Signs of the Times

Fifty years ago, the Second Vatican Council released its vision of a Church which would put society's weakest and most marginalised 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 of the Times 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 normalisation to the awakening conscience, From exclusion to encounter, From power to authority, From isolation to community, From strength to vulnerability, From secret to Mystery