7. Violet - Love Unites

Love Unites

We will now take a look at the final "aspect" of the spirituality of unity, the one that concerns social commu­nication and that we often refer to as the "violet."

Our Model

The model for the violet, as with all the other aspects, is in the life of the Most Holy Trinity, where there is perfect communication. We can understand this from what Jesus said, referring to the Father: "All I have is yours" (Jn 17:10).

I prepared what I am going to say by analyzing, as I did in other years, the documents from the Movement's past history (writings, talks, diaries, and so on), and I realized that the Statutes deal with this subject quite extensively. All that remains for me to do, then, is to gather some specific points and to offer them in order to keep us aware of our obligations, both great and small.

I decided to do this by relating what the Spirit has given us throughout these fifty-nine years of the Focolare's life, taking one decade at a time.

The '50s

I was reminded of the '50s when I received a long letter from Pope John Paul II, sent to me when, on 20 January 2000, the citizenship of Rome was conferred upon me. This letter gave me great joy because of its kind sugges­tions to me, among which the Pope wrote: "I call down

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upon you the strength and the light of the Holy Spirit, so that you may continue to be a courageous witness of faith and love, not only among the members of the Focolare, but also among all those you meet along your way."

This was something new, an unprecedented directive on the part of the Holy Father, which immediately turned my thoughts back to a writing from 1951, a page that continues to be fundamental.

At that time the Focolare Movement was not as it is now. It existed in an undeveloped form, with only the men and women Focolarini, some well-prepared lay people and youth, and a few men and women religious and dioc­esan priests. Probably because the consecrated people (that is, the men and women Focolarini) stood out among all the others, the whole Movement was called the "Order of Mary," following the example of other religious families. This writing was entitled: How the Order of Mary relates those who do not belong to it.¹

It began like this:

"The Order of Mary does not live for itself.

"Like Mary, who lived only for Jesus, the Order of Mary lives for the Church. It lives, also for those who are not directly part of it and finds its (fulfillment, its) sanctity, in loving them. By doing so, the Order of Mary lives out the law of the Gospel, which requires us to die in order to live:

Those who lose their life . . . will find it' (Mt 10:39).

"Wherever there is disunity, cold, worldliness, the cross, loneliness, illness, war, strife, and so on, the Focolarini, forgetting themselves, bring unity, warmth, heaven, com­pany, health, peace, and harmony.

"Thus the Order of Mary is open to action in all fields:

in families, schools, workplaces, government offices, con-

1. Author's Note: I will quote from some early writings; many were origi­nally spoken and later written down, and have been adapted to put them into written language.

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vents of every spirituality, associations. It is open to kind of every human and religious society [we already foresaw, for example, a renewed politics and economy]."

"A fraternal relationship is established — because of the ideal of unity itself—between the Focolarini and other people [at this point we are only talking about the Catho­lic world]; and (esus, who already lives among the Focolarini united in his name, will be able to live and does live also among us and others, drawing all to be one in God, in Love.

"Therefore, the only innovation that the Focolarini want to bring about is love, which they know is capable of chang­ing the face of the earth. The only new organization is that of the Order of Mary, because everything is already organized in the Church. But the Focolarini want to con­tribute to the life of all the organizations so that every­thing that is done in the Church may be done in love, in a more profound and a more constant way, giving them new value. . . .

"They know that nothing is better organized than that which is put in order by love.

"The Focolarini love and admire all the different 'ways' that exist, because in all of them they find an aspect of the beauty of Jesus, who is the way, in which they would like everyone to walk, united in love, in order to break down the divisions, partitions, provincial attitudes, and all that is not catholic, that is, not universal."

That was the excerpt from 1951.

We know that with time other branches, like that of the priests, the Volunteers, the Gen 2, Gen 3, Gen 4, the men and women Religious, and so forth, came to be part of that Order of Mary, which then became the Work of Mary. But it becomes increasingly clear to us that they belong to it for the sake of the Church — as various in-

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struments that foster the bond which the Movement must have with other realities present in the Church.

And already we have a glimpse of the unity developing between the Movement and the communities within the Church, both the modern and the ancient ones.

Considering the above writing, then, in the light of the Pope's guidance given on 22 January 2000, we cannot but see it as being remarkably relevant. It is a writing that expresses the soul of the "violet," that is the drive to live outside ourselves, for others, the duty to communicate the treasure we possess.

Continuing in the '50s, we turn to a talk given to the people in charge of the zone which emphasizes that this "seventh aspect"² should be lived first of all within the Work of Mary, where it must nurture our mutual love:

"What belongs to one should be communicated to the others, at least to those around us, so that brotherly corn-

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munion may grow.

"To this end, we should always try to foster mutual love among the members of the Focolare through phone calls, letters, etc. It is normal practice for us to communi­cate in an appropriate way whatever we know; by doing so the Focolare continues to be a body in which the blood

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is always circulating."

Back in the '50s, one of the first ideas on the violet was about our magazine, which is an instrument of communi­cation. It was seen as a way of conveying the spirit we wish to live by (it transmitted opinions, and so had a lim­ited circulation) and was a means of keeping us united. In a letter of mine from March 1958, we read:

2. That is, the violet, since it is the seventh of the seven aspects of love, corresponding to the "last" color in the rainbow.

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"We have learned that many people like our magazine because several articles convey the Ideal. Imagine what it would be like if the magazine were to reach fifty, seventy, even one hundred thousand people. Through the experi­ences printed there, which may relate small incidents but contain the essence of all cultures, that is, the Gospel, Jesus could (bit by bit) set the world ablaze with his love and use the magazine as an instrument for keeping us all connected."

Reading this letter, we spontaneously thank God for the twenty-nine editions of the magazine, and for the sev­enty thousand copies printed in the Italian edition alone!

The '60s

We found appealing the fact that unity — as we noted from Jesus' prayer — cannot be disconnected from uni­versality, because it says "May all be one." In one writing it says:

"If this Ideal had come on earth during the times of Saint Francis, for example, it would not have been achiev­able because America had not yet been discovered.

"In this century, instead, unity is possible. Since we were born in the era of airplanes, radio, and television, we are more likely to reach unity, always assuming that we are up to the task. And it will come about in a natural, unspectacular way — certainly not in our generation, and perhaps not even in the next or the one after that, but little by little it will, yes, all over the world."

Here is another thought from those years with regard to the universality of our ideal of unity:

"Jesus' Testament does not only say 'May they be one as you and I,' but it says 'May all be one.'

"Our focolares, our Movement would be a closed circle

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if we did not have universality as well as unity. If the stamp of universality does not go hand in hand with our unity, our unity is false.

"Our religious community is the world. We must, cer­tainly, come together in community, gather with one an­other ('ecclesiastical' comes from assembly, to gather together), but ... to gather together everyone."

During the '60s the thing that dominated our minds and our hearts was Mary Desolate at the foot of the cross, when Jesus entrusted to her a new maternity, as mother of John, in whom all people were represented. The Holy Spirit had been intent upon revealing Mary Desolate to us and making us love her, very deeply, under many different as­pects: not just as a masterpiece of all virtues, but specifi­cally as the universal mother, who with her love keeps all people together as her children. This is why we link the figure of Mary with the violet.

These were also the years in which we began to speak about the monthly reports sent to the Center of Move­ment as an instrument of the violet. I found a writing from Oberiberg, in Switzerland (where we used to spend the summer, even though we carried on working while we were there): "This is the year of the reports. It was pre­cisely in her desolation that Mary became the bond of unity with all her children, because it was in her desola­tion that she paid for her universal spiritual maternity.

"We should relate our reports to Mary. While the re­ports may seem to be bureaucratic tools, in reality they are a way for Mary to stay in touch with us, in her Work [we always envisioned the Focolare as her Work] spread throughout the world."

With regard to the reports, we find written:

"The reports are somewhat like the Acts of the Apostles.

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In a hundred years, people will go to our archives to read our acts, acts of us early 'apostles' of the ideal of unity. For example, they will want to know how the Ideal was born and developed in France, what it brought to Algeria, and so on.

"They are the record of a Work of God. They demon­strate how Mary acted, how she governed, how she reigned in this Work.

"At times, certain Works are studied merely on the ba­sis of historical documents. These documents are like the photograph of a Work, and they represent the living pres­ence of a past that has determined the present."

The following reference to Paul is also revealing.

"Updating^ is essential, just as is our outreach and ev­erything else we do.

"I am reading the Acts of the Apostles. Wherever Paul goes, he sows widely and then he always leaves a small group of disciples. These he cultivates by visiting them again, by letters, by exhortations, by living with them for long periods of time, and by setting up among them the ecclesiastical hierarchy that will continue his work.

"When he returns to already established communities, he updates the disciples on all that the Lord has done through him, and they all give glory to God."

Our way of doing things follows the same line.

No aspect, however, not even the violet, has any value if it is not based upon that which is the very foundation of the Work of Mary: the presence of Jesus among us. The violet must always contribute toward supporting, nurtur­ing, and recomposing this presence.

3. This term is used to indicate the internal communication of news regarding the life of the Work of Mary.

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Meaningful in this regard is a page of my diary from the '60s in which we find the "norm of all norms," the "premise of every other rule." It speaks of the One who links people and makes them one.

We read: "Jesus among us is the soul of the 'violet.' Without him whatever means we use are dead and use­less. . . .

"Wherever he is present, the Church is alive with the new face given to her by the Council.

"Everything is alive, alive, alive, because of his pres­ence, which is linked to several aspects of unity: unity with those in authority, unity among ourselves, unity with all humanity, and it brings with it the fragrance of that infallibility which the Council attributes to the People of God (cf. Lumen Gentium 12).

"With him therefore, we are on safe ground. . . .

"We have to bear this in mind, keep it in our thoughts and above all in our actions, as a fixed idea, as the first natural duty of a Focolarino.

"Everything else (including the 'violet') is in second place."

Hence, for instance, whenever any kind of "up-dating" arrives from the Center, do not listen to it until Jesus in your midst is in control, that is until there is charity among everyone.

We speak of correspondence, too, emphasizing its im­portance.

"One of the activities we still tend to neglect in the focolares is correspondence.

"Since our vocation is not directly concerned with, for example, caring for the sick, or caring for orphans, or car­ing for prisoners, but we are concerned, rather, with nur­turing people and, at times, 'converting' them, correspon­dence is our 'surgical instrument' for achieving this goal."

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In another diary entry we find:

"Our Rule emphasizes our need to use the most 'effec­tive' and 'modern' means, and it says that this is because of the necessity of bringing our ideas to the 'greatest num­ber of people in need of God.'

"Therefore, we must not let ourselves rest; we should plan to use not only printed materials but also the radio (which we already do), television (which we are starting to use), cinema and the theater. These are all means to be entrusted to the Heart of Jesus, so that, in his own time, he can make them develop to the full bv giving us the necessary ideas, technology and economic means."

We are also beginning to feel the need to take full ad­vantage of all that has been communicated. It is good advice to go back and meditate — a little at a time — on all that material so rich in wisdom.

Some thought from the 70s

In May 1970 we reiterated the importance of the ar­chives, that collect and order our documents.

"We are sorting out the archives," we read in a diary. "There are very important documents — treasures of our Movement—which we have collected year after year, and which express, for example, the gradual and increasingly affirmative approval given us by the Church.

"It is an inestimable wealth for all the centuries to come. In reading certain records we have the impression of read­ing a magnificent novel; it's the story of a work of God."

Of great importance, too, is a collection of what I wrote and said about our Rule (that is, the Statutes).

In fact over the years as I wrote our twelve Statutes which, as the Movement grew little by little, became in­creasingly complete, I always experienced a special grace

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to present the Movement both for that time period and for the future, almost as if the charism contained a pro­phetic element.

A diary from 1971 describes how we strive to live unity in my focolare. 1 mention it here as an example because we can see the fruit that comes from having always com­municated everything, in such a way as to become always more fully one:

"The philadclphia in my focolare is more than real. It is from this, after my personal union with Jesus, that I draw the strength to face the crosses that each day brings.

"Here each of us is concerned about the other, accord­ing to the need of each. Here we go from wisdom, com­municated spontaneously, to the most practical tips on health, dress, the house, food, in a continual daily help for each other, with sacrifices that often go unmentioned.

"Here, in other words, we are convinced that we will never be judged, but loved, excused, helped. Here even the slightest betrayal is inconceivable. Here flows the blood of home, but a heavenly home."

The '80s and '90s

"We have the means: the publishing houses and a few Saint Clare Centers.⁴ Everything is in its infancy, but that does not matter. What matters is that each aims at achiev­ing the goal for which God brought it about.

"We have our musical groups too, and these are a pre­lude to some form of theatre — and that will come! But,

4. That is the name given to the audio-visual centers of the Work of Mary and refers to Clare of Assisi, whom Pius XII proclaimed the patron of communication.

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we repeat once again, most important of all is having Jesus in our midst.

"All our methods and means can be useful if we who use them are leaven, if we are salt."

With regard to the way to communicate the light of our ideal, we find:

"We must be like reservoirs or dams, but these should not be opened up all at once. The water level must always remain high. We draw it from the life of the 'Ideal' that we lead, from the Holy Spirit within us, from the liturgy, from theology, from sacred history, from the Gospel. . . . But, I repeat, we must not open up the dam all at once. There are moments for doing this, for example, during the meetings of the Movement. So if I have a good idea or an intuition, I take note of it... and the water rises. . . . And then when there is a meeting, I pour a bit of water;

then in another meeting I pour a bit more water, and in the same way also in my personal contacts."

This reference to the letters that circulated during the early days is beautiful and important: "These little letters (as we called them) are the most numerous documents that have remained from the early days. We wrote to our friends in order to draw them into our same ideal of life, to our parents and other relatives, and through them we wanted to reach many, many others. We wrote to married people, to priests (and we were just young girls), to reli­gious. . . . And, just as fire envelops all that it meets along its way, just as nothing and no one escapes since its flames consume everything, so does a spiritual fire burn in those letters."

We also thought of the future of the Focolare. In 1984 I wrote:

"The years are passing and we must all understand that

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the hour that arrived for Pina⁵ will come for us too, and maybe soon. I think of this, too, of course. But when I read all the material we have, or listen again to the tapes, or look over some of the papers. ... I think that even a tiny piece of what I receive from them 'to live' would be enough to allow Jesus to live in me. The archives, prop­erly used, make sure that everyone, anywhere in our Move­ment, knows how to live. And when I am no longer here, people will have to go back and listen again to what was said, and they will see that all these ideas, all these thoughts have the same value. Whether they appear big or small, they are all expressions of the charism. People will be able to start over from the beginning, because our spiritual jour­ney had not been an ascent. Rather, we have penetrated more and more deeply into the Gospel, and the Gospel is always at the same level — it is always high, it is always 'Jesus.' They will start again from the beginning and they will see that the first word has the same value as the last. This is the reality."

In the '90s, in view of the programs on television that were often harmful and extremely negative, we gave some guidance on how to use it:

"We must be very prudent with the communications media. Indeed, we need to make a courageous, radical choice, which perhaps not everyone will understand: giv­ing up, in a sense, television. We should only watch the news, religious, sports, cultural or nature programs, or well-made films that contain real values."

Once they had received this guidance from me, the re­sponse of the Focolarini was very positive; indeed, we can say that they were enthusiastic. "Giving up" television

5. Pina de Vettori, a Focolarina from the early times of the Movement, who had left for heaven during those days.

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increased the supernatural atmosphere in the focolare, and its unity.

Of course, our circumstances in the Movement vary greatly, according to the duties of each person, but pru­dence is required of everyone.

In those years we saw the Holy Spirit as the protector of the means of communication:

"The Holy Spirit, whose task is to unite, cannot but be the patron of each means of communication."

We understood that the hour had come to preach our ideal "from the rooftops." "Until now we have gone rather gently, but no longer; we need to go out into public life, to speak out, to preach from the rooftops. As a consequence we must use the spoken word, but also newspapers and magazines, a wider circulation of the Word of Life,⁶ books, printed matter in general, radio, television, documenta­ries . . . every means."

"Let's ask ourselves at the end of every day: did I speak more today than yesterday? This includes writing, or speak­ing among ourselves in order to keep the spiritual tem­perature high wherever we are and in the meetings we hold, etc. Speak, speak to others, seeking out every opportu­nity."

We also specified (when in the '90s the Pope had given some suggestions on the "new evangelization") that our evangelization consists in this: in living and in speaking.

The Pope said: "The Church's vocation to evangeliza­tion means above all living the Gospel more deeply. Such a witness lived every day is an initial act of evangeliza-

6. The commentary (by Chiara Lubich herself) on a sentence of the scripture, which is lived monthly in the Focolare. It is translated into eighty-four languages and reaches fourteen million people through­out the world.

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tion. But Christian witness through personal example also needs to be accompanied by the proclamation of Jesus Christ."⁷

This clarification of my own is also from the '90s: "The first instrument of unity is the source of the charism. Hence: unity with the source. This goes without saying. If God used a particular instrument to bring this charism to the earth, it is necessary to be united to it, which means taking all the water that this source gives and has given. For this reason too the archives are of enormous impor­tance."

In recent years, the Saint Clare Center has been restor­ing the early tapes made back in the '60s, our early vid­eos, which were becoming demagnetized. In doing so, they discovered such beautiful and important things that now many want copies of them.

We also try to document all that is the fruit of our Ideal life, archiving writings, magazines, audiovisuals, etc., in order to hand over to the future generations (to the Gen 2, Gen 3, and Gen 4) a legacy that will help them continue our revolution of love.

We understand the good that the means of communi­cation can bring about:

"God must become fashionable again — it's a motto of ours — and he can come back into homes and every envi­ronment through television, theatre, newspapers, maga­zines, books, and interviews."

Lately it has become clear to us that we need to use the means of communication outside the Focolare Movement (as we already use them quite extensively within it), ever since we were authoritatively told that our Movement (es-

7. John Paul II, To the Bishops of Ghana, 6 November 1987, in La Traccia 11 (1987), pp. 122-125.

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pecially in its more "incarnated" aspects, like the "inun­dations") needs greater visibility.

We have accepted this suggestion for greater visibility while thinking of Jesus' words: "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" (Mt 5:16).

A new talk, rich in content and methodology, which does not appear, of course, in the Statutes, is the one ad­dressed to the Congress on the Media held in June 2000. It would be good to read it again.

To conclude, I will mention at least one thought con­tained in this talk.

Jesus Forsaken, having made himself emptiness, infi­nite nothingness, is the pupil of the eye of God looking onto the world, and the pupil of the world looking onto God. Jesus Forsaken was therefore the most sublime, the most divine communicator. He joined heaven to earth and the earth to heaven.

He is the model for us who want to live this seventh aspect of our spirituality to the fullest.

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