Posts Tagged: "L’Arche"

A Tiny Sign That Love Is Possible

When the world seems particularly chaotic, crazy, paranoid, hateful, fearful, or just too noisy, I need the gentle voice of a great-great-grandfather-type. My go-to in these times is Jean Vanier.

In his book Community & Growth, Vanier says…

We have to remind ourselves constantly that we are not saviors.

We are simply a tiny sign, among thousands of others, that love is possible, that the world is not condemned to a struggle between oppressors and oppressed, that class and racial warfare is not inevitable.

We are a sign that there is hope, because we… Read More

To Do Ordinary Things With Extraordinary Love

Jean Vanier is the 85 year old Canadian philosopher, theologian, and humanitarian who is most known for founding the L’Arche communities. L’Arch (French for “the ark”) began in 1964 when Jean Vanier took two men with disabilities into his home in the town of Trosly-Brevil, France. It is now an international organization operating some 146 communities in 35 countries.

He has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Here are a few quotes from his book, Community and Growth

“To love someone is to show to them their beauty, their worth and their importance.”

“A Christian community should do as Jesus did: propose and not impose. Its attraction must lie in the… Read More