Riccardi

Castel Gandolfo, January 29, 1998 Love needs declarations… (...) "Lately, wherever you went, you left a word that sums up a reality for that community. What word do you have to offer to us ?" Chiara: A journalist in Palermo asked me the same question. She said: "We've understood that in the Movement you're able to sum up lots of things in just a few words," a life, I would say. “Could you tell me about one of these slogans that you have?" “Well," I said, "I'll tell you the latest," and it's what I will tell you. It's what I mentioned to our focolarini priests. It’s this: "To tell you that I love you," “To tell you that I love you."I like it, I like it very much, because... I don't love you only... I love each one of you individually, as much as I can love you, but I love you in order to tell Jesus that I love him, that is, without any personal interests, without wanting to

Rome (Città Nuova), 25 July 2000 Commentary of the Word of Life: I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (Jn 6:35) In his Gospel John tells how, after the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus went to Capernaum. There he gave his discourse on the bread of life during which he said: ‘Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you’ (Jn 6:27). For those who were listening to him it was a clear reference to manna and also to the awaited ‘second’ manna that would come down from heaven in the Messianic age. Shortly afterwards, in that same discourse, to a crowd that still did not understand him, Jesus presented himself as the true bread come down from heaven, which is to be accepted through faith: II am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be

Sierre (CH), 16 September 1982 In the spirituality of unity the accent is placed on our yes to God. The no to our ego is a logical consequence Dearest all,"If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off ...” (Mt 18:8). A few days ago, I read a wonderful passage from the letters of St. Paul, and it made me understand how he personally lived those "cuts" that Jesus speaks about. After encouraging the Christians' to imitate athletes, who undergo a lot of sacrifices to win the wreath of victory, he speaks of himself and says: "I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:27).He felt the desire, the urge, the need to be an example for them. That is why he says, "I punish my body and enslave it." That is what we too must do with ourselves.Is our ego rebelling against God's will, not wanting to work as it should, to study properly, to pray