The crisis that has triggered around North Korea’s ballistic experiments and the reaction of the United States Administration have generated fears of the concrete possibility of a nuclear conflict. The old Latin adage to keep the peace prepare waris senseless today. The consequences of a conflict, furthermore with nuclear weapons, would have devastating consequences for the entire planet. Peace must be reached at all costs wherever it is strained and maintained, and wherever it has been achieved. The members of the Focolare Movement feel a growing awareness of the role each of us can play as individuals and as a community, in this process. Besides prayers, they have undertaken different types of common endeavours, often inspired by the initiatives of other organisations or movements with which the Focolare collaborates. In this sense we have to recall what the spiritual friendship between Chiara Lubich and Nikkyo Niwano, founder of the Japanese Buddhist movement, Rissho Kosei kai, has done to contribute to the cause of peace and to educate the new generations about this. “Despite the difficulties, our cooperation will make us hope that we can work for peace together,” Niwano wrote to Chiara. On the occasion of the Focolare’s 50th anniversary, the founder of the Buddhist movement and his son, Nichico, repeated this common commitment to “make our human family more united.” The Rissho Kosei kai also made itself heard over the last days with an official communication of the President-elect, Rev. Madame Kosho Niwano, to the world’s political and spiritual leaders, to renew the commitment of her movement and to ask them to leave no stone unturned in preserving peace in the Korean peninsula. The appeal draws inspiration from the ideas of the founder, Niwano, who on the occasion of his speech before the United Nations Assembly in 1978 right in the midst of the Cold War, had addressed the leaders of the USA and USSR. “Instead of risking with arms, please take the risk of peace and disarmament,” he said. Niwano, like many religious leaders of his time, among which were Paul VI, John Paul II, and Chiara Lubich, had realised the responsibility of religions in contributing to the creation and maintenance of world peace. The message Mme. Niwano also sent to Maria Voce,President of the Focolare Movement, is that of a daughter of a people that had suffered in an indescribable manner in the last world conflict that had set the political leaders of the world before the danger of the effects of sanctions that could cause unpredictable reactions. Also in the West there is a growing awareness of the danger of a nuclear escalation. On the occasion of the remembrance of the Day of Prayer for peace, established by John Paul II in 1986, the Committee for a Civilisation of Love prepared a meditation entitled Project for peace in the Korean region for the convention to be held at the convention in the Sacred Convent of Assisi (Italy) next 28 October. Read the original message
“We just got back from three days among the Karen refugees in Mae Sot, at the border with Myanmar. It was quite an experience, like any experience that brings you into direct contact with people’s pain.” Luigi Butori has lived in south east asia for many years, in one of the focolare or “hearth” communities of that region. “We loaded up the van, more than 30 crates that had arrived from Italy and took off with Glauco and Num, a Buddhist Gen. It’s now customary for us to make this 500 km journey every three or four months.” Mae Sot is a city of west Thailand close to the Myanmar border. It’s an important link with the nearby country, a place of refuge for many refugees and immigrants in general. They live in bad social and economic conditions. “These are our people,” Luigi writes. Those of them who have a job in the agricultural plants or in local industry are at times the victims of exploitation and paid starvation wages. But multitudes of refugees have found a refuge in the many camps that have been set up by international organisations that work in the border region, on Thailand territory. Many of the persecuted come from the Karen people. Their story is largely unkown. They’re simple farming folk who were forced to fun away. This is one of the many neglected conflicts which the media, however, considers to be of low intensity. We had planned this trip a long time ago with Father Joachim, a Burmese priest who lives in Mae-Sot. Jim, another focolarino from Bangkok, met us in the morning, after a ten-hour overnight bus ride with a lot of checkpoints along the way. Every time you arrive in Mae Sot, it feels like you’re entering another world where values are changed. In the place of consumerism and comfort, we meet people without anything, yet they’re happy with the little they receive from us, and which we’ve recevied from many others from far and near. They know that we’re only there out of love for them: “This love that you bring to us is the reason why we carry on living and hoping,” they said to us more than once. We ate togetherw with them, which was a witness that spoke on its own. One evening we went into the midst of the camps and it was like walking into the middle of nothingness, with our van sinking into the mud and surrounded by the corn fields. It was all because we had to pick up a Catholic family and go to another location where forty Catholics were awaiting us for Mass. It was dark, rainy, and the place was full of mosquitos. We stood beneath a canopy in a large barn with a little bit of light. I suddenly started to think about the beautiful cathedrals in Rome where I lived five years ago. I thought about the paintings, the organs and the beautiful lights. That barn filled with mosquitos, with that gentle light and with all those people seated on the ground, seemed like a basilica to me. Because Jesus was there, spiritually, with us, in the midst of that crowd that didn’t have anything.” For several years Luigi has been the link between a schools twinning project that links Karen children in Mae Sot with those of Latina and with a group in Lucca, Italy and Poshiavo, Switzerland. With the funds and the materials gathered, it has been possible to build and start up a small school called “Drop by Drop”. “All of us in Class Four have met Luigi,” write the students from the C. Goldoni Elementary School in Latina. “We were happy to see him again, but mostly curious to hear the news about our Karen friends and their school. He showed us photographs and shared information about what’s going on up there. We were surprised to see how things that we consider totally normal – like a bathroom, a wooden bridge – for them is still something that is totally missing in their daily lives. Thanks to the Drop by Drop project we can build bridges of solidarity with our friends far away.”
The event was divided in two parts. A forum in English will be held at 9:00 in the Great Hall of Sophia University Institute, titled Perspectives on Global Transformations. The will mark the official opening of the Sophia Global Studies Centre. At 17:00 the official inauguration of the Academic Year will be held in the Auditorium of Loppiano and include a moment of reflection on the new challenges facing Sophia. Program
In front of the situation that has been created in Catalonia, the Focolare Movement in Spain has launched a communiqué through which one commits to living a culture of dialogue, “a powerful tool that makes interests in others possible, entering into the reality they live, to know it, accept it and, inasmuch as possible, comprehend it. We consider plurality a positive challenge and enormous value.” Many initiatives are being promoted to solicit dialogue, especially with the political class. “We strongly support them, because we consider them to be signs of a mature democratic society that wagers on reconciliation.” The Focolare Movement in Spain simultaneously proposes a collection of signatures, in which the whole world can take part, with the goal of finding a path to peaceful coexistence in diversity, and the acknowldgement of the human dignity of every person and institution that represents them. It is a campaign of sensitization and commitment on the social network, under the hashtag #SoyDiálogo, which invites one and all to become active promotors of listening, respect, dialogue and peaceful actions.
Dear all, During our international meeting at Castel Gandolfo, we have been able to see all that the charism of unity is doing in the world and deepen our identity as the Work of Mary. At the end of the meeting, we felt a great desire to reach out to each one of you who, in various ways, have adhered to and live the Ideal and who, in the most varied situations, make your own contribution to building up fragments of fraternity wherever you are. We realised there are so many people to whom we owe gratitude and recognition, since you have loved, suffered and given your life to build up this reality. From the depths of our hearts, we want to say a huge thank you to everyone, without forgetting those who, while not considering themselves an active part of the Movement today, continue to live their daily lives motivated by Chiara’s same Ideal. We are certain that Mary, Mother of the Movement and of us all, will help us go forward together on the journey towards the unity of the human family, as witnesses to her love, wherever we are. Considering all of us, in all we are doing and living, as little knots in a great net, we embrace you all.
Don’t let the unpronounceable acronym scare you: with the help of a simple, straightforward and brightly coloured graphic design, it is proving to be very useful to the international community of EdC entrepreneurs who wish to share their own talents and experience to boost the growth of new enterprises. The portal addresses business companies, cooperatives, small enterprises, associations with positive social impact, and also people who want to conduct their own companies in conformity with the principles of ethics, social and environmental responsibility and inclusion. The platform offers various services like start-ups, but is likewise a bridge with the entire international community which all can become a part of. It is not difficult to do so, and thanks to the portal, every new entrepreneur driven by a spirit of cooperation and reciprocity, can benefit from distance tutoring or personal mentoring to develop his/her own project. The offer goes through the network of national Hubs. These are “access points,” network “junctions” currently present in 13 countries (Africa, Central America, South America and Europe). The online launch of the platform came about a year after the opening of the first Hub. In this span of time, the Hubs have multiplied, promoting local courses and technical-professional training workshops and in-depth studies on the values that imbue the EoC project, giving personalized and systematic support to the execution of new business projects. If up to now the action of Hubs could only address people in a limited territorial field, these same opportunities are offered today, also to those who are not physically close to a local Hub, thanks to the platform (in Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, French and English). Roylán, a telecommunications and electronics engineer of the Spanish Hub, explained: “Transmitting the basic notions of entrepreneurial language and adequately and concretely encouraging the new entrepreneurs who are undergoing moments of uncertainty and doubts is an enriching challenge. Upon coordinating the appointments and tasks of the people who voluntarily cooperate with the start-ups, I was able to appreciate the contributions of each one: there are huge potentials when we work together, driven by the common call to the Economy of Communion.” Each Hub has its own story to tell. The Hub of Mexico, for example, was born from the encounter between some economic activities of the territory that wanted to develop at small-enterprise levels and the EoC incubation programme. Enrique, producer of homemade jams, participated in the first incubation workshop in Mexico City. ”The incubation session helped me to grow in a short time and transform my activity into a real business. But at the same time it enhanced my personality and the deep growth in the EoC culture. The biggest change for me was to start generating communions starting from my business, and helping vulnerable people. When the business grows, we will be able to offer jobs to needy, disabled people or those who couldn’t find jobs elsewhere. Technically speaking, it helped me to improve the production and conservation processes of the products, improving quality. We are now formalising all the licenses necessary to enter more decisively into the market.” Within the platform there is a “reserved area” for entrepreneurs who wish to join the EoC community. There are three different environments: “Networking,” to present one’s own projects, and meet other entrepreneurs and exchange experiences; “Wiki Toolkit,” to share articles and videos, and “Digital Incubation,” addressing those who have projects that have no possibility of being implemented locally. See the EoC-IIN site Source: EoC online
For some time, the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Trent, Italy, has been wanting to install a commemorative plaque to show visitors from around the world that Chiara Lubich was baptized there. The request from the parish priest was received favourably by Focolare’s president, Maria Voce, and so a commemorative plaque (stele) was created near the baptismal font. It is a simple, meaningful sign that, along with a photo of the young Chiara Lubich, there is also one of her inspirational sayings that sums up the charism she received: “One thing is clear in our hearts: God wants unity from us.We live to be one with God, with each other and with everyone.This splendid calling connects us to heaven and immerses us in a universal brotherhood.”
“The rosary is the drama of the Redemption seen through the eyes of Mary, virgin and Mother: the joys of Nazareth, the light of Bethlehem, the actions of Joseph, then the tragedy of the cross, and finally the heavenly glory. These are made family patrimony, they belong to us. They are our story, our life.” (Igino Giordani, Una stella accesa nella notte, (A star shining in the night) Città nuova, Roma, 2004, p. 81). 1922-1925. “If it is not possible in the pure stillness of vespers in our grandparents’ house, with a great blaze in the hearth, to gather in prayer with forefathers, grandchildren, children, and relatives: let us pray the Rosary in trams, in steamships, in the rumble of a tunnel and in the agitation of a locomotive: our effort to escape in an impetus of spirituality from the rampage of mechanized matter will be more commendable. A quarter of an hour in church will not be a sleepy habit and our prayer will be a fountain of respite in the gruelling heat of the civilization forced upon us.” (Igino Giordani, Diario di fuoco, (Diary of Fire) Città Nuova, Roma, 2005 [1980] p.19). 1933. “The Mother…There is an especially appreciative prayer to her, which represents a series of the mysteries of the life of Jesus cited with titles in her honour: the Rosary. It leads to serenity in the tired and sombre evening hours, in the arduous hours of life, and gives strength to hope in tomorrow and begin again: that coarse chain of cheap pearls transmits currents of celestial life into the poor bones exhausted by effort, lighting once again the only light in souls bombarded by social injustices or multiple misfortunes. It also gives to whoever lives, the hope of reaching the Father, of death with immortality, of the finite with Eternity.” (Igino Giordani, Diario di fuoco, cit. p.28) 1 October 1945. “Why does Mary mean so much to us? Because for us, those who truly follow the Gospel feel and act as children, for whom their mother is everything, and fills their every need. She is sought after because she leads them to God. They take her hand, they hold onto her skirts, because she leads them to the Father. There is no more reassuring, more loving or more beautiful way to present oneself to Him. Furthermore, in our Mother’s company, everything in life is more beautiful: Nature laughs, men themselves no longer seem savage.” (Igino Giordani, Diario di fuoco, cit. p.68) 9 October 1965. “I have only to see an image of Mary, so that the most beautiful things in my life come to mind. I then see that the joy of existence is called Mary for me; my glory is She, my strength is Her motherhood; the beauty that fascinates me is Her virginity; the acceptance of sorrow is the participation in Her trials as the Desolate. I see no positive aspect of my existence in which She does not enter: my life is Mary. And Mary is the Mother of Jesus: it is She who gives me God, weds the soul with the Holy Spirit, bringing it closer to the paternity of the Eternal. Who will thank you, Mama?” (Igino Giordani, Diario di fuoco, cit. p.180).
The choice of the title Neither victims nor bandits had been inspired by the words of Pope Francis during the audience last February before the representatives of the Economy of Communion (EoC), when he affirmed that it is no longer enough to imitate the Gospel’s good Samaritan who saved a man from bandits, but that there is need to act “especially before the man bumps into the bandits, to thus fight the structures of sin that produce bandits and victims.” We need, therefore, to do some soul searching and run the risks in order to change the rules of the game imposed by capitalism and globalization. World experts of culture, the media, economy and politics took turns in the various moments of the programme, along with the many representatives of civil society. Pressing issues were discussed such as migration and reception, the reconversion of war industries and at the same time the paradox of arms exported by Italy for the war in Yemen where 15 million people have been suffering from the worst cholera epidemic over the last years and have no access to water. Another burning issue discussed was slot machine gambling, and the Slotmob movement created four years ago to stop this social wound promoted by the State itself. There were various stories: from the reports of harassment and injustice, to the efforts of those who have to fight daily against the wall of indifference and meanness, those who have decided not to allow gambling machines in their bars, and those who have promoted with friends a real march against the culture of gambling in their countries. Vincenzo Conticello, a former businessman and justice witness in Palermo, spoke about the reality of a company that was reduced to bankruptcy by the racket and mafia, and how he was forced to leave his city after undergoing injustice and abuse of power. Chiara Peri of the Astalli Center for refugees, underlined that currently there is a widespread cultural commercialisation of the migrations due to which “the migrants and the poor, treated like merchandise and at times like rejects,” areto be blamed for their poverty and condition.. So here lies the paradox, “the Italians fear the victims more than the bandits.” The round table onRelational assets and work, one of the items of the event highlighted the importance of friendship, trust, company, cordiality, support, sense of belonging, and involvement – all factors that determine satisfaction in the workplace, said Prof. Benedetto Gui. What counts is not only the salary or work schedule, but to recognise the economic dignity of relational assets. Jesús Morán, Co-President of the Focolare, was at the presentation of Bernhard Callebaut’s bookThe birth of the Focolare. History and Sociology of a charism (1943-1965), for New City. He analysed all the work under the viewpoint of implementation as the “creative reinterpretation of tradition.” Shahrzad Houshmand, an Iranian and a Muslim theologian, also attended the book launching and gave a testimonial of how in all these years, Chiara Lubich and the Focolare Movement did not establish dialogue with religions, but with people. Chiara for Shahrzad was “a woman with the visionary faithof a person who feared nothing,” and was never afraid of meeting “the other” even if this could lead to “death of oneself.” Lastly, in the face of the continuous and obstinate aggressions to peace, the EoC economist, Luigino Bruni, and Marco Tarquinio, director of the newspaper Avvenire asked Pope Francis to write an encyclical on peace that is able to “shake off inertia.” This is what we are all hoping for!
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico with its more that 3 milion people was devastated last week by a double-edged sword when it was hit by hurricanes, Irma and Maria in what has been consdidered the worst natural distaster in 90 years. Governor Ricardo Rossello announced that the death toll has risen to 34. The Carribean island is currently in a state of chaos and suffering from further emergency because of the scarcity of food, electrictricity – also in hospitals – and potable water. Two regions have not yet been reached by emergency responders, and many mountain villages on the mountains have been left to themselves. The small local Focolare community has been involved in helping. The situation remains critical.
After graduating in languages and international relations, I took off for Lebanon to continue my studies of the Arab language and, at long last, to immerge myself in Middle East culture that fascinated. It might seem odd to tell the story of an experience beginning from the end, from when I had to leave the Middle East, but that was when I grasped the importance experience. As I prepared to return to Italy, my thoughts went back to when it all began, and I asked myself if my long-awaited stay in the Middle East could already be over. I remembered myself as the girl who was taking her first steps into the choas of Beirut, who felt like everbody was staring at her because she was a foreigner. In a matter of a very little time, however, people began to stop me on the road and ask me in Arabic for directions, mistaking me for Lebanese. Perhaps it was more my prejudiced view towards them, rather than the opposite! In the beginning, the indifference towards the new environment was involuntary, which prevented me from getting out of myself and loving the people walking by. I hadn’t yet understood that the environment around me was just different, not dangerous. I realized how much my vision of Lebanon changed over the course of the year. At first I had mostly perceived the differences with respect to Italy. Then, I quickly fell in love with the land, its richness, the variety of religions, cultures, scenic landscapes and history. I had fallen in love with the people who, in spite of their recent painful past, was able to live again, Christians and Muslims shoulder to shoulder. I had fallen in love with a people that was spontaneous, welcoming – and had a fantastic cuisine! Then I had to recuperate a bit of objectivity in looking at a land that like every other had its own contradictions, such as the great poverty and ostentatious wealth that live not far apart. In my mind I went back over the year in Lebanon during which many aspects of life that once seemed dangerous or odd, unfortunfortunate or disappointing compared to Italy, have become part of my daily life (not at all infelicitious – on the contrary!). When I said good-bye to the Sryian refugee children whom I had helped with homework, they only said “ciao,” showing how we’re all important and none of us is indispensible. Realizing that I’d probably never know what had come of them was rather painful. I had to say goodbye to the friends that I had made, to whom I owe so much and hoping with all my heart that I would see them again, but never really knowing if I would. It was quite an effort to embrace the thought that distances was coming between us once again, not only geographically, but mostly bureaucratically. To leave each other, knowing that borders, visas and distance were about to fall on us was, at times, exasperating and even unbearable. But now I know that this is the price you pay for being a global citizen as we Gen say. Now, after having left pieces of my heart around the world, a united world is no longer merely something that would be nice if it were really true: a world without borders has become a need.
SoyDiálogo (I’m dialogue) is meant as a personal challenge in the face of the situation that has come about in Spain, the proposal to reject every form of violence and to live for the concrete promotion of a culture of dialogue. The challenge is both need and courageous. There have been many efforts in this direction. On the 26th of September, the Focoalre Movement in Spain had proposed a document and gathering of signatures with the intent of promoting opportunities for dialogue, listening and respect. It is an appeal to find peaceful solutions for harmonious coexistence in diversity, recognizing the human dignity of all people and institutions that represent them. The proposal, marked with the hastag #SoyDiálogo, which is in full agreement with the recently relaunched invitation of the bishops to “advance the path of dialogue and mutual understanding,” seems even more timely now, following the results of the referendum vote that opens great unknowns on the future of Catalonia, from Spain and from Europe. The promoters of the effort write: “Dialogue is a powerful tool that makes interest in others possible, entering into their reality, to live it, embrace and, inasmuch as possible, comprehend it. Among us, Focolare members all over Spain, there are people with different cultural and political identities. We’re directly involved in building bridges, convinced that there is an element of truth in the vision and choices of the other. But we condsider diversity to be a positive challenge and enrichment.” “Comments from signers on Twitter: “A signature never decides, but it’s better than crossing your arms and watching the river go by.” “We are as we discuss, enriched by the gift of diversity.” “I believe in dialogue, which presupposes respect, transparency and acceptance that there is a bit of truth in the other tha I can totally embrace.” “It’s not a bad thing to think differently. It’s the way you evolve. It’s the opposite of uniformity and immobility.” Some considerations from those who believe in dialogue. Girona: “These are strange times, a mix of sadness, helplessness and worry. At the same time it’s clear to me what I should do. In any event I wonder what I can do, with my limited possibilities. I make an effort not to judge. Opportunities for listening with an open mind are never lacking.” A young woman from Seville writes: “With a Catalan friend we try to keep the dialogue open. I take an interest in her family. When you get to know the other person’s background, you can change a bit of your idea and love that person more, even though we have differing ideas.” From Barcelona: “These events offer many possibilities for keeping the dialogue going with those who think like me, and also with those who don’t think like me.” “Up until now I limited myself to praying and cancelling the chain of photos, jokes or doubtful news that circulate online and don’t favour positive feelings,” writes a woman from Toledo. “Then I wondered to myself: what more can I do? I tried to make it known to the people I know in Catalonia that they can count on me to build dialogue. Perhaps that was obvious, but I felt like I had to come out and say it.” Girona writes: “In my opinion when we’re not able to see the bit of truth that is there in the other, we already demonize them. This gives us free rein to write or share whatever incendiary comment that enters our mind. We’re immersed in all this, at times without realizing it, and that’s what’s worse. We forget that our challenge is more heroic and difficult than just making propaganda out of our ideas and disparaging those of others. The real challenge is to build bridges.” From Seville: “I have a lot of friends in Catalonia, brothers and sisters who have decided with me to work at building a new humanity. We share each other’s worries and pain. For this reason, when we write to each other, they’ve felt free to tell me: we hope that the next time, when we see each other again we’ll be independent. And they in turn have listened to me when I answered: I wish for us all that the next time we see one another reason and good thinking will have won.”
World Trade Centre Metro inManila, Philippines, 6-8 July 2018. The meeting is for thousands of young people from all over the world, motivated by an idea, almost a fixation, which shapes their lives and all their social projects: building a just and united world. TheGenfest 2018,Beyond all borders,is an invitation to let the barriers, borders, and limits which stand in the way of this goal, crumble. The Genfest began in 1973 with an idea fromChiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement, and in more than 40 years it has gathered together tens of thousands of young people. The Genfest of 2018 will be the eleventh edition, and the first to be outside of Europe. In its long history, each Genfest has been an important step and has seen many projects come to life: among these is the idea for the World Youth Days, begun in 1985; in the same year, the birth of the Youth for a United World (YFUW); the World Unity Week, active since 1996, to showcase the initiatives which promote unity, at all levels, in the world; and finally, since 2012, the United World Project, a permanent observatory of all good practices on a planetary level. This Genfest will just precede the Synod on young people, which will be held in October 2018. Meeting with the organizers, present at this time at Castelgandolfo (Rome) for the meeting of the delegates of the Focolare Movement from all over the world, we have gathered some “first-hand” news. Ding Dalisay represents the Philippines at this assembly: “To our great joy, we have received the support of the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, who encourages us to work to bring the Genfest to as many young people as possible. For some time now the youth of the Philippines have been touring in caravans to present the Genfest in parishes, universities, and other places. We have great hope that many young people will come.” Carlo Gentile, delegate of the Philippines along with Ding: “It will be the first Genfest in Asia, so it will be a very important multicultural event. Chiara Lubich called the Genfest a “cascade of God.” We can expect a wonderful event that has been prepared for all the youth from Asia, but also the whole world; a profound experience, immersed in the Asian culture. A worldwide mobilization has already begun. There are many contacts with other Movements, for example with the youth of the Rissho Kosei-kai, a Japanese Buddhist lay association, with six million followers, and with the Youth World Peace Forum, which will celebrate its own annual meeting in Manila during the same time period as the Genfest. In some parts of the world, smaller Genfest activities are being planned with local initiatives. A committee of 30 young people, representatives of different geographical areas of the world, with the coordination of the international secretariat of the Youth for a United World, is already at work. Kiara Cariaso and Diego Lopez explain: “We are working to bring young people from all over the world to the Genfest in Manila. There are already many activities, not only in the Philippines, because it will be a planetary event which we build together.” “In fact,” continues Diego, “we are gathering ideas that come from young people from all countries, we work together, and we send them to the Philippines.” They explain: “The 2018 Genfest will take place is three phases: the first, preceding the rally, with the possibility for many youth from various parts of the world to get to know the Asian cultures. It will be a unique intercultural, interreligious, and social experience, which will take place in different Asian countries. Following this, the central event in Manila, from 6 to 8 July, in which we want youth from every part of the world to be able to participate, so that each person’s situation will be made present, but at the same time each person will bring back to their own community their experience and the commitment they made in Manila. Finally, a “post Genfest,” especially for the Asian young people, which will allow them to testify to a “United Asia for a United World.” This will be a great experience for 800 young people in the Focolare small town of Tagaytay.” Offical site: y4uw.org/genfest
The international Gen Verde Music Group set up at Statdthagen, Germany, on September 9th to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reform. Gen Verde writes: “A thousand people, in spite of the pouring rain that continued until just before the concert began.” “The crowd filled the entire main square of the pretty city of Stadthagen, in Lower Saxony. Our concert, On the Other Side, brought a note of fraternity and internationality. Already in the days leading up to the concert, we shared some beautiful moments with the Lutheran Bishop, Dr Manzke, who had invited us and his collaborators. On the day of the concert a group of young people and their pastors helped us to set up the stage, drenched by the rain. but happy.” “We are left in our heart with those people in the square under a sea of umbrellas, cold and listening and rejoicing, singing and finally dancing along with us! Thank you, Stadthagen, together we experienced moments as a true family.”
Detached wires “In the first months of our marriage, dialogue between my husband and me was often interrupted due to the diversity of our opinions. A times, after rather harsh verbal clashes we would reach a total silence also for days. Returning from work for lunch the short break was occupied by the news on TV which Gaetano listened to with passion. One day, confiding in God’s help, I decided to send him a clear message: I returned home early from school and prepared a delicious lunch. The table was prettier than ever with flowers and a lit candle. Then I pulled out all the wires of the TV. Upon arriving Gaetano was amazed and asked me if there was some anniversary to celebrate. We sat down at the table and as always, he tried to turn on the TV but immediately saw that it had nothing to do with a fault. Laughing he hugged me, begging forgiveness, and together we promised to correct one another always out of love. That was an important moment of growth in our relationship.” (Giulia – Italy) In the kitchen «During my shift in the kitchen, I couldn’t stand my co-friars who would taste all that I was cooking upon passing by. Every time I became increasingly defensive so they would not touch anything. One day, upon reading the phrase of the Gospel about the speck in the other’s eye and not seeing the log in your own, I realized that the judgment I had of my co-friars was hindering me from loving them. Since then every time someone passed in the kitchen, I would invite him to taste my cooking and ask his advice on whether, for example, I had to add more salt and so on. Since then the atmosphere in the monastery has changed.” (Fr. Krzysztof – Poland) To love means taking risks «Some time ago an illiterate 15-year-old boy, already initiated in the activity of theft, started to frequent our home. Many had advised us to be careful in letting him in and to consider if it would not be better to help him but keep him at a distance. We were, however, convinced that Jesus was in him and that we had to love concretely, also to the point of taking a risk. Often that boy remained with us, went out with us and played with our children. After various months, the stealing instinct returned and he stole some money from us. After the first denials he admitted the fact and crying, begged for forgiveness, promising to return what he stole. But above all he became serene knowing that he could continue to count on our friendship and that if he ever needed money, all he had to do was ask. Now he no longer steals and has also found a job.” (D. L. – Italy) Difficult colleague “It seemed that a colleague had started picking on me, and whatever I did, he would go against it. For as long it had to do with small counteraction, I bore up with it. But at times, in the face of important commitments, he would go against everyone. Work had become unbearable. What could I do? The priest I spoke to advised me firstly to free myself from grudges and negative thoughts and try to see my colleague with new eyes. I tried it. Incredibly, at the next work meeting, he had become another person altogether! And evidently it not only depended on him.” (F. L. – Serbia)
Health as a common good and sustainability of care systems aretopics healthcare operators have to face worldwide, especially with the progressive increase of the average life expectancy and the increased need for care. How can the sick be assisted in an effective and likewise sustainable manner? And also: is there a correlation between spirituality and the global health of a person? These were the themes discussed in the convention organised by theHealth Dialogue Culture, an international network of healthcare practitioners established in 2003 to contribute through a vital dialogue with science, to a culture that respects life and the dignity and integrity of every person, in the perspective of the promotion of social and individual health. Inspired by the charism of unityof thefocolare Movement, Health Dialogue Culture offers room for reflection in connection with practice, from which guidelines are to be drawn as a contribution to the debate on the need to create new paradigms for the healthcare systems. The congress was held as a continuing program with other previous events on the same theme, and particularly with the one held in Padua (Italy) in 2013, entitled What medicine: across globalization, sustainability and personalization of treatments, and with the Letter of Ethics which gathered the results. Among the new paradigms for the treatment of the sick person, the relational dimension is taking on an increasingly strategic role, that is, the set of relations at multiple levels (with the patients, among healthcare practitioners, and with the institutions) that revolve around the care issue. Long ignored in the drawing up of socio-healthcare models, also the spiritual dimension, wherever applied, has a substantial impact on the quality of life and the treatment outcomes. The Sao Paolo congress offered a structured programme with reports, labs, workshops, sharing of experiences and good practices, with a fruitful discussion on new methodologies to reach equity and accessibility to healthcare services at local and global levels. «The real challenge of this convention – the organisers said – was the cultural and professional wealth due to the variety of speakers and participants (over 270) and their coming from countries with the most diverse healthcare standards such as Congo, Cameroon, Norway, Venezuela, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Benin, Amazon, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Spain, the UK, Italy and Austria. Particular attention was paid to the themes of disability, ageing, the methods in treating pain and suffering through palliative treatments and the training of operators (care for the caregivers). A specific programme was activated during the Congress with interactive sessions for students and young professionals of the biomedical area. A young student of medicine commented at the end of the works: “This congress has changed my ideas on medicine, with new ideas that make me a better person, and with the certainty that they also will make me a better professional.” A Brazilian doctor: “Science is not cold and distant. We have learned that we can practice science without forgetting the essence which unites us: Love.” Maria Voce, Focolare President, sent a message to the participants with the wish that they would “live their professions with a love that generates fraternity, all tending towards the good of the human family.” She recalled a phrase of Chiara Lubich was recalled: «Equilibrium of love lies in loving each single person next to us and working for the entire community from our own corner of life.”
The International Day of Older Persons is celebrated on 1 October every year, as established by the United Nations in 1990. The objective is to heighten awareness of the issues regarding the elderly and show appreciation for their contribution to society. According to the World Health Organization, in 2050 the world population of people over 60 will reach 2 billion. The phenomenon of longevity will, however, involve most of the countries worldwide with strong repercussions on economic and social life. The elderly represent not only a cost, especially in terms of assistance, but they also contribute greatly to society. It is not surprising, therefore, that the day after (for the Catholic church it is the feast of the Guardian Angels), many countries will honor all grandparents. Without them, authentic “guardian angels” of the family, it would be really difficult for couples to reconcile work and care for their children.
A day-long gathering at Maria Orsola Centre, titled “A Fifty year story of passion for the Church”.Alongside the presentations of a few experiences and artistic interludes, Cardinal Joao De Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life, once bishop of Brasilia, will give a talk titled From the Peripheries of the World to the Vatican, and Archbishop Giuseppe Petrocchi, bishop of Aquila will talk about The Calling of the Parish Movement in the light of Juvenescit Ecclesia. Press Releases
Saturday, 23 September 2017, in the Lecture Hall of the Sophia University Institute (SUI): from the introductory remarks of Mons. Buoncristiani, Archbishop of Siena, and of Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement and Vice-Chancellor of the Sophia University Institute, the harmony and the affinity between the two charismatic figures were apparent. These two figures have offered not only the ecclesial space but the whole civil society of their respective periods, an example of a fruitful fusion between spirituality and incarnation, continuously working at the challenges of common living. As Marco Luppi, moderator, opened the conference, he noted the continuity between the proposals of the “happy brigade” of the Catherinites and the spirituality of unity of the Focolare, recalling how various cornerstones of the Saint of Siena’s thought – the uniqueness of the choice of God, the generative value of God’s will, the importance of living the present moment – had been taken up and re-actualized by Chiara Lubich. He recalled that Igino Giordani, co-founder of the Focolare Movement, had initially embarked on the path traced by Caterina’s experience, fascinated by the demonstration of holiness within reach of everyone and the message of universality in her proposal of the Christian choice. The famous connection, “I – my brother – God,” was promoted by Giordani as a fruitful process of interrelation that completes the anthropological dimension with a spiritual openness to divine paternity in Christian meaning. The focal point of the conference was the two main discourses. Sister Elena Ascoli O.P., with her theme “The mysticism of the encounter,” retraced the intimate and concrete dimension of the “mysticism of fire” in Catherine. Christian hope, in the Saint of Siena, becomes a real vocational path in the search for the meaning of living at the service of society and of the Church. 381 letters and numerous collections of hymns and prayers make Catherine the saint of the encounter and of dialogue, animated by the awareness of those who find that the “inner fire,” the relationship with God, represents a patrimony that multiplies its value if it is given, if it builds a relational dynamic of concrete love to one’s neighbour, and if it contributes to the building of associated living in the search for the common good.Piero Coda, president of Sophia, in his report titled “Real Love and the One True Love,” proposed an original reading of the generative encounter between the Franciscan roots of Chiara Lubich and the Catherinite period of Giordani, an encounter which reflects an experience of Christian renewal in the foundational period of the Focolare Movement, capable of giving life to a new reality in the Church and in society. The “pact” between charisms generates an originality that emphasises the dynamism of reciprocity as a sounding board for the dimension of unity and becomes the fulcrum of a proposal at the service of humanity. The “mysticism of fire” in Chiara Lubich, recovered by Coda in some passages of her writing, “The Resurrection of Rome,” reminds us how the impetus of inner, individual momentum flourishes in the community dynamics: “It is God who makes two people one, placing himself as the third in a relationship between them: Jesus among us.” In closing, the speech by Dr. Aldo Bernabei, representative of the Roman group of the Catherinites, traced the joint path between his association and the Focolare Movement in the multi-decade animation of the project “Together for Europe,” a demonstration that works steadily to build a European spirit that recognises the Christian soul among its foundation values, a path that joins more than 500 churches, movements, communities and associations.
While St. Paul was in prison on account of his preaching, he wrote to the Christian community in the city of Philippi. He had been the very first to preach the Gospel there, and many people had come to believe and had committed themselves generously to this new life. Even after Paul had left them, they continued to bear witness to Christian love. Knowing this about them made him very happy, which is why his letter is full of affection for the Philippians. Paul encouraged them, therefore, to go ahead and to grow both as individuals and as a community. For this reason he reminded them of their model Jesus, who they should learn from. “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” What is this “mind”? How can we know the deepest desires Jesus had so as to imitate him? Paul understood how: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had emptied himself and had come down among us. He became man and was completely at the service of the Father, so that we could become children of God. Paul told the Galatians about this, saying, “And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Gal 4:6). And in fact, John had already written about it in his Gospel: “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God” (Jn 1:12). Jesus had fulfilled his mission through the way he lived his whole life. He continually humbled himself so as to reach those who were the smallest, weakest or most insecure: lepers, widows, strangers or sinners. He raised them up; making them feel loved and saved at last. “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” In order to recognize and cultivate the mind of Jesus in us, let’s first be aware of his love and the power of his forgiveness. Let’s look to him, making his way of acting our own. It urges us to open our hearts, our minds and our arms to welcome each person just as they are. Let’s avoid making any judgements about others, but allow ourselves instead to be enriched by all that is positive in those we meet, even when it may be hidden in a pile of wretchedness and errors so that it seems to us a “waste of time” looking for it. The strongest desire in the mind of Jesus, which we can make our own, is love freely given, the willingness to be at the service of others with our talents, whether great or small, and to courageously and positively build up good relationships wherever we are. This love knows how to face difficulties, misunderstandings and differences with a gentle spirit, determined to find the ways of dialogue and mutual agreement. “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” Chiara Lubich let the Gospel guide her entire life, and she experienced its power. In 1982, she wrote, “Imitating Jesus means understanding that we Christians only make sense if we live for others, if we think of our existence as a service for our brothers and sister, if we organize our lives on this basis.” “Then we fulfill what Jesus has most at heart. We will have fully grasped the Gospel. And we will be truly blessed.” Letizia Magri
When my husband John was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s my life changed dramatically. I felt really frightened because there were times when he was hallucinating all night. I had no medication to give him, I wasn’t managing and there was no-one to turn to. John’s care manager was on maternity leave, the psychiatrist had discharged him, the GP was on holiday. After a lot of phone calls John’s new care manager placed him into respite care for a week. I wasn’t coping anymore. I didn’t feel up to the task of being his main carer and I was angry that things had deteriorated to that point. There was so much to do and finances to sort out. I was going downhill and my health was deteriorating. In the New Year I went to the HELP shop in the town and was told that a Carer Support Worker would contact me. It was about four weeks later that she came to see me. I told her everything and she understood. She was very sympathetic, helpful and supportive. A few weeks after this I went to a four-day meeting with people from the Focolare and my husband went into respite care. One evening I was with a group of about ten people and someone said, ‘What do you do Pam?’ I didn’t want to tell her anything so I ignored her question because I didn’t want everyone to know how I struggled and how weak and helpless I felt. But then I thought how rude I was because I would be very upset if someone ignored me when I asked them a question. I started telling the group how it was and when it came to the bit where I went to the HELP shop, I started crying. There was such a change in the dynamics even though I didn’t want attention at a time like this. Everyone was warm, caring and loving and tried to comfort me. They understood my misery and they loved me, they had compassion for me. I thought I would feel ashamed after my outburst but I told myself that these things happen and the great thing is I felt the burden had lifted and I had been healed. It was a grace that God had given me to help me with my difficulties. My situation hadn’t changed but I had. Looking after my husband had become the most important thing in my life but it had become a burden. Didn’t Jesus say, ‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light’? I needed to be reminded that God loved me immensely. Once I put God in the first place in my heart, mind and soul then everything was put into perspective. It was no longer a burden and I became confident looking after him. Some people advise that in situations like this we should pray more. This is true but what helped me in that moment was the presence of Jesus in that group who enabled me to experience the love of God. Now I know that I can count on everyone’s love as my experience with John continued to unfold. Source: New City Magazine (UK), August-September 2017 issue
I am delighted to have the opportunity to greet all those attending the launch of the book:Qui c’è il dito di Dio” (“Here is the hand of God”). It is the second volume in the series “Studies and Documents” published by the Chiara Lubich Centre. The title of the book recalls words well known to the members of the Focolare Movement. They were spoken by the Archbishop of Trent, Most Rev. Carlo de Ferrari, who recognised that the new life coming about in his diocese, which was both edifying and opposed at the same time, did not come from human beings but “from the hand of God”. Clear insight allowed this pastor not to be influenced by judgements and considerations that were purely “human” but to enter more deeply into the surprising action of God made manifest through the life of a group of young women. All this took place 20 years before the Second Vatican Council, and history proved him right. As members of the Focolare Movement, we feel special gratitude to Archbishop De Ferrari for his wise discernment, which allowed the little fire that was burning to grow and later spread throughout the world. Looking back after 70 years, this work by Lucia Abignente helps us understand the extent to which the Archbishop’s perception was deeply rooted in the life of the Word of God and his action imbued with humility, perseverance, readiness to pay the price in person, and with prophecy. In reconstructing the events, which in this volume are derived from a multitude of sources, we can discover a golden thread. Both favourable and adverse circumstances allowed Chiara Lubich and “her” bishop to forge a relationship of communion that was living, and real. This relationship gave meaning to the alternating times of “hosanna” and “crucifixion” – to use words we find in their letters – and enabled Chiara to live out of love for God and the Church. These pages offer us an authentic and engaging witness to this love. Today in addition, this witness represents an invitation to us to be newly aware of the gift of the charism we have received and of the potential of a foundation that, as is recognised today, opened up a pathway followed by other ecclesial realities. I am glad to note that the publication of this book occurs in the year the Focolare Movement is dedicating to deepening our understanding of Mary. Mary who represents one of the key points of the spirituality of unity. It was during the period of light lived during the summer of 1949 (in which the Holy Spirit enabled Chiara to contemplate the greatness of the Mother of God and to admire her in her unique beauty, all clothed with the Word of God) that God’s plan for the new Movement itself became clear; it was the Work of Mary. The “marian” vocation and hallmark of this Work are evident in these pages and given unconfutable proof – I would say – thanks to Chiara’s perennial renewal of her yes to God’s plans. Chiara said yes to her calling, yes to proclaiming the Ideal that imbued her whole life, yes to her readiness to offer and sacrifice the fruit born from it, during the years when the Movement was studied by the Church of Rome. In Mary’s “let it be” at the Annunciation, and in her yes in desolation at the foot of the cross, she is the model, the mould in which Chiara lived her divine adventure. In our time, there is “a new and more explicit awareness of the Marian principle in the Church, as a sacrament of unity”. I trust that the witness and the message conveyed by the book launched today, may be a gift for the whole people of God and help the Work of Mary to express the vocation that the Church confirmed in the Statutes: to be “as far as possible – a presence of Mary on earth and “almost” a continuation of her”.
To celebrate its50 years of activity,the English language magazine, founded in 1967 in New York as one of the 32 editions of the Focolare Movement, held a conference on 24 September entitled, “Building bridges: how can media facilitate dialogue in our polarised society?” at Fordham University in New York, with the contribution of professors and journalists. Living City is read and appreciated not only in the United States, but also in Canada, Australia, Ireland, Malta, New Zealand and many other English-speaking countries. Its readers are people of all ages and religious convictions. Recently it was awarded 5 prizes by the Catholic Press Association of North America.
“Many of us stepped forward right away to help, along with the overwhelming majority of Mexican people, even though we were completely grasped by fear, as we tried to gather the requests for help that were coming in from every corner Mexico City and from the regions of the outback that were also hard hit. The strong sense of solidarity was everywhere. Hotels opened their doors to those who had lost homes. Doctors and psychologists offered services for free; families cooked and shared soup for everyone. Hundreds of volunteers worked hard without rest. They were all ordinary people who a few hours before were workers, sellers, housewives and employees. Once again in the midst of an emergency Mexicans showed their true colours, never losing hope and spreading joy and enthusiasm even amidst the darkest moments. Streams of people helped out in simple ways, giving the appearance of a living giant rising from the dust. The disaster has also hit cities, such Puebla, Mexico City, Morelos, Chiapas and Oaxaca. Several members of our community offered their help, especially in Puebla and Morelos and other towns where assistance arrived more slowly. One family from Mexico City set up a collection centre in their own home, and then moved to Morelos to distribute foodstuffs and basic necessities to the neediest among the people. The young people from Mariapolis El Diamante went to Contla, located in the State of Pueblo, which was very hard hit by the earthquake. They removed rubble, loaded and delivered foodstuffs, and consoled those who had lost everything. To reach this particular community, which is located in a place that is hard to reach, they had to cross a river and pass over a deep ravine on a rope bridge they constructed on the spot. Meanwhile, the Economy of Communion group from Puebla organized an assistance project at Sant’Antonio Alponocan in another community of the region. Finally, with the goal of coordinating the efforts, we created an emergency committee in Mexico City that launched a census of the damage and of the needs. In those hard moments we always kept in mind the words that Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke to San Juan Diego on Mt Tepeyac, asking him to remember them always: ‘Put this in your heart, my small son: Don’t be afraid. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not in my shadow, under my protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the folds of my mantle, in my embrace? Is there anything else you could need?’” All of us in the Focolare have strengthened our commitment to work for love and brotherhood, for both the physical and spiritual reconstruction of our land.” Mexico City, September 25, 2017
Small groups comprised of young people and adults from different callings in the Focolare Movement spend brief periods in temporary communities known in Italian as “focolares” or “hearths,” far from their homes, visiting far-away and sometimes isolated communities around the globe. This year, there were forty such hearths from Sri Lanka to the Azores, from Vietnam to Santo Domingo, from Brazil to Tanzania. They were self-financed with lots of personal sacrifice. Each community has a different story, but they all share one common denominator: the presence of a temporary hearth that helps bring new life. Idalina and Toni are a family from Portugal. They and seven other people, including some young people, left in August for Saurimo, Angola. “We stayed at the Bishop’s house, and shared our meals and many other moments of the day with him.” During their two-week stay they formed many friendships with the children and adults of the local community: “At the end of the fourteen days, they asked us when we would come back again.” Chiara Lubich’s art of loving turned out to be a great discovery for them.” At Yellowknife, the main city of the region and Seat of the Diocese, we were welcomed by the Emeritus Bishop who has spent his life among the Native American populations of the north. Coming back from a month among Native Americans in Canada’s North West Territories, Father Harry Clark, a priest from British Columbia, Marilena and Mike Murray, a husband and wife from the state of Maryland, in USA, Maria Santana from Montreal and Ljubica Dekic from Toronto write: “From there, we took off for Wha Ti, one of four villages of the Tlicho Tribe, 40 minutes by plane. We were guests of the parish rectory. The villagers were simple folk and very reserved. One of the problems in the tribe is the communication gap between the elderly, who are rooted in Native American culture and the younger generations, who no longer use the tribe’s native language. We presented the spirituality of communion, and then focused our attention on the activities of the small Catholic community for children and adults. We also met some Lutherans and a couple of Mennonite missionaries, a very nice collaboration was begun. We went by canoe along the river and took part in some tribal events with the annual assembly of villages that happened to be taking place during that time.” In Bambio, 300 kilometres from Bangui, in theCentral African Republic, one temporary “focolare” met a group of Pygmies that has been living the ideal of unity for twenty years. Fidelia writes: “The Pygmies possess so many beautiful values: loyalty, monogamy, purity a sense of the sacred. They told us their experiences in living the art of loving and the Word of Life. Each village meets once a week, from six o’clock in the morning until eight o’clock, before the day begins. The told us: “The focolare taught us to live, to love, to make ourselves one with others. There is no longer ‘you’ and ‘us’ – we’re all ‘us’. The Pygmies don’t mix with others, because they look down on us. But the focolare looked at us as equals and came to live with us, to share our sorrows and joys. They didn’t ask us to become Catholics, but they taught us love.” Someone else said: “We Pygmies have many traditional practices. But ever since we’ve been we’ve been part of the focolare, we’ve dropped a few of them. For example, when my son got sick, I didn’t turn to the witch doctor has I had done before, but took him to hospital. As soon as the focolarinies heard, they came to help me until he was well again.” The gratitude and enrichment was mutual, as the awareness that we’re one family is growing.
In September, the Shalom Catholic Community celebrated its 35th anniversary. The Community, with which the Focolare Movement is strongly bound by a deep friendship, was born in 1982, from the initiative of some university youths led by Moysés Louro de Azevedo Filho and with the encouragement of the Archbishop of Fortaleza. Even if it’s main objective was that of hosting the youths and announcing the Gospel to them, in a short time, it spread also among families, children and people from different socio-cultural backgrounds, united by the call to live in prayer, fraternal life and service. It is currently established in South America, North America, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia. Besides numerous prayer groups, the Community has opened art and culture centres, schools, homes for the aged, sick and homeless people and set anti-abortion projects, rehabilitation of drug addicts and shelters for homeless children. All our best wishes to the Shalom Community!
“The world is getting closer and closer, it’s becoming more and more one. But it’s not enough for it to draw closer only from an economic, technological and political point of view: what we are really in need of is a common spirit, through which everybody – all together – can create the world’s destiny. A spirit that overcomes isolation is needed, one that overcomes mass, soulless collectivism. This is the spirit that the Gospel provides. God himself became our brother, and made us brothers and sisters to each other. The heartbeat of this world made new, can only be one thing: the New Commandment of Jesus: Love one another as I have loved you.” (From an interview, December, 1977) “The primary interest of Christians should be the building up of a more humane world, not only with people who share their ideals, but also with those who are responsible for the running of the world.” (From a conference, November 17, 1978) “If I consider your country to be as important to me as my own, if I consider your culture as valuable to me as my own, I will be paving the way for Jesus to have a determining role in the world. We won’t be confused by anonymous uniformity. We’ll keep the other [person] upmost in our mind and in intent: we’ll have the world in our heart and in our mind. Then we will live in a world that is one, a world in which we will never find ourselves drowning in an existence that is neutral and banal. The world itself will be more united and diverse at the same time.” (From Der Himmel ist zwischen uns, p 93) “The places where we live don’t have to become well-equipped cells of some gigantesque prison dressed as a grand hotel. They should become places of encounter where people can expect and welcome other people, even more, places where they can expect and receive God.” (From an article, December 1973) Klaus Hemmerle, “La luce dentro le cose”, (Rome: Città Nuova ,1998) 286, 287; 300, 282)
On the 30th anniversary of the conferral of the St Catherine of Siena Silver Medal toChiara Lubich, the Community of the Dominican Fathers of Siena, Italy, will hold a gathering in collaboration with the International Catherinite Association and the Focolare, in the Focolare town founded by Chiara Lubich in 1964. The event was titled: “The Myticism of Fire in Catherine and Chiara”. Presenters included Dr Piero Coda, president of Sophia University, Sister Elana Ascoli O.P. from the International Catherinite Association and Father Alfredo Scarciglia O.P. , Moderator and Prior of the Convent of St Dominic of Siena and ecclesiastical assistant of the Catherinites. A message from Maria Voce, president of the Focolare Movement, will also be read. During the gathering a DVD recording of the conferral of the St Catherine Badge to Chiara Lubich will be shown, and actress paola Lambardi will read some writings of St Catherine. Programme
“An experience of the living Church, on a journey, in dialogue, and going forth,” are the words of Paola Pepe e Jonathan Michelon (the people responsible for the International Gen Schools of Loppiano), summarizing the experience of the International Seminar on the situation of young people. This is part of a series organized by the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops in preparation for the XV Ordinary General Assembly on the theme, “Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment.” “We had an experience of profound communion, ‘synod training’ in contact with various ecclesiastical institutions. Since the summer we have been preparing, along with other youth of the Focolare from different countries, in order to send our contribution to the General Secretariat of the Synod,” they wrote, together with Leandro (Argentina), Marina (Brazil) and Nelson (El Salvador).The program of the Seminar was rich in content for the authoritative work by education providers, economists, communications experts, sociologists, and youth chaperones, all passionate about working with young people. Out of 82 participants from 5 continents, there were 21 young people present, who gave their valuable contribution to the work being done, reflecting on the proposals of method and content for the upcoming synod. It was very significant that the organizing body readily welcomed and implemented some of their suggestions regarding the methodology of the unfolding of the program, with greater sharing in plenary.“The Biblical meditations at the start of each day led us to profound reflection. One that impressed us was the passage which brought to light that to reveal the life of Jesus to the young, one must have experienced it: how important is the testimony of life!” The various themes on young people in relation to identity, planning, otherness, technology, and transcendence proposed realistic scenarios not without their challenges but always open to hope. They talked about the importance of pastoral initiatives in which young people are the protagonists when accompanied by adults willing to live with them the search for the meaning of life. “Now we want to elaborate the experiences that we live with their educational and evangelizing value to offer to the Church.” “The seminar was a great opportunity for the Church to be open, to show what she is doing for the young; and for us to work with the Church, to change the realities of the world. The Church wants to listen to us, to know what we think, what we can do concretely, and it wants to face the difficulties with us. We did not find answers, but we proceed together,” Marina explains.The conclusions highlight the need to build the change and become generators of life in listening to each other, young people and adults. “Concrete proposals have emerged that will be presented to the Synod Fathers. Among these, a team of young people alongside the work of the General Secretariat of the Synod to prepare opportunities for discussion and dialogue during the work of the Synod among bishops and young people and firmly engage some of them in the offices of the Holy See; a Church recognized by all as ‘home – communion – family.’ Of the days spent in Rome, we bring away so many pearls, such as in the preparatory document which speaks of young people: ‘The possibility of their blossoming depends on the capacity of our care, not by the desire to change the other but to grow together.’” “The Synod of Youth – concludes Cardinal Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod on Youth – can represent a part of that missionary renewal of the Church, which for the apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium, constitutes the challenge of this age. We must address young people not only to help us understand how to proclaim the Gospel but also to better understand what Jesus asks of His Church, what he expects from it, what to cut and what to sew again for this mission.” Another “part” will certainly be the Genfest 2018 to be held in Manila (Philippines) and also the World Youth Day (WYD) in January 2019 in Panama.
“Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All.” is the theme of International Day of Peace proclaimed by the United Nations each year on September 21. It aims to promote the respect, safety and dignity of all those who are forced to flee from their homes in search of a better life. Established in 1981 as the Day of Peace & Non-violence, its recurrence is an invitation to all Member States, to UN organizations, regional and non-governmental organizations, and people of good will, to implement education, training and public awareness on issues of peace, respect, support for diversity, acceptance of migrants and refugees, and to reject all forms of discrimination.
“Sunday 20 August, 2017, 5:00 a.m. From afar, I hear the call to prayer of the muezzin. The thermometer already reads 30°C. I am in a tiny log cabin in the small Village for Peace in Shkodër, in Albania. Built by the Catholic Church for the refugees during the second Balkan war at the end of 1999, it now hosts our camp, go4peace.” So begins the narrative journal of Meinolf Wacker, a young German priest, who for more than 20 years has been involved, along with other priests of the Focolare Movement, in the Balkans – a land marred by wars and divisions – in organizing “schools of peace” for hundreds of young people. His first thought in the morning is of the previous evening, just a few hours ago, and of the huge concert prepared by the youth on the square of the cathedral of Shkodër. At the conclusion of the concert, Mark, who comes from Ireland, gave voice to their appeal: “We are here from the North and the South, from the East and the West of Europe. Peace is a goal we must reach, and we must see in each person a brother or a sister. If we love each other, peace will be the outcome. It takes passion, patience, and tenacity. We want to become a generation full of passion for peace.” The members of the band that played that night come from Albania, Cameroon, Slovenia, Spain, and Germany, after no small difficulty. The Germans, for example, once they had arrived in Sarajevo, crossed the mountainous region of Montenegro in a rental van, almost a 40 hour drive. They had not even the time to catch their breath when they were divided into small groups to get to know one another. Every day, there was a motto to live by. “Don’t stop giving!” for example. But even looking at nature could inspire a new motto, like seeing a cow resting in the field, taking her time as she chewed her cud. In a hectic, frenzied world, one needs to stop every once in a while, and “ruminate” interiorly on whatever God wants to say to us. “At the beginning of the camp,” writes Meinolf, “we stopped on the famous Mes Bridge, in the town of Mes. Standing united, hand in hand, all the participants, Muslims, Protestants, Catholics, or of other worldviews, we entrusted ourselves to the mystery of God, in silence. During the week there were 31 workshops that gave the youth the chance to come into contact with the people of that town. Each day more than a hundred children awaited us in Fermentim, on the periphery of Shkodër, where a community of sisters works daily.” Here the youth make key chains and work on the painting and flooring of the nursery school and the house of a family. “Other stops on the tour included the Museum of St Stephen’s Cathedral, in Shkodër, where we remembered the 38 martyrs killed during the communist regime from 1945 to 1974, the Museum of Memory with the horrors committed in those years, and the visit to a mosque. In an interreligious workshop we talked about the relationships between religions in the Balkans. We also planted some trees, painted a few houses in the village, and met the children entrusted to the sisters of Mother Teresa. The day always ended with a festive dinner in the village. “Along with Christoph and Tobias from the agency, 18frames Film+Media Produktion from Hamburg, we prepared the campaign, ‘Yourope,’ in order to engage young Europeans in ‘showing their face’ to demonstrate a Europe without barriers. A videoclip made during the camp, with our faces on a black background, ends with the invitation to send us other brief videos with the same initial phrase: I show my face … Armela took a small mascot from my car – a moose – put it on her shoulders and continued: I show my face because I am from Albania, studying in Austria, sitting in a French car with a German driver and a young friend from Sweden. In a few days more than 50 thousand people had viewed the clip.” Two participants share: “When I heard, a year ago, that the camp would be held at Shkodër, I was skeptical. I come from Albania and I know the mentality of my country. Throughout the preparations, I helped as much as I could. The first two days went well. But when the workshops began, there was so much confusion. ‘Welcome to the chaos!’ I thought. But then, everything turned out differently from how I had imagined it. At the end of the closing concert, I had to explain the campaign, ‘Yourope.’ I could see true joy in the eyes of everyone in the audience! Love had been stronger than the obstacles!” “The evening masses were not empty rituals, but deep faith lived out, which overwhelmed me. The explanations on the meaning of suffering and on the encounter with Jesus in suffering helped me a lot, and I continued to ‘ruminate’ on these for a long time.” See video clip
Last night, only two weeks following the previous earthquake, the Aztec country was again hit by a powerful earthquake (7.1 on the Richter Scale). At present there are 217 casualties, 117 of which were in the capital, but this figure is unfortunately expected to rise. Twenty-six children and 4 adults lost their lives when a school collapsed in the South-Eastern part of Mexico City. Although 11 children have been rescued, about thirty children and some adults need to be lifted from the rubble. Many buildings are destroyed and at least 4 million people remain without electricity. 72 victims are recorded in the state of Morelos and 43 in Puebla, where the little town of the Focolare, “Mariápolis El Diamante”, is located. “We were at table when we felt the strong earthquake. So far no members of our Focolare community in Puebla have been effected by the earthquake. We are all fine,” they said. Many countries in the region and the world have offered solidarity. “In this moment of great suffering, I wish to show my solidarity with all the people of Mexico,” Pope Francis said in his heartfelt appeal during the General Audience.
During a meeting in 2000, Chiara recalled her first “discovery” of Jesus Forsaken: “We understood something new about Him through an event that happened in January 1944. Through a particular circumstance, we came to realize that the greatest pain Jesus had suffered – and therefore the moment of His greatest love for us – was when He experienced the abandonment of the Father: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Mt 18:20). It touched us deeply. Being so young, so enthusiastic, but especially because of the grace of God, we felt urged to choose Him precisely in His abandonment, as the way to achieve our ideal of love. From that moment on we saw His face everywhere.” Another key moment in the understanding of this “mystery of suffering-love” was in the summer of 1949. Igino Giordani went to visit Chiara Lubich who had gone for a period of rest in the Valle di Primiero in the mountains of Trent, Italy. This small group of first followers that accompanied her was living with intensity the Gospel passage about the abandonment of Jesus. And those days in the mountains turned out to be days of such intense light that when it came time for them to leave their “little Tabor” and return to the city, Chiara quickly penned a text that has now become famous “I have only one spouse on earth, Jesus Forsaken. . . I will go through the world searching for him in every moment of my life.” Many years later she would explain: “Right from the start we knew that there was another side to it all, that the tree had its roots. The Gospel covers you in love, but it demands everything from you as well. ‘If the grain of wheat, which falls to the ground, does not die,’ we read in John, ‘it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit’ (cf Jn 12:24). This is personified in Jesus Forsaken, and the fruit that he bore was humankind’s Redemption. Jesus Forsaken! Who had experienced within himself the separation of humankind from God and from each other, and had experienced the Father far from him, was seen by us not only in all of our personal sufferings, which were never lacking, or in the sufferings of our neighbors who often were all alone, abandoned and forgotten, but also in all the divisions, the traumas, the splits, the mutual indifference whether large or small: within families, among generations, between rich and poor, at times in the Church itself; later, among the different Churches; and then, among religions and between believers and those who have no religious faith at all.” “But all of these lacerations,” Chiara continued, “never frightened us. Rather, for love of Jesus Forsaken, they attracted us. And he is the one who taught us how to confront them, how to live them, how to overcome them when, after the abandonment, he placed his spirit in the Father’s hands: ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit’ (Lk 23:46). And this is how he offered humankind the possibility of being recomposed within itself and with God, and he us showed how. He was the one who recomposed unity among us each time it was cracked. He became our only Spouse. And our life together with such a Spouse was so rich and fruitful that it pushed me to write a book, as a love letter, a song, a joyful thanksgiving song to Him.”
The words Pope Francis pronounced at the World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in 2013, “Go out and serve without fear,” triggered in the youths of the Focolare, the desire to take up the challenge. And so, those of the city of Juiz de Fora (500,000 inhabitants), in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, launched a project that gathers the youths of different charisms. “The aim is to testify to unity in the diversities of the Church,” they said, “and be disciples of Christ and missionaries, in line with the invitation of the Latin American bishops to all Christians. Of course, there are difficulties, but this does not discourage us.” It was Archbishop Gil Antonio Moreira who gave the group – of 60 – the name of “Young Continental Missionaries”. “We come from different spiritual experiences – they explained – Renewal in the Spirit, new Communities, parish groups and the Focolare Movement. The start of the mission consists in the personal consecration to God for a year, renewable for another year. And then there are three points that help set the compass: prayer, training and mission, and putting ourselves at the service of others.” Four years after the launch of the project, numerous missions have been undertaken in the parishes of the Juiz di Fora archdiocese, with a hundred visits to the families of the rural communities at the outskirts and violent districts of the city, the asylums and orphanages, and the rehabilitation centre for minors with criminal records. “We created socio-health programmes, as in the case of the battle against dengue (tropical disease), operating wherever there were the highest death rates. In particular, we worked to ensure hygiene in the environment, eliminating rubbish and dump sites that enhance the proliferation of mosquitoes that transmit the disease, but also informing the population through brochures and posters. At the moment we are carrying out special missions in Haiti and in the city of Obidos (State of Pará), in the Educational Centre for juvenile offenders and with the “cartoneros” (rubbish bin collectors of cardboard which is then recycled). We highlighted the importance of their work for the benefit of our great home: the planet Earth. We did not miss out in supporting the youth economically and psychologically, in particularly difficult situations. Furthermore, the “supportive Christmas” project enabled us to gather nonperishable food and other essential goods, that were then donated to a charitable institution.” The Young Continental Missionaries began to settle in other places over time,and reached Obidos (State of Pará), the heart of the Amazons. “Coming in contact with the people, we saw that the call to missionary life echoed in them, and a variety of vocations came to the fore.” Surpassing the confines of Brazil, they even reached Haiti. Last 17 July, a group of six people of the archdiocese of Juiz de Fora and their archbishop set out for Haiti. The situation of that country is really challenging, 7 years after the earthquake that had devastated it: in just 24 seconds more than 300,000 buildings had collapsed among civil and institutional structures, causing the death of 200,000 people. With its magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale, it was the worst earthquake registered in the Americas. “Haiti is the poorest periphery of Latin America. And that is where, “Bishop Gil Antonio Moreira wrote, “my eyes and those of the Continental Missionary Youth are focusing on. With great joy we shall go to serve without fear, because the reason, and our goal, is Jesus Christ.” The youth of the Focolare concluded by saying: “Paradoxically, what assures us that we are on the right path are the difficulties we encounter, and in which we try to love a countenance of Jesus Forsaken, He is the secret of our joy and the fruits we have seen.”
The unexpected We were expecting our first child. Immediately after this news came an unexpected discovery: I had a small nodule in my breast. The tests showed that it was cancer. For me and for my husband, who is a physician, it was a terrible blow. Three days after the visit with a specialist, I had an operation. In his opinion, keeping the baby was an aggravating factor: we should have immediately proceeded with a therapeutic abortion in order to start chemotherapy. We didn’t want to give up. Trusting in God, we consulted other doctors, seeking an alternative solution. In the end we decided to have a Cesarean section in the seventh month of pregnancy, when the baby would be perfectly able to survive. Only afterwards would I start the chemotherapy and radiation. Since then, 8 years have passed and we are expecting our third child. M. D. – FranceThe stranger One day I was in the car with a man who had asked me for a ride. It was noon, and I asked him where he was going to have lunch. He answered, “I haven’t got a penny, and I have no idea how I’m going to eat.” I was overcome with suspicions and indifference. But I pushed these thoughts away, saying to Jesus in my heart: “It doesn’t matter who he is, what I do for him, I do for you.” I fished in my pocket and gave him all I had, adding, so as not to humiliate him, “Pay me back whenever you can.” A few days later, I received an envelope from a client with the exact amount that I had given that stranger inside. For me, this situation was the confirmation that the Gospel is true. A. G. – ItalyA family party We had an idea, with several other families that are friends of ours, to organize a party for the Senegalese in our city. We were all committed to making these young immigrants feel the warmth of the family. Afterwards, one of them commented: “Everything went beyond our expectations. No one made us feel different and because of this, we felt at home. We have the same God who makes us brothers and sisters.” The party had finished, but the friendship continues. G. L. – Italy We have a FatherBy chance, we met again after many years. I hadn’t seen her since my high school years. Although she had a degree in mathematics, after a very sad sequence of events she now found herself in my city without even a penny, living the life of a beggar. She was desperate, and I listened to her story. At that moment, I had nothing to give her, but I promised to help her: I told her she must be certain of this, because, “We have a Father in heaven.” We made plans to meet again the next day. In the meantime, with the help of some others, I found a temporary accommodation for her and gathered some money: at least enough to live on, to be able to eat and to bathe. After two days she contacted me again, and returning the money, she explained that she had been offered a job in a place that also provided room and board. She added, “I have to thank you, not only for the money, but because that day you gave me back what I needed most: the hope and the certainty that I have a Father who cares for me.” Franca – Italy
“In Jesus Forsaken, God’s infinite love is manifested, and is placed by the Father in the hearts of believers to bring about, right now, his plan for humanity: unity. To love Jesus Forsaken means to relive his Passion within ourselves, that continuous passage (for those of us still on our journey) from death to life, from the absence of God to his presence, which characterizes the Christian existence. This does not mean to give up or to want to suffer as Jesus did, but rather to retrace his steps along the Way he opened, and to recognize – beyond appearances – his active presence in everything that is not God in us and around us. It means saying ‘yes’ to Him and like Him, so that the Holy Spirit can break through the nothingness we have created for ourselves and increase the gift of divine agape (God’s love) which opens us up to the future, eternal life, and allows us to share in it. Jesus Forsaken, simultaneously, pushes us to go towards humanity, there where it suffers most and lives in darkness. This is how Jesus Forsaken, embraced and loved, brings love where there is hatred, life where there is death, communion and unity where there is division. Loving Jesus Forsaken therefore means hoping against every hope, nearness to God where God is not, the presence of God where there is God’s silence. And this hope is certainty in a world and in a human history which do not close in on themselves, but open themselves to the ever-new encounter with God. In Him, they open themselves to the ever-new encounter among humans, in a fraternal communion with truly universal dimensions. From Pasquale Foresi – LUCE CHE SI INCARNA – Città Nuova 2014 pp. 172-3
“Mary stood at the foot of the cross in her heart-rending stabat, which transformed her soul into a bitter sea of anguish. She is the highest expression in a human creature of the heroism of every virtue. She lived meekness to perfection; she was poor to the point of losing her Son who was God; she was the embodiment of justice, not lamenting the loss of what was hers only because God chose her; she was pure in her emotional detachment from her Son, God… In Mary Desolate, we see the triumph of the virtues of faith and hope, through the love she nourished throughout her whole life. In that moment, this love blazed forth in her active sharing in the work of the Redemption.In her desolation, which adorns her with every virtue, Mary teaches us humility and patience, prudence and perseverance, simplicity and silence, so that on the background of the ‘darkness’ of ourselves, of all that is merely human within us, the light of God living in us may shine out for the world. Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, is the perfect saint, a monument of holiness towards whom all people may look in order to learn how to clothe themselves with the self-denial taught by the Church down the centuries, and which the saints, in different tones, have echoed throughout the ages. We do not think enough about Mary’s “passion,” about the swords that pierced her Heart, about the terrible forsakenness she felt on Golgotha when Jesus entrusted her to others… Perhaps the reason for this is that Mary knew all too well how to cover her living, anguished agony with sweetness, light and silence. Yet, there is no suffering similar to hers…. If one day our sufferings reach such depths that make everything in us rebel because the fruit of our “passion” seems to be taken out of our hands and even more so from our heart, let’s remember her. This ice coldness will make us a bit like her, and the reality of Mary will become clearer in our souls: the All-Beautiful, the Mother of all because by divine will she was detached from everyone, most of all, from her divine Son. Mary Desolate is the Saint par excellence. I would like to relive her in her mortification. I would like to be able to be alone with God like her, in the sense that, even when I am with others, I feel drawn to make the whole of my life an intimate dialogue between my soul and God. I must mortify words, thoughts, and actions that are outside the moment of God, to set them into the moment reserved for them. Mary Desolate is the certainty of holiness, a perennial source of union with God, a cup overflowing with joy.” Chiara Lubich, La Dottrina Spirituale, Città Nuova Editrice 2006 (Roma), pp.183 – 184
Born from the determination to redesign a new geography that targets the bringing down of personal and planetary limits and fences, the world march of the Gen and Youth for a United World towards the 11th edition of the GenFest will be held from 6 – 8 July 2018 in Manila (Philippines). The central program will be held at the Metro Manila World Trade Center, while all the workshops will be held at the De La Salle Universityand other universities. It will be entitled “BEYOND ALL BORDERS.” Asia will thus be the continent of the future and of the youth who will host this convention. According to the data of the U. S. Census Bureau, three billion youths in the world are below 25 years of age and 60% of these live in Asia. And so, almost half of the Asian population (over 4 billion people) are under 25. “It is clear that the event could not but be held in our continent,” explained Kiara Cariaso, a Filipino and member of the organizing team. “We want the world to see not only the network of projects, camps, solidarity actions, support to lawfulness, and “no” to war and armaments, but also the solitude, abandonment and superficial relationships which millions of youth scattered around the world are already engaged in.” Aleppo, Bethlehem, Turunga, Mumbai: Genfest 2018 has been launched in various cities around the world. “Also this time the Genfest will be a milestone, essential to the journey towards a united world,” Maria Guaita and Marco De Salvo of the United World Youth’s central secretariat explained, “to share the ongoing endeavours for unity and peace, and also to gain strength and courage from one another. Many of the youths live in territories of war, conflict and social distress. This is the frontline where many have chosen to start changing the world.” “We are working various fronts: we are in the peripheries, but we engage in education, sport and solidarity,” pointed out Rafael Tronquini, Brazilian, of the Genfest Marketing Team – who has been in Manila for 5 months now, “We want to be there where we see the needs and hear our people’s cries for help at all latitudes. We could summarise the Genfest logo with the motto: ‘less is more’. There are infinite challenges and barriers but what matters is to overcome them together and take one step ahead towards unity.” y4uw.org/ https://youtu.be/C8NvjNYgNEc
https://vimeo.com/233854802 News itemsBreaking Rays: A worldwide network of communicators going back to school… together. India: The Rainbow Kids: One woman’s quest to offer opportunity where there was none. World camps to become global citizens: Youth giving their time for others. Philippines: Serafin’s dream: A dream changes course and a peacemaker is born. Nigeria – Mariapolis in Lagos and Abuja: Forgiveness and dialogue, true arms for unity in the country. Italy: Family in the digital age: Coping with technology in the house. Roberto Cipollone – Ciro, craftsman and artist: Breathing life, meaning and beauty into discarded items.
The eyes of the world we fixed on Colombia over the past few days. The Focolare also took an active role in parishes, for the preparation and unfolding of the Pope’s visit. Susan Nuin, focolarina and member of CELAM (Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano), which gathers bishops from Latin America and the Caribbean explains: “Several things emerged quite strongly. First was the attendance of the State with the president and all the representatives of government. The second was the theme of reconciliation among the people, as well as social justice: Colombia is the country with the greatest percentile of social inequality.” In one interview with AGI, director of Ciudad Nueva, Sole Rubiano, explained: “In theory everyone is in favour of peace, but not everybody recognizes the need for inclusion and equity.” In Colombia, something unprecedented has been made possible. Susanna Nuin writes: “Victims and murderers have prayed together and embraced one another. Not even in South Africa and other Latin American dictatorships have victims and murderers dealt with one another on equal terms. Institutional laws and accords are not sufficient in resolving conflict. Encounter is required between parties. Pope Francis has created a popular conscience that just wasn’t there before.” In Villavicencio with its 500,000 residents, the Pope met with 3 thousand victims of violence, (150 thousand in the city alone), military, police agents and ex-guerrillas. That was the central moment of the visit, with the prayer meeting for national reconciliation in Las Malocas Park. At the centre of the stage, above an altar, the broken and amputated Bojayá Crucifix which, in May 2002, watched the massacre of dozens of people who had taken refuge in the church. Testimonies were given by ex-Farc members, paramilitary, and by one woman who had undergone all manner of abuse. On the same day, September 8th, the Farc leader had written a letter to the Pope, asking forgiveness for “every pain inflicted on the people of Colombia.” One young woman named Nayibe writes: “For us the amputee Christ is even more Christ-like, because it shows that he came to suffer for his people.” Many called it a day that would go down in the history of Colombia. Cartagena de Indias, north of Colombia, is the home of the Shrine of St Peter Claver (1581-1654). He was declared a saint in 1888 and had been a Spanish Jesuit who dedicated himself to the tragic victims of slavery. At the suggestion of the Jesuits, after the peace accord between the government and the Farc which had put an end to the 50 years of conflict with 200 thousand dead and tens of thousands missing, it became the capital of human rights. The Pope visited the poorest neighbourhoods, stopping in at the house of 77 year old Lorenza Perez, who cooks and distributes meals to anyone in need. “I’m the poorest of the poor,” she says. “But the Pope chose my house to tell the world to have more love for those that are discarded. Susanna Nuin explains: “The Pope’s speeches had two dimensions: on conceptual, with strong and precise clarifications; and the other gestural, to express his closeness to a people that has suffered much. His departure left us with a sense of loss, but also a sense of fulfilment. His visit has instilled a new way of living in the hearts of the Colombian people, no longer from a passive stance, waiting for a peace that never comes, succumbing to a polarization that makes peaceful coexistence impossible. The young people played a fundamental role, who felt like they had been invested with a task. Yolima Martínez recalls the Pope’s appeal: “You young people have a special gift for recognizing the suffering of others.” Laura Isaza: “Peace is a process that engages all generations, but ours especially.” Manuel echoes her words: “The Pope’s visit has clarified to the Colombians that peace isn’t a political matter, but culture that needs to be built. As Focolare members we feel even more committed to listen to Pope Francis when he talks about a culture of encounter that we have to continue to build.”
Thousands of young people are preparing for the Genfest by seizing opportunities to promote universal brotherhood across the globe. Not as noisy as the wars and bombings, less worth it for the crime channels, but factual and quite effective when it comes to building a world without barbed wire borders, hatred and indifference. It’s the MILONGA Project, not a place for dancing the tango, but an international volunteer programme that does have some similarities with the Latin American dance style known as tango: with its fast pace, its warmth and generous spirit. This communication network connects thousands of social projects around the world. It’s known as the MILONGA Project. MILONGA is an acronym formed by the Italian words for: a thousand non-governmental organizations in action (www.milongaproject.org) that are all inspired by the Focolare’s charism of unity. The young men and women who belong to the project not only volunteer, but also expand their hearts as they open themselves to the rich cultures of other countries. Promoted by the International New Humanity Association and by Youth for a United world, the MILONGA Project went through a pilot phase in Latin America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay, Venezuela and Uruguay). Now, it is also active in Italy, Croatia Jordan, Philippines, Kenya and Tanzania. On August 5th, representatives from the Focolare’s permanent Mariapolises around the world, and representatives from various NGOs, met for one week at the Mariapolis in Brazil to discuss strategies for further network development, examining strategic and management aspects of the program, selection and accompaniment, monitoring and reception of participants into the project; and also to offer a quality formation process that will have a positive impact on both the individual volunteers and on the host communities. Sixty young people who participated in the pilot projects will now have the opportunity to fulfil their dream of volunteering beyond their own borders. MILONGA provides training in preparation for the arrival in the host country, with an indvidualized training program for each volunteer, as well as for the host entity in the other country. It provides a trainer that accompanies the young person through every phase of the experience – training, stay and return to one’s own country. It also ensures that the young person will be welcomed by the local Mariapolis and Focolare community and have a direct experience of the local environment. Each participant has an opportunity to interact with peers on an international level by linking up with the United World Project. MILONGA’s method emerges from an experience that has matured over years, and from the impact that the volunteer experience is having in a variety of settings. It is a rather unique style of social action, in which the fraternal bond among the different actors is the main key. Fraternity is also the key in motivating the encounter of the different communities in vulnerable situations, to bring about an experience of communion with the volunteers, and experience of dialogue and real intercultural exchange, in order to discover together solutions that do not come from above, but are as much as possible shared in a reciprocal way. “It’s not so easy to put into a few words what I experienced for a month at the Casa de los Niños (Children’s Home) in Cochabamba,” says an Uruguayan volunteer at an NGO in Bolivia. “After New Year’s I was headed for an adventure that I had been thinking about for some time, saving money and getting my heart ready. I wanted to go with an NGO that had the Focolare spirit, and I was surprised by the brotherhood I experienced throughout every moment.” “I got to know a social reality that is very different from the one we live,” says a young Spanish volunteer, “a very powerful reality that helped me, not so much to be aware of certain problems, because perhaps I already had some knowledge of them, but to recognize and accept the fact that beyond where we come from, how much money we have, where we live – we’re all equal and the same.”
After Hurricane Irma’s passage over the Caribbean where it caused death and destruction, the violent storm hit Florida, which has been declared in a state of emergency. More than 5.8 million people have been left without electricity, running water or internet. Five deaths have been confirmed. It has now weakened to a category 1 hurricane, with 136 kilometer winds, and is now heading towards Atlanta, Georgia. The local Focolare community writes: “We’re in constant contact with our community in Florida. Many have had to leave their homes and find safe places to stay. They tell us that they are trying to help people who are all alone, neighbors and parents and relatives living outside the country, and the same goes for the communities on the islands. The weakening hurricane is expected to arrive in Atlanta on Monday or Tuesday with a lot of rain and strong wind. We are seeing God’s love in all of this and experiencing how much we’re all brothers and sisters, thanks to this crisis. We’re finding that we can help each other, beyond the social divisions that are quite secondary now.”
Mary’s children interpret her in many ways, all of them beautiful, but her most sumptuous beauty can be found in the singular position she holds among women. Hers is a name that we will never finish saying, a name that will continue to fill us with happiness every time we hear it. In the Angelic Salutation that has flown through history as a source of gladness, millions upon millions have greeted her in the same manner. With every Hail Mary all of us go back to that familiar salute, in the hope of obtaining her intercession in this human experiment called life, which culminates in death, the threshold of the everlasting life. “Mary!” Just saying her name makes our heart jump for joy, like the child in Elizabeth’s womb – “and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” “Mary!” This is what shepherds and carpenters said as they came to the door of that semblance of a stall, which was the home of the Holy Family on the Nazareth hillside. “Mary” they called her, as they went on to ask a favour, because she was always willing to serve anyone and full of possibilities for everyone. And if they didn’t have favours to ask, they would show up simply because of the pleasure it gave them to greet her with that name, which was filled with beauty and wonder because it summarized all the mysteries of love. “Mary”, the feminine word for Love… Like Archangel Gabriel, Joseph, the saints, and many sinners, we continue centuries later to call her by that same name, fifty, a hundred, or more times a day. We never pin on to it noble titles, high-sounding appellatives, primacy or rank. We prefer – as she prefers – to draw her closer to us and to never draw far from her, so that we can draw near to the Spouse who shares a singular unity with her. The rush of the crowds, whirlwind of the passions and traces of the Spirit that vein human history are filled with that name, through which love travels from the depths of the earth to heights of Heaven. Humility draws closer, and love unites: this is the great tribute. We feel at home in Christ’s Church, we feel at home in the Communion of Saints in the orbit of the Trinity: because Mary is there. The Mother is there, and so the children can come in. Wherever there is Mary, there is love. Wherever there is love, there is God. Just to say the name of Mary in whatever place or circumstance, is to step into a divine atmosphere in a single breath, to light a star in the middle of the night, to unlock the healing flow of poetry in the midst of a technological plague, to make a swamp blossom with lilies. To say Mary is to restore the warmth of a family to a world that seems to have become a forced labour camp. Mary loves and hides herself in love: Real love is contemplation of the beloved. Also in this, by imitating the young woman from Nazareth, we can be contemplatives in the midst of the world, in the hovel of a country farm house or in the apartment of a city dwelling. The love in Mary was so great that she provided God to us – God who is Love. She all but ripped him from Heaven in order to give him to earth. She made the Holy One one of us, a man at the service of all. Truly, love means making yourself one with the Beloved. Mary became so one with God that he gave himself over to her so that, through her, he would give himself to all people. Ultimately, you are in the world, in a different time and place, but, being there like Mary, you are always and everywhere preparing the place for Jesus to stay. (Igino Giordani, Maria modello perfetto, (Rome: Città Nuova, 2012), 17-20.
Mexico has often been struck by seismic movements because it lies in a region where 5 tectonic plaques meet. But the earthquake which hit the nation on September 8 has been so far the most violent earthquake ever recorded (8.2 on the Richter scale). With the epicenter off the west coast, on the border with Guatemala, the earthquake was felt even as far as Mexico City. Much of the capital has remained without electricity and many people abandoned their houses going out into the dark streets. At least 15 have been found dead, although “the toll estimate is set to rise,” said President Enrique Peña Nieto. Oaxaca is the State which has been most hit. The Mexican bishops write: “God strengthens us as brothers and sisters in the faith, mobilising us towards those who have suffered because of this earthquake.” In Guatemala, one victim has been recorded.
SoyDiálogo (I’m dialogue) is meant as a personal challenge in the face of the situation that has come about in Spain, the proposal to reject every form of violence and to live for the concrete promotion of a culture of dialogue. The challenge is both need and courageous. There have been many efforts in this direction. On the 26th of September, the
Saturday, 23 September 2017, in the Lecture Hall of the 
Piero Coda, president of Sophia, in his report titled “Real Love and the One True Love,” proposed an original reading of the generative encounter between the Franciscan roots of Chiara Lubich and the Catherinite period of Giordani, an encounter which reflects an experience of Christian renewal in the foundational period of the Focolare Movement, capable of giving life to a new reality in the Church and in society. The “pact” between charisms generates an originality that emphasises the dynamism of reciprocity as a sounding board for the dimension of unity and becomes the fulcrum of a proposal at the service of humanity. The “mysticism of fire” in Chiara Lubich, recovered by Coda in some passages of her writing, “The Resurrection of Rome,” reminds us how the impetus of inner, individual momentum flourishes in the community dynamics: “It is God who makes two people one, placing himself as the third in a relationship between them: Jesus among us.” In closing, the speech by Dr. Aldo Bernabei, representative of the Roman group of the Catherinites, traced the joint path between his association and the Focolare Movement in the multi-decade animation of the project “Together for Europe,” a demonstration that works steadily to build a European spirit that recognises the Christian soul among its foundation values, a path that joins more than 500 churches, movements, communities and associations.
The words Pope Francis pronounced at the 
MILONGA’s method emerges from an experience that has matured over years, and from the impact that the volunteer experience is having in a variety of settings. It is a rather unique style of social action, in which the fraternal bond among the different actors is the main key. Fraternity is also the key in motivating the encounter of the different communities in vulnerable situations, to bring about an experience of communion with the volunteers, and experience of dialogue and real intercultural exchange, in order to discover together solutions that do not come from above, but are as much as possible shared in a reciprocal way. “It’s not so easy to put into a few words what I experienced for a month at the Casa de los Niños (Children’s Home) in Cochabamba,” says an Uruguayan volunteer at an NGO in Bolivia. “After New Year’s I was headed for an adventure that I had been thinking about for some time, saving money and getting my heart ready. I wanted to go with an NGO that had the Focolare spirit, and I was surprised by the brotherhood I experienced throughout every moment.” “I got to know a social reality that is very different from the one we live,” says a young Spanish volunteer, “a very powerful reality that helped me, not so much to be aware of certain problems, because perhaps I already had some knowledge of them, but to recognize and accept the fact that beyond where we come from, how much money we have, where we live – we’re all equal and the same.”