At home

The mentally disabled in the Community

In the Community the mentally disabled are respected, welcomed, esteemed and loved. In every man and woman with a mental disability we can recognise those little ones Jesus spoke of: "I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children" (Matthew 11.25).

Jesus is that good God who "to shame what is strong chose what is weak by human reckoning" (Cor I, 1.27).

In the mentally disabled there exists an intelligence of the heart which can be felt by whoever has the patience to listen and to look. Even among those suffering from a so-called "severe" mental disability this is present: those who are close to them can sense it in their facial expressions, their gestures, their words.

These disabled people are a demonstration that it is possible for the weak to live with great intensity: it is the intensity of love that makes them capable of friendship and solidarity.

They express their affection in many ways which are both simple and profound, never mediocre. Sometimes the emotional inhibitions of the so-called normal people are �overwhelmed� by the affectionate spontaneity of these disabled people which immediately creates a climate of sympathy and joy.

The wish to enjoy things, to share moments of happiness have an impact on so many aspects of the life of the Community and find their full meaning in the Eucharistic liturgy.