A Word from Your Pastor - July 17

Dear Parishioners:

As I have shared with you in the past several years, I have found great support through a connection with the Focolare Movement, one of the new developments in the Catholic Church that includes all the diverse members of the Church in a spirituality of Unity.  I first met the Focolare (pronounced “FOH-koh-La-Ray”) as a student in Rome during my years of seminary. 

This movement had its beginnings in Trent during the Second World War.  A group of young women decided together that they wanted to take God as Love the Ideal by which they would live no matter what happened.  They told one another that they were willing to die for one another - taking the example of Jesus Himself in the Gospels, as He teaches about the Vine: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:3).  “We looked each other in the face and each one declared; ‘I am ready to give my life for you.’”  When they began to live this way, what they named “the Pact of Mutual Love,” they began to experience the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that He would be with them since they were gathered in His Name.  With “Jesus in their midst,” they began to know a growing sense of a call to service and to work to build unity in the world.

The willingness to die for one another in Jesus’ Name is the hallmark of Christian Love.  You may read more about the story of the beginnings of the Focolare Movement that speaks of the "Pact of Mutual Love" here:

 http://www.focolare.org/en/chiara-lubich/spiritualita-dellunita/amore-reciproco/

The Focolare Movement has been given formal approval by the Catholic Church.  Chiara Lubich, the Foundress, worked closely with several Popes, including Pope Saint John Paul II on this.  She was instrumental through the years in drawing various religious leaders together across denominations and religions.  Even people of good will with no religious affiliation are associated with the work of the Focolare.

I share this with you now because this weekend, I am participating in a Focolare gathering called a “Mariapolis,” that is a “City of Mary,” in Valparaiso, Indiana.  This is a kind of retreat, shared by members of the Movement and others who want to share an experience of unity.  I will be praying for you and ask you to pray for me and all who are part of the Mariapolis.  I hope that the fruit of Unity will be able to overflow into our life together at St. Timothy Church.

In my absence, St. Timothy Church welcomes the Missionary Appeal for Our Blessed Mother of Victory Mission that cares for the most disadvantaged Filipino children.  I know you will be welcoming and generous in your response.