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Rocca di Papa, 18 July 1967 Presenter: "... Any day now, His Holiness, the great Roman Pope, will go on a pilgrimage in this old city."We take this great opportunity to bring the Churches even closer. We are nearing the goal of unity." These are the words expressed in these days by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Athenagoras, referring to the upcoming visit of Pope Paul VI to Istanbul and Ephesus. It’s a serene and affectionate declaration of a great soul, of a man of our times. These are the words of someone who, three years ago, was already a protagonist with Pope Paul, in an historical encounter in Palestine. Who is this man? What are his feelings, his hopes and his goals? How can we describe his personality?Miss Chiara Lubich, foundress and president of the Focolare Movement, just before the announcement of the Pope’s visit, had the opportunity to meet with him precisely in these days in Constantinople.What are your first impressions from your recent encounter with Patriarch Athenagoras?    Chiara:

Rome. (written before 1963) Living everything “within”, living and dying, makes sense… Those who love You sincerely, Lord, often feel Your presence in the silence of their room or in the depths of their heart, and this sensation moves them to the very core of their being. They thank You for being so near to them – indeed, for being everything to them: for being the One who gives meaning to their living and their dying. They thank You… but often the way and the words with which to thank You elude them. They only know that You love them and that they love You, and there is nothing so sweet here on earth that is even remotely similar. What they experience when You draw near is paradise and, almost involuntarily, there spring to their lips the words: “If this is paradise, then it is truly wonderful!” They thank You, Lord, for their lives and for having guided them this far. There may be lingering shadows to darken this foretaste of

Rome (Città Nuova), 25 December 2001 Commentary of the Word of Life: For with you is the fountain of life. (Psalm 36:9) ... This Word of Scripture tells us something so important and vital that it can be an instrument of reconciliation and communion.First of all it tells us that there is only one source of life, God. It is from God, from his creative love, that the universe is born and he makes it the home of humankind.It is God who gives us life with all its gifts. The Psalmist knows the harshness and dryness of the desert and what it means to have a spring of water with all the life that flourishes around it. He could find no better image to sing of creation that springs like a river from the heart of God. And so a hymn of praise and gratitude wells up from the human heart. This is the first step to take, the first teaching to grasp from the words of the Psalm: to praise

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