Shifting our family from Italy to Honduras

Jan 24, 2017 | Non categorizzato

Fiorella: “Right from the start I found that Andrea was an atheist and very popular with the girls. I decided in my heart that it was better to let him go. But then in the disco I always found myself in his arms.” Andrea: “Fiorella was really one of the many. Before telling her – to my own great surprise – that I might actually love her, two years went by.” Fiorella: “I was aware that the relationship wasn’t going anywhere. There wasn’t dialogue and we didn’t make any plans. I had become Andrea’s shadow, without personanlity or dreams. Disappointed I decided to leave him. To evade him, I changed jobs and moved to another city, but I soon began to feel alone and full of sadness. One morning, nearly desperate, I found myself in the doorway of a small church, yelling out why to that God whom I had left for some time. When I job contract ended, I returned home to my relatives. A few days later, a friend whom I hadn’t seen in a while couldn’t wait to talk to me about God, and invited me to a several-day gathering with people who were trying to live the Gospel. As I stepped into the hall I was struck by a sign they had hung: “God is Love”. I wondered how God could love someone like me with my heavy make-up, heels size 12 and fiery red hair. But right from the first day I felt his presence, I knew that I had discovered what I was always looking for, and I ran to pour out all my miseries in the confessional with the intention of beginning to live the Gospel. After that first “Mariapolis” the Eucharist became the vital force of my life.” Andrea:”Fiorella was changed. Now she talked, but what’s worse – at least from my point of view back then – she talked about God. Trying to be tollerant, I decided not to dump her, but I was jealous of this God who was stealing her from me. I was struck by her serenity, her enjoyment of life, her renewed love for me that filled my heart. And what if she really loved me? Surprised at myself I even reached the point of asking her to marry me, even with the understanding of doing it in church. Afterwards, an accident at work left me immobile. The only diversion was visiting those families that Fiorella began to get together with. As soon as I could, I decided to visit one of them to find out the reason for this interest in me. We talked about everything, even the faith until three o’clock in the morning. I was fascinated. “These people are serious about it!” I said to myself, I want to live like them too. I want to be the first to love too.” One Saturday I found the sink filled with dishes. Fiorella was out at work. I closed the blinds so my neighbors couldn’t see me and began to wash the dishes to show her my love in a concrete way. I even tried to iron, although it took me two hours to press one shirt. And as I did all this I began to notice a certainty blossoming inside me: God exists, God is Love. With this new faith I suddenly felt the need to pray. I told Fiorella and suggested we do it together. With a bit of embarrassment and the lights turned off, each of us on our own side of the bed, that night we prayed together for the first time.” Fiorella: “After twelve years of milestones and setbacks new beginnings and many joys because of the new love that was growing between us, and with the birth of our two children, Maria Giovanna and Ivan, we received an invitation to move to Honduras to help support the nascent Focolare community. Jesus was asking our family to follow Him, giving up our house, our job, our relatives. A totally unknown world was awaiting us in Tegucigalpa with different customs, language and culture, along with the difficult life of the Honduran people who were knocking at our door each day. We entered so deeply into “making ourselves one” and  being immersed in their lives in a deep experience of inculturation. The fruits of evangelization were many: vocations, marriages convalidated, families put together again, people coming back to God and the growth of brotherhood. After eight years we left behind a community that had been built piece by piece, based on concrete love that we tried to show and drew in our children into who, in the meantime, had become three. Andrea: “In fact, our on Juan Diego was born while we were in Honduras. We named him in honour of the Virgin of Guadalupe to whom we continue to entrust the so generous people that changed our life.”  

Chiara Lubich at the Berlin Memorial Church

Jan 22, 2017 | Non categorizzato

Chiara Lubich visited Germany in 1998, from 1st November to 13 December, spending time at Aachen, Münster, Augsburg and then in Berlin at the invitation of the Evangelical Church community. In her address, part of which is published below. We present several excerpts from her speech given on November 19th at the the Berlin Memorial Church, in which she indicates the law of love as the royal road to Christian unity and dialogue with all believers. “The plain fact is that if we Christians now, at the dawn of the third millennium, take a good look back at our 2000 years of history and particularly at the last millennium, we cannot fail to be saddened by what we see: a painful succession of misunderstandings, arguments and conflicts. These have caused many rips and tears in the “seamless robe of Christ”, which is His Church. And whose fault is this? Without doubt, countless historical, cultural, geo-political, social factors have played their part …. But could it also be due to a weakening among Christians of their characteristic unifying bond of love? I think so. In fact, when we try to address the painful situation we find ourselves in, we must keep in mind the guiding principle of our common faith: God Love who calls us too to love. In these our times it is God Love who, in some way, must return once more to reveal Himself also to the Churches we are part of.  It’s true that we can’t really know how to love others unless we have experienced being deeply loved ourselves, unless all Christians are convinced of how much God loves us. He loves us as individual Christians and also as Church. He loves the Church in so far as it has been faithful to God’s plan for it, but also – and herein lies the wonder of God’s mercy – He loves the Church even when it has not corresponded to that plan and has allowed divisions to occur, as long as now it is seeking for full communion with the other Churches. This is the consoling conviction that led John Paul II, trusting in the One who can draw good from what is bad, to reflect: “Could it not be that the divisions have also been a way which has led and is leading the Church to discover the many treasures contained in the Gospel of Christ and in the redemption he brought about? Perhaps such a wealth would not have come to light otherwise.” So, belief in God who is Love, also for the Church. But if God loves us, we cannot remain inert in the face of such divine benevolence. As true sons and daughters, we must respond to His love with love, individually and as Church. Perhaps we can say that the Churches over the centuries may have hardened somewhat within themselves against the relentless tide of indifference, of misunderstanding, if not of actual hatred between them. So now we need a supplement of love in each one; we would need, in fact, a whole tidal wave of love to invade all Christianity. Love towards the other Churches is what we’re talking about here, together with mutual love among the Churches: a love that enables each one to be a gift for the others, so that it is possible to hope in a Church of the future which is one, in which one alone is the truth, expressed in many ways, observed from different perspectives, made even more beautiful by the variety of interpretations. It’s not that any of the Churches would have to “die” (as some may think), rather each one will have to be “reborn” in unity. And to live in this Church of the future, in full communion, will be such a wonderful, miraculous reality, that it cannot fail to be noticed by the whole world.” More Chiara Lubic Center  

Gen3 from Romania: “God has a plan for us.”

Jan 21, 2017 | Non categorizzato

Accompanied by some of their assistants, thirteen Gen 3 were on their way to Focolare town in Krizevci, north Croatia. There was an atmosphere of serenity and great expectation during the trip. The theme of their congress would be challenging and demanding: Jesus Forsaken. The topic of suffering and pain is key to knowing how to live in a world of young people where so many seek well-being and false happiness. It was a long drive through Hungary. Towards evening some of the boys dozed off. Suddenly, the sound of horns and, in the midst of thick fog, a large truck just before the frightening crash. Teia, Adelin, Delia, Eve, Bea, Iulian and the other boys were still alive, but their shock was great. “The first car stopped just after the accident,” recounts one of the assistants. “It was an emergency vehicle. They had just finished their shift and were on their way back to the base. How could we not see God’s love in that? The police were excellent: they welcomed us in the largest room they had at police headquarters until another bus came to get us. They told us we were lucky to get out alive . . . then they brought us pizza and sweets.” Once we got to hospital, the boys were divided between wards. Bea: “At that moment we felt lost, we didn’t understand Hungarian, we were frightened and alone. We didn’t know what was happening and didn’t know how to answer the doctors’ questions. Some of us were comepletely isolated from the others, and alone like Jesus Forsaken. It was like meeting him and living him.” Eve: “Later on, people came and tranlsated for us. One focolarina from Romania was supposed to arrive in Hungary the previous day, but she had missed the bus. She was in a nearby city when she learned of the accident. The driver had proposed to the passengers not to make other stops and to take her directly to hospital to drop her off before helping us. She told us that understood why she had missed the bus the day before.” Rozi: “The doctors told us we had to stay in hospital for a few more examinations. I began to telelphone the boys’ parents. Many of them were 15 hours away from where we were. Moreover, the Gen3 were saying that they wanted to continue on to the congress. In the end we obtained permission to leave the hospital with the signature of their parents and without spending a cent.” Delia: “At that point we weren’t sure about continuing our journey, but we realized that such precious things always come with a cost.” Some days later seven boys arrived at Mariapolis Faro. The experience of fear and pain, but also of intense unity among them, showed that the theme of the congress had already become something real for them. Iulian recounts: “We all just knew that whatever happens to us in life, it’s worth it to abandon ourselves totallyto God. Jesus Forsaken unites us in an incredible way! We were allowed to live because God has a plan for us: a divine adventure awaits us.” Compiled by Chiara Favotti    

Earthquake in Italy: three hours under the rubble

Jan 20, 2017 | Non categorizzato

«In 142 seconds, the entire town of your childhood disappears.  All that was built through the centuries is razed to the ground like a paper castle in 142 unending, damned seconds, and 299 lives are taken away from their loved ones. “Everything crumbles, and all is vanity of vanities,” is the phrase that echoes in my head while I write». This is how Lorenzo, 18, from the Marche Region started to recount his experience of remaining under the ruins of his house for some hours on 24 August. «It was 3.36 in the morning, they said, when a roar, a quake and an infernal phenomenon of dust and piles of rubble woke me up. Then came what some defined using the words of a poet, as the “quiet after the tempest.” All stood still in profound silence and it was pitch black. I was suddenly trapped in a space the size of my body. And with every small quake, a cloud of dust rose around me. My life was dangling on a string. Then at dawn, the village rescuers took me out of what I once called home and which is now just a pile of bricks starting again to call out to me. I want to share with you the joy of that moment, but words are not enough. Rescued after three hours in that inferno, there was destruction everywhere but in all this I could see only one thing: love. All went out to help the other, even placing their own lives in danger. Heedless of the hazards, they were really ready to give their lives. Sadly, or luckily, humanity gives the best of itself in suffering. Suffering is precisely the theme of my experience. I felt that despite all the people around my house, nobody could help or understand me. While praying I asked, “Why me?” and I thought: “My God, why have you abandoned me?” In reality he had not abandoned me, and when I came out I discovered why this experience has become a sort of lens through which I could see a different world, giving me the strength to live my life at best.». From the night of 24 August, and after the quakes of the succeeding months, there are still so many displaced victims of the Central Italy earthquake. These are people who had to leave their own homes, their properties and some even their own village. We really ask ourselves what they were able to bring with them after that tragic and eternal night, and what is giving them the strength to go ahead and start again. We chose Lorenzo’s story because it relays not only the fear lived that day, but also the discovery of something greater. Italy is strong, and is demonstrating great unity. There are many associations that are helping the earthquake victims, immediately involved through AMU, AFN and others to respond to the various needs. They tell us how they are working in the areas of Central Italy.  «We are bringing animation activities ahead, and building a small meeting centre to allow the residents to keep up their community spirit. Then our efforts focused greatly on the support of the small agri-food enterprises of the territory, to allow them to continue operating in this emergency phase, and not to lose their jobs.» To support the small enterprises, they thought of creating a real project: «The progetto RimPRESA project. It consists of two lines: furnishing raw materials, machinery, and small infrastructure, and supporting the sales of products. Of course, at the base of all this, there must be human relationships with the people struck by the earthquake.» Source: Teens, work in progress 4 unity, New City editorial group, Rome 2016, n.6, pages 4-5 Info Progetto:www.focolaritalia.it rimpresa@focolare.org To collaborate:

Chiara Lubich and the Family 2017

Jan 19, 2017 | Non categorizzato

Download brochure with program Live streaming event 11 Mach 2017 16:00-18:30  (CET, UTC+1): http://live.focolare.org/FamilyHighlights/

A series of events are to be held around the world in 2017 that will highlight the value of the family from the perspective of “universal brotherhood” and will bear witness to the richness of cultural diversity, through the ideal of unity incarnated in family life. The main event will be held in Loppiano from 10-12 March 2017, where about 800 participants from all over the world are expected. The families will be able to delve into the life of the international town of the Focolare and testify to the dream of Chiara Lubich which has reached all the continents. In the morning, there will be workshops for adults, young teenagers and children, in collaboration with the Parish Movement, the Gen3 and Gen4 centres, the New Families Association  (AFNonlus) and the New Humanity Movement (AMU). In the afternoon there will be larger gatherings in the hall, with direct streaming. Presentations will be given by experts in family life, who are involved in the Cultural Seminar to be held at Sophia University Institute on March 10-11. The seminar will mark the opening of the Centre of Family Studies whose objective is to examine the contribution of the spirituality of unity to the family in today’s world. Three topics will be examined: Family, a story of relationships that evolve  from ‘me’ to ‘us’ (relationships between the couple, with the children, among generations) Love as the appropriate measure for responding to critical problems in the family (wounds, challenges, sufferings: the reality of life and the sharing process). The family as a creative resource within  the social fabric of any nation (life, family networks, solidarity and hospitality, social involvement and work) New logo. Fifty years after its founding, the New Families Movement changes its image with a new logo. It represents a tree, a sign of the growth of the tiny plant that over the years has produced many fruits of life that have been offered to families, to the Church and to the world. The plant is strong, which grew from the first seed that was welcomed by the good soil. Opening itself to others, the family has contributed to the birth and development of many seeds of brotherhood and peace that are sprouting a new society. Chiara Lubich (1920-2008) always paid particular attention to the family and, with the precious contribution of Igino Giordani, writer, Italian politician and first married focolarino, she lifted up his “bold, beautiful and demanding example” as a shining model for the construction of a peace in our world. In 1967 Chiara founded the New Families Movement that it might always keep love enkindled in the home, along with those family values that are so needed by today’s world. She saw the family has the best channel for reaching young people who will one day enter into married life; for broken families, widows and widowers, abandoned children – and every other form of marginalization.  For more information: www.famiglienuove.org famiglienuove@focolare.org tel. 069411565  

A light in the slums

Jan 19, 2017 | Non categorizzato

https://vimeo.com/171535556 Copyright 2016 © CSC Audiovisivi – All rights reserved

Ecumenism and the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Jan 18, 2017 | Non categorizzato

“The theme chosen for the 2017 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is: “Reconciliation: The love of Christ compels us” (2 Cor 5:14).  The Week was called for and organized by up to the most important organizations involved in ecumenism, including the Ecumenical Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity: It was a propitious choice, especially after the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reform when many leading representatives of the Lutheran World Federation and Pope Francis gathered around the same altar in prayer at the Cathedral of Lund in Sweden. Alongside such highly significant ecumenical gestures another ecumenism has been spreading that could be called the ecumenism of the people. It is comprised of initiatives by the faithful of different confessions who want to recognize one another more and more as brothers and sisters. It is made up of small gestures that, thanks to the Holy Spirit, are already spreading in many places of the world. They show how far the irresistible journey of unity has come. We present a few examples from Latin America. “Many of us from the Focolare Movement in Peru had established friendships with the faithful of other Churches. Now, ever since an ecumenical group was begun in the Diocese of Arequipa, we have been collaborating with them in organizing the Week of Prayer. There will be daily events in several of the different Churches that visit the focolare regularly. Our centre was chosen for the final event of the Week of Prayer, which will include Catholic bishops, Lutheran pastors, Anglicans, Evangelicals and Pentecostals. Every month we attend an ecumenical breakfast at the YMCA, and a young Evangelical from a city in the north, with the permission of his Pastor, is attending a course of formation in the Focolare town of Loppiano, Italy.” The focolare community in Brazil reports: “We have relationships with Anglicans, Methodists,  Presbyterians and Seventh Day Adventists that are truly significant. Sometimes we meet to dialogue about specific topics as we did at a conference held last August at Mariapolis Ginetta in san Paolo where we discussed the topic of peace.” “Because of our friendship with Methodists and Waldensians in Buenos Aires, Argentina, we set up on the square an ecumenical Nativity Scene that had been created by the children. It was visited by over a hundred and fifty people. It concluded with a moment of prayer with lit candles as a sign that each one of us can bring the light of Christmas into our own world.” From Venezuela: “Our sharing in the various celebrations of the Week of Prayer is an opportunity to deepen friendships that have existed for many years and to make new contacts. These friendships do not end when the celebration ends – on the contrary! The acquaintances most often lead to concrete assistance projects that we do together.” In conclusion, from Lima, Peru: “Following the ruinous floods on the outskirts, several young people from the Focolare and Methodist Church went to shovel away the mud that had covered the homes of so many humble folk. It was hard work, but we were all so happy to bring our love concretely to those families, to recognize that they are our brothers and sisters, and that we are also brothers and sisters.” Compiled by Anna Friso

Seminarians in Loppiano

Jan 16, 2017 | Non categorizzato

Over 40 seminarians and several priests from 17 countries on the 5 continents took an end-of-the-year holiday trip to Loppiano. “We chose the Focolare’s international town to have an experience of God in the communion among us,” they write, “and to go deeper into that radical choice of the Gospel that our heart burns for.” It was precisely the Gospel that they wanted to have as the basis of their stay in Loppiano, starting from the Golden Rule, that mandate which can also be found in the sacred writings of all the Great Religions: “So in everything, do to others as you would have them do to you” (Mt 7:12). The group stayed at Vinea Mea, the permanent residence of the School for Priests from different parts of the world who wish to be formed in the Focolare’s Spirituality of Unity and to experience a Church that St. John Paul II described as “Home and school of communion” (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 43). The seminarians were accompanied in their experience by the priests at Vinea Mea and by experts from Loppiano. The method used in presenting the topics – including some that were theologically quite dense – was dynamic and experiential and even included personal examples from their own lives, which helped the young men to come to terms with where they stood personally with Jesus’s message One of the seminarians writes: “I was very struck by one of the main points of the spirituality of Chiara Lubich, which was presented in the talk on ‘Jesus Forsaken, God’s window on the world and the world’s window on God’. I realized that his gaze of love opens the way for humankind toward God, but also opens God’s path toward humankind in a way that is ever new.” Another writes: “I understood that the Jesus who became a man out of love and expressed the culmination of that love in the abandonment on the cross, is not only a beautiful theological concept, but should become life in me, in love and service for whoever is near to me.” Their interaction with the citizens of Loppiano enhanced their understanding of how to build unity among themselves in spite of the many differences. Some impressions from at the concluding session: “In these days I discovered that even in our interpersonal relationships the key is being able to make myself nothing in front of the other person, as Jesus Forsaken did, burning the difficulties involved in the life of unity in Him.” “What struck me the most was the joy with which the inhabitants of the Mariapolis [Loppiano] face weariness and service, and transmit God to everyone else.” Compiled by the Gens Centre  

Chiara Lubich: The family, mystery of love

Jan 14, 2017 | Non categorizzato

[…] When God created humankind, he formed a family. When the Word of God came on earth, he chose to be born in a family. Jesus began his public life during the celebration of a new family. God had the family so much at heart; he considered it to be of such importance that he impressed on it his own image. In fact, the family reflects God’s very own life, the life of the Holy Trinity. […] So what was God’s plan for the family? God who is love, thought of the family as an intertwining of relationships of love: nuptial love between the couple, maternal and paternal love towards the children, filial love toward the parents, the love of grandparents for their grandchildren, of the grandchildren for their grandparents, for their uncles and aunts and vice versa. The family is therefore a treasure chest, a jewel, a mystery of love. This is how God thought of and created the family. Moreover, his Son, in redeeming the world, turned this natural love, which permeates the members of a family, into something sublime through the divine love he brought on earth, through the fire he wants to set alight everywhere. Through him, the family has become not only the primary cell of humanity created by God, but also the basic cell of the Church founded by his Son. Because of the supernatural love that the members of the family have for one another ‑ through baptism and the other sacraments, particularly the sacrament of matrimony ‑ they are called individually and collectively to the sublime heights of making the family a small church, an “ecclesiola”. […] Jesus wants the husband to see and love in his wife, not only the person with whom he shares his life, but to see and love Christ himself in her. In fact, Jesus considers done to him the way the husband treats his wife and vice versa. Furthermore, Jesus in the husband or wife must be loved in the measure that Jesus requires, as he expressed with the words, “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). They must love one another to the point of being ready to give their lives for one another. If parents keep this in mind throughout the day, whether they are praying, working or sharing a meal, whether they are resting or studying, laughing or playing with their children… every moment will be an opportunity for bearing witness to God. Morer: The Family and Prayer From Chiara Lubich’s talk to the international congress “Family and Society: The Family Centred on God is Open to all Humanity”, Castel Gandolfo, 8 April 1989.  

A path towards reconciliation in Myanmar

Jan 12, 2017 | Non categorizzato

https://vimeo.com/192602876 Copyright 2016 © CSC Audiovisivi – All rights reserved

My “Sophian” vocation

Jan 10, 2017 | Non categorizzato

Piotr, what made you choose to enroll in Sophia? Many factors are involved. During high school I had the fortune to meet a philosopher from Turin by the name of Costanzo Preve, who introduced me to philosophical studies, an interest that arose from the attraction I felt for politics. His Hegelian-Marxist philosophical approach opened my eyes to social totality which likewise made the choice of my university studies very challenging; I could not make up my mind between economics, politics and philosophy. Towards the end of high school, a professor spoke to me about Sophia, even though it offered only Master’s courses. Finally, in order to have a diploma that would give me more job possibilities, I chose the three-year degree in economics in Genoa. But this choice was not really satisfactory… My dissatisfaction with the “mainstream” syllabus plans of many courses made me join the  international network called “Rethinking Economics” to promote economic, methodological and interdisciplinary pluralism in the university methods of teaching economics, and the founding of a  local seat for the network. Concurrently, and in an independent way, I continued my musical and philosophical studies. Besides, I had become a journalist and am part of the editorial staff of the paper “Termometro Politico” (Political Thermometre) and for some months now, direct the ecclesial debate magazine  Grandsons of Maritain. In short, along the years I had read some essays of the Rector Piero Coda and had asked him if I could visit Sophia. I came twice, before enrolling. And every time my “Sophian” vocation became increasingly evident. What  course have you decided to undertake and how have the first months in Sophia been? I chosen Trinitarian ontology, also because it gives me the chance to benefit from the agreement with Perugia University for the dual diploma, so as to achieve, besides that of the Vatican, also an Italian Master’s  in philosophy specializing in didactics, which will, in the future give me the chance to teach in high schools.  In these first months almost all of us have attended the same courses in philosophy, theology, politics and economics, which will enable us to start our studies  on a common basis.  This interdisciplinarity in my case, was not at all a surprise, but a conscious choice. From the academic viewpoint,  Sophia’s level is very high and has given me the chance to deepen the course themes I am personally interested in. At the end of August I started to live in the residence, exactly two floors above the university facilities, together with 9 boys of all continents – from Argentina to China,  from Germany to Tanzania, and across countries like the Lebanon. It is an excellent coexistence, well organized even in the housework: I immediately felt that we are brothers, in our little daily concerns. How about your projects? I can’t say much about this, since at this moment, new paths are opening out before me; the medium-term objective is to obtain my degree, but for my thesis I am considering various themes, and as oftentimes occurs, probably none of these will be the definitive one.  Later, I may consider  a Doctorate, but time will tell. I would like however to carry on with my journalistic activities, and, from the employment point of view, I would not really mind teaching, or find a job in the publishing sector. I don’t really want to set any limits to the Spirit who could inspire me to take other paths.   Source: IUS online  

Belgium: A daring business plan – “Give in order to grow”

Jan 9, 2017 | Non categorizzato

https://vimeo.com/192601012 Copyright 2016 © CSC Audiovisivi – All rights reserved

Chiara Lubich, Epiphany 2017

Jan 6, 2017 | Non categorizzato

“Lord, this Christmas we entrust to You all the ones who seem far from You, the many who were once close to you but no longer are because of all the evils in the world that have taken them away from You. They don’t know You, but search for You with pure and sincere hearts. They don’t know that one day, one sweet day, You appeared on this earth as a baby. This Christmas, Lord, we entrust to You especially the ones without faith. We entrust them to You so that a ray of your Light might make its way to them, that because of their sincerity and good will the star that leads to You might shine at least for a moment so that they too will know the joy of those who acknowledge and love You. We entrust to You those who seem far from You, Lord, because we know that it was especially for these that You became a child.” Chiara Lubich, E torna Natale …, (Rome: Città Nuova, 2007), p. 59-60.

Rome. Teaching in the outskirts

Jan 5, 2017 | Non categorizzato

“A long stint as a primary school teacher – book curator, Patrizia Bertoncello, starts –  soon led me to perceive those typical signs of distress which are more present in the peripheries than elsewhere. Often the children themselves talked about it.  “Once upon a time there was a flower –  Cristina, seven years old, wrote in class – her daddy-flower had left them and also mother-flower was not with him since she had so much to do and was very worried. She didn’t have time to listen to him. The flower was a rose with a thousand thorns. There were so many and pricked so much. The flower wanted to befriend the insects of the woods and the other flowers. But when they came close they got pricked so hard and ran away quickly, since she stung so much. And nothing could be  done about it. In the end the rose was always alone and very sad.”(1) This is the lucid explanation she herself gave for those repeated pranks in class which isolated her from everyone. Like her, but with different problems, were the numerous children in distress, even in a world like ours that seems to be livable and protective, but not without contradictions and ambivalences weighing on the weaker sections of humanity. At times those institutions which in words advocate the rights of children, in fact, do little about it. Especially those children who cannot count on effective parents or long-lasting family relations are thus left in a sort of shadow zone, affective instability and often lacerating poverty. The lack of protection and real growth opportunities are conditions that certainly are not worthy of a society like ours. This is why I often asked myself how I could give a voice to these “invisible children,” and contribute to the building of a culture of protection and total respect for infancy. I started by trying to welcome some of my students with love, and slowly I saw that their tears dried up. I realised that to really “encounter” the world of the little ones, we have to approach each child with attention, and learn to see things through their eyes, making use of all our energies and skills to create important relationships.  With other operators and professionals driven by the same educative style, I then tried to start up procedures in which the children and their families experience really educational relationships. From this cooperation the idea of a book came up, to narrate not only the stories of the “invisible children,” but also about good practices and redemptive pathways. “Children in Trouble,” said an oncologist, a social worker, a paediatrician and me, who curated the book, wants to bring out those seeds of hope and positive relations that become in some way, generators of resilience. Through that resource, many children when suitably aided are able to concretise and reach good recovery levels. The same happened to Emma. When she was eight years of age, overwhelmed by the split up of the family she had tried to commit suicide. Recently, after contacting me on Facebook, she wrote: “Dear teacher, how I miss you and the many moments we spent together! Do you remember when you read stories to us, taking on the voice of the characters? And the school trip to the sea? These will certainly never be erased from my heart and the love you showed me when all was dark around me. When I was in the hospital after the tragic event, you were there and didn’t ask me why I had done it. You were there, and that’s all. Then I returned to school with those wounds and you made everyone make those bracelets with coloured threads… but I knew that it was to help me hide those scars I didn’t want others to see…”(2) At the presentation of the book in universities and seminars, it was really surprising to see the attention and seriousness of the audience who started to take notice of that child next door, or the one who is begging in the subway or in a hospital ward. They were children who were invisible and now can return to being protagonists of their own future. By Anna Friso 1) – 2) – Patrizia Bertoncello – Bambini nei guai (Children in trouble) – Città Nuova Ed. 2015, p. 11 and p. 66

Peace: banning violence from our hearts

Jan 2, 2017 | Non categorizzato

«I woke up this morning, 1 January, ready to live this day and year which was just dawning – wrote a friend from Istanbul – and the first news that hit me was that of the attack in the Reina Club Disco in the night. The immediate sense of pain and bewilderment: It can’t be true!!! After a few hours I read the word of life of the month: “If we have really experienced His love, we cannot but love in turn, and step in with courage, wherever there is division, conflict, hatred, so as to bring harmony, peace and unity. Love enables us to launch our hearts beyond the obstacle….” This is precisely said for me, for us, who want to continue believing and live for universal peace and brotherhood. The wishes we exchanged during the day with many friends are pervaded with a mixture of discouragement and hope. No! We will not allow ourselves to be overcome by those who want to make us think that peace is a utopia. And from all over the world, many people make us feel that we are not alone». And it is really true: they are not alone. Though bewildered for the enactment of so much unjust violence, we are in fact, not alone in facing the challenge to work each day for the advent of peace. We want to respond to the appeal of Pope Francis, expressed in his message for the World Peace Day we have just celebrated: «In2017, let us undertake the commitment, with prayer and action, to become people who have banned violence from their hearts, words and gestures, and build non-violent communities that take care of our common home».

The Flame

Jan 2, 2017 | Non categorizzato

https://vimeo.com/196291342 (Copyright 2016 © CSC Audiovisivi – All rights reserved)

World Day of Prayer for Peace

Jan 1, 2017 | Non categorizzato

While the last century knew the devastation of two deadly World Wars, the threat of nuclear war and a great number of other conflicts, today, sadly, we find ourselves engaged in a horrifying world war fought piecemeal. […] wars in different countries and continents; terrorism, organized crime and unforeseen acts of violence; the abuses suffered by migrants and victims of human trafficking; and the devastation of the environment. […]Violence is not the cure for our broken world. Countering violence with violence leads at best to forced migrations and enormous suffering, because vast amounts of resources are diverted to military ends and away from the everyday needs of young people, families experiencing hardship, the elderly, the infirm and the great majority of people in our world. At worst, it can lead to the death, physical and spiritual, of many people, if not of all. To be true followers of Jesus today also includes embracing his teaching about nonviolence. […] When Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, she clearly stated her own message of active nonviolence: ‘We in our family don’t need bombs and guns, to destroy to bring peace – just get together, love one another… And we will be able to overcome all the evil that is in the world.’ […] She bowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their God-given dignity; she made her voice heard before the powers of this world, so that they might recognize their guilt for the crimes – the crimes! – of poverty they created. […]The decisive and consistent practice of nonviolence has produced impressive results. The achievements of Mahatma Gandhi and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan in the liberation of India, and of Dr Martin Luther King Jr in combating racial discrimination will never be forgotten. Women in particular are often leaders of nonviolence, as for example, was Leymah Gbowee and the thousands of Liberian women, who organized pray-ins and nonviolent protest that resulted in high-level peace talks to end the second civil war in Liberia. Such efforts on behalf of the victims of injustice and violence are not the legacy of the Catholic Church alone, but are typical of many religious traditions, for which “compassion and nonviolence are essential elements pointing to the way of life.  I emphatically reaffirm that “no religion is terrorist. Violence profanes the name of God. Let us never tire of repeating: The name of God cannot be used to justify violence. Peace alone is holy. Peace alone is holy, not war! If violence has its source in the human heart, then it is fundamental that nonviolence be practised before all else within families. This is part of that joy of love which I described last March in my Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, in the wake of two years of reflection by the Church on marriage and the family. The family is the indispensable crucible in which spouses, parents and children, brothers and sisters, learn to communicate and to show generous concern for one another, and in which frictions and even conflicts have to be resolved not by force but by dialogue, respect, concern for the good of the other, mercy and forgiveness. I plead for disarmament and for the prohibition and abolition of nuclear weapons: nuclear deterrence and the threat of mutual assured destruction are incapable of grounding such an ethics. I plead with equal urgency for an end to domestic violence and to the abuse of women and children. In 2017, may we dedicate ourselves prayerfully and actively to banishing violence from our hearts, words and deeds, and to becoming nonviolent people and to building nonviolent communities that care for our common home. Nothing is impossible if we turn to God in prayer. Everyone can be an artisan of peace”   Read the whole message.  

Mary Queen of Peace

Dec 31, 2016 | Non categorizzato

(…) History is all about wars and when we were children at school we almost learned that wars are good and holy, almost as if this is what protects our own land. (…) But if we hear the appeals of the Popes echoing in our hearts (…) we would hear their dread of war in the world and how their words, whether called for or not, appealed to leaders to try to appease anger and self-interest and to avert the terrible tragedy of war, through which everything is lost, while everything is gained by peace. This is because history is a succession of fratricidal conflicts between peoples who are brothers and sisters and who have been given a piece of land to cultivate and live on by the one Lord of the world. He blesses peace because he embodied peace. We see how one by one the Lord is conquering the hearts of his children of all nations, of all languages, transforming them into children of Love, Joy, Peace, Courage, and Strength. So we hope that the Lord will have mercy on this divided and wild world, on these peoples locked up in their own shell contemplating their own beauty – which is special for them – yet limited and inadequate, clinging on with clenched teeth to their own treasures, even those goods that could help other peoples where many are dying of hunger, and that he will break down the barriers and let charity flow continuously between one land and another, in a torrential flow of spiritual and material goods. We hope that the Lord will establish a new order in the world. He alone can make humanity a family and cultivate what is distinctive among peoples, so that the splendor of each people, placed at the service of the others, may shine out with the one light of life that beautifies the earthly homeland and makes it the waiting room of the eternal Homeland. Perhaps what I am saying sounds like a dream. Nonetheless – apart from the fact that if mutual love is the relationship among Christians, then the relationship among Christian nations cannot be other than mutual love because of the unchanging logic of the Gospel – there is a bond that already unites people strongly, proclaimed by the voice of the people and of all peoples, the people’s voice which so often is God’s voice. This hidden and protected bond in the heart of every nation is Mary.   Who could take from the Brazilians the thought that Mary is the Queen of their land? And who would deny to the Portuguese that Mary is “Our Lady of Fatima”? Who would not allow the French the “beautiful little Lady of Lourdes”? Or the Poles Our Lady of Czestochowa? Or not let the English see their land as the “dowry of Mary”? And who could deny that Mary is the “Castellana of Italy”   (…) All Christian nations have already proclaimed her their Queen, theirs and their children’s. But one thing is missing, and Mary cannot do it, so we have to help her. We need to collaborate so that Catholic peoples, united like many brothers and sisters, might go to her and together recognize her as Mother and Queen. We can enthrone her if, through our conversion, our prayers, and actions, we remove the veil that still covers her crown, (…) and lay down the piece of the world that is in our hands … at the feet of the greatest Queen that Heaven and earth can know. She is Queen of peoples, Queen of Saints, Queen of Angels, because when she was on earth she was able to sacrifice herself completely, the Handmaid of the Lord, and teach her children the way of unity, of embracing all peoples, so that earth might become as it is in Heaven.   From Essential Writings p 222-233  

Christians and Hindus Dialogue About Peace

Dec 30, 2016 | Non categorizzato

“So is craving, so is anger, they arise from the Rajas, the passion of the senses that devours everything” (Bhagavad Gita, 3:37)[1]. These words were chosen by Paramahamsa Svami Yogananda Ghiri, honorary president of the Italian Hindu Union (UII), in his welcome speech at the first Christian-Hindu Conference that crowded the main hall of the Pontifical Gregorian University on December 6, 20016. The conference was opened by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. He was the promoter of the event in collaboration with the UII, the Italian Bishops Conference, Religions for Peace and the Focolare Movement. The cardinal expressed his joy for this moment of dialogue that was so promising and hopeful: “With our interior light that consumes and illumines, we will be able to direct our every step along the path of Peace.” Christians and Hindus were equally represented by 300 people who were animated by a desire for communion and understanding. Like emblems, a Lamp and Crucifix adorned the hall, both symbols of light. Light and Peace was the title of the day spent in dialogue and in the search of Peace. The words of Bishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary for [Vatican] Relations with States, were quite meaningful. After recalling the many conflicts around the world, he appealed to the international community to “overcome the logic of individualism, competition and the desire to be first” and asked that as soon as possible an “ethic of solidarity” be promoted. The presentation by Dr Naso from Sapienza University of Rome was also very significant. After presenting the data on the conflicts that had begun for religious reasons, he recalled that in many cases it was precisely the faith communities that became mediators in the peace process: in Norther Ireland, South Africa and Mozambique…. This makes one hope that “religions can really play a constructive role in conflict situations.”   The report by Hindu psychologist Sangita Dubey on cultural differences and on the effects of migration on the psyche due to the different diet, language and mentality was lively and supported with personal experiences. “The challenge of dialogue,” stressed Svamini Hamsananda Ghiri (UII) in his presentation of the Hindu perspective, “is fear, indifference, fundamentalism and suspiscion of the other;” to pursue the common good it is necessary to “see the other as a brother and sister because they are generated by a Father God.”  Paul Trianni, the University of St. Anselm, who was asked to give a Christian perspective, he concludes: “When two ancient civilizations encounter one another, two such profound spiritualities, they cannot but recognize the great wealth.” Two experiences of dialogue helped gave substance to the words that had been said: Fr Cesare Bovinelli, Camaldolese monk, recalled the great harmony that existed when it came to themes of environment at Assisi. A young person from the Focolare, Aileen Carneiro of India, described the many activities that were carried out between Hindu and Christian youth. Particularly striking was the synergy with the Ghandian Shanti Ashram group of Coimbatore, who started a project for solving poverty, following the approach of the Economy of Communion. Aileen explained that the dialogue of life must be held up, putting into practice the Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” La Conferenza  si è conclusa con uno spazio culturale di poesie, canti e danze sacre indù, in cui l’arte è diventata ulteriore motivo di comunione, degna cornice alla lettura delThe conference ended with presentation of poetry, Hindu sacred dance and song, in which art became a catalyst of communion, a worthy context for the reading of the  Joint Statement. Anna Friso   [1] (Our translation from Italian)

Italy: The many faces that make up one story

Dec 29, 2016 | Non categorizzato

Echoes of the Jubilee in Fontem

Dec 27, 2016 | Non categorizzato

Memories, gratitude and commitment were the keypoints of the celebrations in Fontem, Cameroon, for the 50th anniversary of the arrival of several focolarini in the Cameroon forest to begin a work in close harmony with the local Bangwa people. In the opening remarks of civil and traditional authorities, and Focolare co-president Jesús Morán, the importance of those beginnings was remembered as well as the notable development that followed. The method used by the focolarini was also emphasized: dialogue with the local population and its traditional religion. This approach, which is typical of the Focolare, gave rise here and throughout the world to many positive experiences of interreligious dialogue, as Rita Mussallem from the Focolare’s Centre for Dialogue remembered in her address. The keynote address was given by Bishop Nkea Andrew, Bishop of the Mamfe Diocese who, through his own personal experience as a Bangwa, confirmed the precious value of this dialogue and its total conformity to the Gospel. One young Austrian priest who attended the events, commented: “The harmony between the values of African culture and Christian values is quite striking.” On the second day, which was dedicated to testimonies, one of the first nurses and first doctors emphasized how the close collaboration with the local people was a light for providing care to the sick that took into account the needs of both body and spirit. New and lasting friendships were born that brought healing. There were touching testimonies of accompanying people in the final moments of life. This was followed by the testimonies of several ex-students of the College: a police comissioner, a young priest and a nurse. They all said that along with the excellent scientific knowledge, they were also provided the possiblity of discovering those human and spiritual values that now make them happy human beings and appreciated by the Church and society. There was a presentation of the Economy of Communion in Cameroon, a project that will soon be launching an international conference on the continent. The third day was dedicated to giving thanks. Several presentations remembered all those, among the first, who gave their lives for Fontem like Piero Pasolini, Dr Lucio da Soglio, and so on…. Since they considered the others to be their equals, their work was marked by reciprocity and not assistenzialism. This was followed by traditional dances from five Fondoms (territories) that comprise Lebialem Division. More than 2,500 people were then served lunch thanks to the love of many “mamme” who had worked tirelessly, day and night, in the days leading up to the event. In the evening, there was a very moving musical presented by the children and students, which recounted the story of Fontem.   On the fourth day, the presence of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College in Fontem was celebrated. The bishop of Mamfe exhorted the many ex-students who had come from many countries of the world, to be aware of the gifts they had received and have made them ambassadors of unity wherever they may go. Charles Tasong, who was among the first Bangwa to know the Focolare commented: “During the Cry Die (commemorating Lucio Soglio, Lino D’armi and Doris Ronacher, who died recently after spending all their energy on Fontem), I realized that there is no longer the Focolare and the Bangwa; no longer the whites on one side, the blacks on the other – but one family. I want to embrace the challenge of bringing forward in my own life the powerful reality of unity that we experienced here in Fontem.”   Biagio Sparapano

GEN musical bands celebrate their 50th anniversary

Dec 26, 2016 | Non categorizzato

https://vimeo.com/195193687 It all started with a group of young girls and a green drum kit … The spark that gave life to Gen Verde was something unusual not so much because of the green drum kit but the wish that came with it… “to make a lot of noise”. That’s right. Blast it out, making the ideal of unity heard by all through music and performances, that is the soul of our whole life. That spark sped off, reaching all corners of the world and touching countless lives. Unity is best expressed when we sing it together. That’s what they wanted to say through this song. It tells it like it is. That message is just as relevant today as it was 50 years ago when it all began: each one of us is a spark. So let’s stand up, wherever we are, and turn up the volume of unity. Gen Verde – International Performing Arts Group Gen Rosso International Performing Arts Group

Christmas means God loves us

Dec 24, 2016 | Non categorizzato

Christmas, Christmas, how often have we celebrated you with pure joy and unmatched ardour! But  you find our hearts so frozen by the coldness of this world, that you cannot touch them as you would with your mysterious extraordinary message: GOD LOVES US, one by one and all together. This Love wrapped us round so completely that the Blessed Trinity resolved to send among us the Son of God made man, so our brief sojourn on this earth could be illuminated from now on by the Light that does not fade, and the absurdity of death in this life be transformed into a simple passing into life more full and eternal! We hope this year at least, that You, Christmas, may say to our hearts all you wish to say and find us ready, here and now to hear your voice.

A Christmas With Solidarity

Dec 23, 2016 | Non categorizzato

Christmas reminds us, along with the Scripture passage that we’ve chosen to live this month, that “He comes to save us” (Is 35:4). Save us from what? Among other things, our indifference towards those who suffer. My wish for you this Christmas is that we may all go beyond ourselves and welcome the other, all the others: those in need, those who have left their own lands because of hunger and war, those who are lonely, marginalized, imprisoned….. My wish for all of us is that after having experienced God’s love that saves us, we will reach out to save those around us. Happy Christmas everybody! Maria Voce

The simplicity of Aletta

Dec 21, 2016 | Non categorizzato

Born in Martignano (Trent) on 27 November 1924, Vittoria Salizzoni, who moved temporarily to France with her family, felt God’s call at the age of 13: an intuition which she tried momentarily to put aside. At the age of 21 she met Chiara Lubich and was attracted by the novelty of the life she lived. Her doubts dissolved immediately: the path through which she could respond to that “calling” she had felt ever since childhood, was the focolare. Aletta (“little wing,” the name that Chiara gave her to remind her of the winged flight she had to take without looking back) stood by Chiara for 20 years in the discovery and implementation of the features of the Charism the Holy Spirit was slowly revealing to them. Among these, besides the specific spirituality of unity which is its particular characterstic, were the main concrete aspects of Christian life. What specifically suited the figure of Aletta, was the concern for health and protection of the environment. Chiara herself had explained this aspect to her as: «the entire humanity of Jesus; the life of Jesus in each person. Jesus was born of a woman like us, suffered the cold and hunger, cried, and experienced human affection. He fed the hungry, multiplied the bread and fishes, and healed many sick people. But above all he was full of love for mankind, and his suffering… Suffering, death and the resurrection are also expressions of this aspect.» In the 1960s and 1970s Chiara asked her to open the focolare house in Istanbul, where Aletta would have many and profound contacts with Patriarch Athenagoras I. So on many occasions, she had the chance to accompany Chiara in her visits to the Patriarch.  During her stay in those lands, Aletta discovered the beauty of the Orthodox Church and the Churches of the Orient, in which she saw the importance of translating truth in life, exalting love. The contacts she established were the precursor of a fertile dialogue that has continued up to today, with the current Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I. After the death of Athenagoras, Aletta moved to Lebanon. Those were years of civil war, which with the continuous air raids, repeated the lesson of the movement’s early years in Trent: “everything collapses, only God remains!” She shared with the local people the insecurity and risks of those long years of war, supporting, consoling, and imbuing hope. Difficulties and dangers did not hinder the spread of the charism of unity, not only in Lebanon but across the Middle East, which Aletta visited periodically. In 1990 she returned to Rome for good. «During those first years in Piazza Cappuccini – recounts Palmira, who is also from that first group of focolarine women of Trent – I would go with Aletta to the valleys to meet the first communities that were sprouting. She was like an angel, and it explains clearly why Chiara immediately called her so. And she was like the batter of an angel’s wing, for Chiara and for all of us throughout these 70 years of her life in the focolare. She didn’t talk much, but what she said put us all in the essential facts of life. What characterized her most was simplicity, an inborn serenity and enviable psycho-physical balance.» Ten days before her death, Aletta recorded a video message to the youths of the Movement, the gen, gathered for their congress: «I want to greet all the gen of the world on their 50^th anniversary. May they all make progress; they are young, still strong, and can do all they wish!» Upon announcing the death of Aletta to the Movement worldwide, Maria Voce, the Focolare President wrote: «With joy and immense gratitude we are accompanying Aletta to the house of the Father. We could not have had a better model than her, who gave her life without measure.» By Anna Friso

Guatemala: the Mariapolis of the Kaqchikel

Dec 20, 2016 | Non categorizzato

«We visited the families with the Word of Life leaflet and while talking about one thing and the other, a meeting ensued.» These were the words of Carmen, who with her husband, Mynor and their nearest of kin, initiated the holding of the Mariapolis close to their city, Chimaltenango, 54 km from Guatemala City. Based on commerce and agriculture, the city’s economy is integrated with the modern rhythms of production and consumption, but still jealously guards their ancient culture and traditions. Carmen and Mynor are the heart of the Focolare community and their big house is the local base of the Movement. With a twinge of pride they told us about the meetings they hold there. Information about the Movement was barely disseminated,  so the first thing they did was to inform the parish priest, who Mynor, Carmen, and her sister, Marta went to visit.  But priests in these areas are very busy, and since Mynor could not wait for long, he went to his work in Court.  «The priest could not understand what novelties the Movement could bring – Carmen continued – until my sister Marta told him about the experiences of her children who are gen3». The first had allocated the money she received on her 15th birthday to the poor children of an isolated village; the other had forgiven a school mate who had tripped him and caused him to consequently break an arm. At that point the parish priest understood the effects of living the Focolare spirituality. Once they received the support of the local church, they had to cover the expenses. «When people are invited to a retreat – Mynor said – they know they will be hosted as guests». Because of this the preparation for the Mariapolis also consisted in fundraising activities, one of which was holding Bingo sessions in the parish hall, and gathering gifts for the occasion. Kelly, the second of Carmen and Mynor’s four children, is studying law to follow in her father’s footsteps. «There are only a few of us in the faculty – she affirmed – but we help each other. Only two of us are gen but we always try to have Jesus in our midst and with everyone». Kelly admires the coherent life of her parents: «When they invited people to the Mariapolis, they spoke about experiences I know, and which were all true. In our home, the Word of Life is the reference for every situation. And so, when there is a problem we read it in order to put it into practice.» Respect for the elderly is one of the riches of the Kaqchikel. In their presence, a gesture of reverence is shown before speaking. Motherhood and the gift of children are considered a benediction of God and are foremost in value compared to all considerations. «For me, the Movement – again Carmen says – is a grace of God that welcomes us, adults and children, and likewise the various cultures and languages. Here, they appreciate us, with our traditions and mentality.» In the culture of the Maya there is a strong bond with nature. «We invoke it, giving thanks to the heart of the heavens and the heart of the earth, and like St. Francis, we say: all are my brothers. Also Chiara Lubich had this vision. The Holy Spirit inspired her in this sense, which is why the Focolare Movement welcomes us as we are.» Mynor concludes: «The Maya philosophy stresses harmony, balance of the material and spiritual aspects, and solidarity which is equal to fraternity, to nurture conditions of cooperation.» Beyond all the contradictions that reign in every culture, the Kaqchikel conserve many human values which, enlightened and purified by the Gospel, enrich all those who receive it. Filippo Casabianca, Guatemala City

Happy birthday, Pope Francis!

Dec 17, 2016 | Non categorizzato

Use the social network to send your birthday greetings to Pope Francis:

Twitter: @pontifex Instagram: franciscus Ha*htag #Pontifex80

New Humanity and Law: Congress for law operators

Dec 15, 2016 | Non categorizzato

The objective of the convention was to «Review the various professions involved in the sector of justice – magistrates, lawyers, chancellors, university professors, prison staff, law enforcers – and discover the path to be pursued together, with the active participation of all the “actors” of the multifaceted relationships involved». The international congress promoted by Communion and Law (CeD) and New Humanity, was held last 26 and 27 November in Castel Gandolfo (Rome). The presence of a film director in a meeting on justice may have seemed to be quite unusual, but in his moving testimonial, Fernando Muraca succeeded in describing the experience of a prison staff in the Penal Institute for Minors of Catanzaro (Southern Italy). This was a documentary filmed entirely by the youths of the Institute, and the fruit of a commitment translated into a “cinema project” that transformed the young inmates not only into actors, but into people who have given a new meaning to their existence. Muraca is also the author and director of the film The land of Saints in which he faces the reality of the mafia’s organized crime. During the two days of intense dialogue among the various operators working in the field of justice, the discourse oftentimes stressed the concept of human dignity, and the intrinsic and inestimable value of every human being, in the conviction that also legal relationships can be lived in the spirit of fraternity and the quest for true justice. The rich and varied programme also deepened particularly current themes such as the protection of unaccompanied minors and political asylum applicants, relationship with jailees and protection of the victims. Dr. David Shaeed (magistrate in Indianapolis), Atty. Alba Doto (Boston), Atty. Endy Moraes (Fordham University, New York), and Dr. Luciane Barzotto Cardoso (magistrate of the Federal Court of Porto Alegre, Brazil), reviewed the current laws in various parts of the world, and elaborated  the methods of  pursuing the research and study paths initiated for some years now, also enriched by concrete implementations. Among the speeches was the video presentation of Maria Voce, Focolare President, the first woman lawyer of the Court of Cosenza (Italy), entitled Justice and the common good in the perspective of universal brotherhood. In a passage of her speech, Maria Voce explained: «Today, in the light of this “piecemeal World War III,” the tragic destructions, wiping out of every right and respect for peoples living in war territories, and  closure of the borders to migrants, fraternity is the only answer, and the commitment we are called to give is to build it even with small actions, infinitesimal drops that may, however, enlighten the night.». The working sessions according to professional sectors evidenced the need to facilitate a confrontation within the various professions without losing sight of the entirety, to develop a dialogue among the operators and share know-how and experiences of the various activities developed in the field of Law.  A significant note was the presence of the youth and the deep involvement of students. One of the most heartfelt testimonies was that of Roberto (former convict), and Alfonso, who has been working for some years in the Rebibbia Jail (Rome) to give a concrete hand to the families of the prisoners. Roberto did not hide his emotions in presenting his experience before such a qualified public, and ended by requesting the civil community to facilitate and promote the difficult employment and social reinsertion of ex-convicts. The next event will be for the youth in the Summer School 2017. Patrizia Mazzola

Bishop Javier Echevarría has passed away

Dec 13, 2016 | Non categorizzato

Upon receiving the news of the death of Bishop Javier Echevarría, prelate of the Opus Dei, yesterday 12 December, the Focolare Movement conveys its heartfelt condolences. Most grateful for his life spent at the service of the Church, Bishop Echevarría, the second successor of St. Josemaría Escribá de Balaguer, founder of the Opus Dei, the Focolare Movement is particularly united in prayer and friendship with the Opus Dei family worldwide.

Patriarch Bartholomew is given warm welcome in Bari, Italy.

Dec 13, 2016 | Non categorizzato

“Your Holiness, the Focolare community of Bari salutes you with great affection! We are so gladdened by your visit to our city, which is a bridge between East and West and has a special ecumenical calling. Your presence encourages us to work even more at the service of the full and visible unity among Christians, and for the protection of Creation. The charism of unity that you love so much, spurs us on to work in our own environments as apostles of dialogue who are aware that only unity, love and brotherhood will be able to respond to the challenges of today’s world.” This was the welcoming message from the local Focolare community in Bari as it welcomed the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on his  December 5-6 visit to their city for the feast day of St. Nicholas. It is a “highly significant ecumenical event,” said representatives of the diocese, “that puts the Church of Bari-Bitonto on the map and contributes to dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.” On December 5th, at the Basilica of St Nicholas the Patriarch gave the opening address for the beginning of the 2016-2017 academic school year of the Pugliese School of Theology, and received the Saint Nicholas Prize from the Ecumenical Institute. He had been awarded the Prize in recognition of his 25 years of ecumenical efforts as a “patient and courageous artisan of the culture of communion.” Pope Francis sent a congratulatory message that was read during the award ceremony in which he praised the efforts of the Patriarch for “the promotion of ever greater communion among those who believe in Christ.” In his keynote address entitled, Adriatic and Ionian Seas of Communion, Bartholomew reflected on the idea of communion, beginning from its theological significance as koinonia, as a “common participation of grace, love and communion in the life of God, that becomes experience itself of ‘being in relationship’.” He also remembered the Great Council of Crete held in June 2016 when “Our Holy Orthodox Church manifested its “communion” [emphasising the word] by unanimous decision of all the Patriarchs of the auto-cephalous Orthodox Churches.” He also underscored the need for an economy of solidarity, saying that “there needs to be an economy of communion which is all embracing and which does not create social discontent in the host country.”    On December 6th, at the conclusion of the solemn Eucharistic celebration, presided by Archbishop Franco Cacucci in the same Basilica, Patriarch Bartholomew gave a second talk: “We have also come as pilgrims to the tomb of this great saint,” he said, “to invoke his intercession, his prayer and his support in our Patriarchal service, to thank God with him, for our 25 years of service to the unity of the Church, on St Andrew’s Throne; but also to be strong witnesses to the need of encounter among the disciples of Christ so that the world may believe, and we may one day not so far away, break the Bread of Life together and drink from the same Chalice of Salvation.” Fausta Giardina and Roberto Lago, from the Focolare in Puglia, write: “We’re breathing in a beautiful ecumenical atmosphere in our city during these days. The Patriarch’s visit and the special celebrations have been heartfelt by everyone.” The Focolare’s friendship with the Patriarch is longstanding. On October 26, 2016, Sophia University Institute, Loppiano, conferred its first Honorary Doctorate in the Culture of Unity to Patriarch Bartholomew. On that occasion he said: “One of the ideals of the Focolare Movement is the unity of the Church. Chiara Lubich and her collaborators did much work. She made 23 visits to [Patriarch] Athenagoras in Constantinople. Then she began to visit Dimitrios and then me. In 2008, I visited Chiara at the Gimelli Hospital a few days before her death. I’m sure that she’s with us this evening, with her spiritual presence and with her prayer. She rejoices with us and prays for the unity between our Churches.”

Gustavo Clariá

A Refugee, Rejected and Ignored

Dec 11, 2016 | Non categorizzato

For the ancients Christ was a king. But the real Christ was outside normal schemes. He was born in a stable among shephereds and beasts, and his mother was the daughter of peasants.   Whereas other sovereigns loomed from above, stepping down from carriages and thrones to rule, he came from below, from the lowest class, to serve. He was under everyone so that he could be the universal servant: His kingliness consisted of service. Everything is simple and enchanting as a fairy tale in this birth of a boy child in the middle of a windy night, in the middle of the nights of time. And everything is tragic and revolutionary, because this birth foreshadows a scaffold. This son of the king, son of God, comes forth from humble beings in a makeshift shelter, like some refugee pushed away by farthing folk and unnoticed by the wretched: this is by no means a new revolution.    When the Saviour appeared, a great light lit up the night.The night remains, but so does the light. It’s always Christmas in the Christian world, and Christmas brings joy amidst tears still today. When God descends among us, we re-ascend to God; He humanizes and we are divinized. The meeting point is His heart. Jesus was born in a stall to demonstrate that he could also be born in our heart that is sometimes a rather squallid place. And whenever he’s born in our heart the angels rise to sing as they did over the stable that night while the moon shone in the night and peace rained down on the earth. In a similar way, the Word – Reason – incarnates among us today and can transform a stall into a Heavenly anti-chamber. Igino Giordani  Le Feste  S.E.I. (1954)  p. 36.  

The EoC in the former Inca empire

Dec 9, 2016 | Non categorizzato

Lying at the outskirts of Lima is a district that takes its name from the pre-Inca Sanctuary built in Pachacamac (in the quecha language meaning ”god who created the earth”). «We got here with the objective of starting up a business run according to the practices of the Economy of Communion (EoC), the profits of which are able to support a rehab center for children saved from the streets and with drug addiction problems, » recounted Germán Jorge of the EoC Argentina. The Mundo Libre Institute is the only one of its kind existing in Perù today. It has been awarded international recognition for the professionalism with which it has performed its activities, but despite the possibility to host 100 children, today it supports only 40 due to lack of resources. Its foundress, Marilú Gonzalez Posada, has lived for 32 years with this objective. Her great concern regards the Institute’s sustainability, a problem common to all the social organizations that are unable to survive only on the generosity of people and international cooperation. One of the laboratories of Mundo Libre produces typical Peruvian sweets: the “chocotejas.” «The business plan we are working on, specifically involves this project to be implemented at the end of 2017, together with Solidarpole (which promotes different solidarity business projects and has proposed that the  Economy of Communion be the choice) and AMU Luxembourg (that offered finances for the renovation of a barn and purchase of machinery). We now have to coordinate the resources. It is a challenge to EoC that has a lot to offer, and a communion which is not “imposed” but “generated” in response to a first free decision. This is what we have tried to do with each person we encounter along the way this week.». When the armed Spanish arrived on horseback in these lands to conquer the Pachacamac Totem – the indios who had never seen horses before, believed they were the gods who had come to replace their god, and did not counter with any resistance. History has left its mark on their culture.  «We could see this in the relational difficulties. So our main commitment was to give room to all, in the effort to break the logic of the “European conquistador” (or the descendants of these), and of passive and underdog aborigines. As the days passed, and on the basis of relationships of trust which slowly developed, we started to overcome these relational dynamics and build new rapports of reciprocity.» The «Formulation of the “Business administration guidelines” helped in setting the person at the core of economic activities, without foregoing professionalism and the efficiency necessary to reach the targets. After passing days together, our interlocutors at the Mundo Libre Institute said that they already felt part of the Economy of Communion project, which in a sense, they had already unconsciously put into practice and which they now want to propose to their own employees and also educate the youth in these principles. ‘This is our challenge in 2017’». «The horses not originating from Perù, had to develop the capacity to walk on sand in these desert zones. Throughout these 500 years an equine breed has developed with the characteristic concentric-circles gait which allows them to move freely in these environments. We are like the first horses and are making a big effort to learn how to live the “culture of giving” in communion. But if we develop these abilities, many others will slowly follow in many parts of the globe. They will carry this new culture in their blood, and will succeed in changing the world.» Gustavo Clariá

December 7, 1943 and the Yes that was Forever

Dec 7, 2016 | Non categorizzato

“I was 19 years old and had a great thirst for God.” Her thirst was so strong that every time she met a priest she would tell him: “Talk to me about God.” Urged by that thirst she intended to study at the Catholic University, but since her family did not have the financial means, she participated in a lottery to obtain a scholarship, but she was one point short. “I remember the cry I had, because I was thinking that at the Catholic University they would talk about God. And I recall that in the midst of that cry as I sat in the lounge with my mother, I heard someone inside me say: “I will be your Teacher.” A few months later she went to Loreto with a young women’s group that she belonged to. There is a very large shrine located there in central Italy which is said to contain the little house of Nazareth where the Holy Family lived. Chiara recounts that when she stepped into that little house, something extraordinary happened within her. “I was overcome with emotion, such great emotion that it seemed like was being crushed by the Divine that I contemplated all around me. The idea had come alive inside me that Jesus had perhaps walked over there, that those walls had listened to the echo of Mary’s songs, Joseph, the Annunciation, the angel…. the feeling was so alive that all I could do was cry.” That cry was provoked “by the weight of the Divine that crushed down on me.” She said that during the days in Loreto, “whenever I could, I escaped” to the little house and experienced the same strong sensation that God was opening a new path that had to do with that sacred place with the Holy Family that dwelled there. On the day before her departure, Chiara went to the Shrine and found it filled with people. She stood in the back of the church and, in that moment she heard the voice of God in her heart: “A host of virgins will follow you.” Over the years, she would realize that these were the first signs of the new path that the Lord was preparing: the focolare. Four years later, in 1943, something else happened, a simple but decisive event. Her mother asked Chiara’s younger sisters to fetch some milk, but it was cold outside and they didn’t want to go. She didn’t ask Chiara because she wanted her to study, but Chiara felt urged to love, and offered to go get the milk. “Along the way,” she says, “I felt as if God was saying to me; Give yourself to me, give your whole self to me.” I stopped surprised. I went to get the milk, then returned home and wrote a very fiery letter to a priest,” in which I recounted to him what I was feeling in my soul. At that time, when someone wanted to consecrate themself to God, they were advised to do it for a certain period of time and then renew each year until it became a more and more certain commitment. Chiara was so determined in that letter and so taken by God’s love, that she managed to convince the priest to give her permission to consecrate herself to God for life. It was December 7, 1943 when she went alone to early morning Mass, as a “big storm was raging.” “I had the impression that the world was against me,” Chiara would recall. “A small pew had been prepared for me near to the altar, and I had a small missal in my hand. They made me recite the formula that I give myself totally to God forever. I was so happy, I didn’t realize what I was doing, because I was young. Only after pronouncing the formula I had the impression that a bridge had fallen behind, that I could never turn back because now I belonged all to God. And there one tear fell on the small missal. But the happiness was just immense!” Chiara concluded her recount of that December 7, 1943, which marks the beginning of the Focolare Movement: “I marry God, so I expect everything possible good thing. It will be a divine adventure. I marry God! And later we saw that it had really been just that.” Gustavo Clariá