France: Letters to Marie Poussepin - 3

on 28 Apr, 2020
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Province of France 04/28/2020.- We continue to find the letters to Marie Poussepin.

To Marie Poussepin

Mère spirituelle (Spiritual Mother) for so many Sisters since more than three centuries and for me since 1982,
Apostle Social of Charity as the Church loves to name you and to honor you,
Rejoice with us, during this year of grace, when we celebrate the 25th anniversary of your beatification. 
Individually, for each one of the Sisters and Communities and the whole Congregation:
Espérance, (Hope), Faith and Charity: these virtues we implore each day by your intercession.

Partage (Share) with us the passion for the service of the little ones: children, the sick and the neglected.

Obtain for us the help of the Blessed Virgin to be true witnesses of Christ in this world in crisis.
Unite us beyond our differences in the search for the common good, justice and peace.
Sois (Be) our model: assiduous in prayer, joyful in service, gentle in our words.
Since my adolescence, at the Lord’s call, I have gradually, deepened my relationship with Him
Et, (And) as student at Tours, the witness of Sisters I rubbed shoulders with, at Foyer St Thomas,
Pointed out the path that led to the gift of myself as a Sister of the Presentation.                          
Instantly, I praise you for so many lives given, following you, for the Proclamation of Christ,
Nourished by the passion for God and the salvation of the brethren in the spirit of Dominic.
 

Magnificat anima mea Dominum !

Sr. Catherine Aubry

Prayer to Marie Poussepin

Unknown to me, as I entered the Presentation, you awakened very quickly my desire to know you. And the more I advanced in this knowledge, the more I grew in my admiration. Always very up to date, you knew how to make us discover and understand over the years the sense of responsibility and commitment in family life, in the workplace, in the Church and in all our human relationships. This cannot exist without fraternal love learned, lived and shared in community. All this, in the constant search for Love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Our Mother, thank you for this beautiful heritage,

Sr. Josiane

Blessed Marie Poussepin,

My Mother, Our Mother, you see, I am writing to you using a typewriter. You should excuse me; my handwriting is not the same as it used to be when I was a teacher. Yes, I was a teacher; for this, I thank you and the wonderful family that has been yours, for three and a half centuries. You must be smiling, seeing me typing on a keyboard. Our modern developments demand it. In your time, one wrote with the feather of a goose, using a homemade ink. And the blotting paper was the ashes. It was long ago…the technological progresses have made life easier. 

You know my life; I always speak to you; your face is very near to me. And I never go to sleep without saying you « good night » and entrusting me to your prayers. And I continue invoking each one of my mothers who followed you till Mother Ines, with a glance on what each one had done.

I had the joy of going to Rome for your beatification. It was just a little before the dark years, when nineteen of us were assassinated. Our communities of Algeria were called back to France and since then, I am in this Ephad, with some of our sisters.

This year, I will celebrate the 60th anniversary of my religious profession. A long life!  A happy life, as happy as life can be, because the events provide us the occasion to know all the sentiments that can be experienced in our human life.

There is a souvenir that comes back to my memory often, I was twenty years old; it was on that day that I went to the collège de la Présentation (School of the Presentation) at Casablanca, to contact Sister Madeleine who directed the choir of the young girls in the parish. I had begun to work at the neighborhood of Maarif. Someone made me enter a small beautiful living room, telling me to wait for the sister who was kept busy right then. At twenty years of age, one does not remain seated for long time. I got up to admire from very close, the beautiful pictures that decorated the wall. I came to the portrait of a countrywoman from olden times. Our looks were met. There I was, fully overwhelmed. I went back to be seated again, being very much impressed. The sister came giving me excuses for making me wait. We spoke about the choir and music and I asked her who was that person there, in the portrait. And the sister was surprised and told me: “What? you do not know?  Of course, it is our foundress!” How could I have known? I did not go often to the sister’s place… Two years after, I entered postulancy.

My blessed Mother, I kiss you,

Sr. Claire-Marie