Riccardi

Prague 30th April 2001 Chiara Lubich’s answer to a question put to her at the meeting with the community of the Focolare Movement in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Marie: “Chiara, you have a special relationship with the Holy Spirit. Could you tell us about this?” Chiara: With regard to the Holy Spirit, I must admit I have a relationship with the Holy Spirit which arises out of love, certainly, but also out of necessity.   What would I do without the Holy Spirit? It would be useless for me to go and speak; it would be useless to…. For example, I ask the Holy Spirit for help many times a day, and above all, I do this with the other focolarine and focolarini, because Jesus said that if we ask together, it is easier to obtain the Holy Spirit. Jesus also told us it is easy to obtain the Holy Spirit, because if a father does not give you a scorpion instead of bread, but gives you bread, so too

The Little Town of Araceli (San Paulo), 26th April 1998 In the whole of the youth section of the Focolare Movement, this week is “United World Week”. The text that follows is Chiara Lubich’s message to young people dated 26th April 1998. Dear Youth for a United World, I know that you hoped to receive a message from me that would contribute towards the success of United World Week. What subject have I chosen to speak on? There couldn’t be a better one than your very own goal of achieving a united world. Is it reasonable to talk about a united world? Is it possible to imagine a united world? Can we hope that the attention we give and the energy we use will one day play a significant role in reaching such an objective? Or is it a utopia, something unattainable and fantastical, as some people might think? Many signs today point to the fact that the world is heading towards this goal. First of all, there is the conviction

The Word of Life of January 1999 Chiara Lubich’s reflection on this word, taken from the Book of Revelation, leads us into the heart of the Easter mystery:  Jesus came to share with us his life of love with the Father so that we too can live it. During the month of January, Christians throughout the world join together in prayer and special meetings to celebrate their shared faith. The theme chosen for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is taken from the book of Revelation. Let’s read the entire passage: “See, the home of God is among mortals.He will dwell with them;they will be his people,and God himself will be with them;he will wipe every tear from their eyes.Death will be no more;mourning and crying and pain will be no more,for the first things have passed away” (Rev. 21:1-7). This month’s Word of Life is an exhortation: if we want to be part of his people, we must allow him to live among us. But how is this