By Caroline Smith
God’s connection with humanity through Jesus was the central theme at a recent retreat hosted by the Focolare Movement in Chittering Valley.
The Mariapolis weekend, which was held from Friday 30 June to Sunday 2 July, attracted around 90 people, including local members of the movement and visitors from Focolare communities in Melbourne and Rome.
The theme of the weekend was ‘The Window’, based on a concept developed by Focolare foundress Chiara Lubich, which suggests that it was through Jesus’ anguish on the cross that God entered into the reality of human suffering.
This is connected to another of Chiara’s ideas that reflecting on the story of Jesus on the cross, we can empathise better with others and share in the human experience.
Activities throughout the three-day program included workshops and talks, discussion and sharing time, music and liturgy, as well as outdoor activities such as fruit picking, animal feeding and a winery tour.
Coris Taffertshofer, a member of the Focolare Movement in Perth, said this was the first time in two years that a Mariapolis had been held in Western Australia.
“Last year, we had one in Melbourne, and there were around 400 people there, because it included the whole Oceania region,” she said.
“For our local one this weekend, we have about 60 people taking part, and we’ve found that there’s a growing number of people who come each time we host a local event.”
Mariapolis is the most important event in the year for members of the Focolare Movement around the world, with each year focusing on one aspect of the movement’s teachings, according to Ms Taffertshofer.
“When Chiara (Lubich) passed away nine years ago in 2008, we started to take one element of her spirituality, each year. Last year, it was focused on unity, and this year we’ve focused on Jesus forsaken, and Jesus as a mediator,” she said.
“The Window is the image we use to say that Jesus is what connects us to God in this way, through His humanity.”
Focolare was founded by Chiara Lubich in the Italian city of Trent during the Second World War, as a movement which aimed to unite people in the spirit of brotherhood. It exists in countries around the world, and continues to reach out to people from different Christian denominations and other faiths.
This aspect of the movement was reinforced by the involvement of several members of the Anglican community in WA, who celebrated Evensong after Mass on Saturday evening.
Visiting attendees at the event included Andrew Camilleri and Vania Cheng from Rome, and Lucia Compostella and Yob Doronilla from Melbourne, who all presented talks, discussing the theme of the Mariapolis, as well as international developments in the Movement. Other attendees included Wasan, Nadhim, and Rita from Iraq.
The Masters of Ceremony for the weekend were Susi O’Brien and Andrew Wei – both members of the Perth Focolare community.
Mr Wei explained that Mariapolis, which means ‘city of Mary’, refers to a time and place when people can come closer to God, and has its origins in the early years of the Focolare Movement, when Chiara Lubich and her companions retreated to the Dolomite mountains in 1949.
“The outcome was that they rested and during that time they were able to find a deep experience of God,” he said.
“Mariapolis is a gathering together of people who want to live the Golden Rule – in Christianity, this is Jesus’ second commandment, to love others as yourself. And this love becomes mutual.”
Mass was celebrated on Saturday evening by Father Laurence Murphy and on Sunday by Fr Peter Toohey. The latter acknowledged the beginning of NAIDOC Week by recognising the contribution of Aboriginal people to the Australian community.