The Language
of Friendship
July to September 2023 – no 20 2023/3
Our feelings must therefore
be interpreted and managed
according to three fundamental coordinates:
listening to one’s own heart,
knowing how to listen
to the feelings of others
and, throughout all this,
letting God listen and read and transform our heart.
EDITORIAL
From your heart
to God’s ear
Hubertus Blaumeiser
CHIARA LUBICH
Carried by the Fire of Love
An excerpt from a letter written by the author to her mother just before Christmas 1944. She conveys her ‘feelings’ with openness and sincerity but also of how her focus on God, especially on Jesus crucified and abandoned, leads her beyond her own feelings.
POPE FRANCIS
Knowing how to listen
with the heart
During the last four months of 2022, Pope Francis gave thirteen catecheses on the theme of discernment during his general audiences. Below are excerpts from three of these catecheses that are seemingly central to the topics focused upon in this issue of Ekklesia.
ELISABETH ÖHLBÖCK
Becoming whole
Integrating feelings and values
Emotions and feelings are activated in us spontaneously and should not be neglected but emphasized so that we can process and express them according to the values that guide our lives. The author of this contribution lives in a Focolare community in Welwyn Garden City (UK) and recently completed her master’s thesis on emotional self-regulation. She is currently working and studying in London.
MARIA & RAIMONDO SCOTTO
Emotions
as a precious resource
The authors of this article, experts in accompanying couples, speak of a journey in six stages, one in which it is possible to learn to treasure emotions and manage inevitable crises arising in everyday family life. By recognizing and managing issues tied to emotions, a couple’s relationship can be strengthened and the tenderness between two people can increase as well.
MERVAT KELLI
The Seat of the Spirit
Mervat Kelli, a Syrian Orthodox Christian, looks at the ‘Heart’ in Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
MARCO VITALE
The importance of
psychospiritual development
Marco Vitale, a priest in the diocese of Rome, speaks about the calling to collaborate in ongoing clergy formation and work focused especially in psycho-spiritual integration and accompaniment of priests and religious.
STEFANO FONTOLAN
Evangelization and
inculturation
St Patrick is inseparably connected with Ireland. His feast, on March 17th, was already celebrated all over Ireland in the 7th century. From there it spread all over Europe and was then brought to America and Australia by Irish Catholic emigrants. Although there are many legendary details, there are only a few certain facts about his person and mission.
ADRIANA MASOTTI
The Instrumentum laboris
for the Synod
The voice of God’s people in the working document
