Cesar-Stock: from all over Italy to Loppiano

In the first week of July 2023, thirty-five young people from the parishes entrusted to the Doctrinaires in Turin, Vigevano, Rome, Salerno and Vittoria lived the periodic Cesar-Stock experience (the project started two years ago of a vocational journey for young people in the International Citadel of the Focolari Movement.) in Loppiano (Fi), which today has about 850 residents who welcome thousands of visitors from all over the world every year.
On 13 June 1980, Chiara Lubich reminded the inhabitants of Loppiano: «Every person you meet every day must be ready to give their life for you and each one asks you to love them to the extreme. God wants above all a fire of love in this place».
Loppiano gives enormous emotions, it is a different reality, disconnected from the greed of the world.
Anyone who lives or stays in the citadel undertakes to respect the rule “do to others what you would like to be done to you and do not do to others what you would not like to be done to you”. All share the same principles: love, brotherhood, forgiveness, acceptance and freedom in diversity, and all try to bear witness to them.
With the Cesar-Stock camp we were lucky enough to be able to live these ideals, we experienced “eight days in which hearts heal”. Love filled our lungs, as if they had been ill for a long time and suddenly started functioning at full capacity again. Love that was perceived in small gestures, in attention to others and the most fragile, in smiles immediately after waking up, in everyone’s willingness to share their story.

Forgiveness, a simple but complicated gesture, characterized everyday life as suggested by Pope Francis: almost no one went to sleep every day without having given or accepted forgiveness.
A demonstration of the purest forgiveness that we have experienced was the exchange of peace during Mass; each of us was intent on giving peace to all. One of the cooks was surprised and commented: «You can see the light in your eyes».
The special relationships that we build these days make us a “second family”, they create brotherhood, a lasting and mutual feeling of affection that the distance between the various cities is unable to interrupt. Our diversities instead of dividing us make us complementary and all together we create a group ready to welcome others.
The song I thank you my Lord has become the catchphrase of the camp”, with the verse “I walk among the people of my city, and I no longer feel alone”; in the memory of this song each of us will smile and, after this camp, none of us will feel alone anymore, indeed we will have the certainty that walking through the cities of Italy we will always have someone next to us.
We will bring into our homes the example of Chiara Lubich and the blessed focolarina Chiara “Luce” Badano: their unconditional love for their neighbour; courage in facing an obstacle; their thanks to the faith that allows them to do great things; their perseverance even when circumstances were not favourable.
Why don’t we try to change our way of life? If we thought more about the consequences of our choices, if we lived less frenetically, taking the time for discernment, we would live in a better world, where to feel good about yourself you don’t necessarily have to prevail over the other.