On the Journey to Becoming a Saint
There is a group of friends here at St. John’s that meets regularly to follow a movement called Communion and Liberation. The movement was founded by Servant of God Msgr. Luigi Giussani, whose cause for canonization is now advancing to the Vatican for further study.
Who was Fr. Giussani, and why do we follow his movement, even though many of us never met him? A recent interview about his cause for sainthood was translated into English and helps to answer these questions. Below are some excerpts; you can read or listen to the entire interview at epochalchange.org/veil-and-ember/the-gift-of-being-preferred.
Interviewer: Don Giussani often spoke of the centrality of the living Christ. What does that really mean in the concrete life of a person today?
Msgr. Apeciti: If Christ is who Christ says he is, then the Angelus already tells us the answer—he came to dwell among us; he dwells with us still. I think the real novelty is exactly this: Christ is not only someone who came two thousand years ago and taught two thousand years ago. He is a real, daily presence, a presence that walks with us. That is what centrality means. He is here today, right beside us, and he accompanies me in every moment of my day, of my life. Today he is here with me; today he walks with me.
If you were to speak to a young person today—maybe someone far from the faith—what aspect of Don Giussani would you feel most urgent to communicate?
I think he would tell them: you can bring real happiness into your life, because that is the true, deep value of your existence. Have you asked yourself why you exist? What is your destiny? What is your purpose? What richness do you have to offer? He would challenge you to look inside, to go down into yourself. Who are you? Have you ever asked yourself who you are? Why do you exist? Why do you exist today, in this moment, in this place?
These are questions people seem to dodge. You can’t keep going like that. Giussani began exactly there. Others didn’t follow him on it, but he would say: “Guys, let’s try to talk.” When it was someone’s turn, the person might say, “I’m not interested in any of this.” “Fine—then tell me why you’re not interested,” and that would push them to look inside, to find the courage to ask themselves the questions.
My impression is that young people today almost never ask themselves these questions. They look away from what is inside; they try to flee even from silence by drowning it in noise... Who are you? Why do you exist? What meaning can your life carry? What meaning can beauty carry? A young person today needs to ask those questions. The question is whether they have the courage to aim high, to look past the so-called great things to what is actually great... Giussani always pushed us not to settle for mediocrity. To aim high, because God wants us to aim high. To value our own qualities, not to be lukewarm.
To find out more about our local group of Communion and Liberation, contact Laura Miller.