My two main takeaways from the CLU Equipe were Vittadini's invitation to stay in reality and the fact of the importance of the Church that Francesca pointed out on the last night. In all of our questions that we posed to Vittadini about our personal or our communities' struggles, in some form or another he responded by inviting us to remain in that reality which provokes us. It was refreshing to hear this kind of encouragement. In his own words: "Why is it wrong to be determined by the environment? Because your desire is always there and something can always happen. Desire is bigger than any kind of environment!"

Secondly, Francesca's point that what we did that weekend was what it means to be a part of the Church was a small revelation for me. I take for granted the history we belong to and the reasons we are able to speak about things that so strongly resonate with my person. When we talk about the "Presence of Christ," we really do mean Presence and not just any presence, but that which has a particular character and emerges in a particular place, namely the Church. I think I only understand these things partially, but they'll be much on mind for the time to come.

Peter, New York, USA