My Experience at the Mariapolis of Shropshire, the summer gathering of the Focolare in Great Britain
Mariapolis event in Shropshire. Image courtesy of Focolare in Great Britain.
Six years after the last nationwide summer gathering in Great Britain, the Focolare Movement welcomed 350 Mariapolis participants to Harper Adams University in Shropshire, July 25-28. Online events during the pandemic had brought new opportunities, and local Mariapolis had highlighted the beauty of local communities across the country. Nevertheless, there was an atmosphere of great joy and celebration to be all together again.
I was able to attend while visiting from Canada. These are my takeaways:
1. The theme of our days together was: “God calls us, God sends us and together we can make a difference”—by putting Christ’s love in the world every day. The astonishing thing is that in each person we have the possibility of loving Jesus.
2. We experienced “conversations in the Spirit.” I saw what a synodal Church really is: when we love we always have something beautiful to share with one another; knowing, with immense gratitude, that everything is grace of God.
3. My own understanding of my human journey was enriched. These days spoke to my life experience, especially why the calling to be a priest was very strong in me. However, only in the spirituality of communion of Chiara Lubich did I find myself totally awakened to the splendor of Jesus, somewhat like the Apostles.
My own understanding of my human journey was enriched
4. We received a deeper understanding of God’s “call” and “mission” in our human lives and in this I was illuminated on how to live out the rest of my aging life. With so many partners in the universal Church, “I can love” to the end, continually starting again after every failure.
5. A woman shared how at the age of nine, she experienced the moment of a “call” at her first Mariapolis. “I was walking outside by myself and I had a sense, a thought, that ‘I can love.’ I was filled with a sense of excitement and this has given shape and direction to my life.”
6. The Eucharist each day, in the context of a family discovering anew our call and mission in the world, offered us hope and confident trust in Jesus. Once we set out to live the words of the Gospel, our encounter with Jesus in Holy Communion grows. He gives us the Holy Spirit, the true protagonist of a synodal Church—where everyone is an apostle. (There was an opportunity to attend Roman Catholic Mass, Anglican Eucharist, informal worship and a United Reformed Church Eucharist, with many participants choosing to respectfully attend the celebrations of other denominations as well as their own. Others took time to enjoy quiet time in nature or conversation with others.)
7. With up to 400 people participating from different churches, age groups, professions, families, and fellow priests and ministers, my belief was increased in the immense value of all faith groups/parishes and the capacity of this fraternity to put the kingdom of God in our cities. Pope Francis defined Chiara Lubich’s relationship with people of other religions as “a revolutionary journey that has done much good to the Church.”
8. I came to see if I could understand better the vision of Pope Francis for a synodal Church. My expectations were not disappointed. I am full of gratitude for this experience. It is clear that Chiara’s charism of unity is in perfect harmony with that vision of a synodal Church.
Paragraphs in italics are taken from the official Focolare website for Great Britain at https://www.focolare.org/gb/
