Taizé: An icon of unity and hope in a divided world

(photo by: Sabine Leutenegger CH Wil)

In a world divided by ethnic strife and differing religious and cultural backgrounds, the Taizé community becomes an icon of hope, a promising sign that reconciliation is possible to happen among divided Christians and separated peoples.

Taizé’s way of life is a metaphor of what a real community is all about. The members, numbering almost a hundred today, and from different nationalities and religious backgrounds live together as a community, bound by the monastic vows of obedience, poverty, celibacy and to live in community with the brothers.

Against the backdrop of boiling conflicts and rising casualties spawned by the Second World War, Brother Roger, a Protestant, founded the monastic community in 1940, motivated by the intuition that Christians should be ferments of peace in humanity. Many years later, Brother Roger described his spiritual journey thus:

“Marked by the witness of my grandmother’s life, following her I found my own Christian identity by reconciling within myself the faith of my origins with the Mystery of the Catholic faith, without breaking fellowship with anyone.” (Letter from Taizé, 2008)

‘Pilgrimage of trust’

Taizé, that small village in France, through the years, has become a hub of spiritual activity where young adults from across the globe come in greater numbers to take part in weekly meetings. These young people join the brothers in their prayers and participate in group reflection and sharing on the word of God.

The Taizé prayer, which is consisted of singing the psalms, chanting short prayers, reading and meditating the Scriptures punctuated with long moments of silence, have touched the hearts of young people in search of deeper meaning in life. Through singing and silence, young people are led to reflect deeply on the Scriptures and allow the word to speak into their hearts.

Brother Andreas had participated in these meetings prior his joining the community in the early 90’s. Coming from a politically-divided Germany, his first experience of Taizé meeting in 1989 as a young man left an impressive mark on him.

“In this meeting (1989 Pilgrimage of Trust), we were supposedly to bring together young Christians from West and East Germany, which was a big sign of unity and hope for the country. I got to know what Taizé is all about, how this community managed to bring people together beyond the borders of what exists in humanity,” he said.

“The pilgrimage of Trust is an invitation for young people to find their way as Christians called in today’s society,” said Brother André, from Indonesia.

Brother André had first attended a weekend retreat organized by the brothers in his native Indonesia in 1993, as a young professional. He went to Taizé in 1996, stayed with the community to discern his vocation and eventually joined the group.

“The pilgrimage is not limited in one week in Taizé. [We] encourage them [participants] to go back to their countries and to live as witnesses to the world bringing peace and reconciliation to this world which is so often marked by division,” said Brother André.

Spirit of reconciliation

The Taizé’s spirit of reconciliation has spread out of its confines since its foundation, reaching out to as many people as possible through international youth meetings in various continents.

Each year, the community organizes a European meeting in coordination with local parishes and church communities. In 2005, after Brother Roger’s death, the community had expanded its reach to other continents with meetings organized in Asia (Calcutta, India in 2006), Latin America (Cochabamba, Bolivia in 2007) and Africa (Nairobi, Kenya in 2007).

An international youth meeting was organized in Manila in 1991 attended mostly by young people from the Philippines and neighboring Asian countries. But since the 1970s, the brothers had already been visiting the country; and had invited Filipino youth to participate in international meetings in Taizé for a three-month period every year.

Another meeting is set to happen in Manila in 2010 with trust, peace, and reconciliation as central themes. The aim is to “support young people in their search for God and in their desire to commit themselves in the Church and society.”

Meeting young people in various gatherings they organized here last year, Brother Andreas observed the inherent ability of Filipinos to cope with difficult situations they encounter in life.

“I think it’s a treasure that you have here. Your faith is very alive. But we should also be [aware that we] are called to work for a better society. These are two things [we have to remember], how can the people keep their relationship with God, and [how] can we reach out to others,” he said.

Simple lifestyle

Although their ministry gets them to travel around the globe, the brothers’ lifestyle is marked with simplicity. They earn their keep by working just like ordinary people in the world. Some brothers live in small fraternities in other countries among the poor in Bangladesh, Senegal, Brazil, New Zealand and Korea.

“[Work] is something very strong in my community,” said Brother Andreas. He explained that Brother Roger made it very clear from the beginning that the community should not accept donations but rather live by the produce of its work.

The community has a pottery workshop that churns out items for sale in Taizé. Brothers who had no knowledge of pottery discover their innate artistry within the workshop halls.

“We have the pottery, print, music, some brothers write books,” Brother Andreas said. “The brothers who never knew pottery before, now have to learn it,” he added.

An incarnation of Jesus’ prayer

By its very being, the ecumenical community has truly become an incarnation of Jesus’ priestly prayer, “May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you.” (cf. John 17:1-26)

The profound understanding of being called to become a sign that points to God as love was never lost on Brother Roger even early on as revealed in his writings.

“Since my youth, I think that I have never lost the intuition that community life could be a sign that God is love, and love alone. Gradually the conviction took shape in me that it was essential to create a community with men determined to give their whole life and who would always try to understand one another and be reconciled, a community where kindness of heart and simplicity would be at the centre of everything.”