Missionary of joy

Up Sails!
The international letter of Faith and Light N°20 March 2014
Contents
Editorial
Missionaries of joy
2
Ghislain du Chéné
Reflection
 The greatest danger is fear
4
Jean Vanier
 Let us hammer our swords into ploughshares 6
Father Hans Putman
Reports
 Christmas in Zimbabwe
 Miracle... And God saw that it was good
 The boat, the candle the oars...
 A light breeze
7
8
10
12




Testimonies
Around a rougail saucisse
Receiving Confirmation
Laugh, dance, pray...
Announcement and Sharing Day
13
14
16
18
Family album
19
Agenda
23
Solidarity
23
The letter from Marie-Hélène Mathieu
Disappear or give life?
24
Faith and Light international 3 rue du Laos 75015 Paris France - T. + 33 1 53 69 44 30 - [email protected]
www.faithandlight.org - http://fli-afoi.blogspot.fr/
1
Editorial
Missionaries
of joy
Ghislain du Chéné
International coordinator
diocese (there are nine of them!). Bishop Gérard
Daucourt, informed a while ago that 2 February
is on a Sunday in 2014, wrote in his diary:
“Feast of Light with the diocese Faith and Light
communities”. And he remained with us from
start to finish!
he whole week of the Feast of Light is
still illuminated by the memory of the
beautiful celebrations that have taken
place throughout the world! And on the following Sunday, the Gospel that was read in the
many Catholic parishes took up this theme of
light: “Let your light shine before others, so
that they may see your good works, and give
glory to your Father in Heaven.” (Mt 5, 16).
T
The parishioners had the great pleasure of
seeing almost three hundred joyful and lively
people show up for Sunday mass in their
Church: I am sure that the liturgy, even if it was
disturbed at times by our “little people”, allowed
us to realise that the smallest are the ones who
evangelise us. Bishop Gérard Daucourt reminded us of this in his homily with strong
words such as: “Every person is a sacred story
from conception until natural death; every person at any stage of his life has dignity!” He also
told the story of a mum who came to communion with her daughter who has a disability requesting a blessing for her because she hadn’t
had her first communion; there then followed a
charming exchange ending with these words:
“Madame, your daughter’s first communion is
today!”. Bishop Daucourt explained himself by
saying that the sacraments are gifts and that
any person is worthy of receiving Jesus as a gift!
We have a duty to make our light shine in
the world, not just to keep ourselves and our
community warm. If we feel good in our community and we don’t feel that “our light shall
rise in the darkness and our gloom be like the
noonday” (cf. Is 58, 10), we will miss the
point!
THE CELEBRATION OF MEETING
In the East, the Feast of Light is called the
“feast of Meeting” because it is about the
meaning of the meeting between the Lord who
comes and the population of believers who
await him.
My community celebrated this feast on 2
February with all the communities from our
Geoffroy and Christian, community
"Bartimée"
2
Bruno and his daughter Cécile
community"Source jaillissante"
HAPPY BELIEVING IN JESUS
Mgr Daucourt, Emmanuel and his daughter Armelle
community "Graines de moutarde"
CHRIST
With Alexandre Men, Sister Emmanuelle,
Jerzy Popieluszko, Takashi Nagai, Pier Giorgio
Frassati, Charles Lwanga, Marthe Robin, King
Baudouin, Sister Lucia dos Santos, Cicely Saunders, Oscar Romero and Martin Luther King, we
are going to go, like the disciples who were sent
out in pairs, and make our light shine to the
ends of the Earth!
The meal that followed was a true celebratory meal and our bishop went from table to
table to speak warmly with each person; the
afternoon was a festival of songs, mimes and
performances each more successful than the
last on the theme “Happy believing in Jesus
Christ”. Simeon was with us too: he who had
recognised the Messiah of the Lord in the
small child that Mary and Joseph had just presented at the Temple, had the mission of telling that he recognised the Messiah of the Lord
even amongst the smallest who came to celebrate the Light. And that day, his eyes saw the
salvation, the light and the glory of the Lord!
GHISLAIN DU CHÉNÉ
Photos : MURIEL BERGASA
MISSIONARIES OF JOY
Bishop Gérard Daucourt ended the day
talking to us about the joy experienced in the
Faith and Light communities; he said that the
apostolic exhortation from Pope Francis, the
“Evangelii Gaudium”, reflected our joy and
that it gave us a great responsibility; one of
being missionaries of joy! I believe that he is
asking us to take the invitation to be messengers of joy one step further… The missionary
has the goal of going and announcing the
Good News and being a witness of Jesus
Christ by making his light shine before men
who, thanks to us, will be able to give glory to
our Father in the heavens. I have seen it confirmed in the theme of the Guidelines for next
year, which are being prepared with a team
from Slovenia: we are going to be invited, like
a modern day Simeon and Anna, like these
seekers of God, to meet all those who await
us, who hope to discover our light and our joy:
Jesus himself, through us and our friends with
disabilities, is trying to give himself.
Anne-Marie, Eric and their daughter Alice
community "Source jaillissante"
3
Reflection
The greatest danger
is fear
APPROXIMATELY
TWENTY ORGANISATIONS (INCLUDING FAITH AND LIGHT AND L'ARCHE) AND HUNDREDS
OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE WORLD SHARED MESSAGES OF HOPE AND PEACE ON 1ST JANUARY 2014, FOR
THE ON LINE “24 HOURS FOR WORLD PEACE” VIGIL ON WORLD PEACE DAY. JEAN V ANIER OPENED THE
VIGIL.
ung San Suu Kyi says that, "The greatest danger for peace is fear."
A few years ago I went for Faith and
Light to a country in Latin America. I arrived at
the airport and was picked up by a man named
Dennis, who drove me to the capital. On the
way, he said: "Here on the left are all the slum
areas; on the right are all the houses of the rich
people protected by police and military." And
then he added: "Nobody crosses the road".
A
FEAR OF LOSING OUR IDENTITY
Everybody is frightened. Frightened of the
different. Fear of not understanding, fear of not
being able to meet, but fear that the other will
be "a danger". And of course each one has his
or her culture. There is the culture of the rich
people with their status and their importance,
and then there is the culture of those who are
at the bottom, who feel the humiliation of being
pushed down, who dare not cross the road.
How to break down these walls of fear which
prevent us from meeting people, because everything is about meeting, and the danger is that
our culture, our religion, becomes a prison and
no longer a fountain. We need a culture. We
need to have a country, a language, a culture of
the country, the way people live, and so on. All
that is important… but we can close ourselves
up in our culture, in the thinking that we are the
best, that we are superior, that we are God’s
own people. We think that we have — should
have — all the power; that we are the only ones
who are right. And of course this means that
the others are no good. So culture (religion) can
become a prison. On the one hand it is necessary it gives security, it gives identity, it gives a
point of departure to deepen. But there is a
danger, too, if it becomes a prison, a prison of
fear and no longer a fountain — something that
prevents us from seeing… ourselves as a
member of the human family. Something that
leads us to believe that… we are the only ones
who are important.
So the whole question is “How do we let
drop these walls of fear between people —
these walls of fear around my own heart —
that lead me to think that I am better than
you?
HER WOMAN'S HEART
In one of our communities in l’Arche, a
number of years ago, we welcomed Pauline.
Pauline arrived at the age of forty. She had
hemiplegia paralysis of one side of her body.
She was epileptic and diabetic. But what was
specific with Pauline was her anger. She was
enraged. And we had a very good psychiatrist
who helped us to understand her because the
question is to understand in order to meet. He
helped us to see that Pauline had been humiliated, pushed down. Her family didn’t want a
woman like that; a child like that. They wanted
4
To celebrate “24 hours for Peace”, l'Arche posted 5 portraits of persons with
disability, members of L’Arche (America,
Europe, India, Africa and Middle East) and
5 pearls of wisdom on the art of thinking
about difference entitled “Words of
dignity”.
somebody beautiful who could have children
and all the rest. She was humiliated at school;
she was laughed at. She was despised in the
streets, looked down upon, and of course, she
began to despise herself. She began to even
hate her body, as one can understand… She
was angry to have a body like that which was
the cause of all the despising, of all the laughter and the way she was pushed down.
Our psychiatrist helped us to see that her
violence was a cry; to understand the language
of violence. Her violence was saying, "Is there
anyone who loves me, who can trust me and
who can see under my handicaps, under my
violence, who I am?" That’s what it means to
meet someone. Not to just see somebody that
they belong to another culture, but to see under
their culture, under their difficulties, maybe under their anger or their desires to flee. [To see
that] You are beautiful, you are precious, you
are someone, you are a human being. Under all
the handicaps of Pauline, under her violence, is
her person, is her heart and the whole reality is
to meet Pauline as a human person.
But there is fear and that’s why places like
L’Arche are places where we learn to love. Assistants come… to l’Arche. They’ve heard that
at L’Arche there are people who have disabilities, and they come to do good. They come
sometimes with their diplomas. They have a
knowledge of a certain superiority. They think
they are better. They come from a culture where
they feel that they should succeed and all the
rest.
there is you. And you are a person, and to help
discover that person, you are more beautiful
than you dare believe.
So peace is to learn to meet people. To meet
people means humility. My group is not the best
group. You are who you are with your culture,
but you are a member of the human family, that
huge human family which unites us all together,
whatever our culture, our disabilities, our abilities, we are just human beings. And to discover
that we can meet because this is what it is: two
people in their humility or their poverty with
their gifts… meeting. Just as two people who
belong to the human race.
But let’s not just talk about peace as going
through cultures and so on. This is also relevant
for our own family. I mean, to be a peacemaker
is to learn how to forgive. Maybe I have hurt
you; maybe you have hurt me. And so we are
separated, we don’t speak to each other anymore. We see you as somebody who is no good.
Peace can only come if we know that the
only road to peace is acceptance of you as a
human being. The only road to peace is forgiveness. You have forgiven me and I have forgiven
you. But forgiveness is a road; it takes time to
accept the others as they are with their sufferings and their difficulties.
Peace. Peace is "never to be enclosed as a
prison in my culture or my group"; the discovery
that every person is important, and to meet,
which means a certain humility to be open to
the other who is different, and it’s only this way
that we can find peace in our families, in our
cities, in our countries, and in our world. To
meet people who are different and to see you
as a beautiful human being.
JUST AS I AM
But to meet Pauline, you mustn’t meet her
as somebody who is better than her. To meet a
human person, just as you are, under your violence, under the culture, under her handicaps,
JEAN VANIER
5
Let us hammer our swords
into ploughshares
FATHER HANS PUTMAN, THE FORMER CHAPLAIN TO
SUDAN WHO WENT ON A MISSION TO SYRIA, IS TODAY IN BETHLEHEM. FOR CHRISTMAS, HE WROTE
THESE WORDS. THIS WAS ONE OF THE FAITH AND
LIGHT MESSAGES FOR THE “24 HOURS FOR
PEACE”.
as not Herod right when he feared that
the new-born child could take his
place? Indeed in the presence of a
child you have to take off your mask, come
down from your throne and drop your arms.
There is no weapon more destructive and no
chemical poison more deadly than the hands of
a child, stretched out in trust. There is no storm
more devastating than the gentle breeze and
the smile of a new-born.
This is our belief at Christmas and the wish
we send to our friends and even to all the
‘Herod’ of this world who have the destiny of
our world in their hands: Believe in a war, far
from hatred and mistrust; believe that there is
only real power and domination, where there is
love; believe that the Lamb is sitting on the
throne (cf. Rev.7,17), and that the manger may
be more significant than all royal palaces.
This year, I write to you from Bethlehem,
where the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) asked
me to serve – after 15 years in the Sudan and
2 in Syria. I am very close to the ox and the
donkey, who were the first companions of Jesus.
Courageously we have to return to our roots
and taste the joy of that moment when the
‘heavenly armies’ announced this incredible
news: "Today a Saviour is born to you, in Bethlehem, the city of David". God himself became
man (Emmanuel), since he saw the misery of
his people, heard them crying for help and became aware of their suffering (cf. Ex.3,7).
Heaven came down on earth and God opened
a road-map for peace to all men and women of
good will.
Unhappily he did not find a place in the inn
when he came in ‘the fullness of time’; the Son
of God had to be born in the slums, since the
W
hotels were filled with faithful tourists, coming
to honor Christ’s birthday and praying at the
place of his manger!
I wish all my brethren, in the Middle-East, in
Africa and in Europe and to the ends of the
earth, - Arabs and Jews, Palestinians and Israelis, Christians and Muslims, friends and
enemies, a happy Christmas and a specially
blessed new year. In the presence of the Child
in the manger we become all brothers and sisters. Let us "hammer our swords into ploughshares and our spears into sickles" and no
more learn how to make war (cf. Is. 2,4).
With all my affection of a brother and friend
and with a fervent prayer. Brotherly yours,
FATHER HANS PUTMAN
6
Report
Christmas in Zimbabwe
hree Faith and Light communities ("Kudakwashe"
from Glenview, "Chitungwiza" and "Chinhoyi") and a
L’Arche community in Zimbabwe met to celebrate Christmas in an unusual way with
the people with disability, families and friends. We were welcomed by the Harare L’Arche
community.
T
The Christmas celebration
was bathed in joy. The first
part was on the theme:
"learning to know one another", which allowed each person to introduce themselves by
inviting each person to enter
their innermost thoughts. Very
often people introduce themselves to others but clearly put
a limit on their personal space.
They say: "come into my life
but stay by the window". Here, I
felt the warmth of the opening
up of relationships.
The welcome was delivered
with very few words, marked by
gestures, smiles, hugs and the
shaking of hands.
During mass, Father David
led everyone in prayer with a
unique aura that captured people with its message focussed
on "Jesus has already come".
One of the questions that he
left in our minds was: "now
that Jesus has already come,
what are we going to do to respond to his presence?" A lot
of people had not experienced
this kind of celebration. For the
majority, the mass is generally
just a ritual, with known songs,
same drum sounds, same re-
sponses… Here, it was different. It wasn’t any old celebration… It was a Faith and Light
and L’Arche one.
The last part of this day was
a Fiesta. Singing, dancing, mimes and more dancing. A good
sound system had been installed and the music invited
everyone to sing and dance.
The message passed on was
loud and clear: we are people
like you, we love being happy
like you and we like to celebrate like you.
TIME BALUWA
VICE COORDINATOR FOR ZIMBABWE
I was exhausted by my work and my boss gave me a few days off. Whilst I
reflected on this exhaustion, I couldn’t help thinking about these mothers with
children with disability. Often, intellectually disabled people have other physical disabilities that immobilise them and prevent them taking care of themselves. The mothers do everything for their child, bathe, feed, change… It is
less difficult with a baby but when he becomes an adult that changes everything. A mother works endlessly. She cannot let herself be tired. It is about the
routine, every morning, she puts her child, now an adult and heavy, in a wheelchair. She takes him to the bathroom, puts him in the bath, takes him out the
bath, and accompanies him to the toilet… I know a woman who has done this
for more than 25 years. If I was her boss, I would give her two days off a month.
In fact, I would employ five people to do what she does alone. But a mother
does not see this day to day life as a burden. She fulfils her duty with love, only
seeing the beauty of the relationship with her child.
While thinking about this story of a day off, I believe that we can bring these
mothers a certain relief. When we see them pushing the wheelchair in the
community, we can push it for them. These few minutes of respite lets them
breathe. If you visit them and suggest looking after their child, you will see an
explosion of joy. These are the simple things that make a difference in their life
and perhaps in ours too.
T.B
7
Report
Miracle...
And God saw that it was good
86 MEMBERS OF THE "FRANCE
SPARKLING EAST" PROVINCE, 39
OF WHOM FRIENDS WITH DISABILITIES, MET FOR A RETREAT FROM
26 TO 29 OCTOBER 2013.
he Mont Roland sanctuary is a place of prayer
and pilgrimage dedicated
to the Virgin Mary. It is located
on one of the Compostela
routes in the Jura department.
T
It was Benoit Sepulchre, a
young priest from the Langres
diocese, who guided us on the
theme chosen for this year:
"Miracle… and God saw that it
was good".
Here are a few of the highlights that filled our hearts with
happiness.
THE CREATION
Saturday: "The Creation,
God’s project, is a Miracle".
With a slide show, we were
invited to contemplate all the
beautiful things that God has
entrusted to us in his project
full of love for us. Accompanied by the Canticle of St Francis of Assisi, we entered into
this fraternal companionship
with creation (brother sun…
sister water…) which prompted
thanksgiving and praise.
Drawings, prepared in sharing groups on elements of the
creation, were displayed during
the evening: the sky, stars, water, air, wind, fire, light, earth,
trees, flowers, animals…
ENTERING GOD’S
PROJECT
Sunday: "Welcome me as a
Miracle and enter God’s project”. With Psalm 8: "What are
human beings that you are
mindful of them?"
In his goodness and benevolence, God wanted us and
created "miracles" from his
creation. We have to recognise
this, agree to place ourselves
God called Francis to a different life. We have different
lives and God welcomes us
into his project of love.
8
in this gigantic and admirable
creator project, to contribute to
it with what we are despite our
imperfections.
We took part in the sanctuary mass with the parishioners.
In the afternoon, each person
chose what they wanted to do
to practice their talents in the
various proposed activities:
walk, dance, music workshop,
drawing, beads, crepe paper
flower making, mime… and the
results were presented during
the evening gathering.
I NEED YOU
Monday: “I discover you are
a miracle and I need you”.
Alone, man is not a big thing,
he needs a relationship with
others.
Just as we have difficulties
recognising ourselves as a
unique miracle: "you are the
prize in my eyes and I love
you", it is difficult managing to
have the double view of God
who loves you and who tells
me that you are an invaluable
help to me and vice versa. I
must not dwell on what doesn’t please me about you but
enter into the creator project of
the Father with you, regarding
you as the miracle that you are
and allowing you to discover it.
The sacrament of reconciliation was offered and we were
able to meet and confide in a
priest who gave each person a
folded flower in which a per-
sonalised message was written. This flower was then
placed in a basin where it
opened up and blossomed.
All together, we were able to
do great things: a fresco with a
large boat drawn on it and finger painted by our friends with
disability accommodated the
silhouettes that each person
had decorated.
The celebratory vigil in the
evening with a slide show resonated with our games and
dancing. ..
MESSENGERS IN THE WORLD
Tuesday: "Miracle to share,
we are messengers in the
world ". The last moments together, Eucharist, thanksgiving
and send off: all different, all
9
useful, and even the smallest
"What is fragile in the world,
that is what God has chosen",
welcomed as miracles in the
eyes of God, together we have
tried to find our instructions
and despite our weaknesses,
we agreed to propose to our
brothers:
We feel able to spend a lot
of time looking at these poverties and fragilities around us,
to take care of these men and
women who do not know that
they are miracles and that they
were created "Very well", that
they are the prize in the eyes of
God and that he loves them.
Véronique Noël
Photos: Claude Larré
Report
The boat, the candle, the oars…
THE "BARKA" COMMUNITY, FROM
POLAND, CELEBRATED ITS TENTH
ANNIVERSARY ON OCTOBER 13.
"It just needs the world to remember three words from the
Bible: please, thank you and
sorry, and certainly many
things will change in our lives".
Our community chaplain,
Father Jarek Biedroń was there
of course. He is a modest,
humble and very loving man.
e prepared this event
very carefully. We printed the cards with the
boat and the Faith and Light
prayer and the invitations for
our guests. The card was
copied on a larger scale to
decorate the room. We also
made little oars with short Bible passages (all different) and
we copied the small trees reported on from Leeds by Włodzia and Wioletta: 10 like our
age. It was a great joy for them
to take part in an international
meeting.
W
Then we went to the parish
hall. In a circle around the
boat, we said the rosary together and the Faith and Light
prayer. You could see the boat
sailing on a choppy sea, the
candle lit, the Faith and Light
icon and the oars with the
words of God.
At the end of the prayer,
Wioletta explained the mea-
The big day arrived… We began with the Eucharist that
was celebrated with much joy
by Father Mieczysław Kozlowski and Father Paweł Hoppe,
who accompanied our community during his seminary studies. During the offerty procession, we brought the boat
made by Mikołaj, the small
cards, a large metre long rosary made from paper roses
and finally ten real roses carried by ten different people.
The parish curate addressed
us in a simple and warm way:
ning of this scene: the boat
represents the Church, it also
represents our communities.
The boat is the community
which unites us and lets us
overcome the difficulties of our
daily life, but that wouldn’t be
possible without each one of
us. Each of us is necessary,
each of us is different, but also
each of us is a gift for the
others. The boat would not be
able to sail without drifting on
a choppy sea, it needs each
one of our oars to get to its
destination. This is why we
have each been given a small
oar, a symbol of our vocation
to make grow and to steer the
community. Each word of God
attached to this small oar is
different, just as each one of
us has received different gifts
The boat, the candle, the oars
10
from God. We should never
forget that the greatest gift is
each one of us for the other.
The Faith and Light icon
shows Jesus on the cross. He
represents the person with a
disability, he is immobilised
and can do nothing. However,
in reality, he does a lot
through his love, he redeems
the whole world, and he is the
centre. We are not there for
the others but with them.
Our leader, Włodzia (Andrzej’s mother) told us the
story of our community. The
room was completely decorated with many photos of
various important events in
the life of our community. We
and our guests really loved
them.
We also admired the tables
decorated with the small trees
from Leeds. Włodzia and Wioletta taught us the song often
sung in Leeds by Marie-Hélène
"Alle, alle, alleluja". It is simple
and joyful and our community
really liked it. She also shared
with us her experience in
Leeds.
We invited the "Piastowskie
Pucie" community from Bydgoszcz and some friends who
do not know about Faith and
Light. It gave us the opportunity to introduce our
movement.
The jubilee cake
Then it was time for the
feast at the table filled with
delights. The most extraordinary thing, of course, was the
jubilee cake made by Ewa.
It was easy and fun to
recognise who had eaten the
sun, the sea, the sky or the
boat by seeing the colour of
their lips or tongue.
Everything brought us joy!
Wila and Wiesiu
"Barka" Community
11
The small tree from Leeds
Report
A light breeze
IN 2013, HALF THE PROVINCES ORGANISED PROVINCE ASSEMBLIES; EVEN IF THE LARGE INTERNATIONAL
MEETING IN LEEDS TOOK UP A LOT OF ENERGY AND RESOURCES, THE LIFE OF THE PROVINCES CONTINUED AND
IN A GOOD WAY. THE ENTHUSIASM AND THE BREATHE OF THE SPIRIT ALLOWED THE ORGANISATION OF BEAUTIFUL MEETINGS, THE WINDOWS WE OPENED IN LOURDES IN 2008 ARE STILL OPEN AND WE ARE HAPPY TO SEE
THIS LIGHT BREEZE CONTINUE TO SPREAD THE JOY AROUND US; FAITH AND LIGHT CONTINUES AND WILL CONTINUE TO BEAR FRUIT! KATARZYNA STOPNICKA, COORDINATOR (WITH HER HUSBAND, DAMIAN) OF THE
"BARBÓRKI" COMMUNITY IN LIBIĄŻ TELLS US ABOUT THE POLAND EAST PROVINCE ASSEMBLY THAT TOOK
PLACE IN NOVEMBER.
he delegates from the
Poland South province
communities met in Hałcnów, near the city of BielskoBiala, from 8 to 11 November
for their province assembly. It
was about everyone discerning and focussing on the priorities for Faith and Light in our
province: this was also a time
of discernment to choose the
new province coordinator. The
assembly chose Agnieszka
Majek to replace Anna Wolska
who has become the vice province coordinator. Furthermore,
there was a very intense time
when, all together, we responded to the question “how
are we going to build our
house”?
T
These days were well filled
with the sharing of our joys
and difficulties, workshops,
testimonies and memories.
We really enjoyed hearing
about what took place at the
International
Meeting
in
Leeds. Thanks to their reports
and their memories accompanied by photos, every one of
us was very happy to know to
what a large family we belong
to in Faith and Light.
"How are we going to build our house”?
We also took the time to seek
the nearness of Jesus together.
We met him every day during the celebration of the Holy
Sacrament and on Sunday
whilst celebrating the Eucharist. We put ourselves at his
school of service by celebrating the washing of the feet. A
very precious gift for us was
the presence of our chaplains.
In summary, it was a very special and blessed time. We left
strengthened in the faith that
"in God we can accomplish
very powerful actions", and
convinced that what we experi12
enced during those days will
bear fruit in abundance, not
only in our personal lives but
also in our communities and
in all the province.
KATARZYNA STOPNICKA
Testimony
Around a rougail saucisse
or a few months, the Faith and Light "Cris
de Joie" (Shouts of Joy) community from
Guyana has been preparing for Christmas
2013, relocated this year to Matoury, where
half of our families live.
F
Firstly, the day began with a lovely mass at
Saint Michel Church during which Father Daniel
Catherine called on us to renew our vows and
the people who are "sources of life and friendship" joyfully participated in the offertory and
the universal prayer.
At the end of the ceremony, we offered the
parishioners a small snack to testify to the
miracles of God in our lives and encourage
them to stay in the Church and sing traditional
Christmas carols like "Joseph, mon cher
fidèle" (Joseph, my dear believer) accompanied
by Stéfanie on the drum and her sister Doriane
singing.
As lunch time approached, we went to the
Saint Pierre elementary school for a celebratory
meal organised by the teachers and pupils and
their families to finance a cultural and language trip to London and Paris in April 2014
The menu was much appreciated especially
with Colombo chicken and rougail saucisse
(sausages in a spicy tomato sauce) as choices.
In addition, many performances with a
Christmas theme interspersed this feast for our
greatest pleasure: dances, songs, playlets and
a few stories and creole riddles which brought
together the young and old.
Rougail saucisse
Finally after eating the dessert, came the
long awaited time for giving presents!
A beautiful farandole between the pupils
and the members of our Community marked
the end of the meeting on a note of fraternity,
just like the Christmas message.
A big thank you to the Saint Michel parish
and to the Saint Pierre de Matoury annex college for their hospitality, their availability and
their generosity!
Best wishes!
MINFIR FAMILY AND STEFANIE AMARANTHE
13
Testimony
Receiving Confirmation
IN NOVEMBER 2013, THIRTY TWO YOUNG PEOPLE, SEVEN OF WHOM HAVE DISABILITIES, RECEIVED
CONFIRMATION THROUGH THE HANDS OF MGR. STANISLAS LALANNE, THE BISHOP OF PONTOISE (NEAR
PARIS, FRANCE). SASKIA MINCHENI, DIOCESE MANAGER FOR THE SPECIALISED CATECHISM TEACHING,
TESTIFIES.
ur hope of letting these different young
people meet, of allowing each person to
have such an experience of the difference and the discovery of the other has been
completely fulfilled. On the day of the celebration, there was only one group, united and attentive to the needs of one another.
O
During the sack race, many people got involved and
dragged others along. Many joyful faces were seen…
THE MEETING
The Faith and Light community allowed this
meeting between all the future Confirmands.
Those from the chaplaincy of Cergy and those
prepared by the "Pédagogie Catéchétique Spécialisée".
After lunch, where we endeavoured to mix in
order to get to know one another better, some
mums of children with disabilities testified to
the other young people about belonging to the
Faith and Light community. They were very impressed.
to a song. "The community is you, it’s me, it’s
us, its Jesus". Many of us were touched. You
could feel the strength of a family, a deep bond
in Jesus. On the following days, some young
people from the chaplaincy sang this song during their retreat…
 "I have found a family. I feel helped and sup-
ported. My family has rejected me."
 "It is difficult to have a child with a disability."
 "I thought I was the only one in the Church to
have a child with disability."
 "Faith and Light has, for me, been a place to
meet other families. I have never hidden my
child. I have discovered families that I knew
but I didn’t know their child. He was hidden."
I really loved the way these young people from Faith and
Light wanted to say thank you and goodbye. When going
to the oratory for our final time of prayer, we were surprised to see, at the exit to the hall, a guard of honour to
the church. As each person passed, they raised their
arms like a hello. Apart from the surprise, I found this to
be a very beautiful gesture because it focussed on and
gave pride of place to the most fragile of us. I think it
was a highlight, which had impressed some people a bit
but which, without needing words, gave much joy to
each person at a time when we were about to go our
separate ways.
Then thanks to a game, the young people
began to make contact. For some of the young
people from the chaplaincy, this was a disconcerting and difficult time. Others were more at
ease, accompanying them in the "sack race";
others still, who felt uncomfortable, ended up
forgetting it and fully taking part.
Before parting, the members of the community offered us a gift: they sang and did actions
Christian
14
THE WELCOME
Today is a big day for about thirty young people that
we are welcoming to this mass. And particularly
for seven of them who have disabilities and for
their families: Linda, Patricia, Axel, Davy,
Guillaume, Jérôme and Jonathan are also going to
receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. You have
experienced with us some very memorable
moments, you have shown us your desire to follow
Jesus and to live as children of God. As John Paul II
said to other young people at the WYD in 2000
"Each one of you is precious to Christ, each one of
you is personally known, is loved tenderly even
when you don’t realise it".
In your own way but with strength, you assess more
and more what Jesus brings to you in your lives.
And it is for that reason that you are witnesses of
Christ, you too in your own way, for your families,
your friends and the rest of the world.
HIGHLIGHTS
 The “I’m here” from Guillaume which reso-




nated powerfully in the assembly! Of the
thirty two confirmands, it was his that was
heard loudest, whilst ordinarily, he would be
classified alongside the “smallest and weakest”… How proud and joyful his parents
were as well as us catechists!
That of Davy, more of a whisper, but raising
his head to heaven, his arms wide open and
a radiant smile lighting up his face….
"She is beautiful!" These were the words of a
young person from the chaplaincy on spotting Patricia dressed all in white when she
was lining up in front of her for the entry procession…
Axel’s expression, looking for his mum on
returning to his seat after the Chrismation
by the bishop, of gentleness and intense
happiness …
The voice of Linda, her tuneful songs accompanying us throughout the ceremony,
her way of praising the Lord.
and ended up experiencing an extraordinary
mass with an entire community!
The choice of songs, the solemnity of the
procession of young people with their godfather or godmother, gathering around the
bishop at the time of the song "How not to
praise you" also contributed to making this
mass a very poignant time of sharing and communion!
Like the apostles at the time of the Pentecost, these thirty two young people received
the Holy Spirit; like the apostles, they left the
Church, like the apostles, they spoke in different languages and just as in the apostles day,
everyone understood each other.
SASKIA MINCHENI
These are only a few impressions amongst
so many others that will remain engraved in
our memories… This Sacrament of Confirmation allowed us all the be witnesses to how two
groups of young people – not having a lot in
common, who wouldn’t normally mix with each
other but who chance threw together one day
for a ceremony – were touched by the grace
From beginning to end, this ceremony went beyond my
expectations. The testimony from Jacqueline about autism, the bishop who spoke to each young person and at
the end, everyone around the bishop. I didn’t have time
to see the difference between the young people with
disability and the others, they were so well integrated.
Louise, Jonathan’s mum
15
Testimony
Laugh, dance, pray...
t was my first Faith and Light camp as a
friend. I was told: “you’ll see, it’s exhausting”. I can confirm this! In fact, all we did
was laugh, sing, dance and pray. Laugh, sing,
dance and pray. And eat, and talk, and walk,
and move.
I
FIRST DAY
Everyone arrived by car with passengers
picked up from meeting places. Time to say
hello to the camp “boss” (you are going to remember that she is boss throughout the camp.
It is practical, for when there is a decision to
make: “ask the boss”!) And everyone settles in
the rooms, helping those who need a hand to
make the beds.
I made to most of this by going to see the
chapel. Hervé, Sabine and Fréderic accompanied me. We sat in the first row. After a few
moments, I heard a murmur: it was Hervé saying a Hail Mary. I accompanied him in his
prayer. Sabine and Fréderic (who have great
difficulties with speech) were silent. I carried
on with an Our Father, Hervé followed. I left
the chapel quietly but they remained. All the
same, I wasn’t going to abandon them so I returned to fetch them.
the platform who was playing for the waiting
travellers. His repertoire was so entertaining
that we all started to dance. The other travellers applauded and some danced with us.
This continued until the train whistle called us
to order.
Second day
A day out is planned. We got to the departure station for a little steam train that will
take us around the lake at a leisurely pace.
The station was closed and the train wasn’t
there. While waiting, we went on a picnic. I had
brought my guitar. After the meal, I played a
few tunes and I saw Emmanuel (who has
Downs Syndrome) settle down beside me. He
took a harmonica from his bag. He listened to
what I played and he carried on: and then he
said to me: “listen to that “and I accompanied
him with the cords. The harmony was found.
Up until the end of the camp, we formed a
duo: him on the harmonica and me on the guitar. At any possible times: breaks, vigils, preparation for mass, mass itself. We even enthusiastically traded full scores.
When it was time to go back to the train station, there was a young accordion player on
16
THIRD DAY
We had to prepare for the arrival of participants from the second camp. To welcome
them, we had planned a… rugby match! So, it
all became slightly out of control, workshops
were organised to make welcome banners,
maracas to make some noise and bead necklaces to crown the winners. There was also a
knitting workshop, a stain glass window workshop and the vigil team prepared games and
songs for the evening. Of course, there were
also those who preferred a game of boules.
There was noise, music and joy, we were all
together.
"Go blues!"
FOURTH DAY
Everything was ready, “they” were arriving
in the afternoon. They were not expecting what
we had arranged… We let them settle in their
rooms, get their breath back after the miles in
a car, then they were pointed in the direction
of the sports field where seats had been set
up for the supporters (those who were too old,
couldn’t or didn’t want to run). They were
asked to hold up the support banners (go
blues, go reds). Or the maracas, coloured pompoms, crepe paper rosettes. Anything that
made noise, was colourful and blew in the
wind. The head of the second camp was nominated to the post of Head Referee and he was
going to have to decipher the rules of the
game because no-one knew them! Of course,
the teams were photographed and the blues
did a “haka” of intimidation.
The tone was set and as soon as the referee
blew the whistle, the game started (a real
rugby ball made of foam), it was madness:
everyone ran, there were savage melees. The
supporters shouted. Our chaplain was
amongst the most incensed and it was a smart
man who managed to get the ball off him.
Georges usually very shy, was running around
during the whole match and made some good
passes. Frédéric from the first camp, usually a
bit reticent: we saw him keenly take part.
Frédéric from the second camp, who isn’t from
Lyon, knew no-one and on the face of it could
not run too much. So he was given the throw in
ball and he fitted in. Monique, 72 years old,
partially deaf: she impressed everyone because she played for the whole match relentlessly, not hearing the whistles, she never
stopped and it was necessary to use cunning
"Go reds!"
to attempt to exhaust her. The score was very
close. One of the teams managed to win by
two close points and the referee blew the final
whistle. The winner’s cups, bead necklaces
and congratulations were given out. There was
singing, dancing and carrying the winners in
triumph.
FIFTH DAY
It was departure day. At the mass, Marc and
Hervé were the altar boys, Emmanuel on the
harmonica, and Georges did a reading.
Myriam, for the alleluia, led the assembly in
sign language, which allowed us to be in communion with Monique and Jeannette who are
partially deaf. The final song, of course, was
“Messengers of joy”.
I have done Chaplaincy and Guide camps;
and now Faith and Light. You should go: it is
joyful!
DOMINIQUE DE LABARTHE
17
Testimony
Announcement
and Sharing Day
SWEET WREATHS
CHRISTMAS CHOIRS IN YORK
On Saturday 7 December, for their Day of
"Announcement and Sharing Day", 220 members of the Faith and Light communities from
the “UK North” province met in York! After a
time of welcome, an ecumenical prayer, action
songs followed by copious “fish and chips” at
the university, all the assembly headed for the
city centre to sing traditional Christmas carols
two steps away from the cathedral. For just
over an hour, Trevor, the conductor, led the
musicians with gusto. He even invited a couple
of young passer-bys to join the choir. What talent! All the artists, on stage or in the assembly,
taking part in their own way whilst Jane played
a flute duet with Mary and Tania kept time with
her small cymbals.
Touched by Tania’s huge smile and the joy
conveyed by this gathering, a dad came up and
asked for information about Faith and Light!
This event, in which the communities from the
north of England participate once a year, is a
magic moment to make known and share with
passer-bys what is experienced within the Faith
and Light movement. Let us continue the adventure! And it also raised the tidy sum of
£400…
Every year, at the start of Advent, in France,
in the Paris region, the “Graines de Moutarde” (mustard seeds) community organises a
day to sell sweet wreaths and cookie preparations expertly presented in glass bottles…
Great success…
Remember that a booklet
“A few easy recipes to
raise funds” is available
to you from the International Secretariat or the
small Faith and Light
shop:
www.faithandlight.org
Trevor
Jane and Mary
18
Family album
Our joys and our sorrows
Welcome Geneviève!
I have the great pleasure of
announcing that GENEVIÈVE GIZARD, has just been elected
coordinator by the “Paris et Le
Levant” Province Assembly on
the 24 November in Paris.
Geneviève is going to replace
Michel Tabbagh. Some of you
already know her. Geneviève
has already made many commitments to Faith and Light,
notably as community leader.
The assembly was accompanied by Ludovic de la Quintinie, who brought a very warm
external perspective, and by
the nomination committee,
filled with kindness, made up
of François Bal, Anne-Françoise Marès, Caroline Parent
and Alain de Chateauvieux.
The discernment was carried
out in peace, trust and calmness. Each person was able to
express themselves freely and
in complete confidence. It was
a beautiful meeting, joyful and
warm and a beautiful time for
all.
Father Albert Gambart, the
province chaplain, concluded
this beautiful ceremony by putting it under the eyes of Christ
the King. On this Feast of
Christ the King, we were also
able to say that our assembly
was received like royalty by
Father Pignel, the curate of the
Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Thank you to everyone. I
would also like to take the opportunity to thank the former
province team for its accompaniment during the past four
years, with a particular thought
for Michel.
The assembly elected the
following vice coordinators who
will make up Geneviève’s province team: Colette Michaud,
Patricia Venzac, Damienne Lallement, Denis Thomas and
Christian Lageron who have
agreed to renew their accompaniment. They welcomed
three new VPC: Stéphanie Robillard, Alain Buis and Jean
Sendra.
Thank
you
again
to
Geneviève for her commitment
and welcome to our France
and Belgium provinces council.
AGATHE DESFOSSÉS
Vice international coordinator
Testimonies
from Mauritius
LIETTE
Liette Colomes was elected
leader of the "Star of the Sea"
community that she has accompanied for four years in its
probationary period.
Liette, like any young bride,
had a great desire to be a
mum. She has always had the
19
courage to go forward and despite the obstacles and discouragement, with the help of
God, Liette is today the mum of
three adopted children.
Her desire to put herself at
the service of the poorest has
led her to Faith and Light. The
people with disability and their
parents have brought her a lot
more than she has been able
to give.
Liette is supported by a very
good team accompanied by a
nun.
Liette has donned the apron of service
ARIANE
Ariane has a disability. She
asked her mum what she
would have done if she hadn’t
had it now that her brother is
married and has left to live
elsewhere. Her mum answered
that she was her reason for
living. With Faith and Light, she
felt reborn when she discovered the gifts of Ariane and her
ability to love. Faith and Light
has freed this mum from her
own disability, which was not
seeing the value of her daughter.
JUDEX VIOLETTE
Vice international coordinator
A new community
in Peru
At the time of the province
assembly, we were joined by
Father Francisco Chavarri, Jesus inspired us and called on
us to found a new community.
During the Feast of Light with
the Lima communities, the Father announced this birth to
the parish of Our Lady of Divine Mercy in Surco-Lima
A first meeting was organised with help from Allison, Ana
Belen, Carito, Zénobie, Luis
Manuel, Edu Alonso, Marie,
Rossana, Ingrid, Elvira, and
Father Francisco... We felt that
Jesus was amongst us. This
was a celebration full of joy,
trust, friendship and prayer.
And the community has already met four times. The birth
of this community is one of the
fruits of the 40th anniversary of
Faith and Light celebrations.
When I shared my experience of the international meeting in Leeds with the new community, I was able to see the
emotion on their faces. They
truly felt part of the large Faith
and Light family!
Father Bosco Gunaseelan
Long live this beautiful community!
Pierre has made
the "The Front Page"
ELVIRA GOMERO
Vice provincial coordinator
Resurgence in India
The curate of the parish of
ND de l’Arche d’Alliance in
Paris, Father Bosco Gunaseelan, visited the small Palayamkottai community in the south
of India. The community has
been regularly meeting since
October 2012 every first Sunday in the month and has 26
members. They are mainly Hindus but there are a few Christians and Muslims. The meetings are closed with tea and a
time of prayer all together.
Pierre in Lourdes in 2001
Our son Pierre was born in
1991. In 2001, he was on the
shoulders of Samuel on the
"front page" of the special edition of "Ombres et Lumière"
about the pilgrimage to
Lourdes!
20
I said "My God, my God" on
seeing Pierre right in the middle of this crowd and blue balloons of all sizes symbolising
the water… Yes, Pierre was
overhanging the crowd in his
blue poncho and cardboard
hat!
Pierre is great at restoring
courage, in residential homes,
in the streets…
I am the new leader of the
"Stella" community in Colmar
(France East). I would like to
receive all the documents seen
on the website under the heading "Deepening our life together".
MONIQUE FALIU
We have always thought
that this photo was very beautiful… It is more so today now
that we can put a name to the
face!
Dear Secretariat friends
Thank you for sending me a
certificate for the interpretation work that I carried out in
Leeds My year is going very
well, I hope yours is too! Yesterday, I had the opportunity to
meet Verena who interpreted
into Spanish and Ewa into Polish. She visited us in Alicante
and we remembered the good
times spent in Leeds…
Take care of Faith and
Light! It is a large family that I
now consider as my own.
Yours!
ANTONIO FAJARDO
TO CONTRIBUTE TO “UP SAILS!”,
SEND US REPORTS ON ASSEMBLIES,
MEETINGS, FORMATIONS SESSIONS,
PHOTOS… SEND US NEWS OF THE
COMMUNITIES YOU ACCOMPANY,
COLLECT FIORETTI...
Dear Jérôme
Bernard
life. Whoever comes to me will
never be hungry, and whoever
believes in me will never be
thirsty".
JEAN-RÉGIS AND ANDRÉE BOISDRON
Provincial coordinators "France Centre"
Hugo
We told you about Jérôme
Yeck-Pang in the October edition of Up Sails when he had
his first communion at the age
of 80… Our dear Jérôme left us
on 1st January. All the "Cris de
Joie" (Shouts of Joy) community
in Guyana met to surround
Jérôme for the last time at the
Saint Antoine de Zéphir church.
STÉFANIE
We are sad to inform you of
the death of Bernard Sautreau
who, from 2003 to 2008, accompanied the communities
from the Auxerre, Bourges and
Nevers (France Centre) region.
In September 2013, we said
“to God” to his daughter Isabelle who he has now joined.
Let us carry in our prayers
his wife Denise, his son and all
this family that has been
through so much.
On the death announcement
was written: "I am the bread of
The beautiful family house
The family is not destroyed, but transformed.
A part of it enters the invisible… We believe that
dying leads to absence when it really is a hidden presence.
We believe that it creates infinite distance
when it does away with all distance,
it returns to the spirit what was for a time found in the flesh…
Every time someone leaves home and passes away
those left behind gain a link in heaven.
Heaven is no longer home to angels,
unknown saints and a mysterious God,
but it becomes familiar.
It is the family house, the house up above, so to speak.
From up there to down here,
memory, helping hands,
calls carry on...
FATHER SERTILLANGES
21
It is with great sadness that
I inform you that on 17 January, Hugo Gomero, the husband of our dear friend Elvira,
vice province coordinator for
Peru, went to eternal glory to
join our Father. Let us unite in
prayer for his eternal rest and
that Elvira as well as her children find consolation and
peace.
MARIANA MUJICA
Vice coordinator for Peru
Elvira, at the
international
meeting
in Leeds
Publications
"We were ten years old.
It was war"
This book (only in French) is
the conclusion of a “memory
workshop”. Ded suddenly loses his bearings. Three lifelong
friends, sad at his state, try to
maintain the few memories
still there… particularly those
of the war that they all experienced at Moulins sur Allier, in
France.
Through the eyes of ten year
old children, this book traces
daily life in the dark years: the
occupation, the rationing, crossing into Unoccupied France,
school, solidarity, the Resistance, arrests, Liberation…
Both a critical and passionate look, it sheds light on this
tragic period without historical
pretention.
A must read!
Thanks
from Marie-Hélène
Dear friends,
This small word to you who
were ten years old when the
war broke out in 1939. I would
like to say how touched I was
when I learnt of your decision
to donate the copyright from
your book to the Faith and
Light International association.
This is an opportunity to remember that the Allier depart-
The copyright will be donated
to Faith and Light International
ment was one of the first to
start off on our founding pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1971.
On the impetus of this great
international event, your department launched various acti
-vities of which the feast of
Light at Candlemas on 2 February was one. The idea took
hold elsewhere and has spread
across the whole world.
Today in your department,
five Faith and Light communities are very alive, two of which
are in Moulins.
The time has come to tell
you of my admiration for this
book. The theme that you have
set in motion, your perseverance and your enthusiasm.
This small book is a treasure
that I think will interest and
touch beyond the boundaries
of the dioceses. Once more, a
huge thank you.
Love.
Order from Imprimeries réunies:
1 rue Voltaire 03000 Moulins - T + 33 4.70.44.01.85
[email protected] - 148 pages, 18 €
To make known Faith and Light
Updated at the beginning of this year, the leaflet
introducing Faith and Light is now available
in English, French and Spanish:
 International secretariat
 Little bookshop of Faith and Light :
www.faithandlight.org
To share widely!...
22
Agenda
2nd trimester 2014
 12-13 April: "France Loire Rhône
 29 March: "UK North" provincial






Auvergne" provincial assembly, Le Puy en
Velay
 17-18 May: "France Centre" provincial
assembly, Pontmain
 17-18 May: Formation session for the
coordinating teams from the "Luzitana"
province (Portugal), Porto
 24-25 May: Formation session for the
coordinating teams from the "Campo
Belo" province (Brazil Centre), Belo
Horizonte
 24-25 May: Meeting of the "Iberatlantic"
provincial team (Spain West, Gibraltar),
Lerida, Spain
 29 May-1st June: “Heart of Europe”
provincial assembly (Germany, Austria,
Luxembourg, Netherlands), Weisendorf,
Germany
 29 June: Province day for the "UK North"
communities, Garforth
assembly, Harrogate
30 March: Luzitana Provincial Assembly
(Portugal), Porto
3-6 April: Coordinators council and
formation session for “Colours of Asia”
province (Malaysia, Pakistan,
Philippines, Singapore), Tagaytay,
Philippines
4-6 April: “Bridge of Friendship”
provincial team meeting (Brazil South,
Argentina, Paraguay), San Paulo, Brazil
5 April: "Luzitana" (Portugal) provincial
team meeting, Evora
5-6 April: Formation session for the
coordinating teams from the
communities in France, le Roucas
6 April: Meeting of the communities
from the Namur-Luxembourg region,
Ciney, Belgium
Solidarity
Projects to be supported
"All the solidarity budgets for the Philippines have
been dedicated to the victims of the Christmas
typhoon and it is difficult to find funds for these
two events…
Also, we ask you to
help us to maintain
these two projects that
are so important to our
province…"
“Colours of Asia” Province
(Philippines, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore)
 Formation session in Tagaytay (Philippines),
from 3 to 6 April 2014, for leaders and
coordination teams: 3 900 €
 Province Assembly in Manila (Philippines)
from 26 to 28 July 2014: 4 920 €
 Visit/support to communities in Pakistan at
end of 2014: 1 270 €
VALERIE JAQUES
During the provincial pilgrimage
in Plentong (Malaysia)
You want to make a donation ?
In several countries, Faith and Light is a recognized and registered charity association. As in
France, you may be entitled to a tax deduction for each donation made locally. Check with your
provincial association.
Online donation: www.faithandlight.org
Editorial direction: Ghislain du Chéné - Chief editor ans layout: Corinne Chatain
23
Letter from Marie-Hélène
Disappear
or give life?
IN SOME PROVINCES, THOSE WHO HAVE SOME OF
THE OLDEST COUNTRIES, COMMUNITIES ARE
AGING AND THAT’S NORMAL, THAT’S LIFE. FAR
FROM DESPAIRING, MARIE-HÉLÈNE MATHIEU
CALLS ON THEM TO GIVE LIFE.
aith and Light is forty years old… the age
of maturity. But it is also for a certain
number of communities, a stage in old
age. The people with disability who were twenty
years old at the 1971 pilgrimage are now sixty
and a lot feel weaker. It is the same for their
parents who are gradually losing their vitality
and are anxious faced with the prospect of their
demise. Friends of old have married, moved
away… Attempts are made to call others. Some
have come but don’t stay: perhaps we haven’t
dared to entrust responsibility to them, we have
feared their initiatives will upset our habits…
Recently, a sixty eight year old chaplain told
us: "The youngest parent in my community is
my age! Our community is going to die because
we don’t know how to renew. Is it too late
now?"
Some enter a residential home, others can
no longer move at all.
The leader has attempted to give a new
breath to the community by inviting young
families to join it. The concerns of each of them
were too different as well as the activities: none
of them establishing roots. An inspiration
was then born in the heart of the leader.
"Rather than die, God is calling us to give life by
offering our small fragile flame that is perhaps
going to go out, so that a community of young
people is born”. The Lord heard this cry. A new
community was born with small children with
disability, their parents and student friends.
As for the aged community, reinvigorated by
this birth, it continued to meet for slower
activities: you take time to eat and sing. It is
true that we don’t do farandoles but the
meetings are full of peace. We carry it, and
especially the young community, in the Faith
and Light prayer.
Let no-one despair. At the same time,
communities’ age, some stagnate and others
are born.
The "ancestor" communities know today
that even if they disappear, their desire and
their prayers have created a continuing life.
F
IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO LIVE
I know a very old community that can no
longer meet regularly. Not a week goes by
without the mums phoning each other. Each
one knows she will hear a friendly voice.
Perhaps this is a bond that people today have
need of.
I also think of another community that has
known successive deaths. It is made up of
widowed mums and much weakened people
with disability.
MARIE-HÉLÈNE MATHIEU
(Ombres et Lumière N° 111)
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