CONSECRATED BROTHERS AND PRIESTS

CONSECRATION

The brothers respond to the call of Christ and want to follow him in a dynamic commitment of their entire being towards holiness, convinced that the true source of life is found in Christ. Thus beginning a continual process of transformation to leave all that is dark behind them and tend ever more towards the Divine Light, they desire to have this experience described by the psalmist:

“In your light, we see light.”

CONTEMPLATION

This quest for the fullness of life is embodied for the brothers above all in the contemplation of the Divine Light: the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, prayer, adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the Liturgy of the Hours, the Lectio Divina, and a loving devotion to the Virgin Mary through daily consecration to Mary and through the prayer of the Rosary.

COMMUNION

The contemplation of God opens towards a joyful and luminous fraternal communion, where each considers the other superior to himself (Ph 2:3). Marked by internationality, the brothers, some of whom are priests, wish to live a true fraternal communion in their branch, as also with the sisters and the laity of the Community.

MISSION

It is this common mission that allows us to perceive that the darkness is passing and that the true light is already shining (1 Jn 2:8). Indeed, each brother experiences that by being where the Lord calls him, he spreads charity through the work of grace in the world: youth camp leader, university professor, parish priest, rector of a shrine, preacher of retreats, school chaplain, etc.

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    TESTIMONY OF

    Brother Olivier-Marie

    Originally from St Germain-en-Laye, I am the fourth of five children.

    From a practising Catholic family, I lived my childhood and youth in a close and loving family. I was particularly interested in scouting and sport, especially sailing in Brittany. I grew up peacefully, without any big worries or questions, supported by some good guardians: family, friends and scouting. My faith was however superficial, received as one element of my education, among others.

    At 21, I went abroad for three years to finish my studies and work. This stay, far from my family, was an uprooting, and proved to be difficult, and therefore a forced stage of maturation on a personal and spiritual level. And God used it well as a springboard.

    Back in France, an inspired word, a providential meeting with a priest, a charitable commitment to handicapped children… were all milestones in my return to God. Until the decisive step: my participation in a retreat at the Community of the Beatitudes.

    During those few days, I experienced a reversal, an inner upheaval, what we call a conversion. What had seemed neither possible nor desirable until then became for me a path of life and happiness. I clearly received the call to become a priest. This call had resounded in the Community of the Beatitudes with astonishing clarity. I left Paris to live one, then two years in the Community. For me it was clear: it was there, because God had found me and called me there. I have been there for sixteen years and a priest for six years now.

    Since the day when this serene certainty dwelt in me, I have been aware that my happiness depends on my total abandonment to God. The intuition I received during that short retreat, a long time ago, is confirmed at every moment: God is faithful and a source of deep joy.

    When God calls, it is for Life!

    Brother Olivier-Marie

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    TESTIMONY OF

    Bro. Anthony of the Transfiguration

    My name is Brother Anthony of the Transfiguration. I am from Boulder, USA, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. While in the diocesan seminary, the Lord called me to join the Community of the Beatitudes.

    In the seminary we were taught that the centre of the priesthood is the liturgical life. But that was not what attracted me to become a priest, and I had much to discover. Our formation led us to the heights of the Eucharist, through the rises of praise, sacred art and song.

    At the Community, I was dazzled by the beauty of the liturgy, which is one of the reasons why I finally discerned to continue my path towards the Priesthood. The Liturgy is a duty and a work, but it is all the more a participation in the praise of Heaven! Three times a day the bell cuts me off from work. I go from the worries and constraints of the “world” to an atmosphere of peace and beauty. I find myself in the midst of brothers and sisters as well as angels and saints. There I draw on communion with the Lord and with others who strengthen me to abide in Him in the midst of the day’s work, whether it be works of ministry or practical tasks.

    “The brothers and sisters of the Community will take care to be one body and one soul, thus manifesting in the liturgy the unity of the people of God. In the liturgy they will draw the living strength for the exercise of charity”.

    Since my ordination, my apostolic activity has been aimed at sowing vocations, especially among young Americans. It is a question of going to young people, of witnessing to them the joy of giving everything. I often find the opportunity to give them a taste of the beauty of the liturgy. When I go to the university campuses, I often offer them a beautiful celebration of an office or of the Eucharist. I find in students and young adults a recovery of the sacred and of respect. But it is often a step forward for them to discover the wonder of God’s Presence, and also to open themselves so that the Lord can dwell in them.

    I invite them to take time for God, in a retreat or a stay in the Community abroad, especially in Israel where I am currently assigned. In this country we are surrounded by the liturgy of the different religious communities (Eastern Rite, Judaism…), not to mention the muezzins who call the Muslims to their prayers. This stimulates young people to look for a rhythm of prayer for their lives.

    Whether we are at home in Emmaus for weeks of service, or out for a week of camping in Galilee, each day is centred on the Eucharist, Lauds, Vespers, and an examination of conscience followed by a blessing before bedtime. It is a taste of religious life and community life for those who open their hearts. For all, this habit of daily prayer keeps them in the Presence of God.

     

    These experiences with young people renew my spiritual life and my listening to the radicality of the Gospel. At forty, am I starting to lose momentum? Well, keeping the Liturgy at the centre is anticipating Heaven, so there will never be any reason to retire!

    Bro. Anthony of the Transfiguration

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    TESTIMONY OF

    Fr. Etienne

    From a large family where we prayed a dozen rosaries every night, I perceived the absolute Love of God at the age of 12 around a scout fire: I saw humans so microscopic under the Milky Way, and each Hail Mary was like an arrow of divine Love. I understood that there would be no one as great and beautiful as God to give my life to.

    As school was going well, I put it aside. I looked for a lot of money, did a lot of travelling and sports, but I could never find the absolute.
    I went to HEC. Then I became the operations manager of a safari company. There I did mountaineering in Kilimanjaro and scuba diving. But again God’s incredible goodness came to me… on the roof of a Land Rover! I was in the middle of the great migration of wild animals in Tanzania: the Creator of these wonders must really be even more extraordinary. I started to really read the Bible and go to mass every day at the mission.

    At that time I saw the tents of hundreds of thousands of Rwandan genocide survivors, with no one to stand up and help them. I volunteered in the Marine Commandos and passed the selection as a reserve officer. But reading the life of Mother Teresa, I saw that the most effective action of all for the good of this world was prayer and charity.

    I joined the Community of the Beatitudes in 1998, and for two main reasons:

    – I saw all the states of life gathered there, praising and adoring the Good God, in a profound joy. To me, all this was like an anticipation of Heaven;
    – I saw brothers and sisters all sharing a great desire for holiness, and seeking, each with his or her weaknesses, to live first of all the radicality of charity.

    I was then sent as needed on mission to the five continents. Ordained a priest: the celebration of Mass became my daily Heaven. I had the chance to do a biblical doctorate on the ancient Aramaic version of the Gospels in order to proclaim Jesus by relying more on the authority of the text itself, and to participate in the Catholic work of re-translation.

    At present I am a parish priest in the mission of the port of Lima (Peru). Jesus touches hearts, He is worth following more than anything else, and He alone never disappoints:

    Eph 3:19: “The love of Christ surpasses all that can be known”. The rest may be good, but next to it, it is not much.

    Bro. Etienne

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    TESTIMONY OF

    Fr. Jean-Paul du Christ Rédempteur

    Brother Jean-Paul was ordained a priest on 26 June 2021 in Libreville (Gabon). A doctor by training, Brother Jean-Paul felt the call of Christ to become a doctor of souls… Currently on mission in our house in Zug, German-speaking Switzerland, he gives us the testimony of his vocation on video.

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    TESTIMONY OF

    Brother Nathanael

    A Parisian, I joined the Community at the age of 24 after a master’s degree in philosophy and studies in finance.

    I remember my first call at the age of 7. It was a call to the consecrated life. Without knowing it, I had really made my own this quote from the Curé d’Ars: “There is no greater happiness on earth than to love God and to know that he loves us”. This desire for the greatest happiness, in consecration, has always remained deep in my heart, even when I later thought of marriage.

    It was at the age of 24 that I left everything to answer this call: family, country, culture, friends and girlfriend, work. I joined the Community of the Beatitudes in the Ivory Coast, in a Catholic mission. It was there that my call to the priesthood was born, seeing how much people “needed the sacraments”.

    Since then, I have travelled a lot: six years in Africa (Ivory Coast, Rwanda, Gabon), Israel, Rome, Toulouse, Denver in Colorado… And yes, the four continents! This is one of my favourite aspects of the Community: the internationality. The Community has given me the opportunity to meet the people of God in their universality, and to meet them in truth, in depth. As a brother and as a priest, we share the most intimate part of people’s lives: their joys, their distress, etc. We are there at the most difficult moments of their lives. We are present at the happiest moments of their lives (weddings, births, etc.) as well as at the hardest (deaths…). What a grace, and what a richness!

    I can testify that the Lord speaks the truth when He promises a hundredfold in brothers, sisters, houses… to those who have left everything to follow Him. He has fulfilled me far beyond what I could have dreamed. After eleven years in Denver, Colorado, I am returning to France this year, for a new service: that of our Parisian house and parish in Maisons Alfort. After so many years abroad, I am returning to serve “my” people who need it so much.

    Do you discern a call? Then I would simply like to say to you: if you are baptized, listen to your heart, and not to your fears. Go forth into deep water, He will be faithful.

    Brother Nathanael

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    Frère Alphonse-Marie

    testimony of

    Br. Alphonse-Marie

    I come from Vietnam and am the eldest of four children. I grew up in the faith thanks to very religious parents. I was able to follow the catechetical training of my parish but I never thought of becoming a priest or a religious. It was only at the age of 22, after my baccalaureate, that I asked myself the question of a vocation ! Not very keen on studying, I missed the entrance exams to the universities. So the following year, I stayed with my family to help my parents in agricultural work. I had the opportunity to go to Mass every day, join the choir, teach catechesis to the children and I even accompanied my parish priest in his rounds.

    One day, after the evening rosary, a lady catechist came up to me and said, “Son, do you want to become a religious ?” So surprised by this question, I did not know what answer to give her. Hesitating, I replied, “I never thought about it.” She replied, “Go and pray, I too will pray for you.” She gave me two readings to go through: The story of a soul of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and the life of Saint Damien who took care of lepers on the island of Molokai.

    I began to pray and read these two stories. I was also fortunate to have a spiritual director. Three months later, I wanted to become a religious, to be like St Thérèse and St Damian in his service to the poor. The priesthood was not yet at the center of the questions I was asking myself. You should know that in Vietnam, to become a priest you have to have university degrees, and that was not my thing at all.

    During this period, every morning I got up very early to take part in the Mass at 4 : 30 am ! I loved the Mass, especially the homilies. As my priest was old, he sometimes did not preach. When that happened, I was unhappy. One day, as this happened again, I prayed to the Lord : “Lord, if you make a priest of me, I will preach in his place”. It was simply like this that I had the desire to become a priest. And this prayer was answered… 20 years later!

    With this desire to become a religious and a priest, one of my cousins introduced me to the Community of the Beatitudes in Vietnam. Immediately, I saw brothers and sisters together and especially so joyful. It is this communion of states of life that attracted me. “Lord, this is where I want to live” I have been there since December 27, 1999. And now that I am a priest, the prayer made 20 years ago has been answered : I preach for priests who can no longer preach.

    « If you believe, you shall see the glory of God ! » So why not you ? Just believe !

    Brother Alphonse-Marie

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    testimony of

    Br. Andreas

    My name is Brother Andreas of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I was born in German-speaking Switzerland in 1986. After my high school, I studied geography and geology in Zurich. It was during a pilgrimage in 2006 that I met the Community of the Beatitudes. Attracted by the quality of fraternal life and by the beauty of the liturgy, at the age of 21 I joined the Community House in Zug in German-speaking Switzerland). I was able to finish my studies there.

    And yet, my lifestyle until then was totally different !

    After a lovely childhood, very early on, at the age of 12, I began to lead a life of pleasure and absolute freedom, repetitive parties and evenings out. Alcohol, adrift… and yet I thought I had found great happiness.

    At the age of 16, my « happiness » collapsed. In a second ! A serious scooter accident with my older brother.

    We fell asleep while driving, colliding with a car coming in the opposite direction. We were both seriously injured. Lying on the ground, I could not move. It took a long time before help arrived. My life ? What about it ? All those parties, pleasures… and now ? For the first time I was looking for meaning. Isn’t there something more ?

    While I was in hospital for five weeks, I looked for answers. It was later, and contrary to all my expectations, that I found them within the Catholic Church. While participating in a Mass, when the priest raised the host, I knew intimately that Jesus was there, and that He loved me.

    Unbelievable ! Everything had changed. JESUS was now the meaning of my life ! A few years later I decided to dedicate my whole life to Him. It is in the Community of the Beatitudes that I pronounced my final vows, saying : “Lord Jesus, I renounce myself to become attached only to You, the one Treasure and the only hope of my sojourn on earth as long as I live.”

    On 15 September last I was ordained a deacon. The Community tasked me with a youth ministry. Asking me to act towards them as a “servant of charity” and to lead them to Jesus. Wishing them to discover that only Jesus can fulfill our deep desires, “He is the Way, the Truth and the Life !” (Jn 14 : 6)

    “Here I am Lord, without delay, unhesitatingly, not looking back, out of love ! ” (St Michael Garicoits)

    Brother Andreas of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

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    testimony of

    Br. Giuseppe Maria

    I come from Sicily.  Over there, from childhood, my heart was filled with a mad desire for happiness but, growing up, I no longer sought it in God ! I put my heart into my studies and the goals I had concerning my artistic career.  The influence of individualistic thought had cooled the impulse of gratuity in me. My relationship with others was becoming self-interested. My paintings were turning dark with selfishness. Sometimes I felt like I was forgetting “something” essential.

    At the age of 24 I had a very strong experience during which I was made aware of the greatness of God’s Love. I knew that I had found the precious pearl of my life and without doubting the value of His call, I began to listen. In my heart there was a very strong desire to consecrate myself to the Lord and to become a priest.

    I met the Community of the Beatitudes during an evening prayer meeting organized by the Charismatic Renewal in Palermo. The “supernatural beauty” expressed through the songs, the liturgy, the prayers and fraternal joy overwhelmed me. After a few months, the Community came to my village on an evangelization mission. For a week, great was my joy to find myself among those brothers and sisters, their happiness, their light. After visiting them on several occasions, I decided to take the plunge and went to the Community House in Erice, Sicily.

    In May 2017 I was ordained a priest and am at the service of the Foyer of Noto near the shrine of Our Lady « Ladder to Paradise ».

    I always have this calling at heart: the service of building up the Kingdom of God through a continuous search for union with Christ and fraternal communion. God wants salvation and happiness for all. So if you have a great desire for happiness and wish to live your life to the full as a very beautiful “adventure of love”, follow Christ and let yourself be led by the Holy Spirit on the path of the beatitudes. Do not be afraid !

    “The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it” (1 Thes 5 : 24).

    Brother Giuseppe Maria

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    testimony of

    Br. Isaïe

    I am originally from the Paris area (Meaux), where I lived until I was 15 years old. My family was Catholic and practicing. Although ‘turbulent’ during my adolescence, I entered the minor seminary, run by the Holy Ghost Fathers until the baccalaureate, in the south. Those years were a grace for me, with an extraordinary awareness of the missions, and attending a nearby monastery gave me an insight of the contemplative life. In short, it provided an occasion for a ‘new conversion and confirmation of a calling. In the end, however, I hesitated between joining a monastery or one of those ‘new communities’ that were taking their first steps. After two years of philosophy at the Catholic Institute of Paris, followed by two years as a cooperator in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, I found myself staying for a week at the brand new house of the Community in Pont-Saint-Esprit, thanks to friends. God « relates » with us and speaks through various and formidable mediations !

    After the inner storm of the decision I had to make, and the strongly inspired advice of an old monk, I wrote to Pont and three months later I disembarked. It was in 1979, this year 40 years ago (already) ! Following my one-week stay in July, I entered in October. What touched me from the outset, in this community, is the love of the brothers and sisters for the Lord and the mutual charity experienced, as in a family.

    The Jewish dimension or the Eastern Christian liturgy, were well attuned to my poles of interest. As for a « mixed » life together, it suited me well. Seven months after my entry, I went to Jerusalem for a year’s  study, then went down to Rome for three years to pursue theological studies. After that, there followed a litany of various destinations from Lebanon (during the war) to Morocco, a few years in France, then Gabon, Rwanda, Sicily…

    Ordained to the priesthood 33 years ago, I was first a vicar, then a parish priest, in the diocese of Albi, and a pastor in various countries.  I have been living now for seven years in the south of Reunion Island (Indian Ocean) as parish priest in Terre Sainte (St Pierre). I feel very much at home. I share, with my brothers and sisters, in our spiritual home of the Beatitudes, called « Living Water », prayer times, welcoming activities, and spiritual highlights. Fraternal life is a precious gift.

    Everything of a universal nature attracts me, and Reunion Island embodies it in an extraordinary human, cultural and religious microcosm: I have been a member of the Interreligious Dialogue Group (Hindus, Muslims, Baha’is… Chinese religions) since the beginning of my arrival, and am a diocesan delegate for the work of « l’œuvre d’Orient » (a French Association which supports Christians from the Eastern churches).

    God is truly faithful. The Church opens us to all things universal and the Community allows me to live this dimension which is both apostolic and contemplative. I thank God for this 40 year long beautiful adventure !

    Br. Isaïe

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    testimony of

    Br. Jean-Marie

    I come from French-speaking Switzerland. Before joining the Community, I was a young car mechanic in a garage that prepared vehicles for the Paris-Dakar.

    It was during a pilgrimage for vocations in 1983 that I heard very clearly in my heart Jesus calling me to become a priest. I was about to turn twenty. The word of Jesus burned my soul. During that day of prayer we were meditating on a text by Pope John Paul II, which read as follows: « Dear young people, I would like to address a very special appeal to you : reflect, understand that I am talking to you about very important things. It is about dedicating one’s entire life to the service of God and the Church… Open your hearts to a joyful encounter with the Risen Christ ! Allow the power of the Holy Spirit to work in you and inspire you with the right choices for your life… Perhaps the Lord is calling you…”. With these words of the pope, my vocation germinated. For more than four and a half years I put up a resistance. I liked my profession very much and I could not make up my mind. It was after a pilgrimage to Medjugorje that I was able to surrender to the Lord’s calling. I was passing through Ars, without knowing that the Community of the Beatitudes was organizing a conference there. What a shock! A sister invited me to take my turn at Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the middle of the night ! This request honored me. When I found myself facing Jesus in the Eucharist, I felt that I was really at the right place. “A community that gives space to ‘adoration’ this is what I need.” After this love at first sight experience, I deepened this “encounter” by visiting the house of Pont-Saint-Esprit. As simple as that…

    Today, having been a priest for 22 years, I fulfil my priestly ministry in the parish at the service of the new evangelization, surrounded and helped by my brothers and sisters of the Beatitudes. I dedicate a large amount of my time to the service of youth. Our parish house in Lausanne runs a small student home. With them, we do scouting and all kinds of activities: mountain camping, ski camping, pilgrimages, WYD, humanitarian trips…

    Jesus calls us to great challenges. He also counts on you. Leave your mark on this world. He needs the freshness of your young years. « Come follow me ». Together we will build a civilization of Love.

    Brother Jean-Marie

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    testimony of

    Br. Johannes Maria

    I was born and grew up in Berlin (Germany).

    It has been 25 years since I joined the Community of the Beatitudes. Yet I hadn’t planned anything in that direction. Before this new life, I had embarked on teaching studies, with clear priorities: sport and physical activities.

    At the age of 12, I started bicross. It gives one pure adrenaline! For me it was more than just a simple hobby. It was my life. I spent all my time on the bike, investing all my money and all my energy on it. Competition had become a source of recognition for me. I had to shine.

    All this, just to win a small metal trophy and be acclaimed after the competition ! Yet, how fleeting are such moments.

    Much later, I realized that I was constantly striving after performances. I despised everything that did not serve this ideal. Gradually and without being really aware of the situation, I lost the meaning of life and became more and more lonely. Internally, I had even lost my family.

    But God is good ! Through miraculous circumstances, the Lord led me to Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is a Marian shrine visited by millions of pilgrims from all over the world. I experienced a strong encounter with the living God.

    It is very difficult to write about it in a few words, but I can only say that I was aware of my selfishness and the coldness of my heart, nevertheless discovering at the same time God’s ineffable love for me. This experience completely changed me !

    I began praying regularly. It allowed me to approach ecclesial life. I then joined the Community of the Beatitudes because there was a deep desire in me to give my whole life to the Lord. I found my family there. I met brothers and sisters who had experienced similar things with God. I could walk with them to serve the Lord and the Church.

    And time passes quickly… since then I have been ordained to the priesthood, I try to look for lost sheep. As in my experience, I want to tell them about this deep source of happiness that every man seeks after.

    So do not hesitate to get in touch with Him, to talk to Him, to share your questions, your worries, your problems, your wounds. And above all, pray to Him to manifest himself and show you His great mercy towards you.

    Br. Johannes Maria

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    TESTIMONY OF

    Brother Pierre-Marie

    Born at the end of the Second World War into a Christian family, I always wanted to be a missionary. In the minor seminary, I met a white Father (missionary from Africa). What attracted me to them was that “they prayed and ate together”, as the martyrs of Uganda said: the mission in community life, to witness to “see how they love each other”. I was ordained a priest in 1974 and sent on mission to the Sahara desert. At a time when the mission was being challenged, I experienced the Holy Spirit. Then, with other White Fathers, we founded a small fraternity of missionary monks. This was the beginning of an exciting experience: new converts from Islam met Christ, while some Muslims met around Br. Christian de Chergé and one of us at Tibhirine, in the bond of peace. This experience could not continue in Algeria, not even as a White Father. The bishop who welcomed us, Bishop Pierre Claverie, accompanied us to the Lion of Judah and the Immolated Lamb.

    We stayed there because we found prayer, liturgical life, a community life in simplicity and abandonment. And we were the first two priests to join the Community who already had real missionary experience.

    In 1983, the Community sent me to found in Lebanon, in the midst of the war, and then to many other countries and continents. My ministry is above all marked by preaching through retreats and great evangelisations, meeting the Muslim world and accompanying converts.

    Strive to grasp Him who has grasped you (cf. Phil 3:12-14). “Do not slow down, remain in the fervour of the Spirit, serve the Lord” (cf. Rom 12:11).

    Brother Pierre-Marie

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