While tens of thousands of youths from almost 200 dioceses throughout Italy are on their way to Rome for the meeting with Pope Francis on 11-12 August, the two-day programme was presented. About 70,000 young people will meet the Pope on Saturday at the Circo Massimo, for a “face-to-face” dialogue, to be followed by a prayer-wake in the spirit of the synod of October dedicated expressly to the youth. During the night some Churches along the Circo Massimo-St. Peter route will remain open not only for personal and community prayers, and confessions, but also testimonials, performances and theme encounters. On Sunday morning in St. Peter’s Square, Mass will be celebrated, followed by a new meeting with Pope Francis who will consign his missionary mandate to the youths and bless the gifts which the Italian delegation will bring to the World Youth Day in Panama in January 2019.
Tommaso Carrieri, co-founder of the association “Not from war”
“The experience that led to the birth of our association, Non Dalla Guerra, began almost by accident. We were quite young, inexperienced and untrained, although we were full of energy and a drive to go beyond what the media was telling us. “Our activities are mostly peace education in schools, with groups and for citizens. This includes talking about the situation in the Middle East, such as in Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Iraq – all about those wars that do not only kill people but entire nations, hope, freedom and the future. “Each year we invite many young people to participate in volunteer projects, particularly in Jordan thanks to Caritas, with the goal of standing alongside people, families and children who have escaped the nightmare of war. “We first arrived in Jordan in 2014, and from that moment on, everything changed. Through the stories of thousands of Syrian and Iraqi refugees who are still living in Jordan, we learned about the consequences of war: destruction, poverty, hopelessness. We realized how complicated the situation is there and how hard it is to understand it. “What does peace even mean? Why does war exist?As young people we asked ourselves: what can we do? Attempting to respond to these questions, we learned more and more. We realized that change and peace must begin with us, on a slow, tiring, never-ending journey between who we are and what we do. It is a huge challenge. “Being young did not stop us advancing our ideals; quite the contrary. Of course we still make many mistakes, but this is all part of the game. We feel that we have a responsibility, and this responsibility for us has the face, story and name of all those we have met. “Once Wael Suleiman, director of Caritas in Jordan, said, ‘Peace is not a campaign; it is life.’ “So what can I do? Be part of Non Dalla Guerra? Get involved in my city? Certainly. The most important thing to do, however, is respond with our lives. My life is a response to what I’m living through! “We understood through this experience that young people can do whatever they set their minds to. If that is true, we must come together, not to be the same, but to be united, and to not repeat the mistakes and conflicts that we experience today. We want to aim at change, and we can do it together.”
Instituted by the United Nations in 1994, the Day memorialises the rights of all people to live according to the customs and traditions of their origins, with particular focus on the 370 million members of indigenous people living in 90 countries of the world and representing 15% of the world population while remaining 15% of the world’s poor. The UN document is intended to “incarnate the global consensus on the rights of indigenous peoples, and to establish a framework of minimal norms for their survival, dignity and well-being.” In the last ten years – the UN reports – the Declaration has had several successes at different international level, national and regional levels, but there continues to be a gap between the formal recognition of the indigenous peoples and that actualization of politics on the ground.
Together with their three children, four years ago Edgar and Maquency moved to “El Diamante”, the Focolare’s little city 50 kilometers from Puebla, and close to 170 kilometers from Mexico City. Although only a couple of dozen inhabitants, each year a few thousand visitors come to this land, which has a culture of sharp contrasts, including modern, well-populated cities and vast surrounding areas. The little city is a true point of a diamond, the beating heart of the Focolare Movement that Chiara Lubich founded in 1990. It is a place that bears witness to how Gospel life can become enculturated if it is based on dialogue and mutual exchange between diverse cultures. “We decided to move to the little city with our three children to contribute in a practical way. We landed here after responding to a real and true call from God to build the city togethe rwith others,” says Edgar. “For us, making ourselves available was a way to pay back all the love that has been given us ever since we heard about the ideal of unity,” Maquency adds. “Recently,” says Edgar, “we were trying to make ends meet, which was difficult without having a steady job. During our first year in the little city, I had different carpentry and plumbing jobs, and then I worked as a house painter to support our family. After that, discussing it with Maquency and the other focolarini, we decided I would go and search for other income in my field, engineering. After some time, I found a job in a city 90 kilometers from the little city. The work was good, and I was happy, but there was always that feeling that I was far away from home, my family and the little city.” Then another opportunity arose in a nearby city. “Talking about ita t home, we decided to accept the job. At first it seemed a good option, but after a few months of working at that business, I realised that things were not quite what they seemed and gave my notice. “I then went back to the little city and dedicated myself to silk-screen printing. It felt like I had gone backwards. “Instead just after that, an unexpected job offer came up as a consultant for a project. I was immediately hired, and I really enjoyed the work and the pay was good. Finally we were able to have financial stability in our family.” When everything seemed to become normal from the financial point of view, Edgar was surprised to be asked to manage the maintenance in the little city, which was quite needed so many years after being built. “My wife and I entered into a new phase of discernment, trying to understand the right choice to make. There were moments of uncertainty and worry, especially when we thought of our children’s future.” “We remembered,” Maquency says, “our early experience that God had us live through. We felt we were being asked yet again, since when God calls, he asks to leave everything and demands an. Exclusive love. He wants us to leave our security in order to put ourselves at the service of others. Yet he also offers us everything, as the Gospel says: ‘No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the Gospel will fail to receive a hundredfold in the present age.’” “And so we decided that I’d put myself at the service of the little city. When I discussed it with my manager at the business, he exclaimed, ‘If only there were many people like you!’ and he proposed that I work for reduced hours, which matched my needs. I experienced how Providence intervened firsthand and how true the Gospel is.”
73 years ago, on 6 August 1945, the horror of Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, three days later, came in the form of an immense flash of light which brought immediate death to hundreds of thousands people, almost all civilians, and many more in the following years, due to the radiations. From those two explosions, not only Japan, but the entire humanity was devastated, and consigned to the world the awareness that nothing would ever be the same. “Never again” is not only a moral warning, but also an absolute need, if we want our planet to have a future of peace and create a world in which the sun is the only symbol of life.
“These words are precious to me, since they are written byChiara Lubich: ‘I can imagine that all of you . . . feel the full weight of the violence and terrorism that even spreads across entire nations. Young people not much older than you believe that they can change society by kidnapping, killing and committing every sort of criminal act. Without a doubt they never found more positive ideals to live for and let themselves wander onto very dangerous road. Many people are frightened and unable to live at peace. What can we do? What contribution could we give?’ These words perfectly sum up what I’m going through right now. I’d like to share with you what I’m living and how abandoned I feel in this moment, perhaps a bit as Jesus felt when he was abandoned on the cross. This sense of abandonment is something I felt in all four of the detention centers where I stayed and where I found myself among teenagers who were for the most part younger than me. At first these kids frightened me. They were against me and even wanted to kill me. But I tried to get close to them and realized that what they were missing was understanding, a lack of opportunity and, therefore, a lack of love. I’m not trying to justify them, but they also need love and help, only that they looked for it by drawing attention to themselves in the wrong way. But it was the only way they knew. My parents try to live for a united world and, ever since I was a small, I did too. It’s easier when you belong to a community where everyone tries to live in that way. Whereas, for people who are afraid to let themselves love, it’s harder, especially when they see that this love doesn’t correspond to what they see around them, such as thieves and assassins. Nevertheless, it’s only love that cuts through all the limitations and this is the more precious truth, despite of everything I’m living in here. Now these guys come into my cell and ask me for advice or help, especially when they’re going through ugly moments. Some of them even want to know more about Youth for a United World (Y4UW) which I belong to in spite of my situation. Lots of them ask me how I am, if I need anything; one even calls me brother. What I’m living in prison can turn into an invasion of love that little by little spreads where violence reigns, just like gentle rain that penetrates deeper and deeper into the soil…”.
Chiara Lubich was a 23 year old girl looking for an Ideal in life and she found it in God. That was why she chose to live the Gospel to the full. She realised that choosing to live the Gospel could bring about change in herself and change around her, and so she launched herself into this Gospel revolution. … Chiara Lubich showed us a pathway to holiness, one that is now being examined by the Church as it studies carefully the cause of Chiara’s possible canonisation. But that is not all. Chiara helped us understand that holiness is built up by doing the will of God moment by moment; that holiness is not about ecstasies, or miracles, or anything extraordinary. It is about doing God’s will moment by moment, and therefore everyone can reach it. Even our Statutes state that our first and general goal is to be perfect in charity. But this perfection, which is therefore holiness, is reached moment by moment in God’s will, which is different for each person. For a mother of a family it means being a good mother, for a student it means being a good student, but this can lead us to the perfection of charity. I believe this is a very pertinent message and one that attracts people because it is not an extraordinary kind of holiness, made up of images or devotions, no! It is building up a relationship with God moment by moment, and a relationship with others in love. That is the first important feature. The second is that holiness must be useful to others. It is not holiness for its own sake, because none of us lives for ourselves, because God created us and redeemed us together. Jesus came on earth to redeem all of us as his people, as Church, the Body of Christ, and so he wants this kind of holiness to extend to the whole of humanity. The message that Chiara left us is that of being open to everyone, not looking at anyone as if they were different from you, but seeing everyone as your brother or sister. This “everyone” means people from your own country and those from other countries, Christians and non-Christians, believers and non-believers, those who understand and accept what I am saying and the person who contradicts me, because even someone who contradicts me is my brother or sister. This is what Chiara taught us and what she did herself first of all, having a heart that was able to welcome each person as if they were the only person in the world, whether they were a head of State, a child or a relative; a Church leader or a leader of another religion. Chiara had the same love for all. I believe this is the most important message for today when there is a growth in tension and violence, selfishness and mutual indifference. We can build a world guided by the Gospel, where all people are brothers and sisters and truly live as one family.
The Pope will join the families gathered in Dublin, Ireland, on 25 and 26 of August. As of now he is the most awaited guest. Besides, writes Brenda Drumm in an article published by the Roman Observer: “The World Meeting of Families 2018 has had the personal touch of Pope Fracis from the beginning. He personally chose Ireland to host the event; he gave us the theme ‘The Gospel of the Family: Joy for the World’ on which to base all our preparations; and, he also gave us The Joy of Love as the key document on which to base our programme and all the other elements of the Meeting. It was Pope Francis himself who announced to the world that he would travel to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families and since that announcement on 21 March, the conversation here in Ireland has now moved on to what his visit will mean for the faithful, for families and young people, for the Church and for the Irish people.” Repeated every three years, the event, which is promoted by the Holy See’s Secretariat for the Laity, the Family and Life, brings together families from around the world to celebrate, pray and reflect together on the importance of marriage as the foundation of personal life, of society and of the Church. The meeting will continue after the official inauguration on 21 August, with a three-day conference in which there will be diversified programs for young people and adults, with entertainment for children, all culminating in sharing experiences of faith in the presence of the Pope. Most of the events will take place in Dublin while other related events will be held in other parts of Ireland. The numbers are flattering, says Drumm: “People’s response has been overwhelming. All the tickets for the scheduled events have already been booked for a long time: 37,000 for the pastoral congress, 77,000 for the Festival of families, 45,000 for the visit to Our Lady of Knock, 500,000 for the closing Mass. Numbers from which interesting data can be derived: families from 116 countries will arrive in Ireland, for a total of about 15,000 international participants; thousands of families will converge on Dublin from all over the country. Approximately 6,000 young people under the age of 18, and 10,000 volunteers committed to ensure the success of the Meeting. But behind the figures are the people: families from all over the world who will gather to celebrate their joys and to discuss some of the many challenges they are facing faced in a rapidly changing world.” And she continues: “Pope Francis is able to grasp perfectly the reality of family life today, with the difficulties of every day. He understands that as parents we do our best for each other each day, and for our children. He also understands that families are not perfect.” What is the family for Pope Francis? Drumm recalls: “The nearby hospital, the first school for the children, the best home for the elderly.” And if “at times dishes can fly,” the Pope reminds us “how happier our family life would be if we only understood the importance of the words ‘please,’ ‘thank you,’ and ‘excuse me.’ The Pope remains passionately convinced that the family will continue to be ‘good news’ for the world. He believes that in the often complex and disordinate life of the modern family, the grace and the love of Jesus Christ are alive in a galaxy of daily acts of kindness, tenderness, generosity and fidelity often lived out heroically amidst immense human frailty and overwhelming social challenges. In a society that is easily inclinded toward violence, the family continues to hold us to hold our lives together, along with the world itself.”
The littlest one A neighbour, who was in a bit of pain because her son wasn’t profiting much from his schooling, couldn’t find a way to help him with his schoolwork. She left for work every morning at 5:30 and returned in the evening. So, I suggested that she send him over to me and he could study with my son. It wasn’t easy, because I also had to help my older son and take care of the smaller one, who had just turned one. But I was glad to be of help to someone. M. M. (Venezuela)An arms factory Finally I had found a job at factory equipped with a sophisticated security system. I couldn’t believe it and thought our problems were over. After a while I became aware of a secret that had been kept from me: the factory built weapons. They asked me if I had a problem with that, and I nonchalantly answered no. It wasn’t up to me to solve that problem, plus I would have been out on the street again. Talking it over with my wife and some friends, I realized what choice I needed to make. On my way home, unemployed again, I couldn’t stop crying, but there was an unusual joy deep inide my soul. I had put my Christian identity before everything. I would never have imagined that just a short time later I would be offered another very gratifying job and, most importantly, in line with my conscience. D. R. (Italy)A different mood Our son had returned from the kind of vacation we parents just couldn’t approve of. We decided to talk to him after supper, firmly decided to tell him that either he changed his lifestyle, or he’d have to move out of the house. All day, I kept asking myself if that would really be good for him. I also spoke about it with some of my girlfriends and my doubts increased. Perhaps, I thought, we have to be able to wait and put more love into our relationship as Jesus tells us to do. After talking about it with my husband, we had a change of mood, no longer imposing our point of view, but having a more listening mood in order to hear him. We sat together for a long time and, even though he didn’t share our ideas he let us share his struggles. We thanked God for having guided us along. C. W. (Austria)A suspicious character We don’t know anyone in the town we moved to for work. In fact, my colleagues tell me not to trust anyone there, because the people there are not recommendable. My husband, with his outgoing personality, immediately began to chat with several people, especially one man in particular whom he met every day at the magazine stand. My colleagues warned me again, telling me that man, in particular, had serious problems with the law. A few days later our daughter wasn’t feeling well and her condition worsened. I felt at a loss. Then I remembered that my husband had received a local map from the man he had met at the magazine stand. It showed the location of all the local services, including hospitals, doctors and pharmacies. Suddenly, it all became easy, thanks to the map from that suspicious character. It was a powerful lesson for me: Love of neighbour must come before any and all judgements.” L. S. (Italy)
According to tradition, on the night of July 1216, St. Francis asked God for forgiveness of the sins of the penitent pilgrims visiting the “Portiuncula.” On 2 August Pope Honorius III established the “Pardon of Assisi” in the Franciscan churches, an indulgence extended today to all the parish churches worldwide. On 1 August there will be the celebration of the “Opening of the Days of Indulgences” (from 12 noon of 1 August up to midnight of 2 August). It will be followed by the traditional Evening Prayer with a procession with torches. The youths of the 38th Franciscan March coming from all the regions of Italy and some foreign countries, shall cross the threshold of the “Portiuncula” after a journey on foot of more than a week, guided by the theme, “With a new name.” Lastly, the Basilica Square will be the location of five events/shows (Gloriosus Francisuc with Michele Placido, Concert of the Russian Symphonic Orchestra, On a journey with Mary, Pardon Concert of the Vatican Gendarmerie Band, and the ballet, The Two Paths).
“We live in a world which has become a real village: complex and new, but a village. Humanity today lives as if it were a small group. And if it is so, it could really live, in brotherhood. But how can we make it bloom?” Chiara Lubich See the new website: www.unitedworldproject.org With new contents: Watch, Workshop, Network «UWP, promoted by New Humanity, wishes to contribute to the creation of the united world by mapping, promoting and setting on the network the personal and collective good practices, processes, big or small actions, daily or extraordinary ones that contribute to make the world a place o peace, more fraternal and united” as listed in its objectives. Enter into the United World Project network!
“What shall I do in life?” one of the seven workshops held following the Genfest, focused on the theme of the choices in life, that is, one’s own “Life direction.” As the organizers recounted, “the construction of this workshop by adults and a group of young people from various parts of the world began last February, with meetings via Skype: a really edifying experience assumed by all with commitment, responsibility and creativity.” “Upon arriving in Tagaytay and getting to know each other personally, we realised the great expectations of everyone. Also the numbers expected at the workshop were high: out of the 1,000 enrollees in the seven workshops, 250 had chosen Life Direction, and came from various countries, speaking 16 languages.” The program, guided in a light and gradual manner towards ever deeper issues in which concrete experiences were the main factor, was prepared by the youths of the Asian town themselves, and the thread focused on a “daily motto: a thought to put into practice during the day. “The first day opened with “Open your heart”: an invitation to open one’s heart to true happiness, trying to remove what could be an impediment in living the present moment intensely. Four experiences were presented in various situations and methods on the theme of happiness discovered thanks to concrete love, or discovered after starting again after a fall, or in painful and difficult situations. The exchange sessions in small groups verified what lay in the depths and how many questions and expectations each one had inside.” “On the second day – they continued – the motto was ’What is the call’ which required our most active participation in presenting the sense of the ’calling’ with a comprehensible language to be able to be accepted, and associated to three key words: understand, listen, choose.” Then followed the story with God in five biblical personages: Samuel, the rich young man, the prodigal son, Mary, and Peter. A married couple, a religious, a woman committed in the professional world, and a focolarina were interviewed on the three key words. “In smaller groups we managed to deepen the sense of each of these callings, interacting with questions and answers.” “The third day’s motto was: ’Aim high.’ We left the word of Chiara Lubich who in 2002 recounted her calling to the youths in Barcelona. The questions, which were written, slowly filled the question box, and were the afternoon’s programme, with other interviews of our guests: each underlined the beauty of their own vocation in the perspective of the sole calling to love. The hour and a half passed swiftly!” “In these four days – the adults wrote – we saw youths who were thirsting for a relationship with God, in a profound quest, simplicity and serenity. We felt that something new had come about: an experience of light that had opened a new path of dialogue with the youths on the calling to a radical vocation.” Some of those present said: “It was exactly what I needed at this point of my life. Living the present moment, opening my doors, and taking radical steps beyond ourselves, are what I am bringing home with me.” “The youths who spoke about their choice to follow God in a total way gave me courage to make choices only out of love.” “For me it was important to understand how to answer the call: understand (that God loves me), listen (to the voice within) and decide (to follow Jesus). I am so happy about this experience. Thanks!”
More than 50 countries have signed up to the International Day of Friendship, which the United Nations established in 2011 and is celebrated each year on July 30. (Some countries, such as India, Nepal and Bangladesh, celebrate it in the days just following.) The aim of the day is to encourage governments, associations and groups to promote every kind of friendship, solidarity, trust, mutual understanding and forgiveness. This is in line with local cultures and customs, with the conviction that these feelings can effectively contribute to peace between peoples and nations. The UN especially encourages young people, as future leaders, to undertake community activities that include different cultures, to promote international understanding and respect for diversity. Judging by the thousands of young people who enthusiastically took to the message of friendship and unity “Beyond all borders,” at the recent Genfest in Manila and many other countries, the encouragement has not fallen on deaf ears.
The prophet Jeremiah was sent by God to the people of Israel, who were experiencing the pain of exile in Babylon. They had lost everything that represented their identity and chosenness: their land, the temple and the law… However, the prophet’s words pierce through this sense of pain and loss. It is true that Israel had been unfaithful to the covenant of love with God and this had led to destruction. But then came the proclamation of a new promise of freedom, salvation, and a renewed covenant. God was preparing this out of his eternal and unfailing love for his people. “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” “The eternal and unfailing nature of God’s faithfulness is a quality of His love. He is the Father of every human being, a Father who is the first to love; and his commitment is forever. His faithfulness touches each one of us and allows us to entrust to Him every worry that might block us. This eternal and patient love also helps us grow and improve our relationship with Him and with others. We are well aware that our commitment to love God and our neighbours is not yet constant, although it is sincere. But His faithfulness to us is freely given, anticipating our needs, regardless of the ‘service’ we give. With this joyful assurance, we can go beyond our limited view of things and start out on the journey again each day, becoming witnesses to this “motherly” love. “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” God’s loving way of looking at humanity also reveals a wonderful plan to make all people become one family, which reaches its fulfilment in Jesus. In fact, he bore witness to his trust in God’s love through his word, and above all, with the example of his life. He made it possible for us to imitate the Father’s love for all (Mt 5:43 ff.). He showed us that the vocation of every man and woman is to contribute personally to building relationships of acceptance and dialogue. How can we live the Word of life for this month? Chiara Lubich invites us to have a mother’s heart: « […] A mother always welcomes, always helps, always hopes, and covers everything. […] In fact, the love of a mother is very similar to the love of Christ which St Paul spoke of. If we have a mother’s heart, or, more precisely, if we decide to have Mary’s heart, the heart of the Mother par excellence, we will always be ready to love others in all circumstances and to keep the Risen Lord alive in us. […] If we have the heart of this Mother, we will love everyone and not only the members of our own church, but also other people’s churches. Not only Christians, but also Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and so on. We will love all people of good will and every person who lives on this earth […] » . “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” A young wife, who started living the Gospel in her family said: “I experienced a joy I never had before and wanted to share this love outside the four walls of our house. For example, I remember running to the hospital to visit the wife of a colleague who had attempted suicide. For quite a time, I had known of their difficulties, but being absorbed in my own problems, I had not bothered to help her. But then I felt her suffering was my own and I could not rest until the situation that had driven her to that point was resolved. This experience marked the beginning of a change in my mentality. I understood that, if I love, I can be a reflection of God’s love for everyone I meet, even if only a very small one “. What if we too, sustained by God’s faithful love, freely have this inner attitude in the presence of everyone we meet during the day? Letizia Magri
“The woman of Nazareth, as a homemaker, offers an enormous challenge for us, urging us to set aside a spirituality based on a fascination for the extraordinary in order to find mysticism in our daily routines. From theoretical fantasies to a tangible reality in the simplicity of the everyday… that is where God walks. Ermes Ronchi, Le domande nude del Vangelo (The bare questions of the Gospel), p. 176. “We truly need a home. A home is extremely important… It needs to be kept as most holy Mary kept hers, which hosted no less than Jesus, so she needed to do something in harmony with he who was the Word of God. “It was the beauty of God, it was brilliant, it was glorious, for glory means God’s brilliance. I don’t know if you can imagine, as a way of saying, God as a sun that is setting. Its rays that shine forth are the Word. The Word of God that became flesh is Jesus. So he is truly the glory, the height of beauty, splendor. “And so Mary… in her home… she knew how to keep it well, in a way that hosted Jesus well… Our calling, if it is a Marian calling, is making a home. You can’t understand Mary if you don’t understand a mother at home, beyond being the seat of wisdom, someone who knew how to keep a home.” Chiara Lubich on May 30, 1996, at the inauguration of the Gen house in Loppiano, Italy “A mother is more about intuitions of the heart than speculations of the intellect, more poetry than philosophy. She is quite magnificent and grounded, close to the human heart. “Thus it is so with Mary, mother of mothers, who is the sum of all affection, goodness and mercy, to which all the world’s mothers cannot compare. Mary is peaceful like nature, pure, serene, clear, moderate, beautiful… She is gifted, spirited, tidy, steadfast, rich with hope. “She is too close to us and unpretentious to be contemplated… She brings the divine to earth, like a heavenly plane that gently slopes from a dizzying height of the heavens down to the infinite smallness of creatures.” Chiara Lubich, Disegni di luce (Designs of light), p. 84–85.
“We had a few special days here at Loppiano,” the organizers write, “special days in the first “school” for pastoral care workers. There were 75 of us from different regions of Italy, as well as some groups from Latin America and Rwanda.” The title chosen for the workshop was Local Church: communion and mission – pastoral care in light of “The Joy of the Gospel.” The workshop took place in the Movement’s international town of Loppiano and was promoted by the Evangelii Gaudium (CEG) Center. It was a formation course as well as a research and study project offered by Sophia University Institute. “We were pleasantly surprised by the effect the proposal had on the participants: both in the deep and mature sharing of ecclesial experiences and in how the spirituality of unity responded to their needs, as well for the spiritual presence of “Jesus the Teacher” which seemed to illumine the pastoral care experience.” The presentations were high quality, prepared in close collaboration and in harmony with one another. The interactive afternoon workshops provided us with methods for implementing the content that was presented in the mornings.” The goal of the workshop was to propose theoretical and practical models to people who are working to make the spirituality of the Focolare “visible and experienced” in the Italian Church, since it is a gift from the Holy Spirit that was given to Chiara Lubich for the whole Church of today.” The course opened with an enriching introduction to the Trinitarian method used at the university in Loppiano, by Msgr Piero Coda, Director of the Institute; and a talk by Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, president of the CEG, titled: Protagonists in the life of diocese and parishes. One of the attendees remarked: “How beautiful the analysis of the new cardinal. Every concept raised smiles and emotions. . . I believe I absorbed a certain human mentality, especially regarding the use of words when proclaiming [the Gospel]. With the excuse of respecting the other’s freedom, I hide and deprive the other of the great gift I’ve been given. The cardinal spoke with force and, in his analysis, you could feel his zeal for the Church and humanity, and the secret for contributing to their renewal.” Other important presentations were given by Archbishop Vincenzo Zani, Secretary of the Congregation for Christian Education, and by Dr Vincenzo Buonomo, rector of the Lateran University. One young man remarked: “Archbishop Zani’s presentation illuminated me a lot. You have to have a program: The Word, placing oneself in the school of ‘Jesus the Teacher,’ living new relationships, expressing the communitarian dimension of the Church, the dimension of dialogue which generates a universal brotherhood.” Other comments; “This school was interesting for rediscovering the value of the incarnated Word in renewing the human structures of the Church.” “Our missionary life passes through a living charity and, therefore, seeing it, others wish to be a part of it.” “Theoretical presentations were both beautiful and exhaustive. Today, the third day, I went through a little crisis, following an examination of conscience because of what I always propose to do and never manage to do. So it was a constructive crisis.” “I really feel that we all need this training, so that our actions will be supported by this knowledge.” The workshop will continue with a second part that will take place in early October at the individual parishes. Gustavo Clariá
“Fifty years after being published, Paul VI’s encyclicalHumanae vitaeappears entirely different to modern eyes. In 1968 it was a brave document – and as a result controversial– that went against the climate of the time. This was the era of the sexual revolution, which needed certainty of contraception and the possibility of abortion in order to happen. It was also a time when economists spoke of a ‘human bomb’ – the danger of overpopulation that threatened rich countries, which could have decreased their prosperity.” So writes Lucetta Scaraffia in Avvenire, although she concludes that today the world has changed and that the encyclical should be read again with a different perspective: as a “prophetic event.” It was published on July 25, 1968, in the sixth year of Paul VI’s pontificate, and caused a number of conflicting responses.
Dear God, I remember those moments when I was younger, when I used to send you letters. Those letters were bombarded with, questions that I wanted answers immediately. I was 12 years old when I started seeing the world in a different way. I was born in a beautiful family, just like how I saw in the movies. I had a caring mom who wakes up earlier to prepare our breakfast. I had a loving dad. I had two lovely younger sisters that were always happy with the little joys of life. And just like any story in the movies, there was a downfall. One day, I just woke up and my mom wasn’t there anymore. I remember clearly, normally Sunday is Pancake day, my dad would prepare pancakes and my mom would cook bacon and eggs. But that day I just saw my dad drinking coffee by himself. No pancakes. No bacon and eggs. No mom. He explained that she left for good. My sisters were 8 and 6 years old. I pulled them both closer to me and hugged them and whispered to the universe that I will do my very best to take care of them. We were the talk of the town. The parents, teachers and kids were gossiping. There were so many moments I wanted to fight back to protect my sisters or simply just cry and complain to the world, to you. Why? Why us. I am too young to face this. Where are you? And my dad, he was the best person in this world. He did not deserve this. We moved closer to our grandparents. One day at school, I was about to eat with my friends, my sisters were rushing to me and told me that our mom was there. And in my mind, I was thinking, it’s impossible. I saw my mom coming towards us. She had a huge plastic bag filled with gifts for me and my sisters. I did not know what to feel. I ignored that she was there. Why now? Why is she back? After leaving your family? You can just come back? And you expect they will receive you and forgive you with wide open arms? And now she comes back with gifts thinking she can just replace it with all the moments she was not present? NO So I wrote to you, God, let your angels send me the message. I don’t know how, I don’t know when, but I felt in my heart you were listening to me. I remember writing to Mary as well. I told her I needed a mother. And you did answer to me. That day that I spoke with my grandmother, she helped me understand that I have to go beyond the pain my mom caused us; there is Jesus inside her. And despite all the bad things we do in life, his love for us will never change, if we fall, if we make mistakes, he will always love us immensely. It was not easy, I had to empty my heart and let her in, little by little, we began to rebuild a relationship and now my mom is a part of my life again. The love I have for my family is so huge that there will always be space for mistakes and acceptance. I may not have the family like in the movies, but I have a story that is real, and it’s better, because you God, you directed it. You wrote it. Life doesn’t stop there, I still have so many struggles to overcome, there are still so many challenges, but one thing is for sure, I trust in your plans for me. I might not understand right away, but I have this faith in my heart that you will be there for me no matter what. And for that, thank you.
A meeting ofbishop members of the Focolare Movementis underway in Seggau, Austria, from July 24th until August 1st. The 64 bishops, including cardinals from the Curia and apostolic nunzios from 31 countries and four continents, will spend several days together in Sytria for an “experience of the Universal Church among bishops,” the Austrian diocese reported. The gathering will be hosted by Bishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl. “The tradition of these bishops meetings was begun decades ago when the foundress of the Focolare Movement, Chiara Lubich (1920-2008), invited several bishops attached to the Movement, to Switzerland during the summer months. It was the deceased bishop of Aquisgrana, Bishop Klaus Hemmerle, to launch and moderate these meetings that were “deliberately private” and held in different places every year. The goal of these gatherings is to “delve more deeply into the charism of unity, to encourage sharing among the bishops on a global level and to spend several days in fraternal communion.” On Saturday, July 28, Bishop Krautwaschl will concelebrate the Mass with his brother bishops at the Basilica of Seckau, “to which all are invited.” In Austria, the Focolare Movement has 1,300 members and more than 20,000 sympathizers. Source:AgenSir
Well aware of the environmental and social crises that our planet faces, hundreds of people around the world have been steadily moving to find creative solutions to these grave problems, putting them in motion in their everyday lives through actions large and small. However, these actions often begin, grow and die totally in isolation. “Together we can do much more” is one of the mottos proposed by Prophetic Economy, a project that aims to create collaborative networks among all those who, in their own context, work to promote human development, independent of age, nationality or beliefs. The main event for Prophetic Economy will land at Castel Gandolfo in Rome from November 2–4. Experts from many fields will be involved, such as Jeffrey Sachs, North American economist and one of the world’s top minds when it comes to economic and sustainability questions; or Luigino Bruni, Italian economist and international coordinator of the Economy of Communion. “The experience is open to all people, organizations and businesses,” says Florencia Locascio, Prophetic Economy’s general coordinator. “All those who propose sustainable and creative solutions to the problem of poverty, inequality and the social and environmental crises that we are living through. We want to identify the changemakers, the innovators, and give them more visibility.” During the event, in addition to workshops, collective activities, networking and panels with renowned international experts, the first-ever Prophetic Practices Award 2018 will be awarded. The competition awards, spotlights and connects existing experiences of a prophetic economy, the many best practices that are already up and running that contribute to the common good. “Teens and the new generations have something important to say, and they already contribute enthusiastically, offering practical examples that are exciting,” explains Paolo Matterazzo, who directs communications for the Community of Nomadelfia. The first three to win the competition will receive a monetary prize and be invited to present their projects during the November event. The top ten will also have the chance to present their best practices. Deadline for the competition is August 1. For more information, see propheticeconomy.org. Source: United World Project
Imagine discovering that a new form can be made from waste material, that is potentially there already, whereby waste is turned into “something” nice, useful and valuable that previously did not exist. Then, think about involving vulnerable individuals into this virtuous process, like women who served time in jail and now are having difficulties reintegrating back into society, finding a job and economic self-sufficiency. This is Project Lia’s mission, a non-profit association and social enterprise established in Indianapolis, Indiana (USA). «Here, these women who are trying to reintegrate back into society, learn how to create home furnishings and furniture, in an educating workplace, which is a space for mutual understanding and respect, where waste material is re-purposed, as well as people’s lives, through relations based on reciprocity and trust,” Project Lia founder and executive director Elizabeth explains. “We also provide learning opportunities about finance, communication, corporate ethics, health and wellbeing, in addition to promoting participation in community and social life.” According to statistics published in their website, taken from Bureau of Justice data, over the last three and a half decades, the female prison population in the US has grown by over 700%. In 1980, there were 12,144 women in State or federal prisons, but their number had risen to more than 100,000 in 2015. If we also add women held in local jails, out on parole or under house arrest, they are more than one million. “When these women get out of prison,” Elizabeth Wallin adds “they need to find a steady job and a home, while they are trying to rebuild their family relations. If we add the stigma that is associated to prison and racial discrimination, then it is very difficult for them to reintegrate into society and avoid recidivism.” For this reason, Project Lia elected to focus on women. By helping women, families and communities are strengthened indirectly: important studies show that these empowered women are “community-minded” and reinvest 90% of their income into their own families. At this point, we wonder what has inspired this project. “During a trip I made to Argentina,” Elizabeth tells us. “I participated in organizing a youth festival called No Te Detengas (“Don’t hold back”). This festival gathered more than 1,000 young people and was about the cages we lock ourselves in, out of fear, social pressure or because of situations of comfort or bias. When I got back to the States, I realized that, there, women who got out of prison were still held back by a bigger and system-wide cage. To me, Project Lia is an answer to the fear, pressure, comfort and bias of a criminal justice system, and a society, which keeps “holding ex-convicts back”, even after they served their sentence, without offering any possibility for real social inclusion.” To sum up, it is an inclusive project that aims to build bridges of true social solidarity. There is one last thing we are curious about: why did you pick Lia for a name? Elizabeth explains to me that: “Lia is the name of a woman who dedicated her entire life to building bridges between people of different race, culture, religion and social background. Her full name was Lia Brunet, she was about thirty years old and was one of Chiara Lubich’s first followers, founder of the Focolare Movement.” In 1961, Lia Brunet traveled to Argentina, where she founded the Focolare little town in O’Higgins, a community in the heart of the Pampas, where Elizabeth too was able to experience the ideal of a united world. Source:United World Project
Eating alone One of my colleagues never joined us for lunch in the staff canteen. No-one really liked him because he was always so bad tempered. One lunchtime I made an effort to approach him, and as we talked, he confided how much he was suffering over one of his sons who had become a drug addict. I listened with an open heart. Then the two of us went into the canteen together. The other staff noticed with surprise how well we were getting on, and after that they began treating him with respect. O.F. – Slovak RepublicAn honest gift I offered to help a colleague in my office organize the collection for a staff member who was retiring. When the time came to buy the gift, my colleague advised me that we only had to spend half the money collected, dividing the rest between the two of us! I protested that this was not right, but she insisted this was how it was always done. I looked at her in silence, conveying my disapproval. A short while later she came over to apologize to me, and from that day we become friends. F.M. – ItalyA rose and a promise For a while now I have committed myself to opening up our parish hall so that our young people have somewhere to go after school. It’s not easy, and there is quite a lot of challenging behaviour. Once, while I was trying to break up a fight, I received a punch aimed at one of them. Shocked at what they’d done, they both fled. But a short while later, the one who had inadvertently hit me came back to give me a single rose and a promise to behave better in future. F.B. – SwitzerlandThe intern During my internship in a hospital, one of the patients with diabetes had already lost a toe and part of his foot, and due to complications was about to have his whole leg amputated. I took his situation to heart, and went to talk to him about the impending operation. He was desperate, and I tried to console him. «Look – I said – I have a present for you, but it’s not a material gift». We read the Word of Life together. The next day, as they were taking him to the operating theatre, he saw me and said: «I have faith. Let’s believe together!». C. – ArgentinaMy sister My sister and I were always arguing. Again and again, I wanted to make things better with her, but I lacked the courage and so never made the first move. The morning after a particularly hurtful argument, I met her in the kitchen and muttered a quick “Ciao”, but so quietly that she didn’t hear it. I knew I should repeat it with more conviction, but I worried it was below my dignity. Then I almost amazed myself as I turned to her and said a loud and heartfelt “Ciao!”. She was amazed too and we both smiled. D.B. – Italy
″You need to be young to follow Jesus, or else become young. He even asks that one becomes a child – every day and in every moment, freeing oneself from the sickness of spiritual senility. Because, if the spirit ages, it is held down and it can never soar. Therefore, one always needs to be reborn, begin again, become new: Jesus. It is often said that the youth of today are skeptical, perhaps cynical… if that’s true, it might be a case of posture or style beneath which lies the sense of amazement in front of a generation that was born in the midst of an inhumane waste of energy in the production of death. It is materialism that scares, deludes and arrests today’s youth who, by nature, react to a standard of living made up only of economic calculations and sensorial entertainment, of a singular battle for the stomach … This is the divine lesson behind this human crisis on which we pour so much makeup, tears and Coca-Cola: you can’t live without an absolute. Jesus walks by and the young people see him if the sight of him is not impeded by surgance of proud human beings, that is, people who feel that they are more than others because of their money or political power… Young people can immediately pick out the pure and divine countenance of Jesus, they leave father and mother, fiance and wealth, flattery and comfort – first on the path of the aposotolate and then Calvary. They want Christ and Christ Crucified. Christ in his entirety, all in all: only ideal. And they want his spirit, which is love: this divine blood that conquers death; which is intelligence and wisdom and bond of unity.″Igino Giordani
In the foothills of two small mountains in the heart of Argentina, La Falda is a small provincial town near Cordoba, located on a gentle slope that is part of a well-known tourist circuit in the Punilla Valley. Up until four years ago, this is where the Bongiovanni family – Esteban, Victoria and their two sons – used to live. Then unexpectedly things changed, and they moved to San Marcos Sierras, just to the north. It was their generous way to respond to a request to live at Sierra Dorada Home, a refuge for minors who already carry too many serious problems on their young backs. Many of them have stories of being mistreated, violence, being abandoned or malnourishment. At the moment the refuge hosts 28 children. “Before we arrived, we feared the worst about children’s homes. Like the ones you see in the movies, where the kids and infants are beaten or mistreated. Instead, we found it quite different, more like a large family. We make an effort to improve their situations and remove all the violence they have inside and the conditions they’ve lived through, so that they understand that the normal thing at their age is to live in peace, play and study.” Founded close to 20 years ago by Julio and Patricia Lanciar, and supported by a nonprofit foundation that operates with a true Christian spirit in the province of Cordoba, the goal of the home is to improve the children’s living conditions and help them to reintegrate into their families or foster care. The Lanciars had nothing when they started, other than the hope to be able to improve many children’s situations. Little by little, thanks to the support of many, things grew. Today the Sierra Dorada Foundation manages four “home labs.” There is San Marcos Sierras (where Victoria and Esteban are), Embalse de Río Tercero, Rumipal and Salsipuedes, and a number of programs for host families, scholarships for volunteers, etc. Seated at table in the dining hall, Victoria and Esteban explain that “many people show great solidarity, especially when they build a rapport with the children. There are young people from overseas who undertake internships in social work, as well as Argentinian university students. “Our work begins when we take people in. From the moment they arrive, we try to include them, to give them love, just as a mother or father would. With the help of a staff of psychologists, we try to give their lives a certain order. Starting with using a toothbrush, to bathing every day, putting on clean clothes and teaching them to take responsibility for their school homework.” Smiling, Victoria chooses one of the dozens of stories she could tell. “A few weeks ago, we all went to a hotel where we had been invited for the weekend. I hadn’t made my bed, thinking that we were in a hotel. But then I realized that the children had left their rooms completely in order, and even the bathrooms were impeccable. So I ran back to my room to make my bed, because I realized that I was the only one who hadn’t. “We try to live well our calling to serve. Yet it is certainly not always necessary for everyone to leave everything, their city, their home and go and live in a children’s refuge. Anyone can do this anywhere with whoever you find next to you. It can begin with the smallest things, such as giving an elderly person your seat on a bus, or driving without road rage. It’s the small things that start and spread good deeds.” Esteban adds: “We understood that God would never abandon us if we do things well, without expecting anything in return, with humility and trust. “And the truth is that by doing so… it works.” Source: United World Project
The organising committee of the “Italian Week” regarded Chiara Lubich as one of the most admired and respected women in Italy and, therefore, someone who should be remembered. The ten day Italian “carnival” that took place in the Canadian capital of Ottawa between June 6 – 25 focused on a number of famous people from Italy such as Giacomo Puccini, Sophia Loren, Vittoria de Sica and Alda Merini: it was a great surprise that the committee decided to include Chiara Lubich such names. When the Focolare community hear about this proposal, they asked themselves how best to present the charism of unity in a multicultural and multifaith society that is constantly in search of ways to peacefully respect diversity. The community also reflected upon the challenge of relating to the aboriginal people – a challenge that seems to be on going, marked by contradiction and with social consequences. Fernando and Lucie explain, “While we were preparing, we heard that a group of Muslims from Montreal had recently participated in a Congress in Castelgandolfo, organised by the movement. These Muslims are students of Doctor Mohammad Shomali. They were very happy to work together with us and offered to share their experiences.” They continue, “On June 16, the San Marco hall in the centre of Little Italy, Ottawa, began to fill with people of many different origins – from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and, obviously, from Italy and Canada. The Apostolic Nuncio, Luigi Bonazzi, was present as was Minister Fabrizio Nava, representing the Italian ambassador.” A range of experiences illustrated the relevance of the Chiara Lubich’s charism to today’s society. The first to speak was Jacques, a focolarino in Toronto and a “pioneer” in the spreading of unity in Canada. Then there was Anne, the manager of a tour company intriguingly called “Spiritours” who spoke about the economy of communion as a means of putting the gospel into practice at work. She was followed by Maria, a Brazilian focolarina living in Montreal, who recounted an experience of meeting with aboriginal people from Wati in the Gran Nord. Last year, responding to a request by the local Church, she and four other people spent a month with these people. Then there was Edwige who comes from Togo but is now living in Rimouski, in the province of Quebec. She was one of the first students at the Sophia University Institute in Loppiano and now, having completed her course, puts “the person at the centre” of the work she is doing in another university. She recently received a commendation that is normally given only to professors. Then Fatima and Moustafa shared their experience of dialogue between Muslims and Christians and of meeting Chiara’s charism. Fatima said, “One of the most important things I have learned is that unity is a gift from God and that harmony in diversity is an expression of unity.” Lastly, Monsignor Luigi Bonazzi, the nuncio in Canada, spoke. He confided that he had met the foundress of the Focolare movement on several occasions and that, many years ago, in 1975, he had made a pact with her to always “remain up” no matter what difficulties he faced. He said that this pact had sustained him during many years of intense diplomatic activity. The day concluded with the proposal first made by Chiara Lubich in 2000 in Washington, namely, to live the “art of loving.” Through this event – widely publicised by social media – the seed of the spirituality of unity has been scattered in a distant land and promises to bear new fruits.
“Our Hindu-Christian delegation had two motives for visiting Loppiano. They hoped to explore and deepen their understanding of the very original experience that the Sophia Institute offers. They also wanted to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of their presentation to the Movement of a painting of the Virgin Mary. The painting is the work of a Hindu artist and is now adorning one of the walls of the Theotokos Church in the little town. The dialogue with the staff and students at Sophia was deep and enriching. Indian academics have a considerable interest in inter disciplinary formation in dialogue. The exchange and thoughtful comparisons made by the participants increased understanding among everyone present and it became obvious that Sophia Institute is similar to some of the academic centres that inspired Mahatma Gandhi. We hope that we will soon be able to introduce courses on this great apostle of dialogue at the university in Loppiano. The seminar on Theology and the Practice of Dialogue was very interesting. There were not only the members of the delegation present but also many students and adults from the little town. Even though the subject is very topical, it was completely new to some people. In the evening, the Hindus came in procession to the Theotokos bringing flowers and garlands for the image of Mary. Gen Verde sang in the background. The reverence and solemnity created a deeply spiritual atmosphere. They spontaneously prayed in Sanskrit, Tamil and English and then there was the sacred moment of silence. Silence is an essential part of being oriental: in contrast, how uncomfortable it is for people from the west! It is as if people are not used to it or they are afraid to think too deeply about themselves. When cultures and religions meet with men and women of true faith, there is no need for compromise, syncretism or anomaly of any kind. Each gesture, each word, each moment of silence speaks of the Absolute. Everyone listens to it on their own wave length but the vibrations – as the Indians say – are always the same and penetrate the depths of the heart.” The last stage was Assisi. “We arrived at about 10.30 am. We walked up to the St. Francis Basilica and then on to the cemetery. I could not help but think back to the autumn of 1997 when the town has been hit by an earthquake and many people had been seriously injured. We had climbed to the top of the same hill with Vinu and Ashok, Dr. Aram’s daughter and son. Dr. Aram, a Gandhian teacher, had died some months before and had wanted some of his ashes to be buried in the land of St. Francis who he had greatly admired. Every evening, he used to recite his prayer, ‘Make me an instrument of your peace.’ The pilgrimage then continued to the crypt of the Basilica where we joined the monks as they recited the prayer of the ‘sixth hour’ in front of St. Francis’ tomb. There was a great sense of reflection, fraternity and spirituality. Our friends listened in silence as we prayed: it was a sign that they respected and valued our prayer as much as their own. The story of St. Francis, a man of peace and dialogue, continues to attract people of all faiths and from all over the world. Assisi is the perfect place for dialogue.” Source: blog by Roberto Catalano
“It’s been three years since I’ve been to Tonadico, in the Primiero Valley (Northern Italy), and here we are again. With us are some Hindu friends, who have come from India for a pilgrimage to the sources of the charism of unity. These are longtime friends, largely from the academic world, with whom we’ve shared moments of study and life for years. The most recent was in January, when I went to Mumbai. It’s a joy to meet again. They are fascinated by Chiara Lubich, and they want to know her mystical experience deeply. And is there any better place than Tonadico, where Chiara had an extraordinary light-filled experience in 1949? Our meeting begins with profound sharing, in a great atmosphere of family. Mysticism unites the great religions at their core. The way that each religion follows, with the means it has available, all lead to the heart of the Mystery, which is the same for all of them. The paths and tools are diverse, but the point of arrival is the same. For this reason, we all converge on mysticism and find ourselves united there. Although the language of the faiths and ways of expressing ourselves are quite different, the symbols are shared: sun, flame, gold, nothingness, everything… through these we understand each other. We know that Jesus is “the Way,” yet he, in ways that only he knows, can be a “wayfarer” with us all and lead everyone to the Father. And then it was time to wish each other a good trip!” Fr. Fabio Ciardi is professor at the “Claretianum” Institute of Theology of the Consecrated Life in Rome and director of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Center of Study. He currently directs the Abba School, an interdisciplinary study center that Chiara Lubich founded in 1990 with the contribution of Bishop Klaus Hemmerle (April 3, 1929–January 23, 1994), the renowned theologian and philosopher. Fr. Ciardi aims to go into depth in the charism of unity from different points of view. Source:Blog P.Ciardi
The beginning of a period of major illuminations (of Chiara Lubich) can be said to have begun on July 16, 1949. Igino Giordani had arrived on that day in Tonadico, Italy. He was staying at the Orsinger Hotel and was to hold a conference in the meeting hall of the Capuchins. “Enamoured with Saint Catherine of Siena,” Giordani had always dreamed of finding a consecrated virgin like her whom he could follow. Certain that he had found that person in Chiara, he proposed making a vow of obedience to her, thinking that in this way he would be obeying God. He went on to say that then, the two of them would be able to become saints as a duo like Francis de Sales and Jane Frances de Chantal. Chiara didn’t understand. The Movement didn’t exist and they didn’t talk about their vows. She felt that she had been born for Jesus’s prayer to the Father “May they all may be one”. She was tempted to let go of his idea, but she had the feeling that his words were rooted in a grace that shouldn’t be lost. So, she said to him: “I am nothing. In fact, I want to live like Jesus Forsaken who made himself nothing. You’re also nothing because you live the same way. Well, then, tomorrow we’ll go to church and I’ll say to Jesus Eucharist who will come into my heart as into an empty chalice: ‘Upon my nothingness, you establish unity with Jesus Eucharist in the heart of Foco. And do it in such a way, Jesus, that what comes out is the bond that you have in mind between us.’ And you, Foco, do the same.” That is what they did. Giordani headed for the hall where he had to give his conference, as Chiara felt driven to return to the church. In front of the tabernacle, she was about to pray to Jesus, but, in that very moment, she felt like she couldn’t. She felt that she was totally identified with the Son. She heard herself pronounce the words: “Abba-Father.” She realized that her religious life would have to be different from the way she had lived it up until that moment: no longer turned towards Jesus, but beside Him, her Brother, turned towards the Father. Armando Torno, “PortarTi il mondo fra le braccia. Vita di Chiara Lubich”, Città Nuova, Rome, 2011.
Dates: August 14th and 15th: workshop with young people August 16th: Concert “On the Other Side + young people of the Start Now project” GenVerde Tours
The Focolare recalls July 16, 1949 as the day on which Chiara Lubich and Igino Giordani made a “pact of unity” which would be the basis of the growth of the Movement. That day marked the beginning of the period of intense mystical contemplation for Chiara, which is known as “Paradise of 1949”. “[…]We were living these experiences when Foco arrived in the mountains. Foco, who loved Saint Catherine, had always searched in his life for a virgin he could follow. And now he had the impression that he had found her among us. So one day he proposed to make a vow of obedience to me thinking that by doing so, he would be obeying God. He also added that in this way, we could become saints, like Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane de Chantal. In that moment, I didn’t understand the reason for the vow of obedience or this unity between two people. At that time the Work of Mary didn’t exist and we didn’t speak of vows. Moreover, I didn’t share the idea of unity between two people because I felt called to live “May all be one” (Jn 17:21). At the same time, though, it seemed to me that Foco was under the action of a grace which should not be lost. And so this is what I said to him, more or less: “It could be that what you feel truly comes from God. So we should take it into consideration. However, I do not share the idea of unity between only two people because all must be one.” And then I added: “You know my life: I am nothing. In fact, I want to live like Jesus forsaken who annulled Himself completely. You, too, are nothing because you live in the same way. “Well then, tomorrow we will go to church and to Jesus in the Eucharist who will come into my heart, which is like an empty chalice, I will say: ‘On the nothing of myself, bring about unity with Jesus in the Eucharist who comes into the heart of Foco. Jesus, bring about the bond between us that you want’.” Then I added: ‘And you, Foco, do the same.’ […]” See full text at: Chiara Lubich Centre
God is not a distant person who can be approached only by queuing up. He listens with particular attention to those who are particularly poor, and particularly humble. From the volume Scelto per gli uomini (“Chosen for mankind”), p. 113.The busier I am, the more I need time for prayer. It is then that I discover one thing. When I use, or “waste” my time to remain in God, a sort of “miraculous multiplication of time” comes about. Thanks to the time given to God, I end up having more time at my disposal, or at least, quality time, more available and denser with love to donate to the others. Time becomes like a pearl necklace composed of many precious moments which I am able to live, and bring to fulfilment in meditation and commitment to others. From the volume Scelto per gli uomini (“Chosen for mankind”), pp. 109-110. We could define the “grain of salt” of Christian prayer as the point in which the distinctive characteristic of the Christian appears clearer and more evident: the fact, that in praying to God the other, our neighbour, is always included; and the fact that the praying person’s “I” always intrinsically includes a “we.” From the volume Scelto per gli uomini (“Chosen for mankind”), p. 114 At times it would be good not to say anything but remain in silence. It is only then, in fact, that we denote how many flows of thoughts, impressions and ideas cross our minds. It is as if we are immersed in a tide that intensifies and unceasingly distances us from ourselves, not allowing us to reach ourselves. In prayer it is not decisive for us to reach this absolute silence. It may even seem “right” if despite every effort, we are unable to reach it. In fact, somehow we understand that also in that indistinct, confused flow, so devoid of perfection and integrity, I am however myself, I who have been given and abandoned to myself, and I, the one who constantly slips away from myself. And so we can say: I have no power over me, and it is not I who knows and possesses myself but you in the innermost of me, and you who knows and scrutinizes me. You know who I am and what is good for me, and you answer with your “yes” and address me with the word: You. From the book Das Wort fur uns (“The Word for Us”), p. 91. Source: Klaus Hemmerle,“La luce dentro le cose, meditazioni per ogni giorno” (“The Light within things: Daily Meditations”), Città Nuova, 1998.
“I come from a country in Central America, El Salvador. It’s a small country, rich in history and natural resources, but afflicted for many years with political instability, injustice and poverty that have produced overwhelming violence and social upheaval, as every neighbour appears as a threat to everyone else. In recent years, the violence has intensified to point of creating a complete lack of mutual trust among the citizens. It was a situation that makes one feel quite helpless. In 2014, I lived for a while with some other young people from the Youth For A United World in a small Focolare town in Argentina, known as Mariapolis Lia. Everyone in that place tried to live the Golden Rule: Do to others as you would have them do to you. It made me see how beautiful it would be to create a society where everyone took care of one other. Yet, when I went back to El Salvador, I found myself once again facing the internal struggles in my country. The situation was really bad, more violent if that was even possible. Every moment was filled with danger both day and night, always risky to leave the house. You never knew whether or not you’d return home at night. Because of the situation, my parents and my sister decided to leave. But, thinking more about what to do, we decided to stay so that we could be a light in that dark place, during such dark times. During that period I read an article from the Youth For A United World in the Middle East, which told of how they decided to stay there in spite of the war in order to be able and willing to help the people wounded in the daily attacks. Their experiences made me think and strengthened my resolve to stay in El Salvador, to go out and meet the suffering of my own people. That was how my friends and I decided to launch a campaign that we called: ‘Change Your Own Square Metre’ with the goal of building peace in our local environment. We know that the problem in our country is complex, but we can make a difference if we begin from our own life with the people we meet every day, with our own daily activities. Personally, for example, I try to help my classmates with their difficult Mathematics Exam or to build positive relations with the neighbors around my house. All of it had a wider impact on the society as well. We got others involved in constructing a local park, a pretty place with painted walls. We launched a campaign to collect books and send them to cities that charge a high fee for renting them in the schools. Then collaboration was begun with other movements that visit the elderly in public rest homes, and with institutions that provide food and shelter to the homeless. Adults helped us in collecting food and allowing us to cook it in their homes. It was amazing how the food was always enough for everyone to have some! Perhaps we won’t be up to the task of changing our country all at once, but one square metre at a time we will certainly do it!”
“My name is Jean Paul. In 2015, while waiting for a bus to return home, I met a young man at the bus station. He arrived in one of the most dangerous areas of the city with his brother. I felt that it was risky for him to travel in that area alone at night so I suggested that he spend the night at my place. The bus didn’t arrive so eventually, we decided to walk home. On our way we were attacked by six men. They beat us up and threw me into a canal – they probably thought I was dead. I was unconscious for an hour. When I woke up, I realized that I couldn’t move my body from my chest down to my legs. I screamed, then this new friend came to help me. He was not as badly hurt as I was. With the help of some people, I was taken to a nearby hospital. The love I had shown to this new friend saved my life. If he hadn’t been there I would have died. He had returned my generosity with love. After a week in the hospital, I was transferred to Kigali, Egide’s town in Rwanda. There, the doctors discovered I had a serious spinal injury. I had to stay in bed and couldn’t move because I was paralyzed and in so much pain. I felt his pain as if it were in my own. However, I was amazed that he kept smiling after what had happened to him. He gave joy and hope to all of us who visited him. I would say that he radiated light in that very difficult situation. When I saw him, I knew that he needed someone to look after his needs on a daily basis. JP’s close friend from Burundi stayed and cared for him for a month, but he needed to go back to school to study. I offered take his place. This wasn’t easy because I had a small job that sustained me financially. I decided to leave my job and help Jean Paul full time. My mother couldn’t understand how I would leave my job for this. She told me that even a small job is a good start in making a better future. However, I was determined and she let me go. I asked God to guide me in how I could love JP with all my heart. All our friends, families from all over Rwanda & Burundi always showed their unity by visiting us. And because of their love for us, we found strength to go ahead together. After a few months, I had an operation. The doctor told me that I would never walk again. In a month, we had to move to a rehabilitation centre so that I could start my physical therapy. The therapy was very hard but I didn’t give up. I exercised with all my strength and in the end, I was able to walk again. What a miracle! I started to walk with two crutches, and within a year, I could walk with one. Our relationship soon caught the attention of JP’s family, the nurses, the doctors and the other patients because I am Rwandese and he is Burundian. Throughout the time we spent together at the hospital and the rehabilitation centre, J.P suffered much but he still kept on smiling. Many people, including myself were astonished by his attitude, courage and determination. In fact, with the help of the entire family of Youth for a United World and our friends who visited us, we were able to overcome all sufferings and live beyond all borders. During that time, our friends and family of the Y4UW took turns to give us food. Soon after, an NGO discovered our situation, and promised to give us meals every day. Then Jean Paul asked me to always go around and distribute this food to those who really needed it. I did it with joy, informing those I gave the food to, that this was a gift from another patient. It’s been a year since I left the rehabilitation. I thank God He kept me strong and gave me the courage not to quit. I have also been able to forgive those who beat me up. I’m convinced that forgiving them has not only given me peace but in some way, helped me to recover faster. I want to thank my friends and family of the Y4UW, who helped raised the money to pay for my treatment. After all the time we spent together, I received funding to go back to school and at the same time, I found a better job than the one I left behind. I thank God for helping JP to recover because no one thought that he would ever walk again on his own! I learned that the one who gives everything he can, out of love, is never alone.”
It’s entitled “May it be done to me according to your word” and its international version was launched on 4 July. The next World Youth Day in which Pope Francis will participate will be held in Panama from 22 to 27 January 2019 and will have an official hymn in five languages. The music was composed by Abdiel Jimenez, and the Italian version was composed by Maestro Marco Frisina. Interpreters of the international version are Gabriel Diaz, Marisol Carrasco and Masciel Munoz in Spanish; Lucia Munoz and Pepe Casis in Italian; Naty Beitia in French; José Berasategui and Eduviges Tejedor in English, and Erick Vianna and Kiara Vasconcelos of the Shalom Community of Brazil in Portuguese. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXlYt_JjftE
“Walls divide cultures, countries and people. I grew up in front of the wall that separates the United States and Mexico. My name is Noé Herrera and I was born in a city of Mexico named Mexicali, which stands for Mexico and California. Ever since I was small, I wondered why it was so difficult to cross the United States border. The cultures of these two countries have a lot in common, like the food, language and even some economic features. I have many friends on both sides and many people like me go back and forth between the United States and Mexico. Still, I’ve seen how this border represents pain and suffering for our two countries. I’ve seen it in the many families that are separated, in the immigrants who fight for a better future, in all the prejudice that we’ve created. And yet, I find that people are indifferent to the situation. Why? Because we’ve become accustomed to seeing the divisions.” “I didn’t have the same experience with the wall as Noè. I’m able to say that it’s easier to cross from the United States into Mexico than vice versa. My name is Josef Capacio. I come from a city in south California, San Diego, near the border. I’ve also seen the division in the United States, but fortunately, I learned from when I was young to live for unity. Over the years, a new perception of the world made its way inside me. Growing up exposed to multi-culturalism, not only did I tollerate it, but I made it mine! I think that’s part of the reason why Noé and I became friends. I’m not just Josef, the American, born into an immigrant family from the Philippines, and him Noé, from the great Mexican race. We’re all that and even more. We’re citizens of the world. And I’ll never forget how we met. After having spent a year away from home and attending a school of formation for young people in the Focolare in Italy, I was excited about returning home to support our projects in California. A friend suggested that I join the efforts for a project in Mexicali. In all honesty, at the beginning I was reluctant. Nevertheless, I bit my tongue and listened to him. Fortunately, after having met Noé, I decided to go along with several friends. That day can’t be described with words. It was amazing!” “The goal was to show our vision of a united world through a simultaneous race along both sides of the wall. There were around 200 people on each side, with a single message: ‘We might be divided by a wall, but we’re together in building a more united world.’ Lots of people of all ages joined us and, ever since then, it has been an annual appointment that has involved the local governments from boths sides. Following that first big event, our objective has become more visible. Josef and I, along with several friends from our countries have had many opportunities to work together in different social projects, but also, over time, we developed fraternal relationships and real frienships with our neighbours over the border. I’ve found that our values, goals and visions of the world are very similar. We’re all the same and I can love his country as my own.” “I took this photo during one of our events, which inspired this thought in me: ‘For many reasons there are physical, geopolitical, economic and security borders. But in our hearts there are no borders. We are one people and we want a united world!’ Those who have had the privilege of seeing our world from space, often tell of this new perception of human life on Earth. Up there in space there are no borders. They disappear. They’re invisible, non-existent. The reasons for continuing the wars become small. One astronaut even said: ‘From up here it’s clear that we are one Humanity on the Earth.’”
Last April, the United World Project (UWP) selected 25 representatives from all over the world to become ambassadors for a United world. They represent the Youth for a United World (U4UW) and their main task is to work for the official recognition of the United World Week by the United Nations. The ambassadors who came from countries such as Brazil, Australia, Kenya, Argentina, Italy, Mexico, the U.S, and Burkina Faso, among others, met for the first time during the Genfest 2018. Their role as ambassadors started precisely in Manila by contacting National Commissions of International institutions in the Philippines. On July 5 and 6, they visited the FAO and the UNESCO branches located in Manila to learn about the organizations and begin a collaboration with the Y4UW through New Humanity, the NGO representing Focolare Movement at the United Nations. Since 1987, it was granted ECOSOC|UN Special Consultative Status, and Since 2005 the General Consultative status. In 2008, it was recognized as an official partner of UNESCO. The Ambassadors were able to put into practice the training they received from the UWP since their selection in April, and successfully developed a working relationship with both UN agencies for future partnerships. They emphasized the need for a concrete reciprocal relationship to face world challenges such as climate change, wars and migration, focusing on UNESCO priority of global citizenship education for youth. Not only did a relationship develop between the Ambassadors and the institutions but also among the ambassadors themselves. The meetings at UN were a chance to reinforce their role as engineers of a new culture that goes beyond race, religion and social class to promote a culture of unity through concrete action on a local and International level. They realized the necessity to develop into a stronger and more well equipped team. Their work will now continue far beyond the Genfest taking full advantage of the energy, inspiration and unity constructed for path ahead. By Michael Grueter
“I am really happy to celebrate the Genfest here with you and with all those who are connected in different ways. I greet you with all my heart! I can bear witness to Chiara’s relationship with thousands of young people all over the world: her dialogue with them was always from the heart, open, sincere and characterised by trust. Chiara was demanding, just as you are, and she was convinced that the new generations, who have the ideal of unity at heart, will become new men and women who spread this light and bear witness that a united world is possible, because it is already a living reality amongst us, as it is here today. I too have had the gift of meeting young people from many parts of the world and I have always been fascinated and enriched by your energy, creativity and courage. Chiara challenged you to be men and women of unity, people who know how to carry in their hearts the specific treasures of each culture and give them to others: to be global men and women. At the 2012 Genfest you launched an ambitious project, the United World Project. In recent years you have worked on many practical ways of doing this. And the vision behind the project – to foster and spread a culture where all people are one family – has spread to many others, including adults and children. I know that you will soon be launching a new process, in continuity with what is already happening. We will all set off on many pathways to achieving a united world. We have a fantastic goal, but we know that great ideals are what make history. Our goal is “that all may be one”. We are aiming towards “all”! Making God’s dream our own is something that links us to heaven and at the same time locates us firmly in human history, to bring to light its journey towards being one universal family. The Genfest is ending with the project you are launching now. We will all go back to our own countries, to our towns and cities. What will we do? The united world that we experience here is one we will bring everywhere, wherever we go, to make it become reality in our families, wherever we study, or work or do sport. There is a secret that can help us not lose sight of this goal, which here at the Genfest seems so beautiful, real and fascinating. I’d like to sum it up in a few words: Love, start again and share! Love is the secret for a life that is happy, full, interesting, always new, never boring and always surprising! Start again when problems, discouragement and failures overwhelm us and make our passion for a united world waver. World champions train hard and get up every time they fall until they reach their goal. Share our experiences, our joys, our difficulties, our talents and our goods. Let’s use every means possible to build networks; let’s launch the most varied initiatives to build unity: large scale projects, both locally and globally, and make this universal family visible. We know that the visible part of an iceberg sits on a part that is under water. Similarly, being one family is built up through many ordinary deeds and actions carried out in the strong conviction that the most powerful means we can use to renew the world is our own heart. While our heart is still beating, we can love, we can start again and we can share. A universal family starts with my heart, with our hearts. This is the fascinating challenge we want to take on together so that a united world becomes a dream fulfilled.
MANILA (the Philippines) – The eleventh edition of the Genfest has just come to its end. The 6,000 young people present, who came from Focolare communities in more than 100 countries worldwide, launched their project: “Pathways for a United World”: ways and means that aim at bringing individuals and peoples together so that they can contribute towards building fraternal relationships in the fields of economy, justice, politics, environment, intercultural and interreligious dialogue. Maria Voce,president of the Focolare Movement said: “At a time when migration increases and nationalisms gain ground, as a reaction to an exclusively economic globalization that ignores the diversities of individual cultures and religions,the Genfest has proposed to youth a change of attitude: do not stop at personal, social and political barriers but be ready to accept without fear or prejudice any sort of diversity”. In the coming years, therefore, the Focolare Youth for a United World will seek to generate a web of activities targeted at instilling a mentality and a practice of peace and solidarity in their own surroundings and in their countries. Marco Provenzale said: “On July 6, we visited the FAO and UNESCO headquarters here in Manila to present our projects and to offer these international organizations the commitment of so many young people, who will be ambassadors of fraternity in their own countries, and whose precise mission is to promote actions that go beyond cultural, social and political boundaries, that go “beyond all borders” as the Genfest title states”. The Genfest has been a feast and a commitment at the same time.The message to overcome borders has been passed on even through the artistic performances, as revealed by the two evening concerts that brought Asia to the rest of the world and vice versa. Many visited Explo, a multimedia and interactive exhibition that offered a different version of the world’s history based on humanity’s steps towards peace and the centrality of personal commitment to build it. The young participants were even offered the opportunity to “dirty their hands” by choosing to take part in “Hands for Humanity”: twelve activities of solidarity, encounter and urban redevelopment organized in different parts of Manila. Stories beyond walls Stories related by young people, who live the drama of migration and segregation, were the highlights of this eleventh edition of Genfest.“Today, little is said about those restricted by limits in their everyday life, about those limited by walls, with a sense of powerlessness and a longing to be saved” – the organizers explained.
Watch interview with Aziz (Iraq)
The stories related are of current significance, such as the one of Noé Herrera (Mexico) and Josef Capacio (USA). Both live very near to the border that separates their two countries. Noé has to cross the border everyday to go to school and this means he has to queue for long hours to be able to cross to the other side. From where does he manage to get hope? From his friendship with Josef and other North American young men with whom he works to promote a mentality of mutual respect and concern. Aziz is from Iraq, but presently lives in France. “Have you ever stopped to think what it would mean if one day, all of a sudden, you are deprived of everything: family, home, dreams…. What would you do?” he asked the other youth at the Genfest. Egide and Jean Paul, one from Rwanda and the other from Burundi met during a very dramatic incident. Jean Paul was at a bus stop when he was attacked and almost killed. Egide saved him and supported him for many months: an extraordinary gesture when one thinks of the wound that never healed because of the recent conflict between their two countries. Is there any recipe one can use to overcome walls and barriers when things seem to push in the opposite direction? – the Genfest people asked. Maria Voce proposed three words, that are also a life program for all the youth who now return to their countries: love, start again and share. Love the peoples of other countries as you love your own people; start again without ever losing hope that another world is possible and share personal and collective wealth, resources and burdens. She concluded by challenging the young people to be men and women of unity, people who cherish the treasures of every culture, but who even know how to give them to others, and ultimately be global men and women.
MESSAGE By His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Youth for a United World International Genfest 2018: Beyond All Borders (Manila, July 6-8, 2018)
“It is with particular joy that we greet all of you, the participants of the 11th edition of the Genfest held in Manila, entitled “Beyond All Borders”, which has as its aim the opening of the young hearts and minds of tomorrow’ s future generation. Know that we commend your initiative and desire to gather together and share your blossoming ideas in order to surpass social and persona} boundaries; for, it is only through a spirit of solidarity, respect and mutual understanding that these obstacles will be overcome and cease to be a cause for division and conflict among the people of our world. As you embark on this journey to address these issues and strive for worldwide unity and peaceful coexistence-always, of course, remaining united in your own noble aspirations and the bond of common action and witness, which certainly hold a promise for a better future, we encourage you to remain steadfast in the vision of this gathering and to remember as well as promote the message of the foundress of the Focolare Movement, the late Chiara Lubich. With prayer and goodwill as the “waterfall of God”, all things will be accomplished and transfigured ! With these words of wholehearted congratulation, we invoke upon all of you the infinite grace and mercy of Almighty God, and remain with much love.”
At the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the 6th of July, 2018
[Signed]
+ BARTHOLOMEW Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch
The second day is full of novelties. With its 117 activities like forums, workshops and 10 ecological, social, intercultural and interreligious activities, the Genfest participants will be offered a unique chance to pass from theory to practice in less than 24 hours. “Learning by doing,” is one of the pillars of the professional pedagogy. This is exactly what the youths are now experiencing: a personal and social school of change, and the overcoming of walls and fences not only as themes of discussion and sharing of good practices, but also with action and hands-on experimentation in a “global” context like the Philippine scenario, with ideas, projects and actions from the whole world. The young finals have been signed up in the workshops for months now, and expectations are high. A Portuguese boy said: “I’m going to the ’I want to help’ forum on how to win over the ’spectator’ effect. The title is attractive and I feel at times that I am a powerless spectator facing situations that are bigger than me: unemployment, racism, and the sense of inadequacy before the challenge of life in relationships. I want to succeed in overcoming the feeling that there is nothing I can do to change things.” A group of young people from Cebù will participate in the very popular forum, “Nurturing Nature.” Kim Atienza, a famous Filipino anchorman and expounder of environmental issues, encourages the youth to get to deeply know nature with the cycle of life and its processes, and will lecture on sustainable lifestyles and production. One can also do a full immersion in Asian culture, with workshops in origami and fusion cuisines, or attend laboratories dedicated to knowledge and working on oneself: management of stress, fears, and care for the others. Many workgroups will be dedicated to social, civil economy and economy of communion, architecture, and the language of cinema. Politics will not be missing, “but will be the politics of hope.” A girl from Burundi said: “I signed up for that on corruption. We studied the different forms and the tools to fight it. I come from a continent where corruption is a wound. What has given me hope? It is the fact that we came from all over the world to bring down this wall.” In the afternoon the young people will pass on to phase 2 of the day, “Hands4Humanity.” The proposal will consist of 10 activities in solidarity, reception and urban re-qualification in various places in Manila, to experience small acts that can change the reality around us, slowly but in an irreversible way. Then upon returning home proposals will be offered to implement ad hoc initiatives. There is a wide choice: from service in the children’s canteen to the social center of Bukas Palad, to the cleaning of roads and other city areas, visits to hospitals, the aged, the deaf and dumb, up to street theater and the intercultural exchange with the Muslim and Hindu communities. In Tramo Street in the peripheral belt of Manila, a big group of kids coming from Australia, Brazil, Europe, besides other Filipinos, will paint and clean together with the local people. A Californian boy explained: “I would never have thought of doing something for a city which isn’t mine, and where I may not return to, but I am glad, and what’s more I would like to know Manila better. At the start I thought I didn’t care, but now it’s no longer so.” “Making Genfest a laboratory for learning and experimentation on human transformation techniques is a choice of great impact, both for the youths and the city,” explained Tina Bonifacio, businesswoman and coordinator of the forums. “The aim is to make a real experience of the overcoming of borders, both physical and mental. Each person, culture, and piece of the world always has something to give and share with the others.” It will be an intense day therefore for the young people now in Manila. But this is not all: it will end tonight with the international concert where many will stage their songs and performances. Music and art will recount another piece of “Beyond all borders.”
The Genfest is a meeting of youth who want to show the world that universal fraternity, a united world, is an Ideal worth living for. Over the years, the Genfest has become a great festival of ideas, thoughts and actions that inspire thousands of youth to change their life, their future and, finally, the world. Born in 1973 as the brainchild of Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement, the Genfest will reach its 11th edition in 2018 in Manila (Philippines). GEN ROSSO band will perform at the evening music festival on July 7.
Here we are: Genfest kicked off today in Manila’s World Trade Centre. It’s the main international event, while around 20 national Genfests are taking place in all five continents. The program has one main focus: to overcome every sort of barrier and thus the slogan: “Beyond all borders”. The daring title was chosen by the young people as an answer to the many forms of divisions present in many parts of the world. It’s also the motivation behind all the activities which preceded this moment during the period of preparation. Right from the start, the Genfest has been a collaborative effort; every actor is a main actor. The morning session, which has just concluded, began with videos from several locations showing pre-Genfest activities that have been taking place in twenty south-Asian countries between June 28th and July 5th where hundreds of young people organised social projects for communities. The microphone is passed onto the presenters and the “vloggers” who accompanied the participants in the program. For those born before the mid-1990s, we should specify that the vloggers have had great influence on teenagers and young people through the social media. In recent months, Louis from Burundi, Maria Clara from Brazil and Ceska from the Philippines all have a growing number of followers on Facebook. Powerful testimonies have been shared during the first session of the Genfest, like that of Josef Capacio from San Diego, California and Noah Herrera from Mexicali, Mexico. At a time of political and social imbalance and all kinds of division, they decided to promote peace right beside the wall that divides nations.
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The joint initiative carried out by young people from the United States and Mexico, Noah recounts, allowed us to discover the values, objectives and vision of the world from opposite directions. “We are all equal and we can love our own country as our neighbour’s.” Then, there was the story of Jean Paul Muhanuzi from Burundi, and Egide Nduwayezu from Rwanda. Theirs was the story of a true and growing friendship amidst dramatic conditions. After an assassination attempt on both of them, which left Jean Paul seriously injured, Egide gave up everything to support him during his rehabilitation after spinal surgery. The overcoming of borders in their case led to mutual appreciation of the beauty of different peoples and cultures. Jaime Zayas, from El Salvador, launched the idea from the stage of the need for a change in one’s own “square mile”, as he himself had experienced in his own land within the context of urban violence and mistrust. The strength came from the desire of being peace-builders: “We know that our country has huge problems, but we can change things on a daily basis, building relationships founded on reciprocity.” Tommaso Carriere, Italian and founder of the association, “Not From War,” a project formed by people of peace, showing what war is like and how development brings growth in the form of “fragments of solidarity, little steps that draw people closer and nurture peace. “We recount what we’ve seen in a country afflicted by war and how conflicts only serve to destroy society, undermining hope and the possibility of a better future.” Since 2014, the association promotes summer camps in Jordan where European teenagers visit refugee camps and interact with those who suffer through the consequences of war. The voices of these first days in Manila speak of pathways of life and plans for the future.
After having retraced features of the youth reality in the ‘80s, emerging from the private life following the riots in the squares of different worldwide capital cities, Chiara Lubich explains how the young people “have believed in the possibility of the world’s rebirth and they have rolled up their sleeves in order to give their contribution. They have done so through a wealth of incredible initiatives.” And she continues: “They are present, walking along the different pathways in order to reach the goal of a united world. There is the pathway of unity among races, of unity among peoples; the pathway of development, of unity between the rich and the poor, of unity among generations; the pathway of unity among nations at war, in order to achieve peace; among the faithful of different religions, between people and nature; among persons of different ideologies; the pathway of unity among ethnic minorities, of unity with those who are alone or who suffer in every way. Without being concerned about what people might think of them, they have recognized this pathway in Jesus. ‘I am the way’ (Jn 14:6), Jesus said, and they have followed Him trying to live His doctrine to the letter by putting the Word of God into practice. … Moreover, in whom can young people trust if not in Him? He alone can help them to realize the ideals that they have in their hearts and that they seek to defend. They love freedom; they strive for it; they want it. Who can give them freedom if not Jesus, who said: “If you remain in my word … you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (Jn 8:31-32). Young people want respect for nature. In many countries, they struggle to save people from self-destruction due to pollution. Who can respond to this desire more than the One who has created nature for human beings? Young people love peace; they want peace. Who can guarantee peace more than the One who said: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you; not as the world gives do I give it you” (Jn 14:27). Young people want human rights to be respected. Did Christ not come on earth precisely to announce the Good News to the poor, to proclaim liberty to prisoners, to give sight to the blind and the oppressed back their freedom? (see Lk 4:18). Young people ask for social justice. Where do they find the courage to come face to face with contradictions, misery and hypocrisy, the open wounds of a consumer society, if not in Him who calls blessed “…the hungry and thirsty for justice?” (Mt 5:6). Young people do not love divisions. Who can satisfy them more than the One who sees humanity as one and who came to knock down the barriers between different groups, ethnicity, cultures and peoples? Young people are attracted to non-violence. Where can they find the incarnation of their ideal if not in the One who has told us to love even our enemies, thus bringing non-violence to its extreme consequences? Young people love solidarity and the communion of goods between the rich and the poor. Jesus, who told us to give to whoever asks and not to turn our backs on whoever asks for a loan, is their model of solidarity. Just as the first Christians had understood Jesus’ requirements, so that no one kept any property as his or her own, likewise, young people find all their needs satisfied in Jesus. … Yes, young people with Christ, young people and Christ, the ways and the Way: this is the binomial which can give us true hope. … Go ahead, my dear young people, with total confidence. Go ahead with perseverance. Enlighten people with your actions. Let your faith shine forth before a humanity which often drags on with a life that is mediocre and meaningless. Show it how disunity can be avoided and how unity can be built. Speak out clearly on how this Ideal is not a utopia; indeed, only those who have great ideals make history.” (Extract from: Message by Chiara Lubich at the Genfest, Mollens (Switzerland), 24 March 1987 – Source: www.centrochiaralubich.org)
Pope Francis will be in Bari (Italy) on Saturday, 7 July, for the ecumenical meeting of reflection and prayer with the Patriarchs and Heads of Christian Churches of the Middle East. The event will be introduced by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, and Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Unity of Christians. “The idea of a meeting like the one to be held in Bari was conceived a long time ago by various people – Cardinal Sandri remarked – different Churches or Patriarchs expressed this desire personally to the Holy Father. In Bari, Pope Francis will be joined in prayer by Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and the entire Africa.” The event, of great ecumenical value in itself and unprecedented in the history of ecumenism, will consist of two moments: the prayer meeting along the seafront promenade together with the faithful, and a moment of reflection and mutual listening between the Holy Father and Heads of the Churches and Ecclesial Communities of the Middle East, where each will contribute with their own standpoints, observations and proposals. The city of Bari is called the “window on the East” since it guards the ancient tomb of St. Nicolas, venerated by Catholics and the Orthodox alike.
Head of Department The director of our sector had for some time seemed like an engine running at full speed. Everybody tried to avoid him. One day, talking with my grandmother, she told me about my grandfather who had gone through a period of physical exhaustion during which he seemed like an unfettered horse. His recovery was facilitated by the calm atmosphere in the family. The next day I gathered my colleagues and proposed to them that we help the boss, trying to listen to him with calm and anticipating his needs. Not everyone agreed, but the majority understood. A few days later the boss confided to us the tragedy that his family was going through. He also thanked us saying: “Because of your help I never lost hope.” C. M. – SpainChange of Course I was 61 years old when I met some young people who were trying to live the Gospel. I was amazed by their harmony and serenity. I had been a sailor and knew well how difficult it can be to live together. This convinced me to want to learn more, so I purchased a copy of the Gospel. Reading it for the first time, I realized I had to change course: It wasn’t enough to be honest in order to feel that all was well with me. I had to love others, excluding no one. This involved a radical change in my way of thinking and acting, beginning with my family. Whereas with people I didn’t know I was all smiles and willing to engage in conversation, whereas at home with them, I spoke little, only when necessary and with an authoritarian tone. G. – ItalyBullying I experienced bullying for myself. When I was a teenager, several students from my school decided to beat up the first red-head who would head towards the toilets. And I happened to be the one. Now I’m a teacher. One day, before class, a student came looking for me in the teacher room. He told me that he had been charged with setting a trap for his best friend, and if he didn’t do it he would receive equal treatment. He was shaking and afraid. During the lesson, I told them what happened to me. I asked my students to tell me what they thought of what I had said and my words were followed by words and long silences. A few days later I learned that the trap was no longer planned on. H. N. – HungaryDad’s Return The news that Dad had returned to Itay with his new wife for a period of vacation had overturned the life of me and my sister. After the separation of our parents years of difficulty followed. From the return to our country with our mother until her death from an incurable disease. The relationship between us sisters was peaceful, but the news of Dad’s arrival brought forth a lot of forgotten feelings and pain. “I don’t want to see him!” was the first impulse. Then a thought: God, our only value, reminded us to love our enemies. The meeting with Dad went well and we tried to love him. A bridge has been built between us. E. R. – Italy
The Espiga Dourada story shows how dedication to helping the poor can inspire the entrepreneurial spirit. The artiginal bakery has achieved a great deal over the years, overcoming many obstacles and threats in the volatile environment along a major expressway on the outskirts of Brazil’s largest city. Started in 1988 as a bread-making initiative, selling loaves on the roadside, the enterprise was a forerunner of the Economy of Communion project which Chiara Lubich launched from Saõ Paulo in 1991. Espiga immediately embraced the courageous vision and values of this revolutionary new approach to economic activity. «It was during a serious economic crisis,” recalls Espiga pioneer Adriana Valle, originally from Italy, for the past 38 years in Brazil. “Money was scarce, there was rising inflation and high unemployment. In the midst of this situation, we were a group of girls with different talents and skills who got together to start baking bread and selling it from baskets to the drivers passing by the Focolare town “Mariapolis Ginetta” in Vargem Grande Paulista». They did this a few times, but when they suspended production for several days, drivers kept stopping and asking for the “girls with the bread and big smiles”. At this point, they realised it could be a permanent activity, offering work opportunities to local mothers and young people, to help them support their families and their education. There was no clear business plan at this time, but the customers kept growing in number, drawn by the friendly atmosphere. In 1994, the sales activity moved from the pavement to a small roadside store, at the same time as the Economy of Communion Business Park was developing close to the Focolare town. A second sales point was established on the other side of the road, bordering a favela slum, so that the people living there could buy their bread without the danger of crossing the busy highway. Chiara Lubich chose the names Espiga Dourada I and II for the two shops, with a logo showing a ripe ear of corn shining under the sun. The aim: to offer a welcoming, harmonious and calm environment with a family atmosphere for all who come. From the start, there were those convinced it would fail, people who scorned the possibility of success from such humble beginnings (“how can you hope to achieve anything with just half a sack of flour?”). Others held the faith, and got involved to make it work. For example, two local businessmen were so impressed by the progress made with such flimsy infrastructure, that they decided to contribute financially. This investment came just in time to avoid having to lay off some of the staff, and allowed plans to go ahead to improve and redesign the two locations and to raise the standards of the products on offer. Many customers have spoken of how these two bakeries have had an effect far beyond good-tasting bread. Some travel for kilometres just to experience the “positive energy” they find there as they enjoy their coffee and cake. Some discover the strength to make a new start in their lives, encouraged by the welcome they know they will find there. But it has not all been sweet aromas and smiling faces. The bakeries have been attacked several times. During the last incident, Adriana was ordered to empty the till by a masked gunman. At gunpoint, she found the courage to start talking with him. She told him how worried she was about how things would turn out for him and his gang once they went outside. Her sincere concern and respect disarmed the boys, literally. They even took off their masks and did no harm. And there have been no more incidents since then! Today the bakery and two shops employ 20 part time and 15 young part time workers. They use ten sacks of flour and serve between 1,200 to 1,500 customers each day. For the more affluent weekend customers, they offer a selection of specialist breads, savoury dishes, cakes for special occasions, and their own artisanal ice-cream range. At the same time, they maintain production of high quality, low-price bread for their regular clients from the favelas. As well as creating jobs and working with an attitude of love, a cherished part of Espiga Dourada’s aim is to facilitate interaction between different social categories. Those less advantaged financially feel part of the Espiga family, while those who are better off come back, bringing their own contribution and then thank Espiga because they find they have received far more than they have given. Source: EdC online
Together with their three children, four years ago Edgar and Maquency moved to 
Repeated every three years, the event, which is promoted by the Holy See’s Secretariat for the Laity, the Family and Life, brings together families from around the world to celebrate, pray and reflect together on the importance of marriage as the foundation of personal life, of society and of the Church. The meeting will continue after the official inauguration on 21 August, with a three-day conference in which there will be diversified programs for young people and adults, with entertainment for children, all culminating in sharing experiences of faith in the presence of the Pope. Most of the events will take place in Dublin while other related events will be held in other parts of Ireland. The numbers are flattering, says Drumm: “People’s response has been overwhelming. All the tickets for the scheduled events have already been booked for a long time: 37,000 for the pastoral congress, 77,000 for the Festival of families, 45,000 for the visit to Our Lady of Knock, 500,000 for the closing Mass. Numbers from which interesting data can be derived: families from 116 countries will arrive in
“What shall I do in life?” one of the seven workshops held following the
“The first day opened with “Open your heart”: an invitation to open one’s heart to true happiness, trying to remove what could be an impediment in living the present moment intensely. Four experiences were presented in various situations and methods on the theme of happiness discovered thanks to concrete love, or discovered after starting again after a fall, or in painful and difficult situations. The exchange sessions in small groups verified what lay in the depths and how many questions and expectations each one had inside.” “On the second day – they continued – the motto was ’What is the call’ which required our most active participation in presenting the sense of the ’calling’ with a comprehensible language to be able to be accepted, and associated to three key words: understand, listen, choose.” Then followed the story with God in five biblical personages: Samuel, the rich young man, the prodigal son, Mary, and Peter. A married couple, a religious, a woman committed in the professional world, and a focolarina were interviewed on the three key words. “In smaller groups we managed to deepen the sense of each of these callings, interacting with questions and answers.” 
In the foothills of two small mountains in the heart of Argentina, La Falda is a small provincial town near Cordoba, located on a gentle slope that is part of a well-known tourist circuit in the Punilla Valley. Up until four years ago, this is where the Bongiovanni family – Esteban, Victoria and their two sons – used to live. Then unexpectedly things changed, and they moved to San Marcos Sierras, just to the north. It was their generous way to respond to a request to live at 
Fernando and Lucie explain, “While we were preparing, we heard that a group of Muslims from Montreal had recently participated in a Congress in Castelgandolfo, organised by the movement. These Muslims are students of Doctor Mohammad Shomali. They were very happy to work together with us and offered to share their experiences.” They continue, “On June 16, the San Marco hall in the centre of Little Italy, Ottawa, began to fill with people of many different origins – from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and, obviously, from Italy and Canada. The Apostolic Nuncio, Luigi Bonazzi, was present as was Minister Fabrizio Nava, representing the Italian ambassador.” A range of experiences illustrated the relevance of the Chiara Lubich’s charism to today’s society. The first to speak was Jacques, a focolarino in Toronto and a “pioneer” in the spreading of unity in Canada. Then there was Anne, the manager of a tour company intriguingly called “
“It’s been three years since I’ve been to Tonadico, in the Primiero Valley (Northern Italy), and here we are again. With us are some Hindu friends, who have come from India for a pilgrimage to the sources of
The beginning of a period of major illuminations (of 
“I come from a country in Central America, El Salvador. It’s a small country, rich in history and natural resources, but afflicted for many years with political instability, injustice and poverty that have produced overwhelming violence and social upheaval, as every neighbour appears as a threat to everyone else. In recent years, the violence has intensified to point of creating a complete lack of mutual trust among the citizens. It was a situation that makes one feel quite helpless. In 2014, I lived for a while with some other young people from the Youth For A United World in a small Focolare town in Argentina, known as 
Last April, the 
“I am really happy to celebrate the 
know that you will soon be launching a new process, in continuity with what is already happening. We will all set off on many pathways to achieving a united world. We have a fantastic goal, but we know that great ideals are what make history. Our goal is “that all may be one”. We are aiming towards “all”! Making God’s dream our own is something that links us to heaven and at the same time locates us firmly in human history, to bring to light its journey towards being one universal family. The Genfest is ending with the project you are launching now. We will all go back to our own countries, to our towns and cities. What will we do? The united world that we experience here is one we will bring everywhere, wherever we go, to make it become reality in our families, wherever we study, or work or do sport. There is a secret that can help us not lose sight of this goal, which here at the Genfest seems so beautiful, real and fascinating. I’d like to sum it up in a few words: Love, start again and share! Love is the secret for a life that is happy, full, interesting, always new, never boring and always surprising! Start again when problems, discouragement and failures overwhelm us and make our passion for a united world waver. World champions train hard and get up every time they fall until they reach their goal. Share our experiences, our joys, our difficulties, our talents and our goods. Let’s use every means possible to build networks; let’s launch the most varied initiatives to build unity: large scale projects, both locally and globally, and make this universal family visible. We know that the visible part of an iceberg sits on a part that is under water. Similarly, being one family is built up through many ordinary deeds and actions carried out in the strong conviction that the most powerful means we can use to renew the world is our own heart. While our heart is still beating, we can love, we can start again and we can share. A universal family starts with my heart, with our hearts. This is the fascinating challenge we want to take on together so that a united world becomes a dream fulfilled.
The second day is full of novelties. With its 117 activities like forums, workshops and 10 ecological, social, intercultural and interreligious activities, the Genfest participants will be offered a unique chance to pass from theory to practice in less than 24 hours. “Learning by doing,” is one of the pillars of the professional pedagogy. This is exactly what the youths are now experiencing: a personal and social school of change, and the overcoming of walls and fences not only as themes of discussion and sharing of good practices, but also with action and hands-on experimentation in a “global” context like the Philippine scenario, with ideas, projects and actions from the whole world. The young finals have been signed up in the workshops for months now, and expectations are high. A Portuguese boy said: “I’m going to the ’I want to help’ forum on how to win over the ’spectator’ effect. The title is attractive and I feel at times that I am a powerless spectator facing situations that are bigger than me: unemployment, racism, and the sense of inadequacy before the challenge of life in relationships. I want to succeed in overcoming the feeling that there is nothing I can do to change things.” 
A group of young people from Cebù will participate in the very popular forum, “Nurturing Nature.” Kim Atienza, a famous Filipino anchorman and expounder of environmental issues, encourages the youth to get to deeply know nature with the cycle of life and its processes, and will lecture on sustainable lifestyles and production. One can also do a full immersion in Asian culture, with workshops in origami and fusion cuisines, or attend laboratories dedicated to knowledge and working on oneself: management of stress, fears, and care for the others. Many workgroups will be dedicated to social, civil economy and economy of communion, architecture, and the language of cinema. Politics will not be missing, “but will be the politics of hope.” A girl from Burundi said: “I signed up for that on corruption. We studied the different forms and the tools to fight it. I come from a continent where corruption is a wound. What has given me hope? It is the fact that we came from all over the world to bring down this wall.” 
The 
Chiara Lubich chose the names Espiga Dourada I and II for the two shops, with a logo showing a ripe ear of corn shining under the sun. The aim: to offer a welcoming, harmonious and calm environment with a family atmosphere for all who come. From the start, there were those convinced it would fail, people who scorned the possibility of success from such humble beginnings (“how can you hope to achieve anything with just half a sack of flour?”). Others held the faith, and got involved to make it work. For example, two local businessmen were so impressed by the progress made with such flimsy infrastructure, that they decided to contribute financially. This investment came just in time to avoid having to lay off some of the staff, and allowed plans to go ahead to improve and redesign the two locations and to raise the standards of the products on offer. Many customers have spoken of how these two bakeries have had an effect far beyond good-tasting bread. Some travel for kilometres just to experience the “positive energy” they find there as they enjoy their coffee and cake. Some discover the strength to make a new start in their lives, encouraged by the welcome they know they will find there. But it has not all been sweet aromas and smiling faces. The bakeries have been attacked several times. During the last incident, Adriana was ordered to empty the till by a masked gunman. At gunpoint, she found the courage to start talking with him. She told him how worried she was about how things would turn out for him and his gang once they went outside. Her sincere concern and respect disarmed the boys, literally. They even took off their masks and did no harm. And there have been no more incidents since then!