Claudio Chieffo (1945-2007)

“The Gaze of a Man with an Adult Faith”
Commentaries by Father Giussani on four of Claudio’s most beloved songs

“The New Auschwitz” (“La nuova Auschwitz”)
Let’s remember that “it is not difficult to be like them,” that it is possible to be like them. [...] The possibility of this violence, of this destruction, always slithers in–in our personal lives, in the relationship with our girlfriends or boyfriends, with our parents, with our schoolmates, with everything that surrounds us, the poison of violence and exploitation is present inside us! There is only one way to avoid it, which is to approach man–whoever he may be, the closest one that you care for, as well as the most alien and distant–with a love for his destiny, a deep respect, and a passion for his freedom, for his energy on the journey.

“Ballad of the Old Man” (“Ballata dell’uomo vecchio”)
“His face is the one you have, the very face you have, which for me is terrible,” says the song. At a certain point, it was revealed to us that this face, this terrible and elusive face, Fate or God, from whom everything flows and depends, became a man, and is sitting among us as one of us... He become one of us; He is no longer an elusive face that I would like to see but can’t.  He made Himself visible. And He is not standing in front of us like something to be adored, or looming over us as something that might happen; He is a companion on our path, a Friend, and friendship is a companionship on our journey to destiny.

“The Road” (“La strada”)
“Beautiful is the road  that brings you home, where they await you.” Being on a path is a matter of awareness, because you could walk a hundred miles and be at a standstill. The history of life is an awareness, because there is no history for a fossil, even if in 2,000 years it is changed to its fundamental aspect.

“I Have a Friend” (“Ho un amico”)
“I have a great, great friend. There is no one more than Him. He has given me the whole world and He is stronger than a king.” This is not the imprecise and vague awareness that a child has of Jesus Christ, but the penetrating gaze of a man who, with an adult faith, recognizes that all of his greatness depends on that act of humiliation of God, on His stooping down over us. But this fact can’t but provoke a rebellion in you, a resistance. If today we are tired, spent, clouded, and the word “friend” doesn’t vibrate in unison with our life, if the word “friend,” spoken by Jesus, does not dominate our entire awareness, it is only because we resist such a God.