Fraternity of Tiberiade
At the end of the 1970s, fr. Marc had retired to the "Bois du Charnet", a locality not far from the village of Lavaux-Sainte-Anne. With several friends, they led a community life made up of simplicity and manual work.
One Easter night, fr. Mark receives the call of Christ to follow him and love the Church, his Body. A few years later, on April 25, 1979, he made vows in the hands of the Bishop of Namur.
Very quickly, the name of the nascent community imposed itself on fr. Marc: the story of Pierre's walk on the water touches deeply fr. Mark who perceives following Christ as a call to walk in faith, to advance in trust. Brothers join fr. Marc after a few years and in 1995, the branch of the sisters began.
« Une famille universelle de frères et sœurs joyeux,… heureux de vivre ensemble pour toujours et… pour répondre aux appels de notre temps…, annoncer Jésus, le témoigner dans l’unité et la prière, et par l’humble travail de nos mains. »
The pillars of our life
Desiring to be brothers and sisters united in Christ to follow and announce Him in simplicity, our life is built around several pillars. This religious life is therefore completely permeated by prayer, fraternal life, work and mission.
Prayer
Learn charity in contact with Christ in prayer and allow yourself to be simplified by His Gospel. Prayer is the place to learn trust in the example of Saint Francis and Saint Teresa of Lisieux.
« Jésus est notre fondateur ; aussi, toutes nos intuitions, nos
inspirations, nous les trouverons en Jésus lui-même, en sa vie et en ses Paroles. »
Fraternal life
It is the jewel of christian life: we seek to care for the quality of fraternal life so that love flows in the image of the Trinity. Unity through charity, humility and conversion of each person creates many possibilities and allows us an authentic witness to Christ.
« Ayons à coeur le pardon, la correction fraternelle faite avec amour et discrétion. Soyons unis, c’est le premier témoignage. Vivre dans l’unité, voilà notre première mission. »
The work of our hands
Manual work roots us in reality and opens us to the wonder of creation. It is a privileged place where our choice of a simplicity of life and a sobriety manifests itself which also leaves space for Providence. Work is a place for sharing knowledge and the fruits of the earth.
« Ce qui nous dépasse, ce que nos mains ou notre
travail ne peuvent produire, nous l’abandonnons à la Providence. Notre vie doit créer un espace favorable à l’action providentielle du Seigneur. »
Missionary brothers and sisters
Mission brings us especially to young people and families so that the Holy Spirit may give young saints, ardent disciples, to the Church. Regularly, we live on pilgrimages in villages, schools and parishes, families. Our great joy is to announce Jesus and to make his Church loved.
« La demeurance auprès du Christ, soutenue par
l’amour fraternel, nous propulsera inévitablement à l’an-
nonce de Jésus. »
Testimony of fr. Marc on the foundation of Tiberias
(extracts from Land of Appeal, Fioretti book of the Brotherhood published on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Brotherhood)
O my joy, Christ is risen! It is because Christ is risen that the Fraternity of Tiberias exists. Yes, on April 24, 1979, I made my vows in the hand of the Bishop of Namur, Mgr Mathen, he was putting on this blue coat.
Amazing is life with Christ!
It was in the heart of Easter night, at Chevetogne, that my yes was given, a clear inner vision was given to me. This intuition appeared to me very simple and very clear : to give to the Church a fraternity of brothers and sisters living from the Gospel and making the Church and all the treasures that inhabit it love… The Church and Christ appeared to be inseparable.
During this night with Christ, I discovered the beauty and the light of the Church. Christ gave himself up for her, the Church, the immaculate young woman without wrinkles. She is truly holy of Christ. We all know its faults, its limits which are ours.
Yes, I am still in love with this Church with its holiness and its miseries that mine it.
I learned everything from my brothers
All the gratitude goes to each of my brothers and sisters. What will I be without them? A baffled hermit? They corrected me, shaped me, loved me and God tested me, refined me like refining a metal. If fraternity is what it is today, I owe it to everyone. They have given their lives to answer the call of Christ, and of the Church for all humanity. One of my greatest joys was to welcome each brother and sister and to recognize in them a family resemblance. Thank you fr. Joseph, fr. Benoît, fr. François, fr. Emmanuel, fr. Frédéric, fr. Ivan, fr. Michel, fr. Jean, fr. Gilles, fr. Cyrille, fr. Vidas, fr. Pascal…
A gift
The arrival of sr. Agnes was a huge gift. She thus opened a passage for the sisters. Their coming was a step of depth, beauty, complementarity. Thanks to sr. Asta, sr. Bénédicte, sr. Dalia, sr. Myriam. Their presence in Pondrôme is full of promise. In forty years of consecrated life, there has also been turbulence like the departure of a few brothers and sisters, and this is normal. These are realities that are difficult for everyone to live with. This is part of the pains of childbirth. They also contributed to the construction of Tiberiade.
Lithuania, the Philippines, the Congo
It is beautiful to see the brothers and sisters' momentum for the mission. Their steps led them to Lithuania: this beautiful land with its forests, villages and lakes. And then there was the discovery of this little village of Baltriškės that fr. Joseph, fr. François, fr. Michel, fr. Gilles, fr. Ivan, fr. Vidas, fr. Jean and fr. Gonzaga have revived, to make it a place for Christ. Young people and families come here to draw the strength to live as children of Light.
There was the take-off of fr. Emmanuel, with fr. Seraphim, for Asia. On the island of Sapang, in the Philippines, a small love village was born there with Nick, young people and a gang of lay people. A consecrated layman, Viktorija, accompanies them.
Then there was Congo with fr. Benoît, fr. Joseph, fr. Cyrille, fr. Pascal, fr. Roger and fr. Jerry who planted the fellowship with courage that can only be given through Christ. Today, the Portioncule du Congo has become a place of evangelization and development. All our brothers from the Congo have returned to Belgium.
Thanksgiving to the Lord
My gratitude goes to Br Bart whom the fraternity has chosen as its general servant and Now Br François. They watched and watch over the community with magnificent care and the particular needs of each one. Yes, my brothers and sisters are truly the workers of the Master of the Harvest. They are of the great wheat field of the Church. How good it is to love one another in the way of Christ, to be determined to do so, and to keep coming back to it. Everything else is in your hand, Lord, to you the growth, and to us the depth in conversion with the Holy Spirit.
Bro. Marc, little monk of Tiberiade