The L'Arche Canada Foundation of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada Daily Thought with Jean Vanier for Saturday, 27 February 2016 "Hurting"

The L'Arche Canada Foundation of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada Daily Thought with Jean Vanier for Saturday, 27 February 2016 "Hurting"
When I say that forgiveness is at the heart of community, I do not mean we have to learn to say simply, “You're a nuisance but I forgive you.” It means discovering that I too am in part the cause of your being a nuisance, because I have dominated you, hurt you, brought fear up in you or because I haven't listened to you, or was not open to you. Forgiveness is not just saying, “I forgive you because you slammed the door.” It's also: “I'm working on changing myself, because I have hurt you.” We're all wounded people, and so consciously or unconsciously we can and do hurt each other.[Jean Vanier, From Brokenness to Community, page 39]

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The L'Arche Canada Foundation of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada Daily Thought with Jean Vanier for Friday, 26 February 2016 "At the Heart of Community"

At the hearth of community, as we learn to care for our brothers ans sisters, there is forgiveness. Reconciliation is at the heart of community. To grow in love means that we become men and women of forgiveness, of reconciliation.[Jean Vanier, From Brokenness to Community, page 39]

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The L'Arche Canada Foundation of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada Daily Thought with Jean Vanier for Thursday, 25 February 2016 "The Enemy"

Our enemy is not somebody far off in a distant land. Our enemy is somebody close by who threatens us, who blocks us. Our enemy is inside, not outside, the community.[Jean Vanier, From Brokenness to Community, page 38]

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The L'Arche Canada Foundation of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada Daily Thought with Jean Vanier for Wednesday, 24 February 2016 "Growth"

If we let ourselves be attracted to those who flatter us or who are like us, who share our ideas, then we won't grow. Growth will come as we come closer to people who are different from us and as we learn to welcome and listen even to those who trigger off our pain.[Jean Vanier, From Brokenness to Community, page 38]

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The L'Arche Canada Foundation of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada Daily Thought with Jean Vanier for Tuesday, 23 February 2016 "Community is Not an Abstract Ideal"

Community is not an ideal; it is people. It is you and I. In community we are called to love people just as they are with their wounds and their gifts, not as we would want them to be. It is giving each other freedom; it is giving each other trust; it is confirming but also challenging each other.[Jean Vanier, From Brokenness to Community, page 35]

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