This year, Focolare communities all over the world are going in-depth with the core point of the spirituality of unity — the presence of Jesus among those who are united in his name (see Mt 18:20).
But how did Focolare founder Chiara Lubich first understand that Jesus can be experienced as present among his followers in a tangible way?
During an event on December 16, 1999, she recounted: “I was asked how we first understood that Jesus was present in the midst of two or more united in his name. To answer this question in complete faithfulness to the Holy Spirit, I began describing what had happened before that moment in our story.
“It was wartime, and since we could have died under the bombs, we first focolarinas asked ourselves if there was a will of God especially pleasing to him so that we could live it, at least, during the last days of our life. I spoke of how Jesus’ New Commandment was the answer, that is, mutual love based on the measure of the love of Jesus, who gave his life for us.
“I also explained at length about the pact that we had made: ‘I am ready to die for you,’ ‘I am ready to die for you,’ we had told each other solemnly.
“What happened then? We felt that our lives had taken a qualitative leap forward, as if a net had lifted us higher. And for the first time, we experienced a peace we had never felt before. There was also a light that gave full meaning to all that concerned us; a new and steadfast will that took the place of our own will, which often wavered in keeping resolutions; we felt a fresh, rare, effervescent joy, a very new ardor and zeal.”
She remembered that they had wondered, in those moments, what might have been the cause of all this. And so they concluded:
“In those moments Jesus had come into our midst spiritually because we were united in his name, that is, in his love. The peace, light, ardor, and joy manifested this presence. When he is present, there are all of these effects; otherwise, there’s no point in fooling ourselves, he is not present.”
Here is an important indicator that Chiara pointed out — that often, the absence of Jesus is felt more strongly than his presence because we are meant to live in the light of his presence.
“When we do not love one another in this way,” she shared, “the very path we have undertaken loses meaning; the goals we have chosen, all that we do, our prayers, works, and studies become empty. In those moments, we stumble and stagger, groping our way in the dark. We are a burden to ourselves and to others. We are exposed to all kinds of temptations. There’s no light, no flame, no protection because he is not there.”
Beyond a devotion
This experience, in stark contrast to the joy we feel when he is among us, has an implication — it brings us to what is essential, to make a choice, a commitment.
“Jesus doesn’t want us only to be religious people who believe and love him by practicing some satisfying devotion,” Chiara clarified. “He wants us to be people who know him, who are aware of his presence in their midst. He wants us to be experts in generating his presence among us.
“Only if we are experts in rendering his presence manifest in our midst can we also be his witnesses for many others.
We can truthfully say to everyone, ‘We saw him with the senses of our soul; we discovered him in the light that illuminated us; we touched him in the peace that filled us; we heard his voice in the depths of our heart; we savored his unmistakable joy; we experienced the heavenly fragrance of a new steadfastness of will that he gave us.’
“And we can assure everyone that he is happiness, the fullness of happiness.”
In fact, happiness is what people in today’s world are often missing, as they seek all kinds of ways to grasp a trace of joy, peace, and meaning.
On October 24, 1996, Chiara quoted St. John Chrysostom, a Father of the Church, who said, “Even though Pentecost has passed, the celebration is not at an end; whenever we meet, it is a celebration.”
Then she shared, “Each time Christ is present in a gathering, what greater proof can there be that it is a celebration? This is the true celebration that the human heart seeks. We are called to bring this celebration into the midst of the world, to make the world pulsate with the joy that gives fullness.”
Living like this touches others, those to whom we can then explain how to experience his presence. “Our second name … should be ‘Christopher,’ bearers of Christ in the world,” Chiara said in
closing, “not only to make it smile but to turn it into an everlasting celebration.
“If you want to know where to begin, here is a piece of advice, the fruit of an experience I had: be the first to love everyone, starting now, and teach everyone to do the same. The response will come more easily and sometimes automatically, at least among us. Jesus will be in our midst and, with him, the celebration.”
His spiritual presence is not limited to people who are called to a special vocation in the Church. Rather, it is the vocation of every Christian living in the midst of the world. And, in order to live out the spirituality of unity, we need other people with whom we can journey together.
A primary duty
Sharing a personal experience, Chiara wrote on April 29, 1999: “One day, I had set myself, as I hoped to do on other days, to ‘pray always,’ as Jesus says and wants, by offering every action to him with the words ‘for you.’ Through the grace of God, I had been especially faithful to this commitment. So at the end of the day, in ‘conversation’ with God, I asked him if he was pleased with me or not, and to correct me if he wasn’t.
“I seemed to understand his answer in the depths of my heart, which could be expressed with these words: ‘Your way of living today, offering God your every action by saying ‘for you,’ is certainly pleasing to me, but it could also be the way for anyone following a more individualistic spirituality. You are called to a different way. I want something else from you.
“Your vocation requires that, before everything else, you put at the basis of your every action, even those offered
‘for you,’ mutual love with your sisters and brothers. Your first commitment, therefore, must be that of being ready to give your life for them, so that unity may triumph.
“I understood the lesson. Certainly, after many years of spiritual life, on that day too, I had tried to live the New Commandment, but not as my first duty. So at once I sought out those near me, being ready to give my life for them, and therefore acting accordingly; only on that foundation could I offer my actions to Jesus saying ‘for you.'”
Certainly, like any commitment or proposal we undertake in our spiritual life, we have to keep renewing it in our hearts; we should always start over again when we fail to love or give something or someone else the first place in our hearts.
Therefore, it is a spiritual way that brings Jesus into the world, imitating Mary in her divine motherhood. We are called to live in such a way that Jesus will always be “generated” in our midst through our mutual love.
So, when Chiara was asked, “Who are the focolarini?” she summarized it by saying, “They are people who always offer Jesus to the world in a real way, so that today too, as in the past, he may enlighten, teach and guide humanity along the right paths and… direct it toward becoming one universal family.
