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Up Sails!

The international letter of Faith and Light N°34, September 2017

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Contents Editorial Serve and announce 3 Reports Communities of joy and sharing 4 Poland: Retreat in Dobrzyca 5 France: With the little Theresa 6 Belgium: A Rainbow retrait 8 France: "Paris et le Levant" on the move 10 France: Beautiful day in Reims 12 40th anniversary in Brazil 13 Testimonies Switzerland: Moving towards peace 16

with Dorothea and Nicholas Italy: Do not be afraid 18 Spain: See you again 20 The little bookshop of Faith and Light 21

Family album 22

Readers' mail 24

International agenda 25

International solidarity 26

Marie-Hélène's letter 27 The infinite patience of parents

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Editorial direction: Ghislain du Chéné Chief editor and layout: Corinne Chatain

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I n less than a year, in July 2018, the large international Faith and Light meeting is going to take place at Our Lady of the

Mount in Lebanon. The preparations for this great event have already begun and many are involved in ensuring that this meeting bears fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. A local team has already found a nice accomodation and is now busy ensuring that the material organisation (visas, translations, celebrations with the communities from Lebanon…) is the best possible; feeling welcome contributes very much to the success of a meeting and I know, from frequent visits, that it is one of the strengths of our Lebanese friends! They are always happy to receive friends and with so much warmth and affection… A team is going to start work on preparing the meeting programme that will have as a theme “in the steps of Jesus”: liturgies, teaching time, workshops, sharing groups… These days should be an opportunity for meeting, sharing, formation and celebration during which our international community must strengthen itself and flourish to find the strength and energy for the next stage of our journey. A team has already been working for a while on the revision of the constitution and

several consultations have already taken place with the provinces; this will be an important part of the General Assembly programme, along with the vote on the 2018-2023 priorities. Furthermore, the nominating committee has already worked hard and is going to prepare for the renewal of the teams (Board of directors and International coordinating team). Everything is going to be implemented so that these days are a great and beautiful celebration that everyone will remember; at the end of the week, everyone will depart for five strong years, full of the energy of everything that will have been experienced during these beautiful days of work, celebration and meetings. In July 2018, a renewed BD and ICT will be in charge of driving and serving Faith and Light until 2023 with a clear identity and mission, with ambitious priorities, with the desire to make Faith and Light grow in the world and with the desire to follow up the ambitions that the young people, who met in Spain this summer, have given themselves. There will be, during these five years, an important date, 2021, the jubilee of our movement that will have to be celebrated appropriately. In summary, we will all be called to continue, whatever our responsibility, serving in order to announce and call tirelessly…

Editorial

Ghislain du Chéné, International coordinator

Serve and announce

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Communities Communities Of Joy and SharingOf Joy and Sharing

Report

O ur guidelines this year: “You called me, here I am” lead us to very dif-

ferent roads of life but all are bearers of hope. Each month, we are invited to walk with someone who has done ex-traordinary things, from Sam-uel to Bernadette, from Sister Faustina to Mary or even Brother Roger. However, our communities also very often experience some very beautiful days to-gether, like the Feast of Light on 12 February where the communities from the Aube met with their banner and their boat, welcomed by our Father Bishop and the priests from the Church of St Martin. In his introduction, the Fa-ther Bishop reminded us that it is only if we know how to look within that we can dis-cover all the richness of hu-manity and life that there is in these men and women who are seemingly affected by something missing but who, in reality, are bearers of some-thing more, this love of God that transfigures them. This day was followed by a celebra-tory meal with the oblates from the Cité Aviat. On 12 March, we set off for a regional day at Notre-Dame de l’Épine. What a magnificent

theme: "Faith and Light: a treasure to pass on”. What joy to share all these treasures that we experience in the in-terests of transmission, cele-brating the Eucharist with Mgr Guéneley (province chaplain) and getting news from all the communities. I will end with this quote from our Father Bishop: "I like the sincerity in the look of our Faith and Light friends. There is no calculation, there is only trust. It is what God expects from our way of living relation-ships with others, not according to a law but according to a love”

MARTINE WEBER “France Sparkling East” vice coordinator

day in the sun, what a joy to meet everyone from various walks of life: six communities from Troyes, Reims, Meuse, Romilly and even from Brit-tany… met under the protec-tion of Mary, in this magnifi-cent Basilica, welcomed by the Vicar General of Chalons, Fa-ther Morlet. Then we went a short dis-tance to the Pilgrim room for a huge buffet, overflowing with all colours and for all appetites. The meal allowed us to meet and get to know mem-bers of other communities. What a joy to find young peo-ple full of life, happy to come to Faith and Light, what gifts on the faces and in the looks of everyone! We were sad to go our separate ways, so we said to each other: “Until next year!” On Friday 7 and Saturday 8 April, the province assembly in Nancy, was an opportunity to meet with our founder, Marie-Hélène Mathieu, again on the

SSHORTHORT COLUMNCOLUMN FROMFROM THETHE "F"FRANCERANCE SPARKLINGSPARKLING EASTEAST""

PROVINCEPROVINCE

“France Sparkling East” province is made up of 29 communities

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tion of the Blessed Sacrament, prepared by the community from Krotoszyn. Everyone had the opportunity to confess. After the Adoration, the retreat participants took part in the mass that was concele-brated by Fathers Szymon Ry-bak (chaplain of the commu-nity from Krotoszyn) and Tomasz Płóciennik, (rector of the Lutynia Shrine). After the spiritual celebra-tion, it was time for the Feast of the Body. Everyone went to dine. Then, we went for a walk in the park. At the time of the Divine Mercy (3pm, in remembrance of the death of Jesus), we said

The “Poland West” province is made up of 25 communities

T he retreat for members of the Faith and Light communities from the

former “Holy Family” region, which brought together the communities from the dio-cese of Kalisz, took place on 10 and 11 March 2017. There were 57 participants from Krotoszyn, Ostrów Wielko-polski and Pleszew. The re-treat participants met at the parish house of the Saint Tekla church. Then, they took part in the Way of the Cross prepared by the com-munity from Ostrów. On Saturday, the day be-gan with Father Szymon Ry-bak, chaplain of the commu-nity from Ostrów. He gave a talk on the theme of the re-treat, which was “Go and bear witness”. Then it was time to share. In small groups, we were invited to answer questions on the talk that had been given. Some discussions lasted so long that the members were asked to end the time of sharing. The following part of the programme was the Adora-

Retreat at Dobrzyca

Report

the rosary of the Divine Mercy, then there was the break for coffee and biscuits. The time to say goodbye had finally come. Father Tomasz gave us his blessing. Everyone received a picture prepared by the community from Pleszew.

BARYŁA "Przemienienie" (Transfiguration)

community, Krotoszyn

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T he Faith and Light "France Centre" province pilgrimage brought to-

gether nearly 400 people in Lisieux from 29 April to 1 May. 27 communities met to ex-perience this time of celebra-tion, sharing and prayer with St Theresa of the Infant Jesus and her holy parents, Louis and Zélie Martin. For several months, each person has been preparing their heart by making roses and a pilgrim stick upon which is written the name of those who are part of the community and those who are now with the Father. The words of Theresa: "Jesus, I want to love you as a small child”, was the theme

that guided us during these three days. During the opening cere-mony in the Basilica, in the presence of bishop Le Bou-lc'h, bishop of Coutances, and our province chaplain, Thier-ry, each community was rep-resented by a persons with disability, called the “heart of the community” and by the coordinator, a parent or a friend who came at the call-ing of the vice coordinator to place their roses and candles around the candle represent-ing Jesus, Light of the world. During the spiritual vigil on the Saturday evening, each one of the stages of the life of St Theresa, a life marked by a deep joy, an un-

conditional love and absolute trust in Jesus and Mary, was mentioned. With St Theresa, we sang and danced the joy of knowing ourselves loved by God like small children. What an atmosphere at the mention of the snow that fell on the day of her entry to the Carmelite convent. The flakes, taking the form of a hundred white balloons, fluttered above our heads. The Sunday mass was celebrated in the Basilica with all the other pilgrims in Lisieux. Warmly welcomed by the chaplain and rector of Lisieux, the communities took part in the entry procession, the altar service and the offer-ing procession. “L'amour de Dieu est si merveilleux” (The love of God is so wonderful) was sung and mimed by all the participants at the end of the celebration. The afternoon was dedi-cated to visits and workshops. Whilst some of the commu-nity visited the childhood home of Theresa at Buisson-nets or the Carmelite con-vent, others divided, alter-nately, into two groups to share testimony: “parents” led by Mgr Boulanger and “friends” led by Céline Doudelle, Philippe, a young man with disability, and Myriam, a friend of Faith and Light. During this time the “hearts of the community”

Report

With little Theresa

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took part in various work-shops: dance, mimed songs, decorating… For everyone, this was the highlight of the meeting and sharing when, for example, Myriam testified: “For me, Faith and Light is a priority, I never miss a meeting. Faith and Light lets me experi-ence the extraordinary in the ordinariness of my life”. The Sunday evening vigil was an explosion of joy and laughter led by the clown, Toche, during which we cele-brated various anniversaries 140 years of the entry into

life with the Father of Zélie, mum of Theresa,

130 years of the meeting of Theresa and Pope Leo XIII at the Vatican. A meeting that was played with much inner character by the members of the "Rameau d'Espé-rance" (Branch of Hope) community.

120 years of the entry into eternal life of Theresa sym-bolised by the pilgrim stick, a bond of communion be-tween the members of the community and those in Heaven.

20 years of the proclama-tion of St Theresa as doctor of the church.

While photos of commu-nities from across the world were projected, some people dressed in the colours of the five continents paraded down the aisles. At each of these mile-stone anniversaries, the vari-ous layers of the cake were brought by the “hearts of the community” to applause and singing. We sang our hearts out. It was an evening full of happiness and very colourful with all the scarves in differ-ent colours that each mem-ber of the various communi-ties brought. On Monday morning, af-ter the guided visit to the Ba-

silica for some, we met in the crypt for the sending off cere-mony. “May peace flourish in your heart” was the message that each person was to transmit on their return by offering one of the roses re-ceived to someone who was not at Lisieux. Then the prov-ince coordinators gave to each community the stick of another community with a mission of creating a com-munion of prayer and bonds of friendship. "When I die, I will send down a shower of roses from the heavens, I will spend my heaven by doing good on earth" said Theresa. All these rose petals are as many as the treasures we take away. There are those of trust, joy, tender-

ness, hope, love and the mercy of our God for all men and for each one of us. These are the graces that we want to see flourish and expand in us, around us and in the world. So we left as the small children that we are, confi-dent in the love of Jesus as was Theresa. Thank you to St Theresa and her parents, Louis and Zélie, for giving us these three beautiful days.

CHRISTIAN AND MAURICETTE GEFFARD

Provincial Coordinators

The "France Centre" province is made up of 32 communities

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Each phase of our journey was specified by one of the thirteen treasures that we dis-covered on the first evening. These gifts set the pace of the retreat and allowed each per-son to actively participate in turn. On the last day, the tree, which was dead, saw its sap rise and bear an abundance of fruit: all the fruits that the Spirit of God gives us, each one according to our perso-nality. (Ga 5: 22, 23) We were a small group of forty people from more than ten different communities. Some were used to these re-treats and for others, it was a real discovery. The leadership team is already preparing two re-treats now for... 2018! I was amazed at the treasures of imagination, the original finds, the many crafts such as personal badges, watering cans in the bedrooms, hidden treasures, fruits of the Spirit, the chapel garden, tale of the gardener, dangly hearts, song books and CD, treasure hunt,

T his year, the retreat was based on the parable of the sower (Mt 13: 1-23).

A quite beautiful theme that allowed much visual expres-sion, songs, craft and all kinds of entertainment. With this year’s chaplain, Father Pol, we cleared the ground, garde-ned, sowed, waited patiently, watched it grow, harvested the fruit and so on. From the first evening, the chapel was transformed into a garden of flowers. Brilliant idea! Three panels and an evol-ving decoration supported our reflections: Jesus who walks and calls us to follow him, then Jesus who throws seeds to the wind, finally, with our help, a tree that flo-wers and bears all the fruits that we bring. Everything ex-pressed in words through the song "le semeur est sorti" (the sower goes out). Unfortunately, this brief summary cannot transmit the atmosphere, the warmth of the meetings and the times of prayer that we experienced.

tealights… (sorry for any-thing I have forgotten). A thousand thanks to the team that carries these re-treats throughout the year, to arrive at these two weekends of grace.

CHRISTIAN DELVAUX Extract from the Belgian magazine "Grand large",

July 2017

A Rainbow retreat

Report

The "Belgium" province is made up of 31

communities

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What is a Rainbow retreat?

Returning full of enthusiasm from the interna-tional pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1991, a few mem-bers of Faith and Light Belgium wanted to con-tinue the highlights that they had experienced there with more than the usual meetings. Inspir-ing themselves with what happened in l’Arche, Josiane Josselet (+), Sister Emilienne, Jeannine Renard and a few others imagined a two part re-treat, that is to say with intellectually disabled people accompanied by a parent or friend. This person does not come to accompany the different person but comes to experience the retreat with them.

From the first retreat in 1992, the principal attracted a lot of people and interest in these week-ends developed so well that it was necessary to organise two retreats a year. And often there are waiting lists! Almost all the communities in Belgium have sent members there. Almost 1000 people have already benefited from these exceptional days! Currently a team of 8 to 10 people prepare all year long for the 3 day of retreat, each person according to their gifts. Thanks to the complementary nature of the team, the ideas take off like a firework in the selection of the preparations and the entertainment: songs adapted to the theme, crafts, decorative symbols, original badges, treasures, flowers, treasure hunts… cul-minating in the prayer and the times of silence and reflection. Everything is done to examine, together, a passage from the gospel in depth, that is to say, discover the message of Jesus, and experience his Word to enrich their life and that of others. Thank you to all the current team for its service that has let many experience some exceptional times. Not yet taken part? Want to organise a Rainbow retreat? Contact the Secretariat of Faith and Light Belgium: secretariatflbelgique@gmail.com

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generosity at our service to welcome us.

Father Michel Henrie, rep-resenting the bishop of Meaux, spent the day with us as well as several broth-ers and deacons from our communities and our prov-ince chaplain, Father Albert Gambart.

A Chinese nun, travelling through Paris and sent by Marie-Hélène Mathieu, was amazed with what she saw and experienced with us. Four young scholars accompanied by their Catechesis teacher really enjoyed the games. Let us pray that they join our communities. One clown ex-changed his details with one of our friends.

As for us, we were happy to get to know other commu-nities, to be able to spend time together, to play differ-ent original games suggested by our imaginative and in-spired members, to be able to

D espite the cold and the long holiday weekend, we succeeded in bring-

ing together 320 members of our "Paris et le Levant“ prov-ince and a few guests: twenty members of the pastoral team for people with disabil-ity from Meaux, four musi-cians from the group "Jéricho" and four clowns from the "Clown Espérance association".

The aim of this meeting was to make us visible in a non-invested location of the province, around the small still glowing members of the "Notre Dame de la Porte Etoilée" community in Lagny-sur-Marne in a festive spirit, by separating the communi-ties into threes to favour meetings and exchanges.

A school building belong-ing to the Marist brothers generously opened its doors to us. Brother Tony, com-pletely with us for this pro-ject, put all his talents and

party and celebrate and mix the colours of our scarves. The cold weather favoured movement. So, we did not linger at the tables which were set up outside. The space favoured fluidity of movement.

The organisation: refresh-ment area and hot drinks, a few rooms for workshops in the warm and to rest, change, take care of yourself; visit to the chapel with a game based on discovering the stained glass windows, background music for those who wanted to pray. Handicraft work-shops: fresco of the good shepherd with finger paint-ing, making of souvenir lambs. "Shepherding work-shops" with a giant maze to go and find the lost sheep, obstacle races to drive the sheep to the pasture, "Kim’s game" to recognise the shep-herd’s equipment, a tin can alley game to keep wolves away from the sheep and also

Report

"Paris et le Levant" on the move

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the parish of our provincial chaplain, Father Albert Gam-bart. You have added a bit of spice to our assembly, some parishioners said. Very suc-cessful programme was the feedback from "Le jour du Seigneur" to us. Following this mass, the choirmaster proposed organising a con-cert in aid of Faith and Light: from the funds raised, 1 100 € was allocated to us.

In November, we took part in the closing of the year of mercy at a large gathering proposed by the Paris diocese with various associations and movements for intellectually disabled people. A beautiful time of prayer that was very well organised thanks to the complementary abilities of the various groups taking

work in the sheep pen with the washing, winding and spinning of the wool, milking the sheep and recognition of farm smells. Thanks to this, everyone was able to success-fully gain their diploma of good shepherding, which gives resources and impetus to our communities. The meeting ended with the sending off mass on the theme of the good shepherd.

Do you do this every year? asked new members of our communities wishing to do it again. A great success that cheered up the community leaders who had to organise this movement of their youngest members.

And yes, our province is aging, that is seen more so when we are together! Let us continue to pray to Jesus and Mary so that life carries on: fittingly, the following week-end, Faith and Light was ap-proached to lead the last meditation of the rosary around the relics of St Theresa. Following Festi’Joie, 50 members of our communi-ties went to lead this rosary in pairs to recite the “Hail Mary full of grace” with the clos-ings proposed by John Paul II. The occasion for some com-munities to recruit friends enthused by this rosary.

In February, the TV France 2, with its programme "Le jour du Seigneur" (the day of the Lord), put Faith and Light in the spotlight with a small report in a community and a televised beautiful mass ani-mated by Faith and Light and

part.

You called me, here I am! Our province has answered to several calls this year and gives thanks to God!

GENEVIÈVE GIZARD Provincial Coordinator

The "Paris et le Levant" province is made up of 31 communities

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I t was in 1997 that a group of dynamic and motivated parents created the Teresa

community in Reims (France East), followed two years later by the Ephata community. For 20 years, every month, these two communities have been bringing together, for celebrations, shared meals, songs, mimes and prayer, peo-ple with an intellectual disabil-ity, their parents and their friends, the trio so important to Faith and Light. On Sunday 21 May 2017, 80 of us met at the Maison Saint Martin in Reims. There were old, new, those who have moved and those who are far away, who sent their apologies and thought of us on that day. Monsignor Bruno Feillet was with us for this great celebra-tion as well as Jean-Marc, our chaplain, and Martine Weber, our accompanist from the “Sparkling East” province. Dur-ing the welcome with a coffee, the distribution of coloured scarves organised teams of eight people with our “cousins” from l’Arche who had joined us. The sumptuous and varied meal as usual was an opportunity for the teams to get to know one another. The anniversary cake spar-kled with all its candles and those born in May were also honoured. Songs, dancing and music interspersed our day and in particular "le chant des vingt ans" (the twenty years song) proposed by Céline and Chris-tine met with great success. The great game of goose

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imagined by Raymonde was unifying, revealing the enthu-siasm and ability to work and reflect of each team. At 4pm, the mass concelebrated by Monsignor Feillet and the chap-lain of the Maison Saint Martin, Father Grapard, assisted by our deacons Jean-Marc and Daniel, allowed us to remember all the members of Faith and Light who, throughout these twenty years, have gone to the House of the Father. Joy, Peace, Welcome, Com-plicity, Gentleness and Enthu-siasm were the key words so specific to Faith and Light on this beautiful anniversary day under the Reims sun.

CHRISTINE DURAND and DANIÈLE GATÉ

(wife of Jacques)

Beautiful day in Reims

Photos: Christophe Pellot and Martine Weber

The "France Sparkling East" province is made up of 35 communities

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Report

I n 2017, as they should, the Brazilians wanted to cele-brate this anniversary as

well as that of the 300th anni-versary of Nossa Senhora de Aparecida. Indeed, it was in 1717 that on casting their net, three fishermen caught a statuette depicting a headless, injured female body; on re-casting their net, they found the missing head. They had prayed a lot for a good catch but not for a miraculous catch! God answers our prayers in an astonishing way, but He does not just give us good things, not necessarily what we are expecting. And today, this statuette attracts millions of pilgrims who come to pray to Mary as the fishermen before them had, with humility. Fé e Luz was therefore joining this great popular fervour and wanted its 40th anniversary to happen in the midst of a large crowd in order to be able to be visible and so testify to the way in which Jesus has a spe-cial love for the smallest. The crowd was indeed large be-cause it happened during Cor-pus Christi. And even if there

Brazil at 40 IN 1977, IN RIO DE JANEIRO AND SAO PAULO, MARIA-CECILIA BUCKLEY (DE FREITAS CARDOZO AT THAT TIME) AND ZILDA FUR-

TADO, WITHOUT CONSULTING EACH OTHER, STARTED FAITH AND LIGHT IN BRAZIL. WHO WAS THE FIRST? NO-ONE CAN OR WANTS TO SAY AND SO, THEY ARE BOTH BEING HONOURED FOR HAVING HEARD THE CALL OF J. VANIER AND M-H. MATHIEU, AND HAVING GENEROUSLY RES-

PONDED TO IT.

heart after these beautiful days:

Corpus Christi, a large and popular celebration with a beautiful procession in the old town, whose streets were covered with superb tapestries. They were pro-duced with coloured saw-

were about 400 of us, we were but a small number in the face of the crowd of pilgrims that had come to mass to Apare-cida.

So that the celebration was still more beautiful, delegates came from Paraguay, Chile, Peru, Nicaragua and Mexico. Maria-Cecilia came with Tim from the United States but Zilda was unable to be with us; she sent a message very much in line with that of Aparecida: in all circum-stances, it is important to pray, pray, pray…

From the opening celebra-tion until the sending off cele-bration, it was a real festival that it is impossible to de-scribe as everything was so wonderfully prepared and full of life. But then, describing a celebration organised by the Brazilians is almost impossi-ble, you need to be there to understand that everything is an occasion for joy, laughter and emotion… Therefore, I can only give you a few flashes that remain in my

the streets lined with flowers

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dust, coffee grounds, flour, flowers, sand and a few other accessories such as bottle tops… Each parish was responsible for a tapes-try and they had competed in imagination and inspira-tion to honour the Holy Sac-rament!

The opening celebration with a festival of banners, each more beautiful than the next, and many mes-sages from: Zilda, Jean Vanier and Marie-Hélène on video, as well as from Maria-Cecilia and many more. I tried, modestly, to answer the question asked of me, what is the vision for Faith and Light? I do not have a vision of the future other than to go forward, I have said that three tools are needed in conjunction with the call, the identity and the mission: listening (pay at-tention to the cry of the poor person), loyalty (to his community, that is where you find the energy) and boldness (that the disabled persons give us).

The Eucharist celebration in the large Basilica pre-sided over by the Bishop of Aparecida, Don Sergio Krzywy, reference bishop for Faith and Light Brazil, and concelebrated by the

eight chaplains who were there. The Basilica was full and the pilgrims present at this mass saw us clearly and heard much talk of Faith and Light! I was very pleas-antly surprised seeing, after the mass, on the way back to the lodgings, Don Sergio giving out Faith and Light bookmarks to passers-by; this is a reference bishop who honours his mission!

The anniversary celebra-tion from which I retain but one image: St Bernadette kneeling to pray before Our Lady of Aparecida. A beauti-ful short cut that joins the anniversaries of Faith and Light (with Bernadette) to Aparecida!

The meetings with one an-other; here too, I remember

only that with a French chaplain, Philippe Roche (who wrote a testimony in Up Sails! issue 33 p. 19). He told me of the daily life of his community in the favelas (shantytowns).

The reunions with my friends with disabilities whom I have met during previous visits; they all have a better memory of me and their friendship has not aged. I cannot mention them all for fear of forget-ting but Vanessa, Ricardo, Rubencito, Thiago, Freddy, Jose Felipe and all the oth-ers, I will not forget you! You remain in my heart and my prayers.

The sending off celebra-tion, on the banks of the river where the fishermen

Don Sergio distributes Faith and Light bookmarks

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discovered the statuette of Mary, also presided over by Don Sergio, ended with a sending off celebration dur-ing which the young peo-ple, who will be going to Spain at the beginning of August, were associated: they left this meeting not only to bathe in the Medi-terranean Sea but also with a mission to fulfil!

During these days, mem-bers of the Campo Belo prov-ince met for a province assem-bly. This was the second as-sembly in which I have taken part of the three that have taken place since 2009. Sa-brina Nalon was elected and replaces Angelina for the next four years. Thank you to both of you for the service given and to be given!

These few days spent in Brazil were an extraordinary celebration and I returned not even exhausted because I was continually carried by the en-thusiasm of the friends from Latin America: a celebration down there is not even tiring! Thank you to all those who have given so much for it to be so successful, may God bless Fé e Luz and may Nossa Senhora da Conceição Apare-cida accompany you for the next forty years.

GDC

Maria-Silvia, vice international coordinator with Sabrina and Angelina

Patricia Pereira, gold and silver medalist of the Paralympic Games!

Celebration in the Great Basilica

The 81 communities in Brazil are spread over three provinces: "Campo Belo" (center) "Bridge of frienship"

(South Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay)

"Reborn" (Northeast)

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Moving towards peace with Dorothea and Nicholas

Téestimony

N icholas of Flüe (so named because he was born on a farm in Flüeli) was born 600 years ago in the canton of Obwald,

in the heart of Switzerland. Aged 30, he mar-ried Dorothea and they had ten children, five boys and five girls. Twenty years later, just af-ter the birth of their tenth child, he left it all to become a hermit in Ranft. His spirituality can be summed up with daily contemplation of his prayer book, the famous wheel image. He was often consulted by others to resolve lesser or more important issues and the illuminating responses that he gave made him one of the main patron saints of Switzerland because he knew how to make peace and communion amongst everyone. You could almost regret that his wife, Dorothea, who understood the call that her dear husband received went be-yond him, beyond her and that they both needed to abandon themselves to the Divine Mercy, that she wasn’t canonised too… How-ever, the Faith and Light communities from Switzerland and the French Jura celebrated them both together, linking Dorothea to Brother Nicholas, to embark on their journey towards peace. There were about 250 of us pilgrims who set off to go to the country of Brother Nicho-las, to the small village of Sankt Niklausen: the surroundings were magnificent, above Lake Sarnen, below magnificent summits, amid the cows… We were able to go and visit Ranft and the hermitage of Brother Nicholas, celebrate the reconciliation with a very beau-tiful liturgy, concrete and praying, celebrate peace with musical entertainment, build a tree of peace and dance, sing, and pray all together in great friendship. We adopted the ten rules of peace that each community illus-trated in their own way.

A group of scouts came to help, young peo-ple full of energy and I was able to observe that, as usual in such circumstances, those who came to help ended up realising that they received more than they gave. Joséphine came from Cyprus in order to not forget that her country is divided and that everyone there also expected peace. On the way back, we were able to discover the superb countryside with lakes, mountains and valleys as far as the home of Gabrielle and Pierre-André, who were very welcoming and happy to show us their town of Gruyères and the surrounding mountains! Thank you! I will not forget the prayer of Brother Nicho-las that we sang so often…My Lord and my

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God, take from me everything that distances me from You. My Lord and my God, give me every-thing that brings me closer to You. My Lord and my God, detach me from myself to give my all to you.

GDC

The Opening Celebration with Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey, Bishop of Sion

To God, dear Jean-Luc

On 3 July this year, Jean-Luc Ballestraz, chaplain of the “Mountains and Valleys without borders” pro-vince was buried in the church of St Michel de Marti-gny, which had been the setting for his diaconal ordination in June 1997. He who suffered from dwarfism had chosen the pericope of Zacchaeus on this occasion. Having stood alongside Jean-Luc for many years, I think I am able to describe a little the sycamore, which he climbed to contemplate Christ passing in his life. Jean-Luc had had a peaceful entry into life despi-te his disability. He said that he had had a proper education and he had even planned higher educa-tion. Why had he managed his disability so well from his early childhood is a mystery but for us, his dwar-fism was the bark of his sycamore, it is what struck us first of all. Jean-Luc was the child of a “tinkering” family. Inventiveness and creation outside the traditional norms were a family trait. His sycamore was certainly full of original leaves steering him continually to-wards new ideas and new creations. In this creative passion, Jean-Luc had to open himself up to the management of sounds at a very early age… I remember hearing his name several Sundays on the Radio Suisse Romand programme: chasseurs de sons … the audio visual technique was in his blood. But at the height of his sycamore, Jean-Luc did not lose his sense of reality. To nurture and exerci-se his outlook even more, he became a watchma-ker. This profession gave him the chance to help disabled people by taking them on part time in his business. What allowed him to take a beautiful seat in his tree was the meeting with Marie-Jeanne. Comple-mentary, they shared the same ideals. All was gathe-red together to allow a fruition of their gifts, all was there to experience the evangelical message.

There was first of all a sense of continual and non-discriminatory welcome. Everyone was welcome. On the front door of their house, it said: knock and enter and if you knocked and waited a moment at the front of the door, then whoever opened it said with friendly reproach: So, you can’t read… His vast social network allowed him to put aside, in record time, the problems linked to the purchase of flyers, pullovers and gifts. Faith and Light benefi-ted abundantly. And all this flourished in an atmos-phere of limitless generosity. Jean-Luc had an extraordinary side even intellec-tually. With him no great philosophical or theologi-cal theories, he left that to his guests, with Marie-Jeanne, he was busy with his hosts, caring for them whilst punctuating the great debates with a few flashes of his very personal humour. You realise that half an hour ago, you talked faith to a “believing dwarf” but does someone want a glass of water. Be careful, you also need to take care of your health. Dear deacons, by being available to others, your service will not be self-serving but evangelically fruitful, Pope Francis.

Eddi Travelletti, deacon

The "Mountains and Valleys without borders" province brings together Switzerland

and French Jura. It is made up of 14 communities

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F or the feast of Pentecost 2017, I com-pleted the full circle of the Faith and Light provinces; the "Seas and Volca-

noes" (South of Italy) province is indeed the 52nd province that I have visited since 2008. It is important for the coordinator to meet every-one whatever the distance, just because the province is far away, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go, quite the contrary! However, this time, going to Naples wasn’t too far!

At the beginning of June, the Seas and Vol-canoes province, well named, met in Castella-mare di Stabia (by the Tyrrhenian Sea), and at the foot of a volcano, the famous Vesuvius. It was the time chosen for the province assembly and all the communities from Campania, Apulia, Basilicata and Sicily came for this im-portant point in the life of the province. I ar-rived the day before and I was welcomed by Bruno Galante, from Naples, who took me on a tour of his beautiful city and its historical cen-tre. We saw the Church of the Gesù Nuovo, the Santa Chiara Basilica and its beautiful cloisters, the cathedral, il Duomo San Gennaro and the Saint Elme castle that dominates the Bay of Naples to name but a few of the main sites vis-ited, not forgetting sampling the great Nea-politan delight, pizza!

In Castellamare, for three days, times of re-flection, prayer, discernment as well as times of celebration punctuated the programme.

Do not be afraidDo not be afraid

Testimony

Vito takes the banner of the province

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Each day a key word was given as a refer-ence to the theme of the meeting, Do not be afraid!: have trust (what makes relationships between us solid, so that we can count on one another), let yourself go (let the Holy Spirit have the space needed to accompany us) and be transformed (no longer be afraid of the other).

The discernment found its place very natu-rally in this framework and Vito Giannulo was elected province coordinator to succeed Carlo; a huge thank you to both of you! Vito is a jour-nalist and the son of Vanna Rossani, the former national coordinator of Italy. Then we had the traditional celebration where, with Vito and Lucia as members of the jury, we had to decide between the teams in the running for the most beautiful song, most beautiful dance…

What I keep especially from these three days, is the meeting with a mum from Sicily, who came with her son, twice as big as her and severely disabled. The tenderness with which she took care of him, her great faith, her great desire that Jesus came and met her son, touched me enormously. Just for her, it was worthwhile founding Faith and Light! And I understood that she had only known about Faith and Light for a short time… How many more like her are waiting to meet us? Do not be afraid to go and meet them!

GDC Vito and Carlo

Danse competition

Just for her,

it was worthwhile founding

Faith and Light!

The "Seas and Volcanoes" province is made up of 23 communities

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See you again...

Testimony

T he provincial assembly took place at the end of April. We made an assessment of the state of the province and we elected

those who we considered would best serve the identity and mission of Faith and Light. We have borne this province responsibility for eight years, and we are now returning to a life hidden in our community that we never left, on the contrary, it is this that has supported us in this service. We thank God for these eight years du-ring which we have accompanied the commu-nities of the Iberatlantic province. It has been a true privilege to be supported by so many people, especially by the vice province coordi-nators in their daily journey, sharing their suf-fering and joy, in a great intimacy. The loyalty of so many people (friends with disability, pa-rents, and friends) has been for us the primary medium through which the Spirit has encoura-ged us to go forward. In addition, God gave us the gift of knowing the large international family of Faith and Light. In February 2011, we unfortunately mis-sed of the launch of the fortieth anniversary of Faith and Light in Lourdes as we had to remain with a friend in an extremely serious situation. The constant presence in our lives of our “special friends” in so many communities and throughout the world has given us a particular sensitivity to vulnerability, that of others and

our own. Having experienced such kindness, so many smiles, so many hugs… has led us to guess what the kindness of God will be, which is already seen through so many friends, who announce his unconditional Love. We have let our hearts be open to follow Jesus and disco-ver him in the small, the fragile and the weak in whom the greatest treasures are hidden. Faith and Light is in good hands: in those of God forever, never our own. Today, the provin-ce elected a completely new team. All its mem-bers have previously been committed in diffe-rent projects, it is a guarantee for the future. Their enthusiasm, their youth and their cons-tant availability in recent years means we know that the province will continue to do what the Spirit continues to dictate to us. We want to thank you all for demonstrating your commitment to the service of Faith and Light Be this at la rue du Laos in Paris, or in different travels, pilgrimages and shared mee-tings, we feel united with the large internatio-nal family through you. Continuing to pray for you is the mission that the Spirit is giving us today. Of course, we will see you again, perhaps somewhere in the world but certainly in the community in heaven.

MIGUEL AND MUSKI REYES

Miguel and Muski Reyes coordinated the "Iberatlantic" province (Spain West, Gi-braltar) from 2009 to 2017. This beautiful letter written after their departure and which allowed us to reproduce here, shows all their love of Faith and Light, their humility and their true sense of service.

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Little bookshop

of Faith and Light

Guidelines 2017-2018

The theme of the Guidelines is the Faith and Light Prayer: we have chosen this so that, to-gether, we can reflect on this beautiful text throughout this year leading up to the next international meeting in 2018. The Faith and Light Prayer is a summary of our spirituality. In it, we find the essential elements that we will examine at the monthly meetings of our com-munities… The coming year will be a strongly spiritual ti-me that will help us to support, meeting after meeting, the choices and decisions that the delegates present in Lebanon will have to ma-ke. For the period 2018–2023, we are going to try to discern and follow the calls of God for our movement at this time in our history. In order to go on the road of this discernment, we can use, in addition to the Guidelines, the tools that we have at our disposal: the booklet on spirituality and the DVDs produced in various languages, which will immerse us in the re-treats that Jean Vanier has given in Trosly.

GdC

Cover and illustrations

This year the guidelines were prepared by an Egyptian team who worked with great enthu-siasm. They were very happy to be able to show all the riches of their country. Among these treasures, there is the Nile which gives fertility and life. The Coptic liturgy includes a prayer of thanksgiving for this great river, the longest in the world. Amgad Edward, who made the illustrations, wanted to show that Christ also gives life at his resurrection. The silhouette of Christ follows the course of the Nile, from Aswan to the Me-

diterranean Sea. Its two arms contain the delta, the head is located on the capital, Cairo, and the shadow cast on the right is the Red Sea. The glory of the resurrection illuminates the whole country and its inhabitants.

To order: international or little bookshop, 2 € (+ postage ). www.faithandlight.org/rubriques/haut/publications/faith-and-light-publications

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To God, Carol

Carol Oden left us at the be-ginning of June. In the com-pany of Posy and Pearl, she had taken part in the 1971 pilgrimage to Lourdes. She was much loved. For our Christian friends from the Sal-vation Army, Carol entered into glory! Let us praise God for a life well lived, full of joy, love and peace. Carol’s smile will remain in our hearts al-ways. To see her smile was a bit like seeing the Glory of God.

To God, Jean-François

Jean-François Lefèvre left on Good Friday. We are sad but happy that he is no longer suffering after twenty years of endless hardships. Jocelyne, who accompanied him so tenderly and so faithfully must today be destroyed and delivered. We must pray for her as well as him. I am mourning the loss of this great friend to whom Faith and Light France and the province of the East, whose coordinator he was, owe so much.

Family album

May the earth be light and may his soul rest in peace with God.

JEAN-PAUL MAÏER Vice provincial coordinator

To God, Anthony

You know our friend An-thony Wood with his British humour, his great discretion, his great availability and our representative at the 2013 Leeds international meet-ing… At the end of 2016, our friend Anthony went to live at the Ferme de Trosly where a mission had been entrusted to him: selling books. From January 2017, he no longer responded to my messages and this worried me. We con-tacted the Ferme to get news and let him know about the departure of Jean-François to the Father. And it was with astonishment that we learnt that he too had left us! Anthony had died of a heart attack on the day of Our Lady of Notre Dame de Guada-lupe. Pray for him and thank him for everything that he has done for our Arc en Ciel community and Faith and Light.

Marie Pascale Joly Community leader

New coordinators

Liliana Ghiringhelli had been elected coordinator for the “Fiume di Pace” (Italy North and Galilee) province, succeeding Angela Grassi. Alain and Isabelle Piffeteau

have been elected to take the helm of the France West province following Anne Cro-nier.

Joël (and Anne-Marie) Arslanian

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Joël has been elected to ac-company the "France Rhône Azur" province succeeding Michel Baudrand.

Germaine Cross has been elected to accompany the “Canada West” province as well as a new team. From left to right: Sharon Wright, Germaine, Doug Cross (deacon, provincial chaplain), Sue Rokos and Deanne Riopel. Germaine Germaine succeeds Ron and Jane Rogala.

We warmly thank all these new coordinators for having said “yes”. We also thank the former coordinators for all the work accomplished at the service of the prov-inces! We wish each and every one of you a beautiful new journey!

Received by the Bishop

The Bishop of Salamanca, D. Carlos López, received Maitane Reyes and Álvaro Gómez, the new coordina-tors of the Iberatlantic province.

At the meeting, they dis-cussed the reality of the Church, the gift of the dis-abled person and the chal-lenges of the province. The coordinators thanked Mgr Carlos for his proximity and the diocese for welcoming the movement from its crea-tion. Currently, our diocese of Salamanca is made up of six communities.

R.I.

A cardinal friend Mgr Anders Arborelius, the bishop of Stockholm, has become the first Scandina-vian cardinal in history. And he is a friend of Faith and Light. Congratulations Car-dinal!

Twelve bishops!

Father Bohdan Manishin and Father Brendan Kelly were appointed bishops by Pope Benedict XVI. Bohdan for the diocese of Stryïet (Ukraine) and Father Brendan for the diocese of Achonry (Ireland).

This makes the number of Faith and Light chaplains to become bishops twelve!

New communities In Yaounde, Cameroon. In Milan (Italy): "Messageri

di Gioia". In Lyngdal (Norway). In the Central African

Republic. In Santiago de Chile:

"Capacidad de Amar".

A new

provincial chaplain Father André Girier was ap-pointed chaplain for the pro-vince "France Rhône Azur". Father André is not an ordi-nary chaplain since he is the father of four children and grandfather ! He is also a pe-diatrician. It is after his wife’s death that he was ordained priest in 2013 for the diocese of Gap. Welcome, Father André!

Julie du Chéné, Bishop Anders and Bérit Keizei, provincial coordinator for "Northern Light"

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First Echoes of the Guidelines A huge thank you to our brothers and sisters in Egypt for the work they have done as well as to the Holy Spirit for creating it. It is true that the Faith and Light prayer is an indescrib-able treasure. As community leader (although we are all leaders of our community), it always makes an impression and overwhelms me when we say this prayer at the beginning of the monthly community meeting: it gives “the tone”, the dynamism of the afternoon, it is Jesus who invites us to meet at his side. It is He who has chosen us because he knows that we complement one another and this is why he has chosen us one after the other “to make a community” in the full sense of the word and outside the walls of our meeting place: He gives us brothers across the whole world. It is He who tells us through the mouths of our brothers and sisters gathered together that he loves us unconditionally... It is certainly the heart of our spirituality and it is essential that we return to it regularly by freeing ourselves from our logistical, pastoral and other worries because this prayer means the Love of God for each of us wherever we are. It is the treasure of the “Faith and Light Family”, that is to say a family beyond the borders that separate us… In Communion

Laurent Szekely "La Colombe" (Dove) community

The rap group of Faith and Light

I wanted to thank you for this wonderful wave of joy that we created yesterday. Here is the video that Cyprien was able to reshuffle, it is available on YouTube and everyone has access to it. The lyrics are in the "More" section if people want to read or use them.

Just type "Handicap Faith and Light" in YouTu-be or click on the link below: https://youtu.be/RvX-AmCl_cw For my part, I had a lot of fun and I think that this video that we all made will make more than one laugh !! Love to all.

Patrick Martini “Les abeilles de St Marc”, France

Simple words of wisdom

After the community meeting, a young man with a disability tells a friend: I think we've made a lot of people happy

today! His friend replied: And it was not that hard. Everyone has to

get involved ! Everyone is invited to tell Jesus what he loves most. Vincent, very handicapped, said: Jesus, you love me. You mean Jesus, I love you? Vincent repeats : Jesus, you love me.

Readers' mail

The rap group of Faith and Light

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31 August-3 September: “Colours of Asia” (Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore) province meeting, Tagayty City, Philippines

9 September: "France Sparkling East" province council, Saint Nicolas de Port 29 September-1st October: General assembly of the “Canada East” provincial association,

Trois Rivières 30 September: pilgrimage for the communities from Croatia, Marija Bistrica, Croatia 6-8 October: General assembly of the “Northern Lights” (Denmark, Estonia, Norway and

Sweden) provincial association, Magleås, Denmark 12-16 October: Bord of Directors of Faith and Light international, Orsay, France 13 October: 25th anniversary of Faith and Light in the Netherlands with the “Heart of

Europe” (Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Netherlands) province, Banneux, Belgium 20 October: “Southern Cross” (Australia and New Zealand) provincial council, Canberra,

Australia 20-22 October: “Southern Cross” province retreat on the theme: "The parables of Jesus",

Christchurch, New Zealand 21-24 October: "France Sparkling East" province retreat, Portieux Abbey 10 November: 27th anniversary of Faith and Light in Gibraltar 10-12 November: “Poland South” provincial assembly and council, Hałcnów 11-12 November: "Campo Belo" (Brazil Centre) provincial meeting, Juiz de Fora 17-19 November: “Eastern Africa” (Burundi, Kenya, DRC Kivu, Rwanda) provincial retreat,

Kigali Charity House, Rwanda

International Agenda

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You want to make a donation?

In several provinces/Countries, Faith and Light is a recognised and registered charity association. As in France, you may be entitled to a tax deduction for each donation made locally.

Check with your provincial association. Online donation http://www.faithandlight.org/rubriques/droite/donate-now

International solidarity

Projects requiring support

Provincial assembly for the "Holy Family" province (Egypt North, Sudan, South Sudan) in Cairo: 4 600 €.

What have your subscriptions been used for since March? The International meeting

for the young friends, July 2017 Many thanks to our supporting friends and to the provincial coordinators who contributed to the financing of the meeting for the young friends, with a tremendous generosity ! With the help of the Templeton prize to Jean Vanier, you allowed 45 young people to participate in this great first so important for the future of our movement! They have come from Malaysia (1), Mexico (3), Honduras (1), Nicaragua (1), Croatia (2), Egypt (3), Peru (2), Poland (5), Brazil (9) and Ukraine (5), Georgia (3), Zimbabwe (2), Rodrigues (1), Czech Republic (1), Russia (1), Lithuania (1), Hungary (2), Romania (2). In a few weeks a special issue of “Up Sails” will be published on this meeting. Once again, thank you, to each and all of you!

Provincial assembly "Rainbow" (Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion Island, Seychelles): 3 970 €

A retreat in Trosly for Ukrainians and Russians Preached by Jean Vanier on the theme: "I give you my peace": 5 000 € A collection of testimonials will be published in the next issue.

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I f I dare bring up patience, it certainly isn’t due to my own patience, because its limit is very quickly reached. However, meeting

parents with a disabled child, experiencing their great hardship in immense solitude, has touched me with compassion. Becoming close to many of them, I was struck by their unimag-inable patience on a daily basis. Amongst them, I learnt a lot from Camille and Gérard, both of whose children were severely intellec-tually disabled. I was particularly struck by Camille, with an impetuous temperament, aiming for efficiency. Camille told me of the afternoon planned to clear overdue corre-spondence. Loïc was there, trying to catch her paperwork to crease or rip it up, throwing the houseplant to the ground with great bursts of laughter, after spending half the night awake… Add to that, the endless administra-tive processes to find a suitable establishment, the two nights on the train to go and visit its centre in Lozère… Not all parents are faced with such pro-found hardships, but all are faced with extraor-dinary problems. What helps in the task of “ordinary parents” is the visibility of their child’s progress, the near certainty that, in a few months, the nights will be normal. In a year, he will go to school and then pass his exams, will have a job he enjoys… With the disabled child, it is about infinite patience. Something in us shatters, risking dismaying or discouraging us. You don’t think you can do it, you are afraid of being able to.

One of the fruits of love In his magnificent hymn of love, St Paul writes: “Love is patient”. This patience is impos-sible for us to acquire through our own means. It is Jesus, who, after having loved us to the end of his passion and his death in a silent and heart-breaking heroism, then through his Resurrection, sends us the Holy Spirit to make us capable in our turn of loving without ever getting weary. Patience (from the Latin pati, to suffer) is one of the eight fruits of his Love. It is hardly possible to sepa-rate patience from hope; it prevents resigna-tion and abdication. It calls on humility, it is very close to gentleness and kindness.

Marie-Hélène's letter

The infinite patience of parents

As a result of the difficult behaviour, dependency or the burden of care that it incurs, the dis-ability of a child often tests the patience of his loved ones. Marie-Hélène Mathieu meditates on this virtue that is just another name for love.

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Extract from issue 217 of "Ombres et Lumière" May - June 2017

Following the saints On this road, we have the extraordinary companions that are the saints. Francis de Sales is the most comforting because he had an angry and hot temperament. He became the saint of gentleness. One day when he was told off for having too much patience with re-gard to an almost rude visitor, he answered: I prefer to stay silent rather than lose a quarter of a hour, the little patience that I have been work-ing to amass, drop by drop, for twenty two years, is dew to my poor heart.” Francis delivers us his secret: "Pray without end". But he was a realist. To a particularly overwhelmed mum, he advised: "Take seven minutes for a heart to heart with the Lord then mark the day with a shout or look towards Him". Exhaustion is the first enemy of patience. Because they are worn out, many parents get annoyed, start shouting. Their children then start shouting because impatience is conta-gious. It is then important, without feeling

guilty, to take necessary measures, make a call to friends and take time to rest if you can. Patience with God. He writes straight on crooked lines. "The birth of Patrick was a disas-ter. Today, for his twentieth birthday, we agree that he has unsettled but transformed us." Patience with ourselves. Often crushed by guilt, we can barely put up with our medioc-rity, our own impatience… Listen to the young Francis tell us: "God loves me as I am. God loves you as you are". Patience with our child. To grow and pro-gress, our patience is as necessary to him as the air he breathes. Our child is indeed our master in patience!