Gift of Unity: The Spirituality of Communion of Chiara Lubich and Luigi Giussani

Abstract

In his Apostolic Letter Novo Millenio Ineunte, Pope John Paul II wrote that the Church must become the ‘home and school of communion’ if is to ‘be faithful to God’s plan and respond to the world’s deepest yearnings’. For this to take place, he indicated that even prior to making practical plans that ‘we need to promote a spirituality of communion’, a spirituality which ‘indicates above all the heart’s contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us, and whose light we must also be able to see shining on the face of the brothers and sisters around us’ (43). This paper will examine the spirituality of communion as it is proposed in the teachings of two prominent leaders within the new ecclesial movements within the Catholic Church in the 20th century, Chiara Lubich (1920–2008) and Fr Luigi Giussani (1922–2005).