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A quarterly magazine FOI No.37 - June - July - August 2013 - 5,50â‚Ź

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a Special report

Come, Holy Spirit !

Baptism in the Spirit and ecumenism unity m m o C the tes a r a Life in b e l e c f

u e N n i m e Ch The ry th anniversa 40

its

VIE Contents

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Editorial, from Father Laurent FABRE Special report:

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Come,

Holy Spirit !

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Ecumenism

14 • A journey to Turkey 16 • The International Museum of the Reformation in Geneva 18 • A Prayer

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Christian training

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Youth pages

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Life in the Community

20 • When a Jesuit receives baptism in the Spirit 22 • Diaconia: Serving the fraternity 24 • The year of faith

26 • The call to walking 28 • Testimonies

30 • The Chemin Neuf celebrates its fortieth anniversary As recounted by Jacqueline Coutellier, with souvenir photographs 34 • Come and serve!

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Young Talent

35 • Shu-Min Huang

FOI magazine (Fraternité œcuménique Internationale, International Ecumenical Fraternity) is published by the Chemin Neuf Community-10 rue Henri IV-69287 Lyon cedex 02 Publication director: Fr. Laurent Fabre Executive director: Jean-Charles Paté, Editor in chief: Pascale Paté, Editorial committee: Franck Démaret, Marie Farouza Maximos, Pieter Leroux, P. François Lestang, Véronique Pilet, P. Adam Strojny Graphic design: Annick Vermot (06 98 61 98 76), Photo credits: International museum of the Reformation, Geneva, Fotolia.com : angelo.gi, Andres Rodriguez, kasiap, herreneck, Eisenhans, Masson, Cover: CCN Gilbert Soobraydoo, Subscriptions: Marie-Thérèse Subtil, Nicole Zébrowski, Administration-Management: AME, Production: Sandrine Laroche, Printing: IML - 69850, St Martin en Haut - Printed on paper from sustainably managed forests, certified PEFC, Registration of copyright: décembre 2010, CPPAP : 0310 G 83338, ISSN : 1770-5436

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FOI • N°37 • June - July - August 2013

Editorial

Father Laurent FaBRE Founder and head of the Chemin Neuf Community

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We produce a film every month, translate it into over 20 languages and send to groups in 72 different countries throughout the world. This has created a network of prayer, the International Ecumenical Fraternity.

NET FOR GOD.

In an article in the English newspaper The Telegraph on March 15 2013, Charles Moore, under a photograph of the new Pope and the new Primate of the Church of England, declared with conviction: “the power of prayer is bringing Canterbury and Rome together after 500 years”. The rest of the article speaks about the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and the Chemin Neuf Community. We are happy for many reasons to be found in such good company, and to be so close to each other in a good cause.

Actually, like the author of this article, we too have reasons to be hopeful about the coming years and we dream specially of a new stage towards Christian unity.

In order to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Chemin Neuf Community many of us will be at the front of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Saturday, May 18, close to the Pope together with many of the new Communities, communicating by video emission in multiplex with the 27 countries where the Community has been founded. So, to be a bit different, we have all been given an internet rendez vous for between 5 and 7.30pm Rometime. It is a unique occasion for us, to be celebrating the feast of Pentecost while at the same time giving thanks for the Holy Spirit’s work over the 40 years of our existence. Already preparation for this event has given rise to a lot of work done with joy and laughter. It is quite something to see brothers and sisters of the Community dancing in the snow in Latvia to the same words and music as our brothers and sisters under the sun in Africa in Kinshasa or elsewhere.

Thirty eight years ago in 1975, in the Basilica of St Peter, I remember the waves of applause from that crowd which had assembled for the first international gathering of the Renewal in Rome, applause for the words of Paul VI as he declared that the Charismatic Renewal was “an opportunity for the Church”. Some moments later, Ralph Martin, a young American lay person and father of a family, took the microphone in front of the Pope and lots of Cardinals and Bishops and hundreds of priests; and he made a prophecy that whole sections of the walls of the Church were going to collapse but that Jesus the Good Shepherd was going to gather his flock together. Strangely enough, I get the impression of finding myself in a similar prophetic moment: many walls have more or less collapsed but opportunities and the Spirit’s youthfulness are always there, more than ever present and ready to burst out in the heart of our cities. The power of the Holy Spirit can handle the problems of our days.

Father Laurent Fabre.

FOI • N°37 • June - July - August 2013

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cecil mel robeck

Testimony of a Pentecostal

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REPORTS FROM THE COLLOQUIUM

Going forward together

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ECUMENISM

Visible words

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peter hocken

A history on the move

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WHAT THEY SAID...

FOI • N°37 • June - July - August 2013

special report baptism BAPTISM

in

THE SPIRIT & CHRISTIAN UNITY unity

In March, in the heart of Switzerland, the Chemin Neuf Community organised an international and ecumenical colloquium centred on baptism in the Holy Spirit, bringing together about 300 people of widely differing denominations and nationalities. Among the personalities attending the conference, we should mention: Archbishop Justin Welby, new primate of the Anglican community, three Roman Catholic bishops (Bishop Philippe Ballot from Chambéry, Bishop Maurice Piat from Mauritius and Bishop Martin Gächter, assistant bishop in Basel), Pastor Gottfried Locher, president of the Federation of the Swiss Protestant churches, Larry Miller, secretary of the Christian World Forum and Laurent Fabre, founder and shepherd of the Chemin Neuf Community.

The aim of the conference was to have fifteen professors from several universities (Paris, Lyons, Strasbourg, Louvain-la-Neuve, and the United States), witnesses from a variety of church backgrounds, from different Christian denominations and sensibilities, not all of them “charismatic”, working together.

So, in a succession of meetings and lectures they explored and shared the nature and the fruits of this grace of “baptism in the Holy Spirit”. But, in pursuing their reflection, their sharing, and prayers, each participant came to taste the joy of a grace of unity, the fruit of Pentecost.

The dossier was compiled in collaboration with the I.T.D. and Net for God. FOI • N°37 • June - July - August 2013

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Interview : Cecil Mel Robeck

A Pentecostal testifies w Could you testify to us about your experience of baptism in the Holy Spirit? « I came into the baptism in the Holy Spirit when I was 19. I had heard about it all of my life. That’s what happens when you’re reared in the home of a pastor. And, by the time I was 17, I thought you know this looks like something I should probably pursue as well. And so when I was 19, I decided I was going to ask the Lord for it. And so I got down on my knees and within two or three minutes, I was speaking in tongues and glorifying the Lord and that was really a very dynamic experience for me.

I wouldn’t say it changed my life immediately but I did know very clearly that shortly thereafter I was much more clear about what God wanted me to do with my life, which I found actually through a variety of people who talked to me and said, “We believe you have teaching gifts.” That project never crossed my mind. I had long thought I don’t want to go into ministry because I saw the kind of ministry my dad and mom did and I wasn’t really terribly excited about that. They did a lot of church planting which meant small churches and struggling and having to work full time jobs in addition to that. I wasn’t at all sure that’s what I wanted to do, but this is where God called me and so as a result I decided to pursue theological education and have been in that field all of my life, all of my adult life.

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I would say that later on God gave me a very personal call in terms of how to, or I should say – a change of focus within my training that allowed me to become an ecumenist, something I had never planned to do. Nothing had crossed my mind in that direction. » w So at that time you got a personal call to work for the unity of Christians? « That’s correct, and that really came in ….1983, 1982 – 83. I was elected president of The Society for Pentecostal Studies that year and there had been an argument going on in that society for several years between what I would call the first generation of Pentecostal scholars and the next major generation of them.

And the first generation had worked very hard to have their scholarship accepted by church leaders. You know, the Pentecostal movement has never been strong on academic training and discipline and so forth, and so they had, really had to work very hard at that.

The next generation had all been trained in universities and other seminaries. They had been trained in new methodologies and in different fields and they wanted to be turned loose with their kind of work.

And the older ones said, “You know, if you don’t straighten up and do it our

Before it reached the traditional churches, baptism in the Holy Spirit had already become a reality in the Pentecostal movement.

In a way, in was about a grace “coming from elsewhere.”

Cecil Mel Robeck, an Assemblies of God minister and a professor of Church History and Ecumenism in California, was invited in 1985

by David du Plessis to join an international dialogue between Catholics and Pentecostals.

He gives us his testimony.

special report way, you can leave.” And the younger ones said, “Why should we leave?

Time is on our side, you’re all going to die and we will inherit the society”.

I thought for as few scholars as the movement had, we needed everything we could do to keep this group together. So I prayed. And I prayed really for 4 years from 1979 through 1983. And asked the Lord, “What can we do about this?”

And in 1983 the Lord woke me up in the middle of the night. And He said, “Mel – called me by name - I want you to speak about Ecumenism.” I said “Lord, I can’t speak about Ecumenism. I’ve never had a single class in that field. I don’t even know what it’s all about except that it’s not good.”

And I went back to sleep.

« And in 1983 the Lord woke me up in the middle of the night. He called me by my first name, “Mel, I want you to speak about Ecumenism.” » And he woke me up a second time that night and He says, “Mel I want you to talk about Ecumenism.” And I said “Lord, I can’t do that. If I do that, I’ll get in trouble. You know, the Assemblies of God has by-laws that prohibit participating in Ecumenical activities

in this way. That’s just too much to ask,” and I went back to sleep.

And he woke me up again. And I thought, “Well, first of all I thought, I am a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and if I can’t do what He is asking me to do, I have no business calling myself a Minister.” The second thing I remembered was my church has always taught me, in spite of our by-laws, if the Lord asks you to do something, you must do it a any price.

So I thought I really have to respond to this, but I have not a clue about what to do or where to go with this. I told Him, “I will do this, but the only thing I ask in return is that You take care of me because I know I am going to face some trouble. OK?” And I have to say that after all these years, He has done very well at taking care of me.

The next day I went to my office and I searched through my Pentecostal collection. I have thousands of books and pamphlets and tracts and papers that go right back to the beginning of the movement in the United States and in the whole world. How do I talk about Ecumenism?Well you know in the early 1900s, they didn’t talk about Ecumenism but they did talk about unity and I thought well maybe I can go and look up “unity”. John 17:21 seems to be a popular text, let’s see what it has to say.

And when I opened up all this material, I found it everywhere. In other words, the Pentecostal leaders at the beginning of the movement were very ecumenically open to the understanding that the Lord was doing something new for the whole of the church. In fact, they would look at it in probably a triumphalist way and say everybody will soon become Pentecostal. OK, that was the way they saw Ecumenism – everybody would become Pentecostal. But what they really saw was that this experience of baptism in the Holy Spirit was something that could be had by all Christians. And that they were the primary people who would carry that message to the world.

And I have to say, I think that has been a promise fulfilled in a sense.

The movement succeeded to bring that message to virtually every denomination that I can think of. » w What can Catholics and Pentecostals receive from one another? « Well I think there is a great deal we can receive from one another. First of all, I think we have to recognize, both sides have to recognize, that we are all part of the same church. And I recognize the technicalities of that term “church” but certainly we are all the people of God and as brothers and sister in Christ we have much to give one another. It seems to me that the best thing that we as Pentecostals can do is simply share who we are and what God has done for us in our lives today. We can testify to the genuine character of this baptism in the Holy Spirit and we can be open to the charisms or gifts of the Holy Spirit.

I also recognize that there are places where we are, shall we call it, competitors. In other words, say LatinAmerica where the biggest challenge to the Catholic Church is the presence of the Pentecostal churches.

There are places where we get on each other’s nerves or we call each other names. And I think we have to learn how to stop doing that by first of all recognizing Christ in one another.

I also think that the Catholic Church has this rich history and tradition. I’m a church historian by training and it was in my studies of the early church, and in particular in my field which was patristics that I really fell in love with the church. And I realized how ancient the traditions of the churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, are. And so my job as a church historian has been to explain that tradition to people who are relatively rootless in terms of historic tradition. But equally to take the Pentecostal tradition that I have, which is relatively short, but is very vital in today’s church and share that with the churches that are ancient. v

FOI • N°37 • June - July - August 2013

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Reports from the colloquium

Going forward together The colloquium explored the grace of the Holy Spirit in the life of Christians and their ecclesial communities, from historical, biblical and theological points of view. Several subjects for ecumenical dialogue emerged, requiring us to listen to each other humbly. The first fruit of this work is the conviction that we, Christians from different confessions, can and must go forward together in our understanding and experience of life in the Spirit, in particular the grace of baptism in the Spirit.

Fr. Laurent Fabre, in the opening lecture, gave several biblical, theological and common sense reasons for using the expression “Baptism in the Holy Spiritî instead of ìOutpouring of the Holy Spirit”. This choice reinforces the link with sacramental baptism.

During the colloquium, we could see that the links between salvation, baptism, conversion and sanctification or deification (in the vocabulary dear to the Orthodox) are not perceived in the same way by all Christians. The very practice of baptism is a choice which

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must be open to question by other practices. By baptising children, we show that the grace of God takes precedence, for the gift does not depend on our efforts but on the grace which justifies us freely and precedes any human response.

Is it sufficient to be baptised as a child to be a Christian or must one become a Christian by personally accepting this grace in order to let it bear fruit? This is just where baptism in the Holy Spirit can help to better shape belonging to Christ, to the one Church of God and the charisms as gifts of the Holy Spirit, foundation of any Christian life.

This discussion brings us to the question of spiritual discernment. How do I reject what does not come from God, in particular anything which threatens the unity of the church body? How do I recognize the work of the same Spirit, the proclamation of the same wonders in a language other than my own? How do I receive the breath of the Spirit which does not respect our mental, institutional and cultural boundaries? How do we let the Spirit unite the Body of Christ so scandalously divided?

The Second Vatican Council clearly stated that spiritual ecumenism is ìthe soul of all ecumenismî. Along these lines, during this conference, the times of teaching and of discussion alternated with times of liturgical prayer and charismatic prayer meetings. The unity which we have experienced calls us to commit our-

selves. But this goes far beyond our human efforts. Pentecost obliges us to recognise the autonomy of the Holy Spirit, which already amazed the first Christians as much as the first Pentecostals gathered in Asuza Street in 1906, as well as members of the Charismatic Renewal in all the churches.

According to the ICCRS document, baptism in the Holy Spirit is “an experience of the love of God the Father poured into a personís heart, leading to a transformed life in the Lordship of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.”

In other words, one acknowledges oneís ìneed of the Spiritî, ready to put oneís life in the hands of God, to give him control of oneís life, to say a radical “yes” to oneís own baptism. This definition recognises that the basis of this is confidence in the work of God communicating directly with His creatures and guiding his People.

We saw an example of this approach when the new primate of the Anglican Communion, after giving his testimony, knelt so that we could pray for him. A few days later the new Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, before giving his “urbi et orbi” blessing, bowed down and asked everyone to pray for himÖ The image of these two pastors making a humble request for grace says that baptism in the Spirit is better than any long speech. v Fr. Adam Strojny, ccn

special report uw

SPEAKERS

Father L. Fabre (Catholic) and G. Locher (Protestant) opened the colloquium, one by introducing the subject of baptism in the Holy Spirit in the light of the Ignatian experience; the other by evoking the necessity of transformation of our lives and thoughts.

C.M. Robeck (Pentecostal), N. Blough (Mennonite), M. Healy and P. Hocken (Catholics) explained to us the historical context of the reform movements: the birth of Pentecostalism at the beginning of the 20th century, and its constant growth, as well as the development of the Charismatic Renewal within the historical churches.

Ch. Grappe (Protestant) and F. Lestang (Catholic) presented the biblical basis for the experience of the Holy Spirit in the individual and collective Christian life.

E. Vetö (Catholic) et M. Stavrou (Orthodox) continued this initiation, prolonged in the Protestant and Catholic ecclesiological reflections of A. Birmelé and J. Famerée respectively.

Ph. Dockwiller, op, reflected on the Holy Spirit as a «power to which baptism gives a form» and M. Healy presented a pastoral approach, the challenge of integrating the grace of baptism in the Holy Spirit into ecclesial life.

In conclusion, the round table, chaired by M. Moran (ICCRS), provided an opportunity to reaffirm the concern for Christian unity and the health of the Church.

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TESTIMONY

« Recognizing ourselves to be “in need of the Spirit”, we are ready to offer our life into the hands of God »

« It ís the Word of God which unites us all »

“Bethany House1 has never had such a large group of such different people under its roof. We sisters were very impressed. Christians from every horizon ñreligious as much as geographic ñ met in our beautiful church to sing together in praise of God. The unity we were feeling was symbolised by a large bible placed in the choir of the church, with a magnificent bouquet of flowers to show its importance: it is the Word of God which unites us all.

Of course, for us, sisters of Bethany, this Colloquium was rather overwhelming.

Organisation, preparation, adapting the premises, meeting many people, all this presented a multitude of challenges, which we all agreed in the end had been

a positive and enriching experience for each of us. Just seeing all the preparations was amazing for us. We saw the Brothers and Sisters of the Chemin Neuf Community work calmly and efficiently.

Clearly they were using the possibilities of modern technology, while collaborating peacefully together. The house personnel joined in just as joyfully and did their share with enthusiasm. When, exceptionally, one of them was grumbling and making fun of these new activities, one of the sisters found the right thing to say, “Of course, all this has not been easy for me either; but if you had been in the church when it was bursting at the seams and everyone was singing and praying together, you would

keep quiet.” “And,” she said, “suddenly he calmed down.”

Even nature was at its best, so that everyone could admire our magnificent country with the Stanserhorn, Lake Sarnen and Mount Pilatus. Brilliant sunshine, clouds, strong winds followed one another, as a sort of illustration of how turbulent the Christian life is in our day. For the Spirit of God is always at work and makes everything alive move ñ an authentic experience of what the Church of God still is today.”

Sr. Anna Benedicta, member of the Dominican Sisters of Bethany management team.

1. Location of the colloquium, at St Niklausen.

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An ecumenical event

Visible words Several phrases from the European Ecumenical Charter1 have resonated with me during this three day Symposium: several words have stood out in a practical way in the midst of us at Bethanien, but also “going ahead of us”, like a call to transcend a kind of “status quo” on this path towards Christian Unity.

Paradoxically, the Eucharistic celebrations (catholic or protestant) have been a “visible word” in this quest for unity. As a matter of fact, our celebrations have clearly demonstrated that “some essential differences in faith still hinder visible unity”2, making the possibility of shared communion difficult. But, by the same token, these celebrations have also made it clear that “…we must not be content with that.”3 One of the specific pointers has been to underline the presence of the ministries of “the other’s church”: so, during the catholic Eucharist, fifteen ministers of other, protestant, churches (Lutherans, Reformed, United, Episcopal, Anglican, Mennonite, Free Evangelical, Pentecostal…)

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have led the opening procession.

The inverse was proposed for the priests during the celebration of the cult of the Last Supper. This was in itself unusual: the Swiss Reformed Church pastor presiding at the celebration emphasised that despite his long ecumenical experience this was the first time that he found himself with ministers of such a diversity of protestant churches gathered round the communion table. For some this novelty would not have been without a degree of liturgical discomfort!

“It is important to recognise the spiritual gifts of different church traditions, to learn from one another and so to receive gifts from one another.”4 : If at first sight this phrase sounded rather trite, it took shape in a special way for me as an Evangelical. As a matter of fact it has become customary in ecumenical work to have a dialogue with the traditions of so-called “historic” churches (Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran-Reformed, Anglican…), but it is much more rare to embrace the same level of theological reflection with “confessing”

churches (of the Evangelical type) or Pentecostals. So can Evangelicals and Pentecostals be considered true partners in the theological search? And anyway is this what they themselves want? Here we had the beginnings of such a work during the symposium. This labour of “the one learning from the other” does not happen by itself! For example, to pick up several themes heard during the symposium, how can an Evangelical or a Pentecostal enter into the understanding which is so important in Orthodox theology of grace understood as “divinisation of the human being”? Or again, how can an Evangelical or a Pentecostal enter into an understanding of paedo-baptism?5 Here again, this call of the ecumenical Charter has stood out : “We commit ourselves to overcome our own self-sufficiency and to step back from our prejudices, to search for a meeting place with one other and so, to be there, the one for the other.” It is about being there, the one for the other, in order to enter into a more fitting historical, spiritual and theo-

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1. Anne-Cathy Graber, Jean-Daniel Pluess, Cecil Mel Robeck before the Lord’s Supper, 2. Distribution of communion during the Lord’s Supper, 3. Fifteen

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special report THINKING IN TERMS OF A TENSION and not of opposition

logical understanding of baptism in the Spirit. And what if the Churches give a practical demonstration that they are ready to be there the one for the other? This for me has been the signal or “visible question” of the symposium.” v Anne Cathy Graber, ccn, pastor

(Mennonite Evangelical Church)

1- European Ecumenical Charter: this text, signed in Strasbourg on April 22nd 2001, was drawn up by the K.E.K. (= Conference of European Churches) and the C.C.E.E (= Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe) and signed by the Presidents of these two organisations. It proposes guidelines for reflection and action to the Churches and Christians of Europe which will develop a true ecumenical culture of dialogue and cooperation between the Christians of Europe with regard to Judaism and invites a positive attitude to Islam. Since 2001, different churches have ratified this text with official signing celebrations: thus for example, Justin Welby signed this Charter when he took on the functions of Primate of the Anglican Communion on March 21st 2013.

2- Ecumenical Charter §1.

3- Ecumenical Charter §1.

4- Ecumenical Charter §3.

5- Paedo-baptism = infant baptism. In other words, Evangelical or Pentecostal churches baptise with a conscious and public confession of faith: hence the refusal of infant baptism and the practice of adult baptism, hence also the designation of these churches as “confessing” or “professing“ as opposed to churches known as “multitudinist”.

6- Ecumenical Charter §3.

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A series of talks has been dedicated to researching the wealth of catholic, protestant and orthodox views on the question of the individual and church experience of the Spirit. At the end of their contributions, Father Etienne Veto, catholic, Michael Stavrou, orthodox, and Christian Grappe, Reformed Church of France, were themselves surprised to see a fundamental unity among them.

Thus, C.Grappe concluded: “There is a unity in the talks: our feelings came together on certain points and diverged on others. At the level of dialogue, it is worth saying that our foundation texts uncover treasures which allow us to explore the evolution of our traditions. This can seem like a tension but not necessarily an opposition. One must argue in terms of polarity and not in terms of opposition, otherwise it is divisive. Then we are in communion, despite our different emphases.”

As for Michael Stavrou, teacher at the Institute of St Sergius, he shared thus: “I see it as an experience of transcending our institutional, confessional limits; I see the germination of our ”future reunion”. So to be able to meet, reflect and pray together is foundational: it is one of the ways which will allow us to move forward until there is complete unity. Today our unity is only partial: actions, steps, institutions which push the limits are needed, which drive each of us to make moves towards that unity. For this it is important to safeguard our traditions, for these are our roots. But these roots must propel us towards our brothers-in-faith, and towards wider humanity, because that is where we have been sent.”

Sr Marie-Farouza Maximos, ccn

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protestant ministers assembled around the communion table, 4. Father Laurent Fabre, 5. A prayer meeting.

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Peter Hocken

A history on the move the Duquesne weekend had previously been baptized in the Spirit through a small charismatic prayer group consisting of Christians of various denominations. As for the students, they had prepared for the weekend by reading the Acts of the Apostles and a book by Pentecostal preacher David Wilkerson, “The Cross and the Switchblade” (pp. 8 – 9).

Peter Hocken took part in the preparation of a document for the ICCRS entitled “Baptism in the Holy Spirit”.

He regrets that the ecumenical dimension which is central to the charismatic movement was only noted but not developed.

The Introduction describes the origins of Catholic charismatic renewal in the USA at the “Duquesne weekend” near Pittsburgh in February, 1967. “The Duquesne event came about through the influence of other Christians who were baptized in the Spirit as well as the renewing impetus of Vatican Council II.” Here a footnote cites a comment of Cardinal Suenens, “Historically, this ‘awakening’ comes to us from classical Pentecostalism, as well as from what is generally termed Neo-pentecostalism.” (Ecumenism and Charismatic Renewal, Malines Document 2, p. 19).

The introduction notes that “Baptism in the Holy Spirit had already been experienced within the Pentecostal movement for sixty years and within historic Protestant communions for seven to ten years. The professors at

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The first section then lists “Ecumenical Impetus” as a characteristic of the Renewal (p. 25), which concludes with another quotation from Cardinal Suenens, “The Renewal is a grace for the Church of God in more ways than one, but it is a very special grace for ecumenism.” (Ecumenism and Charismatic Renewal, p. 19).

“It is not the task of an ICCRS booklet to be ‘advocacy literature.

Things were quite different during the Colloquium.”

because the Renewal worldwide does not have a strong ecumenical orientation; this may be regrettable, because it seems to be a fact; second, as a pastoral guide for renewal leaders, it is not the task of an ICCRS booklet to be “advocacy literature”.

It was quite different during the Colloquium at St Niklausen in March, 2013. In that setting, advocacy of the ecumenical character of the Renewal, which was fundamental for the Chemin Neuf Community, was entirely appropriate and made possible the successful meeting. v

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In the next section on New Communities (I, 2. 12) there is no direct reference to ecumenical communities, but a brief reference in “an overcoming of barriers” including “denominational” barriers (p. 25).

For me, it was important to state clearly the ecumenical origins and potential of the Renewal, which is done, though briefly, but with the citations from Cardinal Suenens giving it an authority. The reasons for not saying more are twofold: first,

Publication of the Actes du colloque is planned for 2014 in the journal Istina.

special report What they said...

Mary Healy,

catholic theologian

“I have no doubt that part of the reason that God has poured out his Holy Spirit in such “The Church needs that abundance in our times, is because the Church divine power (…) needs that divine power, needs that manifest to meet the specific presence of God, that is obvious, that is challenge of our time, supernatural, that is life changing, to meet which is the absence the specific challenge of our time, which is in essence, the absence of God. The absence of God.” of God in our society. God has been banished from the human horizon (…). And that absence of God leaves in the human heart a very deep wound. A wound that is even more evident than in pagan culture before Christianity. It’s a culture that once knew God, and now has abandoned God, and feels the absence of God. And so there is an orphan spirit that pervades the whole culture. So what the Holy Spirit has done and is doing through baptism in the Holy Spirit is pouring the love of the father into our hearts, so that we know “Abba” the Father, we know he is real, he is alive, he is at work in our lives. And we know the Lordship of Christ in our lives. We who come from different backgrounds and different traditions are called to be prophets of this grace, to be apostles of baptism in the Holy Spirit and to help the whole Church awaken to this reality, and to yield to what the Holy Spirit is doing.”

Bishop Philippe BALLOT,

Bishop Phillipe BALLOT and Archbishop Welby

Archbishop of Chambéry

“Thanks to the Charismatic Revival and to communities like the Chemin Neuf, we have learnt that there is one certainty that should incite us to action: the Holy Spirit has not given notice of an unlimited general strike, announcing that “the Holy Spirit is no longer at work in our world”. On the contrary! But how are we to find the doors that enable us to communicate and to live this certainty? I think that the experience of baptism in the Spirit is something of an experience of this kind….What impresses me, both in our prayers, and in the way we behave towards each other, is that in the heart of each of us there is a profound respect for the other. Now, respecting others means that, whoever the other may be, and whatever the differences that may oppose or separate us, it is the fundamental relationship which is primary, a relationship, we could say, of fraternity, given to us by God. This is already a gift. We respect each other because we are brothers.”

Pastor André Birmelé,

Lutheran church

“I would express my faith using other terms, other words than those used by a Pentecostal or someone from the charismatic movement within the Roman Catholic church. The important question for me in my ecumenical experience has always been, not that of erasing the differences, but of working them through until I am able to recognize YOU, in YOUR difference, as being, let us say, a happy form of expression that I can recognize as a legitimate expression of the one faith in God (….) The difficulty seems to lie in the fact that some differences are separating ones. There can be differences between us which prevent us from claiming together that we are Christians embarked on the same path. And we have to transform these differences until they become happy, legitimate expressions of this one faith in Christ. We find an example of this in the Scriptures : a testimony given by Matthew is not John’s testimony which is not Paul’s testimony, and yet the testimony is the same; but the expressions are different.”

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Visit to Turkey by the St Irenaeus group

Meeting with Eastern Christians The St Irenaeus group from the Sainte-Marie de Lyon High School, a large Catholic educational centre in Lyon, began in 2007-2008 from the meeting of two intuitions – one educational, the other spiritual (the benefits for youth of school excursions, and the desire to work for Christian unity) and also from a fraternal encounter between a teacher from the high school, the chaplain and the person in charge of Pastoral Care for the establishment.

Brigitte CAZEAUX and Isabelle FERON, leaders of the St Irenaeus

group at the Ste-Marie de Lyon High School.

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« The visits are prepared a bit ‘uphill’ and so are more fruitful in creating links with the Christian communities present in Lyon. This year, we chose to get to know the Eastern Christians better, with their fine diversity: for instance the Copts of Egypt, thanks to a sister of the Community of Egyptian origin, Marie-Farouza Maximos; and the Christians of Iraq, by meeting the Iraqi community who have moved in recent years into the suburbs of Lyon. We attended a Eucharist in St Ephrem of the Chaldeans parish, situated in a sensitive neighbourhood in the east of Lyon, at Vaux-en-Velin, and heard the moving testimony of their pastor, the Iraqi Dominican priest Muhannad Al Tawil, a refugee from Bagdad.

In February, we went to Turkey. We discovered the beauty and the diversity of this country, as well as the great vitality of its people, who are quite young.

We visited some magnificent places, marked by the history of Ionia, Greek in language and culture since remotest antiquity till the start of the 20th century, and which was the victim of a tragic exile. We spent several days in Istanbul: a visit to the venerable basilica Hagia Sofia, which has become a museum but will no doubt one day become a mosque again; St Saviour’s church in Chora in the Phanar neighbourhood, which belonged to the Orthodox of Constantinople - deserted by them today, except for the Patriarchate; some magnificent mosques; and the symbol of Ottoman power, the Topkapi Palace. The Christian

presence in Turkey has shrunk away. It represents today less than 1% of the population. However Eastern Christianity did not arrive from foreign parts. It was born in this country, which it has profoundly marked, as has Judaism. There are very few Catholics. They are above all present in Istanbul, historically linked to the embassies and to expatriates, and considered as a foreign church. Places of worship are rare. At the start of the 19th century some big Christian schools were founded which have been nationalised.

The great undertaking of secularisation with the prestigious figure of Mustapha Kemal (‘Attaturk’) allowed the country to develop in the 20th century, but also, at first brutally, then more slowly, threatened the disappearance of Christians.

We had the good fortune of some wonderful encounters in Istanbul, dfirstly an Italian priest from the Dominican community, Fr Lorenzo Piretto, who lives in a Dominican convent. He was able to share with us his experience as an Italian Catholic priest, and his difficult but at times friendly relationships with Moslems.

There is a hope of better mutual acquaintance today via the contacts in the university milieu, and theses undertaken by Moslem students on theological subjects related to Christianity. The convent of Sts Peter & Paul is well hidden from sight, almost invisible behind a small door, but it is a haven of peace.

The second encounter was with the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bar-

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tholomeos I, a very important figure in ecumenism during these recent years.

He represents a community which was formerly prestigious, but these days is reduced to practically nothing in this city of Constantinople which was the main centre of Orthodoxy. That is what his title “ecumenical” Patriarch means, literally of all the “inhabited earth.”

“Eastern Christianity did not arrive from foreign parts.

It was born in this country, which it has profoundly marked, as has Judaism.”

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He discussed with us the church of Lyon, the first in Gaul, which was founded by the church of Smyrna thanks to St Iranaeus; and of the welcome he received in Lyon from Cardinal Barbarin. We were awaiting at that time the election of the new Pope and he told us to pray for the Catholics in these circumstances. The welcome he gave to us all, and particularly to the young, was full of gentleness and kindness.

During the following days we did the rounds of the sites of Ionia, the hill of Troy, the citadel of Pergamum, the Greek cities of Priene and Didyma, as well as the magnificent site of Aphrodisias. We were in the footsteps of the apostle Paul, and one of the most interesting visits was to Ephesus, a very well-preserved ancient city, where we were almost the only ones there. We were able to celebrate a Eucharist in the House of Mary, a moving site in the hills above the city, which tradition says was the refuge of Mary, taken there by John after the death of Jesus. That was a very powerful moment on our trip.

We also were able to meet a “Fidei Donum” priest from the diocese of Evry, Fr Gabriel Ferrone, who knew the Community since he did his national service at Tigery1 several years ago. He witnessed to us of his vocation for Turkey, and of his parish placement at Izmir, ancient

Smyrna, which today has only rare traces of its Christian past. He could count his parishioners on the fingers of one hand when he arrived five years ago. At present, there are about 70! At Christmas his church is full… of Moslems looking for ritual and fine celebrations. However he lives like a monk, in a certain amount of solitude. According to him, Turkey is slowly losing its tolerant secular character. He also witnessed to us that this country with its astonishing growth is becoming more and more materialist, and that it is a mission field. There is a great thirst for meaning, and we were able to see it in the interest shown by our young guide of Kurdish origin, who joined in our Eucharists and prayers, and who willingly allowed us time for “singing”, as he called it… What a paradox, that in this country which was one of the cradles of our faith and which saw the birth of its first communities, thanks to the apostles, there is such an ignorance of Christian realities!

Both the young and those a bit older learned so much during this year of formation and this visit, where diversity was experienced so joyfully! This ecumenical path, undertaken over the course of years by our St Irenaeus group, brings us so much. It is astonishing to see the moment when prejudices vanish and hearts are opened as soon as a real desire of encounter comes about. One of the young ones said: “I have discovered that the Holy Spirit blows where he wills, over us and over Christians of other denominations.” We feel a great gratitude towards all those who have shared their faith with us. This is our small contribution to Christian Unity, at Sainte-Marie de Lyon High School, in enthusiasm and perseverance. And we shall continue… next year with the Presbyterians in Scotland for instance! And what if you were to come with us? v 1- Community House in the Parisian region.

Photo captions: 1. View of Istanbul - 2. Patriarch Bartholomeos I 3. Mural of Christ at Saint Saviour in Chora - 4.

5. Hagia Sofia - 6. The group at Ephesus

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The International Museum of the Reformation in Geneva

A unique museum During the coming summer holidays, the city of Geneva is offering you a destination where you can improve your acquaintance with John Calvin, a Frenchman, Swiss by adoption, and one of the founders of Protestantism.

Madame Graessle, the director of the International Museum of the Reformation will act as your guide. Enjoy your visit.

Madame Director, could you tell us when the IMR (International Museum of the Reformation) was founded?

“The International Museum of the Reformation in Geneva opened its doors for the first time on the 15 April 2005.

It was high time; the project had in fact been under consideration for over a century.

Isabelle GRAESSLE,

Director of the International Museum of the Reformation in Geneva.

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Historians had begun to assemble documents for the future museum of the Reformation towards the end of the nineteenth century, but finally it had to wait until the beginning of the twenty first century and the creative energy of a group led by Olivier Fatio, Honorary Professor of the History of Christianity in Geneva, for this project to be realised.

The IMR has now become an indispensable venue for getting to know and understand the history not only of Calvinism but also to a great extent of Protestantism.”

In what way is the IMR so important?

“The IMR was set up with twin objectives. These are, on the one hand, to recall the founders of the Reformation in the sixteenth century, which was basically a return to the origins of Christianity through the translation of the Bible into a common language, and a review of the question of salvation. And on the other hand, to describe the turbulent history of the men and women who identified themselves with this tradition. It is this movement, at the same time spiritual and cultural, which is exhibited in a place that is, to say the least symbolic, since the Museum’s collections are on the ground floor and in the historic cellars of the Maison Mallet.

This magnificent mansion was built in 1722 by Gédéon Mallet, a descendant of a Huguenot family who came to Geneva as refugees in the sixteenth century; the mansion is located on the site of the cloister of Saint Peter’s where the

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Temporary exhibitions at the museum in 2013 and 2014 …

The IMR received the European Museum of the Year award for 2007 from over one hundred entrants; this is awarded annually by the Council of Europe.

It receives some 25,000 visitors per year, (40,000 in 2009 for the exhibition marking the 500th anniversary if the birth of Calvin).

There will be an exhibition from 16 October 2013 until 16 February 2014 entitled, “Hell or Paradise?

Satirical illustrations from the sixteenth till the eighteenth century” Further information: www.musee-reforme.ch English version: https:// www.musee-reforme.ch/english-version/

people of Geneva adopted the Reformation in 1536.”

How can one “present” the Reformation?

“The challenge in presenting the protestant tradition is not straightforward since, as is well known, the Reformation was basically something to be heard rather than to be seen. The designers of the museum had to use their ingenuity to bring to life the major themes such as the Bible, the work of John Calvin, the religious arguments, the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the resistance to Nazism, the missions and pastoral ministry of women. Our visitors are invariably struck by this presentation focussed on the essentials. Even the

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theological debates are given their place, as in the dining room where the plates start to talk about the issues of predestination.”

Can you in brief tell us what we can find in the IMR? “Some five hundred original items are on show in the Museum, which apart from the IMR’s collections, come from various sources, in particular from many individuals who have given us pieces of a rare quality (paintings, engravings, books, medals, manuscripts, photographs, communion cups, timepieces, models, etc.).

So there are much to catch your interest as you go through the rooms of the Museum: the Bible, the polemic, the caricatures that are often violent, the Drawing room with its audiovisual presentation giving an overall view of the adventure of the Reformation, The Barbier-Mueller Room, following the French wars of religion, Geneva as Calvin knew it, the music room, the arguments about predestination around the banqueting table, the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the Reformation in the nineteenth century, and since November 2010, the new rooms showing protestant charitable works, the nineteenth century revival, the twentieth century with all its contrasts, and the twenty first century presenting excerpts from protestant worship from the four corners of the earth. And a sign of the open spirit of the IMR: among the latest acquisitions, two canvases coming from Egbert van Heemskerck (late seventeenth to early eighteenth centuries) showing the arrival of Luther and Calvin in hell.” v From an interview arranged through Jean-Daniel PAYOT, Secretary and Treasurer of AMIDUMIR (Friends of the IMR).

The history of Geneva through the Reformation At the beginning of the sixteenth century, on the eve of the Reformation, Geneva was in a moribund economic situation and the city was becoming depopulated. The first indications of the arrival of the Reformation in Geneva, this movement launched by Martin Luther in Germany in 1517, go back to 1525. At then took ten years for the reformation, which had been preached by the French reformer Guillaume Farel to be adopted by the Genevans between 1535 and 1536. However the movement did not take off until the arrival of John Calvin in July 1536; he made Geneva into one on the principal centres of religious thought in Europe and gave the city a considerable reputation quite out of proportion with the republic’s modest dimensions. From the 1540s, Geneva quickly became a place of refuge for supporters of the Reformation who were being persecuted in their home countries. After the adoption of the Reformation, the intellectual and spiritual influence of Geneva, the “protestant Rome”, became considerable.

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O Jesus, you call upon us to form a single body.

Faithful saviour, make us one with your life and death.

Destroy what divides us put your truth in us, And let your Church forever dwell in unity.

You who sealed our unity with your blood, Teach us how to love with a love that is always alive; So that the world may believe that its joy and salvation, Its hope and glory are in You, Saviour Jesus.

FPF

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Christian Training

A story

When a Jesuit receives baptism in the Spirit…

In the 1970s, the experience of baptism in the Holy Spirit crossed various Christian denominations but also different church spheres.

Vincent de Marcillac, then a Jesuit novice and an electrician, one day was asked “Have you had a personal meeting with Christ?” He witnesses to the link between Ignatian spirituality and charismatic renewal.

Fr. Vincent DE MARCILLAC, s.j.

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« I was studying at the Jesuit faculty of Lyon-Fourvière in the second year of theology. I had been sent on Mission to Workers in 1969, at the end of my philosophy period. I had asked and been accepted for training in a profession, living in Ivry. Thus I trained as an installer in electrical construction. I worked for 6 months as an electrician before coming to Lyon with student status and a halftime professional activity when I had no classes.

In the Jesuit novitiate of Fourvière, there was a young Jesuit in training called Mike. He had experience in Charismatic Renewal prayer. The life of the prayer group appealed to me but I felt a certain resistance. I was afraid of relativising my baptism which had set me on the road to serve God in the steps of Jesus Christ. I had seen my vocation confirmed by my passage with the Sulpicians in Issy-les- Moulineaux and in

the Jesuit novitiate. Because of my job, I had to keep Saturday mornings for catechism. I could not spend a weekend outside Lyon. But one Saturday at noon it became possible to join a prayer week-end in Bully, near Lyon. A member of the prayer group (Jacqueline Coutellier) offered to drive me there.

I was able to participate in a weekend on the theme of the Trinity. I was enthusiastic but with a few questions.

Actually I had been embarrassed by the exuberance of some. A bit too much hallelujah for me. Deciding to take time to think, I went home with my questions. They had explained that my step toward seeking baptism in the Holy Spirit was a reinforcement of the baptism I had received before and could be lived within the Catholic Church I wanted to serve.

While waiting for another week-end

an training training an training (spent at the Cenacle of Neuville-surSaône), I had two encounters in the place where I worked. I was sent to the welding workshop next to mine.

The operator of a machine-tool had damaged his electric wire and I was to repair it. He asked me why I only worked half-time and I replied that it was because I was studying theology.

He asked me what course I had had that morning. I replied that in the morning we had the presentation of the second book of Isaiah. He cut me off saying that there was only one Isaiah! He was an evangelical. He then asked if Jesus was my personal Saviour.

No one throughout my training had asked me that confidential question! So I asked for baptism in the Holy Spirit and it had three principal results.

1. Jesus is my personal Saviour The meditation on sin (in the Spiritual Exercises) should give us that fruit. With an immense admiration, I recognize that Jesus has already paid the price. It is not a question of trying to save myself but of welcoming my Salvation as something attained. It is enough to stay in my place as a child of God, saved by the obedience of the Son. It is the acceptance of the life of LOVE in the Spanish sense: “To ask for what I want (1)”, means in Castellan both will and love. “Yo quiero,” and “yo te quiero”. I want and I love you are translations of the same word. If one speaks of will, one must specify, in French, “loving will”.

The Word of God becomes alive. God gives himself to me if I lay myself open to him, freely. It is he who lets me “feel and taste things inwardly”. By giving me his Holy Spirit, God permits me to recognize his passage while he gives me the power to discern for myself.

He can also let me help others by encouraging them to discover their own calling. He can permit me to know how to present my “inward state” when I have doubts about a decision I must confirm.

2. I can witness without fear If Christ is my Saviour what can I fear from men! I do not need to “make my way in life” but only be his Witness where I am sent. Although I had been very discreet in the Villeurbanne workshop, the baptism in the Holy Spirit freed my speech. It was the launching of my witness through my life as a worker priest. I was in fact a WP for 30 years, 28 of which spent with the same company.

It permitted me to accompany many unionists to help them create unity in their lives, with a view to both sides of their lives, faith and justice. It permitted me to face decisions to be made in the context of civil war in Burundi between 1999 and 2004 with the Nuncio – Michael Courtney – who was killed on December 29th 2003. It permitted me to follow, fruitfully I hope, the Bethasda (2) course on my return from Burundi. It permits me to offer a retreat with the title: “Jesus delivers, frees and heals” trying to accompany appeals for “impossible forgiveness”.

It is the experience acquired – among others – with the Chemin Neuf community during Jericho (3) and Siloé (4) retreats.

I have no doubt that it is the practice of the Exercises, including “contemplation to gain Love”, but above all “contemplation of the life of Christ” (2nd week) which permits me to keep alive the gift I received of the ability to overcome Fear.

3. « Love put into deeds » The preamble to the “contemplation to gain Love” permitted me to keep my feet on the ground both in my trade union commitment and in my commitment to the service of the local church.

Participating in meetings of Renewal in the Workplace, or in “Prayer, Politics, Profession”, I was able to help Christians create unity in their lives. As Central Delegate and Secretary of the Health and Safety Committee, I could fight against a mass lay-off of 1153 people with agree-

ment among all unions (no simple matter), with the help of government departments (Inspection of Labour, Ministry of Labour, law courts, chartered accountants). This lay-off was reduced to 350 of whom 300 were over 58 years old. Which fact encouraged me to leave the company at 58 years of age!

As Episcopal Delegate for the prayer groups and new communities springing from CR (Charismatic Renewal) for the diocese of Toulouse, I was able – I believe – to help CR, by encouraging exchanges, training, statutes facilitating renewal. To be sure, I was no doubt not sufficiently intrusive to encourage discernment in a few of the new communities.

In a committee of a company group, I was even able to apply the wisdom of Saint Bernadette which encourages us to speak although knowing that we will not be believed. “The voice did not tell me to make you believe it, but it told me to tell you,” she replied to her parish priest who continued to doubt her message.

In offering those who come to retreats the possibility of talking about what had hurt them, and perhaps about “wrong roads” (cf. Simone Pacot), we can see that Love is put into deeds. The Lord helps me too in my work as Delegate to New Religious Movements and Sectarian Drifts.

To resume, not only did my baptism in the Holy Spirit not divert me from my Jesuit vocation, but it allowed me to live in an increased faith with possible service to the local church, and a Peace and Joy which allowed me, beyond all my personal faults, to try to help those whom the Lord put on my way. v 1 - St. Ignatius’ expression to speak of the request for grace.

2 - A session for inward healing initiated by Simone Pacot.

3 - The “Jericho” retreats are retreats offered to 18-30 year olds by the Chemin Neuf Community.

4 - An inward healing session offered by the Chemin Neuf community.

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Christian Training

Diaconia 2013 : Serving the Poor

Showing acts of solidarity The project named “Diaconia 2013 – serving the community” was launched by the French Bishops’ Conference and implemented by the National Solidarity Council three years ago, and calls upon Christians and their communities first of all to live increasingly in brotherhood and hope with people in uncertain and vulnerable circumstances.

It also encourages them, “in company with other men and women of goodwill”, (to quote a fine expression from the Vatican II Council), to rediscover their role as brothers to all, and create social links in a spirit of openness and dialogue with society.

This project, which aims to re-emphasise service to others as central to the faith, is not only concerned with Christian charitable organisations, but targets all baptised Christians, by reason of their baptism.

The theme suggested last year dealt with the link between service and the Word of God. Each local community or parish, along with each non-parishional community, (charitable organisations and services, chaplaincies, religious communities), was asked to consider the following questions:- How to live out the service aspect of our faith?

- Is this aspect really linked to the Word of God and Christ the Servant?

- To what new commitments are our communities being called?

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Several meeting and sharing evenings have been held on these themes, either in a parish, (Cherbourg, St Lô, Coutances, Granville,) or in a different situation, (Pastoral Mission for Health, Mission de France ...).

These evenings have often brought back memories of how service to our brothers and sisters has enriched, and been enriched by, our faith. The testimonies collected at this time have formed the basis of the publication of the Book of the Wonders of Solidarity, which has been exhibited in a number of churches, such as Valognes, Coutances…

This year, 2012-13, we have shared our experiences on the theme “Service and liturgy”, trying to discern the ways in which liturgy and the service of others depend on each other.

During the Service Sundays held on February 24th in a number of Deaneries, (St Lô, Coutances, Valognes,) we presented the Book of Wonders and offered to the Lord various ways of service to our brothers and sisters, giving thanks for these opportunities.

During the last two years, we have also taken initiatives, (particularly during pastoral visits by our Bishop), to bring together those working for community life within and outside the Church, to consider how we can build a more brotherly world.

For the Church’s service is ultimately a way which will lead us “out to sea, into deep waters”.

We are now embarking on the last phase of this initiative, with the preparation of the great national congress, which will be held in Lourdes at the Feast of the Ascension, May the 9th, 10th and 11th, on the theme “The stone which the builders rejected has become the capstone”.

There will be about 24 people from the Diocese of Coutances, (from all the deaneries, and representing different movements and services) going to this congress. During this time, we will share our experiences, take part in various forums and meetings, and enjoy times of renewal. It will be a good opportunity to bear witness to the way Christians, basing their activity on the Word of God, can join others in social development by putting the most vulnerable groups at the centre of their concern” v

Jean-Claude GROUD Member of the Diocesan Council for Solidarity and delegate from the Diocese of Coutances and Avranches for Diaconia 2013

an training training an training “We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness.” Pope Francis We can see what constitutes the core of the Christian vocation: it is Christ! Let us protect Christ in our lives, so that we can protect others, so that we can protect creation!

The vocation of being a protector, however, is not just something involving us Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human, involving everyone.

It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as Saint Francis of Assisi showed us. It means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live.

It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about. (…)

We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness!

Pope Francis Homily of March 19th, 2013, the Feast of St Joseph

The Book of Wonders I have had the opportunity to read some passages in the Books of Wonders left in churches for myself; simple testimonies of everyday life, relationships with neighbours, mutual help, written by the “welcomers” as much as by those they help and support. I was touched by the closeness, the neighbourly life, the community which develops without considering the differences in background, culture or circumstances. The Church is alive in believers, (or unbelievers), people of goodwill, brothers and sisters in the image of Christ.

The meeting at Lourdes must not be the last step. “The poor you have always with you”, said Jesus…. They are there on our doorsteps, in our houses, in the places where we live and work. We are called to keep these activities going, keep our eyes open; and He went on, “but I will not always be with you”.

We should not forget that Christ is our foundation, and that includes our charitable work. He is the one we see in our neighbour, who we follow when we serve our brothers and sisters. Seeing the face of Jesus in the man dying on the street corner, in those who are alone, abandoned, despised; “whatever you have done for the least of these my brothers, you have done it for me”.

Bernadette Mabboux, delegate from the Chemin Neuf Community to Diaconia 2013.

www.diaconia2013.fr

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Christian training

The year of faith: Poet and believer

YEAR OF FAITH

Pilgrim of words The ‘Year of faith’ is running its course. Poet and journalist Francois Xavier Maigre replies to the question ‘What is faith to you?’ by sharing his experience as a pilgrim.

Indeed, it was through walking that the author of ‘In the footsteps of the archangel’ experienced the presence of God.

François-Xavier MAIGRE,

journalist, poet and pilgrim. Winner of the Poésyvelines prize in 2012 and of the UNESCO poetry prize at the 2012 Struga festival.

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It is difficult for me to tackle the question of faith and art – in my view indivisible – without referring to pilgrimage, which gave form to my relationship with the sacred. I became a believer and I wrote my first poems while walking.

As my horizons broadened, so did the space inside me. My thirst to understand, to know and to write - and, therefore, to believe - was born out of this encounter with the world.

19 June 2011. It has been raining for three days. Our feet cling to the clay in the ruts which are forming in the track. We stumble along in silence, drenched and happy. My wife Pauline is at my side with our seven month old son Martin, dozing against her tummy. Faustine, my older daughter aged two and a half, is behaving herself in a baby carrier on my back.

Loaded with food, a donkey accompanies our bumpy pilgrimage towards Mont St Michel1.

In a few days we will lay down our kitbags on the granite flanks of the Merveille1. After 450km of adventure, we will light a candle in front of the Archangel and we will return home. A month during which we sought to find our way through hedges and fields and under the naves of forests, moved by the confidence imprinted by the pounding of feet. The certainty of a presence.

I have always enjoyed taking refuge in nature, physically as well as in what

« My certainty of the existence of God was forged on the asphalt of my holidays, as if the nomadic life had made me more porous to His breath. » I read. Ever since adolescence, I have spent the greater part of my free time rambling, first with the scouts, then alone, on foot or by bike, on the roads of France or Spain. My certainty of the existence of God was forged on the asphalt of my holidays, as if the nomadic life had made me more porous to His breath. I remember a cycle tour around Normandy. Trapped by a storm I took refuge in extremis in a dilapidated church. In the silence of the stones, I felt that I had been expected: I was not alone.

Another year, I pitched my tent in the hollow of a cave in Asturias, on the Compostella trail. In the heat of the rock, I dreamt about the Lourdes grotto, which bore a strange resemblance to my own. I felt at home in this alcove. There is the faith with which we are inculcated during catechism and that which imposes itself, by small brush strokes, as we wander. Do not the chants of the breeze and the variations of the sky form the most eloquent of liturgies?

an training training an training Furthermore, if one confesses that the Word was made flesh, one cannot approach writing as a mere pastime. To read and to write is to seek to approach the Mystery by trying to give it a name.

Like liturgy, poetry has the capability to translate the most inaccessible realities into something humanly understandable. We are mere lookouts posted at the edge of a virgin page. We receive what we write. Poet? I feel rather that

« We receive what we write. Poet? I feel rather that I am a pilgrim of words, gleaning as the days go by the wherewithal to clothe the silence and to move forward. I like this phrase of René Guy Cadou ‘Your hand reaches out to welcome me at the threshold of a blank sheet.’»

Having left the shelter of the chaplaincy early on, I built my spiritual environment in a rather empirical way. It still has some gaps. I dip into the Bible like a dilettante, like someone coming to drink at a well; I really have to be gripped by thirst before I think about opening its pages. Other words have forged my walker’s faith, in particular the ex voto which decorate many French churches.

I have been fascinated by these professions of faith in stone. Each bears witness to a cure, an absolution; they refute the scepticism of our western minds.

Travel has also allowed me to have encounters through which I have felt the resonance of a benevolence from afar. I have in mind the nun from Beirut, keeping watch over children afflicted with grave illnesses; her unfailing thoughtfulness left me speechless. I have in mind the old lady in a Galician village who gave me something to drink at the end of a punishing day. The livestock farmers in the Charente who

opened their door to me one July evening; knowing nothing about me they concocted a feast for me before offering me a bed. Nor have I forgotten the Palestinian priest who welcomed me into his village with the affability of a father. A pilgrimage is an open-air Gospel.

As soon as I feel that my well ordered city dweller’s life is making me dull, all I have to do is to take to the road once more, to rediscover the certainty that only relationships with others can make life worthwhile.

My attachment to poetry springs from this: writing and walking are only ever two ways of seeking God in all things.

Writing is an art of discovery, just like a slow stroll. Most of my poems are born out of these often very simple journeys; “I walk as a mark of my joy” I wrote in one of the texts in my first collection of works1.

The purging effect of the journey allows a perfectly apt word to emerge; that is why I find it so hard to write in Paris.

I am a pilgrim of words, gleaning as the days go by the wherewithal to clothe the silence and to move forward. I like this phrase of René Guy Cadou ‘Your hand reaches out to welcome me at the threshold of a blank sheet.’

Whether starting a pilgrimage, or inscribing words in the evening calm, I am motivated by the same desire to join He who has been ever present. A poem, like a confidence addressed to the invisible: In the beginning the anthology of the world had yet to be written the golden jewel of earth waited to be sculpted and I waited to know you. v 1- ‘In the footsteps of the archangel, 450 km on foot, up to Saint Michael Mount’ (published by Bayard, 2012) 2- ’In the grip of the wind’ (published by Bruno Doucey, 2012) blog : www.fxmaigre.blogspot. com

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The call to walking

Summer is coming and many are those who already have itchy feet and can’t wait for the moment when they will be treading down footpaths with others and thus live up to this rewarding experience which walks provide. This wonderful experience during which we naturally engage not only our body, but also our relationship with others, and with God. As a hermit who lived in the wilderness used to say: “One cannot experience any inner feeling unless it passes through the feet”. This experience also reminds us that we are mere pilgrims on earth, always walking along the way towards God.

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“Our life can be compared to a long walk, albeit so hectic at times that we tend to forget the true meaning of the walk, the One who walks alongside us” I’ve always felt a very strong urge towards walks: long-distance endurance walks with the scouts in Brittany or the Limousin; hikes on the way to Saint James of Compostella or in the region of the Italian Alps; overnight pilgrimage to Chartres Cathedral or daytime walks from the cirque de Gavarnie; “goums” in the dry expanse of Spain… Alone or with others, with or without a tent…

Today, I’ve come to appreciate that it is the endurance tests that have had the most lasting effect on me - those who had been the most demanding. I’ve also come to realise this fact because in my weakness, I’ve had to rely on fraternal support; equally, as a result of my limitations, I’ve searched for God; and because I’ve been able to go beyond my own limitations, I’ve been able to have a taste of the joy of a challenge!

Walks always allow one to refocus on the true meaning of life; to take time; to experience a quiet and simple life; to learn once more to contemplate; to search for, and to find, God in the quietness of the surroundings. “Be strong and courageous for the Lord your God himself walks alongside you”.

(Deuteronomy 31, 6) Our life can be compared to a long walk albeit sometimes so hectic that we do not find enough time to think properly about everything we ought to carry in our bag before we leave; that we fail to stop to contemplate the amazing scenery that opens up in front of us; that we do not plan adequately the quiet moments when the hill becomes too steep and we run the risk of being out of breath; that we forget in such circumstances the true meaning of the walk, the One who walks alongside us, God.

To leave…

Here you are then, gone for a long walk, lasting for a few hours or for a few days, so that the walk will involve

not only your body but also becomes an inner journey for your soul. Abraham has left for the land which God will show him (Genesis 12, 1 – 9); the Hebrew nation started their journey towards the Promised Land, from Egypt up to Israel (Exodus); Paul continues his race since Christ has taken hold of him (Philippians 3, 12); from the Old to the New Testament, the nation is on a journey.

Christians are “strangers and pilgrims on earth” (Psalm 119, 9). You are a Christian on a journey, someone on the way!

You have taken the first step because you have chosen to leave. Often, it is the first step which is the hardest…

“Before leaving, one has to have a few swings of the sickle and the axe… But one does not have to wait to be detached from everything and from oneself to be able to leave”. (Yves Raguin)

Prepare yourself

One must first pack up one’s bag but it must not be too heavy so that it can be easily carried! The idea is to leave behind any unnecessary item: your mobile phone or your Smartphone, which, in either case, will have no reception or access to the internet; your watch, since the position of the sun will tell you the time; your novels or comic books, as the Word of God is all you need; your many items of clothing, which risk being too cumbersome.

Better walk light by fear that your bag, if too full, will slow you down. Do not be afraid to get rid of a number of items (which might give you a false sense of security) to alleviate the load because you will feel freer! “Jesus commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no coins in their belts”. (Mark 6, 8) Walks are also a means of teaching us to be dependent on others: to welcome the assistance of one’s companion on the road; to accept a drink of water

from your neighbour; to share one’s inner feelings while walking from one valley to another. One learns the meaning of fraternal links through walks because it binds people together, in bare truth and utmost simplicity, without any pretence. Fraternity is built from walks.

You will also realise that your body can take you much further than you might have thought. The first couple of days will be the most exacting: one must be prepared to accept the first few blisters; to realise the lack of exercise during the last few months; to find one’s own pace. It’s through time and effort that you will discover the joys arising from walks and, by that time, you will no longer want to stop!

To reach the goal

Here, you will be able to wonder at this marmot or that squirrel; at the bare landscape or the never-ending forest; at the radiant sunshine or the light mist.

Contemplate the scenery, you have earned it! For once, you have the time to stop and to contemplate. Look with amazement at the beauty of creation!

There, you will find God: His Greatness in the mountains, His Majesty in the fauna and the flora, His Goodness in the desert stream, His Power in the sun which warms the earth.

Contemplating Mother Nature, you will think of Saint Francis of Assisi. Admiring the bare landscape, you will think of Charles de Foucauld. Many great saints have embarked on a journey so as to follow Jesus who walked for 40 days, alone, in the desert (Luke 4, 1- 13). And when you will have found the way, you will have found Christ because He is “the way, the truth, the life”. (John 14, 6) And what about you? Have you got this desire to start the journey? Have you got the will to answer this Call to The Walk? v 1- For an 8-day trek in the desert: www.goums.org

Marie Bourbonnais, With the mission for 14-18 year-olds and from the JET mission (JET - Jeunes à l’Etranger = Youth Overseas]

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Open your hearts “Whenever a walk takes place in conjunction with a pilgrimage, the outcome is that not only does the scenery but also the places visited that bring us closer to God. In my own case, a priest and I have been involved in the organisation of a pilgrimage on foot across Switzerland. Departing from Fribourg, we walk past the Bernese pre-Alps to reach the actual centre point of Switzerland.

Then, we proceed along the Ranft, the place where Nicolas de Flue, patron saint of Switzerland, lived. Afterwards, we set out again in the direction of Einsiedeln, the most important place in Switzerland for a pilgrimage to the Virgin Mary, stopping for the night at the convent of Ingenbohl.

Nature trails are to be found in between all these destinations and are ideally suited as a place for prayer and for mass to be said in the beautiful small shrines set in the mountains’ pasture land.

As for me, each year, I discover something new and different as much in the nature trails themselves as in the greatness of God in His creation. The moments of silence during the walk help me refocus on what is really important in life while putting aside its worries. Indeed, only God can fill our lives; we only have to open up our hearts so that He can come and dwell in us”.

Stéphane Bieri, Seminarist studying to become priest in the diocese of Basel and in his last year of theological studies at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

Step by step... « Last year, I took part in the “Step by Step” session.

What is it exactly? A week of walks with super guys whom I would probably never have met under different circumstances. And yet, I found myself with them, right in their midst! This particular activity allowed me to experience a new sense of achievement. One marches on without ever having to rush, not aiming to arrive at a given destination but rather concentrating one’s mind on the enjoyment of the present moment. One makes good progress without feeling the absolute need to arrive but always having the firm belief of being guided, accompanied and assured of arriving safely and in good time.

To crown it all, I have met Someone awe-inspiring who accompanied me, Someone powerful, sublime, full of love, who guides me and speaks to me. “Step by Step” is a purifying walk which allows one to return to the basis of one’s faith, without fear, without bias. You can, quite simply, just enjoy the journey!»

Aliénor Tarralle

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A traveller in the steps of Saint James « I discovered the power of walks through the boy-scout movement and it is in my capacity as a boy-scout that I am giving this testimony. I took part in a number of pilgrimages when I was young, for example as a family, but it was only at the age of 16 when I went hiking at regular intervals that I discovered the true meaning of this: the human being is not meant to remain seated by the roadside. He is a permanent pilgrim “on the way which leads to the house of the Father”. What is so great is that this route demands an effort from each and every one of us in that we are deemed to rise above one’s own capability, to detach ourselves from our cosy environment.

We are never alone: it is in the course of a demanding experience that very strong ties of friendship are established, that profound exchanges take place. It is through such demanding situations that we meet God. For me, the best time to set out on a hike is in the early morning, shortly before sunrise: from the time when nature is seen to be awakening gradually up to the time when the rays of the sun await us. Then, all of a sudden, nature as well as the traveller abandon their torpor so as to live a day full of excitement.

Etienne Roland-Gosselin, Pioneer Scout of Europe

mmer: alk u s t s a l w y Step” rience! It’s a nce a e ble exp sing, pray, d alking so me to sing while w he feet or ly t ers. To ver pain in en particularwere e t what els! I have bee had which n which one fe the walks w dence” day o e’s door l i ssed by nd the “prov nock at peope reached k ilence acriminately ls. When w the young y is ea we ind k for our m e were met b and together to as onceaux, w er camps .

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18-30 YEARS • WELCOME TO PARADISE ! A programme full of activities!

Indeed, you will have a feel of Paradise at the Hautecombe International Festival from 04 to 11 August… A week of holiday in the magnificent location of Hautecombe Abbey by Lake Bourget, with a programme full of exchanges, stirring topics and amazing discoveries. visit: welcometoparadise.fr • WORLD YOUTH DAY IN BRAZIL !

Just imagine… A new continent!

A summer right in the middle of winter! 4 million young people gathered together! In short…

Just imagine… A wildly exciting “WYD” in Brazil! The International Festival of Belo Horizonte from 17 to 22 July – 5 days to move your faith to the rhythm of the samba! Followed by the “WYD” in Rio from 23 to 28 July to bring the Good News to the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana. Take time to stop, to listen to what the Lord has to say to you and to receive His love in your life. visit: jmj2013rio.chemin-neuf.fr • PILGRIMAGE IN THE HOLY LAND !

From 04 to 18 August: Where Christ walked… 2 weeks in the Holy Land to discover the Bible through walks! Every day: walks, short teachings, prayer – both personal and community, living in simplicity. A fraternal and spiritual experience to deepen your faith while walking in the land of Jesus.

• HOSTELS FOR STUDENTS At Angers, Chambéry, ClermontFerrand, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Villeurbanne, Nancy, Nantes, Paris 18e, La Défense (Young Professionals), Levallois-Perret, Reims.

• Secretariat: 18 – 30 year-olds visit: jeunes.chemin-neuf.fr 01 47 74 93 73 or 06 30 14 06 96 jeunes.france@chemin-neuf.org

coming events

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14-18 YEARS

• INMotion (SABouge): From 09 to 14 July in Sablonceaux (17).

A week to enjoy fully a range of sports and games. Numerous different activities each day; enough to be able to share together in some outstanding moments; to allow God to MOVE the boundaries of our hearts and to come to know Him better.

• SSTEP BY STEP: 16 – 18 yearolds. From 09 to 14 July: 5 days of adventure through walks in the Charente region. For those who want to travel, “step by step”, on the road which leads to God. A group of some 20 young people; experience fraternal life and share prayer together; learn to know yourself by rising above yourself.

• SABLONCEAUX FESTIVAL: 14 – 18 year-olds. From 16 to 21 July – a summer camp with some 200 participants! Artistic or sporting activities à la carte. 5 days to have a feel of heaven during a festival with a large variety of choices: from prayer to sport through music and exchanges. Each activity in the right time and place but in a festive atmosphere! A choice of activities: choir, orchestra, theatre, choreography, drawing/painting, photo/video, calligraphy… For the sportsmen/ women: football, rugby, volleyball, horse riding, tennis, cycling, canoeing, table-tennis…

•S ecretariat: 14 – 18 year-olds 04 72 13 73 64 ou 06 61 61 02 72 14-18ans@chemin-neuf.org visit: chemin-neuf.org/14-18ans

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Community Life

“As we walked on, this Chemin Neuf, this new path, was forged...”

1973 -2013

From the origins to today From the origins to today, the “turning points” and a few anecdotes which also relate this life which is so dear to us...

40 years old is the age of maturity! For the Hebrews, it was the escape from Egypt and crossing the desert to reach the Promised Land, a land where milk and honey flowed!

Once there, there was no more manna, no more quail, but the Israelites had to grow and harvest the fruits and products of the land! As predicted in Isaiah 54: “For you will spread out to the right and to the left”... new places, and also new countries like the Philippines or Spain.

Photos, from left to right: Jacqueline Coutellier, the La Bâtie house, Brigitte, Laurent Fabre, Jacques Monfort, Claire Daurel, Pierre Laslandes, scenes of community life

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We want to make the most of this Chemin Neuf anniversary to talk about the work of God in these small beginnings, because we are still at the foundation stage! Our founder, Father Laurent Fabre, is a Jesuit and he often likes to say that the real founder of our little community is St Ignatius, always listening to the Holy Spirit in a spirit of humility and fraternity!

For example, in the first year, Laurent didn’t actually live with the community at 49 Montée du Chemin Neuf, as if he were the chaplain of this little fraternity composed of seven single people. He didn’t talk about the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius and, for a year, it was me, a woman and a novice in everything, who would help to lead community debates - for most of the time we made decisions together!

The following year, we asked Laurent to be our leader, and, three years later, we held our first elections in Les Pothières where, just after a beautiful rainbow, we elected him unanimously to be our first “shepherd”!

The Birth of the Community: In 1971-72 the community was born out of a prayer group in Lyon. An American theology student shared with a few people from Lyon his joy, his enthusiasm and his prayer experience of the charismatic renewal in the USA. A family, Pierre and Maryse Pelletier and their daughter Patricia, opened up their living-room to a few curious visitors brought together by the wind of the Spirit! There must have been a dozen of us...

A year later, the American returned home accompanied by Laurent and Bertrand, those two Jesuits wanting to visit the source of this charismatic movement.

They came back convinced and, in November 1975, fifteen or so of us had that life-changing experience of Baptism in the Holy Spirit in St-Michel du Touvet, in a mountain chalet above Grenoble. A few months later, on 1st May 1973, sharing our testimony of this Baptism in the Holy Spirit during a meeting for priests

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from the South of France was decisive for us: it enabled us to really acknowledge the grace received for our Church.

On the return car journey, Laurent shared with me his project of a mixed community life, saying, “If it’s God’s will, this will happen!”

The Lord’s messengers!

As always, when God speaks to us, he confirms his words by sending help: Vincent, a Jesuit brother, at that time a worker-priest and a friend of Laurent’s, turned up to encourage him at precisely the time he was thinking of giving up this mad dream of a mixed community (cf p.20). He informed him that a house at 49 Montée du Chemin Neuf could be lent to us for a year by an association founded by a Jesuit, with, moreover, some money to carry out a bit of renovation work!

worries. The prayer room was the first place we restored. It was a large space overlooking the city where we held the prayer group and community meetings with the “enlarged community” or, later, the “alliance community”, people brought close to us by service, prayer or training.

One of the highlights of the prayer groups was, of course, listening together to the Lord, but also the time afterwards: fellowship and refreshments served in our common room. People didn’t want to leave because we were sharing the best with them: fraternal joy! A year later a question came up: were we going to be able to stay in this place that was ideal for us, since the

house was only on loan and we couldn’t afford to buy it? In the summer of 1974, during a charismatic session that we were leading in Baume-les-Aix, providence led us to meet a woman who had decided to devote the rest of her life to prayer.

Unaware of our needs, she donated to the community the exact sum needed by the Jesuit Father, Father Gounon, who had lent us the house. It was the concrete sign that we could remain together if we chose to!

And so we were able to celebrate those early commitments in the community and to celibacy in this room at number 49 on Christmas night 1974!

“If it’s God’s will, this will happen!”

When we visited the house on the evening of Laurent’s ordination at the end of June, we recognised that this was the sign which enabled us to say yes, even if we thought it was almost too big for us and in need of a lot of work!

Thus God went before us like a father and enabled us to start community life in October: four single men and three single women, desiring to discern their calling and bear witness to God’s love wherever and however far he chose to send them!

We decided to stop working and make ourselves available for the renovation work. Our small savings put in the common pot allowed us to start without any

A celebration in the room at number 49 Chemin Neuf

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Community Life From Consolation to the test of the wilderness: the spirituality of the Cross Carried along on this charismatic wave, we went forward without asking ourselves too many questions, until the day the youngest of us (23 years old) was about to leave us in an unexpected way.

Before joining us in Lyon, Brigitte had learnt that she had a form of cancer that required a kidney operation. Our first act together as a fraternity was prayer for her to be healed in the Parisian hospital.

With her, we understood that we continually needed to call into question all our projects. She had wanted and got a job in Lyon as a social worker, but was never able to take it up. And so together, in confidence, we had to build the fraternity day by day on our weaknesses or failings. We weren’t to worry about the future, but we had to submit ourselves to God’s will.

munity: “I couldn’t put into words how much I loved you.” “Love God and love one another, that’s the only law that the Lord’s Spirit etches on our very hearts.” (Community Statutes) We can think of many other seeds sown in good soil which taught us to give of ourselves without counting the cost so as to bear fruit: Pierre, Joseph, Geneviève, Hélène, Claire and many others...

From Les Pothières to the Aula Dei Charterhouse in Saragossa After this time of offering up Brigitte’s life, the harvest was plentiful: it was the start of training in October 1975. It was the holy year and, as we travelled to Rome, on the train we handed out leaflets about the training course: the first Cycle A (3 months in Valpré with the Assumptionists) and the first Cycle B (later called the Emmaus cycle), one weekend a month for two years in Les Pothières, in a house acquired in 1976 thanks to a donation.

“Love God and love one another, that’s the only law that the Lord’s Spirit etches on our very hearts.”

On 1st February 1975, when she went to meet the Father, two Bible verses remained alive in us, as if she had engraved them on our foundations.

“Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12,24) and this passage from Luke engraved on her headstone in Tournus: “Do not worry about your life, or about your body... seek first the kingdom of God ... and all these things will be given to you as well. (Luke 12,22) Before leaving us, her last words gave us one of the foundations of our com-

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Those who took part in these training courses were members of the prayer groups who wanted to root their conversions firmly in the Word of God, in listening to the Holy Spirit and in preparing to serve the Church. That same year we started accompaniment training for lay people wanting to discover Ignatian spirituality.

This year 2012-2013, we have welcomed twenty-seven families to that incredible Charterhouse in Saragossa for three months with eight staying on for Cycle C. The good fortune of living in

this “vast” place is the joy of couples and consecrated celibates sharing the community life together; a joy that we had first experienced at the beginning of the training course in Les Pothières, an important grace of the Chemin Neuf, especially evident during the Easter Triduum with the baptism of Emérance Moulet, such an event hitherto unheard of in a Charterhouse!

Thirty families have already signed up for the month of October 2013, some of them for three months and others for the whole year. In fact, we had been wondering whether the year 2012-2013 was not an exceptional one.

Now we have had clear confirmation that we were right to be confident!

Unfortunately, we’re having to stop registrations... because now we have to get on with renovating all the other cells. There are nearly a dozen left to do up, and we haven’t got the money to do the work.

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The first couple in the community, the first parish, the first Cana session...

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After 40 years it’s impossible to imagine the community without couples! When did the first couples come to share our fraternal life?

It was after the first Cycle A that the first couple rapidly came to join us at “number 49”. We were called to open ourselves up to a community life mixed twice over: not only men and women, but also consecrated celibates and couples!

As St Ignatius wrote in his autobiography, The story of a pilgrim, “God treated him in the same way as a schoolmaster treats a pupil.” As we walked on, this Chemin Neuf, this new path, was forged, without a plan known in advance, progressively, step by step... always listening to the Holy Spirit.

In 1980 the Bishop of Marseille, Cardinal Etchegaray, called us to run a parish, which responded to our desire to place ourselves in the service of the Church. In Lyon we were called to La Duchère parish with Emmanuel Payen. These small beginnings marked the start of what we call today “Chemin Neuf’s parish missionary fraternity” in twenty or so parishes entrusted to the Community in Europe, Africa and the Americas...

Photos : Left photo: Brigitte and Jacqueline 1. Community meal at number 49 2. The end of a session at the Les Pothières house 3. A charismatic gathering in Lyon in 1977 with, from left to right, Bishop Renard, Laurent Fabre, Jacky Parmentier, Pierre Goursat 4. The first parish entrusted to the Community, Notre Dame des Apôtres parish in Marseille

Cana also came into being in an unexpected way! A couple from the Equipes Notre Dame, Pierre and Solange Rigal, came to see us with a request. In 1975 they had participated in a session that was very charismatic and full of blessings for themselves and other families in Aix. Laurent listened to them and decided to launch a mission for families in Les Pothières in 1980. It was a retreat for families with their children, both big and small. It was such a success that every year, thanks to a horticultural school near Ars, we’ve been able to welcome up to 2000 people. Together we’ve experienced the joy of renewal for all these families, especially through the gift of forgiveness at the heart of couples and families. As Pierre Rigal put

it so well, we have understood a couple’s blessedness: “It’s a poor person loving another poor person.” Since then the good wine of Cana has been tasted and exported to around fifty countries. It’s a fine mission which brings together couples and consecrated celibates, the young and the old who realise a little more, by the concrete example of community life, just how much God is our Father.

Hautecombe and young people In 1992 we dared to say “yes” to another place which was to become a source of living water for a lot of young people, Hautecombe Abbey. We have just celebrated our community being in this fine abbey on Lake Bourget for 20 years. Once more, at Easter, more than 500 young people came to celebrate the death and resurrection of the Saviour over four days. What an explosion of joy and faith!

Saint Ignatius and Saint Teresa With around fifteen years’ experience of living in the Spirit and practising Saint Ignatius’s spiritual exercises, we reflected together and very simply decided during a community week in Sablonceaux to acknowledge these two currents of charismatic renewal and Ignatian spirituality. They’re complementary and help us to root ourselves in listening to the Word of God, discernment of spirits and availability for the mission of serving the Church. This translates in concrete terms into a 30-day retreat before a permanent commitment and a one-week retreat every year for consecrated celibates and every other year for couples.

In Spain, for the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the community, we are invited to visit the places where St Ignatius and St Teresa d’Avila received the great graces for their order and for the Church. We’ll also discover how they were able to, and are still able to, accompany our foundation invisibly. We thus understand that vision Laurent had in his “third year”: the image of a child

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Community Life walking hand in hand with two adults, Ignatius and Teresa.

When we visited Loyola with Cycle C, we felt as if we were being invited “home”! At a time when there is the risk of us scattering “left and right”, as announced in the prophesy of Isaiah 54, prayer, a central tenet of the Ignatian and charismatic traditions, can keep us together and close to He who is the Chemin Neuf, the new path!

“May they be one” On this path, at the heart of the prayer group or various missions, we have been fortunate enough to receive confirmation that working for unity was, and is, the main mission at the heart of our community. It has even become the fourth vow for those making a permanent commitment.

During the first prayer group and the first Cana session, there were some members of other churches with us and they encouraged us in this calling from the Holy Spirit and our Good Shepherd: this Charismatic Renewal will be ecumenical or won’t be anything at all!

The first gatherings were held together

THIS SUMMER...

Come and serve!

This summer we’ll be holding 4 Cana sessions in France. More than 70 couples, 20 divorced or separated people and 40 people engaged to be married have already registered for the sessions at Hautecombe, with around 200 children. Many people from the Chemin Neuf community and communion, as well as couples from Cana and people from Cana Hope, have already decided to come and serve. However, we still need servers (for the music, cooking, children, material...)! Service is always associated with spiritual training (prayer, teaching, fraternal life).

We advise servers to leave children under 7 years old at home.

To register: www.chemin-neuf.fr

04 74 67 28 06- canafrance@chemin-neuf.org

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with other denominations. The first two community Chapters caused us to take another decisive step. In the case of the second one, it was with the help of a Swiss brother, Pastor Daniel Ghering.

We were able to specify in our statutes how to live out our calling while remaining obedient to each of our churches.

In 2001, a leap forward was made with the creation of the Institute of Theology of the Dombes, thanks to our sister Anne-Cathy, a Mennonite pastor and a member of the Dombes Group. With the effective collaboration of Xavier Lacroix, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Anne-Cathy and Laurent were able to establish a partnership between the Chemin Neuf Community and the Catholic University of Lyon, as well as with the Protestant University of Strasbourg. At almost the same time, we founded two Faculties of Philosophy in Chartes and Kinshasa, in close collaboration with the Jesuits from the Sèvres centre in Paris and the Saint-Pierre Canisius centre in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Also, since 2001, the community in the Holy Land has discovered the richness of various oriental churches, the strong

presence of the Orthodox Church and also the need for dialogue with our Jewish and Muslim brothers. The Holy Spirit always pushes us to greater love and openness towards those about whom we know little or nothing and who sometimes suffer from our conceit.

The Ecce Homo hostel in Jerusalem and the Mary of Nazareth Centre are for that purpose two fine places which are welcoming and full of fraternal joy. Little by little bridges are being built, pushing back the walls of separation! We encourage each member of the Chemin Neuf to come to the Promised Land at least once in their life time to get a greater sense of this call to unity. v

Cana Sessions CANA COUPLES: A privileged time to take stock, spend time together and deepen the couple’s unity - CANA FIANCÉS: a real place for discernment, a time to get to know each other better and love each other more deeply - CANA Hope: for those who are separated or divorced and who haven’t remarried - CANA SAMARIA: for those who’ve committed to a new relationship after divorce or separation.

DATES OF CANA SESSIONS HAUTECOMBE (73)

27 APRIL - 3 MAY

CANA COUPLES

14 - 20 JULY

CANA COUPLES (with children)

BOUVINES (59)

21 - 27 JULY

CANA COUPLES (with children)

HAUTECOMBE (73)

28 JULY - 3 AUGUST

CANA COUPLES (with children)

AIRE SUR L’ADOUR (40)

4 - 10 AUGUST

CANA COUPLES (with childrenover 7) LES DOMBES (01)

21 - 27 JULY

CANA FIANCÉS

21 - 27 JULY

CANA ESPÉRANCE

21 - 27 JULY

CANA SAMARIE (with children)

(with children)

HAUTECOMBE (73) (with children)

HAUTECOMBE (73) MONTAGNIEU (38)

rendez-vous

om

Talents

Young talent Shu-Min HUANG Taiwanese and 24 years old, she was baptised on

14th April this year. A landmark on her spiritual journey was meeting the Lord at Easter 2012 at Hautecombe Abbey.

“I’ve always loved drawing. However, in recent years, I hadn’t painted anything. Before meeting Jesus, I myself played God. I was always trying hard to create... Unfortunately the living source was missing. I would feel intense anxiety in front of a blank sheet of paper. Art is work that comes from the heart and, when I was feeling empty inside, I found the emptiness on my paintings unbearable... As a result, for a long time I stopped painting. Now, after meeting God the Creator, I’ve gradually started to use my paintbrushes again. For, gradually, thanks to Him, joy and love have started to come into my life. By the grace of baptism, God has allowed me to be true to myself, to express myself freely through my painting. By living with others in God’s love, we can always achieve beautiful things!”

Shu-Min, living at the Chemin Neuf Community hostel in Nantes, has produced this very colourful watercolour in the style of a stained glass window, inspired by scenes from hostel life: meals, celebrations, liturgy... and she has placed Christ and the Holy Spirit in the centre.

FOI • N°37 • June - July - August 2013

35

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