Riccardi

Love of neighbour was a discovery Chiara Lubich and her first companions made progressively right from the start of their experience. “While realizing that the foundation of the Gospel is charity... we did not immediately understand how to live it, nor with whom, nor to what degree we were to put it into practice. At the beginning, due mainly to the distressing circumstances of the war, we directed our love toward the poor. We were convinced that in those gaunt and, at times, repulsive faces, we could make out the face of the Lord. It was a real training. We were not accustomed to loving supernaturally. At most, we cared about our relatives or our friends in a spirit of warm respect or in a purely natural and healthy friendship. Now, under the impulse of grace, trusting in God and in his Providence which cares for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, we addressed our attention to all the poor of the city. We invited them

Word of Life – November 1984 This sentence of Jesus is em­bedded like a pearl in the well-known passage on the final judgment written by the evan­gelist St. Matthew. It represents the whole message of the Gospel in summary form, reinforcing all that is affirmed in it regarding the human person and what is expected of him or her. Jesus, the one long-awaited "by all peoples," came and saved humanity which had fallen into sin. He himself bore the price of such an immense purification. He will return at the end of time under his rightful title as King and Judge and will gather to­gether all peoples of every time and place in order to judge each individual according to their deeds. The result will be either eternal reward or eternal punishment. However, according to the de­scription of the final judgment that Jesus gave to his disciples, the divine judge will, at that time, say something very sur­prising: "I was hungry and you gave me food." When, though, did we ever

Castel Gandolfo, 14 November 2002 Christ’s Resurrection. A unique event in history that most characterizes Christianity and identifies its founder. It is an opportunity to renew faith in the Life that does not pass. Dear everyone, The spiritual thought this month concerns one precise characteristic of the Christian life. Since our Movement also includes the faithful of other world religions as well as people who do not have any particular religious affiliation, I would like to begin with a suggestion and a recommendation precisely for them. As you all know, we are all part of the same Movement where what must triumph among us is the “Golden Rule” present in our Scriptures: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” or “Do not do to others as you would not have them do to you.” This requires loving one another, and therefore, getting to know one another better. For this reason, I encourage all of you to derive benefit from what I will say now. It is part

Lake Constance (Switzerland), 16 April 1981 In the life and thought of Chiara Lubich, the most precious moments of the year are in Holy Week. We are now living through the most precious moments of the year. They are precious for the Church that re-lives the liturgy of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. They are precious to all of us in the Movement because we have a spirituality that is centered on unity and on Jesus forsaken. Today is Holy Thursday, our feast day. Like today, many years ago, Jesus gave his disciples the new commandment, the commandment which is the fundamental law and the basis of every other rule for each of us. Like today, Jesus prayed for unity: “May they all be one.” Like today, he instituted the Eucharist which makes him present among us and in fact brings about our unity with Him and with one another. And like today, he instituted the priesthood that makes the Eucharist possible. All of this in one day. What more do