Dear friends,

After these months here in Galway for Erasmus, we feel the desire to share with you the questions and discoveries that have arisen during this time. First of all, we are grateful to have met each other and for the unity we are experiencing among us. Having in mind the experience of friendship we had in Italy, it was natural to look for each other, and gradually it seemed convenient to start: School of Community, charitable work, common fund, and meeting the Church here. We began going to Mass together and contacted the CLU students in Dublin and Chiara, the leader. She advised us to rely on the Church already present here; in fact, she gave us the number of Fr. Conor, a Dominican, and he gave us the number of Br. Jacopo, a Franciscan. The first works at the university and has become an important friend and a point of reference for Mass. We also went to them to look for a charitable activity, but we didn’t find anything suitable. At first, we didn’t really know what to look for, and each of us had different criteria in mind, so we asked Chiara, who referred us to The Meaning of Charity. From there, we started again, and together we found various options and chose the one that seemed most suitable. Now, every Friday, we go to a center for people with autism that we discovered at the University Volunteering Fair. Emma, a friend we met here, has also started coming with us.

From experiences like this, a question arose in Davide that has become ours too. We realise that within us there is a desire to share the need of the other, as in charitable work, or the fascination for beauty, which pushes us to explore Ireland. In both cases, we don’t know where this desire comes from: we simply find it within us. We recognise a mysterious part of reality that moves us and influences our lives, and we notice that we are happier when we take it seriously rather than living as if it didn’t exist. So we ask ourselves: is it the same principle at work in different moments of life? And if so, what is it? Is it really God? Finally, we realise that no one can affirm with mathematical certainty that behind charity or beauty there is Christ. We sense that the risk lies in taking this hypothesis as true and spending our whole life verifying it. Is this true? And by trusting this proposal, do we lose a part of ourselves?

Talking with Chiara, we started doing the School of Community in the place where we are, at the university in Galway and doing it through English. The School of Community is accompanying us in what we live. During the Beginning Day for adults of the movement, Prosperi says, about communal judgment: “It is a journey made together, in a guided companionship, which implies listening, dialogue, and a tension toward unity.” This has been true at various times. One of these was the death of Marta's aunt at the beginning of September. From the start, we discussed it among ourselves, provoking each other and considering even the most practical decisions. In the end, Marta decided to stay, and the next day we went on a trip with other friends. While we were away, her aunt passed away, and the question of returning to Italy came up again. The first thing we did was gather together with another friend, Marta M, and together we discussed the meaning and the way to return to Italy. Even though in the end we didn’t all agree, it was clear that the tension toward unity is not about making the same decision but about sharing a method.

Also, with almost all our friends, the topic of our faith has come up; some have asked what the movement is and why we believe. Our friend Marta M was struck by how we discussed Marta L.’s aunt, and we explained that we are part of the Movement. That same week, the Beginning Day was taking place, so we asked her if she wanted to come. We thought at first that she came just to visit Dublin and, in fact, on the way there, she seemed very worried because she is far from the Catholic environment and found it strange that a stranger (Chiara) would host her at her house. Yet she returned very happy and is still in touch with some of the Dublin students.

We were also hosted by the CLU in Dublin: a preview of the same hospitality we continue to find here. We have met with them several times, and a friendship is growing that we want to cultivate. During a pilgrimage to Knock, we spoke for a few minutes with Maria, an adult from Limerick. By coincidence, two days later, Marta M had already planned a visit to Limerick to see Marta S, whom she met at the Beginning Day: Maria didn’t hesitate to invite us to her house, without even knowing exactly who and how many we were. From encounters like these, we are amazed at feeling at home and wonder where this unity comes from. Others notice it too: Marta M told us that sometimes we seem to move like one person; Fionnula, Jack’s 70-year-old landlady, asked if it is faith that unites us. In both cases, there was a hint of criticism: the first implied a closure toward the outside and an annulment of our personalities; the second thought the Church was a useless and even repressive institution. In any case, both came to talk to us because they were moved by the desire to understand; in fact, Marta M felt excluded, and Fionnula asked us to convince her of God’s existence.

After the Beginning Day, we also started School of Community with Angelita, a PhD student in Jack’s lab. She had also come to the Beginning Day, curious about the life of the movement, and wanted to start spending time with us. Even though she doesn’t believe in God, the relationship with her is enriching: she brings real questions inside and outside the School of Community. She is fascinated by the memores and by the fact that “we think a lot.” For this reason, she started writing regular letters to her best friend to share her reflections. For a few weeks now, she has also started coming to Mass with us.
Lately, we have started praying together in the morning because it helps us remember the promise that exists among us. Sometimes we find ourselves alone, and over time we have realised that this highlights the value of the proposal: we are called to decide whether it makes sense to pray anyway or not.

This past week, Jack’s girlfriend, who came to visit him, was amazed by the hospitality she received and by how we keep each other company. After a dinner with her, we had School of Community, and Fionnula also joined us, provoking us a lot with her questions.
Chiara asked us to write this letter because what we are living moved her. Writing it was challenging for us: expressing a communal judgment on our life here was neither spontaneous nor immediate. But the desire to take stock of what we have experienced and share it with you prevailed in us.

With affection,
Galway crowd,
Davide, Giacomo, and Marta L.