A few words from Pierre Goursat
on fraternal life
Love, the cement of the Community
When we pray together… little by little, the group will become more unified, more profound. There will be a greater love between us. That’s the Holy Spirit, you see; that’s the way he works.
"from prayer group to community" Paray sessions 06/07/79
That is what is amazing, to see that the Holy Spirit unites us. It seems like we have a sheaf and the sheaf is bound and if that sheaf were ever unbound, everything would fall, but with the Holy Spirit, everything holds.
So, in your little groups, one with a big nose like mine, the other with a small nose, this or that you want to say, “Look, I don’t know if this is going to work so well.” You say, “Yes [it will work] but with the Holy Spirit”. And then you get together and you say after a year, “It’s strange, but we were all happy, all content, what’s going on?” It’s because the Lord is there, and the Spirit of the Lord is there. Please believe that.
Interview on 23/05/76
If the Holy Spirit is not there to unite everything,
the community is an explosion. An explosion and a collapse.
Community weekend 20/09/81
If we have a notion of service that is similar to compassion, it is obvious that we really enter into a great love all together, because the Holy Spirit unites us. And that gives us an extraordinary dynamism.
Community Weekend 21/06/81
Loving one another as God has loved us, it doesn’t sound easy, but it is very easy when He has given us His Love. The Holy Spirit loves us, and we are united by Him, so it is easy! And I promise you that we experienced this when we started our little community without knowing very well why we were together. There were days when… we would think, “What the hell is this guy doing with me?” and then we would say, “There’s the Holy Spirit and it’s fantastic!”
Community Weekend 27-28/11/76
Community is first of all a community of love, of spiritual affection between us. And this is essential, because if we do not have love for one another, we are liars. You can’t love God if you don’t love your neighbor. You all know this, but we must never forget it
Community Weekend 01/04/79
You’ll tell me that it’s childish, that you’re all perfect people, that everything is going great. So, if it’s going so well, your group should work! It’s just that there is this lack of love… And it’s not a question of techniques! If there is no love, it’s like if there is no gas in a car: you can do whatever you want, it won’t work. If you go to see the sick and if, during the week, you pray for them together, you carry the same burden together… Then, at that moment, you won’t think about Mrs. Unetelle who has a crooked hat, and the other one who said something to me…
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79 05/07/79
And so a web of compassion is created between us.
Community Weekend 24-25/11/84
It is really necessary that your prayer groups be warm and full of charity so that little by little some souls are born in the midst of these prayer groups who feel a call to community life. But this is the Lord’s time. We must not precede the Lord, we must wait
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79
Fraternal charity is the cement of every Christian community: Loving one another as God has loved us does not seem easy, but it is very easy because he has given us his love. The Holy Spirit loves us and we are united by him. So it is easy!
Community Weekend 27-28/11/76
With Pentecost, the Holy Spirit immerses us in love with one another
Interview on 23/05/76
It is love that will put us with each other and especially with others around the world.
Community Weekend 14-15/06/80
The Lord needs us to be numerous to be able to be with us. He tells us: “If two or three are gathered in my name”. If you are not two or three, you will not have this particular grace that He gives when we are gathered in a few. I beg you for this. Believe it in faith, even if you do not feel it.
Interview on 23/05/76
We are so happy to be together, it is really an immense joy. [It is really the Holy Spirit who unites us; and if there was no Holy Spirit, we would have gone our separate ways.
Fraternity of Jesus Retreat. August 78 10/08/78 Morning.
So we are on the road to holiness. For this path of holiness, well, we count on each other. Because if you count on me, the other counts on you… and finally, all together, we manage to climb. So it is really the Spirit of love that unites us. […] If we give each other a short ladder, for example, well, we will climb without difficulty!
Three Weeks Retreat 09/76 Holiness and Human Techniques 15/09/76
It’s not about mysticism,” says Pierre, “it’s about having a small group, his small group. So we receive our friends, we chat, we gossip and then we are fine. But it’s no use at all! It’s always a purely human thing. What I mean is: the most important thing is really to have love in your heart and to pray to the Lord.
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79 05/07/79
The Lord takes us as a little flock. So we have to really believe it. The important thing for us is to believe absolutely. And the biggest temptation is the temptation of faith. […] When you are alone, that is what you will be attacked on. And don’t hesitate to call and say, “Look, pray for me because I’m under attack in faith and in community (of our group).” It’s really very important this union: not only between us from the point of view of charity, but especially from the point of view of faith, in relation to the Lord Jesus. Really, to believe with strength that He has really chosen us and that He is asking something of us. The less we understand, the happier we are because we are in faith and we say to Him, “Lord I believe in you, I know that you are faithful and that you lead us, and that you need us.”
Fraternity of Jesus Retreat 08/78 09/08/78 morning
Fraternal support
The Lord wants us to live in community, he really wants us to have the support of the brothers.
Community Weekend 18-19/06/77
We have to move forward, and we can’t move forward alone; but together we can really move forward
Three week retreat 09/76
Retraite des trois semaines 09/76
You can't sanctify yourself. Especially in the world we're in, we can't make it on our own. And if we're not together, we're falling apart.
* Sessions in Paray 09-21/07/77 "From prayer group to community"
We’re going to start from the outpouring of the Spirit. Because it all starts there. So why do we receive the outpouring of the Spirit in community? The Holy Spirit really doesn’t need us, that’s obvious – and how many of us have received the outpouring of the Spirit just like that… suddenly, the Lord fell on us. So if we receive it in community, it’s because the Lord wants us to live in community. He really wants us to have the support of the brothers. So that’s the essence of the outpouring.
Community Weekend 18-19/06/77
If you are linked with each other, you are in a rope and you hold, otherwise you will not hold. That’s why I keep telling you this, because we have to move forward. We are not here to preach, we are here to act.
"Emmanuel" inter-assembly day 13/03/76
It is a great joy because we know that the Lord has made the Community to help us, to allow us to hold on and then to be in hope and in joy.
Community Weekend 17-18/05/80
You need to get help from other brothers to be able to take that half hour and stick to it, especially when you are in a drought.
Community Weekend 18-19/0677
If you find it so difficult to pray alone, get together with 3 or 4 others, not to pray spontaneously together, but to pray silently. In short, you say: “I have come to do my prayer with you because I am not able to do it alone. But this prayer, I do it with Jesus, and you do it with Jesus. We are next to each other, and we watch each other from the corner of our eyes! And then, after a quarter of an hour or half an hour, you will say: “It’s wonderful, praying well!” and you will say to the other: “How well you prayed!” And the other one will say: “Me? I was in an unbelievable drought! This is fantastic! It gives you the Holy Spirit. Because, otherwise, you would be completely discouraged. No, no, no… You really have to do this.
Interview on 23/05/76
And the number of people who do not do their prayer. Why not? Because, at the last moment, they are tired, they look at a magazine and then they lose time. If there’s a little sister next door who says: “Hey, your half hour! Go do your half hour!” Immediately the other one does her half hour. There’s that little nudge… that pushes him into prayer.
Sessions in Paray 09-21/07/77 "From prayer group to community
Obviously the Holy Spirit does not need us to descend into a soul. We can understand that… But why are we with you for this outpouring of the Spirit? Because we must receive this outpouring of the Spirit in community. If you are not supported in the community, it will not work…
* Sessions in Paray 09-21/07/77 "From prayer group to community
The Lord really wants us to have the support of the brothers. [...] If we are together, it is easier to go forward: it is easier to hold on.
Community Weekend 18-19/0677
It is not possible for you to be alone if you are in the Renewal: what is the use of being in the Renewal if you are all alone?
Workshop on worship we general 05/12/76
You can’t sanctify yourself. Especially in this upside down world we live in, you can’t do it alone. And if we are not together, we fall down. And it is terrible for souls, especially for souls that are strong enough, souls that pray, that are amazing enough.
Sessions in Paray 09-21/07/77 "From prayer group to community"
Three-week retreat 09/76 Holiness and human techniques 09/15/76
What you should say to each other when you are alone: “Lord, we are not alone; first You are here; the brothers are here too.”
Fraternity of Jesus Retreat 08/78 09/08/78 morning
"Emmanuel" inter-assembly day 13/03/76
Carrefour « Du groupe de prières à la Communauté » sessions de Paray 05-09/07/79 06/07/79
If we are united and if you believe in this body that we form, well, it is a strength for you, because it is in the communion of saints… by which we can lean on each other. [… You must believe in the power of this body, and the more you believe in it and the more you pray for it, the more united the body will be and the more we will do great things and spread throughout the world.
Fraternity of Jesus Retreat 12/31/79
“Gather my people,” says the Lord all the time. If we are scattered, we can do nothing. Evil is all powerful. The newspapers, the press, the radio, the television, the posters, everything is absolutely frightening; and it’s so frightening that we don’t even see that it’s frightening anymore…
"Emmanuel" inter-assembly day 13/03/76
The Lord takes fools like me, so it’s less easy to take ourselves seriously. But it is a delicacy of the Lord, as well for me as for you!
Community Weekend 12/05/79
(Through criticism) we set ourselves apart, we say:
"it doesn't work", we are in a consumer attitude...
Community Weekend 27-28/11/76
Emmanuel is therefore God with us… God with us, but he is a little one, he is very little. So if we are big, we look ridiculous compared to him, it’s obvious. […] There is truly a grace of Emmanuel. You have to receive it in faith. It is really this grace of Emmanuel, of the one who is born in this crib, so small, so humble. He really asks us to strip ourselves of everything, to be in this poverty. That is what he asks of us. And this is in line with the sacrifice of Abraham, it is in line with everything: when we are poor of everything, we will be rich only of Him and we will have everything. All the great mystics say this, but the Lord, through the grace he gives to “Emmanuel”, to a community, helps us today, now, to be able, if we are faithful, to achieve it together. Alone, it is impossible in this world. This world is so hard that we are swept away in a torrent. Here we really have a little island in the middle of this stream, where we can find ourselves together. And really it is so deep. […] No words can make it clear, only the Lord can make it clear. […]
It is not a movement, it is not an organization, it is purely something deeply spiritual. It really comes with the Spirit and then the Spirit will confirm us in the vocation to go to this brother, to go to that organization, to go anywhere. But it has to be (in an) orderly way.
"Emmanuel" inter-assembly day 13/03/76
It is an incredible grace that the Lord gives us. And since the greatest graces are humble graces, we must be humble enough to grasp them. And all I am afraid of is that we risk not recognizing these graces and that we miss them… It is so profound, it is so important to receive them like a little child in joy (about the Community).
Community Weekend 27-28/11/76
It is important to accept small services here and there, whatever we are asked to do, because this creates love, joy and true charity in the community.
Fraternity of Jesus Easter Retreat 82
Community to act
If you are linked with each other, you are in a rope and you hold, otherwise you will not hold. That’s why I keep telling you this, because we have to move forward. We are not here to preach, we are here to act.
"Emmanuel" inter-assembly day 13/03/76
Practically we are a community of service, so we are not here to fall asleep but on the contrary to wake up! So if the Lord makes us grow, it is also because He really asks us to act. And it is obvious that at the moment he is asking us for more and more services… So, it is important that we are numerous to really listen to the Lord. It is not only necessary to have the number… but we must be more and more interior. So we really need to pray more and more, to be more and more in adoration and to really ask the Lord to serve Him because the Lord is in a hurry. […] And we only have a short time to act.
So we must be more and more numerous and more and more in service, and more and more united in prayer, for action.
Introduction to the testimony on the pilgrimage to the Holy Land community weekend 14/10/79
Now, for as long as we have been waiting, it is time. The Lord said to us: "Make haste, the time is short". The Lord is on familiar terms with us, you know. So when he says "Make haste", it means: all together, it means: all together, it is the community.
"Emmanuel" inter-assembly day 13/03/76
"Emmanuel" inter-assembly day 13/03/76
We cannot simply live as good Christians did fifty years ago. We live, we must live a “thing” of struggle. We have to live with Jesus, but live with love and generosity and strength. We have to ask, praying together, that the Lord give us a gift of strength. And the Lord only asks to give it to us… We have to regroup to be strong together.
We really have to gather against a current. You know that fishes have the habit of always going against a current. So they get used to going together. Well, we, if we fight together, it can totally change.
It is important to be together in order to be able to hold out; and also to evangelize. […] It is really the spiritual battle, and it is held at all levels, in any environment, in anything. And this is the only way out: in small groups, we hold (and) we evangelize. So we need to be able to put together a strong family, have strong ideas among ourselves and have the courage to be able to say, “Well, we’re going against the grain.
Community weekend 30-31/05/81
Community for a change
Three Weeks Retreat 09/76 The Healing (24-25/09/76)
Interview on 23/05/76
If you really try to love others, the Lord opens your heart to the love of others and by opening your heart, it opens your heart to the Spirit of the Lord. At that point, you hear…
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79 06/07/79
Sometimes we say to ourselves: “They bother me, but I have to bother them too! Then little by little we begin to have mercy for others, mercy for ourselves, and we begin to have mercy for Jesus who suffered so much for us.
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79 06/07/79
How to build a community ?
There are two ways to create a community. One is to say, “That’s not bad, I’ll make my own little group, a little group with so-and-so. Then it doesn’t [last] long. Secondly [is to say:] “You mustn’t go too fast, you’ve seen the look on people’s faces, so you must discern!” Everyone discerns; we discern on the discernment of discernment!…
The discernment exists, the discernment of the heart. We ask Jesus: “Really send me people to form this team.” And if it is really Jesus who sends them, then it will work itself out. But don’t do human things. Wait even maybe six months by yourself and say, “Lord send me…” and pray. If you pray, it will come, for sure. […]
Little by little, the Lord, without making any structure, will show you the paths to take.
Gathering in Vézelay 07/74
You don't enter a community, you create it.
Community Weekend 27-28/11/76
The grace of the Community… Like all grace, it is a gift from God; you must ask the Lord for it. [You absolutely must live this grace of the Community… it is such a treasure of grace that it is really a terrible waste if you do not live it. If you live it, it transforms you so much in joy!
Community weekend 20/09/81
Most of them are looking for a life that is a normal life […], a possible life of Christians. […] By gathering together in sufficient numbers, they can then impose a different kind of life (in impossible situations). But, alone, they cannot do it, they are crushed… It is really necessary to be realistic between us and not to embark anywhere. So there is a possibility between total refusal of the world – flight – and prudence: “the prudence of the serpent with the simplicity of the dove.” With a simple heart, but not naive.
Report on the trip to the USA at the Aiguebelle session 05/16/76
It is much more practical to start communities, especially in France where, in many places, there are big housing difficulties. The non-residential living community is a community where we really live through each other, with each other, but we don’t live together.
Compte-rendu du voyage aux USA à la session d’Aiguebelle 05/16/76
Criticism
We are always judging and criticizing each other. So how do you expect us to have love for each other?… If we have mercy, we will say [instead of] “ah she’s annoying!”, “she’s maybe a bit annoying, but well, well…” And little by little, have that mercy.
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79 05/07/79
So we talk a little too much, and when we talk a little too much, well, we talk a little too much, and we sometimes say things that you don’t understand: things that are not always very pleasant for the neighbor!
Community Weekend 14-15/06/80
Some people say, “Oh me… I’m such a critical thinker, I can see the point [that’s wrong] right away”…
I say, “That’s perfect! If you could turn that around on yourself, that would be great too…. If you have such a discerning mind, maybe you could see the qualities he has.
– Oh no! I only see the flaws!
– Well, try looking.”
So if you really look by praying to the Lord and saying, “Lord, really, show me the qualities of this poor guy. He doesn’t have many qualities, but come on, help me find at least one!” The Lord will show you lots of them, but it’s unheard of! But then, finally, you’re going to like him a lot, and then you’re going to forget the little flaws he might have.
But you know… it’s true! The Lord makes you progress in these things, especially if you ask Him! […] And then, it puts you in a spirit of love for others.
Community Weekend 14-15/06/80
We say to the Lord: "You have to open my heart!... this person is annoying, he annoys me, I will not be able to deal with him." Little by little, the Lord shows His face inside the person, and little by little, we manage to transform ourselves.
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79 05/07/79
Above all, let us not look at ourselves. Let’s not look at others or find them beautiful, let’s see Jesus in everyone. Let us adore Jesus in each one of us. It is extraordinary. It is everything!
Fraternity of Jesus Retreat 30-31/12/77
The important thing is to have a critical mind. I didn’t say a critical mind, I said “a critical mind”! People often make the confusion. A critical mind, it makes you see with finesse all the feelings, impressions, sensations… (maybe not too many sensations!!), everything that is in a soul… So, instead of saying: “We can see that he is not so holy and then the other one says this and then that.” […] you say: “But he is extraordinary, look at his mercy, look at the gentleness he has, all the gentleness; he is extraordinary, and I see the Lord in him!” … Then we are always happy because … we see the Lord in all our brothers …
Fraternity of Jesus Retreat 31/12/79
When you are criticized, say, “But these are blessings! Oh, but it’s wonderful! So take note of all the criticism and say, “Look at all this… so there is a need to reform this point, that point…”, and then you will change. Am I being criticized? This is a blessing! Thank you, Lord! We will try to change. It is the Lord who works on us through them.
So Lord Jesus, really help us! We are little children. You are a good teacher, you are good, you are merciful, you are merciful Love and you really want us to grow in this Love.
Fraternity of Jesus Christmas 80 Retreat Teaching 2
In order to be joyful, we must be together with some, carry each other’s burdens, so that “the yoke is easy and my burden is light”… So I will always repeat the same thing: “Love one another (I am completely spoiled like St. John), love one another and then all will be well.” So really, let’s unite with each other!
"Emmanuel" inter-assembly day 13/03/76
If one enters [the Community], one enters 130 saying, “Lord, I give myself to you.” And, in an act of faith, it is to Him that one gives oneself and one gives oneself to one’s brothers… And we ask every day to give ourselves, and to pray together.
Community Weekend 18-19/0677
The Community is not an institution. Thankfully!… The Community is really first of all for the people, it is really first of all a community of love between us, of spiritual attachment. That is what is essential, because if we do not have love for one another, we are liars. You cannot love God if you do not love your neighbor. You all know this, but you must never forget it.
Community Weekend 01/04/79
It is really necessary that all together we carry each other and that we trust in the grace of the Community because, really, alone, we cannot make it, but all together we hold on: it is really “Emmanuel, God with us”.
Community Weekend 22/09/79
In a world going against the grain, we are constantly unraveling. Whereas when we are in Community, we encourage each other: “Today you are tired, but I will support you a little.” And the next day, he is the one who is tired and you support him too. And little by little we arrive together. It is a great joy because we know that the Lord has made the community to help us, to allow us to hold on, and then to be in hope and in joy.
Community Weekend 17-18/05/80
With those who are far away we are in union of love.
And in this union of love the Holy Spirit works.
Fraternity of Jesus Christmas 80 Retreat Teaching 1
The important thing… is the “sacrament of the brothers” who rely on each other… It is also a source of holiness because, as Saint John of the Cross said, the brothers are put together to bump into each other like little pebbles in the sea, to polish each other. It is a grace!…
Fraternity of Jesus Christmas 80 Retreat Teaching 1
You’ll tell me: “That’s all very nice. But I’m getting tired of it! It’s the end of the year, I’ve been making sacrifices all year! No one has realized it. And it’s still not getting much better. I’m getting tired of it! And my brothers are starting to get on my nerves.” Well, I say, “If they’re just getting started, it’s not bad!” […] Then I tell you this: “But you know that brothers are extraordinary! It can annoy you terribly, but it can also serve you a lot!” And the “sacrament of the brothers” is not a theologian’s word that makes good words. No, it’s really a very important word. In the community, if we lean on our brothers and if, humbly, we say to them, “You know, I can’t do it,” then the others say to us, “Oh, you can’t do it, dear one?..me neither.” Well, that cheers us all up!
Community Weekend 14-15/06/80
There are important works that can only be built by the whole community. You see, this is what is important.
What the devil wants is that you can do small things, but separately, so that you don’t do big things. If we work together and if we really pray to the Lord, we can do great things that will amaze you and that will excite us.
Community Weekend 27-28/11/76
We may have trials, tribulations… The Lord will want us to stand alone. And you will say: “What is the use of a small fraternity if it is to be separated?” Well, precisely, you will see that you will not be separated and you will feel in communion with three or four people who are so unhappy (…). You will have received a strength, this strength of the Holy Spirit, and you will be transformed. […] And when you meet again, you will see that the Lord will have made you evolve together, because He does not need place or time, He is with us.
Interview on 23/05/76
The Lord is teaching us now to live as if we were separated from one another. When we are separated from each other, we will be in extraordinary union, because we will have acquired this habit, not of physical presence but of spiritual presence. And the Holy Spirit who unites us – we wouldn’t exist without the Holy Spirit really – will continue.
Fraternity of Jesus Retreat 08/78 09/08/78 morning
“I can’t take care of everything I want to do.” That’s true because you only have 24 hours, you have limited time, and then you have limited strength. But that’s why we are in community! So, if we are in community, one does this, the other does that but, all together, we do everything together! And that’s what you really need to tell yourself.
Because, for the services, one does the cooking; he says: “Listen, I would like to evangelize and then I am always there with my carrots and my turnips.” So it’s not very pleasant to evangelize carrots and turnips! (And Peter explains that by peeling vegetables with love, that love “passes to all the others.”)
There was the little Therese of the Child of Jesus who was in her Carmel. She washed the dirty handkerchiefs, she received a little dirty water – it was charming! People say, “What good is that really for the missions?” And yet, she was named patroness of the missions. Because it’s the way, it’s the love in which you do things that counts. It’s not the things we do, it’s the way we do them with an intensity of love. So we, in our community, that is “Emmanuel”: God is with us and we are with Him. And that’s why we do services, and whatever we do, we say, “Lord Jesus, I offer this to you for the very sick, the tortured, for all the desperate people.” And then there is an immensity of love that spreads out into the world.
Community Weekend 21/06/81
“Ah, that’s good, they are lucky, they travel and we stay here… Ah! it’s always the same and it’s always the same!” But I say: “My poor children, if you see that they do like St. Francis Xavier, well, you do like St. Therese of the Child Jesus, it’s as simple as that: she is patron saint of the missions like him!… So follow Therese of the Child Jesus, it is very necessary (for those who have left).” […]
You understand, we are all one: whether people leave or not, stay or not, we are all sent. What is amazing is that we are sent and we stay: we have all the benefit!
Community Weekend Spring '79
So some act more, others less, but we all carry together. And those who seem to act less, act more in the plan of the Lord, but simply, they carry the others. We absolutely need it.
Fraternity of Jesus Easter Retreat 1978
So it’s very simple, but I think we can move forward like that, little by little; and then help each other. It makes us grow slowly, without realizing it, in love.
Community Weekend 14-15/06/80
It is both those who pray and those who evangelize. And they understand that their suffering is immediately transformed. Transformed into evangelization.
We bear the cross, but with joy. The joy is painful but it is a joy. At the same time, there is this cross, this joy, but at the same time, there is an evangelization that takes place elsewhere. So you say, “Well, I suffer but I know why I suffer.” So it’s energizing for both of us!
Fraternity of Jesus Easter Retreat 1978
Compassion is not only for the sick, but also for each other: for those around us, for others who do not always think well of us. It gives a compassionate charity, and really a love. It makes us melt.
Fraternity of Jesus Retreat 08/79 First teaching
There are also those who irritate us and whom we tend to judge and criticize… Little by little have this mercy in our groups; forgive each other.
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79 05/07/79
Don’t hesitate to call, suggests Pierre, make your act of humility! There are people who always want to help their neighbor, but they never want to be helped; they want to give a gift, but they don’t want to receive. So it is very important to be a poor person and to say to your friend: “This is not good, you have to pull me up. And while he’s pulling you up, this [pulls him up himself].”
Interview on 23/05/76
In this day and age… we can only hold on if we follow Jesus. And if we have faith and a very strong grace that we ask the Lord. Because in difficult times, in impossible times, the Lord gives special graces of protection and strength. […]
We must ask, by praying together, that the Lord give us a gift of strength. And the Lord only asks to give it to us.
Community weekend 30-31/05/81
