“May they all be one

so that the world is one family,

where the only law is that of LOVE,

where every city becomes a NEW CITY”

Chiara Lubich

Look at it this way. I should act toward any neighbour I may meet or happen to work for, as though I were his or her mother.

A mother is always tolerant, ever ready to help, always hopeful, ever making excuses for her child. She forgives everything, even if the child is a delinquent or a terrorist.

A mother’s love is like the charity of Christ, of which Saint Paul speaks (see 1 Cor 13: 1-13). If we have the heart of a mother, or more precisely, the heart of Mary, the mother par excellence, we will be ready to love others in every situation.

We will love everyone, not just the members of our own Church, but those of others as well. And not just Christians, but also Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, etc. We will love non believers of good will. We will not exclude anyone on earth because Mary’s motherhood is universal, just as redemption is universal.

Chiara Lubich

Source: “The Art of Loving”, ©2010 New City Press (NY)

In dialogue with Chiara Lubich

Rocca di Papa, Rome, 28 June 1978

Chiara Lubich to the youth of the Focolare Movement in answer to their question: “Can you tell us what the Rosary means for you?”

“In order to explain this answer, I would like to share with you something that once happened to me. I was in Assisi together with a group of Lutherans. In front of the Basilica, where St Francis is buried, there was a small niche with a rosary, so I showed it to my Lutheran friends, who asked me: ‘Chiara, what meaning does the Rosary hold for you? Why do you keep repeating ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you … Hail Mary, full of grace … Hail Mary, full of grace …”.

I answered: When you love someone, you want to continue saying: I love you, I love you, I love you. You have this desire to write it down for them, or to send a message with someone to tell them so. You might even say it through a gift, or through a kiss. Think of your mother – you want to keep saying to her: ‘I love you’.

So I said: we Catholics love Mary, Our Mother, very much, which is why we repeat: ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; Blessed are you among women; Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus,’. This is the prayer of the Rosary. We like to say it over and over again because we love Her. They replied: ‘Now we understand the Rosary.’ “

Source: Chiara Lubich Centre website

In dialogue with Chiara Lubich (Rome, November 25, 1975)

Is it possible to develop our own personality whilst giving ourselves to others? In doing this, wouldn’t we be giving up being ourselves?

It is precisely in giving ourselves to others that we can develop our personality! Through loving we extinguish our own “ego”, our “old self” as St Paul would say, in order to allow our “new self” to live in us. It is our “new self” which is our real, true personality.

Let’s take for example St Francis of Assisi who was very altruistic. He was by no means similar to St Therese of the  Child Jesus. He was completely different, with a personality of his own. He would sing to the birds, to nature, to the sun, the moon (…). His message was poverty. He brought about a renewal in the Church of those times, attracting a multitude of persons. He left a distinctive mark on the century in which he lived.

St Therese the Child Jesus (popularly known as “The Little Flower” ) was not like that. She entered the convent as a very young girl and apparently had no followers. Yet she had a spirituality which was distinctively hers, called “The Little Way”.

St Francis and St Therese both burned their own “ego” in the flame of Divine Love and two very original personalities emerged from this heroic act.

It is the same for other saints who are so different from one another. They are different because, through an intelligent act of the will, they allowed God to live within them. And God developed and enlightened their faculties immeasurably; He fully empowered their intellectual, artistic and concrete talents.

Therefore, we can say that our human personality can never be crushed by the divine. On the contrary, it becomes stronger because everything in us has been created by God through his grace acting within us as well as in our humanity.

In conclusion, to give oneself to God, plunging oneself entirely in the Gospel’s revolution of love, is a sure way of strengthening one’s real personality.

Source: Archives of the Chiara Lubich Centre (Rome)

Published in: Living City Magazine, USA (January-February 1976), Vol. 15, No.1 p.4.

See also extract from the autobiography of St Therese of Lisieux: “In the heart of the Church I will be love.”

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“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.” (Acts 1:8)

for ages 4-8 | for ages 9-17 | Print | Audio  | Slideshow on Vimeo

The Acts of the Apostles written by the evangelist Luke opens with the promise Jesus made to the apostles before his return to the Father: God will give them the strength they need to continue proclaiming and building his kingdom in history.

It does not mean they will have the power to organize a military coup or set up political and social groups that work in opposition to one another. Instead, Jesus’ words refer to the profound work of God’s spirit in the hearts of those who have received him, making them become “new people”. Shortly afterwards, the Holy Spirit was to descend on the disciples who were gathered together with Mary. The disciples would then spread Jesus’ message starting from the holy city of Jerusalem to the “ends of the earth”.

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.

The apostles and indeed all Jesus’ disciples are sent as “witnesses”. In fact, once Christians discover through Jesus what it means to be a child of God, they also realize they have been “sent out”. Our vocation and identity as children of God are fulfilled in mission, in going out towards other people, seeing them as brothers and sisters.
We are all called to be apostles who bear witness with our lives and then, if necessary, do so with words too. We become witnesses when we make Jesus’ lifestyle our own. This means having an attitude of acceptance and sharing towards the people we meet every day: in the family or at work, when studying or relaxing. It means having at heart the Father’s plan for all people – to live as one family.

Marilena and Silvano told us their experience: ‘When we got married, we wanted our family to be open to others. One of the first experiences happened just before Christmas. Instead of hurriedly wishing people happy Christmas as we came out of church, we decided to visit our neighbours bringing them small gifts. They were all surprised and pleased, especially one family that everyone else avoided. They opened up to us, telling us about their difficulties and the fact that no-one had come to their home for many years. We spent over two hours with them and were moved by how happy they were.

Little by little, just by making the effort to be open, we got to know many people. It wasn’t always easy because if someone came round unexpectedly we had to change our plans. However, we didn’t want to miss any opportunity to develop relationships. Once we were given a cake, and decided to share it with a lady who had brought us toys to send to Brazil. She was very happy and we had a chance to meet her family. As we were leaving, she said, “I really wish I had the courage to go and visit other people!”’

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.

All Christians receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when they are baptized. But the Spirit also speaks in the conscience of all those who sincerely seek what is good and true. That is why all of us can make room in our lives for the spirit of God and allow ourselves to be guided.
How can we recognize and listen to the Holy Spirit?

This thought by Chiara Lubich can help us: “The Holy Spirit dwells in us as in a temple, giving us light and guidance. He is the spirit of truth who enables us to understand the words of Jesus, making them come alive and showing their relevance. The Holy Spirit helps us fall in love with wisdom and suggests what we might say and how to say it. The Holy Spirit of Love kindles God’s own love in our hearts, enabling us to love God with all our heart, soul, and strength, and love the people we meet on our journey. He is the Spirit of fortitude who gives us the courage and strength to be consistent with the Gospel and always bear witness to the truth. […]  “God’s love in our hearts can reach out to many other people with whom we can share our discovery. … The “ends of the earth” are not only geographical. They can be found, for example, in people close to us who haven’t had the joy of truly knowing the Gospel. Our witness must reach that far.  […] Out of love for Jesus, we can “make ourselves one” with everybody, forgetting ourselves so that they feel the gentle power of God’s love in us. Then they too will want to “make themselves one” with us, in an exchange of ideals and projects, help and affection. Only then can we speak and that too will be a gift, in mutual love”.

Letizia Magri

When Jesus had finished teaching, he sat down in Simon Peter’s boat and told him and his companions to lower their nets for a catch. Although Peter said they’d fished all night and caught nothing, he added, “But, if you say so, I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught such a great number of fish that the nets began to tear.
After a fruitless night, Peter, who was an expert at fishing, could have smiled and refused Jesus’ invitation to lower the nets in broad daylight, a far worse time for fishing. Instead, going beyond his own reasoning, he trusted Jesus.

This is a typical situation that all believers are called to face. … Their faith is tested in a thousand different ways.
Following Jesus calls for decisiveness, commitment and perseverance whereas everything in the world we live in seems to invite us to take things easy, to be mediocre, and to take no notice. The task seems too great; it can’t be achieved; it’s doomed to failure from the start.

What we need is the strength to go ahead and resist the world around us, the social context, our friends and the media. It is a hard struggle … But, if we take on and welcome this struggle, we will experience that Jesus’s
extraordinary words are true and what he promised does happen. … God fills those who follow him with an abundance of gifts; he gives the hundredfold in this life as well as eternal life. It is the miraculous catch of fish being repeated.

If you say so, I will lower the nets.”

How can we put this word of life into practice? We too can make the choice that Peter made — “If you say so . . .” We can have faith in Jesus’ words and not have doubts about what he is asking of us. Quite the opposite, our whole life, our behavior and our actions can be based on his word.

Chiara Lubich

(Word of Life, February 1983)