During summer holidays in the northern hemisphere, a look at another side of Chiara Lubich’s life as described by Eli Folonari in the book “Lo sparito scritto in cielo” (“The Musical Score Written in Heaven”).
The new book, published by Città Nuova, contains an interview with Eli Folonari who was at Chiara Lubich’s side for more than fifty years. Eli discusses several parts of Chiara’s life, many of which were unknown to most people. Here are some excerpts.
What value did Chiara give to health, sport and recreation?
She always had a very busy life and faced many problems as her spirituality was new even for the Church. And such an active and intense spiritual had an influence on her body. Through her own personal experience, she could see that health and well-being – this great gift given to us by God – should be safeguarded; the body needs rest, fun, relaxation. She encouraged everyone to eat properly, to sleep sufficiently and to look after their health.
Sometimes she would interrupt her work and say: “Let’s go take a short walk in the garden, for fifteen minutes, or for a half hour.” Then she would return to work.
Did she like the mountains better than the sea?
Yes, even though at times, when we were in Rome, we would go to Torvanianica, Ostia, and Fregene. She didn’t find the seaside very relaxing. But one day – I think it was in Rimini – she observed: “The sea gives a sense of the infinite, whereas the mountains are restricting.” “But,” she went on, “they lift your spirits high.” So she did prefer the mountains. She often recalled the times she had climbed to the foot of Mount Paganella with her father, or when, once out of Trent, she and her first companions would stop under a pine tree on the slopes and have long conversations.
Did she like walking?The new book, published by Città Nuova, contains an interview with Eli Folonari who was at Chiara Lubich’s side for more than fifty years. Eli discusses several parts of Chiara’s life, many of which were unknown to most people. Here are some excerpts.
What value did Chiara give to health, sport and recreation?
She always had a very busy life and faced many problems as her spirituality was new even for the Church. And such an active and intense spiritual had an influence on her body. Through her own personal experience, she could see that health and well-being – this great gift given to us by God – should be safeguarded; the body needs rest, fun, relaxation. She encouraged everyone to eat properly, to sleep sufficiently and to look after their health.
Sometimes she would interrupt her work and say: “Let’s go take a short walk in the garden, for fifteen minutes, or for a half hour.” Then she would return to work.
Did she like the mountains better than the sea?
Yes, even though at times, when we were in Rome, we would go to Torvanianica, Ostia, and Fregene. She didn’t find the seaside very relaxing. But one day – I think it was in Rimini – she observed: “The sea gives a sense of the infinite, whereas the mountains are restricting.” “But,” she went on, “they lift your spirits high.” So she did prefer the mountains. She often recalled the times she had climbed to the foot of Mount Paganella with her father, or when, once out of Trent, she and her first companions would stop under a pine tree on the slopes and have long conversations.
She used to walk more than any of us, initially even very long walks. Then she suffered from a disc hernia in 1973, because while taking a shortcut, she fell along a path that was too rugged and steep.
What about swimming?
No, she wasn’t really attracted to swimming as her origins are in the northern mountainous area of Trent. However, during her vacations in Switzerland, she used to enjoy beautiful boat rides on Lake Geneva or Lake Brienz and these were occasions to share beautiful things with her companions!
Did she find car trips restful?
Yes, she found them quite relaxing. But usually in the car she would write or wok on something.
How did she relax in her daily life?
Occasionally she would listen to music or read a book. She rather preferred to watch films on TV, and not only religious films, but also thrillers! Sometimes she watched sport events. She didn’t cheer for any particular team, but she was always able to tell who was playing well and who wasn’t.
Did she ever organize any recreational activities?
Yes, since her life was so busy, she liked to invite her closest collaborators to spend some relaxing moments with her, which often turned out to be quite demanding! She used to say: “Some people are coming over for lunch and we need to entertain them for about two hours: let’s try to give them a treat.” Therefore, someone thought up some jokes to share whereas I used to go through some reports to see if I could find some amusing little anecdotes that could be shared…
Did she have a favourite dish?
She liked ham and she liked spaghetti. She didn’t care for meat or fish or for very elaborate dishes. She preferred simple things like potatoes. Her mother used to tell us that when Chiara was still a toddler, barely able to talk, she could already say “po-ta-to”. She also loved ice-cream.
While going through her diary, we could sense that Chiara always had the idea of death in her mind. This urged her to live more intensely the moment given to her as a preparation for the next life.
Yes, she lived it intensely. In all of her early letters we find the same recurring theme: everything passes away, life is short and we have little time. Chiara wrote to her mother: “Should I die, you must bring ahead my Ideal.”
Excerpts taken from: “Lo spartito scritto in cielo. Cinquant’anni con Chiara Lubich”, Giulia Eli Folonari, Città Nuova, 2012.
Photos: © Chiara Lubich Centre (Photographic Archives)
Excerpts taken from: “Lo spartito scritto in cielo. Cinquant’anni con Chiara Lubich”, Giulia Eli Folonari, Città Nuova, 2012.
Photos: © Chiara Lubich Centre (Photographic Archives)
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