Oct 25, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
Sensitive to social problems, as a youngster in Portugal, Paulo fought poverty and human degradation in Lisbon’s poorest quarters. Unwilling to tolerate such inequality, he decided to fight with a group of extremists but soon realized that he couldn’t go along with everything they stood for. Still open and in search of answers he distanced himself from them. He met some young people from the Focolare and learned that they also wanted a revolution, the revolution of the Gospel that leads you beyond yourself and your comforts and places you at the service of others. This process led Paulo to make an even more courageous decision. When he finished his studies in economy, he felt called to leave everything and become a disciple of Jesus and, after a period of formation, he entered a focolare community as a consecrated member of the Movement. In 1977 he was transferred to Africa: first to Nairobi, Kenya and then to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Paulo shared joys and sorrows with his new brothers and sisters, challenges and enthusiasm as well as the love and wisdom that the Congolese so much appreciated in him. On one feast day they compared him to the hummingbird, a totem symbol that represented the joy of living, likeability, the ability to adapt and to know how to respond quickly to stimuli, resilience and the light-heartedness that is able to outdo negativity. Paulo managed to enculturate himself so well with the African people that he became a true son of Africa. It was as a son of Africa that the people of Congo wished to honour him and bid him farewell as they learned of his sudden death on September 12, 2016. Masses, periods of mourning and prayer vigils were held in several parts of Congo while the funeral was being celebrated in Portugal. “We wanted to testify to all that Paulo had shown us in his life,” they write from Kinshasa. “Therefore, after the Masses that were celebrated in several places in Congo, on the weekend we continued, not weeping over Paulo, but celebrating with Masses of thanksgiving and testimonies. It is what is required by Congolese culture. We bid him farewell with dance, a typical drink and a small cake. In Kinshasa the ceremony was held on the campus of the Petite Flamme School, one of the social projects that Paulo had taken part in. After several testimonies, a traditional ceremony took place in which he was added to the list of the ancestors. A hole was made in the earth – which is usually made in front of the departed person’s home – and some palm wine was poured in as the following words were pronounced: “Here we all are to thank you for the time we spent together. And since you lived according to the teachings of the ancestors, behold, our clan now takes you as a model. We promise to live as you lived. We know that you have reached the village of the ancestors. We ask you to come now and share in this palm wine with us as a sign of our good memories. We hail you and ask you to greet all our dear ones that are in the village of the ancestors.” “How is it possible not to hear in these words an ancient expression that hearkens the communion of saints…” asked the focolalrini from Congo. “… an expression of the ancient wisdom that harks back to the communion of saints that joins earth to Heaven … and the love that continues to join us after death?” Paulo was so deeply enculturated with the Congolese that they wished his final farewell to be an expression of ancient traditions and the Gospel. Love prevailed over the fact that a strong young man should die – which is traditionally a sign of evil manoeuvring because of that man’s enmity, his guilt that had to be avenged.” The words of one couple were particularly meaningful: “With your arrival there above we feel that we’re not poor anymore; on the contrary, we’ve become even stronger. You were truly close to all of us, a true apostle of unity, a great seeker of God that knew where to find Him: in your sisters and in your brothers.”
Oct 23, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
https://youtu.be/_fE7VtbWsbA Toward a Unity of Nations and a Unity of People
“I am honored to be here in the United Nations, this worldwide organization which brings together 185 member States, “united” for the main purpose of “maintaining international peace and security”.
This purpose, as stated in its charter, is pursued through respect for the fundamental rights of persons and nations, economic collaboration among all countries and the social development of each nation. Its activities have been aimed at eliminating the many scourges afflicting humanity: war, the arms race, the denial of the fundamental freedoms of each member of the human family, as well as hunger, illiteracy, and poverty.
This, we know, is the new concept of “peace and security” that has been entrusted to the United Nations: peace no longer intended as the absence of war, but as the result of conditions which generate peace.
It is therefore an organization deserving of our praise. And not only does it have the approval of the world community; it also has heaven’s blessing, if we believe the statement of Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God” (Mt. 5:9).
I come to you today, representing a Movement which is actively present in practically all the nations of the world. And although it is much smaller and less well- known, it still has something in common with this great and celebrated organization.”
Read complete text of Chiara Lubich‘s address
Oct 22, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
The first initiative of the Evangelii Gaudium Centre, created in Loppiano (Florence) to become the “Church that goes out,” is a qualification course in collaboration with the Sophia University Institute entitled, “Wake up the world.” This compelling slogan describes precisely Consecrated Life that will “Wake up the world,” in which consecrated persons with their radical choice of life, concur to restore true fraternity and communion in the world. It is the story of Fr. Antonio Guiotto in Sierra Leone: a Xaverian missionary. He had adhered to the spirituality of the Focolare ever since he was a student, and is now celebrating his 50th anniversary of priesthood, most of which was spent in the African country, and out of which around ten years (1991 to 2001) were in the frontline of a terrible civil war which terrorized and devastated Sierra Leone. And though like other foreigners he could have returned home, Fr. Antonio decided to remain in Kabala to share with its people all the events, helping them to continue believing in God’s immense love, despite everything. Very soon, he and Fr. Carlo, a congregation brother who also lived the Focolare spirit, created a small group that tried to live the Gospel and share their life experiences: a flicker of hope that lit up amid so much hatred and violence. But also Kabala was invaded by the rebels, and so the two religious – foreigners, and easy prey to kidnappers – took refuge in the woods. Despite the dangers, his people helped them with food and water, and in turn were supported by the light and hope which the two religious instilled in all. When there was no longer any imminent danger, they opened their homes since the missionary house had been completely destroyed. The family that hosted them shared the little they had, and the two religious gave a hand in the house and with the children. After a month, the couple asked to become Christians and for the children to be baptized. In the meantime, however, the situation started to worsen again. Squads of rebels roamed all over Sierra Leone and the two Fathers had to move to Freetown. It was a forced transfer which became an occasion to sow the Gospel also in the capital. In 2000, an attempted coup d’etat further put their lives at risk, so much so that the Italian Ambassador decided to transfer them immediately to Guinea on a small plane. Despite these adversities, the spirituality of the Focolare transmitted with their lives, progressed in great leaps. The minute they could, a three-day Mariapolis was organized with 170 people, among which was also the Bishop of Makeni. «I can truthfully affirm – wrote Fr. Antonio – that the promise of Jesus that “Whoever has left their home, brothers and sisters, father or mother, children or field in my name, will receive the hundred fold,” had fully come true. In my mission I found that fathers, mothers, brothers and the hundredfold in this life was a deposit for that which would come. New Christians were born, many couples were married in church, and new Focolare communities arose in Freetown, Makeni, Kamabai, Kabala, and also in the remote villages. New churches and Catholic schools were built. After a period passed in Italy, the Lord has now granted me the grace to return to my beloved Sierra Leone to continue to give my life for my people.» From October 2016 to March h 2017, the course of the Evangelii Gaudium Centre addressing educators, tutors and students of missionary pastoral theology, will provide monthly, a two-day session during which the lesson will alternate with practice exercises, in order to become – as the brochure says – “experts of communion” who like Fr. Antonio, “wake up the world.” The October session concluded with around 20 enrollees, and the second will take place from 13 to 15 November. The course directors are two personages of great academic experience in Rome: Sr. Tiziana Longhitano sfp*, Rector of the Pontifical Urbania University and Fr. Theo Jansen ofmcap*, Professor of the Pontifical Antonianum University. *For info and course enrollment in Loppiano “Wake up the world”: Sr. Tiziana cell. +39.329.1663136, Fr. Theo cell. +39.338.6845737.
Oct 21, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
Selfless giving and receiving was the experience of the Youth for a United World from Managua, Nicaragua, during their visit to the small Focolare community of La Cal, a village that rises 1200 metres above sea level near the coffee capital of Jinotega. Armed with some bags of clothing, food, medicinals and toys that were all gathered by the community in Managua, they reached Jinotega after a 3-hour bus ride. Then they drove for 8 km in a pick-up until the road became too rough to travel on. It was still another kilometre and a half through a forest fraught with stones, crevasses and deep slopes that made the trek impossible even for the horses, and the young people had to continue on foot. “You could never imagine the wonderful welcome we received,” the young people report. The village of La Cal was in unstable condition. Its wooden houses teeming with children were without electricity, running water or medical supplies. There was a small shop in the village with some basic relief-items, a small school with one classroom, one teacher and a tiny chapel for when a pricst arrived for Mass. If not for the solar panels that were recently installed, the whole village would be in complete darkness. There were also two medical doctors with the Youth for a United World. One of them, a dentist who began the day with a presentation on oral hygiene to thirty children who so happy to use a tooth brush and toothpaste for the first time in their lives. At lunchtime one family wanted to offer some very warm and delicious tortillas, as the young people gathered the small children for games. In the afternoon presentations were offered for adults on parasite prevention. The very intense day concluded with a reading of the Word of Life, a deep spiritual moment that enveloped everyone. We were all very moved when an elderly man wished to give his blessing to the young people. This was followed by the distribution of goods that the young people had brought for them. They were offered an ex-chicken coop to sleep in that night. “It was so moving for us,” they write, “to spend the night in an ex-chicken coop just like the men in the first focolare whose house was an ex-chicken coop. In the morning, after a good breakfast that had been prepared by the women of the village, we were invited to return again soon and left for Jinotega. We went to the cathedral to thank God for the experience that had changed us so much, that had allowed us know such generous people who live their daily struggle with such dignity and joy of knowing God’s immense love for them – and for having had constructed in the midst of those mountains another small piece of universal brotherhood.”
Oct 19, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
Representatives of the Brazilian Methodist Church and the Baptist Church of the Philippines will also attend. The head moderator will be Cardinal Francis X. Kriengsak Kovithavanij, Archbishop of Bangkok. The theme chosen for this year: “Jesus crucified and abandoned as the basis of a spirituality of communion,” in an atmosphere of fraternal communion and reconciliation, in the context of the 500th anniversary celebration of the Reform. The meeting’s agenda will include theological and spiritual discourses in the light of the spirituality of the Focolare, liturgical celebrations of the various Christian traditions and many sessions of exchange and communion among the participants. Moreover, they will visit the Dachau concentration camp and some important sites of the Reform. An important moment will be the ecumenical rite in the Church of St. Anne in Augsburg on 26 October. The celebration will focus on the memorial of the “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification” with which the Catholic Church and the Worldwide Lutheran Federation had put an end to mutual judgements and anathemas. On Thursday, 27 October, the bishops will be received by the Mayor of Augsburg, Dr. Kurt Gribl.
Oct 13, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
Political instability, economic uncertainty, corruption, religious extremism, and reduction of educational offers are just some of the causes that push the Iraqi population to an unprecedented migration. The choice to remain in Iraq today is a really difficult decision, especially if you are a Christian. And yet Iraq disposes of remarkable natural resources and its people are endowed with humanity and great inclusion capacities. Just think of the plurality of the cultures, languages, and religions, and the various ethnic groups which for centuries had managed to coexist in peace. The habitat of Christian legacy right at its origins, for 2,000 years Iraq has been the natural home to very lively Christian communities. With the outbreak of wars, however, today it has become the object of discrimination and persecution. The most atrocious even was two years ago, when the ISIS extremists took over Mossul and the surrounding plains: in a few hours thousands of Christians had to abandon their homes. With only the clothes they were wearing, they had to disperse amid numberless dangers and discomforts, towards Jordan or Lebanon where they found refuge in makeshift refugee camps. Some statistics say that the Christians in Iraq counted 1.5 million (2003), and today number 300,000. Also the Focolare community has suffered the devastating effects of this barbarity. But both those who left the country and those who remained – concentrated in the cities of Erbil, Baghdad, Bassura, and Dohuk – try to transmit peace everywhere, building bridges of solidarity. However, while in the typical summer meetings of the Focolare in the past, the Mariapolis saw the participation of 400 people, and in those held from 9 to 11 September this year, only 40 attended. But the numerical drop has not influenced the qualitative profile which has definitely grown in intensity and depth, also because the central theme focused on interpersonal relationships undertaken in the spirit of mercy. Hosted in Sulaymaniya, close to the border with Iran, the participants lived three days of an authentic training in mutual love. Racconta Rula, focolarina from Jordan and now in the focolare house of Erbil: «We prayed, played, took walks in a family atmosphere, experiencing real communion. During the session dedicated to the family, the spirit of sharing created allowed us to talk about relationships as couples, the challenge of migration, conciliation of work and family, education of the children… while the youths, through choreographies, showed how one we can become bridges towards the others.» The Mariapolis was also visited by the Bishop of Baghdad, Bishop Salomone, who inflamed all with his words: «Jesus wants us to become yeast for this world. I am pleased that you chose this city for your meeting, and even if you are only a few, you will surely leave in this place that typical imprint of those who are seriously committed to living the Gospel.» The focolare tries to support those who have remained, as also those who have decided to leave, precisely because they are aware of the difficulties of living without being able to plan one’s future, especially for the youth. «We see that albeit the fact of living abroad – continues Rula – they still want to remain in contact. A young boy wrote us from the refugee camp, saying that the spirituality of unity is the only light that is his support and that trying to love others gives a meaning to the unnerving wait they are undergoing.» Among the many experiences shared in the Mariapolis, is the emblematic one of a surgeon in a public hospital. Since the doctors do not receive their salaries regularly, they try to plan the operations for the afternoon, when these are private and paid operations. But he decided to help as many people as possible by scheduling the appointments in the morning. At first, his colleagues criticized him, but slowly they began to do the same.
Masses, periods of mourning and prayer vigils were held in several parts of Congo while the funeral was being celebrated in Portugal. “We wanted to testify to all that Paulo had shown us in his life,” they write from Kinshasa. “Therefore, after the Masses that were celebrated in several places in Congo, on the weekend we continued, not weeping over Paulo, but celebrating with Masses of thanksgiving and testimonies. It is what is required by Congolese culture. We bid him farewell with dance, a typical drink and a small cake. In Kinshasa the ceremony was held on the campus of the Petite Flamme School, one of the social projects that Paulo had taken part in. After several testimonies, a traditional ceremony took place in which he was added to the list of the ancestors. A hole was made in the earth – which is usually made in front of the departed person’s home – and some palm wine was poured in as the following words were pronounced: “Here we all are to thank you for the time we spent together. And since you lived according to the teachings of the ancestors, behold, our clan now takes you as a model. We promise to live as you lived. We know that you have reached the village of the ancestors. We ask you to come now and share in this palm wine with us as a sign of our good memories. We hail you and ask you to greet all our dear ones that are in the village of the ancestors.” “How is it possible not to hear in these words an ancient expression that hearkens the communion of saints…” asked the focolalrini from Congo. “… an expression of the ancient wisdom that harks back to the communion of saints that joins earth to Heaven … and the love that continues to join us after death?” Paulo was so deeply enculturated with the Congolese that they wished his final farewell to be an expression of ancient traditions and the Gospel. Love prevailed over the fact that a strong young man should die – which is traditionally a sign of evil manoeuvring because of that man’s enmity, his guilt that had to be avenged.” The words of one couple were particularly meaningful: “With your arrival there above we feel that we’re not poor anymore; on the contrary, we’ve become even stronger. You were truly close to all of us, a true apostle of unity, a great seeker of God that knew where to find Him: in your sisters and in your brothers.”
