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Alessandro...

Looking at my future, I had always imagined two possible outcomes: married, with a great family, if I would have met the right girl; single, socially involved, if the right girl would not have showed up.

I have always been outgoing with a lot of friends: I used to hang out with them very often, going out in the pubs and clubs in Milan, traveling or hiking...I shared with them almost everything, except for my faith, which was mine alone. I went to Mass every Sunday, I volunteered my time with people in need, but this was always something hidden from my friends, because I felt that they couldn’t understand me.

After high school, I studied Industrial Engineering at the Politecnico of Milan for 5 years and then I went to do research for my Master thesis in the United States (Madison, WI). I was seeking glory and wonderful experiences for my resume, but I found God...

It was the last Sunday of August 2005 when, stepping into the catholic center for Mass, I met Sister Raffaella. She was young, without any religious habit, happy and smiling. We talked for a while and I found out that she belonged to a new religious community founded in Rome, the Apostles of the Interior Life, and she invited me to a welcome barbecue organized by the center.

I went hoping to meet new people; once there, Sister Tiziana spent a lot of time with me, introducing me to everyone we met. She asked me if I was willing to talk with her: I was doubtful, but I left my contact info with her anyway.

I still don’t know how it happened that I found myself one week later, walking down to the church to meet Sister Tiziana and talk with her...By the way, what was I supposed to tell a nun?!?

Our time together went well: she was interested in me, my life, my family and in what I was doing in the States. Mainly two things struck me in that meeting: hard to believe, but nuns are normal people with a past life; they weren’t born nuns!!! And I was disoriented by one simple question: “What is the goal of your life?” Sister Tiziana taught me that everybody’s goal is holiness, becoming who God made you to be. “Does God really have a plan for me? I thought it was up to me to decide about my life”.

My friendship with Sister Tiziana developed and I started to pray in the church every morning.

At the end of October Sister Tiziana invited me to a retreat; Ihad never participated in a retreat, but at the idea of travelling almost for free and visiting new places of the States, I accepted.

The retreat was ok – my first retreat ever – and during the final Adoration, right before Benediction, something happened...The Gospel of that Sunday, 30^th October 2005, was about a lady healed from her hemorrhage by the touching of Jesus’ mantel. The priest was walking around holding the monstrance with a cloak, saying that we could kneel down and touch the cloak when he was passing by. I thought “Yeah, right. I kind of like praying, but now everything seems to me a little bit too exaggerated!” But when the priest passed by my seat, something inside me changed: I knelt down, I touched that cloak, and I felt so unworthy to do so!!!

Once back from the retreat, I started hanging out more often at the center and growing more in my spiritual life, while I kept working on my research at the university.

I discovered that the Lord might have had a different plan for my life. I began to pray to understand His will and for promptness in accomplishing it, whatever it might be.

My time in the US flew by and in March 2006 I went back home to get my degree. They offered me to go back to the States for a PhD in August. So I was by myself in Milan with a lot of time to keep growing in my discernment and prayer life: daily Mass, holy hour and rosary. I also went to Rome and met the rest of the community of the Apostles of the Interior Life, including the male branch.

In August I finally went back to Madison, aware that this was the best option for me also to keep working on my spiritual journey, having the Apostles at the catholic center.

The more I was doing research and spending hours in front of a PC screen, the more I was realizing that it wasn’t the right thing for my life: I was interested in people, I wanted to share with them the joy coming from my encounter with Jesus.

I quit everything I was doing, left the States and went back to Italy before Christmas to join the male branch of the Apostles of the Interior Life.