a spirituality of l'arche

One of the treasures I have discovered in the earned wisdom of Jean Vanier of L'Arche comes in his refusal to idealize reality, people, or the blessings of tender compassion. Even the spirituality he has nourished from within his Christian faith is grounded in the ordinary. "When we talk of the poor, or of announcing the good news to the poor, we should never idealize the poor. Poor people are hurt; they are in pain. They can be very angry, in revolt or in depression." O give thanks to God that Vanier's philosophical foundation is Aristotelian rather than Platonic, yes? 

As I continue to discover, the spirituality of L'Arche shares time-tested practices that can shape our bodies, hearts, souls, and minds in a manner similar to the paths of St. Benedict of Nursia, St. Francis of Assisi, or St. Ignatius of Loyola. In his small book, The Heart of L'Arche: A Spirituality of Every Day, Vanier offers one summary of how the charism of L'Arche ripens in everyday life. It is his distillation of what the Holy Spirit has revealed: "In an age obsessed with achievement (the Spirit has revealed to us that) the essential value of each person lies not in the intelligence, but in the wisdom of the heart." He then suggests that this spirituality is shaped by five theological mysteries:

• The mystery of Jesus
• The mystery of the poor
• The mystery of life lived in community
• The mystery of the God who walks with us
• The mystery of the church

By mystery Vanier does not mean puzzles to be solved nor truths to be revealed after this realm passes and we meet the Holy face to face in heaven. Too often, the word mystery has been used this way. For many mystery either means a secret wisdom reserved only for the elite but not the mases, or, paradoxical truths about doctrine that require a nuanced poetry that lazy minds refuse to articulate. The legacy of this understanding of mystery is not what informs the work of Vanier. Rather, he is guided by Jesus, St. John the Evangelist and St. Paul of Tarsus who speak of mystery sacramentally: there is simultaneously an obvious reality to everything in creation, and, a deeper meaning for those willing to receive eyes to see and ears to hear. Think of the parables of Jesus. Or the poetry of St. John's metaphors. Or the way St. Paul describes living by faith as "seeing now as through a glass darkly, trusting that later we shall see face to face." Mystery, therefore, is not inexplicable: it is complex and multifaceted truth.

In A Spirituality for Every Day, Vanier carefully uses simple language to unpack some of the implications of the five mysteries shaping a spirituality of L'Arche. In the mystery of Jesus, for example, he tells us that Jesus did not just "serve the poor, be became one of them. The Word becomes flesh; the All-Powerful comes as a defenseless child who awakens love in our hearts." 

The man of compassion becomes a man in need of compassion... Jesus overturns the established order. He urges people not simply to do good to the poor, but to discover through relationship with him and them that God is hidden in the poor. Through his actions in live - and his abject vulnerability in death - he reveals to us that the poor and the weak have the power to heal and free all people.

In each subsequent mystery, Vanier offers insights into how the wisdom of God is made flesh by practicing/embracing the mystery of the poor, the mystery of community, etc. Each transforms our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls for both guidance and clarity are essential for spiritual formation.

Others in L'Arche have formulated alternative ways of articulating what it means to live into the spirituality of this community. My friends at L'Arche Ottawa and throughout L'Arche Canada have discerned core values as a way to enflesh and embody the charism of this movement. Their articulation includes: "L’Arche has a distinct spirit where persons with intellectual disabilities (Core Members) and Assistants truly share life “with” one another." 

• A Vibrant Community: We share an extraordinary life of welcome, celebration, traditions, togetherness and belonging 

• A Celebration of the Value of Each Person: We know and appreciate each person; we listen to each other and develop and share our talents and gifts 

• An Openness to Mutual Relationships: We develop life-changing friendships where each of us gives and each of us receives 

• A Journey Together: We care how our actions affect others and learn how to treat others with kindness, respect and in a spirit of togetherness 

• A Nurturing of our Gifts and Growth: We support one another to grow and to reach our potential 

• A Role in Community: We each have a part to play in our community and work alongside others for the common good 

• A Shared Spirituality: We see and discover a spiritual meaning in day-to-day life and reflect on our common humanity 

• A Life of Joy: We create fun and share our joy 

• An Opportunity to Shape a More Human Society: We share the vision and spirit of L'Arche beyond our community and advocate for a more just and human society

This expression of the spirituality of L'Arche does not use theological language as a starting point. It seeks to describe the way of life at L'Arche in different counter-cultural ways that include joy, mutuality, sharing, the journey inward and outward, as well as the importance of trust in caring for each person as a unique manifestation of God's love in the real world. I sometimes try to better understand these core values by synthesizing these spiritual practices. We grow into God's image at L'Arche by practicing:

• Togetherness not loneliness
• Cherishing one another not neglecting
• Sharing rather than selfishness
• Respect not shame
• Courage and creativity not fear
• Participation not hiding
• Trusting God's love is at the heart of creation not judgment 
• Celebrating life instead of busyness 
• Compassion for all not cruelty

In a world that has become smaller and more multicultural, in a movement that honors the spiritual insights of other faith traditions while resting in the love of Jesus, these more inclusive words are essential. Holding the unique blessings of Jesus in a loving embrace with other religious truths has increasingly become what L'Arche looks like throughout the world.  For me I find I am able to do this by evaluating my thoughts, deeds, desires and prayers through the lens of these words of Vanier:

What I see important for myself is just to become a friend of Jesus and nothing else. And the whole I think of the mystery of Christianity is just living with Jesus the way Jesus lived in Nazareth with Mary, his mother, and with Joseph. A relationship. John the Baptist was strong, he was powerful... (but) Jesus was quiet. And he ate with people who are caught up in prostitution, with tax collectors, with lepers and all that. I mean, there's something so simple about Jesus that he is disarming. We don't quite know what to do with it. Because frequently, we would want a powerful Jesus who will put everything straight, who will cure everybody, who will do everything that we tell him to do. And it's not like that. (https://onbeing.org/programs/jean-vanier-wisdom-tenderness-4/)

In an interview with Krista Tippett of On Being (a most excellent resource for renewal and reflection) Vanier goes on to say that being a friend of Jesus at this moment in time demands that we not get caught up in problems too big for our friendship "With television and even with cell phones and Internet, we can cut away from relationship, you see? To get an e-mail, you don't see the eyes of the person, you don't see the face, you don't see the smile, you don't see the hands, you don't see the tone of voice. And we have to come down to small is beautiful because small is where we really …"

MS. TIPPETT: Isn't it funny that global technology may bring us back to small is beautiful.

DR. VANIER: Possibly. Or take us away from it. As I had said, you see, I mean, as you look at that Iraqi child and you were wounded and wanted to do something, yet, you were confronted by your incapacity because the child was not in front of you. If that child was in front of you, you could have taken the child in your arms. So we're going into a world where the imagination, the virtual, the long distance, see things far away appear as close. But you can't touch them. They're close to the imagination, but they're not close to the body. So let's come back to the reality of the small. There, we can …

MS. TIPPETT: Like the people who live down the street from us.

DR. VANIER: We can touch them, we can be with them. The difficulty with L'Arche, which is also a beauty — I say it's our difficulty, it's our beauty, is that it's small and it's just very little and it …he reality of every day is sometimes quite painful in the smallness in a world where people are being pushed to pretend that they're big.

MS. TIPPETT: I think it is, it's deeply countercultural that you say repeatedly, you don't want with L'Arche to change the world. That's not the goal.

DR. VANIER: What we can do is what Gandhi says, we can't change the world, but I can change. And if I change, and I seek to be more open to people and less frightened of relationship, if I begin to see what is beautiful within them, if I recognize also that there's brokenness because I'm also broken, and that's OK, then there's something that begins to happen.

But it’s so counterculture but that doesn’t matter. What has happened, what I sense for the future of our poor little world, with all its ecological difficulties and financial difficulties, that maybe the big thing that’s going to happen is that little lights of love will spread over the country. Little places where people love each other, and welcome the poor and the broken. And that the world is, you know, we’ll never hit the headlines but we’ll be creating these little lamps. And if there are sufficient number of little, little lamps in each village or each city and parts of the city, well then the glow will be a little bit greater.

After trying to be big for almost 40 years of ordained ministry - after trying to change and heal some of the big wounds in my world - the mystery of being friends with Jesus has been shared with me. It is a way of living that is tender. Quiet. Joyful and harsh often simultaneously. Honest and grounded in the truth of our bodies. Today, like Jesus praying to the Lord, I give thanks that this mystery of the little ones has been shared with me. 

I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11)

I look forward to entering this mystery more thoroughly and deeper as my intimacy with L'Arche matures over this next year.