Con Maria Desolata

Vatican Radio, 10th September 1997 In an interview shortly after Mother Teresa’s death Chiara Lubich outlined the key stages in their deep friendship, highlighting among other things Mother Teresa’s “feminine genius” in fulfilling the mission God gave her in the Church. Speaker: Two women in dialogue: Mother Teresa and Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement.Their first conversation took place in 1978. Then, over the years, there were other meetings and many letters. The dialogue between the two women best known in the Catholic Church was very deep, focused on their shared choice of God which was fulfilled in concrete works of different types.What most impressed Chiara Lubich about Mother Teresa?  Let’s hear what she said to Adriana Masotti.Chiara: I remember the first time I met her I was very struck by her determination.  You could see she was someone who wanted to fulfil the mission God had given her right to the end. Another thing that struck me on other occasions was her simplicity, her constant union with God. And

Rocca di Papa, 20 December 1984 In this telephone conference call, Chiara Lubich stresses the importance and value of charity, following the example of St Augustine and St Jerome. Dear All, … We have been called, above all, to give the world a show of perfect charity, charity which is love for God and which is proved by love of neighbour.We also spoke about charity in the last conference call and many of us were struck when we understood that love for our neighbours does not mean being ready to die for them but to actually die, not being ourselves so as to be the other, to live the others. The impression it left seemed so strong and beneficial that I was doubtful about offering a new thought for our journey. I was doubtful but then I became convinced that it is a good idea to stay with this concept a little longer so as to assimilate it better and to try and try again to put it into practice.So, in

Naples, May 4, 1996 Chiara Lubich answered this question put to her during a press conference. Question: You have chosen God as Your ideal, and Mary as your model. In fact, you have established that the president of your Movement will always be a woman. Chiara: We think of Mary in the same way as the Church thinks of her. We are not a Marian Movement like the Daughters of Mary, for example. …Our view of Mary is Christ-centred. Certainly, ours is not just devotion; we want to imitate Mary, because devotion is not enough for us. We feel that it wouldn’t be right to have a devotion, and then to lead our lives as usual. We see her as our model. Even as a little girl, she gave herself completely to God. Then she lived as a young woman, a fiancée, a wife, a mother, a virgin and a widow. Therefore, we see her as the model for every time of life, both for women and men.Then, we consider her in