Yes to Jesus, No to our Ego

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

Mariapolis Araceli (Brazil), 31 May 1991 This is when the economy of communion was born. Chiara had just launched the idea and wants to involve also the young people of Brazil You are very important because this turning point begins now, but it will explode later, when the young people, the Gen, will have a leading part. So you must be formed with these ideas and be informed of all that happens. I heard that one of you has already begun to do something concrete. You must support him, help him, give him advice, share the responsibilities, do whatever you can... It's not enough for us to observe only the principles of the Christian social doctrine on human rights, workers’ rights, and so on. We want the owners of these businesses, if they have made the Ideal their own, to give all the profits so as to live communion among all. Among whom? Meanwhile let’s begin with our Movement. We are about one hundred and fifty thousand people in Brazil, among

Rocca di Papa, 23 December 1983 Jesus revealed himself to Chiara as crucified and forsaken. The origin of this inspiration which is so vital for her and her Movement is described here (...)We have in fact felt the urgency not only of a legitimate desire, but also of the Church's guidance - which, to safeguard the authenticity of their inspiration, invites religious families and movements to refashion themselves in conformity to the times when the Holy Spirit brought them to birth. When we look back to the beginnings of the Focolare, we see that, even before we had acquired ideas about the way to realize unity, a model was proposed to us, a figure, a life: that of Him who was able to truly "make Himself one" with all the human beings who have lived in the past, live now in the present, and will live in the future; He effected unity, paying for it by the cross, with His blood and His cry; He who has given His presence to

Castel Gandolfo, 8 December 1996 God progressively wanted to show Chiara who Mary is, with a climax during the “special” summer of 1949 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...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 her children to be united, to help oneanother as they journey along the way of love!”1Another letter from 1947: “Our Lady wants us to be united in our journey! She knows that ‘where two or more’ are united in the holy name of her Son, he is in their