Final Integrated Paper

Leo Peters

LIB 130: Witnesses-Hope, Heart, Humanity

Fr. Joensen

Religion by definition is ‘a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme

importance’, or in other words, a sink of faith and determination to which people can pour

into and invest. All three of this courses personalities showed great strength through their

investments in religion as a whole. They put forth work into their desires, thus achieving

strong levels of sacramentality by fulfilling their roles and achieving wholeness and therefore

creating a healthy image of God for those following these three persons. The wellbeing of

god is the wellbeing of the people, whether these people follow him or not. By conjoining the

three concepts of work, wellbeing of god and wellbeing of the people, we get a three way act

I will call the ‘trinity of care’. Although not a legitimate term, Therese, John Paul II and Jean

Vanier understood and frequently performed the ‘trinity of care’. Therese was respected and

loved for her overwhelming determination to display her acts of love towards God. John Paul

II helped us discover the power uniting through hard times and to take pride in our culture,

and Jean Vanier started the community of L’arche as the ultimate symbol of human equality

and communion. Of the three witnesses, none knew better about the wellbeing of people than

Jean Vanier, especially for peoples who have undergone years of neglect and other forms of

abandonment through the lack similarities these individuals shared with the common
 2

population. Through Vanier’s ultimate understanding of the word ‘communion’ and the

processes/details that revolve around it, he was the most significant and interesting witness to

me as a result. “Communion is mutual trust, mutual belonging; it is the to-and-fro movement

of love between two people where each one gives and each one receives” (Vanier, p.28).

Vanier exhibits and sees a mature sense of balance in this world through the act of

communion; a sense of balance that is necessary in understanding sacramentality and

especially mediation. With the presence of Therese of Lisieux’s overwhelming concept of

love, Pope John Paul II’s exceptional value of an individual’s culture and Jean Vanier’s

communion with the suffering, I’ve come to ultimately appreciate and notice the presence

and importance of the three themes sacramentality, mediation and most importantly,

communion through the ‘trinity of care’.

Saint Therese of Lisieux found her calling to god through love. Love was an emotion/

interaction that Therese did not value lightly. Saint Therese of Lisieux was widely renowned

as the witness to heart: The doctor of the church. Christianity resonated within her through

her gradually maturing love of the church and the people who she cared for dearly. Through

her commitment to the ‘little way’ she discovered her calling to represent her religion

through the vocation of love: “Oh Jesus, my love… I have finally found my vocation: My

Vocation is Love!” (SOF, p. 121). With a vocation as powerful as love, one must understand

that love can be found in any action and in any person. Everything Therese did was out of a

conscious act of love for the greater good, for god. This unique and simple yet powerful

mindset is the path of the ‘little way’. There were times where her hopefulness and belief in

the ‘little way’ combined with her mercy as the doctor of the church resulted in believed

miracles; one example was with a man by the name of Henri Pranzini. A criminal who was
 3

thought to be beyond religious redemption. Receiving the death sentence, Therese thought

god could show this man mercy if she were to perform prayer for forgiveness in his name.

“She did not condemn the man himself. Rather, in the spirit of the Gospel, she prayed

for his conversion . . . Therese found it within her heart to be willing to forgive his

terrible crime.” (William Doino) by being prayerful in all her actions towards Pranzini,

she believed to be responsible for Pranzini’s famous action of kissing the cross before

execution, a supposed symbol of religious redemption. A miracle in Therese’s eyes, and an

example of her ever present mercy within everyone. By working towards her desire and

belief that Pranzini could show some form of religious redemption, she believed to maintain

a healthy image of god, resulting in the health and acceptance of those around god.

Achieving the ‘trinity of care’.

Much like the hopefulness found in Saint Therese’s wishes for mercy as the doctor of

the church, Pope John Paul II, the witness of hope, was a man who always tried to find ways

to make tightly knit communities which provided freedom to choose one’s own culture and

beliefs. The years that Karol was forced unto manual labor were the years that Karol found

determination in making a difference for the people of Poland; the people which were

oppressed and suppressed culturally by the foundations of communism. Knowing what it felt

like to be part of the oppressed population, as pope, John Paul II knew that he had to bring

the oppressed communities together if there was ever to be a chance or sign of resistance to

the totalitarian community. John Paul II needed the people to engage in communion, to find

something everyone could share similarities over. Despite the internet being introduced after

the totalitarian influence was removed from Poland, John Paul II saw the internet as a

powerful tool which can be used to achieve communion at relatively effortless levels. Of the
 4

three course themes (sacramentality, communion and mediation), communion could be seen

as the strongest and most prevalent with the presence of the internet. Mentioned from the

Pontificium Consilium de Communicationibus Socialibus, Pope John Paul II views the

internet as a new gateway for the church to encounter and utilize in order to spread the word

of the gospel, saying; “the history of evangelization is not just a matter of geographic

expansion, for the Church has also had to cross many cultural thresholds, each of which

called for fresh energy and imagination in proclaiming the one Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

(PCCS). The positive thoughts John Paul II shared on the internet only further proved his

great respect for the importance of the course theme of communion. Understanding the

power of united efforts due to his past regarding WWII, I genuinely believe John Paul II to

value communion over all.

With Jean Vanier being the founder of L’arche, he found it very fundamental for his

communities to be able to perform and respect the actions of communion: “Communion is

mutual, mutual belonging; it is the to-and-fro movement of love between two people where

each one gives and each one receives” (Vanier, p.28). I found his definition of communion to

be the perfect description of how I saw both Saint Therese and John Paul II view

communion. The to-and-fro movement of love is the strength which Therese would focus on,

whereas the mutual belonging and companionship would be the strengths John Paul II would

see in the concept of communion. When it came to Vanier, although he did indeed recognize

communion in its most broad of definitions, he also came to understand the concept of

communion in a differently exercised fashion from most. Choosing to protect and support the

physically and mentally impaired as his vocation, he has learnt that communion also requires

the ability to be open. The ability to take on whatever truths come up during the
 5

‘footwashing’. “Communion is mutual vulnerability and openness one to the other. It is

liberation for both, indeed, where both are allowed to be themselves, where both are called to

grow in greater freedom…” (Vanier, p.28). Vanier views the ability to grow comfortably a

key part to a healthy individual. Dealing with people who were commonly neglected growing

in their youth, he can clearly see the void of human contact and love in the people he works

with at L’arche. Without anyone to be open and free to, they grow up living their lives in

solitude. In fear of rejection if they show too much of their hidden truths. This is why

communion is an essential witness theme. As humans, our strengths as social individuals

relies on the communication and acceptance of others. Anyone who grows up with a lack of

proper communion (whether it be from their family or friends) can be seen as neglected

growing up. Something that Vanier stresses on preventing for people in such situations, and

continues to work on opening others up to the idea of communion who have been afraid and

closed up all their lives.

With all three of the witnesses mentioned and explained in their works; Saint Therese,

Pope John Paul II and Jean Vanier, it is easy to see the great word they have given god and

Christianity in general. All three symbolizing the essential roots of what it takes to be

religious leaders leading by example. From a perspective of a witness, (as I’ve come to

believe over the course of the semester) a witness must be able to provide/ become a strong

source of faith in order to help others make sense of god, the human person and the world

through a catholic perspective. The most successful way to instill faith into the others around

you through a witness’s perspective would be through the witness theme of communion.

Communion, by definition of the witness themes glossary of themes and terms, “communion

is the mutual bond that exists among persons in relation who entrust themselves to one
 6

another. This bond allows persons to realize goods within them and beyond them that they

would not otherwise be able to achieve” (WTG, p.2). Similarly to Jean Vanier’s definition of

communion, by combining both definitions of communion, we can see the main words used

to describe communion are ‘mutualism’ and ‘trust’. The concept of sharing a commonality

with one another and using that to build trust off one another.

Saint Therese engaged in communion through becoming a Carmelite, Therese’s order

of the Carmel possessed the qualities of a contemplative order through the focus of prayer

and boundary limitations within the church by becoming cloistered. Although mainly shut

off from others, she was able to relate with those following the order of the Carmel

mutualism of religious interest. Creating trust with one another as a result. Therese was the

witness who made sense of god by understanding his actions through mercy and using the

trust developed by communion share her thoughts of processes such as the ‘little way’ and

the prayerfulness and mercy for even the worst of criminals. Therese never did truly

understand god’s actions. Receiving her illness and early death as a token of love but also

fear that she was not accepted by him either. The bringing together of the order of the Carmel

in hopes of her regain to health and the lack understanding and mysteriousness of god’s

actions towards Therese’s health matches how communion is viewed through the

understanding of god as the trinity: “The Trinity is the communion of persons in the one

being who is God; the Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life—the mystery

of God in himself: God is a living, eternal event, a community of self-giving love and

receptivity.” (WTG, p.2).

Jean Vanier as a witness through his work shows that God is merciful, offering

humans reconciliation, life, and beatitude as sheer grace that is not merited by sinful
 7

humanity. With Jean Vanier being the founder of L’arche, he found it very fundamental for

his communities to be able to perform and respect the actions of communion: “Communion

is mutual, mutual belonging; it is the to-and-fro movement of love between two people

where each one gives and each one receives” (Vanier, p.28). Tying in to my experience at the

Hills and Dales care center, I found his definition of communion to be the perfect description

of how I saw the residents and staff interact with each other. Each and every person had a

role which they embraced, they all felt a strong sense of belonging, and just by doing so

communion was achieved. It was a communion different from Therese’s order of the Carmel

or the banding together of the Polish people by Pope John Paul II. This communion

possessed god’s mercy and human reconciliation. Throwing aside impairments and

disabilities to provide as respectful beings and strengthening our understanding of the human

being through a Catholic sense. My experience at Hills and Dales wasn’t exactly a religious

experience of any sense. It was a time where I was able to understand and relate communion

through a non-religious context. If one does not accept their role in a community such as

Hills and Dales, finding it cumbersome or unimportant, communion will be hard to achieve

like it was for Kathleen Berken: “listen to broken, unintelligible speech and tend to weak

hearts and understand limited abilities, and teach me patience while I’m doing it, then, God,

you’re doing a fantastic job” (WRD, p.23). Here Kathleen Berken struggles to find her role

in the L’arche community that she was enrolled into and shows it to the reader through a

strong presence of sarcastic comments in the direction of god. Her lack of respect for the

residents and impatient mindset led her to have a hard time embracing communion through a

sense of embracing god’s mercy and reconciliation. I found her openness about her initial

experience at L’arche to be a very relevant and relatable description of how most

 8

inexperienced people feel when introduced to a community of people with disabilities

ranging from moderate to severe. It requires a sort of unique perspective on life and a

complete embrace of overall differences. A bare skin interaction. A strong sense of trust and

mutualism.

Another example of showing initiative and utilization of the witness themes would be

when John Paul II decided to transform a place originally labelled a Diocesan Museum

established in 1906 into “the cathedral museum” in 1975 where objects from the Wawel

Cathedral could be kept and displayed for those in religious interest. Relating to two of the

three witness themes, the creation of this museum correlated strongly with the theme of

sacramentality and communion; the use of physical objects or celebrations to remind us of

important and memorable events in the past, and using the historic value of the museum to

bring people together through memories of the past. With John Paul II opening and blessing

this museum on September 28, 1978, I understood his motives as an attempt to help enforce

sacramentality and communion towards the cathedral church. To help enforce the religion

through display and respect of important and memorable religious artifacts which provide

important meaning and have the ability to bring back memories which deserve recognition in

the past. “The Cathedral Museum exhibits feature the most precious objects from the

Cathedral treasury, including Polish royal regalia, noteworthy paintings and sculptures, and

memorabilia from John Paul II’s years as archbishop” (COS, p.132), we can see and confirm

John Paul II’s efforts in bringing back respect and instill faith upon the culture to help

understand the perspectives of older times and iconic catholic events.

When it comes to the Catholic understanding of the world, one must understand the

interaction between the human and god. The significance of the Incarnation and Paschal
 9

Mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection is the ultimate defining factor and piece of

evidence of god’s will and god’s ability. “The mediation of salvation . . . always originates in

God. ‘For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race,

Jesus Christ, himself human’” (WTG, p.3). With Jesus being the witness to god, as he is the

son of god, his resurrection through the Paschal Mystery was a sign that god himself is a

mediator. He controls the extremes of mediation: Life and death. Through the eyes of the

trinity, seeing Jesus and god as well, Jesus by definition then becomes the ultimate mediator.

He is an agent of communion bringing people together under the Christian religion. He

identifies with those who he represents, as a person, he aims to relate with those around him

even though he has supernatural ties with god. He does not signify only himself, and he is

willing to sacrifice on behalf of those whom he represents, his sacrifice on the cross. Jesus

was the mediator between the human being and god, defining the world through a catholic

viewpoint.

Overall, the most compelling witness of the three is Jean Vanier. His ultimate

acceptance and understanding of the human mind and psyche helps him view situations from

multiple perspectives. With his area of work dealing with people who have been tormented

for their disabilities and impairments, he has come to be fond of the word ‘forgiveness’ and

what it entails for both perspectives; the tormented and the oppressor: “Forgiveness is

unilateral. It begins as the victim, with new-found strength… Forgiveness is then to have

hope for the oppressors, to believe in their humanity hidden under all their brokenness.”

(Vanier, p.144) This powerful segment further proves Jean Vanier’s ability to view everyone

as equals and faith in everyone’s being. Instead of viewing an oppressor as an enemy, he

views them as broken with hidden humanity. This view he possesses ultimately says that he
 10

gives everyone a chance at redemption much like Saint Therese. Unlike many, he took action

whenever he felt feelings of pity or empathy for those who were neglected due to their

physical and mental impairments. With Jean Vanier being labeled as the witness of humanity

for his passion and hard work towards the initiation and maintenance of the communities of

L’arche. His vocation: to care for those in need of respectful and loving human contact

resulted him in receiving the title as a person who deeply understands what it means to be

human on a very vulnerable and open level. A strength Jean Vanier most definitely

possessed. Taking the VIA character strengths survey earlier this year, I was able to

recognize my strengths, being loyalty, kindness, team-work and critical thinking. Comparing

our strengths with each other as a class, it was easy to find differences in strengths amongst

our peers, helping me realize how people are ultimately different due to the different

strengths they possessed/ had absent. With strengths in loyalty and team-work, it is clear to

see why I am a team sport player. Whereas for Jean Vanier, with strengths in perspective,

mercy and generosity, it is clear to see why he started the community of L’arche and take on

the care of impaired individuals as his vocation. Vocation can be seen as a title. A title one

wants to fulfill/earn. Whether it be to become a professional athlete or a biologist. A vocation

is something you want to dedicate yourself to and become affiliated with. Doctors dedicate

themselves to their specified field whether it be a physiologist or a surgeon. Basketball

players dedicate themselves to playing the sport of basketball, to be physically determined to

push their selves. A vocation is a hobby or calling of one’s strengths to commit to, and, as a

result, society gives you a title for that commitment. When it comes to offering myself and

Jean Vanier to persons of good will, although the catholic intentions are valuable, it is not an

important factor of whether these people are catholic or not. When it comes to building a
 11

“civilization of love” it is important to be open and ready to embrace others through a sense

of communion. When Vanier established L’arche, it made out of the acceptance of the fact

that not everyone is born in the same way. That some people can have differences and that it

is important that we do not change our ways of how we embrace the people with differences

vs. the people who share more similarities. Love is having the ability to be open with others

and having the ability to be comfortable as yourself. To have the freedom to grow and adapt

to one’s own desires. To be forced to change through neglect and hide differences that result

in torment is a definitely not a civilization that is built off love.

 12

Works Cited:

(WTG) - Joensen, William. Glossary of Witnesses Themes and Terms. September

22, 2016

(SOF) - King, Heather. Shirt of Flame: A Year with St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

Brewster, MA: Paraclete, 2011. Print.

(Vanier) - Vanier, Jean. Becoming Human. New York: Paulist, 1998. Print.

(COS) - Weigel, George, Carrie Gress, and Stephen Weigel. City of Saints: A
Pilgrimage to John Paul II's Kraków. New York: Image, 2015. Print.

(WRD) - Berken, Kathleen C. Walking on a Rolling Deck: Life on the Ark.

Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2008. Print.