During the end of the semester before Christmas break, it was very busy at the university where I teach. There were examinations to administer, papers to grade and many deadlines for detailed paperwork for us professors. Students could see us only by appointment.

One day, a student knocked on my door without an appointment. I recognized her as a former student of mine. Her face looked sad to me. I remembered the Word of Life:

“Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ” (Eph 4:32)

This was a moment I could love my neighbor. I invited her in. She told me that she had failed one of her classes and that she could not see herself going home. Her brother had just died in a car accident a few days earlier, and she had been unable to concentrate on her studies. She told me how her parents had emigrated from another country to raise them in the U.S., and that she did not want to hurt them by telling them she had failed. She said she wanted to kill herself. At that point, she broke down and cried on my shoulder. I realized the shock came from the death of her brother.

She stayed for two or three hours, talking out her sorrow. I let her grieve, and gradually she became calm. It became clear to me that this was not a case of someone who had suicidal thoughts; in fact, I could see the light dawning on her face as though she were saying, “I can do this.” I told her that I would be there for her, and when she left, she reassured me that she would repeat the class she had failed. A short time later, she came by to say that she was making progress in her studies.

The following semester, it was a great joy for me to see her graduate. I thanked God that I had listened to his voice within me that day.

S. S., Chicago

Published with permission from Living City March 2007, the Focolare Movement's monthly magazine of religion, dialogue and culture | www.livingcitymagazine.com