This issue on family homes appears almost simultaneously with the second Italian edition of a book that, since 1980, has already gone through eleven printings. Jean Vanier has expanded and updated the text, driven by a commitment that has kept him in daily contact with the many L'Arche communities around the world throughout these years.
We strongly recommend reading it. Here, communities, groups, and families will find answers to the countless inevitable questions that arise in collective settings striving for unity and growth. "Forgiveness and celebration"—that is, reconciliation and joy—are essential to this journey. Jean Vanier's thought can be summed up in his own words: "Community life is a wonderful adventure.
I hope that many people can live this adventure, which is ultimately one of inner liberation: the freedom to love and be loved."
The book is written as a series of flashes. They are invitations to reflect, answers to dilemmas, moments of clarity and consolation. Through these pages—too dense and too rich to discuss exhaustively—community emerges in its deepest meaning: a structure built day by day, growing stronger and more solid, even through tension and suffering. To name only a few chapter titles, we find reflections on mutual trust, patience, likes and dislikes, the right to be oneself, the exercise of one's gifts, prayer, service, poverty, signs of a community's health and illness, openness to others, friendship, sharing, the gift of authority, hospitality, and the attitudes needed in meetings, celebrations, and daily life.
A complete list is impossible. We invite you to read and meditate on this book, which will provide invaluable tools for a living, authentic community experience.