FAITH IN LIGHT
A Faith and Light community is a group of 15 to 40 people (teenagers or adults with an intellectual disability, and their family and friends) who meet together at least once per month for a gathering of friendship, sharing, prayer, and celebration. Faith and Light is an international ecumenical organization comprised of small faith communities of, for, and with people with intellectual disabilities. Communities create bonds of friendship between all members and reveal to each person his/her unique gift and beauty. These bonds will allow each person to grow humanly and spiritually, whether we are parents, friends, or persons with an intellectual disability
Faith and Light was born of a desire to help people with intellectual disabilities and their families find their place within the Church and society. This was the main purpose of the organized pilgrimage to Lourdes at Easter of 1971. The movement is attached to the Church’s Pontifical Council for the Laity.
In our families we are no longer alone…the bonds of friendship woven during the monthly gatherings are expressed by numerous signs between meetings. We regain trust in the future. Our perceptions of our children with disabilities change. Different, often rejected, he/she has found, in Faith and Light, a place where his/her gifts are revealed. Gifts which he/she can put at the service of others, whether this is in his/her family, the place where he/she is received or works and in his/her community.
In our parish, Faith and Light is founded on the conviction that persons with an intellectual disability have been chosen by God to confound the wise and the strong. Its spirit is the spirit of the Gospel, the spirit of compassion and acceptance of human suffering. Faith and Light is a sign that the most vulnerable persons, and often the most rejected, are at the heart of the Church.
For more information about Faith and Light around the world, go to: http://www.faithandlight.org/
Michael D. Brault, Chairman
(619) 548-3190
membership@californiaknights.org