Mark 1:15

Repent, and believe in the gospel. (Mk 1:15)

(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2012/02/01/febbraio-2012/)

In the primitive Church Lent was a precious time dedicated to the “catechumenate”, that is to the preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism at the Easter Vigil. Also for us who have already received the gift of the Christian life, Lent is a precious moment to reflect on the received gift, not only to “feel” part of the baptized people, but especially to “live” as baptized people.

This is what it means to “repent”, to overturn our hearts, that is, to go to God with a “new heart”. Conversion is not just about a pagan who embraces the faith in Christ the Savior, but every Christian, in fact the more one is holy, feels even more the need to go to God with the “heart renewed”. To this we are invited in the walk of forty days, helped by the gift of the word of God, because it becomes life of our life, similar to how bread that we eat becomes our flesh.

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An Experience of Life:

I CONDEMNED A DEAD MAN

I committed a big error. I knew that John had died in a sad shameful way: after a night out in drunkenness with prostitutes. He was rich, he had a wife and children, but he also had some really bad habits.

Today will be held the funeral. They called me to bless the body. I said that I would not go. Because of the life that he lived up to the last moment – I replied – he did not deserve the blessing of the Church. I felt I had to defend justice, to give a good example to the people, to do, you might say, my duty.

I was left alone; I did not have peace. I asked myself what would Jesus have done in my place and I was ashamed of myself. In this moment of sorrow, while the wife and the children are crying because there is no longer Dad because he left in that way, I, who could bring a little relief, I condemned a dead man! I know this man from the outside; only God knows him from the inside. I am not his judge, but Jesus Who for him poured out His Blood! That night I was not able to sleep.

The next day I went to find the widow and the children. I asked for their pardon and we made a date for the funeral Mass. The fact became known to the people: the priest went to ask pardon! Perhaps this gesture evangelized more than all of my homilies!

Father E. P. (Italy)

Colossians 3:1

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” (Col 3,1)

(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2012/01/01/%C2%ABse-dunque-siete-risorti-con-cristo-cercate-le-cose-di-lassu-dove-si-trova-cristo-assiso-alla-destra-di-dio%C2%BB-col-31/)

An icon of the Eastern Churches depicts the Risen Christ that breaks down, in a powerful way, the door that holds the dead prisoners. The hinges and even the nails fly in every direction. Jesus stretches out His arms: with one hand He pulls out Adam, and with the other Eve. In the first human couple is represented humanity snatched from death and brought into the kingdom of the risen Christ.

Jesus with His death descended into the abyss of our anguish, of our death, of our sin, to raise us up to heaven. Being incorporated as members, in Him, we already participate in His resurrection, and we are already risen in him, in the heart of the Trinity. But, while we are itinerants on the earth, the work of sanctification continues unrelentingly. Every day we see the gap between "what is above" and our fragility that leads us to give up. "Up there" sin and death can no longer enter and the Father's will is perfectly done. Instead, as long as we are on this earth, we are exposed to thousands of difficulties and temptations that can slow or even divert our path toward false goals.

Knowing the struggle that is in us, St. Paul urges us: "Risen with Christ, seek the things above." He urges us to engage ourselves in order to witness in our surroundings the realities that Jesus brought to earth: the spirit of concord and peace, service to others, understanding and forgiveness, honesty, justice, fairness at work, fidelity , purity and respect. Affirming with our lives these realities, we bring the world to better reflect the life of "above".

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An Experience of Life:

Twenty years, and the belief that to live my life meant to do whatever I liked. A circle of friends beyond the limits of legality: drugs, disco, hooliganism, clashes with the police, the thirst for money and power, fights between rival gangs.

My brother had started at that time to hang around with new friends who immediately struck me: they had between them a relationship very different from what I had lived with my gang and they lived taking seriously the words of Jesus. God for me was nothing and those guys intrigued me, but I could not understand them: I watched them so that later I could have a good laugh with my friends.

Then, the accident: a car struck me while I was on a motorcycle going to the disco. The drama of a moment: if my life had ended, what was left in my hands? I in a flash there appeared to me all of the futility of my years spent chasing nothing, that left me nothing. And a suddenly flash: a trip to the mountains many years before, a person who had proposed that I entrust my life to God. By now it was too late to do it, or perhaps God had accepted that prayer?

At the hospital, none of my friends ever came to see me. Instead the girl friend of my brother came immediately and stayed by me all the days of hospitalization. With her, slowly, was born a friendship and deep esteem and I discovered that her God-Love could transform and enrich even my life.

"Love one another as I have loved you," Jesus repeated even to me: it was a radical revolution. In my heart I said yes. I drastically decided to get out of the gang. It was not easy. But there were my new friends to support me and the personal love of God to give me strength. I felt reborn and the Gospel indicated to me, step by step, the way to go.

Susy F., Milan (Italy)

Luke 3:4

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths” (Lk 3:4).
(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2011/12/01/dicembre-2011/)

The prophet Isaiah, with his exhortation, helps us to understand that the way and the paths that lead to life are of the Lord; thus they are always treaded upon. All we have to do is to detect them, free them from the holes, from the obstacles and “make them straight”, that is, to get rid of all the useless detours which slow down our meeting with the Lord.

We remember the penance and the prayers in order to better live out this period of Advent. Now we can give more attention to the Word of God which invites us to awaken ourselves from sleep and to walk, which is to say to live the Word daily. The Word must conquer our minds and our actions bring us back to the commandment of reciprocal love.

While we are surrounded by the spirit of the egotistical and consumerist Christmas which gives us a restlessness in the race to have and to enjoy, in the illusion to romantically find in this way fraternity and peace, let us seek to transform the encounter and the gift into a gesture of love, on the right and level walk of the will of God in each present moment.

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An Experience of Life:

Last Friday I had to go to Colombara for a meeting. I went willingly, even though without any expectation or any particular enthusiasm. Toward the evening Father Bruno telephoned me from the Caritas of the parish to tell me that the police were taking away two street girls during the night. Father Bruno does not ask, but he informs…! I told him that on my way to Colombare that I would stop by. After a few minutes I telephoned him and asked him: “Is it better that I bring some money for night lodging?”

By the time I arrived and prepared two rooms, two police officers arrive with the two girls. Someone inside of me took away any barrier of repulsion and of bother: I became welcoming, tender, I began taking care of these creatures with motherly solicitude. One of the girls told me that she was pregnant… I caressed her abdomen, and I accompanied her in a room; they put down their things and they told me that they were very hungry. I prepared the best supper I could; I served them while reassuring them with smiles and caresses. I prepared for them camomile tea; I lead them to bed. I showed them my room next to theirs and I told them that they could close and lock the door of their room. Two turns of the key and then silence… After twelve hours I went to wake them up with coffee. These are the facts!

I feel inside of myself that I am privileged that the Lord gave me this gift so special; I am amazed and happy.

I passed the night with little sleep, but with a nice serenity. I felt like I was the guardian of that sleep finally tranquil and so desired, on the other side of the hall. I have plenty of time to thank the Lord and to tell me: “In this way you come back, in this way you reveal yourself; two prostitutes and a little baby of no one… it is in this way that You make Yourself known filling me with joy!

Roberta, Verona (Italy)

Matthew 25:13

“Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Mt 25:13)
(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2011/10/31/novembre-2011/)

The moment that we wait for is the second coming of Jesus: “The resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come”, as we say in the Creed.

For each one of us, the entrance in this new dimension is the end of the walk on this earth: the hour of death, or better, as the first Christians would say, the hour of one’s birth. Our life is actually an existence which will end, a path that at a certain point is interrupted. If we do not consider this, if we live as if we will live forever on this earth, our life is false, not authentic, not truly human.

Let us then do a test: in order to understand this attitude upon which Jesus insists so much, let us try to live one day as if it were the last day of our life. It is not all just a make believe, above all because, given that that moment will come, it is not very important if it will happen today or in fifty years from now. If we do this, there happens in ourselves a change: many things loose their value, we acquire many other values, and above all we find ourselves ever more free from possible illusions and we live more fully.

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An Experience of Life:

One day, a man asked the surgeon where I work the results of the exam for his father. The results were terrible: malignant tumor; they will try an operation, but most likely there is nothing that can be done. The man became pale: his mother and his sister were waiting outside. How can he give them the news? How can he prepare his father? He was really desperate. I felt inside myself his suffering and I wanted to do something. I drew near to him and I asked him: “Do you believe in God?”. He lifted up his head and he looked at me stupefied. “Yes, in a certain sense I believe”. The surgeon having already gone out, called me. I followed him. A few minutes later, while I was passing again in the waiting room, I saw again that man still there, pensive, with his head between his hands. I had in my purse a page with the explanation of a phrase from the Gospel: I give it to him. A little surprised, he began to read it. “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour…” I tried a little bit to explain the phrase: “In this suffering is truly Him, God, Who comes to visit you, will all of His love…” He listened to me attentively and he seemed to become more calm, and to find a little bit of serenity. Before leaving, he suddenly turned to me: “I would be happy if you might be present during the operation. Your presence will give us courage.” I was there on the morning of the operation; I prayed to Jesus to be only, for however much I am able, an instrument of His love.

(Italia)

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P.s. You might find rather interesting the book “Lord of the World” by Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) who was the son of the Archbishop of Canterbury and whose conversion to Catholicism caused a stir. Even though the book was published over 100 years ago, it gives an imaginative foretelling of the end of the world with many prophetic descriptions that we see today. Benedict XVI, as Cardinal Ratzinger before his election to the papacy, made positive references to the novel in some of his talks. You can download the book at: http://www.authorama.com/book/lord-of-the-world.html.

Matthew 9:9

“Follow me.” (Mt 9:9)
(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2011/10/01/ottobre-2011/)


Jesus asks us to follow Him in a radical way. But today the great majority of Christians who believe to be Christians follow Jesus in their own way, according to their own criteria, in relativism which totally surrounds us in our culture, in our mass media. A great number of people today want a Christianity without the cross and without humility, in particular for Catholics, humility before Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament and humility before the difficult words of Jesus explained by the authority that Jesus left us here on earth before He ascended to Heaven, His Spouse, the Church, with His Vicar as the head.

But also for those who sincerely want to follow Jesus, there are moments in which one dies inside of oneself: we feel useless and defeated; we do not succeed anymore to believe in love; we have lost the ability to take risks. There is need of a future; there is need of a ray of heaven; there is need of true love.

Where does one find a new inspiration? If we give more attention to what God does for us, instead of thinking about what He asks of us, we will find a new breath of soul.

It is very different to hear about the importance of people due to the role that they have, and instead to hear about their importance because they are loved by God! Rediscovering in this way “the heart of life”, each day is tinted with adventure, a divine adventure, where even lose becomes a gain.

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An Experience of Life:

Liliana Cosi, an acclaimed dancer and founder, with Marinel Stefanescu, of a school of classical dance, speaking at a public manifestation at Auronzo, recounted her conversion and described art as an expression of harmony and beauty, which is God.

She spoke also about purity, about radical choices.

“Have you ever felt abandoned by God?” she asked a girl. She reflects a few seconds holding her head between her hands. “Yes, I had the impression one day that I was big dreamer, that my whole life and my commitment was only an illusion. And so I entered into a church, I stopped before Jesus on the cross and I said: “I will not leave here if You do not solve my problem!” I stayed there, alone, two hours. Then Jesus gave me a serenity that I never had before. It is the conviction to have to continue and the joy to be faithful to Him.”

S. De Martin

Luke 15:32

“But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found” (Lk 15:32).
(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2011/09/01/settembre-2011/)

The parable of the prodigal son is rather that of the prodigal father of immense pardon, not always easy for us who sometimes say: “I forgive you, but I do not forget”, and thus we register everything so as to bring it back up later. God’s style is exactly the opposite. He respects the choice of the younger son who opted for the adventure in the city where he squandered everything even to the point of finding himself without food. In this situation he realized that he distanced himself not only from home, but also from himself, because in the text we read: “But when he came to himself…”

The tenderness of the father clashes with the assertion of the rights claimed by the oldest son and not respected, according to him, by the parent. The son does not discover that the love of the father goes beyond human justice and he loses himself in mercy. The Gospel leaves us in this doubt. Perhaps it is better like this, because, in order to love as God, it is necessary to go beyond human logic. In order to do this, divine charity is necessary, that can fill our heart only if we empty ourselves.

So many people today do not want to take this risk, this leap of faith, trust and love into the arms of God the Father! They trust in their own intelligence and wisdom in order to justify their way of living. They do not want to take the risk of having to change their life and to suffer and thus they remain immature in their shabbiness without wanting to know more!

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An Experience of Life:

I have two children: one is seventeen years old, the other sixteen. With the older one I have just about no relationship. Sunday we were in the country with some friends; a car passed by and smashed a bottle. I thought that someone might hurt himself with the pieces of glass and I was about to bend down to gather up the pieces: I am a doctor, I am a Christian! My older son takes me to the side: “do not do that, it is the job of the street cleaner”. His sarcasm made me feel a pang in my heart: I had promised to myself to always be the first to begin to open myself, but when it happens like this my courage fails me.

We went to the Saturday evening Mass and at the door of the church were two beggars who I knew well because they come to my outpatients’ clinic and, when they saw me, they were very happy. I noticed that my son is on the other side of the street and was watching me, but I thought clearly how I must behave; I greet them and I shake their hands. I look up again: my son smiles at me and salutes me affectionately. He had listened to my livinb words of my coherence and of my reception with which I try to have only one model: Jesus.

Mario V. (Italy)

Hebrews 10:9

“Lo, I have come to do Thy will.” (Heb 10,9)
(http://www.focolare.org/en/news/2011/08/01/ecco-io-vengo-a-fare-la-tua-volonta-eb-109/)

During Advent we read in the Liturgy that love knows how to keep watch (I Dom.); we saw love as the perfect realization of itself (the Immaculate Conception); reciprocal love as light and fire that renders present Jesus among us (II Dom.); love as the source of joy in giving (III Dom.). On Christmas eve the liturgy speaks to us of the greatest love, or rather of the sacrifice of ourselves, of our wills, motivated by the example of Jesus and Mary. In the letter to the Hebrews we are reminded of the words of the Son of God: "Lo, I have come to do Thy will"; and the Gospel of Christmas eve presents us with Mary who visits Elizabeth, concrete actuation of her yes to God: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38).

It is in total obedience to the will of God that we accomplish the perfect sacrifice: we do not give things, time or affections, but all of ourselves. It is in the daily yes that we deny ourselves and we confirm what the Scriptures say: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice” (1Sam 15:22). Saint Bernard, the cantor of Mary, exclaims that Mary pleased God for her virginity, but she conceived and became a mother because of her humility.

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An Experience of Life:

I had to be absent the whole day in order to participate in a meeting precisely on Mother’s Day. I talked it over with my wife and all seemed very well that I might be absent that day. Many times, however, I perceived a certain malcontent on the part of the children and also of my wife. It was for me the bell of alarm, the click of the trigger, the moment to live the Word.

From that moment I disengaged myself from that meeting and I began to live for Mother’s Day, for my wife, to begin with the children to choose a gift. I wanted that that day might be really beautiful, a true gift for my wife. For this I remained with her always, helping her in her work: washing the dishes, preparing to eat, doing the chores around the house. She was a little struck in seeing me always with her, but I said to her that this was the surprise to live Mother’s Day: I really wanted to share time with her, to live for her. We did everything together and it was wonderful. She was very pleased; myself and the kids were happy.

Renato S., Venice (Venezia), Italy