On this 15th of September, it has been exactly seven years since the passing of José Trigueirinho Netto (1931-2018), a Brazilian philosopher, writer, and lecturer, founder of the Figueira Light-Community and pioneer of a spiritual work that today still influences thousands of people all over the world.
Trigueirinho dedicated the course of his life to the building of spaces for service, healing and inner development, leaving a humanitarian legacy that remains alive through his followers and the organizations connected with the Work he set in place.
In 1987, he founded the Figueira Light-Community , located in Carmo da Cachoeira (MG), which became the central reference point for his work. The Light-Community proposes modeling a simple way of life, integrated with nature. It is a school of life and formation, where the practice of a selfless love and service to humanity and the environment are encouraged. It offers the right environment for people to grow inwardly and develop the skill that will help them be agents of peace and the common good.
He offered more than 3,000 sharings and wrote 84 books translated into various languages, through which he transmits reflections on the awakening of consciousness, the experience of fraternity, and service as an evolutionary path. His Work manifested in non-profit organizations that are present in 28 countries and are expressed in the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Federation (FIHF) , Light-Communities , Light-Nuclei , Service Associations , Teaching Associations and Religious Associations , which until today live and practice values of simplicity, sharing, prayer, and a comprehensive care for life.
Friar Luciano, general manager of the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Federation (FIHF) , remembers that besides the spiritual legacy, Trigueirinho brought new ways of co-existence. “He represented an important change of paradigm on the issue of the relationship with natural and monetary resources and the life in community. Starting with the Figueira Light-Community , he fostered a group life centered on the common good, without the exchange of money between people. An important impulse for humanity, because it offers spiritual, psychological, and ethical keys, that are simple and accessible to everyone, without distinction.”
At a personal level, Friar Luciano remembers that in 1989, “that meeting represented a radical change in life: an immediate call to fully dedicate himself to that higher purpose. It was the beginning of a course of almost four decades of surrender, without seeking prominence or benefits only for the Community, but rather participating in a preparatory humanitarian movement in the face of the challenges which humanity is going through.”
For Mother Maria do Salvador, a member of the Regency Council, the meeting with Trigueirinho was transformative. “I try to find words that express something so sublime, while at the same time, so simple: the coming together of many of us with someone who merely manifested, be it in the Work he founded or in daily life, what was coming from a Greater Source. With great patience, José imprinted codes of union in us, a culture of peace and of dialogue beyond the inter-religious, reminding us about the need for a continuous dismantling of our egotistical and petty conditionings.”
The humanitarian server Anderson, general coordinator of Fraterno Servir, remembers the personal impact of the meeting with Trigueirinho: “On listening to him for the first time, I was able to recognize within myself what my Being came to do on this Planet. Trigueirinho revealed paths to me to traverse Life, which up until then were outwardly unknown. And at the same time, it was like inwardly remembering – literally “pass through the heart again” – knowledge that in some way existed in me, but which was waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.”
“I write Life with a capital L, because he revealed a way to be in the world full of meaning, a gifting of self, and a connection with the inner self in me and with the Highest in all of us. It is for this reason that, summing it up in one word, what Trigueirinho and his Work represent to me, I can say with a full heart: Gratitude”, reaffirms Anderson.
For Friar Supremo, also a member of the Regency Council, the greatest lesson was coherency: “Trigueirinho and his work is the master line that guides and protects my steps through the simple fact that he was the living example of everything he expressed; he was what he taught and that is what I seek to be.”
The life and work of José Trigueirinho Netto continues to inspire groups of service, of prayer, of instruction, and of healing. They are present in the care for nature, the sheltering of animals, in the bread shared, and the hands stretched out in solidarity. Seven years after his leaving, his legacy remains alive and active in those who follow the path opened by him – a path of love, service and union in favor of all life.
