May 3, 2017 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
“May peace be with you,” Omar Abou Baker exhorts, who has been a peace ambassador since 2016 when the World Forum of Young People for Peace, held in Egypt, named him and 47 other young people between the ages of 8 and 23 ambassadors of peace. “I belong to the Heliopolis Choir of Cairo, which was begun for the sole purpose of spreading a culture of peace. Last year we organized a celebration for World Peace Day. This was the first time we presented ourselves to different embassies, explaining who we are and what our goal is. Through our shows we managed to convey to a vast audience that included ambassadors, actors, songs and famous people, our desire to build peace in our world.” During Ramadan, a sacred month for the Muslim world, when you fast from first light until sundown, the ambassadors organized dinners for 400 people in need. Everyone got to work using their own special talents: some got food, others presented songs, recitations, dances, games, face-painting for the children . . . But mostly we put our efforts into creating personal relationships. Together with other organizations we were able to hold a marathon for athletes with disabilities. Their lives represent a constant challenge. Each ambassador was responsible for one aspect of the event. The choir prepared songs to celebrate their feats; others worked on presentations, taking pictures or running particular events and workshops. On the National Day of Orphans the children sang in the choir with us. It was a meaningful experience for them, because by expressing themselves through music, they developed a bit more self confidence.” “I believe that peace is a very high concept that is attainable only if people make every effort possible to render it real. Because peace isn’t a word in an article or a lyric in a song. It’s a common effort that should be based on a whole series of values to be lived out by each and every one of us: justice, tolerance, helping others . . . The only way to actually build a world of peace and brotherhood is to put love into action. If I’m here today,” Omar concluded, “it’s to testify both with my word and with my life, that peace is possible if it begins from me.”
Apr 20, 2017 | Senza categoria
- Date of Death: 21/04/2017
- Branch of belonging: Volunteer
- Nation: Italy
Apr 3, 2017 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
After the historic encounter between the World Lutheran Federation and the Catholic Church last October in Sweden, the 500th anniversary of the Reform has given rise to ecumenical events around the whole world. The March 18th On the Way to Unity Meeting was promoted by the Catholic Athanasios en Willibrord Association for Ecumenism and the Focolare Movement. The date chosen was meant to coincide with the departure of Chiara Lubich, whose commitment to Christian unity is famous. The encounter took place at the Focolare’s Marienkroon village, a hundred kilometres from Amsterdam. Three hundred and eighty people including prominent leaders of several Christian denominations attended. The event showed a people on the way, as the title of the event wished to express. A broad tent was set up that was filled to the brink, until an addition was added for the overflow crowd. The five-hour event included reflection, meals, testimonies, songs and artistic presentations. The highpoint was the moment of common prayer. The large turnout and the fraternal atmosphere created among all, including the leaders of the Churches, made the day seem historic as the director of the Catholic Association for Ecumenism, Geert van Dartel, affirmed. But it was also an “ecumenical feast,” one of the participants remarked. “Unity in diversity is not something that we can ‘fabricate’ on our own, but it is a gift from God,” warned Catholic Luther scholar, Hubertus Blaumeiser from the Focolare’s international Abba School centre for studies. Looking back at Lund’s ecumenical agenda, he cited a few words from Chiara Lubich: “The music gets written in Heaven.” It’s up to us to learn how to read that music. In any case, he went on, from the moment that Jesus gave his life for everyone on the cross, unity has been a given. Our task is to respond to that. This explains the first of five “ecumenical imperatives” that were signed in Lund, which recommend that we always begin from the perspective of unity and never separation. But what must be done so that this unity becomes concrete in the midst of oftentimes difficult situations after years of division? Placing ourselves behind the Triune God of Jesus, we are all called to an exodus,” said Blaumeiser, to go out of ourselves and learn to “think and live with the other as our starting point,” and that is “not only at the level of individuals, but also at the level of entire faith communities.” Ultimately, ecumenism is a process to be carried out with Jesus: from death to resurrection. “Unity begins wherever one has the courage to face the difficulty, to enter in with Jesus into the wounds of separation, welcoming one another even when that can be tiresome and difficult. The “ecumenical imperatives” say that we have to let ourselves be changed by the encounter with the other and thereby seek the visible unity [of Christians] and bear witness to the power of the Gospel together. The president of the Dutch Catholic Bishops Conference, Bishop Van den Hende; the General Secretary of the Protestant Churches of the Netherlands, Dr Reuver; and National Coordinator of the Pentecostal Community, Peter Sleebos, responded to those ideas. Commenting on the orientations that were described, they expressed further motives and thoughts, drawing on their own faith traditions. In the afternoon ecumenical testimonies were presented that illustrated what Chiara Lubich liked to call the “dialogue of life”. This was followed by an open discussion with the presenters. One participant commented: “This Saturday we managed to ‘play’ the beautiful notes of the music that is written in Heaven ‘together’.” “This meeting,” declared Pastor René De Reuver to the Catholic Journal, “was very special. I experienced the presence of Christ in the enthusiasm, in the communion and in the passion for union in Him. This doesn’t take away the differences, but leads us to enrich one another mutually.”
Apr 2, 2017 | Senza categoria
- Data di Morte: 03/04/2017
- Branca di Appartenenza: Focolarino
- Nazione: Brazil
Mar 30, 2017 | Senza categoria
On 18 March 2017, the Youth for a United World Movement was awarded the 7th edition of the prize entitled: “Chiara Lubich: Manfredonia, City of Universal Brotherhood”, promoted by the New World Association (Italy). The award was given on the following grounds: “The Youth for a United World Movement is spread over five continents and includes people of different races, nationalities, cultures, Christian denominations and religions, as well as persons of no religious conviction. It is commended for giving witness that a united world is possible, for striving to make humanity one family through social and cultural actions which respect one another’s identity. The commitment to work and spread the UNITED WORLD PROJECT has been greatly praised.”
Mar 27, 2017 | Senza categoria
Focolare representatives of 21 publishing houses gathered at the Mariapolis Conference Centre in CastelGandolfo, Italy, during March 24 -26, in order to share their professional experience and to discuss their identity and the new forms of collaboration envisaged on a global level. Maria Voce thanked them for their Important work in spreading the message of the Focolare Movement.
