Charity Bean Festival 2023

After two years of eating beans at home and connecting online, this time the event returns to the Basilica of Begoña. The event will take place on February 18th at 2:00 p.m. You can participate and contribute by competing with prepared beans or by tasting the different recipes presented. The project supporting the Charity Bean Festival this time is located in Burundi: Water, Source of Life. It is currently on hold due to lack of funds. The celebration of the Charity Bean Festival could be a good opportunity to activate it. More information and registration can be found on the invitation, on the form provided, and by email. Those unable to participate can always contribute through the Igino Giordani Foundation: Account number: ES65 2100 5615 7902 0005 6937 – Concept: Bean Festival 2023. Organizers: Focolare Movement and Igino Giordani Foundation. Collaborators: Murillo Viteri Winery, Parish of the Basilica of Begoña and Begoña Retirees Club.

Ethical intelligence

The Barcelona Business Management Group's training sessions continue.

“The last word in the history of the world will be communion.”

Esteem, recognition, and deep emotion fill my heart now as I express my deepest gratitude for the work and life of Pope Benedict XVI, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Movement he followed and accompanied with closeness and love. With the entire Church, we unite around Pope Francis in returning him to God, certain that he has already been received into the glory of Heaven; and I will do so personally on January 5th, participating in the funeral in St. Peter's Square. I had the gift of welcoming Pope Benedict XVI in May 2009 in Jerusalem, participating in various stages of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Two moments particularly struck me: his words at the Holy Sepulchre: "Peace here is possible," and "the Empty Tomb," he continued, "speaks to us of hope, which does not disappoint, because it is a gift of the Spirit of life." Also deeply moving for me was participating in a private Mass at the Apostolic Delegation in Jerusalem, celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI himself. I sensed his paternal tenderness and the greatness of his charity, expressed in a gesture of recognition for all that the Focolare Movement had done to prepare for his visit. In 1989, when he was still Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was invited by Chiara Lubich to a dialogue with the Focolarines, gathered for their annual spiritual retreat, in which I was also participating. He answered a wide variety of questions and at one point spoke words that I have not forgotten. Regarding the future of the Church and of humanity, he said: “The last word of the history of the world will be communion; it will be to become communion, not only among ourselves but, incorporated into Trinitarian love, to become a universal communion, where God is all in all.”[1] Today, at the moment when the beloved Pope Benedict XVI has returned to the Father's house, this expression of his resonates in me almost like a spiritual testament. These are words of extraordinary relevance, which today shed light and hope on a humanity afflicted by conflicts whose end we see no end in sight. We have been nourished by his illuminating thought, that of a great theologian who, while still very young, participated in the Second Vatican Council, transmitting and presenting over the years the novelty of a Church-communion, made of knowledge of the Word and of charity translated into practice. The day after his election as Pontiff, Chiara Lubich expressed herself thus: “From the direct knowledge I have of him, having special gifts for grasping the light of the Spirit, he will not fail to surprise and surpass every expectation.”[2] We will not forget the key role he played in 1998, when Pope John Paul II, on the occasion of the feast of Pentecost, called the ecclesial movements and new communities to St. Peter's Square. On that occasion, Cardinal Ratzinger gave a master class entitled: Ecclesial Movements and Their Theological Positioning, in which he outlined the profile of the movements and new communities and their essential relationship with the Church. Some passages from his address remain, for me and for the Movement, a source of great insight into our ability to be instruments of communion in the Church and arms of Christ for humanity: “It is very evident that the Holy Spirit is also acting in the Church today, granting her new gifts,” he said then, “thanks to which she relives the joy of her youth (cf. Ps 42:4). My gratitude to so many people, young and old, who heed the call of the Spirit and, without looking around or back, joyfully throw themselves into the service of the Gospel. My gratitude to the bishops who are open to new paths, make room for them in their respective Churches, and patiently debate with those responsible to help them overcome any one-sidedness and lead them to a just conformation.”[3] Together with the whole Church, I thank God for the gift that Pope Benedict XVI has been for our time and I pray that we may be able to grasp and translate into life the depth of his theological thought, his fidelity to the Gospel and the courage of a witness of life capable of leading the Church along the paths of truth, fraternity and peace. Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement. [1] Visit of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the meeting of the Focolarines, answers to questions. Castel Gandolfo, December 8, 1989. Chiara Lubich Archive in the General Archive of the Focolare Movement. [2] Statement by Chiara Lubich in: Press Release of the Focolare Movement, April 20, 2005. [3] The movements in the Church. Atti del Congresso mondiale dei movimenti ecclesiali, Rome, May 27-29, 1998, Coll. Laici oggi 2, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 1999

Identity Card of the Economy of Communion

a) a serious commitment on the part of the entrepreneur(s) to embark on a path of communion with the local committee and with the entire EoC movement at the local and international levels, not only as individuals but, if an entrepreneur, as a representative of the business community; b) sharing the project's objectives and the aims of the Charism of Unity of which the EoC is an expression; c) being open to allocating the company's profits, if any, to the three aims of the project, which are: concrete help for those in need, training "new men," development of the company, and/or remuneration to partners; d) managing the company with a sense of brotherhood, in accordance with the document "Guidelines for Managing an EoC Company"; e) understanding and living relationships with people in need on a level of substantial dignity, respect, equality, reciprocity, and communion; f) Conceive one's own company and/or activity as a place and instrument for reducing poverty, misery, and injustice, both locally and globally. https://www.edc-online.org/es/

Prayer

Before you, Lord, we turn our gaze to our sister Luminosa, who in this life was a testimony to your love and knew how to offer herself to others with joy and dedication. The light that shone in her made her a living mirror of your Resurrection, permanent among us. We pray that her beatification be completed, that it may be a gift to the Church, and that the Holy Spirit may allow us to enjoy the same luminosity she possessed, so that peace, fraternity, and love may reign throughout the world. Through her intercession, grant us the grace we now ask of you with faith. Amen. Be it. In accordance with the decrees of Pope Urban VIII, we declare that in no way is it intended to preempt the judgment of ecclesiastical authority and that this prayer is not intended for public worship. Those who receive graces or wish to contribute their testimonies may do so by writing to the Postulation of the Cause: C/ Poniente 28, 28290 Las Matas (Madrid). Or by email. For financial contributions: From Spain: C/C 2038 1023 71 6000630752 From Europe: IBAN code ES63 2038 1023 7160 0063 0752 From outside Europe: SWIT or BC code: CAHMESMMXXX 2038 1023 7160 0063 0752