May 13, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
Political involvement in the Philippines, especially among younger age groups, has always been a key issue. Over the years, the Focolare Movement has promoted events that encourage active involvement in the democratic process for the building of a more fair just country. A few days away the from election, on May 12-14, 2016, a Run4Unity event is being held by the young people and teenagers of the Focolare Movement with the stated intention of strengthening ties with society. In the local dialect it is titled “Dula Napud Ta Bai”, which means “Let’s play, friend”, abbreviated “DULA TA Bai”. Joops Miranda, one of the young organizers, writes: “The event is meant to promote awareness of each individual’s ability to become a catalyst of a more united world. It wishes to help strengthen interpersonal relationships and to build new ones. It aims at encouraging dialgogue about current issues amongst young people from different communities, in a setting where they can also have fun! We hope to accomplish this goal through the many sport and recreational activities that will be offered. This underscores our final goal, which is to unite people of different ethnic origins, nationalities and religious beliefs . . . to become a family.” 
Where did the idea for Dula Ta Bai come from? Joops explains: “In the summer of 2014, we and some friends were wondering how we could avoid wasting another summer sitting in front of a computer screen, playing on our personal tablet. The initial idea came in this way: we were chatting with each other: Why not spend a whole day (which then became three days) doing different physical activities? Things that could be done together, outside in the open, inviting the local community to join us? Two months later there were 200 of us together from several parts of the Philippines. Basketball, volleyball, light exercize, football, frisbee and the ever-popular “Amazing Race” are some of the sport events offered at Dula Ta Bai. Then, the event will conclude with an evening programme called “U-Nite”, with music and story sharing. The young people wondered how they could develop the second event: “The renewal of our way of thinking and doing, also plays a vital part in approaching Jesus’s prayer “that all may be one” (Jn 17:21)” Joop explains. So we left room for the concept of ‘environmental conscience’ (‘Pagkabana Kalikupan’). We’re trying to respond to Pope Francis’s appeal in Laudato Si’ which reminds us of Mother Nature’s cry, and we wanted to help in promoting an itegral ecology. An integral ecology, as the Pope explains, is an ecology that isn’t concentrated only on nature while leaving out humankind and its needs, but rather includes a “human” ecology. Therefore, following this line of thought we hope to convey to the other young people the value of caring for one another (with sport, cultural, musical and artistic activities) and of caring for the environment.” Maria Chiara De Lorenzo
May 12, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
A Festival for Peace concluded United World Week in Ecuador. It was a veritable expo of fraternal actions promoted by the young people of the Focolare Movement. The account of Francesco Ricciardi from the international delegation that travelled the roads of Ecuador in an experience that powerfully brought out the communitarian vocation of the South American continent. “Traditional and modern musical instruments joined together in giving life to a real feast. Young people from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas took to the stage. The whole world is in Quito today!” “Even from amidst last week’s destruction, we saw a chain of generosity and solidarity emerge,” Juan Carlos reported. Many concrete experiences of after the earthquake were presented on the stage. Jesús recounts: “When we saw the first pictures, we realized the serious extent of the damages. With several friends we began to organize a collection of basic necessities. We worked from morning until the middle of the night, for love of our brothers and sisters.” Natalia continues: “We focused on areas that were devastated by the earthquake, trying to respond to the cry of suffering. At first it wasn’t clear how we could be of any help. Then I realized that I could love by listening and taking on the pain of the people I met.” David says: “I saw open hands that didn’t hesitate for a single second to give: food, water, medicine and money; hands that didn’t have anything to give, but pitched in to help. I saw an Ecuador shattered by desperation, thirst and fear. But I saw faces of joy, satisfaction and hope at receiving such selfless assistance. I worked beside people who left everything behind: the job, school and even their own family to help people who had lost everything. I got a close up look at the goodness of the Ecuadorians and others.” Some artistic offerings made the celebration even more pleasant and helped to enhance the testimonies. Melany recounts: “When I began to sing in the university chorus I realized that, to have a place in the chorus my friends hadn’t hesitated to offend and insult others. One day, I decided to share the songs I had written. It was a first step. Since then everything has changed. Others have also begun to share their hidden talents that they are finally able to display without fear! The relationship among us all has very much improved. On May 8, 2015 we put together a concert of Latin American music with the goal of transmitting the value of fraternity.” Lebanese young people Giorgio and Lara, even though immersed in one of the bloodiest wars in history, found the strength to love everyone: “The war in Syria has produced 6.5 million refugees inside the country and 3 million have fled to neighbouring countries. Nevertheless, hundreds of public rallies have been held throughout the Middle East to raise funds and supplies of all sorts, and to give a joint witness as Christians and Muslims that unity is possible. Concerts, feasts and prayer vigils have transformed the feast into hope, hatred into pardon and revenge into peace. So many families with such poor financial resources have taken in Iraqi refugees. In Syria many have said to us: “Love conquers all, even when that seems impossible.” David and Catalina presented the “Peace Schools”, a programme promoted in collaboration with Sophia University Institute: “The objective is to create spaces of formation in the theory and practice of fraternity, strengthening relationships with oneself, others, Creation, objects and with transcendence. Universal brotherhood could create a politics that is at the service of all: an economy based on communion; a balanced ecology: a world that is everyone’s home.” The programme is one of the concrete efforts of the United World Project. The festival of inculturation concluded with Samiy, an indigenous young person from the Kitu Kara community: “We’ve spent a week together in which we have experienced that it is possible to bring fraternity, unity, solidarity and peace into our lives, into our local environments and into our world. Humankind is alive. Our commitment is personal, but we can do it only if we feel that we are part of a community. Today we were witnesses to the beauty and diversity and the richness of the cultures.” The joy was irrepressible. During the final song everyone inside the arena was dancing! Young and old, children and teenagers: everyone dancing for joy. But it was no fleeting joy, but the awareness that we are many, a single people with Love for its banner. And as Lidia and Walter said: “This is no conclusion. This is only the beginning!” Source: Città Nuova online
May 11, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
“A family’s history is beset by all types of crises.” This was how Pope Francis introduced his speech on the crisis of couples described in Amoris Laetitia (AL 232 and ff.), thus interpreting the various phases with great realism. These pages seem to recount my story, of when as a child of five, I lost my father and was impoverished by the lack of a future, and when, as a young man, I found in the love of a girl, a breath of new life and hope for happiness and then, as a disillusioned person, I found myself alone. But it is also the story of a community that welcomed and saved me. After Renzo’s nautical studies he embarked on the ships of the Mercantile Marines, and during a leave, met Mariarosa and love bloomed. It was such a great sentiment that could not accept distances. He left his maritime job for her, and his new job led him to live far from their families, friends, and the usual life. The entire universe enfolded the two of them in a dream, and both put their bets on happiness with one another. All went well until when our differences, attractive at the start, slowly started to disturb our harmony. It reached the point that they seemed unacceptable, and made us feel like strangers to one another, in the conviction that we had chosen the wrong person. And in the bitter disappointment we admitted that the dream had ended, along with our marriage. So we split up and I found myself alone in an empty house, giving in to anger and despair.
1971: As a young couple with the first 5 children
Renzo and Maria Rosa with the whole family
May 9, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
Itinerary:
- Welcome celebration at Mariapolis Piero
- May 17-20: School of Inculturation
- May 21-22: New Families Pan-African Meeting
- May 25: Visit to the Academic Council of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA)
- May 27: Presentation at the Ecumenical Commission
- May 28-29: Meeting with the Focolare communities from Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, and inauguration of Mary of the Light Church in Kenya.
May 9, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
“Resignation and weariness do not belong to the soul of Europe; even our problems can become powerful forces of unity” For the majority of Europeans, May 9 is an occasion to celebrate the values of integration, unity and peace, as this date marks the anniversary of the historical Schuman declaration that gave birth to the European Union; but for others it marks the time when Stalin declared victory over Germany on May 9, 1945 and rights started to be deprived under the Soviet rule. The innovative process of integration, which Europe dared to start sixty years ago, should be confronted against this historical background even today. Considering the present crisis and the contradictions inherent in the cultural and social paradigms that peoples in Europe are experiencing, one is bound to ask: is the European experience still valid? Do Europeans still want to be together? For Pasquale Ferrara, a diplomat, a scholar and a lecturer in International Relations and Diplomacy, “the European vision of integration – which consists of bringing together not so much the leaderships, but the political will of the different countries to govern jointly over phenomena that are beyond control of individual states – is still one of great insight”. Through integration “Europe demonstrates that even today multilateralism can have an added value if attention is not centred on the state but on the political function it performs to provide for the needs of its citizens in a global and transnational world”. “A Europe that is able to stay together and thus rediscover what more can be done for the world in a better way” – these words of Maria Voce summerize the Focolare Movement’s perspective while contributing towards ongoing processes in Europe. An example of this commitment is “Together for Europe”, which brings together more than 300 communities and movements that belong to different Christian Churches. These form a network which pursues shared goals and promotes a culture of reciprocity, which stimulates individuals and peoples to welcome and get to know each other, to be reconciled and to offer mutual support. “’Together for Europe’ is not an end in itself, but its nature is exquisitely political in the noblest sense of the word: it strives for the good of that part of humanity which is Europe; it aims at the revival of its roots and at its awareness to contribute to the rest of the world” . “Together for Europe” is organizing a European event that will take place in Munich from June 30 to July 2, 2016. During the first two days, 36 round tables and forums will offer the opportunity to share experiences and views on issues concerning Europe. An outdoor rally will conclude the event on the third day. Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will be present through their video messages. Jean-Claude Junker, President of the European Commission, and Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, granted their patronage. (http://www.together4europe.org/). “At a time when Europe is mostly needed, the more it seems to lack the ability to face these challenges”, comments Ferrara, while referring to the lack of political figures with a broad vision. He concludes: “But, are we looking in the wrong direction? Maybe we think that one or more political leaders are needed, while instead we must give more value to civil society, focusing more on youth and their social and political creativity, on their ability to imagine the “Old” continent as a “new” one”. Source: Press releases
May 6, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
Lilia and Paul from Aleppo speak out in the name of their Syrian peers. Their message to the Youth for Unity of Argentina immediately went global: “Thanks, we feel your love and that you share our pain even if you are far. We, the Youth for Unity of Syria, live in three cities: Damascus, Aleppo, and Kfarbo (near Hama). There are 125 of us; 25 are here in Aleppo. There were more of us before, but due to the situation, many friends had to migrate.” It’s the story of Marian, who left for Belgium. She didn’t want to go since all her friends remained in Syria, but had to join her family. «A very important moment for us is the Time Out at 12 noon. We try to pray not only among us, but also with our relatives and friends. One of us proposed this action to a Muslim friend, and so now, at 12, each one prays in his heart, according to his religion. We want to propose it also to all of you, so that peace can be achieved not only in Syria but throughout the world. We love you all!” In Lebanon the United World Week started with the protection of the environment, with an ecological action to clean the beaches, together with #Recycle Lebanon and the Scouts. The theme is strongly felt by the Lebanese Youth for a United World who had already started to act to concretely take care of their own country, starting from the capital of Beirut. They then continued with a film-forum and concluded with a weekend dedicated to the city’s homeless. https://vimeo.com/148202815 In Taiwan, the Run4Unity was held in the north (Taipei), and south (Kaohsiung). In Taipei, also the Vice-President participated. In Southeast Asia they are preparing for an event for young people coming from many countries: Thailand, Korea, Bolivia, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. At the end of the month there will be a sportive event for teenagers, in the name of Run4Unity. Likewise the run will take place in Manila and Cebu, in the Philippines. Many events were held in India which was the hotspot of United World Week in 2015: in Bangalore an International Food Festival was held with over 500 youths, aimed at uniting cultures through food, and also to finance the med-care of Solomon Ellis, a boy who was seriously injured in an accident. In Mumbai, at the YMCA Chembur, a district of the metropolis, there was a mural competition inspired by the theme of peace. Furthermore Run4Unity with games and a short marathon will soon take place. In New Delhi instead, at the Fr Agnel Bal Bhavan in Greater Noida, 300 orphaned children will be involved in various games and sports events to diffuse the Golden Rule .The children, aged between 5 and 17 and from various parts of India and Nepal, belong to diverse religions: Hindus, Christians Muslims and Sikhs. Moreover a Run4Unity link-up with Mexico is programmed for 8 May, since the Mexican sports event held in a symbolic place will conclude precisely in the “Gandhi Park.” In Lahore, Pakistan, activities were held in a school run by the sisters of Mother Theresa: there were 120 children involved by a group of girls who wished to bring them a bit of joy. One of them wrote: “At the start, it was hard to establish a relationship with these children, but in the end, they enjoyed it so much that they no longer wanted to leave. I have changed a lot.” Lastly, preparations are underway in Medan (Indonesia) for a peace concert next 14 May, the funds of which will be allocated to a Country at war. They have been working for months now to gather funds to cover the organizational expenses, by selling fruit juice, singing in restaurants, and looking for sponsors. Through songs and testimonials the youths will share their proposals to become builders of peace in daily life. Maria Chiara De Lorenzo
Political involvement in the Philippines, especially among younger age groups, has always been a key issue. Over the years, the Focolare Movement has promoted events that encourage active involvement in the democratic process for the building of a more fair just country. A few days away the from election, on May 12-14, 2016, a Run4Unity event is being held by the young people and teenagers of the Focolare Movement with the stated intention of strengthening ties with society. In the local dialect it is titled “Dula Napud Ta Bai”, which means “Let’s play, friend”, abbreviated “DULA TA Bai”. Joops Miranda, one of the young organizers, writes: “The event is meant to promote awareness of each individual’s ability to become a catalyst of a more united world. It wishes to help strengthen interpersonal relationships and to build new ones. It aims at encouraging dialgogue about current issues amongst young people from different communities, in a setting where they can also have fun! We hope to accomplish this goal through the many sport and recreational activities that will be offered. This underscores our final goal, which is to unite people of different ethnic origins, nationalities and religious beliefs . . . to become a family.” 
Where did the idea for Dula Ta Bai come from? Joops explains: “In the summer of 2014, we and some friends were wondering how we could avoid wasting another summer sitting in front of a computer screen, playing on our personal tablet. The initial idea came in this way: we were chatting with each other: Why not spend a whole day (which then became three days) doing different physical activities? Things that could be done together, outside in the open, inviting the local community to join us? Two months later there were 200 of us together from several parts of the Philippines. Basketball, volleyball, light exercize, football, frisbee and the ever-popular “Amazing Race” are some of the sport events offered at Dula Ta Bai. Then, the event will conclude with an evening programme called “U-Nite”, with music and story sharing. 
The young people wondered how they could develop the second event: “The renewal of our way of thinking and doing, also plays a vital part in approaching Jesus’s prayer “that all may be one” (Jn 17:21)” Joop explains. So we left room for the concept of ‘environmental conscience’ (‘Pagkabana Kalikupan’). We’re trying to respond to Pope Francis’s appeal in Laudato Si’ which reminds us of Mother Nature’s cry, and we wanted to help in promoting an itegral ecology. An integral ecology, as the Pope explains, is an ecology that isn’t concentrated only on nature while leaving out humankind and its needs, but rather includes a “human” ecology. Therefore, following this line of thought we hope to convey to the other young people the value of caring for one another (with sport, cultural, musical and artistic activities) and of caring for the environment.” Maria Chiara De Lorenzo
