Jun 17, 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
My path began on the last day of the Rwandan calendar, the day in which we remember the massacre that happened in 1994. I know that Jesus Forsaken can give meaning to every human suffering, especially the ones that leave the deepest wounds in our hearts. I sense a profound bond between the sacrifice of Jesus and the pain and suffering of the Rwandan people. Under the guidance of Father Telesphore, a local priest, he became acquainted with the capital city of Kigali known for its attractiveness. The signs of economic growth, however, can especially be seen in the centre of the city which looks like a European capital. But not far from the modern buildings there are the common folk, bound to agriculture and selling their products at market: fruit, vegetables, chickens, and so forth. Due to my white skin and tall stature, my presence doesn’t go by unnoticed. I encounter many surprised faces, but it’s enough to offer a greeting of “muraho” or a smile and the ice melts into a nice smile. We visit the main cities of the country by car, stopping now and then to give someone a ride. I was particularly struck by one young woman around 20 years old. Behind her pretty smile was a painful story. Fr Telesphore tells me that her parents were killed in the 1990 genocide. She had just been to their tomb where she went to pray. She and her young brother have been visiting Father Telesphore since they were young. They found a family that filled them with love. I met many other people in situations that were similar to theirs. We spent Saturday at the seminary school of theology which takes in 130 seminarians from around the country. At the Mass, which was imbued with Rwandan culture, I was very touched by the Thanksgiving After Communion with songs that engaged the whole assembly. It was like a sacred rythm, not perfectly synchronized, but incredibly harmonic. At one seminary we held a “school” for seminarians who wanted to know about the spirituality of unity. Right from the start, Father Telesphore clarified for everyone that “this school is not run with books, but with life” and that “we’re here to build the unity Jesus desired, through our reciprocal love.” The Gospel love among everytone could be felt in very strong and concrete ways throughout the meeting. After a basketball match, I found myself asking who had won? The answer: everybody. Where there’s love, competition becomes an occasion to live the Gospel. We focused on the mystery of Jesus Forsaken, which is one of the points of the spirituality of unity. We were all moved by the testimony of two priests, one from Rwanda and the other from Burundi, lands that are marked by mutual misunderstandings. But through love towards Jesus in his abandonment, those misunderstandings gave way to unity between the two priests. One of the seminarians spoke for everyone: “When you speak with the heart, you touch us in the heart.” The last days were dedicated to meeting with families and young people, but also other people who share the ideal of fraternity. We concluded with a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady, which was not far from the seminary. We wanted to thank her for this trip and for the immeasureable gifts we all recevied. (Armando A. – Brazil)
Jun 13, 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
http://vimeo.com/95726085
Jun 7, 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
«This is not just a meeting for educators», one of the participants commented with emotion. «I am no longer the same person I was when I got here». «Fraternity, as a lifeoption is the blood that must run in my veins.» There were some impressions of the many participants from countries of the Southern Conethat gathered from 12-14 May in Rosario, Argentina. Besides these, about 500 educators took part directly via streaming during the various moments dedicated to the theme of the Meeting: “The service to learning service,” “Education for a fraternal economy,” “Inter-generational dialogue, and “Empathy and intercultural Workshop” to name a few. The first day started with the visit of the Governor of Santa Fe, Miguel Lifschitz, and authorities of the other local institutions. The Archbishop of Rosario, Bishop Martin, gave a speech the day after and started by affirming that the word,“fraternity,” says that we are not alone.«In this country God brought us together and the challenge we had before is called coexistence…You are not only diffusing theories but you start off from life, and concrete facts.» What came to light was not only the life of fraternity between the students and with their teachers but also between directors and inspectors, proposing innovations for the benefit of the entire educational community. The schools with artistic orientations and which had adhered to the objective of brotherhood gave their testimonials on how interculturality is lived through art, demonstrating new ways of interpreting life as artists. The workshop on inclusion helped to clarify the concept of how “the other, with all his differences is a gift.” 
The theme on education and training outside the school environment, which is a life-learning process focusing on brotherhood as its methodology, indicated a pathway which consists in going out towards the peripheries with a programme centered on values. The experiences on the relationship between education and technology were presented as the great opportunity to achieve fraternity, setting the relationship between students and that with the teachers on the same level, and as the possibility to bring out the best in the others, and learn from everyone. Also many educational practices that had produced excellent results were presented, and concerned the potential of body language and the golden rule in the field of sports as a way of building bridges in such important fields. All this can be summarized in Chiara Lubich’s educational proposal to be applied in many educational realities worldwide, inspired by love for the more vulnerable, “ignorant,” abandoned people who are excluded from the system. It is a path that identifies the presence of Jesus Crucified and Abandoned: an abandonment that found its answer of love in the Resurrection, which is thus a key to building fraternity right in the heart of the “divide.” «I leave with my heart full of hope knowing that this paradigm exists, knowing that there are a lot of people working to combat verticality, the lack of mutual listening, the widespread mentality for which knowledge is only in the hands of the teacher, the adult – said Enzo of Chacabuco, specialized in music therapy. – This is a different road. I hope the second edition of this Convention will be organised soon.» Source: SiteSouthern Cone
Jun 6, 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
On May 31, 2017, the University of Tubingen, Germany, conferred an honorary doctorate to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I. The degree honours his long years of work in promoting understanding between the Orthodox Church and the Protestant Churches; his efforts for the protection of the Creation; for Europe and for dialogue among religions. The University is one of the oldest in Germany, founded in 1477 and stands among the most internationally reputable centres of study for students of Medicine, the Natural Sciences, Human Sciences. It currently serves some 28,500 students.
May 31, 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
Lake Rotorua is the second biggest lake of the North Island of New Zealand, in the southern Pacific Ocean. Formed from the crater of a big volcano, active up to 240 thousand years ago, today it is a splendid canoe and kayak training ground. A tourist destination since the 19th century, here, as everywhere in the area, a strong smell of sulphur recalls the intense thermal activity which pushes boiling water out of the subsoil, forming pools of hot mud of the most incredible colours from apple green to yellow, cobalt lakes and a myriad of fumaroles. Nearby, the Lady Knox geyser erupts once a day venting out sprays of water and steam 20 metres high. 
The same bubbly warmth was seen in the 170 participants of the Mariapolis hosted from 26 to 29 April 2017 in a camp situated right on the banks of the lake. Also families from the Philippines, India and Korea participated, including more than 50 teenagers and children, and some Italian visitors comprising of two married couples, Roberta & Stefano, and Beatrice & Franco. They wrote: “We departed from Sydney and after a flight of about four hours, we reached Auckland where we were joined by Yob and Bruno from Melbourne. After a journey of about four hours by car, we arrived in Rotorua. We spent three days there and we felt so enriched by the personal relationships created among all the families. 
There were many experiences on the living the Gospel, a workshop on ecology, a much felt theme here, and one on the art of loving, some reflections of Chiara Lubich, and also on communication in the family and the education of children, not to mention the enchanting walks along the lake and in the forest.” It’s no wonder the North Island was chosen as one of the locations to shoot various scenes of Tolkien’s fantasy trilogy “The Lord of the Rings”. But the territory is particularly interesting also from an ethnological point of view. In fact the Island is inhabited by the biggest Maori communities of New Zealand. Up to 40 years ago the Maori language was spoken by a small number of people, but thanks to an integration program initiated by the government, today the culture and language of the Maori (about 20% of the population) have become an integral part of the nation. “During Mass,” Roberta and Stefano explained, “we recited some prayers in Maori, a people whose civilization and culture are well integrated.” After dinner, the Mariapolis included an evening program animated by children and young people which focused on an an interesting ecological theme regarding respect for creation and the environment. As in the simplicity of life in a big family, also in the Mariapolis everything was shared, like birthday celebrations and a wedding anniversary. “They were three very special days spent getting to know each other through personal chats, sharing joys and sufferings together, facing the challenges through the support of the community, and remaining faithful to the Gospel with coherence and constancy.” From here the “Mariapolis people” departed to return to their various places of origin, taking with them the energy and warmth of Rotorua.
May 30, 2017 | Focolare Worldwide
