Encountering 'The Other':

At 62 pages, with only about 47 covered in actual text (in what looks like 1.5 line spacing), this book is a little "appetizer" to the thought and person of Jean Vanier. I can't say I am very familiar with the man after reading this brief work, but it is enough to make me appreciate his wisdom and his deep spirituality, and it makes me want to read more of what he has written. There are a lot of little pearls of wisdom scattered throughout the text in this book. They could all use some more development (hence the four stars - this book is a bit too short for the depth of the thoughts it presents!), but even in their current form they provide "food for thought," prompting the reader to reflect on a thought or phrase that is novel and hasn't been expressed quite that way before. Here are three of my favorite excerpts: "Everyone feels guilty because they are not what they should be, or what they think they should be. Jesus came to relieve guilt and to help each of us discover that it is okay to be ourselves and then to grow, to become a man or woman of peace." (p.46) "I'm always touched by the realization of the wounded body of Jesus because these wounds tell us something. They tell us about love. He went to the very end of love to be able to say to each one of us `I love you'. But it is also telling us something about our own wounds, and our own difficulties in relationships. It will be through our wounds that God will give us his strength." (p. 45) "We need transformation because there is so much tension and egoism in us. We see the world only though our own eyes; we are not liberated to see people as God sees them. We see people through our wounds, through our difficulties, through our prejudices...The spirit of God will be given, so that then we will see people, not through the glasses of our impoverished humanity and our wounds, but as God sees them. It's a transformation. And to enter into the world of transformation we need to want it." (p. 19-20).