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Jean Vanier

Jean Vanier Quotes

Philosopher

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Famous Jean Vanier Quotes

“When we start helping the weak and the poor to rise everyone will begin to change. Those who have power and riches will start to become more humble, and those who are rising up will leave behind their need to be victims, their need to be angry or depressed....This is the spirituality of life, that helps people to rise up and take their place. It is not a spirituality of death. Jesus wants those who have been crushed to rise up and those who have power to discover that there is another road, a road of sharing and compassion.”

PeopleWantNeedsHas BeensHelpingSpiritualityJesusPoorBehindsCompassionWeakVictimAngryHumbleRichesRisingCrushedRising Up
Author:Jean Vanier
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“There is a struggle inside you between these two parts. It's as if at times your heart becomes a battlefield! The secret part, full of light, seems so small and weak in the face of the discouraging and morbid part, which seems enormous and overwhelming. However, if you light a small candle in a dark room, everything is lit up. It is a matter of trusting in this little light in the deepest part of your being which can gradually chase away the darkness.”

IfsHeartLittlesTwoMatterLightSeemsFacesDarkRoomsSecretDarknessStruggleWeakEnormousOverwhelmingCandleLitDiscouragingBattlefieldsMorbidDark Room
Author:Jean Vanier
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“A society which discards those who are weak and non-productive risks exaggerating the development of reason, organisation, aggression and the desire to dominate. It becomes a society without a heart, without kindness - a rational and sad society, lacking celebration, divided within itself and given to competition, rivalry and, finally, violence.”

HeartReasonDesireGivenKindnessViolenceRiskDevelopmentWeakCompetitionRationalProductiveDividedCelebrationAggressionLackingOrganisationRivalryExaggerating
Book:Man and Woman, God Made Them
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“It is my belief that in our mad world where there is so much pain, rivalry, hatred, violence, inequality, and oppression, it is people who are weak, rejected, marginalized, counted as useless, who can become a source of life and of salvation for us as individuals as well as for our world. And it is my hope that each one of you may experience the incredible gift of the friendship of people who are poor and weak, that you too, may receive life from them. For they call us to love, to communion, to compassion and to community.”

PeopleWorldWellsMayPainIndividualBeliefCommunityPoorCompassionViolenceSourceWeakHatredMadSalvationIncrediblesOppressionInequalityUselessOur WorldRejectedCommunionRivalryMarginalizedSource Of LifeMad World
Author:Jean Vanier
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“Each human being, however small or weak, has something to bring to humanity. As we start to really get to know others, as we begin to listen to each other's stories, things begin to change. We begin the movement from exclusion to inclusion, from fear to trust, from closedness to openness, from judgment and prejudice to forgiveness and understanding. It is a movement of the heart.”

KnowsHumansHeartStoriesHumanityUnderstandingHuman BeingsMovementJudgmentWeakPrejudiceOpennessInclusionExclusion
Author:Jean Vanier
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