Sent to Proclaim Christ's Presence - Fr. Giussani

Monastic Musings: Sent to Proclaim Christ's Presence - Fr. Giussani

In today's Gospel, Jesus appointed and sent 72 people to the towns and villages of Galilee, proclaiming the coming of the Kingdom of God. His instructions to them were still in my ears when I began to read some of the earliest writings of Fr. Luigi Giussani - Reflections on Experience in The Journey to Truth Is an Experience. Written almost at the birth of the Communion and Liberation movement, this essay describes the method for carrying Christ - not his morality or his edicts, but an experience of Christ - to people in the secular world. I can hear the echo of Jesus' instructions to the 72 in his words, and it is a call as strong today as it was 2000 years ago:

It is through us that Christ proposes himself to men and women. Our attitude and words constitute the proposal through which others can know him. ... Jesus said: "Go forth through the entire world and preach to all the peoples." Each person is responsible for a specific task ("go forth and preach") but is free to choose how to achieve his or her particular vocation.