Chiara Lubich

Fifty-two readings on living in intentional Christian community to spark group discussion.Gold Medal Winner, 2017 Illumination Book Awards, Christian LivingSilver Medal Winner, 2017 Benjamin Franklin Award in Religion, Independent Book Publishers AssociationWhy, in an age of connectivity, are our lives more isolated and fragmented than ever? And what can be done about it? The answer lies in the hands of God’s people. Increasingly, today’s Christians want to be the church, to follow Christ together in daily life. From every corner of society, they are daring to step away from the status quo and respond to Christ’s call to share their lives more fully with one another and with others. As they take the plunge, they are discovering the rich, meaningful life that Jesus has in mind for all people, and pointing the church back to its original calling: to be a gathered, united community that demonstrates the transforming love of God.Of course, such a life together with others isn’t easy. The selections in this volume are, by and large, written by practitioners—people who have pioneered life in intentional community and have discovered in the nitty-gritty of daily life what it takes to establish, nurture, and sustain a Christian community over the long haul.Whether you have just begun thinking about communal living, are already embarking on sharing life with others, or have been part of a community for many years, the pieces in this collection will encourage, challenge, and strengthen you. The book’s fifty-two chapters can be read one a week to ignite meaningful group discussion.Contributors include: John F. Alexander, Eberhard Arnold, J. Heinrich Arnold, Johann Christoph Arnold, Alden Bass, Benedict of Nursia, Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt, Leonardo Boff, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Joan Chittister, Stephen B. Clark, Andy Crouch, Dorothy Day, Anthony de Mello, Elizabeth Dede, Catherine de Hueck Doherty, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Jenny Duckworth, Friedrich Foerster, Richard J. Foster, Jodi Garbison, Arthur G. Gish, Helmut Gollwitzer, Adele J Gonzalez, Stanley Hauerwas, Joseph H. Hellerman, Roy Hession, David Janzen, Rufus Jones, Emmanuel Katongole, Arthur Katz, Søren Kierkegaard, C. Norman Kraus, C.S. Lewis, Gerhard Lohfink, Ed Loring, Chiara Lubich, George MacDonald, Thomas Merton, Hal Miller, José P. Miranda, Jürgen Moltmann, Charles E. Moore, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Elizabeth O’Connor, John M. Perkins, Eugene H.Peterson, Christine D. Pohl, Chris Rice, Basilea Schlink, Howard A. Snyder, Mother Teresa, Thomas à Kempis, Elton Trueblood, and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove.

With the concept of socialism back in mainstream conversations and increasing numbers of Christians unhappy with “Sunday Christianity,” it’s time to give the lifestyle of Jesus’ first followers another look. This issue of Plough Quarterly does just that, profiling intentional Christian communities past and present and gleaning wisdom on the daily practicalities and pitfalls of communal living from those with years of experience in following Jesus together. Hear from Stanley Hauerwas, Rick Warren, Leonardo Boff, Chiara Lubich, C. S. Lewis, Jean Vanier, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Eberhard Arnold, and D. L. Mayfield. Then there’s new poetry, book reviews, a children’s story by Kwon Jong-saeng, and world-class art by Salvador Dali, Wassily Kandinsky, Juan Rizi, Marianne Stokes, Francisco de Zurbarán, Dong-Sung Kim, Christian Schussele, Gustave Caillebotte. Plough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture for people eager to put their faith into action. Each issue brings you in-depth articles, interviews, poetry, book reviews, and art to help you put Jesus’ message into practice and find common cause with others.

This collection of writings about Mary, the Mother of Jesus, by Chiara Lubich, the founder of the Focolare, not only reflects how this movement developed but also recounts the growth of teaching and devotion regarding Mary for more than half a century. From the beginning of the Movement in the 1940s, Chiara appreciated "the desolate Mary" as a model for Christian life. In the post Vatican II period her enthusiasm emerges for Mary as "the model of the laity" and "the lay person par excellence." She also discovers Mary as the "Model of the Gospel Revolution," plus "Mary, Sign of Protest," and Mary in Ecumenical and Interreligious dialogue. Chiara is a fascinating woman whose varied writings are well worth reading.

»Älska din nästa« – är det lättare sagt än gjort? I den här boken delar Chiara Lubich med sig av råd, insikter och livserfarenheter inom ämnet kärleken till nästan. Hon beskriver här »Konsten att leva i kärlek« utifrån olika infallsvinklar som alla är hämtade ur Jesu ord och exempel. Chiara Lubichs (1920–2008) skrifter har översatts till över 90 språk. Hon mottog ett flertal utmärkelser, bl.a. Unesco:s fredspris 1996, och inbjöds som talare i FN:s hög­kvarter i New York. »Den kärlekens enhet som finns i Gud själv måste ta också oss i besittning, så att vi kan leva i kärlekens enhet med alla människor vi möter. Då blir livet mycket enklare att leva och trots alla olikheter kan vi hitta enstämmighet i en ofta splittrad inre och yttre tillvaro. [...] Chiara framställer vår uppgift att älska vår nästa som en högt värderad nådegåva och inte enbart som en tung börda. Hon vet att det ibland är mycket arbetsamt att visa andra människor samma kärlek som Jesus visar oss men hon betonar att det alltid är värt besväret. Vare sig vi tänker på det eller inte möter vi Kristus i de medmänniskor som kommer i vår väg. Dessutom kan varje människa lära oss något nytt.« Ur förordet av kardinal Anders Arborelius och biskop Karin Johannesson

Theologians and leaders from many Churches and from the major world religions, including the last four popes, have acknowledged as unique in Christian history the spiritual gifts poured forth through Chiara Lubich. Her spirituality of unity has the ultimate goal of contributing to the unity for which Jesus prayed to his Father: May they all be one (Jn 17:21). This volume gathers her essential writings and for the first time presents them in a systematic fashion. It is a summa of the charism of unity, which will lead readers to ponder, understand and experience a spirituality particularly suited to the era in which we live."The history of the Church has seen many radicalisms of love ... that of Francis of Assisi, of Ignatius of Loyola. There is also Chiaras radicalism ... which seeks to make this love victorious in every circumstance." Pope John Paul II

Chiara Lubich is now being called a great Catholic mystic of our times. In these letters we encounter this mystical side of Chiara who is also the bearer of a charism, a gift from the Holy Spirit in response to the special needs of the Church and of the world. Chiara's charism is unity, the unity that Jesus asked for us from his Father: "May they all be one as we are one - I in them and you in me - so that they may be brought to complete unity" (Jn 17: 22-23). Chiara saw God's love in everyone and everything. The light of this discovery enveloped her, and she felt like she was at the centre of the Father's love. This discovery is at the foundation of Chiara's spirituality which emerges from these early letters. They were written to the young women and others who were drawn by the way she presented the Christian life as a response to God's love, which was shown to her in Jesus, most especially in his abandonment and death on the Cross. In these letters, the God that Chiara invites us to believe in is Love. The conversion she asks of us is a conversion to Love.Often using the language and style of the saints and mystics of other ages (like Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Francis of Assisi), Chiara communicates her burning desire that "Love be loved," that "all the world be set ablaze by the fire of Love." Her words are full of fervour, but also simplicity and practical common sense.

In disarmingly simple down-to-earth language Chiara Lubich draws her readers into the very heart of evangelical love and gently challenges them to start living it. She never tired of repeating the ideas that shine through each of the texts collected in this volume. Even as she lay dying, she urged those around her to spread the gospel message of unity and peace to everyone. The few simple phrases that compose her "Art of Loving", drawn from the gospels, disclose the secret of human fulfillment found in divine love: 'Love everyone', 'Be the first to love', 'Love your neighbour as yourself', 'Love each other as I have loved you', and 'Make yourself one'. "The Golden Rule", the universal message of Christianity and the essence of every great religion, is written into the spiritual DNA of every person, even those who seem far from God. In today's ever-changing society "The Art of Loving" can serve as a daily handbook for anyone who wishes to heed what Chiara Lubich understood to be the primary vocation of every human person and the source of personal and collective fulfillment: the call of Love.

365 Texte von großer Intensität und poetischer Kraft, Frucht lebendiger Erfahrung, dem Jahreskreis zugeordnet. - Aus dem Inhalt: Staunen über die Liebe Gottes - Neue Prioritäten - Tiefere Wurzeln - Eine österliche Gemeinschaft - Der hohe Wert des Menschen - Göttliche Kraft - Das Herz weit machen - Erkennungszeichen der Christen? - Solidarität ohne Grenzen - Vision "Einheit" - Was bleibt - Leben mit dem menschgewordenen Gott.