Father Carrón said in the letter to the Fraternity, “On such occasions–-which the Mystery does not spare us–-we can grasp even more clearly what a grace the charism that has taken hold of us is, verifying its capacity to help us face all that happens. ‘The only condition for being truly and faithfully religious [...] is to live always the real intensely’ (The Religious Sense, 108), as Father Giussani told us. With this conception of religiosity, we recognize every circumstance in the context of vocation.”

Since the beginning of this health crisis, I have realized this in my life. I noticed that I have not been petrified, although I did not desire to suffer; I noticed that I trusted God. I was in the same situation as a lot of other people, confined in my home doing remote learning and accepting the proposal to offer my little daily things. But by praying and following the Movement, little by little, something else was introduced. Some years ago, I dreamed of big missions and works, but recently, while confined to this situation, I started perceiving that if I make my bed, if I call an elderly lady who lives alone and is not able to join School of Community via Zoom, if I correct my students’ homework well, or if I take care of my husband, I affirm that life is beautiful and that everything is made for good. In my life I contribute to affirm the good.

This slowly broadened from a simple offer, little by little--by which I mean that I saw how the charism, when we follow it, invests us in a way that strikes others. For example, I am studying to get a teaching certificate. This semester I student-taught in a high school, and this experience ended with remote learning. A professor the other day wrote to me, “I am impressed with your ability to remain positive and find learning opportunities for yourself and your students in all this chaos.” The professor that observed me during the whole year and had to evaluate me wrote in her final evaluation, “She always has a smile.” And a teacher I became friends with wrote in a text, “I am going to be sad when you aren’t with us. You have become a real good friend and someone I can have good conversations and talk openly with. I appreciate that and I appreciate you very much.”

How is this possible? Where is it coming from? As Carrón said, I grasped with more clarity that what I encountered gives me the capacity to stay in front of reality in a way that is exceptional yet simple--to the point that we take it for granted. But it is exceptional! I understood that I desire to simply follow the Movement more, to welcome God’s love to me, to welcome His Paternity. And it is amazing how doing this transforms us little by little.


Rosella, State College, Pennsylvania