Diary from Syria

Jan 25, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

In December, Maria Voce, the Focolare Movement’s president , launched an international campaign to stop the Syrian conflict and to ask for peace talks be resumed for the good of millions of unarmed and defenceless citizens: Time out. A minute of silence and prayer for peace, all over the world at 12 noon (local time), now directed particularly for peace in Syria.

Some friends from the Focolare Movement’s community wrote to us from Damascus and Aleppo: “Twenty-two months studded with unspeakable and countless pain that has left its sign. This is how we find our Syria and our people. We crossed the Lebanese border after a smooth travel along mountain roads, which were only recently usable due to the abundant snowfall in the past few days. Notwithstanding a reassuring blue sky, one can sense in the air a feeling of great uneasiness.

The controls at checkpoints are precise; we encounter more than one of them between the border and the outskirts of the capital, before reaching the neighbourhood wherein lives a family that will host us for the next few days, until the small accommodation generously accorded to us by the local Church will be ready. Though we haven’t reached yet, our mobile phones are already ringing or receiving messages from our friends from Aleppo, Hama, and Damascus who wanted to “welcome us” back! The joy is deep, contained, and tinged with anxiety due to an uncertain future. From the outskirts, the sounds of mortar and cannon shots are rare.

The news on TV was not very encouraging. Speaking with one of our friends we understood the magnitude of the game being played at the people’s expense. A game being prepared since years, which intends to distort the structure of the Middle East and in front of which one feels small and powerless. The international and regional politics seem miles away from the people’s suffering, as if it were not considered. And the people were tired. From Aleppo they described in a few sentences via telephone (that miraculously worked! ), the continuing hardships, the biting cold, the lacking water and electricity, the bread that is rare or at an exorbitant price, the blackmails and kidnappings for money in a city that was the country’s industrial and commercial centre. They speak of death that is always at the doorstep and of God’s providential aid. They were exhausted”.

And again: “We’re back from mass and behold the terrible news of the massacre at the university of architecture in Aleppo, due to two missiles that hit it and adjoining places, where besides many refugees were residing. We immediately tried to get in touch with our friends living there: a teacher and two students. Their voices were deeply moved. They recounted of unspeakable scenes. One of them who threw herself behind a car, saw bodies flying in the air and heard the cries of mothers in search of their children. The teacher narrated: “Today was the first day of exams, the bell had already rung and we were collecting the answer sheets. A pupil begged us to give him a few more minutes. He had arrived late due to the blocked roads. My colleagues were reluctant, but in the end I managed to convince them. At least five minutes elapsed before the student handed in his exam answer sheet. We went down to the courtyard and headed towards the exit. I saw the two missiles passing one after the other above me. I would have been exactly in the place they hit. I found the car with a caved in roof and shattered windows. But we were saved thanks to an act of love towards a student.”

Source: Città Nuova  –  Diary from Syria/1 – Diary from Syria /2 – Diary from Syria /3

Selamat Datang! Welcome!

Jan 21, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

“It takes around an hour to reach the Singapore Airport from the city of Johor, crossing a river at Woodlands that is actually a sea strait separating Singapore Island from Malaysia. I am in great and youthful company in the car carrying us. There’s Sophie who had just arrived from Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. She’s 43 years old, with two children aged 11 and 14, and works with an Arabic airline. She narrated her decision to live as a Christian in a professional setup that is not always easy, not solely for religious reasons but also for the quality of work: “Often I was obliged not to accept gifts and bribes that someone would like to give me because unfortunately in Indonesia, there is rampant corruption.”

Heyliy’s beautiful smile stood out beside her. She’s from another world – from Mumbai in India. She’s been in Singapore since seven years and works as an air hostess with another airline. She’s part of a group of young people of the Focolare Movement. She’s Indian, another’s from Brazil, two are from Singapore, another’s from Mauritius, there’s a Malaysian, one from Macau, and finally, a Korean!

26-year-old Latando and Oktav 28, had just arrived by air from Yogyakarta, the cultural capital of Indonesia, where they are studying Italian with commitment, eager to spend a period of spiritual and professional formation in Italy. They have a great hope: that their Muslim friends from Bantul, with whom they had worked a lot after the deadly earthquake of 2009, find a suitable way of development.

Anna, 22 years, is our driver. She lives together with his family in Johor. She’s studying Health management. She’s positive and optimistic by nature as well as by choice: “I believe that the crime affecting my city must be overcome by good police measures, but even more by works of social and political justice”. Finally, 22-year-old Nicolas, Singaporean with her smart phone always ready to go and ringing. She’s an accounts auditor: “But I always try to see faces and people beyond the money. It’s not always easy. Out here it seems that one should live for the money. I don’t agree”.

It’s these people, along with 300 others from Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, who gathered today, 20th January, at the Sacred Heart Cathedral hall in the heart of the city of Johor, to meet Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti who are visiting the region. Many of them don’t know each other due to the vast distances between them. It’s easier for them to meet as Indonesians, Singaporeans, Malaysians… The youth and children made up an overwhelming majority, but there’s no dearth of the “workers of the first hour”, i.e. those from the eighties, when news of the lady teacher from Trent reached out here. A burst of colours, numerous thoughts, so much expectation. Palpable emotions. People who are really diverse but all the same brought together by gospel love and that of Chiara Lubich.

Characteristics of diverse peoples expressed colourfully, emotionally and artistically through dance, music, theatre, scenic representations… A festival of peoples, an exposition of this part of the world that is so varied and rich. Maria Voce observed: “I was struck by the richness of this people who have such an immense potential both expressive as well as spiritual”. A youth from Penang, Malaysia remarked: “I didn’t know that the Focolare Movement communities from neighbouring countries were so diverse, I’d say complementary. I realized that we Malaysians alone wouldn’t know how to be so rich”.

A personal contact is being established between the guests from Rome and the many people who are present. There are intimate questions and in some way, just as intimate answers. It’s a constant call to God’s love and the individual conscience. With an invitation to a kind of “Jubilee year”, in which space is given to forgiveness, to “begin anew”, to look out for God’s grace that arrives… Questions somewhat universal, globalised, which would be valid even if asked in Cologne or Buenos Aires. But with a touch of the local social, religious, and political situation: the difficulty to commit oneself due to the stress of daily life wherein work is the most important value; the interfaith context, particularly Islam; the difficulty of a true altruism; inter-generational relationships; laws that not always favourable to a suitable civil coexistence…

Maria Voce concluded saying: “Only God remains… God needs witnesses and not defenders”. And this is what the life of the Movement means in these lands: to constantly renew oneself in the gospel love and to bear witness to it with one’s own life. To thus reach, little by little, the unity Jesus wanted.

Selamat Datang is written on the meeting hall’s backdrop. It means “welcome.” A few hours together and it’s already a certainty”.

By Michele Zanzucchi, correspondent

Finding God in Prison

Jan 19, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

Mirta Zanella, a native of Argentina, from Mendoza, is married and has three children. She has known the spirituality of unity for quite some time now and has experienced that living the Word of God transforms us and also changes the reality around us.

One day her house keys disappeared, along with her husband’s salary and other valuable items. Who could it have been? The theft had to be necessarily carried out by someone close to the family. This caused Mirta great suffering, so much so that she was unable even to pray. Then, remembering that Jesus invites us to forgive, she does so, even for the person who stole from her.

A few days later she learnt that a lady in difficulty who begged for alms in the neighbourhood, and with whom she’d had a friendly relationship, had stolen from a neighbour’s house. While she threatened this neighbour with a gun, her husband stole the goods. Subsequently, even Mirta received serious threats from her and so she called the police to defend herself. The woman was arrested. After the trial that found her guilty of various crimes, she was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

In the following months Mirta’s husband suggested that she go visit her in prison, but this was not part of her plans. “No way,” she answered, also overtaken by fear. Sometime later there was a new request. This time it was the parish priest who invited her to accompany a group of ladies to the women’s prison where, for that matter, the woman who robbed her was also imprisoned. Somewhat confused, Mirta accepted the invitation, remembering the Word of Life: “Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’” (Mt. 9,13).

Thus she went with the group to the prison and saw the woman at the end of Mass. In a flash she decided to greet her with a hug. “She started to cry and asked for forgiveness,” narrates Mirta. “I replied that the Lord had already forgiven her and me too. She asked me to pray for her children and I promised to do so”.

From that day onwards, Mirta continued to visit the prison with the priest and others, until she was asked to coordinate the Prison Ministry group. The prison inmates were touched by their concrete love and changed their attitude by making themselves available. They tidied up the chapel by restoring the crucifix and polishing the benches, so much so that Mass can now be regularly celebrated there. Some impressions of the prisoners confirm the changed atmosphere brought about: “I didn’t know how to dialogue with my children. Now I’m able to understand them”;  “I was selfish. I only saw my pain, but I’m trying to be also sensitive to that of the other”; “The place doesn’t matter. Here I’ve discovered God”.

On Christmas Eve, Mirta and her friends organised a gala dinner in the prison and the Bishop went to celebrate Mass. On the one hand it meant forgoing to celebrate the feast with their families, while on the other it gave them a strong awareness of building an even larger family.

Brazil: priests, deacons and seminarians

Jan 18, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

In Brazil, the church recently opted to take more than ever before the form of a “network community”.  It is within this context that the meeting for priests of the Focolare Movement was held from the 3^rd to 10^th January, in the proximity of Sao Paulo.

The meeting was held at the citadel called “Mariapoli Ginetta”.  The 145 priests, deacons and seminarians came from the different regions of Brazil, and also from Argentina, Bolivia and Peru.

They kept in the background the appeal made at the recent synod of the bishops to give shape to “concrete experiences of communion, that with the ardent strength of love- “See how they love each other!”-attract the glance of today’s disenchanted humanity;” “wells at which to quench the thirst of men and women and make them meet Jesus.” (Message to the people of God, n.3).

Every day the programme started with a phrase from the Gospel, to be lived, followed by consideration of the spirituality of unity. In order to give precedence to living in communion, plenary dialogue sessions and work in groups were given priority.

Within the context of celebration of the year of Faith, they dealt with the relationship between Vatican Council II and the Gospel promise of the presence of Jesus amongst those united in his name.

It was an urgent necessity for all to give visibility to this presence. They also realised that the Church is called to not only look at itself or present itself to the world with an institutional profile; but rather it is called to dialogue with culture, showing Jesus through mutual love lived between persons.

During the conclusion of the meeting, they expressed the conviction that through the presence of Jesus in community, the church renews its structures and its methods, through authentic relationships and a profound spiritual life.

Moreover, the meeting was an opportunity for renewing the presence of the Focolare Movement in its specific service to priests, permanent deacons, and seminarians in the different regions of Brazil, allowing the formation of numerous groups of communion, with the aim of deepening in everyday life, the charism of unity, as the source of inspiration of their life and ministry.

“Adopt a tree” project in Albania

Jan 17, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

Many hectares of forest were devoured by fires in different countries during the European summer last year as was the case in Albania. The Youth for a United World there thought of launching to many of their peers the idea to purchase trees that they would plant together in the burned areas. Hence the project name “Adopt a tree”.

They wrote from Albania saying that “Feverish preparations were being made for this meeting since many weeks with many unexpected occurrences, such as the concurrence with the national holiday of the 100^th anniversary of the country’s Independence. Many universities would remain closed for a few days and therefore many young people would have returned to their home towns”.

Notwithstanding this and the hall with an 80 seats capacity, 140 young people arrived in Tirana on the 28^th  and 29^th November to spend two days as a follow-up to the experience lived at the Genfest in Budapest.

They narrate that “We lived the strongest and most beautiful experience during the preparation made together with a group of young people who had participated with us at the Genfest. They felt as protagonists in the first person. There were some who organized the meals, others the choreographies, singing, testimonies, translation and dubbing of videos, presentations…

“This helped make us a very united group. It gave us the strength to invite our friends by helping them find ways to remain in the city, even if some boarding schools were closed”.

The meeting was entitled “Do unto others as you want others to do unto you”, the noted golden rule present in almost all religions. During the  two-day program, besides listening to the main themes of the Genfest, the United World Project was explained. It is an initiative pursued by the Youth for a United World throughout the world.

They conclude saying that “The young people present were happy with this experience of unity and lived reciprocity. Many thanked us because they have seen that a more united world is feasible, that it is possible to change the reality around us by beginning with ourselves in the first place, and that we are not alone in doing so”.

The Youth for a United World in Albania

Running for elections as Junior Mayor

Jan 16, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

“When I heard of the initiative calling for early elections for the junior Mayor of my city, I proposed my candidacy. I was excited to be able to do something and witness my ideal of living for a united world. Immediately we met up with some friends and our party, the IPIF, “Together for the future”, was born. We drew up a manifesto, the logo and then the election campaign began. We were 9 candidates.

I was sure that in the end, regardless of whether I would have been elected or not, I would have learned many things, both in the political sphere as well as in the efforts of seeing Jesus in the other [Mt 25,40 Editor’s note], even if they were ‘competing’ with me.

Above all, I wanted to try to live with my companions, some of whom are non-believers, an experience in the “style of unity”. Finally the election day arrived, but my thoughts were not directed to the votes that I would have received, because I was overjoyed to see all the candidates joking together: it was an atmosphere so different from the one we usually see in these circumstances! Only two of us had obtained the majority of the votes and I had obtained even five more than the other candidate. I was happy with it because I had moved to the city since only a year.

Being a minimum difference, we went to the second ballot and my companion turned out winner. Even if it may seem strange to some, I was happy for him. The competition was a healthy challenge, as we had succeeded, both in the meetings as well as in the election campaign, to help each other, without one overshadowing the other but, on the contrary, exchanging useful ideas. In the end I was nominated president of the Council. Even today, there is maximum cooperation between all and there is no distinction between the majority and the minority, but together we are united to achieve what is important for us and for our school.

Later, on meeting with the ‘adult’ Mayor,  we saw how the ideas of us teenagers are important in helping improve the city! In fact, our request to start the sorted waste collection was taken into consideration and is already being implemented”.

(E. – Italy)

Journey: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia

Jan 15, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

Maria Voce’s trip to Johor to meet the Focolare communities is the chance for her to get to know some Asian countries better, in particular Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. Indonesia’s motto is ‘Unity in Diversity’ and it expresses the huge ethnic and linguistic variety of the world’s largest archipelago state, made up of 17,508 islands. In all these nations the Christians (of various churches) are less than 10% of the population and the majority are, in Indonesia and Malaysia, Muslim, and, in Singapore, Buddhist and Taoist. More or less during the 60s the seeds of the spirituality of unity began to be spread in this part of the world through religious such as Fr Tarcisio Centis, in Medan (Indonesia) and clergy such as Fr Jose Lai (Singapore), currently bishop of Macau, as well as through the magazine New City and the Word of Life leaflet. In 1991 two focolare centres were opened in Singapore, which have now moved to Yogyakarta in Indonesia, and in 2004 two were opened in Medan. Towards the end of the 80s it was the turn of Malaysia to receive the spirituality. This time it was via Fr Raphael Kang. After that in the 90s there were Mariapolises in Johor and Penang and a Familyfest (as the name suggests, a gathering for families) held in Penang. Some members went to the formation school in Loppiano and to international events such as the gathering for young adults, called Genfest. In Malaysia (in Johor) there is a ‘family focolare’; and various members of the Movement are spread throughout the nation. The seeds of the spirituality have grown, giving life to many small but active communities, which have started initiatives involving people from different confessional backgrounds,

Young people at Penang (Malesia)

Giorgio La Pira International Centre

Jan 13, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

Basic support for young people from Asia, Middle East, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe is also offered by entities such as the Giorgio La Pira International Centre. How is this commitment expressed in concrete terms?

The Centre’s director, Mauricio Certini recalls: “In March 1978, faced with the disorientation and loneliness of many foreign students, the Church in Florence wished to provide them a place where they would be welcome with respect to their different cultural or religious backgrounds; a place that would be open to dialogue, where they could help each other in overcoming the difficulties they were facing; a place where they could meet. As Pope John Paul II would later say, a place where they would find the thrust “toward a culturally richer society, more fraternal in its diversity.”   

Both the diocese and the city responded enthusiastically to the proposal of Cardinal Giovanni Benelli, who began by turning for help from Chiara Lubich and the Focolare Movement. Several Focolare families from Florence offered to host students in their homes, for example, and to care for them as their own children. These first volunteers at the Centre opened themselves to love with a universal heart like the heart of God, with the sensitivity of people in today’s world, and the strength of the Gospel.”

Over the years the centre has grown. Now, as Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, former president of the Italian Bishops Conference has said, it is “a true home for the peoples.” It has become a very modern network of persons, associations and institutions. This is where the first foreign student associations began that would later become the basis for the constitutions of the immigrant community, which in the future will soon be arising in Italy at Pisa, Sienna and Arezzo.

“But the real meaning of the centre,” Certini underscores, “is the myriad of faces that we’ve encountered and continue to encounter, of young people from nations that are often embroiled in conflict. It is these that have made La Pira Centre an ongoing laboratory of peace education. These young people returning to their home countries – sometimes ruled by dictatorial regimes – can impose themselves as a real resource for democracy and aspire to belong to the future leadership class.”  

Source: “Toscana Oggi”

Youth for Unity: A Global Project

Jan 11, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

The international Youth for Unity project will begin in Italy and then (July 2014) Argentina.

The reasons for this choice are many, the most important one being that of demonstrating how much the Latin American continent that is comprised of peoples with such diverse cultural roots, has to offer to the world. Moreover at the last project site which was held in the Focolare town of Loppiano (July 2012), the teenager in attendance had expressed their desire to repeat the experience every two years on a different continent.

The idea of beginning at Mariapolis Lia in Argentina came because of the abundant presence of young people that characterizes this Focolare town located on the Pampas. Thus it was chosen to be the place that will host the first phase of the project because of its special ability to welcome the new generations.

The Global Project has two phases. The first will be carried out at Mariapolis Lia where, for four days, the boys from around the world will set up their project site through a dynamic program whose goal will be to learn to “relate” with everyone by overcoming cultural differences, sharing personal experiences and being enriched by those of others – all in a climate of mutual love that allows each and all together, to be formed into world men.

The second phase of the project will take place in a variety of cities of the Latin American continent where there are already social projects that are animated by the spirituality of unity (schools, clinics, child-care centres, elderly care).

This experience will “give witness,” as Focolare president, Maria Voce stated during a visit to Latin America in spring 2012 “that there is no boarder nor ethnic difference that is insurmountable. There’s not anything, not even the Andes that divide us, not even the ocean, nothing, nothing, nothing. We can go beyond all of these things because of our reciprocal love.”

By visiting local sites the boys will be able to enter into local environments, to embrace real challenges, as well as the cultural riches of each people. Within this atmosphere, together with local teenagers who live in these cities, the participants from other countries will be engaged in social projects through contact with native populations in local “culture of giving” projects; for example, in sport, art, and so on. This project was born from a need to look toward the world, after a few years of involvement in the “Let’s Colour the City” project. Because Chiara Lubich would say: “one city is not enough: aim far, at your own country, and at everyone’s country – the world.”     

A bridge with Congo

Jan 10, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

Kinshasa, Moyi Mwa Ntongo Medical Center (Morning Sun Medical Centre) is one of the social projects of the Focolare Movement in the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was the recipient of an interesting project promoted by a local optical company in collaboration with the United World Association (AMU). The “Do something for them” campaign was geared towards the citizens of Grottaferrata, Italy. The objective was to collect eyeglasses (many of them damaged), which the optical centre in Grottaferrata would repair, disinfect, classify and pack for shipment to Kinshasa.

Besides the general, gynaecological, paediatric and dermatological medical services that are offered by the Congolese health centre, there is also a fully functioning ophthalmological centre, with a programme for preventing blindness and other services in this field, thanks to the top-class equipment that has been donated. The main beneficiaries of these services are the more than 1,200 children who are served by the school and nutrition assistance programme “Petite Flamme” in both Kinshasa and other cities of the country.

The staff at the health centre has been trained to conduct eye tests on children and provide training in the prevention of blindness to families and teachers. Children requiring eye care or even surgery, are welcomed at the centre and, when needed, they receive free medical treatment. but the cooperation between the peoples of the Northern and Southern hemispheres of our world, would have to become part of a culture of reciprocity that leads them to discover their common brotherhood even in the smallest actions of daily life.

The “Do something for them” campaign has been enthusiastically received by the population, so much so that in very many places in the city of Castelli Romani – schools, churches, offices – the donation boxes have already been filled. The results have been far better than what was expected: On the evening of 5th December, ten boxes filled with eyeglasses were displayed in the library of the Town Hall of Grottaferrata, with boxes and cartons stamped and ready for shipment. The results of the campaign were presented to some friends from Congo who in turn offered a presentation of their land and recounted the activities that are carried out by the Health Centre. Returning to Kinshasa, their baggage was definitely heavier. . . and now they are organizing a shipment with  additional materials.

Compiled by Stefano Comazzi                                                                                                                                                  Projects sector – AMU

Taken from Newsletter Amu – Formation                                                                                                                                January 2013 – Year 4 ° No. 5

Becoming personally involved

Jan 8, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

“For four years I’ve been enrolled at the Fine Arts Academy. It’s an environment with a little more than 200 students who in recent years have been suffering economic difficulties. Therefore, there have been protests and the atmosphere has become rather difficult and uncertain. Besides my studies, I also tried to love those who along with me have been going through these financially difficult times. I was offered a job at Student Consulting. On the one hand I wanted to continue helping out, but I was frightened of the commitment. It was a job that would involve a lot of hard work in order to be carried out. In the end I found myself president of Consulting.

Calling meetings and assemblies, preparing reports, drawing up the regulations, attending board directors meetings – this was all new to me. However, I felt that the only important thing was to put myself at the service of everyone.

It turned out to be quite a beautiful experience, a daily commitment that brought positive results each time I was able to go beyond difficulties, as I tried to live the Gospel.

For example: There wasn’t always a good relationship among the professors and the students were suffering because of it. At the request of the students I wrote a letter to our instructors in which I clearly stated the student’s position. Many people told me that I was taking a risk. But following an initial reaction the instructors began to act differently, and my examination results were never compromised.

A year ago the Director, President and Administrative Director changed. Building new relationships with people who are older and hold such positions has not been easy for me. However, there have been discussions that led to greater cooperation and very fruitful and positive confrontation. For my part, it was always a matter of being sincere, precise and listening to all that the others had to say. Trust among us has grown, despite the difficulties.

At the beginning of summer they intended to again raise the taxes and the students obviously disagreed. I understood that the economic situation was difficult, but it was also clear that this would put many in hard times. Thanks to the trust that has been established they called me to speak with them and after many hours of discussing all the options, they proposed reducing bi-annual registration fees by 200€!

Beside my relationship with the institution there is my relationship with the students who are always coming to me with new requests. With the students in my class there were particular difficulties due to a change in professors. In fact, because of his personality, and to force us to improve, every time we confronted him we came back destroyed and discouraged.

It was an effort to listen to everything he had to say and, at the same time, it seemed impossible to establish any kind of relationship with him. But in the end our efforts proved fruitful. In October, several students who knew that I would have to reorganize his office for the examinations, came to give me a hand with the work. It felt like we were preparing for a feast: some helped to move the heavy furniture, some decorated the bulletin boards, some prepared name tags and others painted the wall. . .

When the professor arrived everything was ready, not only the work but also many small details that weren’t really necessary but made everything look so special and beautiful! Before beginning the examination he thanked everyone for the year we had spent together and even confided that   entering the room, he felt at home.

This was like an answer to my efforts at living the spirituality of unity of Chiara Lubich throughout the whole year!”

Jolanta and her Christmas

Jan 6, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

‘Hi! I’m Jolanta, an Orthodox gen from Lithuania. I’ve only been a member of the Focolare Movement for a short time, but have always believed in God and since I was small I’ve lived as part my Church community. This was how it was until the ‘stormy’ period of my teenage years, when I was put off because there were no other young people in my group. I stopped being active and went off on my own way.

‘In Lithuania most people are Catholic, but I am Orthodox and Russian. A friend of mine, knowing that I wanted to give myself to others for God, invited me to get to know his ‘Catholic friends who I think you’ll like.’ I immediately felt at home with them and this feeling grew when I went to the Mariapolis, a meeting of several days with people of all ages, where I found a special atmosphere of unity and mutual love. When I told someone this, I was told: ‘You ought to live it in Church as well.’ I smiled. But it seemed impossible to me.

‘I helped organize a “Youth Café” with other girls, the gen, who share the spirituality of unity. We had theme evenings, ran projects and alternative amusements, which stimulated young people’s commitment, creativity and sociability. In one of the evenings we invited some young people from the Orthodox community and so we started rebuilding a relationship with them. It all went so well that some of them even took part in Run4Unity as well. After this I got a letter from the person in charge of the Orthodox community, inviting me to take part in their activities and share the what I’d done with the young people of the Focolare Movement, because they didn’t have this kind of experience. I was really moved by the letter and straight away said yes.

‘I started going to the youth meetings and I was asked to give a hand with the children’s summer camp. To be able to do this I stopped looking for work, and actually I even turned down several job offers. I set off feeling a bit nervous, because I didn’t have any organizational experience, but I did have an objective: to build bridges of unity. Now I thank God because among all the organizers it was like one big family. That was when I found I actually had three “families”: my physical family at home, the people in my Church and the Focolare Movement. I’m an only child and I was always a bit lonely, but now I have loads of true brothers and sisters.

‘After the summer camp I became more involved with the life of the Orthodox community, and now I go to lots of things, and I even help running some of them. I’ll tell you a secret: we plan to organize a Christmas party, which ought to be in the middle of January (because in our Church we celebrate Christmas on 7 January). This will be a great chance for Orthodox young people and the youth of the Focolare Movement to unite their forces and get an excellent party going.

‘Having come to know this spirituality has given me back my trust in God’s will and when you have this trust, miracles happen every single day. Chiara Lubich used to say: “Life is made up of present moments, and these alone matter for whoever wants to get something done.” ’

A merciful love that unites

Jan 3, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

“I was my father’s favourite daughter,” Mary recounts, “since I was the firstborn. When I was eight years old, I watched my parents argue and fight. One day my father forced my brothers and me to get into his car and leave our mother behind. But she stopped us. I helplessly watched so many terrible things that he did to my mother. Then he left. From that day that I saw my mother and father together, I completely rejected my father.

I tried to convince myself that he didn’t exist anymore. It was a dramatic choice that haunted me during the years of my adolescence. Growing up without a father had an influence on the way I treated other people, especially men.  For several years I studied at an exclusive school for girls. When I went to university, it wasn’t easy for me to be with the boys.

Coming to know the Focolare Movement, I was invited to go to the little town of Loppiano, Italy, where there are people who try to live mutual love and have respect and trust for one another.

It was the month when everyone there was trying to live that Gospel sentence: “Forgive seventy times seven times” (Mt. 18:21). Reading the commentary by Chiara Lubich, I suddenly realized that my heart was filled with hostility towards my father. But it was only when I decided to also begin living it, that in my  heart I felt the “bitterness” slowly transforming into pardon and I felt a strong desire to see my father.

When I returned to Manila, even though there was still an open wound, I found the strength to telephone my father and to arrange a meeting. We spoke for several hours, just the two of us, in a restaurant. I was happy and at peace, even though my mother didn’t agree with our meeting. But she left me free to meet him.

I continue to communicate with Dad, even if it’s not so often. But any time I have an opportunity to meet him, I try to make him feel my merciful love.

Always aware that Mum and Dad will never be able to get together again because he already has another family, I feel that, through my forgiveness, we all remain united. And this fills me with peace.”

Official Genfest website: www.genfest.org

The Netherlands: a chain of text messages

Jan 2, 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

A chain of text messages containing Scripture quotes to end the day together, this was the idea of a small group of volunteers at the Word Youth Day. Among them was Nard, a young Dutch Focolare member, who wanted to have a moment of communion during the day so as to enter deeply into God. All the things to be done and the work for the World Youth Day seemed to get in the way. A combination of the desire to be united and of using the means of communication well meant that the group started a chain of text messages to share something valuable from the day they had just lived. The text chain did not stay in Madrid; it is still going on and increasing numbers of young people are part of it.

This is one of the stories told in a lively and enthusiastic way at the Katholike Jongeren Dag (‘s-Hertogenbosch, 4 November 2012), the annual gathering of Dutch Youth where for many years the Focolare Movement has been actively present both in the crowds and among the organizers.

Many of the Dutch young people still remember when Chiara Luce’s parents spoke in 2010 and Maria Voce’s talk the following year. This year the Gen were present in the organizing committee, as helpers and stewards during the day itself, and with a stand both promoting the United World Project launched at the Genfest and presenting the life of Chiara Luce.

The stand was visited by many of the young people circulating in 2012’s ‘Square of the New Movements’ where the various stands were all grouped together in their own areas. It was a chance to strengthen contacts among the different Catholic groups in the Netherlands.

During the lunch break, a moment when participants had time to go to the stands, the members of the various movements put on a programme to show passers-by how they live and witness to the Gospel in daily life. Of course this included music and performances, and there was also the presentation of the testimony of Eric Mwangi, a focolarino recently arrived in the Netherlands after a period in the international performing arts group, Gen Rosso.

The next appointment with the Katholike Jongeren Dag is at the end of 2013, but everyone wants to see each other again so much that they will also meet at the various gatherings for young people who want to build a better future, from the 35th European Meeting of Taizé youth (Rome, 28 December 2012 to 2 January 2013) to the World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro.

An unexpectedly historic interview

Dec 30, 2012 | Focolare Worldwide

Thomas Klann in Tokyo,
November 1985

“November 1985. I was in Japan covering Chiara Lubich’s visit there. As the cameraman, it was my job to document the entire journey that was so important because of the dialogues with personalities from the non-Christian religions.

The elderly Venerable Etai Yamada, a great figure in Tendai Buddhism and personal friend of Chiara, had agreed to an interview with my film crew. On the day of the interview we learned that he was not well and had been admitted to hospital. We thought the interview would have been called off, but it hadn’t been. He wanted to leave the hospital, and he met us dressed in full regalia and solemnly seated on his throne.

That day I had left the video footage to a friend so that he could take care of the audio. I used a shotgun mic, so that I could keep my distance and not interfere with the videotaping. I knelt at the feet of the venerable monk and held the microphone from there. We put all we had into listening to him with love. We were only going to need a few minutes of his talking for insertion in the documentary. But in spite of his poor health he continued to speak, always looking at me, seemingly unmindful of the fact that I didn’t understand a word of Japanese. He spoke non-stop for more than an hour, and during that time I kept on giving him my full attention.

A screenshot of the video-interview with the Venerable Etai Yamada

A few years later Etai Yamada died. His followers asked if they could have copies of the interview he had granted to us. We got to work on it right away, because, since the Japanese video system is different than Europe’s, we had to first send this first shooting to Britain where it could be properly recoded. When it arrived in Japan we received a big thank you, because in the interview Etai Yamada had recounted his whole spiritual life, with details that no one knew. It turned out to be a very precious document for his followers!

I’ve never forgotten this event. It’s always there to remind me that for good communication, it’s not as important to talk, as it is to love.”

Thomas Klann

(Centro Santa Chiara Audiovisual Centre, Italy)

Source: Una Buona Notizia: gente che crede gente che muove (Rome: Ed. Città Nuova, 2012).

Nigeria is not only conflict …

Dec 28, 2012 | Focolare Worldwide

Situated in the West of Africa, Nigeria is a vast land with a tropical climate. It is rich in natural resources like natural gas and oil. This has placed it among the six largest exporters in the world. It is also among the countries with the most inhabitants with some 170 million people, half of which are under the age of fifteen.

It contains an extraordinary variety of ethinic groups and cultures: 250 spoken languages. Its people are profound and joyful with the joy of life. Good listeners, they have a distinct interior life and a faith that is deep and alive. More than 60% of the population lives in poverty on less than a dollar a day. Unemployment is quite high. The average life expectancy, which is presently placed at 48 years, is expected to drop due to AIDS.

Widespread corruption has paralyzed development of the State and of the common good. The large variety of ethnic groups is a major challenge that is often considered a major threat. With the rapid growth of the population, the struggle for survival has become more and more acute. And yet these people are strikingly able to carry on, never giving up, accepting the pain without ever losing hope in a better future while seeking new and creative strategies in the present.

The natural religosity that characterizes the people of this continent is sometimes exploited for political or religious interests. Extremist thinking and terrorist groups that are moved by socio-economic, historical and political motivations convey a falsified image of conflicts between Christians and Muslims. In the North the population is 50%Muslim and 45% Christian.

Twenty five years ago, at the urging of Cardinall Arinze, the Focolare Movement arrived in Nigeria and began communities in several regions. Today it has 5, 490 members across a network of 28 local communities spread throughout the country. These communities distinguish themselves by their strong commitment to witnessing to ethical, spiritual and human values. In fact, taking advantage of the deep spiritual roots of the Nigerians, they stands by their sides so that the faith might everywhere come to be translated into real life: at school, at work, in the marketplace. Their commitment has a positive impact on the social development and health.

The social landscape of this land of many ethnic groups, social levels and different religions is that of universal brotherhood through the practice of dialogue, witnessing to the possibility of fraternal relationships, but especially encouraging and supporting this people as they become bridge builders. No few times have they discovered a variety of riches in their diversity, with positive implications for the public life, creating a civic conscience and public opinion.

In the centre of the country, for example, where there are particulary violent clashes between Muslims and Christians, it is quite striking to hear their stories of “being put on the spot” by universal brotherhood as they reach the point of risking their lives to save the lives of members of the other religion.

Desiring to form a culture of fraternity, a centre of formation and witness is being begun in the village of Igbariam. This has been joined by other social projects: a kindergarten, a primary school, a small clinic and workshops for teenagers. These are all carried out in collaboration with the local population in the village that is actively involved.

Kenya: Jivunie! Be proud!

Dec 27, 2012 | Focolare Worldwide

‘Still burning in the Kenyan soul is the pain of the blood-soaked battles of the election in 2007 when more than 1000 people died.

“Never again!” is now the cry of everyone’s heart, while the country prepares for the presidential election in March 2013.

‘Many young people are engaged in initiatives for a year of peace.

‘Sr Bernadette Sangma (Director of Youth Ministry) and a group from the Focolare Movement working in the Catholic University of Nairobi, have welcomed this and promoted the idea of the “peace caravan”, which would unify the voices of the university students in Nairobi and make an impression on public opinion. As a symbol of this “earthquake of peace” the idea was to have a song that would be heard loud and clear throughout the nation!

‘This was the request made to Gen Rosso. After the 2007 tour there was already a profound friendship with Tangaza College and after some of us in 2009 went back to Kenya to give lessons and run workshops to teach “music with values”. We had a tradition of working together. How could we refuse this new request?

‘And so the song was written:

Jivunie nchi yako, kabila si silaha                    

Nyuma twasema, kamwe haturudi                                        

wito wetu ni umoja

Be proud of your country! Tribe is not a weapon. The past never comes back. Our call is to be one.

‘Tangaza College and the Catholic University began to “recruit” young men and women from the various universities in the capital. Other young people from elsewhere became involved. Enthusiasm grew.

‘Magdalene Kasuku, a young journalist, presented “Jivunie” at official State Functions and at the huge celebrations on the 49th anniversary of Kenyan independence, on 12 December, in Nairobi’s Nyayo Stadium.

‘The song was heard with enthusiasm and it had been the government to propose that it should be sung at this major event in the presence of President Emilio Mwai Kibaki.

‘We recorded “Jivunie” with a choir to make it more “Kenyan” and to make it suitable to be left as an audio support for all the initiatives that will take place until next March.

‘Ponsiano Pascal Changa created a choreography for the performance on the 12th. We wanted a choir that danced with energy and joy and the kind of moves young people make.

‘We recorded everything, mixed it and prepared the choreography in just three days!

‘A group of 120 young people, called Kenya Youth for Peace, were brought together up for the occasion. The choreography captured people’s imagination because of its energy and freshness. The young people sang and danced in a stadium full of people: “Jivunie”: “Be proud! We are brothers and sisters of one nation!”

‘We are really happy to have given a platform to Kenyan youth so that they can proclaim to all who they are, expressing their infinite desire for a world at peace. We have become a single family with them. Family: the experience that Africa can give to the whole of humanity.’

Beni Enderle

Argentina: 60 young people from Latin America at a Summer School

Dec 21, 2012 | Focolare Worldwide

The first Summer School in the Mariapolis Lia, the Focolare little town in Argentina, called in Spanish Escuela de Verano, is without doubt an extremely important step, with far-reaching consequences, in the academic development of Latin American young people.

It is not the first time that this little town has hosted an intense university-level study programme. It  already hosts various well-attended seminars and courses in politics, economics and the arts.

The Escuela de Verano is the first such educational project run jointly with the Sophia University Institute, based in Loppiano, near Incisa Valdarno (not far from Florence, Italy), whose international educational status means it can give academic accreditation to the Summer School. Among its aims, Sophia offers a course of life, study and research that explores a deeper understanding of Christian culture, as inspired by the life and work of Chiara Lubich who founded Sophia in 2007. The ideal of universal brotherhood, which she proposed and developed, can be seen in the experience of that culture and in the way it expresses itself. It is a culture that seeks to shed light upon the many dimensions of human knowledge, in its various disciplines, as it searches for the common good.

This first Summer School will look at: Epistemological Foundations for a Culture of Unity from the Perspectives of Theology, Science and Politics. Apart from established Latin American lecturers, it is significant that Prof. Piero Coda the President of Sophia will be present and will give a lecture on The Trinitarian God and the Historical Development of Christian Faith. Prof. Sergio Rondinara, who works in the fields of epistemology and cosmology, will give two lectures on The Relationship between Humankind and the Cosmos, Scientific Rationality and the Relationship between the Natural Sciences and Faith, and Ecology. Dr Daniela Ropelato, lecturer in political sciences, will also give two lectures on Contemporary Forms of Democracy, New Social and Political Agents, and Fraternity as a Political Category.

The Escuela de Verano offers university-level education to young men and women through the medium of an intense experience of study and of a shared life with others. It builds an academic community and is designed to enhance the students’ career development and their intellectual progress in their various disciplines. This communitarian enterprise, rooted in a dialogue sustained by a mutual exchange of experiences, fosters both the personal and corporate growth of its participants.

There seems to be great enthusiasm for this first Summer School in Latin America, which will begin on 28 December 2012. Already 100 university students from Mexico, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Argentina have asked to be enrolled. From these 61 have been accepted on the courses.

The Legion of Honour Award to Catherine Belzung

Dec 20, 2012 | Focolare Worldwide

Specializing in emotional psycho-biology, Catherine Belzung has made a crucial contribution to our understanding of the human being, particularly in the study of depression. This is why this professor of neruosciences and collaborator of Nouvelle Cite was decorated a Knight of the Legion of Honour on 11 December 2012 at the Francois Rabelais di Tours University in France.

In her research Belzung has highlighted how, contrary to what has been assumed up until now, in a certain region of the brain, there are cells that renew themselves and control the hormonal and nervous systems. But what most contributed to choosing her for this award was her ability to share the questions and knowledge of science and to allow them to be shared at a humanistic level.

At this level each one both brings and ‘loses’ his own scientific reasoning. This way of dialogue is a veritable challenge among university crowds, where the differing points of view are often incompatible with each another. Belzung’s conferences are being attended by many young people and students who are thus trained in the practice of dialogue and are opening new paths for further research.

Source: www.focolari.fr

Fidelia and her 1,083 students

Dec 19, 2012 | Focolare Worldwide

Video on VIMEO (Italian only)

“My name is Fidelia. I’m Congolese and have been living in Central Africa for four years. I’m the director of a school with 1083 students between the ages of three and eighteen.

I always try to keep the Gospel before me as I carry out my work for the children. How can I live the Gospel with them? I’m always mindful of Jesus’ words: ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little ones, welcomes me.’ One time I had so much work to do that I closed myself up in my office where I could work in peace.

Suddenly a small boy of six years arrived, and I remembered those words of the Gospel regarding the little ones: if you do not convert and become like these little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so I opened the door and the child entered my office telling me that he hadn’t attended school for a week, since his parents separated. ‘I didn’t want to go with my father or my mother, and so I am staying with my grandmother,’ he told me. Then he continued: ‘You’ve been always teaching us that we should love everyone, even our enemies. And so I’ve come to ask you: ‘Can you do something for me?’

I asked for his parents’ telephone numbers and was able to speak for a long time with his mother. Then I telephoned his father but neither one of them wanted to forgive the other and accept their mistakes. This went on for some time until after a long conversation they were finally able to reconcile with each other. In fact they wanted to come and stand before me as they asked each other forgiveness. They forgave and were reconciled. Now they’re together again, which is a great joy for me and for their son.”

Prize for Young People for a United World in Hungary

Dec 18, 2012 | Focolare Worldwide

It’s not every day that you go to a government ministry to receive official recognition. This is what happened to Youth People for a United World (Y4UW) in Hungary, after they had worked hard for a year in their own country to organize the Genfest. It was a huge event that from 31 August to 2 September 2012 drew together 12,000 young people from all over the world. Among them were 2000 from Hungary. Rita and Agoston, among the key figures, spoke of receiving the prize at the end of November. What was the prize for? ‘At the beginning of October the Hungarian Ministry of Human Resources sent us a message to say that, in recognition of our professionalism at the Genfest, the Focolare’s Young People for a United World was to be given a certificate of merit. We were surprised and happy at the news. It immediately spread to all the young people of the Movement. The minister, accepting our candidature, was recognizing the youth of the Focolare Movement and was giving us a prize. This took place on 20 November on the occasion of Universal Children’s Day.’ Someone within the ministry had nominated Y4UW. This person and the Minister of State for Social, Family and Youth Affairs, Miklós Soltész, had been at the opening of the Genfest. Rita and Agoston continued, ‘Both of them were struck by the dynamism, enthusiasm and sense of fraternity they experienced with the young people.’ On 20 November a delegation of five young people representing the Focolare and Y4UW went to the ministry. ‘The prizes, 14 in all, were given to organizations and persons who had done something special for children and youth. In his speech Miklós Soltész emphasized that all the prize winners were ‘examples’ who, with their activities, poetry and prose had educated young people and, through them, had also given help to parents, supporting them at critical moments.’ In the official citation, the youth section of the Focolare Movement received a certificate of merit for having put on the Genfest collectively, efficiently, professionally and in a way that was effective and exemplary in the youth sector. For Y4UW this contained a pleasant surprise, ‘We really liked hearing that word “collectively”, because it showed us that there was an understanding of our intention of building universal brotherhood by living the spirituality of unity.’ After the Genfest, new prospects have opened up for young people in Hungary, especially with regard to the United World Project: ‘After the ceremony the Minister of State said again how, at a personal level, that international meeting had been an important experience. He said that he hoped in the future to work together with us for the good of young people. We gave him as a gift a copy of Új Város [the Focolare Movement’s magazine in Hungarian] which contained articles on the Genfest.’ Rita and Agoston concluded by saying, ‘Now, together with many young people who’ve worked with us in the last few years, we will carry along the way of building a more united world “together”, as highlighted by the prize’s official citation.’

Sardinia, Italy: In the Buoncammino Prison

Dec 16, 2012 | Focolare Worldwide

Luca Pani (Cagliari)

With some members of Youth for a United World, we have begun a special experience in the Buoncammino prison in Cagliari, Italy. We were offered the opportunity of presenting an hour of catechesis to the inmates at the jails. We divided up, some in the left wing, some in the women’s jail and some in the high security section. This was an opportunity for us to dedicate some time to these persons, “other Jesuses”, who never come your way because of their condition, and whom you never have an opportunity of ever meeting under normal circumstances.

Stepping into a jail is stepping into a society that is completely different from the one we live in, a small world in miniature, with its own rhythm, customs and problems. An inmate begins to lose contact with the outside world. Oftentimes relations with family and friends become clouded and some inmates sink into solitude and depression. But within this world you find yourself surrounded by people whose lives are connected . . . new friendships are formed, new relationships. And even though there is a long term sentence, they no longer find life outside but within the bars of the jail.

When you listen carefully to an inmate, stories, problems and lives are presented to you that are not like your own. And you begin to see how important freedom is and how difficult it is to really live it within this world.

Inside I found nice, normal, perhaps clever people . . . but thinking about it, you also find such people outside of jails. They ask you, “Why did you come into this jail? Who made you do it? Why aren’t you outside running around with your friends? You certainly have nicer things to do than this?” The answer was simple. I told them that if I were an inmate, I would like it if someone came to visit me just to break the monotony.

Then I discover that gratuitous love is not a given. On the contrary, it is practically inexistent for some of them. A gesture of courtesy or love should at least be followed with some respect if not gratitude.

When I returned from the Genfest that was held in Budapest, Hungary, I was carrying a thought in my mind, something I had heard during the fest: “If you don’t change your world, who will do it for you?” Finding myself among these inmates, after that extraordinary experience of universal brotherhood, I was a bit surprised. Everyone fell silent as my friends and I told the inmates about the various events: the bus ride, the food, the experiences. They listened and intervened with interest. We were so tempted by the desire to share with them the experience of the United World Project, and we asked them: “According to you is a united world where disinterested love reaches beyond cultures and religions, possible? Then a very lively debate was begun.

We don’t know what will come of this. We don’t know whether one of those young men among the inmates has decided to cooperate with justice after meeting us, or how it will turn out. This experience has borne some fruit in my own soul, and it has revived my convictions as a youth for a united world. This is one fragment of the united world that is becoming something real.

Our Christmas

Dec 8, 2012 | Focolare Worldwide

For the ancients the Christ was a king. But Christ is a king outside the accepted schemes. He was born  to a daughter of peasants, in a stable amongst cattle and shepherds. While other sovereigns loomed from above and looked down from their thrones dominate and rule, he came from below, from the bottom layer, to serve: under all, the universal servant. And in this service did his kingship consist. It’s all so charming and lovely this romance about the birth of a baby boy in the heart of a windy night – in the heart of the mists of time – a child who has been sent for safety. Because the world was in need of being saved. It was full of evil, infused by a sickness, a fever in which humanity just fell apart. Jesus brought health, restored life and defeated death. When the Saviour appeared a great light lit up the night. The night was still there, but so was the light. It is forever Christmas in Christianity. You never yield to death; you begin again. And Christmas amid her tears, brings joy even today. God comes down among us and we ascend to God. He is humanized and we are divinised. His Heart is the meeting point. From his birth a new people was born, as the angel had proclaimed to astonished shepherds: Do not be frightened. Behold I bring you great tidings of great joy that shall be to the entire population. The entire population, joy: no one is excluded – no one of any class, race, language or colour – for wherever discrimination takes place, there death has its impact. The Church is there for Christ because just as he was born for everyone during that night in Bethlehem, every day he is reborn for everyone anew. And he asks that we do not refuse him but open to him the hospitality of our hearts even though they may be squallid as stables. He will take care of transforming them into temples filled with angels.