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TAIZÉ

Meditations by Brother Matthew

Prayer Stronger than Hatred

From 22 to 24 September, Brother Matthew took part in the Sant’Egidio gathering in Paris. Here is the text of the speech he gave on Monday afternoon at one of the forums. I’d like to begin by quoting something Brother Roger, the founder of Taizé, said in his last letter to young people before his death in 2005, entitled “A Future of Peace”: “Prayer does not take us away from the concerns of the (...)

26 September
Does Jesus still say to us today “Come and follow me?”

Thursday August 29 2024 It was during this week many years ago that I came to Taizé for the first time. I came with friends from university and remember so well entering the church. The prayer was beginning and immediately I was drawn into the singing. I felt invited and included. No-one told us what to do, there was no-one leading the service. There was the feeling of being alone before God (...)

3 September
Discerning the signs of God around us

Thursday August 22 2024 Welcome to all of you who are with us this week in Taizé. You have come from Portugal to Romania, from Italy to the north of England and from much further afield as well. It is a great joy have the families of two of our Indonesian brothers with us during this time from the islands of Sulawesi and Java. I would like to say to them : your presence is so important for us! (...)

24 August
Nothing is impossible for God

Thursday August 15 2024 Today is a feast day of Mary, the mother of Jesus. This morning during the celebration of the Eucharist we heard Mary’s song of praise from Luke’s Gospel. This song, which we call often the Magnificat because it begins with the words “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord”, flows from the lips of Mary after two events. Firstly, Mary received the news that she was to (...)

16 August
Lord, show me the way

Thursday August 8 2024 We are very happy to welcome you from so many countries this week in Taizé. You have come in great numbers especially from Sweden and Germany, but also from Portugal, Italy, France, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Czech Republic and different parts of Spain. We are also thankful for the presence of young people from Ukraine among us. This week has been especially intense. I (...)

11 August
A treasure in clay jars

Thursday July 25 2024 It is a great joy to welcome you to Taizé this week! You come from a wide variety of countries: from Portugal to Ukraine, from Estonia to Italy, with groups also coming from Slovenia, Serbia and Hungary. In Christ, we always seek to journey together, to listen to each other and to live in the unity that is already given in him. We are also delighted to welcome over 330 (...)

27 July
Express a sense of solidarity

Thursday July 4 2024 Today we have taken part in a great sporting event. It is the first time in the history of our village of Taizé that the Tour de France has passed by. Thank you all for being willing to share in this. It was a marvellous opportunity to journey together with the people of our village and our region. When Christians leave their usual surroundings and go out to meet with (...)

6 July
Choose the path of a greater love

Thursday June 27 2024 Though we are already quite numerous in Taizé this week, this is the time just before the big summer meetings when our brothers can take a little rest. Not all of us are here at the moment. Like you, we need sometimes a break and to experience a new way of being for a while. Last week, I was with two brothers in the mountains. To be plunged into the beauty of nature was a (...)

28 June
Pentecost 2024: Celebrating the gift of the Holy Spirit

Saturday 18 May 2024 Here we are on the eve of Pentecost. We are going to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. Tonight we have heard the words of Jesus in the Gospel of St John where he invites everyone who is thirsty to come to him and those who put their trust in him to drink. We are all thirsty for something. Perhaps we are not really thirsty for God. Perhaps our thirst is for success, (...)

21 May
Easter 2024: Let us dare to believe in the sign of the empty tomb

Thank you for coming to Taizé with us this week to walk together with Jesus, who gave his life for us all out of love, and who shows us that this love is stronger than death. That is what we are celebrating these days. Not even the torture of the Cross, not even the abandonment by those closest to him, could divert him from his desire to make us understand that God loves every person (...)

1 April
A foretaste of spring at Taizé

Thursday 15 February 2024 What a joy to welcome you all this week in such great numbers. Many of you have had a long journey from Portugal. You are waking us up from our winter to bring us the warmth of the south and hasten the arrival of spring in our northern lands! You’re among the first to visit us this year and so you’re preparing us for the Easter and summer meetings to come. Thank you (...)

16 February
1st Sunday of Advent 2023

Today is Advent Sunday, the first Sunday of the liturgical year. This season is given to us to prepare us to welcome the birth of Jesus, the coming of God to be among us. It is a time given to each one of us to get ready inwardly to receive God’s newness in our lives, to let the Holy Spirit bring to birth in us intuitions, projects, and the courage to go forward on the path that is before us. (...)

5 December 2023