Dear friends:

I can’t keep letting events in my life happen without bearing witness to the facts that I perceive to be changing me. The most recent and clear evidence was at the National Equipe this year in Rochester, MN, a meeting of CL responsibles from around the country. The Gospels witness how Jesus looked upon certain individuals with an overwhelming, disarming love (Zacchaeus, the woman at the well, the blind man, the Roman centurion, etc.). Fr. José invited us to attend, “What I Have Seen and Heard,” a choral concert recalling St. John’s notes from Jesus’ ministry, composed by our dear friend Sebastian Modarelli to celebrate the 150th anniversary of St. John the Evangelist parish. A brilliantly clever dialogue emerged between the masterful musical score Sebastian composed and the words of St. John’s Gospel, which always reveal the truth of my own life. The unity of the two moved many of us to tears of joy and gratitude! I was amazed to meet those present that weekend, the ones “mad enough” to bear powerful witness to their friendships with Christ. The events of those days leave me in wonder like the disciples on the road to Emmaus: “Was not my heart burning within me” more passionately than usual those two days? What happened to me there and to whom do we belong that we were given something so beautiful? Moreover, what remains after these important and beautiful moments in our life pass? My whole spirit and heart were reclaimed and animated by something so evidently good and real that I can only say it is given by God’s mysterious presence among us. As a new friend pointed out to me after the concert, “When reality unveils to us its truth (and this is what beauty does), we realize that we have become friends.” I beg to learn to continue to carry this beauty now. Though I came home with a deep sense of calm, I also discovered with urgency that we in the Church are living the Gospels together. Let’s encourage one another to bear witness to these events that elucidate Christ’s presence for us. My prayer is that we may become more familiar with how He accompanies us now, as for Mary Magdalene the identity of the tomb’s “gardener” became transparent, so that the features of His face may become more and more discernible and irresistible to us.

Juliet, Rockville, MD (USA)