Looking at Inculturation and the New Evangelization

Bangkok, 12 February 2010

Following a busy schedule of engagements for the President of the Focolare Movement here in Thailand, today was meant to have been a day of rest. It didn’t turn out that way however. Although there weren’t any official meetings, it was still a ‘working’ rest day which proved to be very important.

Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti spent the whole day with the Directors of the Focolare Movement in Asia and the two General Councillors for the continent at the last of the plenary meetings.

The day provided a unique opportunity to look back over the past 40 days of the tour to evaluate the whole experience in some way.  They recalled various stages of the trip and remembered particular events that had taken place in each country, discovering the ‘golden thread that the Holy Spirit was spinning,’ as someone put it.

At the invitation of different religious leaders Chiara had visited Asia a number of times to speak about her own experience of faith, and these occasions had opened up a dialogue with the Great Religions in these countries resulting in ideas and hopes that were well ahead of their time.

During this trip, the President has encountered a thriving Focolare Movement, a movement  in dialogue with various aspects of inculturation and the new evangelization and one which has developed strong relationships with members of different religions.

Asia is a great gift for the Movement and for the globalized world as a whole and our not-so-secret wish is that we all participate in everything and that these peoples’ gifts  strengthen and illuminate the path towards the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer ‘that all may be one’ on a global scale.

Paolo Loriga