"We don't need to be afraid of opening the doors of our heart to the Lord Jesus"

Interview to Luis Fernando Figari,
Founder of Christian Life Movement

By Paolo Ondarza
Vatican Radio - June 2, 2006

Q: What is the value of this encounter of the movements with the Pope on the occasion of Pentecost?

A: It's a very valuable occasion of ecclesial communion around the Successor of Peter. It's also an occasion of giving testimony to the world of the vitality of the Church, of proclaiming with one's own life experience that the Lord Jesus is the only answer to all the human being's longings and that we need not have any fear of opening the doors of our heart to Him.

Q: What do you consider is the importance of the movements today in the heart of the Church?

A: The Pope has recently affirmed that the vitality of the movements is "a sign of the active presence of the Holy Spirit." We live in difficult times, very confusing times. In this sense the contribution that the movements can give to the new evangelization is very important.

Q: Do you see some limits today in the structure of the movements, limits that, perhaps on this occasion of encounter with the Pope, might be thrown into relief?

A: I think that the ecclesial movements, under the guidance of the Apostolic See and the bishops, have been maturing their experiences of faith and of articulation in the ecclesial community. In this sense, the encouragement and clear vision of Pope John Paul II and of Pope Benedict XVI in relation to the mission of the movements in the Church have been and are fundamental.

Q: What specifically is the Christian Life Movement?

A: The Christian Life Movement is an ecclesial movement with an intense Marian accent inspired by the words of Jesus on Golgotha. It constitutes a communitary space for men and women of many countries of encounter with the Lord Jesus in the communion of the Church. In the center of the experience of faith is the conviction that Christ teaches us to be complete persons, the longing to live holiness, apostolate in the perspective of the New Evangelization, the impulse of reconciliation, and solidarity in self-giving service to the needy.

Q: In what reality was the Christian Life Movement born?

A: The Christian Life Movement was born in Lima, Peru, in 1985. Up until this moment the Sodalit Family had been developing diverse apostolic initiatives. It was then that I thought about integrating these initiatives into a reality which we baptized as the Christian Life Movement.

Q: What will be the principal points of your intervention on June 3rd?

A: I have had the immense blessing of being invited to address a few words to Pope Benedict XVI in Saint Peter's Square. They will be words of gratitude and commitment in the face of the mission that we received from the Lord: to proclaim the Gospel until the ends of the earth.