At this crossroads of countries where the Iguaçu and Parana rivers meet, there is the busiest border in Latin America; the area is characterised by great cultural diversity and the centuries-old presence of indigenous peoples, such as the great Guaraní people. Tourism is the major economic resource of this region where people mainly come to visit the Iguaçu Falls, which are the largest in the world, with a width of 7.65 km and are considered one of the seven natural wonders of the planet.
In her welcome message, Tamara Cardoso André, President of the Human Rights and People’s Memory Centre of Foz do Iguaçu (CDHMP-FI), explains that in this place they want to give a different meaning to national borders: “We want our triple frontier to become more and more a place of integration, a land that everyone feels is theirs, as the original peoples who know no barriers understand it.”
Foz do Iguaçu, last stage
This is where Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán’s journey – president and co-president of the Focolare Movement – in Brazil comes to an end. They have travelled it from North to South: from the Brazilian Amazon, passing through Fortaleza, Aparecida, Mariapolis Ginetta in Vargem Grande Paulista, the Fazenda da Esperança in Pedrinhas and Guaratinguetà (SP), up to Foz do Iguaçu. Here the “extended” family of the tri-national Focolare community celebrates its young history and recounts the contribution of unity that it offers to this place: the embrace of three peoples that the spirituality of unity brings together into one, overcoming national borders, while each one maintains its own distinct cultural identity. Also present for the occasion are Card. Adalberto Martinez, Archbishop of Asuncion (Paraguay), local Bishop Sérgio de Deus Borges, Bishop Mario Spaki, Bishop of Paranavaí, and Bishop Anuar Battisti, Bishop Emeritus of Maringá. Also present was a group from the Islamic community of Foz, with whom there have been long-standing relations of fraternal friendship.
Peoples with common roots
Arami Ojeda Aveiro, a student of Cultural Mediation at the Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA) illustrates the historical journey of these peoples and the serious wounds that have accumulated over the centuries. The conflict between Paraguay on the one hand, and Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay on the other (1864-1870) was one of the bloodiest in South America in terms of human lives, with social and political consequences for the entire region. However, there are also many cultural factors in common, such as music, gastronomy, popular traditions derived from the same indigenous cultural root, such as the Yerba Mate Guaranì, a typical drink of the three peoples.
The Guaranì culture is one of the richest and most representative of South America; it is a living testimony of the resilience and adaptability of a people that has been able to preserve its identity over the centuries with a unique cosmogony, where the connection with nature and respect for traditions are fundamental and can be a great wealth for all humanity.
“This is why,” concludes Arami Ojeda Aveiro, “the Triple Frontier region is not just a geographical border, but a multicultural and cooperative space that strengthens the whole area”.
The “tri-national” community of the Focolare Movement
Among all the Focolare communities in the world, this one has a unique character: “It would be impossible to feel that we are one family if we only looked at our national histories,” says a young woman from Argentina. Monica, from Paraguay, one of the pioneers of the community together with Fatima Langbeck, from Brazil, recounts that it all began with a daily prayer of hers: “Lord, open the way for us so that we can establish a more solid presence of the Focolare and that Your charism of unity may flourish among us. Since 2013 we are one community and we want to write another history for this land, which witnesses that fraternity is stronger than prejudices and secular wounds. We are united by Chiara Lubich’s word of unity, when she said that true sociality goes beyond integration, because it is mutual love in action, as proclaimed in the Gospel. Our specificities and differences make us more attentive to one another, and the wounds of our national histories have taught us to forgive one another’.
The artistic contributions speak of the vitality and relevance of the cultural roots of the peoples who inhabit this area. There are the songs of the Argentinian community coming from the “litoral“, from the coast; then “El Sapukai”, the very rhythmic Paraguayan dance that is danced with (up to) three bottles on one’s head; the representation of the Guaraní people intone a song in their own language praising the “great mother”, the forest, which must be protected, produces good fruit and gives life to all creatures.
Father Valdir Antônio Riboldi, a priest from the diocese of Foz, who got to know the focolares in 1976, continues the story by writing: “The focolares of Curitiba in Brazil and Asuncion in Paraguay began to promote events involving people from the three neighbouring countries, an experience we called the ‘Tri-national Focolare’. Ecclesial life here is also moving in the direction of communion, promoting joint initiatives between the different dioceses’.
It is clear that the life of this region and of the local Focolare community does not only speak to Latin America, but to the whole world. And it says that it is possible to walk together, being different: it is the spirituality of unity that comes into contact with the deepest part of the identity of people and peoples, making the common humanity and fraternity flourish.
A few words from Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán
“I felt embraced not by one, but by three peoples,” Margaret Karram said. “Throughout my life I have dreamed of living in a world without borders. Here I have felt that my deepest wish has come true, that is why I feel part of you. You are the confirmation that only love removes all obstacles and eliminates borders”.
“I have lived in Latin America for 27 years,” continued Jesús Morán, “but I have never come to this area. You have experienced so much pain: the Guaraní people have been dispossessed of their land and dispersed. What you are doing today is important even if it is small: we cannot rewrite history, but we can move forward and heal the wounds, accepting the cry of Jesus forsaken. Wounds are healed by creating inter-regional relationships also with the original peoples because they are in fact the only truly ‘tri-national’ people. They too have received the light of Christ; let us not forget the work of evangelisation and human promotion that the Jesuits did in this region with “the Reductions” from the 1600s to the 1700s. Today we are connected to this history, to all that the Church does, and we know that unity is the answer in this world that needs a soul and limbs to achieve true globalisation at the height of human dignity”.
At the end, Margaret shared what she had experienced this month: “This trip has increased faith, hope and charity in me. In Amazonia, at the edge of the world, ‘faith’ emerged powerfully: I met people who strongly believe that everything is possible, even the most difficult things. They dream and they achieve! I wish I had even a pinch of their faith, as the Gospel says: “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you” (Mt 17:20). From there I take this faith that moves mountains and the courage to dream great things. Then, the word of the Genfest can only be ‘hope’: we lived this experience together: the whole Movement was committed with young people and for young people. It was also an ecumenical and interreligious event that gave a lot of hope.
And lastly, ‘charity’, which I have seen here among you today and which we have touched with our own hands in the many social organisations we have come into contact with this month: the Fazenda da Esperança; the many movements and new ecclesial communities we met with in Fortaleza; the UniRedes meeting that brings together all the social organisations and cultural agencies of Latin America that are inspired by the charism of unity (which we will write about separately). All this says ‘charity’, because every social reality stems from loving one’s neighbour, from wanting to give one’s life for one’s people.
From this frontier starts a hope for all the Focolare communities in the world and beyond. Last December I suggested the “Mediterranean of fraternity” project, where we could gather all the actions already underway and those that will emerge, to build peace in that region that suffers so much from war. A “fraternity for Latin America” project could also start from here and be extended to all its countries, let us entrust it to Mary!”.
A long journey to celebrate 70 years since the creation of the General Council of Christians in Hong Kong, where just a little over 10% of the 7.5 million inhabitants profess to be Christians.
A delegation of 24 people from different Christian traditions: Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and Pentecostal, embarked on an ecumenical pilgrimage making stops in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, visiting cities such as Wittenberg, Augsburg, Ottmaring, Geneva, Trent, and finally Rome to review the past without prejudice and establish a new relationship among all members.“An opportunity to learn more about each other’s Church. There was so much sharing, so much love for each other, and we felt like brothers and sisters in Christ, His one Church!” ”, Theresa Kung affirms.
Welcomed at the Ecumenical Citadel in Ottmaring (Germany), at the Mariapolis “Chiara Lubich” Center in Trent (Italy) and at the International Center of the Focolare Movement in Rocca di Papa (Italy), the group got to know the charism of unity that animates the Focolare Movement and appreciate the work of dialogue between various Churches that has been taking place for years within the Movement, a “dialogue of life” in the sense that, as Rev. Hoi Hung Lin of Tsung Tsin Mission had this to say:“Respect other people’s differences in values, prioritize dialogue and always seek to establish fraternal relationships among people, among ethnic groups and in different cultural situations”.
In Rome, the group was received at the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity in an exchange meeting on their work worldwide.
As their last event, they were received by Pope Francis in a private audience on May 22, 2024. After greetings and introductions by Cardinal Stephen Chow SJ, Catholic Bishop of Hong Kong, and Rev. Ray Wong, President of the Hong Kong Christian Council, the Holy Father addressed those present, stressing the importance of “working together, because we all believe in Jesus Christ; praying together, praying for unity.” The Pope also recalled the Christian friendship that comes from common Baptism. “We have the same Baptism and that makes us Christians. Enemies, we have many outside. We are friends! Enemies, outside; here, friends.”[1].
In these past few days, I was watching on television some very young athletes, mostly from Eastern Europe, performing amazing routines of artistic gymnastics. It was really magnificent to see the way they repeatedly performed somersaults and spins and other movements! What perfection! What harmony and grace! They were in perfect command of their bodies, so much so that the most difficult exercises seemed to come naturally. They are the world champions.
Several times, while I was admiring them, I felt an urgent invitation within me (perhaps from the Holy Spirit). It was as if someone were telling me: “You, too, all of you have to become world champions.” Champions in what? Champions in loving God. But do you know how much training these young gymnasts have had to do? Do you know that day after day, for hours and hours, they repeat the same exercises, without ever giving up? You, too, all of you must do the same. When? In the present moment. Always, without ever stopping. And I felt a great desire welling up in my heart to work, moment by moment, so as to become perfect.
Saint Francis de Sales says that no one is so good that through repeated acts of vice they cannot acquire that vice. And so, we may say that no one is so bad that he or she cannot become virtuous through repeated acts of virtue. So, take courage! If we continue to practice, moment by moment, we will become world champions in loving God.
(…)
What is the Word that God has spoken to our Movement? We know it – “unity.” And so, we have to become champions of unity, of unity with God, with his will in each present moment, and of unity with our neighbour, with every neighbour we meet during the day.
So let’s start training, without wasting precious minutes. What awaits us is not the gold medal, but Paradise.
Change can be frightening especially when the past has been filled with deep and rewarding experiences. However, change happens at all different stages and areas of life – study, work and in all political, social and organizational realities. We may find it especially difficult if we have had a role of responsibility that we do not want to lose.
We would like certain experiences to continue forever. But this is not reality. Remaining lost in “true and beautiful experiences” does not make us live life now, because life itself is change and that is the dynamic that makes it fascinating even when it is difficult and painful.
This was well explained by Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the first modern hospice. She was an extraordinary woman who as a nurse, social worker and physician “invented” a new way of caring for people during the most difficult periods of their lives. According to her, real experience depends on depth rather than duration. “The hours of real relationships seem to pass in a moment, while the boring days seem to last forever. But years later, the genuine times remain forever imprinted in our hearts whereas the meaningless days fade into nothing.” (1)
Sometimes, there is a sense of awe and excitement in realising that these “true and genuine” moments – even when they are filled with pain and darkness – can be transformed into opportunities for peace and light. During times of passage in life, deep relationships with others can give us the strength to face the difficulties, trials, sufferings and stress we encounter on the way. They encourage us to start anew without fear and boldly face what lies ahead. They enable us to reach out to others and embrace the pains of humanity around us: they even enable us to bring the light and peace we know to others who do not experience it.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Time lost is when we have not loved and lived a fully human life.”(2)
What happens when these true experiences finish and seem to disappear? Does this take away the value of the experience at its very roots? Absolutely not! Memory has a great worth of its own and is the very foundation of human progress. Moreover, as philosopher, George Santayana, says, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
People before us have given their lives for our freedom and happiness. We need to return to the experiences that lie at the foundation of our personal lives and the groups to which we belong in order to have the strength to always begin again, even in times of doubt, fragility and weariness.
Cicely Saunders. Templeton Prize 1981
Dietrich Bonhoeffer. “Resistance and Surrender” Letters and Other Writings from Prison
Phot by Sasin Tipchai – Pixabay
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L’IDEA DEL MESE è attualmente prodotta dal “Centro del Dialogo con persone di convinzioni non religiose” del Movimento dei Focolari. Si tratta di un’iniziativa nata nel 2014 in Uruguay per condividere con gli amici non credenti i valori della Parola di Vita, cioè la frase della Scrittura che i membri del Movimento si impegnano a mettere in atto nella vita quotidiana. Attualmente L’IDEA DEL MESE viene tradotta in 12 lingue e distribuita in più di 25 paesi, con adattamenti del testo alle diverse sensibilità culturali. www. dialogue4unity.focolare.org1
Jesus and his disciples are making their way to Jerusalem. When he announces that it is the place where he will suffer, die and rise again, Peter rebels and expresses a general sense of dismay and incomprehension. The Master then takes him and James and John and he climbs ‘a high mountain’ from where he appears to the three bathed in a new and extraordinary light. Jesus’ face ‘shines like the sun’ and Moses and the prophet Elijah converse with him. The voice of the Father is heard coming from a bright cloud and invites them to listen to Jesus, his beloved Son. When Peter witnesses this extraordinary event, he does not want to leave, and exclaims:
«Lord, it is good for us to be here.».
Jesus invited his closest friends to have an unforgettable experience that they would always be able to remember.
Jesus invited his closest friends to have an unforgettable experience that they would always be able to remember. Perhaps we too have felt wonder and emotion when we were aware of the presence and work of God in our lives. We may have had a sense of joy, peace and light and have wished that such moments would never end. We often have such experiences when we are with other people or thanks to what they do. Indeed, mutual love attracts God’s presence because, as Jesus promised: ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Mt 18:20). Sometimes, during these moments of intimacy with him, God makes us see ourselves and understand events as he does. It is as if we see through his eyes.
Such experiences are given to us so we will have the strength to make the effort and face the difficulties and challenges we encounter on our journey through life. They help us be sure that God has looked upon us and called us to be part of salvation history.
In fact, once the disciples have come down from the mountain, they will go together to Jerusalem where crowds of people full of hope await them but they will also meet with pitfalls, opposition, aversion and suffering. There ‘they will be scattered and sent to the ends of the earth to be witnesses that our final dwelling is the Kingdom of God.’(i)
They will be able to start building God’s house among men and women on earth because they have been ‘at home’ with Jesus on the mountain.
«Lord, it is good for us to be here.».
At the end of this mysterious experience, Jesus speaks to the apostles with the words, ‘Arise and do not be afraid’ (Mt. 17:7). He addresses the same words to us. May we face whatever awaits us with the same courage as the disciples had.
This was what Chiara Lubich did. After a holiday period so full light that it was described as ‘the paradise of 1949’ because of extraordinary contemplation of the mysteries of faith and deep awareness of God’s presence in the small community with whom she was resting, she too did not want to return to everyday life. However, she did so with a new impetus because she realised that it was precisely because of that experience of enlightenment that she had to ‘come down from the mountain’ and set to work as an instrument of Jesus in the building of his Kingdom. This meant injecting his love and light into the very situations where it was lacking and even facing hardship and suffering.
«Lord, it is good for us to be here.».
When it seems that darkness is falling around us, let us remember the times when the Lord has enlightened us. If we have already not experienced his nearness to us, let us seek it now. Let us make the effort to ‘go up the mountain’ to meet him in our neighbourhoods, to worship him in our churches, and also to contemplate him in the beauty of nature.
Perché per noi, Lui c’è sempre: basta che camminiamo con Lui e, facendo silenzio, ci mettiamo umilmente in ascolto, come Pietro, Giovanni e Giacomo (2).
Edited by Silvano Malini and the Word of Life team
THE IDEA OF THE MONTHis currently produced by the Focolare Movement’s “Centre for Dialogue with People of Non-religious Beliefs”. It is an initiative that began in 2014 in Uruguay to share the values found in the Word of Lifeis a phrase from Scripture that members of the Movement strive to put into practice in their daily lives. Currently, THE IDEA OF THE MONTH is translated into 12 languages and distributed in more than 25 countries, with adaptations of the text according to different cultural sensitivities.
