As I sit here on the airplane, on my return flight back to Miami, I have many thoughts going through my mind. I have just spent the last three days at New York Encounter 2016. I spent time listening to interesting presentations, I saw interesting exhibits and I shared with friends. This was my second year attending and I think I enjoyed it even more this year than last. One thing that I noticed that really struck me was how much was talked about God while, at the same time, He was rarely mentioned. I know that that sounds contradictory, but its true. I am used to retreats and encounters where you go and hear all about "God." This was different. We didn't really hear about "God", but that's what it was all about. Instead of talking about God in different aspects of life, the presentations and exhibits talked about life, and that inevitably meant talking about Him. It wasn't as strong and impacting as other things I've experienced, but it was more real. That's kind of been my experience in CL. There is this presence that is undeniably there, like in the presentations, yet His name is rarely mentioned. There is a joy that cannot be explained, like at the Encounter, yet we rarely call Him by name. We talk about Him without talking about Him. I know that sounds confusing, and that's also been my experience with CL--being confused--but its so true. I don't sit around praying with my friends, but His presence is so obvious that it leaves me wanting more. I want to see them again, to share another meal, to sing more songs, to share our lives.

What moved me the most was the closing song in Sunday's mass. Again, I don't know why--as is usual for me in CL--but when we started singing "My Father Sings to Me", I got happy because I really like the song. About two words into it, I got choked up and then the tears just started flowing. I couldn't stop myself. I love music. It moves me; physically, emotionally, spiritually. That's one of the things I love about CL, the music. During Mass I found myself telling God that of all the things I want in life, what I want the most is to follow Him and what He wants from me. And then I hear this song, that I am trying to sing, that says, "In the world there is a voice and it sings with a mission. In my life there is a choice and I've chosen to listen..." It was as if this song summed up my prayer. And then the chorus, "My Father sings to me..." As if music wasn't moving enough for me, now, there was a realization that He was talking to me, singing to me, through this music that I love so much. I was able to compose myself enough to continue singing, until, "The Son sings of His Spirit, Whose sound is unity. The Spirit sings a movement that keeps on moving me," and I lost it again. The tears started flowing as I was taking deep breaths trying to suck it up and not let anyone see me. I don't know what happened, but I know that in that moment, what I was feeling was an overwhelming sense of Him, talking, or singing, to me through everyone who was in that main hall singing that song.

That's what I have found in CL that was confirmed at the Encounter. I have encountered Him through people who have impacted my life in such a way that I cannot deny that something happened. Much like John and Andrew, who not knowing who Jesus was, followed Him because they couldn't deny that they were changed by His presence. In the same way, I am leaving New York with the awareness that I too cannot deny that I have been changed by His presence, and that like John and Andrew, I don't always understand, but I cannot help but follow. Listening to the presentations, seeing the exhibits and spending time with friends confirmed to me that when one encounters Him, life is changed, whether you are an astronaut, a photojournalist, a high school principal in Kenya, an archbishop in Mosul being persecuted by ISIS, or me, a teacher in Miami.