Focolare Movement
Safe spaces
Media Area
Contacts
The Gospel lived: “Lord, it is good for us to be here” (Mt. 17:4)

The Gospel lived: “Lord, it is good for us to be here” (Mt. 17:4)

Aug 16, 2024 | Testimonianze di Vita, Vite vissute

At the right time

One day a co-worker of our center had received a gift of a pair of new sports shoes size 43. But who could have possibly needed them? That same day we learn that a 14-year-old boy we know really needed those shoes and that size! He is the son of a friend who was in the hospital at that time. Her other daughter had also visited our center that day and we had learned that they needed clothes and medicine. She made us understand that she is in need of a cell phone to keep in touch with her mother in the hospital. And…we had received one (a phone) a few days earlier! It is impressive to see how there is always “Someone” who provides us with just those ad hoc things which we can then donate!

A bed in two minutes

We were at the final goodbyes of a Sunday spent “as a family” (so to speak because we were surrounded by hundreds of people) with activities to raise funds for our youth. A Venezuelan friend among the first people I met years ago had introduced me to an 18-year-old young man – Jesús. He had told me some of what he had experienced having left Venezuela alone at the age of 16. Two years of adventures, enough to make an action film, with many moments of suspense. For 15 days he had been in Peru. Talking with him I discovered that he was sleeping on a mat on the floor! Diligently he had planned with his first paycheck (he had in fact found a job in Peru immediately) to solve the problem of documents and then think about the bed. At that time I had no solutions, but we promised to stay in touch. Shortly after saying goodbye to him I met one of our co-workers who, without knowing anything about Jesus’ needs, asked me, “So what do we do with that bed?” “But how? Do you still have it?” I was surprised. “Yes!” he said to me. I immediately called back Jesús who was leaving the Center. He joined us immediately, and upon hearing that there was already a bed for him, very strong was the light I saw in his eyes. It had not been two minutes since I had told him that I would try to find a solution!

Free ultrasound scans

Many of the migrants who arrive at our center need medical care and sometimes even diagnostic tests. Recently, another blessing from Heaven occurred: a medical center near us offered us the possibility of performing ultrasound scans for free. They want to give this opportunity to those who do not have the possibility of paying for these examinations. Truly a gift for so many of our patients.

Silvano R. – Perù

Living the Gospel: “Set you mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2)

Apr 15, 2023 | Non categorizzato, Spiritualità, Vite vissute, Word of

For a Christian, the Resurrection really happened. It was  an encounter that changed every human perspective; it is the event that reminds us that our home is in heaven and it is there that our life must aim, giving witness to the values that Jesus brought to earth. The other is someone to love I am a fourth year medical student. When we go to the hospital, the patient can be treated just as an object to be studied. Each one is a “case”, they represent an illness. Usually during practical classes each patient is examined by thirty students. I quickly realized that this can be uncomfortable and often painful for the patient so when it was my turn to do the examination, I said: “No, I think this patient has suffered enough. I wouldn’t want to be treated like that. I’ll go first the next time.” My fellow students said that in this way I would never learn and would never become a good doctor but then, without my knowing it, they suggested to the professor that each patient be examined by only five students at most. The whole class was behind the idea and the professor agreed. The result is that in this way you learn better and the patients feel respected. (Regina – Brazil) Open a window I had a fall and ended up with a broken shoulder. Suddenly my life changed. All my plans for the holidays, taking care of our grandchildren, doing the shopping etc. fell through. Now everything landed on my wife who, since she retired, has stopped using the car. One day my granddaughter, with whom we often play a game that consists of looking for the positive in the negative, asked me where the positive in this forced immobility was. I replied that my new condition was making me discover that I used to do many things automatically, without thinking about them very much. Now I was beginning to see that there are can be other ways of doing things, like a new window that opens in your room and shows you a landscape that you did not see before. My granddaughter was quiet for a while. Then, as if awakened by a discovery, she said, “Grandpa, I have a classmate who’s not very nice. She swears and is always cross with everyone. We all avoid talking to her and now there is a kind of wall around her which isolates her. Maybe I should open a window to her, too.” I was very happy to hear my granddaughter say such beautiful words. (H.N. – Slovakia)

Compiled by Maria Grazia Berretta

(taken from The Gospel of the Day, New City, year IX – no.1- March-April 2023)