We were inspired by Taize to pray for a dear friend who has been diagnosed with a serious  illness. We used the Lord’s Prayer and another personal prayer with Brother Paolo to pray for our friend and his family. Being in Taize helped us become a small community which inspired us to go to one of the Brothers to say some prayers for our friend. Two of us went to see him in the hospital a couple of weeks ago - once we saw him he was still his normal self, bubbly and chatty, even though he is ill.

Coming to Taize was a good opportunity to pray and think about him and his family. Because he’s young and was very healthy, the situation came as a shock to his family and friends. Being in Taize helped us realise that there are many who are experiencing issues which helped us think and take time to pray for others as well as our friend. Everyone is open, understanding and friendly here, which helped us to express our feelings and emotions to Brother Paolo.

Having the time to stop and be still in Taize and think about our friends is really helpful and we look forward to the rest of the week.