- Date of publication 06-11-2005 During a Provincial Assembly, several of the sisters celebrated 50 years (gold), 60 years (diamond), 65 years (platinum), of commitment in religious life.
Early in the morning we set off along a road bordered with poppies, gorse, daisies etc…making us want to sing: “It is the month of Mary, the lovely month of May…”; especially as this road was taking us to the sanctuary of Notre Dame du Chêne in Sarthe. A meeting with Mary where we were coming together in thanksgiving to celebrate our golden, diamond and platinum Jubilees: priceless treasures, buried deep in our hearts but illuminating our faces!
The welcome reserved for us by the provincial council included messages from every part of the Congregation: Canada, England, Africa, Peru; messages which helped us to be profoundly united with the sisters present in all these countries.
In a happy and friendly atmosphere we made our way to the Basilica for the Eucharist. The Liturgy: hymns, readings chosen tell us once more of the Lord's love and fidelity but also of our response expressed with filial audacity; this was shown in the reading from Ecclesiasticus, 51 12-20: “My God, I will give thanks to thee and praise thee, I will bless the name of the Lord. While I was still young, before I went on my travels, I sought Wisdom openly in my prayer.” In his homily, Father BRETEAU, the delegate for religious in the diocese of Le Mans, invited us to be filled with gratitude and to be open through contemplative prayer, at this point in our lives, to the calls of the Church and the needs of the world today, confident in the Lord's word to his People: “Wherever you go. I will go with you.” The celebration ended joyfully and with a note of hope as we sang the prayer which Perrine Thulard gave us: “My God, conserve among us, charity, simplicity, union, humility”; a message calling us to live more deeply.
In the dining rooms, prepared and decorated tastefully, we were welcomed by a group of volunteers who were obviously accustomed to giving quality service with care and kindness. The conversation was animated during the meal as past memories were shared, interspersed with songs, monologues, poems and extracts which added a spiritual flavour to the occasion. How could we forget a passage from a poem by TAGORE where the king, holding out his hand to the beggar says to him: “What have you got to give me?” and the beggar takes out of his pouch a little grain of wheat. In the evening, among the other poor grains, he finds a little grain of gold! Bitterly regretful, he says: “If only I had been generous enough to give him everything.”
Full of confidence we set off on the return journey certain that the Lord goes before us on our earthly journey filling us with his love.
A sister celebrating her diamond jubilee (60 years in religious life)
© Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Evron
Help to navigate on the website | Credits | License agreement