The art of loving among the people
I’ve
always been fascinating by the art of
loving that Chiara Lubich speaks of. When I was still a seminarian I said
to myself that I wanted the rest of my life to be a reflection of this art.
When I became assistant pastor, the
pastor and I thought about offering this treasure to everyone. We spoke about
it with the Pastoral Council and decided to make 6,500 sets of 7 cards, each
one illustrating one point of the art of
loving.
Eight weeks before Christmas and in
each of the consecutive Sunday Masses before Christmas, we distributed to each
person one of the seven cards. Yes, because during the Eucharistic celebration,
and especially during the homily, that point was underlined to be lived during
the week.
We handed out the final card during
the Christmas
We also agreed that whoever wished,
could drop one bean in a transparent 20-liter container for every act of love
they made. That container, placed at the entrance of the church, became like
the “spiritual thermometer” of our community.
At
Each bean had a story behind it, a
heart that had given the best of itself. One lady said: “This week we had to
love our enemies. I sweat! In the end I was able to offer my hand to my
son-in-law who had abandoned my daughter.”
There were fantastic comments: “A
young Church!”, the parishioners said. “The Gospel given through beauty.” “It
changed my life!”
Meanwhile, a dozen other parishes
adhered to the initiative. The sets of cards on the art of loving crossed the borders of the dioceses and of the
region. With the fourth reprinting we have arrived to 125,000 sets.
A diocese formed by “TWO OR MORE”
Three years ago, I was entrusted with the coordination of the 2,000 Little Groups of families in the
diocese. They meet in the homes to read the Word of God, to pray and to act in
conformity with the Word.
Some lay people were also chosen to
work with me and to be part of the Central Team. When we met for the first
time, each one of them told me that they were involved in thousands of other activities
in their communities and so I wouldn’t be able to count on them very much.
“I’ve come just today, because I had to, but I won’t be coming anymore.” “I’m
already involved in too many things…” and so forth.
When they had all spoken, I took from
my haversack the comment on the Word of Life for that month. We read it, we
shared our impressions and I told them some of my experiences in living that
Word.
As if by magic, the sadness and burden
of the work changed into joy, serenity, ardor; in fact, that evening remained
as a reference point. Ever since then, they too have adopted the method of the
Word of Life and the exchange of experiences. Only afterwards do we pass on then
to speaking about other things.
I’ll tell you about just one result:
Giovanni and Dolores realized that three elderly people of their community were
really abandoned. Supported by their Small
Group, they welcomed the three elderly people in their home. One of these
persons, crying for joy, told us: “Now I have a mother and a family. I’m very
happy!” (We have a very beautiful film on this.)
Three years later, we have now crossed
the threshold of 3,000 Groups. On two occasions in December, we organized the
so-called “Small Groups Week.” The
last one was entitled: “May no one feel alone.” The initiative mobilized the
whole diocesan Church. The lay people felt like missionaries in their
communities. We saw a Church that goes out in search of the lost sheep and that
with the Small Groups brings the
presence of Jesus where the people are.
The Church as communion is a reality
There is another development.
Twenty-seven years ago the construction of the new cathedral began, but it has
not yet been completed. $430,00 are needed to complete it.
Last year, at the end of the priests’
spiritual exercises, the bishop heartily invited us to offer some suggestions
on how to finally complete the project.
On our way home in the car, our hearts
were inflamed and Jesus in our midst gave us a shower of ideas. When we arrived
home, we put them in writing and a project of evangelization was born also with
economic consequences that were unanimously approved not only by the bishop but
also by the priests. “It’s an idea from the Holy Spirit,” commented an elderly
priest.
The goal was to involve the 500,000
Catholics of the diocese and to show that we already are one body through the
Eucharist, and therefore to invite everyone to contribute to the construction
of the
Two of us went to the 43 parishes of the diocese to speak about the Church as communion and about the reality of Jesus in the midst and to ask the lay people to bring to their neighboring families the 100,000 pamphlets that had been printed for the project.
The results went beyond all
expectations. More than 6,000 lay people visited their neighbors to propose
that they put aside money that would be spent on superfluous things and to give
it, instead, for the
We suggested that small sums could be given as well, so that also the poor could participate because they have the right to do so. Indeed, we aimed precisely at them.
Every month – between March and December – the same lay people will return to the homes in which they brought the pamphlets to collect the donations, fruit of “evangelical savings.” In this way, what will build the Church will not be the money, but the Christian life lived in the heart of the families.
The message of communion thus arrived to those who live on the 20th floor of skyscrapers as well as to those who might be twenty kilometers from the nearest telephone. We reached thousands and thousands of Catholics who previously were not attentive to the life of the communities. “Wherever I went,” one lady confided to us, “I spent about forth minutes with the people. They need to be listened to… I’m getting to know my neighbors!” And there is more: many of the faithful of other Churches joined us in this wave of communion. An Evangelical Lutheran man even offered us $1,500.
There is enthusiasm and ardor everywhere, and there are those who say that after this project the diocese will never be the same. The bishop confirmed: “Now communion is a reality!” It would be enough to see the radiant faces of the simple people who exclaimed: “God passed by here!!!
I’ll conclude on a personal note. The pastor
of the cathedral said to me: “I like to see the way you, with the spirituality
of the Focolare, work wonders in the diocese!” For me, it’s the confirmation of
a dream I’ve have in my heart for years: to be 100% diocesan and 100%
focolarino.