Dear Friends

It was sad to hear of the death of Jean Vanier this week, at the age of 90. He was a Canadian Catholic philosopher, theologian and humanitarian. In 1964 he founded L’Arche, an international organisation of communities for people with development disabilities and those who support them. He wrote some 30 books and over the years was given many awards and honours. I have found the theological books he has written particularly inspiring, especially the one on John’s gospel.

These are just two of the many short quotations from his works which I find very powerful:

‘We are not called by God to do extraordinary things but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love’.

‘When people love each other, they are content with very little. When we have light and joy in our hearts, we don’t need material wealth. The most loving communities are often the poorest.’

With every blessing

Mother Eileen