Letter to Communities

November/December 2006

 

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. The joy and peace that rose up from this magnificent gathering were like the joy that must spring up in us when we discover the Kingdom of God. In one of his poems Tagore, the Bengali poet, wrote: “Pride can never approach to where thou walkest in the clothes of the humble, amongst the poorest and the lowest and the lost.”  (Gitanjali 10). Yes, God is truly present in the poor, the lowest and the lost. Yet our people in Asha Niketan are no longer as poor as they were, for they are rich in love, kindness and gentleness. They are no longer lonely for they are in a place of belonging. They are no longer lost for they have been found.

 

I think of the beginnings of L’Arche with Père Thomas forty two years ago. I did not know what I was doing. I started to live with Raphaël and Philippe. I had no idea where they would lead me or the consequences of this commitment. And never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that I would be making such a trip to India some years later, accompanied by Martha Bala who had been in Asha Niketan in 1974-1978. L’Arche is truly a miracle of Providence. This time in India has deeply confirmed my conviction that our communities are the work of God. The prophet Isaiah announces the vision of Providence when he proclaims in the name of God:

            “Be not afraid for I have redeemed you (liberated you),

I have called you by name and you are mine.

If you pass by the waters, I will be with you…

for, I am your God, and you are precious to my eyes and I love you…

Do not be afraid for I am with you”. ..(Is 43)

 

Each one of our communities throughout the world has been through crises and moments of pain, yet each one is still there, radiating life. Yes, our communities are truly God’s work. And it is not just the transformation of people with disabilities which is so beautiful, but also the way hundreds of assistants and friends have been transformed. Our lives together, our friendship, our covenant relationships reveal our mission in a world which so quickly despises, looks down upon and pushes aside the weak and the humble, where so many are killed even before their birth. People with disabilities – like each and every other person - are precious, sacred and should be respected. They have a gift to give to us all. In a world that cultivates efficiency and the search for power and wealth, our people reveal the value of loving kindness and presence to one another. In a world that fosters individualism, our communities reveal the importance of belonging, of celebrating life together and of celebrating each person. In a world where individual people, countries and religious groups want a God of power to exercise power and domination, our people reveal the God of love, of gentleness and of forgiveness.  As I grow older I realise what a privilege it is for me to have lived the largest part of my life with my brothers and sisters who, in their humility, have brought me on the path of love. I hope and pray that as I grow older and weaker I will be able to continue to share my life and my death in their midst.

 

Anna Polikovskaia, the Russian journalist who was recently assassinated in Moscow because she was uncovering political lies, injustices, and corruption, was quoted as saying: “A life that is not given so that humble and insignificant people can live, is a wasted life”. She went on to say that to work for justice, peace and truth is not just for superhuman people but for all of us who want to give our lives so that we may share our lives more fully.

 

I would have much to share with you about our communities in India and how Kunni, L’Arche Coordinator for India is leading and giving support to them, but I do not have the space in this letter. I would just like to share at least one thing: Rakki, the community leader in Kolkata, was telling me how the people in the community were being pestered and laughed at by young people in the neighbourhood. Shoes in front of the prayer room were being stolen, as well as other items. The community decided to have a public theatre in front of their home in which all the community members would take part. The theme was taken from Tagore: a story of conflict between those who were legalistic and those who were very open and liberal which ends in reconciliation and mutual understanding. Some 300 people from the area came and were so delighted that they asked Rakki to do another in six months time! And Rakki added that people in the area no longer laugh and make fun of us but are more and more accepting. Asha Niketan is a little sign for that area, announcing a vision of love and acceptance for everyone.

 

Since my last newsletter I have been involved in a number of events. Perhaps you all laughed when I said I was going to retire! In fact I am going more slowly and have more times of prayers and solitude and reading. I am cutting down on my travel and my commitments. I am so happy to be more in my community and in my home “Le Val”. I love the moments of communion I share with Jean-Christophe and Christine and Louis (L’Arche Coordinator in France).  It is such a gift to take time together to give thanks for all that is being given and to carry in prayer what is painful and difficult.

 

Last September I was in Assisi, for the commemoration of the first international meeting which John Paul II had convened in 1996 for religious leaders from throughout the world. This celebration was organised by the community Sant’Egidio. We all came together to share and pray for peace and to be a sign of peace and of prayer today. There were various workshops where Muslims leader, Jewish rabbis, Bishops and other leaders met together and shared on particular topics. I was part of the workshop on “the love of God and the love of people”. I shared especially about Ghadir, a young Muslim girl with severe disabilities whom we had welcomed in our L’Arche community near Bethany and how my encounter with her had been a sign of God and a place for transformation for me.

           

Later that same month I was part of a two day symposium organised by Professor John Swinton in Aberdeen University (Scotland) on “L’Arche: a place of gentleness”. The other main speaker was Professor Stanley Hauerwas a reputed theologian from Duke University (U.S.A.). I was amazed and touched by all he knows about our communities, our pedagogy, our way of life, and the message of L’Arche for our world today.   I was moved by the way he spoke of gentleness and of  L’Arche as a place of growth and healing.

 

In October, I was in Krakow (Poland) for a retreat with people in L’Arche, Faith and Light and friends. It brought back to my mind many memories of the first links of L’Arche there in 1982 when it was still under the communist regime. The first community in Sledziejowice.had to remain very hidden, silent and closed up, not to attract attention from the authorities. Faith and Light had already begun a few years earlier in Wroclaw and Warsaw So much has happened in both L’Arche and Faith and Light since then! I also gave a talk at the University of Warsaw and was able to make a little pilgrimage to the concentration camp in Auschwitz where Etty Hillesum and so many other Jewish people were exterminated. It was moving for me to pray there, and to pray for all those who are being crushed and killed today.

 

The growth of L’Arche and Faith and Light is like a little miracle. I believe that this growth is for our societies, especially for all those who believe in the mystery of God and in the personal relationship between God and each one of us, and for all those who trust that the poorest and the weakest are close to God. They do not seek power but relationship, friends. I always remember my first visit to the Val Fleuri in 1963, and meeting the men there with their spoken or unspoken cry “Do you love me?  Will you become my friend?” People with learning disabilities are truly attracted to the message of God and of the Gospel. 

           

Etty Hillesum wrote so much about how God lives in each one of us. Tagore also reminds us that we are called to be a “shrine” of God:

 

“Life of my life, I shall ever try to keep my body pure

knowing that thy living touch is upon all my limbs.

I shall ever try to keep all untruths out from my thoughts,

knowing that thou art that truth which has kindled the light of reason in my mind

I shall ever try to drive all evil away from my heart and keep my love in flower,

knowing that thou hast thy seat in the innermost shrine of my heart.

And it shall be my endeavour to reveal thee in my actions,

knowing it is thy power that gives me strength to act.” (Gitanjali 4)

 

We are all called to let God come and live in the “innermost shrine” of our hearts and to reveal God through our lives and words. May God “keep our love in flower”, that is the secret: to let our hearts blossom fully and bear much fruit.

 

If I am still called to travel a bit, my joy is also to give retreats at “La Ferme” here in Trosly where I can speak about the spirituality of l’Arche, how those who are weak and vulnerable can change and heal us. Last weekend was quite a special time for me and for the community. In collaboration with different associations, I gave a retreat here for 14 “street people” from Paris,  accompanied by 14 of their “friends”. The first evening each one of us shared our story. It was a gift to speak to them of the love of God for each one of us.

 

This letter brings my love to each of you for Christmas and the New Year. May God be reborn in our hearts. May our love continue to blossom and our lives reveal the presence of God.

 

 

 

Jean Vanier.

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