Darci Rodrigues was someone who knew how to live her life for the cause of unity, in her characteristically “marian“ style.From the moment Brazilian Focolarina Darci Rodrigues left us on 10 February 2022, and again in the hours after her funeral, social media was humming with expressions of appreciation and gratitude for her life. She was well known throughout Brazil and beyond due to the many roles of responsibility she had undertaken in the Focolare Movement, which allowed her to forge relationships with a staggering number of people around the world. “A life as full and challenging as hers never stopped her from being refreshingly ‘normal’, as many have commented, combined with a great spiritual depth. And she was so greatly loved by everyone because of this”, reflected Saad Zogheib Sobrinho, Focolarino also from Brazil, summing up the reactions of many who lived and interacted with her over the years. The young Darci first met the charism of Chiara Lubich in 1963 at a Mariapolis gathering over a few days in the city of Garanhuns, in the state of Pernambuco. “It was such a strong experience” Darci herself said when relating her first contact with Focolare. “I was fascinated! Especially by how I saw the Gospel being lived”. At that time she was a student at the University of Recife, “surrounded by Marxist ideas and strong criticisms of the Church” as she recalled. The contrast with this new encounter with God was overwhelming. She embraced the charism of unity and decided to consecrate her life to God in the Focolare as a Focolarina. Once decided, she left her fianzé, her family and studies behind to attend the formation school for Focolarini in Italy from 1964to 1966. She then returned to Brazil and dedicated herself to working for the aims of the Focolare. After a time in Belo Horizonte, she was transferred to the region of Vargem Grande Paulista, near São Paulo to support the beginnings of Mariapolis Araceli (now known as Mariapolis Ginetta), one of the three main Focolare centres in Brazil. She later moved to the city of São Paulo from where, for 20 years, she guided the development of the Focolare Movement in the south-east and centre-west states of the country. In 2002 she was elected as Counsellor for the Focolare Movement in Brazil. In the Movement’s next Assembly which took place in 2008 after the death of founder Chiara Lubich, Darci was re-elected as a Counsellor, this time nominated by the newly-elected Focolare President, Maria Voce, as ‘Central Delegate’ with a leading role in the governance of the Movement at an international level. “At times I had to tackle difficult issues. But in those moments, I always found peace and a special assistance of the Holy Spirit“, she recalled. “Often I may have had my own idea ready, but then I could recognize that Jesus – through another person – wanted something different, perhaps the exact opposite of what I was thinking! What was important was to trust in the presence of Jesus among us, and not only rely on my own common sense“, she explained. In May 2012 she was diagnosed with serious lung disease. She described receiving the news: “The test results were conclusive. The doctor told me I was going to need a lot of courage to combat it and persevere. But deep inside, I held the strong conviction that nothing happens by chance and that God has a plan of love for each one of us“. To the amazement of her doctors, Darci responded unexpectedly well to the treatment. Her close colleague Gloria Campagnaro remembers that period very clearly. “Life went on as usual, in the sense that she retained her calm demeanour whatever she was doing: therapy, daily walks prescribed by her doctor, as well as her work for the Movement albeit for a reduced number of hours. Her life continued to be fruitful and to build unity“. In May 2020 her illness returned and she was admitted to hospital on several occasions. In these last steps of her life, Darci was surrounded by the love and prayers of the whole Focolare community. She recorded a video message just before Christmas in which she declared her conviction which had guided her whole life: “Jesus is in our midst“. Federal Government spokesperson, Luiza Erundina, responded to the news of Darci’s death with the declaration: “She leaves an exemplary lesson on how to live fully the ideal of unity and fraternity which humanity needs so badly“. What stands out from the countless expressions of gratitude to God for the life of Darci Rodrigues is a universal recognition of the serenity and joyous welcome she extended to every person she met throughout her life, wherever she was. In essence, as someone described it, hers was a ‘Marian’ presence.
Luís Henrique MarquesEditor of Cidade Nova magazine
From thinking about how to share came a great deal of solidarity: an airlift to Beirut to transport both medicines for the chronically ill, and powdered milk for new-born babies. This action, in response to an appeal by the Latin Rite Apostolic Vicariate of Beirut and the Vatican’s Apostolic Nunciature in Lebanon, involves the Focolare Movement, the John Paul II Foundation and many people from Italy and Lebanon, who have joined together to support this project, as if part of one family. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z84D_ZOdVgY
On life’s journey, we sometimes need to slow down for a while and listen to the voice that speaks in our heart. We will discover new challenges as Chiara Lubich suggests in this text. Listening to the voice of Jesus does not only mean listening to his teaching and adopting it as our own. It means establishing a personal relationship with him, as he calls each one individually, by name. He makes his voice heard deep within us, and his truth – which is the truth – is at work in our heart, even though each person is free to answer his invitation or not. Giving the example of the good shepherd, Jesus states that there is opposition between the legitimate shepherd, who enters by the door, and the thief or brigand who climbs over the fence. Throughout the centuries, false messiahs have tried to attract people with their ideologies – and they still do today! However, those who belong to Jesus know his voice, and do not allow themselves to be deceived by these false promises. They do not trust other voices. (…) Try to listen to the voice of Jesus speaking in your heart. You will see that it will lead you out of your selfishness, your lack of love, your desire to dominate, your pride, your tendency to violence… out of everything that enslaves you. If you entrust your life to Jesus and let him be your guide, you will certainly never succumb to the temptation of an easy, comfortable Christian life. You will be led away from a life that is mediocre and without meaning In following him, who speaks in your heart, who calls you personally (because he calls us one by one), you will not be following a “beaten track,” but you will set out on a divine adventure that you would never have dreamed of. Everything will be new and beautiful, even though it will not be easy for your human nature. You will see how creative God’s imagination is, and you will understand that by following a shepherd like this, your life will be full, abounding in fruits and spreading goodness everywhere. And you will finally understand what a powerful, amazing revolution the Gospel produces when it is lived.
Chiara Lubich
(Chiara Lubich, in Parole di Vita, [Words of Life] Città Nuova, 2017, pp. 204-208)
Allowing God to guide us and discovering that His love, even in silence, acknowledges our efforts. Ángel Canó, a married focolarino from the Dominican Republic, shares his experience. In 2001, routine medical examinations revealed a slight problem with my heart’s mitral valve but the situation unexpectedly got worse at the end of 2020 and the cardiologist confirmed the presence of a ‘time bomb’ in my chest. My wife, Margarita, also a married focolarina, and I accepted the diagnosis with great peace, placing ourselves in God’s hands. We decided to discuss it immediately with our son, Angel Leonel, and our daughter, Zoila, who is a doctor in the USA. She spoke directly with the cardiologist and consulted a colleague at the centre where she works who confirmed that surgery was needed. I spent the evening before the operation very peacefully with Margarita, preparing myself physically, mentally and spiritually for what lay ahead. We felt confident and the next day, when we arrived at the operating theatre, we declared our love for each other and said goodbye, certain that we would see each other again soon. When I woke up, I felt as if I had come back to life, even though I had a strong arrhythmia, my heart was racing like a horse and I was struggling to articulate words. The doctors were quick to analyse everything while I was dealing with the post-operational pain. They then allowed Margarita to come in and her words of encouragement and faith gave me a lot of peace. I then spent ten very difficult days in intensive care dealing with pain, the helplessness of feeling immobile, the sense of loneliness, insomnia and the fear of dying. Long nights in which God seemed to remain silent in front of my cry. I didn’t think I would get through it all. One morning, heavily sedated, I heard a voice saying ‘brother’ to me repeatedly. When I opened my eyes, I saw the face of a priest whom we love very much. It was a moment that really restored my faith. Heaven had always been with me and this feeling stayed with me during those days. One day, when I had come out of intensive care, Margarita, laying her head gently on my battered chest, said: “What a joy to be able to hug you again”. Words that not only expressed happiness, but the meaning of life. It was like rediscovering the love she had for me. I was alive, not only thanks to medical skill but also to the Will of a God who was manifesting his love by giving me a new chance at life. Today, I see everything as a great gift and feel strongly committed to understanding what God wants from me now, how I can reciprocate. Every evening, in my prayers, I thank Heaven and when a new day dawns, there are no words to express my gratitude for the opportunity to see the light of the sun again and to look at my wife and children with new eyes.
To meet Jesus in our neighbour is to discover the tenderness and beauty of his love. Opening ourselves to each other allows us to be a gift to anyone who passes by and even unexpectedly receive a hundredfold.Heart full of joy A very poor family with five children lives in our village. The father is an alcoholic. Three of them are in the same class as my children. One evening, as we were leaving school, it was raining hard. I took the children in my car and, seeing the three of them on the street, I picked them up and drove them home. “Come and meet my mother,” the youngest said to me. We entered the humble house, and the woman thanked me. Then, chatting, she told me that she was looking for a bargain bed for her youngest and showed me their rooms, where the upholstery was peeling away from the walls due to the humidity. The other four children all sleep in the same room. The little two-year-old, practically naked, was wearing an apron that was too long for her. I promised that the day after I would bring her the folding bed that we rarely use. The next day, when we arrived at the family home with the bed, some toys and some clothes, the children jumped for joy, including my own. We left promising to come back. On the way home, my little one exclaimed, “Mommy, my heart is full of joy.” O. D., France The former principal One day, on the street, I ran into the principal of the institute where I was teaching. He had fired me some time before under false pretences. At the time he was still a priest, but he had then left ministry and married. When he recognized me, he tried to avoid me, but I went to greet him. To break the ice, I asked him about his life. He told me he lived in another city, was married to a widowed mother of two, and had come in search of work. He reluctantly shared his address, then we said goodbye. The next day, I spread the news among my friends that I was looking for a job for a person in need. A response did not take long to arrive, and I heard about something that could answer that request. When I contacted him to tell him, he almost couldn’t believe it! He accepted with deep gratitude. He was touched that I took an interest in him. J., Argentina Grandpa Since Grandpa suffers from serious walking problems, he has given up his usual walks and instead stays home and reads in an armchair and sleeps, even though the geriatrician has encouraged him to exercise and go out. How best to rekindle in him the drive to heal, to fight for life? Our daughters, with so much love, came up with the best way to help their tired and depressed grandfather. Every now and then they would take out their playing cards and ask him to play a game of briscola. He would try to get out of it, saying that he was no longer able to play, but they would not give up. During the game, which played out with all the enthusiasm and liveliness of children, he rediscovered the joy and the desire to be together. The girls also continually reminded him of the exercises he had to do, such as a step competition. To help their grandfather raise his knees and not drag his feet, they sat on the ground with their legs outstretched, so he had to climb over them. G., Italy
Edited by Maria Grazia Berretta
From “Il Vangelo del Giorno,” Città Nuova, year VIII, n.1, January–February 2022
The 2021-2023 Synod entitled “For a synodal Church: communion, participation, mission” is underway. In this first phase, in addition to the involvement of everyone in their own parish or diocesan community, we are also invited to make a contribution as the Focolare Movement.The reason for our participation In a letter addressed to Margaret Karram in May 2021, calling the Focolare Movement to live the path towards the 2023 Synod of Bishops with the whole Church, Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, said, “Considering that the Associations of the faithful are ‘workshops of synodality ‘(…) they are unique partners in this phase of consultation. Therefore, at the beginning of this ecclesial adventure I would like be close to all of you, to encourage and support you on this journey together with the people of God ”, In response to this invitation from the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, the President of Focolare appointed an international team to prepare the first step that is the listening phase. As a Movement, we are therefore invited to seek opportunities to discuss the theme of synodality from the perspective of the charism of unity. Synodal Church In 2015, on the occasion of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis recalled that “the path of synodality is the path which God expects of the Church of the third millennium. (…) A Synodal church is a Church which listens, which realizes that listening “is more than simply hearing.” On 18th September 2021, in his address to the faithful of the diocese of Rome (Italy), the Pope issued a strong encouragement to follow the voice of the Holy Spirit who knows no boundaries, to listen to everyone who belongs to the one people of God, including those who live on the margins of the community. “Are the poor, the beggars, young drug addicts, all those people that society discards, part of the Synod too? Yes, dear friends (…) Synodality is an expression of the Church’s nature, her form, style and mission” .Three stages: This very rich vision offers us an important key for getting into the reality of the synodal process, which opened on 10th October 2021 in the Vatican and in local Churches on Sunday 17th October 2021. It is a three-year process, divided into three phases, characterized by listening, discernment and consultation. It is an absolute novelty both in method and implementation. It will take place not only in the Vatican, but in every Church of all five continents. It is the first time in the history of this institution, that a Synod has been held in a decentralized way. The first stage (October 2021 – April 2022) concerns the individual diocesan Churches where the synodal journey will try to answer various questions about the life and mission of the Church, in particular, as the Vademecum published by the General Secretariat of the Synod reminds us, one basic question: “How does this “journeying together,” which takes place today on different levels (from local to universal), allow the Church to proclaim the Gospel in accordance with the mission entrusted to Her; and what steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow as a synodal Church?” After the consultation with the dioceses, the Bishops’ Conferences will prepare a summary which will be sent to the General Secretariat of the Synod along with the contributions from the dioceses. Then the General Secretariat will draft the first Instrumentum laboris by September 2022. The purpose of the next phase, the continental one (September 2022 – March 2023), is to dialogue on the text of the first Instrumentum laboris in seven continental meetings: Africa, Oceania, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and North America. These seven international meetings will in turn produce seven Final documents which will be the basis for the second Instrumentum laboris, which will be used in the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2023. The last stage of the synodal journey is that of the universal Church (October 2023). A fundamental stage of this process is the celebration of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, in October 2023, which will be followed by the implementation phase, which will again involve the local Churches. The charism of unity for a synodal spirituality With what attitude should we approach the synodal process? During the General Assembly of the Focolare Movement, Pope Francis invited the participants to prioritize synodality: “With regard to your effort within the Movement, I urge you to increasingly promote synodality, so that all members, as depositaries of the same charism, may be co-responsible for and participants in the life of the Work of Mary and its specific goals.” Reflecting on the experience which is at the heart the Movement, the President, Margaret Karram recalled the points of reference in the spirituality of the Focolare that can help in the implementation of a synodal process. The Pact of mutual love, renewed and placed at the basis of every process of discernment, represents the commitment to be ready to love one another. Mutual and continuous charity requires learning the Gospel Art of loving: listening, putting yourself in a position to learn, speaking with respect, sincerity and clarity. Everything can be shared with parrhesia, putting yourself in front of God and keeping alive the reality of the new commandment.
Liliane Mugombozi (Yaoundé, Cameroon),
International team for the synodal journey of the Focolare Movement.
To facilitate the journey of reflection, sharing and listening, the team began the “synodal journey” in July 2021. In addition to a video of interviews, published on the YouTube channel of the Focolare Movement, a study aid was created to help members of the Movement experience the synodal process, collect and elaborate contributions to offer to the Synod secretariat.Link to the vademecum in English Link to the video in English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEb0owmRcTE&list=PLKhiBjTNojHpVNzhRRVCRJ-2BDdMzArXH&index=6
8 February is the World Day of Prayer and Reflection Against Trafficking in Persons. This year 2022 an online prayer marathon starts in Oceania, crossing the globe to conclude in North America. The Focolare is among those active against human exploitation. “In our area there’s a lot of prostitution. The Pope’s invitation to go towards the existential peripheries to seek out the most vulnerable, needy and forgotten, encouraged us to approach those involved in prostitution. Our aim is simply to accompany them, be close to them, make them feel we love each of them as a person”. Laura Diaz, a Volunteer in the Focolare Movement, is one of eight women forming the “Juntas en camino” (“Together On Our Way”) group, launched in 2013 from the parish of the Holy Eucharist in the Palermo quarter of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Every day they dedicate themselves to tackling prostitution by taking care of those caught up in it. “By serving,” she continues, “we receive so much more than we give. Something has changed within us: our mentality, our attitude without prejudices. This change has affected some of our families too. We look at the people we approach as people whose dignity has been violated and whose dignity can be restored”. This and many other testimonies from over 30 countries will be presented during the online Prayer Marathon on 8 February. Entitled “The Power of Care”, organized to coincide with the World Day of Prayer and Reflection Against Trafficking in Persons, the prayer marathon runs from 9:00 to 17:00 (CET) passing from Oceania, Asia and the Middle East to Africa, Europe, South America and finally North America. It will be streamed live in five languages (English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish) on the website www.preghieracontrotratta.orgMarcela Villares is a Focolarina living in Argentina who strives every day to combat the tragedy of trafficking. She works with the members of the Episcopal Commission for Migrants and Refugees of the Argentinian Bishops’ Conference as their anti-trafficking
Marcela Villares hands over the booklet of educational activities to the Pope
coordinator. “We’ve understood the importance of working to inform children and youth on these issues,” she explains. “For several years we’ve been offering formation linked to the dangers of such trafficking, to all the dioceses in our country, especially through schools. It’s been very effective, especially among children and young people, in sowing the seeds of awareness, as well as in the teachers and directors who have accepted it as a pedagogical tool for the years to come”. As a result of this experience, a booklet aimed at 6 to 17 year olds has been published including teaching activities and games on the topic. Marcela continues, “This year, in the Diocese of Orano, north Argentina, at the border with Salta – a region at high risk from this crime – we’ve been able to supply formation programs and materials to four schools, sponsored by a group of friends of Associazione Mondo Unito (AMU) in Luxembourg. The Vicar for Education has asked us to extend this formation to other Catholic schools and has introduced our program to directors of public schools too”. This in turn has generated media interest. The President of the regional Journalists’ Circle proposed distributing the formation and awareness-raising material to journalists, to doctors and nurses in local hospitals, and to all transport workers. A university is planning a conference on the issue.
The statute of Saint Bakhita by artist Timothy Schmaltz
“The pandemic has caused an increase in trafficking, has heightened the vulnerability of those most at risk and has led to a rise in gender inequality,” declares Sister Gabriella Bottani, event Coordinator. “All this must be faced with courage. We women, as a result, must take on a leading role in promoting a new economic model based on the power of care. The violence caused by exploitation can be transformed with gestures of care and solidarity.” The prayer marathon on 8 February 2022 is coordinated by Talitha Kum, the international anti-trafficking network of over 3,000 nuns, friends and partners, and is being promoted by the International Union of Superiors General, in partnership with the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Service to Integral Human Development, Caritas Internationalis, the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations, the Focolare Movement, the Jesuit Refugee Service and many other organisations around the world.
In today’s society, choosing to forgive is very unconventional. Some people think that forgiveness is a weakness,” Chiara Lubich affirms in the passage we publish here. “No, it is the manifestation of the greatest courage, it is true love, the most genuine love because it is the most selfless. If we want to contribute to creating a new world, the only way is to do as God does. God not only forgives, but also forgets. The Lord forgives all our faults because “he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness”[1]. He overlooks our sins[2], he forgets them, casting them behind his back[3]. God forgives because, like any father or mother, he loves his children and therefore always forgives them, covers their mistakes, gives them confidence, and encourages them without ever tiring. Because he is father and mother, it is not enough for God to love and forgive his sons and daughters. His greatest wish is that they treat each other as brothers and sisters, get along well, and love each other. Universal fraternity, that is God’s great plan for humanity. A fraternity that is stronger than the inevitable divisions, tensions and hard feelings that creep in so easily because of misunderstandings and mistakes. Families often break up because they cannot forgive each other. Old hatreds maintain the division between relatives, social groups, and peoples. At times there are even those who teach people not to forget the wrongs they have suffered and who cultivate feelings of revenge… And a dull resentment poisons the soul and gnaws at the heart. Some people think that forgiveness is a weakness. No, it is the manifestation of the greatest courage, it is true love, the most genuine love, because the most selfless. “If you love those who love you, what merit have you?” – says Jesus – everyone knows how to do that: “Love your enemies”[4] . We are asked to learn from him and to have the love of a father, of a mother, a merciful love towards all those who come our way, especially towards those who do something wrong. Moreover, to those who are called to live a spirituality of communion and fellowship, that is, the Christian spirituality, the New Testament asks for something more: “Forgive one another”[5]. We could almost say that mutual love requires that we make a pact with one another: to be ready to forgive one another always. This is the only way we can contribute towards universal fraternity.
Chiara Lubich
(Chiara Lubich, in Parole di Vita, [Words of Life] Città Nuova, 2017, pp. 666-667) [1] (Ps 103:3:8) [2] (Cf Wis 11:23) [3] (Cf Is 38:17) [4](See Mt 5:42-47). [5] (Col 3:13)
“Living Peace”, a peace education project promoting a culture of peace and fraternity, began in 2012. It involves more than 1,000,000 young people, teenagers and children from 130 countries around the world and is inspired by Chiara Lubich’s “Art of Loving”. On 5 February 2022 an online event on Living Peace International’s Youtube channel will celebrate its 10th anniversary. “I was teaching in an American school in Cairo, Egypt, and the idea of contributing to peace and culture developed: it seemed a way of responding to the many challenges in the Middle East.” This is how Carlos Palma, focolarino and teacher, creator of the “Living Peace” project, begins the story. The initiative started on 5 February 2012 with the aim of promoting a culture of peace, fraternity and solidarity. Today, after 10 years, this peace education pathway has developed all over the world. It is promoted by the AMU Association Onlus – Action for a United World, in partnership with Teens4Unity and New Humanity. More than 80 international organisations and more than 1000 schools and groups take part in it, involving more than one million children and young people. On 5 February from 2.30 pm to 4.00 pm (UTC+1) on the YouTube channel of “Living Peace International” there will be an online event translated in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian, to mark the tenth anniversary of the project. The “Dice of Peace” lies at the heart of the “Living Peace” project. There are no numbers on the faces of this dice but phrases that suggest ways of building peaceful relationships between all. The dice was inspired by the points of “The Art of Loving”, which Chiara Lubich had proposed to the children of the Focolare Movement many years ago. She too used a dice to explain these ideas. “Time Out” is also offered as part of this project: at 12 noon every day, in every time zone, thousands of people take a moment to be silent, to reflect and to pray for peace. Initially, this project seemed most suited to primary schools but it soon spread to secondary schools and reached universities, youth movements, associations, foundations, prisons, religious communities and art centres, etc. What does peace education mean? The UNESCO Constitution states: “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.” Educating for peace is not just another discipline to learn, but rather it means making every educational environment an instrument of peace, a pathway that tries to develop creativity and autonomy in children in dealing with problems and conflicts and learning to dialogue. Educating for peace, therefore, means promoting concrete actions for peace and reconciliation, starting from schools and reaching as many educational environments as possible. “In 2013 I was appointed ambassador for peace by the Universal Circle of Ambassadors for Peace in France and Switzerland,” says Carlos Palma. “Two years later the idea emerged to also appoint young ambassadors for peace ranging from 6 to 25 years old. Today there are 600 young ambassadors in the world who carry the ‘Dice of Peace”’ everywhere. They are protagonists of the most varied activities in many different areas. This project has also become a subject of study in some universities. Thanks to the young ambassadors, the ‘Dice of Peace’ has been created in braille for the participants who are blind. In addition, they have devised the” Peace Got Talent” programme which takes its cue from the television series known in various parts of the world. This gives space to young talented people to promote peace. Then came the pandemic. But in spite of this,” concludes Carlos Palma, “young people have continued and continue in a thousand ways, through the web and social networks, to promote peace and fraternity.” For more information, see this link.
