A
String of Pearls linking all the islands
A really warm welcome – from the National Shrine
of Baclaran to Tagaytay, from Manila to Cebu…
A chronicle of Maria Voce’s and Giancarlo Faletti’s
visit to the Philippines, January 17-31, 2010.
On January 17, coming from Tokyo, with all its efficiency
and perfection, and its rituals that mark not only the
Japanese day, but also the delicate and refined Japanese
soul, Maria “Emmaus” Voce and Giancarlo
Faletti found the welcome from Filipinos overwhelming
and moving.
They started their visit to the Philippines at one of
the must-see places, a place synonymous with the Filipino
national identity, which here means Christianity.
This was the Shrine of Baclaran, dedicated to “Our
Mother of Perpetual Help” who is venerated throughout
Asia under this name. This Church has never closed since
the day it was consecrated in 1958 and a constant stream
of people flows through its central nave to the altar
of the Madonna, often on their knees. Maria Voce placed
a bouquet of flowers in front of the icon of Mary, asking
her that “the presence of the Risen One among
us might also be ‘perpetual’ ”.
Then off they went to Tagaytay, a nice little town nestled
on top of a ridge. From up there, facing the province
of Cavite and the Metropolis of Manila, one has a great
view of the valley, and on the other side, Lake Taal
and its volcano and crater located in the center.
Tagaytay is where the F o c o l a r e Movement has built
one of its little towns, the Mariapolis Peace. From
January 18-23, Emmaus and Giancarlo visited this small
citadel with its different realities like the Bukas
Palad and Pagasa Social centers, New City Editorial
Office, the Carpentry Shop and Terra Moy. Noteworthy
was their visit to the School of Oriental Religions
or the SOR, where they recalled what Chiara Lubich had
written in 1982 on her first trip to Asia and the Philippines,
“Yesterday I understood that we have to know these
religions deeply… we are not able to open up a
fruitful dialogue with these brothers without knowing
their richness. I think that schools for this purpose
will be established also through the efforts of the
Movement.” On January 14, 1982, when Chiara Lubich
wrote these lines, she had just arrived in the Philippines,
fresh from the encounter in Tokyo in the Sacred Hall
of the Buddhist lay movement, the Rissho Kosei-kai.
In the following days, with the courage of the prophets,
she founded the School for Oriental Religions (S.O.R.)
that for almost twenty years now, has offered courses
to Focolare members on the various religions in Asia.
Here the participants, who come mostly from the Philippines
and some from neighboring countries, are trained in
a new way, both in the light of the charism of the spirituality
of communion, that has been revealed ever more as the
spirit of dialogue, and drawing from the teachings of
the Second Vatican Council, and the teachings of the
Church in these last forty years.
Today the school, directed by Prof. Kres Gabijan and
by Prof. Stephen Lo, is housed in a recently restored
facility that includes a library, a meeting room, and
various offices. Its current director is Mons. Francis
Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij, recently named archbishop
of Bangkok. Last March 2009, the S.O.R. offered a course
on “Interreligious dialogue in the teachings of
the Church,” where 250 people participated. Maria
Voce and Giancarlo Faletti visited the headquarters
of the School, laying down important guidelines for
the future, and above all for the training of a new
group of leaders who will ensure that Chiara Lubich’s
prophetic idea continues to inspire training in a mentality
of dialogue.
 On
January 21, there was the great “Fiesta”
at Terra Moy, which made Emmaus exclaim-- that this
place should be the “calling card” of Mariapolis
Peace. In Terra Moy, Mama Ini, one of its pioneer settlers,
moved slowly to take the stage, but when she began to
speak, her voice was strong and firm. No one would have
guessed that Mama Ini was 86 years old, and the most
senior resident of Terra Moy--that seven-acre land where
the families of Mariapolis Peace live. She shared, “Ever
since I came to know the Focolare many years ago, I
had always dreamed of moving up here from Manila where
I was living with my husband and our daughters.”
The dream of Mama Ini was one shared by many. Then,
in 1997, Chiara Lubich, during her second visit to Tagaytay,
placed the first stone for a section dedicated to the
families, and named after Moy de Los Angeles, one of
the first married Focolarini in the Philippines. Thirteen
years later, thirty-six houses have now been built and
another four will be finished within a year. That uncultivated
piece of land has become the home of a community with
wellconstructed, architecturally harmonious, single-family
residences, cemented streets and landscaped gardens.
At the center of the property, a large multi-purpose
hall has been constructed and dedicated to Wim Van Zeland,
a Dutch Focolarino who lived for many years in the Philippines.
Upon Emmaus and Giancarlo’s arrival in Terra Moy,
they were warmly greeted by a typically Filipino welcome:
a group of young people in local costumes, waving the
ever-present Mabuhay; and dances along the road before
the delegation. They were presented with garlands, and
then, a trip through the grounds on a horse carriage.
“Terra Moy is the welcoming symbol of Mariapolis
Peace,” Maria Voce said, speaking to all the residents.
“Those who come here should see this growing community
where this spirit is lived out in daily life. Everything
here should bear witness to the heritage that Chiara
has left us – to always be a family.” Maria
Voce greets the 3000 Focolare members in Manila
 January
24. In a spirit of communion and gratitude, the Focolare
family, which has been present in this country for more
than 40 years, presented the evangelical fruits of living
the spirituality of unity, some of which are having
a great social influence. Three thousand people met
on January 24 to welcome and celebrate together with
Emmaus, and Giancarlo Faletti.
‘Be
what you are!’ – this simple yet profoundly
meaningful wish expressed what Maria Voce and Giancarlo
Faletti had in their hearts at the end of the day spent
together at the Philippine International Convention
Center, with some 3000 members of the Focolare from
Manila , Northern and Southern Luzon, and 300 from Hong
Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The program included songs,
and experiences, some folklore, and a peaceful and meaningful
dialogue with the President and Co-President, which
concluded with a mass celebrated by bishops Mallari
and Alminaza, and about forty priests.
A spirit with a deep effect
Over these years, against a background of tumultuous
and inspiring political events, and the unquestionable
economic growth of the country (although 80% of the
country’s wealth is still in the hands of 5% of
the population), the evangelical spirit of communion
of the Focolare has penetrated in depth, and has become
part of both the social and the ecclesial life of the
nation.
“I’ve
seen a real revolution take place in the prisons where
we have introduced this evangelical spirit over the
past 40 years”, Renè, one of the first
youths to get to know the Focolare in 1967, recounts.
Today, his face framed by a white beard, transpiring
peace and serenity notwithstanding the many trials of
his life, he reports that “every month groups
of prisoners meet together to share how they have been
living the Gospel in the National Bilibid Prison in
Muntinlupa. A whole day’s program was organized
in a maximumsecurity prison last May 2009.
When they leave prison, several of these persons are
welcomed and then helped by the Focolare community to
reintegrate themselves in society.” Teresa was
also part of that group of young people back in the
turbulent years between 1960 and 1970. Together with
her husband, and also with two daughters who are young
professionals, today she directs Bangko Kabayan, a rural
bank which is part of the Economy of Communion project,
and which caters to ten thousand clients. Eighty five
percent of her clients are women from the poorer classes,
who with great courage, dignity and initiative have
successfully participated in a program of microcredit
run by the bank.
Even the recent crisis has not undermined the confidence
of Bangko Kabayan, which, acting with other rural banking
institutions and even with some rival firms, had a decisive
influence in saving several industries in the area where
they operate.
Not only has it survived the crisis and built up collaboration
with the administrative institutions, but it has also
shown that the bank, even in the field of finance, is
able to work together with competitors for the common
good.
 Besides
the long established work of Bukas Palad, which reaches
thousands of poor people in the slums of Manila, many
persons that day also mentioned the aid extended by
Sulyap ng Pagasa (Glimpse of Hope Project) to the people
struck by the recent t y p h o o n s “Ondoy”
and “Pepeng” which devastated the capital
city and many provinces late last year.
Celebrating as one big family with traditional dances,
mimes and songs, the Focolare meeting in Manila displayed
the cultural and spiritual riches of the Philippine
islands, but above all, it manifested the family spirit
which inspires all that is lived and done here. Chiara’s
picture in the background on stage, formed from a multitude
of pictures of members of the Movement, had a big impact.
It looked as though each person wanted to be a piece
of the spiritual mosaic that this woman from Trent has
created in the Church: communion and unity. Alongside
this picture, the words of her legacy stood out: “Be
a family!” It is interesting to note that the
organizers of the meeting added the words “All
for all” – a motto that Emmaus launched
recently to encourage the Movement, in all its many
expressions and components, to live out what Chiara
desired. In this spirit among the 3000 present, a special
welcome was given to the 300 members of the movement
who participated, from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao.
They are part of this immense family, with their own
rich, typically Chinese identity, which they presented
through traditional dances from varying parts of their
enormous country. Through the experiences of families,
young people and priests, they shared how the movement
reached Hong Kong in 1969, and later spread to Macao
and Taiwan. Several missionaries played an important
role in the initial diffusion of the Movement in this
part of the world.
Fr
Commisari, a PIME missionary, told Emmaus and Giancarlo
how, having met the movement at the summer Mariapolis
in Fiera di Primiero, Northern Italy. At the end of
the fifties, he was later sent to Hong Kong with another
priest. Once, upon seeing the city aglow with lights
at night, he had prayed so that the fire of the Focolare
would one day be lit there too.
 On
her way into the meeting hall, Maria Voce stopped to
thank Fr Taschner, a Divine Word missionary, who, although
now in a wheelchair, still has a lively expression and
shows great serenity. He was the one who made it possible
for the first focolarini to come to the Philippines.
Her “thank you” to Fr. Taschner contained
the gratitude of the whole Movement.
The key moment
The dialogue with Emmaus and Giancarlo Faletti consisted
of questions and answers with the Filipino and Chinese
communities. Among the first questions was one regarding
the future of the Movement: “How can we make Chiara
and her charism known to people who have never met her
personally?” Emmaus pointed out that it is up
to each one of us to bear witness to the charism with
our own lives. Questions were also asked about the many
social problems affecting the Philippines. Although
there is an apparent general affluence here, many poor
people survive on only one meal a day and only some
just manage to have two. “We cannot be passive.
We need to find real answers to these problems,”
Emmaus affirmed, ‘But our actions have to have
one characteristic – unity. This is the specific
contribution our Movement is asked to make. This means
that if we are united, Jesus, as He promised (Mt 18,
20) is present in the community and guides it. So He
is the one to guide us even in social projects. God
asks us to be united to give witness, so that the world
may believe.” A “Yes” to God spread
out over time
On January 28, after 10 days in the Philippines visiting
Manila and Tagaytay, and on the eve of her departure
for Cebu, Emmaus was invited to speak at the National
Congress for Priests (25-29 January 2010). She had been
invited to adress 5,000 priests present there on the
theme “The Call to Holiness”. In her talk,
she drew from her own experience, from her early years
in Calabria to her meeting with Chiara Lubich and her
evangelical spirituality of unity. This was followed
by a period of intense dialogue between her and Jesus
to the point that she decided to follow Him with a “yes,
repeated moment by moment”--a “yes”
which continued right up to her election as President
of the Focolare Movement in July 2008.
 In
Cebu, in the south of the Philippines
January 29-31. —After an hour and fifteen minutes
flight to Cebu, Emmaus and Giancarlo landed at the airport,
greeted personally by the Vice Director of Mactan International
Airport, and by an enthusiastic group from the Focolare.
Her first important meetings were those with the two
Focolare communities in Cebu and in Davao, and with
a group of the Movement’s leaders, representing
some of the various branches and works of the Focolare
in the southern part of the Philippine islands. Referring
in particular to the Philippines, and to the fact that
it has also been called the “Pearl of the Orient,”
Emmaus encouraged members to form “a string of
pearls linked by reciprocal love.” On Sunday,
January 31, at the Grand Convention Center of Cebu,
almost 850 members of the Focolare from the southern
Philippines gathered, hailing from widely different
islands like Cebu, Negros, Samar, Bohol, Panay, Leyte,
and Mindanao. The meeting was truly intercultural and
interreligious, with the presence of a group of thirteen
Muslims, and at the same time it was also ecumenical,
because of the participation of three pastors from the
United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP).
Emmaus and Giancarlo answered several questions from
members of the various communities, and concluded with
their impressions of the Philippines.
Referring to their visit to the famous Basilica of Santo
Niño, the image of which is much venerated and
loved by the Filipinos, and finding it similar to the
Filipinos, a population young and full of fresh energy,
Maria Voce recalled the words of Jesus: “Allow
the little ones to come unto me.” She was particularly
touched by Filipino sensitivity to what is sacred in
our devotion to the Sto. Niño (the Infant Jesus)
and to Mary, under her many titles. She even commented
that the first natives who accepted the Sto. Niño
were not just being sentimental about the Christian
faith, as their faith has survived and been handed down,
notwithstanding the difficulties throughout the nation’s
history. She then encouraged Filipinos to take a step
forward by going beyond their traditional devotion to
statues to become ourselves a living statue, or vibrant
communities where reciprocal love is ever present, as
in a string of pearls shining brightly and linking all
the islands.
Roberto Catalano with Jose Aranas
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A
Call to Holiness: A Continuous “Yes” to
God“
The
experience shared by Focolare President Maria Voce,
during the Second National Congress of Philippine Clergy
with 5,000 priests at the World Trade Center, Pasay
City last January 28, 2010.
On July 7, 2008, the Focolare Movement met as a General
Assembly to elect the focolarina who would succeed Chiara
Lubich. After three days of spiritual exercises, in
which there was truly a deep atmosphere of prayer and
communion, with a real effort from all to listen to
the Holy Spirit, at a certain point I felt that the
consensus of many delegates present, I can say almost
of everyone, was beginning to converge around my person.
It came as a shock to me, an absolute surprise for I
would never have imagined such a possibility. I n t
h e beginning, I was overcome by fear. Going to the
chapel I asked Jesus: “But Jesus, is this really
what you want from me? Are you asking me even this?”
And it seemed that he was telling me: “Yes, this
is really what I want from you.” So I felt that
at that delicate and crucial moment, a new chapter was
about to open up for me, a new chapter in a story of
love between Jesus and myself, one that has been going
on for more than 40 years.
This made me recall many moments of my life where I
had experienced a profound encounter with Jesus, starting
on the day of my First Holy Communion.
I felt then that my life was opening up to Him like
a blank sheet of paper, at the bottom of which I wrote
“amen,” leaving it up to him to fill in
the rest, certain that he would have done so.
Another moment was in Lourdes in 1958, when I asked
Our Lady to help me encounter someone or something that
would totally fill the emptiness that at times I felt
inside—a feeling which I could not understand
because I could claim to have everything: a good family,
all the material things necessary, success in my studies,
and so forth.
That is when I met some young people from the Focolare
Movement, who made it possible for me to begin an absolutely
new life. During my first visit to the Focolare house,
I asked them, “What do I have to do in order to
be like you?”, and they told me that it was enough
to begin to live the Gospel, because it was a way of
life, and not so much an organization. There, I had
also felt that Jesus was asking me to make this pact
to live with Him and I started to make my first experiences.
For instance, out of love for Him, I tried simply to
love and listen to my aunt, who would go on and on about
things that did not interest me and which I had ignored
in the past.
Later, after some time, I recalled sleepless nights
when I seemed to understand that Jesus was asking me
to consecrate my life to Him. I struggled about it because
it seemed to be a figment of my imagination, that it
wasn’t true. I did not want to risk losing the
chance to say “yes” to Jesus, but I also
didn’t want to fool myself.
 One
morning though, I finally gave in and after receiving
Communion I told him: “Fine, if it’s true
that you want me, I am ready.” Then I felt His
call was real and that I had to leave my family and
give my whole life to God in the Focolare.
Another special moment arrived when I was asked to go
to Turkey, a country about which I knew neither the
culture nor the language, and where I did not know what
to do. Yet I felt that Jesus was calling me there, and
so my “yes” was a “yes” to Him,
and not to the circumstances nor to answer the needs
that someone shared with me, but a “‘yes”
to Jesus.
Therefore, throughout all these experiences, I had the
impression that it was nothing other than that same
“yes” that Jesus had already asked me for
many times in the past, and that He was asking me for
once again at the Assembly in July 2008. It seemed more
difficult this time, because He was asking me to fill
Chiara’s shoes which, I believe and so does everyone
else, are absolutely impossible to fill because she
was the foundress and had the grace as the foundress.
At the same time however, I felt that Chiara really
wanted to entrust her Movement to someone and she was
asking me to accept this responsibility.
Going before the tabernacle, I remember asking her:
“But Chiara, is this really what you are asking
of me?” I felt her telling me: “What have
I presented to you right from the start when you began
to follow me? I presented to you Jesus forsaken as the
Ideal of my life, and therefore of yours too, and He
asks us to give everything for unity. So do you want
to draw back now? Are you not ready to give Him everything?”
I could absolutely not draw back. Since it was something
that God himself was asking of me, I had to say my “yes.”
And I had to translate this “yes” into concrete
service to the Movement that God had raised up through
Chiara: the Work of Mary.
The Charism of Unity As is well-known by now, the Church
has confirmed on a number of occasions that the spirituality
of the Focolare Movement is the fruit of a charism that
God has sent for the good of many people.
Therefore, it has revealed itself as an experience of
the Spirit, which brings with it a spiritual force for
genuine newness in the life of the Church.
As it was for Chiara too, for me too, my total choice
of God-Love means to love my brothers and sisters, for
we are all children of the same Father, all immensely
loved by Him. God cannot accept us by ourselves. He
wants us to journey with Him, and together with our
brothers and sisters.
The spirituality of the Movement, which is clearly a
collective one, leads us to discover in our neighbor
not an obstacle, but rather our typical way to reach
union with God.
Chiara would tell us: “The more a small plant
sinks its roots into the ground, the more its stem shoots
up and its leaves flower. Similarly with human beings;
the more they reach out to their neighbor for love of
God, the more they draw closer to God, and the more
their union with Him grows.” It is with our neighbor
that we can live out all the words of the Gospel and
all the nuances of charity, which require us to always
love everyone as ourselves, to be the first to love,
even our enemies, to the point of creating that reciprocity
that permits Jesus to live among men and women.
In fact, if there are two or more who live in this way,
trying to put Jesus’ commandment, par excellence,
into practice: “As I have loved you, so you also
should love one another” (Jn 13:34), then love
becomes mutual. Jesus establishes His spiritual dwelling
among us. God- Love, discovered as splendid and in a
new way, comes down in our midst.
He was the magnet who attracted me so strongly when
I had met those university students of the Movement
for the first time! Gathered in the love of God, they
were living out the words of the Gospel: “Where
two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in their
midst” (Mt 18: 20).
His presence is the most powerful aid for our journey
to holiness. He enlightens us on the steps to take,
He gives us courage to carry out our proposals, He urges
us to share among us all our Gospel-based experiences,
to put joys and sufferings in common; in one word, to
strive for sanctity together. At the same time, our
unity, born from the new commandment put into practice,
becomes a proclamation and a witness for the world,
as St. John’s Gospel points out: “May they
all be one… so that the world may believe it was
you who sent me” (Jn 17:21).
Jesus among us urges us to look at the world as He looked
at it then: in order to love it, to save it, and to
make humanity experience the peace and light that He
brings. This is why He calls us lay people to remain
in the world, with all its difficulties and conflicts,
with its anguish and questions, so that people around
us may be won over by this force, this joy, this perennial
celebration among us. In this way, the Church can go
beyond the boundaries of the buildings of worship and,
in full communion between clergy and laity, can come
closer to humanity today. Together we answer Jesus’
call to evangelize the world.
Maria
"Emmaus" Voce
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