listening to vanier

last night i began, yet again, to read jean vanier's community and growth. halfway through the introduction i found myself tottering on the precipice of tears and wondering why i have set this book aside so many times. since i am planning to write either a series of reflections or a serious review of the book in the future, i thought i might whet your appetite by sharing a few salient quotes and one remarkably beautiful metaphor.

"the destruction of intimate community has been at our own hands. it corresponds to our own hierarchy of values...as much as we yearn for community, we yearn even more for the social and economic prizes mobility can bring." vanier, community and growth, pg. 2.

"community means more than the comfort of souls. it means, and always has meant, the survival of the species." vanier quoting parker palmer, ibid., pg. 3.

"we expect a theophany of which we know nothing but the place, and that place is called community." vanier quoting martin buber, ibid., pg. 8.

young people must be led to "true community where they can become men and women of prayer and compassion, open to others and to the world, particularly the poor, the oppressed, the lost, and the vulnerable, and thus become artisans of peace." vanier, ibid., pg. 5.

artisans of peace. that just killed me.