Abstract

Keeping in mind the topic which was being undertaken, the author tries to answer the following questions: 1) How did Fr. L. Giussani understand and define the phenomenon of education itself?; 2) What in his educational message was the value or good which has met the requirements of a person and becomes the subject of human pursuits as a perfect model of education to the greatest extent possible?; 3) What is the exemplar of perfection, which was followed by Fr. L. Giussani, and what did he define as an educational model in order to indicate the dispositions which educators should develop in their students?; 4) What, according to Fr. L. Giussani, has served as a requirement that paths the way for education of a young person in the family?; Finally, by specifying the whole problem, the publication answers the question 5) What kind of man was Fr. L. Giussani willing to educate and what was most significant to him in this respect?

This article documents that the Italian thinker extracted “old and new” things from the treasury of human wisdom by sharing the experience of his faith passed on to him by his mother and educators and having the courage to be free and responsible. Furthermore, he did not place a lot of importance on what young people can do, but rather on who they are, what their predispositions and abilities are and who they can become in the future. It is therefore not surprising that the ideal of such education includes the education of a genuinely religious person and a believer that neither criticizes nor forgets anything, and that draws his power and strength from God who is “everything in everything”, what Giussani calls “the formula of eternity”, as well as from Christ who is “everything in everybody”, which in turn is the formula of existence and history.

He is a man who, according to St. Paul’s recommendation, “proves all things , and holds fast that which is good” (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:21). While having a positive attitude towards reality, he constantly seeks the truth, which opens him to ecumenical dialogue and a friendly and lasting embrace of those who are different. Giussani includes mindfulness, courage, freedom and responsibility of the student in the educational ideal. Moreover, the exemplar of such education involves the use of reason, the ability to read the meaning of signs, and at the same time criticality, creativity and selflessness. A person brought up in accordance with this ideal tries to listen to others, is sensitive to beauty and truth, can persevere in prayer, appreciates the value of stillness and silence, is accustomed to permanent work on himself or herself consisting in comparing and judging everything with the “basic experience” Mother Nature has given him or her.