A Word from Brother Roger of Taize

FROM ONE BEGINNING TO ANOTHER
Brother Roger

If, at each dawn, we were able to welcome the new day like a beginning of a new life... As the psalmist says, “Whoever advances toward God goes from one beginning to another.”

Do we realize that God buries our past in the heart of Christ, and is going to take care of our future? Were it possible to fathom our human heart, the surprising thing would be to discover there the longing, short-lived or long-lasting, for an invisible presence.

Although there may well be shocks and even upheavals in our lives, the Risen Christ is there. If Jesus had not lived among us, God would seem far away, unattainable. But, by his birth and his life on earth, Jesus let who God was shine through. God’s trust in human beings was so great that he hoped they would recognize him in a newborn baby and in a crucified man.

And if Christ were not risen, he would not be present today alongside us. He would remain one exceptional individual among others in the history of humanity. But it would not be possible to converse with him in prayer. He could not say to us, “When you are going through the harshest trials, I am present underneath your despair. And remember: I am also in the depths of your radiant hopes.” Christ does not only wait for us in light, in peace, in joy. He is also present in the distress of those who grope along to find a way out.

There can be moments when things look dark. But such obscurity is not pitch-darkness. It is not the dead of night. The light of Christ still penetrates it. Chase away fleeting troubles like a child blowing on a fallen leaf. Don’t cling to worries like a hand clutching the branch of a thorn bush; let go instead. Surrender to Christ whatever assails your heart.

Of course there are trials in every life; they can be very hard to bear. Peace of heart is as deep as the sea. Sometimes we may be agitated, like the sea when it is stirred up by a gust of wind. But this disturbance only affects the surface. Silent happiness, peace, remain close by and are so much greater. One of the things Christians are called to do is to welcome the joy of Easter, born at the heart of the seemingly greatest failure, the cross, and to be bearers of that joy.

With a simple heart, almost a child’s soul, happy are they who say to Christ: Risen Christ, you see who I am. And you welcome me with what I am. My thirsting heart asks you: Christ Jesus, unify my desire and my thirst.

When we pray, even if our lips remain closed, our heart can be open before God. God’s voice makes itself understood - an inner voice, steeped in silence. We are awakened above all in prayer.

Even if we have very little faith, will we say to Christ: what do you expect of me? May we always remember this: the wellsprings of jubilation will never run dry when a heart that trusts goes from one beginning to another.