Nov 17, 2015 | Senza categoria
The Assembly was held on 28-31 October 2015 at the Mariapolis Centre in Castel Gandolfo (Rome, Italy).
Nov 13, 2015 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
European Union and African nation leaders present at the Valletta Summit on Migration (Malta, 11-12 November 2015)
Nov 9, 2015 | Senza categoria
“Chiara was pointing out the stars to me along the Gocciadoro Way. I dont’recall her words. Come to think of it, it seems like she was telling me that we had to step out of our little world in order to soar in a much vaster world.” This is how Giosi Guella records her first encounters with Chiara Lubich in the spring of 1944 in Trent. Gioccadoro Way is the street where Chiara lived with her family before the bombardment of May 13, 1944 when the family home was left uninhabitable. It is also the name of the woods – now a city park – that lapped Tentino’s chief town, and it remains one of the symbolic sites of the Focolare Movement in the city where the Movement began. This is the story behind the title of the book about her life beside the Focolare’s foundress with whom she shared moments of light and of trial that accompanied the birth and the development of this new spiritual family in the Church. Amongst the first group that joined Chiara Lubich, Giosi Guella stood out for her simplicity, sincerity and concreteness. She was already living with Chiara Lubich in the autumn of 1944 at the small flat at piazza Cappuccini 2. That is where the first cell of the Focolare Movement began to form. In all the places she lived, Giosi embraced and lightened the sufferings of others, offered insightful advice, helped to find homes, employment and trust. She was the impulse for the consolidation of many focolare communities, seeing to it that joys and sorrows were shared amongst all, challenges and victories, unexpected donations that were then used to respond to requests for help. Everything contributed to the “capital of God’ that was being formed, composed of material goods, but also of needs. Giosi was the generous adminstrator of that capital. Because of her eye for the least amongst the community she was well suited to setting up the communion of goods of the first group in Trent, beginning in 1948. The communion of goods was a practice which then spread thoughout the Focolare Movement around the world. It was inspired by the early Christian communities who put their goods in common so that no one amongst them would be in need. Afterwards, as the Movement spread to other countries and different kinds of social action became necessary, Giosi continued to follow those developments. She also accompanied the early stages of the Economy of Communion project that was launched by Chiara Lubich in Brazil (1991). A biography has now been published, twenty years after her death. It is certainly not an exhastuve account, drawing upon a few writings and recorded speeches. Actually, she was not very fond of writing; she preferred to be “doing”. These pages are therefore quite precious, extraordinarily frank and disarmingly simple. I entrusted myself to those writings, on the edge between news and history, letting her speak. When the recount was interrupted, I was able to interview several people who had shared the journey of a Work of God with her, a Work “written in Heaven” that gradually unfolded on earth, following mysterious and up until then unexplored paths. Their testimonies permitted me to trace several passage of this simple, “too simple” life yet strongly interwoven with that of the Focolare to which Giosi had given all of herself, with her own particular touch. Caterina Ruggiu Lungo la via Gocciadoro, Città Nuova editrice
Nov 3, 2015 | Senza categoria
On the bus I was on Bus 45 which I take to work every day, when a man clearly in a bad mood climbed on. People who had realized this moved out of his way and avoided him. I, however, remained where I was and helped him with the plastic bags he was carrying. My day seemed to become brighter. Another day, on the same bus, there was the same man again. As soon as he saw me, he came to greet me. And this continued to happen. Even a very small gesture is enough to let another person, any neighbor whom I encounter throughout my day, feel welcomed and loved. E.M. – Hungary Tattoos On the train, I was sitting next to a girl and a boy covered in tattoos of a satanic nature. My propensity to look for the positive aspects in others made me think that those two must have a reason for displaying such symbols. After some hesitation, I got up my courage and asked them the meaning of their tattoos. Their eyes lit up. They took turns answering me, but each with the same sweetness: “We are grateful that you asked this question. Usually, people judge us and in the best case scenario, pretend they don’t see us. We aren’t what we seem, we only want to shake up this paralyzed and spineless society.” M.I. – France A carriage for Jamal It was Sunday afternoon. Jamal, a Moroccan worker I know, had brought me some apples. Talking with him, I found out that he was expecting a child to be born in December. However, they did not have any of the things necessary for the baby; above all, they would need a baby carriage. After listening attentively to him, an idea came to me: “Why don’t we ask God’s help together, the two of us? God is the same for everyone, you can call him by another name, but he’s still God. He will know how to find us a baby carriage.” Jamal liked the idea. We were in the open courtyard; we lifted our eyes towards heaven and we prayed as follows: “Lord God, we need a baby carriage. Please take care of it.” We were a young Muslim man and a Catholic woman: two different faiths, yet united in the asking. God accepted our prayer: the following Thursday the requested carriage arrived as a gift. V.M. – Italy
Oct 30, 2015 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
Can sports contribute to building a more united world? Could it become a field of action and a tool for unity among individuals and peoples? These were the queries that sparked up the experience of the founders of Sportmeet, motivated by the sharing of the common passion for sports. “Since we were not sure we had all the answers, we scouted out the people and experiences of the sports world that could help us, and through the years were able to establish, specifically three elements that trace the identity of Sportmeet: the high consideration for sports as an important aspect of society; the capacity and objective to unite the most diverse categories of people interested in sports; and the challenge to merge theory and practice in a framework which tends to separate the sports specialists from those who practice it.” These were some excerpts from the speech of Paolo Cipolli, President of Sportmeet for a United World, which opened the seventh convention organized by the Sportmeet network in Krizevci (Croatia). The intent was to consider sports in dialogue with contemporary society, with the conviction that it can give a specific, stimulating and positive contribution to culture and the construction of active and responsible citizenship. About a hundred participants – deans, teachers of movement control sciences schools, pedagogists, athletes, heads of sports clubs, referees, educators, university students, and sports journalists, most of whom did not declare any religious convictions – coming from various regions of Croatia and Serbia, turned up at the event held at the “Mariapolis Faro” in Croatia from 2 to 4 October. Also present were the local and regional institutions that sponsored the Convention, as well as the national TV channel, local radio, and athlete, Branko Zorko, half-marathon road running specialist and three times world Olympic champion in the 1500-metre race, a native of the place and who has been in contact with Sportmeet for some time now. The theme of the convention “Free time as a resource for the young generations,” which evidenced the great changes and risks deriving from the massive use of the internet and diffusion of new technologies, was clearly and passionately underlined by Mirna Andrijašević of the Faculty of Motor Sciences of Zagreb. Alexandar Ivanosky of the private Sports and Health Faculty of Belgrade (Serbia), underlined the importance of the presence of adults, and called all to face the challenge of seeking creative approaches together with the youth who are often alone in facing the powerful stimuli of technology and the social networks. Milan Čapalija, psychiatrist, and Majda Fajdetić, pedagogist of the Zagreb Ministry of Education, highlighted the various methodologies that promote pedagogic action in reassessing the importance of games and sports. Various interactive workshops ended with a game for boys and girls of the high school in the city’s charming main square. It was a testing ground and at the same time also an occasion to divulge the typical activities of Sportmeet which centres on dialogue as a resource and essential opportunity to promote a new sports culture. As a sign of the atmosphere of esteem and trust which has grown over the years, Alexandar Ivanosky (Serbia), underlined the capacity of Croatian sports athletes to excel in team sports and encouraged even greater stringent interaction to share the spirit of fraternity that drives this group in the Balkans and also in other parts of the world. The convention closed with the announcement of the next Summer School 2016 to be held in the same city of Krizevci from 14 to 17 July.
Oct 26, 2015 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
It was a living experience of the Church that was very important for them, a unique experience in their life that they will always carry in their hearts. That is how the family from Colombia described their experience – María Angélica, a dentist, and Luis, Director of the Ethics Department at the University of Gran Colombia, and their two sons of 18 and 20 years. From October 4th to the 25th, they attended the Ordinary Synod on the Family “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the contemporary world.” They have been working for families for over 20 years in connection with the Focolare Movement, accompanying couples in the process of preparing for marriage, and for the years that follow when the inevitable crises threaten to deteriorate the sacrament and the love. You had an active role in the work of the small groups. Which moments seemed important to you in making a contribution to the Synod? The experience in the small groups was quite beautiful, because we were able to offer our own experience and that of other families, presenting what we wish to live as a family: the dynamic of love that is lived in the Trinity – in which each of the Three Divine Persons is Love for the other. This is one thing we were able to contribute. Also: emphasising the importance of the Eucharist; we highlighted the need for the presence of Jesus amongst families through mutual love; and so we shared with them about the times we have asked forgiveness of one another when there was not full unity. Another contribution was the point about divorced and remarried couples. It is important to feel a particular love for these families. And that according to the measure in which the experience of faith in them begins to grow – accompanying them to the point that they feel that Jesus is also in their neighbour, in the Word of the Gospel that is meant to be lived, in the community that lives in mutual love – their nearness to Jesus grows. We felt that one important point to be presented to the Synod fathers was Jesus crucified and forsaken, since He took upon Himself the sufferings of humanity. In Him we see the one who was betrayed, humiliated, feeling alone, abandoned, culpable, left without an answer to His question. We are all joined in Him because He lived through all that, and in Him we can have this unique communion wherein all are contained in this yes to Him. This was our proposal: that there is no difference between the family that has not suffered failure and the one that has, because we have all feel accepted by Him. We described the experience of many families, also in the Movement, in which they had said this yes with the pain of not being able to receive the Eucharist, but still knowing that they were called to holiness. Therefore, they are not excluded from the invitation to holiness. As Pope Benedict once remarked: they highlight the beauty of the indissolubility of marriage; they are also builders of this indissolubility, so they make a huge contribution as they grow in this yes. At times, it’s a matter of understanding the deep meaning of the sacrament. For many people of our day the sacrament of matrimony doesn’t say much, also because the couple has not been provided with an adequate formation, neither by parish nor ecclesial movement; whereas, it is a part of the journey of every human being to understand how to be human and to discover the transcendent dimension within oneself. It needs to be discovered how this sacrament can help in forming a family and why, through the family, we are responsible for children.” One day, coming out of the small group session, you felt the wish that the bishops would comprehend your deep love for the Church. . . “The relationship and the dialogue with the bishops has been drawing us closer and closer over the past few weeks, closer in knowing one another, listening to one another, also in trying to be ‘mothers’ towards them. For example, if they had a cough, a cold . . . we wished that they would be able to feel that we families also love the Church as they do; that we suffer for the Church as they do; that we also give our life for the Church. We’re on the same journey. As Chiara Lubich once told us: each one of us is like a piece of a mosaic, so our value lies in helping to create the beautiful reality that is the Church. It was very important that this was said – and heard.” One of your own offerings was included in the final document. “Yes, in the final small group meeting the relator asked if we would describe our experience as a family. Then, what was proposed for the final document also contained what each one of us had said. You can’t even tell, really, what was proposed by a family and what was proposed by a Synod father: it was everyone’s proposal, unanimously agreed upon.” What would your wish be for the conclusion of the Synod? “Many best wishes! The hope that, little by little, all families will discover the richness contained in them, no matter what their situation – ‘regular’ or ‘irregular’ – if they live as a real family, to make society better: for the growth of humanity.”
“From fear to trust” read the title of the convention which was attended by about fifty young people and 150 adults, among whom some leading figures of the different religious traditions. The moments for sharing the so-called good practices by protagonists from different European countries were particularly effective. The work done in plenary sessions and workshops sought to respond to the challenges that the European continent faces today, both in view of the throngs of migrants, and the growth of personal and group sentiments of racist nature. Particular attention was given to the role of the media and to its negative manipulation of public opinion, increasing fears, to the detriment of the positive elements which already exist and which do not make the news. From the presentation of the young people, a multiethnic, multicultural and multi-religious cross-section of Europe emerged which is not just a futuristic projection but already a reality. The youths also expressed their commitment to work towards building constructive relationships between people of different traditions. From these four days of work, an updated role has emerged for Religions for Peace in Europe, in which the organization, now active for several decades, is called to coordinate and to work in collaboration and by networking with other agencies actively involved in the fields of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, and in the fields of welcoming and integration. A commitment which not only conveys “our fraternal support to the families and friends of the innocent victims and the entire French people, through affectionate remembrance and prayer” which is renewed in the desire to “proceed with our joint actions for justice and peace.” See also: Protagonists in building a world of peace – opening speech of Maria Voce, President of the Focolare
