Signs: Seven Words of Hope

Fifty years ago, the Second Vatican Council released its vision of a Church which would put society s weakest and most marginalized members at its heart. At the same time, Jean Vanier founded the l'Arche, a new sort of Christian community in which people with severe learning difficulties would be welcomed to a life of freedom and dignity. In the intervening years, l Arche has become a world-renowned symbol of compassion and hope. But what has become of the radical hope for a renewed Church and those who should be its central concern? Signs is a major new book from Jean Vanier essential reading for all in the Church. He identifies the seven paths of transformation at the heart of l Arche philosophy. The same paths should be heeded by the Church if we are to rediscover that vision of a society that grows outwards from the poor and disadvantaged. The seven paths: From humiliation to humility; from normalization to the awakening conscience; from exclusion to encounter; from power to authority; from isolation to community; from strength to vulnerability; from secret to mystery.