Our Revolution

below is a talk by Chiara at Payerne in 1982, which struck me very much: 

This is the first idea, the first idea that can already revolutionize our souls if we are sensitive to the supernatural: universal brotherhood which frees us from all forms of slavery, because we are slaves of the divisions between rich and poor, between nationalities: father and children; between black and white, between races; between nationalities, even between different cantons or counties of the same nation. We are slaves, we criticize one another, and there are many obstacles and barriers.

No, the first idea is to free ourselves from all these forms of slavery and to see in everyone, in everyone... "Even in my little boy? Even in that woman who talks too much? Even in that elderly man who doesn’t make any sense? Even in that poor person? Even in that other person? But is it possible?" Yes, in everyone, in everyone, in everyone. We must see them all as possible candidates for unity with God and for unity with one another. We must open our hearts and tear down all the barriers. We must put into our hearts universal brotherhood: I live for universal brotherhood!

So then, if we are all brothers and sisters, we must love everyone. We must love everyone. We must love everyone. Look, these are just a few words, but they bring a revolution! We must love everyone.

 "Even that woman who lives next door... but she criticizes me, she looks down on me, what a character!" Yes, her too. We must love everyone. Those same notes contain some very useful ideas which tell us how to love everyone. It is written there that we must love every neighbour. But which neighbour? The one who passes by us in the present moment of our lives. So we’re not talking about a platonic love, not an idealistic love, but a concrete love: my neighbours now are you; your neighbour is me, and your neighbour is the person sitting next to you or in the seat behind you. We must love not in an idealistic way or in the future, but in a concrete way and in the present, now. We have to love. We have to love.                                                                                                                                                

What happens when people are won over? They too want to love. They too want to make

themselves one with everyone, and they try to make themselves one with us too. What happens? Now

there are two of us making ourselves one, two of us making ourselves one with one another, two of us

loving one another really as Jesus wants.

Jesus wants us to love one another to the point of dying for one another. He doesn’t want us to

love one another waiting to die tomorrow or the day after or next year. He wants us to die now. He wants

us to live dead, dead to ourselves because alive to love. He wants us to live dead.

When two people meet and love one another in this way, then something extraordinary happens,

something extraordinary! Just as when two elements combine and cause a third element, which is not the

sum total of the two elements but something else, when Anthony and Michael love one another in this

way, in this way, with this measure of love, being ready to die for one another, when Anthony and

Michael love one another like this, what happens? There is a third element!

It is no longer Michael plus Anthony, Anthony plus Michael. It’s not a mixture of two persons nor

a group of two or more persons: it is…, it is… Jesus! It is Jesus! It’s Jesus! It’s something wonderful!

“Where two or more are united in my name,” says Jesus (which means in this love, in Me, in this love)

“I am in their midst” which means: in them. Two or more who love one another in this way bring into the world, generate in the world a flame: Christ himself, Jesus himself, the same Jesus, the same Jesus. It’s fantastic! I remember when we had our first experiences in this way of loving, which I wish for everyone, especially for those who have just met our Movement today. We were surprised, enchanted. We used to say, “Oh, unity, unity, what divine beauty! We have no words to describe it. You can’t explain it. It’s Jesus. You can see unity, you can feel it, you can enjoy it with the senses of the soul, but you can’t express it. It’s indescribable like God. You realize what unity is especially when it is missing – it’s as if the sun has gone down. And unity, which is the presence of Jesus in our midst, brings his spirit, the spirit of Christ with all his fruits, which are: peace, a peace never, never, never experienced before; a joy never known before; a desire to love; a spirit of heroism; light: it makes you understand. It helps you to interpret events better. It is the Spirit who guides, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus. Wherever there is this unity, there is the Spirit of Jesus with all his fruits. It’s wonderful! It’s wonderful! Someone might ask, “Would you explain more about this presence of Jesus?” You see, before leaving this earth, Jesus said, “Behold, I shall be with you always, until the end of the world.” Behold, I will stay with you, I will stay with you. Where is Jesus now? We know where he is: he is in his Body, which is the Church. He is with Christians because he dwells within Christians, especially with those who proclaim him. He is present in the successors of the Apostles. He is in the Eucharist. He is in the poor, the sick, the weak. He is in his word, the word of God, it’s Jesus. He is also in the community united in his name. He is here, he is here, he’s in the community gathered in his name… “Where two or more” – this is a sentence very much loved by our brothers and sisters of the Reformed Church: “Where two or more… I am there in their midst.” Jesus is there. Today, in our times, there is a very special sensitivity to this presence of Jesus. Paul VI said so when he affirmed that today the world does not listen so much to teachers as to witnesses, that is, to those who first act and then speak. Paul VI also said that if people do listen to teachers it’s because first of all they are witnesses. We can understand this by looking, for example, at how Mother Theresa of Calcutta is listened to wherever she goes. Why? Because she has a reality to back her up and so she is listened to and accepted. The same applies to other witnesses of our times.

How often we feel that we want to renew the structures of our Church, of both the Catholic Church and the Reformed Church, for example, or also of the Old Catholic Church. Why? Because they are good structures – the parish and the diocese – but there is not always the spirit of the early Christians,unity, the communion of goods, that fervour, that adherence to the word of God.

Let’s bring Jesus into the structures of our Churches. Let’s bring Jesus into our religious orders and congregations. How often these beautiful buds in the Church don’t blossom fully because the sun is missing, love is missing. If we bring love, we’ll see wonderful things happen, a garden in the Church. How often our families are broken by separations, divided by arguments, by divorce and all these things. Let’s bring Jesus in the midst and we’ll see the splendor of families which John Paul II calls “little churches” shine forth again. Let’s bring the presence of Jesus among our Churches: the Catholic Church, the Reformed Church, the Old Catholic Church - let's bring Jesus in our midst. Let’s show how true it isthat what unites us is much more than what divides us because we have baptism, we are all children of God

But we must love one another and then Christ will be in our midst, even among the various Churches or ecclesial communities. He will be present and he will already bear witness to unity. Then the others who do not know Christ will believe in him. At times they are really scandalized by our separation. They believe that Christ is dead because we are divided. But in seeing these Christians who are  going towards complete unification and who are even now very united because of Christ in their midst,

these people will believe in Jesus and say, “Truly, they have the truth.”

We should leave with this proposal. First: I want to love everyone. Second: in order to love them I want to serve them, below everyone, to have the primacy of love. Therefore, I want to make myself one with everyone and bring the presence of Christ in our midst in the world, in this small UK. Yes, on the one hand it is small, geographically, and on the other it is very rich in many,

So let’s start working. Let’s bring Christ. Let’s bring Jesus. Let’s bring God. For him nothing is impossible. “Be confident,” he said, and he repeats it to us, “I have overcome the world.” Then we will see that springtime predicted by Pius XII, and the civilization of love that Paul VI spoke of. We will see our small Switzerland journeying along that “way of life” as our present Pope John

Paul II described this Ideal of unity. Life and not words, life, life. And we know that life is Christ – Christ here in our midst so that Christ may be present in as many places as possible all over Switzerland.

“Love in deed, not in word”

 “Love in deed, not in word”  

 Let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth. (1 Jn. 3:18)

St. John puts his communities on guard against some people who spoke about faith in Jesus, but did not put it into practice. Indeed, they considered deeds to be useless and superfluous, as if Jesus had already done everything. Their faith was empty and sterile because they did not give to the work of Jesus the indispensable contribution which he asks from each one of us.

Let us love in a concrete way. True faith, says the apostle, is faith which gives proof of itself by loving in the way Jesus loved and taught us to love. Now, the first characteristic of this kind of love is concreteness. Jesus did not love us with beautiful talks. Rather, he was in our midst doing good; healing all (Acts 10:38); being fully available to those who came to him, beginning with the weakest, the poorest, the most alienated; giving up his life for us.

The apostle says that aside from loving in deed, we should also love in truth. While striving to transform our Christian love into concrete acts, we also aim at finding inspiration in the truth of the love we find in Jesus. We should aim at doing works which are in conformity with his wishes and teachings. Thus, we should love in the way and in the measure Jesus has shown us.

How can we live the Word of Life this month? Its message is so clear. It is a reminder of that authentic Christianity on which Jesus insisted. But isn't this also what the world eagerly expects? Isn't it true that the world today wants to see witnesses of Jesus' love?

Let us therefore love in deed and not only in word, beginning with the humble services which are asked of us each day by those who are beside us. And let us love in truth. Jesus always acted according to the will of the Father; in the same way, we should act always according to the words of Jesus. He wants us to see him in each neighbour. In fact, he considers that whatever we do to each person is done to him. He also wants us to love our neighbour as ourselves and to love one another, ready to give up our lives for one another.

Let us love in this way also in order to be instruments of Jesus for the salvation of the world. 

“The measure you give will be the measure you get back”

I was reflecting on my/our instinctive intolerance of other behaviours or opinions. I for starters go on making judgements. For what purpose? I was reminded of the words the Pope said on the steps of Westminster Cathedral

 “Dear young friends I ask each of you, first and foremost, to look into your own heart… we were made for love. This is what the Bible means when it says that we are made in the image and likeness of God: we were made to know the God of love, the God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to find our supreme fulfillment in that divine love that knows no beginning or end.

Then I ask myself how much have I lived up to the challenge? Am I really loving my neighbour in the present moment? Below I found another reflection that helped me a lot, because it gives me the measure of God’s love!

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

Yes, It is a strong saying. Yes it does overturn our way of thinking and makes everyone change the direction of their life. Let's admit it: we all do have enemies, be they of little importance, or if they loom large.

He is there behind the door of the house next door, in that interfering and nasty lady whom I try to avoid each time she appears on the same side of the street ... He is in that relative of mine who wronged my father thirty years ago, so I have never had a civil word for him since ... He is the boy in the desk behind you in school, and you have never looked him in the face since he gave you away to the teacher ... He is that girl who was your girlfriend until she left you in the lurch to go off with another fellow... He is that smooth salesman who tricked you ... There are our political enemies, who do not hold the same opinions as ourselves. Today some people look on the State as their enemy and do violence to those who represent it.

And there are, like there have always been, those who see priests as their enemy and hate the Church.

It's all these and many many others whom we call our enemies that are to be loved.

Are to be loved?

Yes, they are to be loved! And don't think we can achieve that by simply changing a hateful feeling into another kinder one. There's more to it. Listen to what Jesus says:

Do you see? Jesus wants us to overcome evil with good. He wants a love that is expressed concretely. We may ask ourselves: why on earth did Jesus give this kind of command?

The fact is that he wants us to model our conduct on that of God, his father who "makes the sun shine on the evil and the good, and the rain to fall on the just and the unjust".

That is what happens. We are not alone in the world: we have a Father, and we should become like him. Not only that but God has a right to a say in the way we behave, because while we were his enemies we were still immersed in evil, and he was THE FIRST to love us, sending us his Son who died in that ghastly way for each one of us.

Jerry, a little black boy from Washington learnt this lesson. He had a very high I.Q. and so was admitted into a special class, the rest of which was made up of white boys. But his intelligence was not enough for his companions to see he was their equal. His black skin earned him the hatred of all, and when Christmas came all the children gave presents to each other, but left out Jerry. The little boy cried of course. When he got home he thought of Jesus: "Love your enemies", and together with his mother bought presents which he gave with love to each one of his "white brothers".

Elizabeth, a little girl from Florence, suffered such a lot that day as she was climbing the steps to go to Mass and heard the derision from others her age. Although she felt like reacting she smiled and went on into church and PRAYED a lot for them. At the door on the way out they stopped her and asked the reason for her behaviour, and she explained that she was a Christian. So she had to love, always. She said it with a burning conviction. Her witness was rewarded as the Sunday afterwards she saw all those young people very attentive in the front pew of the church. This is the way the young take to the word of God, and it is for this they are GROWN UP in his eyes.

Perhaps it's up to us to settle a particular situation, and it's all the more important since we will be judged according to our judgement of others. It is we ourselves in fact who put into the hand of God the measure with which he has to measure us. Isn't it the case that we pray to him: "Forgive us our trespasses AS we forgive those who trespass against us"? Let us then love our enemies! Only by acting in this way may we sort out disunity, break down barriers and construct the community.

Is it a burden? Is it difficult? Does the mere thought of it rob us of our sleep? Take courage. It is not the end of the world: a little effort on our part, God does ninety-nine percent and ... in our hearts will well up a deep river of joy.

Always have a thoughtful love toward every neighbour

)In 2004 The Pope called us all “apostles of dialogue”. “In harmony with the Magisterium of the Church, the men and women focolarini have become apostles of dialogue…” he writes. A new title we never had before, even though the content of all our actions lies there, in dialogue.

Therefore, we need to ask ourselves: how does the Holy Father see us, how does God intend us to be “apostles of dialogue”?

Do they see it as an activity to carry out every now and then during our meetings with other Catholics, individuals or groups, with the faithful of other Christian Churches, with the followers of other religions and with men and women of good will?

Yes, of course. But we can worthily carry out this specific duty of ours if dialogue is a permanent reality for us focolarini who are called to a collective spirituality.

And the reason is this: we are all called to be a reflection of the Holy Trinity, where the three divine Persons are eternally in dialogue, eternally one and eternally distinct.

In practice, this means that each time we are in contact with one or more brothers or sisters, directly or indirectly, by means of a telephone call, a letter, a job carried out for their benefit, prayers said on their behalf, we all feel that we are involved in an unending dialogue, that we are called to dialogue.

How?

By being open to dialogue, by listening, empty of ourselves, to what our brother wants, to what he says, to what worries him, to what he desires. Once we have done this, we give what is desired, what is opportune.

And if there are moments and hours in which I must devote time to myself (eating, resting, dressing, and so forth), I should try to do everything in consideration of my brothers and sisters, always mindful of those who await my love.

In this way and only in this way, by continually living the “spirituality of unity” or “of communion”, can I effectively contribute towards making my Church “a home and a school of communion”; towards furthering, with the faithful of other Churches or ecclesial Communities, the unity of the Church; towards achieving with people of other religions or cultures ever vaster spaces of universal brotherhood. (…)

For love anything is possible!

I remembered this reflection! If I love the way God loves me, we are one. For love anything is possible!

When Mary asked the angel at the Annunciation: "How can this come about?" the answer was: "Nothing is impossible to God" and, as proof of these words, she was given the example of Elizabeth, who in her old age had conceived a son. Mary believed and became the Mother of the Lord.

God is omnipotent. This name of his is often found in Holy Scripture and is used when expressing God's power in blessing, in judging, in guiding the course of events and in achieving his plans. There is only one limit to God's omnipotence, and that is human freedom, which can be opposed to his will, making human beings powerless, when instead they are called to share in the very power of God.

In fact it is a word which leads us to have unlimited confidence in the love of God who is Father because, if God is and his being is Love, complete trust in him must be the logical consequence.

All graces are in his power: temporal and spiritual ones, the possible and the impossible. He gives them to those who ask and also to those who don't ask for them, because as the Gospel says, the Father ‘makes the sun rise on the good and the bad'. He asks all of us to behave like him, with the same universal love, supported by the faith that...

How can we live this Word in daily life? From time to time we all have to face difficult and painful situations, whether in our personal lives or in relationships with others. Sometimes we experience our complete powerlessness because we realise that we are attached to people or things that enslave us in bonds from which we would rather be free. Often we find ourselves facing walls of indifference and egotism and we feel helpless when faced with events that seem beyond us.

It is in these moments that the Word of Life can come to our aid. Jesus allows us to experience our inability, not so as to discourage us but to make us understand better that 'nothing is impossible to God' and to prepare us to experience the extraordinary power of his grace, which is revealed especially when we see that we cannot manage with our own little strength.

If we repeat this to ourselves in the most crucial moments, we will receive from the Word of God the energy that it contains. Somehow we are made to share in God's own omnipotence. But there is one condition, of course: that we live his will, seeking to radiate around us the love that he has put in our hearts. In this way we will be in union with the all-powerful Love that God has for all his creatures. Everything is possible for him: all that contributes towards fulfilling his plans for each person and for the whole of humanity.

But there is a very special moment when we can live this Word and experience all its effects: it is in prayer.

Jesus said that whatever we ask the Father in his name he will give us. So let's try asking him for what we have most at heart, firmly believing that nothing is impossible to him: whether it is the solution to a desperate situation, or peace in the world, the healing of a serious illness, or solving conflicts in the family and in society. Furthermore if there are several of us, who ask for the same thing in full agreement, because of mutual love, then Jesus himself will be present in our midst, praying to the Father who, according to his promise, will obtain what we ask for.

Some of us have experienced this. One day, with faith in God's omnipotence and in his Love, we prayed for N., that the tumour that had shown up on the X-ray, would 'disappear', as if it had been a mistake or a mere shadow. And it did.

This unlimited trust, which makes us feel that we are in the Father's arms and that for him everything is possible, must accompany all that happens in our life. This does not mean that we will always get what we ask for. His omnipotence is that of a Father and he uses it always and only for the good of his children, whether they realise it or not. The important thing is to live nourishing the certainty that for God nothing is impossible and this will make us experience a peace we have never known before.

forgive always

Forgive. Forgive always. Forgiveness is not forgetfulness which often means not wanting to look reality in the face. Forgiveness is not weakness, ignoring a wrong for fear of a stronger person that has committed the wrong. Forgiveness is not indifference. Forgiveness is an act of will and clarity, therefore of freedom, which consists in accepting my neighbour as s/he is, despite the wrong, as God welcomes us sinners, despite our shortcomings so I welcome my neighbour. Forgiveness is not to respond to the attack with an offence but in doing what Paul says: Do not let yourself overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Not an utopia, but a promise

It so easy to become self-absorbed both as individuals and as groups! On an individual level I wake up every morning wondering what the tumour will bring today, how, am I what is happening for me. Then my morning prayers put me in the right attitude of thanks giving to God for another opportunity to love him, for the health I have, for the neighbours to love in the present moment!

On a collective level it struck me this morning when various people were interviewed about the possible next Pope, they all looked at the benefits or otherwise for the Church. Nobody actually reminded the audience that perhaps we can’t really leave out the Holy Spirit, who has guided the Church through far worse times!

(…)It is difficult and takes a lot of effort to overcome the obstacles, the temptation of selfishness, of self-absorption.

It's the price to turn the wound into a blessing, death into life,

to make the meeting with the other the place where peace and fraternity flowers."

Chiara Lubich writes: "Fraternity is not only a value, is a global paradigm for policy development, because it is the engine of positive processes. After thousands of years of history during which we have experienced the fruits of violence and hatred, we have every right to ask that today humanity begin to experience what could be the fruit of love. "

 It seems to me profoundly human to want to put events and people into a box. I think we find it very difficult to live with opposites, change and uncertainties. God live with these aspects all the time! God is love and by nature that love is both always the same but at the same time always new. God never loves me in the same way and yet his love changes all the time. I only have to look at each day! Her are many thing I don’t know, eg what will the next moment bring. I have the present moment to live and in that moment I can love God in my neighbour! When that love is reciprocated suddenly the life of the Trinity comes to dwell on earth and everything changes! Then there is peace and fraternity and a chance for the most complicated problems to be resolved. Not an utopia, but a promise in the gospel!

If we love one another...

This is what loving one another will  lead us to! Is that not an awesome prospect! We can all be one, because tht is what we are made for!

(…)All one! It’s a goal to reach. It’s a mandate: a mandate from the One to whom every person should joyfully surrender oneself, God who is our Father. If the heavens were to open and he were to speak, looking at each of us, he would tell us: “Be one! You are brothers and sisters, therefore, be united!”

One day heaven did open up, because the Word became flesh and grew up. He taught, performed miracles, gathered disciples, founded the Church and, before dying on the Cross, said to the Father: “May they all be one.”

He did not address human beings: perhaps they would not have understood. He turned to the Father, because God is the bond of this unity, and he obtained the grace for us to be one among us.

Now we Christians talk a lot about the unity of the mystical Body and of the Church, but we often fall in the absurdity of knowing things, of being familiar with them, but not of living them.

We know that we are brothers and sisters, we know that a link binds us, but we do not act as brothers and sisters. We pass by each other without looking at one another, without loving each other. But then, of what does our fraternity consist?

Yes, if we are in the state of grace, God already binds us, but this is not all that he wants from us. He wants that we open our eyes and look at each other, that we help and love each other. He wants that we love others as ourselves, precisely like this: as ourselves.

But who does this nowadays? So why did Jesus say it? Is it possible that only the saints live the Gospel? And what do Christians do? They try, as much as possible, not to do evil and, when they want , to do just a bit of good.

This is not what Jesus wanted.

If you walk through a pagan city, you almost don’t realize that you are not in a Christian city. That’s because in a Christian city, one can no longer see authentic Christians, people who bear witness to their God.

This is our fault; we have forgotten about what is essential. Our eyes are clouded by material goods, different activities, sentiments, personal ideas and egoism. We don’t set aside anything to give priority to God.

God does exist; yes, there is also God, but he is one of the many things. We remember him in certain moments, especially when we need him.

As Christians, we should live differently. We must put God in the rightful place in our lives and all the rest is secondary.

And He will teach us how we should live and will repeat his words to us: “Love one another.”

This is everything.

If each of us translate these words to life and love everyone around us as Jesus would, then we’ll spark a Christian revolution. This revolution compels with love all people to recognize one another as brothers and sisters.

Then many things will change. Humanity will be my family, as Jesus said: "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God."

And passing through this world, we will realize that people are not just persons, but they are children of God.

All one!

Let’s make the world just one family, where the rule of every rule is Love.

Let’s make of every city a new city.

This is our goal.

If we don’t work for this, we could call ourselves failed Christians. (…)

The Golden Rule

“In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.”

This is the "Golden Rule"

It was brought by Christ, even though it was already universally known. The Old Testament included it. It was known to Seneca, and in the Orient the Chinese thinker Confucius said it. And others too. And this says how close it is to God's heart: how he wants all people to make it the basic rule of their lives.

It pleases the ear and sounds like a slogan.

Let's love every neighbour we meet during the day like this.

Let's imagine we are in others' situations, treating them as we would want to be treated in their place. The voice of God within us will suggest how to express the love appropriate to every situation.

Are they hungry? I myself am hungry, let us think. And we give them something to eat.

Are they being unjustly treated? So am I.

Are they in darkness and doubt? I am too. And we speak words of comfort and share their suffering; we do not rest until they find fight and relief. We would want to be treated like this.

Do they have a disability? I will love them until I can feel in my own heart and body the same infirmity. Love will suggest to me how I can help them feel equal to others, indeed that they have an extra grace, because as Christians we know the value of suffering.

And so on without any distinction between those who we find pleasant and those we do not, between young and old, friend or enemy, fellow citizen or stranger, beautiful or ugly.... The Gospel includes everyone.

I think I hear whispers of dissent....

I understand.... perhaps my words seem simplistic, but what a change they demand! How far they are from our usual way of thinking and acting!

So take courage! Let's try it!

One day spent like this is worth a lifetime. At the end of the day we will no longer recognize ourselves. A joy we have never felt before will flood over us. A new power will fill us. God will be with us, because he is with those who love. The days that follow will be full.

We may slacken from time to time, or be tempted by discouragement and want to stop. We may want to go back to living as before....

But no! Courage! God gives us the grace.

Let's always begin again.

Persevering we will see the world around us slowly change.

We will understand that the Gospel brings a more interesting life, lights up the world, gives flavour to our existence and bears within itself the principle for resolving all our problems.

We will not be satisfied until we have communicated our extraordinary experience to others: to our friends who can understand, to our relatives, to anybody we feel the urge to tell.

Hope will be born anew.

Wasting time to love

A ‘people’ born from the Gospel, and now present all over the world, also includes children who share the spirituality of unity and live it out in their daily lives. During their most recent International Meeting, a young Korean girl asked Chiara Lubich: “You teach us to give generously, but I do not really have many things to give away. What should I do?”

[...]The answer developed into a colorful booklet that illustrates the many ways of giving:Lending a pencil; giving a hand to your mother or father; teaching a new game to someone; listening to someone who is talking; giving an answer kindly; giving a piece of your snack to someone; saying “Good morning” and meaning it; forgiving; giving a smile; giving help to someone in need; keeping someone company; giving a gift; giving a hand; giving joy; sharing some good news (…)

I am always struck by the simplicity of the answer to the question: How can I best love my neighbour? A smile will do or holding a door open for someone, or simply asking” How are you?” and mean it. Take time to love my neighbour, because the time I give God will give me back if I need it. All too often I have too much to do, to love and yet God has put me where I am to be his expression of love for my neighbour! I imagine it is a bit like a car mechanic who has lots of tools with particular functions (or talents) and together they can repair the car. If on tool decided it had to do other things the car would not be fixed. So, am I too busy to love, because it is my own things I want to follow? In my experience yes. And I understand what is necessary to do, if I freely share with others how I intend to love today. Together I learn to be free to love, to “waste time” together so that at the end of the day I can look at how many people have I love as opposed to how many items on my to do list have I ticked. The first will surely get me closer to God, the second probably farther away from him!

The whole picture

I was sent this by a friend and it made me reflect on how many times do I look at some detail but not the whole picture! That's when I am missing  something the other wants to tell me, but I am too fixed on another detail instead of looking at the whole picture! Colgate have created a very ingenious advertising campaign to promote their dental floss, but before I explain to you the main detail of these images, I will let you appreciate them quietly~ Alright, now that you had time to quietly observe the images, in the first one you will now notice that she has one finger too many in her hand, in the second one a phantom arm is floating there, and in the third one the man has only one ear... The campaign attained its purpose, because it proved that food remains on your teeth draw more attention than any physical defect...

Be hospitable toward everyone

When reflecting on welcoming others in the present moment, I was looking for an example of God welcoming us. I found this reflection by Chiara Lubich.

[...]This is the amazing new thing that Jesus proclaimed and gave to humanity: to be children of God, becoming God’s children through grace.

But how, and who is given this grace? It goes to 'to all who received him' and to those who would receive him in the following centuries. We must receive Jesus in faith and in love, believing in him as our Saviour.

But let’s try to understand more deeply what it means to be children of God.

All we need do is look at Jesus, the Son of God, and at his relationship with the Father. Jesus prayed to his Father as he did in the ‘Our Father’. For him the Father was ‘Abba’, which means Dad, Daddy, the one he turned to in tones of infinite trust and boundless love.

But since he had come on earth for us, it was not enough for him to be the only one in this privileged position. By dying for us, redeeming us, he made us children of God, his brothers and sisters, and through the Holy Spirit he made it possible for us too to enter into the bosom of the Trinity. This means that we too can use his divine words, ‘Abba, Father’ (Mk 14:36; Rom. 8:15): ‘Dad, my Daddy’, our Daddy, with everything this implies: the certainty of his protection, security, surrender to his love, divine consolation, strength, ardour – the ardour born in the hearts of those who are certain they are loved.

We are made one with Christ and daughters and sons in the Son by baptism and the life of grace that comes from it.

In these words from the Gospel there is, moreover, an expression that reveals the profound dynamic within this being ‘daughters and sons’ which must be realized day by day. We have, in fact, ‘to become children of God’.

We become, we grow as children of God, by co-operating with the gift he has given us, by living his will which is wholly concentrated in the commandment of love: love for God and love for our neighbours.

To accept Jesus means, in effect, to recognize him in all our neighbours. And they too will be helped to recognize Jesus and believe in him if they can discern, in the love we have for them, a spark of the boundless love of the Father.

Let’s try to welcome and accept one another, seeing and serving Christ himself in each other.

The result will be that a flow of mutual love, of living knowledge like that binding the Son to the Father in the Spirit, will be established also between us and the Father, and time and again we will feel coming to our lips Jesus’ own words: ‘Abba, Father.’