Riccardi

Mumbai, January 14, 2003 In 2001, during a trip to India, Chiara Lubich came in contact with the leadership of a large, private university, the Somaiya College, founded in 1959 with the goal of reawakening in young people the values of the culture of India and of the Hindu tradition. The leaders of the institution recognized that Chiara is a figure of high moral and spiritual stature, and they wished to make her and her thought known to the whole university population. They again invited her in 2003. The text that follows is the talk that Chiara delivered on that occasion to the department heads of 31 university institutes of the Somaiya College and to an audience of 400 people. Dr. Somaiya, Dr. Kala Acharya, Madame Lilabengi Kotak, Mister Kavadia,Mister Ranganathan. I must first of all express my joy to be in this place on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of our beloved Mr. Somaiya, who, with his vibrant personality and vision for the future brought the

Commetary on the Word of Life: Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life(Jn 6:68) To the crowds that followed him, Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God (see Lk 9:11). He used simple words, parables taken from everyday life, and yet his words had a special fascination. People were struck by his teaching because he taught with authority, unlike the scribes. Even the temple guards who went to arrest him, when asked by the chief priests and Pharisees why they had not carried out their orders, replied: ‘Never has anyone spoken like this!’ (Jn 7:46). John’s gospel also tells of conversations full of light that Jesus had with individuals, such as Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. Jesus explained things still more deeply to his Apostles and he spoke openly of the Father and of heavenly things, without using figures of speech. His words convinced them and they did not draw back even when they did not fully understand or when his words seemed too demanding.