Companions on the Journey

Vittadini doesn't speak much English. Neither do half of the toddlers running around the parish hall -- just bits of Italian and English mixed with excited shrieks, laughing as they share toys and pound on the piano. I had to concentrate a little more than I expected to understand what Fr. Carron was saying, barely three feet in front of me -- not because of the noise, but because of his heavy accent. But then, something that needed no translation: a huge smile, bright eyes... genuine excitement to hear about my career and my life, if only for a few minutes.

As I sit in front of a group of Italians from Illinois, I look over at the Puerto Rican doctor from St. Louis. Directly in front of me, our "guest of honor" - Fr. Carron, a Spanish priest who has traveled from Italy - sits next to his New Yorker guide. To my right, a local priest puts away his iPad guitar and sits down, grabbing his niece as she runs past to save her from being poked with a violin bow or accidentally smacked with a guitar. It's loud and it's crazy, but everyone -- everyone -- is smiling, laughing, talking joyfully with friends.

And then, we sing. First, it's "Country Roads" by John Denver. Then Paul Simon. And Bono. Spanish songs, Elvis, Mexican songs, and an Italian lullaby. Mix in a little U2 for good measure. Then "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jerico," "Proud Mary," a mash-up of "La Bamba" and "Twist & Shout" ...the list goes on. For an hour or so, we sing, in all languages and styles. We lift our voices with laughter and community, simply because we have a reason to sing!

Let me back up just a little. Last weekend, Fr. Julian Carron, the president of the Communion and Liberation Movement, traveled from Italy to spend two days in Evansville on his tour across the United States. Sunday was the big presentation and discussion, but Saturday was a simple celebration of community. Some drove for hours to be there, to be present to the witness of Christ working in ways that only He can.

CL is an ecclesial movement within the Church, and it's aim is to live in a true and serious way, attentive to the presence of Christ in every moment, in every gift, in the longings and desires of my heart. I'm not that great at explaining it, but I know - without a doubt - that it is a gift from Christ that has forever changed my life. Through the movement, I have met people who look at me in a way that I have rarely experienced elsewhere. I have become "instant" friends with people that otherwise, I would probably never talk to - but we recognize that our hearts are the same, that we are all longing for the same Person.

We came from different places: Evansville, New York, Nashville, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Italy. There were priests, seminarians, married, single, discerning. Every age range, a wide variety of careers and interests... our differences could go on and on. But in all important ways, we are the same. We are all created by Him, we are all seeking the only One who can satisfy the desire of our hearts. We are all companions on the same journey, we are a community of humanity!

As we concluded the evening with the Memorare, I took note of the multiple languages I heard throughout the room. Even in all our differences - language, life stage, career, home - our hearts are all the same, all thirsting for Him. Really, we aren't that different at all!

"Poor is the voice of a man who doesn't exist. Such is our voice when it no longer has a reason. It must cry out, it must implore that the breath of life never ceases. But it must sing, because there is life! All life pleads for eternity. Our voice cannot die, it cannot end, because it implores its life from Love. So ours is not the poor voice of a man who doesn't exist. It's a voice that sings with a reason."

- English translation of a favorite Italian song, "Povera Voce"