Being and Speaking

Chiara Lubich

The following is the text of a reflection given by Chiara Lubich upon returning from the sixth World Youth Day at Czestochowa and from her meeting with representatives of the Focolare Movement of both Eastern and Western Europe

We returned from Poland, our hearts filled with gratitude to God who truly worked miracles. He did so not only in the young people of the universal Church, in whom there was an explosion of faith as on few other occasions, but also among the more than 10,000 young people we accompanied

Their hearts were so strongly marked by the Holy Spirit that the dramatic events which took place in the Soviet Union immediately afterwards did not touch them, just as it was for us focolarine and focolarini at the beginning of the movement with regard to the war. What they have brought away with them are two indispensable cornerstones of the new evangelisation. Our new evangelisation consists firstly in living, in giving witness with our life to what we will proclaim; in other words, in being before speaking

In being what? In being one with God, through union with Him which is expressed in making the whole day a prayer, as we have often explained, and in our personal prayer life. In being one with God in doing His will and one with our brothers and our sisters in whom He is present, especially the least. And finally, in being one with one another which is already a way to speak, to cry out, to proclaim to the world: "May they be one so that the world may believe" (Jn 17:21)

In short, in being the living testament of Jesus which sums up the entire Gospel. Being!

In this regard, we have had a general confirmation that the world today wants this kind of evangelisation, at least as a foundation. The young people in Poland did not tell us that they had converted because of the talks they had heard (yes, also because of those), but primarily because they felt loved to the point of experiencing a full sharing of goods. Their impressions were wonderful. Because they had seen a love which was concrete, young non-believers affirmed: "Christianity is true." "Your life makes you credible and worth imitating."

However, although the "living" aspect is important, very important, it is not sufficient for a complete and new evangelisation. We must also speak, and speak a great deal. We must give everything without holding back anything, and we must do this, of course, in line with the norms of the Gospel which does not want holy things to be given to dogs

We must speak, we must speak of all our principles: that Jesus should be seen in every neighbour, that we should make ourselves one with each person; that nothing could be better than doing the will of God; we must speak of mutual love; of unity; of Jesus crucified and forsaken; of Jesus in the midst... In other words, we should take every opportunity to speak about the spirituality. We should talk about our experiences and what we have seen achieved in the movement. The time has come to speak. Also Eastern Europe, the former Church of Silence, must learn to speak again. By speaking, faith is reinforced in those who speak and in those who listen

With these two ideas in their hearts - to live and to proclaim from the housetops - our young people returned from their extraordinary stay in Poland. They felt a new grace to commit themselves deeply in this endeavour, as stated by those who returned to Russia, and as I hope we will all do. May Mary, Queen of the Apostles, guide us in this wonderful and enormous undertaking, so that the Kingdom of God may spread. And may the world be leavened by an ever-greater awareness of unity towards which it irresistibly advances.