Polond: EKA, an EoC business amid challenges and results
https://vimeo.com/131558378
Chiara Lubich: Jesus at Expo ’58
Extracts from Chiara Lubich’s editorial dated 20 April 1958 in which she colourfully describes her impressions of Expo ’58 held in Brussels. She visited it during springtime of that year while she was in Belgium for Holy Week. The Focolare Movement had just started to go beyond the Italian Alps and to reach the heart of Europe. Evidently that visit had a profound effect on her: “On 17 April 1958, the International Exhibition in Brussels was opened. […] It’s something truly colossal! […] The most prominent nations from all five continents are competing to show off their foremost talents. […] Seeing these most amazing structures and ever new styles, one discovers the brilliant new ideas of our century, whether in shapes that are graceful or bold, narrow, transparent or sturdy; sometimes in the form of a cube or a sphere or a cylinder, with expressions of folklore and of religion too. They are real masterpieces, unknown to most of us until now, and each one bears the hallmark of its people, of its tradition, of its own taste. […] The pavilion that drew our attention in a special way however was the one set up by the Holy See. It stands almost opposite the Soviet pavilion and next to the American one. Its name is “Civitas Dei” (City of God). At its heart there is a church which is simple and harmonious in style, maybe because it is so rich in content; it is very elegant and extremely modern. […] Underneath this stands an altar where Mass will be continuously celebrated. […] So it is the living Jesus, who continues to sacrifice himself for everyone, and the word of truth of a King who is not of this world, which are the riches put on show in Brussels by the “City of God”, whereas nearby, among other things there are an atomic ice-breaker, Sputnik II and a huge statue of Lenin that fill the Soviet Pavilion. A blow up theatre and many expressions of modern art and folklore fill the American Pavilion. Yes, Jesus is at the Brussels Exhibition, just as one day Jesus was at the marriage-feast at Cana. The Son of Man does not disdain to get involved in all human activities, and through the harmonious peal of the bells he will give a reminder of what is eternal and divine to all those who gather there, to exalt the talents of all the peoples He created. It is Jesus who dies on the altar for everyone, also for those who don’t care about him, who are perhaps filled with pride in their knowledge and their discoveries, or who may even fight against him. It is Jesus who still teaches the Truth through those of whom he said: “Whoever listens to you listens to me”. These are the gifts and the “produce” of the Catholic Church which continues Him. Jesus in the Eucharist is the fruit of the Church, just as in the past Jesus of Nazareth was the fruit of the most pure womb of the Virgin Mary. And there at Expo ‘58 as in every church of ours, Jesus will try to quench people’s thirst for light, love, courage and strength. Jesus makes himself known, or rather he shows his tangible love. He offers himself to save people there too, where everything speaks of atomic energy, technology, inventions, and newness. He is the greatest new thing, the eternal discovery who is never discovered. He is the One who will remain, even when in future centuries no one will remember much about the exhibition in Brussels, just as no one today knows the names of the couple married at Cana. He is there so as not to let us down, so as to fill the emptiness that will be created in many people – despite the “showing off” of the most beautiful treasures of our day – when they experience the vanity of everything, even of all that is great, but is not rooted in God. Chiara Lubich Read more: Chiara Lubich Center
Course for Seminary Educators
The 2014-2015 Course for Seminary Educators that ended in Loppiano, was attended by around 20 priests from Brazil, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Indonesia, Thailand, Italy, Holland, Spain and Malta. “In giving a comprehensive assessment of the course, I think I can say that the objective of enlightening the world of education in seminaries with the charism of unity was substantially fulfilled.” Some of the participants shared their impressions: “Attending the course has made me focus on the significance and value of my ecclesial service as an educator, especially within the perspective of the Church as communion, and also because of the fact that the Church of the future depends on the type of education given in seminaries.” “This course challenged me to live this model of life we contemplated on together and let myself be moulded by the circumstances and by my brethren, and change my way of praying and thinking. I will keep in contact spiritually and try as much as possible to concretely keep up a direct dialogue with the team that has promoted this event, and also with all the participants.” The course structure was divided into four weeks within a two-year period. The second half which was held this year dealt with the concrete aspects of education, divided into seven major parts: The Gift of oneself and communion; Openness toward the other: dialogue and testimonials; Union with God: interiority and sanctification; Life and the mystical body and corporeality; Personal harmony and building the community; Wisdom, studies and culture; and Communication and media at the service of communion. The course was guided by the keywords: prayer-life-thought. It successfully achieved the mutual involvement of participants and course supervisors. Similar courses were also held in Bangkok in 2013, with around 60 participants from Southeast Asian countries. Other similar courses have been programmed to be held in the Philippines, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Brazil and Colombia. Over the last eight years, there has been a total participation of about 200 seminary educators from about 30 countries of the four continents.
I discovered joy in Baobab
Baobab is one of many refugees welcoming centers, near the Tiburtina train station. It welcomes some 400 young Eritrean, Somali and Sudanese Christians and Muslims. “There’s a warm, happy chaotic and rather anarchical volunteer service – says S. – everyone goes, sees what is needed, helps, calls friends . . . And it works just fine! With the consent of the people in charge of the Food Bank of Rome, together with a young woman who coordinates the volunteers from the Baobab Centre, we went to Fiano Romano and packed twenty tons of excellent food (pasta, sugar, canned meats, 600 yogurts, cases of oil, 120 pineapples, 30 cases of fresh fish and nectarines, 100 pieces of parmesan cheese, and much more). By ten o’clock it was already 40°C (104°F)! We got to the centre at around 13:00, where we found at least 500 quite organised and patient Eritrean youngsters, all of them from those notorious boats that we see on the television news. The temperature was at least 42°C by then. In the span of ten minutes or so, the children formed a queue, and began to unload an overpacked van. Not a single yogurt or drink was taken, and everything was carefully placed in its proper place. Then they all entered the queue for lunch. I was also served a plate, which I was happy to share with them. The welcome centre does not only focus on assistance, but especially on involving and integrating the refugees. This ensures that the individual dignity of each person will be respected and that each of them is welcomed and accepted. Many of them then contact relatives and friends in other European countries. The long line of Roman citizens who bring all sorts of help is constant and also quite moving. So much assistance arrives that we often take boxes of supplies to other assistance centres. As I was there shaking hands and meeting people, the first baby was born to a young refugee woman who had been taken in by the centre. She had just arrived from the hospital, 20 days old. Doctors, nurses, volunteers all gathered around her for a smile, hoping to get a glimpse of her face. It showed how life goes on. I returned home more tired and sweaty than I ever have before. . . but in my heart and soul there was a unique and quite special joy, such tangible serenity, the true recompense for a small gesture toward those beautiful people whom everyone is calling “refugees”. . . At the end of the month we’re already planning on taking another load of supplies. Moreover, through a friend whose family runs five supermarkets, we were able to organize regular food pick-ups of products whose expiration dates would soon expire but could be consumed within a few days at the welcome centre. I thank the Eritrean refugees and volunteers at the Baobab Camp for having given me the opportunity to live a truly beautiful and precious moment, which I am sure will happen again in the coming days and in the future. I feel so privileged, and I truly am!” (S.D. Italy)
Argentina: the unusual loot of a burglary
By the end of 2012 I had an awful experience. I was in a friend’s house with all his family and suddenly three armed and violent men entered their house to rob. They beat us and put us all lying down in the ground of his parents’ room. Then, they started interrogating us and shouting us “where is the money?” with guns in our heads… The father of my friend started saying to one of the thieves that he forgave him, but that was not the way he was supposed to act. The man was getting angry and we were afraid he would do something awful to my friend’s father. Surprisingly, the thief started crying and saying sorry. At that point, all the other thieves were gone with the family car, but this man, who seemed to be their boss, was still there with us. Amazingly he asked my friend’s father if there was something important, so that he would make sure we would get it back. My friend’s father told him that it was ok to take everything with him, but asked him the favour to return the car since he needed it for work. The thief promised to give it back, asked forgiveness to each one of us and left. The car, half an hour later, was found intact by the police. In order to build peace, I needed to forgive, and even if the thief asked for forgiveness, I didn’t quite feel like I could do it, my part was not completed. The fact of having felt powerless in front of a person that could take my life away or the life of people I love, just by a single movement of a finger, made me incapable of forgiving. And also, in front of the eyes of my other friends, they would say I had the right to hate, the right to be angry. I needed time, but I also needed to do something concrete to make sure I’d do my part to understand the root of so much violence, why would a person do something like that to another. So I decided, with other friends that are Youth for a United World (Y4UW), to start going to a shelter of men that have nothing. We wanted to at least start breaking the prejudices, sharing the pain and the difficulties of those who live in the peripheries. We are not politicians and we can’t do huge changes, but like one of my friends, Carolina, said: “I think that these small acts can help change the world, or at least, the reality next to me. Maybe at first sight it’s not visible, but you see the measure of your acts when the other makes you see it”. The moments shared with the men at the shelter helped me know about the “reasons” of that thief’s desperation. Thanks to having met these men of the street, that have, some of them, in fact robbed sometime, I knew they did it because they thought it was their last resource. I don’t know what I would do if people act like I don’t exist, if people don’t even answer me, if no one looks at me directly into my eyes and I have literally nothing and no one even cares… so then I felt that I had to forgive… and then I felt strongly that I was putting a brick on the construction of peace in my country. It’s simple, every Saturday we play games or play the guitar or we watch a football match (the World Cup was awesome) or even we play football together, then we have dinner and we get to know each other more, specially their stories, some of which are actually incredible, they are people that just need the strength to forgive others and themselves, but more than anything, they need to restart their lives. A group of specialists helps them progress, but us Y4UW have another role, as one of my mates, Francisco, tells “we grow next to them and we never stop making them feel our care, which is always mutual”. On December of 2013 the police in my city decided to do a strike and people went crazy and started looping businesses and shops and even the storage of a big charity organization was emptied. Lots of people were violently robbed and people started defending themselves with the help of their neighbors and it was like a small day of war between our people. The next day, after a terrible night of chaos, with other Y4UW we decided spontaneously to go clean the city, especially downtown where there were more ashes and dirt and to gather food for the charity organization. We said it all over the social networks and the media: at the beginning there were 15 of us, and then we ended up being more than 100 (and the people who brought food were even more). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WX_TbWHvVw&feature=youtu.be We realized that the TV news, that night, had at least one good news to talk about thanks to our initiative (because the media came to cover our actions) and a lot of people saw it. But that was not the only “good news”, because thanks to the food we gathered, the kids of a small kindergarten in a very poor neighborhood could eat. The kindergarten’s name is “The Light corner”. From that, a group of Y4UW didn’t want to finish there. As we continued to go to the men shelter, others decided to do something more for the kindergarten, so they started a project. First thing they did was to celebrate Christmas with them, playing with them, doing a live nativity scene and taking presents for the kids. Then they started thinking how to improve the facilities of this very small and poor place. In the meanwhile, they suffered a robbery of some construction materials and then all of us Y4UW, with the help of friends from University and work and families, we cooked and sold sweet cakes to make money to buy back the materials. Then with everyone’s help we gathered educational material, games and curtains for the windows, to also make more beautiful the space for the kids. One of the nicest things they live is what Caro, the Y4UW that leads the project says: “the relationship between us and the kids, their mothers, the teachers and the neighborhood has grown so much that we have become a family, where we share also our personal needs. One of the teachers, for example, is pregnant and she asked me for help because she couldn’t pay for a baby stroller. After sharing this necessity with a friend of mine from work, she decided to give the teacher the one she had at home, it was in great conditions and the nicest thing was that she decided to go and give it personally to her”. They have organized a dental hygiene workshop, an orchard workshop and also they did another Christmas celebration last year with new toys, donated by a Chapel of a city very near from ours. The next projects are to build bathrooms and to remake the electric wiring. Like my friend Caro said: “love is thirsty of love, love spreads in our hearts… and love “makes us cry with the neighbor” (like Pope Francis said in the Philippines). ‘The Light Corner’ gave me the chance to dream bigger and to believe we have all the hands that we need next to us, in our surroundings: family, work, university and friends, to make things go ahead. We just need to make the first step”. Source: United World Project
Cuba: Redemption of historic memory
“We received the news that Pope Francis will visit our country from September 19th to 22nd with great joy. The Holy Father wants to show us his affinity in a time in which, thanks in part to his mediation, we breathe the air of hope in our national life before the new possibility of dialogue in progress between the United States and Cuba. What he is doing as universal Pastor of the Church is very, very important in the search for reconciliation and peace among all peoples of the earth!” So write the Catholic bishops of Cuba in a message to all Cubans. While the Caribbean island prepares to receive the first pope from Latin America, we spoke in Avana with José Andrés Sardina Pereira, a Spanish architect with a specialization in sacred art and liturgy, who is also a Cuban culture enthusiast. “The project we are bringing ahead,” explains Sardina Pereira, “aims to be a contribution of the archbishopric of Santiago to the work started by civil institutions; that is, to seek to have the historic center of Santiago (with the complex of its colonial churches and parts of the surrounding area) included in the UNESCO world heritage list, as are already the historic centers of Avana, Trinidad, Camagüey, and Cienfuegos.” Having a Cuban father, Sardina Pereira in addition to being an architect is a Cuban history enthusiast. This nation, also known as the “Big Island,” was also, “one of the last Spanish colonies to obtain independence (1898), therefore the process of ‘transculturation’ has been the most prolonged. Studies on the origin of Cuban culture, as opposed to that of Spain, place its solidification in the course of the 18th century, a time in which social, economic and cultural apprehensions, with a certain antagonism in respect to Spanish models and interests, were reawakened, all of which distinguish the island natives (the Creoles) from those arriving from the other side of the Atlantic.” Sardina Pereira clarifies that, “in the ethnic and cultural processes that give origin to the ‘cubanía’ (the essence of being Cuban), the Spanish and the Africans who arrived on the island brought with them cultures that were much more complex than those that are traditionally associated with ‘Spanish’ and ‘African’ concepts.” “Men and women from different linguistic, social, and religious groups, with different levels of economic development, coming from countries known today as: Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Benin, Nigeria, Congo, and Angola, arrived in Cuba.” Also people from other European countries, from Asia, and from the American continent itself. “Just think of the presence of the French in Cienfuegos or of the coffee fields on the east of the Island.” It is in this coexistence of a “rich and multi-coloured range of individuals from different geographical locations that the Cuban culture is born, one of the last cultures generated by humanity: audacious, integral, creative, and at the same time open, welcoming and respectful of diversity.” Sardina Pereira stresses how the Gospel message has been key to this genesis, as “this new country was founded thanks to the coexistence of individuals who were very different from each other: whites, coloured, and of mixed race, slaves and free people; many of them united by the love that Jesus came to teach us, a love that goes so far as to lay down one’s life. Just think of the heroism, the consistency, and the love of many fathers of the Cuban nation and of the many men and women who, following their example, generated it with their own lives.” People united by their faith who “travel together on a new ship in the tempestuous sea of history.” At this point in the conversation, our expert adds another element which he holds to be essential. Cubans are: “A people blessed by an extraordinary encounter with the mother of Jesus.” Such an affirmation alludes to that which tradition remembers as “the finding.” It is said that in the year 1612, three salt seekers (one of mixed race, one black and one white, three ethnicities who were up until that moment in conflict) found a small wooden board that was floating on the sea and upon which was the image of the Madonna with the inscription: “I am the Madonna of Charity.” “And this encounter with a Mother,” continued the architect with conviction, “is one of the elements which permits the Cuban people to discover true fraternity, which will be converted into an identifying symbol of this nationality. Mother of all, of sailors of every land, colour and creed.” Sardina Pereira likes to compare this hybridization to a typical dish of the center of the Island, made with a variety of ingredients called “ajiaco.” “In a globalized and ever-more interdependent world,” continues the architect, “many times intolerance of ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity continues to be the primordial cause of grave conflicts. Chiara Lubich, a great personality of the Catholic Church, in her discourse to the United Nations in 1997, affirms that to build a world more united and in peace today, it is necessary to love the homeland of the other as one’s own, and the culture of the other as one’s own.” Sardina Pereira concludes with a personal confession: “Fulfiling this work I realised how much the knowledge and the diffusion of the Cuban culture can be a contribution to peace in the world, as long as we are able to redeem its historical memory and its deep Christian roots and keep them genuine.” By Gustavo Clariá
Nigeria. Yakoko and the gift of rain
In Nigeria, there is great inequality in the development between cities and rural villages where there are almost no infrastructures and no electricity, medical care, roads, etc. Yakoko is one of these villages located closest to the desert, amid mountains – where the Christian and Muslim communities have always lived in great harmony. In the evening after working the fields, the men gather in the square to discuss while sipping an alcoholic drink produced from their Guinea corn. Some years back, a missionary, Sr. Suor Patricia Finba, had brought to Yakoko the spirituality of the Focolare and Felix, Abubacar, Nicodemus, Loreto, Father Giorge Jogo and others had made it their way of life. Last year they welcomed to their village more than 200 people who had arrived from the various regions of Nigeria, to get to know the Focolare spirit better. This year a group of youth and adults of Onitsha decided to pass a few days there. After a journey of 24 hours – which was at times dangerous – in over-packed public vans, loaded with bags and packs, they were warmly welcomed by the community into their homes. «We participated in their lives – Luce recounted – sharing all with them», «and – Cike added – we noticed that the youth were interested not so much in material goods, the clothes and medicine we had brought, but the spiritual ones, our friendship and our life-treasure: the discovery of God who is Love. » And so they decided to stay with us for a day of meditation, going on an excursion in the mountains which with its arid beauty, is an invitation to meditate. «It was an important event – Imma recounted. In an atmosphere of deep friendship we shared the values we believe in and on which we have based our lives.» And then in the following days, together we brought the material help to those in need, especially the elderly and the children and the many refugees who had come from the northern regions. We visited five villages. A Muslim community welcomed them with particular joy. Some of them had already started to live for unity in the world and with them we immediately felt a family atmosphere in which we shared joys and sufferings in that area. The villages, in fact, were undergoing a really difficult time due to the drought, and by tradition they had asked an important person of the village to pray for rain. But the rain did not come, and they had thus decided to kill this person. «On hearing this decision we were shocked and also started to pray to God to send rain – Luce continued – and in fact, on the third day, He blessed us with a great rainfall! But apart from the rain, we were so happy to have saved a person’s life.»
Word of Life August 2015
Love is the fulfilment of our life, the one secure guiding principle we can follow. The whole of Christian ethics is contained in these words. Human behaviour, if it wishes to be according to what God thought when he created us, and so genuinely human, must be animated by love. If our ‘walk’ (which stands for our life) is to reach its objective, it must be guided by love, the summary of the entire law. The apostle Paul is speaking to the Christians in Ephesus when he makes this exhortation. It is the conclusion and summary of what he has just written to them about the Christian way of life: going from the old self to the new self, being true and sincere with one another, not stealing, knowing that we are forgiven, doing what is good, in a word ‘walking in love’. It would be useful to read the couple of sentences that give us these incisive words which will be with us throughout the month: ‘Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.’ Paul is convinced that our every move must be modelled on God’s way of behaving. If love is God’s distinguishing feature, it must be also for his children. They must imitate him in this. But how can we know God’s love? For Paul it is extremely clear. God’s love is revealed in Jesus, who shows how and how much God loves. The apostle experienced it at first hand: Christ ‘loved me and gave himself for me’ (Gal. 2:20), and now Paul reveals this to everybody so that it may become the experience of the whole community. ‘Walk in love’ What is the measure of Jesus’s love which should be the model for our love? It, we know, has no limits, no exceptions, no partiality. Jesus died for all, even his enemies, those who were crucifying him, just as the Father in his universal love makes his sun shine and his rain fall upon all, good and bad, sinners and righteous alike. He knew how to care above all for the little ones and the poor, the sick and the excluded. He loved his friends with intensity. He was particularly close to his disciples… His love spared nothing and went to the extreme of his giving his life. And now he calls all to share in his same love, to love as he has loved. This call could scare us, because it demands too much. How can we be imitators of God, who loves everyone, always, taking the initiative? How can we love with the measure of Jesus’s love? How can we live ‘in love’, as this Word of Life asks of us? It is possible only if we ourselves have first had the experience of being loved. In the expression ‘walk in love, as Christ loved us’, the word ‘as’ can also be translated ‘because’. ‘Walk in love’ Walking means acting, behaving, which means to say that everything we do must be inspired and moved by love. But perhaps it is not by chance that Paul uses this dynamic word to remind us that we learn by loving, that there is a whole road to go before reaching the wideness of God’s heart. He uses other images to point out the need for constant progress, such as the growth of infants to adulthood (see 1 Cor. 3:1-2) or races in the stadium to win a prize (see 1 Cor. 9:24). We are always a work in progress. Time and constancy are required to reach our goal, without giving up in the face of difficulties, without ever letting ourselves be discouraged by failures and mistakes, ready always to start again, without giving in to mediocrity. Augustine of Hippo, perhaps thinking of his own painful journey, wrote: ‘You always dislike what you are, if you want to reach what you are not yet. In fact where you feel at ease, you stop, and you say, “That’s enough,” and like that you sink. Build up continuously, walk ahead always, go forward without ceasing; do not pause long on the way, do not look behind, do not leave the track. The one who goes not ahead, stays behind.’ ‘Walk in love’ How can we walk most swiftly upon the way of love? Since the invitation is given to the whole community (the word ‘walk’ is in plural form), it is a good idea to help one another. Indeed, it is sad and tough to go on a journey alone. We could start by finding the opportunity to declare to one another again (with our friends, families, the members of the same Christian community) our will to walk together. We could share our positive experiences about how we have loved, so as to learn from one another. We could share with someone able to understand us the mistakes we have made and our slips along the way, so as to be corrected. Prayer together too can give us light and strength to go ahead. United among us and with Jesus (who called himself the Way!) in our midst we will be able to travel along the whole of our ‘Holy Journey’. We will sow love around us and we will reach the goal: Love. Fabio Ciardi
ROM, from evicted to included
For several years the ROM camp has needed to be removed because of serious health and environmental issues, but it was no easy task given the fact that it was home to thirty families. Mario Bruno, Mayor of Alghero, decided to involve the families themselves in choosing a new location for the camp. There are many unemployed people in Alghero and there are also many people on the list for a house. So, as the Mayor says, it can be difficult to make people understand “that there are specific funds, and sometimes we all have to take to heart social inclusion and sometimes take decisions that are unpopular that are sometimes not understood.” “The 30 ROM minors are just as important to me as each and every Algherese. And I have to try to show with facts that this is possible,” the Mayor went on, “and I have to help the Algheresi to take this step knowing full well that I hold all the problems in my heart and not only those of one side.” Concretely, finding solutions for the Algheresi is one way of showing this value for people. He did it by announcing a 3 million and six hundred thousand euro financing toward the construction of 28 dwellings for Algeresi citizens. BrAs a politician, at times Bruno finds himself in difficult situations which he says he tries to face “with common sense, delving into adminstrative decisions without skipping over them, because we are here to defend everyone’s good and not only our own, we are only administrators.” The Mayor felt the “need of coming to a solution in front of the complexity of the moment we are going through (. . .) in which you can be part of the answer and I believe that this answer can be given individually but also collectively, and giving a collective answer means living for a good that goes beyond us.” Watch the Video – original soundtrack in Italian https://vimeo.com/133758828
Burundi: a suffering that generates love
“Jean Paul is in his last year at the Faculty of Engineering and has known the spirituality of unity for several years. Burundi is going through a difficult political situation, because of the upcoming election. The political impasse has provoked many controversies that give rise to clashes and protests. Some people have lost their lives. It was in this context of great instability and suffering that Jean Paul and a friend, returning home on foot because there was no public transport, found themselves in front of a new and unexpected countenance of Jesus forsaken.” The one reporting is Marcellus, along with the entire Focolare community of Burundi and Rwanda. “It was the summer of May 2cnd when the two young men were assaulted by a group of wrongdoers. Jean Paul and his friend were brutally beaten to the point of unconsciousness. Helped by several police officers who found them thrown into a manhole, they were rushed to hospital. The friend had light injuries but Jean Paul was in serious condition: a fractured backbone and paralysis of the lower limbs. In spite of his serious state Jean Paul was always smiling and hoping to for a recovery. He entrusted himself to God and Chiara Lubich. “The fact that I’m still alive is already a miracle of hers,” he said. In a short time news of what had happened to Jean Paul reached the community which, besides praying for him, began to look for the money to hire an ambulance that would return him to Rwanda, where he would receive adequate care. On May 12th he left for Kigali, Rwanda, accompanied by a nurse and Séverin, a young man from his Gen group. The chain of love and prayer widened, involving the Rwandan and worldwide Focolare family, especially the Gen. Jean Paul and Séverin gave a strong witness of mutual love in Kigali, Rwanda. In hospital the people were astonished that the visits to this boy were more numerous than to all the other patients. They were also amazed that by the fact that Jean Paul and Séverin were not brothers, from the same village or ethnicity. The boys explained to everyone that the engine behind their action was something else: the spirituality of unity based on the mutual love that Jesus asks of us. After a few medical examinations, Jean Paul was operated on the back and chest, on June 10th in Roi Fayçal Hospital. The prices at the hospital were very high, but God intervened with Providence that was never lacking. Jean Paul, who never grew discourage, considers this experience a true miracle. The surgery went well and this was encouraging to everyone. Jean Paul was transferred to another facility where he began physical therapy, and close monitoring by his physician and the team that performed the surgery. His condition is showing incredible improvement. He is beginning to feel hungry, physiological needs, pain and sensitivity in his feet. He is able to get out of bed and move around the hospital in a wheel chair. He continues to say that if it weren’t for this extended family he wouldn’t be alive. Jean Paul is very grateful to the Focolare community in Rwanda, to the Gen around the world, to the international Gen Centres, and to all those who have sent financial support and prayers. All our hearts overflow with gratitude to God for having given us the possibility of having this powerful experience that has aroused attention, communion, authentic love among His children and a powerful witness of the love that conquers all.”