The post Devoting your life first appeared on Youth Center for North America.

I am writing to you from Trento, where mass was held last night for the 100 years since the birth of Chiara, presided over by the archbishop and another 100 priests. In the small church in front of Chiara’s birthplace we were together: some gen, popi, pope, families, adherents etc.

In that small group I somehow felt all of you, the gen of Italy, and of the whole world. The archbishop said two things that struck me I wanted to mention.

The first was this:

“To have one’s neighbor as the ultimate goal of one’s actions means: I empty myself to make the other exist and while I empty myself I become fullness.” The second one is this: “Turn your communities into a refuge of fraternity.”

Gen, I think here is all that is needed to live the ideal in the concreteness of everyday life. “Emptying ourselves for the other person, to help them and become fullness”, this is a powerful phrase, crazy. Put aside prejudices, difficulties, thoughts, to welcome others, whoever they are, to create bridges of unity. Because this is our strength in being gen, we are called to this!

And the second, “Transform your communities into a refuge of fraternity”, can only be our daily good morning.

Wherever you are, whatever your situation, whether you are sure of your path or you are wondering what is the right path for you, whether you are gen, super gen, confused gen, no longer gen, gen without knowing well what it means and so on, do not miss the opportunity to transform every single moment into a refuge of fraternity.

With parents, with brothers or sisters, with friends, employers, university professors, with the cashier at the supermarket, with the homeless outside the station, with the people you love and with those who you can’t stand.

Let yourselves be carried away by the desire to create a moment of fraternity with your neighbor. Be the first to want a change, to take the first step, to set an example.

BE INSPIRED.

A big hug gen, remember that the charism of the movement passes through us, because we are the second generation, the one that Chiara may not have known but who nevertheless feels the ideal as something that brings love and fraternity.

Davide Picassio

The post Be inspired! first appeared on Youth Center for North America.

In the afternoon we focused on the birth of the charism of unity with a visit to Trento, we discovered the different places where Chiara Lubich lived and worked. With the exhibition of Chiara Lubich and the effects of the charism of unity all over the world.

Then the “PACT of reciprocal Love.

Day 2
After focusing on our roots in Trent, we started with our “now”, our daily life as Gen.

Some Gen from Italy, South Africa, Cuba, Hungary and Lebanon shared their experience with us. They talked about challenges, moments when day create Jesus in the midst, their life in work and university as Gen. It was a strong moment of reciprocal trust to share just personal moments of our lives.

Day 3
A day filled with music, dancing, and sharing. The focus of today was the future life of GEN. We were able to share many experiences of the different realities and difficulties we are facing in our own countries, and how together we can overcome them.

Day 4
The Congress is ending! It was a time full of new ideas, friends and unity. At the beginning of the day we shared our experience, thoughts and feelings that we had during the Congress. It was a moment of strong unity and trust between all of us. We also did an update about all the projects in the Gen2&Y4UW Center – GENapp (a new online formation platform), Assembly 2020 of the Focolare Movement (How the youth can participate in this process?), @unitedworldproject and @y4uw.official (Pathways)!

by Ana Hob

The post 400 Gen in Trent first appeared on Youth Center for North America.

On January 17 & 18, 2020, in San Antonio, Texas, members of the movement, along with friends and potential new ones, gathered to mark the hundredth anniversary of its founder’s birth, with a focus on unity in a time of polarization.

Comments from Amy Uelman, Carlos Bajo, Elizabeth Garlow…

Read more (cruxnow.com)…

The post San Antonio conference to focus on unity in time of polarization first appeared on Youth Center for North America.

The Movement promoting Politics and Policies for Unity expresses its grave concern at the escalating conflict between Iran and the United States. The institutions of international politics, together with non-governmental organizations, have a special responsibility to act at the service of peace and rights peoples’ rights.

Read more…

The post Say no to war first appeared on Youth Center for North America.

The post Partnering with the FAO first appeared on Youth Center for North America.

“I’ve been going back and forth between Mexico and the U.S. since I was small,” Noé Herrera from Mexicali explains. With family and school in the U.S., he would cross the California border every day, together with others who did the same. 

So, as he says, he basically grew up with a vision of these two countries as neighbors. He and his Mexican friends had good rapport with the students from the U.S. Each side learned the other’s languages, and they all did everything with a sense of binationality. 

However, once he began his university studies, he realized that he was in a privileged position, one that few of his co-nationals had access to. Today this 22-year-old is involving his friends in Southern California in a series of activities to raise awareness regarding the plight of immigrants living in his city. 

Read more…

The post Focused on the plight of immigrants first appeared on Youth Center for North America.

Picture coming soon!

The post On skid row in LA first appeared on Youth Center for North America.

Join us for a virtual conversation in anticipation of the Economy of Francesco, a global gathering convened by Pope Francis in Assisi, Italy March 26 – 28, 2020 to inspire a new economy rooted in solidarity and care for our common home.

We are a group of U.S. – based practitioners and students of new economic models that are the fruit of a culture of communion and solidarity.

We are animated by Pope Francis’ call to action to “enter into a ‘covenant’ to change today’s economy and to give a soul to the economy of tomorrow.”

Join us on December 16, 12 – 2pmET for our virtual gathering to foster learning and collaboration to transform our economy.

Economy of Communion ~ Community Purchasing Alliance ~ Solidarity Hall ~ Nathan Schneider ~ Amy Uelman

Register here: RSVP

We will follow-up with more details. Thanks!

The post “The Call of Assisi: Towards a New Economy” first appeared on Youth Center for North America.

Montreal
We recently had an updating of the Youth Assembly in Montreal. We talked about the document and how to go forward in our community!

Paraguay
Selfy during the Youth Assembly updating to the community of Paraguay.

Nigeria
We had our first official updating in Onitsha…they were all impressed and thankful for this opportunity, believing that the future of the Focolare Movement is secured!

Colombia
they wrote to us: “We have updated our community about the Youth Assembly. Carolina from Medillin and Daniel from Bogota presented the final document and the priorities chosen, then Rosita, Mateo and Claudia shared about their experience as participants in the Assembly “.

Malaysia & Myanmar
Jessica from Malaysia and Zin from Myanmar updated about the Youth Assembly several members of the community of the Focolare Movement coming from different countries in South East Asia. The participants were strongly impressed by their witness and their responsibility for the young generation.

Slovakia
a wonderful update of the Youth Assembly to some representatives of the Focolare Community in East Europe. Everybody loved it.

Johannesburg
Yves wrote to us: ‘I finally gave an update to my community. It was really amazing!’

Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama
Multinational Update of the Youth Assembly: together with some youth representing Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama.

Gen2-Y4UW Centers
the first chance for the Gen2-Y4UW Centre to evaluate the experience of the Youth Assembly and share the concrete steps to be taken as a Centre to implement the final document.

Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Here are some photos of the updating of the Youth Assembly with some representatives of the Focolare Movement communities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Lots of enthusiasm and participation of all.

Jordan
Hello everyone! Mia, Rita has just updated a group of youth from Jordan on the Assembly. Even though they couldn’t send any representative to the Assembly, they felt our strong unity and thanked everyone for everything we gave to the Youth of the Focolare Movement! Greetings from Lebanon!

Ischia
From the beautiful Island of Ischia, some young people from the Parish Movement wrote us about the beautiful moment they lived last October 12 in Pompei, sharing to many people, with passion, the experience they lived at the Youth Assembly.

India
We met with a group of Y4UW to update of the Youth Assembly 2019!

Lebanon
Hello everyone!
We met with some of us to update about the congress of the Middle East, Youth Assembly, Ambassador for a United World, and also to start this year together.
Greetings from the Mariapolis Center of Lebanon!

 Loppiano
more than 200 youths of the Focolare Movement now in the citadel for a longer or a shorter period, to make a concrete experience of unity and fraternity. Snapshots of the Assembly, lots of experiences of the participants to the Assembly now there, questions, answers …someone said: ‘The Assembly is going forward and it really belongs to everyone!

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The post Youth Assembly – sharing about it all around the world first appeared on Youth Center for North America.