The leaders of CLU gathered at St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, for a weekend together. Upon arriving and seeing everyone, my heart began to vibrate. It started to knock on my chest and remind me—"I am here!” Beforehand, I had been confused and a bit frustrated as to why the Equipe was "so early" this year. I was corrected by my experience. All of us had gathered not to perfect our communities, problem-solve, or even to plan the year. Instead, we were there, first and foremost, to recognize Christ again.


Chiara Bernardini, quoting Romano Guardini in her witness at the Equipe, said, “In the experience of a great love, everything becomes an event.” I saw at the Equipe that CLU is a place that leaves no part of my life out. It is a place where my friends are completely real with me. Christ, Fr. Pietro reminded us, does not make bad circumstances into good ones through magic. We do not have to be afraid of saying something is wrong or that there is a problem. Here, there is a path forward together. As Fr. Giussani says in the Risk of Education, “You can make mistakes and be inconsistent a thousand times. But the path is this one.” Precisely!


Belonging—that is what I kept thinking on the six-and-a-half-hour drive back to school. Belonging to these friends is no different than belonging to Christ. The change that I experienced in myself made this fact undeniable.


My heart is filled with gratitude. I discovered that I completely belong to this place, that is, to Christ, and I move forward with a desire to belong to Him even more.

Teresa, Kansas