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“Ibqgħu fl-imħabba tiegħi: tagħmlu ħafna frott” (Ara Ġw 15, 5-9).
Kull sena, Insara minn Knejjes differenti jiddedikaw ħin għal talb flimkien u jitolbu lill-Missier id-don għal għaqda sħiħa, skont ix-xewqa ta’ Ġesù. Hu jrid din l-għaqda “biex hekk id-dinja temmen” (Ġw 17, 21): trid tkun l-għaqda biex id-dinja tinbidel, biex ikun hawn il-komunjoni, il-fraternità u s-solidarjetà. L-unità hi don t’Alla, għalhekk jeħtieġ li nitolbu għaliha b’insistenza u b’fiduċja fil-Missier.
Din hi l-esperjenza ta’ grupp minn Spanja, li jgħixu l-Kelma tal-ħajja. Eżattament matul il-Ġimgħa ta’ Talb għall-Għaqda fost l-Insara[1], dawn issa ilhom għal xi snin jitolbu b’ħeġġa kbira għall-grazzja tal-unità u jagħmlu ħilithom sabiex jersqu lejn xulxin. Margarita tikteb hekk: “Għamilna kuntatt ma’ dawk li fid-djoċesi huma responsabbli mill-ekumeniżmu, mal-kappillani, ma’ saċerdot Ortodoss u ma’ oħrajn mill-Knisja Evanġelika. Inġbarna flimkien bħala Nsara biex nitolbu, l-ewwel f’parroċċa Kattolika u mbagħad f’oħra Ortodossa. Kull darba l-knejjes tagħna jimtlew bil-ferħ, frott tal-preżenza t’Alla. Irid ikun Hu li jiftaħ it-toroq għall-unità”.
Għas-sena 2021, il-komunità tal-patrijiet ta’ Grandchamp[2] ipproponiet kliem effikaċi ħafna bħala dawl għal din il-mixja. Hu meħud mill-Vanġelu ta’ San Ġwann:
“Ibqgħu fl-imħabba tiegħi: tagħmlu ħafna frott”.
Din hi stedina qawwija ħafna biex, f’dawn il-jiem speċjali, ngħixu u naħdmu għall-għaqda fost l-Insara u nkomplu nagħmlu hekk matul is-sena kollha u ħajjitna kollha. Il-firda ta’ bejnietna hi ġerħa serja li rridu nieħdu ħsiebha, l-ewwelnett bil-ħniena t’Alla u mbagħad billi nagħmlu ħilitna kollha biex insiru nafu ’l xulxin, nistmaw lil xulxin, u flimkien inkunu xhieda tal-Vanġelu.
B’dan il-kliem, Ġesù qed jurina passi li, bla dubju ta’ xejn, huma meħtieġa: l-ewwelnett “irridu nibqgħu” fl-imħabba Tiegħu.
Għalhekk jeħtieġ insaħħu r-rabta tagħna Miegħu, nintelqu f’idejH u nemmnu fil-ħniena tiegħu. Filfatt, Ġesù “jibqa’” dejjem magħna għax hu jżomm kelmtu.
Fl-istess ħin Hu jsejħilna nimxu warajH b’deċiżjoni, biex kif għamel Hu, inkunu nistgħu nagħmlu minn ħajjitna rigal lill-Missier. Hu qed jgħidlina nagħmlu bħalu, billi b’mod delikat, ġeneruż u mingħajr interessi ta’ xejn ngħinu lil kull bniedem li ngħixu miegħu matul il-ġurnata tagħna. B’hekk inkunu nistgħu nagħmlu “ħafna frott”.
“Ibqgħu fl-imħabba tiegħi: tagħmlu ħafna frott”
F’Ottubru tal-2002, waqt iċ-ċelebrazzjonijiet ta’ Jum ir-Riforma f’Ġinevra, Chiara Lubich qalet kliem li għadu jidwi sallum[3]: “[…] Id-dinja teħtieġ l-imħabba, bħax-xita f’nixfa qawwija! […] (Ġesù) qal li d-dinja għad tagħraf li aħna tiegħu mill-imħabba ta’ bejnietna, u li permezz tal-imħabba u l-għaqda ta’ bejnietna, għad tagħraf lilu: “Minn dan jagħraf kulħadd li intom dixxipli tiegħi, jiġifieri, jekk ikollkom l-imħabba bejnietkom” (Ġw 13, 35). […] Aħna fhimna li ż-żminijiet tallum jitolbu minn kull wieħed u waħda minna mħabba, għaqda, komunjoni u solidarjetà. Iż-żminijiet tallum qed isejħu wkoll lill-Knejjes biex, wara sekli sħaħ ta’ firda, jerġgħu jsiru ħaġa waħda.
Din hi l-ikbar riforma li s-Sema qed titlob minna. Dan hu l-ewwel pass meħtieġ biex aħna l-bnedmin insiru lkoll aħwa ta’ xulxin. Infatti, id-dinja għad temmen kemm-il darba aħna nkunu ħaġa waħda bejnietna. Dan qalu Ġesù stess: “Ħa jkunu lkoll ħaġa waħda […] biex hekk id-dinja temmen li inti bgħattni” (ara Ġw 17, 21). Dan hu li jrid Alla! […]. Nitolbuh jagħtina l-grazzja tal-unità, biex jekk ma seħħx issa stess, għallinqas jagħtina l-grazzja nħejju t-triq għaliha”.[4]
Letizia Magri
[1] Din se ssir bejn it-18 u l-25 ta’ Jannar.
[2] Għal aktar informazzjoni, żur is-sit: www.grandchamp.org.
[3] “Jum ir-Riforma” (“Reformationstag”) jiġi ċċelebrat kull sena fil-31 ta’ Ottubru, fl-okkażjoni ta’ meta Martin Luteru jgħidu li xandar il-95 teżijiet tiegħu. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorno_della_Riforma.
[4] C. Lubich, fil-ktieb L’unità, ta’ D. Falmi u F. Gillet, Città Nuova, Ruma 2015, pp. 87-88.
https://soundcloud.com/user-63571203/word-of-life-january-2021[:en]
Remain in my love: you will bear much fruit” (Cf. Jn 15:5-9).
for ages 4-8 | Print | Audio
Every year, Christians belonging to different Churches all over the world observe a week of prayer[i] during which they ask the Father for the gift of unity, according to the desire of Jesus. He wants this “so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21): unity changes the world – it creates communion, fraternity and solidarity. It is fundamentally a gift of God, and for this reason it is essential to ask the Father for it with persistence and trust. A group that lives the word of life in Spain experienced that this is true.
For some years now, during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, they felt impelled to pray for the grace of unity and to build bridges with other people. Margarita wrote, “We contacted the ecumenical officers in the diocese and the local Church leaders and shared our ideas. Then we simply gathered together as Christians to pray and used our different church buildings. For example, one day we used the Catholic church and another day the Orthodox one. Each time our churches were filled with the joy that comes from God’s presence. It is he who opens the way to unity.” For 2021, the religious community in Grandchamp, Switzerland, [ii] which is dedicated to the work of reconciliation among Christians, has proposed a very suitable phrase, taken from the gospel of John, as the light for this journey:
Remain in my love: you will bear much fruit.
This is a demanding invitation that asks us to live and work for the unity of Christians during this special time and to continue throughout the year and, indeed, throughout our lives. Our divisions are like a serious wound that needs to be healed, first of all by God’s mercy and then by our commitment to know and respect one another and together be witnesses to the gospel. Jesus’ words show us what we should do: first of all, we should “remain” in his love. Therefore, we should strengthen our personal relationship with him by entrusting our lives to him and believing in his mercy. Jesus, in fact, faithfully “remains” with us always. At the same time, he invites us to be decisive in standing with him as we offer our lives as a gift to the Father. He suggests that we imitate him in gently meeting the needs of each person with whom we share a small or large part of our day. He asks us to do so with generosity and disinterest, in order to bear “much fruit”.
Remain in my love: you will bear much fruit.
The address given by Focolare founder, Chiara Lubich, in Geneva in October 2002 during the events marking the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation [iii] resonates very strongly: “How much love is needed in the world! Jesus said that the world would recognize us as his own and that through us, it would recognize him, by mutual love and by unity: ‘By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’ (Jn 13:35). We have understood this: the present time demands love from each of us. It demands unity, communion and solidarity. It also calls upon the Churches to recompose the unity that has been torn apart for centuries.
This is the reform that heaven is asking of us; it is the first and essential step that will lead towards universal fraternity with everyone. In fact, the world will believe if we are united. Jesus said this: ‘May they all be one so that the world may believe’ (cf. Jn 17:21). God wants this! May he give us the grace at least to prepare for it even if we not do not see its fulfilment.”[iv]
Letizia Magri
[i] In the northern hemisphere this is held between 18-25 January: in the southern hemisphere another date is chosen near the feast of Pentecost.
[ii] For information: www.grandchamps.org
[iii] Reformation Day (Reformationstag) is celebrated annually on 31 October commemorating Martin Luther’s proclamation of the 95 theses.
[iv] C. Lubich in “L’Unita’” , Citta Nuova, 2015, p.87
https://soundcloud.com/user-63571203/word-of-life-january-2021[:]
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