The Focolare Movement, officially known as The Work of Mary, will sponsor four family retreats this summer in San Antonio, Austin, Galveston, and El Paso. They are for people of all ages and everyone is welcome. This year's theme is "Unity: A Divine Adventure."
The San Antonio retreat is June 11 at the Oblate Grotto Martyrs' Hall, 5712 Blanco Road, and will be conducted in Spanish. The others, all in English, are in Austin, June 25, at St. Mary's Cathedral, 203 E. 10th St.; Galveston, July 10-14, at Casa del Mar Suites, 6102 Seawall Blvd.; and El Paso, July 17-18, at St. Mark's Catholic Church, 11700 Pebble Hills Blvd. Programs for adults, teens, and children will include building unity with one's neighbor, the effects of unity, the art of loving and living the Word of Life (Gospel). A nursery is provided for the youngest children.
The Focolare Movement is a worldwide Catholic spiritual movement that seeks the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer at the Last Supper "that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you . . . that the world may believe you sent me" (Jn 17:21). The charism of unity was given to Chiara Lubich, a young woman in Trent, Italy, during World War II. The movement was approved by the Catholic Church during the 1960s. It was given the nickname Focolare (fo-co-LAH-ray), the Italian word for hearth or fireplace, by a bishop who said that the warmth of the family hearth was present in it. Since then, the Work of Mary/Focolare has spread throughout the world.