Taize Head Gives Message Of Reconciliation, Takes Back Local Spirituality

Posted: 10th December 2007

Brother Alois with Bishop Emiel and Father Un Son at St. Joseph Church Phnom Penh, Cambodia

PHNOM PENH (UCAN) -- On his first trip to Cambodia, Brother Alois Leser, leader of the ecumenical Taize community in France, visited and prayed with young Catholics in all three Church territories in the country.

Brother Alois, a 53-year-old German Catholic monk, was in Cambodia Nov. 27-29 on the last leg of his Asian tour.

His first stop in Cambodia was the Kompong Rotest Catholic community in Kompong Thom, Battambang apostolic prefecture.

About 70 Catholics, mostly young people, from around Kompong Thom province came to meet the Taize leader and pray with him. He spoke to them about the Taize community and reassured them that Jesus is present in their daily life no matter what difficulties they go through.

On Nov. 28, Brother Alois visited Korsroka community in Kompong Cham apostolic prefecture. He encouraged the 30 or so people who came to meet him to appreciate the various gifts they have and use them to build up the local Church. He also told them to forgive each other and spread the spirit of reconciliation throughout their community.

Brother Alois, who also led a Taize-style prayer in Korsroka, described the area as "very natural" and conducive to prayer. Taize prayer sessions typically include repetitive singing or chanting of simple songs, meditation and reflection on Gospel passages around the cross. Lighting is usually kept low, often with candles.

Tola, 19, of the Korsroka community told UCA News: "I am very happy because (Brother Alois) came to visit us and share his experiences. This has strengthened my faith." The young man added that the Taize community in France, as described by Brother Alois, reminded him of his local parish.

On Nov. 29, Brother Alois conducted a short seminar with the theme Choosing Love, Choosing Hope and a Taize-style prayer at St. Joseph Church in Phnom Penh.

Speaking to about 500 young people in the church's meeting hall, he pointed out that some innate forms of violence are very destructive, such as prejudices passed on from generation to generation. "Let us dare to look these questions in the face," he challenged the Catholics.

He invited them to trust that God's words are not empty promises, but will transform their lives and their view of life. "With the little we have and with the little we are, we can contribute more than we think toward a future of peace and solidarity," he said.

Brother Roger Schutz, from a Protestant background, founded the Taize community in the 1940s in Taize, a village in France, to work and pray for world peace. The community today has about 100 members from diverse Christian traditions and about 30 countries. The brothers work for a living and do not accept donations.

Speaking to UCA News after the meeting, Brother Alois said he was in Cambodia to "receive" and "bring back" to young people in Europe the spirit of wonder and adoration for God in the Cambodian heart. He said he already knew of this from young Cambodians who had been to Taize. After his time in the country, he noted the way Catholics in Kompong Cham and Kompong Thom worship God in silence, entrusting their burdens and sadness to Christ.

Before the prayer session, Bishop Emile Destombes, apostolic vicar of Phnom Penh, said the Taize ecumenical community is a sign of peace and love, and that Christians of different Churches can reconcile and work together.

Some participants at the seminar and prayer session told UCA News what the visit meant to them.

Soun Sreyhouch Dalys, 22, of Boueng Tompon church, said Taize-style prayer has opened her to God's love, and helped her in her past apostolate to children and women garment workers. She also recalled that when she visited the Taize community in France in 2005, she received love and care from people she had not known before.

San Sareoun, 23, from Takeo province, added that it was also a "good occasion to meet our brothers and sisters from different provinces."

Brother Alois' Asian tour began in Bangkok Nov. 11, after which he visited Hong Kong, Seoul and Yogyakarta in Indonesia, before coming to Cambodia.

Article Source: UCAN