CLU: “I don’t want
to miss anything in life”
Meeting with hundreds of college students, Fr. Carrón sent everyone on their way full of curiosity for and hope in the promising Presence they met.

by Annie Thompson

At least 200 university students from all across the U.S. and Canada gathered in NYC for Mass and an assembly with Fr. Carrón on January 19th. This fact in and of itself stands out as the most meaningful aspect of the few hours we spent with each other. Intense desire–not often found in the modern student–had propelled us together and was apparent on every attentive face.
James from Toronto was the first to present a question. He asked how one person’s experience could become his as well, since, as he said, “I don’t want to miss anything.” From this point on, Fr. Carrón focused the conversation on this urgent and human need not to miss out on or lose any beautiful experience in life. Using the relatable example of falling in love, Fr. Carrón noted how all of our efforts are not enough to keep this relationship forever. And so we have to ask: Is there something that can save what we love? Or, in the end, do all the beautiful and crucial things in life dissipate and fade? Asking these questions, he said, is important not because we are Christians but because we are human beings. Therefore, if we are true to our nature, each of us must find a response to the question that nothing can cancel and no strategy can answer.
This human search, said Fr. Carrón, is the adventure of life. Life really starts in the moment when we are curious, open to any hint of an answer. Moreover, only through this search do we become interested in the experiences of other people. John and Andrew followed Jesus because they were curious, and they met someone who promised a solution to their human need. Similarly in our search, Fr. Carrón pointed out, a lesson is not useful. Neither is a club or an ideology. What is useful is to be curious in front of every moment of daily life, to judge whether the experiences of those around us suggest an answer that allows us to not lose anything. This method, he said, is simple, easy, and the only way to be truly human.
Following his own advice, Fr. Carrón ended the conversation after making his point and briefly clarifying several questions about it. “Enough for today!” was disappointing to the many students with questioning hands in the air, still hoping to be called on, but it struck me as an example of precisely what we had just heard. When I go home to face my daily reality, I don’t need a plethora of thoughts and words. What I need is to have encountered people who live in a new and promising way. Solely the exceptional unity of 200 of these people was enough to send me on my way with excitement and hope. Our very gathering together clearly contained the promise of an answer.