So many topics related to spirituality turn out to be fads. Who does not remember the New Age-movement, which now seems to have passed its peak. My impression, but of course I may be wrong, is that there is now a lot of interest in mindfulness. This topic is even included in the list of activities mentioned in the communications of the KNR (Committee of Dutch Religious). A while ago I listened to a few CDs with well-known Flemish speakers discussing important subjects. It included a series of lectures by Rik Torfs, a well-known canon lawyer who is now also the rector of the Catholic University of Louvain. It was interesting that he also argued in favour of living in focus. At the time of those lectures, the term of mindfulness was apparently not very popular yet.

Whatever we may think about that phenomenon, it is a fact that far too often we live our lives without truly focusing on the moment. We do not live in the here and now, but our mind is constantly planning ahead or evaluating our past performance. I often surprise myself when I realise that I no longer even eat or wash up in a conscious way, but that my mind is already on the next activity or that I am caught up in self-reproach about what I did not do well or should not have said. I suppose I no longer have to explain my state of mind during my time of meditation.

This autumn our congregation will organise an I.C.C. in Rome about the signs of the time. In this issue we are not looking at that topic yet, but you will be able to read about St Vincentand his charism, about the Zwijsen pilgrimage and how they celebrated in Brazil on theoccasion of the publication of a book telling us how much the expression of religious life has changed there over a period of 50 years.

Brazil also brings us news about the Youth Movement of Mercy. One of our sisters from the Dutch province was awarded a royal decoration and a sister who once met our founder tells us in this issue how that happened in those years long ago and what impression that made on her. On the photographic page you will be able to find out which images of St Vincent made it into our periodical. We hope that the visual contemplation will also appeal to many of you. As you can see, once again we offer a variety of images and articles, that everyone can read or look at according to his/her own interest or even reflect upon among so many other stimulants that hit us every day. This could be an exercise in mindfulness…We wish you a lot of reading pleasure and send you our warm greetings from the generalate in Den Bosch.

Sr Rosa Olaerts, general superior

Careerist Anyone who reads a biography about St Vincent has to be amazed about the enormous transformation that this man has experienced. Vincent was born in 1581, a time of upheaval in French history. His parents were not well-off and as a small boy Vincent had to help out in their farm. He proved to be a good student and his parents ensured that he could be trained as a priest. This allowed Vincent the opportunity to escape his parents’ poverty. At the age of 19, he was ordained as a priest in Château-l’Evêque. During his early years there was little sign of the man who later would become the champion of the poor. When he looked back at this time later on in his life, Vincent wrote that he had often been ashamed during that period for his lame and poorly dressed father. There was little evidence of respect for the poor. If we were to characterise Vincent in present-day language, we would describe him as a careerist. He chose to become a priest mainly because this offered favourable financial prospects. A good appointment as a priest would ensure a substantial income (benefice). Vincent tried repeatedly to obtain a profitable position, but the appointments passed him by time after time. In 1608 Vincent settled in Paris: disenchanted, poor and with a lot of debts.

Around 1610 Vincent’s life seemed to change for the better. He became the almoner at the court of Queen Margaret of Valois. He also was granted his first long desired benefice, the revenue of the Abbey of Sint-Léonard-de-Chaumes. At the age of thirty years, Vincent, a poor farmer’s son, finally obtained the success he had been dreaming about.

Three influences During his time at the royal court Vincent became acquainted with Pierre de Bérulle. This priest was to become the spiritual adviser of the still young Vincent. De Bérulle introduced him to the spiritual renovation movement in France. These religious reformers focused on God and Jesus and emphasized the importance of well-trained priests. Due to his contact with de Bérulle Vincent started to reflect about the meaning of the priesthood for himself. In the past, it had mostly been a means to acquire a good income. De Bérulle was also important for Vincent for practical reasons. He ensured that Vincent became the priest in Clichy and later on he was also instrumental in his obtaining the post with the de Gondi family. Via de Bérulle Vincent met André Duval, who would become his spiritual adviser in later years. André Duval in his turn had been inspired by Benoît de Canfield (Benet of Canfield). André Duval taught Vincent that it is not important to enforce successes and to be inspired by your own wishes. What matters is to learn to understand the will of God. A third important source of inspiration for Vincent was Francis de Sales. He passed on the concept to Vincent that anyone could aspire to sainthood. It was not necessary to follow all kinds of complicated and grandiloquent rules, as his old preceptor Pierre de Bérulle had advocated. A humble and kind-hearted attitude to life was required, as prescribed by Francis de Sales. Vincent took elements from these three sources of inspiration which are reflected in his later life and work.

The last Compassion offered you the opportunity to visit locations from the Vincentian pilgrimage from your lazy chair. Last autumn the Vincentian course was organised in the encounter centre in Tilburg, when several speakers explained their vision of St Vincent. This cycle of five meetings took place previously in the St Vincent de Paul centre in Nijmegen. Franneke Hoeks attended the course in Tilburg and this inspired her to research the spiritual development of this Saint. She tells us about this in the following article.

Reversal How is it possible that this man who appeared to be entirely focused on his own career ended up as the patron saint of works of charity? The year 1617 was to cause a reversal in the life of Vincent. At that time, he was working for the wealthy de Gondi family. In addition to looking after the education and spiritual care of the de Gondi family, Vincent was also asked to take on the spiritual care of the labourers on their estate. One night Vincent was summoned to comfort a dying man. He was shocked by the fact that the man had hardly any understanding of the meaning of faith. The man confessed sins to him, which he had never dared to confess before. Vincent recognised in him a ‘poor’ man, who had never received any understanding from a priest or experienced the love of God. At the end of their talk this man told him how happy he was that he could pour his heart out on his deathbed. Moved by this experience Vincent preached afterwards about the importance and the value of the confession. The larger part of his parishioners then turned up to confession and Vincent could barely manage the work. In other locations where Vincent preached, people also came in large number for confession. This convinced Vincent of the importance of good spiritual care for people in the countryside. However, after these experiences Vincent felt increasingly less at ease in his well-paid job with the de Gondi family. He was aware that something was wrong and he wanted to fulfil his priesthood in a different way. On the advice

of his counsellor de Bérulle Vincent then became the priest of the run-down parish of Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne.One of Vincent’s first actions there was to unit the priests in his parish in a kind of community. In this way he wanted to help reinforce the priesthood so that he could employ the priests better in the interests of his parishioners. The way in which Vincent organised his priests to work for the common people would later develop into the Congregation of the Mission.

In Châtillon Vincent was confronted again with the harsh life in the countryside. In one of his sermons Vincent spoke about a poor family in the village that nobody had ever been concerned about before then. After the celebration almost the entire village came to help them. In one of his later conferences Vincent looked back at this event with the following words: “I met these good ladies who came back in masses, and God made me think: Wouldn’t it be possible to encourage these good ladies to give themselves to God by serving the poor and the sick?” (CCD IX:166).

It was a simple thought that would have an enormous impact. This event encouraged Vincent to organise the care for the poor and the sick. He believed that people do have the will to help, but that it is important to organise this help. For this purpose he founded the first “Confréries de la Charité”, a women’s charitable association. This was the first step in organising the care of the poor that Vincent de Paul is known for until the present.

A new kind of convent life When Madame de Gondi asked her counsellor Vincent to return to Paris, he consented on condition that he would have sufficient time to carry on his pastoral duties. France was repeatedly involved in wars during that time, and Vincent knew from his own experience that the poorest citizens would suffer most from the ongoing violence of war.Vincent proved to be an exceptional organiser, who used his influence to focus the attention

of the nobility and the upper middle class on the often pitiful situation of the French population. His story found a lot of positive resonance. Together with Louise de Marillac, a widow and daughter from a powerful family, Vincent succeeded in uniting the female elite of France under the name of “the Dames de Charité”. These associations were run by rich ladies whom Vincent had persuaded to give time and in particularly money to support the less well-off in their environment. They often left the actual work to be carried out by their servants. Vincent became increasingly aware that he needed people to carry out the vast amount of work required. The rich ladies preferred not to sully their own hands. Together with Louise de Marillac he started the formation of the first sisters of charity in 1633; these consisted of some of the servants who had been sent by their rich mistresses and they would later become the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity. He asked these ‘daughters’ to take a vow for one year at the time, and these women lived in normal houses unlike other women religious at that time. In this way Vincent wanted to avoid what had happened to Francis de Sales and his Visitation sisters, i.e. that Rome would oblige them to start living in an enclosed convent.

Vincent wanted something new: women religious who did not live behind convent walls, but simply among the people. He was convinced that God could be found when living amongst the poor whilst convent walls would create a distance between his ‘daughters’ and God. “Your hospitals serve as your convents; only a hired dwelling will be your cell; the parish church is your chapel; the convent corridors are the streets of the city or the wards of the hospitals; your clausura is obedience; your window bars the fear of God, and your veil is the sacred modesty. “ By means of this concept of women religious living among the poor Vincent laid the foundation of a totally new type of convent life for women.

Champion of the poor Vincent is often depicted as a priest with a few children on his arm and/or at his hand, for the attention for children is also one of the many things he emphasized. He noted the destructive effect of war and poverty and was aware of the fact that children constituted a vulnerable group. In the streets of Paris he was often confronted with abandoned children and foundlings and he took care of them. Perhaps this was Vincent’s most powerful strength: he was no great spiritual reformer,

but proved to be an inspiring and extremely practical man. You cannot solve the needsof people with only good intentions and wonderful words; the situation also needs to be addressed in a practical way. Spiritual and material well-being is achieved by words and actions. Vincent did not consider working with the poor to be just any socially relevant

activity, but a very concrete way of following the footsteps of Jesus and proclaiming the Gospel. As a matter of fact, St Vincent was convinced that God could be found with and amongst the poor. “You do not lose anything sisters, when you have to leave your prayer or the Eucharist to go to the poor, for when you to go to serve the poor you are going towards God.”

The illustrations for this article are details from French comic books about St Vincent.

Once the Movement of Mercy had been founded in Brazil, the Youth Movement of Mercy arrived as well a few years ago. Sr Ursula van de Ven, Dutch missionary in Brazil tells us in this article about this Youth Movement.

The origin of the movement We have to go back to 1987 to discover the first ideas about what would later become the Movement of Mercy in Brazil. In that year the Sisters of Charity SCMM in this province started thinking about lay people as their associates. It all started with Ana Elias. She had been a novice with the sisters, but had to return home to look after her elderly parents. After a while, Ana Elias who could no longer return as a religious asked if she could pray with the sisters. From then on she came each Monday morning to the house of the sisters in Santa Rita to pray with them. At the advice of her spiritual advisor she requested a little later

to be allowed to take private vows as a lay person, and she wished to do so in connection to the congregation. She first took these private vows on Whitsunday in 1989. This ritual was repeated every year and other people also became interested to join in. Gradually a group of people was constituted in Santa Rita who called themselves the associates. All were attracted to the spirituality and the charism of the Sisters of Charity SCMM. In other locations where the sisters lived and worked, people also wanted to be linked to the charism of the Sisters of Charity. In this way the group of associates gradually grew into a true movement and they decided to call themselves the Movement of Mercy. Ana Elias is considered to be the founder of the group of associates and therefore also of the Movement of Mercy. The sisters not only supported the members of the movement, but in their turn the members also supported the sisters! All the members are connected to the sisters in some way, for instance by means of the basic ecclesial communities, the pastoral work, the care for

Adults sharing in a group

mothers and children, or the activities in the Dom Helder Camara Foundation. It must be noted that at present there are even a few people who wish for an even closer link to the sisters and who now would like to become real associated members of the congregation.

Attention for young people The members of the Movement of Mercy pray for more vocations in our congregation and they are also always involved in the vocation promotions. Until 2008, the sisters still believed in the value of the vocation pastoral with the traditional meetings for girls interested in religious life, but afterwards they noted a continuous decline in participation and interest.They wished to meet young people in a more direct manner. The sisters started to think about a new method, different from what had been done previously. There was a good participation of young people in the Movement of Mercy. Therefore the sisters decided to speak directly to these young people and in particular to whose who had been part of the Movement for some time. Then a major change took place in the history of the vocation pastoral. During the second semester of 2010 the sisters from the vocation team reflected about future actions and started to think about a Movement of Mercy for young people. They decided to meet with the young people to ask their opinion. The first step was a meeting with young people in Varzea Nova to discover what they thought about the proposals and how they thought the Movement could be organised. After a long

and constructive discussion they were hopeful that they would have a positive outcome. In the same year the sisters decided to search for guidance, and they invited a girl from the Movement of Mercy from Santa Rita to help them. Then they started to reflect about the purpose, structure, method and of course the name for the Movement. The name chosen was: Youth Movement of Mercy; in Portuguese: Movimento Jovem da Misericórdia (MJM). The purpose of the MJM is to propagate the charism of mercy among young people. Its slogan would be: service inspired by mercy.

The Youth Movement The MJM Youth Movement consists of young people from four locations where the Movement of Mercy exists: Santa Rita, Varzea Nova, Heitel Santiago and Bayeux. Sisters from our congregation also live or used to live in all these locations. The movement allows

young people to join from the age of 15, but youngsters can already become candidate members from the age of 13. The first official meeting of the MJM took place in 2012, at which time the purpose

A group or ‘tribe’ of Brazilian young people

The Youth Movement of Mercy

life. In one of these meetings in June 2012 spirituality was the most important subject. We particularly talked about praying while reading the Bible, which gave us an opportunity to experience prayer in a different way than we had been used to. This meeting taught us that praying while reading the Bible induces silence, reflection and later action. A reflective reading, guided by the Spirit takes you to a dialogue with God. That is why it is good to plan for such prayers to become part of your life, in order to really experience it. For me it was a very rich experience, which I had never known before in my life and which brings me closer to God.” It is very important for these young people to take part in this movement, which exists especially and exclusively for them. It gives them space for reflection and for meeting contemporaries, with whom they experience mercy inspiring them to service. The sisters who themselves of course also live with the charism of mercy love to see how these groups of young people develop. The movement belongs to the young people: it is their own place allowing them to search for the meaning of life and their vocation as Christians and baptised people.

and organisational structure of the MJM was decided. The formation in the MJM consists of four parts: spirituality of mercy, political and cultural formation, action based on the works of charity, and vocation. Each part is managed by one coordinator who leads and facilitates the activities.

In order to promote a good organisation and better communication between the groups, each group has its own name and a contact person. The young people came up with the idea that each group would be named after one of the tribes of Israel. From then on the various groups have been called ‘tribes’. The tribes meet individually every month. Every three months all tribes get together, in a large gathering of around 40 members.

Significance for the young people One of the members of the MJM explained her feeling about the meetings: “The Youth Movement of Mercy has greatly enhanced my

Kerkdriel

If we are to undertake the pilgrimage according to the chronology of the life of Joannes Zwijsen, we should start in Kerkdriel. He was born here on 28 August 1794 as the son of a miller. Kerkdriel is located north of ’s-Hertogenbosch on the Meuse river. When Zwijsen was eleven years old, the family moved to Berlicum, where little Jan received his first Holy Communion. The local priest thought he had potential and urged Zwijsen’s father to send his son to school. Jan went to the French boarding school of De Reek near Ravenstein, where he stayed for two years. Because he wanted to become a priest, he also went to the Latin school in Uden, followed by the one in Helmond. In October 1810,

after completing his studies, Zijsen began his training as a priest in Sint-Michielsgestel at the seminary of Herlaer. In 1817 Zwijsen was ordained as a priest in the St Rombouts cathedral in Malines.

Church of ‘t Heike

The next stop in this circuit is Tilburg. This is where Zwijsen first worked as the assistant of the priest in the parish of ‘t Heike. A year later, in 1818, he was appointed as the curate in Schijndel, where he was to remain for ten years. Following this he became the priest of Best. In 1832 Zwijsen returned to Tilburg, where he became the priest of ’t Heike. In that same year, he decided to found ‘an institution of charity’ to educate the poor children in his parish. For this purpose he wanted to establish a house for 13 sisters.

In the previous issue of Compassion you could join us on a photographic pilgrimage along various locations in France reminiscent of the life of St Vincent de Paul. However, the pilgrims who come from various countries in order to undertake this journey from the Netherlands first go on the Zwijsen pilgrimage. This is a far simpler circuit which can be completed in a day, even if the visit includes two countries. In this article you also will be able to make this pilgrimage in words and images, from your own lazy chair wherever you are in the world.

The house in Kerkdriel where Zwijsen was born and which nowno longer exists

On 23 November 1832 the first three sisters started their work in a shabby little house. Zwijsen had the presbytery constructed across from the church.

Hoogstraten

The first three sisters are reported to have been beguines from the Beguinage in Hoogstraten, around 40 kilometres south of Den Bosch, in Belgium. In Compassion 2013/3 we published an article about who these women were and how they came to be the first Sisters of Charity. The Motherhouse at the Oude Dijk

In May 1833 the first three ‘sisters’ (who were still beguines at that time) moved together with another three sisters to a larger house. On 5 February 1834 they took their first vows in a ceremony in the parish church of ’t Heike. Three months later the sisters moved into the ‘house with the thirteen cells’ that Zwijsen had constructed for them at the Oude Dijk, together with a new school for the sisters. That is the next stop of the Zwijsen pilgrimage. The first two houses no longer exist, but the still imposing Motherhouse of the congregation can still be seen at the Oude Dijk. Zwijsen would have preferred to have no more than 13 sisters, but he gave in after a plea from Delft. No less than 76 convents of the Sisters of Charity were to be founded during his life time.

Meersel

Meanwhile Zwijsen founded the congregation of the ‘Brothers of Our Lady, Mother of Mercy’ in 1844. The sisters, who had started to run an orphanage for boys and girls in the Motherhouse, often found it difficult to cope with the older boys. Although Zwijsen was concerned about the care and burden of the foundation of yet another congregation, it appeared to him that the Lord wanted him to go ahead. He found three men prepared to take on this assignment, and first send them to the Trappists in Meersel in Belgium, to complete their noviciate there. Meanwhile Zwijsen started the construction of a house in Tilburg for the first Brothers and the orphaned boys, who moved there in 1845. This congregation also expanded quickly in Tilburg as well as elsewhere. The monastery in Meersel is now inhabited by Capuchin friars, but one cell has been preserved to look as it did during the time of the three novices.The ‘house with the thirteen cells’

The Gerra House

Two years earlier, in 1842, Zwijsen was appointed as Bishop of Gerra after ten years of devoted work in ’t Heike. ‘Gerra’ was an old non-existent diocese; the title was conferred on him when he became the assistant bishop of Den Bosch. And for the time being Zwijsen would also remain the priest of ’t Heike. In 1853 he had the Gerra House constructed, which was very practically located along the road half-way between Tilburg and Den Bosch. In 1863 Zwijsen survived an attempted assassination during a burglary in the Gerra House. The details of this event may be found in Compassion 2010/3, which contains an article about the life and work of Zwijsen. After Zwijsen’s natural death in 1877 the house remained for many years in the hand of religious, but in 2009 it was purchased by a real estate company.

St Johns Cathedral

In 1851 Zwijsen became the vicar apostolic (in fact the director) of the diocese of Den Bosch. In 1853 he was also named the archbishop of Utrecht. From the Gerra House he managed the dioceses of Utrecht and Den Bosch for many years, but he also remained close to the brothers and sisters. He remained the archbishop of Utrecht until 1868 and governed the diocese of Den Bosch until his death in 1877. In 1879 a monument was erected inthe cathedral to commemorate Zwijsen.

The newspaper of Roermond dated the 15 March 1879 described it as follows: “The monument has been made in the gothic style after a drawing by the architect of the Cathedral Mr L. Hezenmans; the statues were sculpted by the praiseworthy sculptor v.d. Geld, whilst the copper gilded tablet with the inscription was produced in the workshop of Mr van Rijswijk in Antwerp. In the centre we see St John the Baptist, Mgr Zwijsen’s patron, and below him his arms: next to that statue there are two angels with the arms of the archdiocese of Utrecht and the diocese of Den Bosch; next to the arms are two cherubim or symbols, indicating Mgr’s motto ‘mansuete’ (=gentle) with the cross and the sheep, fortiter (=firmly) (on the left): with the sword and the lion.”

The monument in the St John’s Cathedral in Den Bosch, whichis no longer there

Cemetary of OrthenOrthen is a parish of Den Bosch, which used to have its own government at the time. In 1858 a burial place was constructed here. Zwijsen died on Tuesday 16 October 1877 at the age of 83. A few days later he was buried in Orthen, after a funeral service which was described as: ‘being truly grand because of its simplicity, all the more impressive specifically because of its quiet dignity’. At first Zwijsen’s

last resting place was a simple grave cemented amongst the graves of his Sisters. However, in 1882 the sisters had a chapel constructed in memory of Mgr Zwijsen. The body of Mgr Zwijsen was placed in the crypt of this chapel. Until the present the bodies of Catholic dignitaries are still being buried there.

With thanks to Peter van Zoest for the photograph of Meersel.

Recently the editors received a special report from Sr Lilian Turlings and Lilianne Hecker from the general archives. It consisted of a text from het Congregatieklokje (=little congregational clock), a distant predecessor of Compassion, dated May 1952. In this article a very elderly sister tells about meetings with Mgr Zwijsen that took place in her youth. Below you can read the (edited version of) her story after the introduction about the life of this sister, from the 1952 issue. Sr Lilian Turlings and Lilianne Hecker from the archives, Sr Corneline Wouters and Thessa Ploos van Amstel also researched additional information about the data, people and places mentioned by Sr Anastasie.

On 18 March 1952 the oldest sister of the Congregation, who celebrated her diamond jubilee last year went to heaven. It was Sr M. Anastasie van Bers, who was 95 years old. She was the only living sister who had known and spoken with our great Founder. For many years Sister Anastasie was the headmistress in the boarding school in Oerle. She had been a splendid teacher and respectable educator, whilst she was a cheerful fellow sister in the community who knew how to use her talents for convent celebrations. After her retirement she carried on helping in the school for as long as she could. However, she had really earned her rest and therefore Sr Anastasie went to Moergestel, where she could prepare for the long journey. May she rest in peace. Because we are interested in any information about our Founder, our beloved Mother, Leonie, who was General Superior at the time, asked Sr Anastasie to write down some details which she could still remember about Monsignor. This is her story, completed with some background material from the editors and the general archives.

Her early memorySr Anastasie was born as Anna Marie van Bers in ’s-Hertogenbosch on 24-01-1857 and she lived there until she entered in 1876. “Monsignor Zwijsen visited us at home on one occasion. Mgr came to see the Diepen1, family, who lived diagonally opposite us. I do not know who it happened, but Mgr stopped by for a chat with us and then he left again. If any errands had to be run from our home to the Bishop, I was always the one to go and so I got to speak a number of times with Mgr. Once I was visiting the family van der Does de Willebois2. Mrs van der Does de Willebois-Luyben, a sister of Minister Luyben, was a niece of my Father’s. We were talking and the doorbell rang. The servant came in to say “Madam I admitted Mgr in the parlour.” Madam left the room to take Mgr to the sitting room. The son, Jozef3, called out “What shall I do, I have to go to a meeting. I know!” He pushed open the window to jump into the garden. But he got stuck on a nail. Mgr entered the room at that moment and grasped the situation immediately and he said “Jozef, Jozef, your trousers, your trousers!”

Graduates of the teacher training school in 1913

1 This is probably a reference to (members of) the Diepen family, including father George, a politician, and son Arnold Frans, who was a priest from 1884 and bishop of Den Bosch from 1919-1943. 2 This refers to Joannes Maria Benedictus Josephus van der Does de Willebois, Esquire, director of the Maatschappij van Brandverzekering voor het Koninklijk der Nederlanden, (=Fire Insurance Company for the Kingdom of the Netherlands)”, known as The Great Bossche” and his spouse Antoinette Cecile Marie Luyben.3 This refers to their son Jozef, whose full name was Petrus Josephus Johannes Sophia Maria van der Does de Willebois, and who would later become mayor of Den Bosch.

The examA few years later I was a trainee teacher with the sisters. Mother Octavie (Sr Octavie Dericks, Eds.) was the headmistress of the teacher training school4 and Sr Céline (Latour, Eds.) and other sisters were teachers there. Mr de Vlam5 from Eindhoven also came a few times a week to teach us. We spent the last period in Stratum in order to make the most of his lessons6. There were eight of us to prepare for the exam, two sisters and six trainee teachers. When the time of the exam approached, Mr Vlam said that they would not allow eight people to pass at the same time; half of them would fail. It was therefore decided that half of us would take their exam in Den Bosch and the other half in Maastricht. I was in the group of Maastricht, together with the two sisters

and the later Sr Celine Verluyten. We, the two trainees, slept in one bed in Maastricht and spent all night laughing together. We said, “How are we going to cope tomorrow?” However, in spite of our tiredness all ended well and I was allowed to go to home to Den Bosch. Shortly afterwards the other four trainees had to sit the exam and all of them passed as well. Then all of us were to go to Hinthamereind7. This is where Mgr usually came after the exams. However, this time we received a message: with the compliments of Mgr and Mgr is not feeling very well and requests us to come to him. Mother van Den Bosch (probably the community superior, Eds.) came with us. He blessed us with the following words. “Well child, are you here as well? And what grade did you get for the Dutch language and what did he ask? And how did you reply?”

A final profession in 1913

6 At that time, Stratum was a farming village near Eindhoven in the southern part of the Netherlands. Not until 1920 Stratum, together with a number of other villages was merged with Eindhoven and since then it has been a part of the city. 7 Sr Anastasie probably refers to the community which had started in 1852 in the present building of the generalate, on Hinthamerstraat 164. Before the Zuid- Willems canal was constructed in 1825, that part of the present Hinthamerstraat was still called Hinthamereinde. It could be that the name was still used for a long time afterwards by the local population.

4 In 1852 the sisters founded the ‘educandate’, in order to guarantee a good training for teachers. This teacher training school was intended for ‘girls with a good brain and an interest in joining the convent.’ From the time of the foundation, Sr Octavie was the headmistress of the teacher training school. 5 Mr Jan Jozef de Vlam was in charge of the training school in Stratum that had been founded in 1868. Sisters who were studying to become teachers received their training in Stratum; girl trainees remained in Tilburg in the charge of Sr Octavie. In 1881 the sisters also returned to Tilburg, where Mr de Vlam was put in charge of the teacher training school.

During World War II she lived for 2 years in Helmond, where she worked at the School house10. After the war, in September 1945, she returned for one more year to Oerle, after which she settled down in Moergestel at the end of 1946. She passed away there on 18 March 1952, at the ripe old age of 95 years.

After a little while the servant came to knock on the door to say that everything was ready. Mgr accompanied us to the hall, which had been beautifully lit. Mgr sat down at one end of the table. ‘Mother’, Mgr said, ‘best open that bottle otherwise nobody will dig in. Yes, Mother, we want no saintly poverty here, fill those glasses to the brim!’ After that day we were given a few weeks of holiday and afterwards on St Stanislaus we received our habit (entered into the congregation as postulants on 13-11-1876, Eds.).

As a noviceAs a novice8 I worked in the school during the morning and at two o’clock I sometimes had to help in the parlours. Everything in the parlours needed to be washed down. When I knew that Mgr was at home, I thought that it would be great fun if Mgr stopped by here. When I heard the sound of his slippers approaching that I had longed for, I pretended that I did not know that it was him. However, Mgr stopped next to me and then I had to look up and I asked his blessing. I still remember his purple stockings. He asked, “Who are you?” “Sr Zuster Anastasie, Mg”, I replied. He said, “Yes, but that does not tell me anything”. I answered “Marie van Bers, Mgr”. Then he called out, “Oh child is that you? How your face has filled out, I did not recognise you any more. Come with me into the parlour for a moment.” I was allowed to take a seat there and Mgr asked me a lot of questions. When the clock struck three, I said, “I have to go, Mgr”. He replied “Of course, you are thinking of your slide of honey cake. It is recreation time this afternoon after all. I will tell your family at home that you are well.” I returned home to the novice refectory with very rosy cheeks and Sr Josepha asked me “Where have you been?” “With Monsignor, Mother Josepha, and he allowed me to …. “Just sit down, Sister.” But later I was allowed to tell them the whole story. This meeting must have taken place before 1877, the year in which Zwijsen died. Three years after his death, Sr Anastasie took her final vows on 13-06-1880. She lived and worked first for 13 years in the Catholic Hospital (Binnenziekenhuis) in Eindhoven9, then for 11 years in Deventer, and afterwards for short periods in subsequently Zutphen, Oss and Haarlem, to return to Deventer in 1906 for another 13 years, followed by 14 years in Oerle.

A prayer card for Sr Anastasie. The dates indicated here are incorrect.

8 Sr Anastasie took her temporary vows (which made her a novice) on 13-11-1877. Mother Begga van Haagen was general superior of the congrega- tion at that time. 9 This hospital, which is now the St Catherine Hospital, has evolved from the care for the sick which the Sisters of Charity SCMM initiated in Eindhoven in 1843. 10 In the far past, the School house started off as a school for craft work and to teach children reading and writing. Originally the education was only intended for poor children, but later on Zwijsen encouraged the sisters to teach children of well-off parents as well, in order to generate income. On the same site, there was also a pest house, where the care was started by the sisters, and from which later in 1902 the hospital was created. When Sr Anastasie worked there around 1943, the hospital therefore already existed.

It took almost two years of researching archives, reports and letters and of collaboration and discussions with sisters and of course the writing itself, but the book has now finally been completed. Here we have a description of fifty years of life and mission as religious in the changing world of Latin America. Why was I so eager to write this history? I wanted to do it first of all, because I was asked to in view of the 50 year jubilee of the congregation in Brazil. Yet there was another reason that motivated me. I wanted to show how religious life and life in the church changed over this period of 50 years and in particular during the early part of this period. People who were born after 1960 can hardly imagine that early period and probably think that religious have always lived as we do at present in 2013. However, that was certainly not the case. In the past, religious were expected to live a secluded life in a convent. In my book I recount how one of the bishops travelled from Brazil to Rome to ask permission for sisters to live in small communities among the people. The purpose was to construct something together, a real Christian community. The request of the bishop was granted and he then asked sisters to live and work as pastoral workers in locations where there were no priests. Our own bishop, Dom José Maria Pirez, who is now 94 years old and who has

written the preface for the book, was a great support in bringing about this change. He considered that religious needed to be a sign of sisterhood among the people and that we ought to transfer the large works of charity like schools and hospitals to lay people. Many congregations, including ours, followed his call and transferred everything. The sisters then started that new life, living among the poor in simple little houses, by being there for them and with them. This was the beginning of the basic ecclesial communities in Brazil. Over the course of time our sisters recognised the need of the many people they encountered. In order to respond to these needs, they dedicated themselves to better living conditions by participating in strikes and awareness raising processes, and in this way the basic communities started to flourish. I wanted to explain all of this, in particular to our young sisters, who are very pleased with this book. It will certainly be used for formation during the postulancy and the noviciate. Of course the young sisters were present on the day of the presentation of the book.

The first Sisters of Charity SCMM set foot in Brazil on 11 May 1962. Sr Ursula van de Ven wrote the history of this province in honour of the 50 year jubilee of the Brazilian sisters. She collaborated with co-author Ernando Luiz Teixeira de Carvalho, a Brazilian priest. The book which has been written in Portuguese was presented in Bayeux on 24 November 2013. Sr Ursula explains below her reasons for writing the book.

Profession and the ceremony of taking the habit In September 2013 Srs Rosa and Mariana paid a visit to the Philippines, where they attended the final vows of Sr Josephine Corpuz. It was a wonderful celebration during which the family of Sr Josephine was present as well. After one year as a postulant, Kardenia Matias took the habit on 24 November 2013 in Brazil. This means that this province has gained another novice. We ask all of you for your prayers for both these young sisters

Catastrophes The volcano Sinabung in the north of Sumatra has been active again starting in September 2013. Since then there has been an eruption at least once a month and there have been at least sixteen victims. The Sinabung is located not far from Medan, but the sisters have not experienced any problems.In November 2013 a major catastrophe took place in the Philippines. Entire cities and villages in the central part of the Philippines were destroyed by the devastating typhoon Haiyan, which claimed the lives of thousands of people. Our sisters live and work around Manilla, where the violence of the typhoon did not reach. Our congregation supports the victims in the disaster area.

In this issue you may be amazed about the wealth of images of statues and associations with St Vincent. For the next issue, we request that you send us a photograph of a sign of our time. This will help you to get in the mood for the ICC Signs of the Time which will take place in Rome in September. A sign of the time could be a problem, but also a hopeful development. Look around you in your environment and try to photograph something for us. The sharper your photograph, the better the chance that we include it! Send your contributions to the generalate in Den Bosch, via mail or preferably via e-mail. As always we are looking forward to the results!

The editors

The large sports hall of the Dom Helder Câmara Foundation had been beautifully decorated for the occasion, the books were exhibited, we were offered food, drinks and music and the reception committee was present awaiting the 130 guests. Many people arrived from the locations mentioned in the book; it was a joyful and thankful reunion. After the introduction by one of the committee members there were four speakers:

Sr Maria Lijnen from our province, Sr Maria dos Anjos from the congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Dillingen, my co -author Ernando Teixeira and I. Afterwards, we of course had the sale and the signing of the books. Many people, myself included, went home gratefully. I have often been asked if the book will be translated. I cannot see that happen at the moment, but you never know.

children of grade 3 up to 5 who have not yet reached a good reading standard. From April until October I am involved in the Catholic parish in Hoenderloo, which is nearby.

On Saturdays we are allowed to use the reformed church in the village. At the moment there are only a few Catholic families living in Hoenderlo, but in the summer there are many tourists who like to attend a service. Many have been coming back here every year for many years. Some of the children do not want to go to church at home, but they like to come here. I was asked to play the organ during baptisms as early as 1970, and that is how it all started. I am now also the conductor and infant school teacher, I put together the weekly liturgy and visit the elderly and the sick. This parish is a very closely-knit group and we also meet a few times during the winter, otherwise it takes such a long time before we meet again. It is lovely to see the children grow up, as it is in the case of the school children, and to have the children’s children in my class or in the church again later on.

Sunday is my day off.

To be considered for a decoration you have to have served as a volunteer for at least 15 years. Moreover, someone has to nominate you. The children want me to wear the decoration all the time as they think it is marvellous, but of course I won’t do that. All of them were present, for the ceremony took place at the school, where sisters, family and people from Hoenderloo had been invited. It really was a great surprise for me, and it was a very festive day, but fortunately it was not too official in view of all the children.

On 10 July 2013 Sr Regine Noor (77 years old) received a Dutch Royal decoration from the hands of the mayor of Apeldoorn, and she is now a member of the Order of Orange Nassau. This distinction was awarded to her in recognition of her many years of work as a volunteer at the elementary school Eloy in Ugchelen and the Roman Catholic parish in Hoenderloo. In the following article she tells us about her activities.

On Mondays I go to Arnhem, where I deal with the finances of the thirteen sisters living in the home Insula Dei. The sister who has been doing this for well over 25 years has now reached the age of 90 and can do with a little assistance. I give the sisters their monthly allowance, pay the bills and keep the budget up to date. The return trip to Arnhem is easy, for there is a bus stop around the corner from here.

I have Tuesdays and Fridays off, unless I am needed at school, like last week during exam time. Of course I also have to clean my house, do the shopping and the cooking. I live alone in a rental house in Apeldoorn. During the 1970’s there was a plan to start a new community here, but although I found a job immediately, the others were unable to get work. It is true that I live alone, but I do not feel lonely. I have made a lot of friends here by now from all the years that I have worked at the school. I go to the market early in the day when it is still quiet, otherwise I would not be able to get away as so many people come to speak to me. I simply belong here. Fortunately, I also have time for contacts with the sisters. For instance I am a member of the consultation body of the Dutch province. I also participate in a discussion group with sisters from Arnhem and the surrounding area; this group used to be led by Father Hollander. We also share our joys and sorrows, and in this way I feel that I am part of the community.

On Wednesdays and Thursdays I work at the school. After I retired as a teacher, fifteen years ago, they asked immediately for my help, first of all with the documentation cupboard. Now I am a remedial teacher: I work with one child or a small group on teaching materials that they find difficult. In addition, I carry out tests and help out where necessary. After all, a teacher has a class of thirty children, and it is not possible to give all of them an individual reading test, so that is when I help out. Together with 24 helping parents we read one morning a week with the

onstitutions

Monsignor Joannes Zwijsen,our Founder,possessed the gift of being sensitive to the good news of mercy proclaimed in the Gospel. He saw this as a missionto which he wished to give formin his own lifeand in that of the congregationhe founded. Trusting in the power of the Spirithe courageously broke new ground;and he was prepared to takethe riskswhich this inevitably brought with it.

(Art. 3 - 4)

Compassion is a periodical published by the general

council of the Sisters SCMM in four languages:

Dutch, English, Portuguese and Bahasa Indonesia. In

addition, there is a spoken version available in Dutch.

ISSN 1879-9922