Because I want you to live!

posted on L'Arche International's site 12/09/2005

Jean was born in Canada in 1928; his father was the Governor General of Canada. He was brought up in both Canada and England, and spent many years in the British Royal Navy and then the Canadian Royal Navy. In 1950, he resigned from the Navy and passed a doctorate in philosophy at the “Institut Catholique” in Paris. In 1963, he discovered people with learning disabilities when he visited his friend, Père Thomas Philippe, chaplain at the Val Fleuri, a home for thirty or so men with learning disabilities in the village of Trosly Breuil in the Oise region of France. Challenged by the simplicity, the sense of welcome, and the urgent call to relationship expressed by these men, Jean decided, in 1964, to welcome Philippe Seux and Raphaël Simi into a home he called L’Arche, in the village of Trosly Breuil. Jean was well aware of the fact that his action was irreversible, however he did not imagine how big L’Arche would become: in 2005 there are 126 communities in 31 countries throughout the world. In 1971, Jean founded Faith and Light with Marie Hélène Matthieu. This movement brings together people with learning disabilities, their parents and friends for a time of sharing, of celebration and of prayer. These communities meet once or twice a month, and there are currently more than a thousand communities worldwide. Jean was community leader for L’Arche Trosly-Breuil until the year 1981; he still lives in this community. He visits communities throughout the world, and gives talks and retreats.

JEAN’S TESTIMONY WITH REGARD TO HIS CALL“I discovered people with learning disabilities in 1963 when I visited Père Thomas Philippe, who was chaplain at the Val Fleuri, a home for thirty or so men with learning disabilities, in the village of Trosly Breuil in the Oise region of France. I was challenged by their simplicity, their sense of welcome, their urgent call to relationship.This experience moved me and I decided to visit homes for the mentally handicapped, homes for the elderly and psychiatric hospitals. What I saw came as a terrible shock to me. I discovered an atmosphere of violence, of cries and yet, at the same time, I felt that God was deeply present. It was a mixture of peace and chaos.I gradually became aware of how deeply wounded people with learning disabilities are. Even if they are well cared for, they do not understand why they have been excluded, why they are not living in the same way as their brothers and sisters. They are also sometimes oppressed: throughout the world I have seen children chained up; I have seen 200 men and women piled into a room and living in filth… My experience has shown me that their violence, their strange behaviour, their depression are pleas for true relationship: Am I worth taking care of? The only response to this question is another heart saying “Yes, you’re worth it. I am willing to commit myself to a relationship with you, because I want you to live”.So it was that, with Père Thomas help and confirmation, I felt called to welcome Raphaël and Philippe, two men with learning disabilities. We started to live together in a small house in Trosly Breuil. We worked, prayed, travelled, and shared our lives together. Little by little we learned how to get on with one another: L’Arche had begun”.


The impossibleape's editorial comment follows:
Don't you think that every church that claims to be pro-life could learn from the example of this man?

If we insist on trying to make mothers bear their children to full term (under penalty of law) can we continue to ignore and put aside 'the little lame ones' that are already born?