Reflection: What have I done with this legacy ?
I would like to present my testimony in the form of a reflection around two questions that come to me spontaneously when I think about the contribution of this spirituality in my life for the past 30 years. Chiara had a special inspiration that she experienced radically and that she passed on to us with all the generosity of a mother's heart.
I ask myself, on this 100th anniversary:
What have I done with this legacy?
Also, in observing the realities in which I am involved today and the challenges that this entails, I am tempted to ask myself the following question: what is the relevance of this spirituality in my life and, more generally, in the face of the challenges of the 21st century?
Faced with these questions which seem fundamental to me, I cannot help but review the impact that this spirituality has had and continues to have on my life. I feel as if I have received the most precious treasure that I have carried in my heart for so many years and that serves as a reference point in my faith, but also, and above all, in my fundamental life choices, in my interpersonal relationships, in the practice of my profession as a psychologist and now as a teacher.
My daily experiences never cease to prove to me the power of the orientations of this spirituality which includes the foundations of existence and the Art of the deepest and most complete realization of every human being: spiritually, psychologically, intellectually, professionally, relationally, etc.
This makes me a person who is certainly not better than others, but, a person who knows how to start over when I am wrong by recognizing my mistakes without letting myself be crushed or accepting injustice; a person who knows how to forgive, for instance the aggressiveness of a student by continuing to keep him on my team when I could have withdrawn him from the contract, or to go beyond lies aimed at harming me, without seeking revenge, but simply to establish the truth.
Chiara's thought seems to me to be more relevant than ever in a socio-economic context in search of new reference points, in the construction of a future where the most sought-after skills are relational skills and emotional intelligence.
M.B., Quebec
Reflection offered on the occasion of the Centenary in 2020 of Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement.