Mary of the PassionA Credible Witness to the

Compassion and Joy of the Gospel

And I asked myself HOW … in this time of War, Violence, Terrorism, Unspeakable Planetary and Human Suffering, Sexual Abuse, Unwanted Children, Refugees, Arrogance, Greed, Aging, Migrants, Drugs, Disease, Epidemics, few Vocations to Religious Life…with graphic and devastating images the list goes on, and I ask myself HOW ?????

In the midst of this closeness to despair, loss of hope….. I found the words, “The joy of the Gospel is such that it cannot be taken away from us by anyone or anything…the evils of our world and those of the Church – must not be excuses for diminishing our commitment and our fervor…”

“… the Holy Spirit always radiates in the midst of darkness…Our faith is challenged to discern how wine can come from water and how wheat can grow in the midst of weeds…” Pope Francis, EG 84,

“… in our times, divine Providence is leading us to a new order of human relations which by human effort and even beyond all expectations, are directed to the fulfillment of God’s superior and inscrutable designs, in which everything, even human setbacks, leads to the greater good of the Church.’

John XXIIII, October 11, 1962

My question: HOW ?

How can I re-read history, events, the heritage of

persons who could see in a new way?

“The Word of God constantly shows us how God challenges those who believe in him to

Abraham received the call to set out for a new land Genesis 12:1-3

Moses heard God’s call, Go I send you, and led the people toward the promised land. Exodus 3:10

To Jeremiah, God says: To all whom I send you, you shall go.” Jerimiah 1:7

“In our day Jesus’ command to go and make disciples echoes in the changing scenarios and ever new challenges to the Church’s mission of evangelization, and all of us are called to take part in this new missionary going forth.”

“… every community must discern the path that the Lord points out… all of us are asked to obey his call to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the peripheries in need of the light of the Gospel.”

“The Gospel joy which enlivens the community of disciples is a missionary joy.”

Evangelium Gaudium 20, 21

a time of

Kairos…

Kairos is a time when conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial action; the opportune and decisive moment

Among the challenges for us living in the midst of the joys and sorrow of God’s people in today’s world, are the following:• the continuing calls to a new way of

seeing that we encounter as we come to deeper understandings of the work of the Second Vatican Council which continues to unfold after 50 years;

• the significance of our call to religious life celebrated in this Year of Consecrated Life

• the meaning of being credible witnesses to the joy and compassion of the Gospel

These two challenges are dynamicallyrelated.

Personal Encounter

Charism

“I invite all Christians,

everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal

encounter with Jesus Christ…EG 3

Formation in the FMM charism is founded on a personal encounter with Mary of the Passion, GC 2014, 2.2.4

A Personal Encounter with Jesus and with Mary of the Passion creatively invites us to

• a new way of seeing• recognize the significance of our call to

religious life• embrace the meaning of being credible

witnesses to the joy and compassion of the Gospel.

We are presently living in a time when the vision of Vatican II that has been unfolding over the past fifty years, is being energized in a vigorous way by the developments in the life of the Church.

The Holy Spirit, working through the

Second Vatican Council, has been enriching the creative insights of the

Church, even in the midst of painful

struggle.

We continue to be strongly reminded of the Ecclesial Vocation of Mary of the Passion as we pursue the path of the Church as FMM today.

With the Special General Chapter of 1966, we FMM began to probe deeply into what Vatican II meant for the life of the Institute in this new moment… An important part of this process has been the Consultations of all the FMM throughout the world that have taken place regularly since that time.

We have a rich and challenging vision from the Documents of Vatican II that continue to open our eyes. Perfectae Caritatis has been a momentous starting point for religious.

Through this Document, Vatican II asked Religious Congregations of Women and Men to identify the elements of their founding charism as expressed and lived by the Founder or Foundress. Perfectae Caritatis 2, Ecclesiae Sanctae II, 12 a, 16 (3)

This request of Vatican II led us to realize how our FMM vocation continues to be integrated with the life of the Church in this new moment of history:

This work of identifying the elements of the founding charism in the life and practice of Mary of the Passion was part of the foundational work done in preparation for the New Constitutions 1973-1978.

The fruit of this work affirms the founding charism of the Institute first given to Mary of the Passion, as she expressed and lived this Gift of the Holy Spirit.

Offering

Universal

Mission

Eucharist

MaryFranciscanInternational Community

THE ELEMENTS OF OUR FMM FOUNDING CHARISMPRESENT IN THE LIFE AND PRACTICE OF

BLESSED MARY OF THE PASSION

At the time of our Final Profession,

we each assume responsibility for our Charism

as a Franciscan Missionary of Mary.

Remembering events from 1966 forward: intensive efforts have been generating new life throughout the Institute.

These efforts are developing different ways of seeing. Seeing in new ways, we are discovering new expressions of Unity as FMM from all cultures and contexts as we discover our roots and how they intersect with life today. This process constantly renews the life of our FMM charism.

Vatican II reaffirmed the Holy Spirit is working among us:

challenging; listening, questioning, disrupting, opening, healing, leading us to finally grasp that the Spirit of Truth

is present in the coming together of differences, mingled in creation and in every person…

In our prophetic role as women religious missionaries we have been part of the movement of examining the meaning of Vatican II, and together with others, have uncovered new ways of witnessing and proclaiming the Gospel.

DISCOVERING WITH ENTHUSIASM AND

THANKSGIVING THE RENEWED FRESHNESS OF OUR FMM CHARISM ENTRUSTED BY GOD TO MARY OF THE PASSION.

cf. GC 2014 Document – Our Vision

OUR GENERAL CHAPTER 2014 AFFIRMS THAT WE ARE:

Pope Francis is giving a special impulse of continuing renewal in the vision of Vatican II. He offers us some stirring reminders:

“The call to be a missionary disciple is received at Baptism

and hence every baptized person is a missionary”

EG 119,120,121

“We are consecrated to live the Gospel of Joy. This is the Year of Consecrated Life.”

A message from Pope Francis, 2 February 2014

“We are all missionary disciples.” EG 119 -121

“We are called as missionary disciples to go to the peripheries – to those who are not valued, the poor, the suffering.” EG 20,21,24,197,

199,201,206, 207…

“Francis…a mystic and pilgrim, who lived in

simplicity and in wonderful

harmony with God, with others, with nature and

with himself.

He shows us just how inseparable the bond is

between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to

society and interior peace. Laudate Si 10

In this Year of Consecrated Life:Pope Francis speaks of the Charisms of religious life:

“The charism is one, but, as Saint Ignatius used to say, it needs to be lived according to the places, times and persons. The charism is not a bottle of distilled water. It needs to be lived energetically as well as reinterpreted culturally. …”

Waking Up the World, p.6

“But in reality, the charism of religious people is like yeast: Prophecy announces the spirit of the Gospel.” Waking Up the World

“A Religious must

never give up

prophesizing…

Prophecy makes

noise, uproar,

some say a

mess.” Waking Up the World

“The charism perdures, is strong; the work fades away. Sometimes the Institute and the work are confused. The Institute is creative, is always looking for outlets. In this way too the peripheries change and a checklist can be made that is always different.”

Waking Up the World

The recent General Chapter 2014

holds before us the importance of a “personal encounter

with Mary of the Passion.”

CD2014, 2.2.4 Allow your life to unfold…

We recognize in the legacy we have received as fmm that Mary of the Passion, having embraced the gift of God in her life, became A credible witness to the compassion and joy of the Gospel.

This affirmation that Mary of the Passion was a Credible witness to the Compassion and Joy of the Gospel, invites us to remember …

Among the studies prepared for the Beatification of Mary of the Passion, we find the following descriptions of her spirituality which underlie the credibility of this witness of the Joy in the life of Mary of the Passion:

Throughout her life we are reminded that she was appreciated as a someone who brought Joy into the lives and experiences of others. It is how she is remembered.

“Mary of the Passion, from her early years was an outstanding example of a Christian woman, ever seeking God’s will, striving for communion and responding to the needs of her time with an inspiring influence…

“A woman of God and witness to God: her attention was centered on His presence, and on His will and His love.”

“A prophetic person: she had the capacity to awaken people to see some of the realities, which can be addressed with commitment. Solidly grounded in her own commitment to Christ, she never wavered through joy and pain.

She had a positive, wide influence and was in many ways ahead of her time, with a depth of spirituality that belongs to all times.” Positio I, CIII

some memories from the Poor Clares….In the archives of the Poor Clare Monastery in Marseilles there are two letters dated December 1860, written by a Poor Clare in Nantes to those in Marseille. These letters describe Helene as seen byher sisters when a postulant.

The Novice Mistress of the Poor Clares in Nantes, Mother Marie du Sacre-Coeur, wrote to the Abbess of the Monastery in Marseilles on December 19, 1860, announcing the arrival of the new postulant, describing her as: “Serene, who could not be happier finding herself in the house of God”.

She wrote a second letter a few days later to the Vicar of the same Monastery which gives a more complete description of the postulant, stressing her character traits: “spontaneous, delightful, easy adaptation to a life of austerity as though she had always lived with the Poor Clares”. Positio 116

In her Autobiography (1882), Mary of the Passion recalls the deep happiness she experienced as she entered the Poor Clares: “It was First Vespers for the feast of Our Lady of Loreto. I said a short prayer in the Chapel, then they opened the door to me. I can still see the cross which the Sisters presented to me on the threshold of the cloister.

“I can see those beloved Mothers. I can still hear the words of Mother Abbess: Holy Perseverance! And remembering it, my heart breaks to think I was deprived of this happiness. That was truly my place, with the Poor Clares.”

“There I should have died a saint, and a happy saint! Everything delighted me, everything surpassed my expectations. I did everything to please God. My soul sometimes flew upwards when I watched the birds, and thought that I was now the daughter of the Seraphic Father who had called them his Brothers.” 1882 Autobiography

TODAY, THE TRADITION OF JOY CONTINUES IN NANTES

Celebration in Nantes of

800 Years of Poor Clares

2010

Poor Clares Nantes

“Love is the most universal, the most tremendous and the most mystical of cosmic forces. Love is the primal and universal psychic energy. Love is a sacred reserve of energy; it is like the blood of spiritual evolution. Teilhard de Chardin, sj Spirit of the Earth.

“From the time when I was very young I had known tht I had been gifted with a very rare power to love and that to love was happiness. …”

August 28, 1882

Compassion is born of Love…

Reflecting upon Mary of the Passion through her writings, we can recognize in what she describes as significant moments, the foundation for her growth in compassion.

There are many instances showing how she grew into a stance of compassion in relation to others. Here are some examples from her writings about some moments in her childhood, that we can associate with a beginning formation to deep compassion in her later life…

“One day it occurred to me (when I was around five), that pain might possibly be just an idea, and that by willing it away one could cease to feel it. I would have to study this question in secret! So one day I lay down on an old bed in an unoccupied room, placed my hand on the wood of the bed, and asked one

of my cousins, three or four years older than myself, to trample on it. She was wearing heavy shoes, since we were in the country, and my hand was quite badly crushed. I tried not to cry and to believe that it didn't hurt. However, in spite of my courage and all my efforts, I was forced to admit that pain does exist.” Autobiography, 1882, p.9

“I have always hated the dark. I like to close my eyes but to know that there is light around me. However, my mother would not put up with such weakness, and it was decided that every time Lena (my pet name), did without a light in the evening, she would get a voucher for a loaf of bread to give to the poor. Sometimes I could not bear it, and called out to my nurse, Bring me the light, just for once!

“She would come in with it, saying that the poor were cold and hungry, and I would answer, Take it away then! I was trembling in my bed, but still, I loved to make my sacrifice. And how happy I was to carry these vouchers to the poor myself. For I knew that then I was truly giving. It is a very happy memory.” Autobiography. 1882, p.9

Helene experienced profound suffering when

her Sisters died, and especially when her Mother died after a sudden stroke.

Some excerpts give us insights into her struggle

and pain when her Mother died:

A short time before Helene had spoken to her Mother about entering religious life and her Mother was deeply upset….and later Helene overheard her weeping. This also disturbed Helene greatly. Then she recounts that “After lunch Maman and I were both working in the drawing room. She left me on some small errand. It was the 11th of January, 1859.

A few moments later the door opened and a servant cried out, quite distracted, “Mademoiselle, your mother is dead!” No she was not dead, but she had suffered a stroke on the staircase. My darling Mother! I had no doubt that it was I who had killed her. She had been unable to resign herself to the separation which was due to take place in two or three days. “

Kneeling, overcome by a grief beyond words, I cried out to God, “No, no! I cannot accept such a memory. No one ever told me that grief felt

so like Fear…. CS Lewis

No, my God, my Beloved, that my vocation should bring about my mother’s death, that is too much!.”

Her Mother continued in coma until Sunday, “…which was the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. Fr. Marquet, sj celebrated Mass in the house. In the chapel I said again to Jesus, “Dear Master, you have said that anything we ask in your divine name He can never refuse. My mother, my mother! I cannot lose my mother in such a cruel way.

“I returned to her room, and Fr. Marquet, no doubt guessing that I was fighting God for my mother’s life, said to me: ‘What are you doing, Hélène? Don’t resist anymore!’ And that evening, instead of leaving my crucifix on her bed I took it away with me, saying to him, ‘Take her’ She died at 3 o’clock the next morning.”

Some years later, on the anniversary of her Mother’s death, January 18, 1859, Mary of the Passion wrote: “For seven years I was unable to speak to anyone about this cruel wound: My Mother! The thought of seeing me give myself to God had killed her. In addition to this crushing cross, I found myself burdened with a responsibility quite opposed to my liking.”

“My Father had fallen into a state of deep depression. … Nothing had been foreseen or planned by my Mother. Death had come, terrible as a lightening rod….Letters, business, work, everything was left in my hands …Every detail was a blow to my poor heart. It was a long goodbye, or so I feared, to my religious vocation, the object of my keenest desires.”

Two years later, in 1864, with the guidance of Father Petit, sj, Helene applied to enter the Society of Marie Reparatrice. She speaks briefly of her farewell to her family…

“I did not shed a single tear, but leaning over my little nephew’s cradle, I felt all the sorrow of saying goodbye to my beloved Brittany, to all my family whom I loved so much. Every tie was being broken and forever. The baby lying there would grow up a stranger to me.

“This cross in my heart was as nothing compared to that in my soul. To leave my father had seemed to me for the last twenty-four hours to be a mortal sin of egoism. He came to me the day before my departure, in the evening and said only, Daughter, there is still time! The temptation was terrible!” Autobiography, 1882, p, 52

“I prayed, I will not change in the darkest hour the decision I took in the full light, and which came to me from obedience. My poor father came with me to the station. I shall never forget his face at that moment, expressing such agonizing grief. How much one must love God to be able to cause such pain to one’s dear ones! “

“The train left and my last sight of my father in this life was his poor face, sadder than I had ever seen it.”

In Paris, Hélène was admitted as a Postulant; she was sent at once to the novitiate in Toulouse. Before she left, Mother Mary of Jesus, the Superior General, gave her the name Mary of the Passion.

Blessed Mary of JesusFoundress

Society of Marie Reparatrice

“The thought of my Poor Clares still broke my heart. …I thought of nothing during those days, except to love Our Lord ardently. I would do all for him.”

She later recalled this day in her Autobiography:

While still a novice, Mary of the Passion was sent to India and soon appointed Provincial of the Sisters in Madurai.

In India she discovered the poor, the suffering of people. She found herself facing the challenges of integrating her response to the devastation experienced by the poor with a deep personal desire to give herself unconditionally to God.

Her compassion led her to profound depths of commitment together with her Sisters, which eventually resulted in separation from their religious community.

In a time of unbelievable darkness Mary of the Passion realized the birth of

a missionary calling. Her Sisters joined her in Ootacamund in June 1876. In November Mary of the Passion and two others left for Rome, at the insistence of

Msgr. Bardou, Bishop of Coimbatore.

The Missionaries of Mary began in Ootacamund, India and were approved by Pope Pius IX, January 6, 1877.

Some of First FMM Mary of the Passion center top.

Following from each one’s

personal encounter is the ongoing birth and development

of that same charism in each of

us all over the world.

Each of us, regardless of youth or age, are being invited in this time of Kairos to see with new eyes and to explore what it means to be a Credible Witness to the Compassion and Joy of the Gospel…

HOW ARE THESE CALLS TOUCHING ME?``

TABLE CONTRIBUTION - AWhat is your image of Mary of the Passion as a Credible Witness to the Compassion and Joy of the Gospel?In two-three WORDS share that image at your Table

Recorders: Please note down IMAGES

TABLE CONTRIBUTION- B

What is your image of how you are a Credible Witness to the Compassion and Joy of the Gospel?In two-three WORDS share that IMAGE at your Table

Recorders: Please note down IMAGES

TABLE CONTRIBUTION - CWhat is your image of another FMM as a Credible Witness to the Compassion and Joy of the Gospel?In two-three WORDS share that IMAGE at your Table

Recorders: please note down IMAGE

SHARING FROM RECORDERS AND A TIME OF CONVERSATION