De La Mennais Brothers: Making Jesus Christ better known and loved by young people

For those who understand French, this clip is magnificent: a French author who has suffered the deaths of two daughters, asked to comment on a quote from Psalm 33 - "God is close to the broken-hearted". She explains quite beautifully how she has experienced both those who simply didn't know what to do or say when they met her in the aftermath of the tragic events and others - like the nurse she mentions - who brought consolation by simply being there at her side, keeping her company, manifesting God's loving presence through their sensitivity and compassion, but barely saying a word. She finishes by describing such an encounter, saying,   "An encounter between two human beings; one whose heart is bleeding, the other whose heart is open."   There is immense beauty in her words and in her calm dignity.      

I got back to Southampton on Oct. 23rd after having buried my mother 2 days previously, and went straight into 2 days of trustees meetings for our two schools with Brothers over from Liverpool + France. My cycling friend from Liverpool who rode to Assisi with me, Pete Smith arrived a few days later for some cycling together and to help us with some jobs around the house (inc. the day and a half the 2 of us spent clearing out and tidying up the dumping area that was our cellar workshop). This meant that I was kept occupied at a time when I needed to be. Physical work in particular was of great benefit, but even more so was the presence of a dear friend. Pete's visit was only possible because I was on half-term that week. Things would have been harder for me if I'd had to go straight back into school. So, the timing of Mum's death was a Godsend for me, having this week to recover + reflect, but be busy enough not to be just sitting + moping. Indeed, the whole circum...

Well, in less than 2 hours it will be exactly 1 month since Mum passed away. In the next few days I will endeavour to write here the story of my final minutes with her... blessed, God-given minutes that I think made subsequent events (the funeral, etc...) easier to deal with. One thing I wanted to share is the text that my brother Shaun (a druid... yes really!) read just before I read the eulogy during the funeral. I had read this text some years back, but had pretty much forgotten it. I think it is one of the most beautiful and intelligent writings on death I have ever read or heard. My most emotional moment during the funeral came when hearing the last 3 lines, especially the very last one. Such a beautiful image and so, so true (according to what my faith tells me). On Death (from “The Prophet” by Khalil Gibran) Then Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death." And he said: You would know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek i...

I've started to translate into English some of what my friend Fr. Gustave says on the dvd that I mention in my previous post so that I can use it in my R.E. classes. It's wonderful stuff, but I fear that my translation does not even come anyway close to doing him justice. You have to hear him deliver it with the enthusiasm and passion that inhabits him (see the video link also in the previous post). Anyway, here goes a few extracts: Death + Resurrection God is all-powerful. He created a natural world (the universe) which is not all-powerful but that does have the power to inflict death as a natural event. Through the resurrection, God offers us victory over the natural world in Jesus’ body, the body of a man that is at the same time God in human form. So, if nature/death defeated Jesus Christ (God-made-flesh) in his body through the crucifixion, in that same body death has been defeated by the resurrection. In the death + resurrection of Jesus, God himself passes throug...