International Taizé gathering

Brother Alois, Riga, Wednesday 28 December, 2016

What a joy it is to be welcomed in Riga! We have come from all over Europe, from Portugal to Russia, pas­sing through Poland and Ukraine. Some have even come from further afield, from other continents, notably from South Korea and Hong Kong.

Faced with the instability of today's world, we need to come together in a great brotherhood that transcends bor­ders. That Latvia, one of the Baltic countries, is welco­ming young people from all over Europe, is a sign of hope that sustains us.

I would like to say a big thank you to the Latvians And I think I am doing so on behalf of all of you, surely?

Dear Latvian friends, like the other Baltic countries. you are a small nation By coming to you as pilgrims, we would like to indicate that, in the concert of European voices, your voice counts By your warm welcome you make that voice heard throughout the continent.

In the past you have suffered and you have loved. Those who are older among you can still testify to that. Your often painful history has prepared you to be a land of reconciliation, a bridge between different parts of Europe We support the courage with which you respond to this calling.

Together ope­ning paths of hope - this is the theme of our mee­ting that begins tonight. I brought it back from Benin in Africa, where we had a continental mee­ting in September. With 7500 young people from different countries we experienced the fact that hope arises when we come together.

Why in Africa? And why, in other years on other continents, has our small community of Taizé undertaken a pilgrimage of trust across the earth?

One of the reasons is globalization, the interdepen­dence of countries and continents And we would like to contribute to a globalization of brotherhood. But this is not the deepest reason. Another reason is to be better able to listen to the youth of the various regions of the world and to uphold them in their trust in themselves, in their countries and in the future of their countries But the most essential reason for us is in the faith that Christ came for all humanity, he wants the fullness of life for every human being. He unites us all in one human family.

What I would like to convey to you from the African stage of our pilgrimage of trust is the vitality of the young people of that continent, their ability to persevere in trust even when the horizon darkens.

And I would like to communicate an appeal that these young Africans address to Europeans: they ask us to bring about more justice in inter­na­tio­nal economic and political relations.

Faith, trust in God, is alive in Africa. We too, during these days in Riga, want to go to the sources of faith. You have received the four proposals for 2017. Tomorrow mor­ning you will exchange on the first: “Stand firm in hope: it is creativity.”

To strengthen our hope, beyond a naive optimism, let us dare to believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us lean on him, even 1f he Is invisible. He Is present in our hearts and in the world.

Midday Prayer, Riga, Thursday 29 December 2016

A Very Simple Trust (Luke 18:15-17)

In the text we have just heard, Jesus and his disciples are distur­bed by people brin­ging them little children. While the disciples get upset and show it, for Jesus this situation, which he did not choose, becomes an opportunity. He welcomes the situation and the children and draws a lesson: The kingdom of God belongs to anyone who welcomes him as a child.

What characterizes children? First, the fact that they cannot meet all their own needs lf orphans-together with widows and stran­gers-are the poor and weak par excellence, it is precisely because they have no one to defend their rights and are not able to do so themselves.

Small children must, more or less frequently accor­ding to their age, turn to someone who will help them achieve what they want or give them what they lack. They place their trust in the person's ability to resolve a situation which is beyond them. And little children loudly express their displeasure when the parents will not or cannot provide the expected solution.

In our adult lives too, there are lacks that we cannot resolve by ourselves. Lear­ning from children means lear­ning to trust and to receive our lives. We do not need to self-realize! Rather than consi­dering our lives as a resource to be ex­ploi­ted to the full, we can gratefully welcome what we are given to live. This will also lead us to new relationships with others and with all creation.

lt would already be quite something to trust someone stron­ger than ourselves and to want to receive our life from someone capable of brin­ging us the fullness we lack. But Jesus offers us something else again: to welcome what is weaker and to open ourselves to what is limited.

The kingdom of God comes with power, but very often it manifests itself under the appearance of weakness. The broa­der horizon is sometimes opened for us by what seems more limited. Jesus proposes that we should accept this weakness and these limitations and he himself gives the example. lnstead of seeing in the children a source of embarrass­ment or a waste of time, he lets himself be distur­bed and discovers an opportunity to deepen his teaching, a new possibility to express his message.

Not only does he welcome the children, but he identifies himself with them. At another point in his life, he takes a child, puts him in front of the people and says, 'Whoever welcomes this little child welcomes me." (Lk 9:48) In Jesus, God shows Himself as one who ;5 weak andin need. In Jesus, he becomes the victim of the forces of this world. This is how he brings his kingdom. lt is the message of the cross: the power of God is revealed in weakness and the death of Jesus gives life.

The Gospel invites us to welcome a fullness of life that will come from one stron­ger than ourselves. To discover it, it calls us to open ourselves to what is weak and limited, in our tives as in those of others. lf we listen to this call in simplicity and trust, we will find there a source of hope, creativity and joy.

Midday prayer, Riga, Friday 30th December 2016

Come together to allow the dynamism of the Gospel to be revealed (1 Cor. 12:4-11)

In the Bible passage we have just heard, the apostle Paul tells us about the diversity of spiritual gifts the Christians in Corinth had received. When rea­ding Paul’s letters one should always remember that they were written to a specific group and for concrete reasons. The main reasons why Paul was wri­ting to the Corinthians were moral problems and divisions within their community.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul does not ignore the imperfections of the community that he founded : he reproaches them for being divided, each subgroup thin­king themselves and their lea­der superior to the others. At the same time he calls them his beloved children, and begins the letter by prai­sing them ‘because of the grace of God that has been given’ them ‘in Christ Jesus’ (1:4).

How can Paul praise a community where so many things have gone wrong? How can he consi­der them all the same the body of Christ, God's Church? It is because Paul, in spite of all their imperfections, is certain of the presence of the Holy Spirit in their midst. We normally recognize the Spirit's presence in everything that is good and beautiful, but do we see enough how he is at work in imperfect situations? In our lives too, in all their messiness and ambiguity, the Spirit is at work.

It seems like a beautiful idea: God distribu­ting gifts to each one individually. But it also means that we have to learn to live with the fact that we have not received the totality of gifts and that these gifts are not ‘on demand’. God has bestowed upon us certain gifts whereas others have received gifts that we lack. Instead of being frustrated by this we should see it as an encourage­ment to live in communion.

Paul wants the Christians of Corinth to reflect on why they received these gifts. The gifts we receive are not merely for our personal blosso­ming but are meant to be put together with the others’ gifts at the service of Christ and his Church. Yes, despite my best efforts, I lack many gifts, but I am surrounded by other believers, I don't have to possess all of them myself. The important thing is that the Church as a whole holds the fullness of the grace of God’s spirit.

And this means two things: first of all that we should “come together to allow the dynamism of the Gospel to be revealed” as brother Alois phrases it in the third proposal. For it is together and only together that the gifts of the Holy Spirit receive their full mea­ning.

And secondly, when we come together in the Church we have to live our unity in diversity. Just because someone does not practice his faith exactly like me does not necessarily mean he is wrong. We have to be attentive to those who see things differently than the majority, since often in the history of the Church it was a minority, sometimes only very few people, who understood where the Spirit was lea­ding the Church . In fact the Church is what it is when it knows how to listen to its diversity.

There is nothing relativistic in this approach. It does not mean that the Church is a place where, in the name of diversity each one is entitled to have his own truth. Paul insists very much on the fact that all the believers in Corinth have the same Spirit, the same Lord and the same God. Letting him bring us together in order to discover the variety of his gifts, protec­ting this variety in our own church and recogni­zing the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the churches of others are attitudes that will bring us closer to a visible communion of all those who love Christ.

Brother Alois, Riga, Friday December 30, 2016 (en)

Since we arrived in Riga on Wednesday, our mee­tings and our common prayers have been filled with great joy. At the same time, we are fully aware of the gravity Of the political and economic situations in Europe and the world.

Together ope­ning paths of hope. More than just being a theme for our mee­ting, that is an experience we are making these days. The beautiful hospitality we have found at Riga nou­rishes this hope.

I would like to say a big thank you to all those who have welcomed us to Riga: the families, the parishes, the authorities of the city and the country. The different Churches have Joined together to receive us Lutheran Catholic Orthodox, Baptist, Pentecostal, Evangelical. And I would particulariy like to thank those who, without sha­ring the Christian faith, have also opened their homes.

You Latvians , you have opened your houses and your hearts to young people you did not know. Among the gifts of your people , there is that of hospitality.

Our mee­ting bears a message for Europe: we opt for a European fraternity that is respectful of local particularities, where the voice of every people counts. And we are committed to buil­ding bonds of friendship in Europe and beyond the bor­ders of our European countries.

For us Christians , fraternity has also another name, that of communion. Yes, Christ unites us in one communion, with all our diversities of Christian cultures and traditions.

The year that begins will be the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. This gave a deep inspiration to the Church. But it also unfortuna­tely led to a profound division.
You, the young people who are here, Pro­tes­tant, Orthodox, Catholic, testify by your presence to your desire for unity. You are right: we must be together so that the dynamic of the Gospel can be revealed. Like the story about the early Christians we read tonight, we want to be one heart and one soul.

It is when we journey together that the hope that comes to us from Christ manifests itself clearly. He has conquered death and hatred, he unites us today in one communion of all the baptized.

If we are united in Christ, we can be a sign of peace in a torn humanity. Yes , our fraternity, our communion can prepare peace.

Tomorrow, you will share about the fourth proposal for 2017: Allow friendship to grow in order to prepare peace. With few means, even with almost nothing, each of us can be a peace-maker, nearby and far away. All humans, and even all creation, aspire after peace. Our attention to the environ­ment also contributes to peace.

And now I want to make a concrete proposal. Since my visit to Syria last Christmas, we have welcomed a Syrian family in Taizé as well as an Iraqi family from Bartella near Mosul. The children Manuel and Noor who are here beside me are from this Iraqi family. I keep telling them: God sent you to us.

Midday prayer, Riga, Saturday December 31, 2016

Human brotherhood (Matthew 12: 46-50)

Jesus said, 'Whoever does the will of God is for me a brother and a sister and a mother." (Matthew 12:50) Through these words Jesus describes an unheard-of closeness between people who do not share the same blood. It is true that through prayer or service of the most vulnerable, we can feel very close to people we hardly know.

This communion is felt particularly strongly in prayer. When we pray together, we come closer to each other. This is especially true among Christians. In Taizé, we have often seen how praying together has made people appreciate one another who were struggling to find points of understan­ding between their churches.

This communion is also true when it comes to those who do not share our reference to Christ. Many of us have experienced this : some people, even without a conscious bond with the Father, seem to do his will, so much they have put their energy at the service of love of neighbor.

Such people make the same gestures of love as Christians. Sometimes even, dare we say it, they make them better than we do. Rather than compe­ting with one another or denying the bond they have with the will of God, we can carry these people in prayer. Without cas­ting any shadow over their freedom of conscience, we can by our praise be the thread, no matter how tenuous, that they maintain with God.

If we become accustomed to feeling how much Christ rejoices in the beautiful things we do together, we discover how strongly the Holy Spirit speaks to the heart of every human person. In the early centuries of the Church , Christian thinkers spoke of the "seeds of the Word" that Come to fertilize cultures and religions which are other than Christian.

Because of globalization, ideas, information, capital and goods have never circulated around the globe with such rapidity. This frenzy may alarm us. Especially because of fear of migrations, everything circulates except the majority of the inhabitants of the earth, many of whom cannot cross the bor­ders.

Because of this, we meet without mee­ting. Sometimes, with a screen separa­ting us, often with bad news separa­ting us, and even more often because we buy from one other without really spea­king to one another.

To try to see how the breath of God sows seeds in the lives of people could be a magnificent opportunity to get to know each other in truth , to appreciate each other, in spite of the defects that we find in one another's cultures and behavior. And once we know each other better, we can draw the best from each other, let ourselves be inspired by one other and thus correct in our own behavior what has to be corrected.

As brother Alois indicates in the proposals for reflection for the year 2017: "Let us see how to remain within the fractures. Let us build bridges. Let us pray for those whom we do not understand and who do not understand us." The seeds of the Word help us to understand each other. The Holy Spirit speaks a language of the heart that knows how to make itself heard despite all our linguistic and cultural obstacles.

Let us therefore listen to what God murmurs in the beauty of each culture. In this murmur his will is found, a will which we cannot accomplish alone. God entrusts us with one another as a gift and a responsibility. Let us then recognize ourselves as indispensable to one another on this road toward God.