One Sunday morning my friends and I planned to use the day to invite young people for an event. Two of us were going to a parish 45 minutes away from our place.

Personally, I always want to be on time for appointments, and if possible, I prefer to get there half an hour early. My friend, instead, gets to places "just on time."

That day I really wanted to leave the house early because I was the one driving, and I was not familiar with the area. My friend was running late. I started to get very upset and thought, "I am going to wait for her in the car, and when she gets in I will say something."

As I was going out the door, another of our roommates handed me a CD suggesting that we could listen to it on the way. Finally, my friend got in the car, and as soon as I started the car, the CD started too. To my surprise, it was a meditation on a sentence from Scripture, "And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection" (Col. 3:14).

For me it was like GOd talking to me! I felt that he was asking me to reestablish unity with my friend, to love her so that Jesus could continue to be in our midst because of our mutual love.

I understood that going to the parish to invite many people was not going to be worthwhile if I were not going to love my neighbor. I converted and started again right away, trying to see her with "new eyes."

The meeting with the youth turned out to be very special. I really think it was because Jesus was truly present in our midst.

V.R., Texas

Published with permission from Living City April 2012, the Focolare Movement's monthly magazine of religion, dialogue and culture | www.livingcitymagazine.com