Terzo volume della nuova serie “Cristianesimo alla prova” in cui sono riprodotte le lezioni, i dialoghi e le omelie dell’Autore durante gli Esercizi spirituali della Fraternità di Comunione e Liberazione.

Come si legge nell’ampia Nota editoriale, i testi sono stati redatti a partire da trascrizioni di registrazioni. Questo metodo si è reso necessario per il fatto che Giussani ha svolto lungo il corso della sua vita un’instancabile attività educativa, è accaduto quindi che gran parte del suo pensiero si sia comunicato attraverso la ricchezza e il ritmo di un discorso orale e sia giunto a noi mediante registrazioni audio e video conservate presso l’Archivio della Fraternità di Comunione e Liberazione a Milano.
I testi raccolti nel presente volume sono stati elaborati attenendosi ai criteri formulati a suo tempo dallo stesso Giussani: fedeltà ai discorsi nella forma in cui sono stati pronunciati; rispetto della natura dei discorsi (in relazione all’occasione in cui sono stati pronunciati); minime variazioni per favorire la resa scritta di un pensiero comunicato oralmente (cfr. p. 6).

Apre il volume la prefazione di Julián Carrón dal titolo “Un cuore dentro tutte le cose” (pp. I-XXI). 

Gli scritti proposti coprono un arco di tempo di tre anni: dal 1988 al 1990.
Ogni parte è introdotta da una breve nota storica a cura dei redattori, in corsivo nel testo.

La prima parte, “Vivere con gioia la terra del Mistero: 1988” (pp. 7-88), riporta gli Esercizi della Fraternità che ebbero luogo a Rimini dal 26 al 28 febbraio 1988. 
A breve distanza dagli Esercizi, fu editato un libretto pro manuscripto destinato alla circolazione interna al Movimento: [Vivere con gioia la terra del mistero]: Esercizi Spirituali della Fraternità di Comunione e Liberazione: Appunti dalle meditazioni). In esso sono riportate le sintesi delle lezioni tenute dall’Autore.
L’“Introduzione: venerdì 26 febbraio, sera” e l’“Omelia alla liturgia del I sabato di Quaresima ”(1988, pp. 3-8; titolo errato, si tratta dell’“Omelia alla liturgia del I venerdì di Quaresima”) corrispondono a parte delle pagine 11-19 del volume BUR (2019).
La “Prima lezione” tenuta il sabato mattina (1988, pp. 13-27) corrisponde a parte del testo “Appassionati a Cristo” (2019, pp. 24-45).
La “Seconda lezione”, svoltasi il sabato pomeriggio (1988, pp. 29-40), corrisponde a parte di “La vita come comunione” (2019, pp. 46-68).
Segue il testo intitolato “Omelia alla liturgia del I venerdì di Quaresima” alla Santa Messa (1988, pp. 41-42, titolo errato, si tratta dell’“Omelia alla liturgia del I sabato di Quaresima”; BUR, 2019, pp. 68-70). 
La “Terza lezione: domenica 28 febbraio, mattina” (1988, 43-51) corrisponde a parte del capitolo “Una continua sorgente di aiuto” (2019, pp. 73-85). 
Nella nuova pubblicazione BUR, 2019, sono stati corretti i refusi presenti nel testo del 1988. Segue l’“Omelia alla liturgia della I domenica di Quaresima” (BUR, 2019, pp. 85-87; “Omelia alla liturgia della I domenica di Quaresima”, 1988, pp. 53-55).

Sono invece testi inediti le parti intitolate “Introduzione alle Lodi” (BUR, 2019, p. 20 e p. 72) e i brevi paragrafi “Avvisi” (2019, p. 19, p. 71, p. 88).

La seconda parte, “Occorre soffrire perché la verità non si cristallizzi in dottrina, ma nasca dalla carne: 1989” (pp. 89-173), riporta gli Esercizi svoltisi a Rimini dal 28 al 30 aprile 1989. 
Una sintesi delle lezioni fu pubblicata quello stesso anno in un libretto pro manuscripto destinato alla circolazione interna al Movimento: [Occorre soffrire perché la verità non si cristallizzi in dottrina ma nasca dalla carne]: Esercizi Spirituali della Fraternità di Comunione e Liberazione: Appunti dalle meditazioni. TIEMME, 1989).
L’“Introduzione: venerdì 28 aprile, sera” e l’“Omelia” (1989, pp. 7-12) corrispondono a parte dei testi “Introduzione” e “Omelia” (BUR, 2019, pp. 93-100).
Il capitolo “Prima lezione: sabato 29 aprile mattina” (1989, pp. 15-28) propone in forma sintetica i testi pubblicati nel presente volume con i titoli “Introduzione alle Lodi” e “Chiamati a vivere nell’istante” (BUR, 2019, pp. 102-131).
La “Seconda lezione: sabato 29 aprile, pomeriggio” (1989, pp. 29-42) è la sintesi di quanto detto il sabato pomeriggio e corrisponde a parte del capitolo “La risposta all’amore ricevuto” (2019, pp. 132-157). Segue l’“Omelia alla S. Messa” (1989, pp. 43-44; “Omelia” in BUR, 2019, pp. 157-159). 
La “Terza lezione: domenica 30 aprile, mattino” (1989, pp. 47-52) è la sintesi di quanto detto la domenica mattina e corrisponde a parte del capitolo “La nostra strada” (2019, pp. 160-172).

Sono inediti i testi “Avvisi” (2019, pp. 100-101, p. 159, p. 172). 

La terza parte, “Guardare Cristo: 1990” (pp. 175-248), riporta gli Esercizi svoltisi a Rimini dal 23 al 25 febbraio 1990. 
Una versione sintetica di quanto detto durante le lezioni fu pubblicata quello stesso anno nel libretto pro manuscripto destinato alla circolazione interna al Movimento: [Guardare Cristo]: Esercizi Spirituali della Fraternità di Comunione e Liberazione: Appunti dalle meditazioni (supplemento a CL-Litterae Communionis, 4, 1990).
Il capitolo “Introduzione: venerdì 23 febbraio, sera” (1990, pp. 5-6) propone in forma sintetica il testo edito nel presente volume con il titolo “Introduzione” (BUR, 2019, pp. 179-181). 
La “Prima lezione: sabato 24 febbraio, mattina” (pp. 9-23) corrisponde a parte del testo “Il Mistero entrato nella storia” (2019, pp. 184-207).
La “Seconda lezione: sabato 25, pomeriggio” (pp. 25-40) è la sintesi di quanto detto il sabato pomeriggio e corrisponde a parte del capitolo “Il metodo dell’elezione” (2019, pp. 209-245).
La “Terza lezione: domenica 26, mattina” (pp. 43-50) è la sintesi di quanto detto la domenica e corrisponde a parte del capitolo “La gloria di Cristo” (2018, pp. 254-267).

Sono, invece, testi inediti i paragrafi “Angelus”, “Omelia” e “Avvisi” (BUR, 2019, pp. 182-183, p. 208, pp. 245-248).

Il volume si chiude con le “Fonti” (p. 249), gli “Indici” (pp. 251-271) e il “Sommario” (pp. 273-275). [P. M.]

1988
Living the Mystery with joy
Having passion for Christ.  The first aspect of the new person who adheres to Christ is a passion for the mission because the world is lacking in the acknowledgment of Christ—each of us, in fact, will be judged by our witness to Him and to the fact that life cannot reach its destiny except by following Him. Through Baptism it is Christ who has left an indelible mark upon us, and our lives—eating, drinking, waking up, sleeping, living, dying—have only this purpose: striving for the glory of Christ. Our weakness is not an objection because my change and the change of the world are only tied to this passion of ours for Him and to a passion for the mission. 

Life as communion.  The mission of the Church is to make the world as human as possible, and the world will become more human only if relationships are affected by the dynamics of the relationship between Christ and man, that is mercy. There are three steps in this dynamics—first among them is charity, which is recognizing the presence of Christ and desiring to belong to Him, because it is from the awareness of this belonging that a different way of thinking and acting derives. The second is koinonia—the overall law of this belonging—that is, a tendency to share all things, both material and spiritual, because we share the acknowledgment of Christ who is the meaning of life. Finally, this love makes us creators of works, that is, builders of a new humanity. All these things are rooted in our daily living.

A Continuous Source of Support. The great mysterious body of Christ touches us through our companionship. That is why the life of our movement must be a reference point for us, an example of judgment on life and the world.

1989
It is necessary to suffer so that truth does not crystallize into doctrine, but is born of the flesh
Called to live the moment.  There are three elements in our reflection that can help us become aware of ourselves and reality. First of all, we must be dominated by the awareness of our nature as creation—our lives are elected, brought out of nothing, moment by moment, for a task, for a mission. The core of this mission is the same for everyone—we were made for Christ. Everything is in function of Him, and in order to avoid nothingness we must experience memory, that is the awareness of His presence. In order to adhere to Christ, we need to let Him penetrate into our flesh; therefore, we need to begin to conceive, feel and judge with the memory of this Presence, with this Presence in our eyes. 

Responding to the love received.  God’s love has responded to our existential incapacity, so we are merely responding to a response, that is, to this received love. A strange position results from this initiative of His, a position that upsets the logic of any moralism. For the fundamental issue is not the measurable perfection of our existence, but recognizing His presence deep into our hearts. As was the case with Peter, who was a poor sinner like everyone else, who had betrayed Him, but who loved Him and could not help but say, “Lord, You know everything, You know I love You.” That is why the Lord entrusted His testimony in the world to him—He builds His kingdom through people like this. The more I experience the memory of this Presence—the more I recognize Him—the more His imitation is the motor of my actions. Charity is the relationship that my subject establishes and lives for the same motivation for which Christ moves, that is love for mankind, a reverberation of the love of the Father who has called us out of nothingness and who, through a history, is saving us. For this love to be real, however, there are certain conditions—it must be a personal love towards people in their concreteness and be constructive over time; it must be joyful and not mendacious; and above all, it must look at the weakest, that is, the erring one, the sinner. For this reason, the capacity for forgiveness is the ultimate consequence.

Our path. The purpose of the Fraternity coincides with the purpose of the movement—to live the memory of Christ in our lives, in our worries and struggles, in our striving for good as well as in our sinfulness. The purpose then is for Christ to be recognized and to increasingly be the Lord of our lives. The two fundamental rules for the charism to be lived in obedience are unity and at the same time freedom, which is one’s personal responsibility in adhering to the great Presence. Building the movement must be a passion within us for expanding our witness to Christ.

1990
Looking at Christ
The Mystery that entered history.  The most forgotten aspect of what Christ has communicated to us is the fact that the Father is Mystery. In every moment of our lives, we are immersed in this Mystery, we arise from it and are nourished by it, the substance of our body and soul is made of something that goes beyond us. We must say “You” to this Mystery. So the second step is to realize that the God Christ told us about is a God who enters history. Many have come to the intuition that reality depends on something “other,” but the fact that God could be within the misery of time and space, this cannot be tolerated, this is inconceivable. Instead, God manifests Himself in the instant, in the ordinary and mundane circumstances of the instant—in the relationship with the Mystery, nothing is more certain and crystal clear than this moment; in this moment I am relationship with the Mystery and the Mystery is relationship with me. The need for this moment and the struggle involved by this moment contributes to the design that Being wants to accomplish and that is called history. Nevertheless, we rebel against this God who emerges in the instant and, thus, place our substance in reacting to the circumstance instead of obeying it. As we fall apart—for when we do not adhere to the design of an Other who summons us moment by moment, we do not build—God, Being, longs for us, He still continues to love us: for mercy is the substance of Being. Making the value of our person consist of this embrace always implies sacrifice—love to ourselves becomes great in the sacrifice of ourselves, as it was for Abraham when God asked him to sacrifice to Him what He held most dear, His son. Everything aims to constructing, not only for Eternity, but in this world—in fact, the greatest passion in life is not our fulfillment, but to create the dwelling place for the Mystery in the world, so that it can be recognized and can make everyone’s path a path to destiny.

The method of election. First of all, we must focus our attention on the fact that God became man for our salvation and that we have been elected to announce Him. Immediately corresponding to this election is the need for our person to create a companionship, that is, a reality where the mystery of the Church is truly present, even if imperfectly. We have been elected to communicate, but we shall not be able to communicate unless we experience the awareness of our belonging—belonging is like being owned by Christ, in this companionship. Christ introduces a new humanity into the world, and we are responsible for this new humanity; a new humanity that knows how to welcome everything beyond the objection of our sensibility, that is capable of forgiveness in the sign of prayer, passion for the truth, and is effective to the point of creating works.

The mutual support of memory.  The Fraternity must be a lived reality compelling us to recall Christ, that is, to call us back to memory. And it must also be the first place of charity, that is, forgiveness.