By Matters India Reporter
Kootupuzha: The IMS Retreat Center at Kootupuzha in Kerala will host a three-day programme on how to put the Gospel into practice in May.
The Focolare Movement, an international organization that promotes the ideals of unity and universal brotherhood is organized the event.
The May 4-6 programme, titled Mariapolis (City of Mary), is where people of all ages and vocations are welcome. It consists of meditations, prayers and sharing life experiences about putting the Gospel into practice in today’s society, said Valentino on behalf of the Focolare family.
“As the church focuses on the youth this year, we are especially inviting all the youth to participate in this year’s Mariapolic,” he added.
In the early 1950s, when Chiara Lubich, founder of Focolare Movement, and her friends went up to the Dolomites (Italy), mountains of Trent, for their summer rest, little did they know that they were setting a tradition that would be repeated, at different times, in varied ways, and in diverse places all over the globe.
Rest, just like work, can be a precious opportunity to experience the newness that the Gospel brings: universal brotherhood. The method is quite simple, too simple perhaps for the sophisticated, but enchanting for those who, in their hearts, remain like little children.
“Do unto others what you would have others do unto you.” A simple rule, the “golden rule,” which even those who do not know Jesus acknowledge and can practice.
Very soon, Chiara and the first group were joined by men and women of different ages, social backgrounds and nationalities, who were attracted by this experience and wanted to share it with them.
Professionals, laborers, employees, politicians, children and the elderly all felt like they were one family building together a city, with only one law: Evangelical Love. They called this temporary city Mariapolis.
The Mariapolis has become a regular appointment for members and friends of the Focolare Movement in the 186 nations where it is present, including India.
Originally a kind of summer vacation in the mountains, its present format varies from nation to nation, from region to region, as it becomes inculturated in the reality of the local community.