FOCOLARE WORD OF LIFE – August 2023

“Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” (Mt 15:28)

Jesus is heading for the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon. He along with his disciples are looking for a place to get away and rest in solitude and prayer when a nameless woman shows up. The disciples tell Jesus to send her away. She doesn’t let the fact that she is not an Israelite deter her, nor the fact that she is a woman, nor even the fact that the Master seems to ignore her. She is a mother, desperate for her daughter who is being "tormented by a demon." She approaches Jesus and firmly insists on a personal meeting with him. She prostrates herself before the Master and insists even more tenaciously for his help. Jesus responds: "It is not good to take food from the table and throw it to the dogs." The woman accepts the apparent refusal; she understands that her world is not part of Jesus' primary mission. She realizes that her God is not a grace-dispensing machine, but a Father who asks for honesty in the relationship with him, in which she acknowledges her spiritual poverty. Seemingly aware of that, the woman looks Jesus in the eye, and admits: “That is true, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Now she has Jesus’ attention, and he is moved by her humility. The very loudness of her crying out, expresses the strength of her faith: "Lord! Son of David!"

Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish

Her great faith is clear when she presented herself to Jesus. She approached and recognized Him as Lord. She prostrated herself before Him and asked for mercy. She remained unshaken in her conviction that even the impossible is possible for Jesus. She responded to his apparent refusal with the impeccable common sense of a mother whose strength is love and trust: “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table” (. . .) “and from that instant her daughter was healed.” This Word of Life is like a photograph of a lived faith at work in a human being. It also portrays the difficult journey of the first Christian community, which the Gospel of Matthew addresses, as it begins to open itself to the non-Jewish world that seeks and already cherishes such great faith.

Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish

Like this woman of great faith who came to Jesus in a time of need, our faith might suffer because of an unforeseen event that upsets our plans; a serious illness, or a prolonged painful situation. We could also add, the lack of peace in the world, injustices, our ailing planet, as well as family and social conflicts. One of our weak spots might be a lack of perseverance and complete trust. God allows our faith to go through difficult and sometimes absurd situations, so that it can be refined and so that we can know how to abandon ourselves to him, believing that His love is far beyond our plans, our wishes, and our expectations. This was the case with Saliba, who had to leave his elderly parents behind in his hometown of Homs, Syria. His father's glass-cutting shop had been demolished during the war. Like other young people, Saliba thought he would have to seek new opportunities elsewhere. At the age of 22 he stubbornly continued to contribute what he could to the needy people in his town. He opened a convenience store where his fellow-citizens could find cheese, yogurt, and his mother’s homemade butter. He sold beans, oils, spices, and coffee. He is slowly rebuilding and already has an electrical generator and refrigerator. On the days that his shop is closed, he distributes food to needy families.

Edited by Victoria Gómez and the Word of Life team.

Focolare Word of Life - July 2023

“I promise you that whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these lowly ones because he is a disciple will not want for his reward.” (Mt 10:42)

The evangelist Matthew is a highly educated Christian scribe; he is thoroughly familiar with the promises of the God of Israel and for him Jesus' words and actions are their fulfilment. Therefore, in his Gospel he presents Jesus’ teaching in the form of five great discourses, as if he is a new Moses. This Word of Life concludes the ‘missionary discourse’ which begins with the choosing of the twelve apostles and explains what their preaching will involve. Jesus also speaks of the misunderstandings and persecutions they will encounter, which will require of them both credible witness and radical choices. But there is more: Jesus reveals that the sending of the disciples has its roots in the mission he himself received from the Father. This is a belief that was found in the Old Testament: God himself is present and engaged in his messenger. Therefore, through the witness of Jesus and those he sends, the very love of God reaches every person.

“I promise you that whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these lowly ones because he is a disciple will not want for his reward.”

In addition to the specific mission of the apostles, the pastors and the prophets, Jesus announces that every Christian can be his disciple, as well as being a recipient and bearer of the same mission. As disciples, all of us can witness that God is near. It is the entire Christian community is sent to all of humanity because he is the Father of all. We have received attention, care, forgiveness, and trust from God through the actions of our brothers and sisters. We can give something to others so that they can experience the Father's tenderness, as Jesus did during his mission. This is the root of the belief that, in the Father, there is the guarantee that so-called ‘little things’ can change the world. Even if this is only a glass of cold water. ‘It doesn't matter whether we can give much or little. What matters is how we give, how much love we put into even a small gesture that shows awareness of another person. Sometimes it is enough to offer them a glass of fresh water ... a simple gesture that is great in God's eyes if it is done in his name, that is, out of love. ... This month's Word of Life may help us to rediscover the value of everything we do: from work in the house or at the place where we work dealing with paperwork, schoolwork or with the responsibilities we have in the civil, political, and religious fields. Everything can be transformed into attentive and caring service. Love will give us a new sense of awareness to other’s needs so we can serve them with creativity and generosity. As a result of this new way of thinking there will be consequences. The gifts we give will circulate because love calls for love. Joy will multiply because there is more joy in giving than in receiving.

“I promise you that whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these lowly ones because he is a disciple will not want for his reward.”

What Jesus asks of us is very demanding: he is asking us not to stop the flow of God's love. He asks us to reach out with open hearts to every man and woman and offer concrete service, overcoming our prejudices and judgments. He wants our active, creative, and responsible cooperation for the common good, starting from the small things of every day, but at the same time he will not fail to reward us. He will always be at our side, to take care of us and accompany us in this mission. ‘... I left my job in the Philippines and went to Australia to be with my family ... I found a job as a cleaner at a construction site. I had to take care of the dining rooms, locker rooms, offices and canteen that were used by more than 500 workers. It was a completely different job from the one I had before as an engineer ... Out of love for others, I made sure that the dining rooms were always clean and tidy. However, there are people who do not care about cleanliness .... I have not lost patience because it is an opportunity for me to love Jesus in each person I meet. Gradually, these people began to clean up after lunch and then over time we became friends and I began to gain trust and respect from them, ... I have seen that love is contagious and that anything that is done out of love remains.’

Edited by Letizia Magri and the Word of Life Team

"Love mends communities"--The Focolare Word of Life Podcast Experiences June 2023

In today’s episode, Maria from Houston shares about a challenging time with one of her siblings as the family inheritance gets in the way of their relationship.

Kay and Michael from Texas show mercy towards a distraught young man who took advantage of their family funds.

Richard Lang shares how living this month’s Word of Life brought peace of mind in a situation where anger could have easily taken over.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Cor 13:11)

The apostle Paul followed the development of the Christian community in the city of Corinth with love and attention. He visited and supported the people during difficult times. In his letter to the Corinthians, he defended himself against accusations made by other preachers who questioned his style of preaching. Paul was not paid for his missionary work, he was not an eloquent speaker, and he did not have proof of his authority. Yet he proclaimed that he understood and lived out his own weakness reflecting the example of Jesus. However, his farewell letter concluded with an appeal to the Corinthians that is full of confidence and hope: “Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” This letter is addressed to the community as a whole; and a place where God’s presence can be experienced. All the obstacles that make it difficult to understand one another such as communicating fairly and sincerely or disagreeing with differences of opinion in a respectful manner can be healed by the presence of the God of peace. Paul suggests some practical forms of behavior that are consistent with the demands of the Gospel. For example, striving for the fulfilment of God’s plan for each person, as brothers and sisters; or enabling the consoling love of God that we have received to circulate among everyone; mutually sharing our dreams; welcoming one another, offering and receiving mercy and forgiveness, and finally, nurturing trust while listening fully to one another. We are free to make these choices but, there are those times when a little courage is needed if we are to be a “sign of contradiction” in ways that stand at odds with the current mentality. The apostle also recommends that we encourage one another in this commitment. He values the efforts we make to joyfully safeguard and witness to the inestimable worth of unity and peace, in charity and truth, always founded on the rock of God’s unconditional love for his people.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

To live this Word of Life let’s look at the example of Jesus, who came to bring us his special peace (Jn 14:27). For it “is not only the absence of war, quarrels, divisions and traumas... it is fullness of life and joy, it is complete salvation, it is freedom, it is fraternity among all peoples... “And how did Jesus give us his peace? He paid for it himself... He stood in the midst of his adversaries, he took upon himself hatred and separation, and he broke down the walls that divided people” (Eph 2:14–18). Being a peace maker demands a strong love. The kind of love that can reach even those who do not love us back. It’s a love that can forgive. The kind of love that does not see people as enemies. It also has the capacity to love the other’s country as our own. This love even asks us to have new hearts and eyes to love and see everyone as candidates for universal fraternity. “Evil arises in the human heart,” wrote Italian politician and author Igino Giordani, and “to remove the danger of war, it is necessary to eliminate the spirit of aggression, exploitation and selfishness from which war comes: it is necessary to rebuild a conscience.” Bonita Park is a neighborhood in Hartswater, an agricultural town in South Africa. As in the rest of the country, the effects inherited from the apartheid regime persist, especially in education. Schools for the young people of the black and mestizo groups are inferior to those of other ethnic groups. The result is the risk of social marginalization. “The Bridge Project” aims at creating a form of mediation between the different ethnic groups in the neighborhood by bridging distances and cultural differences among them. This consists of an afterschool program and a small communal meeting space where people of different cultures and generations come together. The community shows a great desire to work together. Charles offered his old truck to get the wood to build desks. The principal of the nearest elementary school donated shelves, notepads and textbooks; while the Dutch Reformed Church provided fifty chairs. Everyone has done their part to make this bridge between cultures and ethnicities grow stronger each day. By Letizia Magri and the Word of Life team

In today’s episode, Rose Schmitz has a challenging phone call with a customer service representative regarding her lost package but eventually mutual understanding prevails.

Eddie and Anne from Scotland shares how their family opened their home to a refugee family from Ukraine.

And David Peterson tells us how he made an extra effort to love all those he encountered during a family trip.

Focolare Word of Life —May 2023

“Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.”
(Rom 12:10)
This month’s word of life is taken from the letter written by Paul to the Romans. The text is rich in content. Paul presents the Christian life as one where love abounds, a gratuitous and limitless love that God has poured into our hearts and that we, in turn, give to others. To make his meaning clearer and even more effective, he inserts two concepts into a single word, philostorgos, which expresses two particular characteristics of love that distinguish the Christian community: love among friends and love within the family. “Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.” Let us focus especially on the aspect of fraternity and reciprocal love. Paul states that the people of the Christian community love one another because they are members of one another (Rom 12:5), they are brothers and sisters whose only debt to one another is love (Rom 13:8), they rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Rom 12:15), and they do not judge and are not a cause of scandal (Rom 14:13). Our existence is intertwined with the lives of other people, and the community is a living witness to the law of love that Jesus brought on earth. This is a demanding love that reaches the point of laying down one’s life for others. It is also a practical love that is characterized by the thousands of expressions of care for other people and their happiness. It leads to fulfilment and to people competing in the appreciation of one another’s qualities. It is a love that looks to everyone’s needs and does all that is possible to avoid leaving anyone behind. It draws us to be responsible and active in society, culture and political engagement. “Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.” “Looking at the first century communities, we see that Christian love, which spread indiscriminately to all, had a name,” Chiara Lubich wrote to young people in 1970. “It was called philadelphia, which means brotherly love. In the secular literature of the time, this term was used to refer to love between blood brothers and sisters. It was never used to refer to members of the same society. Only the New Testament was an exception.” There are many young people who feel the need to have “a deeper, more heartfelt and more genuine relationship. And the mutual love of the early Christians had all the characteristics of sibling love, for example in its strength and affection.” “Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.” A distinguishing characteristic of these communities living mutual love is that the members do not close in on themselves, but are ready to face the real challenges that arise within the context in which they exist. J. K., a Serbian of Hungarian nationality and father of three, could finally afford to buy a house. Yet due to an accident, he did not have the financial and physical resources to renovate it himself. So the Focolare community went into action. Drawing upon the Youth for a United World “Dare to Care” project, it was able to offer practical support. J. K. spoke enthusiastically about the solidarity among the helpers none of whom wanted to be outdone in generosity. “So many people came to help me that in three days we were able to replace the roof and substitute the earth and thatch ceilings with plasterboard.” Some people from the Czech Republic also contributed financially to the renovation work. This action was a visible witness to the extended community and was not limited by geographical or political boundaries.
By Patrizia Mazzola and the Focolare Word of Life Team