“Walking together” builds the 2021-2024 Synod

Jan 20, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The continental stage of the Synod  has begun. The Focolare Movement contributed with a worldwide reflection and study. We interviewed Francisco Canzani, Councillor of the International Focolare Centre for the aspect of “wisdom and study” and Coordinator of the Synod Commission to learn more about this contribution. What is your assessment of the work done in the Focolare Movement for the Synod? Very positive. Over 15,000 members of the Movement participated in the first stage of our  synodal journey. They represent 520 communities around the world. We received 21 regional summaries that demonstrate the depth of reflection and the interest shown by Focolare in all cultures. Alongside this work within the Movement, which was in response to the Secretariat of the Synod, which specifically asked us for a contribution,  many members of the Movement took part in the processes in their dioceses and parishes. The involvement of people of different Christian Churches and of faithful of different religions in the process of reflection was particularly relevant.  We also received two important contributions from dialogue groups between Christians and people without religious convictions that the Movement hosts. How can this experience help us to acquire the practice of synodality within the Movement?

Synod path team Focolare Movement

Carlos Mana

Contribution of the Focolare Movement to the Secretariat of the Synod – Download PDF https://youtu.be/VMP7jQpoVC8

Chiara Luce: Solidarity Award

Jan 18, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The first annual prize of the Chiara Badano Foundation is underway Do you like helping others? Do you have an idea about a solidarity project and can’t wait to get going? Well, there’s an initiative in which you might be interested. On 29^th October, 2022, during the anniversary of the birth of Blessed Chiara Luce Badano, the Foundation that keeps her memory alive established the Solidarity Prize. It is an annual event to promote solidarity projects around the world. Since childhood, Chiara Luce demonstrated her passion for the most needy, the weakest, the marginalized of society, the elderly and in particular children. This is why the Chiara Badano Foundation decided to establish this award. The objective is to support and encourage projects to promote positive actions aimed at the weakest sections of the population (the elderly, people with disabilities, immigrants…) and actions aimed at combating exploitation and violence against women and children, new poverty and for the protection of the planet. Each year the prize will identify an innovative project of social importance, with the aim of disseminating its contents to make it available to everyone. The idea is to support the project with a financial contribution of 2,000 euro, to promote it through effective communication on social media and open it up to new forms of support. Organizations and groups, even informal ones, can apply for the prize. They should be composed mostly of young people under 30 years of age, who have a project that promotes and furthers the culture and practice of solidarity. The deadline for submission of projects (20^th January 2023) has been extended to 20^th February. For more info read the announcement. The Chiara Badano Foundation also promotes the Art Prize, an initiative to give young people the opportunity to express through artistic talents, how much Chiara Luce’s lifestyle has fascinated and inspired them. The call for tenders for the sixth edition will be launched in March 2023. www.chiarabadano.org

Lorenzo Russo

Living the Gospel: “Learn to do good, seek righteousness” (Is 1:17)

Jan 17, 2023 | Non categorizzato

Learning to do good means learning an alphabet that allows us to intuit the will of God in our lives and go towards other people. It is an alphabet made of concrete action. Justice is the precious treasure to be sought, the desired gem and the goal of what we do. The accident I was on my way home for lunch when the car in front of me swerved and turned over. I stopped and got out of the car to help. Thanks also to other rescuers, we were able to remove the injured an old lady, a young man and a child from the vehicle. They were covered in blood. For fear of being involved in the accident, no one offered to take them to the hospital. So it was up to me! I am very sensitive and sometimes the sight of blood has made me faint. But this time I took courage and was able to help. There is a fee to be paid to be admitted into the emergency department.  I didn’t have the amount in cash. I was hesitant to write a cheque but I could not abandon them so I did. After making sure that the injured were being looked after (like the Good Samaritan), I left. I felt light, like you do after sitting an exam: I had overcome the obstacle of my sensitivity but above all I had been of help to my neighbours at a crucial moment. I felt the true joy of the Gospel. (Marciano – Argentina) Rebirth The rebellious adolescence of one of our children, his depression, panic attacks, destructive friendships and addictions had caused a serious wound in our family. A river of anger and hostile feelings welled up inside me that made me act negatively towards my husband and other children. I felt I had failed as a mother and I became more and more closed in on myself. A dear friend, seeing me in such a state, advised me to talk to a priest. I received a grace in that very meeting. It was as if God broke through the thick walls of my heart where my tears were locked up. I cried for a long time, I cried for all the terrible things that happened to our son over the years. That day the liturgy contained a phrase from Ezekiel that confirmed my rebirth: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). I found peace in prayer and was able to be close to my children and become a safe place for them. (W.Z. – Poland) Forgiveness An acquaintance of mine received a message from her brother announcing the sudden death of his wife and begging her to go and see him. She had never been on good terms with her sister-in-law, especially since she had prevented her husband from visiting their mother on the verge of death. She even had some friends who told her that it was good not to go to a brother who had not behaved well with the whole family. The woman, in her very religious way, began to pray for her sister-in-law, to have Masses celebrated for her… but she did not move: she could not forgive her brother. How could I convince her of the incongruity of her Christianity? That month, the Word of Life was focussed on mutual love. I brought my acquaintance the leaflet with the commentary that explained how to live that evangelical commandment. A few days later, she came to my house smiling: she wanted to tell me that after she read the leaflet she had not been able to prevent herself, she had gone to see her brother and had reconciled with him. (D.P. – Brazil)

Edited by Maria Grazia Berretta

(Taken from The Gospel of the Day, New City, year IX – n.1- January-February 2023)

Lisbon 2023: a step towards World Youth Day

Jan 16, 2023 | Non categorizzato

To go towards others “with haste” like the Virgin Mary – this is the heart of the message of the next World Youth Day (WYD) which will take place in Lisbon 1–6 August. Here are some interesting facts about the preparations. “Dear young people, I dream that at WYD you will again experience the joy of encounter with God and with your brothers and sisters. After long periods of distance and isolation, in Lisbon – with God’s help – we will rediscover together the joy of the fraternal embrace between peoples and between generations, the embrace of reconciliation and peace, the embrace of a new missionary fraternity!” These were the hopes of Pope Francis at the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome as he addressed young people from all over the world on 15 August 2022. On the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he explained the profound meaning of the theme chosen for the next World Youth Day: “Mary arose and went with haste” (Lk 1:39). In such difficult times, in which humanity, tried by the trauma of the pandemic, is torn by the drama of war, the Gospel episode of the Visitation is the path which so many young people will take from 1–6 August, as they will take part in the international meeting in Lisbon. It will be a moment of great joy and an opportunity to witness, meditate and share together in Mary’s footsteps. But how are the preparations going? Mariana Vaz Pato, a young designer from Lisbon, is part of a team from the Focolare Movement that is in charge of the organisation. “When I heard that WYD would be held in Portugal, I reacted to this news with great joy,” she says. “I immediately decided to be part of this team because I felt I could contribute, dedicate my time to building this great event.” Mariana, what is going on behind the scenes at the moment? Behind the scenes there is a lot going on, and generally there is a spirit of great enthusiasm. Right now, the main focus is on registrations, which have just opened, and we have to spread the word so as not to leave anyone out. My team has been working on different parts of the WYD programme. One of these is the preparation of a catechesis in the light of the charism of unity, and at this stage we are working on the content related to the WYD theme, following the guidelines of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. We are working on the creation of a stand in the City of Joy (a vocations fair), where pilgrims will find interactive content and experiences from around the world related to the various stages of Mary’s life. With the international performing arts group Gen Verde we are preparing another moment – the Start Now workshops – which will take place in a neighbourhood in a Lisbon suburb and will culminate in one of the stages of the youth festival. In addition to the main WYD programme, we feel the need to offer a post-WYD meeting, where participants can experience and reflect on everything they experienced during WYD. The meeting will take place at the Focolare’s Arco-Íris community and is open to all those who wish to participate. We are also involved in other groups to welcome pilgrims, manage volunteers and the official choir. What does it mean for a young person today to “arise” and leave in a hurry? The theme of this day calls us to go on mission, using Mary, who responded to God’s call, as an example. I think that for young people, “arising” means being missionaries. That is, to be ready to leave, get out of ourselves (from the comfort of sitting), go towards our neighbours, and not remain indifferent to the problems that exist around us. This WYD is also entrusted to some patron saints or witnesses of the faith, reference figures who have their processes still going on. Why is it so important today to aspire to holiness? I think that to aspire to holiness is to aspire to happiness. For young people it is important to have a role model, and saints are proof that it is possible to have a Christian lifestyle that is different from what we see around us. The figure that strikes me most, for example, is Blessed Chiara Badano. The way she lived, swimming against the current with great trust in God, is an inspiration and shows us that it is possible to become a saint even in today’s world. For more information visit: JMJ Lisboa 2023.

Maria Grazia Berretta

Luisetta, the teacher

Jan 12, 2023 | Non categorizzato

On 31st December 2022 Luisa Del Zanna, one of the first focolarine in Florence, left us. She was born in 1925 into a Christian family as one of eight children. When she got to know the spirituality of unity she immediately made it her own. In 1954 she joined the focolare in Florence. In the following years she saw the birth of and followed various communities of the Movement. From 1967 she lived in Rocca di Papa (Italy) where Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement, had entrusted her with taking care of its secretariat, the archives, which she coordinated until 2007, and the nascent St Clare Centre (Centro Santa Chiara) for Communication, together with one of the first focolarini, Vitaliano Bulletti. “The guardian of the ‘treasures of the Focolare’” – we read in a article from 2008 in Città Nuova, “Luisetta, a name that caresses you, that makes you think of a delicate and gentle creature. And that really describes Luisa Del Zanna with her petite figure; one of those people who are usually entrusted with important tasks because of their discretion, competence and fidelity, whose value we don’t always realise because they remain behind the scenes, but without whom the cogs of the wheels would stop turning…”. In her early years, she worked as a schoolteacher in a small village in the mountains of northern Italy which she reached by taking part of the road on foot or on a donkey. It is her experience of that time that we are publishing here, keeping the original style of the year it was written, 1958. “Please, which is the road to Bordignano?[1]” After a four-hour bus journey, I had arrived at the principal municipality of that area which I had been unable to find on the topographical map (scale 1:100,000).  No information agency had heard of it, and there was no mention of it on the timetables for the various means of transport. Yet the appointment letter stated quite clearly: ‘Your ladyship is invited to take up service on Friday 7 October at Bordignano Primary School in the municipality of Firenzuola”. And the name was written in block letters.  There could be no mistake. The person to whom I had addressed the question – a tall, robust man – looked at me, puzzled: “What did you say?” and made me repeat the question. He thought he had misunderstood. Then he pointed into the distance: “You see that hill over there? Behind it are two others and then there’s Bordignano. I’m just going there now to deliver the post”. I realised immediately that he was going there on foot by the big boots he was wearing and his tanned face. I gasped in dismay for a moment. I looked at that hill, then at the man’s boots and realised there was no other way, so I took courage. “I’ll go with you,” I said resolutely. The postman didn’t seem to understand, just as before, but I set off and followed him. It was a long three-hour journey, interrupted only by brief pauses at the top of the steep climbs where there were impetuous gusts of wind where the valley opened up. Eventually, I arrived and saw three stone houses in a row, and further up, at the top of a tree-lined lane, the church with its bell tower. I greeted an old man, sitting with a pipe in his mouth, on the doorstep. I told him I was the teacher. He got up and moved to accompany me. We went through a bumpy door into the second of the row of houses, all of which were owned by the old man; the first was the shop that stocked everything (except for a few things I didn’t have which I really could have done with). There were hobnailed boots, matches, mousetraps (all kinds of mousetraps), stale bread, notebooks, everything. We climbed a ladder and entered the school. It was a large room with a few desks stacked in a corner (I had never seen such desks: six children could have fitted in one of them), a splintered chair, a broken blackboard.  That was all the furniture. – Over here is your house,’ the old man explained to me, ‘you can be happy! This year there is running water. I had it installed, at my own expense! He ushered me into a small kitchenette; an unlit fireplace stood out in one corner. I was cold. It was starting to get dark: I looked for a light switch but there was none. (In the days that followed, I learned to use the carbide lamp and work and write by the light of that flickering tongue of fire). I sought out the priest that very same day (I learned that his church was the Pieve, the most beautiful of all the churches in the valley and the surrounding hills) and begged him to announce at Sunday Mass that school was starting. “But, signorina, it’s harvest time. Now there are chestnuts, then olives; the children help a lot with this work.  School?” he added, “we’ll talk about that in January”. It all seemed impossible to me. I had learned some time ago not to shy away from difficulties.  Quite the contrary. I had been told they serve as springboards, and I had seen that it was true. I found another way to let people know I had arrived. I spotted my pupils’ homes among the scattered, isolated cottages and went there. The first was Angiolino and Maria’s house. I am left with a vague memory of blackness and smoke from that one. There was Maria crouching in a corner among the ashes of the hearth (she had a sore throat), holding her arm over her face so that I wouldn’t see her. Angiolino was standing in the corner with his head down, following the conversation I was having with his mother. During the conversation I realised how much the people distrusted the school and the teacher even more. I listened in silence. I tried hard to understand the woman who spoke in a harsh, rancorous, almost incomprehensible dialect. I discovered that the boy had left school two years ago, without having completed his elementary studies, because of the mischief he was causing against the teachers. I just said a few things: I had come for them, the school was free and the children would have the afternoon off to help in the fields. “We’ll see,” said the woman, “I’ll send Maria”. As I was leaving I greeted the boy: “I would like to make the school beautiful for the little ones who come, if you can come and help me… I’ll be waiting for you”. There was no need for many more invitations. One by one the children arrived, the little brothers in pairs, uncertain, fearful. They had spread the word about school when they met for games, or in the fields, while tending the flock, or by being together in the woods collecting chestnuts. “Are you coming too? It’s nice, you know!” “It’s nice there, the teacher doesn’t hit!” The school soon became cosy with Angiolino’s valuable help. October’s nature offered rich ornamental material in the varied colour of its leaves. I established a relationship with each of the pupils and the pupils’ relationships with each other based on Jesus’ commandment: “Love one another…”. It was the basis for all the work that year. The school became a little paradise. The favourite book was the Gospel and those children’s minds, unused and closed to human reasoning, opened up to the logic of the Gospel with surprising spontaneity. The method was challenging. “Pro eis sanctifico me ipsum” (For them do I sanctify myself), Jesus had said, otherwise it would be ineffective. I realised at the end of the year that the evangelical life of those little ones had not remianed within the confines of the school, but had spilled out into their homes and their families. I realised this from the grateful greetings of the parents who had not remained indifferent to the breath of joyful life that the children brought back to them. The rough exterior that had made them seem insensitive disappeared from their souls and, unconsciously, that same life had entered them.

Experience of Luisa Del Zanna

[1]     Bordignano, in the municipality of Firenzuola (Florence, Italy)  

Benedict XVI: Maria Voce remembers

Jan 3, 2023 | Non categorizzato

During her tenure as President of the Focolare Movement, (2008-2021), Maria Voce had the opportunity to meet Pope Ratzinger several times. She told us about her relationship with the emeritus Pope and her impression of the contribution of Pope Benedict’s pontificate to the Church and the world. “When I was received in audience in his study, it was to like going into the living room of a home, where you could talk and be welcomed with love, I would even say, with loving attention. At the same time with noble finesse, tact and delicacy”. At the news of the departure of Pope Benedict XVI, the memories of Maria Voce, former President of the Focolare Movement, immediately returned to 13^th  April, 2010, when, with the then Co-President of the Focolare, Fr. Giancarlo Faletti, she was received by the Pope. “It was the second year after the death of our foundress, Chiara Lubich. The Co-President and I went to consign the life of the Movement into the hands of the Pope. We realized that he was already very aware of many things. We told him about our trip to various Asian countries from which we had just returned. He was pleased to hear about our visit to China, which is an important frontier for the Church. He rejoiced at what the Movement was doing to help the process of reconciliation between the Chinese Bishops and the Pope. He gave us his blessing and encouraged us to continue on the way to holiness. Personally, I was always impressed by his fine kindness and at the same time his warm and familiar welcome. He had a great sense of harmony, perhaps due to his love for music, which was also evident in the way his study was furnished: a welcoming place like a home, sacred like a church”. Did you meet Pope Benedict XVI as President of the Focolare on any other occasions? “In 2008 he received Co-President Faletti and I, immediately after the General Assembly of the Focolare in which we had been elected, the first after the death of our foundress. He then invited me to travel on the same train as him, with many personalities, to the “Day of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world” held in Assisi on 27^th October 2011, twenty five years after the first event held by Pope John Paul II in 1986. Finally, I participated in his last audience on 27^th February, 2013 after the announcement of his resignation.” What are your thoughts about his decision? “When he realized that he no longer had the strength to carry out his task, he had the courage to make room for others who, in his opinion, had more strength and opportunity to do better. A choice that, as I said at the time, offered a synthesis of his theological and spiritual reflection. He highlighted the primacy of God, the sense that history is guided by him. And he directed us to grasp the signs of the times and to respond to them by having the courage to make difficult but innovative choices. He gave a clear note of hope because of “the certainty that the Church belongs to Christ”.  I think I am not mistaken in stating that the Church to which Pope Benedict always looked, even in making this choice, is a “Church-communion”, the fruit of Vatican II but also a vision, “increasingly an expression of the essence of the Church” as he himself had pointed out. And that “increasingly” tells us that we have not yet fully realized it and invites each of us to work in that direction with ever greater responsibility”. The day after his election as Pontiff, Chiara Lubich wrote: “From what I know about him, since he has special gifts for understanding the light of the Spirit, he will not fail to surprise and surpass every expectation”. In your opinion, what was the most significant contribution made to the Church by Pope Benedict XVI? What is he saying to the Church of today and to what the Synod is preparing for the future? “Pope Ratzinger understood the reality of Movements in the Church as the ‘springtime of the Spirit’. His speech, when still a Cardinal, to the Congress of Movements before the big meeting of Pentecost 1998 with Pope John Paul II, is fundamental. What he said in 1969 in a series of radio lectures is also impressive, thinking of today’s times; it reveals his profound spirituality and essentiality and a vision that must have remained in his heart throughout his pontificate. He said that very difficult times were coming for the Church, that its real crisis had just begun and that it would have to deal with major upheavals. But, the then Card. Ratzinger, also said that he was very sure about what would remain in the end: not the Church of political worship, but the Church of faith. It will no longer be the dominant social force to the extent that it has been until recently. But, he concluded, the Church will have a new blossoming and will appear as the home of humanity, where life and hope can be found beyond death”.

Anna Lisa Innocenti

Benedict XVI: continuing reform

Jan 2, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The theologian Piero Coda recalls Pope Benedict XVI and his extraordinary contribution to the journey of the Church in our time. Mons. Coda, in 1998 at the World Congress of Ecclesial Movements, the then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Card. Joseph Ratzinger made a historic speech about the role of ecclesial movements. What, in your opinion, are the essential points of that speech? How much have those words contributed to changing the role of movements in the Church? Yes, it was indeed an historic speech! I was attending the Congress so I heard him give it. He had great theological competence and knowledge of the history of the Church, as well as the experience of the Council and then, in his role in the Vatican, he followed its implementation at the universal level. This allowed Ratzinger to clearly identify the meaning of ecclesial movements in the mission of the Church. His central point was to recognize the action of the Holy Spirit in the Movements. Throughout the centuries, in ever new ways and in subsequent waves, the Holy Spirit renews the People of God with the gift of charisms: from St. Benedict to the Mendicant Orders in the Middle Ages, from the Company of Jesus to the Missionary Orders in the last centuries, right up to the unexpected charismatic blossoming in concomitance with the Council. Hence the affirmation of John Paul II, in tune with the teaching of Vatican II, according to which the Church is built on the co-essentiality of the “hierarchical gifts”, the ministry conferred by the sacrament of Holy Orders  and of the “charismatic gifts”, the free bestowal of special graces of light and life among all the disciples of Jesus. On the occasion of the death of Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare, Pope Benedict XVI sent a comprehensive  message of condolence. What was Lubich’s relationship with him? Chiara told me personally that she was very impressed by that speech of Cardinal Ratzinger in 1998 and was always grateful for it. He visited the Mariapolis Centre in Castel Gandolfo (Rome) on 8^th December, 1989 and celebrated Mass on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  He referred to the Gospel parable and said that he could see the growth of a large tree born from a small seed, in which all the birds of the sky find rest. The first years of the pontificate of Benedict XVI coincided with the last years of Chiara’s life: she could no longer meet him in person or  rejoice in the fact that, a year after her death, in the encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Pope Ratzinger mentioned the Economy of Communion. What does the thought and life of Pope Benedict XVI say to the Church of today and tomorrow, which the current Synod is helping to define? His unique contribution was to recall, with his authority as a man of God and a great theologian, a determining truth: the work of renewal put into motion by Vatican II needs to be developed in direct contact with the living nucleus of the Gospel of Jesus and in the context of the ecclesial Tradition. He stated this clearly in his magisterial speech to the Roman Curia in December 2005, the first year of his pontificate,  when he defined the decisive key to interpretation of the conciliar event as being: “continuing reform”. It is no coincidence that the best-known book by the young theologian Ratzinger, which appeared in its first edition in 1968 and was translated into the main languages, bears the title Introduction to Christianity. This signalled that the launch pad for a prophetic leap forward is the faith of always, in Jesus. Nor is it insignificant that, as Pope, he dedicated three encyclicals to the theological virtues: charity, hope and faith. He strongly stressed the primacy of the first, because it evokes the very name of the God who reveals himself in Jesus. That Jesus to whom he dedicated a passionate trilogy as an invitation to the encounter with the living principle of faith, which is not a beautiful idea, but God Himself. Faithfulness, therefore, to the patrimony of faith but so that the richness and novelty of the Gospel may be released from it. This is the secret of the strength and enduring fascination of the magisterium of Benedict XVI. And you personally, what is the most beautiful memory you have of Pope Ratzinger? I met him many times, first as Cardinal and then as Pope. I always experienced his great cordiality and exquisite attention. I also had the opportunity to converse at length with him about theology, in the context of a series of seminars with other scholars, at an international level, when he was Prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith. This made me realize (with increasing gratitude to God) the extraordinary contribution of wisdom he has given to the journey of the Church in our time. In agreement with Chiara, I shared the idea of the Sophia University Institute with Pope Benedict. He exclaimed,  “A wonderful thing, if you can manage it…” Finally, I remember his joyful surprise when we met him during an audience with the first group of students and Caelison, a blind student, spontaneously confided to him: “We have found the light in Sophia!”.

Stefania Tanesini

“The final word in the history of the world will be communion”

Dec 31, 2022 | Non categorizzato

Statement by Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement on the death of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI Respect, appreciation, and emotion fill my heart as I express deepest gratitude for the life and work of Pope Benedict XVI. I do so on my own behalf and on behalf of the Movement that he followed and accompanied with love and closeness .  With the whole Church we gather around Pope Francis as we give him back to God, certain that he has already been received into the glory of Heaven and I will do so personally on the 5th January when I attend his funeral in St Peter’s Square. In May 2009, I had the privilege of welcoming Pope Benedict to Jerusalem, as I participated in various stages of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Two of those moments remain with me in particular: his words at the Holy Sepulchre, “Peace is possible here”. He continued, saying: “The Empty Tomb speaks to us of hope, the same hope that does not disappoint, because it is the gift of the Spirit of life.” Being able to attend a private Mass in the Apostolic Delegation in Jerusalem, celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI himself was very powerful for me. I sensed his fatherly tenderness and the greatness of his charity that was expressed in a gesture of gratitude for all that the Focolare Movement had done to help prepare for his visit. In 1989, when he was still Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was invited by Chiara Lubich for a dialogue with the focolarine gathered for their annual spiritual exercises, in which I too was participating. He answered a wide variety of questions and at one point spoke words that I have never forgotten. Concerning the future of the Church and humanity, he said: “The final word in the history of the world will be communion, becoming communion, not only among ourselves but, by being incorporated in Trinitarian love, becoming universal communion, where God is all in all”[1]. Today, as our beloved Pope Benedict XVI has returned to the house of the Father, these words of his resound within me almost like a spiritual testament. They are words of extraordinary relevance, which today shed light and hope on humanity afflicted by conflicts of which we see no end. We were nourished by his enlightened thought, that of a great theologian who, while still very young, took part in the Second Vatican Council, He conveyed and presented over the years the newness of a Church as communion, formed of knowledge of the Word and charity translated into practice. Following his election as Pope, Chiara Lubich affirmed: ‘From my personal knowledge of him, and because he has special gifts with which to grasp the light of the Spirit, he will not fail to surprise us and exceed all expectations’[2]. Let us not forget the key role he played in 1998, when Pope John Paul II invited the Ecclesial Movements and New Communities to St Peter’s Square on the feast of Pentecost. On that occasion, Cardinal Ratzinger gave a very significant lecture entitled: “The Ecclesial Movements: a Theological Reflection on their Place in the Church”, in which he outlined the profile of the movements and new communities and their essential relationship with the Church. Some parts of his talk continue to be a great light for me and for the Movement, enabling us to be instruments of communion in the Church and Christ’s outreached arms towards humanity. He said: “(…) the Holy Spirit is quite plainly at work in the Church and is lavishing new gifts on her in our time too, gifts through which she relives the joy of her youth (cf. Ps 42:4 Vulgate). Gratitude for the many people, young and old, who accept God’s call and joyfully enter into the service of the Gospel without looking back. Gratitude for the bishops who open themselves up to the new movements, create room for them in their local Churches, struggle patiently with them in order to overcome their one-sidedness and guide them to the right form.”[3] Together with the whole Church, I thank God for the gift that Pope Benedict XVI has been for our time and I pray that we will know how to grasp and translate into life the depth of his theological thought, his faithfulness to the Gospel and the courage of a life of witness that can lead the Church on the paths of truth, fraternity and peace.

                                                              Margaret Karram  President Focolare Movemente

[1] Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s visit to the meeting of the women focolarini, answers to questions. Castel Gandolfo, 8th December 1989. Chiara Lubich Archive, in the General Archives of the Focolare Movement. [2] Statement by Chiara Lubich in the Focolare Movement’s Press Release of 20th April 2005 [3] “Ecclesial Movements, a theological reflection on their place in the Church,” Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Proceedings of the World Congress of the Ecclesial Movements Rome, 27-29 May 1998.

Gen Rosso in Madagascar and Lebanon

Dec 29, 2022 | Non categorizzato

Two milestones to experience cultural exchanges, form paths of inclusion through art and develop musical talents. Yann Dupont is a French teacher. He teaches at the Institution Sainte Catherine in Villeneuve-Sur-Lot, France. He had always dreamt of taking some of his students to Moramanga in Madagascar for a cultural exchange with the Antsirinala School. One day, by chance Dupont met Valerio Gentile from Gen Rosso and from a lively, simple and sincere dialogue, an idea was born.  Why not go to Madagascar together, Gen Rosso and five of his students for a cultural and humanitarian exchange? And that’s exactly what happened! The French young people were included in the ‘train the trainer’ formation group and a number of young people interested in the performing arts also participated. They took as their motto the words they then put into practice during the workshops in Madagascar: “call by name, put yourself in the other person’s shoes, live one for the other with joy, start again”. It was an 8-day tour – thanks to the financial support of the NGO Edugascar – in November to 4 different cities: Ambatondrazaka, Moramanga, Antsirinala, Antingandingana. They spent their time between dance, percussion and singing workshops and concerts. Over 500 young people were involved. “We believe we’ve all experienced a little piece of a more united world here in Madagascar,” said Gen Rosso. “We have discovered a people who convey hope, patience, a sense of adaptation, serenity and courage in the face of life with all its daily challenges. Nancy Judicaelle, a young girl from Madagascar remarked: “On the one hand I am sad that my time with them was so short but I am so happy and deeply moved, and am experiencing an inexplicable joy”. Angel, one of the young participants added: “The concert was terrific because we had shared about music, the education of children and respect for the environment. It was a great show where even the children were able to make their contribution for our whole community”. The five French students continued the tour with Gen Rosso, stopping first at Antsirinala where they were welcomed – in a festive and friendly atmosphere – by a school of 200 children and young people twinned with the school in Villeneuve, and then on to Ambatondrazaka. Here they met the Focolare community – a true celebration because it was the first time Gen Rosso had landed in Madagascar. “I experienced incredible moments of cultural exchange that happened in a completely natural way between Gen Rosso and the humanitarian Madagascan people,” said Dumoulin Nicolas, a French reporter who was following the tour, “including a group of French students who were here for an exchange. It has been the adventure of a lifetime”. A stop in Lebanon Another important trip for the international band was the visit to the Lebanon for the HeARTmony. project. After their experience in Bosnia, this training programme made a stop in Beirut in November for young people interested in social inclusion methodologies for migrants and refugees through art. It spurred them on to strengthen intercultural skills and reflect on the causes and effects of migration in the Mediterranean. Adelson, Michele, Ygor and Juan Francisco – all members of Gen Rosso met with young people from Caritas Egypt, Caritas Lebanon and members of Humanité Nouvelle Lebanon. As they landed in Beirut they were warmly welcomed by members of the different focolares. The main aim of the trip was to learn how to use music and art as tools for bringing people together, especially people living on the margins of society, such as migrants, to make them feel welcome in a community. “Art is a powerful medium,” Gen Rosso’s Adelson commented, “music reaches places we often can’t reach with words. A person can feel loved and respond to love in many different ways”. The method is always the same: through singing, music and percussion workshops they try to bring out the  participants’ talents as they work towards putting together the final performance. One evening, the band and project participants were invited to a party organised by the Focolare community in Beirut: making music together and getting to know each other. It was an opportunity to share some life experiences and find out more about what these young Lebanese people are going through today. “I want to leave, but I feel that Lebanon will only change if I have the courage to stay, if I put into practice what I have learnt,” one young girl said during the evening. “At this time, it is difficult to tell young people to stay, but this girl’s words struck me deeply,” continued Adelson. “I think this is where we can start again: putting love into the things we do in order to become protagonists of our own reality. Perhaps we won’t see the results immediately but I am sure that soon Lebanon will be reborn, like a phoenix”!

Lorenzo Russo