36 Best Jean Vanier Quotes From The Philosopher And Theologian

Jean Vanier was the founder of L'Arche, which is an international federation of communities for people with developmental disabilities.

He later co-founded Faith And Light, which also is a community for people with different development abilities. He was a member of both communities until his death.

Jean Vanier wrote 30 books on disability, religion, success, normality, and tolerance and received many awards in his whole career. It was in 1964 through his friend's experiences, that Vanier became aware of the plight of thousands of people who had become institutionalized with developmental disabilities. This led to his establishment of L'Arche, the foundation for which he is best known for.

Jean Vanier gave us a lot of inspiring quotes about all human beings in his career. Let's take a look at his quotes. If you like these, do read some Francis Schaeffer quotes and Francis Chan quotes too.
 

Here are some Jean Vanier quotes in all their glory.

1. "To be lonely is to feel unwanted and unloved, and therefore, unloveable. "

- Jean Vanier.

2. "We are not called by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love."

- Jean Vanier.

3. "To love someone is to show to them their beauty, their worth and their importance."

- Jean Vanier.

4. "Growth begins when we start to accept our own weakness."

- Jean Vanier.

5. "I am struck by how sharing our weakness and difficulties is more nourishing to others than sharing our qualities and successes."

- Jean Vanier.

6. "No wonder some people who are desperately lonely lose themselves in mental illness or violence to forget the inner pain."

- Jean Vanier.

7. "If we are to grow in love, the prisons of our egoism must be unlocked. This implies suffering, constant effort, and repeated choices."

- Jean Vanier.

8. "The heart of L'Arche is to say to people, 'I am glad you exist.' And the proof we are glad that they exist is that we stay with them for a long time...'I am glad you exist' is translated into a physical presence."

- Jean Vanier.

9. "Peace cannot be imposed by politicians or Churches. Peace has to grow within each person if it is to endure. Our society can only be healed when each person in it is healed."

- Jean Vanier.

10. "Peace is the fruit of love, a love that is also justice. But to grow in love requires work -- hard work. And it can bring the pain because it implies loss -- loss of the certitudes, comforts, and hurts that shelter and define us."

- Jean Vanier.

Here are some Jean Vanier quotes on community and growth.

11. "Love doesn't mean doing extraordinary or heroic things. It means knowing how to do ordinary things with tenderness."

- Jean Vanier.

12. "If our own life is luxurious and wasteful, we can't approach poor people. If we love people, we want to identify with them and share with them."

- Jean Vanier.

13. "When people love each other, they are content with very little. When we have light and joy in our hearts, we don't need material wealth."

- Jean Vanier.

14. "The most loving communities are often the poorest."

- Jean Vanier.

15. "Community is not an ideal; it is people. It is you and I. In the community, we are called to love people just as they are with their wounds and their gifts, not as we want them to be."

- Jean Vanier.

16. "Each person is sacred, no matter what his or her culture, religion, handicap, or fragility."

- Jean Vanier.

17. "Each person is created in God’s image; each one has a heart, a capacity to love and to be loved.

- Jean Vanier.

18. "One of the marvelous things about community is that it enables us to welcome and help people in a way we couldn't as individuals."

- Jean Vanier.

Here are some Jean Vanier quotes on humanity for our readers.

19. "Each human being, however small or weak, has something to bring to humanity."

- Jean Vanier.

20. "All of us have a secret desire to be seen as saints, heroes, martyrs. We are afraid to be children, to be ourselves."

- Jean Vanier.

21. "A Christian community should do as Jesus did: propose and not impose. Its attraction must lie in the radiance cast by the love of brothers."

- Jean Vanier.

22. "Life is a succession of crises and moments when we have to rediscover who we are and what we really want."

- Jean Vanier.

23. "When we begin to live full-time with others, we discover our poverty and our weakness, our inability to get on with people, our mental and emotional blocks."

- Jean Vanier.

24. "To invite others to live with us is a sign that we aren't afraid, that we have a treasure of truth and of peace to share."

- Jean Vanier.

25. "When we begin to believe that there is greater joy in working with and for others, rather than just for ourselves, then our society will truly become a place of celebration."

- Jean Vanier.

26. "The strong need the weak as much as the weak need the strong."

- Jean Vanier.

27. "When we judge, we are pushing people away; we are creating a wall, a barrier. When we forgive we are destroying barriers, we come closer to others."

- Jean Vanier.

Here are some Jean Vanier quotes on disabilities and how any human can live a fulfilling life.

28. "As long as we remain at the level of 'doing' things for people, we tend to stay behind our barriers of superiority."

- Jean Vanier.

29. "I discovered something which I had never confronted before, that there were immense forces of darkness and hatred within my own heart."

- Jean Vanier.

30. "I do not believe we can truly enter into our own inner pain and wounds and open our hearts to others unless we have had an experience of God unless we have been touched by God."

- Jean Vanier.

31. "Envy comes from people’s ignorance of, or lack of belief in, their own gifts."

- Jean Vanier.

32. "To look forward, to want life, means we have to be willing to look backward and become more conscious of all those who have hurt us."

- Jean Vanier.

33. "Many people are good at talking about what they are doing, but in fact do little."

- Jean Vanier.

34. "People with disabilities are a sign, a presence of Jesus and a call to unity. The weak and the poor are for us a source of unity."

- Jean Vanier.

35. "We are called to share our lives with people in pain, to live a covenant with them."

- Jean Vanier.

36. "It is the recognition that there is a bonding given by God which is deeper than our feelings; that our 'enemy' too has a place in the community, the family, the church or society."

- Jean Vanier.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 35+ of the best Jean Vanier quotes, then why not take a look at these Jay Shetty quotes or Emil Cioran quotes too?