Quotes by Jean Vanier

“[Happiness] comes when we choose to be who we are, to be ourselves, at this present moment in our lives.”

“Peace is the fruit of love, a love that is also justice. But to grow in love requires work -- hard work. And it can bring pain because it implies loss -- loss of the certitudes, comforts, and hurts...”

“We work for peace every time we exercise authority with wisdom and authentic love.”

“People cannot accept their own evil if they do not at the same time feel loved, respected and trusted.”

“We can be seduced...by powerful political groups that promise more wealth and lower taxes. Those with power can use clever, psychological tricks and play upon our weaknesses and brokenness in order...”

“Look at your own povertywelcome itcherish itdon't be afraidshare your deathbecause thus you will share your love and your life”

“You see what I am driving at. The mentally handicapped do not have a consciousness of power. Because of this perhaps their capacity for love is more immediate, lively and developed than that of oth...”

“A community is only being created when its members accept that they are not going to achieve great things, that they are not going to be heroes, but simply live each day with new hope, like childre...”

“The word love has been so abused by publicity and advertisements that we no longer know really what it means.”

“I am struck by how sharing our weakness and difficulties is more nourishing to others than sharing our qualities and successes.”

“A growing community must integrate three elements: a life of silent prayer, a life of service and above all of listening to the poor, and a community life through which all its members can grow in ...”

“The friend of time doesn't spend all day saying: 'I haven't got time.' He doesn't fight with time. He accepts it and cherishes it.”

“We discover that we are at the same time very insignificant and very important, because each of our actions is preparing the humanity of tomorrow; it is a tiny contribution to the construction of t...”

“Deep in our hearts there is a call to live in communion with others, a call to love, to create, to risk. But there is also that radical feeling of our poverty when faced with human misery. I am afr...”

“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.”

“Every human activity can be put at the service of the divine and of love. We should all exercise our gift to build community.”

“To forgive is a gift of God that permits us to let go of our past hurts.”

“Jesus is the starving, the parched, the prisoner, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the dying. Jesus is the oppressed, the poor. To live with Jesus is to live with the poor. To live with the poor ...”

“A Christian community should do as Jesus did: propose and not impose. Its attraction must lie in the radiance cast by the love of brothers.”

“When people love each other, they are content with very little. When we have light and joy in our hearts, we don't need material wealth. The most loving communities are often the poorest. If our ow...”