I like to watch how the brothers enter the church when the prayer about to start. With their white robe with a very long sleeves until it covers their whole hands, they walk from the front of the church to their place. Then they kneel down, put their tabouret (prayer bench) on their feet, and ready to pray. Then one by one, the other brothers did the same thing until they filled the brothers' place in the middle of the main church.
I like to watch as well how they pray when the prayer started. Solemnly they look at the altar and sing each songs by heart without even looking at the song book. My favourite part is the silence, some of them they bow and put their forehead on the floor. Some of them just put their forehead on their knee, and some of them just keep staring at the beautiful altar. Overall, I'm amazed at these brothers. Maybe I'm not the biggest "fan" because I know there's many young people here also have the same feeling. But I fond them.
It's about how they run their community in this small village in France. How they always open their community's wall for the "outside world", especially for the young people. Since Br. Roger founded Taize Community until this second, they let another people from different part of the world to join their daily prayers, in their church! Even they build barracks, prepare wide open field for people from the "outside world" to stay in their small village.
They organize many things in a very systematic and simple way in order to welcome these thousands of young people who want to stay and pray with them. They didn't create such a movement to spread the Christianity through Europe. Among with the young people who come to their village, they're just doing the same thing they have in their community. They invite the young people to join their morning prayer, followed by breakfast, then bible introduction or practical work in the morning, stop for midday prayer followed by lunch. Then the afternoon continues by the bible introduction or practical work, then tea time. Then they have a supper and closed the day by evening prayer. It's a very simple daily routine, but all these young people just keep coming and coming every year, either because of loving the songs that used in every prayers, or for a thirst of looking for such a "Great Divine".
The beautiful thing is, the word about Taize is spreading around the globe. The prayers continued in different part of the globe using the same style just like the brothers do in Taize. Lucky for me, I found one Taize prayer in my own parish in Jakarta, back on 2004. And I just easily fall in love with the prayer's style, with the silence, the candles, and the repetition of the songs. If I didn't follow my friend's invitation to join the prayer on that time, maybe now I will not be sitting in the Church of Reconciliation in Taize at 11.30 pm to enjoy, pray, and sing the song.
No comments:
Post a Comment