» Resources » Letters from Jean Vanier
At a retreat that I gave in Lithuania last October for Faith and Light groups and people who wanted to start l’Arche, there was a mother who shared very movingly about her life.
When her daughter was born with a disability she saw it as a disaster. Whenever she used public transport and people would look at her and her daughter with curiosity and sometimes malevolence she at times felt that she didn’t want to live anymore. Then one day she went into a church where she saw a group of people, some of whom had disabilities, who were happy, laughing and dancing. It was a Faith and Light community. Afterwards she joined Faith and Light and what she had seen as a disaster became a blessing.
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At present I am in the monastery at Orval: a gentle time of quiet, of peace, of prayerfulness. A time to assimilate all that I have lived these last few months and particularly Barbara’s death. I still have difficulty realising that she has gone. Bill Clarke was able to be with her a day before she died. She was so present at the Eucharist he celebrated in her hospital room. It was a real gift for her that he was able to be with her. For me, I had the grace of bein g with her, holding her hand, during her last two hours. She opened her eyes, looked at me, we prayed, her breathing and her heart stopped. Her departure was gentle and peaceful; she left without a groan, without a murmur, no word of complaint, no apparent agony; a falling asleep as a little child in the arms of God. Her last breath was for Bill when he arrived to say mass a second time. Barbara died as she had lived, humbly and silently. Read...
First of all I would like to tell you about what we have been living here in Trosly as Jacqueline, Barbara and Claire move into a new phase of greater fragility and with the sudden death of Patrick Mathias. Read...
I am starting this letter in Bangalore (India) where I am giving a retreat to the elder members and friends of our communities of Asha Niketan in India. Yesterday I finished a first retreat for young people and for those who have been in an Asha Niketan for a short time. When I arrived in Bangalore last Tuesday I was deeply moved to be welcomed by all four communities gathered together for a day of celebration. 150 all together! 60 came from Kolkata - a 36 hour train ride! - 40 from Nandi Bazaar, 20 from Chennai and 30 from Bangalore. I met many of our Indian brothers and sisters a long time ago. I felt like weeping with emotion as I was greeted by Srinivas, Veeran, Modhu, Mitran and many of the other men and women I had known in the very early days of Asha Niketan. Some of them had been quite violent and have become now people of peace; they have been transformed to become builders of community. ... Read...
From June 2nd to June 4th, an important Conference on « Initiatives for Peace » was held in Paris, organised by Christian Renoux, former President of MIR (International Movement for Reconciliation). It brought together some 150 organisations involving thousands of men and women who are working for peace, men and women who are determined to move from the ways of violence and to the paths of listening, unity, dialogue and non violence. I had the joy of participating in a round table discussion with Adolfo Perez Esquivel (a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize) and Hildegarde Goss-Mayr, who for the last fifty years has been struggling for non-violent solutions to conflict in various parts of the world. I shared about L’Arche and Faith and Light and how we want to be communities of peace. I was inspired by all the people who believe that they can do something for peace in different situations and who are also committed to humanitarian projects in areas of poverty. Read...
It will soon be Christmas, a season that reveals a message of gentleness, of intimacy in the family, of gifts and celebrations and of the joy of little children, Christmas carols, sparkling lights in the streets, the crib and midnight services. I remember Christmas mornings when I was a child. My brother Bernard and I slept in the same room. We would rush to look under our beds where we would always find our mother’s stockings filled with gifts, and at the bottom, nuts and tangerines (which at that time were “Christmas fruits”). ... Read...
A few weeks ago we were in Assisi for the meeting of the Family of L’Arche : 350 delegates from all the l’Arche communities throughout the world. A radiant sun warmed our hearts and spirits in this city of “Il Poverello”, the poor one. We felt the presence of Francis and Clare. This gathering in Assisi at this moment was prophetic. L’Arche is at a turning point. We realise more and more the challenges facing l’Arche. So many changes have taken place in our societies. We need to rediscover how to live l’Arche today. Our communities, our shared life with people who are fragile and vulnerable, want to be places of mutual friendship, affection and commitment. That means that we have to respond to state requirements and be competent; competence and friendship call forth one another. ... Read...