Passaparola 090425 Thu

An open heart welcomes salvation with humility, knowing that everything comes from God’s mercy.

Being Humble

β€œAll who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Lk 14:11)

These words reflect exactly the situation of those who accept salvation from God with an open heart. They are humble and they know they cannot boast about anything because everything comes from God. This is the sentiment that fills the heart of the prodigal son who returns to the Father, or the tax collector, who was not like the Pharisee who presumes himself to be righteous. Instead, he remains at the back of the temple, beating his breast, asking God for mercy.

Chiara Lubich
Word of Life β€’ October 1980

πšƒπš’πš™πš’πš—πš π™Ύπšžπš 𝚘𝚏 πšπš‘πšŽ π™±πš•πšžπšŽ β€’ πšπšŠπš›πšŽπš–πš™πš•πšŠπšŒπšŽπš›.πšŒπš˜πš–

The Price of a Song

They began as kids chasing noise and friendship. But when one song turned into fame and fortune, the music that bound them together became the very thing that tore them apart.

When fame and fortune test the bonds of friendship

At the start, a band is just a bunch of kids chasing noise. They play in cramped bars thick with cigarette smoke, sometimes for free, sometimes paid in beer and fries. They laugh about wrong notes, borrow each other’s gear, and dream of nothing more than the next gig. Music is friendship, pure and rawβ€”a heartbeat shared through amplifiers.

Then lightning strikes. One song clicks. A record deal follows. Suddenly, their names are on posters, fans scream the lyrics back at them, and their track is climbing charts. They’ve become famousβ€”a band the world now watches, but no longer just their own.

But fame brings fortune, and fortune brings questions. The same riffs and drum fills that once felt like gifts now look like debts unpaid. Who really β€œwrote” the song? Who deserves the biggest slice of the pie? That carefree brotherhood on stage slowly turns into cold meetings with lawyers, contracts replacing handshakes.

And this is the sad twist: the music that gave them everything also planted the seed of division. What once was just a jam for fun turns into a legal battle for millions. Maybe it was always inevitable. Because in the end, bands aren’t just playgroundsβ€”they’re businesses. And nothing tests friendship like money. Nothing hurts more than realizing the friendship was the first thing lost.

πšƒπš’πš™πš’πš—πš π™Ύπšžπš 𝚘𝚏 πšπš‘πšŽ π™±πš•πšžπšŽ β€’ πšπšŠπš›πšŽπš–πš™πš•πšŠπšŒπšŽπš›.πšŒπš˜πš–