Visit to the small city that is yet  to be

Saraburi, February 16, 2010

Journey into the future. Roundtrip. Direction north, leaving Bangkok. Near the autostrada, the site of Saint John’s University, where Chiara Lubich was awarded an honorary doctorate in Science of Social Communications in 1997. We skirt the old international airport and continue for 90 miles until we arrive at the small locality of Saraburi.

A landscape of rolling hills, the vegetation luxuriant. We leave the autostrada and immediately enter a spacious, well-tended area. The property is divided into large lots, some construction is underway, but it is only a glimpse of what is yet to be.

A short, dirt lane brings us to a future project of the Focolare in this region: a small, Thai city, as was in the dreams of the founder. A banner displays a welcome to Maria Voce and to Giancarlo Faletti. Colored flags and some kites add a crown to the joy of those experiencing a memorable day, long awaited.

The thirty-four acres of ground are the gift of a Catholic family. Nature salutes us with colorful flowers, and a small lake with fish and shrimp in shallow waters because of the dry season, while beyond, higher up, trees with long trunks generously offer their shade.  Exactly here is planned a welcoming center for Buddhist monks, an expression of the growing collaboration between the Focolare and the monks who are their friends.

The triumph of nature is also assured for the future. The property, in fact, borders a national park, where various species of animals live, including deer and wild boar. At the center of a meadow the president is shown a sort of treasure map, a sketch of the planned small city: here the church – indicated by an extended arm – there the meeting hall and so on.

Through the eyes of faith – that here is solid – the illustrator depicts the features of a tree. In reality, now there is only a seed. At present there are two single story houses with brown roofs. A present sustained by a indomitable group of people, including a couple of German volunteers. A Focolarina who works here admits: It is like the papaya. Without tears it doesn’t grow.”

“The adventure is also pleasing to me,” Maria Voce acknowledges, “but it has to become a commitment and then also love. And in the love you don’t have to lose the sense of the adventure.” So, forward all. “Thailand and the neighboring countries constitute a diverse reality, beautiful and precious in the Focolare world. Together you can put yourself at the service of all these peoples. This richness makes us see that the hour of the small city has arrived.”

You can imagine, or rather, on the contrary, you cannot imagine the joy of those present. By reason that, to the already historical and consolidated Philippine small city of Tagaytay, will come now a second center for Asia, with the same purpose as a center of training and of testimony, as well as interreligious dialogue, as Chiara Lubich had outlined.

“Everything is yet to be developed, but as of now this place can be a magnet for many,” the President said in encouragement. “If Jesus lives in your midst, he will attract them.”

Paolo Lòriga