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s2smodern

The Manrèse Jesuit spiritual centre is located close to Paris, near a forest. Several young Jesuits have recently met to remove its compost heap and move it to two Jesuit communities, where it would be more useful.

On the grass of a spiritual centre near Paris, this is the story of a heap, but not just any heap. A heap of humus, leaves, bark, branches, all sorts of plant scraps stored a dozen years ago by a far-sighted companion.

On the grass of a spiritual centre near Paris, this is the story of the microfauna of a small part of soil which slowly reduces this whole heap into a fertile coffee-brown powder.

On the grass of a spiritual centre near Paris, this is the story of a Superior seeking to develop the spaces entrusted to him by getting rid of this heap which is becoming cumbersome.

On the grass of a spiritual centre near Paris, this is the story of a companion who knows how to listen but also lets his ears drag and who hears about a heap of bargain.

On the grass of a spiritual centre near Paris, this is the story of four other companions who gather to take advantage of a favourable opportunity.

This is how on March 26, under Xavier de Bénazé’s drive, in the final push before his priestly ordination, four scholastics came (Pierre de Vial, Samuel Piffeteau, Hieu Pham, from the Province of Vietnam, and myseld) to create, under the encouragement of Paul Legavre (Head of the spiritual centre), a quarry in the garden of the Manrèse Centre. Thanks to shovels and wheelbarrows, they extracted the precious humus stored there by the wise Pierre Clermidy and moved it by truck to the gardens of their communities of Blomet and Vanves.

In the end, what’s the moral of the story? A moral in figures – legions of shovelfuls, caravans of wheelbarrows, fleet of dumpsters to be unloaded, amused, curious and definitely edified retreatants, amazed eco-friendly bourgeois… Above all, a handful of satisfied Jesuit companions! Well satisfied and rewarded for their pains by this simple fraternal moment, spent in action under a bright sun and with their feet firmly on the ground.

Matthieu Bigné sj

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s2smodern