'...I have come to see that people with a mental handicap have a unique gift to call us to community. Precisely because they are so dependent on others, they call us to live together, sharing our gifts, and form a sign of light in the midst of this world. I have been deeply impressed by how people from the most different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds, who otherwise would never have met, have started to live in community because of their common desire to live with and learn from the mentally handicapped people. In a world so filled with individualism and so preoccupied with stars and heroes, the call of the handicapped to form communities of love is truly a blessing from Heaven.'
Henri JM Nouwen, Love, Henri, p.152.
