The L'Arche Canada of Toronto, Ontario, Canada Daily Thoughts with Jean Vanier for Saturday, 24 December 2016 "Silent Meal"

The L'Arche Canada of Toronto, Ontario, Canada Daily Thoughts with Jean Vanier for Saturday, 24 December 2016 "Silent Meal"
A silent meal, by candlelight and against a background of good music can create a very warm community atmosphere. Silence also encourages reflection and inwardness. And it doesn’t exclude sensitive non-verbal communication which can sometimes forge unity more strongly than words.[Jean Vanier, Community and Growth, page 325]
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The L'Arche Canada of Toronto, Ontario, Canada Daily Thoughts with Jean Vanier for Friday, 23 December 2016 "Self-Service"
Self-service is the worst of inventions. There we are, all with our own tray, own little bottle of wine, own little sachets of sugar, salt and pepper. It’s terrible to assume that everyone is going to eat and drink a standard quantity, and do it alone into the bargain. How much more human to have a nice big bottle from which everyone can pour as much as they want, and one nice big dish so that everyone can make sure that the others have what they need. Then meals are no longer a solitary and egotistical business but a time when each person shares and loves.[Jean Vanier, Community and Growth, page 323]

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The L'Arche Canada of Toronto, Ontario, Canada Daily Thoughts with Jean Vanier for Thursday, 22 December 2016 "Meals"
Meals must not be times for contentious discussion or serious educational attitudes. Working meals are not to be encouraged either. A meal is a time for relaxation of the body and the spirit. Laughter is excellent for the digestion.[Jean Vanier, Community and Growth, page 322]

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The L'Arche Canada of Toronto, Ontario, Canada Daily Thoughts with Jean Vanier for Wednesday, 21 December 2016 "The Poor and Joy"
I am sure that poor people can be joyful. At times of celebration they seem to overcome all their suffering and frustration in an explosion of joy. They shed the burden of daily life and they live in a moment of freedom in which their hearts simply bound with joy. It is so too with people in community who have learned to accept their wounds, limitations and poverty. They have discovered liberation. They do not have to hide away. They are free.[Jean Vanier, Community and Growth, page 319]

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The L'Arche Canada of Toronto, Ontario, Canada Daily Thoughts with Jean Vanier for Tuesday, 20 December 2016 "Joy"
Visitors are often astonished at the joy they sense at l’Arche. It surprises me too because I know how much suffering some people in our communities are carrying. I wonder then if all joy doesn’t somehow spring from suffering and sacrifice. Can those who are rich and live in comfort and security with everything they need, and refuse to be close to those who are suffering, be truly joyful?[Jean Vanier, Community and Growth, page 319]

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The L'Arche Canada of Toronto, Ontario, Canada Daily Thoughts with Jean Vanier for Monday, 19 December 2016 "The Poor"
At the heart of celebration are the poor. If the least significant is excluded, it is no longer a celebration. We have to find dances and games in which the children, the old people and the weak can join equally. A celebration must always be a festival of the poor, and with the poor, not for the poor.[Jean Vanier, Community and Growth, page 319]

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