apart for centuries. This is the most important of all reforms, which heaven is asking of us. It is the first step that we need to take towards becoming one family with all people in the world. The world will believe if we are united. Jesus said so: “That they may all be one… so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). God wants this! Believe me! He says it again and again and cries out for it through the present-day circumstances which he permits. May he give us the grace, if not to see all this accomplished, at least to prepare for its coming.
Chiara Lubich
Taken from: Il dialogo è vita (Città Nuova 2007, pp 16-33)
Jan 17, 2020 | Non categorizzato
The Focolare Movement alongside the many who have suffered loss and damage: “The life and needs of the person is at the center of our efforts. Listening, welcoming, sharing is what engages us at this time. But a great effort will be needed to plan the reconstruction”. Solidarity continues with the victims of the earthquake that struck Albania on November 26th , 2019, resulting in 52 deaths, over 2,000 injured and considerable damage to structures. Almost two months since the earthquake, fundraising initiatives, commemorative events and aid interventions in the territory are engaging institutions, ecclesial and welfare realities. Once the emergency was over, all efforts are now directed to promoting the coordination of those working on the ground to plan and start the reconstruction. In the midst of current uncertainty, great comfort comes from feeling part of a family an extended network of people that ensures support and proximity. This is what lies at the heart of the Focolare’s active commitment. We heard from Fabio Fiorelli, a focolarino who lives and works in one of the centers of Tirana. Since the night of the earthquake, what initiatives has the Movement been able to carry out in support of the people affected? “Some of us have linked up with the national and diocesan Caritas by collaborating to prepare clothes and blankets for those who are homeless, and by going to the temporary shelters to listen to the people and play with the children. At the suggestion of the families belonging to the Movement, on December 21st we prepared an afternoon of Christmas celebration for the youngest children – and others – with songs, games, a ‘living’ crib and gifts from Santa Claus: a moment of serenity and communion so as to move forward. In addition, in Durazzo, a psychologist from the Movement, whose own house was damaged, collaborates with a team that reaches outlying villages that were very affected by the earthquake, where people live in tents and lack primary necessities. On a very practical level, a list has been compiled of the families of the Movement whose homes have been seriously damaged, our engineers have carried out inspections and cost analyses for repairs. What other activities are you planning? “A “project” has been drawn up with objectives and strategies to be undertaken in synergy with the United World Association (AMU), which is part of the Movement, and we are waiting for it to be implemented. Immediately after the earthquake, during the emergency phase, Marcella Ioele, responsible for one of the Focolare centres in Tirana, together with others, reached Durazzo and the surrounding areas to give out help ,working with Caritas and the local Church and to give support to the victims. We asked her what experiences moved her , and the others with her, as they talked with displaced people: “A young woman told me that when the tremors began, her brother, who was at home with the family, instinctively ran away to get out of the building, but immediately came back to take care of them. This gesture helped her to understand that in these moments she must not think only of herself but of those close to her. Another girl wanted to take action to help those in trouble, but having to assist her elderly mother she couldn’t leave. But – she told us – she could listen to and comfort the many who passed by, and she was happy because she felt she was giving her contribution in this way”. How do people feel today? “On the one hand people have to take responsibility for what collapsed , having authorized the construction of unsafe buildings and it is also clear that there is a lack of preparation for managing emergency situations. On the other hand, the solidarity shown in the initial phase by other countries raises the hope that a better Albania can start again from here. To see peoples working together , who until yesterday were separated by ancient hatreds, was a sign of hope. There is great gratitude especially towards the people of Kosovo came forward in a very significant way, almost as if they wanted to reciprocate the love they had received when they were here during the emergency in Kosovo. Some of them came to take families to their homes. The earthquake,” a young man told me, “brought us closer together than ever before. Others told us they could see the presence of God even in this reality of pain”.
Claudia Di Lorenzi
Jan 15, 2020 | Non categorizzato
“Jesus has shown us that love means welcoming the other person as they are, in the same way as He has accepted each one of us. Welcome the other person, with their own style, their own ideas, even their own defects, their diversity. (…) Make space for them within us, removing every prejudice, preconceived judgement and instinctive rejection”. (Chiara Lubich) The “Village of misery” The residents of this slum area situated along swampy river banks, often have no alternative but to leave their children alone at home during the day while they are out struggling to earn a living. A while ago, following torrential rain, the swollen river entered many of the dwellings, and unfortunately a baby, only a few months old, was swept away. We live in a residential area not far from this area. Shocked to hear of this tragedy, we tried to find a way to respond and encouraged friends and relatives of the family to get involved. We found a suitable place, and hired rooms to start a crèche where parents could safely leave their children during the day. Nearby we also launched a nursery school for the older ones, so they didn’t remain out on the streets. This initiative is bearing fruit: new relationships are being forged between those who work there and the families; there is a sharing of goods, time and services. Gradually another dream is also taking shape: to offer better alternative accommodation to those families living in the “Village of misery”. Using a system focused based on self-help, this year we have built and inaugurated the first new houses. (S.J.B. – Argentina) Political convictions In our office it was impossible not to speak about politics. Impossible not to experience the huge divisions between our different points of view. I got so tired of this daily tension which kept increasing every time someone would proclaim “truths” that others could not accept, I decided that rather than trying to change the office, I had better change myself. So I set myself the challenge to try to understand what was pushing one or other of my colleagues to defend a certain position. This attitude of mine provoked a certain curiosity, especially after they had attacked me personally as a “conservative Catholic bigot”! It’s true to say that prayer helped me, but also my parish community encouraged me to have more charity. One day my most virulent “enemy” said to me, “I don’t know where to attack you any more! I see that you’re happy. Your freedom confuses me!” Without too many formal explanations, a constructive friendship has been established which is now helping our other colleagues to engage in a more understanding attitude with one another, even while we retain our own convictions. (F.H.-Hungary) Thieves inside my home I opened the door to them because they looked like nice young men. Instead, they demanded my money, and began opening drawers and cupboards while one of them held my arm tightly behind my back. I was too terrified even to cry out. When they left I collapsed on the floor in shock. They could have shown some pity for my age. Then I managed to go out onto my balcony and cry for help, though the thieves were long gone by then. My neighbours came but all they could do was to help me tidy up as I tried to see what had been taken. What could I do? That day I felt as if all the misery of loneliness and old age had fallen upon me. I couldn’t get to sleep that night. I kept reliving the events of the day. They had seemed such nice young men, they could have been my grandchildren. Why had they acted like this? I managed to find some peace within myself when I decided to pray for them and for their own mothers. And I thanked God that I was still alive. (Z.G.-Italy) Don’t deny life I met a neighbour I hadn’t seen for many years, since we moved away from the area. I almost didn’t recognise her because she looked much older than her years. I could tell she really wanted to talk and open her heart to share what she had lived through since we had last met. “It all began one day,” she told me, “when I decided to have an abortion because I thought it would solve the problems my husband and I were having at the time. Far from it, in fact he blamed me for not giving him a son and then left me for another woman, leaving me to struggle alone to bring up our two teenage daughters. Time passed, and one of my daughters confessed to me that she was pregnant. Her boyfriend had given her an ultimatum: abort the child or he would leave her. I confided in her what I had never told anyone before, and pleaded with her not to deny life, as I had done. Seeing my tears, it was my daughter who comforted me. She later explained that seeing my grief made her decide to keep her baby. And so it was. The father did not leave her. They are together with their beautiful daughter who is also my own consolation”. (S.d.G.-Malta)
collated by Stefania Tanesini (from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, anno VI, n.1, gennaio-febbraio 2020)
Jan 14, 2020 | Non categorizzato
News has spread worldwide of the eruption of the Taal volcano, which began on January 12, just a few kilometers away from the Focolare Mariapolis Pace in Tagaytay on the Philippine island of Luzon. Thanks to social media photos of the houses and streets covered with ash and mud have reached everywhere, as well as first-hand accounts of the many who in these days are leaving the tourist region of Tagaytay, about 60 Km from the capital Manila. The Philippine authorities have called for the total evacuation of about 500,000 people following the alert issued by the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Philippines (PHILVOLCS). An explosive eruption is feared. “It’s like walking through a ghost town – comments a girl on Facebook, describing Tagaytay, her city: everything is one colour: grey; there is no electricity or water and earthquake tremors are frequent”. Mariapolis Pace of the Focolare Movement is about 30 km from the Taal volcano ; it was inaugurated in 1982 with a distinct role in dialogue between people of different religions and this morning we reached Ding Dalisay and Chun Boc Tay, responsible for the Focolare Movement in the Philippines, to get news about its inhabitants; they assured us that the evacuation of its inhabitants has almost been completed. “Almost all the focolarine have left; the priests and seminarians have been transferred to the San Carlos Seminary and the 7 Gen – the Focolare youth – are now in Manila. Some of the focolarini are with their families and while others have remained in their respective focolares, our families are quite well and some have moved. We are distributing food and water for the needy and we are making arrangements to house displaced people if necessary. It is difficult to communicate because we cannot recharge our mobile phones and we cannot use computers. Yesterday we celebrated mass and dined together by candlelight. We try to merit the presence of Jesus in our midst”. Ding then recounts the extraordinary resilience of the Filipino people, visible in normal gestures that become heroic in extreme situations like this: “It is incredible the creativity of the poorest people who, even though they have nothing, invent unexpected resources at the service of those who need them more than they do. We have seen a disabled man who has put a table at the side of the road to hand out soot masks for free; or the owner of a small restaurant who has displayed a sign that says: ‘Those who need a meal can enter without paying’; or a gentleman who offers to clean the ashes from every car that’s moving in the area with his water pump”. The Focolare community in and around Tagaytay thanks everyone in the world for their prayers, messages and for the many phone calls. We continue to follow the situation and to give news about it especially through the social networks of the Focolare Movement.
Stefania Tanesini
Jan 11, 2020 | Non categorizzato
How does the life of a focolare pan out in daily life? We went to Stockholm, Sweden, where we accompanied the focolarine at home, at work and in various activities with the Focolare community. https://vimeo.com/378511957
Jan 10, 2020 | Non categorizzato
The immediate establishment of a high-level trilateral committee between special representatives of the United States, the European Union and Iran, with a mandate to re-establish dialogue between the USA and Iran. The appeal by the Movement for politics and policies for unity and New Humanity of the Focolare Movement. The Movement promoting Politics and Policies for Unity expresses its grave concern at the escalating conflict between Iran and the United States. The institutions of international politics, together with non-governmental organizations, have a special responsibility to act at the service of peace and rights peoples’ rights. Only steadfast international dialogue and diplomacy, in a spirit of hope, can take genuine steps towards peace. We are facing one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. There must be a way to resolve it, shown by human values and willing hearts. “We no longer see people’s faces, those who suffer, are limited, tormented and ultimately slaughtered on battlefields”: these are the words of Hon. Igino Giordani in a heartfelt speech to the Italian Parliament. We are called to see, to rediscover the face of every person, to say no to war, to every act of war. To achieve peace, however, tireless diplomacy and negotiation are needed, because war and terrorism represent complete defeat for humankind. This is why we urgently call for the establishment of a high-level trilateral committee between special representatives of the United States, the European Union and Iran, with a mandate to re-establish meaningful dialogue and ultimately achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict. Mario Bruno Marco Desalvo President – Mppu Movement New Humanity NGO contact: Mario Bruno +39 334 998 0260 Text as pdf
Jan 6, 2020 | Non categorizzato
76 years after that December 7th 1943, Paolo Balduzzi takes us to Trent to visit some of the significant places of those early days of Chiara and the Focolare community. Today, the city from which everything began is bringing into its civil and social fabric signs and practices derived from a mentality of fraternity that from that city has reached the ends of the earth. https://vimeo.com/378511451
Jan 3, 2020 | Non categorizzato
On 30 August 2019, one of the last sunlit days of summer, Albert Dreston left us. The focolarino, professor and theologian also played a lead role – for generations – with football at Loppiano, the Focolare’s international centre in Italy where he lived for 52 years. Even during his earliest years, life was never simple. He was born in Rhineland in 1939, and at the age of six he lost his father in World War II. Despite the pain and amid the tears, he made his first great discovery of God. “Suddenly,” he recalled, “there was a strength and a voice inside me, as if God were telling me, ‘You are no orphan; I am your father’. From that moment on, I never missed my father, and I never ever felt alone again.” At a young age he had to have a lung removed, and it seemed he would not live for long. As often happens, however, what someone who could lose everything does is to take a step toward a great “treasure” they have discovered. That is exactly what happened in 1957 at Münster when, in a meeting with some focolarini, he was touched by “Jesus in the midst, the fruit of reciprocal love”. His life started upon the path of the Ideal, which would help him live through the tribulations and physical difficulties with a new awareness. The next year Fr. Foresi and Chiara agreed that he would start his life in focolare. A few years later, it would be Fr. Foresi yet again to tell him that, once he had finished his Old Testament studies, he would go to teach at Loppiano, the first permanent Mariapolis. It was in 1967, when Albert was 28 and his physical condition had improved, that sports at Loppiano became an essential way to get to know, share and relate to others. In that framework, a new era started for him – he became the young trainer among young people from all over the world. Throughout his years of service at Loppiano, he never stopped being a resource for others. He taught both in class and on the field, with the dedication of a football enthusiast, the intelligence of a teacher and the love of a focolarino. You could not really say that he was a star player of the beautiful game, a great goal scorer. He was more than that. In recent years, having seen 75 springs, it could happen that he did not feel up to playing. Yet you would find him there, 30 minutes early, to gather the players and set up the same field that in a few months will be named after him. He was truly much more than that, a champion of perfect timing – in a single game he could be groundskeeper, coach, referee, linesman, sweeper and overall sports director. There was always a team to build, and he always managed to select a pair of good defenders, whether they be African, Brazilian or Asian. Albert Dreston was Loppiano football. He was a true captain, a teammate to everyone, even when on the opposing team. He was a genuine legend. To speak his name today is to open the great book of the Focolare Movement, which is rich with wonderful people and precious lives. It is to dwell on a chapter of someone who, in quite different ways, knew how to give of their time to help others. In recent years the question came up of whether he could keep playing, whether it was the time to have a farewell game, hang up his boots and close his story in style. Someone took courage and whispered it to him respectfully. Yet all of us who tried were kidding ourselves. Albert, headstrong with German consistency, responded, “I will go straight from the sports field to potter’s field.” And so it was, kind of. He bid us farewell on a Friday. As usual, this was perfect timing: for the last call at the match vigil, to form teams and continue without delay… on the Elysian fields. Enjoy football heaven, captain… and thank you!
Andrea Cardinali
Jan 1, 2020 | Non categorizzato
Chiara emphasised a number of times how working to establish relationships of peace throughout the world is something revolutionary. The new decade is set to begin, which also marks 100 years since the birth of Focolare’s founder. “Do you know who the peacemakers are that Jesus speaks about?” With these words Chiara opened her comments on Word of Life for February 1981. Once again today, for the International Day of Peace, these words are aimed at us more than ever. Those who make peace create and establish connections, smoothing out tensions, Chiara explains. Doing so we will discover that there are infinite opportunities to be true peacemakers. https://vimeo.com/333055787
Dec 30, 2019 | Non categorizzato
The relationship built with Focolare members and communities worldwide is one of the most beautiful experiences for us who work at focolare.org. We take the opportunity of this Christmas Season to thank all those who send us news, and thus allow the life of the charism of unity to inspire many. An email we received from Fr. Domenico De Martino, a 36 year old priest from Naples, who is a missionary in Burkina Faso, has really been a great gift. It has brought us closer to people who live in a part of the world where peace, dignity and religious freedom are seriously threatened and where the use of telecommunications is extremely low. Violence by extremist groups, that hit Burkina Faso during the past five years, caused hundreds of deaths, a wave of kidnappings and the closure of many schools and churches. It has also led to a massive and continuous displacement of people who moved from the affected regions to the capital and other large urban centres. According to the latest information by the UN, 486,360 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were registered at the beginning of October, more than twice the number displaced in July. Numbers continue to grow steadily, and there are even reports of one million IDPs. 
Fr. Domenico, a member of the Missionary Community of Villaregia , came to know the Focolare Movement at the age of 12, when he came across the Word of Life, a monthly commentary on the Scriptures in the spirit of the charism of unity. Chiara Lubich started this commentary more than 40 years ago, and Domenico came to know about it during his visits to the missionaries. He related: “When I was 17 years old, I wrote to Chiara Lubich and asked her for a Word from the Gospel that could be a light to guide me in my life. I also wanted to share with her all about my vocation. I still treasure her answer to my letter; I keep it in my Bible and every now and then I read it again. She indicated words from St John’s Gospel: ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him’ (Jn 14:23). I always try to go deeper into these very stong and demanding words, to find the meaning of my life. I was ordained priest in 2012 after a year’s experience in Lima, Peru”. For the last two years, Fr. Domenico has been doing missioniary work in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. He is involved in a number of projects that aim at integral human promotion. He told us: “Burkina Faso literally means ‘the land of upright people’; family and a sense of community are among the most treasured values of the Burkinabé people. Most of the 160 students, who attend the school we have started to promote literacy, are girls and young mothers who had no opportunity to study before. We have also set up a project to help women start small businesses to make ends meet. Many present their projects to ask for our support but it is not always easy to choose. The Gospel and the desire to be part of this people guide us in our choices. In recent months, schools in the capital city have started to function again, but unfortunately, it is not the same for schools in other parts of the country. Terrorist groups burnt many schools in the North, North-East and North-West of the country, and at the end of the last scholastic year several teachers were killed. “The tactics used by the bandits or terrorists are always the same; they arrive in the villages, take everything – cattle and crops – empty the small shops, and then they look for teachers and tell them that if they don’t leave, they will be the next victims unless they teach Arabic or what they call ‘the true religion’. I had the opportunity to talk to some teachers, who despite this desperate situation still have to report to work because the state obliges them to do so, but there is great fear. Our area is quiet, but we try to be close to our people and share in their fears and anxieties. Last September, 40 soldiers lost their lives during an attack on a military base. Among them, there were 3 of our young parishioners. We were particularly close to one of them, who was the eldest son of a family we know quite well. When we went to visit this family to offer our condolences, we met the grief-stricken widow and her two sons, and it was extremely difficult to understand why so much hatred and horror. Jean, the soldier’s father, who always tells me: ‘You priests are God’s sign for us; we can ask you everything because you give us God’s word, his comfort and his will’, was also there. This time, I could only shake his weak hand without uttering a word, and make him feel that God is near”. In this serious situation of great instability, one perceives a sign of hope in the communion that continues to grow among different Christian churches and people of other religions, especially Muslims. They get together and unite in prayers for peace. Fr. Domenico spoke about another sign of peace when he related about a project to help with the payment of school fees. To date, 96 children have benefited from it. “We were shocked when we found out that many children do not have a birth certificate; it seems as if they do not exist at all. We encounter various complex situations that require our attention and assistence. It is amazing to discover that placing God at the centre of our activities leads us to deeper understanding and better organization, because we look at the person as a whole. We are trying to get organized about birth certificates, and this will allow us to give back dignity to the children of our neighbourhoods”. It was evident that Fr. Domenico had so many other things to relate. His words full of love for the Burkinabé people brought us closer to this country. He concluded: “Communion helps us to be Church in the real sense of the word; we actually know what is happening around us and we become fully committed to help all God’s children who suffer and are in need”.
Stefania Tanesini
Dec 28, 2019 | Non categorizzato
A non-profit organization that has been operating in the Italian capital for thirteen years. It collects surplus or unsold food, prepares 250 meals a day for the poor and, simultaneously, works to promote social inclusion. 
Over-buying food and consequent wastage are modern-day plagues that affect society in many parts of the world. However, there are also people who, silently, collect food that would otherwise be thrown away and give it to people who are most in need. They do so not only to offer immediate help to people who are hungry but also as a practical means of accompanying people as they rebuild their lives. This is what RomaAmor does. This is a non-profit organization that was founded by Dino Impagliazzo in Rome in response to the invitation of Chiara Lubich, who in 2000, receiving the honorary citizenship of the city, asked others to cooperate in bringing a “revolution of love” to the capital. For 13 years RomaAmor has been offering 250 meals a day to the homeless people around the Tuscolana and Ostiense railway stations and in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. Dino is now 90 years old: serving others still fills him with joy. “There are sometimes many difficulties in helping others,” he explains, “you have to make sacrifices but then you feel a great joy for having done something worthwhile. Christ taught us that the essence of Christianity is to love God and our neighbour, and Chiara Lubich invites us to live for universal brotherhood: this is the foundation of our service to the poor.” Dino received the International Carthage Award in 2018 for his longstanding service to the community because “his work increases public awareness and provides formation thus contributing to the ethical dimension of the city.” The project also “provides valid alternatives to the value attributed to people and material goods.” The following is taken from an interview with Dino. How did RomaAmor begin? It began almost by chance. I started on my own by preparing a sandwich for a poor person I used to meet at the station, and gradually I thought of involving as many people as possible in doing something similar – my wife, people living in my block of flats or from my neighbourhood. We have always regarded our neighbours as our brothers and sisters irrespective of whether they were poor, healthy or sick or in trouble. We try to treat them as members of our family For Food Day 2019, the Pope stressed the need for a return to sobriety in lifestyle and he spoke about the importance of cultivating healthy relationships with ourselves, our brothers and sisters and the whole of the created world… It’s essential that we make this choice. You cannot reason in any other way if you are a Christian and know that each person is your brother or sister because Jesus has told you this very clearly: as a consequence, you live not only for yourself but in relation to others. You cannot think in any other way if know that among us there are people who are healthy and well placed and others who are sick and struggling. You must always be ready to help and do so with joy. The “culture of waste” tends to dominate our society; you choose to serve the poor and needy and so you are going against the tide of public opinion… This aspect of what we do is important, but we don’t just collect the food on its date of expiry, cook it and bring it to people in need. We also try to create relationships with them. That way we do more than just feed them. We try to adapt the meals to the people we help: children, the elderly, women, the sick have different needs, and for our Muslim guests we prepare meals without using pork. Our goal is also to promote inclusion: I invite volunteers to try to establish a close relationship with at least some of these people. When they offer the meal, I ask them to bring two trays, one for the person in need and one for themselves so they can sit down and eat together. Is the group important? It’s fundamental, we do everything as a team – decide the menu, cook and share tasks. One of us looks to see if there are sick people, someone else is busy in maintaining the link with the local authorities and we encourage one another. We spend a lot of time together: we start cooking in the afternoon, we finish at eight o’clock in the evening and then we go out for two hours. We share everything, both the joys and the difficulties. Have any of the people you have helped become volunteers? They certainly have! One third of the volunteers are foreigners who are living in reception centres and are waiting to be recognised as political refugees. Some of them are referred to us by social services. There are also the seminarians sent by the dioceses. We are from different backgrounds but all work for the same purpose. What attracts young people to RomaAmor? There are lots of young people who are volunteers – in fact, the number increases steadily. They come and are so happy that next time they bring their friends.
Dec 26, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Partnership agreement signed between FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and New Humanity, the international NGO of the Focolare Movement. Objective: to continue to work together to defeat world hunger by 2030.
©FAO/Giulio Napolitano.
Stefania Tanesini
Dec 23, 2019 | Non categorizzato
A Christmas greeting from Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement Christmas is, for all of us who celebrate it every year, a long-awaited moment, full of emotion, joy and relationships. But in the midst of such a joyful and happy Christmas atmosphere, we often forget that this feast day is rooted in a mysterious event, I would say an almost scandalous event: the scandal of a God who lowers himself and becomes human; the scandal of the Almighty who becomes a weak child; of the Unlimited One who enters the limits of human flesh. God does not do this only out of solidarity, to be close to us and to share our existence. He enters our human condition to show us, through our own language, gestures and emotions, his own life, the life of God: a life capable of repairing rifts, healing wounds and rebuilding relationships. God did this 2,000 years ago and wants to do it again today. In a month, January 22nd 2020 marks the centenary of the birth of Chiara Lubich, the founder of our Focolare Movement. On this occasion I cannot help but remember the core of her message, of her spirituality of unity: the discovery that Jesus can be born today too, where two or more people love each other “with the love of service, understanding, and sharing in the sufferings, burdens, anxieties, and joys of our brothers and sisters; with the love that covers everything, that forgives everything, typical of Christianity”. Hence we resolve to make all our relationships become the crib, the cradle that welcomes Jesus in our midst, who wants to rebuild our fragmented world today. My wish for Christmas is that this celebration will bring deep joy to all, in the commitment to train ourselves every day to attract, through mutual love, the presence of Jesus among us, thus allowing him to transform the world.
Dec 22, 2019 | Non categorizzato
A top figure in Thai Theravada Buddhism, the Venerable Ajahn Thong died on 13 December at the age of 96. Together with Chiara Lubich, they experienced the highest level of Buddhist-Christian dialogue. Midway through the 1990s, Phramaha Thongratana, a Thai Buddhist monk, had the opportunity to meet John Paul II and get to know the Focolare Movement and Chiara Lubich. He became known in Catholic circles as Luce Ardente. Thanks to him, the great master Ajahn Thong spent some time at the Focolare’s little city of Loppiano together with his young follower. After the early meetings that they had with Focolare’s founder, there was great hope for further dialogue between Buddhism and Christianity in Thailand, which, in the monks words, needed to be accomplished “gently, with exquisite compassion, with much love and caring for it with our hearts.” To this he added a fundamental consideration for dialogue: “These two terms – Buddhism and Christianity – are only two words … it is the good and love that unites all people of every race, religion and language, and helps everyone to meet and coexist together.” From that moment his commitment was decided and at times astonishing even: “As long as I breathe and live, I will try to build true and beautiful relationships with everyone in the world.” Chiara Lubich confirmed these sentiments with an invitation and a prediction: “Let’s continue to prepare the way, living according to the light we have received, and many will follow.” With this background the elderly, venerable monk Ajahn Thong arrived at Loppiano, where he stayed at the Claritas spirituality centre, which regularly welcomes those from religious orders of various congregations, who come for an experience of communion between charisms. Two Theravada monks together with Franciscans, Salesians, Jesuits, Dominicans and others: it was prophetic. Venerable Phra Phrom Mongkol was deeply touched by the welcome he received and, meeting Chiara, he commented, “The fact that you invited Buddhist monks to come here to be among your people is something so beautiful.” This was not just simple formality or politeness, although those are characteristic of the Thai people. These were the early steps of a profound spiritual experience, which the monks were already quite aware of. Chiara’s expectation of that first meeting was one of an attitude of listening aimed at learning, not teaching. “I am happy with this visit in order to learn something beautiful.” she said. “What is the heart of your teaching?” From that point, an unforeseen path unfolded. At the start of 1997, in fact, the Catholic leader was invited to Thailand by these top figures of Buddhist monasticism. It was not to be just a courtesy visit. Chiara was invited to address and share her Christian experience with various groups of monks, nuns and lay Buddhists, both in Bangkok and above all in Chiang Mai. It was there, at the Wat Rampoeng Temple, that the great master introduced her with these remarkable words: “All of you, my followers, might ask yourselves why this mother, who is a woman, was invited. I would like you monks and seminarians to forget this question and not think of her as a woman. Those who are wise and able to point to the correct path for our lives, whether woman or man, are worthy of respect. It’s like when we are in the dark: if there is someone who comes to bring us a lamp to guide us, we are grateful, and it doesn’t matter to us whether that person who came to bring us light is a woman or man, a child or adult.” These few words seem to be a condensed version of the great wisdom of this capable man, together with others, who was able to walk the way of dialogue fearlessly, bringing others along with him on this prophetic experience. Lubich herself, touched by this sensitivity and openness, noticed a higher presence in this relationship and turned to the great master with words that feel like a prophecy: “Let’s continue to prepare the way, living according to the light we have received, and many will follow.” And so it was. For 25 years this dialogue has continued and developed. Even in death, there was something in common between this ancient monk from the thousand-year-old Theravada tradition with a Catholic woman who recently founded a movement in the Church. On 7 December, in fact, the celebrations for the centenary of the birth of Chiara Lubich opened in Trento, including an interfaith event on 7 June 2020.The venerable great master had expressed his desire to attend. Theirs is a friendship now destined to continue in eternity.
Roberto Catalano (Co-director for Focolare Interreligious Dialogue)
A conversation with the Great Teacher Ajahn Thong a service of the Collegamento CH of 13 February 2016 https://vimeo.com/155543298
Dec 20, 2019 | Non categorizzato
During the past 15 years, the Focolare Centre “Nueva Vida” has carried out a very important social action, that supports young people and their families in an area on the outskirts of Montevideo,Uruguay. Luis Mayobre, director of this centre has been interviewed about this activity. “The youth are the driving force of ‘Nueva Vida’. This social action challenges and stimulates us not to lose sight of what is most important: mutual love, which we want as the only law for our centre”. Luis Mayobre said these words at the beginning of the interview. He has been the director of Nueva Vida almost since it was started in 2004, when the Archbishop of Montevideo asked the Focolare Movement to continue a social activity started by a religious woman in one of the suburban districts of the Uruguayan capital. This is how Nueva Vida began. Its objectives are inscribed in its name: it wants to instil hope of a new beginning in all those who go to the centre, which forms part of the CO.DE.SO Association (Communion for Social Development established by the Focolari) and collaborates with the INAU, the institute for children and adolescents, a public entity that manages policies for Uruguayan children and adolescents. Mayobre related: “Violence marked the year 2018 and the inhabitants of Barrio Borro lived in anguish and fear. Their life was at risk due to clashes between two families of rival drug traffickers. Shootings took place day and night, and educators and staff at Nueva Vida, together with the rest of the people, had to face this terrible situation. As families were seeking for shelter, the number of people at our centre almost doubled itself. Many were robbed and their poor homes were occupied by drug traffickers”. How did you manage to cope with such a hostile situation? “We reported the situation to the Minister of Internal Affairs, but we had to wait for a reply, which took quite some time to arrive. So we offered shelter and support to some of these families. Later we obtained state services for them and they were given new homes. One of these families – two of their children participate in our youth centre activities – was being threatened with death. Our coordinator contacted another daughter of this family to ask for help, even though she knew there were family problems between the daughter and her parents. Luckily things turned out well; the daughter provided her parents with a piece of land where a new, more dignified and safe house could be built. I also remember a case of family violence. When our team came to know about the situation, the intervention of the local authorities was sought to safeguard the children and their mother. Regardless of threats and insults, we carried on with our work to help the family regain its peace and security”. Who are the ones that come to the Centre and what services do you offer? “Our three projects are: the CAIF, the Children’s Club and the Youth Centre. Living in an atmosphere of violence made us decide to be builders of peace, hope and, above all, joy, so as to overcome hatred and fear. We have tried to create a pleasant environment where 48 children between the ages of 2 and 3 years and 60 younger ones – from 0 to 2 years – participate in various workshops with their mothers. We also organize educational excursions to create spaces of beauty and harmony. This proved to be a very positive experience in which even the so-called “rival” families participated and relationships improved considerably. In our Children’s Club we take care of 62 school-age children, ranging from the age of 6 to 11 years. We are committed to fight early school leaving and we work to ensure that everyone moves on to the upper classes. In 2004, 36% of the children were early school leavers, now there are only 5%. We encourage children to take part in art and music workshops and in other recreational activities to help them become aware and develop the cultural values of coexistence and attention to others, and also to learn the ‘culture of giving’. We educate to abolish violence from all forms of behaviour. Swimming lessons and outings help to promote education in health care and hygiene. 52 young people, between the ages of 12 and 18, come to our Youth Centre. During this year, about 95% of them have participated in after- school activities. We have been organizing these activities and considering them as part of our programme since the very beginning. 6 of these young people attend high school: quite a big success when you consider that most of the children attend classes only during the first school years. We also organize complementary workshops, such as fabric processing, carpentry and communication, to enhance their formation. All these ativities are prepared by Focolare Members on a voluntary basis.”. What kind of relationship is there between the centre and other associations in this area? “Over the years, a network of all institutions that work in Borro has been set up; we collaborate with all of them and we support one another. We also participate in the life of Our Lady of Guadalupe parish, which.is the parish in our area.The parish priest and another priest come to visit us once a week. There are also volunteers from other countries who come to give a helping hand. Elisa Ranzi and Matteo Allione, the two Italians, who visited us this year, left an indelible impression. We thank heartily all those who come to help us; their collaboration is of great importance to us. Every help, no matter how small, is very precious to us”.
Stefania Tanesini
Dec 18, 2019 | Non categorizzato
The diocesan phase of the causes for the beatification of Chiara Lubich and Father Oreste Benzi, respectively founders of a Movement and a new ecclesial Community, was concluded during the month of November 2019. Many new ecclesial communities, inspired by charisms, were born during the 1968 turmoil, a twentieth century revolutionary phenomenon that affected countries on various latitudes. Founded by lay people, they touched the lives of youth, spontaneously lay down their foundations and spread in society. Even these ecclesial communities stimulated a revolution, an evangelical one, the prayer to the Holy Spirit invoked by the Fathers who participated in the Ecumenical Vatican Council II, which ended in 1965. At the dawn of the twentieth century there were already some new charismatic realities germinating in the Church. Towards the middle of the century, twenty years before the Council, the Focolare Movement was born. The inspiration that brought with it innovations was given to a young lay woman from Trent, Chiara Lubich, born in 1920. The Second World War raged furiously when this young woman of bountiful faith, realized her dream and gave herself to God on December 7, 1943. The preferential love for the poor, the community life sustained by a collective spirituality based on the Word of God, proved to be the place where the charism of unity incarnated and soon spread to the world. Father Oreste Benzi was born in 1927 in San Clemente, a small village near Rimini. He was ordained priest at the age of 24 and dedicated himself to adolescents. The leitmotif of his life was “a friendly meeting with Christ”. He spent the summer months with adolescents at Casa Madonna delle Vette at Canazei, and the Pope John XXIII Community was born there in 1968. It embraced a constant commitment to love the poorest of the poor in close relationship with Christ because: “only those who know how to be on their knees can stand alongside the poor”. He carried out works considered to be unrealizable: from the daily sharing with the poor and the oppressed to the fight against human trafficking. Chiara and Father Benzi were two different people: a woman and a man, a layman and a priest, a woman from a mountainous area and a man from a place near the sea, but they were both founders of works generated by a charism, a light that became part of history. They founded new realities in the Church, that re-propose the old and new message of Jesus, while involving those who adhere to them in a renewed journey of faith and humanity. The adamant witness of the Gospel does not stop at the founders, but extends itself to members. It was also thanks to Movements and new Communities that at the end of the second millennium, the holiness of people started to advance, and continues to be part of daily life. “Sarò santo se sono santo subito”- (I will be holy, if I am holy right away), this six S slogan was devised by Chiara for those who want to follow Jesus on their path to holiness. There are various Focolare members whose causes of beatification have been initiated. In 2004, when Father Benzi’s Association was granted the final recognition by the Holy See, he affirmed that this was: “an inestimable gift” because “the brothers and sisters who are members of the Community (…) can live joyfully and peacefully in the absolute certainty that the vocation of the Community is a sure way of sanctifying themselves (…)”. The cause for the beatification of the Servant of God, Sandra Sabattini, a member of the Pope John XXIII Association has been initiated. On October 31, 2007 Father Benzi phoned the International Centre of the Focolare Movement; he was eager to inform Chiara about the latest initiative organized by his Association and to ask for her support. This was one of his last telephone calls; unfortunately he never heard Chiara’s positive reply as he passed away the following night. Chiara returned to the house of the Father on March 14, 2008. November 2019 marked their two paths, distinct but very close to each other.
Lina Ciampi
Dec 16, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Every little gesture of love, every kind act and each smile we give transforms our existence and fills it with a continuous and fruitful sense of expectation. Children’s Choir Jesus is present in everyone and so, before the Christmas holidays, we decided to visit the local hospital with a group of children to bring some cheer to the patients. We were hoping to sing some carols. We were not allowed to enter the children’s ward but we were given permission to perform in the hospital entrance hall. It was surprising to see the complete change in the visitors: many of them came in with a very serious expression on their face but, as soon as they saw the children singing, they began to smile. Several of them came back to listen together with the patients they had come to visit. Other patients who were not waiting for visitors were brought to the large hall to listen to the performance. Some of them even joined in with the choir. The hospital staff were also very happy about the atmosphere that we created. The management team has already invited us for next year and has promised that we can sing on the children’s ward. (N.L. – Netherlands) In the kitchen I work hard as a cook in a kindergarten school. One day, when I was listening to the school-keeper say that he regarded every child as treasure to be protected, I realised that I had never thought of putting any love into what I was doing. Now, however, I have begun to use my imagination because I have understood that every meal is nourishment for people who, one day, will have the world in their hands. Sometimes I hide a little surprise “treasure” in the dishes I prepare or I arrange the food in a different way. The children show such joy and surprise – you really don’t know the impact a little act of love can produce. (K.J. – Korea) The accident My work at the drug rehabilitation centre had become overwhelming. I was taken up by the thousands of things to do but found no satisfaction in anything. I felt a sense of emptiness within and God seemed always further away. One very wet evening, I was coming home when the car I was in skidded, crashed into a wall and ended up on the opposite side of the road. I was taken to hospital and as I waited in the casualty room, the sight of a crucifix hanging on the wall gave me courage. While the doctors were examining me, I felt a gentle sense of peace: it was a feeling I had not known for a long time. Fortunately, apart from minor injuries and bruises, I was not seriously hurt and so I was discharged quite quickly. I needed to rest in bed for some time but there were always lots of people around me, lots of telephone calls and lots of gifts. I was very touched by the fact that many of the people I know who are suffering from various forms of addiction visited regularly. They said, “You survived because you are doing some good in the world.” My work colleagues were also very supportive and it became obvious that we had built a solid bond. Thanks to that enforced rest, I began to want to pray again; I think I have understood why God has not yet taken me to be with him. (Lucia – Italy) Washing dishes In the parish, we organised a party for homeless people and gave them a hot meal. At the end, there was a lot of rubbish to clear up and pots and pans and dishes to wash. In the kitchen, the parish priest had already begun to tackle the washing-up and was, obviously, happy with the evening. I was struck when he said, “Everything is prayer” and I asked him: “Doing the dishes too?” He said, “Your greatest treasure is understanding that everything has immense value because behind that pot you are washing there is a neighbour who needs you.” From then onwards, my heavy work as a bricklayer, my children who needed to be taken to the nursery and even the light to repair … everything became an opportunity for me to go beyond the action itself and transform it into something sacred. (G.F. – ltaly)
by Stefania Tanesini (taken from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, year V, n.6,November-December 2019)
Dec 15, 2019 | Non categorizzato
The phenomenon of forced migration to Europe remains one of the unresolved issues in the debate between EU countries. Too divided by particular interests to identify a common policy, inspired by the principles of solidarity and sustainability. We talked about it with Pasquale Ferrara, Italian ambassador in Algeria. According to the UNHCR*, 75,522 migrants landed by sea on the European coasts of Italy, Malta, Cyprus, Spain and Greece from January 1st to October 21st 2019. In addition, 16,322 migrants arrived by land in Greece and Spain for a total of 91,844 people, of which 9,270 in Italy, 2,738 in Malta, 1,183 in Cyprus, 25,191 in Spain, 53,462 in Greece. Data that follow a decreasing trend ( in migration) and documents the emergency phase, but are not enough for Europe to start a broad and constructive dialogue on the subject: the prospect of the creation of a European system of flow management remains very remote, and in general the comparison at the institutional level does not take into account the perspective of African countries. In Algiers we joined the Italian Ambassador, Pasquale Ferrara: (2ND PART) It has long been said that it is necessary to formally establish a collaboration with the countries of North Africa, but also with those of transit. Good intentions but few concrete facts… To move on to concrete facts, we must take note of the reality, of the fact that the African countries, especially those of the North we consider transit countries, which are themselves countries of destination for emigration. Egypt is home to over 200,000 refugees on its territory, while in 2018 just over 120,000 people arrived in the whole of Europe. The few hundred illegal migrants who arrive from Algeria are all Algerians, not sub-Saharan migrants who pass through Algeria, because often these migrants stay here. Moreover, these countries do not accept programs aimed at creating “hotspots” for sub-Saharan migrants. Here the Turkish model does not work, where the European Union has given 6 billion euros to manage camps where more than 4 million Syrian and other refugees are accommodated. The operation worked in Turkey because there was war in Syria and because of Turkey’s strategic interests. In Africa the phenomena are very different and other ways have to be found. What forms of collaboration could work? We don’t need asymmetrical collaborations but equal partnerships. We must bear in mind that it is not only we Europeans who have a migration problem, and so it is necessary to respect these countries with their internal needs, including those of migration. Only then can we try together to manage the phenomenon. For example, there are already cooperation agreements between Italy and Algeria dating back to 2000 and 2009 that work well. What do they include? The joint management of the migratory phenomenon in terms of the fight against exploitation and trafficking of human beings, the trans-national criminality that uses the phenomenon to finance itself, the danger of terrorist infiltration. There are also provisions for the agreed, orderly and dignified repatriation of illegal migrants. There is talk that Western countries must support African countries in order to create better living conditions thus discouraging migration. How viable is this? Under the current conditions of the international economy and political culture, I see it as impractical and, all in all, ineffective. Firstly, we are already talking about a billion Africans: no European or world ‘Marshall Plan’ could address such demographic dimensions. Among other things, Africa is very diverse, there are countries in advanced development conditions: Ghana has a higher rate of technological innovation than several developed countries; Angola is a very resource-rich country that is trying to reorganise its economic structure in a more participatory way. We have leaders, such as the new Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed Ali, who is 42 years old and looks to the new generations. He has already planted 350 million trees in a worldwide reforestation program called the Trillion Tree Campaign. Uganda is experiencing a period of strong development. The problem is rather the dramatic and unfair economic disparities, and here the West can intervene by helping to improve the governance of these countries, so that it is more inclusive and participatory. But let us remember that these are the same problems of socio-economic polarization that we have in Europe: unfortunately, we cannot give many lessons in this field. Reflecting on the migratory phenomenon at an institutional level, the economic dimension is at the forefront, while the human dimension is neglected. What does it mean to put human person at the centre of the migratory problem? Behind every migrant there is a story, a family, a rough journey, the difficulty of obtaining money and perhaps debts with criminal organizations. Of course we cannot allow illegal immigration because everything must be done in accordance with the law, but giving value to the human dimension means taking into account this past and not seeing these people as numbers that arrive on board boats or by land. I was deeply struck by the story of that 14-year-old boy from Mali, found at the bottom of the sea with a school report with excellent marks sewn into his jacket. That is a story that leaves us speechless. And behind it is a family tragedy, a human tragedy, a torn social fabric. I recommend Cristina Cattaneo’s beautiful book, “Shipwrecked without a face. Giving a name to the victims of the Mediterranean”. But let’s not forget also the stories of our Navy – in particular that of the commander Catia Pellegrino – who saved thousands of shipwrecked people. People, faces, real events. * https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean (read part 1 of the interview)
Edited by Claudia Di Lorenzi
Dec 13, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Inauguration of the exhibition “Chiara Lubich World City” in Tonadico di Primiero “Chiara cannot be understood without situating her in the context in which she is lived”. With these words, Jesús Morán, co-president of the Focolare Movement on Sunday, December 8th , concluded the speeches of the inaugural ceremony of the exhibition dedicated to Chiara Lubich which opened at Palazzo Scopoli in Tonadico di Primiero the day after that of Trent. “During the war Chiara dedicated herself to her city, Trento, but it was in Primiero, in 1949, that God gave her the key to understanding what she was called to do. Chiara found the light here, in the mountains, but it is necessary to go to Trento and to every city to understand the consequences of her charism. This is the deep bond between the two exhibitions, where Tonadico’s is not an appendix to Trento’s, but the story of a decade of light. 
The gratitude of the Primiero valley was expressed in different tones by the Councillor for Culture Francesca Franceschi (“Primiero represents the origin, the retreat where Chiara found answers to her questions”), by the Deputy Mayor Paolo Secco (“Our task is not only to keep alive the memory, but to be a community that responds to the ideal inspirations that moved Chiara”), by the President of the Primiero Community, Roberto Pradel (“Chiara dedicated herself to building relationships between people: may the seed she sowed bear fruit”). Giuseppe Ferrandi, Director of the Fondazione Museo Storico del Trentino, illustrated the deeper meaning of the two exhibitions: “For the first time our Foundation has created an exhibition dedicated to someone: the person of Chiara has to be dealt with by not only Trento but also others. Trentino, which can claim her birth, must discover the dimension of strong attachment to traditions alive in Chiara, the result of relationships, but without stopping at them to open up to the world in order not to be sterile. Who better than Chiara Lubich can guarantee us this capacity for relationships that the world needs today? Alba Sgariglia, co-responsible for the Chiara Lubich Centre, expressed the gratitude of the whole Movement to the Foundation: “We worked in tandem for this historical stage. From here, from these mountains, Chiara projected herself towards the whole of humanity: this is the mission that she understood here. Annamaria Rossi and Giuliano Ruzzier, curators of the exhibition with Maurizio Gentilini, underlined its characteristics: large images, quotations and brief captions flow along the walls of Palazzo Scopoli, right in front of that chalet where Chiara and some of her first companions went to rest in the summer of 1949. On the ground floor of the palace, which preserves the detachments of the frescoes from the chapel of San Vittore, there are some writings and essential memories of that summer and videos of the first Mariapolis, the summer holidays, which until 1959, year after year, were enriched with people of different vocations, cultures and backgrounds. The witness of the “little towns ” of the Movement in the world, the permanent Mariapoli, in which today, as in the experience of Primiero, unity is possible – it is experienced and witnessed to.
Paolo Crepaz
Dec 10, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Schönstatt leaders from various European countries visited the Focolare’s international headquarters at Rocca di Papa near Rome on 20 November. On Wednesday 20 November, leaders from the Schönstatt Movement from Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Switzerland visited the Focolare’s international headquarters at Rocca di Papa. The group included Fr. Heinrich Walter, former president of the General Presidium of Schönstatt. One of the goals of the visit was “meeting Chiara” by visiting her house and praying at her tomb. A second objective for the leaders of Schönstatt was to open a dialogue with Focolare about the social and political changes in Europe, the role of the Movement with their charism, and the significance of the communion between them, especially Together for Europe – in the context of ecclesial, political and cultural transformation. The delegation was welcomed to the Focolare’s centre by Co-president Jesús Morán and a number of its councillors. In order to put the charisms at the service of the good of the continent, it quickly emerged in the dialogue that there was a need to carry out cultural projects that were the product of each organisation’s talents, as well as the communion between each of them. The meeting and the dialogue were also made up of less formal activities, which were valuable and productive. This was obviously just a single step on what has become a long journey or communion and collaboration between Schönstatt and Focolare, which began at St. Peter’s Square in Rome on the vigil of Pentecost 1998. Beyond that, for 20 years by now, ever since the beginning Schönstatt has also been part of that network of movements and communities that make up Together for Europe. Fr. Heinrich Walter is an effective member of the committee directing it. Close relationships, characterised by unity between Christians of various churches and confessions, have grown between Focolare and Schönstatt these years, as well as beyond it. It is a unity that requires deep, true reconciliation, which is considered a direct gateway to unity while maintaining the necessary diversity that enriches and completes each other. The Schönstatt Movement was founded by Fr. Josef Kentenich in 1914 at Schönstatt, near Koblenz in Germany, and has an educational charism.
Severin Schmid
Dec 9, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Keep awake: is an invitation to keep our eyes open, to recognize the signs of God’s presence in history, in everyday life and to help others, who live in the dark, find the path of life. Another child “Are you prepared to have more children when you already have three?” asked a friend of mine. I answered that each child is a unique gift and that the experience of motherhood cannot be compared to any other, because the joy of a new birth is beneficial for the whole family. I also spoke about the economic aspect that mysteriously seems to emphasize that every child is wanted by Heaven. My friend, then, shared with me that she was expecting her second child, and together with her husband she was planning to have an abortion. A new creature would compromise the family’s economic situation, she remarked. When we came to part, she stated: “I feel ready for a new motherhood”. (PA. – Italy) Give trust When a cousin of mine came over to visit us, small objects disappeared from our house and then reappeared in his parents’ house. Mum shared this very gently with my cousin’s parents, but they were so hurt that our families ties were broken. As Christians, we wanted to do our best to change this unhappy situation, and the opportunity cropped up when my cousin, now a teenager, was expelled from school because he was caught stealing from his companions. My father spoke to the parents and suggested the name of a specialist who could help my cousin. Amidst great pain and shame, they had to admit that their son was a kleptomaniac. My mother came up with idea to spend our holidays together with them, while she helped us children to be generous and show full trust in our cousin. My cousin was very happy. The whole family benefitted from psychotherapeutic assistence and also medicines. One day, when my aunt was talking about her family, she confided: “Our pride made us feel superior.We were sick of arrogance “. (J.G. – Spain) Justice and understanding I am a magistrate in a locality scourged by the Mafia presence. It happened that while I was questioning for very long hours a prisoner burdened with a lot of crime, I was asked if I would like to have something to eat. I agreed, as long as the prisoner would have something to eat too. Shocked with this simple gesture of mine, the prisoner almost couldn’t believe it. But suddenly I was gripped with the fear of finding myself face to face with the offender during breaktime and I felt like going away. At the same moment another thought flashed to my mind: “If I am here to love this neighbour of mine, I have nothing to fear”. I continued the interrogation with the same attitude towards him: I tried to make him understand the gravity of his deeds, but without judging him and speaking very calmly to him. Sometime later he wrote to me from prison. Did he write to ask for a less severe judicial sentence? No, he wrote at length to share all his miseries and ask for understanding. It was strange that he wrote it to me when I had issued a a sentence against him. Evidently, something must have struck him. (Elena – Italy)
by Stefania Tanesini (taken from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, year V, n.6,November-December 2019)
Dec 8, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the Focolare founder’s birth were inaugurated in Trent. The “Seal of St. Wenceslas” was awarded to Maria Voce by the autonomous Province of Trent. “Chiara Lubich city world” is the title of the exhibition that was inaugurated on December 7, at the “Tunnels Gallery”, Trent. This event opened the centenary celebrations that mark the 100th anniversary of the Focolare founder’s birth. This exhibition is under the patronage of the President of the Italian Republic and is being promoted by the Trentino Historical Museum Foundation in collaboration with the Chiara Lubich Centre. Giuseppe Ferrandi, the Director of the Historical Museum Foundation introduced the speeches delivered during the inauguration ceremony. In these speeches, Chiara Lubich emerged as a figure with a very broad-minded personality, deeply rooted in the history, culture and traditions of the Trentino region, endowed with a charism, through which she spoke a universal language and crossed every geographical and cultural border to promote her message of peace and brotherhood. The exhibition offers an engaging and interactive journey, which helps the visitor to get to know Chiara Lubich, while promoting a commitment towards those values that marked her life. During this celebration, the Province of Trent awarded the “Seal of St. Wenceslas ” to Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement. It was stated that Trent wanted to confer this award to the Focolare President “for her ability and tireless commitment to shed light on the values of unity and peace”. Maria Voce answered: “I am truly grateful and moved by this recognition. And as it accentuates the values of Chiara Lubich and the Focolare Movement, I feel that it is for the whole Movement”. “Two words come to mind when I think of Chiara Lubich: charism and prophecy”. Giorgio Postal, President of the Trentino Historical Museum Foundation said these words during the inauguration of the exhibition. And he continued: “So, questioning ourselves about Chiara and placing her in history becomes a way to face the challenges we encounter both as a society and as individuals”. Maurizio Fugatti, President of the Province of Trent said: “We feel proud to be part of this journey, which provides us with the opportunity to get to know and understand deeper the great message of Chiara Lubich, an exceptional woman from Trent, who managed to give her remarkable message of peace and unity to the whole world” Mgr. Lauro Tisi, Archbishop of Trent, invited everyone, especially the Focolare Movement, to “make the God of Chiara known” so as to contribute towards a complete change in the narration of God. During this year, we are all invited to make known “this God who irrevocably protects all”. “From this vision of God love”, he concluded, “springs a positive vision of creation, of nature, of man and of the body”. This invitation was immediately accepted by Jesús Morán, the Co-President of the Focolare, who recalled that the motto of the Centenary is “Celebrate to meet” Chiara Lubich, a woman who “lived unity at 360°and gave us the navigation chart for the third millennium”. “This centenary will be an extraordinary opportunity to discover Chiara in so many ways”, said Alessandro Andreatta,the Mayor of Trent. “She was a woman of encounter, of dialogue, of unity, of faith, of service, of hope. She was at the heart of the Church and of humanity”. Lorenzo Dellai, former Mayor of Trent, who gave Chiara Lubich the seal of the city in 1995, recalled how she urged the people of Trent to live up to the spirit of this city. “I think that today there is an ever-increasing need for this charism, this prophecy”. Senator Stanislao Di Piazza, under-secretary of State in the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, delivered the message in the name of the Italian Government. “Chiara was a person who had a particular love for Italy”, he said, while he recalled her meetings with politicians from all parties to promote the value of fraternity, so that “a new political model could be created”. Messages were also delivered by the various representatives of similar exhibitions that will be set up during the year in Mexico City, Sydney, Mumbai, São Paulo, Jerusalem, Algiers and Nairobi. This project is under the patronage of the Council of Europe. Although these exhibitions will be similar to the one inTrent, yet each will have its own particular characteristic: for the one in São Paulo it will be the the Economy of Communion project launched by Chiara Lubich in Brazil; the one in Sydney will project the aspect of a multicultural land; Jerusalem, a city that maybe more than any other needs peace and brotherhood. The one in India was represented by the message of Stefania Constanza, the Italian consul in Mumbai. Among those present for the inauguration, there were Veronica Cimino, vice-mayor of Rocca di Papa (Rome); Francesca Franceschi, town councillor of Primiero San Martino di Castrozza; Alba Sgariglia and Joao Manoel Motta, co-responsible for the Chiara Lubich Centre and the curators of the exhibition Giuliano Ruzzier, Anna Maria Rossi and Maurizio Gentilini, the author of the recent biography of the Focolare founder. Numerous relatives of Chiara Lubich were also present. _________ The exhibition at the “Tunnels Gallery” will be open till December 7, 2020 (Tuesday to Sunday, from 09:00 to 18:00). Translations in the main European languages are availlable. Admission is free. Besides the three sections of the exhibition set up in the “Tunnels Gallery”, there is another section that was inaugurated on December 8, 2019. This section has been set up in Palazzo Scopoli, in Tonadico, in the mayorship of Primiero San Martino di Castrozza (Tn). It is dedicated to the years 1949-1959: from Chiara Lubich’s profound spiritual experience lived in Primiero during the summer of 1949 to the summer Mariapolis that took place there until 1959.
Anna Lisa Innocenti
Dec 7, 2019 | Non categorizzato
“Give yourself completely to me” – 7 December 1943 Today the Centenary Year of the birth of Chiara Lubich is being officially inaugurated. It will be celebrated wherever there are people who have made their own her “Ideal” – as she used to say –, the Ideal of unity and universal brotherhood. “Celebrate to meet” is the motto inspiring the most varied events that will take place in 2020. “Celebrate” because Chiara Lubich will be remembered, but in order to give many people the opportunity to encounter the message she lived to the full. Of particular importance is the “Chiara Lubich: world city” exhibition, created by the Trentino Historical Museum Foundation and the Chiara Lubich Centre (Rocca di Papa), which is being officially opened today at the Tunnels Gallery in Trent, her city. Why is this happening on 7th December 2019 and not 22nd January 2020, the anniversary of Chiara’s birth or indeed on 14th March, the day of her death? It is simply because on 7th December 1943, Silvia Lubich became Chiara, so to speak. A few days before, in fact, she had responded to a request from her mother to go and get milk on a nearby farm. Her two younger sisters were reluctant to leave the house because of the cold, and Chiara decided to do this act of love. On her way, she had felt a clear and strong calling: “Give yourself completely to me”. Back home, Silvia had written an ardent letter to the priest who had accompanied her spiritually and, after putting her to the test, he granted her permission to give herself to God forever. Thus, on that 7th December 1943, before dawn, during a morning mass celebrated for the occasion, Silvia, secretly “married God”, as she herself would say. Thirty years later she reflected on that day: “Imagine a young girl in love, in love with a love which is the first love, the purest one, a love which is still undeclared, but which begins to enflame her heart. But there’s one difference. Here on earth, a young girl, who is in love in this way, has the image of her beloved in front of her; instead this girl doesn’t see him, doesn’t hear him, doesn’t touch him or sense his fragrance with the senses of the body, but rather with the senses of her soul, through which Love entered in and invaded all her being. Because of this she feels a joy which is so special, difficult to experience again in life, a joy which is secret, serene, and jubilant”. The young Silvia Lubich had been fascinated by Chiara of Assisi’s answer to St. Francis when he asked her what she wanted: “God!” That eighteen-year-old girl from Assisi, who was so beautiful and full of hope, had been able to encompass all the desires of her heart in that one Being worthy of all love: “God”. With this example before her, Silvia had changed her name to Chiara, because she too had the same feelings within herself. Changing a name is like acquiring a new identity. This change, at first just a heart’s desire, actually came about on 7th December 1943. That morning Silvia married God and became Chiara. Later, the date of 7th December was chosen as the symbolic starting date of the Focolare Movement. By giving herself to God completely, the foundation stone was laid. Years later, the Catholic Church gave the ‘building’, (the Movement that developed) the name “Work of Mary”. With the name “God” Chiara’s divine adventure began and with it that of the Focolare Movement. “God” is what 7th December means to Chiara Lubich. Therefore there is no better date to inaugurate the centenary year of her birth than this.
Michel Vandeleene
Dec 4, 2019 | Non categorizzato
From a talk given at a press conference on 18th November by Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Sant’Egidio Community and personal friend of Chiara’s. A few days before the official opening of Chiara Lubich’s centenary on 7th December, we share part of a speech given at a press conference on 18 November by Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio. As a personal friend of Chiara’s with whom he worked to build pathways for unity among various Movements in the Church, he offered a reflection on Chiara’s humanity and historical authenticity, much of which is yet to be discovered. Time sometimes reduces great figures to “prayer cards” which gather dust and are gradually forgotten. Chiara’s heart was full of Holiness but she was much more than a prayer card. She was a real woman, a “volcanic” woman, a native of Trent who was open to the world. Starting from Trent she went all over the world; that was Chiara’s story: from Trent to Rome and the world. What is said of her is true, that if you visit some of the remotest parts of the world, even in Africa, not only do you find Chiara’s followers, you also feel her presence and her thought. A hundred years have passed since her birth. A hundred years is a long time. Chiara was born in 1920, the same year as John Paul II, and whenever he saw her he would call her “my contemporary”. Both were influenced by the tragic events of the Second World War. Chiara felt its effects deeply in Trent where her charism matured – so to speak – in the midst of the Second World War, in a world that was deeply divided and torn by the pain of war. Chiara is also, in my view, an important figure outside the Church. She was not just a figure within the Church, even though she was deeply rooted in the Church, in unity with it, but she was always projected outwards to the world. She was not merely a “Sacristy Christian”; she loved and look outwards to the whole world. Chiara was an historical figure. Twentieth-century Christianity was made up largely of men who left women to engage in a little bit of mysticism or some experience of charity. Instead, Chiara was a woman who made history in the round. Not only mysticism and charity but also politics and a passion for real change in life. This is the person I met. She had a great capacity for personal relationships and friendship: she had the charism of friendship, everyone was unique for her. She was a woman who met thousands of people, and yet, for her, no two people were the same. Then she had another great skill: that of communicating a passion. She was a passionate woman, passionate about the unity of the world. Unity is the key to understanding her existence and her quest for peace which is also ecumenism. She was deeply sensitive to ecumenism – more than many experts in ecumenism – and I would like to recall, in this regard, her relationship with Patriarch Athenagoras, about whom I have also written a book. There is also a letter that I published which stated “It is said of Miss Chiara Lubich that because she is a woman and is not a theologian she is too fervent”, but today I would like to say that, precisely because she is not a theologian and is a woman, Chiara understood more than the technicians of ecumenism. Unity also means dialogue to achieve peace. Chiara wrote, “The children of God are the children of love, they fight with a weapon that is the very life of humankind”. Life is a gift and through the gift of life we struggle to change the world and to change others and achieve this ideal. Chiara was consumed by a passion for the ideal. And this seems to me to be a fundamental point to come back to and reflect on. Maria Voce mentioned that we are in a time of division. I would add that we are also in a time of small passions. Chiara might be very unpopular today, precisely because the world believes in divisions and lives with its own small passions. But I believe that the year you are dedicating, that we are dedicating, to remembering, reviving the memory of and meeting Chiara Lubich is also a year that challenges both these little passions and being resigned to a divided world. Chiara wrote: “We hope that the Lord will bring about a new world order. He is the only one who can make humanity one family. Only He can bring out the distinctiveness of all peoples so that, in the splendour of each one being at the service of the others, the one light of life may shine forth. In this way our earthly homeland will be more beautiful and become a foretaste of the eternal homeland”. I think that celebrating this centenary is a service to humanity and to the thought of our time, which lacks vision. Her contemporary Wojtyla wrote “the world suffers, especially for lack of vision”. I believe that this world of ours can flourish again with Chiara Lubich’s vision. Just a word of warning: we need to be careful when we use the word celebration. Maria rightly prefers to speak of an encounter. It is a demanding encounter and this encounter, dear Maria, must also be history. We must have the courage to rewrite Chiara Lubich’s story in her time, to better understand how her action has changed history. I am thinking, for example, of the adventure of sending focolarini to Eastern Europe and how this contributed to the fall of the Berlin wall. Chiara did not choose to seek refuge in the West and be resigned to the wall. And so I am sure that this centenary year, which begins today, will make the person of Chiara grow in a new encounter with our times, and not diminish her.
Dec 4, 2019 | Non categorizzato
The president of Azione Cattolica Italy met with the Focolare’s General Council, and what emerged was a shared commitment for Albanian earthquake victims. On the afternoon of 29 November, close to 50 people – including members of the national administration of Azione Cattolica, members of the Focolare General Council, and Focolare directors in Italy – came together at the movement’s international headquarters at Rocca di Papa. From the start there was a great, tangible harmony that, as the meeting unfolded, showed all the richness of communion. “It is an opportune time, and the Spirit urges us in this direction,” said Matteo Truffelli, president of Azione Cattolica Italiana (ACI). “By staying close to other realities in the Church, we experience an abundance of ecclesiality,” affirmed Jesús Morán, Focolare’s co-president. Following a prayer by Monsignor Gualtiero Sigismondi, the ecclesial assistant for ACI, Focolare President Maria Voce explained the movement’s specific calling to unity. Truffelli in turn presented the areas of focus for his association: the missionary activity that Pope Francis has invited Azione Cattolica to take part in – a challenge that they aim to take on enthusiastically and universally. A sharing of experiences from the two organisations in various fields followed. Those from Focolare retraced Chiara’s inspirations in ecumenical, interreligious and cultural dialogue: from Evangelicals, to Orthodox, to Anglicans, and today with movements from various Christian churches on the path of Together for Europe. The key to interreligious dialogue can be found in human fraternity. The relationships with the founders of movements in other religions have also been productive. In this age of diversity, the challenge is to manage cultural differences, rejecting others, and the risk of fundamentalism or assimilation. There is a vast range of projects in the fields of politics, economics, disarmament, environment and education, but the aim is also to show the Church as it truly is. Children and teens play a lead role in responding to the most important contemporary issues. Asking themselves how best to make their own experience of faith tangible in everyday life, ACI began the Fuori Sede (“offsite”) project for young people, students and workers, who aim to carry out their tasks wherever they find themselves. A Marian pilgrimage is aimed at adults who gravitate towards more popular religiosity. Finally, they are also collaborating with the Italian bishops conference through the Policoro project. As the afternoon of communion drew to a close, Truffelli proposed a common project to support those who had been struck days earlier by the strong earthquake in Albania. Moran spoke for many with his positive reaction. Experts from the two organisations are already developing a plan of action to achieve this collaboration.
Lina Ciampi
Dec 1, 2019 | Non categorizzato
What is the vision from North Africa of the migration towards Europe phenomenon? How is it possible to make it person centred, thus moving from a purely economic to a human vision of migration? Interview with Pasquale Ferrara, Italian ambassador in Algiers. According to the UNHCR*, 75,522 migrants landed by sea on the European coasts of Italy, Malta, Cyprus, Spain and Greece from January 1st to October 21st 2019. In addition, 16,322 migrants arrived by land in Greece and Spain making a total of 91,844 people, of whom 9,270 in Italy, 2,738 in Malta, 1,183 in Cyprus, 25,191 in Spain, 53,462 in Greece. This data shows a decreasing trend (in migration) and documents the emergency phases. It is not however enough so that Europe starts a broad and constructive dialogue on the subject: the prospect of the creation of a European system of flow management remains very remote, and in general the analysis at an institutional level does not take into account the perspective of African countries. In Algiers we joined the Italian Ambassador, Pasquale Ferrara: Mr. Ambassador, what is the vision from North Africa of the migration towards Europe phenomenon? Seen from Africa, migration is a historical and structural phenomenon, especially intra-African, because the vast majority of migrant and refugee movements take place between African countries: more than 20 million people live in a country other than their country of origin. Migration to Europe is different and people fear an uncontrolled influx. To speak of migration in terms of differences in development is only part of the picture. In Europe, a distinction is often made between political refugees and economic migrants. But often African economic migrants are the result of bad political management in countries, because there is a problem of governance, of appropriation of resources by oligarchies, of social inclusion. Therefore, in some way, economic migrants too can qualify as political refugees. Over and above the issue of illegal migration, as far as North Africa is concerned, it would be necessary to restore in the Mediterranean the circular mobility of populations that has always been observed in history. It means, for example, the possibility of coming to Europe for a period of study or work, and then returning to the country of origin. At the moment, these movements are subject to the granting of a visa, but it is very difficult to obtain one because of the many and necessary controls. For many people it is challenging, so the temptation of those who receive visas, even if they are well-intentioned, is often not to return to their country of origin. The visa must be maintained, but with a view to encouraging circular mobility, it is necessary to think of a more structured system. Then there is another factor that stimulates migration, and that is the difference in the quality of services that a society offers: health services and social security services in general, whose lack of availability and quality also influences, together with other factors such as endemic violence, the sense of security, or school services, so that even those who are not in a situation of absolute poverty try to come to Europe to give a better education to their children. We should therefore invest more in the training of the ruling classes, professionals and educators. In Algiers, even though the numbers are small, we are trying to do so, increasing the scholarships for young Algerians who go to Italy to study music, art, restoration, as an investment for their professional future. Is the West responsible for the impoverishment of African countries? I would be very cautious. This is a narrative that is useful for certain Afro-African oligarchies to dismiss their responsibilities when faced with a governance that is dubious in its legitimacy and in its results. The colonial period has marked Africa a lot and the past responsibilities of the West are ascertained, but at least 50 years have passed since decolonization and it is difficult to attribute to the West the problems of today’s African societies. The quality of governance is of great importance. Rather today in Africa there is a strong presence of China with programs related to natural and mineral resources in almost all countries. China considers Africa a large market, but the exchange is asymmetrical in favour of Beijing. However, to compensate for this imbalance, China carries out infrastructural works, stadiums, theatres and cultural centres for billions of dollars at its own expense. Europe is taking uncertain steps in managing this phenomenon. There is a lack of Community policies and it seems that the principle of shared responsibility does not warm the hearts of Europe. The choice of solidarity cannot depend on the good will and changing direction of individual governments. The migration issue must be dealt with exclusively by the European Union as such, as is the case with the trade policies for which the EU states have given Brussels exclusive responsibility for negotiating agreements with non-European countries. Today, however, on the one hand, because of a matter of national sovereignty, the states want to retain control over migration and borders, and that is understandable. On the other hand, they accuse Europe of inaction, but they do not give it the mechanisms it needs to operate effectively. But it seems to me unlikely that there will be progress in this area, given the resistance that this issue encounters in relation to internal policies. * https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean End 1st Part
Edited by Claudia Di Lorenzi
Nov 29, 2019 | Non categorizzato
The local Focolare community and Emergency Coordination of the Movement, together with Caritas and other religious families, are working to help those affected by the earthquake. The night between 25th and 26th November, a powerful earthquake struck the northern coast of Albania, in the city of Durazzo. To date there are at least 47 dead, 600 wounded and thousands of people displaced, but there seem to be many people still under the rubble. The earthquake produced enormous damage, buildings collapsed and hundreds of people are now homeless. The quake was felt in other areas of Albania and the Adriatic coast. The local Focolare community is working together with Caritas Albania, diocesan Caritas, many parishes and religious families in mapping the territory to survey houses, schools, churches and damaged buildings, and in planning coordinated assistance. Our people in Tirana wrote, “We are with Caritas and other groups and, as always, we work together.” Particular attention is being given to villages and areas far from the largest urban centers – unknown to the media – which have also suffered significant damage. They emphasized, “Creating bridges, fostering communication channels, networking needs and resources is a shared priority.” The Focolare Movement are helping concretely: welcoming families and people who cannot return to their damaged homes and offering accommodation in the homes of other families in areas not affected by the earthquake. They also offer the possibility of making a technical estimate of the damage suffered. Moreover, the Focolare is providing psychological assistance to the victims of the earthquake who are also affected by the state of continuous alert due to continuous tremors. Solidarity was expressed by the Focolare centers in Macedonia. The youth of the Movement are working to bring help too. There is a clear awareness that a concerted effort is the priority of these first days of the emergency, while in the coming months the need to make a reconstruction plan will follow. Pope Francis has expressed his spiritual closeness and paternal support towards the affected people and territories: “I am close to the victims, I pray for the dead, for the wounded, for the families,” he told the General Audience on Wednesday 27th November. “May the Lord bless this people that I love so much.” ________________________________________ For those who want to collaborate, the following current accounts have been activated: Azione per un Mondo Unito ONLUS (AMU) IBAN: IT58 S050 1803 2000 0001 1204 344 Codice SWIFT/BIC: CCRTIT2T Banca Popolare Etica Azione per Famiglie Nuove ONLUS (AFN) IBAN: IT11G0306909606100000001060 Codice SWIFT/BIC: BCITITMM Banca Intesa San Paolo PURPOSE: Earthquake emergency in Albania ————————————————————– The contributions paid on the two current accounts with this purpose will be managed jointly by AMU and AFN. There are tax benefits for these donations in many countries of the European Union and in other countries of the world, according to the various local regulations. Italian taxpayers will be provided deductions from taxable income, up to 10% of the income and with the limit of € 70,000.00 per year, with the exception of donations made in cash.
Nov 28, 2019 | Non categorizzato
With the motto “Celebrate to meet”, the opening, next December 7th of Chiara Lubich’s centenary was announced to the press. The launching in Trento will inaugurate the international exhibition “Chiara Lubich world city “.
© CSC Audiovisivi
© CSC Audiovisivi
Claudia Di Lorenzi
Nov 27, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Published by Città Nuova and entitled ” History and prophecy: Chiara Lubich’s way to unity”, this book will be presented in preview on November 30 in the Auditorium of the Gemelli Clinic, Rome. At the moment, it is available in Italian only. The author, Maurizio Gentilini who is an Italian historian, has chosen the title “History and prophecy: Chiara Lubich’s way to unity” for his work. This is the latest biography written about the foundress of the Focolare Movement on the eve of the hundredth anniversary of her birth. Translations into English, Spanish and Korean are planned. For those who live in the Rome area, it will be possible to meet the author on November 30 at 4.20 pm, in the auditorium of the Gemelli Clinic. The book is one of the publications prepared by the Città Nuova Publishing House for Chiara Lubich’s centenary year. This begins on December 7 – a symbolic date because on that day in 1943 Chiara consecrated herself to God, thus beginning the adventure of the Focolare Movement. The volume represents an attempt to reflect upon the biographical journey of the foundress of the Focolare Movement one hundred years after her birth and twelve years after her death. The biographer’s aim was to produce a book which would appeal to a wide range of people but would also provide a deeper presentation of individual aspects and major issues related to the person of Chiara and the Focolare – the laity in the Church, Vatican II, the world, ecumenism and peace. It wants to offer a presentation of her life within the context of the many and complex historical events that she witnessed, thus enriching this aspect of the many editorial works which have already been produced. The author, who likes to define himself as a “simple baptized person”, tries to read the events he describes by making constant reference to sources and by applying a historical-critical method. He understands everything that has happened with the sensitivity of a believer and through the hermeneutical key that finds its synthesis in the relationship between spirituality and action, between history and prophecy.
Stefania Tanesini
Nov 25, 2019 | Non categorizzato
An important anniversary was celebrated at the ecumenical little town of Ottmaring, then sealed with a ceremony in the city of Augsburg, Germany. There was a renewed commitment to be ambassadors of reconciliation and signs of hope in the various churches and society.
Foto: © Ursula Haaf
Foto: © Ursula Haaf
Andrea Fleming
More info: https://www.together4europe.org/en/
