We no longer have grand projects on the international stage, but we have received a new hope and a new strength for what matters most in Faith and Light: the life of our small communities.
The pilgrimage will have fulfilled its purpose if every community commits itself to living according to the charter and constitution that have taken shape gradually over these ten years. You know what is essential:
- that the mentally handicapped person be at the center of our gatherings, surrounded by parents and friends
- that our meetings be human in scale and that groups divide when necessary
- that they gather regularly for prayer, sharing, and celebration
- that they be guided by a team coordinated by a leader
- that this team work in regular connection with the Faith and Light team of the region or nation
Yet it seems to me that what we received at Lourdes—while calling us to faithfulness to these essentials—asks us to be, above all, a community. Each community must reflect on its own responsibilities and its own path.
"God's love has been poured into our hearts by the Spirit that has been given to us. Carry this peace to every place." This is Pope John Paul II's final message to us.
We must think deeply about families who remain isolated, with no one to help them through daily life. There are so many discouraged parents, in rebellion, in anguish; so many handicapped people who have no environment, no place where they can grow in their faith and in who they are; and so many young people, too, who have not found the meaning of their lives, who reject the false values of society and who long for a civilization of love without knowing where to commit themselves concretely.
Our pilgrimage has marked a deeper integration of Faith and Light into the Church. At the community level, this means we must cultivate ever more regular and deeper bonds with the local parish. We must draw very close to our parishes if we want the handicapped person to find his or her true place and to bring his or her message there.
Marie Hélène MATHIEU
(Translated from French by the Editorial Board)