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 Homepage | The person | The family | The friends | Sitemap | Search | Contact  News  Year 2004 Français | English | Español |  Print2 February, Feast of the Lord 's Presentation  February 2004 Letter to all Faith and Light Communities Dearest brothers and sisters, Throughout the month of February from one country to next, from one community to the next, the feast of the Lord’s presentation will have been celebrated over 1.500 times! This is truly a celebration for us all at Faith and Light. Isn’t this how Christ’s Light spreads across the earth? Let us be full of gratitude towards Jesus who called us to live in communion with one another, and to discover the gift of the smallest members at the heart of our communities. Today we are joyfully celebrating Jesus, the Light in our lives. He is the one who reassures us when we are in doubt, during our trials, our suffering and so on. He is the one who teaches us to carry each other’s burdens; who turns our mourning into joy; who gives Himself to us. Yes, Jesus truly is the Light that comforts us through life’s trials and who gives us new life. “Faith and Light” is a gift for each one of us but this gift has also been entrusted to us for others. The communion that we are called to live together gives us a glimpse of God’s dream for the whole of mankind. When Mary and Joseph went to the temple to present Jesus to the Lord, Simeon recognised in that little child the Light of the nations, and he announced to Mary that He would be a sign exposed to contradiction, and He would bring about the falling and the rising of many. Don’t people with a handicap, so precious in our communities, and so often contested in our world, also share in their flesh this mystery from Jesus? The heart of Faith and Light is so close to the heart of the Gospel! Are we aware that today Jesus needs Faith and Light; he needs our small and fragile communities to reveal more fully to the world that He is the Light of revelation for the nations? It seems crazy, but it’s so true! The Light that Jesus came down to the earth to give us is destined to spread and to transform hearts into a great furnace burning with love! The life of our communities seems so tiny in a world that needs light so very badly! Even if our mission seems to be just “a drop in the ocean”, it is essential that we carry it out: each Faith and Light community and each of its members is destined to be light for the world and the salt of the earth. If our communities become dull and tasteless, what will we use as salt? Dear friends, let us deepen our awareness and respond joyfully to our calling! Let us be little flames, carrying the Light of Christ for the world. Let us pray for one another; may our common mission keep us united, not just in February, but also throughout the whole year! With best wishes for a happy feast of the Presentation to each one of you and to your whole community! With all my love, Viviane le Polain International Coordinator On the occasion of the feast of the Lord’s Presentation, some of you may like to meditate on one or more of the five passages of the Gospel below, introduced in the prayer of the Rosary as “Mysteries of Light” by the His Holiness Pope John Paul II (Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae – 16 October 2002) Even if we are not all familiar with the prayer of the Rosary and whatever confession we belong to, these five moments in Jesus’ public life are particularly rich in helping us to look more deeply at the mystery of Light that Christ is It seems to me that at Faith and Light we are invited to look more deeply into this mystery and particularly with parents who need to be accompanied to go through the change from darkness to light, from the cross to the resurrection. This is why I wanted to quite simply share the following passages with you. 1. The Baptism of Christ. “This is my Son whom I love and with him I am well-pleased” (Mat 3, 17)  When we discover that our child has a disability, as parents, we are so distraught. We find it so difficult to listen to this voice coming from Heaven. Moreover, even more difficult to welcome what the Holy Spirit is whispering deep in our hearts about our child. What a pathway towards light it is when one day we are able to recognise that our child is beautiful, thanks to the affection and loyalty of the community, that our child is beloved by the Father, in the same way as Jesus himself, and that he can change our hearts. 2. The Wedding Feast in Cana “You have saved the best wine till now. This is the first of his miraculous signs. He revealed his glory and his disciples put their faith in him.” (John 2, 10-11) Everything began well for the newly-weds, but the wine ran out very quickly. From one day to the next, daily life with a child, or sometimes several children, with a disability is not easy. There are sleepless nights, worry, medicines that are hard to get hold of, no one to give you a break, the rejection and indifference of others. Humanly, we are ill equipped to cope with the demands and gravity of love within a couple once that couple is confronted with the ‘unexpected’ trial of a disability. How many parents among us have felt on one day or another that the wine has begun to run out in their married life? That their wine skins are empty and that they no longer have to strength to carry their burdens in their aching arms? What a pathway towards the light and a new life it is, when Christ reveals himself to us through the community, through the friends who support us, who carry our heavy burdens with us and set them down with us at the foot the Cross of Jesus. Parents who learn to trust in Jesus again are fortunate; sure that he will soon pour the wine of the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb into their empty wine skins. Friends who are particularly close to families in difficulty and who reveal to them the true face of God’s love are fortunate 3. The announcement of the Kingdom.  “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1, 15)At the beginning, parents such as ourselves often expect the community to be there for us, to carry us along, to help us to our feet, to assist us. However, once our own wounds begin to heal, we gradually become able to come out of our shell, and not concentrate wholly on ourselves. Our expressions and our hearts begin to change. Isn’t this a conversion? Within a community this is, in fact, there is a change that is awaiting each one of us: “From the community for me, to me for the community! ” What a pathway towards light it is, when a father or a mother, a friend or a person with a disability shares his “sacred” story and testifies to how Faith and Light has changed his life. Every time that we tell our “fioretti”, these stories give light and life, because they bear witness to the fact that God is constantly at work. By bearing witness to his Love, we become the bearers of Light announcing the Kingdom of God. 4. The Transfiguration. “A voice from the bright cloud said “This is my Son whom I live, with him I am well-pleased. Listen to him.” (Matt 17,5) On Mount Tabor, the apostles experienced a very special grace: that of seeing the glory of God shining on the face of Jesus: mystery of light ‘par excellence’, which completely changed their hearts and helped them through the announcement of the Passion. And what about our “Faith and Light” communities? What light, when the way we look at the poor person changes, when we see everything that is beautiful and good in him or her, when we start to love him they way God loves him. One day, won’t we be overwhelmed to discover the luminous presence of Jesus in the person who is suffering the most, or who is the most rejected? On that day, we will no doubt be dazzled like the apostles were at the Transfiguration. The light shining out from the face of the poorest among us reflects the light of Christ. 5. The Last Supper – Jesus gives his body to eat and his blood to drink. ''I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfilment in the kingdom of God”. (Luke 22, 15-16) Ultimate sign of Love : Jesus gives his life and gives himself up as food for us. And what about Faith and Light? Following Jesus, we too can let our lives be consecrated to God, and offered to others. Nourished by the Body of Christ (Jn. 6), united by Jesus’ desire for us all to be one; assiduous in our prayers for unity between our Churches. We are learning to live in communion with each other, to become more and more the friend of the weak, of the person who is suffering, able to stand with him at the foot of the Cross keeping our hearts turned towards the hope of the Resurrection. If we offer our lives to Jesus, we in turn will become bread for others. Thus without a doubt, the light of Christ will spread across the earth! Whether we are a parent, friend, chaplain, with a disability or not, this mission applies to each one of us! It’s the mission entrusted to each Faith and Light community! Let us be Joyous as we walk along the path that is leading us to the Kingdom of God. |
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