“ An ethics of desire is good news for those of us who have become allergic to an ethics of law. Jean Vanier
“ We are not called by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love. Jean Vanier
“ In community we are called to care for each member of the community. We can. Choose our friends but we do not choose our brothers and sisters' they are given to us, whether in family or in community."… Jean Vanier
“ Community is not an ideal; it is people. It is you and I. In community we are called to love people just as they are with their wounds and their gifts, not as we want them to be. Jean Vanier
“ I am convinced that in the present time, in spite of the difficulties man has to meet another in a state of oblation, communion and gift of self, there are latent hidden forces in him which can be awa… Jean Vanier
“ Flowing from this union, source of a plenitude of joy, the love of the couple reveals itself through the daily acceptance of the limits and faults of each other and in mutual openness. It is this acce… Jean Vanier
“ The poor are always prophetic. As true prophets always point out, they reveal God's design. That is why we should take time to listen to them. And that means staying near them, because they speak quie… Jean Vanier
“ Those who are weak have great difficulty finding their place in our society. The image of the ideal human as powerful and capable disenfranchises the old, the sick, the less-abled. For me, society mus… Jean Vanier
“ One of the marvelous things about community is that it enables us to welcome and help people in a way we couldn't as individuals. When we pool our strength and share the work and responsibility, we ca… Jean Vanier
“ Community is a sign that love is possible in a materialistic world where people so often either ignore or fight each other. It is a sign that we don't need a lot of money to be happy--in fact, the opp… Jean Vanier
“ If we are to grow in love, the prisons of our egoism must be unlocked. This implies suffering, constant effort and repeated choices. Jean Vanier
“ When we love and respect people, revealing to them their value, they can begin to come out from behind the walls that protect them. Jean Vanier
“ At the same time, however, the necessity for economic change in our countries has led us to conceive laws and accept traditions often at the expense of the individual person. Just when many are becomi… Jean Vanier
“ Every human activity can be put at the service of the divine and of love. We should all exercise our gift to build community. Jean Vanier
“ Many people are good at talking about what they are doing, but in fact do little. Others do a lot but don't talk about it; they are the ones who make a community live. Jean Vanier
“ But how to be present to another? Our hearts are so hard. We are so insensitive to the suffering of others. We must pray the Holy Spirit to change our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh so that we m… Jean Vanier
“ ...Individualistic material progress and the desire to gain prestige by coming out on top have taken over from the sense of fellowship, compassion and community. Now people live more or less on their… Jean Vanier
“ A community that is growing rich and seeks only to defend its goods and its reputation is dying. It has ceased to grow in love. A community is alive when it is poor and its members feel they have to w… Jean Vanier
