About two years ago, I was gifted a copy of a biography on the founder of the Catholic movement “Communion and Liberation,” Servant of God Msgr. Luigi Giussani. I had been attending group meetups since I was in grad school and the more I’ve reflected on my life, the more I’ve realized that his work has had a profound effect on my faith, so I was glad to read it. Since it took about a year to read it, I decided that I should do a review on it, both to help promote the group and Msgr. Giussani. So, I’ll be writing out an overview of the book, its strengths, weaknesses, and the man it's about.
To give a basic summary, the book gives an overview on the life of Msgr. Giussani, his experiences, a lot of the actions he took both running and founding the movement, and a lot of the people he met along the way. That may seem pretty standard, but he was a priest from 1945 to 2005 in Milan that led an international Catholic movement so he had a lot of connections, and there were a lot of world changing events. In the church, he went to seminary with two future bishops, was a priest in Milan whose Archbishop was future Pope and Saint Paul VI, went through five different papacies, met quite a few of them, and oversaw the growth of his movement, and thus Catholicism, in multiple countries. We get to see his reaction to these events, from writings about the documents and reforms of Vatican II to writing and meeting with multiple popes to the assassination attempt on John Paul II, and his place in them, from working with high school students to to going on international countries to promote the movement to giving interviews and his various writings on theological matters.
It’s not just church matters though as there were many secular events as well. He grew up in fascist Italy, lived through political and anti-religious violence in post-WWII Italy, responded to major, world shattering events that changed the fabric of international society like 9/11 and the War in Iraq, and met with individuals who were involved in events like the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Having lived over 80 years, the book chronicles those events and how they impacted the church as well, which alone makes the book worth a read. It provides an insight into decades of world history, which is quite interesting in its own right.
Nevertheless, seeing him discuss these events, ones he’s gotten to experience as an outsider or ones he actually hosted, give us a perspective on how to handle changes in the church, tragedies, and world events, and the impact they had. More specifically, it provides an example for the Christian life and how we’re called to act. That alone explains why he’s currently “Servant of God” and why many pray for him to become Saint.
That said, the focus of the book is on his philosophy and his beliefs on God, as well as how to teach it. It goes through the relationships in the movement, the desires high schoolers were having back in the 50s regarding their spirituality, and the ideas Giussani had during his life. His work goes to the idea that Christianity is not merely a feeling, though our feelings do play a part in our faith, but an encounter with reality. In particular, a historical event that changes all of civilization with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The movement he founded is thus dedicated to understanding that and developing a relationship with it.
The book then gives an overview on life as a journey, how that journey changes once we encounter it, and the consequences of it. It shows our relationship with Christ is a real relationship, a friendship, and it changes our lives, giving us both understanding and hope. The book, through Msgr. Giussani’s life, shows us that and reminds us why Catholicism continues to last and why it interests so many people who do or do not believe in it.
There were two points of criticism though worth noting when discussing it as a book. The first is that it is a very long read. The book itself was 1182 pages, not including the annotations and glossary, and the book is very dense. The length can make it hard to push forward at times.
This may be fine since the material is compelling, but that brings us to a second point of criticism, that the book has too much in it. The book thoroughly goes through many of his speeches, thoughts, writing, etc. At times, it starts to feel like a lot of this could have been simplified, paraphrased, or that parts of it are repetitive.
In fairness, a friend of mine said the book is likely meant to be read in parts over time as opposed to trying to cover-to-cover. I’d honestly say that’s the best way to read it. Nevertheless, it is something worth noting in regards to what it was like reading the book.
All the same, I’m glad I read this book and why it has a place of honor on my bookshelf. It reminded me how “Communion and Liberation” changed my life and why I’m proud to be part of it. This book is worth a read to anyone who wants to know more about Msgr. Giussani, just as his work is worth a read for anyone who wants to grow in their faith.
Veni Sancte Spiritus
Veni Per Mariam
