Dear Father Carrón: My wife, my two children, and I moved to Taichung, Taiwan, because of my job. In Taiwan there is a house of the Fraternity of Saint Charles Borromeo, located in Taipei, in the north of the country. Here, in the heart of the island, people have their own peculiar way to live Christianity, and nobody has ever heard of CL. We attend a Mass at the cathedral that is celebrated in English by a likable priest from Congo. On the occasion of the anniversary of Father Giussani’s death, we took the initiative to present the Movement. Father Donato, of the Fraternity of Saint Charles Borromeo, came to Taichung to say Mass in memory of Father Giussani. After the celebration, we invited people over for pizza at our house. We had 35 guests–a mix of Catholics, Protestants, and Buddhists from all over the world: Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, the USA, Great Britain, Spain, and Congo. After the pizza, we showed part of a video about Father Giussani. Quoting Leopardi, he says that all men (all!) have the desire for Beauty to become flesh; for truth and justice to become flesh. This statement surprised me and dispelled my fears about Jesus being too far from the Asian culture. After the video, we answered a few questions, we talked, and we sang. I enjoyed answering questions about how we met CL, and about the essential traits of the Movement. Since nobody knew our songs, I could not pretend to sing (as I usually do, because of my precarious intonation) and I gave it my best effort. Upon a specific request of one of our guests, I even performed an unforgettable rendition of “Let It Go,” from the movie Frozen. That day spent together gave us the possibility to share who we are and to initiate a few relationships, which are now developing in interesting ways. Specifically, we are becoming closer with a Buddhist family–father, mother, and three children. The mother is particularly taken by our conception of education and attention to reality. Here in the Far East, where work and money are the only gods, we feel the vital importance of our belonging to the Movement, which helps us keep our eyes open and recognize the Mystery hidden behind the appearance of everything.

Stefano, Taichung, Taiwan