Ecclesial movements and new communities are places where you can find sound Christian faith development. They have a rich variety of methods and educational paths that are amazingly effective. What is the reason for this educational success? The “secret”, so to speak, is contained in the charisms that produced these communities and that are at their very soul. It is the charism that generates “a spiritual affinity” among people, and this gives rise to communities and movements. It is thanks to the charism that the original engaging experience of the Christian message felt by every founder can be reproduced in the lives of so many people and generations of people without ever losing its newness and freshness. The charism is the source of the wonderful ability to educate that can be found in movements and new communities. This kind of education begins with a conversion of heart. It is not by chance that these ecclesial groups have many converts among their members, people who “come from afar”. At the start of the process there is always a personal encounter with Christ. This encounter totally changes a person’s life. It happens through the mediation of credible witnesses who relive the experience of the early Christians in their movement: “Come and see” (Jn 1:46). There is always a “before” and “after” in the lives of members of ecclesial movements and new communities. Conversion of heart is sometimes a gradual process that needs time, but it can also be like a flash of lightening that is unexpected and overwhelming. In either case it is a freely given gift from God that makes your heart feel like bursting with happiness. It is a spiritual resource that stays with you all your life. “God exists. I have found God” – so many members of ecclesial movements and new communities could repeat these words said by André Frossard, he himself a convert.

It is through faith education that the special nature of each movement or community’s charism can find expression. They all base the educational process offered to each person on their own specific pedagogy. It is normally a Christ-centred pedagogy that points to the essential, and therefore reawakens in people the baptismal vocation of Christ’s disciples. It is an educational process that does not water down the Gospel. It demands and shows the way to holiness. Pedagogy that develops in small Christian communities – especially in a fragmented society where there is loneliness and very impersonal human relations –, becomes an essential point of reference and support. It is an integral pedagogy that embraces all dimensions of a person’s existence and generates a sense of full belonging to the movement. It is a different kind of belonging from other types of membership of groups and circles of various kinds. It leads to a strong sense of belonging to the Church and to love of the Church. It would not be rash to say that movements and new communities are really schools of adult faith development. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote some years ago, they are “very good ways of living the faith that encourage people and give them energy and joy. They are a faith presence, and this means something for the world”.