A love that makes you live

Abbé Pierre said, “The greatest evil that can happen to human beings, even to little ones, is to think only of themselves. The one and only rule which leads to goodness and to happiness is to look after the weakest.”

Saint Brother André was one of these little ones, with hardly any means and himself not robust, who understood this rule of life clear to the most humble. Every day, he would look after people and their multiple needs, pay attention to them, love them, share himself with them to reveal bit of the presence of a God who wants to be close to them. For Brother André, every day was marked by these little actions which warmed the heart, which comforted and gave hope. What’s more, both day and night, he would remember in prayer the scores of needs of those who confided in him.

This is the way that God has need of us, of our hands and our lips, our eyes and our ears, to share with those who are in need, to welcome those are different, to offer a smile to those who are hurting. Yes, every day there are numerous occasions not only to become helpful but to become alive forever. Saint John says, “We know we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers and sisters.”

To love the other, to accept them with respect is the way to life eternal. Brother André had a keen awareness of this force of life within him. “When I am dead, I will be near God and I will be able to help you even more.” Brother André was 91 years old when he died, and all his life he found his happiness in service to others.

Today, let us pray to Saint Brother André that he might help us, in these difficult times, to maintain strength and courage surrounded by this love of God who invites us to lift up each other.

Father Jean-Pierre Aumont, CSC