August 2007 The Road to Daybreak A Spiritual Journey by Henri J M Nouwen

. The Name above all other NamesContinue from ...... 1. Pere Thomas August 15, the Feast of the Assumption of our Lady, is a national holiday in France. Although the majority of French people seldom if ever enter a church, they all close their stores and business to celebrate this feast day of the Mother of God, to whom France especially dedicated. Pere Thomas Philippe, a Dominican who twenty years ago started the L'Arche community with Jean Vanier and who is considered its spiritual father, offered a long, fervent homily in honour of Mary's assumption. The hundred and fifty people in the chapel all listened with great attention to the words of this eighty-year-old priest. I keep hearing more and more about this saintly man. Father Ed O'Connor, who goes to France every year from the United States to make a retreat with Pere Thomas, calls him the John of the Cross of our time. This sounded rather grandiose at first, but when the Peeters, a Belgian family who invited me to dinner, told me that they had moved to France to be close to Pere Thomas, I started to become aware of the extraordinary spiritual gifts of this man. I still have a hard time following his long and intense French sermons, but being in his presence and hearing the way he pronounces the words "Mary", "Our Mother," and "the Blessed Virgin," and speaks of the Assumption as a source of hope for all of us are experiences I cannot forget. It is a profound experience to be in the presence of someone whom I can hardly understand, but who nevertheless communicates deeply and convincingly the mystery of God's presence among us. It is an especially profound experience since it unites me so intimately with the so-called "retarded" men and women and lets me hear as they do, with the heart. After the Eucharist, Pere Thomas shook my hand with great intensity and said, "I entrust my sheep to you, Father." I replied, "I will try my best, but with my French I can assure you my sermons will be a lot shorter!" He smiled. This afternoon he left for ten days. One of the reasons I came just before his departure was to be able to take his place. One of the women said to me, "Pere Thomas cannot be replaced, you know." Nevertheless, in the coming days I will try. Standing in for a saint will not be easy, but then again, God is merciful …

- To Be Continued - © Copyright Shalom 2007. All rights reserved.