Delio Hernandez, a Volunteer of God of the Focolare Movement, still remembers the first Mariapolis he attended at the Divine Word Seminary (SVD) in Tagaytay that was held on May 20 to 22, 1966. He shares: “We were welcomed by the Focolarinas and Focolarinos who with their smiles, would help transport the bags of those arriving. Someone had asked me, ‘Who is the leader here? Who is in charge?’ Nobody knew because those in charge were mingling with the rest of us.”
Delio continues. “I only found out who they were upon seeing Cengia, Silvio, and Gio (some of the first Focolarinas and Focolarinos who had come to the Philippines) go up on the stage to share. I was dumbstruck, because in that Mariapolis they would be the first to love others; they were people of evident simplicity. At that gathering I felt I was their brother, and that everyone was truly equal. There I understood that the Gospel is something to be put into practice and not merely to be read.”
Another Focolare Volunteer, Auring Pedro describes her own first encounters in the 60’s: “I met the Focolare through Fr. Taschner, an SVD missionary. From the very beginning, I was captivated by the radical choice of God made by Chiara Lubich – a 24-hour, moment by moment choice of God. In my heart, I felt my love for God grow deeper. I, too, chose to make Him the Ideal of my life, like Chiara, regardless of the path I would later take in life. From the focolarinas, especially from Giovanna and her experiences on living the Gospel, I realized just how much God loves each of us immensely. Thus, I was encouraged to pursue this way of life and become part of this big family of Chiara.”
Mary Frances Colayco, who later felt a call to become a Focolarina, was a youth member of the movement in the years that would see increasing political upheaval. She recounts: “The late 60’s and early 70’s were times of deep student unrest; hate and anger drove us students to the streets. I was myself constantly boycotting classes to join rallies against the government, against the Americans, against this and that cause.
“We clearly wanted change, and we wanted to be on the forefront of it. Here’s where the Gospel message of unity suited us perfectly. It offered an alternative kind of revolution, not one motivated by hate or fear, but by love. I realized that it’s true: the only thing that neither bomb nor martial law could destroy is God. Hatred and anger can never produce real change. Only love can truly transform people and society.”
Rudy Dealo, the first Filipino as well as the very first Asian Focolarino, explains what attracted him during those first encounters. “In the people whom I met in the Focolare in the 60’s, the rich and poor were together, and all of them wanted to live Christianity. Ever since those early days until now, Word of Life meetings that focus each month on a particular phrase from the Gospel are held, and experiences of people trying to put them into practice are shared. I was glad to participate in these meeting because there I witnessed the words of the Gospel translated into life.”
Finally, here is a powerful experience from Nene Dy Sun, a Focolare Volunteer who with the help of the Ideal of Unity was able to face the tragic death of her husband. She narrates: “On December 7, 1979, my husband was kidnapped and killed. It was as if the world had crumbled around me. Only 32 years old, I had just given birth to our youngest daughter. I felt all alone. Moreover, since I was only an employee in my in-laws’ business, I didn’t know how I would support my family financially. I didn’t know whom I could turn to. It got to the point that I went to my husband’s grave to cry out and unload all my unbearable sufferings.
“Several times during this period, my thoughts would go to a friend of mine. She had assured me that I could call her anytime I needed help. That’s what I did, and she invited me to a Word of Life meeting. Continuing with such meetings, I gradually understood that God loves me immensely. He would never abandon my family.
“Six years after my husband’s death, I was able to really detach myself from my husband and surrender him totally to God.
Only then did I feel a profound peace which never experienced before. In trying to live the words of Jesus, ‘Seek first the kingdom of God, and all the rest will be added unto you,’ God’s Providence for us was never lacking. In fact, His Providence would come time and again in a hundredfold, like financial opportunities that enabled me to cover my children’s school expenses and other family needs.”
