Finding Peace [Paperback]

Jean Vanier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2003

One of our deepest human desires and needs is to live in peace. We all yearn for peace, but what is it exactly? How do we find it, and how can we bring peace to our lives and our communities? Jean Vanier reflects on recent world events, identifying the sources of conflict and fear within and among individuals, communities, and nations that thwart us in our quest for peace. Peace is not just the work of governments or armies or diplomats, he argues, but the task of each one of us. We can all become makers of peace. We can do our part. And though it's easy to be a love of peace and much more difficult to be a worker for peace, Vanier shows us that ordinary people, unknown and unrecognized, are transforming our world little by little, finding peace in our neighborhoods, and lighting the way to change.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jean Vanier is the founder of L'Arche and Faith and Light, international networks of people with mental disabilities. He is a former professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto. He received the Paul VI Prize for his work in human development and progress in 1997. He is the author of Becoming Human, Community and Growth, and Happiness.

Product Details

• Paperback: 89 pages
• Publisher: House of Anansi Press (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887846831
• ISBN-13: 978-0887846830
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,041,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what I needed at the end of a hard week!, September 18, 2004

By 

Mikhail Ali "perpetual student / accidental t... (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Finding Peace (Paperback)

This volume is one of the most elegant books I have read - it should be read by everyone with some sense of spirituality, or for anyone that has any inclination to question the rationale of a Loving Spirit in a world racked with insecurity and hate.

The reading can be done in less than 45 minutes - although the arguments that he makes are hardly complicated, the examples he conveys are concise, but still inspiring. The pinnacle of why violence and unhappiness occur are precisely examined for the lay audience, without any deep theological or technical details.

I had forgotten how timeless the prayer of Francis of Assisi was - it is beautiful writings like this and its inclusion by Jean Vanier that convince you of the infinitude of the written word, and its Higher purpose. What makes this work so unique is its accessibility, consistent in spirit with the idea of encouraging humility and compassion, and motivating the reader to remove oneself of any sanctimony or arrogance by addressing the search within.

Humanity can only understand the violence in these dark times by redefining that Peace means more than shows of courtesy and tolerance, but something within each one of us that needs some Divine help, especially if we are sincere about making peace, and not just abhorring violence.