Posted on 09/10/2001 1:03:43 PM PDT by Brian Kopp DPM
Have you heard of the Focolare movement?
It is well-known around the world, but not in the United States. It is a movement, now in every country and with millions of adherents, which is in the heart of the Church and has as its charism 'unity.'
The founder of this incredible movement is a woman named Chiara Lubich. This began through her in Trent, Italy during WWII.
Chiara Lubich is a Roman Catholic who writes and speaks (with great depth) of the most 'Catholic' aspects of our faith. In a seeming paradox, there are people from all different faiths who embrace this spirituality.
Pope John Paul II supports this movement so strongly that he has given to it, permanently, part of Castelgandolfo. He has met many times with Chiara Lubich and has visited the home of the Focolare Movement, which is in Italy.
Interestingly, Chiara Lubich is the first woman, ever, to speak at a Muslim mosque. She was invited by Imam W. D. Mohammed to speak at a mosque of the black Muslims in New York City about two years ago. He and many of these Muslim people are embracing this spirituality of unity and it is strengthening relations between Christians and Muslims. In my diocese, I have participated in meetings with Catholics, including our bishop, and our Muslim friends.
Here is a quote from Imam W. D. Mohammed given to members of the Focolare: "I wholeheartedly accept and embrace with you the idea of unity, mutual sharing, and love for one another. I think that it is as Islamic for me, as it is Christian...We have to be conditioned to have peace. God has given us the requirements that we have to meet for a life of faith in Him. And when we meet these conditions, we do have peace."
There are also Christians of many denominations, Jews, and even Hindus who are coming to mutual understanding through this movement.
The word 'focolare' means 'hearthside' in Italian and is the nickname given to this movement by the local people who, in the beginning, felt the warmth of the love and hospitality which came from the lives of the early members.
There is a website. My computer savvy is pretty poor, so I don't know how to make a link yet, but the address is www.focolare.org
As you might suspect, I have not heard of it. But by reading your previous posts, I do want to know of it
Haven't checked it out yet but for those who are interested: Click here
Btw....links are easy to create pax....here is how to do it:
<a HREF="URL">Link Description</a>where "URL" is the URL address you want to link to and Link Description is whatever you want to call your link. For example:
<a HREF="http://www.drudgereport.com/">Drudge Report</a>
becomes Drudge Report
Your Eminences,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate!
1. I am pleased to offer you my cordial greeting on the occasion of your spiritual conference for the friends of the Focolare Movement, taking place these days at the Mariapolis Centre in Castel Gandolfo. Thank you for today's visit, an expression of the ecclesial communion that unites you to the Successor of Peter.
You have gathered for shared reflection, based on reports, experiences and testimonies, on the stimulating theme: "Christ Crucified and Abandoned, Root of the Church as Communion". While expressing my deep appreciation of this initiative, which is taking place for the 25th time, I encourage you to be guided by the indications I gave in the Apostolic Letter Novo millennio ineunte. In it, in fact, I invite the entire Christian people to set their gaze firmly on the face of the crucified and risen Christ and to deepen their knowledge of the mystery of suffering and love from which the Church as communion is born and is constantly renewed as a living icon of the Holy Trinity.
2. In the cross of Christ we find the true source of salvation, the supreme revelation of God's love and the profound root of communion with God and among us. In Jesus' agony on the cross, which appears as the moment when darkness and evil trumphed, it is actually the victory of Christ that is accomplished through his obedient love for the Father and his solidarity with men, prisoners of sin.
In the Apostolic Letter mentioned above, I wrote in this regard: "Jesus' cry on the cross is not the cry of anguish of a man without hope, but the prayer of the Son who offers his life to the Father in love, for the salvation of all. At the very moment when he identifies with our sin, "abandoned' by the Father, he "abandons' himself into the hands of the Father" (Novo millennio ineunte, n. 26).
Therefore evil and sin are definitively defeated in Christ crucified and abandoned, and the full unity of mankind with the Father and of human beings with each other becomes possible. According to the words of the Evangelist John, inspired by an earlier oracle of the prophet Zechariah, men "shall look on him whom they have pierced" (Jn 19:37). This convergence on the cross is directed by Christ to the Father, in order to form around him a new community of love. We shall truly never exhaust the depths of this great mystery (cf. Novo millennio ineunte, n. 25)!
3. Love for Christ crucified, contemplated in the climax of suffering and abandonment, is the high road not only for making the communion of the ecclesial structure ever more real at all levels, but also for opening a fruitful dialogue with other cultures and religions. To this end, the spiritual themes, theological reflections and testimonies which you are sharing in these days will be of great help to you.
From contemplating the face of the abandoned, crucified Christ important consequences will certainly result, prompting you to live in depth the great mystery of the communion contained and revealed in it: "If we have truly contemplated the face of Christ", I wrote in the Apostolic Letter Novo millennio ineunte mentioned above, "our pastoral planning will necessarily be inspired by the "new commandment' which he gave us. "Love one another, as I have loved you' (Jn 13:34)" (n. 42).
In the historical transition that we are experiencing, you have a difficult mission before you: to make the Church the place where we live and the school where the mystery of God's love is taught. How will this be possible without rediscovering an authentic spirituality of communion? It is necessary first of all to see with the eyes of the heart the Trinitarian mystery present within us, in order to know how to recognize it in the faces of others. A brother in faith should be regarded as one who belongs to us in the mysterious unity of the Mystical Body. Only by making room for my brother, by acknowledging what is positive in him, can I understand how much he is a gift for me (cf. Novo millennio ineunte, n. 43). Thus lived, the spirituality of unity and communion that characterizes your Movement will not fail to bear abundant fruits of renewal for all believers.
4. Venerable and dear Brothers! You offer the contribution of your experience and pastoral ministry to the study and reflection of these days. Thanks be to God, you yourselves are witnesses to the fruits of mutual understanding and close cooperation that are growing in the Church as a result of the efforts made by the various Movements. May you yourselves be its generous and responsible leaders.
May you know how to make this conference a fitting occasion to grow in this dimension, in the spirit of the effective and affective collegiality which must characterize your mission. From mutual love you will draw reasons for encouragement, renewed strength and firm hope. With these sentiments and wishes, I invoke the constant protection of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Unity, on each of you, on your ecclesial communities and on all your loved ones, as I affectionately give you a special Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, 14 February 2001.
Joannes Paulus II
© L'Osservatore Romano, Editorial and Management Offices, Via del Pellegrino, 00120, Vatican City, Europe, Telephone 39/6/698.99.390.
Do you dine with him often? Or just when the mood strikes him?
"Catch the Naked Counselor", egad. I know the church is in dire need of priests, but to retain such as that -- inexcusable.
I wonder that you didn't go with your sister to the police instead of to the church in the second case (chronologically, though numbered 1) in light of your previous experience. However, I know it is tough on children to be witnesses in such cases. If the priest was in fact guilty, fobbing him off on another parish hardly seems like the right course of action for the church to take.
I know half a dozen self-described homosexual atheists, none of them paederasts to my knowledge.
Do you think homosexuality is chosen? I do, for the simple reason that sexual activity (as distinct from sex) is usually chosen (not always, though, as you can attest). Affection, of course, not requiring sexual activity. How, I wonder, does one determine whether a virgin is hetero or homo?
Have you made any headway with your moral defense of property ownersip? The pursuit of liberty threads could use your input if you have.
Kindest Regards
Thanks to both of you for your responses.
The Focolare has had a tremendous effect on me. I am a very orthodox Roman Catholic. I love the Church and have tried to grow ever closer to God through the sacraments and prayer. I have greatly benefited from reading some of the writings of the saints about prayer, especially Theresa of Avila and John of the Cross. Because I had never been a 'movement' kind of Catholic, I didn't expect to find this depth of spirituality. It is there, and in tremendous abundance.
The ecumenical aspect of the Focolare is simply amazing to me. Having participated in it, I know it is real and, simply, miraculous.
How nice of you to plant the seed and wait to reap the harvest. With friends like you...
I challange you to document this claim with actual quotes from Rush. You can't do it.
I've been listening to Rush for years and have never heard him "preach" this so-called "gospel of salvation by capitalistic materialism."
Rush preaches the virtues of individual freedom as our forefathers did, as "everyman is endowed by his Creator with inalienable rights...." etc. and the human potential that history has shown brings the greatest prosperity this world has ever seen.
This is a blessing from God and you've misjudged Rush because you are putting the cart before the horse.
So don't give us this Saul Alinsky crap about how we don't live up to our morals and don't help others.
You would be the first to say we have no right to do spit for anyone lest we interfer in their right to off them self.
Hit them fast, and hit them where they least expect it.
I've no problem with you doing things to help people, just don't try to do it with my money and don't try to help people against their will. As regards my comments to the Prideful One, I was merely highlighting the irony of his/her glee at having predicted correctly the suffering that his/her supposed "friend" went through.
Your kind is so prone to the violent metaphors. Must be a side effect of all that faithing.
You don't get it do you? Let me spell it out: One does not have to be religious to support freedom of faith, freedom of conscious. That is what the enlightenment was all about. That is what America is all about. Because I defend faith says nothing about my faith. I want, as Larry King says, a level playing field. I want faith, no matter what faith, out there contesting in the realm of ideas. I want everyone to participate. People are capable of shaking out what is evil from what is good, what is phony from what is real, what is destructive to life from what promotes life.
If you must know, I am a Unitarian. Very few on FR consider me a Christian. I do try to educate them but the religion of Jefferson, Channing, Adams and others, despite the allure of their political philosophies, does not garner me many converts.
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