A modern saint has died. Jean Vanier, founder of the L’Arche communities, has died at age ninety years old. For those who don’t know, the L’Arche communities were a string of places where the disabled folks were cared for by those who were abled, but had a calling to be with children of God who had been shortchanged when it comes to the world’s definition of normal. However, as with most things where God gets involved, the tables are often turned and the ones designated as care-givers wound up being cared for.
I never met Vanier. He is a fairly prolific author and I certainly have read some of his stuff. I came to know of Jean Vanier through the writings and, then, from personal contact with Henri Nouwen. Nouwen as a well-known figure in the late twentieth centuries. His books introduced a huge non-Catholic audience to the world of spirituality. Nouwen was a bit like Thomas Merton. Both guys were from Europe, moved around a great deal and in some ways were always chasing an elusive God.
Nouwen never made the vow of stability which comes with becoming a monk, as Merton had done at the Abbey of Gethsemani. Nouwen was an ordained Catholic priest and university professor. He was a popular teacher and speaker, but could never feel content with what he had. He moved from university to university and from university to stints abroad to live with the poor, etc. However, at the end of his life he found it.
Nouwen became a part of a L’Arche community in the Toronto area and was assigned to care for a young guy named Adam. Interestingly, in the last years of Nouwen’s life, when he was invited to go somewhere for a speaking engagement, he would take Adam with him. In a sense Adam and L’Arche became home for Nouwen. He did not find it in a monastery, but he did find contentment and an answer to his life’s quest. And he was the one who brought Jean Vanier into my life.
Michael Swan offers a good look at Vanier’s life and legacy in an essay in the National Catholic Reporter. He says, “Vanier permanently changed the fate of intellectually disabled people everywhere by demonstrating how the care of a community could open lives to meaning, joy, hope and trust — not just the lives of the disabled, but the lives also of those who live with them and care for them.” I would emphasize the function of community, which Swan mentions. It is community that I think Nouwen was searching for and eventually found.
We can follow along with Swan’s comments in order to gain an understanding of Vanier’s perspective and his power. Vanier is quoted in the essay. He notes, “Our danger is to see what is broken in a person, what is negative, and not to see the person… It's not just a question of believing in God, but of believing in human beings, believing in ourselves, and seeing people as God sees them.” This is what all of us who are abled---who see ourselves as “normal” need to read, ponder and try to live into the truth that Vanier offers us. I am still trying to do this.
To live into this truth calls for some openness, vulnerability and humility. Those do not come easily or, perhaps, naturally to many of us. To people who are smart, talented and have some power, it is an especially big hill to climb. I appreciate the opportunity to do some climbing. It has not been fast or easy. But I am underway. Vanier has been an inspiration and an encourager. And I never met him!
To this point of relating to the less abled folks of the world, Vanier tells someone like me to be careful. He cautions that dealing with people unlike me “means not relating to them from a sense of power, even if that power comes from generosity.” And I would add, not even from the goodness of my heart. Be careful. Be careful of relating out of my generosity. Ironically, maybe I am even the poor one here!
In 1965 when Vanier decided to devote his life to mentally challenged people, he used a familiar image. He said of the L’Arche community he wanted to start, “We hope it will be like a Noah's Ark, to save those we can from the deluge of civilization…" He elaborated that these communities would be like a "small village.” We are back to community. And community is really about relationship. This is how Vanier understand the basic ministry of Jesus. And that is what he wanted to replicate.
Jean Vanier has left an amazing legacy. The legacy of the communities is significant in and of itself. But the legacy is even more. For me the legacy of Vanier is a challenge. It is a challenge to read and heed the gospel message that Jesus offered. Vanier did it. Sometimes I think I merely play around with it. It’s not bad; it just isn’t enough. Vanier is in the same vein as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and others who have gone all the way.
I hope Jean Vanier rests in peace. His ministry is done. But his inspiration and challenge live on. Thanks be to God.
I never met Vanier. He is a fairly prolific author and I certainly have read some of his stuff. I came to know of Jean Vanier through the writings and, then, from personal contact with Henri Nouwen. Nouwen as a well-known figure in the late twentieth centuries. His books introduced a huge non-Catholic audience to the world of spirituality. Nouwen was a bit like Thomas Merton. Both guys were from Europe, moved around a great deal and in some ways were always chasing an elusive God.
Nouwen never made the vow of stability which comes with becoming a monk, as Merton had done at the Abbey of Gethsemani. Nouwen was an ordained Catholic priest and university professor. He was a popular teacher and speaker, but could never feel content with what he had. He moved from university to university and from university to stints abroad to live with the poor, etc. However, at the end of his life he found it.
Nouwen became a part of a L’Arche community in the Toronto area and was assigned to care for a young guy named Adam. Interestingly, in the last years of Nouwen’s life, when he was invited to go somewhere for a speaking engagement, he would take Adam with him. In a sense Adam and L’Arche became home for Nouwen. He did not find it in a monastery, but he did find contentment and an answer to his life’s quest. And he was the one who brought Jean Vanier into my life.
Michael Swan offers a good look at Vanier’s life and legacy in an essay in the National Catholic Reporter. He says, “Vanier permanently changed the fate of intellectually disabled people everywhere by demonstrating how the care of a community could open lives to meaning, joy, hope and trust — not just the lives of the disabled, but the lives also of those who live with them and care for them.” I would emphasize the function of community, which Swan mentions. It is community that I think Nouwen was searching for and eventually found.
We can follow along with Swan’s comments in order to gain an understanding of Vanier’s perspective and his power. Vanier is quoted in the essay. He notes, “Our danger is to see what is broken in a person, what is negative, and not to see the person… It's not just a question of believing in God, but of believing in human beings, believing in ourselves, and seeing people as God sees them.” This is what all of us who are abled---who see ourselves as “normal” need to read, ponder and try to live into the truth that Vanier offers us. I am still trying to do this.
To live into this truth calls for some openness, vulnerability and humility. Those do not come easily or, perhaps, naturally to many of us. To people who are smart, talented and have some power, it is an especially big hill to climb. I appreciate the opportunity to do some climbing. It has not been fast or easy. But I am underway. Vanier has been an inspiration and an encourager. And I never met him!
To this point of relating to the less abled folks of the world, Vanier tells someone like me to be careful. He cautions that dealing with people unlike me “means not relating to them from a sense of power, even if that power comes from generosity.” And I would add, not even from the goodness of my heart. Be careful. Be careful of relating out of my generosity. Ironically, maybe I am even the poor one here!
In 1965 when Vanier decided to devote his life to mentally challenged people, he used a familiar image. He said of the L’Arche community he wanted to start, “We hope it will be like a Noah's Ark, to save those we can from the deluge of civilization…" He elaborated that these communities would be like a "small village.” We are back to community. And community is really about relationship. This is how Vanier understand the basic ministry of Jesus. And that is what he wanted to replicate.
Jean Vanier has left an amazing legacy. The legacy of the communities is significant in and of itself. But the legacy is even more. For me the legacy of Vanier is a challenge. It is a challenge to read and heed the gospel message that Jesus offered. Vanier did it. Sometimes I think I merely play around with it. It’s not bad; it just isn’t enough. Vanier is in the same vein as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and others who have gone all the way.
I hope Jean Vanier rests in peace. His ministry is done. But his inspiration and challenge live on. Thanks be to God.
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