Source:
www.focolare.org
Rome,
Italy. At the Pontifical Urbaniana University an array of witnesses from
different religions, following a path of dialogue traced out by Chiara Lubich.
Their private audience with Pope Francis.
Some
words of Grand Buddhist Master Ajahng Thong became rather famous when Chiara
Lubich accepted his invitation to share her Christian experience at a monastery
in Thailand (1997): “When we are in darkness and someone brings us a light, we
don’t ask whether the person is a man or a woman, young or old [and so it is
with Chiara who] will speak to us of the light she has discovered.”
What
took place today was not merely a commemoration, but a step into the future,
rooted in the experience begun by Chiara Lubich and now shared by many, despite
their individual differences. Roberto Catalano from the Focolare’s centre for
interreligious dialogue called it: “a choral witness that testifies to a common
decision and commitment. We’ve been meeting in many parts of the world,
discovering that we can become brothers and sisters. We are called to continue
this path together, making it real in our daily lives.” The audience of 500
guests included 250 people who had previously attended a three-day interreligious
convention at the Mariapolis Centre in Castel Gandolfo.
Among
these there was a group from 8 religions who had attended a private audience
with Pope Francis prior to the general audience of March 19, 2014. Iranian
Muslim theologian Shahrzad Houshmand remarked: “He’s a fatherly figure who
increased the brotherhood among us.” She also presented a letter to the Pope in
the name of all the Muslims attending the Focolare gathering, in which they
expressed their “profound love and respect for him and for his outreached hand
towards Muslims around the world”. Hindu Professor Kala Acharya said that she
gladly welcomed the Pope’s invitation to continue this journey without ever
stopping: ‘For us too, the joy of the journey is more important than reaching the
destination.’” Then the Pope turned to all of them and said: “Pray for me.”
Enriched
by this experience, later in the afternoon, the interreligious convention
opened its doors to the public. The venue chosen was the Pontifical Urbaniana
University, which is known for its interest in world cultures and religions.
The title of the gathering was: “Chiara and Religions”, but it could equally
have been called Chiara and different religious paths. In her address, Focolare
president Maria Voce stated: “Among her outstanding skills, perhaps the one
that spoke most to today’s world was dialogue. Chiara had intuited that the
path of the human family could be a different one, one directed towards peace.
However, the condition for this would be a radical change of mentality, because
‘not only is the other person not a threat to me – but a gift!’” What was
Chiara’s secret? Maria Voce explained it like this: “Love, the love which
Chiara who was a Catholic discovered in the Gospel and in Jesus. But she also
found the presence of love in other faiths and cultures.” This presence of love
transforms a “potential clash of civilizations into an authentic encounter of
men and women from different cultures and religions.”
Cardinal
Arinze (once president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue)
presented the impact of Chiara’s charism on dialogue: “The focolarini and
focolarine are a people on the march, in communion, on the move. They go out to
the peripheries: they go out, encounter, dialogue, listen and collaborate.”
The
day concluded with a series of testimonies from Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and
Jews: Dr Waichiro Izumita, Japanese Buddhist from the Risho Kosei Kai; and
Thailandese monk Phra Thongrattana Thavorn who prefers to be known by the name
given to him by Chiara – Luce Ardente (Burning Light). He told of his first
personal meeting with Chiara: “I was overwhelmed by her, by her eyes, her
simplicity, concern and respect for who I was, her deep listening, that
indescribable atmosphere. . . She talked to me about her Christian life, about
her charism of unity. . . I also felt like one of her children, also because of
the light that I received and the zeal to spread the light of unity among all.”
Rabbi David Rosen from Jerusalem: “The commandment to love God invites us to
follow the example of Abraham: to behave in such a way that God is also loved
by others. This is what we see in the
Focolare Movement.” Then spoke Imam Ronald Shaheed from the Mosque of Milwaukee
and close collaborator of Imam W D Mohammed; and Ahmer Al-Hafi, professor of
Comparative Religions in Jordan: “Chiara has helped me to understand the Koran
in all of its deepest senses. I understood from Chiara that love is the essence
of God, and that the religion of love is one.” Vinu Aram, Hindu and honorary
President of the Religions for Peace Assembly, met Chiara when she was a
teenager and Chiara was a friend of her parents. As an adult she discovered
Chiara’s great message, which now continues to inspire her on her journey to “build
a more united world, a world in which everyone can feel at home.”
The
“dialogue and prophecy” continue. A journalist asked Maria Voce if Chiara had a
dream. Maria Voce responded: “She once confided her dream: she wanted to bring
the world to God in her arms. Now we try to be her arms to help bring this
world all united to God.”
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