![Argentina: Misael and his dream of peace]()
Jan 25, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
“I teach in a Catholic school in my city, Salta, in northern Argentina,” says Gabriela Carral. “In early October of 2015, I met Misael, a 10 year old student, following a prayer service held by Orthodox and Catholics for peace in Syria. At that particular time, the image of the lifeless body of the little Syrian boy, Aylan, had made the headlines globally through the mass media. Misael told me he wanted to do something for peace in our school, adding that what hurt him most of all was knowing that so many children were orphaned by the war. We arranged to meet at recreation time. He explained that he was part of the Orthodox community, and that he was convinced that we should pray for peace: Catholics and Orthodox together. A few days later, he showed me a flyer that he had in his folder. The text read: “Syria is us. Let us for peace.” I was surprised to see that a child, in the midst of almost 800 pupils in elementary and secondary schools, could be so sensitive to the pain of people suffering thousands of kilometers away. I liked his idea and I encouraged him to share it with the school principal and staff. The outcome was a plan to organise an ecumenical prayer for peace. For the first time the word ecumenism resounded in the halls of this school, among the leaders, teachers and students. 
In order to put this plan into action, I contacted a religious order priest who shares my goal in trying to live the prayer of Jesus: “That all may be one”. Fr Adolfo, from the Orthodox Church of Antioch, also got involved, and together we organized every detail of the celebration. Subsequently the Lutheran Church asked to join us since our school community includes a young Lutheran volunteer from Germany. Others then showed interest in the event, such as the president of the local Syrian-Lebanese community, the German consul and the vice-consul of Italy, a representative from the Ministry of Education, newspaper journalists and the heads of other schools. The first step of Misael’s project was that of trying to build peace in our everyday relationships, and this gave rise to many new experiences lived among the children to which we also proposed the Time Out prayer for peace promoted by Youth for a United World. Through the homilies given by the celebrants, we shared in the life of Christians in Syria and Africa; the intentions for peace were read out by a young Orthodox girl while a woman recited the Lord’s Prayer in Arabic. The flags of the different countries which were hoisted up warmed our hearts and made us feel like members of the one human family. In short, it was a celebration that enabled each of one us to experience something that we had not experienced so strongly beforehand: profound friendships and unimaginable bonds. The school principle and staff of the school called it a historic day. “We thank God for our freedom,” concluded the young people present, “and we promise not to ever take sides but to stand on the side of peace.” Gustavo Clariá
Jan 24, 2016 | Non categorizzato
“Among Christians there is an experience that is similar to married life. Inevitably difficulties between the couple arise. Only if there is love these difficulties serve to maintain love and enable unity to grow among them. When love is absent, problems become an insurmountable obstacle and they are given as an excuse in the event of a separation. But in reality it is not the problems that have destroyed the family, but the lack of love. So it is between the Churches. The division happened not only because of religious or theological differences, but also – and at times foremost – because of political, economic or cultural motives. In the measure that love grows, disunity becomes unbearable and problems are overcome. I think that one day the various Churches, without abandoning their own traditions and legitimate expressions that have developed throughout history, can participate together, when God wills, in a Council that will unite them and which will ensure that the Church, while being one, retains many of these expressions. The time is perhaps premature, but in a single day God can make us live a thousand years. It will be an event which will have a profound impact on all members of the great religions.” From “COLLOQUI” – Pasquale Foresi – Città Nuova 2009 – pp. 155-156-161
Jan 23, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
“Sport can really change the world and make it more united”. Patsy Furtado, a hockey coach from Mumbai who once played for the Indian national hockey team, speaks with the strong conviction that comes from an equally strong experience lived with street children in this immense metropolis. She had met the Focolare and the idea of Sportmeet through a Run4unity event in 2005. Her passion for sports and the experience of unity lived that day fuelled her desire to join forces with other like-minded coaches and bring about change in the surrounding area, where children often can be seen living on the streets. She had just got to know a home for destitute children with 240 children, neglected by society. She got the idea to start coaching them in different sports: football, basketball, hockey, athletics … Every morning at 6.30am they started having a one hour training session. Initially there were 20 girls and 30 boys who came for training without shoes and proper sports gear. Today there are a number of teams, all having proper sport shoes, gear and kit bag. In 2007 they entered the inter-school competition at the all Mumbai level and the under-12 football team stood eighth in Mumbai among over 300 schools. This achievement made it to the Hindustan Times, one of Mumbai’s major newspapers, with the heading “United We Stand”. Listing the numerous achievements of this project, Patsy points to the fact that the children’s behaviour improved tremendously: sports taught them to be disciplined and after playing sports all their energy is used in the right way. Whereas it would be natural to be violent and aggressive with a background like theirs, they become confident and have self respect, they look after their hygiene and take responsibilities. Coming from various religions the children come together to play as a team and there are no differences among them. In 2009 the first Sports4Peace workshop was held in Mumbai. Promoting a cube with 6 rules to educate for Peace through sports, the idea of Sports4Peace captured the imagination of various coaches and others engaged in the field of sports in Mumbai and other cities in India. “Play well”, “Hang in there”, “Look out for others”: simple rules which have touched the lives and inspired several youth and sport enthusiasts to apply them with passion in their various disciplines. The idea of Sports4Peace became part of various interreligious cultural college activities as well as diocesan events in Mumbai and in Pune, a neighbouring city known for its numerous colleges. Presented in various Run4Unity editions also in Delhi, it was promoted in the recent United World Week hosted in Mumbai in May 2015, when a permanent Sports4Peace cube was installed in a prominent place in a public garden on Mumbai’s popular Bandstand promenade to remind all that sports, lived and played well, can promote peace and universal brotherhood. Gustavo Clariá
Jan 23, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
“This the house built on the rocks, (Word of Life) will remind us of the one Jesus spoke about. Winds and storms may blow but it will not collapse,” Chiara Lubich said on 24 May 1986 at the inauguration of the Mariapolis Centre of her birthplace. 23 January 2016: it will be a feast day at the Centre which is today dedicated to her, in memory of 30 years of history, testimonials, dialogue and communion in the light of the charisma of unity. The event will open with the message of Maria Voce and a video that traces almost 30 years of history. Then there will be some testimonials of the local members of the Movement in the civil and ecclesial fields, and the greetings of the Archbishop of Trent, Bishop Luigi Bressan, and the Mayor, Alessandro Andreatta, and other authorities. After 30 years, the Centre of Cadine has been faithful to its own vocation: to be a place of encounter and formation for those who wish to commit their lives to irradiating the life of the Gospel and bringing back through mutual love, the presence of God in the world. Flashback to the past. In the 1970s the Focolare Movement, diffused throughout the region, felt the need for a formation centre. After various futile searches, efforts were focused on Trent. When she was told about this, Chiara responded: “I had always thought of it as a city chosen by God.” A few months later the entire Movement was living the Word of Life: “Sell all you have, and give it to the poor.” The desire to put this Word of the Gospel into practice pushed Nostra Fadanelli, a follower of the Movement, to donate nine hectares of a wood for the construction of the Mariapolis Centre. The design was entrusted to Carlo Fumagalli, a focolarino architect who, with the awareness of having to build a Centre in the city where the Movement was born, traced the stages of her history in Trent and in the Primiero Valley, reproducing some details in the building’s architecture. The project was presented to the Archbishop at that time, Bishop Gottardi who said: “This has to be a ”monument” to Chiara Lubich, of course, when she will be in Paradise. And it will be the best monument if, with regard to the history of Trent, it will be… a Mariapolis with an “ecumenical flair,” and link up to the ecumenical mandate of the City of Trent, expressed by Pope Paul VI in 1964. And he concluded: “You have this mission!” From that moment on, the generosity of each member of the Movement started circulating, each with his own possibilities and the fantasy of those who build their “own” house. In October 1980, while the bureaucratic procedures were underway, news arrived that they were looking for a house for the International Mariapolis Centre. So they all decided to donate the funds collected up to then: a big sum which surprised Chiara herself. It seemed to be a crazy idea, but upon acquiring the permits to build, a new and substantial sum arrived, three times what they had given, which made them experience the promises of the Gospel: “Give and you shall be given.” So in 1982, the day section of the building of the centre started: the foyer, meeting halls, kitchen and dining room. Everyone wanted to help, giving their time and forces, and in the last year of the works, about 800 people alternated with the artisanal works, finishing and workforce. A memorable day was when the road and square were paved with porphyry, which was finished the day before the inauguration. On 24 May 1986, before about 2,000 people, among whom were representatives of the most important churches in Europe, Chiara herself inaugurated the Mariapolis Centre, underlining its ecumenical and formative vocation, and called the centre, “Word of Life.” After Chiara’s death in 2008, on 24 January 2009, with a highly ecumenical ceremony in the presence of Maria Voce who succeeded Chiara as President of the Focolare Movement, and many other civil and religious celebrities, the Centre was dedicated to Chiara Lubich. In these 30 years, tens of thousands of people have been guests of the Centre, mostly members of the Movement but not only them, given that it has also opened its doors to other meetings promoted by the Diocese, Catholic Movements and other lay associations of the territory. The Centre hosts in particular, conventions, formation schools, and various groups of the Movement from all over the world, who come to retrace in Trent and the Primiero Valley, the early days of the movement, when all was just beginning. The Centre bears witness to the dawn of the Movement, and the urgency to keep a “dialogue platform” active among individuals and peoples, and between the churches and great religions, to refocus and give room to fraternity.
Jan 22, 2016 | Senza categoria
“With brothers and sisters of the various Churches, by striving to live the Gospel together, getting to know one another and strengthening our reciprocal love, we discovered the great wealth of our common patrimony: Baptism, the Old and New Testaments, the dogmas of the first Councils which we share, the Creed (Nicene-Constantinopolitan), the Greek and Latin Fathers, the martyrs and other treasures, like the life of grace, faith, hope, charity, and the many other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit. And besides all this, we are united by the spirituality of unity. At first we lived as if all this were not really true or we were not fully aware of it. Instead now we realize that these are the conditions for being able to achieve a particular dialogue: the dialogue of life. This spirituality makes us feel that we are already one family; we feel that we form among ourselves “a Christian people” which involves not only laity but also to priests, pastors, bishops, and so on. Obviously, the full and visible communion among our Churches still needs to be achieved, but we can already be so. It is not a grassroots dialogue that opposes or juxtaposes the high level dialogue or that of the Church leaders, but it is a dialogue in which all Christians can participate. This people is like a leaven in the ecumenical Movement which rekindles in everyone the sense that, as baptized Christians who can love one another, we can all contribute towards fulfilling the Testament of Jesus. Indeed, we hope that other forms of dialogue, like the dialogue of charity, of shared service, of prayer and the theological dialogue, can be enhanced by the “dialogue of life”.” Extract from the book: Chiara Lubich: “Unity”, New City Press, New York (USA)
Jan 21, 2016 | Non categorizzato
“One of our Focolare contacts living on the border with Syria, has made us aware of the critical situation they’re currently undergoing. With the onset of Winter in Syria there is urgent need for heating and appropriate clothing to withstand the low temperatures. The people there are unable to buy these types of clothes because of economic difficulties but also because of the embargo on importation of these types of items. Speaking about this in our group, we understood that we needed to immediately do something to help these brothers and sisters of ours. Through a Facebook page which keeps all the young people of the Focolare in Italy connected, we launched this appeal which is being spread via the hashtag #riscaldiamolasiria. The most immediate solution to meet their needs was to ship a package with appropriate clothing. The action started with all of us going through our wardrobes and organising collection points throughout Italy to collect the items. The generosity was overwhelming! With the help also of other members of the Focolare Movement in different local communities, many parcels were dispatched within a few days and are already reaching Syria. At first our enthusiasm was somewhat dampened because of the high shipping costs, but through our communications network across Italy in real time, we were able to find the most secure transport with the cheapest rates. The help that we’re giving will not stop here; we will continue to support them in a practical way with every means at our disposal! For now we’re sending the items to those in need in Syria, and any items left over will be given to those most in need in our city.” Maria Chiara De Lorenzo
Jan 20, 2016 | Non categorizzato
The reasons for the award is in recognition for the work of the physician, Dr Noorjehan Abdul Majid, and the work of the Sant’Egidio community, in the fight against AIDS. Dr Abdul Majid’s ability as a Muslim woman to build exceptional bridges between Christians and Muslims, demonstrate that through the promotion of a peaceful co-existence it’s possible for there to be effective collaboration between Christians and Muslims. Among those who will be present at the ceremony are Annette Schavan, the German ambassador to the Holy See, who will deliver the oration. The award is in memory of the person and spiritual heritage of Catholic bishop of Aachen, Klaus Hemmerle (1929 – 1994). The Focolare Movement gives these awards to outstanding “bridge builders” of dialogue between churches, religions and visions of the world. The prize is awarded every two years. See also: www.fokolar-bewegung.de Sant’Egidio’s DREAM public health project
Jan 20, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
On 2nd February Fr Susai Alangaram celebrates 25 years of priesthood. He had just six years of experience as a priest in Tiruchirapally,Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India overlooking the Indian Ocean, when he ventured on the task of setting up a project aimed at alleviating the poverty of the children of his parish. He had encountered the Focolare Movement and committed to live for and give witness to unity with fellow priests in a caste ridden society, and with the help of two other priests he started his support at a distance project with 50 children, naming it Ilanthalir, meaning tender shoots of crops, to remind of the tender care needed for the growth and development of these children. Today poor rural children in various villages of five districts of Tamil Nadu are supported by Ilanthalir in an area stretching 125km further south from Tiruchirapally and 70km to the North. After the 2004 Tsunami children from two coastal villages were also sponsored, and they are presently following their university studies. 
The climate in Tamil Nadu is always hot and the monsoons are unpredictable, disrupting crop cultivation and impoverishing farmers. This year there were floods in the northern part of Tamil Nadu and drought in the centre. Many families below the poverty line are more concerned with earning than educating their children, and this gives rise to illiteracy and child labour. Ilanthalir seeks to provide children with their basic necessities and sponsors their education until they are able to find employment and assist their families. This year 456 children are benefiting from direct support and 300 more are receiving assistance from Ilanthalir. As the children are of different faiths Ilanthalir makes arrangements for all to celebrate together their major festivals of Diwali (feast of light), Pongal (harvest festival), Christmas, etc. October is observed as the month for the protection of the environment, and each centre organizes a programme of tree planting, cleaning up of public places, etc. What is striking about the Ilanthalir experience is the impact of the spirituality of unity in a context which would otherwise lead to a culture of survival and isolation. The Word of Life of the Focolare, a commentary on how to live Gospel phrases, is translated into Tamil and distributed to the children and their parents, and once a month they come together to share how they are striving to live the word of God and to renew their commitment to live it. A one day Mariapolis for around 300 people is held every year in Tiruchirapally promoting fraternal interaction. The effort of the children of Ilanthalir to live in this way and their small acts of love make them agents of unity in the family and in their neighbourhood, bringing new hope to many.
https://vimeo.com/155014979
Jan 18, 2016 | Non categorizzato
The news summary will be made available on the Collegamento CH website a few days before the Internet transmission. On the same website one can find all the previous linkups in various languages, as full editions as well as individual news video clips. https://vimeo.com/154703542
Jan 18, 2016 | Non categorizzato
Out of the hundreds of communities that opened over the years in every corner of the world, the spirituality of the Focolare, the one in the Arab Emirates is particularly original and unique. It is in fact, a group composed of members of the Movement who are not natives of the place. There are often entire families from various countries of Asia and the Middle East, and also from Europe and Latin America, who landed in the Persian Gulf for employment purposes, and will leave once their contracts terminate. In fact, 90% of the Emirates population is composed of foreigners who are temporarily based, and the group of the Focolare is part of this section of the country. Last 15 January, in one of the hotels of this world financial capital, around 80 people got together. They belonged to the most varied professions and jobs: construction engineers, embassy clerks, teachers and professors of high schools, nurses, computer staff, university researchers and even humble labourers. Some have been here for years, grew up in this world, and witnessed the vertiginous growth of the country, while others have just arrived. Some of their children were born here, and others will leave soon. The reasons for these transfers are often connected to difficult economic situations in their countries of origin, with salaries they would never have dreamed of. It is a complex and often surreal situation, a life made up of work in the centre of a society at the apex of consumerism. 
Here the Christians often meet according to their language groups and country of origin, in the Churches of Dubai every Friday, which is a feast day given that this is a Muslim country. The people meeting these days come from every corner of the region: Doha in Qatar or Abu Dhabi, Sharja and Fujera still in the Emirates, and Oman and Bahrain. The occasion for this meeting was the Emirates stopover of Maria Voce and Jesús Morán at the start of the journey in India. It was a moment of sharing with this original community. The morning passed quickly, with the presentation of the history of the presence of the Movement’s members, characterised also by the visits of focolarini from Pakistan, India, the Philippines or other Middle East countries. Then followed some experiences that revealed the true reality of the life lived in this apparent paradise of rampant consumerism, far from one’s own culture, and with the danger of being sucked in by a mentality of commodity, profits and interests. Often, experiences lived in one’s youth and inspired by the spirituality of communion were left aside to find suddenly in these difficult situations, other brothers and sisters who share the charisma of Chiara Lubich. There were situations of difficulty in on-the-job relationships, but also risks of the breakup of families due to consumerism and discarded values of their original countries, and solitude. And yet, even in this corner of the world, a group of people have continued to meet to discuss the Word of Life in the name of the Focolare spirit. Another part of the dialogue with Maria Voce and Jesús Morán focused on these challenges and sufferings, the underlying risks, and the need for a dynamic community that is able to be the nurture the values of Evangelical communion, fraternity, and sobriety. The President and Co-President of the Focolare recalled how the first Christian communities were disseminated in the great Roman Empire and how the Christians, often alone and isolated, were able to resist the temptations of that world thanks to the communities, however small. The image of the desert flowers was often called up during the dialogue, as a reminder of how Chiara in the 1990s, used this image to describe the first members of the Focolare Movement who found themselves in the Arab Emirates. Besides the need to compete for the primacy of love in an environment which was renowned for other types of “firsts,” there was the challenge to remain well-rooted to the present moment. Upon concluding this dialogue, Maria Voce commented that any other method was unthinkable. The country not only guarantees nothing as to long timeframes, since employment contracts may terminate, and a job may be lost due to financial gambling. So what matters ìs to set deep roots also for those who will come, perhaps when those who are living today in the Emirates will have long gone. This community has to continue. At the end of the morning session it was impressive to see the emotions of the faces of many, and also the joy and enthusiasm in having found and rediscovered a spiritual family, and to be aware that also in this place, they are part of this great global family.
