{"id":424,"date":"2010-08-11T11:30:40","date_gmt":"2010-08-11T19:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thisrestlesspilgrim.wordpress.com\/?p=424"},"modified":"2015-03-19T14:17:26","modified_gmt":"2015-03-19T21:17:26","slug":"blessed-are-the-peacemakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/2010\/08\/11\/blessed-are-the-peacemakers\/","title":{"rendered":""Blessed are the peacemakers…""},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Next week is the\u00a0anniversary\u00a0of the death of Brother Roger of Taiz\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0in France.\u00a0If you have never heard of this man then you have really been missing out…<\/p>\n

Although he lived much of his life in France, Brother Roger\u00a0was originally from Switzerland, the son of a Protestant Pastor. \u00a0In 1940, after studying Reformed Theology in Strasbourg and Lausanne, Roger felt God calling him to go to Taiz\u00e9, a small town south of Paris. \u00a0For two years he lived a life of prayer and helped those fleeing from the Germans into unoccupied France.<\/p>\n

Founding of a community<\/h2>\n

After being forced to leave Taiz\u00e9, Roger returned in 1944 where he began to found a group of men living together in community. \u00a0This eventually flowered into the ecumenical monastic community which forever after would be associated with the name “Taiz\u00e9”<\/em>. \u00a0The focus of this community is prayer, silence, peace, social justice and reconciliation. \u00a0Brother Roger wrote many books on these topics.<\/p>\n

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Monks in the “Church of Reconciliation”<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Ever since the 50’s, Taiz\u00e9 has been a site for pilgrimage of thousands of teenagers and young adults from across the world who stay usually for a week at a time. During their visit these pilgrims join the monks for prayer, help with the running of the site and meet together for Bible study. I, myself, have visited Taiz\u00e9 twice.<\/p>\n

Closely associated with Taiz\u00e9 is its style of worship: Taiz\u00e9 Chant<\/a>. \u00a0These chants are simple words of poetry or scripture sung over and over, often with cantor, usually sung in the language they were composed and this could be French, Polish, or a number of other tongues. \u00a0The purpose of these chants is to allow the singer to meditate more deeply on the words of Scripture.<\/p>\n

A heart for unity<\/h2>\n

All the work in his life was geared towards peace and reconciling the different Christian denominations. \u00a0He was a great\u00a0inspiration\u00a0to me in my own ecumenical efforts.<\/p>\n

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Roger and Pope John-Paul II<\/p><\/div>\n

I personally believe that Taiz\u00e9 in general, and Brother Roger in particular, particularly advanced the ecumenical cause in the Roman Catholic Church. \u00a0Indeed, Roger’s relationship with Rome grew only\u00a0stronger over the course of his lifetime, meeting the Pope and having a close relationship with other Catholic figures such as Mother Theresa.<\/p>\n

At the Second Vatican Council an invitation was sent to the community to send some monks to act as independent observers. \u00a0So, if you see pictures of the council and notice two figures dressed in white off to the side please be aware that they’re not angels, but monks from Taiz\u00e9 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Loving to the end<\/h2>\n

As old age started to take effect and Roger’s heath began to deteriorate he named Brother Alois as his successor. \u00a0However, before Brother Roger was able to officially step down, \u00a0he was murdered. \u00a0On 16th August 2005 her was stabbed to death whilst at prayer in the church by Lumini\u0163a Solcan,\u00a0a Romanian lady suffering from\u00a0schizophrenia.<\/p>\n

Upon hearing of Roger’s death I was deeply moved, having considered him to be something of a spiritual father. \u00a0In some ways, I consider it strangely fitting that a man who devoted his life to charity and peace should have his life ended violently by someone deeply disturbed.<\/p>\n

The other week I wrote about St. Ignatius of Antioch and how he sought to imitate Christ completely. \u00a0Brother Roger is someone else I would point to as someone who did likewise.<\/p>\n

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His funeral was attended by more than 10,000 young adults, as well as heads of state and religious leaders. \u00a0The funeral took place in the context of a Catholic Mass and was presided over by a Cardinal. \u00a0Brother Alois opened the funeral with a prayer which, for me, summed up the very spirit of Brother Roger:<\/p>\n

“God of goodness, we entrust to your forgiveness Lumini\u0163a Solcan who, in an act of sickness, put an end to the life of Brother Roger. With Christ on the cross we say to you: Father, forgive her, she does not know what she did.” – Brother Alois, Brother Roger’s Successor<\/em><\/p>\n

Closing Thoughts<\/h2>\n

The last time I visited Taiz\u00e9 was only a few months before Brother Roger’s murder. \u00a0The signs of old age were clear, yet this somehow didn’t eclipse his zeal and love for those there on pilgrimage. \u00a0During that week I had the opportunity to receive his blessing through the laying on of hands. \u00a0I realised at the time that this would probably be the last time I would see him in this world.<\/p>\n