Reflection text
This week’s service was prepared by brothers and sisters from Tibhirine (Algeria)
The message of Tibhirine, 10 years later …
André Barbeau, abbot of Aiguebelle. Lecture delivered on Holy Tuesday 2006
When the hard times come, the Prior of the community will want to stay the course: never lose sight of the fact that all Algerians are their brothers. Maurice Béjart, speaking of the asceticism of his ballet dancers, said that asceticism means finding the right gesture, the right fit, so as not to miss the goal. Christian de Chergé never lost sight of the goal: to remain brothers against all odds. That’s why he refused to talk about terrorists and soldiers, preferring to refer to them as the brothers of the mountain and the brothers of the plain. Go to the person, not to their uniform, or even to what they’ve done, because a person can never be reduced solely to their actions, to what they’ve done, no matter how reprehensible. Looking for the brother in the other person, so that he becomes one.
Why is this so important? No doubt because of the Eucharistic resonance of all this […]. [Brother] Célestin had stepped in to save the life of an Algerian during his military service in Algeria; in Christian’s case, it was an Algerian who had stepped in to save his life, and who then had to pay for his gesture with his own life. Both had discovered what it means to give your life for those you love, and that there is no greater love. And Christian would write in his Spiritual Testament that we must not attribute to the entire Algerian people what would have come from a man who didn’t know what he was doing, the last-minute friend he wished to meet again in paradise. For Father Christian, it’s not just a question of a simple anthropological vision, however solid it may be. It is above all a Christian and Eucharistic experience that has shaped his entire vocation and life: a man gave his life for him, a man stepped in and paid with his life for him.
Intercessions
1. On this Thursday, May 8, 2025, we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Many men and women gave their lives to bring peace to the world:
Lord, may your peace reign in our hearts, and may we bear witness to it wherever you have placed us! Give your strength, intelligence and perseverance to all those who work to resolve the world’s conflicts.
2. May 8, 1945 remains a painful memory in Algeria. During the festivities organized to celebrate the end of the war, Algerian nationalist parties took the opportunity to make their voices heard. In Sétif, police shot a 26-year-old holding an Algerian flag. This was followed by violent riots targeting French citizens, and the intervention of the French army. Today, it is estimated that between 5,000 and 30,000 people were killed.
Lord, we pray to you for relations between France and Algeria. Open up a path of dialogue that will enable us to revisit the past. May real steps towards in-depth reconciliation see the light of day.
3. May 8 is also the feast day of the 19 Algerian martyrs. These 19 men and women were killed between 1994 and 1996, during a period of civil war. They are very important for the small Algerian Church, a minority in a Muslim country.
Lord, we pray for all Christians who live as minorities in their own countries, that they may be signs of your presence through the example of their lives. We entrust to you in particular the Protestant Christians of Algeria, who are particularly persecuted. Strengthen them in faith and hope.
4. Yesterday saw the opening in Rome of the conclave that will elect the new pope: 135 cardinals are gathered to listen to the Holy Spirit and choose the one who will continue to guide the Catholic Church.
Lord, we thank you for the life and work of Pope Francis. Inspire the cardinals so that the future pope will take to heart unity and dialogue between Christians and between different religions. We pray for the future pope, preparing his heart to respond “yes” to your call to serve the Church.