When I think back on the Genfest 1995, I can’t only think of the event, itself, although who could forget the dances, the faces, the excitement, the event and the very strong experiences of the participants. In fact, before all the excitement of those two days at the Palaeur in Rome, my thoughts go back to the intense experience of unity built during the months and especially the weeks before the event. I can’t really remember the details, but every time we got together to prepare for it, the result was a deeper and stronger union with God. Strange, I know, but before beginning the concrete stuff, I remember we always tried to put everything into perspective: we weren’t doing this just for fun (although fun, it was!), but we were doing it because we believed it could be a contribution to the united world that we all dreamed of… a world where all relationships were based on mutual love and respect, and could overcome all divisions. Then we got to work, trying not the sway from the goal. First, the ideas. Then came the song, the dance, the rap… Each little piece was born from giving our ideas, losing them, trying to be full of love and empty of ourselves in order to really understand the others. That took sweat, energy, pain…, but for some reason it filled us with a special joy and happiness. We gave our all, but ready to lose it all. And that was the deal, because as much as we were working, we didn’t even know if the piece would be chosen by the central organizing committee in Rome or not. And even if chosen, we knew it could be cancelled up to the last minute. But, with that said, full-speed ahead! And now for the Genfest, itself! Even though it was a life-changing event in all its aspects, I can’t hide it: for me the highlight was the meeting with Chiara. I don’t know if the other 12 thousand young people in the arena felt the same, but I felt like Chiara was talking to me, and me alone. When Noel asked her the final question, «Chiara, from the bottom of your heart, what would you like to say to us young people?», her answer rang out like a war-call that still rings in my ears. With a super-astute intuition and understanding of what the young heart yearns for, she quoted St. Catherine who had told her disciples not to be satisfied with small things because “God wants them big!”. «You, young people – she said, with a conviction that went straight to the heart – don’t be satisfied with crumbs… with small joys… but aim high and seek the fullness of joy: that joy that comes from living out unity!» Hmm. For better or for worse, that’s been my experience ever since. “Unity”? A deep word that I’m still discovering after these 23 years. But that “fullness of joy”? Yep! I’ve found it! Oh! …and by the way, our performance was chosen. Take a look. Hope you like it! Michelle Sopala
Jonathan, what is actually happening? “There are group and plenary sessions. There are about twenty groups in total, divided according to language – English, French, Spanish and Italian. Each group has a facilitator and someone who takes notes. The members of the group have to work together and answer fifteen questions that have arisen from the Synod Document. The responses from each group will form the basis of a document that will be given to the Synod Fathers.” Tell me more about the questions. “The first section is about the challenges and opportunities that young people experience in the world today. For example, it refers to personality development, relationships with people of other nationalities, inter religious challenges, diversity seen as opportunity, young people and the future, their dreams, their attitude to technology, their search for meaning in life and the relationship between what is sacred and what is mundane in life.” What about the second section? “That part refers to faith, vocation, the specific role of young people in the world, discernment and accompaniment as a vocation develops. There are also questions about their relationship with Jesus, about how they see Jesus in the twenty-first century. The last part focuses on pastoral formation and activities provided by the Church; it’s really about how young people see and experience the Church nowadays.” Where do the young people in your group come from? “Some come fromEurope – Slovenia, Germany, Greece and Poland – but there are also people from other continents. One person comes from as far away as the Islands of Samoa in the Pacific Ocean. A young Sikh boy talked about his faith and the relationship he has with the spiritual leaders in the temple where he worships. He said they are always there as a source of peace and encouragement for everyone. There is also a young Anglican boy from Zimbabwe who is studying for the priesthood. I feel they speak with great wisdom: discussion is always very open and enriching.” Have you been struck by any of the experiences they shared? “Yes, there was one in particular. A young Polish doctor, who is part of the Neocatechumenal Way, spoke about an association that he and his wife have founded that cares for people who are dying. The first day, there was a reflection upon the meaning of suffering that was based upon the experience of Chiara Luce Badano and I think this helped them to speak openly about what they are doing. The members of this association spend time with people who are dying, they provide medical assistance but also ask these people to offer up their sufferings for others. In doing this, these people leave the earth “full of life” because, as the young man said, ‘Dying is the most beautiful time in life because we are drawing close to God who we love more than anyone else.’” The young people from the Focolare have been asked to help with the liturgy for the Mass each day and with the time for meditation… “Yes, some young people from Loppiano and from the Gen Centre in Rome formed a choir which is beginning to take in other people. They asked people with talent to help with the music for the Mass. A violinist joined them yesterday. It’s a really good experience.” Are the young people happy with what is happening? “We are beginning to realise that this is a historic moment in the Catholic Church. This is the first time in two thousand years that there has been a synod about young people in which young people are participating! But it’s natural for them to play a role in the Church. They are the Church. They treat the Pope and the Cardinal as their best friends – shaking hands with them, embracing them – it’s beautiful to see.” What’s it like for you? “It’s an absolutely unique experience. You realise how great the Church is and the impact it makes in the world. There is the whole world here – the universality of the Church.” Source: Loppiano online
The story of Jean and Vivian is a story of love, hope and courage. They met in Aleppo, Syria, in 2000 while belonging to the Focolare Movement. Vivian is a widow with a one year-old son who is totally deaf. Jean is a carpenter and socially active. Their common commitment to living the Gospel and bringing the ideal of a united world to humanity brought them closer and, in 2003 they got married and have four children. Vivian’s first son, Marc, was the motivation behind their adventure. Because of his need for special care, Vivian went to Lebanon where Marc would later follow and stay at a centre run by the Focolare: “It’s really a foretaste of Heaven,” he says. “Living the Gospel in daily life accompanies the whole educational process. The children grow up in this oasis of peace and develop their talents while overcoming their handicap. The dream began to grow in me of setting up an institute myself, in my own city of Aleppo.” Jean supported him in his venture and, in 2005, their small centre was begun. Other larger ones would follow with larger capacity for up to ten children, all from poor families who couldn’t afford the cost. The centre was always in deficit: “Whenever we needed something,” Jean recalls, “we’d go in front of the crucifix and hand over our needs to Him. Providence arrived right on time every time.” The breakout of the war in 2011 brought much death and destruction. Jean lost his carpentry, the centre wasn’t having any financial input and many were living on help from the Church and humanitarian organizations. Many left the country and, even though Jean and Vivian were tormented at the thought, they bought tickets to go. But one thing became clearer and clearer in their hearts: they couldn’t leave “their” deaf children and destroy that dream that had come true with so much effort. “On the night before our departure, I stepped into church,” Jeans says, “I had a deep conversation with Jesus, face to face, man to man. He seemed to speak in my heart and asked me not to go: what would the children now? I felt him posing this tragic question to me. I put my children in His hands. I went home and Vivian and I decided to rip up the tickets and stay in the city forever to be a help to the people who needed us.” “We were hopeful that God would accompany and support us in all our future projects and especially in our family,” echoed Vivian, “and that’s what happened.” Now the centre is their second home, their children also take part in the life of the group and Jean works full time “This community has widened our hearts. There is no longer boy or girl, student or teacher, healthy or handicapped, Muslim or Christian. We live in the one love and beneath the same gaze of a God-Love, incarnate, living in our midst.”
The celebration of the Persian New Year coincides with the vernal equinox which marks the beginning of spring, on 21 March, day in which many countries of Asia and Eastern Europe celebrate the feast of Nawroz (literally “new day”) proclaimed the international day of the United Nations which in 2009 was officially registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of humanity. Nawroz is an ancient, happy and joyous feast, estimated to be celebrated by 300 million people. Connected to the idea of the rebirth of nature, it is pervaded by a rich symbolism and promotes values of peace, reconciliation, solidarity between generations, friendship among families, peoples and communities.
Could it be that there are still prejudices based on the colour of the skin despite the great achievements of the last century?Many steps have been taken, but work needs to be done to completely eliminate all forms of inequality.On 21 March, theInternational Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, established in 1966 by the United Nations, reminds us of the massacre in Sharpeville, South Africa, which occurred on 21 March 1960. On that day, perhaps the bloodiest in apartheid history, the police opened fire on a crowd of black citizens protesting against a measure of racial segregation which was imposed on them. About 70 of them remained lifeless on the ground.In these days, campaigns in support of integration and against all forms of discrimination, hatred and violence perpetrated for racial reasons are organized in various parts of the world. The protagonists of these initiatives, as always, are the young people.
We meet Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio, at Castel Gandolfo, not far from the Mariapolis Center there. It feels like a holiday, since hundreds of people (in the end they will count close to 2,000) are flowing toward an event on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Chiara Lubich’s passing. Outside the door of the small hall where we meet, there are many festive voices. “Ten years later, as we return to Chiara Lubich, it is not a return to the past, like archeology,” says Riccardi. “It’s not even a sentimental memory, as people can have for someone who was important in the Church. “But,” he confides, “It is certainly something important in my life.” He mentions the pivotal years in Europe, when democracy was returning after a century-long interruption, when the walls and iron curtains were being dismantled. “I think that Chiara’s message is even more relevant today than it was during the Cold War or in 1989. Today, in this global world, her message speaks of the common destiny of all of us, of the unity of peoples and the human family. Yet it is not a sociologist’s typical message, but a profound one, given that Chiara was a woman who was able to summarize as well as go into depth, to analyze and communicate simply. “Today we need a message of unity, because this global world is not united spiritually. Patriarch Athenagoras, a great friend of Chiara, said, ‘The world is unifying, but there is no spiritual unity.’ “And Chiara tells us that this world can be united, rich with poor, those nearby with those far away, those native to a place with those who have just arrived. Chiara also tells us,” Riccardi adds, “that we, mere men and women, the young and the elderly, that you too, can change the world.“Chiara was a friend to great people and appreciated by great people. I think of her friendship with John Paul II, who called her his ‘peer, his equal in age.’ But Chiara also showed that the world can change through the least of us who has faith. Like Mary with the Magnificat. “She helped me to understand the value of a charism, because Chiara recognized in me, in the Community of Sant’Egidio, a charism. She had a deep sense of people and experiences of Church.” Riccardi concludes: “For me Chiara is also a very dear memory of a profound friendship. She was a friend, a friend in the small things, in the attention she gave when she invited you to her table, in the phone calls, in taking care of you. “She was also someone who saw accurately in important moments for the Church. I think of, for example, of when John Paul II met with ecclesial movements. Chiara said, ‘This was a flash of inspiration from the Pope, a point of arrival that must also become a new point of departure.’ “Today my affection is accompanied with prayerful thoughts with Chiara, for Chiara.”
A letter of thanks was sent to the gen4 worldwide, with the publication of the balance statement of the initiative“They’ve dislodged Jesus,”undertaken each year by the children of the Focolare Movement during the Christmas season. Last Christmas, thanks to the offers gathered by the sales of the chalk statues of “babes” portraying Baby Jesus, the gen4 with the support of the adults and in some cases also of local institutions, collected 3,627.60 euro that were allocated to eight projects in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Burundi, Uganda and Syria. In addition to this, a donation was allocated to medical care, foodstuffs and schooling material for four projects in the Central African Republic, Cameroon, Egypt and Iraq. What comes to the fore, beyond the figures, is the “culture of giving” from which the gen4 draw inspiration.
The joy of the early Christians – and this is true of Christians in all ages who understood the essence of Christianity and lived accordingly – was a truly new joy, one never experienced before. It had nothing to do with merriment, cheerfulness or light-heartedness. Nor was it “the exultant joy of living and being alive” – as Paul VI said, or “the calming joy of nature and silence”. It was not the joy or “satisfaction of a job well done” nor simply “the transparent joy of purity” or that of “chaste love…” These are all wonderful examples of joy. The joy of the early Christians was different: it was like the exhilarating joy of the disciples at the descent of the Holy Spirit. It was the joy of Jesus. For just as Jesus has his peace, he also has his joy. He said, “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you…” (Jn 15:11). The joy of the early Christians, which welled up spontaneously from the depths of their being, truly satisfied them. They had found what people of all times search for: God, who – as we have seen – satisfies them completely. They had found fellowship with God, the essential element for self-fulfilment. In fact, love, charity, with which Christ enriches the hearts of Christians through baptism and the other sacraments – can be compared to a little plant. The deeper its roots go into the ground of fraternal charity (that is, the more people love their neighbours), the higher the stem grows up towards heaven and love of God and fellowship with him grows in their hearts. It is not something simply believed in through faith, but is a real experience. This is happiness: loving and feeling loved. This was the happiness of the early Christians, both old and young. It was expressed in liturgical celebrations filled with hymns of praise and thanksgiving. Joy grew in their hearts also because, with love and through love, they received light. They could see; they could begin to understand the things of God that in themselves are impenetrable (cf. 1 Cor 2: 19-16). Mysteries that they accepted through faith were not as obscure as one might think. They were able to enter into these mysteries, savouring them and seeing them in a light that made them feel they understood and possessed them. This made them rejoice even more, and the joy of truth was added to the joy of love. Armed, therefore, only with love and light, and clothed with joy, they spread throughout the entire known world in a short time. As Tertullian wrote, “We were born only yesterday, and we have already invaded the world…” (Apologetics 37:7). … The early Christians even rejoiced in being persecuted and sang even as they went to martyrdom. They had understood a paradox of Christianity: that joy, the supernatural joy of Christ, can be found precisely where there is no joy, in suffering, but in suffering that is loved. Source:Chiara Lubich Centre
A great spiritual force capable of drawing crowds of different ages, social backgrounds, cultures: this is what animated Chiara Lubich and the fruits are still seen today, even in the Church.Cardinal Pietro Parolin, recalling the obedience and docility shown by the Focolare towards the Church – even in the most difficult moments – remarked how the Pontiffs, from Paul VI onwards, always gave their support and encouragement to the Movement. “A constant commitment to communion within the Church, in ecumenical dialogue and in striving to build the human family”, Benedict XVI spoke in the telegram sent on the occasion of Chiara’s funeral, whose “existence”, he continued, “was spent listening to the needs of contemporary society in full fidelity to the Church and to the Pope “.The specific contribution that Chiara has offered to the Church, according to the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin, is having deepened and brought to the fore the “Marian profile of the Church, as well as the apostolic one” and the strong and innovative call to unity: “May all be one for the world to believe”, built and made possible by the “secret” of mutual love found in the “Golden rule” that Jesus himself taught us in “not doing to others what you would not want done to you“.
Christians are not allowed to despair; they’re not allowed to accept defeat. Their homes can fall apart, their wealth can be lost, but they get up and continue to fight against all adversaries. Lazy spirits, nestled in their comfortable ways, become frightened at the idea of a struggle. But Christianity will be around for as long as faith in the Resurrection resists. The Resurrection of Christ, which inserts us in Him and makes us sharers in His life, obliges us to never despair. It gives us the secret for getting up again after every knock down. Lent is also an examination of conscience, through which we can consider what is buzzing around in the depth of our soul and of our society in which Christianity has become business as usual for many of us, without any pulse or impetus, like a sail without wind. Lent prepares us for the Resurrection of Christ, which is the reason for the rebirth of our faith, hope and charity: the victory of deeds over negative tendencies. Easter teaches us to overcome our mournful passions in order to be reborn, each one of us, in a unity of affections with our neighbor and with every population, in a harmony of good works in order to establish ourselves in the kingdom of God. This is translated into a social constitution that has authority, laws and sanctions, actions in favour of the good of the people. It reaches to Heaven, but passes through the world. And it is modelled on the Divine Order. It’s law is the Gospel that contains unity, solidarity, equality, paternity,service, justice, rationality, truth, the battle against the abuse of power, against enmity, error, stupidity… Seeking the kingdom therefore means seeking the happiest conditions for the free expression of the life of individuals and of society as a whole. The reason is obvious: Wherever God reigns, the human person is like a son of God, a creature of infinite value who treats others and is treated by them as a brother [or sister]. And he treats them as he would like to be treated. The goods of the earth are shared in a brotherly way. Love and forgiveness flow. Barriers don’t matter, because they don’t have any meaning within the universality of love. Putting the kingdom of God first, therefore, means raising the goal of human life. Those who seek first the kingdom of Man, seek a goal that is subjected to rivalry and dispute; whereas, the Divine objective draws people higher than their fights, and unites them in love. Then, within that unification, in that higher vision of the things of the earth, matters such as eating, clothing and enjoying take on the right proportions. They’re coloured with new meaning, are simplified in love, and you have the full life. Also in this sense Christ has conquered the world for us. Igino Giordani. Le feste, S.E.I. (Società Editrice Internazionale), Turin, 1954, pp. 110-125.
Cast every worry We have learned to cast every worry to God. When I was hospitalized it became an opportunity to strengthen the relationships of love in our family and to create them with people I didn’t know. The hospital and therapy cost a lot, and we didn’t know what we would do to buy wood for heating or pay the school fees. After a few days of not knowing, someone became a vehicle of God’s providence and the money we needed reached us. R. – Serbia Mr. Nobody When I was the director of a health agency I was accused of having paid kickbacks for an important consulting job. Without the district attorney even allowing me to explain, I was forced to leave all public and private work. In a flash I became Mr. Nobody. Everything around me went on as if I was guilty. I felt death within, and I even wished for it. God himself seemed to have disappeared. My only support came from a dear friend who drew close. “Jesus Forsaken wanted you to be a bit like him. This trial will pass, but what will remain in your soul will be the richness of your love for him.” After eight years of desert and anguish, I my innocence was recognized. Those moments of hell turned out to be the most fantastic and valuable experience of my life. M.B. – Italy Strongly believing I experienced the meaning of Jesus’ phrase, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” My husband, the only breadwinner in our family, was let go right when our children were still school age. One of them could not sit for an exam because we did not have the money needed. I strongly believed that God would take care of us. That same day I received the amount we needed as a gift. Y. – Croatia I can hear! For many years, our son has had hearing problems, and to cure him we moved to another country. I set out to look for work and do something for those around me, and the weight of the situation lightened. We needed specialist examinations. Providentially, instead of the expected wait time of months, it only took a week! My son was then able to start treatment. Just after this, a moving and transport company called me for a job. After a week of treatment, as they were giving him his drops, my son said, “Dad, I can hear in this ear!” S. – Italy Sad eyes I had just gone out. A man came up to me; he was dirty and had immensely sad eyes. It was one of those moments when you think that you can’t change the world or take on all its problems. But those eyes were looking at only me. “It’s been three days since I’ve eaten,” he said. I asked him to wait a moment and ran home to warm him something up quickly. When I went back to him, he devoured it all in a second. Then I invited him to the cafe on the corner. People were looking at me a bit surprised, especially when I ordered coffee and four croissants – one for me and three for him. My friend devoured them all too. He told me his story of pain and suffering. At one point I was wondering if it was all true, but what counted was to listen. It was a river of stuff. More coffee, a milk, and I soon ran out of money. I gave him the address of a homeless shelter. “This is the first time that someone takes an interest in me, so I’ll go,” he said. “This was worth waking up for today.” From Urs Kerber, “La vida se hace camino” (our translation)
If you are between 16 and 29 years of age, you can contribute to the next pre-synod Meeting to be held in Rome from 19 – 24 March. How? Through the site www.synod2018.va. From the site you will be able to sign up on the Facebook group under one of the 6 languages. Within these groups the members will have the chance to express their own ideas on the themes proposed by questions – that will “launch” the discussion of the youths present in Rome – each of which will be matched with a hashtag. In the end, a final document will be drafted with these ideas, containing the view points and proposals that emerged, and will be presented to the Synod Fathers who will gather in Assembly in October 2018 on the theme “The youth, faith and vocational insights.”
“… On your day, my God, I will come toward you… I will come toward you, my God (…) with my wildest dream: to bring you the world in my arms.”1. The address given by Jesús Morán, co-president of the Focolare Movement, starts with this citation of the theologian Jacques Leclercq on the occasion of the event ‘The Great Attraction of Our Times’. We are once more astonished by the prophetic vision for society of this extraordinary woman whose ideal of “May they all be one” (Jn 17:21), started out from her own city of Trent and reached the whole world. Morán starts with a story of the protagonist of a fable, who lives with other personages thought of but then discarded by the authors of the stories, destined to live on another planet. He reflects on the role of the prophets: they are as big as they are small or they make themselves so in the eyes of human beings. Discarded by them, mocked, often killed, they are chosen by God to do that which nobody else can do. The prophets are in fact, the little people of God: this is where their greatness lies, even if sometimes they seem to be living “on another planet”. As we know, the word ‘prophet’ comes from the Greek and indicates not so much those who foresee the future but the mouthpiece, the messenger of God. In the Bible we also find prophetesses2. The prophets of Israel spoke to the people in the name of God; and everything could become an object of their words, because the word of God knows no limits. [….] In the midst of the historical context of her time – which evoke, in fact, not only the story of the prophets, but also biblical wisdom and the wisdom of ultimate goals – there manifests in her, a specific charism, that of unity, which led her to aim clearly and decisively towards universal brotherhood.” Morán underlines that in some of her notes of December 1946, “one can see the key pillars in Chiara Lubich’s prophetic vision for society. She, in fact, was not a social reformer, just as Jesus wasn’t. Chiara’s dream, in effect, aims much higher and more profoundly, and that is to the anthropological and theological foundation underlying every kind of social reform: universal family and unity as envisaged by the man-God, Jesus.” “This is why we could say,” Morán explains, “that the first social project that Chiara founded was in fact the first community of the Focolare that began in Trent immediately after the war. This community took the Acts of the Apostles literally (Acts 2, 42-48); they practised a radical communion of goods and did all they could to care for the poor and the thousands of suffering people the war had left in its wake. This underlying experience has never been lost. Indeed it is the inspiration behind all the activities and social projects that have been undertaken over the years by Chiara herself and all those who, in following her, have made their own the Ideal of unity. In all of this Chiara’s human and ecclesial genius is clear.” Even we, continues Morán, “have a story in front of us. Chiara is that author who has taken us out of anonymity to make us protagonists of a dream; we are all protagonists, nobody excluded.” Citing Guislain Lafont, the great Domenican theologian who, in a summary of the philosophy of Pope Francis, he speaks about the “principle of littleness” (salvation comes from below rather from above). Jesús Morán concludes: “Chiara knew how to magisterially apply this principle of littleness in the work of a real social change which she set in motion, with and from the paradigm of unity. This is her greatness.” 1 J. Leclercq, cited in W. MÜHS, Dio nostro Padre, 365 pensieri sulla paternità di Dio, Rome 1998, p. 64, published in: C. LUBICH, Il grido, Città Nuova, Rome, pp. 129-130. 2 Cf. 2 Re 22, 14; Lc 2, 36.
“Five years of enlightening and fruitful pontificate.”Maria Voce’s greeting to Pope Francis, in the name of the Movement’s communities worldwide, was full of joy and gratitude. She assured him of the Movement’s renewed commitment to “bring the proclamation of the Gospel to men and women in the most varied situations” and “ that we shall always be faithfully by your side, cooperating with all our strength in proclaiming God who loves the world so much. We assure You of all our love and prayers.” Maria Voce commented: “We feel privileged to be able to live in this time when the Spirit, through the Pope, is calling the Church to a twofold path: a return to a life rooted in the Gospel and a new focus on the signs of the times, which invite all Christians to reach out to all men and women. The Pope himself is a remarkable example of this.
Our new Facebook profile in Portuguese is online: Facebook em Português | @ focolare.org.pt As with other languages, the Facebook profile in Portuguese will also propose, every day, the “Thought for the Day”, the Word of life, articles published on the site, but also other information, news and events – especially those in Portugal and Brazil – with the possibility of interacting with many people who believe in a more fraternal world. Invite your friends to visit and follow our page. Spread the ideas and values that can contribute to the construction of a more united world!
The model for our interpersonal and social relationships is Trinitarian love. Even though God is One, he is never alone, but rather a reality of love that expresses plurality, the model of every human community: social relations in the image of the Trinity. One expression of such relations is the city, which Chiara Lubich had always looked at with particular interest. Every city has its “calling”, its specific design that can be turned into a gift, one note in the overall symphony. It was from this perspective that she accepted the many honorary citizenships that were presented to her. Perhaps it was for this reason that she longed to see many little cities being built, laboratories of human community, blueprints of a united world, witnesses to how society could be based on the Gospel’s law of mutual love, on living brotherhood. There are 25 such Focolare towns on all the continents, in different social and cultural settings, such as the United States, Cameroon, the Philippines, Germany, Brazil, Argentina and more. Chiara Lubich was the inspiration of them all, she followed and illuminated their developments. Their prototype is the international town of Loppiano in Italy which will have the honour, on May 10th, of welcoming Pope Francis.
Looking at them, Chiara saw them as an “inclined plane” towards the people who are suffering from doubt, uncertainty and no future. She told each of those cities, “to give hope and security, an extended hand of friendship to the people of today who are looking for happiness in the wrong ways, in drugs, eroticism, wealth… These little cities say to all, and show to all, that the true and perfect joy is Jesus. They give light to those suffering disunity in their families or in their local environments, because they provide an example and the secret of unity. They disarm those who are tempted to violence in every field, because they demonstrate, for example, with the internationality of their citizenry that it is through meekness born of love that one can conquer the world.” The people who visit these little cities find a home, a family, a Mother – Mary!! She’s the one that forms and informs entire society of the Focolare Movement. Chiara had always indicated the Magnificat when showings us a life plan and an action plan: “The charter of Christian social doctrine begins there where Mary sings: “He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” That has been the experience of the Movement from the very start until now. Some people put their jewels in common, some their lands, all types of possessions; others put their needs in common. Choosing to live a simpler lifestyle helps everybody to have everything they require. The Gospel contains the highest and most overwhelming revolution. And perhaps it is God’s plan that even in this age immersed in solutions to social problems, it will be Our Lady to give all of us Christians a hand in building, solidifying, erecting and showing to the world a new society that strongly re-echoes the Magnificat. We would want to see the communion of goods, among individuals and families, to extend to the city, state, peoples and continents, making way for the civilization of love.
The international convention “Nature breaks limits” will take place at the “I Gigli della Montagna” Conference Hall (Via Monte Senario, 81 – Rome, Italy). We shall reflect on how the confines – geographic, natural, technological – can become launching pads for the sustainable future of the human race and the environment. Per information:http://www.ecoone.org/it/convegni/convegno-2018.html
At the closing of the Winter Olympics last 9 March in Pyeong Chang, a grand inaugural ceremony of the 12th edition of the Winter Paralympic Games was held, and which will last up to 18th. March. In accordance with the International Committee, the Paralympic Games are held every four years, in the same city as that of the Winter Olympics, with the participation of physically disabled athletes. As Pope Frances underlined, if “sports can cast bridges between countries in conflicts and give a valid contribution to prospects of peace among peoples,” the Paralympic Games “even more attest to the fact that through sports, one’s own handicaps can be overcome,” thanks to the “example of courage, constancy, determination in not allowing oneself to be won over by limitations” given by the athletes. “Sports appears to be a big school of inclusion, but also of inspiration for life and commitment to the transformation of society.”The first Winter Paralympics were held in Sweden in 1976. Like the summer Games, they owe their existence to the tenacity with which some doctors, especially the English Ludwig Guttmann, were able, with their methods, to help the veterans of WWII to find in sports competitions an opportunity to rehabilitate themselves and find their own role in society.
I was there too, with my husband, at the congress for volunteer couples, 600 persons, 14 languages. It was a representation of society, with participants from 5 continents. But let’s start from the beginning. The day before I had a look at the program. I knew that being the 3rd March, there would be at the same time an event dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the death of Chiara Lubich at the congress. And on the other days? The life of the family and the couple, made up of many facets, was to be at the centre of various in-depth moments, with the guide of experts. We have been married for nearly twenty years and we have two children aged 18 and 16 years. Having overcome the tunnel of sleepless nights, of nappies and child centres, having finished the phase of elementary and secondary schools, of geography charts to colour in, and of repeating the story of ancient history, we are sailing through the adolescence of our children and through ours as parents, in search of a serene present and of a future that one uncovers day by day. A web of affections, difficulties and obstacles, amazement in the face of innovation, suffering for the sad events, at times humiliation and the pulling up of our sleeves to start again, but also joys, social passion, a taste for the beautiful, openness towards new things and those unforeseen, racing through difficulties amidst the thousand duties of each one of us. A normal family, at any rate. I read the program and felt a little disappointed. The insistence on the theme regarding the “couple” suffocated me. What about the world? The reality of our times? Art, culture, social relations? Will we be concentrating on looking ‘inside’, to analyze ourselves once again, after so many years? I am a volunteer, used to looking “outside” rather than “inside”, to dream big, to be in close contact with reality and share people’s trials, trying to offer a helping hand, as Chiara Lubich has taught us, to build a more united world. I found the first day of the meeting hard to digest. After all my husband wasn’t there because of work. And in the evening, I confess, I willingly left for the inauguration of an exhibition at the Vittoriano, in the centre of Rome, as a way of refreshing my mind. A little disillusioned I faced the second day, this time as a couple. I tried to reset my thoughts and get more involved, with all my being. I discovered that my husband was making the same effort. This altered attitude helped us to take in the talks that followed with new eyes. It was like for the first time we were receiving insights to inwardly renew our ‘yes’, pronounced many years ago together with our family, the stone on which even we compose society, in this historic moment. I cannot be a good Mum and a professional and give my little contribution if it does not come from the relationship with my first and only companion in life, from the renewed unity among us. How can a house stay upright if its foundations are not deep, solid, strong, healthy? On the third day, together we solemnly renewed our ‘yes’ forever, before the sacred image of Our Lady at the Shrine of Divine Love. It was not a formal act but one that was substantial and free, in the presence of 598 witnesses. In the afternoon, whilst the hall was slowly filling up where the event of the tenth anniversary was to take place, I sat by chance next to two of the participants. They were a couple attending the congress like us. I had not yet seen them. There were a few presentations. I came to know that they had lost a son two years ago. Out comes a photo of him: a splendid boy, with light-coloured eyes, a brown beard. He was only 25 years, in the prime of life. The mother’s eyes welled up with tears. I perceived in that mother the semblance of the Mother, figured in Michelangelo’s Pietà. That’s what a family is: a bulwark, a rock, a heroic foundation of society, without which everything can collapse. It was necessary to stop and focus on the couple. It was indeed necessary. Chiara Favotti
Lord, give me all who are lonely … I have felt in my heart the passion that fills your heart for all the forsakenness in which the whole world is drifting. I love every being that is sick and alone. Even the suffering of plants causes me pain … even the animals that are alone. Who consoles their weeping? Who mourns their slow death? Who presses to their own heart, the heart in despair? My God, let me be in this world the tangible sacrament of your Love, of your being Love; let me be your arms that press to themselves and consume in love all the loneliness of the world. Chiara Lubich – Essential Writings” New City Press, New York, 2007 p. 81
The Patriarch Athenagoras – Chiara Lubich Chair of Ecumenical Studies at the Sophia University Institute has launched its first course. The official inauguration of this international Chair of Ecumenical Studies took place last December14, at the Sophia University Institute of Loppiano, when both Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I sent messages of best wishes and encouragement. The first set of lectures, on “The Ecclesiology of the Orthodox Church”, will be held from the 5 to 27 March. His Eminence Maximos Vgenopoulos, Metropolitan of Selyvria and Prof. Piero Coda are the co-directors of the course. This Chair, unique in the international and cultural academic scene, came into being 50 years after the first meeting between Patriarch Athenagoras I and Chiara Lubich. It wants to manifest and focus its attention on the legacy that emerged from that meeting, when the Patriarch confided to Chiara: “It is great getting to know each other; for many centuries we have lived in isolation, without brothers and sisters; we have lived like orphans! The first ten centuries of Christianity were centred on dogmas and the Church’s organization. In the ten centuries that followed we had schisms and division. The third epoch, the present one, is that of love ”. In his opening speech on March 5, Piero Coda, the Dean of Sophia, referred to the specific methodology of the Institute, which is based on the commitment to live mutual love as defined by Jesus’ new commandment. And he affirmed: “We want to prepare ourselves with competence and awe to be servants and witnesses of an ecumenism that gushes from the Trinitarian love, source, pattern and goal of unity in the richness and beauty of diversity. This is the only way that empowers us to receive reciprocally the gifts drawn from the priceless treasures of our Churches’ Traditions and offered to each other. This is the only way we can bridge with love the distances that still separate us. T his is the only way we can enrich ourselves reciprocally; the only way that, with the help of God’s grace, we can achieve full and visible unity”. When one considers the political, social and religious instability in Middle East countries and in the Mediterranean region, this Chair assumes cultural and social importance on an international level, even through the opportunities of study and research it offers to the young generation. Its specific aim is to study the cultural meaning, to review the historical stages and analyse in depth the existential and social implications of the ecumenical journey towards full unity among Churches, while exchanging spiritual, theological and cultural wealth of Christians, both in the East and West. Besides, it wants to offer academically qualified courses to those interested in contributing, through thought, dialogue and life experience, towards promoting unity between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. And thus offer a service towards the encounter between peoples and cultures.
María Cecilia Perrín was a sunny-natured Argentinean girl born in Punta Alta (Buenos Aires) in 1957. After being engaged for two years, she and Luis married in 1983 and she lived intensely with the desire to set solid Christian roots to the emerging family. Two years later, while she was pregnant she was diagnosed with cancer. With the support of her husband and the family, she chose not to heed the suggestion to undergo a “therapeutic abortion.” She died at the age of 28 after the birth of the baby girl. As she expressly requested, her remains were interred in the Mariapolis Lia (O’Higgins, Buenos Aires), a place of joy and hope. Her reputation of sanctity, heroism in accepting her illness, the example of Christian life, and the many graces that have been granted through her intercession started off the cause of her beatification on 30 November 2005. Maria Orsola Bussone, born in 1954 in Vallo Torinese, northern Italy, was a generous, open and sportive child. At the age of 11 she participated with her family in a meeting of the parish Movement in Rocca di Papa. She wrote to Chiara Lubich: “I want to love always, be the first to love, without expecting a return. I want to let God use me as He desires and do all I can, since that is the only thing in life that matters.” On 10 July 1970, at 15, while participating as an activities coordinator in a summer camp, she died of an electric shock while drying her hair with a hairdryer. Her fame of sanctity spread and many people went to her tomb to pray for her intercession. Her diary and letters revealed her deep spirituality. The construction of the parish Centre to which she contributed was named after her. On 17 December 2000 the diocesan phase of the cause of beatification ended. On 18 March 2015 Pope Francis authorised the promulgation of the decree which declared her a Venerable. Margarita Bavosi, born in 1941, is the third child of a wealthy family of Buenos Aires (Argentina). She lived a happy life until she was ten, when her mother suddenly passed away. The acute pain pushed her to ask the Virgin Mary to take her place. The meeting with the charism of unity was the answer to her desire for sanctity. She donated her life to God in the focolare, and was known to all as “Luminosa.” She spent some years in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, and became the co-director of the Focolare Movement in Spain. At 40 she felt an unexplainable physical decline, and only after three years received a precise prognosis. Soon she was unable to move about but continued to build relationships, taking to heart the motto of St. Aloysius Gonzaga “I shall keep on playing my game.” The night of 6 March 1985, amid the amazement of those present, she said “Here I am Jesus, I have always tried to do everything in your presence.” On 22 November 2008 the diocesan phase of the canonisation phase closed. The center of the Focolare of Madrid and the international town close to New York were named after her. Renata Borlone was born on 30 May 1930 in Aurelia (Civitavecchia, close to Rome). She was raised in a non-practicing but united family, and when she was 10, witnessed the explosion of World War II. Thirsting for truth, she sought it in studies. She enrolled in the Faculty of Chemistry, since she was a science enthusiast. At 19 she came in contact with the evangelical life of some of the first focolare women who had just moved to Rome, and through them, she felt the certainty that God is love! At 20 she entered the focolare and for 40 years served the Work of Mary, with roles of responsibility in Italy and abroad. In 1967 she arrived at the Training School Loppiano where she spent 23 years constantly focused on reaching sanctity. At 59 she was found to have a serious illness and the few months that remained were an acceleration in her thrust toward God. Despite her suffering she transmitted joy and a sense of sacredness and up to the last moment repeated, “I want to testify that death is life.” On 27 February 2011 the diocesan phase of the beatification process closed. Chiara Favotti Also see: Alfredo Zirondoli, “Luminosa continued to play. Profile of Margarita Bavosi,” Città Nuova, Rome. Giulio Marchesi, Alfredo Zirondoli, “A silence that became life. The life of Renata Borlone”, Città Nuova, Rome.
The series began with an event that had music, poetry, and choreography, to highlight and accompany the words of testimony in the year marking the tenth anniversary of the Focolare founder’s death. More that two thousand people from around the world, religious leaders, including Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Piero Parolin, as well as people from the world of culture, communications and institutions to take part, on Saturday, March 3rd, in what many called a celebration of a life rather than a commemoration. It was a celebration of the life that continues to emerge from Chiara Lubich’s charism of unity in a variety of contexts in today’s world, often in hostile environments of war and degradation, producing social transformation that is marked by the life of the Gospel. Adriana is a Brazilian artist: “I didn’t want to stay closed inside a studio. Chiara told me: choose the God who made you an artist.” Out of love for her brothers and sisters and her willingness to be part a social project in the slums of Pedreira in south San Paolo, providing a roof for 500 families living in extreme poverty, a new opportunity was born for her to bring her talents to fruition. “I came here,” Adriana said, “to pay homage to Chiara.” Roberto and Maurizio, in Italy, opened a fish business run according to the principles of the Economy of Communion, because “If our life is all based on profit, what good is it? No one will remember us for the money we had, but for the good that we did.” Maria worked for 15 years in a school on the difficult outskirts of Paris, which most teachers left behind at first chance. “Those children should be able to have the same opportunities as those who are schooled in the best neighbourhoods of Paris.” Business owners Letizia and her husband have declined a major contract and risked failure, rather than produce arms materials to be used in war.
A Syrian couple shared their testimony via video: “We didn’t want to escape the war, so that we wouldn’t have to close our school for deaf children. Where would they have gone?” The story of a Philippine child was entrusted to the voice and intense acting of an actress, taken in the community centre of Bukas Palad (With Open Hands), in Manila: “I’m grateful that from a poor person I’ve become a special person who is loved. This is where my rebirth began.” These are some of the fruits of the intrinsic social dimension of the charism of Chiara Lubich, as it was defined by Focolare co-President, Jesús Morán: “Chiara wasn’t a reformer. Her dream aimed higher than that, to the anthropological and theological foundation of all social reform – universal brotherhood.”
Maria Voce remarked on the premises of an experiences that has reached 182 countries all over the world, with tangible fruits of brotherhood, such as the 25 little cities on all the continents, small blueprints of a world that is united. She recounts: During the years of the Second World War, “the first women focolarini never spared themselves from running from one end of Trent to the other, when it came to assisting someone in need. They invited the poor into their home to share their meals with them, putting out their best tablecloth, seated around the table: a focolarina, a poor person, a focolarina, a poor person. They fed the poor, but as brothers and sisters, never as benefactors. The Gospel which they read in the candlelight in the air-raid shelters and discovered and lived with intensity in the Light that was breaking into their lives, was revealing itself to be a source of profound social transformation. On the large wall of the hall, which had been turned into a cinema screen, pictures of the Movement’s long history were being projected to accompany the narration of the story that began from a dream: “ This is the great attraction of modern times: to enter into highest contemplation and stay mixed in with the crowd, one person next to the other.” The preferential option for the least of these – “salvaged from anonymity and made into protagonists” has been a characteristic of the Focolare from its first dawning. Wherever Chiara Lubich is remembered in the world, this dream is renewed. Chiara Favotti
The Department of Political, Social and Communication Sciences of the University of Salerno and the Social-One research network, under the auspices of the Sociological Theories and Social Transformations Section of the Italian Association of Sociology (AIS) and in partnership with 11 universities and research institutes in Italy and worldwide, promote theconference “Sociological Imagination and Social Promotion: the category of “agapic action” to interpret the changes and to imagine new futures”.The aim of the conference is to investigate all the perspectives of analysis and action which have been raised by the members of the agapic action in the context of human and social disciplines with the hypothesis that the concept may offer new interpretations and perspectives of interventions for the promotion of a pluralistic society based on equality, inclusiveness and particularly dialogue. The conference focuses on four areas, which will be analyzed both from the scientific and academic point of view within the panels, and from the point of view of action-intervention, through the collection of best practices, which will be exhibited within of the Social Expo. The areas are: 1) Protagonist communities, sharing cultures and grassroots movements 2) Cooperation and dialogue in the field of macro-social actions 3) Relationships, inclusion and well-being in social policies 4) Plurality, dialogue and identity processes Official languages in plenary sessions: Italian, English, Spanish. The Scientific Committee of the international conference is coordinated by Gennaro Iorio (University of Salerno) and composed by:
CALLEBAUT BERNHARD – Istituto Universitario Sophia (Italy)
CAMPANINI ANNA MARIA – Università di Milano Bicocca (Italy)
HOCHSCHILD MICHAEL – Time-lab (France)
MAGATTI MAURO – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano (Italy)
MARTINS PAULO HENRIQUE – Universidade Federal de Pernambuco – UFPE (Brazil)
MONGELLI ANGELA – Università di Bari (Italy)
MORA EMANUELA – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano (Italy)
ORTEGA SANTO PEDRO JOSE – Universidade Autónoma de Santo Domingo – UASD (Dominican Republic)
RAMA RUDINA – University of Tirana (Albania)
REMBIERZ MAREK – University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland)
SALAS MARCELO – Universidad del Salvador en Buenos Aires (Argentina)
WAGNER IZABELA – University of Warsaw (Poland)
WIELECKI KRZYSZTOF – Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University (Poland)
It will be a week of work to get to know the reality of kids and youths of the world, their ambitions, hopes, fears, expectations, and to hear what they have to say. It will be a moment of sharing which will be channeled, with all the other contributions received, into the ”Instrumentum laboris” in view of the Synod in October, defined by Pope Francis “not about, but of the youth.” “In this pre-synod Meeting– explained Card. Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod – we will try to better understand what they think of themselves and of the adults, how they live the faith and what difficulties they encounter as Christians, how they plan their life and what problems they meet in discerning their vocation, how they see the Church today, and how they would like it to be.” There will be Catholics, other Christian faiths and other religions, delegates of associations and movements, but also agnostics, or people coming from situations of unease like jail or drug dependency. Stella Marilene, 24 and Nelson, 29, of the Focolare Movement will also participate in the works (together with a girl from Paraguay,Noemi Sánchez). While anxiously waiting for that day, we met them at the Gen International centre, where all are working intensely for the world events of 2018: besides the Synod of October, also the Genfest in Manila in July.What is the situation of the youth in your country? “In Salvador.” answered Nelson, “the general situation of the youth differs from inside and outside the cities. Life outside is more difficult, services are lacking, and education is guaranteed only up to the compulsory education. Despite this the youth have huge aspirations and greater determination to make their dreams come true.” Marilene explained: “In Burundi we are undergoing a serious political crisis. Unemployment is sky high and also is uncertainty for the future. The youths often leave the country to seek other prospects elsewhere.” At the meeting, they say, they will carry out the role of facilitators of the linguistics groups in Spanish and French. “It will be our chance to do our part, a small contribution – Nelson added – but we shall do it with all our hearts.” And Marilene: “Through the synod’s official site (www.synod2018.va) and the social network connected, all the youths will be able to let their voice be heard and send proposals, as also those who cannot participate directly.” Speaking about communication, beyond the fears with which adults often regard the youths, as to the risk of detaching themselves from “reality” and immersing themselves in a virtual hub, what does communication mean for you? “Times have changed–Nelson answered – we are immersed in technology which effectively helps to bridge distances. But we have to try to make it possibly more humane. Cell phones and tablets draw people closer but communicating “face to face” with those who we really see before us is another thing altogether. In this sense we, the youth, can take the first step.” Marilene added: “For authentic communication we have to think of “what” we communicate.” In his message for the youth day, which will end the pre-synod Meeting, Pope Francis mentioned the “fears” of the youth. “Often the youths are scared of going forward, to make choices from which they cannot turn back. “Personally,” Marilene explained, “I try to live God’s will in the present moment. Each one has his own story, and I entrust myself to Him.” Nelsno continued: “In such a materialistic world, often the message the adults pass to the youths concerns studying, working, earning, or buying a nice house. The dialogue between the first and second generation is important, but it should not destroy one’s dreams. Together, our energy and their wisdom can do a lot.” Being listened to means taking up some responsibilities. “It is a big responsibility to speak out for the youth. It’s an opportunity offered by the Church which wants to dialogue with all, and not only with the Catholics. It’s here that we Gen can offer our experience, because we have already started to walk together, with Christians of other faiths and also with agnostics. This is why I would call all the youths, also from afar, to participate! Let’s make our voice be heard.” Chiara Favotti
https://vimeo.com/258422297 The President of the Focolare Movement shared a few points from her talk, explaining that – as Chiara Lubich herself said – Mary, the Mother of God, is the form and model of social action in the Movement.Maria Voce: I see Chiara always at my side, not with my eyes of course, but I feel she is always with me. Often people ask, do you draw inspiration from what Chiara said? Actually, I say no. I don’t draw inspiration from what Chiara said, I draw inspiration from her and ask myself: what would Chiara say now? What would Chiara do now? What answer would she invent for this problem that has come up? I try to listen to the Holy Spirit, seeking to do so with the same attention and depth as she did, and then I act. Chiara told us that she understood Mary in a very special way when she discovered her greatness as the mother of God. She discovered a Mary whom she herself said she had never known before: not the little child or the pure young girl from Nazareth, nor the simple housewife, but a Mary so great that God had chosen her to be the mother of his son, of the Word of God made flesh, so of God himself. This Mary, who was pleasing to God because of her humility, can give him glory through what he works in her. In her he works the great things that God wants to do: equality among all the brothers and sisters in the human family; a just distribution of goods in the world; that all people should be able to use the goods that God created for everyone; that all should recognise one another as brothers and sisters. Mary knows how to do this because she is a mother. I believe the characteristics of the social works arising from Chiara’s charism have, precisely, the characteristic of having been done by a mother who loves her children and who wants their greatest good. Above all, she wants them to be united among themselves, bound together by mutual love and that this love should underpin their relationships in society. Therefore, a new society animated by Gospel love, with a mother who is Mary.
“This is the great attraction of modern times: to penetrate to the highest contemplation while mingling with everyone, one person alongside others. I would say even more: to lose oneself in the crowd in order to fill it with the divine, like a piece of bread dipped in wine. I would say even more: made sharers in God’s plans for humanity, to embroider patterns of light on the crowd, and at the same time to share with our neighbor shame, hunger, troubles, brief joys. Because the attraction of our times, as of all times, is the highest conceivable expression of the human and the divine, Jesus and Mary: the Word of God, a carpenter’s son; the Seat of Wisdom, a mother at home.” Published in “Chiara Lubich: Essential Writings”, New City Press, Hyde Park, New York, 2002, p 169.
Starting Again From Zero When I was still quite small my father left us. My mother fell into a deep depression and began to drink. I was raised by my maternal grandmother. When my mother died, I was in my adolescence and I was harbouring inside of me a desire for revenge. Then, I met a girl who introduced me into her parish community. Through those people, little by little, I discovered God, inner peace and balance. When we got married, I was able to say that that community was my family. One day, at work, a man came and introduced himself as my father. I was desolate and feared my reaction. Despite the surprise, I welcomed him warmly and told him about the daughter that had been born, and invited him home. A week later he came over with his partner. My wife and I gave them a warm and festive welcome. More than grandparents, they felt like adopted children. Since then, family life changed and so did theirs. It was as if the past no longer existed; only the desire to start from zero existed. P.P. – SerbiaThe Caricature A classmate had drawn a caricature of me, photocopied it and spread it around the school. I felt like beating him up! But then I decided to approach him and speak to him calmly. In fact, I invited him to my house, to do homework and go to see a film. When he asked me why I responded like that, I told him that I had learned to see Jesus in every neighbour, knowing that we all can make mistakes. Surprised, he wanted to know more. Now he’s also trying to put the words of the Gospel into practice. Daniel – BrazilThe Humanity of Jesus The first signs of my multiple-sclerosis go back to when my wife, Susi, was expecting our daughter, Tecla. I, who was always used to working and playing sport, now found myself realizing that it was more and more difficult to move, until I was completely immobile. And yet, from the onset of the illness, I felt the reawakening of a desire for values that were true. Many years have gone by since then. Being sick, seeing my legs no longer able to respond anymore, depending on others for everything, feeling pain, knowing humiliation, feeling different: I experienced all that. But my suffering helped me to understand the “humanity” of Jesus much more than before. Renato – ItalyThe Florist It was a very cold night. An old flower-seller was trying to sell her flowers. She was wearing an old blanket and seemed resigned to watch the people go by with haste and indifference. I thought, if I were in her position, I’d enjoy something warm. But there was no coffee shop in sight. So I found a boy selling homemade sweets. I bought one for her. When she took it and thanked me, she didn’t say many words, but her eyes showed how moved she was. I went on my way with the feeling of her gaze still upon me. Szidi – Romania
The new website expresses Sophia University Institute’s calling to become more and more global, not only because of its multidisciplinary approach to study and its cosmopolitan community of students and faculty, but also because of its openness and the soon to be opened training centres that will be added to the university of Loppiano near Florence, Italy. For ten years, Sophia has made dialogue and interaction among the different fields of knowledge an innovative method for overcoming the fragmenation, abstraction and isolation among the disciplines, with the goal of providing an open vision of the disciplines and the opportunity of comparing and combining their content, methods and results. Up until now Sophia has welcomed 450 students and faculty members from 50 countries and 4 continents.Visit the site
March 14, 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of Chiara Lubich’s passing away. Focolare communities throughout the world will commemorate this anniversary through a varied number of events that mark the charism’s contribution to social change. On March 3, 800 people are expected to participate in a conference held at Maria Hall of the Catholic University Hospital in Seoul, Korea. “Mary: a ‘yes’ that changes society” is the theme chosen for a meeting to be held on March 11 at Goma, Democratic Republic. Of Congo. A conference on “Chiara Lubich: a life of dialogue for peace” is scheduled to take place also on March 11, at Chicago, USA. “Conoscenze plurali” is the title of the convention which will take place on March 17 at the Salone dei Cinquecento of Palazzo Vecchio, in Florence, Italy. On March 18, a multi-ethnic day of social action is being organized in a tribal village at Chiang Mai, Thailand. A day’s meeting on “Chiara Lubich and social actions” will be held on March 24 at Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. These are some of the many initiatives planned. A 360º overview of the social dimension of Chiara Lubich’s charism will be presented through an artistic event scheduled for March 3, at the Mariapolis Centre, Castel Gandolfo, Rome. 2000 participants from the five continents are expected to attend. The Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin and personalities from the fields of culture, communication and institutions are also expected to be present. This event can be followed in English, Spanish, Portugese, French and Italian via internet (http://live.focolare.org/chiaralubich/). For Chiara Lubich, the greatest attraction of modern times was “to penetrate to the highest contemplation while mingling with everyone, one person alongside others”. Sergio Zavoli, who was a very close friend of Chiara, defined her as a mystic of unity between heaven and earth. While speaking about the change she brought about in Trinitarian mysticism, he said: «Allowing God to dwell in the intimacy of one’s soul is making him live among men through communication between – I repeat her words – God in me and God in my brother. It is not by chance that Chiara Lubich’s thought appeals to us to put together the fragments of the inseparable, that is man, and to recompose the fractures of what is shareable, that is the community». Since the very beginning of Lubich’s experience in her native city of Trent, the social change that stemmed from her thought, gave rise to initiatives that have a very strong social hallmark. Today, these actions and works are found practically in all the world; they have the characteristics of each region and culture and they seek to give an answer to specific situations of individuals, groups and communities in need (see link). When confronted with the question about the Focolare’s focal aim today, ten years after the death of its founder, Maria Voce answered that the Movement “must definitely maintain unity with its source, that is Chiara, hence fidelity to the charism as originally passed on; it must return to its beginnings to discover the radicality and totality required from us, may be even more today. The Movement has to be developed so that it can be that instrument designed by God to spread the spirituality of communion and build the unity of the human family. It has to deepen its knowledge about the great charism God entrusted to Chiara and about ways of transmitting it to everyone, since besides its spiritual aspects, the charism has also doctrinal, social and political ones that can influence all areas”. Maria Voce expresses her conviction that today’s visibility of the Focolare Movement, where incidence on human and social realities is concerned, albeit good, “is still too localized”. Then she affirms: “I think that this visibility needs to be more effective and more extensive. May be the Movement needs to become more known even on a worldwide level. We are present almost in every country, but this, perhaps, is not evident enough. It will happen through our life: the more we live according to the charism, the more we will influence the world around, and hence become more visible”. SIF
Follow the live streaming event on 3 March at Castel Gandolfo, from 4.00pm – 7.00 pm: http://live.focolare.org/chiaralubich (in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German)
“If Mary, or perhaps better said, Marian theology and devotion have at times constituted an obstacle to the re-unification of Christianity, in the present climate of dialogue and desire for mutual understanding, along with a renewed attention to the biblical discourse on Mary, there is emerging in some Christian circles a realization that Mary, along with being a fellow disciple, walking together with us in the journey of faith, is a mother and as such can be seen as having a special role in conserving the unity of the Church: “Mother of the unity of Christians.” Judith Povilus, an American from Chicago, is a mathematician and a theologian and is quick to point out that mathematics and theology have a lot in common. She is currently Professor of Logic and Foundations in Mathematics at the University Institute of Sophia, Loppiano, Italy. Central to her talk was Chiara Lubich’s experience of Mary during a period of particular illumination over the summer of 1949. At a gathering in Welwyn Garden City – the “garden-city” built in the 1920’s around 30 miles from London – she addressed fourteen bishops, six Anglicans, six Roman Catholics, a Lutheran and a Coptic Orthodox, as well as leaders representing the United Reformed Church, a Methodist theologian, the Convenor of Action of Churches Together in Scotland and the General Secretary of Churches Together in England. Povilus explained how, during that period, “a new and vast horizon opened up an unimaginable vision of Mary” for the founder of the Focolare Movement. She was discovered “almost as if for the first time” as a human being, “one of us”, but at the same time “imbued with the Word of God.” “Mary revealed herself as the Mother of God, Theotokos, Mary was not just, as we had thought, the young girl of Nazareth, the most beautiful creature in the world, whose love surpasses the love of all the mothers in the world. She was the Mother of God in a dimension that was completely new to us. To explain it, Chiara used an image, that of the sky enveloping the sun.” “It was a new intuition of the significance of the event that took place at the foot of the cross, of the sword that must have passed through Mary’s heart, being asked to renounce her maternity towards her divine son to take as a substitute child John. And yet Jesus in his death was giving his life to all humankind, making us all God’s children. As Mary’s role in the Annunciation was to say “yes” to something beyond herself that God was bringing about, here again, on Golgotha, what was asked of her was, as theologians have said, a “second yes.” There is a wealth of implications for our own lives that Chiara derived from this understanding of Mary Desolate. First and foremost is that of recognising Mary to be a model that can be imitated: “by loving one another we generate the presence of Jesus in our midst. Like Mary, we can offer Christ to the world spiritually.” Another point that comes to new light in Chiara’s mystical experience of 1949 has to do with Mary’s place in the Church. “We know from the Acts of the Apostles that she was present at Pentecost which is often marked out as the birth of the Church. Chiara, describing her intuition of Mary’s place in the Church, from that early moment of the descent of the Spirit, used the metaphor of her being a heart: If Christ is the head of his mystical body, the Church, Mary is at its heart. Mary plays an essential role in helping the Church to respond fully to God’s project for it, which is to be a presence of Christ.” Great interest was shown in this Spirituality of Communion of Chiara Lubich’s, which aims “to increase the typical contribution of vitality, beauty and holiness that the Church, following Mary’s example, is called to bring to the world.”
Seventeen sustainable development goals have been identified to be achieved by 2030. They are contained in the UN Agenda approved by the 193 UN member states. “Zero Hunger,” which is at the centre of an agreement signed in 2012 during a United Nations Conference in Rio de Janeiro, aims to free the world from hunger. In response to a request for collaboration sent by the United Nation’s agency, the young people and teenagers of the Focolare Movement decided to step onto the field alongside the FAO, in raising awareness among the generation that we hope will see world hunger defeated. World hunger has been on the rise again for more than a decade. It was recently reported on by the Annual United Nations Report of food safety and nutrition in the world (2017). In 2016, around 815 million people (38 million more than the year before), that is, 11% of the world population, was not sufficiently nourished. Around 155 million children under the age of five are underdeveloped (too short for their age), while 52 million suffer from chronic hunger, which means that their weight is not adequate to their height. At the same time, because of a lack of healthy nourishment, 600 million people (including 41 million children) suffer from obesity, which is another face of malnutrition. The Report identified armed conflicts as the main cause of the migrations and of the shocks linked to climate change, as several of the key factors of the re-escalation of hunger and the many forms of malnutrition. Freeing the world of hunger will require urgent measures and decisions in favour of more sustainable lifestyles – from the consumer society to a change of course in international politics. But first it requires a stronger awareness and change in personal relationships. This is the message that the Focolare’s Teens for Unity and Youth for a United World have been spreading since last year along with several of their global-level projects: the need for study and becoming aware of the root causes of the problem; observing and monitoring the situation at the local level and involving as many young people, teenagers and associations as possible in: communicating and sharing experiences of working for the poor in their own local environments, for a more sober lifestyle, for dialogue, peace, the environment, welcoming immigrants, and, finally, their proposal to hold world-wide celebrations on the day chosen by the United Nations to be dedicated to the topic of nutrition (October 16). #ZeroHunger is now a regular feature of the Teens Magazine, published by Città Nuova in collaboration with the New Families Association, United World Association and the New Humanity Movement. The 2018 March-April edition will be dedicate to this topic. “What a thrill for our delegation,” write the teenagers on the editorial board, “to go into the headquarters of the FAO in Rome. Let’s get started right now so that our generation will truly be the first #GenerationZeroHunger. Teens Magazine will continue to follow this fascinating worldwide project.” The calendar shows April as the month for the publication of the Commitment Statement of the Teens for Unity, which was drawn up by teenagers from eleven countries. In May, the annual events for “United World Week” and “Run4Unity” will be entirely devoted to the topic. In June, a group of 600 children and teenagers (ages 9-12), attending an international congress of the Focolare Movement, will be the guests of the FAO for a morning of discussion and sharing on the topic. Finally, in the month of July, as part of the “United World Project” at Genfest 2018, a forum will be held on the theme #GenerationZeroHunger with the participation of the FAO. Chiara Favotti
for ages 4-8 | for ages 9-17 | Print | Audio https://www.focolare.org/gb/files/2018/03/201803WOL.mp3 King David, who was also a prophet, wrote this psalm at a time when he felt weighed down by anguish and poverty and in danger from his enemies. He wanted to find a way out of his painful situation, but realized he was completely unable to do so. Therefore he looked up, with hope, toward the God of Israel, who had always protected his people, and implored him to come to his aid. This month’s Word of Life draws our attention to the fact that he was asking to know the ways and paths of the Lord, to shed light on the choices he had to make, especially at difficult times. “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.” Sometimes in life we too have to make decisive choices. It can be totally absorbing to have to do so, and it can help us to think deeply about what our conscience suggests is the right way forward. It could be that we have many paths to choose from and are uncertain about which is the best. At other times, we may feel there is no path at all. Wanting to find a way ahead is a strong human need, and so sometimes we ask help from those we consider our friends. Christian faith makes us become friends with God. He is a Father who loves us; he knows us through and through and wants to accompany us on our journey. Every day, God invites us to set out freely on an adventure. Our compass is unselfish love for him and all his children. The ways and paths are opportunities to meet other travelers and find new goals that can be shared. Christians are never isolated individuals, but part of a people travelling towards the fulfilment of the plan of God the Father for humankind. Through all he said and did, Jesus revealed God’s plan to bring about universal fraternity, the civilization of love. “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.” The Lord’s ways can be daring and, at times, may seem too challenging for us, like rope bridges stretching between high cliffs. They challenge our selfish habits, our prejudices and false humility, and instead create opportunities for dialogue, encounter and commitment to the common good. Above all, they call for a love that is ever new and capable of forgiving, because it is founded on the rock of God’s love and faithfulness to us. This ever-new love is essential if we are to build just and peaceful relationships among peoples and nations. Even the witness given by a simple kind deed, done with love, can give others the light to see their way forward. At a gathering in Nigeria, when both children and adults were sharing their experiences of loving according to the Gospel, a little girl called Maya said, “Yesterday, when we were playing, a boy pushed me and I fell over. He said ‘sorry’ and I forgave him.” Those words touched the heart of a man whose father was killed by Boko Haram. “I looked at Maya. If a little girl like her can forgive, it means that I can do the same.” “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.” If we want a sure guide on our journey, let’s remember that Jesus said, “I am the Way…” (Jn 14:6). When Chiara Lubich spoke to young people gathered in Santiago de Compostela during the 1989 World Youth Day, she encouraged them: “By describing himself as ‘the Way’, Jesus was saying we must take the same way as he did. We could therefore say that the way Jesus followed has a name: it is love. The love that Jesus lived and brought on earth is special and unique. It is the same ardent love that burns in God … “But who should we love? Our first duty of course, is to love God. Then, to love our neighbor, every neighbor … From the moment we wake up in the morning until we go to sleep at night, every relationship with our neighbor should be lived with this love. Whether we are at home, at college, at work, on a sports field, on vacation, in church or on the street, we should take advantage of every opportunity to love, seeing Jesus in our neighbors, neglecting no one, being the first to love … “This means entering as far as possible into the minds and hearts of others, truly understanding their problems, needs and troubles — as well as their joys, so that we can share everything with them … “In a way, we have to become that other person, just as Jesus, who was God, became a man out of love. Then our neighbors will feel understood and supported because someone is helping them bear their burdens and pain and share in their joys. ‘Living the other person,’ ‘living the others’ – this is a great ideal; this is amazing.” Letizia Magri
Facing the Mediterranean, to the southeast of the Strait of Gibraltar – a bridge between the two continents and one time end of the world – the city of Ceuta rises, which, along with the nearby Melilla, represents Spanish colonial remnants on the continent of Africa. Because of its strategic location on a piece of privileged coastland, the two cities have for decades have been considered possible entry ways into Europe, in spite of the dividing wall. Every day, men, women and children from the most diverse collection of African countries, escaping wars, poverty and persecutions of every kind, cross entire countries in an attempt to find a shore near the city on which to disembark. Right on this strip of land which, since 1851 has been under the Diocese of Cadice, which is in the midst of getting ready for the 600th anniversary of the arrival of the one who has been called the “Virgin of Africa,” a single block of wood representing the Blessed Virgin seated with the body of the dead Christ between her arms. In 1949, Pope Pius XII wanted her to be named the patroness of the city.
In a year dedicated to Mary, we would like to do all we can to honour the mother of God in the best possible way. There are many ways of doing this. We can talk about her, praise her and ask her help; we can visit churches dedicated to her, paint pictures and sculpt statues; we can sing hymns and bring flowers… There are many ways of imitating Mary, but one is better than all the others, which is to imitate her, to do as she would do on earth. I believe this is what she prefers, because in some ways it allows her to come and live on earth once more. Therefore, without neglecting the other ways of honouring her, we must focus on this: imitating her. How can we do this? What characteristic should we imitate? Let’s imitate her in what is essential. She is a mother, Jesus’ mother and spiritually our mother. On the cross, Jesus gave her to us as a mother in the person of John. We have to be other Marys as a mother. Practically speaking, we should state this intention: during the Marian Year, I will behave towards every neighbour I meet, or for whom I work, as though I were their mother. If we do that, we will notice a conversion happening in us, a revolution, not only because we will find our¬selves acting as a mother even to our own mother or father from time to time, but because we will have adopted a particular, specific attitude. A mother is always welcoming, always helpful, always hopeful, and covers over everything. She forgives everything in her children, even if they are delinquents or terrorists. The fact is that a mother’s love is very similar to the charity of Christ of which St Paul speaks. If we have a mother’s heart or, to be exact, if we decide to make Mary’s heart our own, as she is the most perfect model of motherhood, then we shall always be ready to love others in all circumstances, and keep the Risen Lord living in us. Moreover, we will do all we can to keep Jesus, the Risen Lord, present in our midst. If we have the heart of this Mother, we will love everybody, not only the members of our own Church, but also those of other Churches. Not only Christians, but also Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and so on. We will love all people of goodwill and everyone who lives on this earth, because Mary’s motherhood is universal, just as Redemption was universal. Even when she is not loved in return, she always loves, and loves everyone. This then is our intention: to live like Mary, as if we were everyone’s mother.
The “Renata Borlone Prize” will be awarded to Prof. Suleiman Baraka, a native of Gaza and an internationally renowned astrophysicist on Sunday 25 February, in the Auditorium of the International Centre of Loppiano (Florence), in the presence of the representatives of the scientific world and civil authorities. Now on its 4th edition, the Prize was instituted by the Cultural Association bearing the same name, to honour the memory of Renata Borlone (1930-1990), who for over 20 years was co-director of the town of Loppiano and is now a Servant of God. Full of human and spiritual values, Renata nurtured a special passion for science, intended as the privileged tool for the construction of unity of the human family. The Prize’s Scientific Committee conferred this recognition to Prof. Baraka for “his scientific research which focuses on human values and peace”. The awardee stated “This prize in honour of Renata Borlone who worked for the good of society – is a further incentive and encouragement to place science and its beauty at the service of humanity, promote peace among peoples, and enable the young generations to open their horizons to hope, despite the difficulties and obstacles they may have to face.”
The 1990 Genfest was known as the “Genfest of the Wall,” or better, the fall of the wall. Just a few months before, an historical event had begun to change the face of Europe and of the world. During an unforgettable night, following a week of public disorder and the first signs of openness between East and West Germany, a large number of East Berliners were climbing the Wall that had divided them from the West for 28 years, and they began to break holes in the Wall with pick axes. That wall was only one side of a 6,500 kilometre dividing line between East and West, which split the continent in two from Finland, on the Baltic, all the way to Trieste on the Adriatic. It was not merely a physical wall, made of watchtowers, barbed wire barriers, police dogs and infrared radar, but also a mental wall, economic and cultural. I was born in Trieste, an Italian city in the Northeast where everything speaks of confinement, of community with limits. Just getting there is an experience of the limit between land and sea, with the amazing spectacle of the rocky overhanging coastline. The beauty of this city reveals itself suddenly, just behind a corner. It’s only a few kilometres from the “physical” limit to the “political” limit on the surrounding plateau. Five minutes from my house the State border with Slovenia, always open since 2007, the year when Slovenia entered the Schengen region, was a barrage inside a sentry box. In the nearby city of Gorizia there was a wall similar to the one in Berlin, but smaller, made of concrete and dividing the city in two. I grew up with this sense of “separation”, with Italians on one side, Slovenians and Croatians on the other. I have memories of cultural islands, Italian or Solvenian schools and theatres, like island groups that rarely communicated with one another. I remember the incomprehensible language of other students on the bus toward school. I remember the small buses with their Slovenian or Croatian license plates that came into the city from “over there”. They were on their way to shops near the Station to by products that weren’t available on the other side, the women wearing layers of dresses and trousers that made them look huge, in order to take along as much merchandise as they could. I remember the impulse to buy as much as possible and the rudeness with which they were treated, with a phrase that is better not to repeat. We Italians crossed the borders using a “pass” that was reserved for frontiers, to buy petrol and meat at better prices. We were quiet in the car, a bit frightened. Dad’s orders were to never say anything, because what was said to the border police could be misunderstood. As soon as we got over the moment of suspense and were inside Slovenia, our usual good cheer returned. During adolescence, going with the Gen and the young people from the united world project, and the any experiences we shared, opened my heart far beyond the walls I knew. It made me hope and think big, of a truly united world. It wasn’t a fantasy, but a new way of thinking, of moving in a new direction, taking little steps, but made of real and authentic brotherhood. I took part in the 1990 Genfest with them. It was an unforgettable experience. For the first time, there was an explosion of happiness, young people from east and west looked in each other’s eyes and squeezed each other’s hands as television cameras broadcasted the scene in the Paleur Stadium to millions of television viewers around the world. We were given a mandate: to bring love back into the world. “Friendship and kindness aren’t enough,” said Chiara Lubich. “Philanthropy isn’t enough, neither are solidarity or non-violence. We have to change from being people focused on their own small interests, to being small daily heroes who are at the loving service of their brothers and sisters in every neighbor.” The next year I left for Moscow. The iron wall that separated East and West may have fallen, but at a great price, pulverizing ideals and an entire social system. There were no winners, nor losers, only the disillusioned, suffering and widespread poverty. It was clear to me: It’s not enough to bring down a wall to create a free and just society. Now, those words that I heard at the Genfest are the only way forward for me: “Only in harmony with each other and forgiveness toward each other can you build a real future.”
At the mechanic’s I had brought my car to the mechanic’s for a small repair. The young mechanic said he would call me when it was ready. After six hours, no phone call came. I went to the workshop and strangely he pretended not to remember the job to be done and went on to serve other clients. After waiting for an hour he returned with the bill. It was exorbitant for such a small job. Being black, I felt this was evidently an act of discrimination. I paid, but anger and sharp pain got hold of me. When I was about to explode, I stopped to think and wonder how I could live the Gospel in a moment like this. I calmed down and patiently explained the facts to the person in charge. He listened to me and got the message, and ordered a reimbursement. That reimbursement seemed to me like the fulfilment of the promises of the Gospel. Welile – South Africa
Hunger and thirst for justice I was a revolutionary, and hungered and thirsted for justice and I said it in a loud voice, everywhere I went. At a certain point I found an answer in God, and for him, I left everything. One day I was asked to speak in a factory, but now there was a difference: it was no longer I but Jesus who spoke through me, because I tried to find love in my brothers. Looking at all those restless faces on the revolt, thirsty for justice, I got the confirmation that only love can achieve the miracle of changing people, their ideas, and the structures. This love is God in us and among us. Maria Teresa – BrazilChange of plans With my husband’s consent, I thought of enrolling in a course that would have been useful for my work. I was enthusiastic, because I saw that slowly the difficulties smoothed out and all seemed to confirm that I was on the right road. I had started to gather the necessary documents when I discovered I was pregnant, and this confused me. I would have wanted to set aside my project for some time. Upon reading the Gospel with my husband, we understood that God had other plans for us and we prepared to welcome the baby with joy. D.T.B. – CroatiaThe trump card I am a sales agent. One day I entered the office of a big company to present my products to the head of the purchasing office. Since he showed very little interest, I prepared to leave his office. But during that brief meeting I noticed that I was dealing with a person in suffering. I was already at the door when I felt I had to go back and simply asked: “Are you sure you’re feeling ok?” Wide eyed he asked me: “Why are you asking this?” I answered that I just had that sensation, greeted him again and left. The next day, I received a phone call from him. “I want to thank you, because after you left, your question rang in my mind. So that evening I went to my doctor who confirmed that I could have collapsed at any minute and there was immediate need to intervene with a strong therapy.” That same day, the company made a big order. So I not only found a big client, but had also helped a person to feel better. Putting love before all else in our actions is always the trump card. From Focolare website www.flest.it – Italy
The GEN ROSSO (INTERNATIONAL PERFORMING ARTS GROUP) is presenting the 1st edition of the Gen Rosso Music and Arts Village, a residential in-depth artistic experience with the sharing of values in the light of the charism of unity. The project addresses young professionals and students preferably from 18 to 30 years of age, in disciplines such as music, dance, singing and theatre. The didactic method is designed and handled by Gen Rosso tutors having the qualified artistic capacities and experience. The program will include the study of specific themes. Exchange of experiences, dialogue sessions and practical labs will be exhibited in a final performance. The evening sessions will be enriched with interesting artistic contributions. The first edition of the Village will take place from 25 March (arrivals in the afternoon) to 1 April 2018. A participation certificate will be issued at the conclusion. Gen Rosso, through the Village secretariat, is at everyone’s disposal for further information and all the documentation needed for enrolment. (limited number). Contacts Secreteriat VILLAGE: +39 0558339821 (9.00-13.00, Italian time) Franco Gallelli cell +39 3806592166 Email secretariat VILLAGE: village@genrosso.com
Guaramiranga, with 7,000 inhabitants, is a small city of the Northeastern state of Ceará in Brazil, which boasts a highly diversified natural environment at the Atlantic coast where there are also the most beautiful beaches in the world, and with an interior full of lagoons, and water courses populated by mangroves, jungles and forests. About 100 kilometers from the coast, it is the seat of two important cultural events: the international “Jazz and Blues” and the more local “Northeastern Theatre Festival.” Here lives Almir, a “volunteer of God” of the Focolare Movement. Some years ago, pushed by the desire to do something for his city, he decided to run for the post of Town Councilor. After his election he was asked to assume the councillorship for Culture and Tourism, an important role since most of the city’s economy rotates around tourism, cultural events and exhibitions. The role is very challenging and above all, Almir is full of ideas. However, it was not an easy choice: “I lengthily pondered on the mayor’s request to assume this position. In fact I was thinking of running again, since after a year and a half there would be a reshuffling of the town council, and I doubted that the proposal aimed at limiting me politically, due to my ideas in advocating clarity and transparency. On the other hand, the area of culture and tourism was undergoing a difficult moment: many small hotels and shops were about to close and the personnel would have been fired. I felt the suffering of those brothers who could have lost their jobs, and of the owners who would have had to close ship. So after talking with some friends, I accepted the challenge.” Almir started to work on the new assignment with passion, mobilising the entrepreneurs and inhabitants. He launched a participation course with some citizens, involving them in the promotion of touristic events to give a new impulse to the city and boost the economy’s upturn. Also the inhabitants of the rural districts were involved in a project for the upholding of local traditions with new cultural initiatives in the territory. In short, the city saw the growth of touristic flows, the birth of new businesses, hotels and hostels and the creation of new jobs. “Other two challenges” – Almir explained – “were the relaunching of the Town Theatre in the city’s historical centre, and the revival of the Food Court, the square dedicated to restaurants. In this case, the difficult rapports between the restaurant owners negatively influenced the events held in the city. I asked myself how we could go about creating relationships of fraternity and collaboration in that place. I started by going to visit them, creating friendly relations with each of them, and trying to understand the problems and smoothing out the tensions. At first I found a lot of resistance, but I didn’t give up. In the end, I was able to build a “team,” to such a point that today these people have become friends and cooperate with one another. It seemed like a miracle to see these businessmen, who were enemies at first, relate with each other in a friendly and supportive way.” «Today, due to family issues, I am no longer involved in the public administration, but I participate in the political life with the conviction that in trying to concretise the words of the Gospel, we can find the strength to meet the necessities of one’s people and one’s own community.” Chiara Favotti Source: Movimento dos Focolares Brasil (our translation)
In preparation for the 9th World Meeting of Families, the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Family and Life has published seven catecheses which are available on its site in five languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese). The meeting will take place in Dublin from 20-26 August 2018. Card. Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Council defined the catechesis as “A catechetical program in the light of what Pope Francis donated to the entire world with the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia.” The themes to be presented are: “Families today,” “Families in the light of the Word of God,” “God’s great dream,” “The culture of life,” “The culture of hope” and “The culture of joy.” Card. Farrell explained: “Each catechesis is introduced by some prayers drawn from the pontifical magisterium or from patristic tradition, and concludes with the requests for a moment of sharing that starts from the family, the first domestic Church, to then extend to the Christian community.” The catecheses are accompanied by a musical itinerary sung by the renowned Italian singer, Andrea Bocelli, in a concert at the Sagrada Familia Basilica of Barcelona in May 2015, and is the first of a series of repeated concerts within the ambit of the project entitled “The Great Mystery. The Gospel of the Family, School of Humanity for Our Time,” and also in the shrine of St John Paul II in Cracow, and in the St. Stephen Basilica in Budapest. (www.laityfamilylife.va/)
The youngest of three sisters, including Ginetta who would also become a focolarina, Gis was born in Lavis, Italy on April 18, 1920. Thanks to their mother’s many sacrifices, the three girls were able to continue their studies after the death of their father at an early age. When war broke out Gis and Ginetta moved to Veneto for work, where Gis would sometimes receive news from a schoolmate. With strong and incisive wording, the friend would describe the singular experience of the Gospel that was taking place in Trent among a group of her peers. Her words deeply struck Gis’ sensitive soul, who returned to Trent for Easter and wanted to meet Chiara Lubich. She soon discovered her own path in that experience of the Gospel. Without delay, she told Venetian owner that, although very grateful for the job, she would not be returning to the business and, to the young man to whom she was attached with a promising feeling, she wrote: “I’m not leaving you for another man, but for God.” From then on any reason was good to stop by the “little house” in Piazza Cappuccini, a small apartment that was being lent to that group of girls. “I lived a few kilometres away,” Gis recounts, “and the road was uphill all the way. I got up at five to attend the Mass with them, and for meditation in which Chiara made us enter into the fire of the words of the Gospel that changed the whole sense of everything: there was no difficulty whatsoever putting them into practice.” In the city everything was lacking because of the war. Gis remembered a land holding owned by her family where they grew fruit and vegetables. But how were they to get to them when only armed armoured tanks were allowed transit. Out of love for the many people who were knocking at the door of the “little house” in search of something to eat, they armed themselves with courage and stood themselves at the side of the road, hitched a ride from the soldiers who were driving the heavy tanks. They drove by them without even noticing them, but then one stopped and, at hearing the reason for their being there,, allowed them to climb up onto the tank. The same guy drove back with them to the “little house” with two huge baskets filled with good things from God. When the war ended Gis and Ginetta asked their mother to let them live in thefocolare. Ginetta got permission, but the little one no. She didn’t give up: she knew that her decision was final and it would only be a matter of time. The solution was found by Igino Giordani who, knowing Mamma Calliari to be one of his passionate readers, offered Gis a job in Rome. On December 6, 1949, the mother was happy to opt for Giordani. She let Gis leave for Rome, oblivious to the fact that besides being the judges secretary, she would open the first focolare at the capital of Italy with Chiara and others. From then on Gis lived at Chiara’s side with a few short interruptions to start up focolares in several places around Italy. Speaking of those 25 years with Chiara, in 2005 she confided: “It’s very simple, limpid, profound: all that is hers is mine, all that is mine is hers.” It was a remark that fully represented who Chiara was for everyone in her focolare: “Philadelphia is more than a reality,” says Chiara. “It’s here where I take strength to face the daily crosses (after the personal union with Jesus). Here you go from Divine Wisdom that’s shared spontaneously, to practical advice on health, a dress, the house, the food; to constant little helps, every day, with sacrifices that could never be counted. Here […] The blood that flows between us is of a home, but a heavenly home.” “In her office,” Gabri Fallacara recalls, “she telephoned everybody, building a network of love, incisive, open and understanding. With absolute trust she placed herself in the most favorable conditions for discerning what the charism of unity asked, day after day, of Chiara and of us.” Following Chiara’s death Gis continued living for everyone, in spite of her failing capacities, she was a gushing fountain of tenderness and affection. In July 2017 her worsening health transformed her room into a crossroads of heavenly encounters. On January 2018, Gis peacefully left this world. “Right to the end she continued to give of herself in order to make Chiara continue to live in the Movement today. She gave me a big lesson of simplicity, radicality, trust in God’s plan and unity with all.”
In remembrance of persecuted Christians around the world, on Saturday 24th of February the Help to the Suffering Church (ACS) will colour the Roman Colosseum red. In the same context, two other symbols of the recent persecutions of Christians will be painted the same colour: St Paul Cathedral in Mosul, Iraq, and the Maronite Church of St Elia in Aleppo, Syria. After the Trevi Fountain lit up in red on April 29, 2016, ACS returns again to offer this “sober provocation” in the capital, as the director of ACS-Italia, Alessandro Monteduro explained during the press conference held for the event. The main event will be held in Rome, in Largo Gaetana Agnesi, starting at 6 pm. The general secretary of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, Mgr. Nunzio Galantino, and the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani confirmed that they will be present. Source:SIR
“Breaking Rays” is a play on the words “Breaking News” which are used to describe the interruption of some latest sensational news story. The sensational news this time was a project for the promotion of fraternity and a group of young communication workers who, with passion and skill, are stepping up to produce some maximum results. Breaking Rays aims at building an international network where experiences inspired by the charism of the Focolare Movement can come out of isolation and “break” onto the global scene, creating a widespread domino effect in other communities. Co-financed by the European Comission through the Erasmus+ and promoted by the international New Humanity Association in collaboration with CSC Audiovisual Centre, Italy, and other NGOs, the project is for young filmmakers and collaborators of the bi-monthly telephone CH Link-Up with news of the Focolare Community around the world. They already got through the first and second stages in Castelgandolfo, Italy, last July; and at Mariapolis Ginetta in San Paolo, Brazil on February 3-10. The next and final stage will take place concurrently with the Genfest, July 2018 in Manila, Philippines. Twenty young people from different countries (Brazil, Italy Hungary, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Kenya and Burundi) have already arrived in Mariapolis Ginetta with a variety of skills, to be coordinated by professional tutors: Italian film director from RAI-TV, director of photography, Carlo Sgambato, project director, Kim Rowley from CSC audio-visuals, along with Isabela Reis, producer and curator of cultural audio-visual projects. With them there is also Paolo Cipollone from CSV Audiovisuals and coordinator of the project. Theoretical and practical training, along with experimenting with new techniques will alternate with work and a common life that will support a communion of talents and openness to constructive criticism. The group has made several visits to social projects of the region, making videos and interviewing. During other sessions, several experts in the field of communications (dreicting, television and radio journalism) have told their own experience and answered questions from the participants. A unique experience in which to learn and go deeper into the profession of a journalist from a new perspective,” said Lewis from Burundi. “More than a course on film-making, powerful stories shared about how to make a better world,” said Donald from India. The team and experts helped me to develop an eye for detail and how to shatter stereotypes and cultural cliches, using audiovisuals.” Full-time tutor Isabela Reis from Brazil explains: “I think it’s a project we can be proud of. It was a strong experience that engaged us for eight days. It was useful for improving the ability to communicate among the young people. It was also important to discuss the various ways of taking advantage of the possibilities offered by technology.” Rafael from Brazil has been in Manila for several months helping to prepare the Genfest: “An important step towards Manila. It was beautiful to spend a whole week in contact with such incredible professionals. Their videos spread hope.” Kyle Venturillo from the Philippines: “We come from different parts of the world. We have different languages, cultures and personalities. In spite of this, we were able to establish a relationship of openness among us, which turned us into a family. We’re a group of people “a bit folly,” with different thoughts and perspectives, but with one main objective: to make this world more united.” Other participants in the project included: Starkmacher, Germany, Opus Mariae, Kenya, Focolare Ireland,, UJ Varos, Hungary, Pag-asa, Philippines, Civitas, Brazil, Focolare Society Bombay, India and YayasanDuniaBersatu, Indonesia. Chiara Favotti
And now for the Genfest, itself! Even though it was a life-changing event in all its aspects, I can’t hide it: for me the highlight was the meeting with Chiara. I don’t know if the other 12 thousand young people in the arena felt the same, but I felt like Chiara was talking to me, and me alone. When Noel asked her the final question, «Chiara, from the bottom of your heart, what would you like to say to us young people?», her answer rang out like a war-call that still rings in my ears. With a super-astute intuition and understanding of what the young heart yearns for, she quoted St. Catherine who had told her disciples not to be satisfied with small things because “God wants them big!”. «You, young people – she said, with a conviction that went straight to the heart – don’t be satisfied with crumbs… with small joys… but aim high and seek the fullness of joy: that joy that comes from living out unity!» Hmm. For better or for worse, that’s been my experience ever since. “Unity”? A deep word that I’m still discovering after these 23 years. But that “fullness of joy”? Yep! I’ve found it! Oh! …and by the way, our performance was chosen. Take a look. Hope you like it! Michelle Sopala
Povilus explained how, during that period, “a new and vast horizon opened up an unimaginable vision of Mary” for the founder of the Focolare Movement. She was discovered “almost as if for the first time” as a human being, “one of us”, but at the same time “imbued with the Word of God.” “Mary revealed herself as the Mother of God, Theotokos, Mary was not just, as we had thought, the young girl of Nazareth, the most beautiful creature in the world, whose love surpasses the love of all the mothers in the world. She was the Mother of God in a dimension that was completely new to us. To explain it, Chiara used an image, that of the sky enveloping the sun.” “It was a new intuition of the significance of the event that took place at the foot of the cross, of the sword that must have passed through Mary’s heart, being asked to renounce her maternity towards her divine son to take as a substitute child John. And yet Jesus in his death was giving his life to all humankind, making us all God’s children. As Mary’s role in the Annunciation was to say “yes” to something beyond herself that God was bringing about, here again, on Golgotha, what was asked of her was, as theologians have said, a “second yes.” There is a wealth of implications for our own lives that Chiara derived from this understanding of Mary Desolate. First and foremost is that of recognising Mary to be a model that can be imitated: “by loving one another we generate the presence of Jesus in our midst. Like Mary, we can offer Christ to the world spiritually.” 
Another point that comes to new light in Chiara’s mystical experience of 1949 has to do with Mary’s place in the Church. “We know from the Acts of the Apostles that she was present at Pentecost which is often marked out as the birth of the Church. Chiara, describing her intuition of Mary’s place in the Church, from that early moment of the descent of the Spirit, used the metaphor of her being a heart: If Christ is the head of his mystical body, the Church, Mary is at its heart. Mary plays an essential role in helping the Church to respond fully to God’s project for it, which is to be a presence of Christ.” Great interest was shown in this Spirituality of Communion of Chiara Lubich’s, which aims “to increase the typical contribution of vitality, beauty and holiness that the Church, following Mary’s example, is called to bring to the world.”
Seventeen sustainable development goals have been identified to be achieved by 2030. They are contained in the UN Agenda approved by the 193 UN member states. “Zero Hunger,” which is at the centre of an agreement signed in 2012 during a United Nations Conference in Rio de Janeiro, aims to free the world from hunger. In response to a request for collaboration sent by the United Nation’s agency, the young people and teenagers of the Focolare Movement decided to step onto the field alongside the FAO, in raising awareness among the generation that we hope will see world hunger defeated. World hunger has been on the rise again for more than a decade. It was recently reported on by the Annual United Nations Report of food safety and nutrition in the world (2017). In 2016, around 815 million people (38 million more than the year before), that is, 11% of the world population, was not sufficiently nourished. Around 155 million children under the age of five are underdeveloped (too short for their age), while 52 million suffer from chronic hunger, which means that their weight is not adequate to their height. 
At the same time, because of a lack of healthy nourishment, 600 million people (including 41 million children) suffer from obesity, which is another face of malnutrition. The Report identified armed conflicts as the main cause of the migrations and of the shocks linked to climate change, as several of the key factors of the re-escalation of hunger and the many forms of malnutrition. Freeing the world of hunger will require urgent measures and decisions in favour of more sustainable lifestyles – from the consumer society to a change of course in international politics. But first it requires a stronger awareness and change in personal relationships. This is the message that the Focolare’s 
“Breaking Rays” is a play on the words “Breaking News” which are used to describe the interruption of some latest sensational news story. The sensational news this time was a project for the promotion of fraternity and a group of young communication workers who, with passion and skill, are stepping up to produce some maximum results. Breaking Rays aims at building an international network where experiences inspired by the charism of the Focolare Movement can come out of isolation and “break” onto the global scene, creating a widespread domino effect in other communities. Co-financed by the European Comission through the Erasmus+ and promoted by the international 
