“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Mt 22:37)
(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2011/05/01/maggio-2011/)
Like Jesus, also Saint Augustine gave an extremely simple answer to all of the theologians, to the moralists, to the canonists: “Love and do what you will”.
But in order to love it is necessary to know Love, it is necessary to be love, just as God Who loves us and is Love.
Jesus, making of the two only one commandment, indicates to us that the point of encounter between the love of God and neighbour is the Incarnation. God Who makes Himself flesh, that is man. From this moment the path which leads us to God passes obligatorily by way of man, by way of the Son of God which we all have become.
In the Old Testament the law of love came by way of “com-passion”, by way of the being all image of God, by way of the origin and the common destiny of all.
Today, the other is Jesus. In Him one finds all God Who offered Himself for us and for all of humanity which in Jesus was recreated into a new life by way of the cross.
Thus to be Christians is simple; it is enough to love. But this is extremely demanding because love requires all; it gives all; it is God.
- - - - - - -
An Experience of Life:
Last year, fully committing myself, I succeeded in being the first in my class. For this I received a cash prize from the school. I gave the money to my parents who used it, supplementing the amount, in order to buy two books which I would need for the year. During the vacation, a friend asked to borrow one of these books. I was very possessive of these books, but, seeing Jesus in him, I gave it to him, insisting to him though that he use it with great care.
A month later I discovered that this book had been covered with writings and drawings and I became very angered. I wanted that Jesus might show me what I should do and so, in order to confront myself, I went to speak with a companion with whom I share a spiritual walk. He said to me that my friend had forgotten the book on the table in the house; his little sister had written those writings and those drawings. I understood that I should not be attached to a thing that passes and I burned up the anger inside of me.
A few days later I met my friend, who was mortified and did not know how to speak to me about what had happened. I spoke up first to play things down and he told me that he had already recovered the book with a beautiful cover which covered the “fruits” of the talents of his little sister. I said to him that the covering that he found was too nice and we both began to laugh!
(Rindra, India)
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Mark 14:36
"Not what I will, but what thou wilt.” (Mk 14:36)
(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2011/04/01/it-aprile-2011/)
In these words that Jesus speaks to the Father in the garden of Olives is the arrival to the summit of man’s journey who returns to God.
After the experience of sin Adam, the “old man”, feels for the first time in his heart the fear to meet the Lord and thus tries to hide himself. The voice of the evil one put him into a state of confusion creating for him a mistaken idea about God. Thus he flees from Him and from His will and goes forth wandering about, prisoner of his own fears.
Jesus puts an end to this flight, to this living as a vagrant who hide himself from God. He reveals the true face of God, that of a merciful Father Who wants the good of His own children and He calls them to participate in His own Life.
The man Jesus does not flee but seeks God; He wants that His own heart beats in unison with that of the Father. This relationship is fulfilled in prayer, kneeling in prayer Jesus compels His (and our) humanity to receive the design of love which surpasses us. From the “yes” to the Father is born the “new man”, capable of giving ones life for love overcoming every fear.
Also we, in these holy days, recollect ourselves in prayer in order to take part in the trial of death and of the resurrection of Jesus and in this way to regenerate in us and around us the “new man”, that one made according to the will of the Father.
- - - - - - -
An Experience of Life:
A friend, Angelo, who I discover is unemployed, communicates to me a great sorrow: the death of his new born baby girl. When we take leave of each other, I have in my heart only one desire: to do something for him. The day after, my first thought was: I want to find work for Angelo.
Among the very few possibilities in an area with much unemployment, Carlo comes to mind, another friend, manager of a large company.
But my day was so filled with things to do that I realized that I would not succeed in contacting him. During the Holy Mass I complain a little with Jesus: “You ask to much of me!”
While I was on my way to meet with a person that was going through a very difficult situation – one of the scheduled tasks for that day – I confide to the Father the work for Angelo.
I listen for hours, with great peace, that person who in the end was truly relieved and happy.
Returning home, there was a message. It is Angelo who found work. He is happy. And I am happy too. But his second statement really touched me: the work is with Carlo’s company, the manager, with whom he came into contact walking along another street.
X. Z., Italy
(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2011/04/01/it-aprile-2011/)
In these words that Jesus speaks to the Father in the garden of Olives is the arrival to the summit of man’s journey who returns to God.
After the experience of sin Adam, the “old man”, feels for the first time in his heart the fear to meet the Lord and thus tries to hide himself. The voice of the evil one put him into a state of confusion creating for him a mistaken idea about God. Thus he flees from Him and from His will and goes forth wandering about, prisoner of his own fears.
Jesus puts an end to this flight, to this living as a vagrant who hide himself from God. He reveals the true face of God, that of a merciful Father Who wants the good of His own children and He calls them to participate in His own Life.
The man Jesus does not flee but seeks God; He wants that His own heart beats in unison with that of the Father. This relationship is fulfilled in prayer, kneeling in prayer Jesus compels His (and our) humanity to receive the design of love which surpasses us. From the “yes” to the Father is born the “new man”, capable of giving ones life for love overcoming every fear.
Also we, in these holy days, recollect ourselves in prayer in order to take part in the trial of death and of the resurrection of Jesus and in this way to regenerate in us and around us the “new man”, that one made according to the will of the Father.
- - - - - - -
An Experience of Life:
A friend, Angelo, who I discover is unemployed, communicates to me a great sorrow: the death of his new born baby girl. When we take leave of each other, I have in my heart only one desire: to do something for him. The day after, my first thought was: I want to find work for Angelo.
Among the very few possibilities in an area with much unemployment, Carlo comes to mind, another friend, manager of a large company.
But my day was so filled with things to do that I realized that I would not succeed in contacting him. During the Holy Mass I complain a little with Jesus: “You ask to much of me!”
While I was on my way to meet with a person that was going through a very difficult situation – one of the scheduled tasks for that day – I confide to the Father the work for Angelo.
I listen for hours, with great peace, that person who in the end was truly relieved and happy.
Returning home, there was a message. It is Angelo who found work. He is happy. And I am happy too. But his second statement really touched me: the work is with Carlo’s company, the manager, with whom he came into contact walking along another street.
X. Z., Italy
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Luke 1:38
Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word (Lk 1:38).
(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2011/03/01/eccomi-sono-la-serva-del-signore-avvenga-di-me-quello-che-hai-detto-lc-138/)
Mary is the person who responded with her own unconditional yes to God: she granted space in herself to God. In this yes, Mary is a Mother that generates: in her the love of God truly made Himself love for man. This fact alone is a scandal. Plato had said that no God mixes with men, and had thus indicated the desolation of the ancient world, which warned the abysmal distance between God and man and thought it to be unbridgeable. It was filled by Mary. In her “behold me”, she became the creatural space where the divine entered into humanity.
It is the particular love of Mary, her love as a woman and as a mother: she does not ask, she gives. She does not pretend; she considers herself in debt. And her beauty is to be background, not to put herself before; thus it is delicate love, respectful, hidden, veiled and at the same time extremely strong, because it is capable of generating. The specificity of generating is the fruit and that of love: the experience to be the response.
- - - - - - -
An Experience of Life:
When Frances communicated to us her decision to become a religious sister, she said it to us with words that opened our hearts as parents: “You see, - she told us – I did not seek this; it was not in my plans or even in my dreams. When I realized that perhaps the Lord was calling me to the consecrated life, I tried to push away this thought and to not indulge in it too much. But gradually it appeared to me ever more clearly the will of the Lord in my regard. It was not asked of me to think or to understand, but to correspond with a spirit of receiving and abandonment.” She added: “On my own I asked myself: but how is it possible that the Lord might actually call me, who does not have exceptional talents, who is not better than so many other girls of my age? I discovered with joy that the Lord had fixed His gaze on me even seeing very well, much better than me, the limits, the defects, the weaknesses, my fragility. Thus, I can confide in Him and entrust myself to Him. Today and always He accompanies my steps with His presence, with His support, with His light, with His strength. This certainty gives me a great interior peace.”
These words of Frances helped us to understand that the life of the children, whatever way they decide to take, is always an answer to an initiative of God. We parents are called to be near them always, so that where the Lord will wait for them, they can go with trust and with great interior peace.
(The parents of Frances; Italy)
(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2011/03/01/eccomi-sono-la-serva-del-signore-avvenga-di-me-quello-che-hai-detto-lc-138/)
Mary is the person who responded with her own unconditional yes to God: she granted space in herself to God. In this yes, Mary is a Mother that generates: in her the love of God truly made Himself love for man. This fact alone is a scandal. Plato had said that no God mixes with men, and had thus indicated the desolation of the ancient world, which warned the abysmal distance between God and man and thought it to be unbridgeable. It was filled by Mary. In her “behold me”, she became the creatural space where the divine entered into humanity.
It is the particular love of Mary, her love as a woman and as a mother: she does not ask, she gives. She does not pretend; she considers herself in debt. And her beauty is to be background, not to put herself before; thus it is delicate love, respectful, hidden, veiled and at the same time extremely strong, because it is capable of generating. The specificity of generating is the fruit and that of love: the experience to be the response.
- - - - - - -
An Experience of Life:
When Frances communicated to us her decision to become a religious sister, she said it to us with words that opened our hearts as parents: “You see, - she told us – I did not seek this; it was not in my plans or even in my dreams. When I realized that perhaps the Lord was calling me to the consecrated life, I tried to push away this thought and to not indulge in it too much. But gradually it appeared to me ever more clearly the will of the Lord in my regard. It was not asked of me to think or to understand, but to correspond with a spirit of receiving and abandonment.” She added: “On my own I asked myself: but how is it possible that the Lord might actually call me, who does not have exceptional talents, who is not better than so many other girls of my age? I discovered with joy that the Lord had fixed His gaze on me even seeing very well, much better than me, the limits, the defects, the weaknesses, my fragility. Thus, I can confide in Him and entrust myself to Him. Today and always He accompanies my steps with His presence, with His support, with His light, with His strength. This certainty gives me a great interior peace.”
These words of Frances helped us to understand that the life of the children, whatever way they decide to take, is always an answer to an initiative of God. We parents are called to be near them always, so that where the Lord will wait for them, they can go with trust and with great interior peace.
(The parents of Frances; Italy)
Friday, February 4, 2011
Romans 8:14
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Rm 8:14).
(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2011/02/01/febbraio-2011/)
The Spirit of God has always loved us, even from all eternity. He has followed us along the ways of false freedom, of idolatry of ourselves, as the shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep, as the Father who waits for the son, with infinite patience, in the doorway of the house, ready to make a great feast. He searched for us in the labyrinths of life where we lost ourselves, with the anxiety with which one seeks for the precious coin, as if it were His only treasure.
He allowed Himself to be annihilated by death, He descended down to the lowest level of the underworld in order to not loose anyone, even to feel as if forsaken, emptied in the Soul of His essence, Love. By this we have been called back to life in the life of Jesus Who embraced and held us tightly to Him and thus brought back to be able to breath the Spirit of the Father.
The Spirit of God allows us to say “Abbà”, Father. How can we live as children of God?
- - - - - - -
An Experience of Life:
We have been married for 26 years and we have three children who are still in school. I work as a hospital doctor, but my wife, after the birth of the third child, left her work as a physical therapist in order to dedicate herself to the family and to be able to confront together, according to ones own possibilities and capacities, the normal daily undertakings and, sometimes, the difficult moments.
It has helped us a lot to dialogue and to confront the problems immediately, convinced to be able to always find the most adequate solution, as in the occasion of the decision of our son and his girl friend, to renounce the life that they had conceived. It is understandable their uneasiness, but not justifiable their behaviour and in particular their decision. The law permits it; the conscience does not! There is no difficulty to do what they intended to do – guaranteed privacy, unknown to anyone, except the consciences. A shocking declaration, devastating for the fact and its possible consequences.
How to respond? “Let us give them a hand!” It is this that we said in unison, after a few minutes of dismay, of silence, of understanding arrived at only with intense reciprocal looks, without reflecting too much, omitting the “ifs” and the “buts”, certain of one thing: their decision expressed an evident plea for help in order to understand, to act. The subsequent dialogues and silences indicated the different dynamics. The diversity of ideas, of convictions, of external and intermediate positions, gave way to go forward together along a way that was not easy but illuminated by the sure beacon of the goal: Life always and anyway.
In the end we pronounced all together a clear “yes” to life, a liberating “yes”, enthusiastic in the successive choices for the practical and concrete commitments. The idea unleashed action, enthusiasm, involving other people, “in the face” of privacy, of shame, of interested conformism or of empty dignity. Love, sincerity, dialogue and availability are always the winning weapons. Boldness and courage must always prevail over insipid timidity.
Principles and values must be the object of discussion but never put in question: life if the most beautiful gift that God has given us!
Paolo (Verona, Italy)
(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2011/02/01/febbraio-2011/)
The Spirit of God has always loved us, even from all eternity. He has followed us along the ways of false freedom, of idolatry of ourselves, as the shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep, as the Father who waits for the son, with infinite patience, in the doorway of the house, ready to make a great feast. He searched for us in the labyrinths of life where we lost ourselves, with the anxiety with which one seeks for the precious coin, as if it were His only treasure.
He allowed Himself to be annihilated by death, He descended down to the lowest level of the underworld in order to not loose anyone, even to feel as if forsaken, emptied in the Soul of His essence, Love. By this we have been called back to life in the life of Jesus Who embraced and held us tightly to Him and thus brought back to be able to breath the Spirit of the Father.
The Spirit of God allows us to say “Abbà”, Father. How can we live as children of God?
- - - - - - -
An Experience of Life:
We have been married for 26 years and we have three children who are still in school. I work as a hospital doctor, but my wife, after the birth of the third child, left her work as a physical therapist in order to dedicate herself to the family and to be able to confront together, according to ones own possibilities and capacities, the normal daily undertakings and, sometimes, the difficult moments.
It has helped us a lot to dialogue and to confront the problems immediately, convinced to be able to always find the most adequate solution, as in the occasion of the decision of our son and his girl friend, to renounce the life that they had conceived. It is understandable their uneasiness, but not justifiable their behaviour and in particular their decision. The law permits it; the conscience does not! There is no difficulty to do what they intended to do – guaranteed privacy, unknown to anyone, except the consciences. A shocking declaration, devastating for the fact and its possible consequences.
How to respond? “Let us give them a hand!” It is this that we said in unison, after a few minutes of dismay, of silence, of understanding arrived at only with intense reciprocal looks, without reflecting too much, omitting the “ifs” and the “buts”, certain of one thing: their decision expressed an evident plea for help in order to understand, to act. The subsequent dialogues and silences indicated the different dynamics. The diversity of ideas, of convictions, of external and intermediate positions, gave way to go forward together along a way that was not easy but illuminated by the sure beacon of the goal: Life always and anyway.
In the end we pronounced all together a clear “yes” to life, a liberating “yes”, enthusiastic in the successive choices for the practical and concrete commitments. The idea unleashed action, enthusiasm, involving other people, “in the face” of privacy, of shame, of interested conformism or of empty dignity. Love, sincerity, dialogue and availability are always the winning weapons. Boldness and courage must always prevail over insipid timidity.
Principles and values must be the object of discussion but never put in question: life if the most beautiful gift that God has given us!
Paolo (Verona, Italy)
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Acts 4:32
The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, as everything they owned was held in common. (Acts 4:32)
(http://www.domusviridis.org.uk/wol/1994/199401.htm)
BUILDING NEW RELATIONSHIPS
In inter-human relations giving requires receiving, because it is giving and receiving that create communion, fraternity and consequently equality.
Giving means then to share, the communion of spiritual and material goods. With these attitudes of giving we overcome other attitudes of giving which exist in the civilization of having: that which offends because they are flawed by the desire for power over others; that which in the act of giving one seeks ones own satisfaction, ones own vainglory; that “utilitarian” that even though giving, it is finalized and directed to ones own usefulness, ones own gain.
True giving that creates new relationships is that which Jesus taught us in the Gospel. That giving which, lived by the first Christians, did such that one could say of them: “they were of one heart and soul and among them there was no one in need” (cf. At 4,32).
Nothing less than this is required of Christians today in order to construct a united world.
Chiara Lubich said at a large gathering of youth at Palaeur in Rome in 1990:
“Jesus defined the commandment of love “mine” and “new”, because it is typically His, having filled it with a very new and singular content. “Love one another – He said – as I have love you”. And He gave His life for us. Thus in this love there is in play here ones life. And a love that is ready to give ones life is what He asks of us also toward our brothers. It is not sufficient for a Christian only friendship or benevolence toward others; philanthropy is not enough, nor even solidarity alone. The love that Jesus asks is not exhausted in non-violence. It is something active, very active. It requires that one no longer live for oneself, but for others. And this requires sacrifice, fatigue. It asks of everyone to transform themselves from cowardly and egotistical people, concentrated on their own interests, their own things, into little daily heroes, day after day, they are at the service of the brothers, ready to give even their lives in their favor”.
In these relationships that come untied in everyday life and in the strong moments of life, the person arrives to the maturity of emancipation, and, thus, of authentic sociality.
Vera Araujo
(Vera Araujo is a Brazilian sociologist; she teaches social doctrine of the Church in the international citadel of Loppiano and collaborates with various magazines. Beyond being a consultant to the Movement "New Humanity" – a social expression of the Focolare Movement – she took part as an "expert" at the Fourth Conference of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) held in 1992 in Santo Domingo.)
- - - - - - -
An Experience of Life:
I have always been attached to my cloths and each year I tended to accumulate them. A month ago, during the change of season, I realized how much I was conditioned by this attachment; I felt a strong push to eliminate from the closet all that was superfluous. In the end I ended up with a few things and a great freedom of heart; I discovered the beauty and the importance of the communion of material goods!
This little cutting permitted me to re-give the proper value to things putting again God in the first place.
(A seventeen year old girl)
(http://www.domusviridis.org.uk/wol/1994/199401.htm)
BUILDING NEW RELATIONSHIPS
In inter-human relations giving requires receiving, because it is giving and receiving that create communion, fraternity and consequently equality.
Giving means then to share, the communion of spiritual and material goods. With these attitudes of giving we overcome other attitudes of giving which exist in the civilization of having: that which offends because they are flawed by the desire for power over others; that which in the act of giving one seeks ones own satisfaction, ones own vainglory; that “utilitarian” that even though giving, it is finalized and directed to ones own usefulness, ones own gain.
True giving that creates new relationships is that which Jesus taught us in the Gospel. That giving which, lived by the first Christians, did such that one could say of them: “they were of one heart and soul and among them there was no one in need” (cf. At 4,32).
Nothing less than this is required of Christians today in order to construct a united world.
Chiara Lubich said at a large gathering of youth at Palaeur in Rome in 1990:
“Jesus defined the commandment of love “mine” and “new”, because it is typically His, having filled it with a very new and singular content. “Love one another – He said – as I have love you”. And He gave His life for us. Thus in this love there is in play here ones life. And a love that is ready to give ones life is what He asks of us also toward our brothers. It is not sufficient for a Christian only friendship or benevolence toward others; philanthropy is not enough, nor even solidarity alone. The love that Jesus asks is not exhausted in non-violence. It is something active, very active. It requires that one no longer live for oneself, but for others. And this requires sacrifice, fatigue. It asks of everyone to transform themselves from cowardly and egotistical people, concentrated on their own interests, their own things, into little daily heroes, day after day, they are at the service of the brothers, ready to give even their lives in their favor”.
In these relationships that come untied in everyday life and in the strong moments of life, the person arrives to the maturity of emancipation, and, thus, of authentic sociality.
Vera Araujo
(Vera Araujo is a Brazilian sociologist; she teaches social doctrine of the Church in the international citadel of Loppiano and collaborates with various magazines. Beyond being a consultant to the Movement "New Humanity" – a social expression of the Focolare Movement – she took part as an "expert" at the Fourth Conference of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) held in 1992 in Santo Domingo.)
- - - - - - -
An Experience of Life:
I have always been attached to my cloths and each year I tended to accumulate them. A month ago, during the change of season, I realized how much I was conditioned by this attachment; I felt a strong push to eliminate from the closet all that was superfluous. In the end I ended up with a few things and a great freedom of heart; I discovered the beauty and the importance of the communion of material goods!
This little cutting permitted me to re-give the proper value to things putting again God in the first place.
(A seventeen year old girl)
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Luke 1:37
For with God nothing will be impossible! (Lk 1:37)
(http://www.domusviridis.org.uk/wol/1999/wol9912.htm)
These words were spoken by the Archangel Gabriel to Mary. I would like to quote the words of a Servant of God, Igino Giordani. He was a writer, a journalist, a politician, an ecumenist and patrologist; he is one the persons who most represents the twentieth century, a many-sided personality that has left deep imprints and opened prophetic prospectives on the cultural, political, ecclesial and social levels. (1984-1980). (http://www.scamat.it/news/iginogiordani.htm; http://www.iginogiordani.info/). The following quote reads better in Italian because it is closer to being poetry than pros. (http://www.indaco-torino.net/liturgia/08122005.htm)
- - -
Full of grace, the Lord is with you! (Lk 1:28)
Mary enters into history while she prays. The archangel surprises her in prayer. Her joy is to pray: her life is to pray. To pray is to converse with the Lord, to effuse oneself in Him, to give oneself to Him. What does it matter the misery of the cubbyhole, dugout in the tuff, from walls which ooze with the water from the hills or burns under the sun on the plain, when against her, on the sand dunes, one can build the richness of the love of God, distilled in the colloquy between the daughter and the Father, between the handmaid and the King, between nothingness and All? Mary lost herself and found the Eternal.
And all of this for an intense heat of love, where she was transfigured at the feet of God. The prayer of Mary was transfusion of love. (…)
Mary is the whole religion, all of virtue: truly in her the love of God made Itself love of man and, in the ardor and light, generated the purity on the foundation of humility with the expression of wisdom, virtue protected by silence.
Marian love does not ask; it gives. It does not pretend; it considers itself in debt. If it is left alone, it endures; if it is ignored, it rejoices; if it is trampled on, it leaps in God. It makes of Calvary on earth a springboard to heaven. Where it is re-loved, it is well; where it is not loved, it draws nearer to the Crucified One.
It is not regretful if it is not understood. Hidden, it is more valid: as at Nazareth. It draws its value in seeing, with its help, the brother rejoices and is lifted up, even if the loving soul, in itself, is discouraged. What merit of love there is in making itself one with the one loved, even if the one loved resists unity. Its beauty is in submitting itself; it obeys, not commands; it disappears, it does not appear; it is silent, it does not defend itself. Like Mary: the handmaid of the Lord, in whom one sees that if one make oneself nothing, one thus obtains the All. For this making herself nothing, Mary, a humble daughter of peasant craftsmen, in a remote village, was considered worthy to become the Mother of God.
(Taken from “Mary the Perfect Model” (“Maria modello perfetto” by Igino Giordani).
- - - - - - -
An Experience of Life:
I have on my study desk two very beautiful images, with captions of equal status: the Most Holy Trinity of the Jubilee (“Thou dost beset me behind and before” Psalm 139) and our Lady (“Mary, Mother of tenderness and mercy, you are the image and sign of the new creation”).
I draw from these icons for my daily prayer. In particular I pray to the Lord to help me to grow spiritually, in order to give witness in my life as a young person, in a world that is changing, according to the design that He has given to me.
To Mary, who knew how to recognize the will of God for herself, who received it with joy, who with courage brought it to fulfillment, I ask for her presence and for her love in order to accomplish the steps that bring me to the realization of the mission of God for me.
I am certain in this way to “contemplate the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”, in the expectation of Paradise.
Franceso (Italy)
(http://www.domusviridis.org.uk/wol/1999/wol9912.htm)
These words were spoken by the Archangel Gabriel to Mary. I would like to quote the words of a Servant of God, Igino Giordani. He was a writer, a journalist, a politician, an ecumenist and patrologist; he is one the persons who most represents the twentieth century, a many-sided personality that has left deep imprints and opened prophetic prospectives on the cultural, political, ecclesial and social levels. (1984-1980). (http://www.scamat.it/news/iginogiordani.htm; http://www.iginogiordani.info/). The following quote reads better in Italian because it is closer to being poetry than pros. (http://www.indaco-torino.net/liturgia/08122005.htm)
- - -
Full of grace, the Lord is with you! (Lk 1:28)
Mary enters into history while she prays. The archangel surprises her in prayer. Her joy is to pray: her life is to pray. To pray is to converse with the Lord, to effuse oneself in Him, to give oneself to Him. What does it matter the misery of the cubbyhole, dugout in the tuff, from walls which ooze with the water from the hills or burns under the sun on the plain, when against her, on the sand dunes, one can build the richness of the love of God, distilled in the colloquy between the daughter and the Father, between the handmaid and the King, between nothingness and All? Mary lost herself and found the Eternal.
And all of this for an intense heat of love, where she was transfigured at the feet of God. The prayer of Mary was transfusion of love. (…)
Mary is the whole religion, all of virtue: truly in her the love of God made Itself love of man and, in the ardor and light, generated the purity on the foundation of humility with the expression of wisdom, virtue protected by silence.
Marian love does not ask; it gives. It does not pretend; it considers itself in debt. If it is left alone, it endures; if it is ignored, it rejoices; if it is trampled on, it leaps in God. It makes of Calvary on earth a springboard to heaven. Where it is re-loved, it is well; where it is not loved, it draws nearer to the Crucified One.
It is not regretful if it is not understood. Hidden, it is more valid: as at Nazareth. It draws its value in seeing, with its help, the brother rejoices and is lifted up, even if the loving soul, in itself, is discouraged. What merit of love there is in making itself one with the one loved, even if the one loved resists unity. Its beauty is in submitting itself; it obeys, not commands; it disappears, it does not appear; it is silent, it does not defend itself. Like Mary: the handmaid of the Lord, in whom one sees that if one make oneself nothing, one thus obtains the All. For this making herself nothing, Mary, a humble daughter of peasant craftsmen, in a remote village, was considered worthy to become the Mother of God.
(Taken from “Mary the Perfect Model” (“Maria modello perfetto” by Igino Giordani).
- - - - - - -
An Experience of Life:
I have on my study desk two very beautiful images, with captions of equal status: the Most Holy Trinity of the Jubilee (“Thou dost beset me behind and before” Psalm 139) and our Lady (“Mary, Mother of tenderness and mercy, you are the image and sign of the new creation”).
I draw from these icons for my daily prayer. In particular I pray to the Lord to help me to grow spiritually, in order to give witness in my life as a young person, in a world that is changing, according to the design that He has given to me.
To Mary, who knew how to recognize the will of God for herself, who received it with joy, who with courage brought it to fulfillment, I ask for her presence and for her love in order to accomplish the steps that bring me to the realization of the mission of God for me.
I am certain in this way to “contemplate the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”, in the expectation of Paradise.
Franceso (Italy)
Friday, November 5, 2010
Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matt. 5:8).
(http://www.domusviridis.org.uk/wol/1999/wol9911.htm)
We know that the Beatitudes are not a negative presentation of Christianity. The image before us is that of a king who in his program inserts a special attention for the category of the weaker ones, as the object of predilection.
The beatitudes are therefore not moral virtues but gifts of a new prospective.
Who then are the pure of heart? They are the simple people, without hidden wrinkles, who know how to see God in life and in the phenomena of nature, as a sun which shines from within everything and behind everything in existence. They are the ones who do not fall into the malice of suspicion as their only criteria to judge their neighbor, but live the phrase of Jesus: “If your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light” (Mt 6:22).
Our job is to purify our outlook, and life will be immediately, now, blessed. The saints are our first models.
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An Experience of Life:
I go to the school of cinematography. Even today the professor is shelling us with images of naked pseudo art. He says that he does this to prepare us for the work that we will have to encounter in the future. At the end of the lesson, I went to him: “I would like to say to you that I disapprove of the constant study of these images in order to acquire our professional licence”. His reply was cold: “Miss, you have something inside of you that is not resolved, but I am not the one to psychoanalyse you”.
I was not frightened; I listen to him and I remained in the reality that I had in my heart: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”. As we continued to talk for a while he began to abandon his professorial tone. “If you knew how many times I cried because I had to do something that was against my principles! – he confided to me in the end. - But life has taught me to put up with everything, and you too will do the same!”
Unexpectedly the following day, the professor invited me to express my thoughts to the class regarding the sexual scenes. I looked at my companions: I knew that the greater part of them had very confusing ideas and I felt that it was the moment to transmit, with love, my certainty regarding the respect for others and for life. The professor supported me and declared that he shared my reflections.
After a few days, my companions came to tell me that they were in agreement with me, but they never before had the courage to express themselves freely. I took this opportunity to speak also about their difficulties and sentiments. They asked my advise. I emptied myself interiorly in order to receive each one of them. I listened to them thoroughly and they discovered by themselves the answers that they needed while rediscovering the values that they did know that they had in their hearts. There was born among all of us a freedom and a confidence unimaginable only a few days before. Jesus entered the school of cinematography and He is making headway in the souls of my companions. Only He is the medicine that can cure from the inside the confusion and the sicknesses of our society. (Sonia A. – Argentina).
(http://www.domusviridis.org.uk/wol/1999/wol9911.htm)
We know that the Beatitudes are not a negative presentation of Christianity. The image before us is that of a king who in his program inserts a special attention for the category of the weaker ones, as the object of predilection.
The beatitudes are therefore not moral virtues but gifts of a new prospective.
Who then are the pure of heart? They are the simple people, without hidden wrinkles, who know how to see God in life and in the phenomena of nature, as a sun which shines from within everything and behind everything in existence. They are the ones who do not fall into the malice of suspicion as their only criteria to judge their neighbor, but live the phrase of Jesus: “If your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light” (Mt 6:22).
Our job is to purify our outlook, and life will be immediately, now, blessed. The saints are our first models.
- - - - - - -
An Experience of Life:
I go to the school of cinematography. Even today the professor is shelling us with images of naked pseudo art. He says that he does this to prepare us for the work that we will have to encounter in the future. At the end of the lesson, I went to him: “I would like to say to you that I disapprove of the constant study of these images in order to acquire our professional licence”. His reply was cold: “Miss, you have something inside of you that is not resolved, but I am not the one to psychoanalyse you”.
I was not frightened; I listen to him and I remained in the reality that I had in my heart: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”. As we continued to talk for a while he began to abandon his professorial tone. “If you knew how many times I cried because I had to do something that was against my principles! – he confided to me in the end. - But life has taught me to put up with everything, and you too will do the same!”
Unexpectedly the following day, the professor invited me to express my thoughts to the class regarding the sexual scenes. I looked at my companions: I knew that the greater part of them had very confusing ideas and I felt that it was the moment to transmit, with love, my certainty regarding the respect for others and for life. The professor supported me and declared that he shared my reflections.
After a few days, my companions came to tell me that they were in agreement with me, but they never before had the courage to express themselves freely. I took this opportunity to speak also about their difficulties and sentiments. They asked my advise. I emptied myself interiorly in order to receive each one of them. I listened to them thoroughly and they discovered by themselves the answers that they needed while rediscovering the values that they did know that they had in their hearts. There was born among all of us a freedom and a confidence unimaginable only a few days before. Jesus entered the school of cinematography and He is making headway in the souls of my companions. Only He is the medicine that can cure from the inside the confusion and the sicknesses of our society. (Sonia A. – Argentina).
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