Riccardi

June 25, 1999 Commetary on the Word of Life: The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it (Mt. 13:45-46) In this very brief parable, Jesus captures the imagination of his listeners. Everyone knew the value of pearls: along with gold, they were the most precious things one could possess. The Scriptures also spoke of wisdom, that is, of the knowledge of God, as something that was so valuable that it could not be compared to “any priceless gem" (Wis 7:9). What emerges in the parable, however, is the description of an unusual and surprising event: the merchant caught sight of a pearl, perhaps in a bazaar; only his expert eye could see that this pearl had enormous value. From it he could derive considerable profit. This is why, after careful calculation, he decided that it was well worth it to sell everything he had to buy the pearl.

February 25, 1976 Città Nuova OPEN DIALOGUEby Chiara Lubich You have chosen God as the Ideal of your life, and hundreds of thousands of people the world over have discovered and chosen Him with you, in contrast to the current deep spiritual crisis. What makes this ideal of God so fascinating? Il The fact is that not I, not we, haven chosen God, but God has chosen us. And He made Himself known with His beauty, His attraction, His personal love and His truth. He revealed Himself above all through the Gospel which we discovered to be true.In the thirty-two years that we have been living this life, He never let us down: His promises have always come through.He said: “Give and it shall be given to you,” and it has always been so.He said: “”Ask and you will receive,” ask united in my name and you will receive, and it has always been so.He promised the conversion of those around us if we are united in His name: “May they

How easy it is to notice a profound desire beginning to take hold in Christians; I would even call it an urgency. They show a desire to serve the Church not so much and not only in outward, material ways but in a different manner, more in tune with their faith, more essential.One sees, especially among laity, that the way people used to think about becoming saints is not much appreciated; indeed at times they consider it outdated. The style of sanctity for today’s Christian goes beyond that of perfection sought individually, and they often express it like this: we want to become saints together, we desire a collective sanctity.So here and there we see committed Christians forming groups who, in unity, go toward God.In fact it seems to us that this is what God really wants, so long as it all has the stamp of openness, the pulse of the entire Church, a loving unity with the hierarchy. The face of the Church, with its lights and shadows, ought to