![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 28, 2013 | Non categorizzato
“Our journey in life has shaped us and led us to love everyone, especially those considered the least in society. Who would be viewed less fortunate than a severely brain-damaged child?” These are the words of Mark and his wife, Ada, in sharing their personal experience which led to a social and political commitment following the birth of their daughter Chiara. Marco is an official at the Finance Department; his duties and competence include financing plans aimed at establishing new cooperatives and enterprises as well as over-viewing the management of activities within the Public Service. Presently, he is local Counselor for the Region of Sardinia. “Ada and I come from an experience of being committed as young people in the Focolare Movement, living a life marked by the values of fraternity, mutual love and unity. Together we made the choice of living the Gospel every day. We decided to form a family that is open to others, making ourselves available to those in need and choosing the path of mutual love.” In 1987, two years into our marriage, Chiara was born. We really wanted this child and considered her as a new and important step in our married life. Shortly after her birth, the first symptoms of a neurological disorder manifested themselves. Since then Ada and Marco had to make and enact important and decisive choices: “One doctor suggested that we place her in a specialised institution so as to allow us to lead a normal life. But even though we were aware of the difficulties we would have to face, we decided to adapt to her way of life and not the other way around.” 
“Thanks to our daughter.” Marco says, “We got into action by creating a network among many families who lived in similar situations, up to the point of putting together an organization which is now widespread in many Italian regions. It’s called ABC: Association for Brain-Injured Children which enables thousands of struggling families to have their rights recognized. We are thus able to exert an influence towards the creation of new structures and the promotion of laws that are appropriate and innovative in terms of dealing with disability.” One example we can give is with regards to a health care legislation dating back from 1998 which supports people dealing with severe disabilities who are facing critical situations, together with their families. Marco has promoted this law and has been one of the protagonists in the struggle for its implementation. Up to now, there are almost 20,000 funded projects. Sardinia has become the first region in Italy for which such resources to be allocated. It is a model for the other Italian regions, and even abroad. “Together with other families and groups,” continues Marco, “we have become active participants in a social action promoting the implementation of human rights. We have taken upon ourselves the responsibility of people who are in critical situations, while going beyond the pietistic model and welfare approach which typically create social segregation. We are experiencing that by improving the quality of life of the so-called weaker persons, we are bringing about an improvement of society.” Ada comments: “The 26 years of Chiara’s life have given me a profound sense of the dignity of human life, because even though she cannot speak and does not have the ability to move, she continuously gives me a message of vitality. I have learned to understand her body, hands and face language. My daughter makes me understand every day the immense value of her life and physical being. In my life, there is, of course, no shortage of pain and difficulties. But as I understand its profound significance, the outcome in an experience of light, of great fullness and, why not, of satisfaction and gratification, when I think of all that came out of it.”
Oct 28, 2013 | Non categorizzato, Word of
It means entering into the hearts of the people we meet in order to understand their mindset, their culture, their traditions, so as to make them, in a certain sense, our own, and really understand what they need and be able to discern those values God has planted in the heart of every person. In a word: kindness means to live for whoever is near us.
Tender-heartedness: welcoming others as they are, not as we would like them to be, with a different character, with our political views or our religious convictions, and without those faults and habits that annoy us so much. No, we need to expand our hearts and make them able to welcome everyone, with their differences, their shortcomings and troubles.
Forgiveness: always seeing the other person as new. Even where we find our most beautiful and most peaceful relationships, in the family, at school, at work, there are inevitably moments of friction, differences of opinion, clashes. People reach the point of not speaking to each other, of avoiding one another, to say nothing of when real and true hatred towards someone who thinks differently roots itself in the heart. We have to make a strong, rigorous and thorough commitment to try and see each brother or sister as though they were new, completely new, not remembering at all how they have hurt us, but covering everything with love, with a complete amnesty in our hearts, imitating God who forgives and forgets.
True peace and unity are attained when kindness, tender-heartedness and forgiveness are lived not only by people individually, but together, with one another mutually.
And just as the embers of a fire have to be stirred every now and then, so that they are not smothered by the ashes, so too from time to time it is necessary deliberately to revive the decision to love one another, to revive our relationships with everyone, so that they are not covered up by the ashes of indifference, apathy, selfishness.
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
These attitudes demand to be translated into deeds, into practical action.
Jesus himself showed us what love is when he healed the sick, when he fed the crowds, when he brought the dead back to life, when he washed the feet of his disciples. Actions, deeds: this is what it means to love.
I remember the mother an African family whose daughter, Rosangela, lost an eye after an aggressive young boy poked her with a stick. He even continued making fun of her afterwards. Neither of the boy’s parents said that they were sorry. The silence, the lack of relationship with that family, made Rosangela’s mother feel bitter. ‘Don’t be upset,’ said Rosangela who had forgiven the boy, ‘I am lucky because I can see with my other eye!’
‘One morning,’ Rosangela’s mother said, ‘the boy’s mother sent someone to get me to go round to her house because she felt ill. My first reaction was: “Look, now she comes to me for help. With so many other neighbours she could have asked, she asks me, after all her boy has done to us!”
‘But suddenly I remembered that love has no limits. I hurried over to her house. She opened the door and fainted into my arms. I took her to the hospital and stayed with her until the doctors saw her. A week later she was discharged from the hospital and came to my house to thank me. I welcomed her with all my heart. I had managed to forgive her. Now we are in touch again. In fact, our relationship is totally new.’
Every one of our days, too, can be filled with real acts of service, humble and intelligent expressions of our love. We will then see fraternity and peace grow around us.
Chiara Lubich
(First Published August 2006)
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 26, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
“Rather than sharing my personal story – Stefano Isolan, a young Italian shares – I would like to talk about the community that raised me.
In 1986 my parents, farmers for generations, moved to Loppiano putting themselves at the service of the little city of the Focolare Movement. I was only three years old. We found ourselves immersed in a very welcoming reality, both on the part of the focolarini as well as the neighbours who introduced us to the Tuscany farming culture. Thanks to them my love for this earth grew throughout the years up to the point of pushing me towards embarking on the study of agriculture.
Working in the Loppiano Farm was a big gift: an enterprise that puts love and respect for the earth at its center, the cooperation among the workers and shareholders, with the aim of generating good and healthy products.
In Loppiano I saw people from all over the world come and go. It became natural for me to have friends of different cultures and religions. I experienced firsthand that, by giving space to the love that God has placed in the heart of every person, a united world is possible.
In the meantime, I had developed many friendships at Incisa (the nearby town) and in Florence, I started dating a young girl and I participated in the life of the parish. Together with the parish priest we experienced the authentic and fruitful love of the Gospel. A love that shows us the road that God has thought of, for our full realization. From this group in fact, beautiful families were formed, three vocations to the religious life, and one to the priesthood: tangible fruits of the Love of God among us. I felt myself to be a part of a community that has given me so much and for which I felt the need of giving something in return. I committed myself to associationism, in particular in the Workshop for Peace.
In the Spring of 2004, I was invited to run as a candidate for the Town Council of Incisa. After days of reflection and consultation with the young people of the Focolare with whom I shared everything and also with my friends in Incisa, I answered positively to that which seemed to me a way of giving back the good things that I have received. They were five years lived in close contact with the people. In the midst of sacrifices, successes and some failures, we worked – each one according to his or her own beliefs – to make our Town more livable for each and every person. A concrete example was that of the segregated rubbish collection. With the committment of the council and the all the citizens we became one of the most virtuous towns in Tuscany. I cannot also forget the big aim of uniting the town councils of Incisa and Figline, the result of years of collaboration and consultation with the citizens.
Bolivia 2012: Stefano with his sisters
And thus, my natural family, the Focolare Movement, the parish, the community of Incisa, the nature itself which surrounded me, started to become always more, one reality. I wanted to put myself at the full-time service of this big family. But I didn’t know how. Gradually an idea started to form within me: answer to the love I have received with Love. I felt the call of God to the priesthood which, for me, meant directing my life to His service, and as a consequence to the service of my brothers and of the whole humanity. Certainly it was not easy to leave all my activities. And it was even more difficult to leave my people and my land to enter the Seminary. But God himself made me experience the words of Jesus: “Whoever leaves father. mother, fields, for my name with receive a hundred times more …” (Mt 19,20). And it was really like this. Even if I entered the Seminary in 2007, I was able to conclude my term as Town Councilor up to the end of the legislature in 2009, and in 2014 I will be ordained a priest.
I would like to bear witness that it is worth it to live of one another, to work to make our world more beautiful, it is worth it to love, there where each one of us is called to do so. And I cannot but thank God for this cannot every morning and every evening!”.
(Experience shared by Stefano Isolan on September 15, 2013)
(777)
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 25, 2013 | Non categorizzato
In Focolare president Maria Voce’s message for the re-opening of the centre she urged the priests at Vinea Mea to have a new pastoral approach, in which priests are Christ for the world, going out out to the existential outskirts. Among those present were Bishop Mario Meini and Bishop Luciano Giovannetti, along with various mayors from neighbouring regions and some 200 guests from several regions of Italy.
Maria Voce highlighted the importance of Vinea Mea Centre in connection with the permanent Mariapolis of Loppiano from which its formative proposal draws its life. “Loppiano is a small living portion of hte Church and like a cross-section of a new society, showing what the world could be like if Christian love were placed at the basis of every relationship; a place in which new people are formed, people open to dialogue and communion, people capable of offering their own life as a gift to others.
“She recalled the wishes expressed by Chiara Lubich to priests in 1966, who were the first to attend the nascent school for priests: “Learn how to put everything aside, to strip yourselves of every pretext of power, in order to ensure the presence of Jesus among you. Then it will be inevitable for Jesus to bring forth a new form of pastoral ministry and a new kind of priest, priests capable of giving their lives for everyone.” She also wished them that such experiences would multiply and spread to many other countries.
Vita Zanolini and Elena Di Taranto from the architect’s studio at the Ave Art Centre described the challenges posed by the restoration project of the antiquated Franciscan convent from the 16th century, trying to render the environments suitable for the communitarian lifestyle that is the characteristic of this school for priests, while continuing to respect the continuity and memory of the historic building.
Bishop Mario Meini, bishop of Fiesole, Italy highlighted the human dimension of the priest, the fact that he must be a person with everyone else, a brother of all: “The Second Vatican Council has reminded us that the priest is ‘taken from among men’ and that his is a ‘ministry in the community’. There is need for a priestly spirituality that is not linked to a culture or to an environment, but one which gives voice to the whole world, one which is part of the flow of history today; we need priests who are the bearers of communion.”
Hungarian Father Dom Imre Kiss, who is responsible for the Vinea Mea Centre, described the formation method and program of courses of formation for priests. “We are a single community, but we live in small focolares suitable in size for a family in which mutual love becomes practical and deep, and where you can learn what it means to say that “the spirituality of communion renders enivironments suitable for the lifestyle that constitutes what is specific to this school for priests: the new communitarian dimension of the Church.”
Stefania Tanesini
Photo gallery on Flickr
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 24, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
Hearing of a jail for “special cases,” young people from the Focolare Movement decided to investigate. At the jail they found men, women and children, mostly Christians from Eritrea. Their story was one of incredible pain. In an attempt to escape the difficult situation in their own land and believing they were being brought to a better place, they discovered instead that they had fallen into the trap of human organ trafficking and would soon be among the anonymous dead. When they realized this, they fled over the border and took refuge in Egypt. Without documents they were arrested and jailed. This is where the Focolare’s young people met them waiting for a way back to Eritrea. Abdo who is a firsthand witness, recounts: “With the help of a missionary and the young people from the Focolare Movement we were able to go into the jail. We were enthusiastic about offering help, but we never imagined the suffering we would touch with our own hands. There was a scarcity of food and hygiene; and medical care was nonexistent inside the jail that had once been an army barracks. The young people were shocked to see children there, even small children. One child had been hit by a stray bullet as he was making his way across the border. “It’s impossible to express the deep pain we felt in the face of such great suffering,” Abdo continues. “With our eyes filled with tears, we asked what evil thing these people had done that merited them to be in such a situation.” But the young people didn’t lose heart. They split into groups, listened to people’s stories, tried to bring help and hope in God’s love. They provided material assistance for the most urgent needs. “Some needed medicine, others clothing or a telephone in order to contact their families and inform them where they had ended. But their first need was for someone to visit them, and show an interest in them.
Photo © 100viaggi.it
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 23, 2013 | Non categorizzato
Going out to the peripheries and making contact with today’s humanity. This was the commitment of 211 delegates who attended an annual gathering at the headquarters of the Focolare Movement in Rocca di Papa, Italy, during the period 26 September – 19 October 2013.
During a live Internet broadcast which linked more than 10,000 connection points all over the world, Focolare president Maria Voce greeted everyone with in a personal message, inviting members of the Movement to focus their energies on the “peripheries of the world”, not only those linked to material poverty, but also those places that are poor of God. This is a process that the Focolare had begun for some time now and which marked the origins of the charism in Trent, Italy, and the life of founder Chiara Lubich.
Today again the Focolare Movement feels the imperative to focus less on itself and more on the least, aiming towards communion. “We feel urged on by Jesus,” Maria Voce reiterated as she spoke to the Focolare members all over the world, “ who continues to suffer in today’s world, that world which at times assails us with its doubts and desperation, but which longs to encounter the One who alone can give meaning to its existence”.
But in order to reach out to the world we need “to go outside our comfort zone and immerse humankind in the flame of evangelical love.” This love is what transforms us all into the one family of God’s children in relationships that are real and true, and where each one is ready to give one’s life for the other, a love that becomes reciprocal. This is the point of the spirituality of unity that all the members of the Movement will deepen during the year.
Representatives of Focolare communities in war-torn countries were also present at the meeting. In these environments so greatly tested by armed conflict and division, the evangelical proposal of mutual love as the way to peace becomes a prophecy for a future of reconciliation. “We would meet not to defend ourselves, but to forgive those who hurt us, to encourage one another to love more,” affirmed the representatives of the Focolare in Syria. Strong words were accompanied by personal experiences of daily life, in spite of the darkness of the “Syrian night,” always striving to carry on in the hope that “only good can win over evil.”
The delegates concluded their gathering with the wish to return home “with an open heart to spread the experience of communion”. In the hope that “the Gospel lived by many will bring a new advancement of the Kingdom of God in the world”.
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 22, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
To identify and follow the ways of the culture of unity in present day history, beside the men and women of our times. This is the vocation of the Sophia University Institute (IUS), which has inaugurated, at the auditorium of Loppiano (FI), the sixth academic year in the presence of Card. Giuseppe Betori, Grand Chancelor, Maria Voce, vice-Grand Chancelor of the SUI and President of the Focolare Movement, the Bishop of Fiesole Mons. Mario Meini, the Head Rabbi of the Jewish community of Florence and Siena Rav Yosef Levi, civil authorities and more than 600 people. Its aim echoes what Pope Francis affirmed recently in his speech to the Faculty of Theology of Sardinia in which he launched an invitation to make the universities a venue of discernment and of formation of wisdom, of a culture of proximity and of nearness, of formation to solidarity.
Maria Voce opened the proceedings in the morning recalling the goals that have been reached this year: the official approval of the Statutes on the part of the Congregation for Catholic Education, the attainment of numerous masteral degrees and of the first doctorate on research in “Principles and perspectives of a culture of unity”, the many registrations for the first year of the course (45 new students from more than 25 Countries). “Sophia is always more characterized, explained Maria Voce, as a priviledged venue wherein the questions and the challenges that our times call out to us on a planetary scale are gathered, and to which we cannot but give a unanimous answer: an answer, authentic and convincing, that can come only from the real and daily sharing of thoughts and of life.
Then Annamaria Fejes, Hungarian, followed, who on behalf of about one hundred students that are attending the different courses, expressed the common motivations that many of them shared in choosing this academic center: “To find, through reflection and dialogue, alternative ways to the wars and conflicts that stain our planet with blood. We have the wish and the desire to meet young people, adults, associations, organizations, so as to build with them a more fraternal world”.
Archbishop Betori also reaffirmed the role that the Sophia University Institute has as an existential space of encounter, of the incarnation of divine wisdom and human knowledge: “The personal committment to live proximity and reciprocity in the various moments throughout the day, in many cultural activities, makes Sophia the place in which divine ‘sophia’ and human search for knowledge become only one thing”.
The Dean, Mons. Piero Coda, outlined the challenges, opportunities for collaboration and the prospects of this cultural journey: after the first years of intense experimentation, he explained, “now is the time to focus on the formative project that animates the mission of Sophia, in the integrality of a proposal that seeks to harmoniously match life and study”. There are 23 protocols of understanding with University Institutions in Italy, Europe and in the world aside from the numerous courses held and animated by Sophia in different Countries. He further underlined the contribution of the students, “co-builders” of the academic life: “With you we too feel that we are protagonists of the new world that is being born. With you, he reaffirmed, citing Chiara Lubich, it is possible to find new mental structures on a world-class level”.
The first lesson was entrusted this year to Prof. Benedetto Gui, professor of Political Economics, entitled “Relational complexity and economics. Can the first be useful to the second?”. A thorough and lively exposition of the role of relationships in economics, that are more than ever important today.
Stefania Tanesini
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 22, 2013 | Non categorizzato
The big hall of the Argentinian Little City of O’Higgins was transformed into a circus setting: the characters, through their performances, the choreography and the visual projections accompanied by musical themes, demonstrated the complex reality that society faces today. A program without intermissions, that sought to transmit a deep and incisive message through art.
Which one? To aim high, this is what was proposed by the theme song of the Festival, to have faith in the power of working together, with each one giving his own contribution, to believe that the barriers of individualism can be broken so as to be able to transform society in the different environments wherein the young people live their lives day by day, to struggle for a “culture of giving” based on a disinterested service, for a culture of fraternity and of forgiveness that breaks all the schemes of a humanity fossilized and frivolous that suffers, to believe that great ideals are not a utopia, but a reality that can come true by bringing about a true revolution of Love, through one’s daily actions.
At the heart of the preparation of the event were the 80 young people present this year in the Mariapolis Lia. The starting point was the question they asked themselves regarding what message to give to the numerous young people who come every year for this festival. The proposal was that of “showing everyone how society could be, if reciprocal love was the fundamental law of all our actions”. At the end of a critical reflection on contemporary society, they unmasked one of its most frequent illnesses: individualism.
From there came the choice of the slogan that helped them to bring ahead the propsed initiative, with the idea of risking one’s life for great ideals: “You are capable of doing great things… Let’s break with all stereotypes! A slogan that echoes the invitation of Pope Francis at Rio de Janeiro precisely to the Argentinian youth: “Hagan lío” (to make noise).
And so with a hundred young people coming not only from Argentina and from its farthest provinces, but also from Uruguay and Paraguay, the rich two-day program opened the way to participation through various workshops, the tour of the little city, a recital for peace with different invited musical groups and the band of the Mariapolis Lia. The work done together led to the search for solutions to the problems that were raised during the initial challenge.
Then they leave once again, but with the desire to put into practice in their daily life the departure from individualism, an answer to the words of Francis: “I want you to make yourselves heard (…), I want you to go outside, I want the Church to go out to the streets, I want us to defend ourselves against all that is worldly, the opposition to progress, to all that is comfortable, from all that is clericalism, from all that makes us closed up within ourselves. The parishes, the schools, the institutions are made to go out…”.
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 21, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
Saturday, October 12, the “Chiara Lubich” childcare centre was inaugurated in Padua (Italy). It was a big celebration that involved the whole community of the district of Altichiero a few minutes away from the historic centre of Padua. More than three hundred people were present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to get to know this new educative reality. “We would like to continue to form and to raise the younger generations,” Ivo Rossi, vice-mayor of Padua underlined, “Today there is a strong need to be present in every district of the city with the principals of communication and relations. We live in a moment of economic difficulty which we as administrators feel first hand, but in these difficulties lie our duty to continue to create the conditions that will make our children free.” A city that is united in remembering Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement and recipient of the UNESCO Prize for Education to Peace and Human Rights. “Honest, credible and authentic young people will be able to change the world,” explained Claudio Piron, councillor in charge of scholastic and youth policies at Padua’s local council, and supporter of the initiative.
Among the guests there was also Omar Ettahiri, secretary of the Moroccan association of the city of Padua who placed at the centre of his speech the charism of Chiara Lubich as a teacher of interreligious dialogue and a woman of peace who “is surely smiling in heaven”, he affirmed. It was an occasion also to remember the educative and scholastic background of the founder of the Focolare who in the beginning of the forties, just as she turned twenty, taught in the elementary schools of the province of Trent with a teaching method that was “capable of understanding, embracing and motivating her students”. “Chiara’s life,” 
underlined Professor Milan, professor of pedagogy at the University of Padua,” (…) has truly set the example”. At the conclusion of the ceremony the same Councillor Piron, quoting the words of the French writer Marguerite Yourcenar, reaffirmed the importance and the value of the project for the whole community because “to found libraries and nurseries is like building once again public granaries in order to accumulate reserves against the winter of the spirit”.
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 20, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
35 organizations coming from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guatemala, Messico, Paraguay and Uruguay will be represented in this meeting, which will be held from 21 to 24 October 2013 in the small town “Ginetta” in São Paulo, Brazil.
It is the first Latin American meeting for leaders of social organizations inspired by the charism of unity of Chiara Lubich. The theme will be “Fraternity in action: the foundation of social cohesion in the XXI century”.
Gilvan David de Sousa, one of the promoters of this initiative, said: “Our aim is to identify the main elements of the charism of unity that contribute towards a social change so as to be able to offer answers to the important questions posed by our continent” .
At a time when the current global crisis demands the research for new ways leading to an integral human development, for Sousa “this meeting should be a new stage in the process started to create a network among the different organizations, whose aim is to promote mutual enrichment through the exchange of ideas, experiences, difficulties and to produce a greater social impact”.
An opportunity to go deeper into the theme of fraternity will be offered through the sharing of experiences and reports, group work and the topics of the four plenary sessions, namely “The social question in the light of the Social Doctrine of the Church”; “The Charism of Unity and social issues in Latin America and the Caribbean”; “ The charism of unity and its implementation in organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean” and “How social projects inspired by the charism of unity can proceed together in the Latin American continent”.
Fr. Vilson Groh, Vera Araújo and Susana Nuin will be among the main speakers. Fr. Vilson Groh ( known in Brazil because he has received the Parliamentary Award Darcy Ribeiro 2013), has been working for 30 years in the outskirts of Florianópolis , Brazil for persons deprived of their rights; the sociologist Vera Araújo is a member of the Focolare Movement entrusted with the responsibility at international level of Dialogue with Culture; Susana Nuin is the executive secretary of the Department of Communication of CELAM and Consultant to the Pontifical Council for social communication.
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 19, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
Situated near Loppiano (in the vicinity of Florence), Vinea Mea is a school of communion and of dialogue at which, during its more than 30 years of existence, has been a centre of formation to more than 4,000 priests, deacons and seminarians (Catholics and members of other churches) from more than 60 countries. “Vinea Mea,” as Fr Imre Kiss, responsible for the Centre, explains, “offers a permanent formation in the light of the spirituality of communion of the Focolare Movement. The school, which lasts for a year, foresees courses on spirituality, theology, anthropology, ecclesiology, aside from workshops on current issues (youth, family, communications, dialogue with cultures and religions). Through the sharing of life in small communities, it aims to answer to the needs expressed by many priests to concretely experience a spirituality based on communion so as to transmit it to the men and women of our times.” 
The Centre works in synergy with similar structures in as many little cities of the Focolare: in Poland, Kenya, Brazil, in the Philippines, in Argentina. For 5 years now it has promoted, among other things, annual courses and workshops for seminary educators to support and spread a priestly lifestyle based on communion. A school centred on the formation to a spirituality of communion, as evidenced by the Second Vatican Council, so as to be “ministers capable of warming the hearts of the people, of walking in the darkness with them, of starting a dialogue with their illusions and delusions, of recomposing their disintegration” (Pope Francis to the bishops of Brazil, July 27, 2013). A unified formation for priests and seminarians that places at the centre the fraternity lived in the Church and among the people. 
These are some of the themes in the convention to be held on October 22, with which the 2013/14 course of the Center is to be inaugurated, in the antique Franciscan convent of the XVI century that houses it, and which was recently restored and renovated by the Centro Ave Arte, so as to better serve the experience of a communitarian life. At the Convention among those who will speak are, Maria Voce, president of the Focolare Movement, Msgr. Mario Meini, bishop of Fiesole and Fr Imre Kiss, the Director of the Centre. Live streaming of the event: 22 October, from 4.00 to 7.00pm (Italian time). For more information: accoglienza.vineamea@gmail.com
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 18, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
I’ve been given the opportunity to spend time visiting the terminally ill at home as part of the Special Ministry in our parish, and have seen and experienced quite a few things in the past 25 years of doing so with regard to the sick and dying.
This email came late one afternoon from an ex-colleague of mine. It was like a bolt out of the blue:
“Guess you have never been asked this before (…). I know I have no right to ask this of you but I am searching my conscience and really need help for an answer. I have been asked to escort ‘someone’ to Switzerland to be with him/her as they die. I am sure you know about the euthanasia program that is available there.* The person’s life is a misery, no hope of returning to a so called normal life….he/she has no religious beliefs and has no possibility of returning to a reasonable life… Personally, I have no religious beliefs, so your honesty would be appreciated. If it helps it is a family member I am talking about.”
I sat and read it over, I think, probably 4-5 times before I started to think about an answer. How do you answer such a painful cry for help? What sprang to mind was the “thought of the day” I was living with my Focolare friends: “Free yourself totally in order to be the living will of God”. But how could I live it? I tried to concentrate on living the present moment, putting aside everything else in order to take onto myself the burden of the person who was asking for my help. I prayed to God for courage to say with sincerity what I was feeling in my heart, without any fear.
All I did was to share my thoughts as asked. I also shared some brief experiences I have personally made with the dying and their families over the past 25 years, that includes the sufferings, the joys and the triumphs. And then I said I wouldn’t take the path her relative had chosen and the reasons why from the depths of my heart, and gave her some contacts in Palliative Care close to her.
My friend, who has always remained grateful for my help, recently let me know that she had shared my thoughts with her relative who decided to consult the resources I had given her and not to go to Switzerland, choosing the palliative care option instead. In fact she spent nearly 2 years making peace within the family.
R.L. (Australia)
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 17, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
Patience Mollè Lobè (Cameroon) is a 56-year-old widow, the first woman to hold the position of Vice-Director at the Minister of Public Works in her country. Her story is marked by commitment to her people, which is rooted in a deep evangelical lifestyle. Her decision has led her to begin a foundation for helping teenage girls at risk; promote Economy of Communion projects and help citizens become aware and actively involved in promoting progress in the country. Her decision has also won her some enemies. She has received several death threats, but remains unrelenting in her efforts.
“I came to know about the Ideal of unity in 1977,” she explains, “while attending high school. I had always been accustomed to seeing religious sisters teaching catechism, but this time it was a simple woman. Athough she had a nice way of relating to people and this appealed to me: she was a focolarina. I wanted to know more about her life and was invited to her home, the focolare. I left that encounter with one idea in my head: the importance of loving, of serving everyone. My first move was to prepare the food for my aunt, even though I had never liked to cook.”
When her teenage years with the Gen ended, she decided to spend a year and a half in the Focolare’s permanent Mariapolis in Fontem, Cameroon, because, as she explains, “before going to university I was looking for a deep spiritual experience that would help me lay solid foundations for my life.”
She was the only woman in the School of Engineering. “During the last year at university,” Patience continues, “I was engaged to a young man from my region, and we were soon married. God never gave us children, but we didn’t take this as a loss because we involved ourselves in serving the community on many different fronts: in activities of the EoC and in a foundation for teenage girls at risk. Then, unexpectedly, my husband, who had always been so athletic and healthy, began to suffer stomach problems and a few months later died at the age of 55.”
Now a widow, she carried out her role as Head of Service for the Ministry of Public Works until the Governor wanted her at the Secretariat of the Commission of Public Affairs. “But after a few years,” she recounts, “I saw that corruption had infiltrated the environment, and so I resigned. Then, totally unexpectedly I was promoted as Sub-Director. I tried to carry out this new service according to my Christian principles,” Patience explains “even though it wasn’t easy.”
“A year later, in 2007, I was promoted as Vice-Director of the Ministry of Public Works in the wealthiest area. It was the first time a woman had ever held this position. But the threats quickly began. A few colleagues felt as if their hands were tied; they couldn’t do things as they had before my arrival. They tried to force me into making mistakes, presenting budgets for work plans that contained errors. I had to thoroughly review each and every contract before signing the grants. I received several anonymous phone calls. One day while I was away in the city 5 people tried to break into my home, 15 km from Douala. The security guard was able to stop them. There would be people loitering around the entrance to my property, which I would report to the police. The police told me to keep them informed of each of my movements. My life became impossible.”
Meanwhile, the Minister, seeing Patience’s ability to help people to work together, wished to transfer her to the Ministry. She was weary from the battle, but “I realized that I had to still ‘give my life for my people.’ I accepted the position as director in order to bring the spirit of the Gospel into that difficult environment, remaining firm against illegality. I carried on because I didn’t have any personal interest. It was my way of contributing something to my country. Now, even though I’m officially retired, I preside at a commission of public affairs. I’ve evaluated hundreds of cases, so that public funds are not be used illegally.”
“The next day, after the nominations were listed, during the night I awoke to a pistol at my neck. . . Even though she was considered the better candidate, without explanation the post was taken by another. “Nevertheless, I went house by house, encouraging people to get out and vote, and this created a nice family atmosphere in my home which, meanwhile had become campaign headquarters. On election day there was another threat: Five armed military men came to my house in search of me. . . but they didn’t find me. I had been warned by the authorities.
The election results would arrive a few days later. Her party would probably win, but Patience says that her goal had already been reached: to work for the good of the country, despite the results; and overcoming the fear and threats witht he strength of the Gospel.
Interview of October 12, 2013 at the international Volunteers Centre of the Focolare Movement, Grottaferrata, Italy
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 16, 2013 | Non categorizzato
2013 will be remembered as a good year for two of the Focolare’s English publications. New City (Philippine Edition) was awarded a special mention for Interreligious Dialogue by Christian Media (ICOM), which has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The North American Living City magazine received an honorary mention in the category “Best Coverage of Vocations to Priesthood, Religious Life or Diaconate” for an article written by Sarah Mundell. The award was conferred by the Catholic Press Association of Canada and North America (CPA).
From vocations of the Catholic Church to the great frontier of inter-religious dialogue. An article in Living City and two in New City were particularly appreciated. The article in the American magazine was written by Sarah Mundell, following her interview with David Rider, the protagonist of the story, entitled: “Man of the cloth . . . and tap shoes” (LC June 2012). During the award ceremony the CPA described the article as “expressively written, fascinatingly original.”
New City Philippines magazine dealt with the fragile peace process in Mindanao (No 1/2013) and education for a culture of dialogue (No 6/2012). The award that was conferred during ICOM’s world congress in Panama City (September 28, 2013-October 5, 2013), gave recognition to the commitment of New City in easing the tensions of cultural and religious conflicts, recounting factual accounts of daily life in which there is a sense of reciprocity, mutual respect and solidarity.
The awardees. Jose Aranas is third from left.
The Panama event brought together journalists and professionals from around the world who have had opportunities to study the problems of the American continent. It was in this context that the International Journalism Awards were conferred, on October 4, 2013 at the University of Panama.
In accepting the award, Jose Aranas, editor-in-chief of the Focolare’s magazine published in the Philippines, spoke about the cultural and religious context of his country, the only country in Asia with a Christian majority. He stressed how the articles leading to the conferring of the award were above all experiences of Focolare members from different religions who strive to live in the light of the Golden Rule that is present in one form or another in many sacred texts: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Mt. 7:12).
Oct 15, 2013 | Non categorizzato
October’s Word of Life invites us to “be the first to love every person we meet, telephone, write to or live with. Our love should be practical and concrete, persevering, generous and patient. Waking up during the night “I work in a school, whereas my wife, Betty, stays at home with the children. They often wake up in the night and begin to cry. This is a burden for me. I try to hide beneath the covers, even covering my head so I don’t hear the noise. I tell myself that my wife should go and care for them alone. Considering that Betty continuously has to get up from bed each night to care for the children and reflecting on love of neighbor, I suddenly realized that my wife and children are my first and closest neighbours. Up until then my love had been only partial: I loved only when there were no difficulties involved. Then I decided to begin immediately. And that very night, when the children began to cry, I ran to help them sleep again. It was difficult, but I managed well. I did this for some time, until the little ones have ceased to awaken during the night.” B. – Uganda Refugees “I’m a Muslim who escaped from Bosnia, where I left behind my Catholic husband. Two of my cousins had already fled to Split. One of them was expecting a baby; they asked me to help her and that’s why I’m in Dalmatia. I did everything I could to improve this situation. During that period, one day another woman came to stay in the small apartment,. She was ill and elderly. I was without strength. I missed my husband and family in Tuzla. . . When I couldn’t see any way forward, the woman who had welcomed us into her home invited us to a gathering in which I heard talk of the Gospel for the first time. I realized that by loving others I could change myself and the situations around me. So I went in search of other refugees in the city and a small group was begun that continued to grow. Together we were able to help each other to find medicines, send letters to relatives and care for the children. Now there are 87 of us. We feel like a true family, even though we are of different ethnic backgrounds, nationalities and religions.” T. – Bosnia A seed of unity “While in hospital for a little surgery, I read a book that my fiancé had given me. It contained experiences of people who were trying to live the Gospel. They were very beautiful, but I said to myself: “It’s impossible to really live like that.” Then she invited me to meet some of those people, and as I spoke with them I understood and saw that it was possible. From there a new path was opened for us. We married with the intention of forming a family that would be open to others. First I wasn’t religious even though I belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, whereas Anna is Catholic. As I began to reflect more, I understood that in order to love my Church I should give a witness there. This is what I did. I made connections and now belong to the parish council. We’d like to show to our children and to everyone the beauty of the Christian faith by being a family that is a seed of unity.” D. J. K. – Germany Soure: Il Vangelo del giorno (The Daily Gospel), (Città Nuova Publishing House, Rome. October 2013)
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 14, 2013 | Non categorizzato
I need God. You need God. The whole world needs God. This thought raised a question in my mind: What could I do to encounter God in my life? What could I do to have a personal relationship with Him? Reading the Gospel and listening to others who were asking the same questions, I realized that the important thing is to pray and love your neighbour. These two things have revolutionised my life. Without prayer and love for my neighbour, the Always A Person project would never have begun. What is this project? Around 18 years ago a friend asked me for a favour: “I have been given the names and addresses of 6 prison inmates; we could write to three of them – three for you and three for me. It might cheer them up.” I immediately agreed to what he was asking because I remembered Jesus words: “I was in prison and you visited me” (Mt. 25:36). I wrote the letters and a few days later one of them, Giorgio, replied: ‘I’m really happy to be friends with you. God has sent you. . .’ Then he asked me for a favour: ‘Could you go to my mother’s house? She’s ill. Bring her a kiss from me.” So I went. I was told that she lived on the fourth floor. In the lift I was thinking: ‘What will I say to her? How will she welcome me?’ But I was already involved in this little adventure and I wanted to see it through whatever the cost. ‘Madam,’ I said to her, ‘I’m a friend of your son. We write to each other. He asked me to visit you and bring you a kiss from him.’ She was moved and began to weep. ‘My son is good, my son is good; a bit lively,’ she said. ‘He’s made many mistakes. His girlfriends led him to make mistakes, but he’s not bad! I have a tumour and only have a short time to live. I see that you genuinely care for my son; stay near to him. Help him, I beg you!’ A week before she died, I visited her in hospital. There were many people around her bed. ‘Be near to him Giorgio, Giorgio, Giorgio!’ she said to me. These were her last words. When I went to visit Giorgio, some of his friends wanted to talk to me. Thus I came to know many others in different sections of the jail. Many told me about their families living around the areas of Rome and the surrounding regions. I felt urged to visit them. I brought food and such to the poorest among them: nappies and baby food where there were children. This calmed the inmates, knowing that someone was looking after their families; and the families were also comforted, and some of them began visiting their inmate husband or son. Then to my great joy, I received requests from some ex-inmates to collaborate with me. Now there are thirty of us (volunteers and ex-inmates) who bring groceries and other supplies to more than 70 families living in at-risk areas of Rome and in the surrounding districts. We don’t receive support from anyone; everything we distribute comes from a few parishes around Rome, as a witness to the life we share. The funds we gather are spent on groceries and supplies. We always find that God is generous and sends us what we are in need of. you for listening to my story! I’m now convinced that if we pray and serve our neighbour, we will make many people happy; we’ll be happy and we’ll change the world around us. (Alfonso Di Nicola)
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 13, 2013 | Non categorizzato
“The Church today insists on presenting the imitation of Mary in terms of hearing and practicing God’s Word. This is best summarised in her attitude towards the will of God and words of Jesus: “But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart” (Lk. 2:19). She made her heart into a paradise of divine treasures, a chamber for the Incarnate and spoken Word of God. She held Wisdom in her heart, just as she held Jesus in her womb. She was able to welcome God into her womb because she was always so accustomed to emptying herself, so that he could fill her with his mind. She lived the ordinary life of most people in her world, burdened with the work and concerns of the family that were common to everyone else. In order to become all things to all people she turned the common everyday events of her life into the raw material of her holiness showing that one can ascend to the heights of God without ever living outside the realm of common existence. In this way she is the model for every living person; and every living person is in a position to reproduce, to prolong her mission in the human family – and to reproduce her under any human condition. Every soul can imitate Mary. It only has to act in such a way that whoever sees the way it expresses itself will recognise or maybe even discover Mary who gave the world its Redeemer. Everyone can find himself in Mary: the poor, the worker, the ailing and the aging; and in her you can just as easily find the scholar, the scientist and the statesman: Bernard, Aquinas, Dante, Milton and Manzoni. . . Many do not know how to define Christianity, and they also ignore the secondary definitions. But from their mothers or at school, they have taken away and cherish an image of Mary. They know from that image that Christianity is a collection of good things: love, loyalty, solidarity, strength, innocence, joy, beauty. . . Mary is all the most desired virtues put together that moreover are lived in a simplicity which makes them accessible to all. It’s enough to rely on God as she does, placing yourself in his hands (. . .) If you look at your neighbour with your own eyes and consider with your own mind the economy, politics and all the models of coexistence, you’ll only come up with bitterness. But if you look at people and things with the eyes of Mary, you will more surely be filled with pity. Her tears drench everything in love. And in the divine light all that seems grandiose, horrific and fatal is deflated. Everything is returned to its truly small dimensions (. . .) if you look at the world with the eyes of Mary sparks of human sympathy and poetry begin to arise from even the gloomiest faces and darkest situations. The divine life begins to surface, which had been inserted in humanity by the Incarnation. Mary is simple and thus the imitation of Mary involves the total dismantling of complicated words, studied gestures and relationships woven by diplomacy (. . .) in other words washing away all the makeup that has been applied to the soul, so that one can uncover one’s self as God created it. There could be the objection that acting in such a way would leave you open to the attacks of the clever and sophisticated. But perhaps the best defence against such attacks (and also the cleverer) rests in simplicity which is dismounting. Truth is the subtlest form of diplomacy. Mary proceeds straight on her way, says what she thinks, does what she must. All the souls that use the arms of goodness, prayer, repentance and forgiveness are able to find themselves in Mary. Imitating Mary, or better, uniting ourselves to Mary, the march of existence turns into a Heavenward ascent. The bitterness of life becomes sweetness if we let ourselves be taken by her hand, her pure and motherly hand that never grows tired.” Igino Giordani in: Maria modello perfetto, (Rome: Città Nuova, 2001).
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 12, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
“God writes straight on crooked lines;” we only need to abandon ourselves to his love, despite spite of our limitations.” These were the concluding words of business owner Livio Bertola from Cuneo, Italy during an interview of September 30, 2013 with journalist Gabriella Facondo on the Nel cuore dei giorni show on Italy’s TV 2000.
Livio tells how as a young military man in Rome, he felt a calling in a meeting with a priest from his area, a subtle call which later he felt even stronger when he met the Focolare in 1995. From that moment the spirituality of unity became a way of life for Livio, which spread to his family and also relationships at the company that from then on operated according to the principles of the Economy of Communion (EoC) , leading to unexpected and often surprising results.
The meeting with Chiara Lubich in 1995
Founded in 1946 by Antonio, Livio’s father and two uncles, Bertola srl is a leader in the chromium plating industry. It has about 30 employees and its customers include: Ferrari, Volvo, Kia, Nissan, Ducati, Guzzi and Piaggio. In 1991 Livio took the helm in running the company and four years later, in 1995, there was a big change. Livio recounts: “In the 90s when I heard talk of the Economy of Communion, I wanted to understand it more deeply.” Livio went to Loppiano, a Focolare town near Florence. There he met Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement: “I heard her speak to a group of people composed of non-believers, agnostics and Christians. “The most important thing in life,” she said, “is to love. Love everyone; be the first to love; put yourself in the other person’s shoes. But most of all, love without any ulterior motives or self-interest.”
Livio’s life changed and the centrality of the human person urged him to look upon employees, suppliers, customers and even competitors, with different eyes. Even the firm’s internal operations no longer remained the same. “A genuine friendship was formed with each employee of the company,” Livio affirms, “which continued after working hours.”
A celebration with all the employees
Several employees are Muslim. Right from the start I had also proposed to them that we live the Golden Rule, which is respected by all religions and people of good will: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I often visited them in their homes, showing concern for their personal situations. “Before knowing you,” they told me, “here in Italy we felt like strangers. Today, after coming to know this evangelical love through you, we fell like we are in a family!” One time Livio came to learn of the situation of two non-Europeans. There wasn’t much work in his company at that moment, “but I wanted to trust in God,” he recounts, “and I hired them. For Siamo we were also able to find him a house and some furniture. For these young men life has changed for the better; but also for the company things have become better: almost inexplicably, someone placed a huge order that has enabled us to increase personnel.”
AIPEC’S National Board of Directors
And the crisis? “Naturally, try to find work alternatives in order to acquire new clientele,” says Livio, “but mostly I try to trust, focusing on fostering brotherly human relationships. Trying to do things right for others, you also end up doing them better, and the market notices. An example? One large company that had decided to leave us and give their production to a foreign company because of lower cost has now returned to us because it realizes that quality always wins.”
Bertola has been linked for many years to the network of businesses that adhere to the EoC and, in 2012, several EoC business people spread throughout Italy felt it would be opportune to found the Italian Association of Business Owners For An Economy of Communion (AIPEC). The group is open to anyone who adheres to the EoC. Livio Bertola was elected president of the Association (for information, www.aipec.it).
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 11, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
On October 23, 1988 Chiara Lubich was awarded the Grand Feast for the Peace of Augsburg prize. Twenty five years later, on 20th September, 250 people met in the main hall of the prestigious Centre of the Lutheran Church in Augsburg. The audience included many personalities from civil society and the Church, members from the network of Christian communities affiliated with Together for Europe, as well as members of the Focolare Movement. Doing the honours was Lutheran Evangelical Deaconess, Susanne Kasch who gave a warm welcome declaring herself “proud that you have come to us.”
The purpose of the gathering was to assess the progress that has been made in 25 years. “Has the Focolare founder’s vision for our city remained a mere prophecy, or is there evidence that in the past 25 years some concrete steps towards unity and universal brotherhood have been made?” This question was the central theme of the event.
On October 23, 1988, Chiara Lubich had highlighted the importance of the city of Augsburg as the city of peace and had encouraged everyone to look higher in bringing ahead the Augsburg Settlement (between Lutherans and Catholics) by aiming for Augsburg Unity.
Following an exhaustive report on the Focolare’s concrete involvement in the social, political and ecumenical field in Augsburg, Mayor Dr. Kurt Gribl spoke: “The very fact that we are all here asking ourselves how much we have corresponded to the vision expressed by Chiara Lubich is a sign that she was an example. . . In reality, in 1988 Chiara Lubich was only half way in her activity. It is enough to consider that in 1996 she went on to receive the UNESCO Peace Prize, and in 1998 the European Human Rights Award. Augsburg has indeed recognized and appreciated her talent for peace.” And he asked: “Have we succeeded in bringing about what she desired, a civil life that is based on Christian and religious life?”
The Mayor listed what had been accomplished towards the promotion of unity in the city over the past 25 years and especially brought out the great openness that has been shown to refugees who find Augsburg to be their second home. Currently people from 150 different lands are assisted and supported by a vast network of specialists in the immigration sector.
Several groups from the city, who are involved in social work, shared spontaneously regarding their work in welcoming and accompanying recent refugees from Syria. This experience regarding hospitality and welcome was very pleasing to the Mayor who concluded by saying: “Chiara Lubich’s vision, her message, fell on fertile ground. Therefore, Augsburg: a city journeying towards unity. A journey that is always unfolding; and may we never fail to be on the front lines of this journey.”
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 9, 2013 | Cultura
Coming soon (Publication Date – November 2013)
Dorothy Day connected radical faith with doing radical deeds. Beginning from her discovery of God in the Word when she was eight years old, Michael Boover shares Dorothy’s reflections about her pilgrimage to the daily discipline of readiness and openness to God in her life, especially to God in her neighbor. He shares her words on why and how she prays, on her preference for frequent confession, on her intentional choice of suffering and poverty, and on her desire to imitate the saints and to make sanctity the norm of everyone’s life. Read more
To pre-order book: New City Press (NY)
Also available as an e-Book
(more…)
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 9, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
“My mother, in her eighties, has begun to make steps on the flowery path: gradually she no longer thought, and saw things with the heart. Finally, her heart gave in and her pure eyes were all that remained. She’s often a child of six or seven and asks about her small friends; sometimes she weeps because of her longing to see her Mamma and Papa; but then she trustfully smiles as she steps in and out of the flowery path. Occasionally, following my Mother, I also step onto the flowery path, and the worrisome burdens of the world are turned into light clouds in the sky; I also become a mere flower within my mother’s secure enclosure.”
The award ceremony took place on September 16, 2013 in the Conference Hall of Coex a Seoul.
Right: Korean author, Maria Goretti Jeung
Oct 8, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 7, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
Local communities versus national institutions? Minister of Regional Affairs, Graziano Delrio and Italian local authorities have no doubt. “Today the best resources for changing the country will emerge from small local communities.” The minister made this statement at the LoppianoLab workshop during an event entitled: Safeguarding the Human Person.
On stage also were urban planner Elena Granata and political scientist Alberto Lo Presti, who offered some stimulating ideas to the discussion from the perspective of their respective fields of expertise. The evening’s moderator was Michele Zanzucchi, director of Citta Nuova magazine.
“A city is a very fragile thing,” said Delrio, “it needs to be loved. This is why I believe we need to re-think the city, the community and its culture. For the past 20 years the emphasis has been on private environments; we now need to reconsider the role and care of the public sections in society where communication and relations are created.” And concerning expectations for solutions to the crises that are placed in national politics. “We’re seeking answers at institutional levels, from where they will never come. The answers are found in society which has an ability for making great things happen.”
While discussing the topic of young people in today’s society, Delrio stated that society needs to overcome a cultural defect towards young people: “Any society that wants to invest in its young people must have the courage to let them make mistakes.” He denounced the lack of resources and ways that would encourage them to be involved and take risks; but he did not deny that society should not be afraid to be demanding of them: “Because that would mean you don’t esteem them.”
The discussion moved from the Italian landscape to consider some prospects for overcoming localism and nationalism in Europe. He showed that he felt optimistic towards the contribution of young people as he presented a challenge: “Soon a generation of sons and daughter will be born, a new generation of European founders. We’ll set aside the notion of nation and embrace the notion of homeland.”
He responded to a comment of one Egyptian student concerning the street demonstrations in Tahrir Square: “We need to ask forgiveness from the young Arabs across the Mediterranean. We should do more to assist a democratic transition in their land. We need to rediscover the calling of our national territory to be bridges in the heart of the Mediterranean, towards the cultures of North Africa and of the Middle East.”
_________________________________
Source: Sophia University Institute online
Photo gallery: flickr
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 6, 2013 | Non categorizzato
After having reviewed some points of the spirituality of unity in these past years (God-Love, the Will of God, the Word, love of neighbour), we are now looking into the “new commandment” of Jesus, “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (Jn 13:34).
Chiara Lubich over the years understood more and more its importance and its novelty. She also saw it as the great expectation of our time.
We offer a brief writing on this topic taken from a talk given on October 24, 1978 and addressed to the delegates of the Focolare Movement:
«The Lord used a special technique to teach us how to love our neighbour, remaining in the world without being of the world. He immediately made us understand that it was possible for us to love our neighbour without falling into sentimentalism or other errors, because it was he himself loving in us, with his charity. …
Charity is a sharing in the divine agape (love). …
St. John tells us that God loved us, but he doesn’t then conclude – as would have been more logical – that if God has loved us, we ought to love him in return. Instead he says: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 Jn 4:11).
It is only because charity is a participation in God’s love (agape), that we are able to go beyond natural limits and love our enemies and give our lives for our fellow human beings.
This is why Christian love rightly belongs to the new era, and the new commandment is radically new, and introduces something absolutely new into human history and human ethics.
“This love,” writes Augustine, “makes us new, so that we are new persons, heirs of the New Covenant, singers of a new song (cf. Io. Evang. tract. 65, 1; PL 34-35).”
_______________________________________
Taken from the Italian book: Chiara Lubich, L’amore reciproco (Mutual love), edited by Florence Gillet, Editrice Città Nuova, Roma 2013, pp. 38-39.
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 5, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
“I am the spokeswoman for the people nobody listens to” says Charity Chege, social worker and a Volunteer of the Focolare Movement. She comes from Juja, Kenya and is the mother of four children. Her work brings her into daily contact with the pain of her fellow citizens: child orphans, elderly who must care for grandchildren whose parents have succumbed to AIDS, ordinary people living in extreme poverty. “On the night before the 2007 elections,” says Charity, I told Chiara Lubich about my wish to serve my people by presenting myself as a candidate for the town council. Chiara encouraged me, reminding me that politics was the love of loves.” Charity was never elected, but says: “For me, nothing changed. I could and should continue to love and serve.” And there were many opportunities. The elections were followed by much violence and conflict among the different ethnic groups: “Many people lost their lives; others lost all they owned, while others had to leave their lands because of the terrible violence.” In 2013 Charity once again became a candidate in a party that shared her values and ideals: “To the great surprise of someone who asked why I hadn’t run with a party with a majority of members from my tribe, I responded: ‘I live for the universal family!’” The electoral campaign turned out to be an opportunity to know and appreciate the hardships and needs of the people: “When we went to visit those who had been left homeless by the violence of the past elections, I felt it more important to love them as best I could, rather than try to explain my electoral platform. I found much hatred, and I spoke to them of forgiveness. Two of my colleagues asked me why I was acting in this way, and I told them that our relationship with the people is the most important thing. If we are truly interested in their happiness we should help them to forgive.” Once again, Charity did not win the election, but many who came to know her commitment have continued to turn to her for assistance. “One day I was at the market,” she says. “A woman came up to me and asked if I could do something for her, since she was ill. She added that many in her village are in the same condition. I realized she was talking about AIDS. This little episode has put me in contact with some thirty people who suffer with the virus. There is much prejudice against these people in our villages, they experience a lot of negativity and mistreatment. They are often estranged from their families or even discarded by them. At times they surrender to the illness and are reluctant to seek the medical care they need. I decided to be personally involved by offering some concrete assistance, loving them one by one, and involving some of the young people of the Focolare Movement. We are trying to make these friends of ours to first feel accepted, and then we try to do what we can for them.”
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 4, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
“Let us pray for hearts capable of embracing refugees.” These words were spoken by Pope Francis on July 8, 2013 during a pastoral visit to Lampedusa where he was deeply touched by the never-ending exodus of refugees fleeing from hunger, fear, war and every form of distress in their homelands.
The story of Cristina, Elena and Maria Norena begins with an Italian language course. The three of these women are Volunteers of the Focolare Movement, who felt called to be more personally involved in helping people in need. “It was in May 2011,” Elena explains, “the boats were coming at an unrelenting pace. Some 25,000 people were coming in from war-torn Libya. Two hundred immigrants came to our province in Trento. Most of them were young men between the ages of 18 and 30.” Maria Norena continues: “I also saw the lack of relationship and social life. These men told us of their solitude and they were suffering because they couldn’t speak Italian. Right away the others in our group offered their support and we began this project.”
The experience spread quickly and even some public institutions became involved. Cristina says: “We wanted to secure a future for these young men. With the help of many people we began to advertise in the local newspapers especially that of the diocese, trying to give a voice to these voiceless men. The bishop of Trent appealed to the Christian community to show concern for the young men who are our brothers.”
Meanwhile, the provincial administration decided to lengthen the project by granting two years of assistance to each immigrant from the date of arrival. At the end of the two-year period, the young men have to leave their temporary lodgings.
Maria Norena recounts: “We involved several parish groups and members of the local Focolare community in gathering funds and finding jobs for the young men so that they could enter into society and find permanent housing.” Cristina interjects: “Currently we have found homes for 16 of our young friends. We continue to experience the help of Providence which is always there to meet our great and small needs. We received 4 bicycles that were useful, because one of the men lives far from the city where there is no bus service. We also received a washing machine. That was a real need!”
One boy who lives in a guest house run by some Focolare Volunteers, wrote to us: “I thank you for everything you are doing, for the trust you have shown me, for believing in my honesty. I love you very much.”
Oct 3, 2013 | Focolari nel Mondo
“Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Rom. 13:8). (more…)
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 3, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
“I was standing near a stretcher in the Emergency Room when I saw two perfectly dressed women at the end of the corridor. They were followed by a small child whose jumpsuit was a bit too big. He appeared hesitant with his astonished gaze as he clutched a small airplane close to his chest. I wondered who the boy’s mother was because he didn’t resemble either one of the two who, by the way, answered in unison to every question about the boy’s health. Meanwhile, Vito sat on a clinic couch, refusing to give his airplane to the nurse who wanted to take a blood sample.” This is the story of Marina D’Antonio, an Italian doctor who says that she’s ‘in love’ with the Gospel. She has already racked up countless experiences with patients of all ages and backgrounds. And she says that she has always made an effort to set aside rules and impositions that often hide behind the white coat, and embrace the humanity of each patient that comes to her for treatment. In this story the main character is a child. We publish it as several hundred doctors and health care providers will soon gather in Padua, Italy for a two-day conference on the significance of health care in today’s world in the midst of globalization, sustainable practices and personalizing approaches to treatment. “Usually in these cases,” the doctor continued, “you seek the cooperation of the mother, but here they were again acting in unison, one on the right and one on the left. One of them pointed out to Vito that his aeroplane had to get into position on the runway (my desk) to bring aboard the second pilot. A small man made of red and black plastic magically popped out of the woman’s purse. Vito then waited to allow a regularly scheduled aeroplane to take off before his own. Meanwhile, I waited for the next episode that would allow the nurse to sink the butterfly needle into his forearm. And here it was: the nurse pulled her yellow cloth flower and red cloth butterfly. “Look Vito,” she said “the butterfly is drinking a bit of nectar from the flower. This one is green!” The little boy turned to watch as the professional nurse quickly inserted the green butterfly needle. The boy was no longer weeping, and the flight of the red butterfly began, pointing towards his forearm and softly landing a moment later after the nurse had covered the tiny wound with a colourful plaster. I was struck with admiration for these two exceptional mothers. The nurse, startled by something the women said, asked them: “But. . . why. . . how many children do you have?!!” They answered with a smile: ‘Well, at the moment we have 15.’ They explained that they were educators hired by a Family Home in the territory of our ASL. Vito’s mother had died of AIDS. His father was currently in a halfway house for drug addicts. The Juvenile Court keeps the child in Family Home until the statutory conditions are met for declaring him adoptable or not. Even though Vito was 4 years old, he didn’t talk. When I finished work, I didn’t go for lunch. I didn’t return home. I cancelled all my afternoon appointments. I put the address of the Family Home on my GPS and, when I reached the place, rang the doorbell impatiently. I asked if I could do something for them, anything. This was how my adventure at volunteering began alongside abandoned, abused and frightened children who always accepted my challenge: no matter what happened or what will happen, we will carry on playing. I began to play along with them. One afternoon on the large meadow that surrounds the Family Home a man landed with his colourful hang glider. Vito looked at me and, pointing to the hand glider, spoke his first word: “Daddy.” His first word, but packed with more meaning than if he had given an entire speech, poignant as the years of waiting to scan the skies. And finally, just a few days ago, it actually happened.”
![Disability: the value of life]()
Oct 1, 2013 | Non categorizzato
“St Paul tells us that mutual love is a debt, and so we must be the first in loving as Jesus was with us. This type of love takes the initiative, it doesn’t wait or put it off for some other time.” In the following experiences, simple events from daily life, there emerges the choice of concrete love with a capacity for understanding, anticipating, being patient, trusting, persevering and generous.
The aunt who was erased. “I have an auntie whom I loved very much. During school holidays I would go and work on her farm. I was her favourite niece, but when I married things began to change. She never wanted to come to my house and never met my children. I was so angry that for fifteen years I never put foot in her house. I had totally erased her from my life. Recently, while reading the Gospel I came across the words: Love your neighbor. I said to myself that I was missing something important, forgiveness for my aunt. I returned to the village and convinced my mother to accompany me to her house, because I didn’t even remember the way. When we reached the house, I felt like the Prodigal Son. We both wept tears of joy. She happily accepted what I had brought for her. It was difficult to say goodbye to each other, and she greeted me over and over again. Peace had returned to us, and now I try to always keep the flame of affection burning in my family and around me.” S. P. (Africa)
Hospitality. “We received a letter from our married son, asking us for hospitality, although not explaining what was pushing him to leave his family and come back to us. We were very bewildered, but, in spite of all the questions and concerns that tormented us, we began to prepare a room for him, and welcomed him with serenity and respect for his pain. After a while he began to open up to us, sharing his difficulties and problems with us. We listened with open hearts, without inquiring or giving advice. Surrounded by love and trust he was able to reflect in peace and arrive at the decision to return home. Perhaps God had made us of us to help him put his family back together again.” N. C. L. (Peru)
Apres ski boots. “One morning a young Albanese woman knocked at our door, asking for some clothing and shoes. I began putting some things together as my children watched me going back and forth to the door. Then I saw my son Gianni’s favourite après ski boots sitting by the front door. I asked him why they were there: “Give them to the lady,” he replied, “for her children. Besides, it’s not going to snow anymore.” It was the middle of October. It’s really true that generosity begins in our children when they see it in us.” F. P. (Italy)
The bag. “Having immigrated to Europe, one day I noticed a lady on the road. She was carrying several heavy bags: “Madam,” I said, “can I help you?” “No,” she replied, “I can manage alone.” “But I’d like to help you.” “Very well, take this bag.” She invited me to her home and offered me supper. Through this family that welcomed me so well, I was able to find a job. People like me often have concrete problems: finding a job, a home, a means of support; but sometimes there is only need of someone to chat with, for a telephone number you can call in the difficult moments. the solidarity I’ve found among Christian families has made me realize that God is Father of all and loves everyone as his child.” L. E. Morocco
Source: The Gospel of the day, in October 2013, Città Nuova Editrice
![Disability: the value of life]()
Sep 30, 2013 | Non categorizzato
Aldo Stedile (Fons) left us on the night of September 30th at the age of 88. Together with Marco Tecilla and two other young men, he had begun the first men’s focolare in Trent, Italy. Everyone who knew him remembers his big smile, his irrepressible vitality, his passion for the Ideal of unity and his optimism.
“Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water” (Jn. 7:38): this was the gospel sentence that guided him in life and earned him the name Fons (Latin for “font”).
Fons was the second of ten children. He was born in Valle del Terragnolo in Trentino, Italy, on July 13, 1925. He had noticeable artistic talent as a painter and if the Second World War had not begun, he would have gone to Florence to study Fine Arts.
In 1948 he came into contact with the experience of the Focolare Movement through Valeria Ronchetti (Vale). He said of that day: “Meeting her was a revelation for me, a true encounter with God. Everything changed in that moment.” After hearing Vale speak about Jesus forsaken, he we went on to say: “Now I understood everything; this was the answer, the solution. This is what I was missing. . . ! I knew that difficulties would come, trials, doubts, misunderstandings, failures – but nothing could frighten me anymore. I felt a strong serene force within me.”
In the early 1960s he was a pioneer of the Focolare in Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and Germany where he lived for 20 years. Together with Bruna Tomasi who was co-responsible with him for the Movement in central Europe, he helped to begin the ecumenical town of Ottmaring near Augsburg, Germany. In 1963 he was ordained to the priesthood together with Antonio Petrilli.
In the 1980s he assumed responsibility for the branch of the Volunteers of God and in 2000 served several roles on the General Council of the Movement.
In the final years of his life a debilitating illness appeared, but the illness never managed to affect the deep roots of his heart, said Maria Voce as she notified the members of the Movement of his death. In February 2010, when he was undergoing a test of mental cognition, the doctor asked him to quickly write down a complete thought. Fons wrote: “Love everyone, always!”
Fons left us as 200 people were attending a meeting in Rocca di Papa, Italy, from several regions around the world. In the funeral chamber set up for him in the chapel of the International Headquarters of the Movement in Rocca di Papa he is receiving the warm and grateful homage of people from around the world for his joyful and authentic witness to the charism of unity.
The funeral will take place on Wednesday, October 2, 2013 at 15:00 in the Castelgandolfo Mariapolis Centre (Via S. Giovanni Battista De La Salle).
![Disability: the value of life]()
Sep 30, 2013 | Non categorizzato
Aldo Stedile (Fons) passed away last night at his residence in Rocca di Papa, Rome, aged 88 years.
He was originally from Trent and was among the first group of people to follow the way of Chiara Lubich at the beginnings of the Focolare Movement. Together with Marco Tecilla, he started the first men’s focolare house in 1949.
“He who believes in me, as the Scriptures say, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ (Jn 7:38)”: this phrase from the Gospel guided the course of his life. To him was attributed the nickname Fons (“fountain” in Latin) and he was affectionately called by this name by everyone.
He is currently lying in state in the chapel of the Focolare’s International Centre in Rocca di Papa. The funeral will be held on Wednesday, 2 October, at the Mariapolis Centre in Via S. Giovanni Battista De La Salle, Castelgandolfo.
![Disability: the value of life]()
Sep 30, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
A seminar entitled Dialogue on a Trinitarian Anthropology for our people, organized by CELAM and held at Mariapolis Lia, Argentina. The seminar was attended by twenty experts from Mexico, Brazil, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Uraguay and Italy. There were two bishops and Msgr. Piero Coda, president of Sophia University Institute (IUS) in Loppiano, Italy. The seminar was opened by Piero Coda with a very significant lecture on Trinity and Anthropology, notes for a theological phenomenology based on the mystical experience of Chiara Lubich. From the outset, the discussion was marked by the challenge of using a work method based on dialogue and communion. Following the presentation of topics, ample space was given to sharing and reflection among the participants. The workshop was therefore an opportunity for “thinking together.” Mariapolis Lia which tries to be a witness to the life of the Gospel, proved to be the best setting for an experience of this type. One Bolivian expert commented: “The choice of this location was so important for this topic, because here it is a reality.” The participants felt enveloped in the mutual love of the inhabitants of the Mariapolis, which was a concrete expression of “Trinitarian relationships.” 
The seminar was also significant because it was an opportunity for the light of the charism of Chiara Lubich, which is the subject of academic study at Sophia University Institute, to become known in the Latin American Church. The participants also expressed interest in continuing relations with Sophia, by establishing specific agreements. During the final Mass, Fr Scannone, a well-known Jesuit in Latin America, stated: “Let us thank God for this community of thought that has been established among us, for the perichoretical relationships we have lived, in which we died and rose, in which we have thought and lived in a true community.” The seminar ended with a brief homage to Bishop Klaus Hemmerle, a forerunner in the development of Trinitarian Anthropology. CELAM has already scheduled another such event for 2014 and decided to publish some of the results of this year’s seminar.
Sep 29, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
http://vimeo.com/75649279 «After my studies of fashion design I worked for several years in the clothing sector. Providence then gave me a chance to work in a humanitarian organization with a religious sister of the Focolare Movement. Together we brought ahead projects, teaching the women evacuees sewing, embroidery as well as fashion design. In this way we helped them to then find a job in order to support their families. In September 2012, 45 women enrolled for the course. They belonged to all the different faiths present in the country (Sunnites, Shiites, Christians, Alawites, Druze) and of various political tendencies. They had only one thing in common: they were evacuees and had lost everything. There were very strong and evident tensions between them, they even refused to stay in the same place. One day I found the answer in the Word of Life. It was like an advice: if I wanted to do the will of God “who makes the sun rise on the good and the bad” and He loves us without any discrimination, then my love should also make no distinction. My priority was to treat each one as a person worthy of respect. We saw that little by little these women started to greet one another, to speak to one another, to have a certain contact, a certain relationship that was growing. As weeks passed, these women started to accept their differences and to overcome their diversities, which were instead emphasized in their country outside that center. They shared worries and sufferings and a relationship of true love was established among them. To my surprise, on the feast of Ramadan, the Christian women prepared a little surprise party for the Muslims, full of strong and simple love. The Muslims did the same at Christmas. When the time-out prayer for peace in Syria was launched I decided to propose it to all and I was very surprised the next day when I heard nearly all their mobiles/cell phones ringing at 12 noon to remember the time-out! In June 2013, the day we handed out the diplomas, in the presence of members of International Associations and representatives of the Red Crescent, they were asked which were the most difficult moments during the year. One, on behalf of the whole group, answered that, that day was the most difficult day, because it was the last day in that Centre. She said: “It’s the only place where we are able to breathe and it has always helped us to go ahead, bringing peace in our families and in our hearts.”»
![Disability: the value of life]()
Sep 28, 2013 | Non categorizzato
By chance I took part in a meeting on the disabled. There I met several young people who didn’t have severe disabilities but were still unable to be fully inserted in society. If it hadn’t been for their families and some associations, they would have been left to themselves. I teach in a centre for adult learning, and I understood that my school should also care for them. But in which way? I had an idea: I could teach them an old hobby of mine, how to use a photo camera.
My goal wasn’t to photograph them, but to allow them to capture some moments in their own lives. I gathered the group with their families and the adventure began. Four of them took part in the project along with four adults who were willing to help. It was September 2007.
Lesson one: how to use a simple digital camera. Homework: photographs of your house. M.G. showed me his photos: a colourful sock, the edge of an embroidered blanket, an elaborately carved doorknob. I was amazed. Timidly he told me that these were the things in his house that he liked.
This is how I learnt that my task was not to teach them something that I thought they needed to learn, but to discover and draw out what they had within them. As time passed unimaginable talents and interests began to emerge in teenagers: appreciation for detail; picture composition by a visually impaired girl, who was able to stay still for up to fifteen or twenty minutes before snapping the photo at just the right moment. Some didn’t show so much interest, but the relationship that was created among the group drew them in, and they didn’t feel excluded.
I had ventured to include wedding photos in the programme. But I didn’t know where I was going to find a couple who would be venturous enough to entrust their wedding pictures to a group of disabled teenagers. Providence allowed me to meet Matteo and Beate who wanted to leave out the extras from their wedding, including the photographer. And that’s how they found the most ramshackle band of photographers that’s ever been seen. The result was a very beautiful photo shoot with lots of originality and warmth of expression.
As the contact and friendship grew among all, so did the size of the group. One photographer whom I had asked to do something for the group thanked me for the important lesson he had received from them, having learnt that “different” is a pre-conceived notion, and how now it is not so easy for him to see others as different.
Then, with the help of a young artist, we came up with the Occhi Diversi (Different Eyes), a photo exhibition of 100 photographs, all of them beautiful and detailed, permeated with a sense of purity and passion that left a mark on many visitors. In the guestbook many expressed their gratitude at having sensed God’s love in the photographs.
None of what happened was ever planned sitting around a table. What has begun is the fruit of real and true mutual love among all the participants, several of whom do not profess religious faith. I often found myself in situations that would have required totally different skills; I was “forced” by the events to throw to the wind all the content of the training I wanted to give, in order to allow space for listening, playing, accepting a sign of affection, allowing freedom of expression; in other words, giving space to relationships.
Alberto Roccato
Sep 28, 2013 | Non categorizzato, Word of
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
This Word of Life emphasizes two things.
In the first place, love is presented as a debt, that is, as something we cannot be indifferent to, something we cannot put off. It is presented as something pressing on us, spurring us on, leaving us no peace until it is satisfied.
It’s like saying that mutual love is not an ‘extra’, the result of our largesse, whose strictures we can set aside without incurring any legal penalty. This Word urges us to put mutual love into practice on pain of betraying our dignity as Christians called by Jesus to be instruments of his love in the world.
Secondly, this Word of Life tells us that mutual love is the moving force, the soul and the goal of all the commandments.
It follows that, if we want do the will of God well, we cannot rest content with a cold and legalistic observance of God’s commandments. We must always keep in mind the goal that God sets before us through the commandments. So, for example, to live well the commandment not to steal, we cannot limit ourselves to not stealing, but we ought to be seriously committed to eliminating social injustice. Only like this will we demonstrate love for our neighbour.
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
How should we live the Word of Life for this month?
The subject of love for our neighbour, which it puts before us once again, has infinite shades of meaning. Here we pinpoint one in particular that would seem to be suggested in a special way by the words of the text.
If, as Paul says, mutual love is a debt, we need to have a love that is the first to love as Jesus was with us. It will be, therefore, a love that takes the initiative, that does not hold back, that does not delay.
Let’s do this in the coming month, then. Let’s try to be the first to love each person we meet, we speak to on the phone, we write to or we live with. And let’s love in a concrete way, knowing how to understand the other, foresee the other’s needs, be patient, trustful, persevering, generous.
We will notice that that our spiritual life takes a qualitative leap, to say nothing of the joy that will fill our hearts.
Chiara Lubich
First published in September 1990
![Disability: the value of life]()
Sep 27, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
Shared commitment to peace. This triggered an immediate understanding between the delegation from Youth for a United World (YUW) and Nobel 1987 Peace Prize recipient and the then president of Costa Rica. Arias had been visiting Rome to attend a Community of St. Egidio conference on the United Nation’s Arms Trade Treaty, and an audience with Pope Francis. The purpose of the meeting was to find forms of collaboration with the Arias Foundation for peace and human development , since the YUW already work for peace and brotherhood. The young people who were present at the meeting from several nations recounted the history of their efforts for peace, beginning from the 350 thousand signatures they collected during the Cold War and handed over to embassies of the of the USSR and the United States in Geneva, Switzerland (November 1985). They went on to present the Time Out launched by Chiara Lubich in September 1990 during the Persian Gulf Crisis; the UNESCO Award for Educating for Peace; the 2012 Genfest in Budapest, Hungary where the United World Project was launched; and the recent meeting between Maria Voce and the Focolare communities of the Middle East that was held in Amman, Jordan, and followed by the concert for peace held by YUW from regions where there is conflict. The Nobel laureat presented to the young people what the Arias Foundation for peace and human development has achieved from its beginnings, its current challenges and future dreams. For example, since there are so many war museums, why not build a Peace Museum? Moreover, Sanchez proposed collaborating with the recently approved UN Arms Trade Treaty that is aimed at putting an end to the marketing of small arms which, in his opinion, are the cause of most of fatalities worldwide. Basing himself on his own experience as President of a nation that by constitution does not have a military army, he affirmed that the reduction of arms would allow many countries to share economic resources that could then be allocated to finding solutions to social problems, such as access to education, health care, protection of the environment and, not least of all, the drama of world poverty. In conclusion he underscored the need for young people be deeply involved in their education so that they will be prepared to create a culture of peace and brotherhood, because: “in a world where egoism and greed seem to prevail, young people are the first ones being called upon to engage new values within society, such as solidarity, suffering together, generosity and love.” 
“Before saying goodbye to us,” Olga from Costa Rica recounts, “he wished to personally adhere to our project (UWP) by signing the commitment statement to live the culture of fraternity, uniting himself to the 62,000 other signees from around the world.” “It doesn’t happen every day that you meet someone of this level,” added Iggy from New Zealand: “cultured and pragmatic, but also very simple. I felt very much at home with him.” The conversation went on for an hour, during which many projects and goals were shared. The next big event for the Youth for a United World is the Youth Forum at UNESCO in October 2013. “It will be a training course in which our ideal of fraternity will be presented and explained” says one of the youths who will be representing the Youth for a United World, the youth section of the New Humanity Movement.
Sep 26, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
http://vimeo.com/75469803 «Caritas Jordan is an entity affiliated to the Catholic Church headed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. It has been in Jordan for 45 years and is part of Caritas International.» These are the words of the director, Wael Suleiman. He continues: «Caritas Jordan has responded to the appeal of the Church to take care of the Syrian refugees. We have recorded 1 million and 300 thousand Syrians who have entered Jordan, including 130,000 registered to Caritas. We provide them with medical care, educational services and humanitarian aid. It certainly is difficult for Jordan to welcome such a large number of refugees with the few resources of the country: water, petroleum, and all the economic problems. But Jordan does not want to close the doors. The King has ordered that the borders remain open to serve our Syrian brothers and sisters. At this moment we all try to live solidarity.» Suhad Zarafili is the administrator of the projects for Caritas Jordan: «One of our programs – she explains – is the volunteer program: we have around 30 committees, with more than one thousand volunteers, Christians and Muslims. They were the ones who started doing the field visit to find the needy Syrian refugees in all our areas.» Carole is one of the volunteers. «I am very happy – she shares – that God has given me the opportunity to work with Caritas and to help the Syrians. I too am a Syrian so in a certain way I understand better what they feel, it’s a mutual feeling. They have a lot of sufferings, they need many things: the association embraces them and tries to give them all the possible aid, until our God will solve the situation.» «I belong to the Focolare Movement – continues Director Wael Suleiman – and this spirituality, lived by so many here at Caritas, helps us to go out into the world, outside our small circle where we live and work, so as to love everyone more. Living the spirituality of unity, we have now formed a “cell” within the Caritas, which has helped all this progress so that those who come here may experience not only assistance, but the spirit and the life behind this aid.»
Sep 26, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
http://vimeo.com/75469803
«Caritas Jordan is an entity affiliated to the Catholic Church headed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. It has been in Jordan for 45 years and is part of Caritas International.» These are the words of the director, Wael Suleiman. He continues: «Caritas Jordan has responded to the appeal of the Church to take care of the Syrian refugees. We have recorded 1 million and 300 thousand Syrians who have entered Jordan, including 130,000 registered to Caritas. We provide them with medical care, educational services and humanitarian aid. It certainly is difficult for Jordan to welcome such a large number of refugees with the few resources of the country: water, petroleum, and all the economic problems. But Jordan does not want to close the doors. The King has ordered that the borders remain open to serve our Syrian brothers and sisters. At this moment we all try to live solidarity.»
Suhad Zarafili is the administrator of the projects for Caritas Jordan: «One of our programs – she explains – is the volunteer program: we have around 30 committees, with more than one thousand volunteers, Christians and Muslims. They were the ones who started doing the field visit to find the needy Syrian refugees in all our areas.»
Carole is one of the volunteers. «I am very happy – she shares – that God has given me the opportunity to work with Caritas and to help the Syrians. I too am a Syrian so in a certain way I understand better what they feel, it’s a mutual feeling. They have a lot of sufferings, they need many things: the association embraces them and tries to give them all the possible aid, until our God will solve the situation.»
«I belong to the Focolare Movement – continues Director Wael Suleiman – and this spirituality, lived by so many here at Caritas, helps us to go out into the world, outside our small circle where we live and work, so as to love everyone more. Living the spirituality of unity, we have now formed a “cell” within the Caritas, which has helped all this progress so that those who come here may experience not only assistance, but the spirit and the life behind this aid.»
Sep 26, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
http://vimeo.com/75469803
«Caritas Jordan is an entity affiliated to the Catholic Church headed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. It has been in Jordan for 45 years and is part of Caritas International.» These are the words of the director, Wael Suleiman. He continues: «Caritas Jordan has responded to the appeal of the Church to take care of the Syrian refugees. We have recorded 1 million and 300 thousand Syrians who have entered Jordan, including 130,000 registered to Caritas. We provide them with medical care, educational services and humanitarian aid. It certainly is difficult for Jordan to welcome such a large number of refugees with the few resources of the country: water, petroleum, and all the economic problems. But Jordan does not want to close the doors. The King has ordered that the borders remain open to serve our Syrian brothers and sisters. At this moment we all try to live solidarity.»
Suhad Zarafili is the administrator of the projects for Caritas Jordan: «One of our programs – she explains – is the volunteer program: we have around 30 committees, with more than one thousand volunteers, Christians and Muslims. They were the ones who started doing the field visit to find the needy Syrian refugees in all our areas.»
Carole is one of the volunteers. «I am very happy – she shares – that God has given me the opportunity to work with Caritas and to help the Syrians. I too am a Syrian so in a certain way I understand better what they feel, it’s a mutual feeling. They have a lot of sufferings, they need many things: the association embraces them and tries to give them all the possible aid, until our God will solve the situation.»
«I belong to the Focolare Movement – continues Director Wael Suleiman – and this spirituality, lived by so many here at Caritas, helps us to go out into the world, outside our small circle where we live and work, so as to love everyone more. Living the spirituality of unity, we have now formed a “cell” within the Caritas, which has helped all this progress so that those who come here may experience not only assistance, but the spirit and the life behind this aid.»
Sep 26, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
http://vimeo.com/75469803
«Caritas Jordan is an entity affiliated to the Catholic Church headed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. It has been in Jordan for 45 years and is part of Caritas International.» These are the words of the director, Wael Suleiman. He continues: «Caritas Jordan has responded to the appeal of the Church to take care of the Syrian refugees. We have recorded 1 million and 300 thousand Syrians who have entered Jordan, including 130,000 registered to Caritas. We provide them with medical care, educational services and humanitarian aid. It certainly is difficult for Jordan to welcome such a large number of refugees with the few resources of the country: water, petroleum, and all the economic problems. But Jordan does not want to close the doors. The King has ordered that the borders remain open to serve our Syrian brothers and sisters. At this moment we all try to live solidarity.»
Suhad Zarafili is the administrator of the projects for Caritas Jordan: «One of our programs – she explains – is the volunteer program: we have around 30 committees, with more than one thousand volunteers, Christians and Muslims. They were the ones who started doing the field visit to find the needy Syrian refugees in all our areas.»
Carole is one of the volunteers. «I am very happy – she shares – that God has given me the opportunity to work with Caritas and to help the Syrians. I too am a Syrian so in a certain way I understand better what they feel, it’s a mutual feeling. They have a lot of sufferings, they need many things: the association embraces them and tries to give them all the possible aid, until our God will solve the situation.»
«I belong to the Focolare Movement – continues Director Wael Suleiman – and this spirituality, lived by so many here at Caritas, helps us to go out into the world, outside our small circle where we live and work, so as to love everyone more. Living the spirituality of unity, we have now formed a “cell” within the Caritas, which has helped all this progress so that those who come here may experience not only assistance, but the spirit and the life behind this aid.»
Sep 26, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
http://vimeo.com/75469803
«Caritas Jordan is an entity affiliated to the Catholic Church headed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. It has been in Jordan for 45 years and is part of Caritas International.» These are the words of the director, Wael Suleiman. He continues: «Caritas Jordan has responded to the appeal of the Church to take care of the Syrian refugees. We have recorded 1 million and 300 thousand Syrians who have entered Jordan, including 130,000 registered to Caritas. We provide them with medical care, educational services and humanitarian aid. It certainly is difficult for Jordan to welcome such a large number of refugees with the few resources of the country: water, petroleum, and all the economic problems. But Jordan does not want to close the doors. The King has ordered that the borders remain open to serve our Syrian brothers and sisters. At this moment we all try to live solidarity.»
Suhad Zarafili is the administrator of the projects for Caritas Jordan: «One of our programs – she explains – is the volunteer program: we have around 30 committees, with more than one thousand volunteers, Christians and Muslims. They were the ones who started doing the field visit to find the needy Syrian refugees in all our areas.»
Carole is one of the volunteers. «I am very happy – she shares – that God has given me the opportunity to work with Caritas and to help the Syrians. I too am a Syrian so in a certain way I understand better what they feel, it’s a mutual feeling. They have a lot of sufferings, they need many things: the association embraces them and tries to give them all the possible aid, until our God will solve the situation.»
«I belong to the Focolare Movement – continues Director Wael Suleiman – and this spirituality, lived by so many here at Caritas, helps us to go out into the world, outside our small circle where we live and work, so as to love everyone more. Living the spirituality of unity, we have now formed a “cell” within the Caritas, which has helped all this progress so that those who come here may experience not only assistance, but the spirit and the life behind this aid.»
Sep 26, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
http://vimeo.com/75469803
«Caritas Jordan is an entity affiliated to the Catholic Church headed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. It has been in Jordan for 45 years and is part of Caritas International.» These are the words of the director, Wael Suleiman. He continues: «Caritas Jordan has responded to the appeal of the Church to take care of the Syrian refugees. We have recorded 1 million and 300 thousand Syrians who have entered Jordan, including 130,000 registered to Caritas. We provide them with medical care, educational services and humanitarian aid. It certainly is difficult for Jordan to welcome such a large number of refugees with the few resources of the country: water, petroleum, and all the economic problems. But Jordan does not want to close the doors. The King has ordered that the borders remain open to serve our Syrian brothers and sisters. At this moment we all try to live solidarity.»
Suhad Zarafili is the administrator of the projects for Caritas Jordan: «One of our programs – she explains – is the volunteer program: we have around 30 committees, with more than one thousand volunteers, Christians and Muslims. They were the ones who started doing the field visit to find the needy Syrian refugees in all our areas.»
Carole is one of the volunteers. «I am very happy – she shares – that God has given me the opportunity to work with Caritas and to help the Syrians. I too am a Syrian so in a certain way I understand better what they feel, it’s a mutual feeling. They have a lot of sufferings, they need many things: the association embraces them and tries to give them all the possible aid, until our God will solve the situation.»
«I belong to the Focolare Movement – continues Director Wael Suleiman – and this spirituality, lived by so many here at Caritas, helps us to go out into the world, outside our small circle where we live and work, so as to love everyone more. Living the spirituality of unity, we have now formed a “cell” within the Caritas, which has helped all this progress so that those who come here may experience not only assistance, but the spirit and the life behind this aid.»
Sep 26, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
http://vimeo.com/75469803
«Caritas Jordan is an entity affiliated to the Catholic Church headed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. It has been in Jordan for 45 years and is part of Caritas International.» These are the words of the director, Wael Suleiman. He continues: «Caritas Jordan has responded to the appeal of the Church to take care of the Syrian refugees. We have recorded 1 million and 300 thousand Syrians who have entered Jordan, including 130,000 registered to Caritas. We provide them with medical care, educational services and humanitarian aid. It certainly is difficult for Jordan to welcome such a large number of refugees with the few resources of the country: water, petroleum, and all the economic problems. But Jordan does not want to close the doors. The King has ordered that the borders remain open to serve our Syrian brothers and sisters. At this moment we all try to live solidarity.»
Suhad Zarafili is the administrator of the projects for Caritas Jordan: «One of our programs – she explains – is the volunteer program: we have around 30 committees, with more than one thousand volunteers, Christians and Muslims. They were the ones who started doing the field visit to find the needy Syrian refugees in all our areas.»
Carole is one of the volunteers. «I am very happy – she shares – that God has given me the opportunity to work with Caritas and to help the Syrians. I too am a Syrian so in a certain way I understand better what they feel, it’s a mutual feeling. They have a lot of sufferings, they need many things: the association embraces them and tries to give them all the possible aid, until our God will solve the situation.»
«I belong to the Focolare Movement – continues Director Wael Suleiman – and this spirituality, lived by so many here at Caritas, helps us to go out into the world, outside our small circle where we live and work, so as to love everyone more. Living the spirituality of unity, we have now formed a “cell” within the Caritas, which has helped all this progress so that those who come here may experience not only assistance, but the spirit and the life behind this aid.»
![Disability: the value of life]()
Sep 25, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
Three years have passed since that 25th of September 2010 when Chiara Luce Badano was proclaimed Blessed at the Roman Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love. It seems like yesterday, the memories of that extraordinary event are still so alive. They seemed like the realization of Chiara Luce’s words in a letter to her friends: “I went out of your lives in an instant. Oh, how much I would have liked to stop the speeding train as it carried me farther and farther away from you! (. . .) But now I feel enveloped in a splendid design that little by little is being revealed to me.” We would like to reflect on that “splendid design” that Chiara Luce fulfilled in life, with some words from her parents, Maria Teresa and Ruggero in the book by Franz Coriasco In viaggio con i Badano (Travelling with the Badanos) “Did you ever think during her final months that you were dealing with a saint?” 
Maria Teresa: “No, we never thought that, not even distantly. We were living with ‘extraordinary normality’ even though Chiara had lost the use of her legs and was confined to bed. Evidently there was a grace that at the time we didn’t even have time to be fully aware of, but which we lived each day. And this grace continued afterwards, and continues now. If I may be allowed to say it, I think Chiara’s specialty was that she became a saint not amidst horrific suffering and pain (although these were not lacking), but immersed in the joy of loving God.” Ruggero: “Well, thinking back on the period of Chiara’s illness, we cannot but say that those were surely the years of our lives that were most blessed by God.” (Taken from: Coriasco, F. In viaggio con i Badano. Chiara Luce e la sua famiglia: i segreti di un segreto, (Rome: Citta Nuova, 2011).
Sep 24, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
Sep 24, 2013 | Centro internazionale, Focolare Worldwide, Focolari nel Mondo, Spiritualità
http://vimeo.com/75092264 (more…)
![Disability: the value of life]()
Sep 24, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
“I work in an elementary school as an assistant teacher. There is a boy in my classroom who wears a hearing aid. For the sake of privacy I’ll call him F. He has problems getting along with his classmates who are then disrespectful towards him and excluding him from their games. There is a general atmosphere of rivalry among the children who compete in underscoring the errors and defects of those who seem to be weak. So I decided to engage them in an activity that would be gratifying to them and would help them to see the good in one another; and hoping that they would also see the good in F. This is how the Friendship Post began: One morning a colourful mailbox with slots appeared on the teacher’s desk. A cartoon image of GB&W was pasted on top. The pair of smiling cartoon characters were saying: “I have a surprise for you!” I suggested to the children that we could use this box to say good things to each other during the week, good things we had noticed in one another during the day. The messages could be signed or anonymous and addressed to anyone. We could send drawings, poems or small gifts. We teachers also wanted to participate, writing mostly to the children we thought would not receive a message. These messages would then be read every Friday afternoon. The children enthusiastically agreed to the suggestion and began writing messages, letters, poems and drawings. At the end of the first week the entire classroom was overflowing with enthusiasm. Opening the mail was a moment of true sharing in which everyone finally focused on the positive rather than the negative. Every child received a letter and promised to respond to the sender. We teachers had kept watch for those who hadn’t received a message when the box was opened. We would write short thoughts for some, and for others we would send a small cartoon image of GB&W. The recipients of the comic strips asked about the comic strip characters and I offered some explanations. A deep and beautiful dialogue was begun. From then on receiving a comic strip was seen as a privilege, something special that was cherished. During the weeks that followed the atmosphere in the classroom had changed noticeably: the children were more polite to one another, a bit because they wanted to receive a letter, a bit because of the positive bonds that had begun to be formed among them because of the positive compliments they had received from their peers. 
However, it was more of a struggle for F. to benefit from the Friendship Post. He refused to write messages to his classmates, saying that he would surely receive none from anyone else, except teachers. This went on for two weeks. During the third week, however, one girl wrote a message to F. saying that he was her friend because he lent things to her. F. broke into tears and angrily ripped up the note. But the next week he asked me to help him write several letters and, in the following weeks, he began to receive messages that were filled with compliments that filled him with surprise. Then he decided to write everyone a friendly message. For him, who was always so selective in his relationships, it was a very big step that was filled with emotion. The “friendship mail” continued until the end of the school year, becoming an integral part of the scholastic programme as a vehicle of friendship and reciprocity for everyone.” (M. T. – Italy)
![Disability: the value of life]()
Sep 23, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
© Sean Scaccia
|
Trust.
A leap in the darkness by a soul in the Light, defying the darkness with the plunge into Heaven’s embrace. |
![Disability: the value of life]()
Sep 23, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide
Two thousand people – business people, young people, families, scholars and institutes – have flocked to the international city of Loppiano, Italy, not counting the more than 3000 who have followed the events on social media. LoppianoLab 2013 does not offer conclusive answers, but projects and initiatives that are just beginning or ongoing after four years of work by a network that has spread throughout the country.
Pope Francis told Sardinia’s workers that Italy “needs a new push to take off again” and “a new generation of lay Christians who are committed and able to seek solutions with the competence and moral rigour that is required for sustainable development.” The participants at LoppianoLab have echoed his words by projecting toward a new Italy through dialogue with 30 university scholars, two government ministers, an Italian government undersecretary, three magistrates, 50 journalists and students from Sophia University Institute.
Twenty projects were presented, such as New Families Onlus Project that collects more than 6 million euros every year for adoption-at-a-distance projects; a network of young film-makers which is focused on social training; the work of many men and women religious who go out into the streets to meet the immigrants and disadvantaged; communicators who are at the service of legality and the common good; the promotion of synergy between citizens and institutions at the territorial and national levels for the promotion of good practices in response to the emergency of immigration.
From the world of economy and work: the proposal by the School of Civil Economy, reinforced by more than 200 Italian businesses that have embraced the Economy of Communion project, a new style business style has emerged that would be capable of contributing to the renewal of the Italian economy.
At the front of the emergency stands legality: a legal project for regulating gambling, which is connected to the Slotmob campaign (mobilising public campaign by citizens ‘for good gaming’ and ‘against the new poverty of gambling addiction’); the promotion of critical consumer choices, the creation of networks and areas of cooperation in response to “racketeering, usury and widespread illegal practices. Institutions and citizens, associations and business owners are weaving together a common path towards a widespread culture of legality.
At the opening of LoppianoLab, Focolare president, Maria Voce, recognising the national importance of the event because built by so many vital forces in the country, also underscored its goal: “to offer answers to the difficult and complex situation of Italy.” She expressed her wish that from this would emerge more and more proposals and projects that contain the power of innovation and “thinking, acting and living for the ‘Promised Land’ where universal brotherhood is the way of life.”
![Disability: the value of life]()
Sep 23, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
“Remove from the centre the law of income and profits and put the human person and the common good there instead,” said the Pope in a peremptory statement before a crowd of thousands of unemployed people during his recent visit to Sardinia. It is the “young unemployed, people on unemployment assistance, the poor, entrepreneurs and traders who are struggling to survive.” These are the ones who must be kept most at heart. In this alarming context of uncertainty in which the Pope did not hesitate to strongly affirm that “there is no dignity without work,” he was presented with several testimonials in response to his plea. One was that of the Cooperativa Primavera 83 (Spring 83 Cooperative) that began from the initiative of the Councillor of Social Services for the Commune of Cagliari, who wished to use the financing of a Regional Law to provide jobs for a group of teenagers with social problems, by entrusting them with the care of some school gardens.
Cagliari
In 2008, to celebrate 25 years in operation, the cooperative gave the commune of Cagliari a garden area on the roundabout in front of the cemetery. It is dedicated to some shareholders of Primavera 83 who died of AIDS in the 1990’s. “Now, after 30 years in operation,” continues Maria Grazia Patrizi, “this cooperative that adheres to the Economy of Communion employs 110 workers and works for the protection of the local environment in other municipalities of the Province as well, with a turnover of more than € 3 million. We compare on the market to some of the most important businesses of the region in this sector. Collaboration agreements with local social service agencies allow us to hire for more than a third of our workers people who are at risk, such as the disabled and those suffering from mental illness, prisoners and drug addicts. For us the social cooperative is a business enterprise which, through solidarity, meets the criteria of the market: professionalism, quality and efficiency, enhancement and empowerment of the potential of all, both members and employees. In this time of crisis we fell that this exercise of trying to include people who don’t seem to meet the requirements for effectiveness and efficiency, has turned into a boon for the society as a whole, transforming funding for the unemployed that will be a mainstay for the development of Sardinia.” One of the many responses to the “courage” that the Pope asked of unemployed Sardinians, a “courage that comes from within and urges to do all you can (. . .) to face this historic challenge with solidarity (. . . ) and intelligence.
