Fontem’s present and future

Jan 6, 2019 | Non categorizzato

For months we’ve been following apprehensively as the situation evolves at Fontem, the first of the Focolare’s little towns in Africa. We were able to reach Margaret Long and Etienne Kenfack, who speak for the community there and let us know the latest. “For Fontem, 2018 was a difficult year,” explains Margaret Long, “because the conflict that is still ongoing in the northwest and southwest regions of the country shows no signs of calming. Many residents have been forced to leave their houses and take shelter in the forest or in nearby cities. The college has been closed for some time, and the hospital is running on a skeleton staff. “Ever since we focolarini left Fontem last October – a difficult decision, but taken together, we were certain it was the right thing to do – many others left as well, especially families who wanted to give their own children the chance to go to school, which was no longer possible in the little town. “Unfortunately we can’t say when life will be able to get back to the way it was. We are in daily contact with those who have stayed: Aracelis Nkeza and Mbe Tasong Charles are carrying on the life of the Focolare community there. “As far as the hospital is concerned,” continues Etienne Kenfack, “the current level of danger does not allow us to guarantee the security and protection of those who work there. We therefore turned to the health authorities to try to understand how to proceed. “Based on their advice, we communicated the situation with employees and concluded our working relationship according to the legal norms there in Cameroon. Those who chose to continue working did so freely under their own personal responsibility. This is why the hospital continues to maintain a minimal level of service for the population.” To the question of what the future holds for the little town, Margaret responds that everyone greatly hopes that people can begin again and life can return to normal. “The closeness of many people around the world who are praying or write to us gives us a lot of strength.” Doubts may arise as to whether the conflict, other than destroying human lives, material goods and even dreams, is compromising Fontem’s mission as Chiara Lubich saw it — to be a beacon of unity and intercultural dialogue for the African continent. Etienne explains that since the early 1960s Chiara compared the little town to a light that originated from the reciprocal love lived by everyone. “Today, 50 years later, it seems that this love and solidarity between everyone has grown. You could even say that the more precarious and dangerous the situation becomes, the more it increases.” Margaret adds that many things have changed in Africa since the beginnings. “In those days the spirituality of unity had only reached Fontem, while today it is in every country on the continent. There is the little town of Man (Mariapolis Vittoria) on the Ivory Coast, which gives witness to intercultural dialogue, and there is also Mariapolis Piero in Kenya, which is a training center for all of Africa in the spirituality of unity. In addition, many focolarini who were at Fontem have now gone to support other focolares on the continent. Despite continual challenges, the uncertainties of each day, and not knowing how it will all end, we are sure that God’s plan for Fontem has not been interrupted. As Pope Francis says, we are only at the beginning, and the Holy Spirit, who renews all things, will surely also remake Fontem.

Stefania Tanesini

The story of the balloons with the acts of love

Jan 4, 2019 | Non categorizzato

In some countries children receive gifts on the feast of the Epiphany. What about the Child Jesus? Who thinks of him? Here’s a story that really happened, as Chiara Lubich told it to children in the little town of Loppiano (Italy).

My dear gen 4, I have to tell you a true story about something that happened at Christmas time, in a city called Vicenza in Italy. It’s a true story. There was a parish priest in that city who hadn’t been there for long and he taught the girls and boys … the art of loving. … But Christmas was coming up and so the Parish priest said to these children: “Look it is going to be Christmas soon so all of you have to try and do many, many, many acts of love for Baby Jesus”, and the Children said, “Yes, we will”. And they started to do many acts of love. On the night before Christmas, before Baby Jesus was born, the parish priest put the manger out in front of the altar, but it was empty because baby Jesus hadn’t been born yet. That evening the children saw the parish priest coming in with a very big parcel filled with a great many little rolls of yellow paper. There were 277 of these little rolls of yellow paper and on each one was written an act of love. So all together there were 277 acts of love. Now what did the Parish Priest do? He took these little rolls of paper and put them into a big sack, he filled up the sack and put it in the manger. He told the children, “Your acts of love will be like a pillow and a mattress for Baby Jesus when he is born. And the children were very happy to hear this. And so Christmas day came. Sometime in the morning, before midday, maybe at 10.30, the parish priest asked the children, “What do you think should we do with these acts of love? Do you know what we can do? We’ll tie them up into little parcels and then tie the parcels onto lots of balloons. We could even make two bunches of balloons and tie on the little parcels full of our acts of love. Then we will send them up to heaven and they will go to Baby Jesus. So all the children started to help. They had to buy the balloons and blow them up. They had to tie up the parcels with their acts of love and tie them onto the balloons and send them up to heaven. And the parish priest helped them send the balloons up into the sky. The children were really happy. They stared up into the sky and saw the balloons floating up higher and higher and becoming smaller and smaller, smaller and smaller until they couldn’t see them anymore. They started to say, “Maybe they will burst. Some of them said, “I bet they have all burst”. Some of them said, “Who knows?. Instead the balloons didn’t burst. Up there, high, high in the sky a strong wind blew up. A very strong wind. And what did the wind do? It tossed the balloons here and there, it blew them higher and further. For an hour, two hours, three hours. And the balloons kept on going where the wind was blowing them. And it kept on blowing them for four hours, five hours, six hours and more. I forgot to tell you that the parish priest had written his phone number on the little parcels. He just stuck it in at the last moment.  Anyway at nine o’clock on Christmas night in a city far, far away from Vicenza, 100 miles from Vicenza and 100 miles is really a lot, in a city called Reggio Emilia there was a big house surrounded by a beautiful garden. Six little children were playing in the garden. They didn’t know anything about the Art of Loving. They were just 6 ordinary children who were outside in the garden playing. But they were very sad because their Christmas party was over. All of a sudden, even though it was quite dark, they looked up and saw many balloons floating down and all these balloons had lots of little parcels tied onto them. When they saw all the little parcels these children were really excited. This was much better than Santa Claus.  This was Baby Jesus who was sending them all these balloons. It was really a miracle that the bunches of balloons made it and didn’t burst.  They didn’t hurt anyone.  They just floated down into this garden. The six children were so excited! They ran inside shouting, “Daddy, Mommy! Look what has happened! A lot of little parcels rained down from heaven and look at what is inside them!” And so their mother and father went outside in the garden to look.  They looked in amazement and they saw all these little parcels filled with little rolls of yellow paper. They unrolled them and started to read.  One of them opened the roll of paper and read what was written:  “I said sorry to one of my friends out of love for  Jesus”, that’s one. And another, “Jesus, I offer you the effort it takes me to get up in the morning and go to serve as an altar boy at mass.  And another one, “I did something nice for someone even if it was very hard to do”. And then another one, “I always say I am sorry to God when my grandfather swears”. And then another one, “This week I helped my parents set the table, carry in the shopping, wash the kitchen floor, and sweep my room”. So that child did a lot of things.  And then listen to this one, “I dried the dishes even though by mum didn’t ask me to, and I also helped clean the house”. That one did two acts of love.  And another one, “When my little brother Sebastian doesn’t want to sleep, I pick him up and carry him to my bed or my parents bed and I put him to sleep by singing him songs or telling him stories”. And another one, “When we went swimming I lent my bathing cap to my little brother because he forgot his”.  Just a minute, I have got another one, I have only brought some to them with me because there were 277 of them and that’s really a lot!  Listen to this one. “I peeled an orange for my grandpa because I know his hands hurt — and I tied my cousins shoe laces because my grandma’s back was sore”. This boy was really caring for everyone.  And there is one more. It’s the last one. “I did what the cube told me: “To be the first to love” because when I went to confession there were lots of children in a long line waiting and I let them all go ahead of me.” That’s just a few experiences these children had written. So what happened to all these little rolls of paper? Well, like I said, those 6 children took them to their mom and dad who noticed that among all those experiences there was also the phone number of the parish priest. So what did they do? It was nine o’clock at night, so quite late. But they picked up the phone just the same and called the number. The parish priest answered and they asked, “Are you Father John”? “Yes, that’s me.” “Well we are in Reggio Emilia and all these balloons floated down into our garden, with all these acts of love from the children in your parish. What will we do with them?” So they decided that the children would take the 277 acts of love to their school to show their teacher and their friends. In that school now all the children are writing to the children in Vicenza, so these 6 children and their friends will learn to do acts of love.   Source: Chiara Lubich Center 

Congo -The vital “chaos” of a growing community

Jan 3, 2019 | Non categorizzato

Lubumbashi, important mining city with a million and a half inhabitants, in the South of the Country, is home to the women’s focolare center. Amisa Tabu lives here and shares with us the life of this community that radiates its action in eight provinces in Katanga and Kasai Amisa, how was the Focolare communityà born in this territory? 30 years ago, some missionaries came to Lubumbashi and gave life to a small community which was 2,000 km from Kinshasa, and in 2011 they requested for the presence of the focolare. When the Movement gave three lines of action: «go out, together, suitably prepared», with the invitation of Pope Francis to go towards the «existential peripheries», we felt called to do so because «we were always the same people». We understood that it was not enough to tell people that God is Love, but we now had to make this concrete. The push given by New Humanty was important for us: bear witness to the Gospel lived in the various work environments, such as healthcare, education, the exercise of justice, business, etc. Living in this way we realized that the community began to grow. The ideal of life that we were proposing suddenly became attractive. What is the focolare place in a growing community? We keep our doors always open. Chiara Lubich left us with her testament “always be a family”. The people must be able to make the experience of being a family whose supernatural bond must exceed that of a natural one. Hospitality is a living part  of our culture. In focolare we don’t have a fixed schedule and everyone comes whenever they can. What do you do for the local Church? In July 2017 we held two schools in the minor and major Seminaries, with 140 participants. It was followed by a retreat/school for 104 priests coming from different Dioceses of Congo. We feel the support of the Church. Some preists promote the spirit of communion of the Movement in their parishes. And for society? We are striving to develop the project of Economy of Communion. There are 44 entrepreneurs who are attending our formation courses, like the one held in Nairobi in 2015, and they have begun to get involved and commit themselves. The social and political situation of the Democratic Republic of Congo is not one of the  most reassuring: there is violence and corruption. It is therefore necessary to insist on the formation of “new men” with the instruments that have matured in the experience of the Focolare Movement. When the focolare center came to Lubumbashi the community had only about a hundred members, now we are around 500 with the blossoming of vocations in the various expressions of the Movement.

edited by Gianna Sibelli

Step by step towards “Zero Hunger”

Jan 2, 2019 | Non categorizzato

Think big and begin small, look at the world but start from your own neighbourhood

It is precisely in synergy with the organizations in the city that this action brought ahead by teens from Lebanon started. In collaboration with Caritas, they gathered together more than sixty elderly who live in situations of solitude and financial difficulty. They prepared and served them lunch and organized dances and games. At the conclusion, one of the young girls asked the animator of their group if they could do this every week. «But we need a big budget to do this» she replied. «You adults – the young girl said – always think about big projects, but we must begin with small gestures». Involving one of her friends and other adults, they began a small activity: they prepare a meal together every two weeks which they bring to a family in difficulty, spending the afternoon with them.

Anna Lisa Innocenti

Nine questions to Maria Voce

Jan 1, 2019 | Non categorizzato

From an interview with Focolare President Maria Voce, originally published in the January issue of Neue Stadt magazine 1. What makes you laugh? Bloopers. For example I’m walking, I don’t see a step and find myself on the ground. I laugh so hard inside it’s difficult to get up! 2. What gets you mad? I don’t feel anger grow inside me. At the most I feel sorry – for something that’s happened, that’s been said to me or annoyed me. 3. What’s been the most important experience of your life? When I met a group of young people whose unity and witness fascinated me. They were consistent with the Christianity they lived, loving and being at the service of everyone, without ever judging anyone. This led to me getting to know the Focolare. My life changed the moment I truly listened to someone, thinking that he was my brother, that Jesus was within him. 4. What are your weaknesses? Curiosity. When I hear two people talking outside my door I can’t help but bend an ear. Each time I have to take a step and set that aside. 5. And your strengths? Optimism and trust. I trust in God and in others, even if I don’t know them, even if I realize that my trust is misplaced. This makes it easy to relate to others. 6. Where is your favorite place? I like the whole world. But in terms of a favorite place, I think of a comfortable house, where there are people with whom I can have true, deep communion. If possible, it would be a warm place with sun – on the shore! In my mind this house would be in a city, since I am a pretty social person. 7. What helps you rebuild your strength? A good sleep after having lived the present moment well and entrusted my worries to the Eternal Father. 8. What worries you? Everything that has to do with conflict and hostility: wars, family quarrels, unresolved problems. Many times there is nothing I can do about it, but if I can, I try to find a solution or help others find one. 9. What do you have at heart as you guide the Focolare Movement? For the movement to be an authentic witness of the charism of unity. There are groups all over the world who are living it this very moment. This gives me peace, it gives me confidence. This is where new ideas are born – new ways of incarnating. May they bring the charism of unity forward so that it achieves the goal Jesus prayed for: “That they may all be one.”

“ Create equality so as to bring about peace”

Dec 31, 2018 | Non categorizzato

On the occasion of the 52nd World Day of Peace, and in support of the Pope’s message “Good politics is at the service of peace”, we publish an extract of Chiara Lubich’s talk during a meeting of Teens for Unity, the young people of the Focolare Movement, gathered at the Colosseum in Rome in 2002. What is the key to promoting peace? Living the golden rule for building universal brotherhood. https://vimeo.com/148206157 Peace. Is peace of such great interest today? Yes it is, of course, and perhaps more than ever before. Not only because dozens of wars are ongoing in the world today, but also because peace is threatened in a different, more insidious way. … The situation is serious. If this is how things are, it is not enough to oppose such great danger with merely human strength. We need to engage the forces of good with a capital G. You all know what this Good is: it is God and all that is rooted in him. It is the world of the spirit, of great values, of authentic love and prayer. … However, peace is so precious that all of us, adults and young people, leaders and ordinary citizens, must be actively involved in safeguarding it. … Naturally, in order to know what to do, we need to be familiar with the deepest causes of this dramatic situation today. You all know that justice does not prevail in the world, that there are rich countries and poor countries, where there is hunger. Instead, God’s plan for humanity is that all people should be brothers and sisters, in one big family with one Father. … Well then, how can we create greater equality, how can we bring about some sort of communion of goods? It is obvious thatgoods cannot move unless hearts are moved. Therefore, we need to spread love, the reciprocal love that generates brother and sisterhood among all. We need to invade the world with love! Beginning with ourselves, and with you, boys and girls. Someone here might ask, “Is love, loving one another, compatible with the lifestyle our cultures have handed down to us? Yes, it is. Look in your sacred Books and in almost all of them, you will find the so-called “Golden Rule”. The Christian text says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Lk 6:31). Judaism says, “Do to no one what you yourself dislike” (Tobit 4:15). In Islam “None of you is a true believer if you do not desire for your brother what you desire for yourself” (Hadith 13, Al Bukhari). In Hinduism, “Do not do to others what would make you suffer if it were done to you” (Mahabharata 5: 1517). All these phrases mean, respect and love your neighbour. If you, a Muslim boy or girl, love, and you, a Christian, love, and you, a Jew, love, and you, a Hindu, love, you will certainly reach the point of loving one another. The same for everyone. This would already create a chunk/portion of universal fraternity. … Therefore, loving is one of the great secrets of our time. Loving with a special kind of love. It is certainly not a love directed only towards our relatives and friends. This love is directed towards everyone, those who are more or less nice, rich or poor, children or adults, from your own country or foreigners, friends or enemies… Towards everyone. We should be the first to love, by taking the initiative, without waiting to be loved. We should love not only with words, but also concretely, with facts; and we should love one another. … if you do this, if we all do this, universal brotherhood will spread, solidarity will grow, goods will be better distributed, and the rainbow of peace will shine over the world, a world which will be in your hands in a few years’ time. Chiara Lubich (Collegamento CH – 5th. december 2015)

A dream job

Dec 31, 2018 | Non categorizzato

Losing your job at 53 years of age, with three dependent children, would test anyone’s resolve. But Mirco didn’t allow himself to get discouraged. He went back to college and launched himself on a new career using dance to help people to connect and express their emotions. «Someone asked me, “Why don’t you transform your passion into your work?” And so began the challenge – far from easy – to create a new professional identity for myself». Today Mirco Castello is an Art Counsellor, but only after losing his “secure” job in the textile and fashion industry in 2008, after which it became harder and harder to balance the family budget. «I tried to listen to the advice people were giving me, but most of all to a “voice” inside of me which kept prompting me not to miss this opportunity. In fact, for many years I had dedicated my spare time to my real passion: mime, acting and dance. I started looking for ways of transforming this passion into a service which could meet the needs of others, particularly of children. I launched a dance and music play project in a nursery and primary school». As child psychologists maintain, dance has the power to help children find new balance and harmony within themselves. But a good idea and enthusiasm are not enough. To work in a professional educational environment, the right credentials are required. So Mirco went back to college, successfully studying for an Arts Counsellor diploma and a Masters degree in Family Mediation. He then contacted schools across Italy, in both the state and private sectors, he set up his own website (www.ledanzedimirco.it), and began offering training for teachers and sessions for children. «Since 2008 I’ve been managing – just – to make a living for my family, always hoping that no unexpected expense will crop up. But I have to say that we’ve never actually been lacking. With the profound relationship of unity with my wife, and with my friends in the Focolare Movement to sustain me, I’ve been able to entrust myself completely to God. I find He shows me the steps I have to take. Through my work, I can testify to the experience that He loves me and does not abandon me. I consider Him to be my new employer!».

Currently, Mirco is running a project in Italy and other European countries involving 2,000 children annually. «I engage children in play through music and can immediately recognise many forms unhappiness. How children suffer these days! So many are lacking in values, the security of boundaries and rules, their own autonomy, or are living through the separation or even conflict between their parents». Together with his wife, Mirco also runs a project for adults, facilitating «openness, assertiveness, understanding, forgiveness». And Mirco’s horizons continue to widen. «You know, for ten years, my wife and I could not even think about taking a holiday. Now, we’ve been invited to go to Kenya in January, to work with children in two schools and an orphanage. We’ve also received another invitation to go to Russia. Tell me, if this is not the love of my new employer!»

A cura di Chiara Favotti

Jesus is left out!

Dec 29, 2018 | Non categorizzato

This year too as Christmas approaches there is a lot of buzz among the children of the Focolare Movement who are serious in sharing to others the invitation to welcome Jesus in those who are suffering

Pope Francis, during the Christmas of 2017, invited us to see to it that: «Our heart is not closed like the houses of Bethlehem were»¹. Taking this invitation of the Pope seriously, with the support of their assistants, the involvement of their parents, teachers, classmates, their activity called «Jesus is left out!» (Hanno sloggiato Gesù) (HSG) is directing itself towards supporting projects of hospitality to help those who are marginalized or who suffer due to wars, injustices, those who are homeless or are forced to leave their homeland.

In this unique «framework» of hospitality, they have set-up small workshops to make little statues of Baby Jesus to offer in the streets, the town or city squares, in the most varied places so as to share with everyone that the real meaning of Christmas is Jesus who is born for everyone, today like yesterday, and that He is waiting for us to welcome Him in all those who are in need. The action of “HSG” conducted by the littlest ones, brings with it the profound values of Christmas: giving oneself, gratitude, unconditional love, generosity. This indirectly also reinforces these values in adults and in families. The production of the little statues promotes manual, creative and immaginative skills, collaboration, planning and self-expression. It develops in the children a sense of active citizenship, solidarity, fraternity, also through the fund-raising activities that provide concrete answers to the needs of children in different parts of the world. It stimulates the desire to give. Many people in fact, spontaneously leave a donation to support these initiatives. Experiences have been shared by adults who have received the message from the little ones on how, with love, they would like to find a home for Jesus at least this Christmas. «It is really life-changing to enter a supermarket and be welcomed by these children who smilingly offer you Baby Jesus», exclaimed a gentleman from Florence. «We think we can find everything in a supermarket but I never imagined that I would go home bringing Jesus with me!».

prepared by Rosi Bertolasso

The first issue of Ekklesía is out

Dec 28, 2018 | Non categorizzato

A quarterly journal for those who work at all levels in the ecclesial ambit. The subheading “Pathways of Communion and Dialogue” describes the type of content that characterises it. Born in synergy between the Focolare Movement and the Città Nuova Publishing Group, this journal, in both printed and digital form, released its first issue in Italian, but articles in English are also foreseen. Other language editions are expected to be published in the near future. It is presented as an instrument of formation, as an aid for action and as a source of inspiration in the search for new ways and expressions to share the Gospel with the men and women of our time. It is aimed at pastoral workers and animators, members of religious organisations (consecrated persons and laity), people involved in parishes or dioceses, people belonging to ecclesial movements or associations, but it will also dedicate space to the relationship between different Churches and world religions, to the encounter between different beliefs and cultures, to the renewal of Church and society. Each issue will focus on a particular theme. “The Greek word ekklesía means ‘assembly’, people who know they are summoned and called together to be protagonists in the journey of a people,” reads the editorial of the first issue. “The subheading pathways refers to the experimental and in-depth nature of the publication; communion and dialogue defines the direction in which it is heading but also its style. We hope that the journal, in both printed and digital form, and in all its subsequent language editions, may express and be of service to the community.” The authors include: Piero Coda (theologian), Vincenzo Zani (Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education), Tiziana Longhitano SFP, Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi (Archbishop of Aquila), Gerard Rossé (exegete), Brendan Leahy (Bishop of Limerick, Ireland), Jesús Morán (Co-President of the Focolare Movement), Fabio Ciardi OMI (expert on consecrated life), Susana Nuin (communications expert from Columbia), Callan Slipper (Anglican theologian) and Stefan Tobler Evangelical theologian. More details and journal subscription: www.cittanuova.it Email: ekklesia(at)cittanuova.it / abbonamenti(at)cittanuova.it

Thirst for unity in the land of eagles

Dec 27, 2018 | Non categorizzato

Twenty-five years of the Focolare in Albania “We, who have followed the developments of the Focolare Movement in the world and in Albania, have noted the Focolare’s concrete response to our need for unity.” Words pronounced by Donika Omari, an Albanian journalist and translator without any religious convictions, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the arrival of the spirituality of unity in the ‘Land of Eagles’. Albania still suffers from social, regional, ideological and religious divisions. A country made up of Muslims, with the presence of the Sufi religious brotherhood of Bektashi; Christians, mostly Catholic and Orthodox; and many people who do not recognize themselves in any religious belief. “Chiara Lubich’s message of unity overcoming divisions of all kinds among people – continues Donika Omari – has been healthy for our land.” In 1991, the first focolarino, Gigi Franco arrived in Durazzo and was welcomed by a family. Then, the second focolarino arrived and the male Focolare centre was opened in Tirana, followed some years later by the female one. Since then a community has been forming, which includes today Christians, Muslims and people without a religious belief. “The spirit of ‘becoming one with the neighbour’, the brotherhood among people without distinction of social category, race, nationality, ideology – explains Donika Omari – are messages that have attracted me to this Movement from the beginning. We feel this need for our country where old and new upheavals have hindered the normalization of human relations.” The country has experienced very painful moments, such as the 1999 war in Kosovo, but the Focolare Movement all over the world helped us. They helped to raise funds, take in over 500,000 refugees, and also helped out in reconstructing the country after the war. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Focolare in Tirana, a public event was held in the Great Hall of the Catholic University “Our Lady of Good Counsel” where Chiara Lubich’s book in Albanian, “Una via nuova”, was presented. There were about two hundred participants, with representatives from Kosovo and Macedonia. Among them was the Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr. Charles Brown, the Catholic Archbishop, Msgr. Frendo, the Cathedral of Tirana’s Orthodox Bishop, Asti Bakallbashi, and a Muslim Pedagogy professor from the University of Skopje, Prof. Shehu. “This anniversary is a sign of continuity and development. It gave me the joy to see that despite the invasion of consumerism and the anxiety for a precarious future, leading many to think of expatriation, the family and social values of Albanian society are still intact even among the youth,” says Livio Brianza, who has lived in the Focolare of Tirana for twelve years. The Focolare Movement’s President, Maria Voce, sent a message to the Albanian Focolare community in which she expressed: “nourished and strengthened by continuous mutual love and by an ever more intense presence of the Love of loves among you, may you contribute in making your cities ‘shine like gold’ with increased commitment.” “Twenty-five years ago I wanted to change the world – says Madi Roço, an Albanian and a legal expert in environmental legislation – I was very confident that I would see the world united with my own eyes. I still have the same dream, loud and clear. Seeing the Focolare ‘family’ grow and join me, has ‘armed’ me with the courage to move forward.”

Cristina Tomelleri

Pietrino, a model for all of us

Dec 25, 2018 | Non categorizzato

On the way to sainthood: an Italian teenager who lived the Focolare spirituality. On 10 December the diocesan phase of the process of Pietrino Di Natale’s Beatification was launched at a solemn ceremony in Teramo Cathedral. In a year in which the Catholic Church has dedicated great attention to the youth, it seems fitting that Pietrino’s name was proclaimed as a model for all, in a packed Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral, in the heart of ancient Teramo, in the Abuzzo region of Italy, on what would have been his birthday. In 1984, Pietrino De Natale was a 17 year-old high school student when he drowned in the waters off Silvi, a coastal town near his home. Every year since then on 20th August an increasingly large crowd gathers at the small cemetery of Colledara to pass on testimonies, remembering his example of being a “cornerstone”, a fulfilled Christian, someone whose life “has to do with holiness”. Pietrino – “little Pietro” – was named after his father who died in a work accident before Pietrino was born. He grew up in the small village of Ornano Piccolo, which offered a protective environment for the young widow, Adelina and her son. At 11 years old, Pietrino got to know the Focolare spirituality through two young parish priests, don Gianfranco De Luca, now Bishop of Termoli-Larino, and don Giovanni D’Annunzio, currently responsible for the Focolare’s Diocesan Movement. It was a crucial meeting for young Pietrino. He drew from it the gift of a luminous certainty in the love of God, which propelled him to seek Jesus in every day life. Don Giovanni recently wrote: «Pietrino’s heart was only for God. An important step ahead was his participation in the Focolare congress for young people in 1978. (…) When he came back from there, I noticed how launched he was in living every moment profoundly. His race towards holiness had begun». In the months ahead, testimonies of those who knew him will be collected. In the meantime, there is a short biography in Italian (Teresa D’Orsogna, Pietrino Di Natale. … sono scattato ad amare…, ed. Palumbi, 2018) for those who would like to get to know more about this young man who continues to inspire many young – and not so young – people to follow Jesus along the pathway to unity.

Chiara Favotti

“Yes” to humanity

Dec 21, 2018 | Non categorizzato

Christmas greetings from Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement. https://vimeo.com/307656906 It’s Christmas! If I look around me, in towns and cities but also in the media, I often ask myself, “What is Christmas really about?” It is as though there is a din all around me, because it seems to be made up of dinners, gifts, decorations, lights and street markets. And all this din seems to be trying to hide – without succeeding – the cry of pain and suffering on the part of so many people in the world who are calling out for solidarity, respect, welcome, peace and justice. They are really appealing for love. And human beings don’t know how to give them love, but God does. God knows how to give love and he does so. The little Child we see in the crib this Christmas, as in all the other Christmases, tells of God’s love. God so loved humankind as to become one of us, becoming small and defenceless, facing all kinds of sufferings, not only facing them but actually experiencing them, all the sufferings of humankind and death itself. Coming to live among people on earth was God’s way of saying “yes” to humankind once more, to reunite them again with him. God’s ‘yes’ to humankind is represented by that little Child in Bethlehem, by that baby whose name people don’t even want to hear mentioned any more. I visited a country where in order to keep the festive atmosphere of Christmas without referring to God, people invented a “Winter Festival” to be able to celebrate. Yet even so, God loves each person and continues to love everyone, telling us so once more. This Child not only shows us God’s love but shares this love with us. He gives us love, helping us to live it and teaching us what to do. He then wants us to do the same, to be witnesses of God’s love to other people, giving God’s love to others, a love like his. God’s love does not have preferences. It is a love that reaches everyone, that does not put up barriers; it is not prejudiced and does not discriminate between people. This love can open our hearts, our hands, our arms, our wallets and our homes. If this kind of love is alive among people, then God himself lives among them. Only God can make everyone feel at home, creating a family among everyone, all brothers and sisters, a real celebration. Christmas is like this. If we live in this way, it is a real Christmas for us. This is the Christmas I wish for all of you. Happy Christmas!

City of Fraternity 2019

Dec 20, 2018 | Non categorizzato

An award for the body of people that perseveres in promoting initiatives that create fraternity in their area and translates this universal value into civic and political commitment. Nominations for the annual “Chiara Lubich International Award for fraternity” should be made by Jan 15 2019. This award is open to local authorities (provincial, regional or rural communities) from any part of the world, be they large or small organisations.  Awards are made to projects that initiate or spread activities promoting universal fraternity usually at the local level.  However, projects may also be on a national or international scale. They should reflect an understanding of the meaning of universal fraternity and encourage citizens to show commitment in working for the common good and to play an active role in the community.  The projects should facilitate the growth of a culture of active and inclusive citizenship.  They should also favour collaboration and synergy among areas of administration, local communities and civil society such as associations, groups and committees and they should make an impact upon these areas.  The projects should be typical of a sustained way of working in that area favouring fraternity and should not be “one-off” actions. Presentations of the projects can take the form of text or text with links to audio-visual material.  Nominations and supporting material should be sent to Presidenza dell’Associazione “Città per la Fraternità”, c/o Comune di Castel Gandolfo, Piazza Libertà, 7 – 00040 Castel Gandolfo – Rome (Italy).  Alternatively, if electronic transfer is possible, they can be sent to associazionecittafraernita(at)gmail.com o info(at)cittaperlafraternita.org The nominations should include the following details: the name of the authority or organisation, the leader’s personal details, the full address and contact details, the name of the project or initiative and an abstract (maximum three sides of A4) that describes the project and how it functions. The award giving will take place in S. Maria Capua Vetere- Caserta (Italy) in February 2019. For further information: Associazione “Città per la Fraternità”, telephone +39 340 4182127 – +39 347 4573988; e-mail: associazionecittafraternita(at)gmail.com – info(at)cittaperlafraternita.org.

Mariapolis Lia 1968-2018 – the “revolution” continues

Dec 19, 2018 | Non categorizzato

The little focolare town in Argentina is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Pat Santoianni, Cecilia Gatti, Adriana Otero and Israele Coelho speak about its contribution to the formation of young people. The little town of O’Higgins in Argentina has just celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. It is one of the twenty-five permanent Mariapoli in the world. Considering that its purpose is the formation of young people, 1968 – a year of great protest and unrest among youth – was a perfect time to begin. The little town seemed to have had a star shining down upon it. Nowadays, O’Higgins is known as Mariapolis Lia. It is named after Lia Brunet who was one of the first people, in the 40’s, who shared Chiara Lubich’s life and ideals. She was courageous and open-minded – a real pioneer in this Focolare town in South America. To date, over 3,500 young people from all over the world have gone to Mariapolis Lia for an “experiencia”; in other words, they have chosen to spend a few months or a maximum of two years in the little town, working, studying and experiencing what it means to live in a multi- cultural environment where the spirituality of unity reigns. After this time, they return to their own homes, enriched by this human and intellectual experience that has opened their hearts and minds to other people and cultures. Pat Santoianni, anthropologist and co-responsible for the Formation at Mariapolis Lia said, “Over the years, we have developed the formation process: one of the chief elements is that the whole social body contributes to formation. Therefore, our course is anthropological and existential and impacts upon life, thought and action.” Adriana Otero, biologist and one of the formation co-ordinators said that the course has a holistic approach. She said, “We try to keep up with both the challenges and risks that young people face in today’s society – relationships, choices, freedom, social and civil commitment, dialogue among different cultures and among different generations and technology. Work is also an important element as, for many young people, this is a new experience.” Cecilia Gatti, a researcher in education, said that relationships lie at the heart of the educational process. “Education means relationship. This is a concept drawn from the Focolare spirituality of unity that is central to our formation programme. Relationships with other people enable me to build strong bonds, to see my life in a different way, to contribute to and engage with society. Our school is a little town where everything provides an opportunity to learn – every relationship, every dialogue, every meeting.” In an age of technological advances such as Web 4.0, the obvious question is how can O’Higgins, a small village in the middle of the Argentinian pampas, really work as a location for the formation of these young millennials. Israele Coelho, a Brazilian expert in education and co-responsible for the formation course said the experience itself is proof of its validity. “Although this place, in the middle of nowhere, could seem to be a contradiction in terms, it still continues to be an environment where young people can focus upon themselves, experience an interior silence and develop their relationship with God and other people. For many young people, this “experiencia” is an important time for making fundamental choices in life.”

Stefania Tanesini

The challenge of Maurizio and Roberto

Dec 18, 2018 | Non categorizzato

In the “Ecopesce” (Ecofish) workshop and the shop called “E Nustren” nothing is thrown away. This is the philosophy behind a small business based at Cesenatico in Italy that processes and sells fish from the Adriatic Sea, using only refrigeration technology. What reaches the customers’ table is a product that would otherwise not be valued or perhaps even thrown away. All this happens by putting sharing before economics. https://vimeo.com/301634595

Mexican-USA Border/2: the long trip

Dec 17, 2018 | Non categorizzato

Christopher Jimènez, member of the Focolare Movement community in Mexico, tells about the migrants’ long exodus from Honduras, while remaining weeks at the foot of the wall bordering the United States. “On 12th October, we received several calls through the social network—affirm Christopher Jimènez, who collaborates with the association Promozione Intergrare della Persona (PIP) — making it viral in a short time. More than thousands of Hondurans left San Pedro Sula”, a city, which until 2014, has been considered for years among the most violent on the planet. From that time on, the whole world has been witnessing what has been defined by many as a biblical exodus. “A week after the caravan crossed the border of Mexico, numerous civil society organizations and government agencies have already set out to provide humanitarian aid, first at Chiapas, then at Oaxaca and Veracruz.” At that point, it was no longer a question of a single contingent of migrants, but of different groups that proceeded in waves, on foot or by some lucky means, crossing the country for thousands of kilometres. “At the end of October – continued Christopher – when their arrival in Mexico City was imminent, an interruption of the drinking water was scheduled for the over four million inhabitants of the capital, due to a serious water problem. Yet, many civil and religious organizations, despite the hardships and intense cold, have responded to the invitation of the local Human Rights Commission, setting up a humanitarian camp to the westside of the city. The Focolare also joined. About thirty people, including doctors, nurses, students, housewives, went to the relief and meal-clothing distribution points. Also, another group organized a collection of basic necessities and a civil association, inspired by the Focolare spirit, offered technical and logistic collaborations.” On the morning of 5th November, about five thousand migrants arrived in the capital. Almost ten thousand people received hospitality, food, blankets, and clothing in the following days. “Despite the solidarity of many, their passage was not free from friction and violence. Some incidents have been on the verge of causing serious episodes of xenophobia. Now the wave of migrants is waiting impatiently under the impassable wall that separates the Mexican city of Tijuana from the United States. We are expecting days of great uncertainty. But in their passage, even amid the pitfalls of a very complex path, they have indicated, the direction by which their dream moves, to the heart of the Mexican people.”

Chiara Favotti

U.S.-Mexico border: Welcoming migrants and giving hope

Dec 17, 2018 | Non categorizzato

Despite the media spotlights turning on and off on the drama that continues at the border between Mexico and the U.S., there are many people and organizations, including Focolare, who have not abandoned the migrants there. In past weeks, news and images of thousands of people marching from Honduras toward the U.S. border have gone around the world. “In this region, the phenomenon of migrants is really common,” explains Sandra Garcia-Farias Herrera of the Focolare community in Northwest Mexico. “Mexicali and Tijuana are border cities, having grown because of the high number of people who have arrived here dreaming to enter the United States. Yet what we’ve witnessed in the past month is unprecedented. “The people themselves cannot understand how the phenomenon has reached these proportions, or what would have pushed so many families to leave everything behind, even during rough weather, and get on the road. “Here is where the road ends, and it seems that their dreams shatter. Streets and public places have become camps. There is a lot of confusion, and we’ve witnessed violence, the closure of border crossings into the U.S., the installation of razor wire along the wall, and a huge deployment of police forces protecting the borders, with helicopters and armed vehicles never seen before. It feels like war is about to break out. “The lack of information as to what pushed these people to move, as well as news from mainstream and social media, has caused the residents of Mexico to have mixed feelings, from hostility, resentment, to even episodes of xenophobia.” While some young people from Focolare are trying to find a way to enter into the migrant camps – for many the final destination of their Mexican journey – others have reached out to migrants in the street, trying to understand what motivates them, and especially their needs. One family drove two women with small children as far as Tijuana, so they could avoid the extremely arduous route. Others who work at an education center suggested students change their cultural attitudes to show migrants solidarity and the sense of fraternity that every person deserves. “The priority now is to oppose the rampant confusion and the intolerant acts that come from it, even among young people. We need to spread a culture of welcoming.”

Chiara Favotti

Prophetic Economy – network for the common good

Dec 14, 2018 | Non categorizzato

There is much good practice going on and prophetic experiences which engage in alternative economic models directed towards integral human development and sustainability. The Prophetic Economy event formed a network to bring together some of these experiences that want to change the world… https://vimeo.com/301634789

Changing Islamic-Christian recounts

Dec 13, 2018 | Non categorizzato

The Islamic-Christian Workshops, which took place in the little town of Loppiano and the city of Trento, deny the current narrations of hatred and mistrust between the two religions. Trento, 7 December 2018. The Week of Unity, which was organized by the Focolare Movement: Sophia University Institute (IUS) and the Center for Interreligious Dialogue, in concordance with the Risalat International Institute of Qum (Iran) has ended. The date, place and research group set-up are not casual. In Fact, the date marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of Chiara Lubich‘s choice to dedicate her life to God, leaving everything to follow him. The protagonists, majority youth, are composed of about fifty people, Shiite Muslims and Catholics, coming from various countries: Lebanon, Egypt, Iran, United Arab Emirates, USA, England, Canada, Argentina, and Italy. This initiative took shape about less than three years ago, marking the twenty-year long path of friendship between Prof. Mohammad Shomali, his wife Mahnaz, and the Focolare Movement. From this friendship, both intellectual and personal, Prof. Shomali of the Risalat International Institute of Qum and Prof. Piero Coda of IUS, had the idea of leading a small group of Muslim and Christian academics from both institutes, to reflect on a crucial theme: unity of God and unity in God. This brought about the understanding of the Islamic sensibility of absolute monotheism that opens up to the Christian perspective of God as dialogue. There were many voices of reflections, which bring different thoughts and traditions that demonstrate and not impose the Truth, but walk together towards it. The lectures touched on key points like the world’s globalized culture and the fundamental truths proposed by the two faiths, but above all, it made an experience of hearts and minds leading to a real Shekinah, which is the presence of God’s peace among the faithful. This experience did not limit itself to the sole participants, but expanded in two precious moments of sharing. The first was in the International Centre in Incisa Val d’Arno (Loppiano), while the second was in the Mariapolis Chiara Lubich Center in Cadine (Trento). Those from Loppiano and Trento did not only listen to an experience that seems to dramatically contradict the current accounts regarding the relations between Christians and Muslims, which speak of fear, rejection, and invasion. They were able to make a profound experience of mutual enrichment, in a climate of peace that makes living and building, what Pope Francis calls, a ‘culture of encounter’ possible.

Roberto Catalano

Algerian martyrs: ever faithful to the people

Dec 12, 2018 | Non categorizzato

The most important message from their beatification? The loyalty of these Christians to “their” people to the end.

“What do these 19 Christian martyrs teach us Algerians today? To give our lives for each other, without distinguishing by race or religion. They sacrificed their lives for us foreigners, for the Algerian people, Christians and Muslims. They also died for those who made war against them. This is why there was no question: we immediately made ourselves available and worked together for their beatification.” This was how Karima Kerzabi, a Muslim woman from the Focolare community in Algeria, responded when we telephoned her. We also called Giorgio Triulzi, one of the first focolarini to live at the Tlemcen focolare, since 1983, so we could hear insiders tell of the beatification of Christian martyrs at Orano on December 8.

It was a one-of-a-kind beatification, since this highest recognition given by the Catholic Church to its members occurred in Algeria, which is 99% Muslim. It is a country that from 1991 to 2001 – the “black decade” – saw death and destruction from Islamic fundamentalism. “Now the heroic lives of these Christians are being recognized,” explains Triulzi, “but what’s important to know is that, besides them, there were also thousands of Muslims among the population who were victims: imams, intellectuals, artists, journalists, doctors, lawyers, judges and teachers, as well as women and children. I think that the most important message that this beatification in the land of Islam can say to the world is that these martyrs stayed faithful to ‘their’ people until the end.”

Br. Christian De Chergé (left) in 1989 in Tlemcen with Bishop C. Rouault and Giorgio Triulzi

Triulzi remembers the many meetings with some of the Thibirine monks who have just risen to the honor of the altar, especially their prior, Fr. Christian De Chergé. “I got to know Christian because he often stayed with us at Tlemcen on his trips to Morocco. It was a simple rapport, as people who had given our lives to God, and for this reason we recognized each other as family. He was without a doubt a man of God, as he confirmed in writing his spiritual testament: “If one day it happens that – as it could even today – I become a victim of the terrorism that threatens to involve all foreigners who live in Algeria, I would want my community, my Church, my family to remember that my life was ‘given’ to God in this country.” “Christian and the others,”

Triulzi adds, “are saints because of the choice they made to stay among those who had become ‘their’ people. God puts us somewhere and we stay faithful to him. I must say that the beatification also confirms the lifestyle of faith of many who have stayed during this decade. It is the Church in Algeria that should be beatified, precisely because of the choice to stay faithful to the people here.” “What stays with me from this experience?” asks Karima. The fact that we can give our lives for all our brothers and sisters, and that this is something magnificent. In time we will understand the value of the gift of these lives.”

Stefania Tanesini

Christian lawyers in London

Dec 11, 2018 | Non categorizzato

Lawyers and legal students from different Christian churches meet to encourage each other to live out the Gospel in their professional life. “The gospel has profound implications for the legal world. The Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship exists to bring the whole Good News of Jesus Christ within the legal world” (LCF website). Founded in 1852, the LCF unites Christian lawyers from all around Britain, as well as forging international links among legal professionals. It promotes three main areas of action: to live according to the “law of the Gospel” in one’s daily life; to form young legal professionals; to be active on an international level. As part of this third aspect, the LCF held a conference in November entitled: “A lawyer after God’s own heart: Lessons from Psalm 119”, inviting representatives of the “Communion and Law” international network of legal professionals and students animated by the Focolare spirituality. Elisabetta Scomazzon and Pasquale De Rosa, consultants in the field of canon law, attended for “Communion and Law”. What was the main focus of this meeting of lawyers from different Christian Churches? Elisabetta Scomazzon – Faith was at the centre: the bond which links us together most strongly, even more than the legal profession itself. Meetings like this are particularly significant because starting from being united on a personal level, we move on to find ways ahead in the legal field, for example through a clear uncompromising commitment to defend the weakest in our societies. Through choices like this, those of us active in the legal system can contribute towards building relationships that are more constructive and “fraternal”. During the conference, what points in common and what areas for future development in the legal field did you cover? Pasquale De Rosa –We have in common, above all, the shared commitment to witness to our Christian life in our profession. For example in the lawyer-client relationship and in the various environments a Christian lawyer works: to be authentic witnesses to the “good news” which every Christian carries within. Our work proceeds alongside that of our own Churches. What we have to do, is to collaborate together, starting from what Chiara Lubich called the “dialogue of life”, putting in common our experiences as legal professionals. For example, a pressing concern is that of human rights and how they are under threat in the current world situation. How can Christian lawyers and legal professionals contribute to peace and harmony within their own societies, in today’s climate characterized by divisive ideas and praxis? Elisabetta Scomazzon – Every nation and people has its own order and rules. The Law can actually be an instrument of communion which helps to find solutions to the urgent demands of our planet and to the cry of humanity subjected to injustice, exploitation and war. Christians of different churches finding solutions in the legal field does not need to be an utopian idea, but could be a great opportunity to give hope that unity is possible.

Edited by the editorial team

The common good before nationalism

Dec 10, 2018 | Non categorizzato

During this time of political crisis, Igino Giordani and Tommaso Sorgi encourage us to work on all levels of society to bring democracy back to its very essence –that is to “we”. Two meetings about Igino Giordani and Tommaso Sorgi have taken place recently in Cremona and Teramo, Italy. At both gatherings, there was considerable focus upon the role of the politician as a person who values the common good – the good of humanity – over and above the well-being of his or her own community or nation. This idea and practice is not popular nowadays in this period of unbridled local and national demand. We asked Alberto Lo Presti and Letizia De Torre about the relevance of these two politicians today. Lo Presti is a lecturer in the Social Doctrine of the Church at LUMSA and president of the Igino Giordani Centre and De Torre is a member of the Italian parliament and international co ordinator for the Movement for Politics for unity. What relevance can Giordani and Sorgi have nowadays at a time when the common good seems to be understood only within the context of nationalism and the defence of regional identity? Alberto Lo Presti. There is a great need to tune into figures such as Igino Giordani and Tommaso Sorgi. They lived at a time marked by deep and apparently insurmountable periods of division. They believed in friendship among nations when the whole of history seemed to be taking a turn for the worse and they had a profoundly Christian view of the world. Giordani suffered personally in the two world wars and was regarded as a supporter of peace and justice. He paid the price for his choices of freedom and solidarity. Sorgi was one of the protagonists in the reconstruction of Italy after the second world war and greatly facilitated dialogue between opposing political forces during the time of the Cold War. These two figures teach us that every small action that favours peace and co-operation is a decisive step in the building of a civil order based upon the common good. They would be extremely surprised that in the twenty-first century there is growth in political ideas based upon national supremacy because they personally experienced the destruction brought by such political attitudes in the past. It is not our place to disregard their witness. Both regarded the relationship between the public and their political leaders as very important: Sorgi even formulated the so-called “political pact”. Is this relevant and practical nowadays? Letizia De Torre. Igino Giordani regarded politics as “charity in action – the servant and not the master”. He would never have been able to understand or practice politics based upon injustice and deception of the general public, aiming at power and personal gain. He thought of all citizens as the “masters” that he was called to serve. It was the same for the Honourable Tommaso Sorgi who witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of corruption which is still present in Italy. It was after many episodes of tension and conflict with politicians and public administrators that he drafted an agreement between the elected parliamentary representatives and the public. The agreement had an ethical basis and outlined policy involving everyone. It was a stroke of genius and is very relevant to our current crisis in democracy. We are living through a “post-representative” time; our politicians do not represent our highly complex societies and citizens know how to operate collectively, exerting direct influence. We need to overcome this continuous drift towards individualism and bring democracy back to its essential meaning – “we”. To this end, at our next international meeting “Co- governance and Co-responsibility in our Cities today” which will take place in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, 17 – 20 January 2019 we will work together to produce the outline for a “Pact for our Cities”. This will be the fulfilment of both Giordani’s understanding of politics as charity and the prophetic vision of Sorgi’s “agreement”.

Stefania Tanesini

Maria Voce announces the centenary of Chiara Lubich’s birth (1920-2020)

Dec 7, 2018 | Non categorizzato

In a letter to the whole Focolare Movement, dated 7th December 2018, the 75th anniversary of the day when Chiara Lubich consecrated her life to God, Maria Voce, Focolare President, has announced that during 2020 the centenary of Chiara Lubich’s birth will be celebrated. “We are getting closer to the year 2020 when we will celebrate the centenary of Chiara Lubich’s birth”, Maria Voce wrote. “This anniversary will of course be a unique opportunity; first of all to thank God for the gift that Chiara was for us and for many people across the world. In fact, all of us were won over by the charism God gave to her and that changed or is changing our lives in a deep way. It will be a favourable time in which many other people will be able to meet Chiara who is living today in her Work”. The President ended her letter saying, “From now on, let’s ask for the abundance of the Holy Spirit, for us and all that we want to achieve, but above all for all the people who will have the chance to get to know Chiara and her charism.” In the coming months, the Focolare communities around the world will be planning ways of celebrating this anniversary. A commission has been set up at the international centre of the Focolare Movement, which can be contacted (centenario.chiara (at) focolare.org) to share plans, ask for advice or receive information. Our website, too, will dedicate an area to Chiara’s centenary, where the various activities being held around the world during the anniversary year will be made known.

Today, 75 years ago, it all began

Dec 7, 2018 | Non categorizzato

With her unconditional “yes” to God, Chiara Lubich carried out a simple, transformative act that continues to generate life, organizations and culture. On December 7, 1943 Chiara gave her life to God for always. In 2002 she told some Focolare kids about that cold morning 75 years ago, when she had no intention at all of founding anything. “I had married God! I expected everything of him.” Today more than 2 million people have embraced her spirituality, which has gone beyond geographic and cultural borders worldwide. What happens when someone’s life path comes across Chiara Lubich’s spirituality? We asked Maria Celeste Mancuso and Arthur Ngoy – she’s from Argentina, he’s from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Maria Celeste (teacher): “I got to know about Focolare during the military dictatorship in my country. My 24-year-old brother had been taken and executed, and my family was destroyed by the pain. That was when I met a group of young people from the Focolare who spoke to me about Jesus’ cry of anguish on the cross, and how I could unite my own pain to his. I found the strength to forgive my brother’s killers, and I chose to respond to the call to love everyone, just as Jesus had. Professionally I dedicated myself to teaching young people with disabilities, not just to offer them cultural foundations, but to restore their dignity and respect. Today I no longer feel Argentinian or even South American; I belong to a new culture that views someone else, someone different, as a sibling and that reads history as a journey towards fulfilling universal fraternity.” Arthur (doctor): “I had recently lost some friends in an accident that I had been in. I was at rock bottom, and it was during that time that I heard about Chiara, how she had discovered God’s love during the absurdity of World War II. I understood that my life could also be guided by the Gospel. So I decided to not give in to extortion and corruption, which is so common in my country, and to carry out my profession as a doctor, putting the good of patients above all else. One of the most difficult times of my life was in 2007: my oldest son was killed after an accident. It was an episode that, in African culture, was open to a number of interpretations. There were those who advised that I get a divorce, quit work or even leave my country. Only certainty in what Chiara had taught me – keep loving – helped me to overcome this ordeal and once again find peace at home. I want to thank Chiara for having brought the spirituality of unity to the African continent.”

 Stefania Tanesini

Receptive Ecumenism

Dec 6, 2018 | Non categorizzato

An approach to dialogue amongst Churches that values reciprocity . 2017 marked the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. It was not just a time to recall what happened in the past but an opportunity to reflect upon the progress that has been made in the field of ecumenism. But what is going to happen now? This question was the starting point for the ninety participants at a seminar that took place in the Mariapolis Centre in Zwochau, Germany. It was entitled “Brennpunkt Okumene” (Focus on Ecumenism) and its starting point was “receptive ecumenism.” Paul D. Murray, a Catholic theologian from the University of Durham, England, outlined the ideas that lie at the heart of this approach. He said that it’s not a matter of “what the others can learn from us” but rather a question of “what we can learn from other people.” It is ecumenism based upon listening and reciprocity. Dr. Callan Slipper, an Anglican theologian in London, explained that this approach enables people to learn from one another without hiding the wounds and hurt from the past. In fact, it creates awareness that other people help healing to take place. He and Peter Dettwiler, a theologian from the Reformed Church of Switzerland, gave a presentation that allowed listeners to penetrate the “inner life” of their respective Churches without avoiding the blows and suffering experienced. They then participated in a round table with the woman Pastor Seehafer from the community of the Free and Evangelical Church and Fr. Marcellus Klaus, a Catholic priest, offering those present the opportunity to practice “receptive ecumenism”. The day concluded with reflection upon an extract of a talk given by Chiara Lubich in the Memorial Church in Berlin which outlines the roots of the reciprocity proposed by “receptive ecumenism”. “Before being nailed to the cross, before suffering the abandonment of the Father, in a long prayer for unity, Jesus said, ‘May they all be one.’ (Jn.17:21) We could say that when we live in unity it makes an impact: it is a powerful element of living ecumenism. It is the presence of Jesus among the members of the community. Jesus said, ‘Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Mt.18:20). In this magnificent church, why do we Christians not unite in this idea and so contribute to the fulfilment of Jesus’ words? Maybe we entered the church as individuals, distinct from one another but we can leave as one Christian body, ready to die for one another.”

Focolare joins the Global Catholic Climate Movement

Dec 5, 2018 | Non categorizzato

There are many ways that each of us can make this choice our own, from changing our lifestyle to choosing ethical finance that avoids fossil fuels or weapons. The Global Catholic Climate Movement contributes to the Catholic Church in order to take better care of our planet. Begun after the encyclical Laudato si: on the care of our common home was published, today the network includes close to 1,000 Catholic organizations, including parishes, schools, NGOs. Among these is the Focolare Movement. We spoke with Luca Fiorani, a physicist and coordinator for EcoOne. So Luca, what’s EcoOne? It’s the international network that started in the Focolare Movement that brings together people who are expressing their ecological awareness in a new way. What does the partnership with the Global Catholic Climate Movement mean for the Focolare Movement? It means that the Focolare becomes a part of this global initiative that is committed to fighting against climate change. In Italy, for example, it has checked its accounts and can say that it does not invest a single cent in funds that support the fossil fuel economy. Can you explain more about the link between climate change and fossil fuels? When we use coal, oil or natural gas, we produce carbon dioxide, a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect and heats up the atmosphere. This brings a number of negative effects that we can observe, from desertification, which is one of the causes of migration, to extreme weather events, which cause flooding. What can people in the Focolare Movement do to participate in this partnership? We look at nature and humanity with new eyes: those of the heart. And then we use our heads and hands to act in favor of humanity today and future generations. We change our lifestyles: we don’t waste water, we use energy efficiently, we improve recycling, and we “vote” through the things we consume. For example, if we discover that our bank invests money in fossil fuels or weapons – all you need to do is go online and quickly search to see – we choose a more sustainable bank. The pope, and many with him, are concerned because the cry of the Earth is the cry of the poor – and we can’t just sit back and do nothing!

Lorenzo Russo

Belgium: it’s the time of the “we”

Nov 30, 2018 | Non categorizzato

The Focolare contributes in the complex path of integration and dialogue between Christians and Muslims in Belgium, a land that was also wounded in the 2016 terrorist attacks. “The time of the ‘we’ has arrived”, “we are a community, a ‘prophetic minority’”. This was what Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement, and Jesús Moràn, its Co-President, have expressed during their meeting in Brussels. An appointment that convened Christians and Muslims in the said country, who for years have been trying to live fraternity in diversity, as well as the respect for each one’s cultural and religious identity. Present were about 50 persons, half of whom were Muslims and the other half Christians, but all actors of dialogue. It has begun with festive greetings over a cup of Moroccan tea, creating a family atmosphere. “We experienced profound unity—said Jesús Moràn—because God is so great and is present everywhere in our life.” The story of Islam in Belgian land started fifty five years ago with the arrival of immigrants from Morocco and Turkey, followed later by those from other countries. Today, it is enriched by the new generations born in Belgium. After the Brussels attack on March 2016, dialogue with Muslims has become a political priority. There is a new awareness about the problems related to integration, or rather, of the non-integration of a minority of Muslims. Oftentimes, the accent is placed on diversity, on the “we” and the “you” that is fostered by the fundamentalist current. In the said country are living a minority of believing and practicing Muslims, who manifest their identity even in public spaces, and a majority of citizens who refuse their Christian heritage, most of whom are agnostics or are indifferent to the faith. This materialistic and strongly secular society often confuse fundamentalism with the essence and beauty of Islam. The friendship between the Focolare and the Muslims in Belgium started years ago when a focolarina came to teach in a predominantly Islamic district. A profound rapport was born with many of the inhabitants. Bit by bit, some of them wanted to know the inspiration behind this generous teacher’s life. Thus, a nucleus of persons desiring to walk along with the Focolare was born, and they also participated in the international meetings of interreligious character. The dialogue that begun is, and remains to be, a “dialogue of life”, weaving a network of fraternity that is lived, renewed, and appreciated, especially in this difficult time of widespread fear. 

Chris Hoffmann

Eli Folonari in the words of Maria Voce

Nov 28, 2018 | Non categorizzato

We asked the President of the Focolare to tell us something about Eli Folonari and her specific contribution to the Movement, over the many years she spent alongside Chiara Lubich. “I got to know Eli better when I was asked to join Chiara’s Secretariat, which she was responsible for. I was struck by her serious and balanced approach and, I would say, by the tenderness that I discovered beneath what sometimes seemed a rather severe exterior. Eli did  all  that  Chiara asked her to do with heroic faithfulness. Chiara had entrusted her with the aspect of fellowship and communion, which translates directly into communications. This meant ensuring that everyone could be informed of everything at any time. She did this to the utmost. I saw always near Chiara, supporting her, being her friend, her sister and an adviser too in the many things that needed to be done. At the same time, I never saw her taking over from Chiara. All she did was done so that Chiara and the charism she was conveying could reach everyone without any hindrance. This, I feel, was the full achievement of her ‘design’: she enabled all those who came to Chiara to become one heart and one soul”.

A lifetime with Chiara

Nov 28, 2018 | Non categorizzato

Eli Folonari was Chiara Lubich’s personal secretary for over fifty years. In a series of interviews in 2012, she described many episodes of daily life with Chiara. These interviews were published in a book entitled “The Score Written in Heaven” edited by Oreste Paliotti and Michele Zanzucchi. From your perspective, what was it like to see the birth and development of a movement that is now in 180 countries? It felt like living in a divine adventure. At the beginning, Chiara always used to say that she never intended to found a movement: the last thing on her mind was to draw up a schedule or an action plan. So what was it like to live beside her? It was like one long race to catch up with her. With Chiara, there was one surprise after another – all the work of the Spirit whose actions are always unpredictable. I am not going to say that there was a surprise every day every day but they often happened. God led her to discover a new “reality” through circumstances, an act of love or a meeting (…) Every meeting had a meaning. She felt that the people she met were waiting for something and she used to tell us this. “Let’s begin to dialogue with these people, let’s do something for them.” Her ideal was ut omnes unum sint (Jn.17:21), the fulfilment of Jesus’ testament. The whole world, beginning with the people closest to us, was contained in that “may they all be one.” What is your life like now after Chiara’s death? When she was alive, if we were dealing with rather complicated situations, just one word from her would help us understand what to do. Now we have to find the answer to these challenges ourselves, with the President, Co-president and the General Council. This encourages us to live so that we are aware of the presence of Jesus among us who enlightens us: we try to listen to one another carefully because what each person says is important and may be inspired. Now that Chiara is no longer here, there has to be an even deeper unity of thought at the heart of the Movement. If you could speak personally to Chiara now, what would you say? I would say, “Thank you Chiara for this divine life into which you drew me – this life of peaks and abysses! Thank you because not only have you satisfied my longing to give myself totally to God and to rebuild society but also because, through you, I have been surprised in ways I could never have imagined. I hope this experience will continue with others in paradise.” (da Giulia Eli Folonari, The Score Written in Heaven, Città Nuova, Roma, 2012, pp. 7-8; 167; 171-172)

Thank you Eli

Nov 26, 2018 | Non categorizzato

At the age of 92 years, Giulia (Eli) Folonari passed away peacefully on november 26th 2018. She was one of the privileged witnesses of the public life, but above all of the ordinary, everyday life, of the founder of the Focolare Movement.

 

She was born in Milan, in Northern Italy, on 8 February 1926. She was the eldest of Luigi and Speranza Folonari’s eight children, a rich industrial family in Brescia. After graduating in Business & Economics at the Sacred Heart Catholic University of Milan, at the age of 25, Eli, for the first time, heard about the newly-born Focolare Movement from Valeria (Vale) Ronchetti. That same year, while spending her holidays not far from Tonadico (Trent), where one of the first Mariapolis gatherings was taking place, she decided to attend together with her siblings Vincenzo and Camilla. It was on that occasion that she met Chiara Lubich.

She moved to Rome in 1951, and she accompanied Chiara on all her trips around Italy, as well as South America, Asia, Australia, North America, Europe. “It was a divine adventure,” she said, “Keeping up with Chiara was no mean feat! We went from one surprise to another.” She was Chiara’s confidant and counsellor in the difficult years when the Focolare Movement (Work of Mary) was being studied by the Church. She also followed, in a particular way, all the media developments within the Movement: the birth of the St Claire Audiovisual Centre named after St Claire of Assisi, as well as the beginning, in Switzerland in 1980, of the “conference call” which soon extended to all the nations where the Focolare was present. Whilst it started off simply as a way of sharing the spiritual life, joys and sufferings among everyone, the conference call subsequently evolved, through technological advances, into that which today is a live streaming event via satellite! Still now it is referred to as CH (from the Latin Confoederatio Helvetica) in order to be true to its Swiss origins. Eli always accompanied the founder of the Focolare Movement on important encounters with the great dignitaries of our time: from Pope Paul VI to John Paul II, from Mother Teresa of Calcutta to Vaclav Havel and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Athenagoras I. Her testimony as a direct witness to these events is contained in the book Lo spartito scritto in Cielo. Cinquant’anni con Chiara Lubich (“The Score Written in Heaven. Fifty years with Chiara Lubich” (Città Nuova, 2012). Giulia Eli Folonari was the Director of the Chiara Lubich Centre since its foundation in July 2008, right up until 2014. This institute aims to be a custodian of the thought of Chiara Lubich, to assure its authenticity and to help spread her charism, as well as to preserve the history of the Focolare Movement through meetings, conferences and a dedicated website. The Centre ensures that the rich patrimony of paper-based archives and multimedia documents that the founder of the Opera di Maria left behind is made available to scholars and the public in general.

Note from the Fontem focolarini

Nov 26, 2018 | Non categorizzato

The wave of violence in Southwest Cameroon shows no sign of stopping. The focolarini have had to flee the little city, although they remain in the country. “How long can we hold out? What will happen next? Will we be able to still live in Fontem? We’ve kept on, even in the most adverse conditions.” With these words the focolarini of Cameroon’s little city shared their difficult decision on November 16 to not go back to Fontem – although they still remain in the country. There are just not the “fundamental conditions to be able to continue living there.” “Many things have happened,” their message continues, “especially some serious incidents that made us reflect on the choices to make… It was with a heavy heart that we decided not to go back to Fontem for the moment, in order to rebuild our strength and try to understand what God wants.” The wave of violence in Southwest Cameroon, which is where Fontem is located, unfortunately shows no sign of stopping. In the last few months, the bishops of Cameroon have several times tried to get their voices heard, raising “a cry of anguish” at the deteriorating security conditions in the English-speaking regions and calling for political mediation to avoid “useless civil wars.” The Focolare’s little city is located in a zone of continuous armed conflict. It has had to close down its education complex for some time now, although the hospital continues to work and give aid to those in need.

Sweden: “undermining” the divisions

Nov 26, 2018 | Non categorizzato

From 6th-10th November 2018, 40 bishops who are friends of the Focolare Movement, from 12 different Churches and five continents, met in Sigtuna, Sweden. They brought with them the challenges and joys of their life and work. What meaning do these meetings have? What outcomes are there? Susan Gately, a journalist from Ireland, found out. https://vimeo.com/301372728

The ends of the earth

Nov 24, 2018 | Non categorizzato

At a time when the Catholic Church is celebrating the Feast of Christ the King, the following text by Chiara Lubich explains the importance and meaning this feast day had in the story of the Focolare Movement right from its earliest days during the Second World War. You know the episode of those early days during the war, when we first focolarine found ourselves in a cellar where we had taken refuge from the bombs, and we opened the Gospel. Everything was dark and in the light of a candle we read the last will and testament of Jesus. We had opened the Gospel at random and read this passage from beginning to end. It was a difficult text for us because we were young and our education had reached only up to a certain point, but we had the impression that those words were illuminated for us, one by one. Now we can understand that it was the effect of the charism that had been given to us, a charism that gives a new light to the soul of the person who receives it, for the benefit, then, of all those who come in contact with it. What we understood, above all, was that Jesus had prayed for unity: “That they may all be one, Father, as you and I are one.” May they all be one. We understood very clearly that that page of the Gospel, Jesus’ testament, was the magna charta of the movement that was coming to life. Naturally, we immediately realized that it would not be easy to bring about unity; we didn’t know how to do it. One day we gathered around an altar – there were seven or eight of us first focolarine. I remember that it was the feast of Christ the King and we were struck by what was written in our missal for that feast day, which has now been changed a little in the liturgy. We told Jesus: “We feel called to fulfill what you prayed for – unity – but we don’t know how to bring it about. If you want, make us instruments of unity.” And then, knowing that it was the feast of Christ the King, we remembered that in the liturgy of the Mass on that day it said: “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession” (Ps 2:8). I remember that we, who were mere girls, but full of faith, believing that God could do anything, asked, if it were possible, that we could serve him to the very ends of the earth. Now after 58 years of life, we see that he answered our prayer, because as you know our movement is Catholic and ecumenical, and we are in contact with the faithful of 350 churches, with numerous Church leaders. … Now we see that the Lord answered the prayer of us young girls, leading us to develop this movement among the various churches, and also among other religions, and even among people without any religious affiliation, to the very ends of the earth; practically speaking to every nation of the world. Source: Centro Chiara Lubich

Chiara Lubich: Daring to dream of a new era

Nov 24, 2018 | Non categorizzato

“If one day all people, not as individuals but as nations, learn to put themselves aside, to put aside the idea they have about their own country, … and if they were to do this as the expression of the mutual love between States that God wants, just as he wants mutual love among individuals, that day will mark the beginning of a new era. For on that day, Jesus will be alive and present among peoples. … Now is the time for every people to go beyond its own borders, to look farther. Now is the time to love other countries as our own, to acquire a new purity of vision. To be Christians it is not enough to be detached from ourselves. The times we live in ask something more of the followers of Christ: the awareness of Christianity’s social dimension. … … We hope that the Lord may have mercy on this divided and confused world, on peoples closed within their own shells, contemplating their own beauty – so special to them – although it is limited and unsatisfying. With clenched teeth they hang on to their own treasures, those very treasures that could help other peoples, where many are dying of hunger. May the Lord cause the barriers to fall, and charity to flow unhindered between one land and another, in an endless stream of spiritual and material goods. Let us hope that the Lord brings about a new order in the world. Only he can make humanity one family and cultivate the distinctive characteristics of each people, so that the splendour of each, placed at the service of others, may shine with the one light of life. By making each earthly country beautiful, this light will make each one a foretaste of the eternal Country”. Chiara Lubich

New publications: the magazine Ekklesía is born

Nov 23, 2018 | Non categorizzato

A tri-monthly magazine for those who work in all levels in the ecclesial ambit, in synergy with between the Work of Mary and the Città Nuova Publishing Group. What is it about? «Pathways of communion and dialogue» is the subtitle that reveals the style that characterizes the contents.   Their aim was bold and daring: to give life to a new magazine that would express and be at the service of an ecclesial commitment, not just of some branches but of the whole Movement. It will be Ekklesía. Sentieri di comunione e dialogo (Pathways of communion and dialogue)  which will be out at the end of this year. This new magazine from the Città Nuova Publishing House is aimed at being a «source of inspiration, an instrument of formation and an aid to action» not only for those who know the Charism of Unity, but also for many people committed to a Church that is going out, in tune with the Second Vatican Council, with the guidelines of the pontificate of Pope Francis and with the ecumenical experience. Carlos García Andrade, Hubertus Blaumeiser

Elimination of Violence Against Women

Nov 23, 2018 | Non categorizzato

The “International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women,” instituted by the UN in 1999, is celebrated each year on 25 November, as an invitation to the governments, international organisations and nonprofit Associations to undertake campaigns to raise public awareness and bring about change. Much has been done, but there is still a lot to do. There is no need to go to faraway countries to see cruel violence still practiced on women, even in our own environments and in the most sordid silence. The words of St. John Paul II still echo forcefully in the apostolic letter, Mulieris dignitatem (MD, 15/08/1988), which underlines that “God created man and woman to his image, not only as singles, but in their common humanity, as a “two-fold unit.” Woman and man therefore, are essentially equal, and are both persons, called as such to participate in the intimate life of God and live in mutual communion in love, based on the model of God who is Love, which is unity in the Trinity, and to reflect in the world the communion of love in God (MD 7).” It is a goal which we can refer to daily, as individuals and as a society.

Home of the nations, family of peoples

Nov 22, 2018 | Non categorizzato

Beatriz Lauenroth

Living the Gospel: “If someone opens the door to me, I shall come to him”

Nov 21, 2018 | Non categorizzato

A disabled daughter A parent never expects to have a disabled child. When this happened to us, my wife, already psychologically fragile, fell into a depression. I found myself taking care of the family in an unexpectedly new way. The first month, full of queries, I was isolating myself from friends and relatives. One day, at the staircase of the condominium, I met a couple who seemed to be very serene despite having a daughter with the Down syndrome. When I asked them how they managed to be so, their answer amazed me: “Our daughter is the biggest gift we could ever receive. She has brought us back to reality and the whole family benefited from it.” My wife and I went to visit them often. We learned about their faith, and day after day, thanks to them also we rediscovered the values we had neglected. (A. e G.F. – Italia) An unexpected gift Some relatives who had distanced themselves from us for inheritance reasons, accepted our invitation for them to stay with us for a few days. But when they told us the date of their arrival, it was not the best moment: we were having financial difficulties and I had no time to prepare the house as well as I would have wanted. Then I thought that the new found peace was the biggest gift and with the entire family we decided to do our best to make their stay a happy one. We would have liked also to give them a gift, but for want of anything better, our youngest son prepared a drawing and the oldest one, a welcome poem. The day before their arrival, in my husband’s company, the employees received a bonus package. When we opened it, there were two watches, a lady’s and a man’s watch: the unexpected gifts for our relatives. (R.H. – Germany) Another chance One of my sisters-in-law asked me the favour of taking her in our house for a period and to sign a bank loan she needed. Our house is small but we welcomed her sincerely. I saw that my husband however was very worried about the loan, considering that a few years back we had lent her a sum which she never returned. I told him that I would accept whatever decision he made, adding however that everyone should be given a chance to redeem himself. Doesn’t God himself do so with us? We signed the guarantee for the loan, which my sister-in-law is punctually paying back, even if at times not on time. As to me, I feel I have to continue helping her, and at times we have long talks during which she opens out to me as if I were a sister, overcoming the barriers that divide us. (M.D. – Paraguay) Totally at service After the death of our first girl, at only14 months, also the other two sons that arrived started to show the same symptoms. My wife and I were with bated breath, and the house became like a small hospital. However, trying to love one another, our children grew full of peace. How many times was I converted upon looking at them! Returning home after work, I tried to leave all my worries and problems behind, so as to be totally at their disposition. It could only work out this way, otherwise we would have been crushed by anguish and worries for the future. We concretely experienced that God is all powerful, and can give us a taste of paradise even in such a difficult situation. (G.M.B. – Italy)

International Children’s Rights Day

Nov 19, 2018 | Non categorizzato

On 20 November 1959 the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and approved in 1989, the International Convention on the rights of infants and adolescents.  Based on the harmonization of different cultural and juridical experiences, the Convention enunciated for the first time, and in a coherent way, the fundamental rights to be recognized and guaranteed for all the children of the world. The document stated the four key issues: the lack of denunciation, greater interest, life and survival and development, and lastly, listening in all the decision-making processes. The Convention also provides for a control mechanism on the work of the States that have to present a periodic report on its implementation in their territories. According to UNICEF, every year millions of children continue to be victims of violence, abuse, abandonment, exploitation, wars and discrimination. A lot has been done, but still more must be done to achieve a concrete application of these principles.

We, the Church

Nov 17, 2018 | Non categorizzato

Igino Giordani during a visit to Loppiano

World Day of the Poor

Nov 16, 2018 | Non categorizzato

The World Day of the Poor will be celebrated on Sunday, 18 November. It was established by Pope Francis in 2016, at the end of the Jubilee of Mercy with the title “This poor man cried and the Lord heard him” (Ps 34.7). In his message for that occasion the Pope wrote: “This Psalm allows us today, to immerse ourselves in many forms of poverty, and understand who are the real poor towards whom we should direct our gaze. […] What does the poor man’s cry express if not his suffering and solitude, disappointment and hope? We may wonder: how come this cry, that rises up to God’s presence, is unable to reach our ears and leaves us indifferent and passive? On a Day like this, we are asked to seriously examine our conscience to understand if we are really capable of listening to the poor.” On the occasion of the 2nd World Day of the Poor, we are again invited to open our own homes, and share our meals in a simple and fraternal way, as a sign of solidarity and comfort to the many forms of poverty we can all see with our own eyes.

The Value of Philosophy

Nov 15, 2018 | Non categorizzato

Every year, since 2002, a World Day has been dedicated to philosophy. By proclaiming the Day, UNESCO has underscored the value of philosophy for the development of  human thought. Ex-General Director Irina Bokova, went on to say: “Philosophical reflection is a calling back to humility, to reflection and reasonable dialogue, to build solutions together to the challenges that are beyond our control. […] The more the difficulties are large, the more philosophy is useful for giving sense to the questions of peace and sustainable development.” On this Day, all UNESCO partners – national governments, public organisations and institutions, NGOs, universities, schools, along with citizens and associations – are called to a free, collective, reasonable and informed reflection on the challenges of our times. “Philosophy’s genuine value,” said Moufida Goucha, ex-director of the ‘Human Safety, Democracy and Philosophy,’ Section, “is to establish a dialogue that should never interrupt over the essential,” along with the task of restoring, “a large portion of human dignity, whatever our conditions.”

Collegamento CH

Nov 14, 2018 | Non categorizzato

Replay streaming: http://collegamentoch.focolare.org/