Chiara Lubich: The mirror

Aug 9, 2021 | Non categorizzato

Chiara Lubich invites us to look at Jesus as if he were a mirror, just as St Clare of Assisi did when writing to her sisters in religion. This mirror reflects divinity in its humanity. Today we can ask ourselves: are we, in some way, mirrors of Jesus? Are we this for others? In St Clare’s letters to Agnes of Prague*, that form part of several writings in which she speaks of her need to be radically faithful to the Gospel, she invites the sisters to look at Jesus as if they were looking in a mirror, a mirror that in its humanity reflects back divinity. She wrote: “Fix your eyes on the mirror of eternity, (Jesus)… and be totally transformed in the image of his divinity” (FF 2888). Saint Clare was inviting Agnes to look to her Spouse, and also to imitate him, making the same choices he made, doing his same actions, his same deeds. … Today, we could ask ourselves: are we in some way a mirror of Jesus? Do we mirror Jesus also for others? In this regard I’d like to mention one of our dreams from the early days of the Movement. We used to say: “If, for some absurd hypothesis, all Gospels were destroyed, we would like to live in such a way that, by seeing how we behave, people would in some way see Jesus in us and could therefore re-write the Gospel”: … ‘Love your neighbour as yourself” (Mt 19:19); ‘Give and gifts will be given to you (Lk 6:38); ‘Do not judge’ (Mt 7:1). ‘Love your enemies’ (Mt 5:44);  ‘Love one another’ (Cf Jn 15:12); ‘For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Mt 18:20).”

Chiara Lubich

The Mirror – Feast of St Clare,  Berne, 11 August 2002 * A religious sister in St Clare’s Order  

Living the Gospel: like the evangelical child

Aug 6, 2021 | Non categorizzato

Jesus asks us to become  small, like children, who confidently entrust themselves to their  father and mother and believe in their love.  Chiara Lubich said,  “We too, “evangelical children”, depend on the Father for everything . He knows what we need, even before we ask him and he gives it to us”. Adoption at a distance In January 2017, I remotely adopted a girl from Kenya.  However, for about a year my life took an unexpected turn and I did not have a fixed income, so sometimes I wondered if I would be able to continue supporting the child. The words of Jesus, “Whatever you do to the least, you do to me”, were always a stimulus to continue to take care of her. Then, like a confirmation, after each moment of hesitation, I was offered a new work project. I thank God who loves me immensely and proves this to me all the time. (Anny from Romania) An innovative model I was in my last year of Dentistry, the most challenging. I shouldn’t have been thinking of anything else but to graduate quickly. Instead I agreed to give tutorials to Fabio, who was not doing well at school, as a favour for his mother, a lady I met by chance. I’m was doing it for free, because their finances were not good. One day when we were studying science, by chance, I had to teach him about teeth! To help him understand the masterpiece that is our chewing system, almost without realizing, I invented a model with a technical device which was simple but very practical for teaching. I communicated the discovery to the Professor of my thesis. He was very enthusiastic about it. Even more, he offered to include it in a lecture he was going to give at the University of Caserta, describing not only the technical aspect, but also the circumstance that made me think of it. In the following months, I was also given the opportunity to talk about it to 70 students. The latest news from the Professor is that a book will also be published about my discovery. And all because I listened to a mother’s request. (Tonino – Italy) Temptation I’m married and have three daughters. I am a carpenter. I have a small bank account, but our financial situation is not thriving. One day, when I went to make a deposit, I found a credit in my account of 235 bolivares: an amount we would really have needed! I ignored it and with my wife, we decided to wait for a week. While waiting, I imagined the most bizarre things about that money; maybe someone was suffering or could lose their job because of me. A few years ago, I didn’t think about love of neighbour at all, but now! Back in the bank, I explained the situation to the person in charge, who said to me, “You are the most honest person I have met”. Since they needed to investigate to see what had happened, she gave me an appointment three days later. When I went back to the bank they had discovered the error. I was relieved to learn that the money belonged to a man who participates in the Word of Life meetings in my very Parish. Luckily I hadn’t succumbed to that moment of temptation. (Jose from Venezuela)

Compiled by Lorenzo Russo

(taken from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, year VII, no. 4, July-August 2021)  

Perfect Joy

Aug 2, 2021 | Non categorizzato

Chiara Lubich quotes St Francis and his “perfect joy”. When faced with the pain of  something we must give up, a detachment, a trial or an illness, she invites us to experience the full meaning of the words, “You are Lord my only good”. One day St. Francis, who was truly in love with his Lord, while traveling barefoot and half frozen towards Assisi, explained to Brother Leo where “perfect joy, perfect happiness” could be found. It was not so much in working miracles and raising the dead; nor was it in prophesying and speaking all languages. It was to be found in keeping charity while bearing with the abuse they would receive from their brothers in the Friary they were going to. Because, he said, “Above all the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit, is that of overcoming oneself and suffering willingly, for the love of Christ, all pain, abuse and hardships”. That, for him, was “perfect joy”. Let’s try to do the same. When we realize that a suffering is approaching (something we must give up, a detachment, a trial, an illness) let’s say with St. Francis, “Here is perfect joy”. This is the fullness of what we mean when we say, “You, Lord, are my only good.” It’s a very challenging thought, isn’t it? But it is with actions such as these that we can make progress, indeed, we can fly ahead in life, leaving behind a trail of light and bringing many others with us.

Chiara Lubich

  Perfect joy, CH Conference Call – Castel Gandolfo, 17th December 1998  

Overshoot Day: the Earth is asking for help

Jul 29, 2021 | Non categorizzato

The Earth’s resources for this year run out on July 29. How can we reverse all this waste? Luigi Muraca, a member of the international Focolare youth formation team, appeals to us to face the challenge. Overshoot Day is a symbollic date indicating when we, the inhabitants of this planet, have consumed all the resources the Earth can regenerate within one year. To take a simple illustration: just say there were 100 new trees growing each year, and we humans cut down more than 100 a year.. Overshoot Day marks the day we cut down tree number 101. This year, Overshoot Day falls on 29 July. So from this date until the end of the year, we’ll consume more resources than we should allow ourselves. Despite this, I predict it won’t feel any different to yesterday. As you read this you’re probably not too worried about it, and I guess you’ve not noticed the people around you so far today anguished about this fact, nor the people you’re still to meet. I just want you to know one thing: it’s not your fault. It’s not that you’re insensitive, or that you couldn’t care less about the environment or the planet. You’re not too worried because, like me, you’ve got used to this kind of news on climate crises. And when you get used to something, you stop experiencing it as an emergency. News about the climate crisis has more or less become part of our daily routine. And there’s the real danger that getting used to hearing about it, makes us lose the will to change things. It happens to me too and that makes me sad. But it’s not all bad news. Not everyone remains passive in the face of these uncomfortable facts. Some actually try to change things. Here I’d like to draw attention to two projects launched by the youth of the Focolare Movement, striving to contribute to tackling the issues of ecology and our use of resources.   PATHWAYS – People, planet and our ecological conversion The first project, called PATHWAYS – People, planet and our ecological conversion is an awareness and action campaign, launched as part of the 6-year Pathways for a United World program. In the year 2021-22, those behind the initiative – Teens for Unity, Youth for a United World and  New Humanity NGO – are launching actions at local and global level, in a three-phase program: 1) Learn – study and get informed, as a solid foundation to any action 2) Act – moving for change 3) Share – using the hashtag #daretocare   ZERO HUNGER The second project is directed at our planet’s food resources. For several years now, the youth of the Focolare Movement have collaborated with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in a shared commitment towards achieving “Zero Hunger”, supporting the goal of reducing famine in the world. While an international team works to coordinate global activity, local actions and initiatives are underway in many local territories. Luigi Muraca – Redazione Teens

Lima, Peru, in aid of migrants

Jul 27, 2021 | Non categorizzato

Every day large numbers of Venezuelan migrants try to reach Chile via Peru. The solidarity of the Focolare community in Lima with concrete gestures thanks to Providence that doesn’t wait. “A few small gestures are enough to save the world,” says the writer and poet Edith Bruck. And this is what we try to do every day to help those in need, especially the Venezuelan migrants who pass through the Juan Carlos Duque Centre linked to the Focolare community in Lima, Peru. On the way to Chile C. is one of those who helps out at the Juan Carlos Duque Centre. A few evenings ago she was able to embrace her sister again after not having seen eachother for four years! She is on her way to Chile with her husband and child, hoping to cross the border through the really cold desert. We were able to give them a suitcase of warm clothes, which we received through Providence. There are many Venezuelans trying, not without risk, to get into Chile to join their relatives. The solidarity among these people is so strong despite the suffering that accompanies them. So we can clothe Jesus Another person who works at the Juan Carlos Duque Centre told us about a Venezuelan couple who were in Peru for four years and have been in Lima for almost three months. All they had was a mattress to sleep on, a bedspread that was not warm enough for this season’s cold weather (winter has started) and a small cooker they borrowed but needed to return. They needed sheets, dishes, glasses, clothes and size 12 shoes! To our amazement, amongst the Providence that had arrived we found a pair of size 12 shoes! We received so much Providence and it was just what they needed. “Now we can clothe Jesus so that he doesn’t suffer from the cold…” we said. Thanks also to donations from UNHCR (UN refugee agency) we have been able to meet this family’s needs. You can imagine their joy.  Just 40 minutes after their request for help, we were back in contact with them and able to give them everything they needed. Barbara, one of our group dies But then we received a phone call from Arequipa: ‘We are really having a very hard time. Our tenant and great friend Barbara from Venezuela has died unexpectedly. She was about to turn 29. We were in shock but my mother, my brother and I immediately said our YES to God’s will in that moment that was so difficult when it is not easy to understand God’s plans. It was about loving this suffering and being able to pass on the Father’s Mercy and Love to her brother and cousins”. Barbara had visited our Arequipa office just a few days earlier to collect a heavy blanket and a kitchen kit donated by the UNHCR, and we had added something else. She was delighted with the Providence and we were sure that He would continue to help us from up there with His Providence that is never lacking. And as we were speaking of Providence, the Juan Carlos Duque Centre’s bell rang again unexpectedly.  It was the UNHCR giving us much more than what was requested for our migrants: 100 washable face masks; 216 bars of soap and 5 parcels with 72 blankets… the hundredfold!

Silvano Roggero

The family is the future

Jul 26, 2021 | Non categorizzato

Extract from the talk given by Chiara Lubich in Lucerne, Switzerland on 16^th May 1999, on the occasion of the 19^th International Congress on the Family             If we observe the situation of the society that surrounds us all over the world, our brief reflections on what the family is and should be may appear to be a naïve utopia.  The Western world is permeated by an individualistic culture that is particularly focused on categorizing and defining men and women according to what they use and need. … In a cultural context marked by individualism and the pursuit of profit, the family has become very fragile. And those who are socially marginalized are the ones whose families most often break up.”[1] … Faced with the overwhelming mystery of suffering, we often feel bewildered and lost. There is a passage in the Bible that describes a person who reached the climax of suffering, and cried out to heaven, “Why?”  The evangelist Matthew, who recounts the passion and death of Jesus, wrote: “At about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice (…), ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Mt 27:46). … In experiencing the abandonment, which was the final and greatest sign of his love, Christ reaches the point of total annihilation of self. He reopens for every person the path to unity with God and with one another. In that “why,” to which he received no answer, every man and woman finds an answer to his or her own cry. Is not the person in anguish similar to him? And the one who is alone or a failure or condemned? Is not every division within the family and among groups and peoples, a reflection of him? Can’t we see his countenance in those who have lost all sense of who God is and of his plan for humanity, or in those who no longer believe in love and instead accept whatever surrogate comes their way? There is no human tragedy or failure within a family that is not contained in that dark night of the God-Man. … Through that emptiness, that nothingness, grace and the life of God flowed back to humanity. Christ re-established the unity between God and creation, he restored the design, he made new men and new women and, therefore, new families. The great event of the suffering and abandonment of the God-Man can therefore become the reference point and the secret wellspring capable of transforming death into resurrection, shortcomings into opportunities to love, and family crisis into stages of growth. How can this be done? …  If we believe that behind the events of our lives there is God with his love, and if, strengthened by this faith, we recognize in our small or larger daily sufferings, and those of others, a shadow of the pain of the crucified and forsaken Christ, a sharing in his suffering that redeemed the world, then it is possible to understand the meaning of the most absurd situations and put them into perspective. I would like to mention two real-life examples that illustrate this. Claudette was a young French woman abandoned by her husband. She had a one-year-old son. The narrow-minded environment of the province she lived in and of her family convinced her to ask for a divorce. In the meantime, she came to know a couple that spoke to her about God, who is especially close to those who suffer. “Jesus loves you,” they told her. “He, like you, was also betrayed and abandoned. In him you can find the strength to love and to forgive.” Little by little, her feelings of resentment dissipated and she began to behave differently. Her attitude also had an effect on her husband. In fact, when Claudette and Laurent presented themselves before the judge for their first hearing, they looked at one another in a new way and agreed to put off their decision for six months. Having reopened the lines of communication between them, when they were called back to court to finalize the divorce, they said, “No!” and walked down the steps of the courthouse hand in hand. The birth of two more daughters gave new joy to their love, which had become deeply rooted through their experience of suffering. And another. A beautiful Swiss family one evening learned from their son that he was addicted to drugs. They tried in vain to cure him. One day he did not come home. They were overwhelmed by feelings of guilt, fear, shame and the sense of being unable to do anything about it. It was the encounter with Jesus Forsaken in a “wound” that is so common in our society. Embracing Jesus Forsaken in this suffering they seemed to comprehend: “True love makes itself one with others, it enters into the reality that they are living…. ” In a spirit of solidarity, they opened themselves to others who were suffering because of drug abuse. They organized a group of families who would bring sandwiches and tea to all the youth of the Platzpitz, which at the time was known as the drugs hell of Zurich. One day they found their son there, dressed in rags and exhausted. With the aid of other families, they were able to help him embark on, and complete, his long journey to freedom. … Sometimes the traumas are resolved and families are reunited, but at times they are not. Externally the situations may remain as they were, but the pain takes on meaning, the anguish is eased and the fracture is overcome. At times, the physical or spiritual suffering lingers on, but it acquires meaning because the family unites its “passion” to the passion of Christ, who continues to redeem and save the family and all of humanity. And thus their burden becomes lighter. Therefore, the family can attempt to reacquire its original beauty in its creator’s design by drawing from the source of love that Christ brought on earth.

Chiara Lubich

[1] Chiesa Locale e Famiglia, (CLEF) Agenzia di informazione e documentazione di pastorale familiare, 49, anno XIII, marzo 1995, p. 15.

The first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly

Jul 23, 2021 | Non categorizzato

Pope Francis instituted this day on July 25 to highlight the vocation of the elderly, which is ‘keeping the roots, transmitting faith to the young and taking care of the little ones’. For the occasion, we collected some experiences of grandparents and grandchildren that bear witness to the love between generations. ‘When everything seems dark, like during these months of the pandemic, the Lord continues to send angels to console our loneliness and to repeat to us, “I am with you every day.”’ In his message for the first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, to be celebrated on July 25, Pope Francis aimed to give a message of hope and closeness to grandparents and the elderly around the world. I would like ‘every grandparent, every elderly person, every grandmother – especially those among us who are most alone – to receive a visit from an angel’ through a grandchild, a family member, a friend. During these times of pandemic, we have realised how important hugs, visits, gestures of love are. These signs are experienced daily between grandparents and grandchildren or with elderly neighbours. Martin, for example, is 8 years old and is a Gen 4 – the youngest children of the Focolare – who lives in Uruguay. He lives near an elderly grandmother who grows flowers in her garden. Some children sometimes throw a ball in her garden, making her angry, then laugh at her. Martin thought that this was not good, so he decided to help the lady. He got a wheelbarrow and took the weeds and trash out of the garden. The lady thanked him, and every time he helps her, she gives him some money, which he donates to the poor in the community. Nicola, on the other hand, is a grandfather of eight grandchildren. One day he was invited by a Gen 4 to speak at catechism class about the family. On his way to the meeting, he asked himself how he could interest the children in this topic. While walking, his gaze was drawn to a nest that had fallen from a branch and was now abandoned. He picked it up and brought it to the class. What a nice idea; he was able to explain how a nest is made, as well as how a family is. Everyone had something to add, and the hour of catechism passed quickly. Rosaria is 70 years old and a grandmother, who is so dedicated to both her grandchildren and the Gen 4 of her local community. ‘I always feel like I’m doing very little,’ she says, ‘but I notice that something is happening – they’re having experiences I didn’t expect. ‘For example, Tommaso received a scratch on the cheek from a little girl at school. When the teacher noticed it, she asked why he hadn’t told her. He answered by apologising for his classmate because she hadn’t done it on purpose. When the teacher told his parents, they were positively amazed because such behaviour had never happened before.’ Grandma Rosaria has a secret: she prays every day for all Gen 4 and all the children of the world. ‘I think this is the most important thing.’ Grandma Mary from New York tells Living City, ‘A few years ago before Christmas our granddaughter Cecilia, then 11, came home from school with a bag full of gifts she bought with money her mom had given her. She was so happy as she showed us what she had gotten for a couple of friends and some family members. I marvelled at how lovingly she had chosen those gifts! ‘I started to tell her what my Christmas was like when I was a little girl living in the Philippines. We were quite poor. After midnight mass, we went to our neighbours’ house to have dinner together. We each received a delicious red apple as a Christmas present. It was something really special! ‘Hearing this, Cecilia said: “Really? A delicious red apple?” ‘“Yes,” I said, “a delicious red apple!” ‘And as soon as her dad came home, she told him: “You know what Grandma got for Christmas? A delicious red apple!” ‘On Christmas Day, we were celebrating in our New York home with some of our children and their families. My daughter-in-law brought a basket marked “Happy Holidays” with a dozen apples in it, saying, “Cecilia called me and asked, ‘Would you buy 12 apples for Grandma so she doesn’t just have one but 12 for Christmas?” ‘What a Christmas gift! We have found over and over again that we don’t need many gifts to love God and others at Christmas. Sometimes all it takes is one red, delicious apple.’

Lorenzo Russo

  You can see the pope’s video message for the first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly at youtu.be/1qhzDGFl-6w.  

Living the Gospel: anchoring ourselves in God

Jul 21, 2021 | Non categorizzato

Like an anchor takes hold of the seabed, guaranteeing sailors’ safety, hope holds us firm to God and strengthens our faith. French class High school French class – and the teacher wasn’t coming. We were two classes together that didn’t know each other, and the waiting grew uneasy. At this point, overcoming any fear of being judged or laughed at, I took the initiative to share a few sheets of poems in French with my classmates, a language I am quite fluent in. Then I began to write the ‘Our Father’ on the blackboard, once again in French. Meanwhile, the others began to copy the text. I had just finished writing when the teacher came in and, seeing the students silently at work, was surprised and almost moved. As a result, she gave an A (the highest grade) to the entire class. Ralf, Romania   A son’s suicide Luca was 19 years old and far too sensitive. He found it hard to accept the evil that seems to prevail in the world at times. When he committed suicide, the only thing that brought comfort and hope to our family was anchoring ourselves in God and the support of the community. As a couple, we found ourselves on a higher level in our relationship. Our other son, Enrico, reacted by making himself useful to others and now works in a community for young misfits. Of course, as time went by, we continued to feel Luca’s absence, but one fact gave us strength. A friend of ours told us about a young man suffering from cancer. Fed up with everything, he refused chemotherapy and preferred to let himself die. Our friend told him about Luca, who had attended the same institute as he had, and how his tragic death had ‘woken up’ many people to be more sensitive to others. That young man, in the end, agreed to resume treatment. This episode made us realize that life goes on. It inspired us to be strong and to sow hope in all those we meet. Maurizio, Italy   My real ambition After working for years in a successful music group, as my family grew, I took a job in a cultural agency that organized concerts. But with the raging pandemic, many things changed for me: few contracts, few shows. With an increasingly uncertain future, I wondered how I could get by. Then I got a phone call from someone I had met because he had helped me load and unload instruments. He asked how things were going for me and if I needed work, since the supermarket where he worked was short staff. I accepted. So I went from dealing with philharmonic orchestras to pointing out to disoriented elderly ladies which shelf to find eggs or vinegar… The great lesson of the pandemic was precisely this: love comes through small, silent gestures, not deafening proclamations. In my youth my real ambition was to become rich… now I am rich on another level. I have discovered a truer and more beautiful dimension of humanity. M., Czech Republic

Edited by Lorenzo Russo.

Excerpted from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, year VII, no. 4, July–August 2021.