Our souls are longing for this

From the desk of Fr. Ignatius Waters, cp

Sunday, 27th January 2019

Chirara Lubich, was the Founder of the Focolare Movement. In 2004, she spoke at Westminster about the movement and the future of multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-faith societies like we have in so many countries today. She said: “When it began, no one had any projects or plans in mind. The idea for this Movement was in God, the design was in heaven. Even with our most optimistic predictions we could never have imagined that we would see the progressive coming together of this “people”, as Pope John Paul often describes our movement.

It brings together, like a real family, people of different languages, races, nations and also faiths, because being made up of numerous Christians of numerous churches, there are also followers of various religions and people who do not have a religious faith but who share with the others great human values such as justice, solidarity, peace and human rights.”

In 1997, at the suggestion of Rabbi Jack Bemporad, Sacred Heart University in Fairfield Connecticut recognised her contributions to interreligious dialogue. In his presentation of the honorary degree, the rabbi noted how “her love, her light, her joy, and her work have done so much to unite humanity in all the nations of the world. I know that the work of Focolare and the work of Chiara Lubich is a work that will continue because her work is founded on two basic ideas. First the ideal of love, and then the ideal of unity.” About the same time, Imam W.D.Mohammed, spiritual leader of the largest group of Muslims in the U.S. said, “What the Focolare proposes is what our souls understand and want. Our souls are thirsting for this.”

Our souls are certainly thirsting for this. Unity in our own church, unity with all Christian churches and unity with all people on planet Earth. Remember Jesus prayed “That all may be one” Jn 17:21