Archivio SCRITTI EN

Rimini, May 1, 2000 Union with God: a very modern challenge! Chiara Lubich spoke about this at the World Congress of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, in Rimini, on 1st May 2000. The Holy Spirit clearly indicated the path that is characteristic of the charism of unity: our neighbour, who is “almost a sacrament”. By loving our brothers and sisters all day long, we find God, and by loving God we find our brothers and sisters. We can be helped by Mary, the Mother who is all love... (...)  In the charism, given to us by the Holy Spirit, the word that sums up the whole of the spirituality is “unity”, unity with God and unity with our sisters and brothers; and especially, as our characteristic path, unity with our brothers and sisters so as to reach unity with God.  The Holy Spirit, in fact, gave us a way to unite ourselves with God that is fully according to the gospel.  We seek him and find him through our neighbour, by loving our neighbour.  This is

Rocca di Papa, October 20, 1976 Chiara spoke to those responsible for the Movement in the world and explained the immense reality and mystery of the Eucharist, defining the Movement as the fruit of “an affair between me and Jesus in the Eucharist”. “The Eucharist doesn't just produce effects that are beautiful and good, effects of sanctity and love; nor is its primary purpose that of increasing our unity with God and with one another (as we have understood unity up until now), and so of serving to nurture the presence of Jesus in the midst.  Yes, this is true too.  But the task of the Eucharist is something else. The purpose of the Eucharist is to make us God. It mingles Christ's flesh, which is given life by the Holy Spirit and life-giving, with our flesh, and thus divinizes us in soul and in body. Therefore it makes us God. Now God can only be in God. This is why the Eucharist takes a Christian who has worthily received it

Rome, Basilica di St Mary Major, 30 November 1987 Chiara gave a talk during the Marian Year at the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome. She ended with a prayer. text

March-April 1984 This text shows Chiara’s passion for the Church and implicit in it is the reality of the “Marian Profile” and the “Petrine Profile” which Pope John Paul II spoke to Chiara about in 1997. Sometimes people think, and this has often happened down through the centuries, that there is opposition between a hierarchical church, governed by the Pope and the Bishops, and a charismatic Church animated by special gifts of the Holy Spirit. In reality this is not the case. The Church seen as hierarchy and the Church which is admired for its particular charisms are complementary aspects of the one Church. In fact, Christ founded his Church on the Apostles and Prophets (cf Eph2:20) and a Church that is only hierarchical is not the one He had in mind, and the same applies to the so-called charismatic church. Hierarchy and charisms, in reality, are the workof the same Spirit, of the one Spirit, the Holy Spirit, put there so as to give life to the one Church. When

29 November (probably 1945) This is a letter addressed to Anna Melchiori to whom Chiara gave the name “Giovanna”,  from the name of the “disciple whom Jesus loved”. The various subjects touched upon in these few lines includemercy and the works of mercy. Dearest Giovanna, Saint Clare! On this feast day of All Franciscan Saints, may she give to  you all of her Seraphic Flame and burning love for our Abandoned Christ! Keep Him ever before you as the example of extreme love. He is Everything. He is the giver of unity. Giovanna, pray more (which means to pray well, very well). Let Jesus pray when, alive, he lives in your heart after Holy Communion. Let Him once again pray his final prayer to the Father that you maybe made worthy to work for the Greatest Ideal: God. Always get up and walk again. Remember that at the end of your life you’ll be asked for the 7 + 7 works of Mercy. If you did them, you did everything. And

Castel Gandolfo, December 8, 1996 Extract from a talk given by Chiara Lubich on the collective spirituality To believe in the extraordinary grace of being able to imitate Mary. Chiara shares here the experience of light that the Holy Spirit gave her, conveying this conviction to us and suggesting we can honour her in this way. … As we briefly look over the history of the Focolare Movement with regard to Mary, we can see more clearly who Mary is for us, and how she can be considered as a cornerstone of our spirituality. From the earliest days of the Focolare, although during that period of time it seemed that she was letting the Spirit highlight almost exclusively Jesus and his gospel, Mary appeared, although discreetly, in order to reveal to us at once her relationship with unity. Some examples. I wrote in 1947: “I am convinced that it is she [Mary] who wants unity. She [Mary]: Mater unitatis! … “She knows Satan, his promises, deceptions, and traps; and she calls