Bernd Nilles (second from right) at the Focolare’s centre in Rocca di Papa, Rome.
Networked for the common good, in the aftermath of Laudato Si’, which asks for immediate concrete action, includes many others besides Bernd Nilles and Maria Voce, who all met at the International Centre of the Focolare in Rocca di Papa, Italy, on September 9, 2015, together with co-president Jésus Moran and several collaborators representing the youth and several agencies of the Focolare (AFN, New Humanity, AMU, EoC). Working for lifestyle change is one of the main priorities of the CIDSE in this historic moment, and the the Secretary forcefully emphasizes it. Formed by the German Catholic Youth, Bernd Nilles is a human rights activist and has worked in cooperative projects with Colombia. He has also done research on peace and development, at the University of Duisburg. “You need a lot of motivation to do this work,” he remarks. The event at the beginning of June in the Vatican (people and planet first), allowed him to get to know the work of the Focolare Movement in the field of economy, and they began to find paths for common action. Curious to know more, Bernd Nilles remarked: “We have years of experience on political influence, but not on personal transformation. You are the experts in tha!” Maria Voce explained: “The life of the Gospel never leaves things as they are, if we want change that is real, ideas and ideologies can caress the mind, the imagination – but the Gospel transforms, and the is a people the world over that strives to live in that way.” The Encyclical Letter ‘Laudato Si’ was a source of inspiration for the NGO’s associated with the CIDSE, for an unprecedented mobilisation launch. The CIDSE is particularly involved in preparing global conferences on climate change that will be held in Paris from November 30 to December 11. The more important game is played outside the stadium where they work to create events, public manifestations and participation by the public. New Humanity (an NGO of the Focolare and partner of UNESCO), is working together with other NGO’s on the preparation of a Final Statement for the conference in Paris. The informal meeting will give CIDSE the Atlas of Fraternity, the first fruit of the United World Project, a platform promoted by Focolare young people where all the activities and projects in favour of “fraternity” can converge, indexed by category. Currently, efforts for peace made a strong impact through the hashtag #OpenYourBorders that gathered concrete projects and activities in support of refugees. Jésus Moran commented: “I recommended ‘Laudato Si’ to many of my atheist friends, telling them ‘Here you’ll find some input for a radical change for living in the world, something that could even save the human race.” He went on to say: “It is a matter of promoting a lifestyle based on sharing. The change in model is not merely a cosmetic social change, but one of social justice towards those whose problem is not the environment, but hunger, access to water, death by diseases that have had a cure for centuries. Therefore, the discourse needs to be radicalized in the sense of social justice. Consciences need to be worked on with every means, beginning from concrete action and giving them visibility.” See also
He greeted me crying He was an idol for me. I was proud to have a father like him, but one day he left us. My mother never explained why. I had to grow up in order to find out: he had another family. I didn’t want to see him anymore, not even when he came to visit us. One day a classmate who was in a similar situation told me that as a Christian, he had forgiven his father and had drawn a great joy from this. In order to do this concrete act, which was very difficult for me, I went to visit my father. He greeted me crying. There was no need for explanations. We had again become friends. (R.S. – Venezuela) The “troublesome” student One day a rather rebellious boy in my class had a fit, throwing a desk in the air; fortunately, there were no serious consequences. A colleague, who had always wanted to get rid of this “troublesome” student, had thought to proceed with a legal strategy, sending a grim report to the headmaster. On one hand, I wanted to avoid a further rebellion from the boy with a worsening of his psychological condition, but I also wanted to consider the opinion of my colleague and respect his suffering. The report was written, but we did it together, searching for the right words in a way that would not worsen the situation. The causes of his behavior came to light, and a greater comprehension of the problem was born. Now this colleague and I have a new understanding: he has decided to collaborate with me on projects for rehabilitating students at risk. (R.R. – Italia) The grandmotherIn our neighborhood there lived an elderly woman. She was alone. Every once in a while she came to ask us to read her the letters she received or to ask us to accompany her to collect her pension. On special occasions we invited her to our house, where she always felt at ease. Our children loved her too, and each time they welcomed her with joy: for them she was the “grandmother,” and for everyone she was the “least” of which the Gospel speaks. One day she suffered a stroke, and her neighbours immediately called us, almost as if we were her biological family. She remained in the hospital for two months, and we constantly assisted her. When she recovered, she accepted the offer to move to a home for the elderly. But we continued to look after her, with the collaboration of the others. Thanks to the grandmother, a great solidarity was put into motion in the hospital and in our neighborhood. (M. S. C. – Spagna)
“I don’t feel the exhaustion, but probably just the lack of sleep, since I have slept five hours less than usual over the last five days. I have just returned from a school camp or rather, a work in progress camp for kids, as one of the educators of Teens for Unity of the Focolare. It was a fantastic adventure which, compared to other activities this year, has enlivened my daily routine, making me forget that I have entered that potentially critical post-retirement phase. The proposal to give a hand for those kids was enticing. Well, I thought, I may be retired, but I still have the energy and eagerness to keep going. The appointment was at nine in the morning in Borgo Don Bosco, a venue placed at our disposal by the Salesians. Slowly the kids arrived, 25 boys and girls in all, below 18 years of age. After the initial shyness a friendly atmosphere was immediately created, even if most of them had no idea whatsoever of what would come about or what to expect. The programme was full of surprises, as it should have been for an initiative with young people. But also a surprise was the hard work (so to say!), sweating together under the sun, or drenched with rain, to clear out the site of the camp. For three mornings, I was assigned the task of restoring a remote corner of the garden, abandoned for over 20 years. The grass had grown on that soil transported by wind and rain, concealing an entire asphalted pavement. Locker rooms and showers were still there, and had become the hiding place of spiders and insects so big they seemed like an alien race. Without counting the various objects abandoned in the grass that initially could not even be seen, it was practically a jungle to be razed to the ground. At mid-morning, I thought of telling the kids how I try to consider the work, and particularly that job. I must not have said more than 20-30 words in all. But I ended by confiding the real motive urging me to do this: the thought that “in that place, Baby Jesus would have come to play.” I understood from the silence that had descended on us, that the kids understood the sense of my words and had taken it to heart. And the light I saw shining in their youthful eyes was immediately transformed into concrete action, giving them a new drive in helping one another. This immediacy was a lesson for me, since, unlike these boys and girls I myself am rather slow in letting myself be convinced by what others tell me. At Sunday Mass, I found myself next to a boy who had worked by my side. On exchanging the sign of peace we both spontaneously reached out to one another, to declare that we were ready to give our lives for each other. As an adult this act would never have been so spontaneous towards another adult, but it was not so with him.Staying with these young people gave a new dimension to our future as one humanity, and gave me hope. In fact, I saw that they all had the desire and capacity to give. It is up to us to believe in them. Adolescence is a difficult age, but it is also the age in which one can build great horizons. There is no need for words, just start “doing” positive things with them. Perhaps this is why, on saying goodbye, some of them asked to come with me next Saturday to the district market, to collect the unsold fruit and vegetables for the poor people’s canteen.”
“This is the plea of the entire of the Middle East: ‘Stop the conflicts!’,” states Arlette Samman, a Lebanese, in the face of the unprecedented exodus of entire populations from Syria, Iraq and other countries: “For those who leave, it is an immense suffering, since they are going towards the unknown and feel that death is near. They find themselves without resources and security for the future of their families… otherwise none of them would have wanted to leave their own country.” “It is comforting to see the humanitarian response by many European countries,” continues Philippe who has lived in Egypt over the past 14 years. “But we also wish to give a voice to the Middle East as it anxiously awaits peace and the right “to live and not to die”. Both underline the importance of finding ever new solutions for brotherhood and above all, intensifying public opinion. This is the same perspective targeted by the peace mobilization that the Focolare Movement has currently relaunched together with all those working for the same aim. In Europe, solicited by the words of Pope Francis, and also by the new awareness on the part of the political authorities – as recently expressed by the EU Commission’s President, Jean-Claude Juncker – initiatives have doubled to welcome the refugees with private homes opening their doors, coordination of material aids and fund collections. Practically the entire world will be present in Rome over the next days, with the 80 delegates from 36 countries, representatives of the respective geographical macro-areas: “Coming here is an occasion to meet our brothers and sisters operating for peace, and who continue to support us in difficult times.” This is the general state of mind of those coming from distressed areas. From Latin America, Maria Augusta De La Torre, gave us a view of other situations: “In Cuba people are full of great expectations and hope. On one hand is the ‘new friendship’ between Cuba and the USA, and on the other, the Catholic Church which in Cuba is more dynamic than ever. The Pope’s mediation and his next visit to the Island is boosting this revival.” As to the frontier conflict between Colombia and Venezuela she said: «It is a very painful situation. We went to the border and saw the suffering of the people who had to leave their homes and there is great uncertainty with regard to the future, suffering and rebellion in face of the what has happened. Smuggling has always existed, but now nobody knows what lies behind these forceful decisions. In Venezuela the people feel depressed and without hope. The members of the Movement find the strength that comes from living the Gospel and want to continue to bear witness to fraternity between these two peoples. » From Nigeria, Ruth Wambui Mburu, a Kenyan citizen, confided that the stronger commitment they have to face as a Focolare is the radical enforcement of separation between north and south, between Muslims and Christians, and ethnic groups. Their efforts and commitments consist in being testimonials of fraternity lived among these different groups. Georges Sserunkma, also from Nigeria, upon arriving in Rome precisely in this historic moment, said “I feel that this is really the unique home we all live in – seeing how the Church and the Movement take all these situations to heart, makes me breath a wider dimension and fills my heart with hope.” “Each of us has come with a heavy load on our shoulders,” affirms Marcella Sartarelli from Vietnam, “but also with hope in believing that “the world is reaching out to unity.” One of these signs for her is also “the openness we saw in Vietnam, for example in our contacts with the Church. There is a new awakening, which is giving more hope. All we know about Vietnam is the war of 30 years ago, but less about what Vietnam is today – a country undergoing rapid development. Some passages of the encyclical Laudato Si’ seem to trace a precise profile of this country: a fast advancing economy, with ultra-modern cities and at the same time, the countryside abandoned to pollution. With a group of young people in a village near Hanoi, where the situation is critical, we are documenting this hidden problem, but at the same time, rolling up our sleeves to clean up.” Also in Oceania, environmental problems are strongly felt: “In New Zealand, the young people promoted the action Give one hour of your power, inviting everyone, on the day dedicated to the care of the planet, to switch off the electricity for an hour,” Augustine Doronila recounts, “while for years now there has been an ongoing action to help the population of Kiribati, an archipelago at risk of extinction due to the rising sea levels.” Reflections and sharing of experiences will mark the two weeks meeting, from 14 to 27 September 2015, dedicated to the word “unity”: not only a point of the focolarino spirituality, but a key to the spiritual and social action of the Movement, the word that synthesizes its message.
The document that will guide the sessions of the Synod of the Family in the Vatican from 4 to 25 October, cites: «still today, the family remains and will always remain as the fundamental and irreplaceable pillar of social life. In fact, in the family multiple differences coexist, through which relationships are established, and grow in the confrontation and mutual acceptance between generations. This is why the family represents a founding value and a resource for the harmonic development of every human society as affirmed by the Council: “The family is a school of a richer humanity […], and the fundament of society.” ( GS,52 )».The importance of the family and the spouses are thus underlined. To this regard Igino Giordani wrote:«The spouses have an explosive mission in the reform of society, and endow marriage with its original value as a generator of life – due to the sacrament – of both body and soul: the value of the most suitable tool that can revive the soul of society, to bridge the world and the Church».At another point, Giordani explains how the family implements this role: «The family does not retreat within itself, as in a fort, but expands like a cell that lives inasmuch as it co-exists with its brethren. From this communion which implies the obligations of apostolates, charity and justice towards society, we can see the extensiveness of the spiritual and social tasks of marriage.»Giordani continues to underline how only the family in its form and constitution can generate society and the Church: «The new society is born, from the natural and sacred source of the family, the human and divine features of which are briefly delineated in the Gospel. The family, structured according to Christian concepts, gives rise to the Church and the State, the city of God and the city of man: a dual citizenship that brings about the full maturation of the life of redeemed humanity.»Thus a fundamental bond unites society and the family. «Society today needs the family for its rebirth. Otherwise, it is doomed to a catastrophic future, because the maxim of love and unity is no longer put into practice.» Edited by the Igino Giordani CentreExcerpts from: Igino Giordani, La rivoluzione cristiana/The Christian Revolution, Città Nuova Rome, 1969; Igino Giordani, Family, Society, New City Publishers, Rome, 1990; Igino Giordani, Letter, 1967; Igino Giordani, Speech for the New Families 1974.
Monday, 31 August. At this time it is not easy to reach Fontem, the Bangwa village in the midst of the Cameroon forest. This is, in fact, the heart of the rainy season and the road is muddy and practicably impossible to pass at some points. Nonetheless, a continuous procession of people have come to pay homage to Pia Fatica. Today there are at least a thousand people from all over the region saying goodbye to this extraordinary Italian woman who decided to live here 48 years ago. The funeral rite is celebrated by Bishop Andrew Nkea who began by saying: «As a bishop and as a Bangwa citizen, I can say that Pia has lived all the beatitudes. This means that for her, today is the day of her birth in Heaven.» These authoritative words confirm what in 2000 the traditional locals had provided for, upon awarding Pia with the title of Mafua Nkong (Queen of Love). But who is this woman, who at 38 chose to pass the rest of her life in Africa, and also requested to be buried there? Pia was born in Campobasso (Italy) in 1929. An obstetrician, a prestigious and profitable profession even in those times, she read an article in the Osservatore Romano that a mission was about to start in Cameroon, that would also see to the construction of a hospital. She felt involved, at first hand, and without even knowing what Movement planned the project, decided to leave everything behind to go and give a hand. Upon reaching Fontem, she found out that due to a widespread infant mortality, obstetrics was an absolute priority. She made the decision with all her heart, and delved deeply into the tradition of these animistic people who, anguished by the death of their newborns, turned to the Catholic bishop for help.
Pia Fatica
A practical and open person with a great ability to dialogue with the local culture, Pia was able to create important relationships with individuals, families, and the authorities with whom she speaks with respect and love, but when necessary, also with extreme honesty and interior freedom. As an untiring obstetrician she assisted at the birth of 11,000 babies, accompanying them later on, in their spiritual journey. Just to cite an episode: a girl who had become a fervent Christian, confided that she did not wish to marry in church so as not to abandon the traditional values of her people. Pia listened with great openness and was aware that this was not an easy decision. Right there and then she did not offer any advice. Later, however, she picked up the conversation and told the girl that she was the one who had to decide freely, but reminded her that through Baptism which she had asked to receive, she had taken on a new tradition, that of Jesus. After a month, the girl asked her to accompany her for a three-person conversation with the priest. The result was a happy wedding, a splendid family and a testifier of faith. Pia continued to give her contribution in various departments of the Hospital, up to the last service created purposely for her and called, “Office for all problems”, a title which in itself explained the broadness and openness of her heart. She deeply knew the reality of the Bangwa people and was particularly sensitive to the most unfortunate: the sick, prisoners in jail, and people with economic difficulties, and always found a way of helping out, even with the money she was able to find due to her great faith in Divine Providence. Concreteness, her particular trait, accompanied her even in her last moments, when she decided to write to the President of the Focolare, Maria Voce, to tell her that she would soon leave this world: «I am glad to go to Jesus – she wrote – and deliver into his arms the world which I have lived for.» At the cemetery, under a pouring rain, the dances of the celebration enlivened the rites, as a sign of the deep gratitude for this great woman, and of everyone’s firm conviction that Pia has really gone to see Jesus.
Viktoria Bakacsi and Laszlo Vizsolyi from the Focolare Movement in Hungary write: “Every day we encounter suffering under so many guises, right outside the doors of our homes. We listened to the words of Pope Francis and are now trying to put them into practice even more.” “For months,” they write, “there has been a continual influx of refugees. Some two thousand people arrive in Hungary every day: families with children, exhausted. Despite the general chaos, many people are stepping out and giving a helping hand, people belonging to civic groups and church organisations.” The Focolare Movement in Hungary has also gone to work. Viktoria and Laszlo continue: “We shared ideas and experiences and with the Apostolic Nuncio, Alberto Bottari de Castello, have become involved in gathering and coordinating efforts so that things can run more smoothly and efficiently. We are working closely with several religious orders, including the Jesuits who already have a program in place, and groups like the Community of Sant’Egidio, which not only has the infrastructure and experience, but also legal expertise. The work undertaken also aims at promoting openness and welcome through an educational program which we started during a summer camp with 230 young people. Focolare members who are active in parish life go every day to the Keleti Train Station. One of them writes: “I’ve been in the midst of refugees for two months. There are a lot of us helping. There are so many children, such desperate people… I try to see the face of Jesus in each one of them, and this gives me strength. They are so grateful for every little help they receive, and the children rejoice over even the smallest gifts.” A psychologist writes: “I try to share my professional skills by supporting the many volunteers.” A focolarino priest writes: “On Thursday we had our meeting with priests. After reading this month’s Word of Life, six of us went to the Station to help the people.” A young woman: “After the Youth for a United World Camp we went to the refugees to help care for the children. There were twenty of us. Around 70 children and families gathered around us, since we were dressed up as clowns. We played, drew pictures and found every way possible to communicate with them. Many of them don’t speak English, and many of them tried to teach us a few Arabic words. We will continue to go once a week.” “We especially noticed the difficulty in communicating and the lack of information available. A focolarina who works in collaboration with the Association of the Order of Malta, started producing signs with useful information. She finds someone who speaks Arabic to translate them. We are also continuing to help out in Szeged where refugees are continually arriving. Besides our regular collections, we have been brought several boxes of leftover fruit. One of us, a police woman, goes to help the women and children in the camps at the end of her workday.” “We realise that what we are doing is only a drop in the ocean,” they conclude, “but we wouldn’t want that drop to be missing.”
The objectives set by the 4,000 consecrated youth who will meet in Rome from 15-19 September is to achieve a formative experience through the biblical, theological-charismatic and ecclesiological in-depth study on consecrated life, and to have a concrete possibility to share their reality, wishes and expectations, celebrating and testifying to the beauty of their vocation. They will come from all over the world (countries like Iran, the Philippines, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe) to take part in the World Day of Young Religious. Organized by the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the event will be held in the context of the Year of Consecrated Life. The calendar is varied and intense. In the morning the youth will meet in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican to listen and reflect on the themes about vocations, fraternal life and the missions. In the afternoon they will meet in various parts of Rome to hold dialogue and sharing sessions, and in the evening they will have the chance to participate in the itineraries offered: the path of the announcement (missionary night in the centre of Rome), the path of encounter (meetings with social-ecclesiastical organisations: Caritas, St. Egidio community, Talitha Kum), the path of beauty (guided tours of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel). Some open-air events with the public will be: the prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Square (15 September at 20.30) presided by the Archbishop Secretary of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life, His Excellency, Bishop José Rodríguez Carballo; the mass in St. Peter’s Basilica (19 September at 11.30) presided by the Prefect of the Congregation, His Excellency, Cardinal João Braz de Aviz; soiree of music and testimonials in St. Peter’s Square (18 September at 20.30). There will also be a meeting with Pope Francis during the general audience on Wednesday, 16 September. On this occasion, all those present will receive as a gift, the book entitled Love means giving all – Testimonials, edited in seven languages. Published by the Vie Consacrée Association and in Italian by Città Nuova, the book, upon its release, was presented to the Holy Father who expressed his deep appreciation for the new, fresh and attractive vision of consecrated life, and encouraged its widespread diffusion. Click here to see the programme of the event Source: New City publishers
Consecrated men and women from all over the world (countries such as Iran, the Philippines, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe) will be arriving in Rome to participate in the World Day of Young Religious. The event is organised by the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life within the context of the Year of Consecrated Life.
Prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Square (15 September at 20.30)
Meeting with Pope Francis during the general audience (Wednesday 16 September)
Reduce public funding of weapons; work at the root level of inequality, to counter misery; revise current models of governance; adopt a model of organised legality in opposition to criminality; guarantee universal primary education. These are the five main points of the appeal made by the young people of the Focolare’s Youth for a United World (YUW) to national parliaments, the European Parliament, the National Commissions of UNESCO and the United Nations. On March 12th of this year, 350 young people representing 39 countries presented their appeal to the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament. Their words have great resonance these days when faced by a humanitarian drama that can wait no longer for political reflections or national and international bureaucracies: “We are well aware of the global scene that is dotted by numerous conflicts, which cause migrations of people who are fleeing from violence, extreme poverty, hunger and social injustice in their own lands. These deep wounds concern all of us directly and urge us to find concrete solutions that are personally engaging.” They add: “Personal good will, will never produce universal brotherhood. We are convinced, in fact, that political action, directed at intervention into the causes of the conflicts and into the conditions that generate inequality, is required.” In their appeal the young people not only denounced these causes but presented explicitly clear requests. In these times when we are immersed in such a pressing humanitarian drama, the YUW also raises its voice to say: “We want peace and unity among the peoples of the world.” They invite everyone to spread the appeal, presenting it as soon as possible to international, national and local organisations (UN, UNESCO, Heads of State, Parliaments, mayors, religious leaders, etc.) They have chosen September 11th to “flood the social media with the Hashtag#OpenYourBorders.” They will also increase concrete activities and take part in those that are already underway through the United World Project. Photos, personal testimonies, events and videos in favour of welcome and peace can be posted on Facebook at ‘Dialogue to unlock’ or at info@unitedworldproject.org. The proceeds my be given to the local Caritas or else sent as a donation to the Youth for a United World Fund. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcAv0Lr34bw
The Book Talk Concert is an event supported by the Korean Bishops Conference. It began three years ago with the goal of spreading the faith through monthly cultural events with popular artists and writers, and also newcomers. In August the Book Concert offered a special edition for young people lifting up the message of Pope Francis to today’s Korean society: “You, me, us – wake up!” The event was held at the beginning of the month in the Cathedral of Myeungdong where the Pope had celebrated the 2014 Mass for the Peace and Reconciliation of the Country . The main guests included authors such as: Kong Ji-young, a favourite author the young; Father Jin Seul-ki, a young priest; and Cho Seung-yeon, a young expert in global culture. ”Wake up” was the heart of the Pope’s message to the Asian young people gathered in Korea last year, and this year’s message was: Wake up and rise, get moving in favour society and your neighbours, especially the suffering.”The writers talked about their personal awakenings, as they responded to the questions of the young people on how to face and overcome problems of faith and everyday life. There was a concert by Third Chair, followed by discussion and experiences. There was also a deep moment of prayer for peace, using the words of Pope Francis. Twenty flags from several Asian countries painted a scene of brotherhood and the overcoming of age-old hostilities among nations. One young man from the Focolare recounts: “I worked on two teams, scenario and art. We performed what we had prepared for last year’s Asian Youth Day, which concluded the Book Concert. There were difficulties and tension at times, but we always aimed for an atmosphere of mutual understanding, also between generations, knowing that this was the only way the event could be a gift for the young people who had been invited.” Another young volunteer commented: “Through our often hidden service, we were able to relive last year’s visit of the Pope and to convey that experience to many other young people.”
The presentation of the book compiled in co-partnership between Paul VI Institute and Chiara Lubich Centre and published by Stadium Press, will be held on September 27, 2015 at the Mariapolis Centre of Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Via S.G.Battisti da La Salle,. This date has been chosen because of its proximity to the anniversary of Blessed Paul VI, which is celebrated on September 26th. There will be two sessions in the programme. Following the opening remarks by Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement, and by Father Angelo Maffeis, President of the Paul VI Institute, a roundtable discussion will begin with Bishop Vincenzo Zani, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Catholic Education; Dr. Giulia Paola Di Nicola and Bishop Marcello Semeraro, bishop of Albano Laziale, Italy; and Alessandro De Carolis moderator. Meditazione in musica sulla vita del beato Paolo VI.This will be follwed by a concert featuring the piano music of Chopin, played by Father Carlo José Seno, titled Open to the World. Musical meditations on the life of Blessed Paul VI.
“Often we are closed in ourselves and create many inaccessible and inhospitable islands. Even the most elementary human relations sometimes create realities that are unable to open to each other: a closed couple, a closed family, a closed group, a closed parish, a closed homeland… And this does not come from God!” Pope Francis’s words at the Angelus on 6th September resound strongly, in his call for concrete action to support the hundreds of thousands of refugees forced to leave their homes: “As we draw close to the Jubilee of Mercy, I appeal to parishes, to religious communities, to monasteries and convents and all the shrines of Europe to show the concreteness of the Gospel and take in a refugee family”. In the name of the Focolare Movement, Maria Voce has expressed “gratitude” for this courageous and practical appeal by the Holy Father” and stressed the decision to do what he asks by “opening the doors of our houses and centres to receive people”.
Florence (Italy): Bed & Breakfast project for migrants
The Focolare Movement is already involved in many initiatives undertaken by individuals and groups in various countries: in North Africa, the Middle East, Europe, South East Asia, North and South America. Help is given to thousands of people from Myanmar in the refugee camps in the north of Thailand. There is the Bed & Breakfast open to migrants in Florence, Italy, reception of refugees in Szeged and other cities in Hungary and Austria; families are being welcomed in Lyon, France; a letter has been sent to the President of Uruguay to encourage reception of refugees. These are just a few of the thousands of examples gathered by the United World Project. But this is not enough. “We must do more” Maria Voce said, to make political leaders take action, to stop the arms trade and to influence decision-makers in their strategic choices. This – as we are now seeing – can also start from ground level, with the mobilisation of civil society. Moreover, the President of the Focolare Movement has called on its members “to commit themselves and to work together more” so as to promote, together with all those who are working in this direction, actions directed towards unmasking the causes of war and the tragedies that afflict so many places in the world, with the aim of bringing solutions “putting into play our capacities, our resources and our readiness”. Press Releases – Focolare Information Service (SIF)
“For over 3 months now I have been doing my apprenticeship in pediatric oncology, in a ward where you never know if the children you are assisting today will still be there tomorrow. It is absolutely not easy to live in continuous contact with the suffering of the innocent, since it gets to the point of putting to the test one’s decision to study pediatric nursing. On the first day, I was ready for anything. But once I set foot in the ward, I came face to face with a beautiful little girl. She was afflicted by one of the worst types of malignant tumours, at the terminal stage. I had no idea at all of how I was to go about it. I had never ever felt so useless and incapable, and was convinced that there was nothing useful I could do for her. There are also other children in the ward, and the day seemed to pass very quickly, but every time I entered the little girl’s room I would feel the same sensation of helplessness and inadequacy. It was already 2 p.m.- time to end my shift. I felt I could not leave without doing something for her. But what? In trying to put in practice the spirituality of unity, I had experimented that what matters in love is to love. That you do not need to do sensational things, just start with a small thing, without expecting great results. I felt I had done all I could for that little girl. So why was I feeling I could do more? In the morning, upon entering the hospital, I had noted that there was a chapel. Perhaps, I thought, loving that child meant praying for her. So I sat on one of the last pews, but did not know what to ask for her. I just sat in silence, with a great, oppressing pain in my heart. Little by little I began to feel that Jesus was taking all my suffering onto himself. With a free heart I could then entrust the child to Him and then go once again to greet her and her mother, to make them feel my closeness and great support. From that moment on, I continued going to that chapel often. It was there that I found the light to face and also comprehend in some way, the mystery of the suffering of the innocent, which we so frequently encounter. And it is the Crucified and Risen Christ who gives me the strength and the right attitude with which to approach the children and their relatives. Often I do not understand what I should do for them, but then the answer never fails to come. One day a 10 year-old girl was interned. She had been tossed from one hospital to another. The suspicion was that she had a serious blood disease, which was confirmed, and all of a sudden, she and her mother collapsed as if they had been hit by the avalanche of a diagnosis that did not offer a way out. I felt the importance of standing by them and taking on their pain, helping them as I could, even if I had to stay a few hours more in the hospital. During the day I could not do much, but when I had some free time from my duties, I would go to their room, to listen to and reassure the mother and let the child play a bit. And every time I it seems like a veil of serenity returns to their eyes, a new hope in facing the trials awaiting them. I try to live this way in many other situations, taking every possibility to stay a bit with “my” kids, not only to administer their treatments but to see them smile and face with serenity their difficult paths.”
In April, a huge fraud by officials of the Tax Administration Service in collusion with senior level political leaders was uncovered. The close collaboration between the Public Ministry and the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) led to dozens of people being brought to trial for corruption, including the Vice President. It raised a wave of indignation among citizens, which continues to grow. In the midst of those events, Raúl e Cecilia Di Lascio from Argentina attended a meeting with local members of the Focolare community on the weekend of August 22-23. Raúl is an architect and Economy of Commuion business owner, and Cecilia is a member of the international commission of the Political Movement for Unity. During their discussions they delved into topics concerning politics and the economy in the light of the charism of unity. Meeting during a period of such collective effervescence, transformed the moments of discussion among citizens of all ages and backgrounds an opportunity to be open to a field that is generally looked upon negatively. Chiara Lubich’s vision of politics when she founded the Political Movement for Unity: the great values that political action manifests when it is seen as service in favour of the common good. Looking at politics through the lens of fraternity, which liberates courageous and socially committed attitudes, filled the hopes of the participants, supported by the exchange of experiences that are currently underway in several parts of the world. In the days that followed Guatemalan society held a mass protest demanding the resignation of the President – also requested by Catholic and other Christian church leaders – after connections to corruption were uncovered. Many businesses, schools and universities closed in order to allow people to take part in the protests, including the Mariapolis Centre and Fiore College. The large concentration of people in the Central Park of Guatemala became a solid mass: more than 100,000 people gathered in the time span of a day. Will states: “You can feel that there is a void in the heart of Guatemala that was not filled. We need to unite so that a change can come.” The fact of so many people peacefully demonstrating did not go unappreciated: “The nice thing is that even businesses closed, in order to allow people to take part in the demonstrations. As a Guatemalan I trembled as we cried ‘Guatemala, Guatemala’ or sang the national anthem.” Lina, a teacher states: “I saw a new sense of responsibility. We don’t want to allow the opportunity to change things, to pass us by, knowing that this time it’s possible.” For many it was encouraging to see entire families who were not afraid to bring along their children. “Rich families and poor families together,” Sandra remarks, “indigenous peoples, young people, children and adults – all of them together, and students prepared to resist violence in order to reach the common goal!” the goal that Alex calls: “a better country.” The latest news is that the President of the Republic lost immunity and resigned “for the good of society” and is now under arrest. On September 6 citizens will be invited to the election booths and all indications are that things will unfold in a peaceful and democratic way.
Seven kilometres into the forest, reachable on foot or by baka (van), which is the only thing capable of travelling over the mud and holes during the rainy season, lies the village of Glolé. It is one of eighteen Cantons in the region of Tonkpi, northwest of the Ivory Coast. There is no electricity, and therefore no television, internet or shops. Many of the people in that region have been touched by Chiara Lubich’s ideal of brotherhood. They live it in their daily lives beginning with putting into practice the Word of the Gospel; even the social and political structures have been gradually enriched and illuminated by the experience. Gilbert Gba Zio is a community leader, catechist and head of a family: “One day we asked ourselves what we should do for our little village,” he said during a recent meeting of the Economy of Communion in Nairobi, Kenya. “We saw that living out the Word of the Gospel could provide some guidelines.” Here are some of the concrete results of that decision. House for the strangers (guests). For Glolé the local saying “Kwayeko,” (We have a place for you to stay), was not merely a saying. “There are many people who walk through our area, they walk many miles and have sleep on the roadside until they reach their destination village. We always give our bed to our guests every time. This is also the Gospel’s way, but we said to ourselves: “Couldn’t we do more? Why don’t we build small houses, so when anybody arrives, we can offer them somewhere to sleep? So we began to make bricks, singing songs of joy. There were some bricklayers in our group and we built twelve small houses with one bedroom and a small living room in each. Now we can say to the strangers who arrive: “We have a house, come and sleep there. There is always some food, too, since we are all farmers. In this way, we took the first steps. House of Health. During the rainy season it is difficult to reach the paved road and travel the additional 30 km to the city of Man, which is the closest urban centre. This makes it quite difficult in the case of a medical emergency. “One day there was a woman who was giving birth and it was a complicated labour,” Gilbert recounts. “We took her to the asphalt road in a wheelbarrow to get her in a car. Thank God, the woman was saved; but it was tough. Therefore it was necessary to build a house of health and bring some traditional midwives to help women in labour. But where to find the money? We have tenant farming in our region: the proprietor of a piece of land can give it to someone else to cultivate for one season. In the end, the harvest is divided in two equal parts and shared between them. Our community took a coffee plantation: the men pulled the weed out from among the plants, the women harvested the coffee. With the money we could buy the cement and build the House of Health. Children suffering from malnutrition. “There were children dying in the village and we did not know that we could actually save them. In the Focolare’s permanent Mariapolis, there is a centre taking care of them. We explained the problem to them and started bringing the children in. We were surprised to see that the children were getting healed in that place without any medications. They taught us how to feed them. One day, the head of the centre told us: ‘If you want, we can go to your place.’ In our culture a child belongs to the whole village! They explained to us how to prevent and how to cure this illness. We started to change our food related habits, and we learned that it is necessary to eat beans, peanuts, mushrooms . . . and we learned how to conserve food so we could give our children to eat even in times of famine.” Rice Bank. “We store the rice in smaller granaries, but they are frequently ‘visited’ by thieves and mice. So, we built a rammed earth house where everyone sent what they had. In the beginning, we were only 30 people. Nowadays, some farmers who are not members of our group have joined us, too, and 110 people are bringing their sacks of rice keep in our bank. In the months of March and April, during the sowing season, they take what they need for sowing and set aside what they need for feeding their children. At the right time, when the prices are good, they take away their rice and sell it. Everyone donates a part of their harvest according to their conscience and deposits it in the bank as a contribution to compensate for the needs of the community and for those who guard the rice bank.” One village is not enough. “‘Couldn’t you come to us with your business?’ the people of the neighbouring villages said to us. Today there are 13 villages that live like us in Glolé. Unity is our wealth. One day, there came an outside who wanted to help us make a well for the village. But we could not agree about the location of it. Had we insisted on having a well, it would have brought division to the village. So we preferred not to accept this gift in order to keep the unity amongst us. See “Economia di Comunione – una cultura nuova” n.41 – Eitorial insert from Città Nuova n.13/14 – 2015 – luglio 2015 See Nouvelle Cité Afrique Juillet 2015 Glolè (Ivory Coast): Congress EoC 2015
“Aboard the bus to the hospital in Harefield, Great Britan, where I was studying nursing, I was impressed by one my colleague’s way of acting. I was very shy then, but she started to make friends with me, and I was impressed by that. She invited me to breakfast, in spite of having some of her ‘wilder’ friends nearby. She didn’t make a distinction. I was trying to be a Christian but wasn’t very happy. I would go to church on Sundays more to salve my conscience than anything else. But she spoke of joyful faith, genuine faith that she shared with other young women like herself, faith illuminated by love. One day she arrived at the hospital with a guitar to celebrate with one of the nurses who was notorious for not getting on with people. I said to myself, if this woman is able to do so much, perhaps it would be worthwhile to find out what’s behind behind it. She told me about the spirituality of unity that inspired her. I began to visit the people at the focolare and every time I found new ways to give of myself: sharing some clothing or food with those in need, offering to do something practical like the washing, etc. These small gesture, which were the fruit of the Gospel that I had also begun to put into practice, made me feel much joy inside me. Even though I still didn’t know what the Focolare Movement was, I knew it was the place I had to be. I looked at the radical choice the focolarinas and thought I would love to have the courage to be like them. But they’re Catholics, and I’m Anglican. . . I felt this voice inside me saying, ‘But you can, you know. Why don’t you just say your yes to me?’ I felt like taking a step off a cliff by saying my yes to God. It was so unlike me, but I was happy to want to follow him forever. I became a nurse specialised in midwifery, because of a deep desire to bring a change in society. I thought that with this specialization I could go abroad, and I had already put some money aside for the trip. When I entered the focolare I gave that money to the poor and began my formation to become a focolarina. My first destination was the focolare in Leeds for five years. I worked in an area of the city with deep rooted social problems. I had came from a middle class backgound and had a romanticised idea of what poverty was. When one particular girl came to the clinic, she always had the same clothes on and her tights were full of holes. It was important for me to build a relationship with her, to get to know her so that she could tell me about her situation, where she lived, and so on. One day I visited her home. Her partner was standing in the doorway, very verbally aggressive towards me. I was so shocked by the man and the state of the house, that I could hardly talk. Then I noticed a big tank of fish on the wall, so I started to talk about the fish and the tension melted. On my next visit I brought along some dresses, and the third time I found her sitting on the window sill ready to show off her new clothes. I now live in the focolare at Welwyn Garden City and continue to work for the National Health Service (NHS). In recent years there was upheaval in the NHS and it’s not so easy to bring that change that inspired me at the start of my career. But even in this upheaval I strive to do everything as an act of love towards God and my brothers and sisters. Living in community with people who have made the same choice in life is an important opportunity also for my job; but also to grow together in the unity amongst us and in our faith in God-Love, giving ourselves to others whether they are Catholic or Anglican.”
In 1998, Chiara Lubich established the Education for Dialogue Centre in Mariapolis Luminosa, the Focolare’s permanent Mariapolis in the State of New York. For that occasion she wrote: “May all those who take part in the activities of this centre also feel like builders of this new reality, collaborating with love, patience, mutual understanding and solidarity, in order to create an island of peace and a sign of unity for today’s world. . . may it especially be a school where one learns to live out this love, which is the only thing that can make the peoples of the earth a single family.” “These words from Chiara also informed a recent meeting of August 15 and 16 at the North American Mariapolis, titled: Dialogue and the Difficult Questions. It was attended by a hundred people and it focused on how to dialogue and communicate with people who think differently.” There were also very valuable contributions by four experts in moral theology and political theories from Fordham University (New York), Providence College (Rhode Island) and Georgetown University (Washington D.C.). They write: “We began with some words from Chiara Lubich on the dialogue that emerges particuarly from the spirituality of unity which, if practiced, helps to transform people’s relationships with eah other.” Charlie Camosy (Fordham) and Amy Uelman (Georgetown), examined the “reasons why USA society is so polarized by opposing positions and how the walls between people could be broken down by listening and being open to others.” Dana Dillon (Providence College) dealt with the delicate relationship between love and truth, based on one of the main points of the spirituality of unity: Jesus forsaken. The theologian presented Him as the true model of dialogue inasmuchh as “He entered into the disunity of that moment in which He felt abandoned by the Father, unifying the greatest division possible, the one between Heaven and earth.” In the afternoon there was an interactive programme offered by Claude Blanc, a leadership coach and team work consultant, who guided the participants in several exrecises in “learning to listen deeply and without pretexts.” A reflection on “Different Ways of Communicating” (imposing, discussing, trying to convince the other, and focusing on the common good), given by Bill Gould (Fordham),brought the session to a perfect conclusion. The roundtable discussion on Sunday, evidenced the need for being prepared to confront some current burning issues as well as the challenges of daily life. Two impressions: “The workshop on listening helped me to see how importnat and fruitful this can be in daily relationships;” “I leave quite enriched by this experience.”
Climatic change is one of the major moral challenges of our times. Several religious leaders unite in order to support a worldwide petition in favour of 100% of renewable energy by 2050. Religions for Peace is the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious coalition-advances common action among the world’s religious communities for peace. Religions for Peace works to transform violent conflict, advance human development, promote just and harmonious societies, and protect the earth. The global Religions for Peace network comprises a World Council of senior religious leaders from all regions of the world; six regional inter-religious bodies and more than ninety-two national ones; and the Global Women of Faith Network and Global Interfaith Youth Network. The President of the Focolare Movement, Maria Voce, who is one of the co-presidents of Religions for Peace, is aware of the moral responsibility necessary for the care of our planet. She is personally supporting the petition addressed to heads of states and invites all the interested to join the campaign. To sign the online petition visit http://faithsforearth.org and select your country.
It was a decidedly ecumenical move on the part of Pope Francis to dedicate a “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.” He not only identified the current ecological crisis as one of the most pressing urgencies of our time but also wanted to highlight the urgent need to act no longer fragmented and in isolation but “together” – not only in the field of ecology but in all the challenges facing humankind. The idea of a World Day of Prayer had been suggested to him by Orthodox Metropolitan John of Pergamom who spoke at the public presentation of the Encyclical Letter Laudato sì on June 18th. To underscore the added value of a prayer that is made by agreement (Mt. 18:19), in the letter that institutes the Day of Prayer (June 8, 2015) the Pope exhorts: “Sharing the concern of my beloved brother, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, for the future of creation, and at the suggestion of his representative, Metropolitan John of Pergamum . . .” As if to say that it was not important who had the idea; we can always learn from each other! And to reiterate the idea, towards the end of the document, the Pope urges Cardinal Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christians Unity, “to ensure that it is coordinated with similar initiatives undertaken by the World Council of Churches.” The World Council of Churches will dedicate “the period between September 1st (the first day of the Orthodox Liturgical Year) to October 4th (feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi on the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar) – to a Time for Creation with a variety of initiatives in favour of the environment and its connection to justice and peace. The Pope’s choice of September 1st for the yearly celebration of the World Day is quite significant, since it is the same as that of the Orthodox brothers and sisters and the day that begins the Time for Creation that was established by the World Council of Churches. Also significant is his wish that other churches and ecclesial communities join in, so that it might be a fruitful opportunity for giving witness “to our growing communion.” The annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation will offer individual believers and communities “the precious opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care,” and precisely because it is destined to involve Christians from various denominations speaking with one voice, it will be a further concrete and common message from Christians to the world. A passion for the protection of Creation has also characterised the Focolare’s commitment with its international network EcoOne that offers a space for anyone working in the field of the environment to share ideas and concrete projects. The Movement’s involvement in the field of ecumenism is also significant, especially in places where there is a high concentration from people of different denominations. For the Focolare the World Day of Prayer for the Protection of Creation represents a magnificent providential world event that will join its members in prayer, beseeching from God the preservation of the Home that welcomes the great human family. But it will also join together people of good will from all backgrounds and beliefs in coming up with new strategies and answers for the environment and for a more united world.
“Seeing what the Holy Spirit has done with us and with many other spiritual and social “enterprises” that are at work the Church today, I cannot but hope that He will continue to act now and always with the same generosity and magnanimity. And this holds true not only for brand new works that will arise from his love, but also for the development of those that already exist, like our own. Meanwhile, I dream that the atmosphere in our Church will be more suited to her identity as the Bride of Christ; a Church which can be seen by the world as being more beautiful, more one, more holy, more charismatic, more akin to Christ her Spouse. I dream of her being a beacon for humanity. And I dream of seeing in her a holiness of the people, never seen before. I dream that the lived siblinghood, that is gaining momentum today in the consciences of millions of people, will be practised more widely across the globe, so that in the third millennium it will be a general, universal reality. Consequently, I dream of fewer wars and conflicts, less hunger, and the reduction of the thousand other evils in the world. I dream of an ever more intense dialogue of love among the Churches so that the formation of the one Church is seen to be close at hand. I dream of a more living and active dialogue among people of the most varied religions linked to one another by love, by “the Golden Rule” present in all their sacred texts. I dream of greater encounter and mutual enrichment among the various cultures in the world, so that they may give rise to a world culture that highlights those values which have always been the true wealth of individual peoples, and I dream that these values will be seen by all as global wisdom. I dream that the Holy Spirit will continue to enrich the Churches and strengthen the “seeds of the Word” beyond them, so that the world may continually receive new light, life, and works which He alone can is able to give. So that ever-greater numbers of men and women may set out towards straight paths, converging on their Creator, and putting their hearts and souls at his disposal. I dream of Gospel-based relationships not only among individuals, but also among groups, movements, religious and lay associations; among peoples and among States, so that it becomes logical to love other people’s countries as our own; and logical to tend towards a universal communion of goods, at least as a goal to reach. (…) In a word, I dream of already witnessing the new heavens and new earth, as far as this is possible here on earth. I am dreaming of many things, but we have a millennium to see them come true.” Chiara Lubich Extract from: “Attualità. Leggere il proprio tempo”, Città Nuova, Rome 2013, pp. 102-103
Pasquale Foresi commented many times on the theology of the charism of Chiara Lubich, underscoring its novelty for both living and thinking. Between 1990 and 1998 he was often called upon to answer questions that were posed by members of the Movement from a variety of vocational, cultural and geographical backgrounds. On one of these occasions he was asked for advice on how to live humility[1]. “Being humble simply means accepting to be who you are,” he said. “And all of us are sinners. If anyone says ‘I’m not a sinner,’ he lies; so all of us can have humility all the time. Saint Benedict’s outline seems quite wise to me and has always helped me to live. It could be summarised as follows: The first step for being humble is to accept humiliations, mortifications. . . One day, someone speaks badly of you at the office, in your workplace; there might be a misunderstanding between you and someone else, or even a calumny. . . You need to be able accept these tribulations and difficulties. The second step is to love humiliations, which is more than accepting them. This is the case, for example, when we have given our life for others and judgement and accusation begin to arise amongst the people for whom we have done much. These criticisms can have a basis in reality but are exaggerated. It is difficult to love such humiliations, but they’re beneficial for growing in the life of God. The third step is to prefer humiliations not only loving them, but being happy over them. As when someone speaks badly of you and you say: ‘This is a grace from God that I am receiving. . .” This is the highest grade which all of us should tend towards, because it returns us to that humility which draws us together. Obviously, the calumnies should always be clarified but with detachment, living the Gospel that says “Blessed are you when, lying, they will utter every sort of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in Heaven.” [1] Foresi, Pasquale. COLLOQUI, domande e risposte sulla spiritualità dell’unità, (Rome: Città Nuova Publishing House, 2009) p. 64.
This year, the annual general meeting will be held over a period of 2 weeks. The zone delegates, who will be representing 36 geographic areas and 6 Focolare little towns, will be taking stock of the life of the Movement in the different parts of the world and will be establishing guidelines to meet the challenges of the coming year.
If we all truly loved our neighbour as ourselves, wars would cease, corruption would disappear, universal brotherhood wouldn’t be a utopia, and the civilization of love would soon become a reality. Here is one of those words of the Gospel that demand to be put into action immediately, this very instant. It is so utterly clear, and demanding, that it does not need a huge amount of comment. To see the power it contains, it may be useful, all the same, to look at it in its context. Jesus is replying to the question of one of the scribes (one of the students of the Bible) who had asked him which was the greatest commandment. It was an open question, especially as 613 precepts to be followed had been identified. One of the great teachers who had lived a few years before, Rabbi Shammai, had refused to say what he thought was the chief commandment. Others instead, as Jesus also did, focused on the central place of love. Rabbi Hillel, for example, affirmed: ‘Do not do to your neighbour anything that is hateful to yourself: this is the whole of the Law. The rest is commentary.’[1] Jesus is not the only one to take up the teaching about the central place of love, but he put together, as a single commandment, the love of God (see Dt 6:4) and the love of neighbour (see Lev 19:18). The reply he gives to the scribe who is questioning him is in fact: ‘The first [commandment] is, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’ The second part of the single commandment is the expression of the first, love for God. Every one of God’s creatures is so close to his heart that to give him glory, to show him in action the love we have for him, there is no other way than to be the expression of his love for all. As parents are happy when they see their children getting on with each other, helping each other, staying united, so also God – who for us is like a father and a mother – is happy when he sees we love our neighbour as ourselves, and so contribute to bringing about the unity of the human family. For centuries Prophets had already been explaining to the People of Israel that God wants love and not sacrifices and holocausts (see Hosea 6:6). Jesus himself recalled their teaching when he said: ‘Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners’ (Mt 9:13). How indeed can we love God who we cannot see, if we don’t love our brother or sister (see 1 Jn 4:20)? We love them, we serve them, we honour them to the measure that we love, serve, honour every person, both the friend and the unknown, from our own or from another people, above all the ‘small’, those most in need. This is the invitation to the Christian in today’s world: to translate worship into life, to go forth from the churches, where we adore, love, praise God, so that we go to meet others, in such a way as to practise what we have just learnt in prayer and communion with God. ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’ How then can we live this command of the Lord’s? Let’s remind ourselves that it is part of an inseparable pair that includes love for God. We have to give ourselves time to get to know what love is and how we can love, and so we need to give space to moments of prayer, of ‘contemplation’, of dialogue with him. We learn love from God, who is Love. We don’t steal any time from our neighbour when we stay with God, indeed we prepare ourselves to love in a way that is increasingly generous and appropriate. At the same time, when we come back to God having loved other people, our prayer is more genuine, more true, and is filled with all the persons we have met, who we bring back to him. To love our neighbours as ourselves we need, then, to get to know them as they know themselves. We ought to reach the point of loving as the other wants to be loved and not as we would like to love. Now that our societies are becoming always more multicultural, with the presence of people from a huge variety of backgrounds, the challenge is even greater. Someone who goes to a new country has to learn its traditions and values; only in this way can they understand and love the people who live there. The same thing is true for those who receive new immigrants, who are often bewildered, struggling with a new language, and finding it difficult to fit in. Differences are present within the same family, in the workplace or in the locality, even when they are made up of persons who belong to the same culture. Would we like to find someone who’s ready to set aside time to listen to us, to help us revise for an exam, to find a job, to tidy our house? Perhaps the other person has similar needs. We have to know how to intuit them, being attentive to the other, adopting a sincere attitude of listening, putting ourselves in the other’s shoes. The quality of our love also matters. The apostle Paul, in his celebrated hymn to charity, lists some of its characteristics, which it could be useful to remember: it is patient, kind, not envious, not boastful or arrogant, does not insist on its own way, is not irritable, keeps no score of wrongs, but bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (see 1 Cor 13:4-7). How many chances and how many nuances there are to living: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’! In conclusion we can recall that this principal for human existence is at the basis of the well-known ‘golden rule’ that we find in all religions and in all the great teachers of ‘secular’ culture. We could try to find, at the origins of our own cultural tradition or religious belief, similar invitations to love our neighbour and then help one another to live them together: Hindus and Muslims, Buddhists and followers of traditional religions, Christians and men and women of good will. We have to work together to create a new mentality that gives value to the other, that instils and encourages respect for the person, that cares and protects minorities, that is attentive to the weakest, that sets aside one’s own interests to put those of the other into the first place. If we were all truly aware of having to love our neighbour as ourselves, to the point of not doing to the other what we do not wish to be done to us and that we should do to the other what we wish the other would do for us, wars would cease, corruption would disappear, universal fraternity would be no utopia and the civilization of love would soon become a reality. Fabio Ciardi [1] Babylonian Talmud, Shabbath Folio 31a.
Every day around the world thousands of people stand up for an integral economy. Aldo Calliera is the owner of El Alba, a company inserted within the Economy of Communion, involved in the raising of livestock in Santiago, North Argentina. Work begins early for this country folk, even before the break of dawn. Before the day begins mate is prepared, a typical South American beverage that is meant to be sipped through a silver straw by a group of friends. With each new round, stories are shared and bodies warmed. The owner did not wish to lose this age old tradition of his guachos, and he began to attend the early morning materas, but he was surprised that with his arrival the conversation languished and silence fell on the assembly. It was the same every day. Guachos are reared in a culture where everyone falls silent when the boss arrives, not because of disappointment but because from the times of the Conquest the worker has been considered inferior to the master. Thus, Calliera went away each day feeling that he had been given a punch in the stomach, and his heart shrank at the thought at not having been able to penetrate the wall. Gradually his insistence enabled hearts to open and names be shared, all but one: Ernesto’s. One day, Calliera was programming “the service,” which is the time and location coupling for the production of calves. After the planning session the engineer who was with him, was about to issue orders to the workers, but Calliera stepped in saying: “Leave it to me, to talk to my men.” Then he explained to the workers what had to be done and, instead of simply giving them orders, he asked them for their opinion. Ernesto, whose voice the owner barely knew, spoke up for the first time: “I think that we won’t have any calves next year.” Calliera was doubly surprised and asked why. The answer was simple: there was not enough water for all the animals at the place where he had planned to take them for mating. It might seem that anyone could have said it, but in this culture it is customary to respond “Yes, sir” to one’s boss, even when you disagree. Callieri relects: “Then I realised that it is only by having an optimistic vision of others that you can draw out the best in them. Only in this way is it possible to find treasures in others that otherwise remain hidden, and to discover the best way to draw them out. Each person’s talents are like virtues that you discover when there is mutual trust.” Needless to say, the Callieri heard Ernesto’s advice and changed the “service” and things went better. . . The matera had produced a small cultural change that helped everyone to build relationships based on reciprocity that neither workers, nor forefathers would ever have immagined. Source: EoC online
An illnessMy husband has been ill for two years now because of a brain tumour. At times he complains because objects fall from his hands. I made an agreement with my daughters to never make him feel that something strange has happened. Many times, upon discreetly observing how they treat their father with care, and aware of the sacrifices and many renunciations they undertake to help the family, I see that they are more mature for their age. We are undergoing as a family, a period we have never experienced before. Despite the inexpressible suffering weighing on us, we feel a great serenity. (B.S. – Poland) The old man There was no more food in the house. I took a bag of cornmeal and 1,000 francs: half for transportation and the other half for the mill. I hailed the first taxi that came by. Beside the taxi driver, an old man was profoundly asleep. I noticed that the taxi driver was trying to slip the man’s wallet from his bag, so when I arrived at my destination I said: «This is my father, and he has to get off with me.» The driver continued to say that this was not where the man wanted to go, but due to my insistence, said he would let the man get off for 1,000 francs. I gave it to him immediately, and taking the bag, I helped the old man, still asleep, get off. Over here it occurs often that taxi drivers drug people in order to rob them. The old man awoke when I poured water over his head. He looked for his bag and checked if all his money was there. He said to me: “You saved my life”, and gave me 5,000 francs. I looked for a taxi driver I trusted who accompanied him safe and sound to his village. (M.A. – Cameroon)Trendy pants My classmates made fun of me because I didn’t have trendy clothes. I have a big family and we live in the countryside. One day I helped a classmate who was having a hard time with math and we became friends. Another day the others started to joke about my pants and he defended me. From that time on, all this stopped. We need to be at least two to be able to fight wrong ideas. In a short time we all became friends, and when they had to choose the class leader, they chose me. (E.C. – Italy) The beggar In my community we pray daily to God to bless our food, and help us to share it with those in need. At lunch time the usual beggar knocked on the door and we had nothing but cornmeal porridge for lunch and dinner. We did not have any money either, so I told the beggar that we did not have anything. When I sat down for lunch, I had no appetite. After a while, a phrase came to my mind, “Give and you will be given.” So I gathered what we had and gave it to the beggar who was still waiting. Not long after that, someone knocked on the door. A girl was there holding a big plate of cornmeal porridge saying: «This is from mama». It’s incredible how God is so punctual. (Sister Madeleine – Burkina Faso)
Interfaith encounter as a Peace Building Process European Assembly – Castel Gandolfo 28 Oct. – 1st Nov.. 2015 Organized in conjunction with the Focolare Movement Program
Five years ago, the town was classified as having one of the lowest socio-economic communities in the Piemonte region. But the entire community learned about hospitality towards others and today, 30 refugees, almost all Africans, besides a family from Kosovo with three children, have been living for eight months now, in a housing unit owned by the Cottolengo Institute. “We have adopted them,” confided two eighty year olds sitting in the town square. They had done so during the war, specified the President of the “Pro Loco” organisation, with the Jews and the members of the Italian resistance movement. History repeats itself. The mayor, Lisa Giacomo did not have to convince himself and the 180 residents of the village. Out of these, only 90 live in Lemie all year round. It had already happened in 2011, when the problem of hosting the migrants and refugees arriving on the Italian coasts with rusty boats still was not such a burning issue. Already then, for Lemie, that arrival of ‘friends’ had symbolized the rebirth of the community The 12 children taken care of by educators and the parish priest were baptised in the parish Church during a ceremony which went down in the history of the town. It was a feast. All the families with the children were welcomed by families and other children of those alpine valleys. “Of course, at the start we were a bit surprised,” Lisa explained, “the population here has a a very high age bracket average, and it’s not easy to open oneself to others. Or at least, this was not the case. I didn’t have to give a lot of explanations since no one asked any questions. Giving hospitality seemed but a natural thing .” And the situation today is still the same as in 2011. And as in the past, the men and woman that arrived from Libya and other sub-Saharian countries will have to work, and make themselves useful. “With the Province of Turin in 2011 we had also implemented some job offers. Now some are applying for ‘restitution volunteer work’ which is useful to them and also to us.” the mayor remarked. And not only do these ‘refugee friends’ wish to stay in Italy, but the community itself is asking them to stay. “The citizens immediately accepted them, but what’s more, welcomed them,” confirmed Lisa, “and a couple of residents found jobs as educators with an association related to a cooperative. Problems? “Only bureaucratic ones. They applied for protection as refugees, but the time frames are very long.” Then the transportation issues: “I will ask the agencies managing the coaches for Turin to help them, since I think it would useless to make them pay the bus tickets for Turin.” On asking the mayor if the village has been reborn due to the migrants, he smiles and opens his arms . “Look at this valley. It is full of second homes, that open only in summer. Many young people continue to leave, even if their bond with valley is still strong. The new people who have come have brought some liveliness. Just go to the playground on a sunny afternoon and finally you will see children playing, shouting, enjoying themselves. They have even saved the school.” Excuse me? “Certainly. Five children more in school allowed the school to keep more teachers and a better quality in education. What else can we ask of these friends we have welcomed among us? The family has been extended and Lemie is no longer small and marginal. We want to be a different village, new and open to all.” Original article in Italian: Città Nuova online
The Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe were recently hit with severe rainfall. The local news media says that 20,000 people were affected and more than 4, 000 evacuees. Some roads are closed and others have limited access. The rains are unrelenting and a weather emergency is in force. However, in some regions the rain has begun to lessen. Mariapolis Lia, nestled in the Argentine pampas region, is literally submerged in water along with the Solidaridad Industrial Park where several Economy of Communion Businesses are located. “The water has flooded two buildings in the Park and also the garage of a third building,” Jorge Perrin writes from Solidad Industrial Park. Another two buildings are at risk: the water level has risen to a few centimetres. In the other buildings water has flooded the basements, but the living quarters are secure for the moment. The Primicias greenhouses along the road have also been flooded and the production completely lost, exept for a section of tomatoes. Pasticcino (coffee biscuits) is moving its production with the help of tractor from Primicias. For the moment the water has not flooded any of the dwellings in the Mariapolis itself.” In many of the provinces of Buenos Aires the lagoons are connected with one another; the drainage channels are insufficient and the stretches of water become like oceans. “The channel of the Mariapolis and the Industrial Park had been cleaned recently and function well. But the problem of the road than links the Mariapolis to the nearby village is another story. It drains from another part. Access between the Mariapolis and the local village is completely flooded and it only possible to go from place to place in specialised vehicles.” “The solidarity amongst us is extraordinary,” he adds. The only automobiles capable of driving through the mud are the tractor and the Mariapolis van. So they’re always on the move transporting people to work, to school, to make purchases for others, or to take supplies to people, and so on. Throughout these days, in the countless telephone calls, in the communion amongst us, in the peaceful spirit with which we face every situation, I understand once again what a great family we are!” For enquiries on how to help.:polosolidaridad@gmail.com
Thousands come together around the work of this Italian artist that is so in tune with Pope Francis’s Laudato sì.For years Ciro has been recycling scrap material for his creations. Known as Ciro, Roberto Cipollone not only welcomes visitors, but runs workshops for young and old that bring them into direct contact with the materials that will be transformed and modeled together: “a pure way of seeing, simple, direct contact with the beautiful without any tinsel,” says the artist. Besides the studio in Loppiano, which is the true creative workshop, a permanent workshop has been set up by Sergio Pandolfi.
Ciro’s exhibition at Camaldoli
During the month of August Ciro is displaying 40 more or less religious works at the Monastery of Camaldoli, in a small Romanesque church dedicated to the Holy Spirit that is located within the monastery. “The pieces and the Romanesque architecture go together perfectly,” Ciro says, “I’ve brought some works in stone and wood – and the Romanesque environment makes them come alive.” Many visitors to Camaldoli can admire, enjoy and even pray with the pieces within the deep silence of the monastery. The show will be open on weekends from August 21st to September 13th. But that’s not all. This summer Ciro tried his hand at setting the stage for a touring stage show in Perugia, surrounded by the stunning setting of the Rocca Paolina. Photo gallery
“Outside the centrifugal action of love, human beings seem to hold on to whatever causes division. They find millions of reasons, through religion itself, to set themselves apart, nullifying that freedom of movement that had been restored by Jesus when he brought down the walls of division and established that there would no longer be neither Greek nor Jew, neither slave nor master, neither male nor female – but God would be in all, and all would be in God. (…) That is love’s goal: that is the goal of existence, to make all one. To make all the Oneness that is God. By the impulse of Divine Love, existence, all of history became a return march towards unity. Everything comes from God; everything returns to God. Making yourself one with a neighbour means disappearing in him, such that between God, my neighbour and me a direct passageway is established, through my elimination, an unobstructed descent – from Oneness to the other: and so I find God in that neighbour. The neighbour is like the temple that ignites God’s light. So, I find God in the Sacrament of the Altar and in the person of my neighbour, through the effect of love. The neighbour breaks down the barriers and, in the breach, allows life to flow: the life that is God. The neighbour is ianua caeli, “gate of Paradise”. There are Christians who go to serve the least, in the lowest social classes, not so much to convert them, but to convert themselves: giving love in the form of service (to the ailing, the unemployed, the elderly – all the social refuse as they are labeled), and they find Christ. Much more than they can ever give, therefore. They offer a loaf of bread and find the Father. They convert both the helpers and also the assisted. They become holy as they bless their neighbours. Therefore, you rise to God by descending beneath every human level, to serve all people from down there, on whatever plane they may be; whereas, the Jewish priest who did not look upon the unfortunate of this earth because his gaze was fixed on the God of Heaven, never found neither God nor neighbour. He never found God because he was never turned towards his neighbour. And this is a way of proceeding from the Father who proclaims his glory in highest heaven by allowing his Son to be born in the most humble of shelters: a stable, thus establishing a connection between stars and stables through the divinizing action of love. Thus, the last shall be the first in an overturning of logic, or rather, God’s way of calculating; his counting starts from the least while we start counting from the most. What is first for us becomes last for him, and what is last for us becomes first for him. And so wealth, power, glory which we consider to be first and foremost, God considers them to be last; they count for nothing and have to wait in line. This is the actual yardstick for measuring people and things.” (From Igino Giordani. Il fratello,(Rome: Città Nuova, 2011), pp.78-80.
“Since 1994I have worked in the Pastoral Jail of the Archdiocese of Santiago in Cuba which also includes the city of Guantanamo. Together with other volunteers we see to their needs and those of their relatives, because these people are really the poorest among the poor. In 2007, when I encountered the spirituality of unity, it was if a ray of light penetrated me, and more than ever enlightened my service in jail and made me understand that in life we have to look for what unites and not what divides us. Sharing this way of life with others helped me a lot. Some said: «How can you deal with murderers and rapists, knowing that most of them do not even take notice of those who try to give them a hand…». This is true. At times it is so, but the spirituality of Chiara Lubich helps me to see in each of them the figure of Jesus crucified and abandoned. We only have to sow that small seed of the Gospel, without expecting anything in return. This conviction gives me strength and support and makes me feel less alone. It prevents me from falling into the temptation of leaving this service, and I can see that in the end, I will always receive more than what I have given. It has been some time now since we started to bring the leaflet of the Word of Life every month to the prisoners and also their families. After some time, to our great surprise, we found that in the special surveillance sector, a small community of prisoners was created, led by a young man. Together they discuss about the contents of the leaflet and during the month they try to put it into practice and make really significant experiences. “In my youth–Y recounted– I committed some crimes for which I am serving a life sentence. I am in the Guantanamo city jail (not far from the ill-famed American high-security jail). I found my faith in God through the members of the Focolare Movement, who for some years now have been visiting me regularly. I also wrote my story, where I talk about my meeting with God and of how it rekindled the hope in unending Life. Every day I try to put the Word of Life of the month into practice.» One day, another prisoner, Y, told us on the phone: «I’m down with fever and have a strong headache. I really needed to talk to you and took the opportunity of a permit to call you. Talking to you is like a balsam for me. » I ensured him that we were praying for him, and that Jesus came to save us, notwithstanding the life we live on earth. He said that he was also convinced of this and added «this is what I pray for daily, and it gives me the strength to go on loving everyone.” (Carmen, Santiago di Cuba)
Aug. 8, 2015: Iraqi Christian refugees attend an outdoor prayer service to mark a year since their displacement, in Fuheis near Amman, Jordan. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)
On August 7, 2015, the Catholic Church in Jordan held a prayer vigil to commemorate last year’s tragic events that displaced more than 100,000 Christians. More than 2000 faithful, the majority Iraqi refugees, held a solemn prayer vigil steeped in pain, at the church square of Fuheis. From Jordan they write: “The letter written by Pope Francis was of great comfort, and also the concrete help that the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) decided to provide, which will allow 1400 Iraqi children to attend school this year.” The evening of prayer was also attended by the Secretary General of the CEI, Bishop Galantino accompanied by Father Ivan Maffeis; Chaldean Patriarch of Iraq, Gishop louis Sako with his vicars, Bishop Salomone Warduni and Bishop Basil Yaldo; the Latin Patriarch, Fuad Twal; Latin Bishop Salim Sayegh. Also present was the Secretary of the Nunciature, Bishop Roberto Cona with several of his priests from various Rites, also from the Orthodox Church in Jordan and Iraq, as well as several civil leaders. The focolarine from Fheis write: “Following the prayer service a supper was offered to the various leaders at the Sisters of the Holy Rosary, offered by the local Caritas. But, unexpectedly, the Latin Bishop of Amman in agreement with the Secretary of the Nunciature wished for the supper to be held at our house! So, the last-minute preparations began amidst great joy and emotion over this unexpected blessing from God, that our home could be a welcoming-place for the Church.” “Forty people came, including the Mayor of the city and several other civil authorities. The Cardinal, Patriarchs and Bishops wanted to spend some time in prayer in our chapel: a solemn moment.” This opportunity for Christians to be gathered together in prayerful unity was a strong summons especially during this period of great uncertainty in the Middle East. “A moment of relief for a martyred land.”
“My name is Marco and I am 35 years old. Since 2008 I have been working as a substitute Catholic religion teacher. Unfortunately, due to bureaucratic reasons, I work only sporadically, on an average of about two months a year. This year I was called for three days in a school, for a week in another school after some months, and then for a few days elsewhere. On the average, it was about two months a year. In my capacity as an employee of the State I am not allowed to have two jobs and have to be available all the time when I am called to teach, since – should I refuse – I would be surpassed by others. I live with my parents and have a lot of free time, I take care of various house chores, some other commitments in the parish, and the education of youth and adults of an oratory where I coordinate the Word of Life monthly meeting; I do volunteer work in a home for the aged and am a member of the diocesan office for ecumenism and interreligious dialogue. All these activities keep me busy and active. But when work is scarce, a subtle veil of discouragement and low self-esteem grow in me, and everything always seems to become more difficult. One day, a friend, knowing about my work situation, phoned to say that he had met a student who needed tutoring in Latin and Greek. My friend knew about my educational background and was certain that I could easily fill the post. In effect, after High School I had never abandoned my knowledge of the classical languages. In fact, in order to understand the Old Testament better, I had recently even started to study biblical Jewish. Initially my first reaction was to refuse the offer, but I was given 10 days to think it over. Then, the student would have turned to other private tutors. Those who are familiar with the art of translating old languages are aware that translating for oneself or trying one’s hand in translating is one thing, and that giving private lessons to a person who needs to progress and achieve good grades on the report card, is another thing altogether. I needed a job even though this meant revising the grammar rulesof Greek and Latin in ten days, and learning to teach it. To be able to succeed I would have had to drop all my other commitments for seven days and study from 8-10 hours a day. It was like a leap in the dark. And so it was: I started to study like crazy. And then, after a few days, the same friend offered me a room in his house, and even the keys to the house. Another friend who came to know about my “new job” introduced me also to his son who needed tutoring. But more than a teacher, he needed tutoring not only in Latin and Greek but also in philosophy, Italian and English literature, in short, the whole humanistic area. He was a desperate case. In fact he was a very problematic person in terms of relationships, and in the last year of high school had been given an “unclassified” grade. I entrusted myself to God and accepted to be his tutor. Today he has started to get a set of 8s and 9s and his enthusiasm is growing. Even his personal relationships have started to improve. I recently worked as substitute teacher for a month, continue to give private lessons in the afternoon and also keep up with my previous commitments.”
The somewhat quirky diversity of the hall at the Chiara Lubich Centre in Trent this year was a bit surprising: 250 young people between the ages of 16 and 30 from more than 20 countries; 70 priests and seminarians and some twenty adults who are all committed in living the spirituality of the Focolare at the parish or diocesan levels. What was the idea behind this meeting which was planned for the 2cnd to the 8th of August? What is the connection between the different cultural backgrounds? The first answer can be found in the title of the meeting: “Like yesterday,” and the second answer in the city of Trent itself. All of these young people and adults were gathered to reflect on the first generative seed of their own spiritual charism and to look back even physcially at the journey that has inspired the Focolare Movement from its beginnings. “The meeting opened in an atmosphere of explosive joy,’ Ludovico and Elonora recount. “The programme is meant to be an immersion in the life of those early days and the radicalness in living the Word.” The programme alternated between thematic topics and excursions to the places where the Focolare began: Piazza Cappuccini, Fiera di Primiero, Tonadico, Goccia d’Oro. “During the Mass in the Cappuchin church,” Zbyszek writes, “we declared ourselves ready with the help of Christ’s grace, to give our lives one for the other beginning from the small things of everyday life. In the place where God had sealed the pact of unity between Chiara and Igino Giordani (Foco), we also wishe to renew that mutual love which we wish to live as they did that yesterday.” Then we had an opportunity to be enriched by presentations from experts in the fields of communication, interreligious dialogue and cooperation and development in the Action for a United World (AMU). Thanks to them we were able to reflect on communication and the challenges of our multiethnic and multi-religious society. Much time was dedicated to delving into the topics of immigration and welcoming thanks to the precious collaboration by the Cinformi Project, which presented the model of welcoming that has been proposed and applied by the city of Trent, placing itself at our service with active workshops involving two visits to refugee camps. Some of the most unforgettable moments of the meeting were spent with a hundred refugees who are waiting to see what the future will bring. Several of them came to see us at the meeting. Rita confided: “I was so struck by Lamin, a young Muslim from Ghana who had written a poem to his mother and wished to read it to everyone. It was a poem filled with nostalgia but also hope. The eyes of these people says it all and they can never forget.” At the conclusion of the meeting two goals were set – one short-term and the other long-term: the World Youth Day meeting (WYD) in Poland; and the unity of the world in accordance with Jesus’s prayer that all be one for which we wish to spend our lives. “We leave committed to becoming the ‘living Word,” Danilo and Emmanuele write and to take this “pure water from the source” into our own lands and into our daily life in our peripheries, offering it to every neighbour that goes by.”
Eleven songs in five languages: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Korean. 47 minutes of pop-rock and world music, full of passion, force, vitality in music and words branded Gen Verde. According to the band’s manager, Sally McAllister, “This album is autobiographical and biographical at the same time.” It is an affirmation shared by all the members of the group. In fact, as they say, “It is biographical because the undisputed protagonist of this album is humanity that recounts its story: of people in the face of present-day challenges, the tragedies and conquests, history which marks the world’s pace, people moving along the roads of the planet in search of a land, dignity, and a place they can call their home.” But it is also autobiographical, since it is “imbued with our own stories and the musical cultures we come from.” “We wanted to try our hand,” the Gen Verde members say, “in recounting the moments and facts that marked a turning point in our lives. Different paths, with various departure points from physical sites and soul places that oftentimes are diametrically opposed but which all target that sole horizon of fraternity.” In fact, “Every piece tells a story, such as Voz de la verdad, a homage to Oscar Romero,” says the Salvadorean, Xochitl Rodríguez. And also Chi piange per te? – the cry of thousands of migrants on the banks of the Mediterranean, which continues to echo across Africa to Europe, and in every continent where people are forced to leave in order to survive. Another song You’re Part of Me is the interrupted story of the Korean people, who refuse to give in to the scandal of separation. The musical arrangement is K-pop, a genre that is very popular today with the young Koreans, and says the desire for unity is not an issue of 70 years ago, but is one of today, of this generation that will not give up.”
One person attending the Mariapolis in Astorga for the first time described it as a “heart to heart meeting.” It was just one of the many similar Mariapolises that are underway or have already taken place across Europe and in many other lands. The Mariapolis of August 2-6 was a peaceful “invasion” of the town by 800 people from several parts of Spain,but also from France, Italy, Germany and Brazil. During excursions to monuments and museums, at Mass celebrated in the Gothic Cathedral, or during the evening concerts with all types of music – the streets were crowded with people from the Mariapolis. And the local citizens of Astorga whose curiosity had been aroused by the fraternal spirit of those people, responded in kind. One woman stopped a girl who was walking down the street to thank her for the presence of such a joyful group in their city. The balance between periods of relaxation, formation, dialogue, listening to testimonies and play was much appreciated. It was a good mix that contributed to the objectives of the Mariapolis: to favour an encounter with oneself, God, and others. One participant observed: “It wasn’t a crescendo that began at a one level and then progressed in quality or intensity. Each day was full, complete, and totally valuable in itself.” Amongst the activities for children and teens were several marches in the city, with stops in certain streets and squares where activities were held. The Astorga Mariapolis was also on Facebook, a virtual meeting spot for both the participants and for those who could not physically attend. Many contributed photos that can still be accessed online. Some of the comments: https://www.facebook.com/mariapolisastorga2015 “This is my first Mariapolis,” Cati writes. “These days were filled with brotherhood, love and unity. My family and I thank everyone who made this wonderful event possible;” “I’m still on my way home towards Toledo,” writes Paco. “I take the opportunity to thank everyone for these past few days. I have to say that it was a Mariapolis filled with graces.” A project was proposed that would bring the Mariapolis spirit into daily life: “We’re all Mediterranean” to help inform European citizens on the drama of immigration that is taking place in our common Mediterranean Sea, from southern borders, from disadvantaged and war-torn lands, in search for better living conditions. This project, which is in harmony with the theme of this year’s Mariapolis (“Paths that meet”) involves a collection of signatures to petition the European Union for a significant change in migration policy. On the last day of the Mariapolis when the participants were asked for their evaluation of the event, everyone said they were satisfied, especially with regard to the way they felt welcomed from the moment they arrived, even those who were attending for the first time. The town of Astorga built to a human scale and with such a pleasant climate, combined so many features that helped facilitate the coming together which was the goal of the Mariapolis. For this reason the organisers of the Mariapolis write: “the Focolare Movement expresses its warm gratitude to the Diocese and Town Administration for their exquisite collaboration.”
Among the many words pronounced by the Father in all of his Creation, one was unique. Not so much an object of thought but more of intuition, not so much the splendor of divine sun but a cool and gentle shade, like a little cloud, fresh and white, that screens and adjusts the sun’s rays so that human eyes can see. It was in the plans of Providence that the Word be made flesh, that a word, the Word, be written on earth in flesh and blood; and this Word needed a background. The heavenly harmonies longed, out of love for us, to transfer their peerless concert within our tents; and for this they needed a silence. The Protagonist of all humanity, who gave meaning to centuries past, enlightened and drew after him centuries to come, had to appear on this world’s stage, but needed a backdrop of white to make him alone stand out. The greatest design that God-Love could invent had to be drawn majestic and divine, with all the colors of virtue, and had to be found in a heart composed and ready to serve him. This marvelous shade that contains the sun, losing and finding itself therein; this white background so immense, almost an abyss that contains the Word which is Christ submerging itself in him, light in the Light; this lofty silence is silent no more, for within it sing the divine harmonies of the Word and in him it becomes the note of notes, almost setting the tone for heaven’s endless song; this scene majestic and fair as nature, synthesis of the beauty the Creator lavished throughout the universe, a little universe for the Son of God, which is seen no more because it yields its interests and its parts to the One who was to come, and has come, for what he had to do, and did; this rainbow of virtue that says “peace” to the entire world because Peace it has given the world; this creature, first thought of in the mysterious abyss of the Trinity and given to us, was Mary. Of her we do not speak, of her we sing. Of her we do not think, but we call upon her and love her. She is not the subject of study, but of poetry. The greatest geniuses of the world have put brush and pen at her service. If Jesus incarnates the Word, the Logos, the Light, Reason, Mary personifies Art, Beauty, Love. Masterpiece of the Creator, Mary, on whom the Holy Spirit delighted to bestow all he invented, and poured out so many of his inspirations. Beautiful Mary! About her we can never say enough. (taken from Mary, The Transparency of God, New City Press, New York 2003) Source: Chiara Lubich Center
There is much expectation on the island for the upcoming visit of the first Latin-American-born Pope, planned for September 19-23, 2015. The expectation is certainly expressed in a wide variety of ways depending on the conscience and awareness of who and what the Pope represents. If you ask the people on the street you get all types of responses: “I think we are dealing with a great human being; I’m hoping he’ll feel at home amongst us;” Let’s hope that he brings beneficial changes for the people;” “It seems like a dream! We feel privileged;” “It’s a blessing for this small people of great heart to welcome three Popes in only 13 years.” Indeed, only Cuba and Brazil can make this claim. Many Cubans are of the same opinion and do not hide their pride over the third visit of a Pontiff – both believers and non. Construction work is already underway on the streets and on the building facades of the Habana that are found along the path of Pope Francis’s itinerary, especially the famous Revolution Square and José Martí Memorial where Pope Francis will celebrate Mass. The same is true in the city of Holguín, which has never been visited by a Pope; at the National Shrine of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre; and also Santiago de Cuba, second largest city in the country on the east side of the island where restorations of the beautiful and historic cathedral (1522) have been completed. Church and State. With the triumph of “the Revolution” (1959), beginning in 1961, the relationship between the Church and State has always been difficult and traumatic. “The Marxist thought derived from dialectic materialism that carried ahead the young rebels of the revolutionary government since the 1960s set the basis for the secularisation of Cuban society”[1]. During the First Congress of Culture and Education (1971) the foundations were put in place for the secularisation of Cuban society, imposing orthodox Marxism as the official State doctrine, the main reference point for middle school, high school and university education. The regulating of religious activity was decreed in the 1976 Constitution and believers were officially excluded by the Cuban Communist Party (PCC).
the National Shrine of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre
During the 1980s the grip of the regime was a bit softened, allowing the participation of Catholic priests in the different liberation movements in Latin America, in the guerrillas in San Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, as well as for allowing the visits of religious leaders on the levels of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the Grand Rabbi Israel Meir Lau and members of the Latin American Bishops Conference (CELAM). In the Fourth Congress of the PCC (1991) participation was opened to believers. There were also the important and historic visits of John Paul II (1998) and, then, Benedict XVI (2012) which marked important steps towards easing and reconciliation – all of which inspires hope for the upcoming visit of Pope Francis. The thaw in US-Cuban relations. In spite of how much Pope Francis tries so minimise his role in easing relations between those two countries, both Barak Obama and Raúl Castro have gratefully acknowledged it. On July 20, 2015, embassies were reopened in both countries, and on August 14, 2015, Secretary of State, John Kerry will attend the inauguration of the United States embassy on the island. The American Congress still needs to approve it, and it is not by chance that after Cuba the Pope will visit the United States for the 8th World Meeting of Families (WMOF) which will take place in Philadelphia, after having visited Washington DC and New York. He will be the first Pope to address United States Congress. In an interview given to a large group of journalists during the flight to Rome, Italy, following his visit to Latin America, he was asked about the benefits or disadvantages that the “thawing” in US-Cuban relations could produce. Francis responded: “Both will gain something and lose something. That is how it is in negotiations. What both will gain is peace. This is certain . . . encounter and friendship and collaboration . . . this is the gain!” Cuban Catholic Bishops. Recalling the visits of the predecessors of Pope Francis “who will come as a missionary of mercy,” showing the continuity among the three visits, the Catholic Bishops Conference addressed a message “to the children of the Catholic Church, to the brothers of other religious confessions and to all the people.” It mentions the recent Pastoral Letter of Pope Francis in preparation for the Year of Mercy, which will open on December 8, 2015. And the bishops exhort everyone to prepare for the coming of the Pope by performing “gestures of mercy in daily life, such as visiting the ill, sharing what one has, forgiving and asking for forgiveness, consoling the sorrowful, loving others more and better. They go on to say: we hope that these days and forevermore our houses will be places of peace and welcome for all those who are searching for mercy!” A positive sign which will certainly not go unnoticed is the July 17th publication of the entire text of the document in the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, “Granna”. Such a gesture has never been shown in more than 50 years. The Focolare Movement’s contribution. The Focolare communities across the island are trying – together with the Church – to offer its own contribution, geared mainly towards formation in fraternity in opposition to the “throw-away culture”, to privileging those in most need, promoting unity in diversity and proposing dialogue as an indispensable method for peaceful coexistence in a multicultural society. Conclusion. The message of the Cuban Catholic Bishops concludes with a prayer to the Virgin of Charity, Mother of Cuba, the One whom we invoke as Mother and Queen of Mercy, that she might take maternal care of this longed-for visit. She who has accompanied our people in good times and in bad, may she obtain a great blessing from Heaven for Cuba and her children wherever they may be, whatever they may think or believe.” From an interview with correspondent Gustavo Clariá _____________________ [1] Castellano Dennys, Sergio L. and Monterrey, Fontanella. Sin pecado concebidas, La Caridad del Cobre en las artes visuales cubanas, (Havana: Editorial UH, 2014), p. 66. (Our translation.)
“I dream a lot and often. A recurring dream is that of a sunny day in which my sentiments and thoughts flow freely in a surge of words for all my friends. What a joy it is to be able to speak!” Federico does not speak, even if he knows that communication does not only come about through language. The first symptoms were already evident at the first year of age. The more he grew the more his capacity to interact with reality diminished. At the age of three came the diagnosis. He was totally incapable of communicating, and was suffering from the strongest forms of generalised disorders in development, a very serious disorder that could be traced to the extensive and varied universe of autism. At eight an event changed the course of his inability to communicate. He learned to write with the computer and could finally put down his first words, emotions, and feelings. The wall of silence had crumbled, breaking the gap with those he called the “neurotypes”. In August 2002, the family was on a holiday in Palinuro. Federico has always been able to say some words, and brief but intense phrases. “Mum, what’s wrong with me?” “Why me?”. He then wrote the word “autism” on his computer. He was perfectly aware of it. On 20 February 2010 he wrote to his friend, Gabriele: “I need you all to help me get out of my prison. You see, I feel so alone because I am unable to voice out my feelings. It is a great limitation. I don’t understand how you who are not autistic, manage to find immediately in your heads all the right words and say them so quickly and also with facial expressions that reflect what you want to say. It is normal for you, but it seems like a miracle to me. I find it so hard to write one letter at a time, and manage only if Dad is by my side.” Now that he could write, his self-esteem grew, up to when he published a book Quello che non ho mai detto (“The words I have never said”) wherein, for the first time we can see the point of view of a boy who explains his syndrome with rare and precious observations. This is how he emerged from his isolation, and finally experienced the joy of sharing his emotions. He concluded his studies in science up to secondary school certificate stage. To this day, Federico says almost nothing. “I assure you,” he wrote, ” that I am almost unable to speak verbally. I express myself with single words, and only rarely with a small phrase. I can write only in big and shaky capital letters.” And thanks to the computer, for the first time he was able to play with a friend and attend, together with his classmates, the first year of secondary school, and years later, participate “actively” in the meetings of the confirmation group. “Little by little, ” he recounts, “my laptop became an inseparable companion. With my computer and the support of a qualified person at my side, I can express my views in every situation.” Today Federico studies percussion, has many friends, helps people with autism in their families with down to earth suggestions, and has a lot of plans for the future. “Now my life has found its course,” he wrote, “thanks to the operators who taught me how to use the system, and my parents who launched themselves in this adventure with enthusiasm. Today I am happy with my life, and a great part of the merit goes to them.” But he’s not thinking just of himself: “How many autistic people could have become other Federicos if diagnosed properly and given early intervention and been greatly loved and supported?”. His dream for the future? “I wish to travel the world to meet families with infants who have a communication disorder, to try and interact with these children and to treat autism accordingly. Whenever a child needs me, I’ll be there to help.” Source:Città Nuova online
Several Buddhist monks that visited the focolare regularly also knew her well. Benedetta was a woman who let herself be approached and known, without fear and with gentleness. She knew how to welcome people and you could go to her any time. Any problem, great or small, any need, some good news to share: she wasn’t scandalised by anything, she knew people’s hearts and knew how to love them. One bishop once said of Sister Benedetta that she was “a Sister of silver and gold” because of all the money she was able to find for the poor. When visiting the extreme north of Thailand, you were always obliged to go and ‘have a chat’ with her, as she would say. She enjoyed hearing the news of her ‘great family’ as she loved to call the Movement, and she shared its life with many others. We would often meet people in the Mariapolis to whom she had spoken about the spirituality of unity, or else someone who had passed by the focolare to meet us because they had heard Sister Bene talk about us. In other words, Benedetta was a true spiritual mother who gave much supernatural life to so many people, and many of them attended her funeral along with a large crowd of bishops, priests and laity. The small church of Wien Pa Pao and the adjoining convent where she lived were filled to overflowing. Sr Bene, of the Sisters of Charity of the Infant Mary, known to the secular world as Benedetta Carnovali, bornin 1925, was a pillar of the Movement and many of the people who belong to the Focolare community of Thailand were personally drawn to the Movement by her (including Buddhists). ‘A real Sister and a true focolarina,’ as she was described by some: an ‘out-of-the-ordinary’ Sister, always on the go and, at the same time, ‘firm’ when personally loving the person next to her. She was a friend who would call you up to wish you a happy birthday, even though her voice became feebler every year, but not her interior strength. Whenever you approached her you were never given the impression that you had disturbed her: it was as if she had been expecting you alone and didn’t have anything else to do but welcome you. But she was quite busy, judging from all the adoptions at a distance which she personally saw to, up until the last days of her life. Sister Bene had met the Focolare’s spirituality of unity from an order priest in 1963, and from that moment spent her life that many in Myanmar – where she was living in that period and then in Thailand when all Religious were expelled by the regime – could know the spirituality and live it. When she was transferred to Thailand, she continued to deepen her friendship with the Focolare. When she went to spend a few days at the focolare, she nourished herself on the words of Chiara Lubich. Like all those who genuinely follow God, Sister Benedetta also encountered her nights, ‘the storm’ as she followed Jesus. She faced them as a true disciple of Jesus, with heroic charity. Deeply united with Vale Ronchetti, one of the first focolarine, she pressed on in the midst of much miscomprehension: ‘How can a nun belong to a movement with so many lay people in it?’ she was often asked; and there were other great and small persecutions that on a human level were completely absurd. Yet, in some mysterious way, God made use of these things to make Sister Benedetta more and more a Sister, more and more a spiritual daughter of Chiara (as Benedetta often said), and an apostle of unity who has no counterpart in the Asian southeast judging from the fruits she bore. She leaves a legacy of love, gentleness, sweetness and strength, loving service to the least: towards the people of the Akha tribe, for example. She leaves us withthat smile so typical of those who have experienced that it is possible to transform suffering in Love and make that Love their reason for living. Sister Benedetta ‘flew” to Heaven at the age of ninety, after listening to the Focolare song that she loved: ‘Solo grazie’. She died consumed but serene, just as she had always lived: in peace because she was certain that the ‘arms’ that had embraced her from her childhood (she was an orphan) and carried her through her life as a Religious, were there waiting for her now on this last stretch of her journey. She was a wonderful woman who shows that it is still possible to become a saint today. Luigi Butori
Young people from five religions and several Christian denomination, specifically chosen as emergent leaders in the environmental field, met at Mariapolis Luminosa of the Focolare in the State of New York, USA, to reflect on safeguarding the planet, our common home. Guided by the ideals of Religions for Peace (RFP) and of the Focolare the Teach-in began with an analysis of the current situation of the environment and the strong link between global stability and climate change. The phenomenon of climate change calls for a new awareness and change of view, implied by the title of the three-day event. Perhaps it will find a solution thanks to the synergy between people from different religious backgrounds. This was the wish of the organisers of Teach-in, which was held at the end of July 2015. Despite the variety of their beliefs they came to the same realisation that every effort in favor of the environment will be more efficacious inasmuch as it is done together. Amongst the interventions were those of Rev. Richard Cizik (New Evangelical Partnership) and of the Rabbi Lawrence Troster, bioethicist who said that: “By 2050 we could have 50 million climate refugees, with serious consequences for peaceful coexistence amongst peoples.” His words were echoed by Asma Mahdi, oceanographer and member of Green Muslims, highlighting that the most vulnerable countries are Muslim: “In Bangladesh, for example, if the ocean level continues to rise, by 2050, 17% of the territory will be awash, forcing 18 million people to move elsewhere.” These are alarming figures, and several Polynesian islands would completely submerged. Amongst the speakers was Msgr. Joseph Grech from the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, who referred to several excerpts from Pope Francis’s Encyclical Letter Laudato siwhile underscoring how economy and ecology walk hand in hand, since all our actions have an impact on nature. Three environmental researchers from three different American universities were of the same opinon: Robert Yantosca (Harvard), Valentine Nzengung (Georgia) and Tasrunji Singh (Ohio), for whom the respective religious convictions have become motivating factors and guides in the scientific effort in favour of the environment. “Go out!” was the catch phrase that conducted the second part of the Teach-in and it led to the delineation of a series of behaviours to put into practice. John Mundell from the Focolare, owner of a company of environmental consultants, presented a landscape of initiatives connected to the “Earth Cube,” whose six sides present daily suggestions for renewing and conserving a healthy environment. There was also the visit to the projects at the nearby Esaurine Federal Reserve. RFP executive Aaron Stauffer, stated at the conclusion: “It has been a witness of the power of multireligious cooperation and peace.” And Brazilian, Lira Raiana, who is finishing her doctorate in ecology: “We’ve experienced that we have at least two things in common: an intense interest in sustainability of the planet and a religious belief that offers the correct motivations to take care of it. Each one of us came with our convictions and personal ideas and now we find ourselves united in the common objective of many: the protection of the earth and of its inhabitants.”
«Working in the fields, and taking care of the life of the plants, in an immense silence marked by the solar and lunar cycles, and sharing the work of creation of natural life, are also like priestly tasks, and call for concentration and sacrifice: the courage to tune in with one’s own soul, and be one with the expectation of the universe, in contact with nature which is a miraculous nursery, feeling oneself, without fainting, in the presence of God.» (FIDES, July 1938) « Man needs beauty and purity that surpasses human ideals in order to rise up to the contemplation of Mary. She was the one who lifted him up: in contemplating this, the most beautiful aspirations of the soul blossomed, and tried to capture through expressions of art, the highest ever achieved. Maternity is womanly tenderness, the most beautiful passion, the moment wherein one is able to lift oneself beyond brutality, through a surge of divinization.» (FIDES, March 1938) «The Christian revolution came about without conspiracy and did not overturn institutions, nor did it kill tyrants, but penetrated into the obsolete organisations of the old world, into the worn family, in the decrepit juridical institutes, and into social relationships intoxicated by lust. It was love that was stirring up again, to regenerate all and by which suddenly, slaves were able to transform themselves before their masters, and woman assumed a new value in the eyes of man, and heathens and labourers bridged the immense gap between them and the Greeks and Romans. ». (FIDES, February 1943 «The aware Christian – the saint – is one who uses his time carefully and is able to achieve a lot in a short time, to honour the Head of the house, for the common good and wellbeing of his brethren. This activity and ability, in the current language is called apostolate. A Christian that does not act in the manner and time assigned, is a Christian who ignores his role in the Church: he is unaware of the Church that lives because it acts and produces action. We say it produces Catholic action. In a thousand ways, all are involved. A poet can do it and likewise a half wit, a hermit and a monk, the head of a family and a department head, the city wayfarer and the cobbler in his workshop. ». (FIDES, October 1938) Source: Igino Giordani Centre
Geneva, Switzerland, Rue de Montbrillant, n. 3. Like every other Friday I go to Jardin de Montbrillant, a welcome centre for needy people in this cosmopolitan city where you can have a free hot meal. Today, as always, at noontime, we welcome around 150 people of every nationality. The room is already full and everything is going fine. Amidst the usual faces in the diverse crowd I always notice someone new. My task is to find a place for each of them, to negotiate with one or another so that they will allow someone new to have a place to sit and eat in peace, which isn’t always easy given the physical and psychological state of many of the majority of our guests. But I’m mainly interested in giving a fraternal touch, to comfort the ones who are sad, depressed – to listen to the ones who feel desperate, to offer them some hope. . . In other words, to create a family atmosphere so that everyone feels loved just the way they are, beyond the diversity of ages, nationalities and religions. While we’re at table, the door opens and three of our Arab friends arrive accompanied by two newcomers. I immediately notice the hard, threatening looks on their faces. As soon as they are inside, they begin shouting that they want to massacre everyone and burn the place to the ground. The reason: they feel seriously offended by the caricatures of the Prophet that appeared previous days in the press, the main news of the week. The atmosphere immediately becomes tense and people propose violence. I already see plates flying and fists showering down blows. It’s time to act without delay, because the situation could quickly worsen. But what shall I say? What shall I do? I feel powerless but recognise in this acute suffering of today’s society that defends absolute freedom at the expense of deep values, the cry of the God-Man upon the Cross: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” This is Him before me now, through the reaction of this pair of Muslim followers. I place everything in His hands and stand up to go and meet them. I tell them that I share their pain and offer to talk about it after having something to eat if they would care to. In answer to my peaceful offer they allow themselves to be convinced to take a place at table. Suddenly their aggressiveness abates and tranquility returns, as if everyone perfectly understood the cause of their angry outburst. Lunch ends peacefully. I stay near them, trying to make them feel all the human warmth that I’m capable of. After lunch they apologize for their words and express regret for having voiced thoughts of revenge. This is followed by a moment of sharing about our respective faiths in total respect and mutual understanding. Before leaving, they embrace me, thankful for having been listened to. Now their relaxed faces express different sentiments than before. (Paquita Nosal – Geneva, Switzerland) Source: Città Nuova, 13/14, (2015).
Extracts from Chiara Lubich’s editorial dated 20 April 1958 in which she colourfully describes her impressions of Expo ’58 held in Brussels. She visited it during springtime of that year while she was in Belgium for Holy Week. The Focolare Movement had just started to go beyond the Italian Alps and to reach the heart of Europe. Evidently that visit had a profound effect on her: “On 17 April 1958, the International Exhibition in Brussels was opened. […] It’s something truly colossal! […] The most prominent nations from all five continents are competing to show off their foremost talents. […] Seeing these most amazing structures and ever new styles, one discovers the brilliant new ideas of our century, whether in shapes that are graceful or bold, narrow, transparent or sturdy; sometimes in the form of a cube or a sphere or a cylinder, with expressions of folklore and of religion too. They are real masterpieces, unknown to most of us until now, and each one bears the hallmark of its people, of its tradition, of its own taste. […] The pavilion that drew our attention in a special way however was the one set up by the Holy See. It stands almost opposite the Soviet pavilion and next to the American one. Its name is “Civitas Dei” (City of God). At its heart there is a church which is simple and harmonious in style, maybe because it is so rich in content; it is very elegant and extremely modern. […] Underneath this stands an altar where Mass will be continuously celebrated. […] So it is the living Jesus, who continues to sacrifice himself for everyone, and the word of truth of a King who is not of this world, which are the riches put on show in Brussels by the “City of God”, whereas nearby, among other things there are an atomic ice-breaker, Sputnik II and a huge statue of Lenin that fill the Soviet Pavilion. A blow up theatre and many expressions of modern art and folklore fill the American Pavilion. Yes, Jesus is at the Brussels Exhibition, just as one day Jesus was at the marriage-feast at Cana. The Son of Man does not disdain to get involved in all human activities, and through the harmonious peal of the bells he will give a reminder of what is eternal and divine to all those who gather there, to exalt the talents of all the peoples He created. It is Jesus who dies on the altar for everyone, also for those who don’t care about him, who are perhaps filled with pride in their knowledge and their discoveries, or who may even fight against him. It is Jesus who still teaches the Truth through those of whom he said: “Whoever listens to you listens to me”. These are the gifts and the “produce” of the Catholic Church which continues Him. Jesus in the Eucharist is the fruit of the Church, just as in the past Jesus of Nazareth was the fruit of the most pure womb of the Virgin Mary. And there at Expo ‘58 as in every church of ours, Jesus will try to quench people’s thirst for light, love, courage and strength. Jesus makes himself known, or rather he shows his tangible love. He offers himself to save people there too, where everything speaks of atomic energy, technology, inventions, and newness. He is the greatest new thing, the eternal discovery who is never discovered. He is the One who will remain, even when in future centuries no one will remember much about the exhibition in Brussels, just as no one today knows the names of the couple married at Cana. He is there so as not to let us down, so as to fill the emptiness that will be created in many people – despite the “showing off” of the most beautiful treasures of our day – when they experience the vanity of everything, even of all that is great, but is not rooted in God. Chiara LubichRead more: Chiara Lubich Center
Practically the entire world will be present in Rome over the next days, with the 80 delegates from 36 countries, representatives of the respective geographical macro-areas: “Coming here is an occasion to meet our brothers and sisters operating for peace, and who continue to support us in difficult times.” This is the general state of mind of those coming from distressed areas. From Latin America, Maria Augusta De La Torre, gave us a view of other situations: “In Cuba people are full of great expectations and hope. On one hand is the ‘new friendship’ between Cuba and the USA, and on the other, the Catholic Church which in Cuba is more dynamic than ever. The Pope’s mediation and his next visit to the Island is boosting this revival.” As to the frontier conflict between Colombia and Venezuela she said: «It is a very painful situation. We went to the border and saw the suffering of the people who had to leave their homes and there is great uncertainty with regard to the future, suffering and rebellion in face of the what has happened. Smuggling has always existed, but now nobody knows what lies behind these forceful decisions. In Venezuela the people feel depressed and without hope. The members of the Movement find the strength that comes from living the Gospel and want to continue to bear witness to fraternity between these two peoples. » From Nigeria, Ruth Wambui Mburu, a Kenyan citizen, confided that the stronger commitment they have to face as a Focolare is the radical enforcement of separation between north and south, between Muslims and Christians, and ethnic groups. Their efforts and commitments consist in being testimonials of fraternity lived among these different groups. Georges Sserunkma, also from Nigeria, upon arriving in Rome precisely in this historic moment, said “I feel that this is really the unique home we all live in – seeing how the Church and the Movement take all these situations to heart, makes me breath a wider dimension and fills my heart with hope.” 
“Often we are closed in ourselves and create many inaccessible and inhospitable islands. Even the most elementary human relations sometimes create realities that are unable to open to each other: a closed couple, a closed family, a closed group, a closed parish, a closed homeland… And this does not come from God!” Pope Francis’s 
“For over 3 months now I have been doing my apprenticeship in pediatric oncology, in a ward where you never know if the children you are assisting today will still be there tomorrow. It is absolutely not easy to live in continuous contact with the suffering of the innocent, since it gets to the point of putting to the test one’s decision to study pediatric nursing. On the first day, I was ready for anything. But once I set foot in the ward, I came face to face with a beautiful little girl. She was afflicted by one of the worst types of malignant tumours, at the terminal stage. I had no idea at all of how I was to go about it. I had never ever felt so useless and incapable, and was convinced that there was nothing useful I could do for her. There are also other children in the ward, and the day seemed to pass very quickly, but every time I entered the little girl’s room I would feel the same sensation of helplessness and inadequacy. It was already 2 p.m.- time to end my shift. I felt I could not leave without doing something for her. But what? In trying to put in practice the
Geneva, Switzerland, Rue de Montbrillant, n. 3. Like every other Friday I go to Jardin de Montbrillant, a welcome centre for needy people in this cosmopolitan city where you can have a free hot meal. Today, as always, at noontime, we welcome around 150 people of every nationality. The room is already full and everything is going fine. Amidst the usual faces in the diverse crowd I always notice someone new. My task is to find a place for each of them, to negotiate with one or another so that they will allow someone new to have a place to sit and eat in peace, which isn’t always easy given the physical and psychological state of many of the majority of our guests. But I’m mainly interested in giving a fraternal touch, to comfort the ones who are sad, depressed – to listen to the ones who feel desperate, to offer them some hope. . . In other words, to create a family atmosphere so that everyone feels loved just the way they are, beyond the diversity of ages, nationalities and religions. While we’re at table, the door opens and three of our Arab friends arrive accompanied by two newcomers. I immediately notice the hard, threatening looks on their faces. As soon as they are inside, they begin shouting that they want to massacre everyone and burn the place to the ground. The reason: they feel seriously offended by the caricatures of the Prophet that appeared previous days in the press, the main news of the week. The atmosphere immediately becomes tense and people propose violence. I already see plates flying and fists showering down blows. It’s time to act without delay, because the situation could quickly worsen. But what shall I say? What shall I do? I feel powerless but recognise in this acute suffering of today’s society that defends absolute freedom at the expense of deep values, the cry of the God-Man upon the Cross: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” This is Him before me now, through the reaction of this pair of Muslim followers. I place everything in His hands and stand up to go and meet them. I tell them that I share their pain and offer to talk about it after having something to eat if they would care to. In answer to my peaceful offer they allow themselves to be convinced to take a place at table. Suddenly their aggressiveness abates and tranquility returns, as if everyone perfectly understood the cause of their angry outburst. Lunch ends peacefully. I stay near them, trying to make them feel all the human warmth that I’m capable of. After lunch they apologize for their words and express regret for having voiced thoughts of revenge. This is followed by a moment of sharing about our respective faiths in total respect and mutual understanding. Before leaving, they embrace me, thankful for having been listened to. Now their relaxed faces express different sentiments than before. (Paquita Nosal – 