March 1980
"We must return again and again, never growing weary, toward the light we receive from the smallest and weakest among us—from those whom society rejects or ignores, and who stand at the heart of our communities. We can choose to walk together because they are present and we have agreed to learn from them."
(Mariangela Bertolini)
"A community is built like a house, from stones of every kind. But what holds the stones together is cement. And cement is made of sand and lime—materials so fragile that a gust of wind carries them away, turns them to dust. In the same way, in community, what unites us, our cement, is made up of those among us who are most fragile and poor."
Didier (quoted by Jean Vanier in "La comunità, luogo del perdono e della festa" — ed. Jaca Book 1980)
We often begin with the intention of helping others. Then we discover that we need them. In truth, everyone gives and receives. Fede e Luce reveals to us the paradox of the Beatitudes: that hidden strength and treasure exist in each person, even the smallest and weakest.
"Those members of the body that seem weakest are in fact indispensable. God has arranged the body, giving greater honor to what was lacking, so that there may be no division in the body, but rather that the members may have the same care for one another." (1 Corinthians 12:22–25)
It is crucial to understand this: the person who has been rejected carries within him the seeds of salvation. He is the one who can heal the selfishness of those who consider themselves normal. Did not Jesus himself experience rejection? The one who was rejected has saved us.
Why is the handicapped person rejected? The reasons are many; the fact is plain. In small villages in Africa, India, and elsewhere, the simpler and more natural the way of life, the more readily the weak person is welcomed. Yet there is an exception: sometimes "the mad one" is refused. By contrast, the more materialistic, individualistic, and specialized a society becomes, the more the handicapped person is rejected and set aside—our hospitals and institutions bear witness to this.
Yet the rejected one can become a source of salvation, of unity, of peace. He is a source of salvation because he transforms us. Instead of people driven to advance, to earn money, to be trapped in a sense of normalcy, we can discover, through the rejected one, something else: that he changes our hearts. So he brings us a message, and also joy. He opens our eyes to a new understanding of life—not through political action, but through encounter, through commitment to community, through communion of hearts and compassion.
It is not easy to enter into authentic relationship with the handicapped person. He may change us, but the seeds of that change must already be present within us. And here we find, at once in him and in us, this need for Jesus, for the Beatitudes, for the Holy Spirit. In the end, it is Jesus who transforms our hearts through the hands and face of the handicapped person.
Reflection Questions
- In our community, who or what unites us? Why and how do we stay together?
- Do we know where each of us comes from?
- In our projects and conversations, do we listen to those who speak least?
- Fede e Luce communities exist in about twenty countries around the world, and all are preparing, each in their own way, for pilgrimage to Lourdes. It would be meaningful to locate other Fede e Luce communities in our country and worldwide on a map. Why not establish a partnership with one of them?