*
* *
Trosly,
April 2003
Everything
that is happening in our world is deeply troubling. And yet my
heart is full of trust. Many governments, many groups, many hearts
are hardening, closing
up in themselves; they need to affirm their identity through
force, to prove that they are the best. At the same time, more and
more people belonging to diverse groups and religious traditions
are standing up to affirm that it is possible to resolve conflict
through dialogue; that universal justice does exist; that together
we can live a commitment to the work of peace. They believe that
we find our fulfilment in cooperation, compassion, mutual
acceptance; they put their gifts and
competence at the service of the weakest and the most
needy. That is why my heart is so full of trust. Each one of us is
called to be competent; we are all called to make real efforts to
grow humanly and spiritually and to serve others. That requires
humility, openness and a desire to listen to others. To be
together to serve the good of all, not to prove that we are
superior.
Community
life in L’Arche and Faith and Light is showing us how weakness
can be an opportunity for sharing, personal encounters,
cooperation and friendship. René Leroy from L’Arche in Compiègne
said one day: “Me all alone, can’t do it”. To welcome our
weakness is a sign of maturity. “Yes, all alone I cannot do
everything. I need you”. A community lives and thrives because
we need one another. Peace in our world cannot come unless we discover, welcome and respect
the gift of each culture.
Our
human hearts are so wounded that we often find it difficult to
say, “I need you”. We are frightened to admit our incapacities
and our limits. In order to bring down the walls we have created
around us, to be disarmed and to welcome each other just as we
are, and become vulnerable to one other, we need a new force that
comes from God. Jesus says to Paul “My strength is manifested in
weakness” (II Cor 12). But in order for us to find our strength
in God, to distinguish between a weakness that opens us up to God
and a weakness that is fear and depression,
that can close us up in ourselves, we need to be loved and
well accompanied.
Jesus
shows us the way to love: “Love one another as I have loved
you”(Jn 13:14). Love heals our hearts and enables us to love
others. Love permits us to welcome and accept our weakness. When
we manifest our force, we so often break, push down, destroy,
frighten and awaken feelings of revenge. Love helps a person to
discover who he/she is, his/her fundamental goodness. It is
only then that what is most beautiful in them can emerge. It is
true that Jesus who loved people was himself rejected, wounded,
arrested and finally put to death. His weakness and his suffering
are however a source of life. We need these waters flowing from
his pierced heart, a sign of the Holy Spirit, so that we have the
courage and the strength to take the path of disarmament,
vulnerability and openness to others.
The
moment of Jesus’ greatest weakness and pain was followed by his
resurrection. That
was not a visible, spectacular event for all but a humble, small,
hidden event. . He did not want to humiliate those who had
humiliated him. He appeared to Mary of Magdala, then to a few of
his disciples; he did not judge or criticize them for their lack
of trust at the time of his distress, but he gave them peace:
“Peace be with you”. Then, he sends them into the world so
that they in turn be a sign of peace and forgiveness. L’Arche
and Faith and Light, as well as many others, want to be little
signs that love, peace and community are possible.
The
world’s great religions all remind us that we have to be
stripped of our fears and of our self-centredness in order for our
deeper self to emerge, so that love can spring forth from the
depths of our hearts. Jesus reminds us often that in order to live
and bear much fruit we have to die to ourselves. He promises to
send us the Holy Spirit so that we can be born anew, in love and
in the Spirit of God. It is a long but beautiful path for all of
us so that our communities radiate peace.
With
Odile Ceyrac I just finished giving a retreat for first year
assistants in L’Arche. There were 85 assistants coming from 40
communities. For nearly twenty years now we have been giving this
kind of retreat. With the group of organisers and the accompanying
priests we remarked that we have rarely seen in these retreats
such a mature group of men and women, capable of silence. Being
with this group gave me hope for L’Arche. These young men and
women were so open to the word, to sharing, to the mystery of the
weakness of God which is stronger than human wisdom. The path
towards welcoming the weak is not a utopia; it is a path towards
peace that more and more people are taking today.
And
our brother Raphael has left us! He joined Père Thomas and many
other friends of L’Arche and Faith and Light. He, with Philippe
was the first person I welcomed. Raphael has entered the Kingdom
of God, the Banquet of Love, before us! He who would repeat so
often: “get married; get married” and who, looking at his
watch, used to complain “too late; too late”; he who, after an
act of violence knew how to ask for forgiveness, sometimes in
tears; he who used to look at each one with such tenderness and
who often broke out in great laughter and made everyone laugh; he
has entered into the eternal wedding feast. He loved his community
“La Rose des Vents” in Verpillières. He loved L’Arche and
was deeply loved in L’Arche. He will watch over us now.
God truly blessed us by sending him to L’Arche. He opened
up a path of love. I give thanks for his life and for all that I
personally have received from him. His weakness helped me to
welcome my own weaknesses and to say, “I need you.” At the
time of his death, many sent messages of peace, communion and
tenderness. Thank you. I sense how much we are a family created by
God, where we need one another.
May
the God of peace be with each one of you.
Love,
Jean
Vanier
*
* *
Trosly,
January 2003
My
heart is filled with gratitude in the beginning of this New Year.
God is watching over l’Arche and Faith and Light with such
kindness and solicitude. In September, we had an international
meeting of Faith and Light in Rome where the national
coordinators and chaplains from 65 countries met with the
international council. It was good to come together for a time of
nourishment, sharing and celebration. Viviane Le Polain (from
Belgium, the mother of Laurent, with severe disabilities) was
elected international coordinator and Roy Moussali (from Syria) as
vice coordinator. The time is drawing near for my departure from
the international councils of l’Arche and Faith and Light (as I
said I would leave when I was 75). I am confident because I see
that our two families are in good hands.
It
is true though that they are quite fragile in many ways. They have
a great need for God’s Providence. But since they are founded on
those who are weak and vulnerable, and who cry out for presence
and for community, they are quite solid. Our communities receive
their strength from the fact that they each member is precious,
created by God and for God. Everything in our
community life is geared to the human and spiritual growth of each
member and in their union with God. As I grow older, I love to be
with the weaker members of our communities who are often so
simple, loving and peaceful, accepting their reality. Maybe it is
because I myself sense more my own weaknesses. Their presence
gives me peace.
We
are living in troubled times. So many people feel insecure and are
worried for the future. Even as I write this letter people are
frightened that the American government will soon be triggering
off a new war in Iraq...with what consequences?...for oil?
...for the whole Middle East?...And in the midst of this
vast world there are great numbers of very vulnerable people, with
no work, no lodging, no money, no protection....
And
yet we have just celebrated Christmas: “Do not be afraid. I
bring you news of great joy.... Today a Saviour has been
born to you.” And the angels sing: “Glory to God in the
highest and peace on earth to all people of good will”. War and
peace. Despair and hope.
I
have been reading Andrea Riccardi’s book, “They died for their
faith”. It tells how hundreds of thousands, even millions, of
men and women were imprisoned, tortured and killed for their faith
during the twentieth century. The book shows the horror, the
sadism, the brutality and the hatred of so many who sought to
destroy those who believed in God, in human beings, in Love. At
the same time this book reveals the beauty of all those men and
women who dared to say “yes” to all that is deeply human, to
freedom, to love and to God; to say “no” to evil. They refused
to let themselves succumb to fear or to the pressure of ideologies
which awaken, maintain and sustain hatred.
Etty
Hillesum, a Dutch Jewish woman who died in Auschwitz in November
1943, never condemned those who were cowards or those who tortured
others; she never felt sorry for herself and her tragic fate; she
never despaired of the goodness and beauty of life:
“I
am ready”, she wrote, “to accept everything, every place on
earth where it pleases God to send me, ready also to give witness
in all situations, even until death, to the beauty and meaning of
this life. If life has become what it is, it is not God’s fault
but ours. We have received all the possibilities for human
fulfillment but we have not learned how to exploit these
possibilities”. In that desert of love, she discovered Love; she
discovered hope; she discovered God. Etty and all the many martyrs
of our times have brought forth in me a new trust in the message
of Christmas. Yes, there is truly a good news: “A Saviour has
been born”. Are we not all called to be “witnesses”,
(in Greek the word for “martyr” and “witness”
is the same), witnesses of peace in our societies of
extreme individualism, by living simply and by the way we
share our lives with the weak? I remain deeply moved by John Paul
II, this elderly pope, suffering from severe disabilities, who
continually cries out: “Peace...“
“Trust..”.
L’Arche
is faced with a number of difficulties today: lack of assistants,
lack of money, pressure coming from new regulations of legal
authorities who want to “normalise” us. But perhaps the
greatest difficulties come from our own lack of confidence in
l’Arche, in the gospel message, in the value of the people we
have welcomed and in the value and importance of our community
life. Isn’t the lack of faith in what is truly human one of the
greatest dangers of our times? The wealth and comfort in our
Western countries may fill our pockets with money and and our
lives with opportunity but they can also fill our hearts with
gloom and empty them of any desire to live in truth.
Personally
I am quite well, thanks be to God. I am learning how to live my
age (74) my weakness, my fatigue, my desires. I still have a lot
to learn and to welcome! I am aware of the weaknesses and flaws in
L’Arche and Faith and Light but I see even more their beauty and
their meaning in God’s plan.
I
would like to thank each one who has written to me for Christmas
and the new year. I feel happy and my heart is filled with trust
and thanksgiving for our big family given to us by God and the
deep bonds that unite us, the communion ...Together may we be
faithful to love, to mutually supporting one another and become a
tiny light of hope for our world.
Jean
*
* *
Trosly,
June 2002
I
have just come back from the Gerneral Assembly meeting in Swanick
which has deeply touched, and I hope, changed me. There were 250
delegates from 120 L’Arche communities, coming from different
countries, cultures, languages and religious traditions. We were
all united around the vision of L’Arche, around the place of the
weakest, and at the same time we were discovering one another;
bonds of friendship were created. During that week we formed a
real community. We became more aware of how much L’Arche is a
body, a living body.
When
I reflect on these past 38 years, I see four periods in the
history of L’Arche. The first period was when Sue was
International Coordinator. It was a time of foundations in India,
Haiti, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Australia, Canada, the
United States and in different European countries. Then with
Claire there followed what I call the time of unification of the
Federation which resulted in a new Charter. With Jo’s mandate
there was consolidation and a new constitution. Today, with Jean-Christophe
it is a time of renewal, refocusing on our identity and mission.
The
world has changed since 1964 when L’Arche was founded. L’Arche
itself has changed over the years. We have reached a certain
maturity. We are confronted by new challenges and new dangers. We
need to name the difficulties coming from both outside and inside
L’Arche. We need to name our limits, shortages and doubts. Who
are we today? What do we want? What is God saying to us today?
What is God calling us to? These questions were at the heart of
our meeting. We were not only touched, awakened, shaken but also
affirmed, for L’Arche has been entrusted to each one of us. Its
future depends on all of us. It is up to us to build it as it is
called to be. Challenges, fears are there because we have to set
out, be converted, refind the heart, the essential. At the same
time during the meetings a great breath of hope was given. God
brought L’Arche to birth. And God is with us today and will be
with us always, to lead and guide us towards a deeper rooting in
God and towards a new fecundity. We are no longer strangers but
pilgrims together in a very divided world. Pilgrims of hope
and of peace. Men and women of experience and wisdom, from
different church backgrounds, were also there to help us re-read
our story and to rediscover who we are and who we are called to be
in the eyes of God.
For
me, at this time in my life, this meeting was very important. I
will soon be leaving the International Council. I am no longer
called to have a role in the structures of L’Arche but to be
there as a witness to live and announce the mystery that we are
called to live: to be there with great confidence in God, in the
structures, in Jean-Christophe, Christine and the leaders God
gives us. To be in communion with them and to be a source of
unity. To be there to give thanks to Jesus and be happy simply to
be with and be in the family, on pilgrimage, walking humbly
with our God.
I
realise more and more how we are all called to be witnesses of
peace and to create communities of peace. But I also realise
that peace is such a fragile reality. Since September 11th
there have been so many signs of war. I realise that true peace is
not simply the absence of war or peaceful coexistence. The absence
of armed conflict is of course a good beginning for peace. It
allows people to live together without harming each other. It
allows people to live more or less without fear. But isn’t
authentic peace something more than peaceful coexistence?
In
a country I visited recently I was told that Catholics and
Orthodox live side by side in the same town but that they totally
ignore each other. Catholics meet together, go to the same church
and have the same certitudes, so too the Orthodox amongst
them-selves; but people from the two churches never meet together;
there is no encounter, no dialogue. Is that peace? Members of
different groups, ethnic origins, races, social classes, religions
can coexist in the same country or city, respecting the laws, but
ignoring each other. And then if one day, through subtle
manipulations, one group begins to suspect the other of wanting to
dominate or oppress them, fear rises up. And fear quickly turns
into hatred, violence and conflict. Don’t we find similar things
in our own communities? Do we really meet one another?
To
reach out to others, to meet, share and dialogue with them
requires a real effort. Mutual appreciation is not something easy
to learn. People told me about an Orthodox priest who, during
the war in Kosovo when the Serbian army was advancing, used to
hide the Kosovites who were in danger. Later, when the Serb army
moved out and the Kosovites started to move back into their homes
and towns, he would hide Serbs who were then in danger of being
killed. That priest was free to see in others, those who were
different, a human being, a person loved by God. He was able to
reach out and go beyond the walls and limits of his own culture
and reli- gion.
Around
the year 1119, at the beginning of the fourth Crusade against the
Saracens, Francis of Assisi, “il poverello” of God, went on
foot to meet the Sultan in Egypt. Francis, a man of peace; a sign
of peace. The two men truly met and shared and deeply appreciated
each other. This did not stop the war, but Francis and his
brothers were a sign of hope. Francis and his brothers were
convinced that their way of working for peace in the world was by
serving and sharing the lives of the poor, the weakest, the most
rejected in all cultures. Do we believe that by sharing our lives
simply day after day we too are working for peace and that our
communities can also become signs of hope in our world?
But
how to remain deeply rooted in one’s own culture and religious
tradition and at the same time open to others, not simply
coexisting? How to learn to see the light of God in others and to
meet as persons? To enter into relationship with someone requires
a listening heart, an openness, a vulnerability, which leads
into friendship - even with those who are very different.
If
we remain closed up in our own culture, there is a danger. But
there is also a danger if we try to be open to others without
deepening our own culture and our own faith. Very quickly the only
values that bring us together are leisure activities, and sports.
The goal of every culture and religion is not to close people up
but to allow each to be more open to God and to each person God
that has created.
That
is the objective of our L’Arche and Faith and Light communities:
to be schools of relationship. Many schools exist which help
people develop their intellectual capacities, there are many
places for formation to help people develop their abilities and
deepen their religious faith. But there are not many “schools of
the heart”, “schools of compassion”, “schools of relationship”
which help people open up to those who are different and to
understand them.
If
I began L’Arche in 1964 with Père Thomas, to welcome and help
men and women closed up in big institutions, it was to allow them
to grow humanly and to know the love of God. Today I see
L’Arche communities not only as places of growth for people with
disabilities but as schools of love and peace, schools of life and
wisdom for us all. Our hearts and minds need to be transformed so
that we can truly become men and women of peace. People with
disabilities are amazing teachers in this area. They have such a
thirst and a gift for welcome. They do not see what group a person
belongs to but whether or not he or she has a heart; they see the
person behind any label, while others tend to judge and see first
of all the differences or what is negative. But it is very
demanding to be a school of the heart. It means that each one of
us is seeking to become more whole, more rooted in God and able to
share with others our limits as well as our qualities. It is not
easy to continually work towards unity in our communities, to be
ready to forgive seven times seventy-seven times.
These
last months have been quite full. Several trips for Faith and
Light: 10 days in Malaysia and Singapore, with Bella, Faith and
Light coordinator in Asia for the birth of new communities; a
week in Hungary for the International Council meeting, a few days
in Yugoslavia, in Belgrade and the north of Serbia; a retreat in
Salamanca (Spain). I spent ten days in Haiti and Santo Domingo for
the International Council of L’Arche and visits to our
communities. A week long retreat for about 95 young assistants
coming for different communities of L’Arche in Europe. Yes, it
has been full. We see so many divisions in our world and at the
same time there are many seeds of peace. Wherever I go I learn so
much. Jesus, Prince of Peace, brings down the walls of hostility
and brings different people together into one, through his
suffering and death (cf Eph 2). Jesus calls us to be a sign of
love between us and with others. I believe more and more that
young people (as well as the less young!) are looking for a life
commitment in this divided world and want to discover communities
of peace and unity like L’Arche and Faith and Light. And I would
like to make mine the words of the late Martin Luther King:
“I
believe that unconditional truth and love will have the last word.
Life, even if it appears to be defeated, is stronger than death.
I also believe that one day all of humanity will recognize in God
the Source of their love. I believe that one day the saving,
peaceful kindness will be the law. The wolf and the lamb will be
able to lie down together, each person will be able to sit under
their fig tree or in their vineyard and no one will have any
reason to fear.”
Let
us be pilgrims together who believe in peace, who work for peace
and whose hearts are enfolded in peace.
My
love to each one in our God of peace,
Jean
Vanier
*
* *
“Therefore
the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold a young girl will
conceive and bear a son and shall call him Emmanuel, God-with-us.
He shall not eat the cream of milk and honey. He shall refuse what
is evil and choose what is good.” (Is 7:14)
Thank
you for the many messages of love and communion. I want to wish
you the peace and joy of Christmas. At the same time never before
have I been so aware of the pain and brokenness in our societies:
the conflict between Israel and Palestine, the pain of September
11th, the war in Afghanistan, the dire poverty,
injustices and inequalities everywhere. Never before have I been
so conscious of my own failings, inadequacies and brokenness. And
never before have I been so grateful to Jesus for l’Arche and
Faith and Light as little signs of love in the world.
Over
the past few months I have given a number of retreats and talks. I
always share about how those who are weak and fragile can heal us
of our prejudices and need for power and recognition and lead us
on the road of peace. They do not seek power but cry out for
understanding and friendship. Their cry for friendship is like a
warm paste that bonds us together. Their very weakness, the
weakness of us all, is like a call for community. People are
thirsting for such a message which can give them hope and life.
The world is sick with rivalry, misunderstandings, the search for
power and elitism. Let me quote from “Expecting Adam” by Martha Beck:
“This is the story of two Harvard driven
academics who found out in the midpregnancy that their unborn son
would be retarded. They decided to allow their baby to be born.
What they did not realize is that they themselves were the ones
who would be “born”, infants in a new world where Harvard
professors are the slow learners and retarded babies are the
master teachers”.
Our
communities are built on tenderness, goodness, respect for each
person, especially the weakest and are a sign of hope for the
world. Yet our communities are sometimes being hurt in richer
countries by more and more stringent rules and regulations. Law
makers and local authorities can sometimes be frightened of
communities because they are frightened of cults, of people being
brainwashed. Yet we all need community, a place of belonging, a
place where we can celebrate and be committed to each other, a
place where we learn to accept ourselves as we are and to forgive.
Our societies, inspired by a strong sense of individualism, are
fearful of commitment. That is why family life, marriage,
community life are in difficulty today. Many of our communities
are in difficulty, lacking funding and committed assistants. Some
people living in l’Arche are even wondering whether a life long
commitment to l’Arche is possible, whether it can be a vocation
for them, whether there will be a place for them when they grow
older.
Our
world is going through a period of deep insecurity. It is not
surprising that this insecurity penetrates also into our family
and community life. Christmas reminds us that God so loved the
world that God sent his beloved Son into the world, to heal us,
save us and give us the security that comes from God’s love and
from our mutual love. Then we discover the importance of doing
little things with gentleness and forgiveness and so create
community. One of the great dangers of our world is division,
which comes from rivalry, a need to prove that we are better than
others, the refusal to see and accept the violence in one’s own
heart. All this turns into conflict, hate and war. We are all
called to become men and women of peace and of forgiveness in
order to built communities where we trust one another. Isn’t
there the danger also for our communities and for each one of us
of losing our vision because of our busyness and because of the
powerful forces which want to institutionalise us, which are
suspicious of any sense of belonging, which proclaim that gift of
self and love are impossible and which make us insecure?
Today
more than ever before we need trust: to trust in God and to trust
in the quiet, gentle power of the weak. In so many ways the world
has lost its meaning. Many do not know where they are heading. The
weak are being hurt and rejected.
As I grow older, my love for those who are weak grows and
deepens. I have found my harbour with them in l’Arche. My joy
will be to die and be buried here where I have lived now for 37
years. At the Val, where I have been living for the past 20 years,
(I was in the first house of l’Arche for 16 years, then in La
Forestière for my sabbatical year), I am grateful for the way I
am loved and helped by each one in the house. Even if I do not
sleep in the Val, I have most of my meals there and relax there
after the meals and pray there each evening. We celebrate
together, and sometimes talk about serious matters together.
Tonight, the Saturday before Christmas, we all went to sing
Christmas carols and distribute chocolates in each of the other
houses and to some neighbours and friends: it is a way of
announcing the coming of Jesus, Prince of Peace, the One who comes
to give us the strength to love.
I
am happy to be here, to grow old here together with others in
l’Arche. Our life is simple and human: meeting people, smiling
at people, taking time with people, welcoming visitors, eating and
praying together. I do not do the washing up after the meals as I
used to as my house allows me to take time to sit down and read
the newspaper. That is what Jesus is calling me to today. To
rejoice and be together in family, in community. Even though I am
still called to travel for L’Arche and Faith and Light - soon to
Malaysia, Haiti, Santo Domingo - I try to keep my eyes and heart
fixed on Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Nazareth. Jesus lived there for
more than 3O years a simple life of love and presence to each one,
revealing to neighbours, especially to those in need, that they
were loved and precious.
Here
in Trosly there are also all the ups and downs of life, the
disappointments, misunderstandings, disagreements even conflicts.
But that is very human and natural. We come from different
backgrounds, cultures, faith traditions and have different
temperaments. But we are seeking to love one another and to create
in this broken world of ours a tiny place that radiates love and
forgiveness and a desire for unity.
I believe more and more in the loving power of the gospels.
Yet we are confronted daily with the impossibility of living out
the gospel message day by day without the presence of Jesus and
the wisdom God gives us. My experience is that the God of Love and
the Love of God are hidden in those who are weak and vulnerable,
in our own weakness and vulnerability; God is hidden in our
communities of l’Arche and Faith and Light. I take rest and
rejoice in that. In the darkness of our world, the light and love
of Jesus shines. During this New Year may our communities grow in
love and in simple gestures of kindness and forgiveness.
My
love to each one of you,
*
* *
Trosly,
14 September 2001
We
are all in a state of shock after the attack in the United States.
It reveals once again the terrible vulnerability of our world and
of each one of our
lives. Many of us are living in countries where we have felt
secure. Suddenly our security and our vision of life have been
shaken. Having heard from friends and many of our communities I
realise how hurt we all are and how fearful we are for the future.
Some of us are more deeply hurt because members of our family or
friends are missing or have been killed. It seems like the world
will not be the same.
I
feel close to those who are in terrible pain. At the same time I
sense how important it is for all of us to remain deeply centered
in our love for God and
in our trust in God’s love for us. Yes, we are called to be
standing up in our hope. I give thanks for all those courageous
people who came to the rescue of others in extreme difficulty,
many were killed in doing so.
Our
world seems to be going mad. There are some winners in the realm
of money, power and success. There are many more losers and even
more victims of injustice throughout the world. I also think of
those in many places of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the
Middle East who have been living for such a long time in extreme
poverty, violence, conflict, civil wars; in refugee camps,
oppression. We are being joined together in the insecurity of our
times but also in our hope.
Yes,
our hope is in God. Our hope is in our love for one another. Our
hope is in our friendship with those who are weak and/or in need.
Let us not succumb to panic or to revolt or to vengeance, but live in faith. We have all been
called by God to be witnesses of love. There is a danger of
an eruption of new forms of racism and divisions. Let us
all hold hands with all those in pain, grief and fear throughout
the world. Let us be “oned” in prayer. Let us remember that
each and every gesture of kindness and tenderness, done in
humility and with trust, brings
unity to the world and breaks the chain of violence.
You
know my love for the gospel of John which tells us not only about
the life and message of Jesus but also reveals a spiritual,
mystical way of transformation in God and in love. This is
necessarily a way of compassion and proximity to the weak and the
poor, for God is the God of compassion.
I have just finished a television series of
25 half hour talks on the gospel of John that will be shown
on Canadian television as of January 2002. It has been an enormous
privilege for me to speak of Jesus through the eyes and heart of
John.
Let
us remain together in our hope, our commitment to one another and
to peace
Jean
Vanier
P.S.
I would like to thank all those who sent me their prayers and
affection for my birthday. Some have asked how old I am now..73! And I rejoice in getting older, a bit more vulnerable and
thus called to be more open and trusting in God. I give thanks to
Jesus for all he is doing in l’Arche and Faith and Light which
are called to bring a bit of light and love to our world. And I
give thanks for each one of you. It is good to be bonded together
in love.
*
* *
Trosly,
July 10th 2001
In
these last six months I have had the privilege of meeting several
members of our communities during retreats and visits, especially
in India, the United States, Western Canada, Norway, Ireland and
France. I have witnessed the tenderness, the gentleness in
relationships between people in our communities. Tenderness could
describe our life in l’Arche and in Faith and Light. They are
schools of tenderness. Tenderness implies a deep desire to avoid
hurting or harming a weak person. Tenderness is humble; it is an
attentiveness, a listening to what a person is saying but above
what their whole bodies are expressing, for people who are weak
and poor often express themselves more through their bodies: their
gestures, their eyes, their cry. Tenderness or gentleness also
implies touch: a way of touching another with respect and in
truth, a touch that helps the person realise that she is loved and
appreciated; a touch which gives support and security. It is
different from a possessive touch that tends to depreciate
another, preventing his growth to freedom. Tenderness is the
opposite of aggressiveness in words or gestures. Tenderness
implies an inner strength, which allows us to love others in
truth. Tenderness does not mean simply “being nice” which can
be a way of hiding our fear of conflict; it means being truthful
in all things. Tenderness teaches us to be true.
In
Trosly in 1978, we welcomed Françoise Leblond in “La Forestière.
Françoise is now seventy years old. She is blind, unable
to speak and has been bedridden for years, without much awareness
of what is going on around her. Each time I go to “La Forestière”,
I am amazed to see how she is accompanied in her daily needs by
the assistants, their goodness, their gentleness, their care, the
way they talk to her, nourish her. And what I see for Françoise I
see around each person welcomed in our houses everywhere.
A
few weeks ago, with l’Arche-Cuise we lived the death of
Thaddée Proffit. Thaddée, who had a profound handicap,
was a member of the foyer “La Semence”; he was a real
“master”, a “teacher” of tenderness. His presence called
forth tenderness in us and communicated it to us. His language
-without any words - was a language of tenderness and
gentleness. That doesn’t mean that at times he did not
have another language, the language of fear, anger, anguish and
even violence, which hid his thirst for tenderness. With his
brother Loïc at “La Forestière”, who also has a profound
handicap, Thaddée was at the origin of Faith and Light. In 1965,
Camille and Gerard, their parents, brought them to Lourdes but
they
were not accepted in any hotel because of their
children’s handicap. Only one hotel said yes, as long as they
had all their meals in their bedroom. Camille and Gerard shared
their pain with Marie-Hélène Mathieu who spoke to me about their
rejection. So it is because of
the pain and suffering of Thaddée, Loïc, Camille and
Gerard that, with Marie-Hélène and a few parents, we organised
an international
pilgrimage to Lourdes at Easter 1971, for people with
learning disabilities, their parents and friends. From that
pilgrimage, Faith and Light was born.
This
Easter we celebrated the 30th anniversary of Faith and
Light with the fourth international pilgrimage to Lourdes. There
were 16,500 pilgrims from 73 countries, including 6,000 people
with disabilities. It was a tremendous gathering and celebration
of “weakness”, of people who have known great pain and those
who wish to share their lives with them. It was a pilgrimage of
tenderness, which called forth the tenderness and mercy of God on
us all. Thaddée and Loïc were in Lourdes together for the first
time since their rejection some 35 years ago. And in some way we
were also celebrating the unity between Faith and Light and
L’Arche. Alain Saint Macary coordinated the whole pilgrimage and
called on a number of people in l’Arche to help. And about 1,100
pilgrims from the communities of l’Arche participated in the
event.
It was a sign of the unity between us that is continually
called to grow and deepen.
In
contrast to this world of tenderness or gentleness exists the
world of cruelty, where people refuse to welcome others, where
there is a
lack of
consideration and kindness towards others. I
recently read a book “Sorrow Mountain”, written by a
Buddhist nun,
who was imprisoned by the Chinese army in Tibet for 21
years and liberated only after the death of Mao Tse Tung. She
describes how she was tortured, hung by her wrists and put into a
dungeon for nine months. In the complete darkness of the dungeon,
the only way she knew that it was daytime is when she heard the
birds sing outside. But the Chinese military were not able to
crush her spirit of neither truth nor her love for her people and
for her religious tradition. She resisted even though in extreme
weakness. While in the dungeon, so as not to break down or give
in, she prostrated herself on the floor a hundred thousand times
before the “God of Compassion”. The story of this Buddhist
nun, Ani Pachem, who finally escaped into Nepal and then to India
to join the Dalai Lama, has given me a deep love and respect for
her. She is one of these people full of faith, life and
determination, who do not let themselves be overwhelmed by the
forces of evil and hatred and who do not give in to their desire
for comfort.
I
am touched by all those who resist the temptation to despair, who
do not give up, just as I am moved when I meet people who exercise
authority, who carry responsibilities, but who remain open and
always find time to listen to those who are weak, those who come
from different backgrounds . How easy it is to crush those who are
weak, with few defence mechanisms and who are different from us.
Those
who continue to believe in our life in l’Arche and Faith and
Light, in spite of all the obstacles and difficulties, also touch
me. Our communities are so fragile because of our shortage of
assistants, fragile also because of our attitudes that show so
little respect, kindness and gentleness towards one another in
community, especially between assistants, between younger and
older assistants, or with board members, parents or neighbours. We
can be so harsh with one another out of a need to “get things
done”; how easily we forget the need to be kind and gentle as we
welcome one another. How quickly, in the name of
efficiency and productivity, we can crush those who are in
a situation of weakness. I see in myself how I try to protect
myself and close up in front of those who bother me, especially
when I am tired. Their weakness brings up my anguish.
How to remain open to the gentleness and love of God for
each person and for each community? I feel my own need to be
healed or “saved” ; I need to receive the strength of God,
which was so clearly present in Ani Pachem.
Tenderness
makes me gentle and open to others, not judging them but trying to
help them to grow. Tenderness helps me to believe that I myself,
as well as others around me, can grow and change in spite of
appearances, that the child of God in each one of us can rise up.
I too need to discover more each day the real tenderness and
gentleness that give meaning to life. I need to trust more fully
in the power of the Spirit of God in me.
I call on the Holy Spirit unceasingly, asking that my heart
of stone be changed into a heart of flesh. Our communities will
not continue to grow and deepen unless each one of us is growing
in this tenderness and gentleness that comes from God:
“But
you, O Lord, are a God of tenderness and mercy,
slow
to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
turn
to me and be gracious to me”. (Psalm 86:15)
I
remain close to each one of you.
Jean
Vanier
* * *
Trosly,
August 1999
My
stay in the monastery is over. I am so grateful to the monks who
have welcomed me each year for the last 15 years. This time of
silence, prayer, rest, walks in the forest, and intellectual work
with my two teachers and friends, Aristotle and John the
Evangelist, is so good for me. It allows me to let go of all the
things that have to be done, people to meet, telephone calls, and
travelling in order to listen more closely to God and to l'Arche
and Faith and Light. I need this time away, in order to see more
clearly what I am called to be and to live and especially to delve
more deeply into the essential message of the Gospel.
There is an immense
gratitude in my heart to Jesus for l'Arche and Faith and Light.
What a gift for me to know men and women with disabilities, to
share my life with them and to become friends. Each year I realise
more what a gift they are and how good it is to be with them. I
want to spend the rest of my life with them, telling others about
their gift, working with others so that they may be better
accepted and recognized in our societies and churches, so that
they may know more fully the joy they are destined for, and the
joy of knowing that they are loved by God.
In July, I gave two
retreats for young people aged 18 to 30, one in Quebec and one in
Cleveland. They were welcomed by people from our l'Arche
communities. In each of the retreats, even though a lot of work
had been done with chaplaincies and parishes, there were only
about 60 to 80 young people. Why are there so few young people who
come to these gatherings organised by l'Arche and Faith and Light?
And why are there so many young people from Eastern European
countries in L'Arche and so few from our own countries? Is it
because l'Arche is not known well enough? Certainly we have to
work together to announce l'Arche more in schools and
universities, etc. But isn't there a deeper reason?
I wonder if prenatal
tests and the cultural and social attitudes towards people with
disabilities do not increase the fear in parents of having a child
that is "different", and then this fear is transmitted
to their other children? Many young people are frightened of
suffering, frightened of meeting and walking with people who have
disabilities. It's true that there is something quite crazy in our
vision: we affirm that befriending people who are weak liberates
us, helps us to become more human and helps us to become closer to
God!. That can seem quite exaggerated, even impossible! It is
counter-cultural and yet in our world there is such a need for the
face of tenderness and compassion. We live in a world of
competition, where importance is given to success, a good salary,
efficiency, distractions, stimulations. Young people are often so
taken up with all that is exciting that they have difficulty
seeing how much our world needs to rediscover what is essential:
committed relationships, openness and the acceptance of weakness,
a life of friendship and solidarity in and through the little
things we can do. It is not a question of doing extraordinary
things, but rather of doing ordinary things with love. It is
difficult for them to perceive the meaning of a shared life with
people who are different. Our community life with its dailiness:
work, cooking and housework, giving baths, meetings, does not seem
to offer anything special. And yet, to eat around the same table
and to serve the poor, is that not the vision of a blessed life
according to the Gospel?
What can we do so that
l'Arche and Faith and Light may continue to live and the values of
the Gospel be proclaimed? I am convinced that the work God has
begun, God will continue to make it grow and bear fruit. However,
our world knows less and less the love and tenderness of God for
those who are weak and marginalized. For centuries, everywhere, it
has been the powerful, the successful, the brilliant who are
honoured, while the weak, the poor, the less capable are put
aside. And it is precisely this love of God for those who are
excluded from the life of society that assures us that l'Arche and
Faith and Light will continue. Our communities are a sign of the
good news of the love of God and of the God of love.
We are called to be
faithful to our Charters and to seek to be guided by God and by
the weakest members. That means giving time and space in our daily
lives to Jesus and to the Gospel. Egoism or selfishness is so
powerful in each one of us and we all have to struggle against it.
But nothing is impossible to God, as long as we really try to
listen to God and to live with wisdom. It is up to each one of us
to make our communities places where God and the weakest are
honoured, where love and prayer are included in our daily life.
God cannot but hear our cry and our hope!
This month in the
monastery has helped me to see how much I need conversion. It has
allowed my deep thirst for the presence of God to rise up in me,
to let God purify me from all that prevents his love from
penetrating my whole being and passing through me to others. Each
one of us individually and each community as a whole has to
discover a certain wisdom in the way we live. How quickly we can
become submerged by work, stress, fatigue and no longer find time
for inner nourishment, quiet prayer, the word of God, love of
nature and art and for the development of our intelligence.
I am one of those
people of the 50's and 60's, motivated by the idealism and
optimism of those years: no more wars! no more colonisation! no
more gaps between rich countries and poor countries! The reality
of our world today, however, is that our societies continue to be
places of suffering, oppression, violence, conflicts and
inequalities. Through our intelligence and science, we have
discovered many secrets of nature, of the atom, of new sources of
energy and the secrets of the human body and of genetics. But we
do not know how to orientate our discoveries in order to create a
world where there is more justice and an acceptance of each and
every human being. We do not know how to liberate ourselves from
the yoke of self-centredness which keeps us closed up in ourselves
and our compulsions ; to grow more fully in openness and
compassion and to work together for greater love and justice on
this earth. We do not know how to awaken the energies of the heart
which should guide our intelligence. That is one of the roles of
those who are weak and in need and thus of l'Arche and Faith and
Light: they awaken hearts to love.
People sometimes ask
me what my hope is for our communities. All I can say is: may we
be faithful to our call! Growth in numbers is not so important.
But may each community be a sign of the love of God and may weaker
persons find life and give life. That the good news be announced
to the poor, the captives, the oppressed, and not just through our
communities, for God has called forth other spiritual families who
have the same goals and with whom we can collaborate.
Just before leaving
here this morning, my heart is full of thanksgiving for each one
of you and for our two families. They are alive and well thanks to
you: you who carry responsibility, you who carry the stress of
daily life, you who are in pain, you who have just arrived in the
community, and you who support our communities through your
presence, friendship, prayer and offering. It is good to be
together, helping each other so that we can all be more fully
alive and more faithful.
I remain close to each
one of you.
Jean Vanier
* * *
art by
Francis Maurice of L'Arche Daybreak