Women and men, their eyes wide open, entered the Silence and watched attentively. They heard the Ineffable, they saw the Invisible. And, without being perfect, they became witnesses, heretical prophets, peaceful subversives, friends of life, of joyful goodness.
The possible and the impossible
/in Dawns, Reflections, Witnesses to Light /by José Arregi“That’s the way it is” we say, not knowing if we mean a realistic lucidity or a defeatist abandonment. That’s the way it is, and anything else is not possible. That’s the way it is, and it is impossible to stand up, wait, breathe, hope, create: to be or to make being more. What is […]
In memory of Jacques Gaillot, Bishop of the Excluded
/in Dawns, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiYesterday, April 12, at the age of 88, Monsignor Gaillot, Bishop of Evreux (France) from 1982 to 1995, died. He was a peaceful and energetic man, passionate about justice for all the excluded, a prophet of the Good News of Jesus, of a fraternal world, of a human Church. He supported conscientious objection against military […]
Bernard Besret: the utopia of Boquen
/in Reflections, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiIn the hot afternoons of the first week of last August, in the shade of a lime tree in Champigny-sur-Veude, a peaceful French village surrounded by wide sunflower and corn fields, I read with both enthusiasm and uneasiness Béatrice Lebel-Goascoz’s doctoral dissertation Boquen entre utopie et révolution1965-1976 (Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2015). It is a […]
To Miren Jone Azurza. In memoriam
/in Reflections, Witnesses to Light /by José Arregi(Donostia-San Sebastian, 18-05-1929 – Donostia-San Sebastian, 15-05-2022) You were petite but great nevertheless. You kept as low a profile as possible in the media, but you were a pioneer. Your modesty made you all the more remarkable. You never regarded yourself as a forerunner in anything or dreamt of being one, but you were: as […]
LGTBIQ+: Impure in the Church
/in Dawns, Reflections, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiRecently, James Martin, well-known United States Jesuit and writer, sent a letter to Pope Francis with the three questions that he most often receives from Catholic LGTBIQ+ people (lesbians, gays, transexuals, transgenders, bisexuals, intersexuals, queer and other sexual identities and orientations). A few days ago the Pope’s response was published. Here you have the questions […]
To Pello Zabala, my travelling companion
/in Reflections, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiMy dear Pello, I am dedicating this brief, humble, heartfelt tribute to you. In a way it is a futile attempt, because there are so many who have already praised your gifts and achievements better than I am capable of doing; so I congratulate everyone. I gladly endorse all the praise. So, I will be […]
Thich Nhat Hanh – “I am not here”
/in Dawns, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiOn January 22nd, Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese writer and poet, Zen buddist monk and teacher of life in mindfulness died at the age of 95. He was a peace activist. He fought in the VietNam and was persecuted both by the communist North as well as by US backed South. In 1972 he became a […]
Desmond Tutu, a light for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day
/in Dawns, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiDied on December 26, the day after Christmas. He fought on all fronts: against apartheid, homophobia, inequality, racism, violence, racism and any violation of rights, as well as against a strict religious morality (which, for example, condemned euthanasia, contraceptives…). He always fought for peace and justice. And he was never complacent towards his Church, nor […]
We remember you, José Ellacuria
/in Dawns, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiA year ago José Ellacuría went from this life (1928-2020) to shapeless Life. I celebrate this day in communion with those who continue loving him most and remembering him, bringing him to memory, to Life. This morning, very early in the morning, I have received this email from the person who was closest to him: […]
Ángel Mari Unzueta, travelling companion
/in Dawns, Witnesses to Light /by José ArregiIn the tribute that his family and friends paid to him in Urkiola, one year after his unexpected death: I greet you, Ángel Mari, in this place that you loved so much, Urkiola, crossroads of paths. You also had to live at the crossroads of two eras and two Churches, and you opted without […]