Brother Roger was a man of peace and reconciliation

The evening of August 16th, Brother Alois remembered Brother Roger with this prayer:

We praise you, God of love, for our brother Roger. Even though poor and vulnerable, he radiated peace of heart. He gave confidence to countless persons, both young and not-so-young. We would like to listen to his energetic call to simplicity of life, and learn from his passion for that mystery of communion which is the Church. And may your love renew the face of the earth!

After the prayer, he spoke to the young people together in the Church of Reconciliation.

Today we commemorate Brother Roger. Just six years ago, on August 16, 2005, at age 90, he was mortally wounded here in this church during the prayer. So that you can all take with you a memento of him, on leaving the church each of you will receive a small bookmark with a photo of him and a prayer he had written.

We have placed the icon of friendship in the church choir, to the left of the altar. Brother Roger was very fond of this image. The sixth-century believer who painted that icon in Egypt was able to express so clearly that Christ always remains alongside us.

Brother Roger was a man of peace and reconciliation. Without realizing it himself, the peace of heart that he radiated was contagious. We are so thankful for what he was. Still today many people, young and old, continue to tell us how much he helped them, especially to grow in trust, trust in themselves and trust in God.

Is it because he himself experienced an inner struggle to place his confidence in Christ that he could lead us, the brothers of the community, and many others too, along the road of faith? Brother Roger wrote these words:

"In every man and woman, a wound is opened by failures, humiliations, a bad conscience. It may have been opened at a time when we needed infinite understanding and no one was there. Transfigured by Christ, the wound turns into a locus of energy, a creative wellspring from which will arise communion, friendship and understanding."

Communion, friendship, understanding—for him these were the tangible fruits of an inner life. He was always concerned to put into practice in everyday life what he had understood of the Gospel. He himself wanted to express concretely by his life a yes to Christ and that is why he founded a community that is part of the monastic tradition and seeks to be close to the very poor.

We are all called to say this yes to Christ. And this yes is in the image of the Virgin Mary whom we commemorated yesterday. She received Christ within herself to give him to the world.

By her life, Mary shows us a way forward. Brother Roger liked to recall that from the time of the apostles, the Virgin Mary and the first believers, there was a call to live in great simplicity and to share, to head towards a simplicity of heart which leads to a simplicity of life.

I remember a visit that Brother Roger made with some of us to Haiti. He wanted to live in Cité Soleil, a very poor neighborhood of Port au Prince. Experiencing poverty close at hand, supporting those committed to greater justice, while at the same time seeing the astonishing faith of that people—that made the Gospel’s call to a life of sharing and simplicity even more urgent.

This remains true today: some brothers in our community live on different continents, close to the poor and seeking to build bridges between cultures. This presence does not seem like much. But Brother Roger wrote about it:

"It is not only the powerful who determine changes in the world. Could the Virgin Mary think that her yes to God would be so essential? Like her, so many of the lowly of the earth are preparing ways of peaceful trust."

Brother Roger was animated by a passion for the communion of the Church. He sensed how urgent it was for Christians to be reconciled in a visible communion. He said:

"When tirelessly the Church listens, heals and reconciles, it becomes what it is at its most luminous—a communion of love, of compassion, of consolation, a clear reflection of the Risen Christ."

"Never distant, never on the defensive, freed of all harshness, the Church can radiate the humble trusting of faith into our human hearts."

There are already countless Christians who show this face of Christ by their lives. And we would like the compassion of the Risen Christ to shine forth everywhere. Brother Roger had great confidence that younger generations would contribute to this. This confidence in young people continues to animate our community deeply.

In a world where so many things change with a speed never before known, where we are at a loss in the face of natural disasters, violence, and material insecurity that is growing for many, young people will be able to choose to trust, so that the peace of Christ may renew the face of the earth.

Tomorrow morning, I will join several other brothers in Madrid, for World Youth Day. Throughout these days, we will be in a church for times of common prayer, listening to the Word of God, silence. As in Taizé, we will also be available to listen to young people personally.