[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_slider show_arrows=”off” show_pagination=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”|600|||||||” header_font_size=”44px” custom_margin=”||-2px|||” custom_padding=”||42px|||” hover_transition_duration=”0ms” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_slide heading=”Pray and love” image=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/page-titre-image-min.png” use_bg_overlay=”off” use_text_overlay=”off” text_overlay_color_tablet=”rgba(255,255,255,0.53)” text_overlay_color_phone=”rgba(255,255,255,0.72)” text_overlay_color_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h1″ header_font_size=”48px” body_font=”|600|on||||||” body_font_size=”24px” background_enable_color=”off” background_image=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/headerNouvelles2025.png” background_enable_image=”on” text_orientation=”center” custom_padding=”60px||60px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”60px||20px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”65px||||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” hover_transition_duration=”0ms” header_font_size_tablet=”36px” header_font_size_phone=”30px” header_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” body_font_size_tablet=”24px” body_font_size_phone=”20px” body_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_transition=”on”]<\/p>\n
Grandchamp Newsletter 2025<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_slide][\/et_pb_fullwidth_slider][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”rgba(255,234,234,0.78)” background_image=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/arr3_2025.png” background_blend=”saturation” custom_margin=”||-10px|||” custom_padding=”8px||5px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”27px||10px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_3_font=”||on||||||” custom_margin=”||9px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_image=”off” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]This is the theme we have been exploring since the summer. It comes from our first sisters, the title of the Rule of life that Sr Marguerite sketched out in 1941 for the fledgling community. We might have expected to find \u201cPray and work\u201d \u2026 But \u201cPray and love!\u201d says it all. Prayer is never separate from love. It is embodied in attentiveness, solidarity, the welcoming of life in all its forms. \u201cThe work, the task that God entrusted to Jesus, was to love until the end (see John 13:1),\u201d Fr Richard told us during our retreat. \u201cPraying, working, loving is all one in the life of Jesus, and therefore also in ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
We have witnesses of this love in our community history, such as Sr Marguerite and Mother Genevi\u00e8ve. They dared to embrace the shadows, even the greatest one, death, with love. In this way, they experienced a new life, a resurrection. Mother Genevi\u00e8ve wrote, following the tragic death of her husband, L\u00e9opold:<\/p>\n
\u201cMy beloved was there, \u2026 his features clothed in the bitter chill of death. \u2026 When it hurt too much, I left the room to give way to my distress. Being by his side was to be in the sacred silence that I did not dare disturb. Hours passed, alone with him and my Bible. And in the morning, it seemed to me that through my anxiety, weakness, distress, peace entered my heart, and I knew for certain that God was helping me. \u2026 It was certainty and love, and I felt L\u00e9opold near, but a L\u00e9opold transfigured, radiant, alive in a higher life, understanding everything, loving completely, delivered from all fetters \u2026 God had vanquished death, there was no more terror or anguish, there was only the great love of God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suffering that is accepted can bear fruit, like a seed sown in the ground. Accepting without judging, welcoming what is real within ourselves leads to freedom. The fulness of God\u2019s life contains all, including suffering and death.<\/p>\n
\u201cPray and love\u201d is a theme for a lifetime. It\u2019s not a story from the past: we are all witnesses, in one way or another, of this love. The path begins within you: Love yourself first, with all you have, moment by moment, accepting yourself as you are, with everything, beloved of your Creator, Source of all life. And it will spill over to others, to your relationships and to the world. <\/p>\n
Is not every spiritual path that is interpreted in the light of Christ\u2019s cross a path of liberation and learning about true love, a gift of Easter? God conquered death. Pray and love your human condition; although it is marked by the cross, it is also life-giving. It requires, however, that I take part. Indeed, it is when I confront my suffering, my cross, in truth and with love, that I can experience resurrection. This changes the face of the world as well as my own. <\/p>\n
In this world disrupted by wars, climate change, power abuses of all kinds, as well as fear, this phrase \u201cPray and love\u201d is a sign of resistance and hope. It invites us to live from our cornerstone: the presence of God in us, Source of love that is stronger than anything. It is only when we return over and over to this centre, to the depths of our heart, that we can participate in the birthing of a new world. Are we ready to go through this labour with all our being? Pray and work, pray and love! If we carry out this work with the awareness that we are accompanied by the Wholly Other and that we are never left alone, this path of suffering can become a passage to a life that is freer, reconciled and new, toward resurrection. <\/p>\n
\u201cPray and love\u201d thus becomes a way of life, to humbly take up again, day and night.[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_image=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/headerNouvelles2025.png” custom_margin=”||25px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”7px||10px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Pray and love. <\/p>\n This path is not an idea: <\/p>\n It\u2019s a transition, a Passover, <\/p>\n To love <\/p>\n To love<\/em><\/strong> is also to listen. Really listen. <\/p>\n Christ did not flee the cross. [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n And what if, at the heart of the cross, <\/p>\n Pray \u2013 Love \u2013 Resist <\/p>\n Pray\u2026<\/em><\/strong> to stay human <\/p>\n Pray<\/em><\/strong>\u2026<\/em><\/strong> not out of duty, <\/p>\n That is the place of our real resistance: <\/p>\n And believe, <\/p>\n Sisters<\/em> Anne-Emmanuelle and Regina<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/page-titre-image-comp-min-scaled.jpeg” title_text=”page titre image comp-min” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.5)” background_image=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/arr1Nouvelles25.png” background_blend=”saturation” custom_padding=”8px||5px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-7px|auto||auto||” custom_padding=”0px||10px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_image=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/headerNouvelles2025.png” custom_margin=”6px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_3_font=”||on||||||” custom_margin=”||9px|||” custom_padding=”23px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_image=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n This work of transformation unfolds in everyone and finds its depth when it is woven into the fragility and richness of our community life. With this in mind, we experienced our January community days under the theme \u201cAt the Heart of the Cross, Love.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Through art and texts from Edith Stein, St John of the Cross, Etty Hillesum and, to our surprise, Sr Marguerite of Grandchamp, Audrey Barcelo Genevay placed before us the Cross as it is inhabited by these witnesses of hope. Together, we moved forward step by step. As one sister said: \u201cI approached the cross very carefully, because deep down I was a little afraid of it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Crosses and suffering can be frightening. How can we handle them without losing hope? Art and beauty can sustain this endeavour. One sister put it this way: \u201cIt\u2019s so hard not to be able to do something when someone is suffering. Contemplating Fra Angelico\u2019s painting of Christ on the night of Gethsemane, I imagined Martha and Mary praying for Jesus that night.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another added about this painting: \u201cThe light does not enter through the window, but comes from the dark place where Jesus is in agony, in prayer. I trust that I receive this light from this dark place in me where Jesus, in agony, prays to the Father.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This year, so much suffering brought us face to face with the world\u2019s crosses. In 1954, Sr Marguerite described her experience of fraternity in a slum in Algeria: \u201cLiving amid this misery means suffering every minute, suffering greater than we can ever fully share. But perhaps it is this tearing of our hearts that is asked of us. We must pray without ceasing so that the love of Christ may be given to us. When I start to feel overwhelmed by all this suffering, I go into our little chapel, lie face down on the floor, with my arms extended in the form of a cross (there is just enough room) and say: \u201cIn the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit \u2026\u201d And when peace returns, I say: \u201cGlory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit \u2026\u201d And I get up strengthened and calm, and I go back to them.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Whatever each person carries joins with the life and the suffering of humanity. One sister put it in these words: \u201cThis session helped me to look with love at Christ in me who fights to drink the cup of today\u2019s suffering in the world. Collective suffering is linked to our personal suffering. I was able to look with love on the dark place in me where Christ is taking on the crosses of today.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Why is there so much suffering? Who has never felt this cry arise within them? Audrey quoted Sr Marguerite: \u201cThe answer to all our \u2018why\u2019s is not a \u2018because\u2019, but greater love.\u201d <\/em>It is an invitation to let go of the expectation of an explanation to love and let ourselves be loved.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One sister shared: \u201cEdith Stein invites me to see \u2018all the burdens and suffering in life \u2026 as messages from the cross.\u2019<\/em> I feel these trials, both personal and collective, go through me: I acknowledge them without justifying them or forcing them to have a certain meaning\u2026 And what if learning to love also involves embracing suffering, which is inevitable for all of us? When it erupts in my life without my seeking it, welcoming it for what it contains and what it reveals to me of myself and of Christ\u2026 Edith\u2019s vision of the cross as constitutive of our being soothes me: going through my crosses joins me to the Paschal mystery of Christ, a journey that leads my wounded life, in communion with his, to the Resurrection.<\/em>\u202f<\/em> Etty Hillesum, a contemporary of Edith\u2019s, wrote: \u2018Facing death and accepting it as an integral part of life, is to expand this life. \u2026 Death is suddenly there, great and simple and natural, silently entering my life. It now has its place there and I know it is inseparable from life.\u2019 Like Etty, I feel life and death coexisting in me, two indivisible forces. Suffering and joy, trials and peace intertwine, giving my life its intensity. Accepting death opens me to life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In Prier 15 jours avec Edith Stein<\/em>, Michel Dupuis writes: \u201cCrosses so often ignored or repressed are only waiting for the gaze of love so all this suffering, pointless, scandalous, absurd, can mysteriously be transformed into leaven for love and salvation. For the cross really needs me, it needs my love to set free what it contains.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Echoing these words, one sister shares: \u201cBefore, it was as if the cross was far from me. Now, when I hear that the cross needs me, it is no longer something mysterious and distant: the cross is within me. That is how I can be like Jesus: without guilt or moralism, but very concretely, very down to earth, in my life and in community life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In conclusion, Audrey shared how our experience resonated with her:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe Cross is a mystery to be contemplated. This great account of the Passion concerns all of us; this particular story resonates in the Universal. <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Through the Cross, the Man-God opened for us a way that reunites us with the Divine Source. In this way he saves us. But it is not his suffering that saves us, it is his love. It is the love he is able to bear witness to even amid suffering. <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This path he carved out remains forever open; it is the cornerstone of the mystery of our existence. We must experience this passage individually and collectively. <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The unfathomable wisdom of God gave the Cross redemptive power. And for our crosses? It\u2019s an act of faith. In the dark of night, the women myrrh-bearers go forward, carrying this deep gladness that is springing up, coming through, that mysteriously embraces from his Love the cross of the human being. <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n During the dark of night of all absences shines the bright flame of love, the Presence of the Living One on Easter morning.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.5)” background_image=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/arriere2025.png” background_blend=”saturation” custom_padding=”8px||5px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”3px||10px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_image=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/headerNouvelles2025.png” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_3_font=”||on||||||” custom_margin=”||9px|||” custom_padding=”23px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_image=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n During the community retreat before Pentecost, Dom Jean-Pierre Longeat invited us to see our body as a place of encounter with God. In the face of evil that is tearing the world apart, coming back to this depth in daily life opens paths of communion: we all come from the same Source, and yet each person is unique and so different! Growing in relationship means acknowledging these differences and learning to love them! Community life offers us countless opportunities and gives us a taste of the joy of experiencing diversity through the generations, cultures, Churches, ways of living in this world and in our inner world \u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Abuses in the Church, in society, and in families are a cross borne above all by the victims. During a conversation with Margarita Fugger\u2011Heesen and the screening of her documentary Dignity<\/em>, we glimpsed a way of restoration through dance. Aware that no community is shielded from difficulties or dysfunction, a group of sisters attended a session on the topic of abuse, control, and trauma, facilitated by Isabelle Chartier-Siben, a victim support counsellor. This work of conversion and clarity, calling us to examine our structures, attitudes, and words, will continue with the whole community.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Since the beginning, the ecumenical vocation of our community has been an adventure in faith, a path for contemplating the love of God.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Exchanges with other communities and spiritualities are equally opportunities to experience unity, to forge links of friendship and support, and, at the same time, they offer us an invaluable light to deepen what it means, today, to be a sister of Grandchamp! Again this year, encounters led us on paths rich in discoveries:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Sr Svenja joined Sr Pascale and the sisters of Carmel Saint Joseph at the ecumenical fraternity of Sainte-M\u00e8re-\u00c9glise in Normandy. She shared their daily life, which is punctuated by the offices at the Grange de la Paix (Barn of Peace) and by many encounters, while Srs Mechthild, Birgit, and Martina-Anna went to Einsiedeln for ecumenical vespers. A few weeks later, Sr Anne-Emmanuelle and several other sisters were pleased to share their experience of community life with the staff of the World Council of Churches and its general secretary, Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay. Later in the year, we welcomed students from the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey, who came to visit and to learn more about our life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On the feast of St Benedict, several sisters shared in the joy of the blessing of the new abbess of Maigrauge, Mother Marie-Agn\u00e8s. The summer continued with a CIR gathering in Tymawr (Wales), where around 30 sisters and brothers from various traditions, including Sr Embla, had fruitful exchanges and were welcomed by the sisters of the Society of the Sacred Cross, an Anglican community that is active in ecology.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the fall, we took part in gatherings in the French-speaking part of Switzerland: at the Day of Consecrated Life in Fribourg and at the Abbaye d\u2019Hauterive, where, with many brothers and sisters from various monasteries, we had the pleasure of contemplating the recently renovated church, sharing a time of praise in this place of prayer that bridges the centuries.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Like many others, we give thanks for the life and pontificate of Pope Francis, and we are encouraged by the words of Pope Leo XIV: \u201dI consider one of my priorities to be that of seeking the reestablishment of full and visible communion among all those who profess the same faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_image=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/headerNouvelles2025.png” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_image=”off” custom_padding=”23px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The new sound system in our chapel, L\u2019Arche, also delights those praying in communion with us online, including our own sisters who can no longer live at Grandchamp, such as Sr Maria, now with Sr H\u00e9l\u00e8ne at the Val Fleuri care home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nature changes, too: under the weight of the snow, a large pine branch in the yard fell, while at the mouth of the Areuse River, a revitalization created a small island for the birds \u2026 fragility and beauty of life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n At Grandchamp, day to day, volunteers support us through their faithful commitment. Their presence and regular donations allow us to continue to be a place of welcome for all those seeking an interior space where the mystery of Life can be renewed. We are very grateful.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was a joy to welcome from Algeria, for a few months, a long-time friend, Miassa, as well as from Israel, Prof. Dan Jaff\u00e9 for a seminar on Jesus in the Jewish understanding.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat is hope? It is happiness to come.\u201d <\/em>This is just one example of the short and meaningful phrases that linked the songs at the show presented at Grandchamp in L\u2019Arche by Sr Gabrielle and her co-residents at the Foyer Handicap de Neuch\u00e2tel. A bright moment filled with happiness!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After years of major construction projects at the Sonnenhof, the Weggemeinschaft <\/strong>is enjoying a more stable phase that allows community [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.5)” background_image=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/arr2025.png” background_blend=”saturation” custom_padding=”8px||5px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”3px||10px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_image=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/headerNouvelles2025.png” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_image=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n In November, like the migratory birds, Sr Lauranne left for Benin to lead a retreat for the Third Order of Unity. Sr Anne-Emmanuelle headed north to the Netherlands to visit Sr Janny, as well as Sr Christianne and Maria de Groot. We were happy that they could spend an extended summer at Grandchamp. Through their eyes as female poets and writers, they invite us to contemplate Jesus\u2019 life experiences and the joy that is revealed there:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_3_font=”||on||||||” custom_margin=”||9px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Joy perfumes time<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_image=”off” custom_margin=”||6px|||” custom_padding=”13px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n This meditation leads us from joy to joy. First, the journey of the three Magi to Bethlehem, bringing their gifts. Later will come the Child\u2019s death on a cross. So, even though this death will be turned into joy, the essence of the story is sombre and filled with danger: enemies and adversaries, threats and pain.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s take the gifts of the Magi into our hands. Gold evokes the royalty of the Eternal. A transformed world emerges, inhabited by a humanity glowing with love and peace. It\u2019s unimaginable for us who live here and now, and yet real in the ingenuity of the Mother- Spirit. Frankincense affirms the blue triumph of a new heaven and a new earth; a divine fragrance permeates our humble and vulnerable being. Myrrh recalls the death of the Child, but also prophesies healing, his and ours.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gold, frankincense, myrrh: king, priest, prophet. The Magi see the Child in all his mysterious identity. The star that guides them is a star of joy.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jesus is born into a people who know and embrace joy. Sim\u2019hat Torah, joy of the Torah, inspiration of the Jewish people. Jesus breathes the Torah, practises the Torah, speaks the Torah, rests in the Torah that sings the psalms. Long live the vast spectrum of joy!<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_image=”off” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||5px|||” custom_padding=”13px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Going through the world <\/p>\n Whatever good you do, [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_image=”off” custom_padding=”13px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Do not lose courage. Listen to what Jesus says in John 14:28: \u201cYou heard me say, \u2018I am going away and I am coming back to you.\u2019\u00a0If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In his intimacy with God, Jesus says, \u201cFather.\u201d It is one of the Names that express the being of God, always in motion, that we can cherish, as if it was written \u201cMother,\u201d \u201cFriend,\u201d \u201cDear One,\u201d or \u201cCreator\u201d \u2026 O ineffable Name!<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jesus describes the joy of reunion after a separation using a feminine image (John 16:20-23). \u201cI will see you again\u00a0and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.\u201d \u2013 Joy, like at the birth of a child.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Because of a birth, three Kings of the nations set out, guided by a heavenly light. They bring joy with them in the form of gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n And see: the Child, now an adult, offers these gifts to the world. The gold of divine royalty: raise your eyes with trust and recognize it. The frankincense of a fragrant vocation: use your sense of smell, have faith. The myrrh of temporary death: a transition that turns separation into joy.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n May we receive these gifts from him, admire and acknowledge them, and do as he does, to become royal beings.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Remember what Rabbi Nahman said: \u201cJoy is a commandment.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Maria de Groot and Sr Christianne [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_image=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/headerNouvelles2025.png” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_image=”off” custom_padding=”13px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n This Christmas, may the Love of Christ lead us in the footsteps of the Magi: offering the gold of our humanity, the frankincense of our prayer, and themyrrh of our life journeys marked by the cross.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let us love, pray, and resist! <\/p>\n Peace and communion for 2026.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The sisters of Grandchamp<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”2px||10px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”20px||0px” custom_padding_phone=”||20px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,1_4,1_4,1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025-Nouvelles-comp.pdf” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Nouvelles de Grandchamp 2025″ button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”19px” button_text_color=”#000000″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025-Brief-comp.pdf” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Brief aus Grandchamp 2025″ button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”19px” button_text_color=”#000000″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025-Newsletter-comp.pdf” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Newsletter from Grandchamp 2025″ button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”19px” button_text_color=”#000000″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/www.grandchamp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025-Nieuwsbrief-comp.pdf” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Nieuwsbrief van Grandchamp 2025″ button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”19px” button_text_color=”#000000″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pray and love<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":47220,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-47388","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/em><\/strong>Two simple words,
<\/em>two impulses of the soul
<\/em>that chart a path.
<\/em>Not to somewhere faraway,
<\/em>to the heights or the temples,
<\/em>but here, in the dust of our days,
<\/em>at the heart of the everyday.<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>it is breath, silence, presence.
<\/em>It begins where you are,
<\/em>in your body, in your breath,
<\/em>in the beating of your heart.
It invites you to gently descend
<\/em>from your cluttered head to your inner heart,
<\/em>where you can let your life come to rest,
<\/em>as it really is, no masks, no sound. <\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>following Christ
<\/em>The cross is not avoided, it is experienced.
<\/em>Suffering, loss, fatigue\u2026 nothing is left out.
<\/em>Everything can become a vaster place to live. <\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em><\/strong>is to dare to stand before your wounds,
without running away, without struggling.
<\/em>Welcoming them like you welcome
<\/em>a crying child, entrusting them to the Source.
<\/em>Then can be born in us a path
<\/em>of peace, of reconciliation, of healing.<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>What is pulsating below the words,
<\/em>what is resisting, waits to be known.
<\/em>It\u2019s learning to love yourself,
<\/em>especially your shadow side,
<\/em>and believing that new life is possible.
<\/em>It\u2019s not a lofty ideal.
<\/em>It\u2019s the Spirit already at work,
<\/em>who whispers, breathes, prays in us,
<\/em>and leads us toward this interior \u201cyes\u201d
<\/em>that says: I\u2019m not afraid anymore.<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>He embraced it.
<\/em>Through this mad gesture he opened a passage:
<\/em>from darkness to light, from fear to trust,
<\/em>from death to Life.<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>there was a fire?
<\/em>A fire of love that does not consume,
<\/em>but enlightens, warms, transforms?
<\/em>With this trust, fragile but tenacious,
<\/em>that God inhabits even our longest nights,
<\/em>and that in the end,
<\/em>there is always Life.<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em><\/strong>Move from your head to your heart.
<\/em>There, in the silence, a Source awaits you.
<\/em>Don\u2019t try to avoid the Cross, go through it:
<\/em>Pray<\/em><\/strong>\u2026<\/em><\/strong> to open yourself up to an Other.
<\/em>Love\u2026<\/em><\/strong> to live fully.
<\/em>Resist\u2026<\/em><\/strong> to live in the light.<\/em><\/p>\n
in a world that wavers,
where fear gnaws, the earth burns.
<\/em>Love\u2026 <\/em><\/strong>bear your vulnerability tenderly.
<\/em>Love is a seed.
<\/em>Trust: God causes light to shine
<\/em>in the depths of the shadows.
<\/em>Resist\u2026 <\/em><\/strong>with gentleness,
<\/em>faithful to what is right and true.
<\/em>Not by clenching your fists,
but by keeping your heart open
where fear settles in, cynicism freezes,
<\/em>fatigue seeks to extinguish the light.<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>but to breathe with the Breath of Life.
<\/em>Love\u2026<\/em><\/strong>not to possess,
<\/em>but to set free.
<\/em>Resist\u2026<\/em><\/strong> not out of harshness<\/em>,
<\/em>but to<\/em> root yourself in Christ
<\/em>in the midst of the storms.<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>the daily journey<\/em>,
<\/em>the \u201c<\/em>yes<\/em>\u201d<\/em> that is faithful to the Light,
<\/em>to the Invisible, to the Presence, to the Life
<\/em>that germinates in the depths of the night.<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>against all odds,
<\/em>that every step made in faith
<\/em>gives birth to a new world. <\/em><\/p>\nPray, love, resist<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Pray, love, resist \u2026 at the heart of our daily lives. Here is what marked our community life throughout the year: <\/strong><\/h3>\n
life to grow stronger. Having six people \u2013 three sisters and three \u201ccompanions\u201d \u2013 brings balance, energy, and joy to the prayer, work, and welcoming of guests. Two of them, with Sr Gesine, went to the Kirchentag in Hanover for a time of encounters and inspiring conversations.<\/p>\n
<\/em>with a vision in your mind\u2019s eye,
<\/em>you often meet with disappointment
<\/em>and a sense of betrayal.<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em>evil still seems to triumph.
<\/em>Carrying on calls for courage
<\/em>for those who walk this earth.<\/em><\/p>\n
(translated from Dutch)<\/em><\/p>\n
May we acknowledge together the crosses that obstruct peace in many places, and may this realization, far from extinguishing hope, strengthen it and raise up new life in us and around us.<\/p>\n