Being One Magazine
This issue of Being One looks at the reality of Jesus Forsaken, the moment on the cross when Jesus cried out: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and see it's relevance to the world in which we live, that the crucified and forsaken Christ is our hope.
Jesus Forsaken experienced all the consequences of evil, the rupture and separation from the Creator and the divisions between us human beings, filling the depths of suffering and disunity with a love despite everything, the “super love”, as Chiara Lubich named him.
Rooted in this love, we will find the light and strength to transform every loss and tragedy into a new beginning. In big and small ways, we will contribute to building a culture of sharing and a different society with all those like us who are led by the dream of brotherhood, that even though it is buried by weakness, egoistic interests and mediocrity, it dwells at the bottom of every human heart.
This edition of Being One wants to explore this perspective, as spirituality, reflection, life; as a reference point for pastoral activity and for the existence of the priestly people – of priests and all Christians.
Jesus Forsaken experienced all the consequences of evil, the rupture and separation from the Creator and the divisions between us human beings, filling the depths of suffering and disunity with a love despite everything, the “super love”, as Chiara Lubich named him.
Rooted in this love, we will find the light and strength to transform every loss and tragedy into a new beginning. In big and small ways, we will contribute to building a culture of sharing and a different society with all those like us who are led by the dream of brotherhood, that even though it is buried by weakness, egoistic interests and mediocrity, it dwells at the bottom of every human heart.
This edition of Being One wants to explore this perspective, as spirituality, reflection, life; as a reference point for pastoral activity and for the existence of the priestly people – of priests and all Christians.
October 2017
Presbyterorum Ordinis
Presbyterorum Ordinis
50 years have passed since the Second Vatican Council promulgated Presbyterorum ordinis, the decree on the ministry and life of priests. Could those pages help us find answers to many of the current questions? Could this anniversary be an opportunity to rediscover the prophetic dimension of this document which could reshape the image of priests against a background of an ecclesiology of communion? Three points, among others, emerge from this text: the identity of priests is essentially relational; their spirituality cannot be monastic, but must take their secular character into account i.e. the fact that they live in the midst of the world; and their way of life must bear witness to the evangelical radicalism of Jesus' message.
This issue of Being One examines the impact of the decree and its relevance to the Church and to ministry today.
This issue of Being One examines the impact of the decree and its relevance to the Church and to ministry today.
Being One
is the English version of the Italian magazine “Gens” which is produced by the Priests’ Branch of the Focolare Movement and published by Città Nuova. The Gens magazine first started in 1971 as a way of connecting seminarians throughout the world who belonged to the Focolare and who had found in the life of the Gospel and in movement’s communitarian spirituality of unity a solid foundation for their own lives as well as a motivation for living as a “new generation of priests”.As these first seminarians entered the ordained ministry as priests, some of whom would later become bishops and theologians, the magazine broadened its scope to become a forum to express life and ideas rooted in the ecclesial, ministerial and pastoral issues affecting the Church in the post-Vatican II era.
Each issue of the magazine deals with a specific theme, e.g. The Church in Outreach, The Parish, The Eucharist and its Social Impact, and has hosted a variety of writers and thinkers such as Chiara Lubich, Pasquale Foresi, Igino Giordani, German bishop and theologian Klaus Hemmerle, Italian theologian Piero Coda, Fr. Silvano Cola, Fr. Toni Weber and many others. As well as papal pronouncements, an essential element of each issue are the testimonies and interviews of people involved on the ground with pastoral work, dialogue and living out priestly ministry as a service for the Church and humanity.
The English print version began in 2000 and it is hoped to add more back issues to the archive over time.
If you have any comments or suggestions please use the contact link at the bottom of each page.
The Editors