Chiara Lubich speaks about her experience of 7 December 1943
Looking back today, we can understand what that 7th of December 1943, the year of the Movement’s birth decades ago, can tell us. It tells us that a charism of the Holy Spirit, a new light came down on earth during those days, a light which, in the mind of God, was destined to quench the burning thirst of this world with the water of Wisdom, to warm it with divine love and thus give life to a new people nourished by the Gospel. This first and foremost.
And because God acts concretely, he immediately provided the first brick for the building, for this Movement, which would serve his purpose. He decided to call me, a girl like many others, and so my consecration to him, my “yes” to God, soon followed by the “yes” of many other young women and men.
That day speaks of light, then, and of our donation to God as instruments in his hands for the achievement of his goals.
Light and giving oneself to God, two realities which were extremely useful at that time when there was general confusion, reciprocal hatred, war. It was a time of darkness, when God seemed to be absent from the world with his love, his peace, his joy, his guidance, and it seemed that no one was interested in him.
Light and giving oneself to God, two words which heaven wants to repeat to us today too when many wars continue to rage on our planet and, even more frightening, terrorism has appeared. Light means the Word, the Gospel, still too little known and, above all, too little lived.
People who give themselves to God are more than ever necessary and opportune today considering that men and women who join the causes which trigger terrorism are ready to give their lives. What about us Christians, followers of a God who was crucified and forsaken in order to bring about a new world, for our salvation and for that Life which will never end?”
Chiara Lubich
(Castel Gandolfo, December 11, 2003, published in: Chiara Lubich, In unità verso il Padre, Rome 2004, p. 130-132).
