What then is the secret of Taizé?

What then is the secret of Taizé? Why do thousands of young people who have deserted Sunday Mass in their parish churches choose to spend their holidays in the uncongenial surroundings of a remote French village, where the living is rough and the spiritual fare uncompromising? No charismatic prayers here or emotional healing sessions. No Woodstock-type sing-songs or camp-fire camaraderie. The services are sober, with long periods of meditation and silence, but the music is uplifting.

As Victoria Clark wrote (The Tablet, 19 August 2000): “The music beginning each of the three short daily church services and continuing afterwards creates an impression of a perpetual round of worship, similar to the equally music-based ritual practised in the Middle Ages by the monks of the great monastery of Cluny nearby.”

I think one reason for Taizé’s success is the very fact that it makes no concessions to the young. They are treated as free agents, as adults. They mistrust political parties and organised religion. At Taizé, they are free to worship and to discuss their problems, without any pressure being brought to bear. Above all, they meet other young people from all over the world.They can exchange ideas, criticise the consumer society, globalisation and the world’s problems. And they can dream of creating a counter-culture, which rejects both Western capitalism and the religious intolerance that leads to extremism and terrorism. Taizé is tuned to developing countries. It fosters the idealism shared by so many young people today.

Excerpted from an article written for The Tablet – A Man of Peace Cut Down by Alain Woodrow [Note - you will need to register to read the whole article]. Thanks to Martin Davies for bringing the article to my attention.

Comments

[Timothy Wright]

My friend who is French says that "you can search for God at Taize, but you better not find Jesus and start talking to people about Him"

How true.

That is why it is so popular it is ecumenical and not Christ Centered.

Tim

[Digger]

Is it ecumenical as in multi-denominational or multi-faith?

[Paul Fromont]

Digger, multi-denominational. Thanks for stopping by.