McGill University, Montreal. Via Flickr

An encounter greater than one’s plans

I moved to Montreal to attend McGill for college after living in small-town suburban Jersey for the majority of my life. Before coming to Montreal, my senior year in NJ was a mix of emotions...

I moved to Montreal to attend McGill for college after living in small-town suburban Jersey for the majority of my life. Before coming to Montreal, my senior year in NJ was a mix of emotions. My faith had always been a big part of my life, and I was involved with the Church. However, I lost three friends over the course of the year, and their deaths haunted me, causing me to be shaken from my faith, questioning God for their sudden disappearance from my life. It was hard to remain committed to my Catholic life after moving to a strange city, away from all that was familiar and comfortable. Luckily, a girl down the hall, Francesca, was also Catholic. We started going to church together, and it became a steady constant in my life. She joined the Movement our first year. She kept asking me, begging me, to come to more meetings, but I just put it off. My Christian experience needed a jumpstart, and that invitation from Fran, again and again, was my call to explore my faith in a different manner, and I finally decided to try it. As the weeks passed, I began to grow in friendship with the people I met. School of Community every week was a challenge, sometimes bringing clarity, and other times muddying my thoughts. Despite my confusion at times, I was writing home to my friends about these new people I had met in the Movement, new friends who continually allow me to center my life and push me to judge my experiences… Sometime in early November, I had a conversation with a professor, Christophe, after class, during which I was literally in tears, begging myself to understand this truth that was in front of me. He used such a reasonable, rational method–the method of Giussani. There was a proposal of a truth so real and relevant to my very nature, that I was compelled to explore it further. He explained the need for an encounter with something outside of oneself. I needed to verify Christ’s presence by experiencing it in the real world. To explain the impact that the community has had on my life, I’ll give the example of Ecuador. Before I met the Movement, I had planned to study and work abroad in Ecuador for the entirety of my junior year. In December, when I needed to make a final decision about my plans, this dream that seemed within reach was suddenly slipping away from me. By meeting the Movement, and deciding to stay, I was giving up a dream I had worked toward since high school. My parents and best friends from home were dumbfounded. I asked my family to travel to Montreal for Good Friday and the Way of the Cross. I think, for the first time, they could see something great, something that could only be communicated by “living the experience.” By staying, I get to tackle what I’ve met, confront the challenges, and really work to accept what has been given to me.

Tierney, Montreal (Canada)