Dec 29, 2021 | Non categorizzato
An initiative that combines the desire to provide practical help with the many needs that exist in the world. These are the aims that, in 2016, generated “Milonga”, an international intercultural and fraternal volunteer programme. A new opportunity, a renewed proposal to bring help where it is needed. This is the mission that “Milonga” is still pursuing today, 5 years after its inception. It developed thanks to the contribution of New Humanity, Youth for a United World and the Latin American Network of Social Organisations Inspired by the Charism of Unity, with the collaboration of Sociedade Movimento dos Focolares-Brazil, Sumà Fraternidad and Promoción Integral de la Persona. It is an international volunteering platform that meets the needs of an increasingly widespread desire among young people to have global social experiences. The first volunteers left in 2016 with destinations in Bolivia and Brazil. Subsequently, more than 200 young people have followed in their footsteps, crossing borders to offer their time, talents and professional skills. This is a small but important contribution to overcoming inequalities in the world. But what is distinctive about “Milonga” compared to other volunteer programmes? For Virginia Osorio, Uruguayan member of the Coordination Team, “Milonga was the opportunity to network with a broad range of people and thus generate a different system of international cooperation which puts fraternity at its heart. In Milonga, service is enhanced by interculturality and training in global and local citizenship, weaving links not only between the north to the south, but in all directions.” This is how young people aged between 21 and 35 are working in synergy with the NGOs and are engaged in projects in areas of need all over the world. Marco Provenzale, from Italy, says: “For these reasons, the programme is named after a Latin American dance with African roots and plays upon the NGO acronym. In Italian this would read “Mille ONG in Azione” – “A Thousand NGOs in Action”. Communities and little towns belonging to the Focolare Movement also support the initiative. It offers significant opportunities for action and training for young people who are motivated and want to contribute to society. In these five years, “Milonga” has made a great impact upon the lives of many young people. “The experience they have with each other reflects upon the role each plays as a citizen of the world,” continues Virginia Osorio, “and stimulates them to want to act wherever there is suffering.” In addition to the many volunteers who have worked in person in these initiatives, during the pandemic more than a hundred have had a virtual intercultural experience online. This enabled them to support actions such as fundraising, helping school children, preparing for exams, practising different languages and much more. Antonella, a young woman from Argentina, did virtual volunteering in Brazil and is now preparing to finally do it in person: “Before, I didn’t participate in things like this. Today, if I don’t do something concrete, I feel empty. My experience with Milonga has given me this new awareness.”
Janeth Lucía Cárdenas and the MilONGa team (social worker, involved with Milonga and the global communication project)
Dec 28, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Through the Incarnation, God revealed to Mary that her small, fragile humanity served his plan of salvation. Advent can be an opportunity for us all once again to live the most beautiful experience of all: to feel ourselves watched over by God and be led by him, as Mary did. We can then face each day with a deep joy in our hearts and a song of praise on our lips. Back to life A friend of ours who is involved with rehabilitating ex-convicts proposed to our religious community that we take in one who was nearing the end of his sentence for a few months. Pietro, as he was called, turned out to be an expert in home maintenance and tirelessly repaired whatever was needed. It was a true blessing for us, since we lack economic means and struggle to find the time for certain jobs. One evening after dinner, in the garden, Pietro began to open up. “I’m grateful not only for the hospitality I’ve received, but also for your respect. Ex-prisoners are often treated like plague victims, and people keep them at a distance. Yet being included is the only medicine that can heal certain wounds.” Before leaving, he left a note. “Thank you. Now I can come back to society because I know that I have something to give.” (O., Italy) Like the prodigal son When a homeless man named “A.” confided in me, explaining why he had been reduced to that state of misery, I saw in him the prodigal son from the parable, who yearns to regain his freedom. When I asked him to reach out to his family, he refused at first, because it was so difficult to show them what he had been reduced to. The mere idea of presenting himself to his brothers and sisters, who were all “successful” with fulfilled lives, only increased his humiliation. And yet – I reminded him at that point – they had not stopped loving him, waiting for him. He did not reply, staying silent. He showed up again after a few days. This time he asked for my help to buy a plane ticket to return to his homeland. Without hesitation, I provided him with the necessary amount of money. Not long afterwards, I received word from him. “It was just as you told me. The joy of embracing me again was a true gift I could give my parents. Thank you for reminding me why I’m here.” (G., Spain) By the hand Due to a stroke, I found myself paralyzed on the left side of my body. Suddenly my life changed. I was disheartened by the turmoil I was causing in the small business I had just started, in the running of my family, and in my teenage children. I had to practice for a long time and accept a new way of life. However, as one world collapsed, I saw dimensions opening up that had been neglected and unappreciated before: my life of faith. For years in fact, I had not prayed. Since I recognized my fragility, it was spontaneous for me to start praying again, not with words learned in catechism, but in dialogue. I learned to converse with God again. Meanwhile, my treatments continued. At one point, I was surprised to recover all motor functions. Now that I am recovering, I can say that God’s love wanted to immerse me in life fully, not superficially. He took me by the hand, and I held on. (A., Argentina)
Compiled by Maria Grazia Berretta
(from “Il Vangelo del Giorno”, Città Nuova, year VII, n. 4, November–December 2021)
Dec 27, 2021 | Non categorizzato
In this Christmas season, December’s Word of Life invites us to live words that refer to Mary: “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord. (Lk 1:45). The following text is also dedicated to the mother of God. In it Chiara Lubich invites us to live like Mary in her complete readiness to believe and put into practice what the Lord had announced. There is a close link in Mary between faith and motherhood, as a fruit of listening to the Word. Here, Luke suggests something that also concerns us, because later in his Gospel Jesus says: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of God and put it into practice” (Lk 8:21). By almost anticipating Jesus’ words, Elizabeth, moved by the Holy Spirit, announces to us that every disciple can become the “mother” of the Lord. The condition is that we believe in the Word of God and live it. (…) After Jesus himself, Mary is the one who knew how to say “yes” to God best and most perfectly. Her holiness and greatness are found there, above all. And if Jesus is the Word, the Incarnate Word, Mary, by her faith in the Word, is the Word lived, while being a person like us, equal to us. Mary’s role as Mother of God is sublime and great. But God does not only call the Virgin to generate Christ in herself. In a different way, every Christian has a similar task: that of incarnating Christ to the point of saying, like Saint Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”(Gal 2:20). How can this come about? By having Mary’s attitude towards the Word of God, which is one of complete availability. To believe, therefore, with Mary, that all the promises contained in the Word of Jesus will be fulfilled and to face, if necessary, as Mary did, the risk of encountering the absurd that his Word sometimes entails. Wonderful things, that are both great and small, happen to those who believe in the Word of God.
Chiara Lubich
(Chiara Lubich, in Parole di Vita, edited by Fabio Ciardi, Opere di Chiara Lubich, Città Nuova, 2017, p. 610-612)
Dec 25, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Igino Giordani summed up Christmas in a few significant words: “Our welcoming the child Jesus into the cold grotto of our hearts; giving hospitality to that Light which had found no place elsewhere and decided to shine on us, making all things new. “Jesus was born in a stable, to show us that he can be born in our hearts too, which are not unlike a stable. And when he is born in our heart, as in the grotto, the angels sing, the light shines in the night, and peace rains down on earth. Jesus, with his Birth, began a Revolution: he took humanity from the stable and raised it to the stars. He made even those strong men who enslaved him become his brothers, his equals. Christmas cannot be reduced to carols and candles. God is not to be made fun of. Our Father in heaven calls for our bread on earth. It is clear: those who want to make us slaves again, to take back our freedom, remain active. And this is done with various kinds of pressure (…). We lose our freedom, we lose our charity: and so we live according to the flesh. Instead of being willing servants of our sisters and brothers, we exploit them. And yet the law, justice, is this: treat others as you would have them treat you. Mutual service, where justice and charity are one. It is God who lives in us: the Word – Reason – who becomes flesh among us and makes the stars shine on the stables.
Igino Giordani, “La Via”, [The Way] 24.12.1949.
Dec 22, 2021 | Non categorizzato
When the Focolare president met the gen, the younger members of the Movement, she shared greetings for the Christmas season
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBadtgrCDwg
Dec 22, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Lorna Gold, president of the Laudato Si’ Movement, and Martin Palmer, founder and president of Faith Invest explain how the world’s great religions can be a driving force in civil society on climate change. During the COP26 conference, the religious leaders present took part in various events, that were opportunities for mutual knowledge and dialogue. These included one event held at the Mosque and one hosted by the Focolare Movement. Martin Palmer (England) has spent his entire working life engaging with major religions around the world on environmental issues. This began in 1986, when Prince Philip (the Duke of Edinburgh), who was international president of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), asked him to bring together representatives of five of the world’s major religions to look at ways in which those faiths understood their place in nature. They set up a comprehensive program on bringing faiths into partnership with major environmental groups, the UN, the World Bank, and other bodies. Lorna Gold is the Vice-Chair of the Global Catholic Climate Movement Board and President of the Laudato Si’ Movement. She coordinates their work on climate action within faith communities and has been leading work to get the Catholic Church in Ireland and globally to disinvest from fossil fuels. In our interviews, we talked about many subjects regarding COP26, the climate crisis and the current situation… Understandably, it was not possible to include everything in the report broadcast during the Link Up. For example, Martin Palmer told us about the particular period we are going through and said: “I think we are on the cusp of a very great change. And the very great change is that instead of waiting for governments to give the lead, it is civil society, it is the young and the old. I’ve been at this work for 40 years. I think it’s the rise of women’s organizations, which were simply not there in 1997. I think of the whole role of indigenous people, I think of the whole role of faith communities, of the NGO world, of the educational world. I see that, now, we’re at that moment where we tip. There are still many people who think that if we protest, we can influence governments… I have to say, I don’t believe that”. “The faiths are getting together with the financial world, with the educational world and saying, how can we create partnerships? Where we have the money, we have the influence. We have the structures. We have the means to make a change…”. And afterwards we had a very interesting exchange with Lorna Gold about what she defined as “climate anxiety”, where she said: “I think it’s something that all of us, to one degree or another, will face because once you accept that there is a climate crisis and that everything isn’t as ‘rosy’ in the future, as maybe we would have wanted, the prospect of a united world is quite distant if climate change can’t be resolved.. “(…) I try to manage that anxiety. One way is through spending time in nature. Nature is a great healer. Being outdoors, meditating in nature, finding God in creation. It makes you realize that nature is quite resilient. We see generation all around us.”. “I truly believe that this moment we’re living through is a crisis, but it can also be a kairos. A kairos, as Pope Francis says, is an opportunity, a moment, an opportune moment to rethink, to convert ourselves, to undergo that deep ecological conversion and to start moving in a different direction.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfX3QEj07Ns&t=133s
Dec 20, 2021 | Non categorizzato
In this passage, Chiara Lubich invites us to share with our neighbours whatever they may lack in order to have a dignified life. This is the best way to prepare ourselves for Christmas, which we will celebrate in a few days’ time. The conversion of heart needed to prepare for Jesus ‘coming does not consist in beautiful words and an outpouring of feelings. Rather, it lies in doing the will of God, above all in loving others, concretely expressing our solidarity and sharing what we have with those who lack essentials, whether that be food, clothing, lodging, help, and so on. It is what Jesus himself teaches us. The Christian life, in fact, does not primarily consist in long prayers and exhausting penances; it does not ask us to change our profession or occupation (provided they are good in themselves) but rather that we live love of neighbour in our life circumstances and activities. ” Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” (Lc 3:11). We are in the month of December, in which we celebrate Christmas. For the Church, Christmas is not simply the commemoration of a past event. It is the celebration of an ever-present and ever-new mystery: the birth of Jesus among us and in us. So how can we prepare ourselves for Christmas? What should we do so that Jesus can be born or reborn in us and among us? We should love concretely. Let’s make sure that our love of neighbour does not stop at words, but is translated into action, into deeds, whether great or small.
Chiara Lubich
(Chiara Lubich, in Parole di Vita, [Words of Life] a cura di Fabio Ciardi, Opere di Chiara Lubich, Città Nuova, 2017, pp. 422-423)
Dec 17, 2021 | Non categorizzato
The cycle of lessons of the new course of the Popular Marian University (UPM) of the Focolare Movement was inaugurated on 6 November 2021. This year the title is, “Where man is alone with God: conscience”. Catherine Belzung, neuroscientist and Emanuele Pili, lecturer, will give the second lesson. Here they answer some questions. “Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with God, Whose voice echoes in his depths.” These words from the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes inspire the title of the new course of the UPM (Popular Marian University) of the Focolare designed for the 2021-2022 academic year: “Where man is alone with God: conscience”. On 6th November, during the first lesson of this cycle, Renata Simon, co-responsible for the aspect of Wisdom and Study of the Focolare Movement, described moral conscience as a “holy” space. She said, “Conscience does not close man into an impenetrable solitude, as in an isolated cell, but opens him to the call of God”. Analyzing the theme in its various forms and in the context of the spirituality of unity, reflecting on the ability to act according to the responsibility of each person to enter into dialogue with themselves and with this voice, are just some of the objectives that this course aims to achieve. Catherine Belzung, a neuroscientist and Professor of the “Imaging & Brain” Department of the François Rabelais University of Tours (France) and Emanuele Pili, Adjunct Professor of the Department of Theology, Philosophy and Human Sciences of the Sophia University Institute, agree that this is a great challenge, especially in today’s world. They are both speakers for the second lesson which will take place on 18th December, on the topic: Consciousness in a pluralistic world, different perspectives. The lesson will deal with psychological aspects in relation to moral conscience, introducing the question of freedom and its possible conditioning, which will be examined more closely in the third lesson. “Each of us finds ourselves having to choose according to values and we find this in various disciplinary perspectives”, explains Catherine Belzung. “What often varies are the concepts and the language used. In neuroscience we speak of ‘decision making mechanisms’, in other fields of ‘moral conscience’. We must engage in dialogue to understand if the various words used correspond to a common concept”. Are we neurologically conditioned in acting or are we free? Catherine Belzung affirms, “We are completely free people”. Some research has been misinterpreted and identifies man as a puppet in the hands of his own genetic material, of his own brain. In reality, we are not determined by our biology”. Understanding what hinders listening to oneself and listening to God’s voice in a noisy reality like the one in which we live, seems to be the real question. According to Emanuele Pili, “The time in which we live is so noisy and frenetic, that at times it is like having a suffocating hood around our most intimate and authentic desires. The pervasiveness and omnipresence of technology change the very process through which personal identity is formed. Therefore, there is a real challenge to listen to our most inner part which is not easy to deal with”. How can we get out of this impasse? Emanuele Pili continues, “I believe the point lies in finding a way to pierce the hood that tends to hinder the possibility of returning to ourselves. I think that a lot has to do with the rediscovery, also helped by the experience of the pandemic, of real and simple relationships, lived in their corporeal and emotional dimensions, capable of leaving aside superficiality and mediocrity (…) Rediscovering our interiority and the desire that animates it, is the serious (…), game of everday life. Perhaps, today, piercing the hood that prevents us from accessing our interiority also, and above all, involves knowing how to listen to this cry, which is sometimes mute or stifled, of which for example younger people are, in good and in bad, the most lively and effective testimony”.
Maria Grazia Berretta
Poster in PDF
Dec 17, 2021 | Non categorizzato
The international band, “ Gen Rosso”, travelled to the Balkans. There, thousands of migrants live though tragic situations as they try to reach Europe in search of a better future. This journey inspired Gen Rosso’s Christmas concert, entitled “Refugee”, which will be streamed for free. 
“We are tired, very tired of living in these conditions, but today we have rediscovered and experienced joy”. These are the words of Mariam, visibly moved, in thanking the international group Gen Rosso at the refugee camp in Bosnia, after a day spent together. Mariam is Iranian and together with other migrants she lives in that refugee camp because she is looking for a better future, where there are no wars, hatred or persecutions. Thousands of refugees like her are stuck in the cold, the freezing cold, in the so-called “Balkan route”, with the hope of reaching Europe. 
Gen Rosso went to Bosnia in October 2021 to bring relief and hope to these migrants through art, music and dance. They went to a refugee camp run by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) which provides essential accommodation and aid to asylum seekers and migrants attempting to cross the Croatian border. The Band told us, “We didn’t have the slightest idea of who or what we would meet but we wanted these people, who find themselves painfully wandering for years, to experience fraternity”. Migrants need not only food and clothing but also moments of welcome and serenity. At the beginning, “we found ourselves under the questioning and somewhat suspicious gaze of families who kept their distance. It was not easy to start with people from different cultures and traditions, accustomed to indifference and hostility”. It was the children who broke the ice. They were attracted by Ygor playing a Brazilian tambourine and wanted to try. Little by little everyone gathered courage. Michele, lead singer of the Band, said, “Who knows what these children have experienced and what they carry in their hearts. A nice atmosphere was created right away. The fact that the children were present, with their immediacy and simplicity, helped a lot”. Thus began the first dialogues. What is your name? Where are you from? And mistrust gave way to trust. The Band said, “We had planned to divide into small groups, but we understood that they all wanted to stay together and after a long time, to celebrate, with songs and dances of individuals and groups, according to their own traditions. When some mothers wanted to show us a typical dance, they left their babies in our arms, with the trust that is usually given to brothers”. Helânio shared this experience, “A refugee with a wounded leg grabbed my drum, his eyes were shining, it was almost his only way of expressing himself. I was happy to give him this opportunity”. Raymund, one of the dancers, shared, “A woman asked if she could dance. She could feel that someone appreciated her. I understood what it meant to go towards them through music, which can rebuild people’s souls; it was evident in their shining eyes, that they were happy”. It was an unforgettable experience, that has inspired the upcoming Christmas concert that Gen Rosso have entitled “Refugee”. It will take place on 18th December 2021, at 21:00 (UTC + 1), at the Loppiano auditorium. You can buy tickets here or at the auditorium. It will be streamed free on the public.la web platform. It will be an evening specially dedicated to bringing relief, peace and hope to all those who find themselves in situations of suffering and hardship.
Lorenzo Russo
Dec 16, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Mary, after welcoming the power of the Most High, hurried to her kinswoman Elizabeth, her heart full of joy. This is the first missionary action by the Mother of God after she pronounced her “yes”. She goes out towards another person bearing good news. Christmas is a time we too can bring this same good news to the world with a generous heart. The puddle We’ve reached a stage in our family where my children seem to have lost any sense of proportion and respect, all in the name of personal freedom. One day I walked out of the house to try to calm down and avoid reacting sharply to them. As I often do, I started reciting the rosary. That got me thinking of Mary. She too was a wife and mother. She had silently pondered everything in her heart, including her pain and sufferings. This prayer and reflection began to break through my negativity, bringing me some peace and the strength to go back home and try to introduce some of that serenity there too. As I was walking back towards the house, I noticed the sky reflected in a puddle. That’s what I felt like: a puddle which can reflect a part of the heavens. And that image was all I needed to find new joy once more. (F.A. – Albania) Together My husband and I had agreed that he would stay at home after work to be with our son John, who has Downs Syndrome, so that I could attend a regular parish meeting which was really important to me. After a while, however, I noticed that taking it in turns so often to care for our son seemed to be having a negative impact on his behaviour. So one evening I decided to miss the meeting in order to stay in with him. When he realised that the three of us would be staying at home together, his challenging behaviour improved greatly. As I got supper ready, he came to tell me, “I’m sorry I’ve been naughty, Mom. Let’s start again.” He was referring to something he’d done the day before and I knew he meant “Let’s start to love each other again”. I was pleased he was aware of what he’d done wrong. My husband heard his apology too, and family harmony was restored all round. We had a really lovely evening together. When John went to bed that night, we both saw how happy he was. (R.S. – USA) In hospital I’m a volunteer hospital visitor. One morning I went to greet one of the older patients and asked if he’d like to receive the Eucharist. He shook his head laughing and replied, “It’s a very long time since I last received Communion…”. Undeterred, I suggested perhaps he’d like to say a few prayers, to which he responded, “Yes, OK, but you’ll have to help me, because I’ve forgotten them all!” I started, and he repeated after me, phrase by phrase. When we’d finished, he turned to me with a smile and said, “That was very moving”. It showed me never to be put off by appearances. We parted company with the warmest of greetings. (Umberto – Italy)
Selected by Maria Grazia Berretta
(from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, year VII, n. 4, November-December 2021) Foto © Joachim Schwind – CSC Audiovisivi
