The worldwide Faith and Light celebration planned for Easter 1981 is meant to crown a long period of spiritual preparation and to kindle a fresh momentum for the entire life and work of the movement.
This booklet offers carefully designed preparation, drawing on meditations, reflection texts, and practical suggestions organized by theme and spread across twenty months. When used as the authors intend, it should serve as an excellent means of spiritual renewal and enable all Faith and Light communities to gather as a single eucharistic body of pilgrims—represented by all those who will be at Lourdes for Easter.
It is a joy for me to introduce a work that so happily unites two perspectives: preparation for the Lourdes pilgrimage and the growth of each community. I am truly pleased that Easter 1981 is not being treated as an isolated peak, cut off from all that comes after. The complementary texts for reflection and meditation—also provided—will give the foundation needed for the period following the Easter pilgrimage.
May God bless all who take part in this preparation and in this celebration.
Cardinal Hume - Archbishop of Westminster
July 1979