What is Living Stones?
Living Stones is an international communion of Christian youth communities which aims to announce Jesus Christ – that is, the Beauty of the Church – through the beauty of sacred and religious heritage. The Living Stones communities have a distinctive style that gives priority to prayer, intense community life, theological and art-historical formation, simplicity, service, the attention to marginalised people and complete gratuity.
Living Stones was born in 2008 following an international camp held in Rome, but has since then grown to include over thirty communities from various countries, reaching as far as South America. Apart from the local community meetings and guided visits offered throughout the year, several international formation seminars, service camps, workshops and spiritual retreats are also organized annually. For the Living Stones, Christian art is a prayer delivered to the eye – a prayer made accessible. But it is also a narration, a story of holiness. To contemplate the work of art is thus to enter into the prayer of the artist and in the history which it tells. It allows a moment of spiritual communion through the centuries, where the visitor of the church becomes a pilgrim and protagonist. When the “dead stones” of the sacred building are given a living voice, the contemporary visitor may discover the sacred space as a mirror of his or her own experience, inner life, identity and, ultimately, vocation.
How can young adults participate?
There are several ways of becoming involved in Amsterdam:
- Participating in the local Living Stones community–gathering weekly/monthly for prayer, formation, and giving guided tours in the Krijtberg
- Living in the house–a 9-month residential experience of community life, prayer, formation, and apostolic mission.
- Participating in the summer camp in Amsterdam–coming together for 1-4 weeks with young Christians from all over the world.
- Traveling to summer camps in other countries–opportunities in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Greece and more.
Interested in learning more?
Contact us at huis.livingstones@gmail.com. Upcoming events are also shared on our Facebook and Instagram.
Living Stones is an expression of the youth apostolate of the Jesuits.
