Remembering Brother Roger, Martyr & Saint
For information about the history and activity of the community of Taize, see: http://www.taize.fr/
As the year draws to a close, the annual European gathering of the Pilgrimage of Trust hosted by the brothers of Taize draws near. And for many this event pulls us back to the tragic, violent death suffered earlier this year by the founder of the community at Taize, Brother Roger. While singing prayers together with near two thousand people 90 year old Brother Roger's throat was cut by an insane Romanian, Luminita Solcan.
I learned of Brother Roger's murder at work, having read of it on the internet news. I was shocked and sickened, and stricken by a wave of grief.
In the fall of 2002 I spent 5 weeks at Taize. My days there were among the most important of my life and it was in Taize that I first tasted the depth of peace and love that are the fruit of prayer, quiet, and devotion. At Taize I learned to listen to God, I learned the singular grace of liturgy and the ultimate value of rite and ritual in opening one's self to God and to conversion.
At the end of the evening prayers, Brother Roger used to sit to the side of the Church and whisper a blessing over individual pilgrims who had queued to see him. In my first night at Taize I watched this with cynicism and arrogance, wondering if the elderly monk would be humble enough to approach one of us for a blessing. But before I came to Taize, I prayed earnestly and honestly for God to bless my time there, and to teach me through it, to convert me through it. And before Brother Roger had left that evening, God answered my prayers and filled me with a terrible self-awareness of the poison of my cynicism, that black drink I took into myself in order to divert my attention from a man whose light revealed my darkness. I knew, by grace, that I needed to learn humility by living humility, that I needed to kneel at the feet of Brother Roger and accept his blessing as one from God. And I did. And Brother Roger, stooping down asked my where I came from and what language I spoke. In English, with long moments of silence and strain, he prayed a blessing over me and whispered something else that I didn't quite understand. A young brother next to Roger clarified: I had been invited to lunch with the community the next day.
In the weeks I spent in Taize I was benefited from the hospitality of the Brothers three times, sharing lunch with them in silence. After they had finished eating, they would talk a while about news, about the community, about their guests, the young pilgrims. Because I didn't speak French, the language of the community, between translations I watched the brothers and watched Brother Roger and saw in his eyes and in his smile a profound love and paternal pride in his brethren.
Most people who come as guests to Taize only spend a week there, but there is always a group of young people who stay longer, sometimes a year or more, the group referred to in Taize as permanents, and it was with this group that I lived. Each of the permanents had exposure to Brother Roger, and each loved him and trusted him.
I imagine most people who pass through Taize would agree that Brother Roger seemed obviously a saint. I know enough of the Roman Catholic Church to know that they would not approve of his being called as such; indeed, many resist terming John Paul the Great a saint before it is official. I am of the mind that there is value to the official classification of saintliness, but that one is not made a saint because he or she is so declared. Rather, one is declared a saint because the light of transfiguration shines from their face. As the crowds in Rome shouted "Magnus! Magnus!" and "Santo Subito" so cried the hearts of the thousands who travelled countless miles to kneel at Brother Roger's feet for a blessing. And I expect that they will continue to come, kneeling not at his feet but at his gravestone, praying to him and with him, still receiving his blessing, a blessing as one from God.
His blessing will continue also through his legacy: the community of more than 100 brothers at Taize. I pray God's blessing on the work of the Pilgrimage of Trust, as thousands will gather in Milan to meet the New Year. And in communion with our Pope, Benedict XVI I pray in concordance with his words:
Dear young people, at a time when you are living a beautiful ecclesial experience of encountering others, sponsored by the Taize Community, Pope Benedict XVI joins you all in prayer.
In expressing tribute to Brother Roger who desired these international meetings in order to root in young Christians a spirit of brotherhood and peace lived out concretely, the Pope's wish is that the dialogue among yourselves, who have come from different countries and different Christian denominations, as well as the meeting with the Christians of Milan who are welcoming you, will enable you to form new ties that will be seeds of peace among people. May the example of the founder of Taize and the tireless testimony of Pope John Paul II in favor of dialogue and peace encourage you to be peacemakers in your turn! In a world made fragile by many situations of tension, and in our developed societies marked by new forms of violence that affect the young in particular, the Pope invites you to witness with simplicity and joy to the Spirit of peace who dwells within you, as a result of the gift that the Lord Jesus made of himself, once and for all, on the Cross, for the love of all. For, as the apostle Paul says, "he is our peace" (Eph 2:14) and invites us to forgive, the sign of an absolute love.
Entrusting you to the prayer of Mary, Mother of the Lord and of all those who have become his brothers and sisters, the Holy Father grants you with all his heart an affectionate apostolic blessing, as well as to the Taize brothers, to the communities and the families who are welcoming you.
As the year draws to a close, the annual European gathering of the Pilgrimage of Trust hosted by the brothers of Taize draws near. And for many this event pulls us back to the tragic, violent death suffered earlier this year by the founder of the community at Taize, Brother Roger. While singing prayers together with near two thousand people 90 year old Brother Roger's throat was cut by an insane Romanian, Luminita Solcan.
I learned of Brother Roger's murder at work, having read of it on the internet news. I was shocked and sickened, and stricken by a wave of grief.
In the fall of 2002 I spent 5 weeks at Taize. My days there were among the most important of my life and it was in Taize that I first tasted the depth of peace and love that are the fruit of prayer, quiet, and devotion. At Taize I learned to listen to God, I learned the singular grace of liturgy and the ultimate value of rite and ritual in opening one's self to God and to conversion.
At the end of the evening prayers, Brother Roger used to sit to the side of the Church and whisper a blessing over individual pilgrims who had queued to see him. In my first night at Taize I watched this with cynicism and arrogance, wondering if the elderly monk would be humble enough to approach one of us for a blessing. But before I came to Taize, I prayed earnestly and honestly for God to bless my time there, and to teach me through it, to convert me through it. And before Brother Roger had left that evening, God answered my prayers and filled me with a terrible self-awareness of the poison of my cynicism, that black drink I took into myself in order to divert my attention from a man whose light revealed my darkness. I knew, by grace, that I needed to learn humility by living humility, that I needed to kneel at the feet of Brother Roger and accept his blessing as one from God. And I did. And Brother Roger, stooping down asked my where I came from and what language I spoke. In English, with long moments of silence and strain, he prayed a blessing over me and whispered something else that I didn't quite understand. A young brother next to Roger clarified: I had been invited to lunch with the community the next day.
In the weeks I spent in Taize I was benefited from the hospitality of the Brothers three times, sharing lunch with them in silence. After they had finished eating, they would talk a while about news, about the community, about their guests, the young pilgrims. Because I didn't speak French, the language of the community, between translations I watched the brothers and watched Brother Roger and saw in his eyes and in his smile a profound love and paternal pride in his brethren.
Most people who come as guests to Taize only spend a week there, but there is always a group of young people who stay longer, sometimes a year or more, the group referred to in Taize as permanents, and it was with this group that I lived. Each of the permanents had exposure to Brother Roger, and each loved him and trusted him.
I imagine most people who pass through Taize would agree that Brother Roger seemed obviously a saint. I know enough of the Roman Catholic Church to know that they would not approve of his being called as such; indeed, many resist terming John Paul the Great a saint before it is official. I am of the mind that there is value to the official classification of saintliness, but that one is not made a saint because he or she is so declared. Rather, one is declared a saint because the light of transfiguration shines from their face. As the crowds in Rome shouted "Magnus! Magnus!" and "Santo Subito" so cried the hearts of the thousands who travelled countless miles to kneel at Brother Roger's feet for a blessing. And I expect that they will continue to come, kneeling not at his feet but at his gravestone, praying to him and with him, still receiving his blessing, a blessing as one from God.
His blessing will continue also through his legacy: the community of more than 100 brothers at Taize. I pray God's blessing on the work of the Pilgrimage of Trust, as thousands will gather in Milan to meet the New Year. And in communion with our Pope, Benedict XVI I pray in concordance with his words:
Dear young people, at a time when you are living a beautiful ecclesial experience of encountering others, sponsored by the Taize Community, Pope Benedict XVI joins you all in prayer.
In expressing tribute to Brother Roger who desired these international meetings in order to root in young Christians a spirit of brotherhood and peace lived out concretely, the Pope's wish is that the dialogue among yourselves, who have come from different countries and different Christian denominations, as well as the meeting with the Christians of Milan who are welcoming you, will enable you to form new ties that will be seeds of peace among people. May the example of the founder of Taize and the tireless testimony of Pope John Paul II in favor of dialogue and peace encourage you to be peacemakers in your turn! In a world made fragile by many situations of tension, and in our developed societies marked by new forms of violence that affect the young in particular, the Pope invites you to witness with simplicity and joy to the Spirit of peace who dwells within you, as a result of the gift that the Lord Jesus made of himself, once and for all, on the Cross, for the love of all. For, as the apostle Paul says, "he is our peace" (Eph 2:14) and invites us to forgive, the sign of an absolute love.
Entrusting you to the prayer of Mary, Mother of the Lord and of all those who have become his brothers and sisters, the Holy Father grants you with all his heart an affectionate apostolic blessing, as well as to the Taize brothers, to the communities and the families who are welcoming you.
posted by Eric at 6:28 PM
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