Il presente volume è l’edizione in veste definitiva del testo omonimo pubblicato per la prima volta da SEI nel 1995 e riproposto l’anno successivo in edizione speciale, in allegato al mensile 30 Giorni (7/8, 1996), con l’aggiunta della Prefazione appositamente redatta da Christoph Schönborn.

In occasione della pubblicazione Rizzoli (2006) sono state apportate lievi revisioni all’edizione SEI (1996): sono stati corretti i refusi e uniformati i criteri redazionali di titolazione dei capitoli e dei paragrafi; gli indici e l’apparato note sono stati creati ex novo (le citazioni contenute nel testo sono state portate in nota a piè di pagina).

Il cammino al vero è un’esperienza raccoglie i tre scritti che «documentano le ragioni e le conseguenti notazioni metodologiche che accompagnarono il formarsi delle prime comunità d’ambiente» agli inizi del movimento di Comunione e Liberazione, allora detto di Gioventù Studentesca (dall’“Introduzione”, Rizzoli, 2006, p. 11); nel riproporli è stata posta particolare attenzione al rispetto della struttura originale dei testi.

Il volume si apre con la Prefazione di Schönborn (pp. 5-8; con minime modifiche rispetto alla versione del 1996 apportate in seguito alla morte di Giussani, avvenuta nel 2005).

I testi sono preceduti dall’“Introduzione” dell’Autore all’edizione SEI (1995) dal titolo “La nascita di un’esperienza” (2006, pp. 9-16; SEI, 1995, pp. VII-XII).

Nati spesso come appunti delle lezioni tenute la domenica mattina nella sede dell’A.C. a Milano, com’è detto nella stessa introduzione, i tre scritti sono «riflessioni sopra un’esperienza»; così, infatti, recita il titolo del primo, fondamentale libretto qui riportato: “Gioventù Studentesca. Riflessioni sopra un’esperienza” (pp. 19-80). Si tratta del volumetto G.S. riflessioni sopra un’esperienza, pubblicato nel 1963 (Editrice Nuova Favilla; ripubblicato senza variazioni nel 1964, pro manuscripto a cura di Gioventù Studentesca; la prima edizione, più sintetica, è del 1959).
Nel 1972, Jaca Book ripubblica l’edizione del 1963 in Tracce d’esperienza e appunti di metodo cristiano, volume che ripropone, in versione originale, i tre scritti ora contenuti in Il cammino al vero è un’esperienza. 
Nel 1977, la parte iniziale “Direttive metodologiche per il richiamo” (1963, pp. 5-37; Rizzoli, 2006, pp. 25-53) diventa la terza appendice, dal titolo “Aspetti metodologici del richiamo cristiano”, del volume Tracce d’esperienza cristiana e altri scritti (Jaca Book, 1977, pp. 135-171; nuova edizione, 1991, pp. 87-108; rieditato in Opere: 1966-1992: Vol. 2, Jaca Book, Milano 1994, pp. 131-152, secondo dei due volumi che raccolgono gli scritti di Giussani editi da Jaca Book). 
Nel 1996, in seguito alla prima edizione di Il cammino al vero è un’esperienza, quella stessa parte (“Direttive metodologiche per il richiamo”, in SEI, 1995, pp. 3-4; Rizzoli, 2006, pp. 25-53) è stata ripubblicata in Litterae Communionis-Tracce con il titolo “Noi impariamo osservando la realtà; non applichiamo nostre idee alla realtà” (2, 1996: inserto. Con successive traduzioni).
Nel 2006, con l’edizione Rizzoli, sono stati inoltre reintegrati i testi “Premessa alla prima edizione” (2006, p. 21; redatto per l’edizione 1959) e “Premessa alla terza edizione” (2006, p. 23; redatto per l’edizione 1963) che erano stati espunti dai volumi SEI (1995 e 1996).

Il secondo testo è “Tracce d’esperienza cristiana” (pp. 81-125), pubblicato a Milano nel 1960 (Tracce d’esperienza cristiana, GIAC e Gioventù Studentesca, 1960).
Dopo la riedizione del 1972 (pp. 77-140), di cui sopra, Jaca Book l’ha riproposto integralmente nel volume Tracce d’esperienza cristiana e altri scritti (1977, pp. 13-88; nuova edizione 1991, pp. 15-60; rieditato in Opere: 1966-1992: Vol. 2, Jaca Book, 1994, pp. 61-104).
“Tracce d’esperienza cristiana” (SEI, 1996, pp. 45-75; Rizzoli, 2006, pp. 81-125) è stato inoltre oggetto di riflessione in conversazioni fra l’Autore e alcuni membri dell’associazione Memores Domini raccolte nei volumi della serie “Quasi Tischreden”; in particolare in «Tu» (o dell’amicizia) (BUR, 1997, T61, T64 e T75), Vivendo nella carne (BUR, 1998, T57 e T68), L’attrattiva Gesù (BUR, 1999, T86; nuova edizione BUR Rizzoli, 2025), Affezione e dimora (BUR, 2001, T73 e T76) e Una presenza che cambia (BUR, 2004, T48).

Il volume si chiude con “Appunti di metodo cristiano” (pp. 127-206. Appunti di metodo cristiano, pro manuscripto a cura di Gioventù Studentesca, 1964; riedizione Jaca Book, 1972, pp. 141-254). 
I capitoli “Una grande premessa” (2006, pp. 129-133) e “L’incontro” (2006, pp. 135-157) sono stati pubblicati anche nel volume Tracce d’esperienza cristiana e altri scritti (Jaca Book, 1977) con i titoli “Una premessa di metodo” (pp. 91-99) e “L’incontro” (pp. 101-133; riedizione Jaca Book, 1991, pp. 63-85; Jaca Book, 1994, pp. 107-129).
Per quanto riguarda il paragrafo “L’incontro come grazia” (2006, pp. 151-155), nel 1991 il mensile 30 Giorni ne propone il contenuto a introduzione della traduzione integrale del Decreto sulla giustificazione, approvato nella sessione VI del Concilio di Trento del 1547 (“L’incontro come grazia”, 30 Giorni, 4, 1991: pp. 36-37. Con successive traduzioni). Nel 2012, la rivista ripubblica lo scritto dell’Autore a commento del capitolo I e dei canoni 1 e 5 del medesimo decreto (“L’incontro come Grazia”, 30 Giorni, 1/2, 2012: pp. 4-12. Con successive traduzioni). Il testo presenta alcune differenze rispetto alla precedente edizione del 1991, in quanto ha subito una lieve revisione in occasione della ripubblicazione in veste definitiva nella presente miscellanea, da cui è tratto.
Nel 1993, questo stesso paragrafo è stato pubblicato a “Conclusione” del volume miscellaneo Un avvenimento di vita, cioè una storia: Itinerario di quindici anni concepiti e vissuti: Interviste, conversazioni, interventi di monsignor Luigi Giussani a partire da registrazioni, non rivisti dall’autore (a cura di Carmine Di Martino. EDIT: Il Sabato, 1993, pp. 463-469).
Il paragrafo “L’incontro come esperienza” (punti 1, 2, 3 - 2006, pp. 156-157) ripropone parte del fascicolo L’esperienza (“L’esperienza cristiana”, in 1963, pp. 8-9) che è poi diventato la sezione “Struttura dell’esperienza” del volume Il rischio educativo (Jaca Book, 1977, pp. 89-95; riedizione Jaca Book, 1988, pp. 93-99; Opere: 1966-1992: Vol. 2, Jaca Book, 1994, pp. 539-545; Il rischio educativo: Come creazione di personalità e di storia, SEI, 1995, pp. 53-56; Rizzoli, 2005, pp. 126-131). Nel 2002, lo scritto è stato riproposto integralmente in Litterae Communionis-Tracce con il titolo “L’esperienza” (4, 2002: inserto. Con successive traduzioni).
Nel 1997, entrambi i paragrafi sopra citati sono riproposti nel capitolo “Un’esperienza educativa” del volume La gloria di Cristo ovvero la Sua vittoria nel tempo: I dogmi sulla grazia, a cura di Lorenzo Bianchi (SEI: 30 Giorni, 1997, pp. 141-145, pp. 147-149). 
Il paragrafo “Democrazia” (2006, pp. 189-193), parte del capitolo “Missione”, è stato pubblicato anche nel volume miscellaneo L’io, il potere, le opere: Contributi da un’esperienza (“Affermare l’altro in quanto è”, in Marietti, 2000, pp. 179-182. Con successive traduzioni).

Da aprile 2008 il volume è disponibile anche in edizione economica “BUR Saggi” (si tratta di una ristampa conforme all’edizione Rizzoli, 2006).

Il 26 marzo 2016, per iniziativa editoriale di RCS: Corriere della Sera, Il cammino al vero è un’esperienza esce in abbinamento al quotidiano nella collana “I manuali del Corriere della Sera”. Si tratta del sesto di dieci volumi dell’Autore in edicola settimanalmente. 
Ogni volume è introdotto da una nuova presentazione; per Il cammino al vero è un’esperienza l’autore è Gualtiero Bassetti (pp. I-VII).
Il testo di Giussani è una ristampa conforme all’originale dell’edizione Rizzoli, 2006, comprensiva della Prefazione dell’allora arcivescovo di Vienna Christoph Schönborn (2016, pp; 5-8; Rizzoli, 2006, pp. 5-8). [P. M]

Gioventù Studentesca or Student Youth. Reflections on an Experience

Methodological Instructions on the Christian Proposal
To be effective, the Christian calling must follow precise methodological instructions—to be decisive as a gesture; to have a clear communication; to be complete in its dimensions; and to be communital in fulfillment. The first condition for being able to challenge anyone’s mentality is that it must be clear, simple, that is, accurate in remembering the substantive factors of Christian experience and free regarding any interpretation of them. The conditions for simplicity are freedom (the Christian calling is addressed to each particular individual); action (the continuity of adherence is facilitated by “taking action”), and concreteness (one must pay attention to the particular situation of the other to whom the calling is offered). The “completeness in its dimensions” indicates that the announcement must respect the fundamental dimensions of the Christian gesture; these are culture (as the discovery of Christ as the ultimate meaning of reality), charity (as abandonment of oneself to the Mystery that is offered and as imitation of Him in sharing in the needs of others) and catholicity (as the condition and horizon of authentic freedom in action). Finally, the Christian calling requires a communital fulfillment. The Christian community springs, first of all, from one’s personal adherence to the presence of the Church. The more lively this is, the more it is differentiated into multiple functions—among these functions, the most meaningful one is authority, as the unifying function of the community. Christian communion, however, is not only unity of spirit but also a unity that is tangibly expressed, a visible sign of His presence.

The Effort to Achieve Something Practical—Gioventù Studentesca
The starting point for the development of the GS experience in a given environment is the existence of some persons who have an active and serious perception of the Christian reality. The reality of GS is given by those who work together for the Christian ideal—this is how the “raggio,” or “ray,” is born; this must be a dialogue, open to all, in which everyone communicates their own self to others. Signs of the maturity with which one experiences this gesture are: the awareness of the reason for one’s own living; the ability to listen to others; the seriousness of preparing oneself; and the risk and effort of speaking in front of everyone. Nevertheless, dialogue cannot result from a dialectic of ideas; it must spring from comparing with a concrete situation, a “student” situation, with its precise needs. These include: a need for tireless proposal; flexibility in dealing with the specific ways of conveying the proposal; differentiation of activities according to age; involving students in special responsibilities that would facilitate their care for the ideal; and a call to be involved in school life as such (texts, professors). But it is in practical situations that young people existentially learn the proposed ideals. So, GS sets in motion some activities that are indispensable for the verification of the Christian calling. These include: cultural initiatives in which the Christian criterion can be experienced as the one that clarifies all reality; charitable activity as a way they can learn, in some part of their free time, how to share their life; missionary action to create sensitivity for the deepest aspect of charity—sharing the universal need to follow Christ and the Church. The tangible unity that is created has a “Center” that guides the proposed experience—at the core of this Center is the bishop with the priests he chooses. The result of such education is a new environment within the school, in which the Christian ideal is sensed as the complete answer to life.

Traces of the Christian Experience

Formulation of the Human Problem
In the experience of the apostles, Christ was the only one in whose words all their needs were taken seriously; and even today He proposes Himself to our original needs. Hence, to meet Christ we must first formulate our human problem seriously. As we discover the nature of our needs, we become aware that we cannot resolve them on our own—a sense of powerlessness generates that solitude that describes every serious experience in our lives. But when you discover the experience of solitude, you do not actually remain alone—you are truly committed to your own humanity when, saying “I,” you feel bonded to any other person’s “I.” Among them are people who develop a deeper understanding of the setting they find themselves in. To the extent of our own loyalty, if we meet such people, we are led to follow them—in that sense, they constitute authority for us. Then, those who discover their own helplessness live in community with others only when they have the presentiment of something beyond their own situations—in fact, a community can come about only when there is a common expectancy. If we are truly aware of this expectancy, then it will become prayer to an Other—the most realistic person is the one who prays, that is the person who takes his or her human experience seriously.

The Encounter with Christ
The only genius who grasped these different human factors was Jesus Christ. The historical encounter with this man constitutes an encounter with the resolving and clarifying point of view of human experience. After their initial astonishment, the disciples were so struck by what He said and the way He looked at them, that they placed their trust in Him. The aspects of Christ’s personality that corresponded so definitively were His authoritativeness and superiority on every occasion and the absolute command He exercised over nature. But the most persuasive power was His ability to reveal the deep nature of man—He easily penetrated the complicated tangle of the human heart. He also had an irresistible, intelligent way of discussing matters and an immense goodness. Before this man a question naturally arose, “Who is this man?” to which He answered, “My Father and I are one.” The disciples understood very little, but they preserved the mysterious answer. So, even today, our adult faith begins as a personal response to this question, “And you, who do you say I am?” Our response coincides with acknowledging Him as the only possible answer to our human pathway.

The Gift of the Spirit
Without the event of His Spirit, Christ can come across and be recognized at most as a great man, an exceptional figure; He would remain an enigmatic mysterious face for the human person and the interpretative key would still be harbored with the ambiguous limits of the human heart. Only His Spirit shaped the disciples’ experience and enabled them to understand who Christ was; and their anxious and uncertain experience suddenly became luminous, sure and strong. The communication of the Spirit, however, is not a human construct or foresight; it is a pure gift. Human solitude dissolves with the advent of this gift, and the experience of powerlessness is transformed into vitality. Overcoming solitude, then, opens us to others to the very depths of their being; so, the community becomes an essential dimension of the single person. The supreme authority becomes the one in which we find the meaning of our experience—Jesus Christ is this authority which continues in the apostolic succession. The human cry is also shaped as it becomes prayer—it refers to a particular “You” and it is translated into a very clear and exhaustive plea.

The Christian Existence
This new culture that comes from the experience of the Spirit demands a concept of life as service to His Kingdom. To become aware of one’s own vocation as in service to everything and to understand one’s life by following the calling—here is the commitment of one’s very being which the Spirit demands, giving one the strength to begin and to remain faithful. The criterion is no longer dictated by the dominant mentality (“How can I get the most out of everything?”) but it becomes, “How can I give myself as I am to the Kingdom of Christ?”  To accept life as vocation is to define existence as a profound destiny to share Reality of which we are born and on which we continually depend, and thus as charity. The extent of this sharing is boundless—hence the ultimate test of the Christian existence is its openness, that is, its universality.

Notes on the Christian Method

A Great Premise
Christianity is not born as the discovery of our intelligence but through the presence of “the power of God”—it reveals itself in facts and events. Jesus Christ is the fundamental expression of that power. The question, then, is: how does the reality of Christ reach us today? It is in answering this question that we authentically determine the reality of the Christian mystery. It is through the Church that He reaches us and generates in us a new outlook—the supreme rule of the Christian method, then, is to make the Church present. For this to happen, two requirements should be noted—it must be a unity expressed visibly, and it must comply with the link to the bishop.

The Encounter 
In natural time the divine Power calls men and women through the phenomenon of the encounter. The word “encounter” implies both something unexpected and something real. Today, we can follow Christ in the encounter with the Church—it is the experience of a new humanity meeting our own humanity. First of all, Jesus Christ was the concrete, physical type of this humanity. Christianity, in fact, does not coincide with particular experiences as anybody else’s, but with a different way of experiencing everyone’s reality. However, an encounter that is not identified with a proposal is not genuine—by comparing it we can find out whether or not it corresponds to our ultimate needs. Those who do not commit themselves completely through this verification will either remain Christians without saying anything new or will go away. These encounters, which Christ creates to enter into relationship with men and women, are a pure gift; and not only, also the capacity to understand this call and its verification are gifts of grace. Therefore, the expression of a true availability to the Christian calling is the attitude of prayer.

Communion
By its nature, “communion” is an irresistible force with which God unites us with Himself—it begins with Jesus Christ and permeates the whole of history. Those who enter into communion with Him enter into communion with all those the Father has given Him—this is why the communion amongst Christians in their environment is the true irreplaceable witness to His presence. It is a personal event that tends to generate a Christian community life in one’s particular environment. Every community is a place of education for the communion with God; for such education to take place, we must observe the fundamental rule of revelation as described by the invitation, “Follow me.” Communities in a given environment are an educational instrument through which we can take that essential step from an adherence that is solely based on the tradition we have received to a participation that is qualified by our personal conviction. The first expression of communion is prayer. Prayer expresses the essential dynamism generated by the life of the community, and through prayer the Spirit penetrates and transforms our mentality. It is acknowledging that we are made by an Other, that we are continually wanted as we are continually loved.

Mission
Jesus Christ was sent to take up all things in Himself; this is how we become sure of all being one single thing. In history, though, this truth has not yet been wholly realized. This is why everyone who participates in the life of the Church also participates in its mission, that is to embrace the world. If we are not open to this possibility then we deprive ourselves of an essential dimension of Christianity—Catholicity. The mission begins with the life of the community in its environment, but its suitable dimension is the world. To follow the ones who have resolved to fully experience that dimension means to allow our attitude to be increasingly identified with the interests of the Church. Democracy is the condition for the social development of a missionary communion. Yet, it coincides not so much with a technique of social co-existence but with an active respect for someone else, with charity, which finds its ultimate motive in the mystery of God and in His historical manifestation.

Culture
Participation in the life of the Christian community brings about a new awareness of existence—the culture arising from this points to the definitive view on human reality and the reality of the cosmos. We can understand its originality if we observe, even from the historical point of view, how it definitively intensified the formation of Western culture—Greek culture, in fact, had come to the perception that Being went immeasurably beyond its own comprehension. “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,” that is, the truth became present without veils, as a concrete presence—this is the new logic. This presence alone brings about a definitive “metanoia,” and only the genuine perpetuation of it is the ambit of the protraction of this change—this is why the community of the Church is the matrix of Christian culture. The new criterion is born in the single man or woman who follows it and is faithful to it. Thus, the first great duty of our awareness and cultural life is to take the Christian tradition seriously.