LETTERS National Retreat for Priests At the end of Mary’s month, 33 priests, many of whom had never met one another before, gathered in Mary’s land (Maryland). They came from throughout the United States, from California and Puerto Rico, from the District of Columbia and Minnesota, from Illinois and the Eastern Seaboard, drawn together by an attraction to something different–the charism of Communion and Liberation, which sponsored their week-long spiritual exercises. Where else could they spend so much time with other priests, looking at, talking about, and experiencing “The Priesthood of Man and the Humanity of the Priest”? This was the theme of their retreat, drawn from Father Giussani’s words to seminarians, reminding them that “to be good priests, you first of all have to be men!” From the evening of Monday, May 24th, it became clear that this was to be no ordinary priests’ retreat. After dinner and a few words of introduction provided by Father Richard Veras, a dramatic presentation of Maurice and Therese: Story of a Love startled the retreatants by its human force, telling the story of the very human relationship between Saint Therese of Lisieux and a seminarian preparing for work in the missions, who for several years had exchanged letters revealing their passion for Christ and, as time went on, for one another, who had given themselves to His service. The drama, directed by Father Peter Cameron and performed by members of his Blackfriars Repertory Theater Company, made it clear how precious it was to both Therese (of the Holy Face) and Maurice to have photographs of one another, a theme developed the next morning by Monsignor Albacete in his lesson on the human desire of seeing a face. Several spoke on Tuesday evening of their varied experiences in their parishes and in their other work, a conversation already begun and to continue later at table throughout their time together. One of the priests, learned in local history, explained how Maryland had been the site of the first Holy Mass offered in the thirteen English-speaking colonies that later became the United States, and how its name, although ostensibly an honor to Henrietta Maria, the wife of the King of England, was quite likely a conscious invocation of the Mother of God for protection and guidance as the new colony was being formed. The visit of several members of the Washington, DC, community of CL on Wednesday evening made it possible for the priests to meet firsthand many lay members of the movement which was sponsoring their exercises. The priests thanked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick for the hospitality shown them by the Archdiocese of Washington, and they thanked Father Giussani, whose genius they had met through the course of their time together, giving them newfound hope in their humanity and in the priesthood Christ shares with them. Fr Bill Vouk, Usa Ethos and Mission Statement Dear Fr Giussani: It was around this time two years ago when the annual elections for our children’s school parents’ council were to be held. The school of about 500 children is of no particular denomination and is effectively controlled by this council, which goes up for election each year. My friend Mauro suggested that I and his wife Margaret put our names forward as candidates. On the night of the elections, we both had to give our speeches before the vote. In short, we said that the school was providing an education for our children for which we were grateful and we wanted to offer ourselves more in assisting this work for the benefit of our children and the other children in the school. We were both elected by the parents that night. Over the past two years, much work has been done and in many facets of the school. More than one year ago, the parents on the council decided that they should try to have a common vision about the school, and so a committee was to be formed to try to formulate an agreed upon Ethos and Mission Statement. With the help of a little prompting from me, I was selected as the council member to accompany two teachers on this committee. So the work began on our Ethos and Mission Statement. The questions and answers immediately formulating in my mind for this work came from The Religious Sense and The Risk of Education. What is education but an adventure and a discovery of reality (a reality that is really worth discovering)? From where do we start? In order to move forward in discovering reality, we need, with the accompaniment of teachers who are attentive and passionate, to understand and critically own our own culture, our own history and heritage. It is only from this starting point that we can have a proper foundation for developing a certainty about the reality around us. It is for this reason that we recognize our Christian culture and heritage. This last point raised a few eyebrows. In any case, there was much discussion and consultation and thankfully all of the above points were included in the final draft, which had to be voted on by the parents of the school. I have to say that, in producing the final draft, it was in general not difficult to convince people. Those with a genuine interest in the good of the school felt an immediate attraction and correspondence to the words, so much so that the response was, in a number of cases, either, “That’s beautiful!” or, “It’s a wonderful document!” Last month, the Annual General Meeting of our school was held and the main motion to be decided on was this new Ethos & Mission Statement. I presented it briefly and after being recommended by both the Chairman and the Headmaster of the school, most if not all the parents raised their hands to pass the motion. It is now the Ethos & Mission Statement of the school and will remain so indefinitely. Owen Sorensen, Ireland After the Storm I just wanted to send a quick thank you and update for all of you who prayed for us during hurricane "Frances’" visit to Florida. Once again, we have seen God’s mercy firsthand, as we were spared!! John and I even kept our electricity throughout everything! I heard that Joe and Lisa have been without power for a few days, and have sick children to boot! Vince and Yza also lost power and have been spending the days and tonight with us here(thank God for air conditioning!!). Jean came up from Boca (Miami) and brought a friend and her 3 daughters. John, I, and our crew, Vince, Yza, and their crew, Jean and her friends, Lizzie and Lucia, and Lizzie’s Dad all rode out the bulk of the storm together after Mass on Sunday. We had a couple of beautiful meals together, lots of singing, and a very wet, windy, weekend together! As is my norm, I feel certain there is a more beautiful, more eloquent, more CL–ten-dollar word to express what we/I experienced this weekend, but the words escape me. I hope you are able to fill in the blanks! Thank you again; in our company this weekend you were each with us! Please continue to pray for those who were not so lucky this weekend (the last I heard, there were about 3 million people still without power here, not to mention those who were left without homes.) Kathleen Evening Songs Dearest Fr Giussani: Last night, my daughter invited three of her GS friends to dinner. It was a pleasure to be at table with them, listening to them tell about their day, the summer games, the things they enjoy, what they love… well, life. And then, almost with the last bites still in their mouths, they began to sing. In August, out under the sky, in the humid late night, heavy and sweltering: Cristo al morir tendea, O bone Jesu, O cor soave, Laudate Dominum, Estote fortes, He is… and all the neighbors came out to see, even the children! Four simple kids who colored the night with their voices full of passion and purity, four young angels who relit the stars, and I understood with gratitude how wonderful and beautiful this history is that you have taught me to live, and I fell in love again with Jesus. Manu Continuous Offering Federica is immobile in bed after a bad horseback riding accident. Here is what she wrote to a friend. Ciao, Raffa! I’m well. I’ve come to understand that I won’t be going on vacation with you all, but my prayer will sustain you all the way up to the mountaintops. Being bedridden makes you offer everything to Him. All that you are is only His gift and does not belong to you, so what is left to me to give is the suffering of staying in bed and not being able to go away with you–I offer this in my prayer. In prayer, I’ll be able to be up in the mountains singing with you. Thank you, because you’re a great support for me. A hug to you and everyone else. Federica, Milan, Italy Simone’s Hand Dear Giussani: Last year was one of trials and conversion. The illness and death of Paola Piraccini tested us a great deal. I work as a teacher in the school Paola directed. This event caused me to take on more responsibility there and to make a significant scholastic commitment, which I lived with more awareness and with faith. In addition, the experience of a second miscarriage was a painful event that deepened my heart’s question. When the year ended, I said to myself, “Now things will be easier; Jesus will leave me in peace at least for a while.” Instead, in the fifth month of a new pregnancy, we learned that the child had a deformed arm and right hand. The doctors suggested an abortion, explaining that this anomaly could be associated with very grave syndromes of various kinds. I remember the decisive gaze of my husband before Being that asked us to acknowledge Him. It was dramatic, but clear, to affirm, as you wrote us, “the purity of being.” It was clear–as Fr Carlo told us–that that child, before being our child, was wanted by God, was a child of God, entrusted to us. Unavoidable pain, fear, weariness, and sadness characterized certain days of our long wait, but even so our weakness was sustained by Another. Our questioning prayer to Jesus and our friends in the Movement, family prayer with our children, the prayer we asked of our friends, and the companionship that goes to the core of things, bit by bit converted us as the days passed. On March 29th, Simone was born and his presence made everything even clearer and more evident. In the morning, when we wake up, the Mystery manifests itself in an irrepressible, almost violent way: Simon’s wounded flesh asks us to acknowledge the presence of Another. Welcoming Simone, we have affirmed the will of Another and this is literally changing our days and all our relationships, those in our family, in the Fraternity, even with our neighbors. The gaze and the judgment of our children, of our first two children of 5 and 8 years, always stuns us. They’re really happy about their new little brother, and Matteo said that Simone’s hand is beautiful, just the way the Lord made it. One day, we found an envelope with 500 euros, with a note: “We can only pray, offer you this help and thank you for your testimony. Some friends whom you don’t have to thank.” A nurse, a neighbor of ours, comes to treat Simone when we need it and sometimes she brings our children cookies… There are truly many facts and faces that call us to the good face of the Mystery. Mirella and Tiziano, Cesena, Italy Victory over Death Some days ago, in the building where we live, a neighbor was barbarously killed and mutilated in his apartment. Like everyone else, we have been marked by the horror and squalor of the crime and, no less than the others, we feel afraid and distrustful. But what most struck us was realizing the evident truth of the word echoed in the Spiritual Exercises that judges and supports our lives. So we wanted to make a gesture that, more than many words, would speak of Christ’s victory over death and life. Having asked for hospitality at our nearby parish, we proposed a Mass for all the people in our building (Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and agnostics), knocking on every door and leaving each person an invitation with the reasons for the meeting. Everyone was surprised and grateful for the initiative. That Thursday, one person left work early to come or, as in the case of an elderly woman, returned to Mass after ten years. Another, ill and unable to participate, felt it important to tell us that since the fact happened, she prays every day for our same intentions, and she entrusted us with a euro to light a candle. It really is true that what has been given us is for everyone, and that this is the companionship that saves the world! Often, living with our dearth of means and strategies in the heart of the most cosmopolitan metropolis of Europe, we feel our impotence before the growing indifference and the weight of the evil that crushes the person and destroys the people. But we know that faithfulness to the history we have encountered is for us the concrete possibility for living every circumstance like resurrected people. The Rosary we recite together every Wednesday evening helps us keep alive the memory of His unfailing presence that unites our lives and, changing them, makes them a space for welcoming and a sign of hope for those who surround us. And thus, by the grace of God, our companionship is growing here where we are. Sandro, Margherita, and Susanna, Brussels, Belgium A Clear Belonging Dear Fr Giussani: At this time, I remember many things about when I encountered the CLU friends in the St Augustine Catholic community in Makerere University. The CLU friends immediately proposed that I should have a clear belonging in life. They asked, “To whom shall we belong in case of death?” and the real possibility struck me. The proposal was not abstract. In fact, later on I realized it was true, that in life either one belongs to Christ (the road to our destination and total fulfillment) or to the devil (the road to nothingness). I find myself always in between these two choices. But thanks to my friends, and thanks to the truly deep relationship with Sasa, John, and Patrick, I’m now certain that belonging to Christ makes me live forever and in enduring happiness. I felt and still feel that I live magnificent days and, mysteriously (believe it or not), I feel at your side, next to you, even though I have never seen you. In fact, I feel the pride of belonging brilliantly and beautifully to Christ and to you, thanks to all the people of the Movement but especially those of the CLU in Makerere University in Uganda. I am also proud of having followed you without hesitation and having identified with your way of thinking and of seeing things. This is thanks to my friends who attempt to live like you and by doing so recall me every time to Christ. In this sense, I’ve learned that our companionship is really unique. I live in Uganda with the purest of hope as a CLU member. I live with the people who received me as a brother and a friend, which heals the wounds of my spirit. Now I can’t go back to nothingness; I will carry on with the faith you have taught to me, and I desire constantly the feeling of belonging to Christ, and therefore to the community. This is a source of strength and more than heals the deepest of my wounds. I would have many things to say to you but words can't express what I would like them to, so I wish you God’s blessing now and always. John Francis, Makerere The Face of the Preference Dearest Fr Giussani: I say “dearest” not because I know you in person (since I don’t) and am a close personal friend to you, but because you awaken in me the truth of myself. I just now read your address to the National Council of CL that you gave in March 2004, and I was moved to the depth of myself. When I began to read your address, I felt a heaviness because I know that your words make me look deeper than anyone else and I put up a wall at first. But, reading on, I began to see again that following you is the same as following myself. When you began to speak of preference, I asked myself, “Where is this preference that the Lord has shown me?” Sometimes there is an immediate repulsion in me when I hear this word, maybe because I am brainwashed into thinking that preference is not true because it is not fair in the way of thinking of the world. This is a difficult period for me because I am trying to finish my PhD and I often feel reality is competing with me in the other direction, competing against my experiments and my health (which is not always so good). But when you said that “a son is a preference” and that we must “thank the Lord for the mercy He has poured onto us;…. may it open… our confidence in the face of the evidence that He has preferred us,” I am reminded of the fact that He has shown me and continues to show me mercy through the wife that He has given me and through the special friends that He has given me-the greatest friends of my life. I also recognize a different perspective of this word because you said that “preference is a term that recognizes immediately who Jesus is” and that “we are the face of this Son in the streets.” So the fact that He has given me my wife and my friends and my community shows me that He has a preference for me. And it seems that you are saying, if I understand, that He is using me to be a witness of Him and wants me to tell everyone about His mercy, as if this task is also part of the meaning of the word preference. The other part of your address that makes me think of myself and my life is where you tell us, “One of the things to which the Lord has ‘trained’ us is the sense of our own nothingness, of the real incapacity of man’s reality to sustain what the Lord has made of His plan.” In front of my life, especially right now, I can see my limitations (I am almost tripping over myself sometimes) and my nothingness in front of God’s plan for me. All of my daily plans and projects to finish this work and to move with my wife where we will find jobs together is constantly being challenged by Him who knows what is best for me. I realize that all my plans for the next days in front of me and the reality in front of me are not accomplished according to my plan and purpose but are made according to Him; the correct position for me is to be poor and humble looking and depending on Him to show me. All of my effort to be successful and above the other guy at times amounts to nothing because the truest me is poor, like you are. Mark Baumeister, Philadelphia On August 28th, Fr Bruno De Biasio died at the age of 84, having served 36 years as the parish priest of Dergano, a neighborhood of Milan. Fr Luigi Giussani and all of Communion and Liberation pray to our Father in heaven on the occasion of the death of Fr Bruno De Biasio. With great faithfulness to our friendship, from its dawn, he was a testimony to the great Presence in his continually repeated “yes” in the sacramental gesture of giving his life for his friends. This painful separation is a mysterious but certain anticipation of the glorious day of Christ. Now that his unification with the face of Our Lady has happened, may he obtain from her for us a life lived in gladness.