29 JUN. 2024 · “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”  (Ps 23:1) Psalm 23 is perhaps the most well-known and best loved of all the psalms. It is a song of trust in God, but also a joyful profession of faith by someone who is part of the people of Israel, to whom God, through the prophets, had promised to be their shepherd. The psalmist also expresses his personal happiness in knowing that he is protected by the Temple, a place of shelter and grace.#_ftn1 And at the same time, because of this experience, he wants to encourage also other people to trust in the presence of the Lord. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” The image of the shepherd with his flock is very dear to all biblical literature. To understand it fully, we need to imagine the arid and rocky deserts of the Middle East. The shepherd guides his flock, who are docile and allow themselves to be led, for without him they would get lost and die. The sheep have to learn to rely on him and listen to his voice. Above all, he is their constant companion. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” This psalm invites us to strengthen our intimate relationship with God by experiencing his love. Some may wonder why the author goes so far as to say, “I shall not want”? In our daily life we encounter all kinds of problems and challenges - with our health, in the family, at work - not to mention the immense suffering of so many of our brothers and sisters due to war, natural disasters often caused by climate change, forced migration, acts of violence, and so on. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Perhaps the key to understanding this verse lies in the one that follows it: “for you are with me.”#_ftn2  This states the certainty of the love of God who always accompanies us and leads us to live our life in a whole new way. Chiara Lubich wrote: “It is one thing to know we can have recourse to God, who exists, who cares for us and has redeemed us of our sins, and totally another thing to live with the conviction that we are God’s beloved, for this banishes all loneliness, all sense of abandonment, any misgivings or any fear that may restrain us. (...) We come to realize that we are loved, and believe with all our heart in this love. We abandon ourselves trustingly to him and are ready to follow wherever he leads. Life’s circumstances, sad or joyful, are illuminated by God’s love that wills or permits everything that happens.”#_ftn3   “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” The one who brought this beautiful prophecy to fulfilment is Jesus. In John’s Gospel he does not hesitate to call himself the “good shepherd.” The relationship with this shepherd is something special; it is very personal and intimate. “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.”#_ftn4 He leads his sheep to graze in the pastures of his Word, which gives life, particularly the Word that contains the “new commandment.”#_ftn5 And when this reciprocal love is lived by his followers, it makes “almost visible” the presence of the Risen Lord within a community that is gathered in his name, in his love.#_ftn6   Prepared by Augusto Parody Reyes and the Word of Life Team #_ftnref1 See Ps 23:6. #_ftnref2 Ps 23:4. #_ftnref3 Chiara Lubich, Essential Writings – Spirituality, Dialogue, Culture, New City Press, New York, 2006, pg. 55 #_ftnref4 Jn 10:14. #_ftnref5 Jn 17:21: “Love one another as I have loved you.” #_ftnref6 See Mt 18:20.

18 JUN. 2024 · The first experience is by Gary Hauk from Atlanta who shares how during his lifetime, various people have "planted seeds" in his heart, which ultimately helped him to understand his calling.  The second experience comes to us from Long Island, New York. Elisa Fontana shares about her work at a soup kitchen. The third experience is by Lucy Bujnoch from Houston TX. She shares how together with her daughter they helped her grandson get through a difficult time.

11 JUN. 2024 · Cultivating Confidence in God

31 MAY. 2024 · Focolare Word of Life — June 2024 “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.” (Mk 4:26-27) The kingdom of God is at the heart of Jesus’ message. In fact, in his Gospel, Mark wants to announce this good news. He describes it in a parable Jesus used, in which he compared the kingdom of God to a seed that, once cast into the ground, releases its life force and bears fruit. But what is the kingdom of God for us today? What does it have to do with our personal and collective history? How can it resolve the constant sense we might have of being suspended between expectations and disappointments? If it has already been sown, why don’t we see its fruits of peace, security and happiness? “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.” This Word of Life conveys to us that Jesus had total confidence in God’s plan for humanity. Chiara Lubich wrote: “Since Jesus came into the world and was victorious over it, his kingdom is already present here on earth and its fulfilment at the end of history is already assured. The Church is the community of those who believe in his kingdom and is, in fact, its foundation.”#_ftn1 And to all who welcome his kingdom, God entrusts the task of preparing the ground to receive this gift and to maintain hope in his love. “(...) The fact is that no amount of human effort, no exercise in self denial, no intellectual study or research will give you the right to enter the kingdom of God. It is God himself who comes to meet you, who reveals himself with his light and who touches you with his grace. There is no merit on your part that you can boast of, or rely on, that will entitle you to such a gift from God. The kingdom is offered to you free of charge.”#_ftn2 “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.” This parable speaks of scattering the seed. In other words, not holding on to it, but confidently sowing it over a large area. “Night and day” means that the kingdom grows silently, even in the darkness of night. And every day we can ask our Father: “Your kingdom come.” The farmer doesn’t have to constantly check on the seed to see if it is growing. He needs to wait patiently for nature to take its course. This Word of Life helps us to understand that the seed we scatter is love and we should trust that it will bear fruit in its own time. It teaches us the art of patiently waiting for what can grow on its own, without being anxious about the result. It sets us free to welcome each neighbor in the present moment, valuing his or her potential, while respecting the time it takes them to grow. “A month before his wedding, our son phoned us in a state of alarm because his girlfriend had started using drugs again. He asked our advice about what he should do. It wasn’t easy to know what to say. We could have taken advantage of the situation and persuaded him to leave her, but that didn't seem right. And so we suggested he listen to what his own heart was telling him (...).   “A long silence followed, then he said, ‘I think I can love her more.’ After the wedding they managed to find an excellent rehabilitation center with outpatient support. Fourteen long months passed during which she managed to keep her commitment to ‘no more drugs.’ “It will be a long road for everyone, but the evangelical love we try to have between the two of us as a couple - even though there are times when we are reduced to tears - gives us the strength to love our son in this delicate situation. Perhaps our love will also help him understand how to love his wife, too.” Prepared by Letizia Magri and the Word of Life team #_ftnref1 Chiara Lubich, Word of Life, August 1983. #_ftnref2 Chiara Lubich, Word of Life, October 1979.

11 MAY. 2024 · 1.  In the first experience, Robbie Young shares how he made himself available to serve and help a friend who suffered a stroke with many concrete acts of love. 2. The second experience is by Stephen Thuo who, together with other young people, helped raise funds to gather supplies and deliver them to a correctional center for juveniles. 3.  In the third experience, Almie Latimore shares with us her great suffering due to the loss of her husband to cancer and how she discovered the love of God.

6 MAY. 2024

30 ABR. 2024 · Focolare Word of Life —May 2024 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love (1 John 4:8). The first letter of John is addressed to all people and it encourages us to restore fellowship because our society is divided by many different doctrines and ways of life. John exhorts us to keep in mind what has been proclaimed from the beginning of Christain teaching when the first disciples experienced living a life with the Lord. By repeating this in the way we live with Jesus in our lives we will be in communion with the first disciples and therefore with Jesus and the Father.#_edn1 . St. John reminds us that it has been revealed that God loved us first by taking upon himself a human existence, in Jesus, with all the limitations and weaknesses. While on the cross, Jesus shared in our separation from the Father through His cry, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” He brought to us healing through the total gift of Himself, by loving us without limits or conditions and His life show us what true love is. Through the example Jesus gives to us, we can understand that loving takes courage, hard work along with the risk of facing adversity and suffering. But, if we can love in this way we will participate in God’s life and experience His freedom and the joy of self-giving. By loving as Jesus loved, we become aware that we are free from ourselves and from the selfishness that closes the door to communion with our brothers and sisters and with God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. The human heart longs to know God, who created us and who knows us in the deepest way possible.   Our faith informs us that God is Love and by loving like him we get a glimpse of the truth of this Love. And if we do make it to love like him we will grow in the knowledge of God because we are essentially living his life and we walk in his light. This is accomplished when love becomes mutual, because if we love one another, ‘God abides in us.’ #_edn2 It’s similar to two electric poles coming together to produce light.   .   Chiara Lubich said, ‘To witness that God is love is the great revolution we are called to offer to the modern world which is experiencing extreme tension just as the early Christians bore testimony to this in the pagan world of their time’. How can we do this? How can we live this love that comes from God? ‘By learning from his Son to put it into practice... in particular, let us focus on serving our neighbors, especially those closest to us, beginning with little things, with the most humble kinds of service. Let us make the effort, following Jesus’ example, to take the initiative in loving, being detached from ourselves and embracing all the small or big crosses that this might entail. In this way, we too will soon reach that experience of God, that communion with him, that fullness of light, peace and inner joy which Jesus wants us to have.’#_edn3 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. Santina often visited a nursing home that was run by a Catholic association. One day, she and Roberta, her colleague, met Aldo, a tall, very cultured and very wealthy man. Aldo looked sternly at the two young women and said, ‘Why do you always come here? What do you want from us? Why don’t you just let us die in peace?’ Santina didn’t lose heart and told him, ‘We are here for you, to spend some time together, to get to know each other and become friends.’ They continued to visit the home regularly. Roberta recounts, ‘That man was particularly closed in on himself and dejected. He did not believe in God. Santina was the only one who was able to get close to him, gently listening to him for hours. She prayed for him and, on one occasion, gave him a rosary which he accepted.’ Later, Santina learned that he had spoken her name as he was dying. The pain of his death was lessened by the fact that he died peacefully, holding the rosary she had given him.’ Prepared by Silvano Malini and the Word of Life Team   #_ednref1 Cf. 1Jn 1:1-3 #_ednref2 Cf 1Jn 4:12 #_ednref3 C. Lubich Word of Life May 1991

16 ABR. 2024 · In the first experience, Javier Lurch, president of one of the chapters of Saint Vincent de Paul Society in Atlanta Georgia shares how he helped prevent a young woman and her family from being evicted from their home. The second experience is by Maggie Horton from Kansas City. She shares how the Risen Lord is made present within the community of women she is currently living in. And in the third experience, Julie Mundell tells us how her Economy of Communion business assisted a struggling family to purchase a home.

4 ABR. 2024 · "Share what gives life"

1 ABR. 2024 · “With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.” (Acts 4:33) This sentence, which is used in the liturgy during the Easter season, invites everyone who has received the message of the Gospel to freely witness to the great event that has changed history forever. It invites us to give witness to Jesus’ resurrection! To fully understand the meaning of this verse taken from the Acts of the Apostles, it is helpful to quote the sentence that precedes it: “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common.”[1] “With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the  Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.”   The text describes the first Christian community as filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and characterized by a life of communion that motivated each member to proclaim the good news of the Gospel to everyone – namely, that Christ is risen. These are the same people who before Pentecost were alarmed and frightened by the events that had taken place, and yet now had come out into the open and were ready to bear witness even to the point of martyrdom.The power of the Holy Spirit had swept away all their fear and apprehension. They were of one heart and one soul and they practiced mutual love to the point of sharing their possessions. And their way of life attracted an always greater number of people to follow them. Among them were men and women who had known Jesus and heard his words.They had lived alongside him, and with him they had loved and served the sick and those regarded as the least in society.They had seen Jesus’ marvelous deeds with their own eyes. Their lives had changed because they had been called to live according to his new law. They were the first witnesses to God living among people who loved one another. But what does it mean today for the followers of Jesus to be witnesses to the resurrection? “With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the  Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.”   The most effective way to bear witness to the Risen Lord is to show that he is alive, and, in fact, lives among us. "If we keep love for our neighbor alive in our hearts, then the risen Lord will live within each of us. Then if we make a special effort to maintain mutual love among us, the risen Lord will live both in us and in our midst, and will radiate his light and grace around us, transforming our surroundings and producing incalculable fruits. It will be the risen Lord, through his Spirit, who will guide our steps and our activities. He will be the one who will arrange circumstances and provide us with opportunities to bring his life to those in need of him.”[2] “With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the  Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.” Margaret Karram[3] writes: "‘Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all of creation‘[4] is the extraordinary task that the apostles received two thousand years ago directly from Jesus and that changed the course of history. Today Jesus addresses the same invitation to us, asking us to bring him into the world with all the creativity, talents and freedom he himself has given us. (...) "It is a proclamation that does not end with his death - on the contrary! It takes on new strength after the resurrection and Pentecost, when the disciples became courageous witnesses to the Gospel. Their mandate then comes down to us today. Through each one of us, God wants to continue to tell his story of love to those with whom we share a short or a long stretch of time in our life."[5] Prepared by Patrizia Mazzola and the Word of Life team [1] Acts 4:32. [2] Chiara Lubich, Word of Life, January 1986. [3] Margaret Karram, current President of the Focolare Movement. [4] Mk 16:15. [5] Margaret Karram, in her talk entitled, Called & Sent, September 15, 2023.